1st cruise ever is BOOKED. Let the planning begin!

[misskate28]

Hi!

I have about 1,001 questions for all of the seasoned pro cruise planners out there, but for now I'll just introduce myself I'm Katie.

We're a family of 5:
DH
Me!
DD1 (6)
DD2 (4)
DD3 (18 months)

My family and I are seasoned DLR/DCA veterans. Our 6 year old has already been in the parks 33 days, we held APs for DLR's 60th year, we've attended Dapper Day 3 times, and I've been to the parks while 9 weeks, 6 months, and 7 months pregnant. We are also new DVC members. DH and I are type A planners. We're usually the Go-To-Guys for DLR trip planning advice amongst our friends. However, we have never cruised before. It is so weird and exciting to be newbie Disney cruisers!

We've booked a Cat 4C, 7 night Western Caribbean Merrytime from PC on Nov. 25th. I may or may not be trying to escape hosting Thanksgiving for 20+ relatives for the 8th year in a row (I do Christmas too!). I think Mickey should do the cooking this year!

I look forward to getting to know all of you and picking your brains!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi!

I have about 1,001 questions for all of the seasoned pro cruise planners out there, but for now I'll just introduce myself I'm Katie.

We're a family of 5:
DH
Me!
DD1 (6)
DD2 (4)
DD3 (18 months)

My family and I are seasoned DLR/DCA veterans. Our 6 year old has already been in the parks 33 days, we held APs for DLR's 60th year, we've attended Dapper Day 3 times, and I've been to the parks while 9 weeks, 6 months, and 7 months pregnant. We are also new DVC members. DH and I are type A planners. We're usually the Go-To-Guys for DLR trip planning advice amongst our friends. However, we have never cruised before. It is so weird and exciting to be newbie Disney cruisers!

We've booked a Cat 4C, 7 night Western Caribbean Merrytime from PC on Nov. 25th. I may or may not be trying to escape hosting Thanksgiving for 20+ relatives for the 8th year in a row (I do Christmas too!). I think Mickey should do the cooking this year!

I look forward to getting to know all of you and picking your brains!

 

[misskate28]

Thanks PrincessShmoo!

 

[adg06]

Welcome! We are new cruisers too, and we'll be on the same itinerary and ship just a few weeks before you! Me, DH, DS 9, and DD 4.

 

[rcchello]

A Disney cruise does not need the level of planning that a park trip requires. Unless you decide to eat at Palo or Remy the Dining reservations are all done. You can look at the daily schedule for prior cruises but the ones for your cruise will be different based on movie releases and the talent they hire for your cruise and changes due to weather.
There is also a limited number of choices for each port that will suit your family unless you tour independently.

Have fun planning, but I think you will find this lower stress, because of the lower number of choices. If your kids fall in love with the kids clubs you will have even less to worry about.

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Plan to bring 250 to book a placeholder. It will give you the onboard booking discount on next cruise.

 

[misskate28]

A Disney cruise does not need the level of planning that a park trip requires. Unless you decide to eat at Palo or Remy the Dining reservations are all done. You can look at the daily schedule for prior cruises but the ones for your cruise will be different based on movie releases and the talent they hire for your cruise and changes due to weather.
There is also a limited number of choices for each port that will suit your family unless you tour independently.

Have fun planning, but I think you will find this lower stress, because of the lower number of choices. If your kids fall in love with the kids clubs you will have even less to worry about.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Yay for less stress!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

And now you have 10 posts on the DIS Boards, so you can post pictures, send individual messages to people, etc. We look forward to "seeing" you around!

 

[LSUfan4444]

DH and I are type A planners. We're usually the Go-To-Guys for DLR trip planning advice amongst our friends. However, we have never cruised before. It is so weird and exciting to be newbie Disney cruisers!

The lack of planning needed/required may actually stress you out.

 

[Alicatt]

Yay! We're going on our first too! So exciting!

 

[Dug720]

Plan to bring 250 to book a placeholder. It will give you the onboard booking discount on next cruise.

OR if you know the cruise you want to take and it is open for reservations, you can just book that on board and not mess with the placeholder silliness.

 

[CamColt]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Disney Cruising, Misskate28! I'm sure you will find lots of helpful information here.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Don't forget to slow down just a little and take in the beauty and details of the ship. I believe you are on the Fantasy, make sure you do the Midship Detective Agency with your children. It is an interactive activity that will take you all over the ship trying to solve a mystery/s, there are several to choose from. Even my wife and I enjoy doing this when we are cruising. Our son is grown now so we typically cruise on our own.

