1st Time Cruiser = Questions

[ZeonStar]

Hi all.

Though our Cruise is still 4 months away, I thought I would get started on this. I am sure some of these are probably repeats, but forgive me.

Our Cruise is November 24th, 7 day Eastern Caribbean. It's actually me and my Fiancee's Honeymoon, or part of it I should say, and our very first Cruise ever. We heard the Disney ones were the best, and we adore Disney so... no problem there. I proposed at WDW so not surprising the word "Disney" is involved in our Honeymoon!

Now the onslaut of questions!

Dining:

1. How many nights does the rotational dining happen? Is it all 7 nights?
2. On the days we are going to islands, do we still return to ship and have dinner?
3. I'm a little unclear how exactly what food is INCLUDED. Is room service part of our payment or extra? Could we (In theory) have Breakfast in our room every morning as part of our package deal?
4. We are on the second seating dining. I know it has 3 times, do we pick which one, or does DCL?

4. I saw where they have these private Hottubs in a spa like place RIGHT by a rail overlooking the water. How do I book something like that? I know DF wants to do that, and so do I.

5. I have read briefly about NON DCL excursions. Would you recommend this for first timers or should we stick with the Disney ones? We actually didn't even know there was an option NOT to do the Disney ones till I was reading it on here!. We have extra money set aside just for excursion. Ideally we want to do some kind of snorkling, some kind of dolphin Encounter, Parasailing, and I personally have wanted to rent some kind of Jet Ski all my life! Of the 3 islands we will be at, can we do all these things?

I will stop for now. Can't think of anything else. Those are the "Big questions".

 

[Sarangel]

DH proposed on DCL & we've cruised 5 times. Answers below:

1. How many nights does the rotational dining happen? Is it all 7 nights?

Yes, you rotate every night between the three main restaurants. You'll see people abbreviate the dining rotations like so "PLAPLAP," which is Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay. Some people like to be in Lumiere's on formal night & Parrot Cay on Pirate night. I don't think it really matters. Also, you don't *have* to go to your assigned restaurant - you can reserve a table up at Palo, order room service, or eat at Topsider's.

2. On the days we are going to islands, do we still return to ship and have dinner?

We always did, because I refuse to pay for food when I don't need to, but it's really a choice... Depending on when the ship leaves, of course.

3. I'm a little unclear how exactly what food is INCLUDED. Is room service part of our payment or extra? Could we (In theory) have Breakfast in our room every morning as part of our package deal?

Yes, you could in theory order room service every morning (except debarkation day). I've found the food to be better at one of the sit down restaurants (you can go to any of them) or at Topsiders, since the room service menu is somewhat limited. Your alcohol and any specialty drinks (smoothies, cafe lattes, etc) are NOT included in your fare and will cost you extra, as will dinner and/or brunch at Palo - which I heartily recommend.

4. We are on the second seating dining. I know it has 3 times, do we pick which one, or does DCL?

This one, I'm not sure about. I think DCL picks.

4. I saw where they have these private Hottubs in a spa like place RIGHT by a rail overlooking the water. How do I book something like that? I know DF wants to do that, and so do I.

mmmm.... Spa Villas. Do it. You can try to book them online as soon as you can make online reservations (75 days out?), or you can go to the spa as soon as you get on the ship & see if they have any space left. DH & I did this on Key West day last Sept and it was wonderful.

5. I have read briefly about NON DCL excursions. Would you recommend this for first timers or should we stick with the Disney ones? We actually didn't even know there was an option NOT to do the Disney ones till I was reading it on here!. We have extra money set aside just for excursion. Ideally we want to do some kind of snorkling, some kind of dolphin Encounter, Parasailing, and I personally have wanted to rent some kind of Jet Ski all my life! Of the 3 islands we will be at, can we do all these things?

This, again, I'm not much use on... It's been over 5 years since we did the Eastern route & we only did DCL excursions then. I'm sure that you'll find how viable various excursions are from other DISers.

Enjoy your trip. I know you'll love it.

