First Disney Cruise!!! Any advice?

[JoshuaGary1441]

This will be my first Disney Cruise, but my third time cruising. We are on the Disney Dream on Feb 5, 2016. We will embarking on my oldest daughter's birthday. (It's a surprise!!!) Any advice on what to expect or what to do especially for my daughters (age 2 & 6).

Thanks so much!!! Can't wait!!!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This will be my first Disney Cruise, but my third time cruising. We are on the Disney Dream on Feb 5, 2016. We will embarking on my oldest daughter's birthday. (It's a surprise!!!) Any advice on what to expect or what to do especially for my daughters (age 2 & 6).

Thanks so much!!! Can't wait!!!!

Well, first, take a breath.

My #1 tip is - be aware that you can't do "everything". And make peace with that.

Your 2 year old and your 6 year old will not be in the same kid's club (2 years olds go to the nursery).

Check the Navigator you get in the terminal (before boarding, preferably) to see if/where the tickets for the Anna & Elsa meet & greet; Princess Gathering; Disney Jr. character breakfast are being distributed. Decide whether you want to get those tickets and do it as soon as you board, if you do.

 

[rwthompson82]

This will be my first Disney Cruise, but my third time cruising. We are on the Disney Dream on Feb 5, 2016. We will embarking on my oldest daughter's birthday. (It's a surprise!!!) Any advice on what to expect or what to do especially for my daughters (age 2 & 6).

Thanks so much!!! Can't wait!!!!

I would recommend taking advantage of the open house hours at the Oceaneer's Club for your two year old. My 2.5 year old daughter loved this when we went (although it was on the magic). Almost two years later and she still talks about Pixie Holllow and Andy's Room.

 

[VbChristy]

Mickey bars are free under room service! (Just too the person that delivers them $2 )

And they are also available as dessert in the dining rooms after dinner!

 

[codex57]

yeah, accept you can't do everything and just make a list of "must do" things.

Couldn't do the Detective game, but at least got to check out some of the interactive "paintings"

You "must" download the app. Makes life much easier because it's easier to search for exact times than using the Navigator. However, you still need to read ALL of the Navigator because stuff is on there that isn't on the app. For example, I didn't learn about the Gingerbread House activity that needed tickets until too late because I only glanced at the Navigator you get when you check in at the terminal.

It's a little pricey, but Bibbity Bobbity Boutique was way cooler than I expected. We just did the $60 package and brought our own dress on board, but the kids look amazingly cute.

 

[ladypiph]

I believe you can go to guest services or maybe even at port (not sure) to get birthday pins like the ones they hand out at WDW. In you reservation you can add your DD's birthday under special requests I believe or just call DCL and mention it to them. You can have the stateroom decorated for her as well, that is under the gifts and amenities on DCL's website. BBB is a nice treat for both the girls as well.

 

[Laine Anderson]

There are lots of character meet and greets but you need tickets to see Elsa and Anna and those are available on deck 4 at the excursions desk, I'd go there as soon as you board because they only have so many of them. When we boarded, we were wearing our swimsuits with cover ups and went to the pool to have some fun. Cabanas (buffet) is open and around the corner from the pools so you can get food in there or take it to the deck and eat by the water. We boarded around 11:30am but the rooms weren't ready until around 2:15pm so pack everything you need in your carry-ons for that amount of time.

We also did the BBB and chose the $60 package. I packed costumes for my girls and they didn't know about it so we had them dress up and then went straight to get the princess makeover. They get to take a little makeup kit with them so you might want to confiscate it when you leave. Our girls decided later in the cruise to put their makeup on and it was all over their faces. Just a heads up.

Also on deck 11 is Eye Scream ice cream. It's available all day and most of the night. It was so yummy - I got the strawberry / banana swirl and it's self serve. Yummy!

Have fun!

 

[SacCruiser]

Don't be afraid to let the kids go to the kids club for as long as they want to. This is your cruise too. The staff will do a great job entertaining the kids and they wont want to leave.

 

[Mullis09]

These are great tips! Keep them coming lol! I am in planning mode, and reading a lot of blogs. Do they still do the thing where you drop off an item and all the characters sign it?

 

[2prettygirl]

I have heard they did away with the item you can drop off at guest services and get signed but I don't know for sure. We did that last year on our first Disney cruise, we had pillow cases signed, so awesome! We also did the Bippity Boppity Boutique and it was SO WORTH IT! We did the cheaper package and brought our own princess dresses on board, the girls really enjoyed themselves and when they walked into the dining room that night, dressed up as princesses, the dining staff went above and beyond to make them feel like real princesses!! We also decided last minute, once on board, to do the BBB for the pirate night, it was very reasonable in cost, we had our own pirate shirts already so the girls just got made up into a pirate at the BBB with makeup, a pirate kit, etc and that was by far worth the little we paid! Highly recommend!

Also, take part in pirate night as a family. We just took pirate tshirts, didn't go too all out but enough that we had fun with it.

Take a highlighter and highlight the navigator daily on things you would like to try and do, meet and greets you want to make and that way you have things lined out. Just know that most characters will be on the ship all week long so don't try to do them all in one day. The kids club is phenomenal! We cruise on Carnival the year prior to our Disney cruise and the kids were not fans of the kids club on Carnival so they were very hesitant to try Disney kids club. First day on the ship, they tried the club, Mickey and Minnie made a visit and they were sold for the rest of the week, they loved the club! Do not be afraid to leave you kids there, the staff is amazing and the club itself is awesome!!

Most of all just enjoy your cruise!!

 

[Laine Anderson]

These are great tips! Keep them coming lol! I am in planning mode, and reading a lot of blogs. Do they still do the thing where you drop off an item and all the characters sign it?

I don't think they do that anymore but at all the meet and greets people brought stuff for the characters to sign and they didn't hesitate.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

These are great tips! Keep them coming lol! I am in planning mode, and reading a lot of blogs. Do they still do the thing where you drop off an item and all the characters sign it?

No longer done. DCL stopped it last August.

But you can take items to the character meets and have them sign. Be aware there are some characters who can't sign (hand/eye line problems)