How do you fit it all in on embarkation day?

[McDonald5]

We are going on our first Disney (or any) cruise in October. We have early dining b/c we have young kids who are used to eating at 5:30 every night. So my question is, how do you have time to shower/bathe and get dressed/hair done, etc between the sail away party and early dining? I mean, that's only 30 minutes right? We can get ready pretty fast...but not THAT fast! Should we just skip the sail away? We were planning on watching from above anyway and it's not like it's something we HAVE to do (plus, we have a verandah room). I guess I'm just wondering if it's been an issue for anyone else or if maybe I have my times wrong and there's actually an hour in between? Thanks

 

[jdb in AZ]

We are going on our first Disney (or any) cruise in October. We have early dining b/c we have young kids who are used to eating at 5:30 every night. So my question is, how do you have time to shower/bathe and get dressed/hair done, etc between the sail away party and early dining? I mean, that's only 30 minutes right? We can get ready pretty fast...but not THAT fast! Should we just skip the sail away? We were planning on watching from above anyway and it's not like it's something we HAVE to do (plus, we have a verandah room). I guess I'm just wondering if it's been an issue for anyone else or if maybe I have my times wrong and there's actually an hour in between? Thanks

Dinner the first night is basically come as you are (o.k. no swim suits, and supposedly no shorts.) Sometimes the luggage isn't all delivered before dinner, so they certainly don't expect you to show up in your Sunday-go-to-meetin clothes. Relax, it's your vacation. You can bathe after the partying, or the next morning.

 

[TheHannas]

or the next morning.

LOL ewwwwww!

 

[njdisneylovr]

We take our showers the morning of ( we stay the night before in Port Canaveral), so even if we take a quick dip, it's usually just a little freshening up that is needed. We dress for dinner right after the muster drill, go to the sail away party in comfy cruise casual, then have plenty of time to walk around, ave a pre- dinner drink, etc, before our early seating.

 

[n8nally]

I was going to say the same thing. Why shower in between Sail Away and dinner?

My plan is to shower at home, in the morning before I leave for PC. I suppose I would shower at the hotel if I was staying at one. Then in between Sail Away and dinner I would just freshen up and change clothes.

I don't want to miss Sail Away! I don't want to miss anything! And my kids and I intend to dress nicely for dinner, so we will be changing out of shorts/tees/etc into pants/polo shirts/sundresses. But since we don't make it a practice to shower twice in one day, embarkation day will not be an exception!

Hopefully we'll still be clean enough, lol!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Don't miss the sail away. It's loads of fun. We always watch from about but really enjoy it. I would much rather be doing that then getting ready for dinner.

Linda

 

[Castillo Mom]

We don't shower in between the sailaway party and dinner either. We shower the morning of the cruise. As soon as we get on the ship we eat lunch then take care of dinner reservations and any other events we need to sign up for. After that we walk around the ship and take pictures, have a drink. Once the room is ready we settle in, change into our bathing suits and spend a little time at the pool. By this time it's time for the muster drill then the sailaway party. After the party, we go back to the room to change and freshen up for the show and second seating for dinner. After dinner we keep exploring the ship and to bed pretty late. I admit that first day is pretty fast-paced!

 

[Spwhoney]

What do you plan on wearing to the sail away party? You wont need to dress up the first night. Just go to dinner at your scheduled time. Just no swim suits in MDR. Besides formal night its pretty casual in the MDR. We wore jeans, tee shirts, just what we wore throughout the day. Most people did. Its not as fancy as some people make it out to be, only formal night.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had time between the party and the show (we had late dining) so shouldn't there be time before your dinner seating?

