1st Time Cruisers - What do we need to know?

[DannyDisneyFreak]

One thing we will make sure we do next time is take advantage of some of the onboard activities like wine tasting or mixology classes. I think they are 20 bucks or so for an hour (someone correct me if I'm wrong). We didn't really plan our time to take part in more activities. I wouldn't have much expectations for Nassau, I say on a first trip spend more time on the ship especially on a shorter cruise. The pools and slides are much leas crowded on port days, when ship is in port is the best time for onboard activities. I would suggest getting off the ship earlier to go to Castaway Cay, we didn't get off until just before lunchtime and regretted it, CC was our favorite part of the trip and Lunch there was our favorite meal. Now that I think about it, does anyone know if the serve breakfast at all on CC?

 

[RHSTigerMom]

Definitely stay on the ship in Nassau, it's just gross. With kids under 10, they will practically have the pool deck and Aquaduck to themselves, which is all they really care about anyway. Leave the 2 year old. Some of the most miserable looking people on the ship were those with small children.

 

[tweis]

Dumb question but when does this happen? Will I get an e-mail about it or do I just have to keep checking somewhere?

If you are a new cruiser then you can do your online checkin at 75 days out. At this time you can select your port arrival time (PAT) and fill in all your info. You will also be able to make any adult dining reservations, excursions, nursery, spa, etc.

You will need to log into your reservation on the DCL site to do this. Many stay up until midnight to try to snag the PAT and excursions that they want.

 

[TinkGirl]

I don't think they serve breakfast on cc. We ate at cabanas and left the ship around 9:00. Thank goodness we did, because they day flew by! We didn't even get the floats that were part of our package. I think we went back around 3:45 to get ready for dinner.

 

[JimGA]

Dumb question but when does this happen? Will I get an e-mail about it or do I just have to keep checking somewhere?

Just like Tweis said, 75 days out, I think we got reminder emails from DCL. I stayed up to midnight and was able to snag an 11 am PAT, Palo brunch and some other excursions. It is real easy and I was in bed by 1230.

Also, if you think you want to book a sport simulator, look at those at that time, they fill up quickly, especially the sea day.

 

[TinkGirl]

I got online in the morning and got an 11:00 pat.

 

[ksagan]

There is a lot you can do to get the cost down if you REALLY want to do it. I don't know what the costs you are talking but using the target/Disney gift card thing helps out some, especially when/if they do the December deal again with the $10 back on $50 gift cards.

We've done the parks a lot but prefer cruising as a change of pace. The parks are "things to do, go go go" and cruising is more relaxing for us. We can have family time when we want yet still get adult time.

What the "target/Disney discount thing" all about?

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Target gives 5% discount on Disney Gift Card for paying with their red card. Certain promotions also come out to save more.

 

[k3chantal]

We have two rooms booked, which is a bummer. We have never stayed in two rooms before, I guess we will see how it goes!

Thanks for everyones replies!

For our first cruise we had two rooms with a connecting door for our family of five. We propped the connecting door open and it was like having one 'larger room'. This next cruise we are staying in 1 room and I am nervous about space. Having two bathrooms the first time was really nice.

 

[JuliaK+3]

If you are a new cruiser then you can do your online checkin at 75 days out. At this time you can select your port arrival time (PAT) and fill in all your info. You will also be able to make any adult dining reservations, excursions, nursery, spa, etc.

You will need to log into your reservation on the DCL site to do this. Many stay up until midnight to try to snag the PAT and excursions that they want.

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately I haven't checked in yet and we're less than a month away. I'll check when I get home.

Update - The 11 & 11:30 spots are taken but 12 pm is good enough for me!!! Thank you for this wonderful tip!!!! The more time we're onboard exploring, the better.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Also, if you think you want to book a sport simulator, look at those at that time, they fill up quickly, especially the sea day.

What is a sport simulator?

 

[JuliaK+3]

What is a sport simulator?

To me, they look like a Giant Wii game. If you go to the on-board activities section in the activities section of the Trip Planner, you can see pictures of what it looks like.

From the Disney Website - Play popular sports like soccer, baseball or basketball—without the hassle of having to chase a ball—using state-of-the-art virtual sports-gaming experiences available at Goofy's Sports Deck. Featuring realistic graphics and sounds, the virtual sports simulator recreates your favorite sports experiences so you can enjoy them while you're at sea.

 

[britfish]

Do the sports simulators cost extra $?

 

[redmomof4]

Yes they do

 

[mordecai]

What the "target/Disney discount thing" all about?

As pp said there's a 5% discount when you use your Target Redcard to purchase things including disney giftcards. That's 5% off your cruise if you buy gift cards to pay for the cruise. Additionally during December they usually (the last 2 years anyway) have a deal where if you purchase a $50 gift card, you get a $10 target gift card. If you then use the $10 gift card to pay for the next $50 gift card and pay the rest with your Redcard, you end up getting around 25% off. Hopefully that's clear, it's a little confusing. Look around the forums for a better explanation.

 

[mordecai]

To each there own..........

I would consider it a real vacation if I could sleep in my own bed away from my snoring, stinky, bed hogging husband.

Wow I hope my wife doesn't think this about me

 

[momof2n2]

To each there own..........

I would consider it a real vacation if I could sleep in my own bed away from my snoring, stinky, bed hogging husband.

This is funny.

We are family of 8 and got 2 connecting cabins. (Turns out secret porthole!) DH will be in one with 3 kids and I will be in one with three kids. The LORD would help us if disaster ever struck, I know; but there is no way I could sleep at night if a grown-up wasn't right there with them. We can sleep apart a few nights.

I hate paying four adult rates though. I know it's a cruise line standard, but boy does it stink.

 

[momcloud]

One thing I learned on our first cruise- take a night light or some glow sticks for the bathroom. I didn't realize that the bathrooms are very dark with the door closed and the light switch is outside of it. I got stuck in the bathroom the 1st night in the dark and I panicked and couldn't find the door to get out. Had to pound on the wall to wake hubby! The kids had brought glow sticks for Pirate Night and we kept one in the bathroom for the rest of the time.

 

[Madzac]

We just went on our first cruise and we are a family of six. We had an absolute blast!! We had 2 connecting ocean view rooms. We kept the door open all day and closed it at night. My girls and I in one room and Dh and the boys in the other. It worked great! Yes its expensive and like so many things addng that one more person really jumps up the cost. However, we loved it!! Every single one of us chose doing a 7 night cruise next vacation even though it is instead of wdw and meabd it will be two years. Thats saying a lot!

There was so much we didn't have time to do. We did spend much of the day off the ship in Nassau on a day pass. We had fun but in retrospect I wish we had used the time to stay on the ship and do more!

You will have a blast! My trip report link is in my signature if you want to read about this cruise as a family of six.

 

[cruisecrasher]

One thing I learned on our first cruise- take a night light or some glow sticks for the bathroom. I didn't realize that the bathrooms are very dark with the door closed and the light switch is outside of it. I got stuck in the bathroom the 1st night in the dark and I panicked and couldn't find the door to get out. Had to pound on the wall to wake hubby! The kids had brought glow sticks for Pirate Night and we kept one in the bathroom for the rest of the time.

Or just leave the closet ajar for a nightlight