Cruise secrets that DCL doesn't tell you

[MickeyMouse101]

Thank you,

I am putting all this info together as much as I can. Is this something you have to get up really to do this? I figured there wouldn't be any breakfast, just hurry and get off the ship.

Nope. For the MDR, you have to get up from 6-7 to eat, depending on where you ate on the last night of your cruise. Lumieres/Tritons usually has the earliset wake up time. For buffet, 8ish or earlier. Check personal navigator for bkfst times or ask your server on the last night.

 

[linco711]

Totally disagree about Palo Brunch. WITH OUT QUESTION dinner is better. Have done all 3 (tea, brunch, dinner) dinner has many more options plus the chocolate, souffle!!!

I completely agree...dinner in Palo's is special! brunch...not so much

 

[Mean Queen]

I completely agree...dinner in Palo's is special! brunch...not so much

I love them both, I can't ever choose just one.

 

[mgmcpa]

Dinner in Palo's isn't a big deal if you live in a big city and go out to nice places often (I'm spoiled living near San Francisco).

Brunch at Palo's has cavier to die for, tons of other fresh seafood (keep in mind, no seafood on the ship is really that fresh, as they are required to freeze all meat before serving), and you can sample tons of dishes in small amounts.

 

[jiminwi38]

Dinner at palo's is something i do on every Disney cruise it does not matter if i go to a nice place to eat in my town or drive 3 hours to Chicago it's something i have to do and enjoy so much more then eating at any other place

 

[jiminwi38]

OMG the chocolate, souffle!!! is one of the best its out of this world LOVE IT one reason to do dinner at palo's Oct 27 can not get here soon enough

 

[jopierval]

I meant to add this which I was including in the emails that I've sent out:

There are a number of things that seem to repeat themselves, but it shows that different people had different experiences with different things!! But all in all it seems to be an easier read then paging through the thread!! I did do a spell check and make some minor changes to some posts. It also indicates the end of each page so if you see a post that interests you, then you can just go to that page on the DIS and see the responses after it!! If you see anything that I posted incorrectly PLEASE let me know so I can change it!! I just got off the magic and can't wait to sail DCL again in 2013!!

Oh, and one of my BIGGEST tips is to re-book another DCL trip while your onboard!! And what we did was book a December 2013 3 day sailing and paid the required 10% deposit on that, we booked 2 rooms at around $89.00 per room deposit. Now we can decide when we actually want to sail, which we can even push it into 2014, and then we can change our sail date!! And if we decide that we can't do the cruise, or something else get's in the way of us going (NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!) we can just get our deposit back, but we can never get the discount once we get off!!) You can also add a TA after you book online depending on who has the best incentives, as long as you don't pay the cruise off before you try and add the TA!! Oh, and I think that the re-booking desk was without question the #1 busiest spot we saw on the cruise!! That girl had a line of people waiting before she would sit down twice a day, and she wouldn't get a break till she cut the line off!! So try and get to her early!!

Oh, and keep the suggestions for the thread coming!!! I love the DIS... and all the DISigners who made wonderful door magnets and shirt DISigns for my family!!!

Happy Sailing!!

Thanks so much, we leave saturday for a sunday sail. No way I have time to go thru the whole thread!

 

[Kman34]

The pillow case signatures is a really good idea and makes for a great souvenir, just be careful.
We picked ours up the last night and just shoved 'em in an outer pocket of one of the suitcases that was already packed for leaving the next day.

It was raining pretty bad at the airport & I could see our bag waiting to be loaded onto the plane....yep, all of the signatures bled and the pillow cases were ruined.

The good news is that we're going back in a few months and I wont make the same mistake twice.

 

[erk711]

The pillow case signatures is a really good idea and makes for a great souvenir, just be careful.
We picked ours up the last night and just shoved 'em in an outer pocket of one of the suitcases that was already packed for leaving the next day.

It was raining pretty bad at the airport & I could see our bag waiting to be loaded onto the plane....yep, all of the signatures bled and the pillow cases were ruined.

The good news is that we're going back in a few months and I wont make the same mistake twice.

