First cruise ever - a few questions about stateroom and dining

[hominamad]

Hi - we're very excited to be leaving for our first cruise in a couple of weeks. Will be on Magic, for a 5 night cruise.

I had a couple of questions - hoping people here could clear up for me.

First - I booked our room as a Deluxe Oceanview guarantee. We just found out the stateroom and its #2526. I looked on the map and it seems like this is right next to the elevator bank. Is this considered a bad location? We have two kids - ages 7 and 11. I'm just worried that it's going to be noisy and wake us up either at night or in the morning. We waited until the last minute to book this, so does this mean we got the worst stateroom in our category? Any tips of how I can try to change it now?

Also, I looked on a bunch of websites and wasn't exactly clear what kind of bed arrangement or porthole this has. I wanted to have a room that has the "bunk bed" setup for the kids, and the one, large porthole. Is that was this room has? I'm assuming that Disney knows we have 4 people in the room and assign us a room that lets everyone have a bed.

Last question was about dining. We booked Palo for the 2nd night. When do you find out your rotation for the other dining rooms? I wanted to make sure we weren't going to miss any of the restaurants. Is this something that you don't know until you check in?

That's it for now.

Thanks!

H

 

[Gilland18]

We have had cabins near the elevator and did not have any noise problem, in fact, enjoyed the convenience. Also, we have cruised on deck 2 twice and really like the oceanview cabins on deck 2!

Disney does indeed provide everyone a bed. It should be the arrangement you hope for.

You will not get your dining rotation until you get your KTTW. The Navigator will list a location for dining changes if you aren't happy with your rotation.

Have a great cruise!

 

[lklgoodman]

We've also stayed on deck 2 on both the Magic and Wonder, will be on the Wonder next March on deck 2 again. We have stayed right by the elevators, loved it. Never heard noises from the elevators and I'm a very light sleeper. The forward and aft elevators aren't as busy as the mid-ship ones are. You'll have a big window, it won't have the window seat built in like the Fantasy/Dream, but still very nice. Plus you are located on the starboard side of the ship, many people consider this the best side of the ship. If your cruise stops at CC, you will be facing the island when you come to port, a lot of people like this.

 

[Geomom]

Only deck 1 has the 2 small portholes. On deck 2 you will have 1 large porthole. We sailed on the Wonder (Magic's sister ship) in stateroom 2116 which was right at the aft elevators. NO issues with noise. We loved the convenience of being there.

This is what a category 9C (Deluxe Oceanview on deck 2) room looks like.

 

[Laundress]

We love being near the elevator
Very convenient. I’ve had no problems with noise.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Being by an elevator can be noisy. Will it bother you? Hard to say. Do you like being by the elevator in hotels? Not to many people are cruising the ship at 1am, but at 10:00pm yup it can be busy. Or if your hoping for a mid-day nap. Deck 2 is a staterooms only floor, so you won't have the heavy traffic like on say deck 5 where the kids clubs are.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

I can't answer all your questions, but we were very near the aft elevators on our recent Wonder cruise and it didn't bother us at all. In fact, we found the location incredibly convenient.

I will add that we do use a white noise machine for sleeping at night. (DD has it in her room at home, so we all get to enjoy it when we travel together.) Perhaps that blocked some elevator and staircase traffic noise.

 

[hominamad]

This is very helpful and comforting. Maybe i'll have to invest in one of those noise machines. We're not terribly light sleepers. I'm not so much worried about nighttime - but I will be pissed if I get woken up at 6am!

 

[dalmatian7]

Another newbie here! We are looking at a 3 night cruise on the Dream for Nov. Right now I have a quote on a 9B on deck 2. It seems to be down a dead end hallway. Anyone have experience here? I also looked at one of the two porthole rooms on deck 6 forward. Would both of these have a bunk? We are a party of three. What deck do you exit the ship in Nassau and Castaway Cay? Is it worth it to switch up to something higher?

We are doing a short cruise to test the waters. We had a horrible 7 night cruise on Carnival 11 years ago and now are just brave enough to try again. That and DD7 watched the Disney Cruise line show on TLC so she is all taken up with it, so why not? I have to say, I am loving the trip reports on this forum, so much detail, now to just find one for our cruise length.