 

[ZeonStar]

Thank you for the answers. I can't think of any follow up questions right now, except for maybe the questions you weren't sure about. I love all that's included in the price of the cruise, we think it's great. Being I don't drink, I will so love the Free sodas.

I think we'll probably go out of our room for breakfasts after this info. Maybe do a character breakfast. We are so excited about this trip. My fiancee was telling me just a few mintes ago on the phone how excited she gets when we mention it, like it's "really happening."

And it is, we fully paid it off last week. And Palo is a given, of course.

She lives in SF like you, Sarangel.

Oh. Ok I do wanna ask one thing, about the 3 dining place rotation. How is that picked or decided? With Palo as one of our dinners, we will have 6 nights in the rotation, or goto each place twice? Do I have that right?

 

[Grandma4ever]

Thank you for the answers. I can't think of any follow up questions right now, except for maybe the questions you weren't sure about. I love all that's included in the price of the cruise, we think it's great. Being I don't drink, I will so love the Free sodas.

I think we'll probably go out of our room for breakfasts after this info. Maybe do a character breakfast. We are so excited about this trip. My fiancee was telling me just a few mintes ago on the phone how excited she gets when we mention it, like it's "really happening."

And it is, we fully paid it off last week. And Palo is a given, of course.

She lives in SF like you, Sarangel.

Oh. Ok I do wanna ask one thing, about the 3 dining place rotation. How is that picked or decided? With Palo as one of our dinners, we will have 6 nights in the rotation, or goto each place twice? Do I have that right?

That depend on when you go to Palos. You end in the same resturant that you start in. So it is possible to go to one of the resturants only once. Some folks recomend making the Palo ressie at a time which will allow you to go to your regular dinning and just not eat much in the regular resturant. The problem with that is I don't want to miss the shows and you go to the shows while the other dinner seating is eating. So I choose to go to Palo later in the week and miss one of my regular rotations. Totally confused? Hope not. Lois

 

[ZeonStar]

Yeah I am a little confused! Without Palo, wouldn't it be 7 nights worth of the 3 resturants? From Saturday to the following Friday is 7 nights for meals. Unless you don't goto one of the 3 the first night? Again this is all new to me.

Also, I suppose there is no way to know the movie theater schedules and stage shows and all that until you are on the ship right? We want to do as much of the onboard stuff as possible. One of the reason I choose the Eastern was because it had one more day at sea than on land.

 

[aidanht]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You will have a fabulous honeymoon on the Magic!!!

To hopefully clear up your confusion . . . you will be assigned to a dinner rotation which will have each restaurant twice and one of them three times, for a total of 7 (2 + 2 + 3). Disney will choose which time you go (8:00, 8:15 or 8:30, if I'm remembering correctly); if it is really important to you, you can call and request one of them, although they don't guarantee it.

As for the movies and on-board activities, once it gets closer to your cruise, you can check the Navigators that people will post here on Disboards to get an idea of what the schedule will be. The exact times might change, but it will be pretty close, and most of the movies will still be the same. I'll be going a couple of weeks before you (11/10) and would be happy to give you any specific info you'd like once I get back.

The Disney excursions have the benefit of convenience and are great if you aren't used to traveling because everything is taken care of for you. Often you can save money by doing things on your own if you feel comfortable doing it. We haven't done the eastern before, so I can't give you any specific advice, but if you read people's trip reports you can get a really good idea of what non-Disney things people do in port and how they do it. Also, if you don't have the Passporter's Guide, it is extremely helpful as a reference.

Do not skip Palo; it is wonderful. Also, if you are into spas at all, be sure to check out the rainforest room early in the cruise; it might be something you'll want to fit in every day. (Some people love it; for others, it's not their thing.)

All that said, I'll give you some unsolicited advice -- don't worry about the details too much!! One of the very best things about the cruise will be the fact that you can pretty much decide what you want to do at that particular minute and go and do it, and it will all be good!

 

[Grandma4ever]

Yeah I am a little confused! Without Palo, wouldn't it be 7 nights worth of the 3 resturants? From Saturday to the following Friday is 7 nights for meals. Unless you don't goto one of the 3 the first night? Again this is all new to me.

