First Time Cruise - What to do before arrival?

[WDWRook]

Hello,

I have our first cruise booked on the Dream for Jan 28 through Feb 1. Family of four with a 12 and 8 year old. We are flying in the day before (though I need to book a room near the dock yet) and staying at SSR for two nights after the trip (though not going into the parks).

It seems like I should be doing something now or before departure? When or how do you signup for any activities, or is there no pre-arrival signing up for stuff? An email said my check in date is Nov 15th, so I have that calendared. Anything else? Feels like I'm missing something.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You will be able to sign up for onboard activities and shore excursions on your check in date, so long as you are paid in full.

You will want to pre-register your kids for kid club stuff.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Get to know the lay-out of the ship and where your stateroom is relative to all the activities and dining rooms: https://www.cruisecritic.com/disney-dream-deck-plans/dp/
Start putting together your pirate costumes. Nothing fancy just fun. I shop at Savers or Goodwill: black cotton pants (soft wide leg not jeans) trim just above the ankle and then make zig-zag cuts like they are worn out at the bottom, horizontal stripe shirt and a rope for a belt.

You're going to have a blast with your family.

 

[GPaLarry]

You may want to do a decoration or two to help you find your stateroom door and express your inner mousiness. Magnets only, no tape. Check YouTube for examples, some over the top...hmmm!...not possible. There are fish extenders, too, another fun minor subculture. Don't overplan your first cruise. Let the magic come to you and get a feel for what you might add/change on cruise #2. Cruise on...

 

[disneylove69]

Passports or birth certificates ready?

 

[Dug720]

You may want to do a decoration or two to help you find your stateroom door and express your inner mousiness. Magnets only, no tape. Check YouTube for examples, some over the top...hmmm!...not possible. There are fish extenders, too, another fun minor subculture. Don't overplan your first cruise. Let the magic come to you and get a feel for what you might add/change on cruise #2. Cruise on...

Just be aware that magnets have been known to wander before. So do not count on those for finding your cabin.

 

[WDWRook]

Thanks for the tips. I've not gotten passports. I guess I was not planning too as I know it's not technically required. But, I'll look again. Photo copies of Birth Certificates are ok, right?

Are there any programs you recommend to sign up for right away? I was not planning to sign up for much (though I've not looked to heavy into it yet). I want this to be a casual and relaxed trip, as opposed to our overly planned hyper active Disney trips.

 

[jrabbit]

not to be very contrary but since this is your first cruise and you are flying...

• I would not worry about pirates costumes ... single use clothes that take up space ... unless that really floats your boat
• I would not join up with a fish extenders group (gift exchange) ... will take up luggage space going and coming. But there are a lot of people that love them. You should have time to find an join a group before your cruise. If you participate - it will take you a while to wander the halls and deliver your gifts - and you might want to be doing something else.

Stuff to do now
There are lots of good hotels in Cocoa Beach. Are you planning on driving to the coast from the airport? The Cocoa Beach / Port Canaveral tourism "board" has a package that will pick you up at Orlando Airport, Drive you to your hotel in the Port Canaveral area, then on the morning of your cruise shuttle you to the port. We used it a few years ago ... worked out pretty well. GoPortCanaveral

RE: Activities: you should be looking at DCL's web site for Port Adventures for the ports you are going to. Decide which one(s) you would like to do and can afford (some are WAY expensive), then do your research on other independent touring for those ports - if you are comfortable going out on your own. There are a lot of people here that go out on their own and can give a lot of good recommendations. Remember, the ship will wait for you if your excursion through the ship runs late, if you are on your own, well Rule number 1 is Don't Miss The Ship!! Rule Number two: Know When All Aboard Time is in every port. Rule Number 3: Keep your watch / cell phone set to Ships Time... 99.999% of the time it is local time ... but NEVER rely upon that. In your stateroom there will be a notice to change your clocks forward or backward on the nights when you need to do that.

I will Second, Third and Fourth: that you find your needed Government Documentation - NOW!!! Put it somewhere safe that you can get it any time. And verify that its valid for the travel (and time) that you will be embarking on. There have been stories over the last 20 years here where people have said to themselves - my passport is in the safe deposit box at the bank. Not a Problem. Until they are getting ready to leave on a weekend or holiday .. or a "sneaky" bank holiday - think Columbus day - when you can't get your doc's and your flight leaves in 4 hours For the kids - you will need a valid birth certificate (passports if you have them are always better in my mind). The adults will need either a passport or one of each of the following: Birth Certificate and Photo Government ID (ie Drivers License), again, I prefer to travel with my passport. If you are using your passport to get onto the ship, Adults should also bring their drivers license - to get back into the port area after your day on shore - for getting on the ship the Drivers License is easier than the Passport.


Things to do in the weeks before you leave
Other people might suggest you find prior Navigators online to get an idea of the activities onboard. I say - skip that, leave some "surprises" for on the ship. Same goes for the menus .. why decide what you want to eat before entering the restaurant. Speaking of Navigators, you can now Download the DCL Navigator App (Android and Apple). Do it before you board the ship. Then onboard it will give you all of the days activities (actually will show the entire schedule for your cruise).

I would call DCL and ask them what the "theme nights" are for your cruise ... as you get close to Sail Date. We do this to help with our packing. Nice to know what nights are Formal, Semi Formal, Casual, Pirates, Frozen, etc. Also we check the weather where we are going the week before we leave - again to verify what we packed. Our last cruise we were touring for a week before the cruise and the weather forecast for our ports and was mid to upper 60's. Well in the week prior to the cruise portion, the weather cleared up and the temperature dropped 10 degrees, so unfortunately we didn't have heavy enough coats to be out on deck for very long at a time. I'm guessing that you are doing the Caribbean or Bahamas cruise - so the weather will be more predictable.