 

[Smith70592]

We are going on our first Disney (or any) cruise in October. We have early dining b/c we have young kids who are used to eating at 5:30 every night. So my question is, how do you have time to shower/bathe and get dressed/hair done, etc between the sail away party and early dining? I mean, that's only 30 minutes right? We can get ready pretty fast...but not THAT fast! Should we just skip the sail away? We were planning on watching from above anyway and it's not like it's something we HAVE to do (plus, we have a verandah room). I guess I'm just wondering if it's been an issue for anyone else or if maybe I have my times wrong and there's actually an hour in between? Thanks

My wife takes longer to getting ready to go somewhere more than anyother person I ever meet in my entire life, so I get this, but she would never skip out on the sail away party before going to early dining!!! luggage delivered @ 2, enough time to get ready for muster drill 4:00
and 4:30 will begin sail away party

 

[neg58]

Usually the sail away party is 4:30 and it finishes right at 5 and the ship takes off. You could hurry to your room at 5 and do all the getting ready because dinner isn't until 5:45 . But only if you feel you need to change. You could shower before the muster drill if you've been doing full out swimming, sweating, etc. all day.

Nancy

 

[McDonald5]

I guess I was just figuring we'd all need showers after being in the pool for a couple hours then standing around in the florida sun/heat watching the show (we're from Ohio....we melt in that kind of heat and humidity ) before sitting down to dinner. I know I don't particularly want to go to dinner with chlorine hair, BO, and make-up melting down my face (not that I wear it during the day, but I'd wear it to dinner). We'd look like a bunch of rag-a-muffins, as my grandma would say. IDK, I guess I'm in the minority...

 

[McDonald5]

Usually the sail away party is 4:30 and it finishes right at 5 and the ship takes off. You could hurry to your room at 5 and do all the getting ready because dinner isn't until 5:45 . But only if you feel you need to change. You could shower before the muster drill if you've been doing full out swimming, sweating, etc. all day.

Nancy

I thought it was at 5 and ended at 5:30. Then dinner at 6. Oy. Maybe I'm all messed up on my times....

 

[Moxin]

My first cruise was on the Magic in Oct of 98...I do remember it being rather hectic that first day, trying to soak it all in. 8 cruises later, I still think that first day is a bit fast paced, but I wouldn't trade my early dining for anything.

I think the earlier you get on the ship, especially if it's your first cruise, the more time you have to kind of get oriented and settle in. If you're getting on later in the afternoon, you really might feel overwhelmed.

Anyways, best thing to do when you get on board is...RELAX!!!!!!!

 

[lorenni]

Sail away is good for about 5 minutes but otherwise its loud and crowded. You can easily watch from above (with half of your fellow passengers) for a few minutes then head off to get ready!

 

[McDonald5]

My wife takes longer to getting ready to go somewhere more than anyother person I ever meet in my entire life, so I get this, but she would never skip out on the sail away party before going to early dining!!! luggage delivered @ 2, enough time to get ready for muster drill 4:00
and 4:30 will begin sail away party

Thanks. We really don't take that long. It's just that I end up having to get myself and all 3 kids ready pretty much by myself so it can take 45 mins or more if we're doing anything more than running a brush through the girls hair.

 

[CrawfordMomof2]

Thanks. We really don't take that long. It's just that I end up having to get myself and all 3 kids ready pretty much by myself so it can take 45 mins or more if we're doing anything more than running a brush through the girls hair.

I know how you feel. I only have 2 kids, but some days it takes forever!

 

[McDonald5]

I know how you feel. I only have 2 kids, but some days it takes forever!

Haha. Yep. And even once they're dressed and ready, then it's having to find everyones shoes (and waiting around for them to put them on) and "Can I bring this toy with me?" "If she's bringing a doll, I want to bring one too." "I have to go to the bathroom again." LOL

 

[amyh13]

If you have never cruised before, you will learn the art of "freshening up" very quickly. Hit the high spots and keep going.

 

[SuperDry]

Thanks. We really don't take that long. It's just that I end up having to get myself and all 3 kids ready pretty much by myself so it can take 45 mins or more if we're doing anything more than running a brush through the girls hair.

Keep in mind that most cabins have the Disney "split bath" that you won't find on most other cruises: one bathroom has a toilet and sink, and a completely separate bathroom as a shower/tub and sink. So, even though they are small, people can be doing completely different things in each room at the same time.