January 22, 2016 3 Night Bahama Cruise
- Thread starter Veronica_Andersen
- Start date
soufflegirl
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
We have had a change of plans and won't be doing the cruise this time. Have a great time on board and enjoy your cruise.
Korea Ears
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 10, 2006
Joining this group. Not sure about Fish Extender at this time.
This will be my family's first Disney Cruise. How do you sign up for fish extenders??? All help will be appreciated thank you
How can I join the fish extender group???
markheardjr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2012
Hello everyone! My wife Melanie and I will be on this cruise! It will be Melanie's 30th birthday when we are on Castaway Cay!! (Shhh, I didn't tell you her age!) This will be our fourth Disney Cruise. We switched from the Star Wars at Sea cruise to this one. We just did the 4 night Dream cruise to the Bahamas in May. We will be joining the fish extender too.
markheardjr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2012
Hmm, I posted some tips but I guess it didn't post correctly. I'll try again.
markheardjr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2012
I posted this before my 2nd cruise, but I'll update now after I've done 3 Disney cruises now. Some tips, from a once-before cruiser. Mostly just ramblings of things I can think of on the spot! haha.
• Bring water bottles, the big ones. You can fill them up for excursions before you leave the boat.
•If you are a soda drinking family, there is a soda machine near the buffet and you can fill up the same bottles or bring others. The soda can be a little flat from those machines though so perhaps a bottle with an internal cooling core thingy would be best so it doesn't get watered down and flat-er.
• You can mix the chocolate ice cream with a little hot coffee and stir it up for a mocha milkshake. Or reverse the portions and do coffee with a little chocolate ice cream. Yum!
• Prepare to walk a lot. Going from front to back and back and forth was more walking than I expected. Stairs, elevators, etc. Comfy deck shoes are a must!
• The movies are cool, free, 3D, and easy to hop in and out. They play them in your room too, but the TV's are small. If you guys like movies you'll see a lot of newer Disney movies there. Also the bigger ships (Which we're on) have on-demand disney movies. Get familiar with your remote early to figure it out. We loved watching Pirates of the Caribbean while we were on the Caribbean!!
• Board games are fun, if you have some favorites, bring some with you, you'll have time to play them while you relax, they do have some at a few of the bar areas. We don't have a sea day this time though, so maybe not as many as a cruise with 3+ sea days. Shorter cruises you can explore more.
• Pace your eating. You will eat a lot! And don't be afraid to ask for ANYTHING. If you want kids mac n' cheese every night as a starter, just say that. If you want grilled chicken on your caeser salad, let them know. If you want 1 of every desert, or 2 of your favorite, ask and don't be afraid, even if it's not on the menu. I get an "appetizer" portion of entres I just want to try for the fun of it. It's like half size a full meal. I feel zero guilt tossing it if I don't like it.
• You only have 1 "real" excursion day this cruise. It's the only time you'll be off the boat. I highly suggest a Disney led excursion. Takes away all stress. It garauntees you get back on the boat in time or Disney foots the bill to get you to Castaway Cay after Nassau.
• Plan for the weather. You may not expect to get sunburnt, but the marine layer just intensifies and magnifies the sun, so prepare. January in tropics should be mild. But be prepared.
• Go as formal as you like, or as non-formal. On our trip to Europe, the cruise was week 1 of 4. I was not going to lug around a tuxedo for 3 other weeks for 1 night on the boat. I wore dress khakis and a button up blue shirt. I was fine. You can rent a tux, but it's $$$.
• YOU MUST go to Palo and YOU MUST get the chocolate souffle!! MUST! Say it with me "I promise to give myself chocolate soufflé at Palo." "I may skip lunch so I can have 2 soufflé's at Palo..." oh wait, was that out loud? Prebook if you can and if you miss, try first thing on the boat to find the Palo host and book it. (Personal preference, I wasn't a huge fan of Palo brunch. Dinner is far nicer.)
• Prepare to tip at Palo, only time on the boat really. Remember you have to tip the waiter, head waiter, and room service folks too. There is a tipping list, but don't let it catch you off guard.
• Bring some snacks. Skittles or M&M's will be a lot cheaper at Wal-Mart than the concessions before the evening shows. If your kids are nibblers you'll want some snacks for the shows. Caramel Corn from the Disney parks is our favorite. But on the boat its like $5.
• Buy those $1 glow necklace things for walking on the boat at night. They're cheap and fun. Perfect for the dance party on night one so you can see your kids in the crowd easy.
• Bring a small camera. Big cameras are nice, but to lug it around gets old. But the pictures they take are CRAZY expensive, so snap as many of your own as you can. I got an underwater bag for my iphone. It worked. I was just too chicken to use it for an hour snorkeling at Castaway Cay.
