Any great tips for 1st time cruising family?

[dandbsmom]

I have been on 2 cruises pre-marriage but the rest of the family has not. Any great tips to help things go smoothly? DH, DS (10) & DS (6)

 

[WDWDennis]

Just like everyone does at WDW these days, it may be a good idea to bring along 2-way radios. I'm sure your 10 year old will want to go off on his own now and then. As you know, it can be hard to track down people on those big ships.

Have a great trip!!

 

[westjones]

Not all 10 year old go off by themselves. My twin girls just turned 11 on the last cruise and that was the first time we let them go around a little on their own (as long as they were together or with their friend who was also on the cruise with us).

I have heard that the 2 way radios can pick up a lot of other people, but maybe with the sub channels they work better now. We didn't use them, we had a memo board in our room and they were suppose to write where they were, but to be honest, they were never alone for long. The most would be to go up to the 9th deck for a snack. We stayed with them at the pool (or our friends who joined us with their DD watched them, so there was always an adult near by).

My 'tip' is to get those snap suction cup hooks to put in the tub for the the kids to hang up their swim suits when they are done. The clothes line is too high for them to reach, and I got tired of picking up their wet suits off of the bathroom floor.

Here is a picture of what I mean:

http://www.yoospot.com/snaphook.asp

I got a package of 4 at the Dollar Tree store and shared half of them with our friends. They were well worth the $1!

Have a great trip!
DJ

 

[jrabbit]

I would try to get to the terminal between 10:30 and 11. This will give you all a chance to look around the terminal a little. You can find Castaway Cay on the big map on the floor so you can see where you will be on one of your stops. Also, there is a model of the ship in the terminal. And the real ship is outside. Lots of kids like to look at the model, then run outside and look at the ship (repeat as needed). THere are comfy couches in the terminal and many TV's showing Mickey Cartoons. Then the characters come out for photo op's before boarding. The 1 to 1 1/2 hours waiting in the terminal go by very quickly.

After you go through the Mickey ears to board the ship, you will be offered the opportunity to have an embarkation photo taken, so you might want to coordinate your clothes somewhat when you get dressed in the am.

Once on board, you might consider getting the kids signed up for the clubs as soon as possible. It doesn't take long, but there are a lot of families that need to get signed up so the line can get long.

If the kids like being in the pool, bring their swimsuits in your carryon luggage so that they can change into them and hit the pools before they get crowded (or the kids can wear their swimsuits under their clothes).

Keep reading these boards for lots of good info that will help make your cruise a family trip to remember!

 

[Jillpie]

DJ, thanks for that link for the snap hooks! Those look terrific, I will definitely go buy some!

 

[Lisa D]

I only have a few to add, mostly because my sons were 11 and 8 on first cruise.

1. Use the Navigators to keep track of the activities in the kid's clubs to plan your days. My kids were interested in some things but not others. One thing my other son really enjoyed was the tour of the bridge.

2. If you decide to have dinner at Palo, the kids usually love the buffet in the Kid's clubs. Mine refused to eat with us the next night because they liked the buffet so much.

3. Set a limit as to how much you sons can spend in the arcade. They issue little credit cards with a dollar amount on them. I limited my kids to $10. per day (and it didn't take them long to use it.)

My only experience is one 3-Day Cruise so I'm sure others will have more tips for you. Can't wait until our next one in April!

Lisa

 

[mom-sunshine]

We just got off our third 7 day cruise (DH, DD (8) and DD(6)). We had a great time again!! Here are some tips for you

1. Buy an over the door hanging shoe holder (cloth type) for the back of the bathroom door. It will hold all you suntan lotions, glasses, shampoos, combs, radios, camera, etc. as there is not alot of counter space.

2. Buy those stick on plastic holders for the sunchathers for your bathing suits to hang up in the bathroom. (be sure to bring at least two suits each , as they do take time to dry!)

3. If you want the characters to sign Disney shirts or hats, bring them to guest services on the first day, they will have all the character sign them and return to you the last day of the cruise.

4. Look at the kids navigator for the week and let your children pick out a few NOT TO MISS activities. You can then plan to go to PALO dinner or Brunch around them . (DO NOT MISS PALO"S!!!)

 

[dandbsmom]

Any more?

 

[CM_Mom]

I'm with westjones about the suction hooks. We used one to hang our shoe holder on above the commode in the bathroom since we were in a cat 11 with only one bath.

We used another one on the mirror near the door for our lanyards with our kttw cards in them so they didn't get misplaced in the room and were in sight on the way out the door.

I put another in the closet wall for DH to hang his hat on.

You get the picture. They don't take up much space and can be found cheaply at dollar stores.

I'm sure you've already seen the thread about the over the door shoe hangers with the plastic pockets. Next trip, I'm even going to take an extra one for SHOES.

 

[dbond]

Take a highlighter, a different color for each kid, so you can go over the Navigators with the kids and then highlight what they want to to do. There are so many activities, you have to pick and choose.

Have fun!

 

[GoofyFD]

Don’t try to do everything! Your on Vaction sit and enjoy your family time!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tvguy]

Even with subcarriers, those Family radios are about useless on a ship, they are line of sight, too much metal on a ship, and too many other users.
Yes, study the Navigator, otherwise you'll miss something. My 12 and 16 year old skipped the clubs totally, the other stuff on board interested them more.

 

[dbond]

We used our Motorola radios on the ship. Our DS (10) had one with him all of the time. It was wonderful to be able to keep in contact with him.

 

[bratray]

great ideas!!

gives me more to think about & dream about

 

[Jamashp]

The Motorola radios worked great for us. We had three radios (used sub-channels). Never had a problem with others on the same frequency. If you were on one side of the boat and trying to get someone 6 decks below on the other side, it was difficult. But usually you could tell someone was trying to get you. It just wasn't coming through clear, so you just went to an outside area and it worked great again.

Helped us out a lot!

Over-the-door shoe hanger is a must!

 

[dandbsmom]

I am getting so excited and making my list as all of you provide great tips for our family! Thank you!

 

[taeja71]

Just a thought, pack your kids dress up clothes so they can wear them to dinner, lunch, whatever. My DD (4) loved wearing her costumes to dinner, she felt like a real princess.

 

[jgalecpa]

Here is a link to literally hundreds of tips from over the years, all in one place.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=468132


I recommend going through it, highlighting the things you like.

I also recommend you don't do what I did and NOT leave it at home!

Jim