1st Cruise - Need advice and tips!!

[LordVader]

In 35 days myself, my wife and our two daughters (2 & 5yrs old) will be boarding our very first cruise on the Disney Wish and it's a Very Merrytime Cruise! I need any advice or tips any one can provide. It's a 4 day cruise.

Food wise, my wife and I are super picky (she's vegetarian) and I'm a burger and chicken strips sort of person. Can myself and my wife order off kids menus at the MDRs if we don't feel adventurous? We are eating at the 8pm dinner as we felt that would give us more time to enjoy the ship?

Our kids don't know about the cruise but I feel my oldest won't want to do the kids club because she's super attached to her younger sister who won't be able to join in. Will there be things for both of them to do on the ship beyond the pools? I know there's character meet and greets and I know they'll love that!

Any advice in general would be tremendous, we already have several types of seasickness medicine just in case. We think we'll be ok as we go on a ton of ferry rides (def a lot shorter than a cruise though lol) and we go on roller coasters and road trips a lot so hoping since none of us get motion sickness we'll be ok.

Thanks everyone!

 

[DisneyConvert]

Wife has many (MANY) food allergies and restrictions, and I've been known to stretch the MDR wait-staff with some extra requests as well. At least on DCL, we've never been disappointed (same can't be said wrto RCCL). Yes, we enjoy late dining as well

Key is to specify request/requirements clearly and involve the Head Waiter. Also, show up on-time so they don't have to scramble. And be patient as special requests may take a while. After the 1st or 2nd Nite, they will anticipate your needs.

Do I need to remind that extra gratuities are usually appropriate as they are often deserved.

Congrats, you picked a great cruise line for your family.

 

[Lumpy1106]

You don't have to worry about food. The wait staff is amazing and they are happy to accommodate any special diet. Example; the family we shared a table with; their son only wanted chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I wanted a glass of milk with dessert. We both asked the first night and both never had to ask again. In fact, the last night the waiter brought a giant plate of chocolate chip cookies. Keep in mind, chocolate chip cookies were not even on the menu!

Be open to do everything. That includes your oldest - do what you can to at least get her to stay at the kids club and give it an honest try. It was my kids' favorite part of the trip. Best part for me is it allowed me to spend time with each of my family members on our own and do special things with each one. You can't really do that if the kids won't spend some time on their own.

Seasickness was not an issue at all.

 

[Geomom]

Yes, anyone can order off the adult and kids menus....so you could have a kids meal and your kids could have an adult one! On the adult menu, there are also 'lighter note' offerings every night--plain chicken, steak, or salmon with rice or baked potato and steamed vegetables.

Your kids can do any of the 'for all ages' activities. There are crafts, movies, meet & greets, pool (if fully potty trained). You could also take both kids into any of the kids clubs during open house hours and they can play together then. Hours will be listed on the DCL navigator app

 

[LordVader]

Thank you everyone! I will definitely try to get my oldest to try the kids club. I just wasn't sure about her going by herself but if she says she wants to than we'll def let her!

Glad to know about the food! I'd def order off the lighter food options but my wife not so much. Does anyone think she could just ask for a veggie burger or a cheese pizza?

One thing I forgot to ask, my wife is OBSESSED with Christmas and wants Christmas merch very badly! On embarkation day, what time does Mickey's Mainsail open and how early would she have to line up? I heard the lines can get nuts but she's absolutely willing to wait early lol.

Guessing if my wife and I want a moment alone to have a drink at one of the bars, we'd need to sign up our youngest for the little kids section? Sadly she's turning 3 just after the cruise and even though she's fully potty trained doubt they'll let her into the kids club with her sister?

 

[Geomom]

A lot of bars are all ages until 9pm?, just double check the app. You can also grab a drink and bring it anywhere on the ship.

There are a couple vegetarian options on every menu. Some off menu items might be easy to get for dinner, others might require a preorder the day before.

I'd say shops usually open around 6pm on embarkation, maybe a little earlier? Usually an hour after setting sail as shops can't be open in ports.

 

[Husker Mike]

Presuming your youngest still needs naps, you can send the oldest to the kids club on a trial run during naptime, under the excuse that "you won't miss anything" with us.

Check out the menus on the Wish ahead of time. If you decide that menus aren't to your liking, feel free to skip the main dining rooms and just grab burgers, chicken strips and pizza on the deck, and enjoy the sunset. (I can hear the gasps, but it's YOUR vacation. Do what makes YOU happy.) You can hang out on deck enjoying the pools while the early diners are getting cleaned up, grab your fast food, then do a quick cleanup and hit the late shows.

 

[dclpluto]

my wife is vegetarian. The vegetarian meals in the mdr are very bad. Yes don’t be afraid to get food from the kids menu. Lots of times for desserts the kids menu will have better food. Red velvet cupcake on one of the nights.

