Finally booked! Dream must dos?

[chefmb]

We might be on the same cruise! This is our first Disney cruise. Our only other cruise was 20 years ago-an incentive for a direct sales company I worked with at the time. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but our two DSs were only 6 and 4 at the time and staying with my parents. I've been reading a lot about the cruise, but feel like until I experience it, I can't really appreciate it all. We did not book any excursions, and are planning to stay on the ship in Nassau. I've read that about half of the guests skip Nassau now, so I know there will be lots of people still on the ship, but I'm hoping it is a nice, relaxing day. I'm trying to decide whether to go to the Adults Only part of Castaway Cay, or stay on the family side. Any opinions on that, experienced cruisers? Any other tips for us first timers?? Keep them coming, please!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We might be on the same cruise! This is our first Disney cruise. Our only other cruise was 20 years ago-an incentive for a direct sales company I worked with at the time. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but our two DSs were only 6 and 4 at the time and staying with my parents. I've been reading a lot about the cruise, but feel like until I experience it, I can't really appreciate it all. We did not book any excursions, and are planning to stay on the ship in Nassau. I've read that about half of the guests skip Nassau now, so I know there will be lots of people still on the ship, but I'm hoping it is a nice, relaxing day. I'm trying to decide whether to go to the Adults Only part of Castaway Cay, or stay on the family side. Any opinions on that, experienced cruisers? Any other tips for us first timers?? Keep them coming, please!

No reason you can't spend a little time on the Family beach - Pelican Plunge is there. And also go over to Serenity Bay.

 

[RedSox68]

We might be on the same cruise! This is our first Disney cruise. Our only other cruise was 20 years ago-an incentive for a direct sales company I worked with at the time. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but our two DSs were only 6 and 4 at the time and staying with my parents. I've been reading a lot about the cruise, but feel like until I experience it, I can't really appreciate it all. We did not book any excursions, and are planning to stay on the ship in Nassau. I've read that about half of the guests skip Nassau now, so I know there will be lots of people still on the ship, but I'm hoping it is a nice, relaxing day. I'm trying to decide whether to go to the Adults Only part of Castaway Cay, or stay on the family side. Any opinions on that, experienced cruisers? Any other tips for us first timers?? Keep them coming, please!

It depends on what you're looking for. The family beach, of course, will be more crowded and noisy, but the water there is deeper for swimming, snorkeling, etc. and they have the "playground" (I call it) out in the water for kids to swim out to. The adult beach is quieter, but on the bigger ships can also be crowded. The water there, however, is much more shallow, allowing you to walk quite a ways out, see more fish, etc. We found it more relaxing simply because there are less people in the water. However, on the adult beach you do miss the opportunity to sit on the beach with the full view of the ship which is quite spectacular.