 

[GPaLarry]

Don't over-plan for the first cruise. The magic will come to you. Suggest you get your photo taken boarding the ship, have your welcome in the atrium, grab some lunch, tour the ship, swim or tour some more before going to your stateroom, attend the safety drill, unpack, attend the sail away deck party, relax/swim then meet your servers for dinner and maybe go to the show. That is the hectic part. Now, relax, read the Navigator and plan the next day. Do as much or as little as you wish...you are on vacation. We book our excursions in advance (7 cruises), but sometimes let the magic (or fantasy) just happen. The atrium is at the heart of it all. We have been on the Fantasy three times and loved it (Magic 4, loved it, too). Perhaps the best advice is to not try to kill yourself trying to do it all...you can't. However, if you book another cruise while aboard, you can accomplish more later. Don't worry about door decorations or fish extenders. You'll see them around and you can decide later if that is your thing. Set sail and count the hidden Mickeys.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Having taken our son (now almost 16) on 7 DCL cruises (and 2 RC's), there are two issues you may want to consider . . .

First, groundrules for the 4 and 6 year-olds, who may want to spend almost every waking hour in the Oceaneers Club/Lab (they are not so demarcated anymore). For example, you may want to set some rules on dinner, breakfast, shows . . . as a family. But trust me, they will love the cruise and you will love it more, knowing they are happily taken care of without you. It cannot be stressed enough that DCL handles children so, so well . . . and that makes many parents very happy.
.
Second, how much time and $ do you want to spend having your 18-month old taken care of in "It's a Small World"?
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/its-a-small-world-childrens-nursery/
It's not free, like the Oceaneer's Clubs, and space is limited. And it may be precious and fun to watch your little girls play in Nemo's Reef / AquaLab, etc. But I know personally that a few well-timed breaks can be well-worth the very reasonable $9/hr for excellent child-care service. You will want to book some of these times in advance.

Most families with younger children like the early seating for dining, but the later one can work too (there are plenty of free snacks on Deck 9 for those 4pm hunger pangs), as the childcare folks will actually pick up the kids from the dining rooms ~9:30 so the adults can linger.

While the child-care staff can not accept cash tips, small gifts (food, toiletries, etc.) are often appreciated.

 

[misskate28]

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to give me some pointers! We definitely plan on taking advantage of the nursery for our 18 month old. It seems to me that the tricky part is deciding when to make nursery reservations. Since I'm not very familiar with the schedule of shows and such, I'm not exactly sure when to book some time for her.

 

[Dug720]

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to give me some pointers! We definitely plan on taking advantage of the nursery for our 18 month old. It seems to me that the tricky part is deciding when to make nursery reservations. Since I'm not very familiar with the schedule of shows and such, I'm not exactly sure when to book some time for her.

Shows are easy. If you have first seating at dinner, the show is 8:30. If you have second seating at dinner the show is 6:15.

 

[KashasMom]

Welcome!

The very Merrytime cruises are great. The ship is decorated for Christmas with a big gingerbread house in the atrium and the characters are dressed in Christmas attire (for photo opps). There is also a Christmas party with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There will be Christmas-themed activities (making ornaments, etc.) throughout the cruise as well.

Before you cruise sign up for the Princess and Frozen Meet and Greets. Also pre-register your children for the kids' clubs (whether or not they go) - it will save time. And as soon as you board, go to Customer Service to sign up for the gingerbread house making class. There are very limited tickets and it's a lot of fun

 

[misskate28]

Shows are easy. If you have first seating at dinner, the show is 8:30. If you have second seating at dinner the show is 6:15.

We were assigned second seating because of booking late. I know that a lot of people prefer this, but with our 1, 4, and 6 year olds, it won't work. Even tiding them over with a large snack in the late afternoon or early evening won't cut it. They're used to being asleep by 8:00. We're okay pushing that a bit for the kids to see a show once or twice over the course of a week, but it can't be an every night occurrence.

This reminds me that I have to call and get us on the waitlist for first seating though! Does anyone know who I should call? I booked through Costco.

 

[Dug720]

We were assigned second seating because of booking late. I know that a lot of people prefer this, but with our 1, 4, and 6 year olds, it won't work. Even tiding them over with a large snack in the late afternoon or early evening won't cut it. They're used to being asleep by 8:00. We're okay pushing that a bit for the kids to see a show once or twice over the course of a week, but it can't be an every night occurrence.

This reminds me that I have to call and get us on the waitlist for first seating though! Does anyone know who I should call? I booked through Costco.

As I understand it, if you booked with a TA (which though it boggles my mind, Costco is), anything like that has to go through the TA.