Best freebies on the cruise line?

[Purdue Mouse]

Cruising on DCL and saving money seems like an oxymoron

Besides the nice H2O spa products, what are some of ways to feel the magic out there? From little known ways to get free stuff to experiences that money can't buy.

 

[CADisneyMom]

If you go to the Disney Vacation Club seminar you can usually walk away with something from it. Also, go to the game shows that they put on the ship - not only are they fun to watch but if you're picked you can walk away with free stuff too (sometimes they even give away a free cruise).

 

[minie_meese]

My daughter and I went to a facial care seminar listed in the Navigator. It was given by a lady in the spa who does facials and massages. We were prepared for a hard sell but she didn't try to sell us anything. She did tell us about the different products and where we might find them at places other than on the cruise. She talked about skin care and how to solve different types of skin care problem, and she had many of the products used for a facial at the talk. We got to try all of them and then when we were done we each got a 20% discount on any spa service. She did not try to push us to use the discount. My daughter ended up using it for a massage. I didn't use mine. We were the only 2 people there - it was great.

 

[simbasmom2]

On our MR cruise last month if you bought something in the gift shops on a certain day during certain hours you could get a free bingo card. It was on our last day at sea...morning hours.

We got sunburn gel this time as a special goodie from our room hostess.

I won a drawing in Who wants to be a Mousekeeter? spelling?

Free picture in the DVC seminar...it is the picture that hangs in the room of Walt and his wife. Also, the had a drawing for onboard credit.

a goodie is given out in the scrapbook session

they handed out a lot of different stickers, online codes for games etc. during the bigger sessions of bingo

 

[simbasmom2]

I forgot about the trivia sessions. Usually a hat, key chain etc. is given for that prize. Go to the first sessions of those...they repeated the same questions on our 7 day-there were cheaters there claiming they knew all of the answers!!! Don't forget about free smoothies and free arcade hours for the teens (maybe tweens, too)on certain days/hours.

 

[chudson98]

We cruised in 2007 and they had a family car building race. Think it was called the Mickey 6000. We had 10 minutes to build a "car" out of all sorts of vegetables and wood derby car pieces. In the end we raced family against family and the winner got a gold cup (a gold Disney travel mug). They also handed out t-shirts, key chains and pencils to the participates. It was a blast! We won the cup! We are cruising again in 2012 and if they still do this we will definatley try to race again.

 

[pj-atsea]

I agree with CADisneyMom, The Vacation Club seminars are full of give-aways. On previous cruise I have got ball caps, pens, notepads. I have won a great beach bag because they have a lot of draws. They also have a draw for an on-board credit. That would come in handy..

 

[Meredisney]

Join a FE group for your cruise!!!! You'll go home with lots of free goodies!!!

 

[Purdue Mouse]

Great ideas! Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

[toverly]

No one mentioned the Pillowcase signing. Just put a white pillowcase, new sharpie pens and turn it in at Guest Relations. They also will sign a photo mat. On this weeks cruise we also noticed a white sailor cap signed. It sure is better than getting the autographs from each character. I think they will do one per child in the group.

 

[llnolte]

If you are interested in booking another cruise, definitely do it while you are on board. And do it earlier in your cruise rather than later-check your navigator as they have several drawings for those that book their next cruise. We ended up winning a $100 on board credit.

 

[LeslieG]

I agree with CADisneyMom, The Vacation Club seminars are full of give-aways. On previous cruise I have got ball caps, pens, notepads. I have won a great beach bag because they have a lot of draws. They also have a draw for an on-board credit. That would come in handy..

How long do these seminars usually last?

 

[3Mickeys]

If your children participate in the Kid Clubs, the 3-10 year olds do a "show" on one of the last days. All the kids get a free tshirt that they wear in the show.

My son won a Lab baseball hat playing a game in the club.

My older son was given an arcade card from a crew member when he was just walking down the hall.

Our server at Palo brunch sent us away with a huge plateful of desserts for our three kids to enjoy.

 

[pj-atsea]

Hi, I seem to remember the seminars lasting around an hour to an hour and a half. Another thing, they sometimes have cookies and coffee ( not that you can't get that up at the buffet!) and once in a while they have a free drink. They are quite entertaining and there doesn't seem to be any high pressure sales pitches either. If you have nothing else to do, go and check it out. You can always leave early if you want to be somewhere else. They usually have a few draws pretty close to the beginning then a few more later and the on-board credit at the end! Maybe they have changed it a bit for different cruises but basically that's it. A friend of mine won the $300 on board credit that they were giving away one day..pj

 

[N.Lo]

Are the Vacation club seminars only for current DVC members or anyone interesting in going? I was always a little confused on this.

 

[Mean Queen]

Are the Vacation club seminars only for current DVC members or anyone interesting in going? I was always a little confused on this.

They hold one for each. I won the on board credit on our last cruise during the DVC members seminar.

 

[pj-atsea]

They are for everyone, DVC members and interested parties.Once in a while I think they might have one for DVC members but if that was the case, they'll send the members an invitation to their cabin and it would not be advertised... As I said before, there isn't any high pressure sales pitches so feel free to go and see what its about, you can always leave if you don't like it.

 

[disneyluvnmom]

How long does the DVC presentation last?

 

[tinkmom2]

When I went I think the DVC seminar was about a hour and they were having a raffle for a $500 obc. But they weren't giving out any other goodies that was on the Wonder in 2009.

 

[alamere1496]

Both of my kids got free pillowcases in their kids clubs. My 13 year old got a Pirates in the Caribbean pillow case and my 6 year old got a pluto pillow case. Then, we brought them to the desk and got them signed. My little one also got a free t-shirt from the Friendship Rocks show.