I have lurked here for months and finally registered to say thanks to everyone and tell you some things I learned that I hadn't read here yet.
We stayed in the Walt Disney Suite. Loved it. The concierge levels have a "gathering" where they can arrange for all their activities---tea with wendy, spa, palo, brunch, kids program, etc. I would just recommend confirming the spa appointments especially. Our Surriel bath was double booked but we were able to book later. We didn't board until 3:00 and barely made it to the gathering at 3:15 and still got our appts.
Cat 1 does get free soda and water. The concierge levels also get free videos and cds. I would recommend calling the first day and picking a few out. We did with cd's but not with movies.
The kids program is great. They have lightened up on their pull-up policy and are allowing kids in pull-ups after 10pm. They just ask you tell them. That was a relief to us since our 4 1/2 yr old is still challenged at night.
Give the kids a day or so to get used to the club. My kids didn't get into it until later the second day. I think they get so tired from traveling and the ship is so exciting. After that, we had to bribe them to get out of it. We had a 4 1/2 and a 7 1/2 both girls. They offered to allow the 7 1/2 to move down to be with her sister, but suggested we tried her own group first. We didn't take them up on the offer.
We did Palo on Formal night. Figured I was all dolled up--why not. DH owns a tux. There were a lot more tuxes than I thought there would be. We did the champagne brunch the next morning which worked out great. We basically ate from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. If you remember, ask for Erika. She is excellent and knows her stuff. We had her for both.
DCL is excellent. This is our 4th cruise--2nd with children. We are planning on booking again once they open up 2004. I still can't believe how clean everything was--especially the bathrooms. I think it is a combination of the clientelle and the great job the crew does. We even left our shutter pictures at one of the stores and the crew turned it into DCL and we are getting them sent back to us. I was so excited to hear they found them.
Oh yeah, how can I forget. They are back to everyone checking in at St. Thomas. I was bummed. They make you sit in the seats and the fill up one side while letting out the other. It was funny. Don't try and sneak down the aisle and not take a seat. You have about 100 people sitting there with nothing else to do but make sure you go through the same pain that they are.
Another thing, if you are picking up a rental car, it is faster if one person goes to get it and comes back to pick up everyone else. It is also easier because they are letting you back into the pier if you have your key to the world card and your id. Of course, no one told us that until my husband was already gone.
Not much else. Rainforest was excellent. Workout room is small but good. Gets crowded. If you want to guarantee a wake-up call, use the automatic system. My girlfriend didn't on the morning of the character breakfast and they got their call an hour late. The barely made it.
Castaway Cay is fun. We didn't get off the boat until 12 and were able piece together 3 lounge chairs right by the water. You can take the food back to the beach if you want to. The blue floats also make for a nice place to picnic or lay on the beach. I was amazed at how many people rushed out to get the umbrellas and hammocks and how few of them actually were used. I couldn't find any shovels/buckets that were free. I asked several employees. They do sell them for anywhere from $8-$15. The water is cold, so either plan on bringing some or buying them there because most of the adults stayed out of the water which meant most of the youngest kids didn't go in either since there wasn't anyone to watch them.
Sorry for so much info. I don't think this is a trip report, but maybe it is. It seems that to Disney, nothing is impossible. They do everything to make your trip the best. It is amazing.
I hope this helps someone else. While you are doing all your planning, don't forget to stop and relax.
DG
We stayed in the Walt Disney Suite. Loved it. The concierge levels have a "gathering" where they can arrange for all their activities---tea with wendy, spa, palo, brunch, kids program, etc. I would just recommend confirming the spa appointments especially. Our Surriel bath was double booked but we were able to book later. We didn't board until 3:00 and barely made it to the gathering at 3:15 and still got our appts.
Cat 1 does get free soda and water. The concierge levels also get free videos and cds. I would recommend calling the first day and picking a few out. We did with cd's but not with movies.
The kids program is great. They have lightened up on their pull-up policy and are allowing kids in pull-ups after 10pm. They just ask you tell them. That was a relief to us since our 4 1/2 yr old is still challenged at night.
Give the kids a day or so to get used to the club. My kids didn't get into it until later the second day. I think they get so tired from traveling and the ship is so exciting. After that, we had to bribe them to get out of it. We had a 4 1/2 and a 7 1/2 both girls. They offered to allow the 7 1/2 to move down to be with her sister, but suggested we tried her own group first. We didn't take them up on the offer.
We did Palo on Formal night. Figured I was all dolled up--why not. DH owns a tux. There were a lot more tuxes than I thought there would be. We did the champagne brunch the next morning which worked out great. We basically ate from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. If you remember, ask for Erika. She is excellent and knows her stuff. We had her for both.
DCL is excellent. This is our 4th cruise--2nd with children. We are planning on booking again once they open up 2004. I still can't believe how clean everything was--especially the bathrooms. I think it is a combination of the clientelle and the great job the crew does. We even left our shutter pictures at one of the stores and the crew turned it into DCL and we are getting them sent back to us. I was so excited to hear they found them.
Oh yeah, how can I forget. They are back to everyone checking in at St. Thomas. I was bummed. They make you sit in the seats and the fill up one side while letting out the other. It was funny. Don't try and sneak down the aisle and not take a seat. You have about 100 people sitting there with nothing else to do but make sure you go through the same pain that they are.
Another thing, if you are picking up a rental car, it is faster if one person goes to get it and comes back to pick up everyone else. It is also easier because they are letting you back into the pier if you have your key to the world card and your id. Of course, no one told us that until my husband was already gone.
Not much else. Rainforest was excellent. Workout room is small but good. Gets crowded. If you want to guarantee a wake-up call, use the automatic system. My girlfriend didn't on the morning of the character breakfast and they got their call an hour late. The barely made it.
Castaway Cay is fun. We didn't get off the boat until 12 and were able piece together 3 lounge chairs right by the water. You can take the food back to the beach if you want to. The blue floats also make for a nice place to picnic or lay on the beach. I was amazed at how many people rushed out to get the umbrellas and hammocks and how few of them actually were used. I couldn't find any shovels/buckets that were free. I asked several employees. They do sell them for anywhere from $8-$15. The water is cold, so either plan on bringing some or buying them there because most of the adults stayed out of the water which meant most of the youngest kids didn't go in either since there wasn't anyone to watch them.
Sorry for so much info. I don't think this is a trip report, but maybe it is. It seems that to Disney, nothing is impossible. They do everything to make your trip the best. It is amazing.
I hope this helps someone else. While you are doing all your planning, don't forget to stop and relax.
DG
Thanks so much for posting this, and lucky you in the Cat. 1!
