Need advice for first time cruisers.

[hilltopfamily]

We are in the process of booking a 3 day land/4 day cruise, which will be our first. We received a quote for a stay at Polynesian Resort and a catagory 4 stateroom #8072-which appears to be below the Mickey pool/waterslide. Does anybody have any experience or advice they would like to pass on to us? Also, can someone advise us about early vs. late dinner (3 kids ages 6,9,12).

Thanks in advance.

 

[prymsu]

you might want to price each part of your trip separately, as you might save a chunk of change by doing this.

as far as dining goes, we typically have first seating, because i know my son wouldn't last until late seating, and at home we usuallyu eat dinner early...

 

[prymsu]

you might want to price each part of your trip separately, as you might save a chunk of change by doing this.

as far as dining goes, we typically have first seating, because i know my son wouldn't last until late seating, and at home we usuallyu eat dinner early...

 

[magic cruiser]

First, you're going to love cruising !! We've been on several cruises and have only done the late seating once. We said we'd never do it again,because once your through eatting the evenings almost over ! Unless you're nightowls ! The only drawback is when you're in port. Some people say they feel rushed.( we don't ) But you can always eat at Topsidders...have a wonderful, casual meal,don't have to get dressed up, and you don't have to be there at any certain time !

Don't miss : DisneyDreams show, chocolate chip cookies from room service, relaxing in the deck chairs on Deck 4, get up early and enjoy the whole day on Castaway Cay plus get a good spot.It's the best cruise-owned island anywhere !

Don't forget : Sunscreen...even when it's cloudy !!!!! , don't take too many clothes..laundry rooms on ship if nec, water shoes for beaches

Most imp....Have FUN and don't expect everything to go perfect, although it will come pretty close !!

 

[hilltopfamily]

thanks so much for the replies, hope to receive any/all helpful info, especially in regards to stateroom #8072 on board--is this a less than desireable location? Is the kids pool/waterslide above us closed @ a reasonable hour @ night? Don't mind the noise during day as will be up & on our way by then.
prysmu--- thanks for the thoughts re: separate pricing. I did try looking @ 4 day cruise & accomodations for 3 days on Disney property on my own, but with 5 people in room, we were severely limited as to hotel accomodations (i.e. only 4 allowed @ lower priced value, etc. hotels). This combined w/park tickets put us pretty close to quote provided by Dreams Unlimited.
Magic Cruiser--- great thoughts on trip overall and especially about late dinner, will certainly go for the early seating as we are NOT nightowls! You mentioned room service (for cookies, yum!) & got me thinking---is room service extra $'s? What if you want meal this way, any extra $'s and what to tip also?

Another thought, anyone out there do the Atlantis excursion? Since my DD (12) saw the Mary-Kate & Ashley movie w/Atlantis in it, she just HAS to go see it. I've seen posts regarding a "dig" but have no knowledge of what this is, etc. Any info?

thanks again for the great help-

 

[magic cruiser]

Room Service doesn't cost anything unless you order alcoholic drinks or sodas. But you always need to tip, usually $2. Yes, if you want to eat a meal in your room that's fine. Naturally, there are limited choices. If you have a veranda cabin it's really neat to eat a relaxing breakfast looking at the beautiful ocean !

 

[elemusing]

Hi! We went on the cruise in 2000 and are going back this summer with our son. We are so excited! We did NOT do any excursions last time we were in Nassau, but this time, I was thinking of doing Atlantis too. I have really been researching and here is what I found. The Dig is the name of the walk-through glass aquarium. The water slides apparently have see through walls and you can see people going through the acquarium on the slides!

You can go to Atlantis and pay $25 per person to go through it, or you can do what many people do and request a "dayroom" when you arrive. From what I have read, it will cost around $200, but will give you access to the beach, pools, water slides, AND the DIG. Or you can get a dayroom at the Comfort Suites for a bit less and they also give access to everything at Atlantis for free with your room.

Here are a couple of links that I have found to be invaluable:

A thread on a past DIS board regarding Atlantis: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=304096&highlight=Atlantis+Resort

And also be sure to visit www.atlantis.com They have a GREAT website with lots of pictures.

The website for the comfort suites is: http://www4.choicehotels.com/ires/e...otel=full&expanded=&city_name=Paradise+Island

and click on the bottom choice. A box will popup and give you pictures and info on it.


We plan NOT to do the excursion because DS does not like to do water slides yet as he can't swim and I don't want to pay alot just for swimming, so we are going to just take a taxi over (I hear the water taxis can get overloaded and are time consuming??) The taxi ride, from what I ahve read, should be no more that $4 per person each way. Then we are going to do the $25 thing where we can tour the facilities and the DIG.

Hope this is helpful. Maybe someone who has been can give us BOTH some more pointers???

Angie

 

[kasar]

Visitors are not allowed to use the pools or waterslides which disappointed our girls (they love "Holiday in the Sun" as well!). You can get a day room at the hotel if they are available (w/5 people it may be worth the $$$, especially if you're considering other excursions) and you can use the pools.

The Dig is nice. It covers a lot of area and there are some beautiful things to see. We chose not to go again this year because, although it's beautiful, the fish are pretty much the same as the ones in the aquarium near our house. We didn't do the beach excursion, so I can't offer any help there.

Try for the early seating if possible. If you get late and want to change, make sure you are one of the first in line at WaveBands. You may get lucky. Good luck.

 

[hilltopfamily]

WOW! Thanks so much for all the great info!

First off, I did as recommended and have gotten much better rates by doing land separate from cruise. Also, have received substantial rate savings by following advice on other thread (we accidentally submitted original thread 2 times as AOL "timed out" on us during initial submission) by looking into 2 adjoining lower category rooms rather than booking category 4 family veranda room. I think we'll likely go this route w/a stay in 2 adjouning rooms (though w/windows instead of veranda) AND *2* Bathrooms (probably best decision I will make on this whole trip).

Secondly: Now I know what a "dig" is! Thought it had to do w/archeology at first! Great info regarding Atlantis, thanks.

Lastly: Plan to do the early seating to avoid sleeping children on dinner table (hopefully early will be available to us)-----probably 2nd best decision I will make.

thanks again, Penny