can you explain a cruise to me?

hellokitty

dis veteran/disney addict
Joined
Aug 10, 2000
Messages
659
I have never been on a cruise ship in my 34 years of life, and wondered what it is
like?

does the cost cover transfer to the boat?

Explain how the eating works? Do I eat
whatever I want off the menu or do i
limits?

What about tipping how much is that?

Anyone get seasick??

and for a family of four what deck/room
do you recommend? should it have a
balcony to view the ocean??

any input will be great
i am nervous about a huge floating hotel
 
My Mom is 58 and has never been on a plane or a ship. She and 9 others will be sailing in 13 days. Many other are 1st timers too. We are so excited. She was also nervous about the $$ as she has no significant other but lives with DB35. It is not my first but I'm no veteran. IMHO, there is no other way to travel and vacation. People have different opinions on where to stay. Make sure your comfortable with the sleeping arrangements and the bathroom. That's the biggest decision for the cabin. You can stay anywhere you choose! Book early and save $$.

If you go not expecting TOO much, like some do, you will be hooked. Tipping is about $77.00 per person, per cabin. If you especially like the service you can go higher. We are starting with this baseline and will decide at the end. Unlike other cruise lines DCL does not include the tipping on the bill - they treat you like grown ups - they leave you to make the final decision.

My vote - BOOK IT TODAY!!!

Kim ºOº
 
on tipping you mean per person that
helps you?? how many is that?
it seems expensive
 
Hi Hellokitty! We met last December at DFW on our way to WDW! We, too, will be first-time cruisers, and I'm also nervous about a "huge floating hotel"! You can learn so much from these discussion boards. As for transfers to the port, you can book your cruise with or without the transfers. Same as the airfare... you can include it in your package if you want. BUT then you're at the mercy of whatever DCL books for you in terms of your flights, so we chose to wait and book our flights ourselves. You can go to the official Disney Cruise site at disneycruise.com, click on reservations, then click on "get a quote" to check on prices, and you can choose with our without airfare, trip insurance, and ground transfers.

disneycruise.com also has deck plans and stateroom diagrams, so you can see what the room setups look like and the various locations on the ship. Dave from Marietta has a terrific site, dcltribute.com, and barb and tony also have a great site, castawayclub.com. Barb and Tony cruise several times a year on DCL! I've found that researching the cruise has been so much fun! Happy planning! :)
 

great to hear from you Mrs. Potatohead

funny you are going on a cruise>
hope ya'll have a great time.
 
The $77.00, we figured, is for each of us in the cabin. That includes the tips for each of the CMs. We rounded it at how much for each of us in our cabin. ($77.00 by 4 of us). Sorry to confuse. It's in the documents when you get them.

Kim ºOº
 
I have stayed in a level 6 with a verandah twice, but am taking the 3 nite cruise in May and couldn't see spending the extra $$ on a verandah for such a short trip. I have decided to try a level 10 and spend the $$ I save on a pretty bauble in one of the jewlery stores in Nassau.
You can eat all you want and it's all included. Room service is available day and night, and for this you just tip the person who delivers your food a couple dollars. Suggestions for regular tipping will be included in your travel documents.
I was most worried about getting seasick - I get ill just swinging on a kids swing. I never felt ill on either of my cruises, and on the 1st one we hit some pretty rough water. I do take a bonine about an hour before we board the ship and that's it. Bonine is for seasickness. You can buy it across the counter at any drugstore and it's a little chewable pill. I think that one before sailing helps me get my sea legs. Besides, there's not a lot of motion under normal conditions.
You should check out the official Disney Cruise website, but after you decide what you want, contact Dreams Unlimited Travel. I love them. You just tell them what you'd like and they do all the work. No question is too stupid -they're always quick to answer mine (and I've asked some doozies!)
have a great trip!
 
hellokitty,
Here are answers to some of your questions:

1) The basic cruise price does not cover the cost of transfers. They are extra along with airfare if you choose to book that with your cruise (I wouldn't recommend it as you can usually find cheaper airfare on your own, however, I usually buy the transfers just because I think it's a little easier even though it's a little more cost wise).

2) Eating . . . you can eat as much as you want with no limit. The last cruise I went on, my brother, who's a chef, couldn't decide what to order each night, so our waiter quit giving him a menu and just brought him one of each item on the menu that night (appetizers, entrees and dessert)! It was a TON of food, but he loved every minute of it!! Food is available 24 hours a day . . . basically anything, and as much of it as, you want!

3) Tipping . . . this was covered above.

4) Getting Seasick . . . the ships are so huge and stabilized that you really never know that you're on water. When seas are very high (10 - 15 foot waves or more), you do feel a very slow swaying up and down (sometimes side to side). But it's nothing that bonine (or many other products) don't take care of. It's definitely nothing to worry about.

5) As for room location and type, that's really your personal preferance. You need to balance cost with how much "luxury" you want (outside view, balcony, bigger room, etc.). You can't go wrong on ANY room type on DCL. They're all nice. Just something to think about.

I've been on many cruises. I even met my wife on a cruise in Alaska -- yes, we've had to laugh at all the "love boat" comments over the years. I think that cruising is the BEST way to travel. You get to see many different places without having to worry about driving, checking into hotels, finding restaurants, etc. Not to mention the fact that you are pampered like royalty during the entire trip. I, and probably everyone else on this board, will say . . . "GO FOR IT!!!!" Good luck!
 
A little more detail on the tips:

The suggested amount for tips (per passenger) is different for the 3, 4 and 7 day cruises.

For the 3 day:
Server: $11
Assist. Server: $8
Head Server: $2.75
Statroom Host/Hostess: $10.75
For a total of $32.50 per passenger, including children. (So if you had a family of 4, the total would be $130)

For th 4 day:
Server: $14.75
Assist. Server: $10.75
Head Server: $3.75
Statroom Host/Hostess: $14.50

Total of $43.75 per passenger.

For the 7 day:
Server: $25.75
Assist. Server: $18.75
Head Server: $6.50
Statroom Host/Hostess: $25.25

Total of $76.25 per passenger.
 

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