FE pro/con?

[kbww12]

My husband and I are planning a cruise for next year. We've been considering doing fish extenders but had a few questions.

How many gifts would we need?

How much does it normally cost to fill the extenders?

Is there anywhere we need to sign up, or do people just walk around and fill them?

 

[apathetic]

Depending how you sign up determines the number of gifts. Some limit it so you can get in with say 10 gifts. Or you can go to town and sign up with multiple groups. Cost is your choice, normally they are novelty gifts (largely Disney theme) or something unique to your locale. A lot are homemade items and generally you wouldn't be expected to go above a few dollars per gift. They have groups on facebook and probably someplace on this forum.

Pro: Fun to exchange gifts, especially if you have kids. Some of the stuff is very clever and useful beyond just eating when you get it.
Con: Getting the stuff to the ship (especially if you fly). Cost. And if you have a lot to deliver, you can spend a lot of time doing it.

I'm sure others will chime in with more.

 

[jlynch924]

I echo apathetic's comments. We've done the FE on two of our five cruises thus far, and I'm the FE coordinator for our upcoming cruise in January. Ours will have 15 cabins in each group, and you can choose to do one gift per cabin or individual gifts for each person in the cabin. Honestly, I love the FE experience because getting those gifts ready really gets me in the mood. I'm a gifter, anyway. We drive to port, so the transportation thing isn't an issue for me. I would say I usually spend between $75-$100 on gifts (all together). I usually do individual gifts.

 

[diznymom]

FE groups are organized in the Cruise Meet section. This section is at the top of the main page of this forum. The cruise meets are organized by ship and year, then specific sailing dates.

The FE exchanges are set up in the Cruise Meet of each sailing. Some groups make rules, some don't; some break the groups up into smaller groups, some don't. You will have to see what's going on during your sailing. The gifts are usually 1 per person or 1 per family in the FE group.

Pro: It's fun to give little gifts. It's fun to receive little gifts.

Con: The main con I have seen is there are threads here and all over the internet of very nice gifts that people are making and giving as FE gifts......we didn't get any of those.

Cost: You can spend as much or as little as you like. I've made some gifts that didn't cost anything. I've made gifts from thing I already had (craft supplies). I've bought gifts (usually a little at a time).

 

[TrySomethingNew]

FE can be a fun activity. I've done it twice, and while there are somethings that are everyday (candy as an example) there are usually other items that are more interesting, or personalized, or thoughtful, or useful.

Don't get wrapped up in what you think you should do - peruse some threads here and possibly some other non-Dis sites for ideas. I just write down all the things I find interesting while researching -all on one sheet- then figure it out or use the ideas to create my own version. You'll find ideas that appeal to your senses, budget, skills. You do not need to be crafty.

Some cruises have an adults only FE in addition to the mixed age groups. Therefore, you are not worried about all the different ages and what to do. Also, less likely to get 100 glow bracelets! (Funny though, we've never received glow bracelets, and I travel with kids).

Good luck! I enjoyed distributing them because it gave me a reason to walk the ship and see the door decorations, and FE.

 

[cheermom2four]

DH and I did it on our first cruise (ever) this past Feb when it was just he and I. Honestly, he was reluctant at first and so was I but after our first thing arrived in our FE holder, he actually was more excited to check than me LOL. I am a giver so I loved participating (even though I'm not crafty) and we had 10 cabins per group which means 9 cabins not counting us. This was really manageable and I was glad it wasnt more. We chose to do individual gifts for each person in our group but we had the option to do one gift per cabin. This was for a 3 night sailing

Our upcoming cruise with our kids we are doing it again. 10 cabins per group but our sailing group decided to also do an "adults only" FE which I chose to not participate in because I can handle 10 but not another 10. I love the fact I get to explore the ship while delivering our gifts. I'm going to have my dd come with so that way she can get into giving also. This is for a 7 night sailing so I will have more time to deliver

Its really something you need to think about as I enjoyed it but its not for everyone. I may not do it again on shorter cruises as it did get a little stressful as it was our first cruise and being such a short cruise we had to rush to get them delivered. On our 7 night I'm excited to participate