Also, do most of you book yourselves or with a travel agent? I have done both for WDW (prefering an agent because then I don't have to spend all day calling in for discounts when they are released). Since DCL isn't like that, what advantage would a travel agent have?

I can't answer all your questions, but we were very near the aft elevators on our recent Wonder cruise and it didn't bother us at all. In fact, we found the location incredibly convenient.

Which deck?

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Just want to chime in about staterooms near the elevators. We have had staterooms several times near the elevators and we have never had a problem with noise.
And I wish DCL would let us know our dining rotation before boarding. Is there a good reason for making us wait until we check in at the port?

 

[lorimay]

Good for you, there is nothing like the first time you walk on one of these ships, amazing doesn't even begin to describe it!

We generally pick cabins close to the elevators, that is not the noise issue, i'ts usually kids running down the hallways like lunatics day and night.
But it's a Disney cruise so its par for the course.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[hominamad]

The other thing we're a bit stressed about is that we got assigned the late dining seating. Not sure how my kids will do with that. I got myself on the waiting list, but not optimistic I can get that changed.

I'm also not sure if my 11 year old will want to go to the younger kids club, or the "tween" one. With the younger one he'll be together with his sister, but not sure if he'll feel too old there, or if he'll feel out of place not knowing anyone at the other club.

For the "tween club" (I forgot what they call it), do they allow the kids to come and go on their own? Or are they checked in with the same security checks as the other club?

I'm also unclear about what to do on the night we go to Palo, as far as when/where do our kids eat, will we see the show that night, etc. I guess we'll learn as we go!

 

[Geomom]

Another newbie here! We are looking at a 3 night cruise on the Dream for Nov. Right now I have a quote on a 9B on deck 2. It seems to be down a dead end hallway. Anyone have experience here? I also looked at one of the two porthole rooms on deck 6 forward. Would both of these have a bunk? We are a party of three. What deck do you exit the ship in Nassau and Castaway Cay? Is it worth it to switch up to something higher?

We are doing a short cruise to test the waters. We had a horrible 7 night cruise on Carnival 11 years ago and now are just brave enough to try again. That and DD7 watched the Disney Cruise line show on TLC so she is all taken up with it, so why not? I have to say, I am loving the trip reports on this forum, so much detail, now to just find one for our cruise length.

Also, do most of you book yourselves or with a travel agent? I have done both for WDW (prefering an agent because then I don't have to spend all day calling in for discounts when they are released). Since DCL isn't like that, what advantage would a travel agent have?




Which deck?

Travel agent benefit--depending upon the agency, you can get On Board Credit (OBC) to spend on the ship. We only use a travel agent for our cruises (the previous travel agent was for our honeymoon 24 yrs ago!). We use Dreams Unlimited who is a sponsor of these boards. They basically give you part of their commission to you in the form of OBC. Other people have happily used Costco as their Travel Agent and received a Costco gift card after their cruise worth 8% of the cruise price.

No idea on the Dream--our first cruise was a 7 nt Alaskan on the Wonder, and our second cruise will be this summer, a 7 nt. Northern European on the Magic. If possible, I would look at a 4 nt on the Dream over a 3 nt, to have more time to enjoy the ships' offerings. The Dream class ships have the mini golf, Midship Detective Agency, Aquaduck, as well as the movie theater, show theater, kids clubs, family entertainment offerings, etc.

 

[lklgoodman]

The Oceaneer's club is the only one that has the parents check the kids in/out. You can sign a waiver if your child is 8 or 9 yrs old and they can check themselves out at the Oceaneer's club. We haven't let our dd check herself out, so not sure of the exact age. Edge(tween) and Vibe(teen) the kids come and go as they please, our dd is too young to go to either of these clubs. She's an only child and really enjoys the Oceaneer's club, she always finds another child her age to hang out with. Depending on the time of your Palo ressie, you could go with your kids to the MDR as they eat, or you can get them food from room service, food option places by the pool, or they serve meals in the club. You'd have to check what time the meals in the clubs are served. My dd hasn't eaten in the club before, but from reading on here it sounds like it's a cheese sandwich, chips type of meal, not a hot meal. Palo meals can last 2-3hrs, so depending on your dinner time, you might miss the show that evening, depends on how slow you eat/want to stay at Palo.

