First Time Cruisers-Advice Please!

[cderouen]

Hello! I'm in the process of planning a cruise for my son and myself Dec. 2015 out of Galveston on the Disney Wonder. It's a 6 day Bahama cruise.

My son will be 5 when we go on the cruise. Is there anything special that we must see/do or things we can't miss?! We went to Disney World May 2013 & got to go to Chef Mickey's twice! We loved it, are there any dining experiences like that on the cruise?

Also, which rooms are the best? It doesn't have to be super fancy but are the ones with the ocean view better than the inside staterooms?

Any advice is welcomed. We have never been on a cruise.

I'm planning to work with Dreams Unlimited, just wanted to see what advice is out there before I do!

Thank you!
Chelsea

 

[Parkerpirates]

We are booked on that cruise and while I don't have much advice about the itinerary because we haven't gone on our first DCL cruise, I will say not to wait much longer. I booked on opening day (2 weeks ago) and the prices have already increased twice ($700 more for the room we have).

 

[MouseMomx2]

Character meals are offered on 7-night and longer sailings on the Magic and Wonder. They are not offered on the shorter sailings, nor are they offered on the Dream and Fantasy. There will be lots of opportunities to meet characters, however. They have meet & greets every day and sometimes offer special events like tea with the characters. Just check each day's Navigator to see who will be available.

Staterooms are a matter of preference. We tend to book an Inside cabin as we are not in our room much. There is so much to see and do that would would rather book a less expensive stateroom and use the money to do things on the ship and in port. All of the staterooms are decorated in the same way so the only real difference is in the view. Some of the higher categories do have more space, but we have sailed in an inside with four people with no issues. Whether a verandah or porthole is worth it to you depends on what you like.

 

[jrabbit]

My list of "Must Do's" is a DONT's List

• You Cannot do it all - that's what the next cruises are for
• You Cannot eat it all - but it's a great time to try new foods - don't worry about "wasting" food. If you order something that you don't like, ask for something else. I wouldn't have tried escargot otherwise
• The accumulated "Magical" experiences shared here on the DIS are just that - everyone's individual experiences. They don't happen all of the time ... so... the "Magic" is not a check list of things to be hunted down and marked off and then on to the next Magic. It's Magic, it will find you if you let it!
• Relax - it's a vacation (oh hey - here's the first DO)
• Don't Stress about dinning rotations like lots of people here do. DCL is shopping, cooking and cleaning so whatever rotation you get is fine -- Really!!!!
• Another DO - start packing your dirty clothes about half way through the cruise when you have free moments between activities. The last day is usually crazy with activities and having to pack. If you get packed in time you will be able to attend the " 'Till We Meet Again" event in the atrium. 30 minutes of characters and photos and a last chance to thank the characters, actors and cruise staff for a wonderful vacation
• Go to the shows - they are always less than an hour and for the most part pretty good. Also try to make the activities BETWEEN the Dinner Seatings - there's Mickey Mania, Walk the Plank and sometimes the entertainers. Short and fun!
• Do treat your servers and room steward with respect. They are there to help you have a great vacation --- they are not your slaves (I have seen people treat them as such and it is so sad )
• OK here is another DO -- Do review the Daily Navigator that will be placed in your room each evening. This will show you the next days activities -- and then you will have the hard job of deciding what NOT to attend ... you will be surprised at how difficult this can be sometimes - because there are lots of fun sounding activities.

 

[Parkerpirates]

My list of "Must Do's" is a DONT's List [*]You Cannot do it all - that's what the next cruises are for [*]You Cannot eat it all - but it's a great time to try new foods - don't worry about "wasting" food. If you order something that you don't like, ask for something else. I wouldn't have tried escargot otherwise [*]The accumulated "Magical" experiences shared here on the DIS are just that - everyone's individual experiences. They don't happen all of the time ... so... the "Magic" is not a check list of things to be hunted down and marked off and then on to the next Magic. It's Magic, it will find you if you let it! [*]Relax - it's a vacation (oh hey - here's the first DO) [*]Don't Stress about dinning rotations like lots of people here do. DCL is shopping, cooking and cleaning so whatever rotation you get is fine -- Really!!!! [*]Another DO - start packing your dirty clothes about half way through the cruise when you have free moments between activities. The last day is usually crazy with activities and having to pack. If you get packed in time you will be able to attend the " 'Till We Meet Again" event in the atrium. 30 minutes of characters and photos and a last chance to thank the characters, actors and cruise staff for a wonderful vacation [*]Go to the shows - they are always less than an hour and for the most part pretty good. Also try to make the activities BETWEEN the Dinner Seatings - there's Mickey Mania, Walk the Plank and sometimes the entertainers. Short and fun! [*]Do treat your servers and room steward with respect. They are there to help you have a great vacation --- they are not your slaves (I have seen people treat them as such and it is so sad ) [*]OK here is another DO -- Do review the Daily Navigator that will be placed in your room each evening. This will show you the next days activities -- and then you will have the hard job of deciding what NOT to attend ... you will be surprised at how difficult this can be sometimes - because there are lots of fun sounding activities.

