First Cruise Questions

[BLKKROW]

Let me say outright that I have been doing a lot of research so the majority of my noob questions have been answered. I am just left with a few.

If anyone cares my wife and I are cruising from San Diego to Vancouver for 5night starting May 17th. If you are also on this cruise and see someone with a giant camera with a big fuzzy microphone, say hello

Let's start with my questions. I will list them below:

1. I understand tipping is done at the end with a set $ amount per day for your server and room attendant. However, if we want room service, do they only accept tips via cash?

2. We keep reading there are so many activities on board, but we can only find references to those for kids. Can anyone provide a quick overview of what we can do on board if we don't drink? We don't need specifics, just a general idea.

3. On the last day when we disembark how does breakfast work?

Finally, any tips you can offer?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Let me say outright that I have been doing a lot of research so the majority of my noob questions have been answered. I am just left with a few.

If anyone cares my wife and I are cruising from San Diego to Vancouver for 5night starting May 17th. If you are also on this cruise and see someone with a giant camera with a big fuzzy microphone, say hello

Let's start with my questions. I will list them below:

1. I understand tipping is done at the end with a set $ amount per day for your server and room attendant. However, if we want room service, do they only accept tips via cash?

2. We keep reading there are so many activities on board, but we can only find references to those for kids. Can anyone provide a quick overview of what we can do on board if we don't drink? We don't need specifics, just a general idea.

3. On the last day when we disembark how does breakfast work?

Finally, any tips you can offer?

1. You can tip in cash to room service, or add it to the slip you sign for delivery (that will be put on your onboard account). You might have to ask for the slip, however, if you ordered stuff that has no extra cost. One note, cash tips go directly to the person delivering the room service. Tips to room service added to your onboard account are pooled to be divided by all delivery persons.
2. You can look here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/ at past Navigators to see what sorts of activities have been offered in the past. The grid has Fun for all ages/Adult/Vibe/Edge/Oceaneer Lab/Oceaneer Club lines.
3. You will go to the dining room that you ate in the last night (the night before) and have a sit down menu for breakfast. Early dinner seating for breakfast is typically around 6:45. Late dinner seating is 8:00ish. Alternatively, Cabanas is also open, until 8:00 for serving, but you can stay there until 8:30.

 

[Aby]

Congratulations on going on your first DCL cruise - you will love it!

As far as activities go, we are 2 adults that aren't big drinkers and we certainly find lots to do! During the day, we've gone to activities such as cooking demonstrations, trivia, bingo, movies in the theatre, and enjoyed relaxing time up on deck, at the spa, or just in our cabin. Each evening there will be a live show, either broadway style or a comedian/juggler/magician/etc. to enjoy. There is also adult only entertainment later on, like adult trivia and games, which are pretty fun. Although we don't drink much we also like the chocolate and beverage tasting seminar and try to take it in most cruises. Palo offers brunch and dinner which are also adult only and lovely experiences.

For the last morning, we prefer not to go to the main dining room for breakfast as we found the selections not that great and it took a long time to get our food. We prefer to go up to the buffet instead which is quite nice and less busy than the dining rooms.

One tip you will hear frequently, is not to try to do everything on your cruise, and I agree. There is way too much to take in everything. Don't forget to sit back, relax and just enjoy the ship!

If you are spending time in Vancouver after your cruise I'd highly recommend checking out Fly Over Canada which is on the roof of the cruise terminal...it's the Canadian version of Soarin' and it is amazing.

Enjoy your cruise!

Aby

 

[gismo1554]

1. I understand tipping is done at the end with a set $ amount per day for your server and room attendant. However, if we want room service, do they only accept tips via cash?

You can ask to charge to room Ive been told as they have a little slip you can fill in but they dont always present this without you mentioning it.

2. We keep reading there are so many activities on board, but we can only find references to those for kids. Can anyone provide a quick overview of what we can do on board if we don't drink? We don't need specifics, just a general idea.

Depends on if you count family activites as those for kids. Some of the adult things I've done are:

• Cookery classes (usually around 10am on sea days and you get to sample the food and a sip of wine to pair with it)
• Behind the scenes lectures (from things like making the ships to theatre tour and galley tour)
• Lecture series in general (they tend to do port lectures as well as lectures on various other aspects)
• Drink tastings (but you mentioned you weren't drinkers so no good)
• Animation classes (adult only and family ones)
• Craft classes (again adult only and family ones)
• Quizzes (again adult only and family ones)
• Adult time in the kids club (on longer cruises)
• Adult shows (usually around 10pm in the nightclub)
• Brunch in Palo (up charge on this)
• Adult pool
• Dance classes (on some longer cruises)

3. On the last day when we disembark how does breakfast work?

I tend to do main dining room for breakfast in order to say goodbye to table mates and staff. Its a reduced menu but still nice. You can also go to Cabanas and get food if you want a quicker option. It all depends on whether you have somewhere to be or not as the main dining room tends to be the slower option. Each dining rotation has a set time to dine and so if you are on Main dinner then you debarkation breakfast time is the earlier one (I want to say 6:30ish) and then if on Late you are in around 8am.

