Disney Very Merrytime Cruise Questions..

[Kimberly9701]

Hi! Any advice for "must do" activities while on a Very Merrytime Cruise? A client of mine told me to buy matching pjs for myself and my son for the photos with Santa, and to make sure to sign up for gingerbread house making. I'm wondering what else is available as well. We will be on the Fantasy November 26th.

Also, Are any activities able to be schedule pre cruise? This is our first time with DCL (son's first cruise ever)

 

[mevelandry]

There are christmas oriented activities that you can book once you're on board but the activities you can book prior to the cruise are the same you can book the rest of the year.

 

[Bishoparc]

Here are a couple of official Disney videos on YouTube that might help:

 

[timrousbeastie]

Hi! Any advice for "must do" activities while on a Very Merrytime Cruise? A client of mine told me to buy matching pjs for myself and my son for the photos with Santa, and to make sure to sign up for gingerbread house making. I'm wondering what else is available as well. We will be on the Fantasy November 26th.

Also, Are any activities able to be schedule pre cruise? This is our first time with DCL (son's first cruise ever)

My own favorite part of the Fantasy Merrytime cruises is the overall attention to detail throughout the week. No one is better than Disney at celebrating the holiday season with everything from beautiful decorations to music and flavored coffees. Even the booklet with pre-cruise information is themed. There will be a tree lighting ceremony on the first evening and other celebrations throughout the the cruise. We haven't tried the gingerbread house or any other Christmas activities, you have to sign up for, but it was still a very special atmosphere. With a little luck, you'll also be able to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom before or after the cruise. Last year, we did it the evening before, and two years ago, we did it a few days after. I would definitely do it again if I went around that time of the year.

 

[Kimberly9701]

My own favorite part of the Fantasy Merrytime cruises is the overall attention to detail throughout the week. No one is better than Disney at celebrating the holiday season with everything from beautiful decorations to music and flavored coffees. Even the booklet with pre-cruise information is themed. There will be a tree lighting ceremony on the first evening and other celebrations throughout the the cruise. We haven't tried the gingerbread house or any other Christmas activities, you have to sign up for, but it was still a very special atmosphere. With a little luck, you'll also be able to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom before or after the cruise. Last year, we did it the evening before, and two years ago, we did it a few days after. I would definitely do it again if I went around that time of the year.

Thank you for the response! And yes, we are staying at the Contemporary for 3 nights post cruise- my son has no idea, so should be surprised when the shuttle pulls up to the resort instead of the airport. I can't wait to see his face!

 

[Kimberly9701]

Here are a couple of official Disney videos on YouTube that might help:

Everyone looks so casual in these videos, is formal night not actually "formal" on these sailings? Also, I've tried to look up navigators for past Merrytime western Caribbean cruises, and don't see anything about the activities shown in these videos.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Everyone looks so casual in these videos, is formal night not actually "formal" on these sailings? Also, I've tried to look up navigators for past Merrytime western Caribbean cruises, and don't see anything about the activities shown in these videos.

Formal night is optional - some people do it, some don't.

I did a western caribbean Very Merrytime on the Wonder and talk about a lot of these activities in my trip report here:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/...estern-caribbean-cruise-on-the-disney-wonder/

And they are in the Navigators here:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/...estern-caribbean-cruise-on-the-disney-wonder/

 

[Kimberly9701]

Thank you!

 

[Mitura]

Well we have only cruised during the Very Merry Time season so I can't tell you what is different between the two. But some things we did that were "Season" orientated.

Take a family photo in front of the big tree as soon as you get off the ship at Castaway Cay and use that for your Holiday Cards. Having the kids in swimsuits for the Holiday Card was awesome.

I did hear the Gingerbread House making is fun and you have to sign up early to be able to participate.

Lastly we did see Santa and the lines were a lot smaller than the Mall. Plus the setting is 100% better (in the Atrium of the Ship instead in front of Radio Shack, no brainier).

 

[Jsoenning]

I did hear the Gingerbread House making is fun and you have to sign up early to be able to participate.

It is fun, a chef comes out to help talk you through assembling the house. There are fresh baked gingerbread cookies passed out at the end, and the best part is you get to bring the house back to your cabin. Your cabin smells delicious, and you have a tasty snack for the remainder of your cruise!

 

[Flossbolna]

Everyone looks so casual in these videos, is formal night not actually "formal" on these sailings? Also, I've tried to look up navigators for past Merrytime western Caribbean cruises, and don't see anything about the activities shown in these videos.

I was on the cruise where they filmed that first video. I watched them spending "hours" on hot drinks being handed around in the Cove Cafe, which in the video is a 10 second scene.

It was the November 29, 2014 cruise and here are our Navigators: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...-disney-fantasy-itinerary-b-november-29-2014/

You can see that the Disney Cruise Line Blog has already collected all the info about the Very Merrytime events on the main page, you don't even have to go the single Navigators.

None of the events was on formal night, that also explains why everyone is dressed casual. I remember formal night to be fairly formal on this cruise, lots of families dressed up a lot for pictures for Christmas cards it seemed. But I would say more dark suits and cocktail dresses than tuxedos and gowns. But I would say at least 2/3 of the cruisers made an effort to dress up.

 

[mudd]

I did the gingerbread house a couple of years ago, I suggest doing this early in the cruise. You can not take it home with you, so options are eat it or leave.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We have done 3 Merrytime cruises; all of them special. The activities in and of themselves aren't very spectacular (fun, but not amazing). The decorations are what make the cruise fantastic. Our first non-merrytime cruise was our 3rd, and DW mentioned to me, "The atrium doesn't look quite right without the tree and the trimmings."

The gingerbread house building is very popular - sign up as early as possible when onboard.

Enjoy your cruise!!