Disney Cruise Must Do's??

[Darkwing_Duck_CJ]

My DW (witness trouble, call DW) and I are about to experience our first DCL vacation in a few short weeks. We are sailing on the Wonder for the 4 night Bahamas cruise. We are super excited, but as mostly WDW vets, we are a little less familiar with "sailing the high seas". So, we reach out to you DCL vets and ask, what are your MUST DO cruise experiences? We have Palo reserved at 6 on Pirate night, in hopes it's enough time to eat a better meal but still enjoy the fun of the party (good?). We also have the Castaway Cay extreme getaway package and Bahamas by land and sea excursion booked. Thanks for any input, everyone!

 

[85glht]

Make sure you take the time to do nothing! My favorite non activity is to relax on the padded lounge chairs on the jogging deck and watch the ocean go by.... best done on a sea day, obviously.
Castaway Cay is the best stop you will experience on your trip, in my opinion. It will be a great beach day as long as the weather cooperates.

Have fun!

 

[DLM1980]

The biggest must do on your cruise is to slow down and ENJOY your time. No need to stress about not seeing this or that. You are on vacation! Calories don't count on vacation! The world still spins if you don't get to do everything

 

[squirk]

Agreed with above. You've already got Palo dinner and two port excursions booked for a 4-night cruise, plus you're planning on doing the Pirate party. That's enough planning.

Take the rest of it as it comes.

 

[Darkwing_Duck_CJ]

I'm seeing a similar theme, to relax! I like the sound of that! How about tastings and mixology seminars? DW and I are both former bartenders, so these sounded fun. Do they fill quickly? Thanks for the "take it easy" advice. As WDW rope droppers, relaxing isn't something we are all too familiar with on Disney Vacations. Haha

 

[85glht]

I'm seeing a similar theme, to relax! I like the sound of that! How about tastings and mixology seminars? DW and I are both former bartenders, so these sounded fun. Do they fill quickly? Thanks for the "take it easy" advice. As WDW rope droppers, relaxing isn't something we are all too familiar with on Disney Vacations. Haha

The one thing I like about cruising is you can be as busy as you want or be as lethargic as you want.... your vacation, do what you want! Just HAVE FUN!! There is a a lot of that to be had on a Disney ship!

 

[party-of-five]

I'm seeing a similar theme, to relax! I like the sound of that! How about tastings and mixology seminars? DW and I are both former bartenders, so these sounded fun. Do they fill quickly? Thanks for the "take it easy" advice. As WDW rope droppers, relaxing isn't something we are all too familiar with on Disney Vacations. Haha

DH and I did the tequila/margarita tasting and the cognac tasting. Both were great and we bought tickets on the same day for the cognac, and on the night before for the tequila tasting. We felt they were worth it - lots of fun. This was a 4nt cruise on the Dream in Sept. And I totally agree with the 'take it easy/relax' advice!

 

[Darkwing_Duck_CJ]

Thanks for the awesome input! The cruise can't get here quick enough

 

[MPS516]

Check out the adult entertainment in After Hours area, some are really fun. The DJ can also be fun in Wave Bands (old name) later at night.

What is your cruise date ?

 

[Darkwing_Duck_CJ]

Check out the adult entertainment in After Hours area, some are really fun. The DJ can also be fun in Wave Bands (old name) later at night.

What is your cruise date ?

The night club does sound fun. We are really looking forward to Crown and Fin, too. We leave 3/5. Can't wait to experience Disney at sea.

 

[Jenscruise]

We are heading out this coming Saturday on our third Disney cruise on the fantasy. The first two we took it as it came, we planned no excursions, and we just looked at the Navigator and decided what we wanted to do as it happened. It was super relaxing and exciting. This time we've planned a few excursions and things but still take lots of time to just enjoy the ship and relax. It is a completely different vacation from the world, as that tends to be a lot of running and planning and go go go, where a cruise can be as relaxing or as exciting as you want it to be.

 

[lbus42]

I agree with everyone that gave the advice to relax. A DCL Cruise is much different than Disneyworld. WDW requires you to extensively plan and hurry from place to place. Like Jenscruise said, a "cruise can be as relaxing or as exciting as you want it to be." DCL gives you the option of completely relaxing and enjoying yourself.

 

[squirk]

It is a completely different vacation from the world, as that tends to be a lot of running and planning and go go go, where a cruise can be as relaxing or as exciting as you want it to be.

^ This. There are a handful of activities with limited availability that you have to plan for well in advance (CC cabanas; Palo/Remy; ticketed meet-n-greets), and lines can sometimes get long for the non-ticketed m&g's, but generally speaking, you don't need a touring plan, you don't need to get up with the chickens for rope-drop, you won't spend 10-15 walking from one "land" to the next, and you aren't limited to three reserved activities per day like FP+.

In short, you don't need a "strategy" like you do in the parks.

 

[tigerchic89]

Try to see the evening shows, they are good. Since you are big WDW fans, you might enjoy some of the trivia contests, check the navigator for times

 

[MunFam]

My advice would be to thoroughly review your Navigator each day. There is nothing worse than getting to dinner and talking with others and realizing you missed some really cool class, activity, show, etc that you would have otherwise gone to if you knew about it.

Oh and if you want to be a real fatty, order cookies and mickey bars from room service. Let the mickey bars sit for a minute then remove the stick and make the best ice cream sandwich on earth!

 

[Darkwing_Duck_CJ]

I love the idea of taking it slow. As I said, DW and I see normally rope drop, non stop, touring plan park goers. We love it, and always find a rest day, but to have a Disney trip that's focused on relaxation seems like an amazing time... and those nickel bar/chocolate chip cookie sandwiches sound INSANELY good. That's a must do to split with the Mrs

 

[85glht]

My advice would be to thoroughly review your Navigator each day. There is nothing worse than getting to dinner and talking with others and realizing you missed some really cool class, activity, show, etc that you would have otherwise gone to if you knew about it.

^This! You will get one in your room every evening. We go through it as we relax in bed just before shut eye. Gives us a heads up for things we may want to participate in on the next day.

 

[lbus42]

If you are a coffee lover, order a carafe from room service in the evening. The coffee will still be hot in the morning and will save you a trip up to the drink stations.

 

[NDFAN89]

Order room service warm cookies and milk at least one night

 

[mkh531]

Yes the one "must do" that you don't have planned on here is room service. Room service is free so order whatever the hell you want whenever you want it. We always had them bring us crackers and cheese and wed have that with wine on the veranda. i also ordered room service breakfast items like a muffin or two since one or two of us would always wake up early