Booked my first Disney cruise - where to start?

[beckyboo1986]

Hi all

I have excitedly booked Disney Adventure for a 4 night cruise in August.

I've sailed on other liners before (RCC, NCL, MSC) but never Disney. Despite all my YouTube stalking and Facebook groups I still have no idea where to start with research/planning.

It's all sea days so no need to worry about ports but I'm curious to know things like how the dining works. I understand you rotate restaurants but how do you choose the time? Do they allocate the restaurants for you?

Also I'd love to know what type of activities would be available please. Are meet and greets frequently throughout the day. Do you usually have a long line for these like at the parks?

What's the kids club like? Do they ever get to capacity? What are the timings usually please?

I appreciate Adventure hasn't even sailed yet so the information will be based on other ships but any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Becky

 

[Mommb]

If the Adventure works like the other ships, you will be assigned either "early" dining time or "late" dining time when you book (and may be able to request a change after booking) and you will be assigned a restaurant for dinner each night. Everyone assigned to the restaurant that night has one of the two dining times. On the other ships, on a 4 night cruise you dine at 2 restaurants once and 1 restaurant twice.

There will certainly be meet-and-greet all around the ship. These will be announced in advance so that guests can line up to see their desired characters. The line length depends on the sailing and the character. Shortly before the character's time ends, cast members will close off the line, so that everyone in line gets to meet the character.

Other activities may include crafts, game shows, cooking demonstrations, dance parties, and more, typically first-come, first-served.

The kids' clubs run from morning through evening. Kids can be dropped off and picked up at any time. It is possible for a club to reach capacity, in which case people checking in would be asked to come back later, but I haven't heard of that happening on the current ships in years.

 

[PaoDCL]

Also, for the night shows, you will be able to see them opposite of your dinner. Meaning that if you have early dinner, you will be able to see the show after dinner, and if you have late dinner, you will catch the show before dinner

 

[Travel60]

You can do zero planning (especially with no port stops) and have a great time.

Before you leave home download the DCL app on your phone. It won't do much until you board the ship. Then it will populate with all the information you could ever want - your dining time and rotation, menus for each night at each restaurant, hourly activities and shows for each day (you can "heart" the ones you want to do for reminders.)

When you book you will be assigned one of two dining times for the entire cruise. Early usually begins 5:00-5:30 and late usually begins 7:30-8:00. It is important to be on time as the meals come out in courses and late people screw up the timing. When you board you will be given your table number (same in all three restaurants) and restaurant rotation - like ABCA or ABBC, etc.) Your servers rotate restaurants with you so by the second night they will know that you want a ginger ale or a diet coke and you don't eat dessert - or whatever.

Edited to add - be aware that you may be seated with others at the same table. Our experience has been that Disney is very good at matching people - kids ages/gender. We have usually had very nice table mates.

The main show times are opposite the dining times so if you eat late, you go to the early show and vice versa.

Breakfast and lunch are in the buffet on the top deck or any one of several fast food places around the ship. No set table/time.

If you want to plan more there are things like liquor tastings and specialty dining for brunch or dinner for extra $$. There's also Bippity Bippity Princess and Pirate Night makeovers. These things become available after you are paid in full and based on your cruising status. As a first time cruiser, you may not get everything you try for.

But, as I started with, you can have a wonderful time just going with the flow.