1st time cruisers and it's a last minute booking. Can anyone share some important tips, strategies..

[Tulip2796]

It's mentioned that we bring duct tape and our own mug, why is that?

 

[hanscarlet]

Book a placeholder because you will be back. My biggest regret was not booking a placeholder on my first cruise. Get a copy of the navigators to get a feel for what day 1 is all about. Agree with the others on a day bag. For us we used those packing bags and put out day 1 items in the packing bags so we don't have to mess up all of our luggage and just put it in our back pack... you can bring alcohol and bottled water in your carry on if you are big water and alcohol drinkers... agree in general with others, don't feel like you have to do everything, you will be back

 

[hanscarlet]

It's mentioned that we bring duct tape and our own mug, why is that?

I don't know about the duct tape but many like to bring their own cups so they can refill at the drink stations.... we don't do that because we bring our water bottles instead... some people love their tervis mugs and others find that they didn't use the mugs/tervis cups.... in my experience talking to cruisers, the folks without the little kids in tow tend to be bigger fans of the tervis cups but parents of toddlers and young children tend to have their hands too full to be carrying around tervis mugs... that said they can be great if you like soda/pop/water and you don't have any accessible water in your room (We put our bottles in the room fridge)

 

[tink1970]

No idea...maybe a joke about the duct tape? Own mug-although there is a sign at the drink station to the effect of use a paper cup (provided) every time you fill from the drink station (on deck 11) those darn paper cups are just a step above a Dixie cup (ie, small). So if you have your own mug you can have much larger diet cokes, sprites, tea, coffee. Of course I never broke that rule so that's supposition

As for what you must have: I always break it down to What Must I have to Get On the Boat and Function-for me: passport, wallet, cruise paperwork, contacts, contact solution. Anything (and everything) else can be bought (if at a price ). There are Targets, Wal Marts, Publix and Walgreens on the way to the Port. So no worries.

For the kiddos-I'd say pack diapers and any medications they need or you feel most comfortable taking (children's motrin/tylenol, etc), possibly a lovey and ID. Again, even if you forget underwear (!) there will be a store on the way (since you're driving) to grab some.

My DH is always on his own cause I'm mean like that.
I agree with all the other PP who say ENJOY! You can't do it all so don't try-just relax and breathe. It's super exciting to be on your first cruise

 

[PrincessShmoo]

and you don't have any accessible water in your room

The water from the tap in the bathroom is the same water that is served at meals and dispensed via the drink stations.

Duct tape - useful for ripped luggage, repairing hems, all sorts of broken/ripped applications. Of course, not everyone needs it. We just take a small roll of it. Yes, we've used it.

 

[summerskye]

It's mentioned that we bring duct tape and our own mug, why is that?

Not exactly sure about the duct tape, but it can be used to fix many things. The mug is nice since the "cups" at the drink stations are small. If you have your own larger mug, then you will not have to go as often.

 

[hanscarlet]

The water from the tap in the bathroom is the same water that is served at meals and dispensed via the drink stations.

interesting... and yet another reason why we bring bottled water... I know I'm ducking already and will get slammed for that but it's psychological (sorry)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

interesting... and yet another reason why we bring bottled water... I know I'm ducking already and will get slammed for that but it's psychological (sorry)

The water onboard the ship is processed the same as most bottled waters (reverse osmosis and filtered). I find it no different than the water I drink at home.

 

[scrapbookingpro]

We just returned from the 7 day western with two 2- year olds and a nine year old.

Definitely check the navigators every day for open house times at the Oceans Club so you can take your little one into the club to play. Also look for "Toddler Time" and Wake up with Disney Jr., etc- great for toddlers. My two LOVED the moving portraits, located all over the ship. They also loved hanging out in the atrium before dinner and dancing to the live music.

In the room they slept on the pull out couch (one in each of our connecting rooms, they didn't share a bed) with a guard rail and they did great. The beds have their own light over them too, which of course they liked to switch on and off. We also brought a white noise machine to help when they went to bed, so we didn't have to tip toe around quite as much.

As for food, the twins are used to having small snacks throughout the day, and even though there is TONS of food on the ship, there isn't really any toddler snack food. Mine got tired of french fries, and we could only let them have so much ice cream. We were really happy we brought some snacks from home- fruit pouches, crackers, yogurt melts, granola bars, cheerios, etc. If you plan ahead, you can also grab extra fruit or yogurt at bfast and save it in your fridge for a snack later Also, don't forget that the servers at dinner are VERY good at helping you out if your kids like certain foods that aren't on the menu. Always ask, because usually the answer will be yes. We asked for spaghetti, white rice, applesauce, etc , none of which were on the menu, but they said no problem! Also my 2 year old ate a baked potato two nights in a row, haha

 

[scrapbookingpro]

I also wanted to add that like others have mentiond, the character experiences on the ship can be the best you'll ever have. If your kids like characters, check the navigators and such, but also be on the lookout for unexpected sightings. One night last week I was walking my daughter over to dinner and we walked through the atrium where Mickey and Goofy were playing duck, duck, goose with a dozen kids. It was the most fun EVER, and just out of the blue. We also had a lot of luck with the early morning character times- often we were the only ones there and my DD got lots of one on one time.

 

[lbus42]

It's mentioned that we bring duct tape and our own mug, why is that?

I bring insulated hot/cold cups with a no leak kid. I can go up on the pool deck and fill them with coffee, soft drinks, etc and carry them back to the room in a small backpack.

Also if you are a coffee drinker, you can order a carafe at night (along with Mickey Bars, cookies, and a cheese plate). The coffee will still be hot in the morning.

One more tip: I had over a year before my first DCL cruise. I researched it to death on these boards and other sites. Because of that we were pretty well prepared, but there were also few surprises. Looking back, I would rather have researched less and experienced more magical moments.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I bring insulated hot/cold cups with a no leak kid. I can go up on the pool deck and fill them with coffee, soft drinks, etc and carry them back to the room in a small backpack.

Also if you are a coffee drinker, you can order a carafe at night (along with Mickey Bars, cookies, and a cheese plate). The coffee will still be hot in the morning.

One more tip: I had over a year before my first DCL cruise. I researched it to death on these boards and other sites. Because of that we were pretty well prepared, but there were also few surprises. Looking back, I would rather have researched less and experienced more magical moments.

I have often said "I'm so glad that I didn't know about DISboards (or, indeed, any of the other cruise boards) before our first cruise, or I would have been a basket case trying to figure out how we were going to do "everything".

Once I had a cruise or two under my belt, I realized that a lot of the angst about planning that pops up here is just not being practiced enough at cruising. It's really not as daunting as it seems.

 

[bksaffle]

A lot of times you see families push and push to try and do everything, and the kids become OVER tired. If your kids are used to taking naps or need to go to bed at a certain time...try to allow them to still get sleep. By the middle of the trip the kids can become cranky, and the parents are frazzled. Enjoy your trip, be prepared to get bit by the DCL bug...we are addicted. We are in count down mode to our next cruise, we leave in 3 days to head over to Denmark to catch the Magic.