Finally, any tips you can offer?

Try not to plan too much as I can guarantee that you will not do everything you plan to! I am a planner and try to decided what I want to do but still have never managed to fit it all in after 9 cruises most of which have been 11 nights!

 

[Tinked]

And just in case you are thinking--jugglers, magicians, comedians, etc.--I never laughed so hard in my life so try to experience them.

 

[over50visits]

Great advice from aby and gizmo, as usual.

For the first timer, anticipation and planning can be a blast! Visit various user discussions, watch YouTube videos, surf Disney;s site from start to finish, dream about shows and shore excursions.

Then when the big day comes, don't sweat the small stuff. And, just like WDW, you can't do it all, so relax relax relax while doing some things, and make a mental note what to do next time.

My big advice is get to know the crew and staff. They are all fascinating, and everyone has a great story from the deck painters to the room stewards. Talk to any of them any time. And treat your restaurant servers with respect (not like servants) and you will get it back by the bucketload. They are all so cool.

 

[gismo1554]

My big advice is get to know the crew and staff. They are all fascinating, and everyone has a great story from the deck painters to the room stewards. Talk to any of them any time. And treat your restaurant servers with respect (not like servants) and you will get it back by the bucketload. They are all so cool.

Agreed completely!

 

[RedSox68]

Let me say outright that I have been doing a lot of research so the majority of my noob questions have been answered. I am just left with a few.

If anyone cares my wife and I are cruising from San Diego to Vancouver for 5night starting May 17th. If you are also on this cruise and see someone with a giant camera with a big fuzzy microphone, say hello

Let's start with my questions. I will list them below:

1. I understand tipping is done at the end with a set $ amount per day for your server and room attendant. However, if we want room service, do they only accept tips via cash?

2. We keep reading there are so many activities on board, but we can only find references to those for kids. Can anyone provide a quick overview of what we can do on board if we don't drink? We don't need specifics, just a general idea.

3. On the last day when we disembark how does breakfast work?

Finally, any tips you can offer?

One tip: We always bring some fives and ones for room service. It's quicker than asking for a slip to sign and they really appreciate it. Depending on how much one orders, we have tipped from $3 to $5.

Debarkation breakfast: you can either go to the dining room you were in the night before to be served by your regular dining staff, or you can go to the buffet to eat. If you don't want to take your bags with you, you can leave them in your room, but they must be out by the time announced for room evacuation. We usually go to breakfast at the buffet around 7 a.m. and come back to the room at 8 a.m. to get our bags - and we always let our room steward know we have left our bags so he won't think we left without them.

 

[dani24]

Let me say outright that I have been doing a lot of research so the majority of my noob questions have been answered. I am just left with a few.

If anyone cares my wife and I are cruising from San Diego to Vancouver for 5night starting May 17th. If you are also on this cruise and see someone with a giant camera with a big fuzzy microphone, say hello

Let's start with my questions. I will list them below:

1. I understand tipping is done at the end with a set $ amount per day for your server and room attendant. However, if we want room service, do they only accept tips via cash?

2. We keep reading there are so many activities on board, but we can only find references to those for kids. Can anyone provide a quick overview of what we can do on board if we don't drink? We don't need specifics, just a general idea.

3. On the last day when we disembark how does breakfast work?

Finally, any tips you can offer?

We're on the same sailing as you, and it's also our first Disney cruise! We'll definitely keep an eye out for your camera. Are you on the FB group?

Having cruised on another line previously, I highly suggest bringing an envelope full of small bills for tipping room service. It's a lot less hassle than having to request a slip to pay with your account.

For the activities, I suggest checking the Disneycruiselineblog -- they have a bunch of Navigators from past cruises, including some from prior years on this exact same itinerary. Look through those past ones, and a few recent ones on the Wonder to get a sense of what kinds of activities are on board. There's a pretty wide variety, and I suspect that you will find more than plenty to entertain you without alcohol. Things I've seen that piqued my interest were Bingo, the spa, evening shows, movies, walking ship tour, Majority Rules game show, Wonder Quest game show, trivia games, karaoke (well, that one's more for my husband -- I'm a horrid singer), live music in the lounges, towel folding class, etc. Plus, there's always things like finding a quiet spot on deck to relax with a snack or cool beverage and watch the ocean pass by. Or laying out by the pool with a book. Or exploring the ship to find hidden Mickeys. Or play basketball or learn shuffleboard on the sports deck. I think you'll find plenty to do, if you'd like!

