First time cruiser questions....

[heatherpenni]

So I've determined that my family will have to take a flight in the night before our Aug 10 eastern caribbean cruise and stay in a hotel because we can't get into Orlando with time to make it aboard the Disney Cruise Line magical express bus and to the ship before it disembarks. I've already booked my flight and hotel as well as my ground transportation. Do I check my luggage at my airport and pick it up at baggage claim in Orlando and have to take it with us everywhere we go or will I be able to put the tags on my checked luggage and let it stay at the airport and be transported the next day?

How does the magical express work? Can I leave my hotel at anytime and go to the airport and check into the bus or is there a specific time that I have to go? How do I know when I can check into the ship or when I can get the bus?

I've been onto my account with Disney and its saying I can't check in until may 27! I've seen that other people have been able to check in and sign up for reservations. Is this because I am a first time cruiser? Approximately how much are reservations and what kind of excursions can I book off ship in port?

I'm not quite sure how the reservations work! I'd like to book a dinner or lunch for the hubby and I. I know that almost all the food is included, are the adult restaurants excluded from this?

How do I go about getting an onboard credit and how should I have for an onboard credit? Can I designate some money for the kids to be able to charge on a daily basis or should I not give them any charging privileges?

Am I correct in saying, if I buy alcohol once I reach my hotel, I can bring whatever I've brought onto the ship for my own consumption in my room?

 

[linkandclover]

the first question is what hotel are you staying at? If you are staying at a Disney resort you can take transport from the hotel to the port. There is a Hyatt (I think that is the brand) isn the airport itself that Disney transport will pick you up from. I have not stayed at any other hotel in Orlando.

Online check in is probably not available yet because this is your first cruise. Do the check in the day it is available to you so you can choose adult dining options if you like as well as excursions. It only take a short time to do all this. Adult dining is extra and the cost depends on where you go.

When you do your check in you can leave a credit card number for additional expenses. It is up to you if you want your children to be able to buy things on your account. Keep in mind everything on the boat and Castaway Cay is paid for with your key to the world card so you only need cash for extra tips and going ashore.

You can bring alcohol on board to consume in your room just don't flaunt it is all I have been told.

 

[jdb in AZ]

So I've determined that my family will have to take a flight in the night before our Aug 10 eastern caribbean cruise and stay in a hotel because we can't get into Orlando with time to make it aboard the Disney Cruise Line magical express bus and to the ship before it disembarks. I think you mean before she sails. Disembark is when a passenger leaves the ship. I've already booked my flight and hotel as well as my ground transportation. Do I check my luggage at my airport and pick it up at baggage claim in Orlando yes and have to take it with us everywhere we go or will I be able to put the tags on my checked luggage and let it stay at the airport and be transported the next day? No.

How does the magical express work? I think you mean DCL bus transfers. Magical Express is free and only for transportation from the airport to the resort hotels and back. Bus transfers are $35. per person each way and go from MCO or a hotel to the port and vice versa. Can I leave my hotel at anytime and go to the airport and check into the bus yes or is there a specific time that I have to go? How do I know when I can check into the ship 75 days before your cruise you can do an online check-in and it will assign you a port arrival time. or when I can get the bus?

I've been onto my account with Disney and its saying I can't check in until may 27! I've seen that other people have been able to check in and sign up for reservations. Is this because I am a first time cruiser? yes Approximately how much are reservations varies according to the reservation and what kind of excursions can I book off ship in port? pretty much any shore excursion you book via DCL can also be booked on land.

I'm not quite sure how the reservations work! I'd like to book a dinner or lunch for the hubby and I. When you access your account 75 days before boarding you can make online reservations. If they're already full, you can still make dining reservations as soon as you board. I know that almost all the food is included, are the adult restaurants excluded from this? yes.

How do I go about getting an onboard credit and how should I have for an onboard credit? If you mean charging privileges, you can link a credit card to your account. Can I designate some money for the kids to be able to charge on a daily basis no or should I not give them any charging privileges? How old are your kids, and do you trust them?

Am I correct in saying, if I buy alcohol once I reach my hotel, I can bring whatever I've brought onto the ship for my own consumption in my room?

Yes, but you have to carry it on with you instead of in your checked luggage.

 

[flick]

Hi,

You will have to claim your luggage at the airport and take it with you. Do not affix you luggage tags on your suitcase until the day of the cruise. The Cruise Line buses run from 9:45-2:15. You can go to the airport anytime to catch one to the port. DCL is doing your transfers so you do not have to worry about the port arrival time. It should be greyed out when you do your online check in, if not just pick any time.

As for your booking window. As a first time cruiser your window opens 75 days prior to the sailing date. You will be able to do your online check in and port adventures, spa and adult dining reservations then.