 

[Anisum]

I find with FE your mileage may vary. I've always had more success on longer cruises. For example I did an adults old one on a four day and found most people still gave things like pencils and crayons because they were in other FE groups and just bought the same thing for all of them which I don't mind overall but when it was an adult group I expected more adult oriented gifts. I got much more creative and thoughtful gifts on other cruises. I find that making FE gifts can be stressful if you make it stressful. You shouldn't worry about what you hope to get or how much to spend or what to do because if you do that you may be disappointed. You just need to do what feels right to you. I generally don't spend more than $3 per gift (or per person) and usually it's less than that depending on the size of the group. For an upcoming cruise I would say I spent about $40 give or take. If I have time I will make something handmade but if I'm busy I will get gifts at the store.

Overall I would say the following,
Pros: Exploring the ship, getting little gifts that make your day, sending gifts that you know will make kids (and/or adults) smile
Cons: Can be stressful, unfulfilling if you put too much into it with the expectation of getting the same amount back (I would say this doesn't happen as much), not every cruise may have a group on disboards
Cost: I've never spent over $50 for 9 staterooms (10 including myself) but I'm generally frugal and I'll make something before paying more to buy something

 

[dsdeleon]

I participate always, usually through social media groups. My first cruise on my Birthday, I got an FE gift that I treasure forever. It's a hand sewn Buzz Lightyear drawstring backpack that is just amazing. You will not find me on a cruise without it. She did SUCH an amazing job, hand sewn FE gifts for everyone, every day! It really made me step up my game because I am not crafty. This last cruise I got all the kids a big Mickey plush, adults Disney totes and other stuff and the con to taking 15 huge plush mickey mouses+ from NY to Bahamas is obvious and I agree that it can get a tad stressful if you let it. My 8yo and I did have a ball doing early morning deliveries this last cruise and I just will always add it to the budget and consider it part of the fun of a Disney cruise. My budget is around $100 and DH thinks I am crazy for all of it.

 

[amwhitaker]

I love participating in FE! It's always fun to go back to your cabin to see what was left. I started a board on Pinterest called Disney Cruise Stuff where I pin FE gift ideas.

 

[wcw57]

uh oh....is that considered a "social media" site?!

 

[skohrs]

We are participating in our first FE on our cruise that leaves this Saturday. When do we deliver our FE gifts? Do we deliver everything the first day, or spread it out over the length of the cruise? We have something for each person, and we also have a couple things that are one per stateroom.

 

[Bettyscruise]

Just my personal opinion, but we found our one and only FE participation to be more trouble and expense than we first anticipated and probably will never do that again. The gifts we chose to bring consumed an entire suitcase, something for all of the 50+ people involved. It was just too much. Good luck to all that participate but we will just "cruise" in the future.

 

[NCConch]

We participated on our first cruise four years ago. It was fun, though a bit of a time hog on a short (3-night) trip. We ordered custom lollipops that represented where we are from and gave each family member one. We also gave them as thank yous to CMs.

 

[ldo]

My teens loved doing it, although they really don't use any of the stuff when they get home. DD is crafty and makes special gifts, we then add a bag of trinkets/candy. It's more about the fun of making the gifts, distributing and then seeing what they got.

 

[T1nkerBell]

We had fun participating in FE on our first cruise. We signed up for a group from our cruise meet thread. That way you know gifts will come in your FE, I think random giving (pixiedusting) is rare.

I think you need to approach FE in a zen state of mind
Don't spend to much or make it a too big deal. Don't stress about what you will receive, don't stress about what the participants will think of your gift. If you just enjoy giving and receiving small gifts and tokens of good will, it's very enjoyable.

We brought most gifts home (gave some gifts suited for small kids away). We have gotten rid of most items now, 18 months after the cruise, but have held on to a few door magnets for later cruises and a few practical items. We also enjoyed the local food/snack items a lot.

We spent perhaps $10 total on each cabin (we gave a gift for the whole cabin only).

Hope you participate and make up your own mind!