 

[Mags2002]

Thank you everyone! I will definitely try to get my oldest to try the kids club. I just wasn't sure about her going by herself but if she says she wants to than we'll def let her!

Glad to know about the food! I'd def order off the lighter food options but my wife not so much. Does anyone think she could just ask for a veggie burger or a cheese pizza?

One thing I forgot to ask, my wife is OBSESSED with Christmas and wants Christmas merch very badly! On embarkation day, what time does Mickey's Mainsail open and how early would she have to line up? I heard the lines can get nuts but she's absolutely willing to wait early lol.

Guessing if my wife and I want a moment alone to have a drink at one of the bars, we'd need to sign up our youngest for the little kids section? Sadly she's turning 3 just after the cruise and even though she's fully potty trained doubt they'll let her into the kids club with her sister?

I am a CM, I used to work on the Wish so if you have any further questions, let me know!
Unfortunately a 2 year old cannot even be registered for Oceaneers, even if their birthday is during the cruise they can’t go until their actual birthday.
The nursery is still lots of fun! There will be other 2 and 3 year olds there for her to play with. I would suggest going and checking out the spaces during Open House on embarkation day and check out the app for any scheduled programming your older daughter may want to participate in

 

[Lillebelle]

I am a vegetarian and I enjoyed the food on the Wish. Most dinners have a soup option that's vegetarian and the soups are usually good. My kids have ordered every vegetarian kids menu option at some point or other; the red sauce pasta looks ok, the pizza looks meh, and no one will touch the mac n cheese. They mostly eat the table bread and then we're usually able to request some fruit (like apple slices). By midway through our cruise there was always a bowl of apple slices on the table when we got there

My entree recommendations:

Arendelle: Potato Lefse
Worlds of Marvel: Ricotta Gnocchi
1923: Buena Vista Soft Shell Tacos

Also, note that it's worth asking on some non-vegetarian items if they can be made without the meat. Things like salads or a soup with a meat topping like bacon bits can usually be made without the meat. We did a back to back and I wanted to mix things up so on our second time through Worlds of Marvel, I got the "Golden Mystic Pasta" without the scallops and it was also tasty. A lot of the menu items look more adventurous on paper than they actually are. For example, the Potato Lefse sounds crazy on the menu but it was like a glorified potato gratin. The gnocchi had 'caramelized tomato confit' which was literally four half cherry tomatoes that were vaguely charred. Because you can always order something else if you don't like what you got, I'd suggest at least trying to order some of the 'adult' food since you might find something you like!

Lastly, regarding kiddos, the Oceaneer's Club does daily Open House periods where anyone can go in (but parents need to stay with their kids). I'd highly recommend looking in the Navigator when you get onboard for those because you can go to those as a family, and the kids club on the Wish is the best one in the fleet IMHO. The little kid splash area is also really nice on the Wish.

Have an amazing time!

 

[Lumpy1106]

@Mags2002 FTW!
Unfortunately the age restriction is a hard and fast rule. We have 2 older kids and a daughter 9 years younger. We really wanted to do another cruise before the two older kids got too old for the Oceaneer's Club but could not see leaving our youngest in the nursery area for an extended period of time - so we passed. She would have turned 3 the day we got back. Now she's 10 so thinking about it - but it will just be the 3 of us since the two oldest are now in college.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[LordVader]

@Mags2002 Would you be able to tell me which princesses will be on board!? My girls are obsessed with princesses and I'll be doing my best at 8:59:59pm this Friday to try and book them the Royal Gathering! Can my 3yr old go into the nursery with her sister? Wasn't sure if that's allowed?

I definitely plan to visit on open house! The areas are really cool looking and I'm super excited to see how my girls will react to it!

 

[LordVader]

@Lillebelle Thank you for the food recommendations! I'll pass that on to my wife and I'll def try a few things! I'm picky as can be but I'm willing to try things at least once!

Did you ever do breakfast/lunch at one of the MDRs? I heard Marceline Market can be nuts for breakfast so wondering if a sit down would be less crazy?

 

[lanejudy]

Can my 3yr old go into the nursery with her sister?

No, the 5-yr-old will not be allowed at the nursery. Upper age limits are very firm with no exceptions.

Is the younger one 2 or 3? Your first post mentions she is 2, and even if very close to her 3rd birthday she will be limited to the nursery for drop-off care. With their ages right now, you don't really have an option for secured programming that keeps both girls together. As PP mentioned, you can take both to the Club or Lab during Open House times but a parent will need to stay as well. Otherwise if you need adult time, the girls will need to split with the younger one at the nursery and the older one at the Club/Lab.

Be aware that characters can change. Even if a specific princess was at the Royal Gathering just prior that's no guarantee that princess will be available for the Royal Gathering you attend. However, be on the look-out for individual Meet & Greets throughout the cruise with different characters including possibly a princess or two who were not at the Royal Gathering.