• Splurge on something to remember your cruise! Buy a Dooney & Burke handbag, or a nice picture frame, or an outfit before you leave. Something to make you feel regal. The ship will make you feel that way by itself, but splurging a little makes it oh so better.
• If you're a wine drinker, you can bring bottles on or back from your excursion. You just have to drink it in your room. But we bought wine glasses, filled up and carried it out with us. Noone said anything. I know the policy changed but you can still carry on a certain amount. I think that means at each excursion stop too, so if you drank your first two bottles on night 1, buy more at Nassau.
• Also, I highly suggest the Dolphin swim at Atlantis. We did this last time. Plan on an extra $100 for the pictures afterwards. But we had time to explore Atlantis before our swim and after. Before we walked "The Dig" and "Predator tunnel" or whatever it is called and the casino areas. Afterwards we walked to the boat docks on the other side and had some amazing Daquiri's.
• Watch the sunsets if you can! Or go out at night and just check out the stars / far off storms.
• Let the kids roam if they want to. Everyone is friendly, they can't go anywhere. Let them stretch a little. In the evening, I suggest a comedy show, karaoke, or game show. They are so much fun. Just prepare, if you're a drinker it can get expensive. I don't drink much, so it was just fun to watch.
• Download the app, it has the daily navigator, daily food menus, chat feature, etc. (Hint, if you see food a different restaurant you want that night and it isn't at yours, ask. They may bring you something from the other one, it's all one big kitchen in the background.
• Order room service! The breakfast is nice, the cookies aren't as good as I'd like but the rest is good and it's just a few dollars tip to the food runner. We usually get breakfast buffet mornings before excursions, but sea days we like to order room service and sleep in.
• If you like pin trading bring cheap trader pins. Not the books of LE pins. There is hardly any LE trading on board and lots of hidden mickey books on lanyards and in the stores. Also there is officer trading night which is usually pretty busy and the lanyards get picked over really fast.
Ok, this is long, so finally...BE A KID!! Disney is amazing, no one grows up! Let your inner kid out. Be goofy. Do the funny faces, or poses, or dress up for Pixar night or whatever. Just enjoy it all. Soak it in. You'll be asking when can I book cruise #2!! Haha.
• Bring water bottles, the big ones. You can fill them up for excursions before you leave the boat.
•If you are a soda drinking family, there is a soda machine near the buffet and you can fill up the same bottles or bring others. The soda can be a little flat from those machines though so perhaps a bottle with an internal cooling core thingy would be best so it doesn't get watered down and flat-er.
• You can mix the chocolate ice cream with a little hot coffee and stir it up for a mocha milkshake. Or reverse the portions and do coffee with a little chocolate ice cream. Yum!
• Prepare to walk a lot. Going from front to back and back and forth was more walking than I expected. Stairs, elevators, etc. Comfy deck shoes are a must!
• The movies are cool, free, 3D, and easy to hop in and out. They play them in your room too, but the TV's are small. If you guys like movies you'll see a lot of newer Disney movies there. Also the bigger ships (Which we're on) have on-demand disney movies. Get familiar with your remote early to figure it out. We loved watching Pirates of the Caribbean while we were on the Caribbean!!
• Board games are fun, if you have some favorites, bring some with you, you'll have time to play them while you relax, they do have some at a few of the bar areas. We don't have a sea day this time though, so maybe not as many as a cruise with 3+ sea days. Shorter cruises you can explore more.
• Pace your eating. You will eat a lot! And don't be afraid to ask for ANYTHING. If you want kids mac n' cheese every night as a starter, just say that. If you want grilled chicken on your caeser salad, let them know. If you want 1 of every desert, or 2 of your favorite, ask and don't be afraid, even if it's not on the menu. I get an "appetizer" portion of entres I just want to try for the fun of it. It's like half size a full meal. I feel zero guilt tossing it if I don't like it.
• You only have 1 "real" excursion day this cruise. It's the only time you'll be off the boat. I highly suggest a Disney led excursion. Takes away all stress. It garauntees you get back on the boat in time or Disney foots the bill to get you to Castaway Cay after Nassau.
• Plan for the weather. You may not expect to get sunburnt, but the marine layer just intensifies and magnifies the sun, so prepare. January in tropics should be mild. But be prepared.
• Go as formal as you like, or as non-formal. On our trip to Europe, the cruise was week 1 of 4. I was not going to lug around a tuxedo for 3 other weeks for 1 night on the boat. I wore dress khakis and a button up blue shirt. I was fine. You can rent a tux, but it's $$$.