Great advice!!! I'm a newbie and don't get the whole freaking out over a dining rotation. As long as mama's not cooking and cleaning up, I don't care where we eat!!! It won't be our last cruise do if I miss something, I'll catch it next time!

 

[princessmommyx3]

Character meals are offered on 7-night and longer sailings on the Magic and Wonder. They are not offered on the shorter sailings, nor are they offered on the Dream and Fantasy. There will be lots of opportunities to meet characters, however. They have meet & greets every day and sometimes offer special events like tea with the characters. Just check each day's Navigator to see who will be available.

Actually, there may be a character breakfast on this sailing because there are 3 sea days. I sailed on the Magic out of Galveston last year on a 6 night and we had a character breakfast because we had 3 sea days (allowing a morning for each of the 3 dining rotations).

 

[MouseMomx2]

Actually, there may be a character breakfast on this sailing because there are 3 sea days. I sailed on the Magic out of Galveston last year on a 6 night and we had a character breakfast because we had 3 sea days (allowing a morning for each of the 3 dining rotations).

Good to know! Thanks for the correction.

 

[cderouen]

My list of "Must Do's" is a DONT's List

• You Cannot do it all - that's what the next cruises are for
• You Cannot eat it all - but it's a great time to try new foods - don't worry about "wasting" food. If you order something that you don't like, ask for something else. I wouldn't have tried escargot otherwise
• The accumulated "Magical" experiences shared here on the DIS are just that - everyone's individual experiences. They don't happen all of the time ... so... the "Magic" is not a check list of things to be hunted down and marked off and then on to the next Magic. It's Magic, it will find you if you let it!
• Relax - it's a vacation (oh hey - here's the first DO)
• Don't Stress about dinning rotations like lots of people here do. DCL is shopping, cooking and cleaning so whatever rotation you get is fine -- Really!!!!
• Another DO - start packing your dirty clothes about half way through the cruise when you have free moments between activities. The last day is usually crazy with activities and having to pack. If you get packed in time you will be able to attend the " 'Till We Meet Again" event in the atrium. 30 minutes of characters and photos and a last chance to thank the characters, actors and cruise staff for a wonderful vacation
• Go to the shows - they are always less than an hour and for the most part pretty good. Also try to make the activities BETWEEN the Dinner Seatings - there's Mickey Mania, Walk the Plank and sometimes the entertainers. Short and fun!
• Do treat your servers and room steward with respect. They are there to help you have a great vacation --- they are not your slaves (I have seen people treat them as such and it is so sad )
• OK here is another DO -- Do review the Daily Navigator that will be placed in your room each evening. This will show you the next days activities -- and then you will have the hard job of deciding what NOT to attend ... you will be surprised at how difficult this can be sometimes - because there are lots of fun sounding activities.

Great advice. However, I'm not sure if/when my son and I will be able to go back on a Disney Cruise. I learned from going to Disney World that we're not going to be able to see/do everything. I'm not trying to see it all/do it all but I was just hoping for some advice on the best experiences!
Thanks

 

[Drusilla99]

I wouldn't miss the pirate show/party. Even if it means an afternoon nap to stay up that late, it's worth it. Ditto on not worrying about the dining rotation, you eat in all the restaurants, who cares what order. I'm a pretty big control freak & even I think finding out our dining assignment is always a fun surprise!

 

[jrabbit]

the "problem" with the "Best" is that its subjective ...

• The escargot on the ship is really good ... or NOT!!
• Bingo is so much fun .. maybe, but I don't feel like dropping $160 to $300 per session. And really, if you are not playing - its not that much fun even if the cruise staff is very entertaining.
• Buy / Don't buy the pictures from Shutters (They are good or they are expensive depending upon your Point Of View)
• Main Dinning Room dinners have good food :yes: or depending upon your tastes .. NOT

That's why I stick with the "generalities" listed in my prior post

• With the age of your child - standing in line for the characters on the ships is much shorter than in the parks
• You should experience the shows ... people have those they can't stand and those that they love ... but not everyone agrees on the "Best". I say .. go to the shows
• Encourage your child to spend some time in the clubs even if at first they don't like it ... for some children it takes them a little while to warm up to it - some never do.
• Participate in several of the activites that DCL has scheduled ... you might find that you enjoy it. We've started going to more trivia activities ... we meet people there, sometimes we know some answers --- usually we don't!! The Disney Musical ones are fun!
• The "game shows" in Studio Sea (Wonder) or D-Lounge on New ships / Magic - the family night clubs --- are usually a lot of fun. We don't have any of the under 18 age group any more, but still enjoy these activities.
• Spend some time on Deck 4 - out on the Promenade "Track". There are comfy chairs to watch the ocean slide by, shuffleboard and people watching (the walkers and the runners)
• If possible take the ship tour on embarkation day - I don't know if the kids can go to the clubs that early on embarkation day. It will help you orient yourself to the layout of the ship and is informative.