 

[MomOTwins]

If you all really just want burgers and veggie burgers you’d probably prefer eating an early dinner at the pool deck where they have those food items available, and then either skipping the MDR except maybe Arendale since you have princess fans. Even then you could eat early and just. have snacks and dessert at the MDR. Especially since late dinner time can be really hard with kids that young anyway.

For the clubs, I am getting a little confused on ages with various posts but nursery is age 3 and below, oceaneers club is age 3-12. If those child care options don’t work, you can do what my husband and I did and take turns babysitting so that other parent could go to an adult only bar or activity.

 

[LordVader]

Sorry if I was confusing about my kids ages! My youngest daughter is 2yrs old and my oldest will be 5 once we go on the cruise.

I saw a previous response say my 5yr old will be too old for the nursery which I get, was really hoping they could stick together but definitely will next time!

 

[Mags2002]

@Mags2002 Would you be able to tell me which princesses will be on board!? My girls are obsessed with princesses and I'll be doing my best at 8:59:59pm this Friday to try and book them the Royal Gathering! Can my 3yr old go into the nursery with her sister? Wasn't sure if that's allowed?

I definitely plan to visit on open house! The areas are really cool looking and I'm super excited to see how my girls will react to it!

The Princesses currently onboard are Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana, Belle and Moana however there could be changes on any cruise

 

[Lillebelle]

Did you ever do breakfast/lunch at one of the MDRs? I heard Marceline Market can be nuts for breakfast so wondering if a sit down would be less crazy?

Yeah, the buffets tend to be very busy at peak hours (particularly in the morning when everyone's trying to get food before they get off the ship). The sit down breakfast/lunch options are definitely much calmer. The only thing to be mindful of is that the hours are more limited so you'll need to make sure you check and get moving in time (especially for breakfast).

The other thing to consider is room service. Room service is included in the cost of your cruise (though you'll want to tip the folks that bring the food) so it's worth considering especially with little kids when getting everyone moving can be...challenging. For breakfast, there is a continental option you order the night before: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/room-service-breakfast/

Then there's more lunch/dinner food that's available the rest of the day and evening on the room service menu, so basics like a flatbread can always be gotten that way. A lot of people like the cheese plate from room service. Looking at the menu, looks like there's now a plant-based chicken sandwich I hadn't noticed before so I'll have to check that out the next time I sail!

Also, the Keg & Compass 'pub grub' has both plant-based chicken tenders and plant-based fish & chips on the menu (plus a giant pretzel!). That food is *not* included in the price of the cruise but is another option if you want something different.

 

[jimmymc]

On the first day, the kid's clubs have an open house where your two daughters can play there together, so I would definitely make time for that.

You'll have no problem ordering from the kid's menus or even from other restaurants. There is also always an option for plain steak, grilled chicken, or salmon with simple sides if you don't want to try anything on the normal menu. I personally like late dinner, since the early one can feel rushed when you're getting back from port and have to quickly change. Late dinner means you go to the early show, so the time exploring the ship is similar, but if you skip the show then you'll have the entire ship to yourself.

In addition to the pools and character meets, there are things like arts and crafts, movies, and minigolf to occupy your sea days.

If you can handle a ferry or roller coasters, you'll almost definitely be fine on the ship, but taking medicine isn't a bad idea. Don't forget to also bring things like advil, tums, and cough drops, since the stores on the ship aren't always open.

 

[kiford]

Can myself and my wife order off kids menus at the MDRs if we don't feel adventurous?

I have several food allergies and sometimes I just order chicken soup off the kid's menu which is pretty much always on it. Caesar salad is also usually available even if not on the menu. They can also take off sauces, put them on the side, substitute veggie or potato/starch if it's something already being served on another dish that night.

On embarkation day, what time does Mickey's Mainsail open and how early would she have to line up? I heard the lines can get nuts but she's absolutely willing to wait early lol.

Keep in mind that the stores cannot open until you get into international waters so it depends on what time you actually push off and when that occurs. My advice is not to go right after the show ends as everyone passes by it and goes in and it's packed. Once that crowd clears, it tends to be less busy. We usually pop in 2-3 times during the cruise because sometimes they refresh the merchandise and it changes from day to day.

Also, note that it's worth asking on some non-vegetarian items if they can be made without the meat.

There are a number of things that they can easily substitute or leave off. I can't eat seafood and I ordered a dish which was garnished with anchovy and they just left it off. Didn't take any extra time. You can also indicate to your server that you're vegetarian and order the night before from the next night's menu which will give them more time to modify your dish. On our last cruise, our server insisted that I do this because of my allergies. I've never bothered before or felt the need because it's usually easy to check or avoid most of my issues but that's what he wanted me to do and it was not really a problem. I typically know in advance because I check the menus well before then (it's on the app and usually outside of the restaurant on the wall plus someone will have posted it on the internet), and it did give them more time to modify my meal and ensure that it was okay for me.