Sharpie makes new fabric pens called "stained". That should help with rain...and washing

 

[LiseG]

The pillow case signatures is a really good idea and makes for a great souvenir, just be careful.
We picked ours up the last night and just shoved 'em in an outer pocket of one of the suitcases that was already packed for leaving the next day.

It was raining pretty bad at the airport & I could see our bag waiting to be loaded onto the plane....yep, all of the signatures bled and the pillow cases were ruined.

The good news is that we're going back in a few months and I wont make the same mistake twice.

Sharpie makes new fabric pens called "stained". That should help with rain...and washing

And maybe a zip-lock bag

 

[tigger_ttfn]

If you are just booking a "placeholder" cruise to chance later then don't bother with lines at the desk. We filled out the quote request form for a cruise in late 2013. Then got the quote back the next day. Pick what you want and thy will apply a deposit to you account and give you a confirmation. Just use the drop-off boxnon the desk We got a GTY room but then my TA went in and assigned us a room.

 

[chateau]

If you are just booking a "placeholder" cruise to chance later then don't bother with lines at the desk. We filled out the quote request form for a cruise in late 2013. Then got the quote back the next day. Pick what you want and thy will apply a deposit to you account and give you a confirmation. Just use the drop-off boxnon the desk We got a GTY room but then my TA went in and assigned us a room.

So no lines! Where do you get the quote request form? Who do you give it to (is that where you mentioned drop off "box" on the "desk"... same desk then?) You may have saved me some time, so THANKS!

 

[babyburrito]

If you are just booking a "placeholder" cruise to chance later then don't bother with lines at the desk. We filled out the quote request form for a cruise in late 2013. Then got the quote back the next day. Pick what you want and thy will apply a deposit to you account and give you a confirmation. Just use the drop-off boxnon the desk We got a GTY room but then my TA went in and assigned us a room.

Great tip!

If I book a 3 day dummy cruise for two in an inside cabin can I later change it to a 7 day cruise for 4 in a higher category? I will have to put down more deposit when I change I'm sure.

 

[tigger_ttfn]

Great tip!

If I book a 3 day dummy cruise for two in an inside cabin can I later change it to a 7 day cruise for 4 in a higher category? I will have to put down more deposit when I change I'm sure.

Yes, when my TA reassigned my room we owed like $10 in additional deposit.

The forms are at the future cruise desk. Every time we walked by it was either a ton of people waiting or it was "closed". We saw the forms and drop off box when no one was there. So, we decided to try it out. Worked beautifully.

 

[over50visits]

Dinner in Palo's isn't a big deal if you live in a big city and go out to nice places often (I'm spoiled living near San Francisco).

I agree that Palo is a very nice restaurant, as are many around the US, so it isn't a "one of a kind" experience.

However, very few restaurants we go to are on a cruise ship, and none match the price of Palo (even if you consider what you really paid for dining considering the MDRs).

 

[amosthefamous]

If you are just booking a "placeholder" cruise to chance later then don't bother with lines at the desk. We filled out the quote request form for a cruise in late 2013. Then got the quote back the next day. Pick what you want and thy will apply a deposit to you account and give you a confirmation. Just use the drop-off boxnon the desk We got a GTY room but then my TA went in and assigned us a room.[/
Hi,
If I book a placeholder, how long before I actually have to use it? Not that I want to wait at all, but you know, life sometimes gets in the way.....
Thanks,
Amy

 

[tigger_ttfn]

I would book the latest cruise available and then you can move it to a sooner cruise if necessary. We book ours for Nov 2013 but then decided to move it to Dec 2012 and then onboard we will rebook that November cruise.

 

[Phantomzkb]

Wow this has been an all nite ready, thanks to everyone that has submitted ideas.

 

[Phantomzkb]

Ohh I was just wondering, can you go up int the Observation Tower on Castaway Cay ?

 

[annichan]

Ohh I was just wondering, can you go up int the Observation Tower on Castaway Cay ?

You sure can! It is a bit far to walk along the airstrip, but you can rent a bike to get there - which I highly suggest, as the bike ride is good fun. Not very long, not strenuous, but you see a bit more of the island and it is a really nice way to pass an hour (as long as it is not in the midday heat).