• YOU MUST go to Palo and YOU MUST get the chocolate souffle!! MUST! Say it with me "I promise to give myself chocolate soufflé at Palo." "I may skip lunch so I can have 2 soufflé's at Palo..." oh wait, was that out loud? Prebook if you can and if you miss, try first thing on the boat to find the Palo host and book it. (Personal preference, I wasn't a huge fan of Palo brunch. Dinner is far nicer.)
• Prepare to tip at Palo, only time on the boat really. Remember you have to tip the waiter, head waiter, and room service folks too. There is a tipping list, but don't let it catch you off guard.
• Bring some snacks. Skittles or M&M's will be a lot cheaper at Wal-Mart than the concessions before the evening shows. If your kids are nibblers you'll want some snacks for the shows. Caramel Corn from the Disney parks is our favorite. But on the boat its like $5.
• Buy those $1 glow necklace things for walking on the boat at night. They're cheap and fun. Perfect for the dance party on night one so you can see your kids in the crowd easy.
• Bring a small camera. Big cameras are nice, but to lug it around gets old. But the pictures they take are CRAZY expensive, so snap as many of your own as you can. I got an underwater bag for my iphone. It worked. I was just too chicken to use it for an hour snorkeling at Castaway Cay.
• Splurge on something to remember your cruise! Buy a Dooney & Burke handbag, or a nice picture frame, or an outfit before you leave. Something to make you feel regal. The ship will make you feel that way by itself, but splurging a little makes it oh so better.
• If you're a wine drinker, you can bring bottles on or back from your excursion. You just have to drink it in your room. But we bought wine glasses, filled up and carried it out with us. Noone said anything. I know the policy changed but you can still carry on a certain amount. I think that means at each excursion stop too, so if you drank your first two bottles on night 1, buy more at Nassau.
• Also, I highly suggest the Dolphin swim at Atlantis. We did this last time. Plan on an extra $100 for the pictures afterwards. But we had time to explore Atlantis before our swim and after. Before we walked "The Dig" and "Predator tunnel" or whatever it is called and the casino areas. Afterwards we walked to the boat docks on the other side and had some amazing Daquiri's.
• Watch the sunsets if you can! Or go out at night and just check out the stars / far off storms.
• Let the kids roam if they want to. Everyone is friendly, they can't go anywhere. Let them stretch a little. In the evening, I suggest a comedy show, karaoke, or game show. They are so much fun. Just prepare, if you're a drinker it can get expensive. I don't drink much, so it was just fun to watch.
• Download the app, it has the daily navigator, daily food menus, chat feature, etc. (Hint, if you see food a different restaurant you want that night and it isn't at yours, ask. They may bring you something from the other one, it's all one big kitchen in the background.
• Order room service! The breakfast is nice, the cookies aren't as good as I'd like but the rest is good and it's just a few dollars tip to the food runner. We usually get breakfast buffet mornings before excursions, but sea days we like to order room service and sleep in.
• If you like pin trading bring cheap trader pins. Not the books of LE pins. There is hardly any LE trading on board and lots of hidden mickey books on lanyards and in the stores. Also there is officer trading night which is usually pretty busy and the lanyards get picked over really fast.
Ok, this is long, so finally...BE A KID!! Disney is amazing, no one grows up! Let your inner kid out. Be goofy. Do the funny faces, or poses, or dress up for Pixar night or whatever. Just enjoy it all. Soak it in. You'll be asking when can I book cruise #2!! Haha.
Last edited:
PrincessShmoo
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
Be aware of policy change (posted Nov 2014):
Moving forward there will be a new infraction "Attempting to lure DIS members to post private information on other sites". It will be a 40 point violation.
Links to Cruise Meet discussion/Fish Extenders other than those on the DIS may not be posted or offered by any other means (PM, email, "search" directions) and we expect that those who have already posted such links/offers will remove them.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/im...uise-meet-and-fish-extender-programs.3353477/
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi. This will be our 5th Disney cruise. My husband, me & our 9 yr old son will be going. We are going to Disney World first.
I emailed the person for the fish extender group.
markheardjr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2012
1 day of work left!!
LydiaDaily
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2016
Hi everyone! My name is Lydia, this is our first family cruise and we can't wait!!! My husband and I have been on other cruises before but not with our daughters (ages 3 and 5).
There are so many good tips here! I just found this message board tonight, but we would love to take part in the fish extender.
How do I participate?
Also, any tips for what to pack or not to pack would be great!
There are so many good tips here! I just found this message board tonight, but we would love to take part in the fish extender.
How do I participate?
Also, any tips for what to pack or not to pack would be great!
Last edited:
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