And a Wonderful First DCL Cruise It Was, 7/6-7/13/2015, Alaska (Completed 3/27/2016)

[jtba]

$10 for Mike hat?? I want one! But pretty sure it won't fit my big head

you know, i actually never tried it on. but after i read your message i took my son's out and it actually fit over my head!!! maybe i can steal it after the kiddies become teenagers and deem themselves too cool for it, muhahahaha!

So you had enough time before your flight, but chose Express walk-off to avoid the lines? I wouldn't want to leave Disney ship and want to stay as long as I could, but sounds like it's a good idea at Canada Place.

yeah, we were newbies so didn't know what to expect, and didn't want to lose our luggage. am still waiting to hear from veterans of port canveral to chime in on what it's like to disembark there.

Well your trip is over...but at least you get to plan on your next Disney trip!

oh yes! am reading up on other TRs to get ready...

 

[bcwife76]

So *coughprod* Did you have any final thoughts? When are you off to Aulani?

 

[jtba]

Final Thoughts

ok ok you caught me procrastinating yet again...

some final thoughts, in no particular order (i may have written about some of this in previous posts but here they are again):

• on-board booking (OBB) and costco: if you book another cruise while board and want to transfer it to a different travel agent, make sure to do so within 30 days!!! i knew this, but for whatever reason it didn't strike me that it also applies to un-released itineraries as well. we were on the ship in july 2015, and i waited for the spring 2017 itineraries to be released in october, then tried to change my OBB placeholder to the new booking. no go--because it was beyond 30 days, i could not transfer to costco, so i lost out on their ~9% cash card. boohoo...
  
• food allergies: we booked DCL in part because i had read online via different sources that they do a particularly good job with such challenges. DD has multiple medically diagnosed allergies (gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood), so naturally it was a concern given we would be having all our meals on the ship.
  • before boarding: i contacted DCL special services (407.566.3602, SpecialServices@disneycruise.com) to make sure the allergies were noted down in our reservation. i researched here and on facebook which servers might be good with food allergies, as some really bend over backwards to accommodate, while others act like it's a total chore. i brought pre-packaged, factory-sealed snacks (after calling U.S. customs and Canadian customs to make sure it's ok) so they would be ready for DD.
    
  • the first day:i went to the dining changes session to see whether our request went through. it did, although the server we requested, sarah vine, had been promoted to a head server, but we were assigned to her section, so that was fine.
    
  • the good: for the most part, the servers did a good job. they knew what DD was allergic to, and we didn't have to repeat it every single meal. we also got to order the next day's meals at the previous day's dinner. we followed them to every restaurant they worked at for breakfast and lunch so we wouldn't have to deal with new servers at those meals.
    
  • the bad: many meals it took the serving team a LONG time to bring the gluten free bread and vacuum-packed soy milk. this is something DD would like all the time, so i don't know why they couldn't have it ready at the beginning of the meal. we're not talking 2-5 minutes delay--several times it took over half an hour or longer. all DD could do was to eat the rest of us eat and drink, while she had nothing but water or juice. same with her main entrée too. sometimes it would just take forever to appear. and then on two separate occasions she also developed hives around her mouth while having dessert that were supposedly free of her allergens. we noticed it quickly both times and gave her Benadryl immediatley (we also had epi-pens with us 24/7). thank goodness the symptoms went away quickly. sarah vine was very concerned the first time it happened. she even chased us down outside the dining room with another officer (medical officer, perhaps; can't remember) while we stood in line to take photos with the captain, to make sure everything was ok. they were both very apologetic, but we never quite figured out what went wrong. then it happened again a day or two later during lunch. from then on we decided not to order fancy desserts, and just went with simple fruits with dairy-free whipped cream (corn-based if i recall correctly). i had read many reports of other chefs bending over backwards to bring these cool desserts to other passengers with food allergies, so i was slightly disappointed that DD didn't get such a thing. would've been nice if they could've offered something as simple as jello!
    
  • lessons learned: 1) advocate better by speaking up about the delayed breads and soy milk next time. i should've spoken to sarah on, say day 2, if DD's dishes kept getting delayed. instead i waited and waited, hoping and praying things would get better on their own. they did not. 2) when it comes to food allergies, always be vigilant and do not think that on DCL everything will be fine just because everyone else said so.
• fish extenders: we had such fun participating in our first FE exchange! as i said elsewhere, we really appreciated all the gifts we received, be it candy, christmas ornaments, trinkets, coloring books, personalized magnets, jewelry, hand-made bags, toys, whatever. they all came from someone who put some thought (not to mention money) into what we should receive, and i loved all of them. every time i come across one of them in the house now, it brings up such great memories of the cruise and made me happy for the rest of the day. we received most of the gifts within the first 2-3 days, so the kids were a little disappointed during the last few days when they came back to the cabin and found nothing in the pockets. they were a little spoiled. the next time we do FE, i will spread out the gifting so other families, esp. those with younger kids, will receive stuff in the second half of the cruise, too.
• open house hours at kids' clubs: i hope for our next cruise there won't be nearly as many open house hours at the kids' clubs (see my complaint about it in day 2's report).
  
• friends from the cruise: i participated in both the cruise meet here and facebook. someone in the latter group asked about penpals, so i set up a few for DS and DD about three months before our trip. the kids exchanged handwritten letters (DS8) and drawings (DS4) several times, and the moms talked on FB fairly regularly in the months and weeks leading up to our departure date. we had an outing with one family the day before the cruise, saw several others in the cruise terminal by chance, and met with everyone else at the meet-and-greet on the first day. under advisement from a veteran cruiser, a group of us went to "match your mate" and had drinks twice in the evenings after the kids went to bed. it was so much fun, and i'm still in touch with several cruisemates on facebook, who are also planning additional DCL trips too.

all in all, it was a wonderful first cruise for my family! i want to thank everyone who offered advice along the way, including but not limited to @PrincessShmoo and @xlxo , who answered all my anxious first-timer type questions tirelessly. thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[MickeyD74]

Thanks for all of this great information! I was disappointed to read all of the comments about the open houses in the kids club. My kids liked both the club and lab on the Dream, hopefully it is the same on the Wonder.

 

[MomoMama]

Great report!
I am sure your next cruise will be more wonderful, as you know what to expect and do. Hopefully your daughter will outgrow some of the allergies by then too!
I did not realize excessive open house at kids' club on our cruise. I wonder if it depends on the itineraries?

 

[jtba]

Great report!
I am sure your next cruise will be more wonderful, as you know what to expect and do. Hopefully your daughter will outgrow some of the allergies by then too!
I did not realize excessive open house at kids' club on our cruise. I wonder if it depends on the itineraries?

yeah, not sure what was up with the open house hours. maybe they were testing out something? wonder if they did that on other Alaskan trips last year. i suppose i could look up other people's navigators...

 

[Holly Quinlan]

thank you for the skytrain tip! I have just started my planning and was wondering how to get to the hotel from the airport

 

[jtba]

note that the 10-ticket pass may not be available any more, so you will want to research that before you go and see if it's still worth taking the skytrain.

have a great cruise, @Holly Quinlan !

 

[amberwc]

thank you so much for all this. Figured out I've made some booking mistakes and now must work to correct them -- booked Palo for night 2.