Lots of questions for an over planner

[Beamer97]

1. What kind of pictures are taken by shutters and why are they so much more than the photo pass ?

2. I will have a 13 year old and 7 year old on this sailing..... Wild you recommend later dinning?

3. Do excursions fill up really early? Like the 180 dinning resides at the world?

4. Have you ran the 5k at castaway? What time of day is this done?

5. Can you upgrade to conc. at port? Does it matter what you originally booked?

6. How often are you in your room, and did you really use the veranda?

That's all for now, I a sure there will be more!

[PrincessShmoo]

Originally Posted by Beamer97

1. What kind of pictures are taken by shutters and why are they so much more than the photo pass ? Photos onboard range from formal pictures to character ops. Shutters is a private photography concession. It's not at all like PhotoPass.

2. I will have a 13 year old and 7 year old on this sailing..... Wild you recommend later dinning? That really depends on what you want. We like early dining as we can't eat that much food so late at night.

3. Do excursions fill up really early? Like the 180 dinning resides at the world? Some excursion will fill up, others - not so much. You'll have to ask about specific excursions you're interested in. Sorry, I don't understand the second part of the question.

4. Have you ran the 5k at castaway? What time of day is this done? It's in the morning. We haven't done it.

5. Can you upgrade to conc. at port? Does it matter what you originally booked? You can upgrade (well, upsell) as long as there are rooms available to go to. You can upgrade from any category to any higher category. Many cruises won't have rooms available for upgrading.

6. How often are you in your room, and did you really use the veranda? We've never had a verandah on DCL. We generally wind up in our room once (sometimes twice) a day just for a little downtime.

That's all for now, I a sure there will be more!

My answers in red.

[LoriV]

Dining - It's personal preference and doesn't always have to do with the ages of the kids. What time do you normally eat at home? What time zone do you live in? If you are on the west coast, then late dining is probably closer to your normal mealtime. If from East coast, then early dining may be better. But again, it depends on when you normally eat at home.

Verandah - Yes, we love our verandah and use it a lot. Most people agree that once you've had a verandah, you will never go back to a stateroom without.

[amberann6783]

We have only done late dining before but our newest and youngest son gets tired and cranky by 8pm unlike his older brother so we will be switching that up. I prefer the later dining because it allows you to have a longer "day" and you don't have to return to your room to get cleaned up for dinner until later.

We didn't go out on our veranda a TON, but I agree once you have one you won't go back. I loved sitting out there at night. There is nothing more relaxing that I can think of.

[DLW8]

Originally Posted by Beamer97

1. What kind of pictures are taken by shutters and why are they so much more than the photo pass ?

It's a different system than at WDW. They do character photos (some) and different backdrops each night. We actually love them and it's the only time we get a family photo!

2. I will have a 13 year old and 7 year old on this sailing..... Wild you recommend later dinning?

We have done late dining for all 3 of our cruises (kids were almost 8 on the first one) and we wouldn't ever do early. Early dining is just too early for us. When we are at home, we don't eat dinner until 7:00 at the earliest, and when kids are doing sports, its usually much later. If we are hungry in the late afternoon, we just get something from the pool deck or order a small something from room service.

3. Do excursions fill up really early? Like the 180 dinning resides at the world?

Some will fill up quickly and some will not. If you know you want to do something, book it.

4. Have you ran the 5k at castaway? What time of day is this done?

can't help you on this sorry, but i know it's first thing in the AM

5. Can you upgrade to conc. at port? Does it matter what you originally booked?

anyone can upgrade if they have rooms available. Get to port early if you want to do this.

6. How often are you in your room, and did you really use the veranda?

We use our verandah a lot and I can't imagine NOT having one (which makes our pricing higher obviously). I am up before anyone else in the family, so spend time out there while everyone is waking up. We will get room service breakfast and eat out there while getting ready in the AM. DH likes to nap out there during the day as well, and then at night, we are out there while everyone is getting ready for the show/dinner (cheese platter and a cocktail) as well as I am out there at night reading the next days' Navigator to plan the next day. We all love being able to watch us pull into the ports and look at the scenery.

That's all for now, I a sure there will be more!

Answers in purple. Enjoy!

[Four Swampers]

For dining:

late dining has the advantage of not having to rush back from port, if you are in a port with a late time. For example, you don't want to leave Rome 2 hours early for dinner. Most Bahamas and Caribbean ports end in plenty of time for early dinner.

we usually dine late, but late dining can run into evening deck parties. hard to stand up from a four course meal and walk directly to the turkey leg table at the Pirates in the Caribbean Party!