Have Fun!

 

[Four Swampers]

the "problem" with the "Best" is that its subjective ...

• The escargot on the ship is really good ... or NOT!!
• Bingo is so much fun .. maybe, but I don't feel like dropping $160 to $300 per session. And really, if you are not playing - its not that much fun even if the cruise staff is very entertaining.
• Buy / Don't buy the pictures from Shutters (They are good or they are expensive depending upon your Point Of View)
• Main Dinning Room dinners have good food :yes: or depending upon your tastes .. NOT

That's why I stick with the "generalities" listed in my prior post

• With the age of your child - standing in line for the characters on the ships is much shorter than in the parks
• You should experience the shows ... people have those they can't stand and those that they love ... but not everyone agrees on the "Best". I say .. go to the shows
• Encourage your child to spend some time in the clubs even if at first they don't like it ... for some children it takes them a little while to warm up to it - some never do.
• Participate in several of the activites that DCL has scheduled ... you might find that you enjoy it. We've started going to more trivia activities ... we meet people there, sometimes we know some answers --- usually we don't!! The Disney Musical ones are fun!
• The "game shows" in Studio Sea (Wonder) or D-Lounge on New ships / Magic - the family night clubs --- are usually a lot of fun. We don't have any of the under 18 age group any more, but still enjoy these activities.
• Spend some time on Deck 4 - out on the Promenade "Track". There are comfy chairs to watch the ocean slide by, shuffleboard and people watching (the walkers and the runners)
• If possible take the ship tour on embarkation day - I don't know if the kids can go to the clubs that early on embarkation day. It will help you orient yourself to the layout of the ship and is informative.

Have Fun!

This is really good stuff! What you want to do really depends on what you WANT to do. I always take the activities page of the daily Navigator, delivered to your stateroom each night before the day it discusses, and circle the activities that interest me. Mine usually include trivia, beer tasting, rum tasting, any tasting, movies, shows. Then I have the difficult process of deciding which event to choose when two overlap.

Your son will probably fall in love with the kids club. Maybe not, but when Peter Pan comes to play or some other character comes to read a story, how can the kids not love it? It's like a 7 day birthday party with a steady flow of Disney Characters.

The ship's tour is a great suggestion, and I would add that "The Art of the Theme Show Tour," which is an in-depth tour of the ship later in the cruise, is a lot of fun.

 

[Shuherk]

My list of "Must Do's" is a DONT's List [*]You Cannot do it all - that's what the next cruises are for [*]You Cannot eat it all - but it's a great time to try new foods - don't worry about "wasting" food. If you order something that you don't like, ask for something else. I wouldn't have tried escargot otherwise [*]The accumulated "Magical" experiences shared here on the DIS are just that - everyone's individual experiences. They don't happen all of the time ... so... the "Magic" is not a check list of things to be hunted down and marked off and then on to the next Magic. It's Magic, it will find you if you let it! [*]Relax - it's a vacation (oh hey - here's the first DO) [*]Don't Stress about dinning rotations like lots of people here do. DCL is shopping, cooking and cleaning so whatever rotation you get is fine -- Really!!!! [*]Another DO - start packing your dirty clothes about half way through the cruise when you have free moments between activities. The last day is usually crazy with activities and having to pack. If you get packed in time you will be able to attend the " 'Till We Meet Again" event in the atrium. 30 minutes of characters and photos and a last chance to thank the characters, actors and cruise staff for a wonderful vacation [*]Go to the shows - they are always less than an hour and for the most part pretty good. Also try to make the activities BETWEEN the Dinner Seatings - there's Mickey Mania, Walk the Plank and sometimes the entertainers. Short and fun! [*]Do treat your servers and room steward with respect. They are there to help you have a great vacation --- they are not your slaves (I have seen people treat them as such and it is so sad ) [*]OK here is another DO -- Do review the Daily Navigator that will be placed in your room each evening. This will show you the next days activities -- and then you will have the hard job of deciding what NOT to attend ... you will be surprised at how difficult this can be sometimes - because there are lots of fun sounding activities.

There's a lot of great advice in this post. My best advice is RELAX, a Disney cruise can be much more relaxing as a parent then a trip to The World. Have fun and enjoy the experience.

 

[NCCathi]

Cderouen, I'm a single mom taking my 6-yr old daughter on our first cruise next May; I know what you mean about wanting to 'do it right'!
I was miserable at Disneyworld, and a big part of that was because it was just not fun or relaxing for me; I think the cruise, with the kid's club, is going to be awesome! I've also read that sometimes there are singles meetups, which would be nice for meeting other parents.

 

[stewtyl]

Defiantly book soon for great prices but, the rooms on DCL are great much spacious than other lines Ive traveled on. My opinion is that the oceanview are better because you can see dolphins etc. without leaving your room! Im sure you guys will have a blast... Castaway Cay is the best!