Also, I suppose there is no way to know the movie theater schedules and stage shows and all that until you are on the ship right? We want to do as much of the onboard stuff as possible. One of the reason I choose the Eastern was because it had one more day at sea than on land.

Let me try this again. You rotate through the resturants ABCABCA. DCL picks the roations but you will go to the resturants in the same order twice and end in the first one. So if you go to Palo on the 2nd,3rd,5th or 6th night you will only go to that resturant the one time. I would not want to miss the frist three nights but everyone is different. DCL picks the time you eat and that is based on the rotation. Some folks have a real preference and request ahead of time a rotation. I prefer to just let what will be and it has alwayed worked. I hope this is a little clearer than mud. If not maybe someone else can try to explain it.

As far as the movies there is a number you can call the week before to get what shows are showing. In the main theater if you use the boards and check out the past navagators that are posted you can get an idea of what is offered. Maybe someone can post a link to the navagators?

 

[dahuffy]

Here's a link to past Navigators. http://www.disneycruiser.info/dclindex.htm

You only eat in 1 resturaunt per night. And there's only one Character Breakfast per cruise and there will be a "ticket" in your stateroom telling you what time you can attend.
Parasailing we've done twice on Castaway Cay. I've done the Stingray Encounter there too, both are real fun. You can rent jetski's,sailboats, snorkel equipment(all day for $25.00). You have to go over to Serenity Bay and enjoy the quiet of the adult beach. The food on Castaway Cay is Included in the price of the cruise. They have pretty food actually.

When we did the Eastern Cruise, we did Disney sponsored exursions. I like having the peace of mind that if we're late getting back,they'll hold the ship. If you're doing something on your own,you're on your own.

We did the Atlantis Submarine Adventure on St. Thomas,very cool
Also we took the Skyway Tram up to Paradise Point (can be very romantic )

St. Maarten from what I understand, has some of the best snorkeling around. We just took a tour around the island,did some shopping in town and had lunch. Nothing too exciting. My DH was not feeling too well most of the cruise(allergies) so we kind of kept a slow pace.

Someone mentioned earlier the book "Passporters Field Guide to the Disney Cruiseline" I can not recommend this book Highly enough! I wouldn't do a Disney cruise without mine!! It has so many tips,reviews,prices,do and don'ts,secrets, etc. I'm sure that you would find it very helpful in planning your cruise. It lists pretty much all the excursions,there prices and reviews.

Have a wonderful time and come back again, you'r one of the family now

 

[ZeonStar]

Also, if you are into spas at all, be sure to check out the rainforest room early

Just one question before I goto bed. What is this Rainforest room? Thanks for all the info, I'll be back for more tomorrow.

EDIT: Oh heck I can't goto sleep without some more follow ups!

You can rent jetski's,sailboats, snorkel equipment(all day for $25.00).

This is all on Castaway right? It's that cheap to rent a Jetski? For how long? Seems like such a good price. Like I said, I've always wanted to do this!

We did the Atlantis Submarine Adventure on St. Thomas,very cool
Also we took the Skyway Tram up to Paradise Point (can be very romantic )

More on these please! Price and which island? Especially the Subs.

I know she wants to do snorkeling of some kind. I guess diving is only if you're certified right?

I'll look into buying that Book ASAP. Is online the best place to get it? I see it has like different "versions" Ring, paperback...what's best? Thank you!

 

[ZeonStar]

New day...one day closer to the Cruise!

Few things I wanted to ask based on what i have been reading.

I have not found any information about renting a jetski for $25. I only found the Eco tour on CC with the Personal Water Craft but that's like $95.

I did find out about the Personal Spa Villas I was looking for, so I got that info. Definately an indugence there but I think we want to do it. Wedding money will help. Ha ha.

Back to dining, and hope I don't sound dumb here but do we chose the rotational start dining place or does DCL? The way I understand it, we may do one resturant 3 times, so whatever that one would be, I rather take off one day for Palo. Does that sound right? By the time I can Book Palo, will I know my rotation?