 

[sambycat]

Yes another person wanting to say that, I’m my 10 cruises, ship elevators are nothing like hotel elevators noise wise. Sometimes you can hear a kid tromp down the hall, but we have stayed in a very similar location and I was concerned at first but it was super convenient and typically Disney cruises wrap up “early”. Have a great time!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Which deck?

Deck 6. We LOVED this location.

 

[lorimay]

The other thing we're a bit stressed about is that we got assigned the late dining seating. Not sure how my kids will do with that. I got myself on the waiting list, but not optimistic I can get that changed.

I'm also not sure if my 11 year old will want to go to the younger kids club, or the "tween" one. With the younger one he'll be together with his sister, but not sure if he'll feel too old there, or if he'll feel out of place not knowing anyone at the other club.

For the "tween club" (I forgot what they call it), do they allow the kids to come and go on their own? Or are they checked in with the same security checks as the other club?

I'm also unclear about what to do on the night we go to Palo, as far as when/where do our kids eat, will we see the show that night, etc. I guess we'll learn as we go!

When we travel with our grandkids we usually get them pizza from Pinnochios or call room service before we drop them at the club. As far aw the show, it really depends on what time you Palo reservation is.

 

[TrishaK]

To switch to early seating, go to the dining changes location when you board the ship. It'll be listed in the Navigator you receive. If the time for changing your dining starts at say 1:00, get there before then. We were able to change from late to early seating for our family of 3 with no issue.

 

[hominamad]

To switch to early seating, go to the dining changes location when you board the ship. It'll be listed in the Navigator you receive. If the time for changing your dining starts at say 1:00, get there before then. We were able to change from late to early seating for our family of 3 with no issue.

Thanks! This is great advice. I definitely feel more comfortable hearing that our location isn't the worst on the ship.

 

[dcassetta]

Hi - we're very excited to be leaving for our first cruise in a couple of weeks. Will be on Magic, for a 5 night cruise.

I had a couple of questions - hoping people here could clear up for me.

First - I booked our room as a Deluxe Oceanview guarantee. We just found out the stateroom and its #2526. I looked on the map and it seems like this is right next to the elevator bank. Is this considered a bad location? We have two kids - ages 7 and 11. I'm just worried that it's going to be noisy and wake us up either at night or in the morning. We waited until the last minute to book this, so does this mean we got the worst stateroom in our category? Any tips of how I can try to change it now?

Also, I looked on a bunch of websites and wasn't exactly clear what kind of bed arrangement or porthole this has. I wanted to have a room that has the "bunk bed" setup for the kids, and the one, large porthole. Is that was this room has? I'm assuming that Disney knows we have 4 people in the room and assign us a room that lets everyone have a bed.

Last question was about dining. We booked Palo for the 2nd night. When do you find out your rotation for the other dining rooms? I wanted to make sure we weren't going to miss any of the restaurants. Is this something that you don't know until you check in?

That's it for now.

Thanks!

H

Your stateroom will be fine. The doors are solid and unless there is a large group of people passing by, you are unlikely to hear the elevator area. Also, your room is under s shop and not the galley or club so there should be little noise from above. The sofa will turn into a bed and you will have a bunk.

This thread discusses the dining rotations on the 5 night magic cruises. You can use it to get a sense of what is each night, https://www.disboards.com/threads/5-night-magic-marvel-planning-question.3654426/#post-58700211

You will get your rotation when you check in, but can make a request before you sail.

The other thing we're a bit stressed about is that we got assigned the late dining seating. Not sure how my kids will do with that. I got myself on the waiting list, but not optimistic I can get that changed.

I'm also not sure if my 11 year old will want to go to the younger kids club, or the "tween" one. With the younger one he'll be together with his sister, but not sure if he'll feel too old there, or if he'll feel out of place not knowing anyone at the other club.

For the "tween club" (I forgot what they call it), do they allow the kids to come and go on their own? Or are they checked in with the same security checks as the other club?

I'm also unclear about what to do on the night we go to Palo, as far as when/where do our kids eat, will we see the show that night, etc. I guess we'll learn as we go!

Lots of kids do second dining, your kids are likely to be fine.

Your 11 year old may do both the kids and tween clubs.

On your Palo night, if the reservation is not at the same time as your MDR, you can choose to go with your kids to the dining room and just have a drink or appetizer. You may also chose the pool decl dinign raeas or room service. Your kids might like to go to the dining room on their own, your dining team will take care of them.