Adult dining is extra. Palo brunch and dinner is $20 per person, Remy champagne lunch is $50 per person, dinner is $75 per person and is you want the wine pairing it is an extra $99 per person

If you buy alcohol to bring on board it must fit in your carry on, it can not be in your checked luggage. If you bring wine into the dinning room you will be charged a corking fee

 

[heatherpenni]

Wow thank you everyone so much! You are all amazing at answering my questions to the best of your knowledge! I'm so excited to go on my first cruise and glad to have all you to help me with anything I need.

For the questions that came up from you:

I'm staying at the Bohemian which is not even a km from the airport apparently. I looked for the closest one and that was the first one that came up.

Unless I could give the children a set amount everyday, I do not trust them with being able to charge to my credit card. I may see how it goes one day while on the ship but if they have charging privileges, I'd like to know what they'd be charging and how much it could run.

I've already booked my ground transport and paid for it so once I arrive at the airport on the day of the cruise it should cost me nothing. Although I'm still concerned about the details of my luggage. So I've gathered that when I arrive the day before I claim my luggage and on the day of the cruise I put my luggage tags on and transport them back to the airport and what happens then? Does someone from Disney take them and deliver them to us once we arrive on the ship?

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Wow thank you everyone so much! You are all amazing at answering my questions to the best of your knowledge! I'm so excited to go on my first cruise and glad to have all you to help me with anything I need.

For the questions that came up from you:

I'm staying at the Bohemian which is not even a km from the airport apparently. I looked for the closest one and that was the first one that came up.

If you mean the Grand Bohemian, then you have been mislead as that is downtown Orlando and NOT a km from the airport. Although it is a beautiful hotel. If all you are doing is spending the night and heading back to the airport, the best bet would be the Hyatt at the airport. That can be expensive, and there are several hotels right after you exit MCO - off of Highway 436 on the other side of the Beeline - that might be less expensive and have shuttle service.

Unless I could give the children a set amount everyday, I do not trust them with being able to charge to my credit card. I may see how it goes one day while on the ship but if they have charging privileges, I'd like to know what they'd be charging and how much it could run.



I've already booked my ground transport and paid for it so once I arrive at the airport on the day of the cruise it should cost me nothing. Although I'm still concerned about the details of my luggage. So I've gathered that when I arrive the day before I claim my luggage and on the day of the cruise I put my luggage tags on and transport them back to the airport and what happens then? Does someone from Disney take them and deliver them to us once we arrive on the ship?

Do you mean that you have booked transfers through DCL or some other company? It makes a difference because if you are going through DCL, IIRC, they take your luggage at the airport and you don't see it again until you get to your room. If you did book it through DCL you should call them and ask them exactly how it works. I think that if you are flying in, they usually pick it up from the airline. If you are going back to MCO with your luggage I think they would take it from you at the airport, put it on the bus with you, and then take it through to the ship - but again, you should confirm this with DCL.

 

[Moxin]

I've already booked my ground transport and paid for it so once I arrive at the airport on the day of the cruise it should cost me nothing. Although I'm still concerned about the details of my luggage. So I've gathered that when I arrive the day before I claim my luggage and on the day of the cruise I put my luggage tags on and transport them back to the airport and what happens then? Does someone from Disney take them and deliver them to us once we arrive on the ship?

I am assuming you're using DCL? If so, when you fly in the night before don't put your tags on. Grab your luggage yourself and take it to the airport. Put your tags on when you get back to the airport and check in for DCL transfer. DCL takes them and you will see them again outside your stateroom later on on the ship.

 

[heatherpenni]

Gah! I guess I have been grossly mislead because that's what my travel agent booked for me. She led me to believe that it was right there at the airport saying, it could be loud staying there and that I may not get much sleep the night we fly in.

To be honest, the people on here have been more helpful with questions then my travel agent has been. I'm quite upset and will be planning my next trip by myself and not through a third party.

 

[linkandclover]

You can't limit how much they spend per day but ask guest services if you can put an overall limit. I have not had to deal with this with my oldest but my youngest thought that meant he could buy as much specialty coffee as he wanted. We figured it out because he was buzzing around all day and then verbally limited him to one per day.

There is not a lot for kids to buy onboard. There is an arcade for the kids that you can buy a game card with money on it for them. Smoothies and coffee are extra (do they need this?). Gifts at the store is something you may want to do with them. The only other thing is candy for the shows (we ordered each child a gift basket from Shirley so they had a good supply on hand).

 

[heatherpenni]

Sorry, I forgot to say, yes I booked my ground transport through DCL or my travel agent did, at least she told me she did. I'll just pick up my luggage and take it back the next day and see what DCL tells me to do with it.

I think I'll be calling DCL to see what they can tell me...