I also read somewhere that the Animator's Palate (The one I am probably most wanting to goto) does not "Goto color" every night.

I hope this isn't so!

 

[aidanht]

Let's see if I can remember your questions . . .

About dining: Disney chooses your rotation; however, you can call and request a certain one. I don't know how likely it is that you'll get your first choice, but it never hurts to ask.

Animator's Palate will do the color show the first time you dine there but not the second, so as long as you don't plan on Palo during the first three nights of the cruise, you definitely won't miss the color show.

Aside from that concern, I wouldn't worry too much about whether you pick the "right" night to go to Palo. Honestly, dinner will be fantastic every night no matter what!!

I don't recall there being jet skis for rent on Castaway Cay. They have some small sailboats and paddle boats that you can rent by the half hour. I would highly recommend the stingray excursion there; it is a really great experience. We have not done the parasailing, but everyone we've talked to who has recommends it. We've heard that the snorkeling is not that great. Definitely head over to Serenity Bay, especially for a calmer lunch (since no kids are allowed).

Oh, and the Passporter -- we just buy the regular paperback book version and order it online. Make sure it's the newest edition. Some people prefer the spiral bound version because it has pockets and things to help organize your papers, but I have a travel notebook I use for every trip, so the plain vanilla book is plenty for me.

 

[Beck's mom]

Someone mentioned earlier the book "Passporters Field Guide to the Disney Cruiseline" I can not recommend this book Highly enough!

You must get this book! The perfect thing for all compulsive planners! I love mine!

 

[aidanht]

Oops, sorry, I forgot to tell you about the rainforest room!

It's a room in the spa that has several variations of saunas and steam rooms. Very, very relaxing. You can buy an all week pass or just pay per visit ($15-ish). I have heard that sometimes other people are a bit too chatty, thus ruining the peace and quiet, but I've never experienced that myself. In fact, maybe I'm just lucky, but I've tended to have the place to myself.

 

[ZeonStar]

Thanks. Pretty much good now. Gonna order the book, though not sure which version yet.

How come AP doesn't do the color thing every night? Not sure I get that. Seem too bad. I'm really looking forward to seeing this, and I have no idea WHAT actually happens.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

As far as jet skis on CC, you can only ride those if you book the ECO Tour excursion. They are not available for rent. Many have written reports on this excursion and have had a great time.

 

[ZeonStar]

I'm very interested in it. I'll get to ride a PWC one way or another. Dont know if we would want one each or to share.

 

[ZeonStar]

I cant find any reviews on that excursion. I tried searching for ECO Tour.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I found them in various trip reports.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

We sailed the Eastern last year and then DH and I went back to the Vis for our 20th Ann for a week.

As far as excursions - you can have a good time and save a good bit if you do it yourself.

St. M. Look at all that is offered and if something sounds good you can get a taxi to "it". Most people prefer going to the French side.

In St.T I highly suggest going to St. John on your own.

Plan to get off the ship ASAP. Grab a taxi to Red Hook, Ferry to Cruz Bay, Taxi to Trunk Bay. There is a lot to see in Cruz Bay. We ate at a great Mexican place for lunch. My sister, her DH and two DDs did this so I know you can. In fact when DH and I did it while staying in St. T the ferry was full of families off a Carnival ship. You just need to allow 2.5 hours to get back to play it safe from when the ship sails (usually a 4:30 all-aboard so 2:00 in a Taxi at Trunk Bay.) If you get back faster you can shop at Heavensight.

Trunk Bay was one of the most amazing places I've seen. We liked several spots in the British VIs but you will not have time to do that.

Looking towards Trunk Bay while snorkeling.

Trunk Bay

The Baths National Park, Virgin Gorda, BVIs

The Caves, Norman Island, BVIs

 

[dahuffy]

Sorry dear, what meant was it's $25.00 to rent the snorkel equipment for the day.

The Atlantis Submarine Adventure we went on was on St. Thomas. It cost us $89.00 each. but we felt it was well worth it. Once in a lifetime thing.