One other tip for breakfast, that I don't think I saw above, is that you will need to bring your luggage with you, and won't be able to go back to the stateroom after. Make sure when you pack your bags the night before that you leave out the clothes and toiletries and other items you need for the next morning. You'll just have to carry that stuff with you to breakfast and off the ship.

 

[mevelandry]

*Nevermind*

 

[RedSox68]

We're on the same sailing as you, and it's also our first Disney cruise! We'll definitely keep an eye out for your camera. Are you on the FB group?

Having cruised on another line previously, I highly suggest bringing an envelope full of small bills for tipping room service. It's a lot less hassle than having to request a slip to pay with your account.

For the activities, I suggest checking the Disneycruiselineblog -- they have a bunch of Navigators from past cruises, including some from prior years on this exact same itinerary. Look through those past ones, and a few recent ones on the Wonder to get a sense of what kinds of activities are on board. There's a pretty wide variety, and I suspect that you will find more than plenty to entertain you without alcohol. Things I've seen that piqued my interest were Bingo, the spa, evening shows, movies, walking ship tour, Majority Rules game show, Wonder Quest game show, trivia games, karaoke (well, that one's more for my husband -- I'm a horrid singer), live music in the lounges, towel folding class, etc. Plus, there's always things like finding a quiet spot on deck to relax with a snack or cool beverage and watch the ocean pass by. Or laying out by the pool with a book. Or exploring the ship to find hidden Mickeys. Or play basketball or learn shuffleboard on the sports deck. I think you'll find plenty to do, if you'd like!

One other tip for breakfast, that I don't think I saw above, is that you will need to bring your luggage with you, and won't be able to go back to the stateroom after. Make sure when you pack your bags the night before that you leave out the clothes and toiletries and other items you need for the next morning. You'll just have to carry that stuff with you to breakfast and off the ship.

You actually don't have to bring your bags to breakfast if you have early seating or use the buffet, as long as you are out of the stateroom by the time given (usually 8 a.m.). We have many times gone up and gotten breakfast, let our stateroom host know and then returned for our bags before 8 a.m. and it was fine. I think if you have the later seating, however, that won't work.

 

[Dug720]

2. Most activities for adults only are alcohol tasting. There is the restaurants 18+, an 18+ Café and the spa but there is an upcharge for all of that too.There are some games or trivia later at night but we are in bed so haven't tried them.

So not true. There have been lectures, crafts, drawing sessions, and cooking sessions that were 18+ on every DCL cruise I have been on. During the day - not just at night.

Oh - and the Art of the Theme Show tour is 18+ and AMAZING. And alcohol-free.

 

[RedSox68]

So not true. There have been lectures, crafts, drawing sessions, and cooking sessions that were 18+ on every DCL cruise I have been on. During the day - not just at night.

Oh - and the Art of the Theme Show tour is 18+ and AMAZING. And alcohol-free.

Yes, and I've even done napkin folding and how to decorate a table for dining! All alcohol free.

 

[mevelandry]

So not true. There have been lectures, crafts, drawing sessions, and cooking sessions that were 18+ on every DCL cruise I have been on. During the day - not just at night.

Oh - and the Art of the Theme Show tour is 18+ and AMAZING. And alcohol-free.

I think at this point, I'll just stick to my own threads...

 

[Dug720]

I think at this point, I'll just stick to my own threads...

I was simply pointing out that there are PLENTY of 18+ activities that do not involve alcohol. You made it sound like they were maybe only in the evening.

 

[mevelandry]

I was simply pointing out that there are PLENTY of 18+ activities that do not involve alcohol. You made it sound like they were maybe only in the evening.

To the best of my knowledge, they were. I'm not a CM. I'm a participant on a forum and I do the best I can to help.

You could have simply added the activities that I was not aware of instead of saying that what I said was "So not true"...

 

[Dug720]

To the best of my knowledge, they were. I'm not a CM. I'm a participant on a forum and I do the best I can to help.

You could have simply added the activities that I was not aware of instead of saying that what I said was "So not true"...

But it's NOT true. And a quick check of the "Adults" section of the Navigator shows it.

 

[mevelandry]

But it's NOT true. And a quick check of the "Adults" section of the Navigator shows it.

Whether it was true or not, my point is that there was more polite ways to say it...

 

[Dug720]

Whether it was true or not, my point is that there was more polite ways to say it...

And therein lies the problem with the internet. Tone cannot be read.

 

[mevelandry]

And therein lies the problem with the internet. Tone cannot be read.

Good point.