 

[linkandclover]

Gah! I guess I have been grossly mislead because that's what my travel agent booked for me. She led me to believe that it was right there at the airport saying, it could be loud staying there and that I may not get much sleep the night we fly in.

To be honest, the people on here have been more helpful with questions then my travel agent has been. I'm quite upset and will be planning my next trip by myself and not through a third party.

Cancel the reservation where you are staying and change to the Hyatt if you can. They pick your luggage up from your room so you don't have to drag it anywhere. It is much more convenient than what you are doing. You can adjust your DCL transfer this way with no problem. Since you are using your TA they should know what they are doing and cite their error as an issue. We stayed at the Hyatt and it is a nice hotel and noise was not an issue at all.

 

[Moxin]

Cancel the reservation where you are staying and change to the Hyatt if you can. They pick your luggage up from your room so you don't have to drag it anywhere. It is much more convenient than what you are doing. You can adjust your DCL transfer this way with no problem. Since you are using your TA they should know what they are doing and cite their error as an issue. We stayed at the Hyatt and it is a nice hotel and noise was not an issue at all.

Bingo...

I can't imagine why they would say the Hyatt is loud. I've stayed there as well, and yeah, they pick up your luggage outside of your room so you don't have to worry about it. Just let DCL know where you are.

If you can't change to the Hyatt, again, on the day of the cruise, put your DCL tags on your luggage, and bring the bags with you to the DCL transfer station at the airport. They'll take your bags right there, and you're good to go!

 

[heatherpenni]

Cancel the reservation where you are staying and change to the Hyatt if you can. They pick your luggage up from your room so you don't have to drag it anywhere. It is much more convenient than what you are doing. You can adjust your DCL transfer this way with no problem. Since you are using your TA they should know what they are doing and cite their error as an issue. We stayed at the Hyatt and it is a nice hotel and noise was not an issue at all.

My mother booked the hotel with her credit card and went through hoops to book it because she wasn't the one staying there. She used her points so apparently it is irreversible, according the the travel agent! I'll NEVER book with this travel agent again and now I know for next time. This is why I'm glad I joined this site, I would have had no idea. I've called the grand bohemian and they've informed me they do not have a shuttle bus and that its about $35 one-way from the airport. It's about 11-13 MILES? I'm not American nor am I great with math so I'm not sure how far this actually is.

 

[heatherpenni]

Bingo...

I can't imagine why they would say the Hyatt is loud. I've stayed there as well, and yeah, they pick up your luggage outside of your room so you don't have to worry about it. Just let DCL know where you are.

If you can't change to the Hyatt, again, on the day of the cruise, put your DCL tags on your luggage, and bring the bags with you to the DCL transfer station at the airport. They'll take your bags right there, and you're good to go!

No no, my travel agent claimed that the Grand Bohemian was loud because "it was so close to the airport"... I've looked up the Hyatt and it says that it's right inside the airport! This would have be SO much better. Mistakes were made and I will definitely learn from them and book myself next time, with the help of everyone from this site of course.

 

[Moxin]

That's about 15 km. It's a bit of a hike from the airport, but nothing extreme.

 

[heatherpenni]

That's about 15 km. It's a bit of a hike from the airport, but nothing extreme.

We are definitely planning on taking a taxi... We'll have to fork out the money and hopefully it's worth it!

 

[linkandclover]

13 miles is about 20 km. (where do you live?)
You may want to rethink transportation. I tried to work this out with google maps but I don't know the area well enough. Figure out the $35 fare to the airport plus transfers on DCL and it may be cheaper to hire a car to take you from the hotel you are at to the port. You may save some money and get there at your own time and not have to deal with so much back and forth. The possible pros are you get to the ship earlier, save money, and can pick up supplies along the way if you need them. The cons are that you won't see the video on the bus which sets the mood.

 

[Moxin]

13 miles is about 20 km. (where do you live?)
You may want to rethink transportation. I tried to work this out with google maps but I don't know the area well enough. Figure out the $35 fare to the airport plus transfers on DCL and it may be cheaper to hire a car to take you from the hotel you are at to the port. You may save some money and get there at your own time and not have to deal with so much back and forth. The possible pros are you get to the ship earlier, save money, and can pick up supplies along the way if you need them. The cons are that you won't see the video on the bus which sets the mood.

20km? Dangit, no one said there'd be a math test today!!!!!

 

[vet1999]

The Grand Bohemian is in the Autograph Collection with Marriott. I frequently stay with Marriott and even the rooms that I have booked with points have a generous return/cancellation policy (usually the night before the reervation). If the Hyatt is available, you still may be able to get the points back for your Mom. Just something to consider. Sorry for all of your problem right out of the gate! Hoping your trip itself is smooth!