And you can start practice packing now. Then get rid of half of the clothes. And frequently that will still be too many clothes.

You do NOT need different shoes every night!! (oops, that's the frustration I have with the females in my family ... you're fine)

Have Fun!!! It's good that you have Thanksgiving and Christmas (and various other celebrations) between now and the cruise. Waiting for embarkation day is HARD!!

Last Advice for New Cruisers

1. You Can't Eat It All - but try new foods onboard- if you don't like it your severs will bring you something else - it won't cost you any more money
2. You Can't DO It All - but sleep is for AFTER the cruise. And I find that I could sleep my cruise away ... the usual gentle rocking of the ship, the comfy beds ...
3. Sunscreen - Fully, and reapply Frequently ... The Sun IS different there than where you live (usually) and especially at the time you are traveling. Sunburns cut down on the fun by A LOT!!

 

[smiths02]

Thanks for the tips. I've not gotten passports. I guess I was not planning too as I know it's not technically required. But, I'll look again. Photo copies of Birth Certificates are ok, right?

Are there any programs you recommend to sign up for right away? I was not planning to sign up for much (though I've not looked to heavy into it yet). I want this to be a casual and relaxed trip, as opposed to our overly planned hyper active Disney trips.

Make sure that all your documentation (birth certificates, driver's licenses, etc.) EXACTLY match the ship registry.
We got passports, but my in-laws did not. First, my father-in-law's birth certificate had an incorrect birthday (probably the day his mom went to the hospital as he was born at home). We got that settled before we went.
Then, we had my mother-in-law's birth certificate and marriage certificate. The problem is that she goes by her middle name...so her driver's license and ship registry have her middle name as her first name, her maiden name as her middle name, and her married last name which did not match her birth certificate exactly. We were worried and we boarded later than we had planned.

For DH and I, who had passports, they barely looked at them leaving or coming back. For the kids, birth certificates were also fine.

 

[jrabbit]

... I've not gotten passports. I guess I was not planning too as I know it's not technically required.

Correct, they are not required: Again assuming that you are departing and arriving in the same port (closed loop).

There 2 reasons NOT to get a passport: A) They are expensive and B) I am never going to use them again. A distant third is that for the kids they are only good for 5 years and until they are 18 (I think) they will have to do a full application vs. renewal

There are many reasons for having passports ... they are becoming THE form of identification. There are many states where your drivers license will no longer be "good enough" / secure enough to fly (at least I think that is still going to happen in the next year or two). You will travel overseas again - or even go to Canada. Identification for work ... the I9 takes JUST the passport otherwise you will need multiple forms of ID to complete. If something happens while you are on the cruise and you have to leave early (medical emergency), having a passport will help with your travel back to the states ...

But, I'll look again. Photo copies of Birth Certificates are ok, right?

I don't think photo copies are OK ... @PrincessShmoo will I know, be able to provide these rules right off of the top of her head - she's THAT good!!

Are there any programs you recommend to sign up for right away? I was not planning to sign up for much (though I've not looked to heavy into it yet). I want this to be a casual and relaxed trip, as opposed to our overly planned hyper active Disney trips.

Great Plan!!!
Like I said in the prior post, really the only thing I would be looking at are shore excursions. If you are going to Castaway Cay, I really wouldn't book anything there ahead of time, unless you want to go parasailing or fishing or the stingray encounter. DO NOT pre rent Float Tubes or Mats - they have plenty - and won't run out!! Same with snorkeling equipment.

 

[WDWRook]

Jrabbit. Thanks for that post. Great info. I'll look into passports.

 

[braysmommy]

Last time we stayed near the port we booked at the Radisson since they have a great pool that we enjoyed after our very early flight out of CT.

 

[m3gg3m]

You can also read through pre-trip reports. I find them helpful for planning (and I'm currently journaling one for my trip coming up in January too.)

 

[kiford]

Photo copies of Birth Certificates are ok, right?

NO. If you are not using passports, AFAIK, you must have originals. And based on what I've read, even what is meant by "original" seems to be subject to interpretation (long form/short form, raised seal, etc.) and is something I can't speak directly to as I'm Canadian. A passport will have no such interpretation and who knows if you will ever want to use it again - it's good for 10 years. Regardless, a photocopy will not be sufficient.

 

[Sunshine2U]

This will be a great first cruise. The itinerary is not so complicated that it requires a lot of planning. Look at the spa packages and see if you want to book anything there. Look at the excursions for Nassau and Castaway Cay - you may want to pre-book those. Decide if you want to dine with your children at all meals or book a meal in the adult only restaurants. Otherwise it's pretty easy. People who do fish extenders or magnets are a small percentage of all cruisers - I'm with @jrabbit in saying keep it simple and simply enjoy this first time. But it's worth mentioning there are a lot of kids in pirate costumes on pirate night. Now would be a good time to pick some up - at least for your 8yo.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don't think photo copies are OK ... @PrincessShmoo will I know, be able to provide these rules right off of the top of her head - she's THAT good!!

Well, I'm not that good. But, the law is a bit ambiguous, as it says "a copy of the official birth certificate". That could either mean the official copy that you get from the registrar where you were born (since that's what you get from them, not the real birth certificate), or a xerox copy of the birth certificate.

I'm not sure on DCL's stance on it, but I know on Carnival, a xeroxed copy works.

My take? Get the real, genuine, official copy from the registrar.

 

[g_ppetto]

Start on your passports ASAP. We had to get replacement birth certificates as the ones we had were not acceptable for the passport applications. We have county store near us that helped submitting our passport applications. You may have the same.

If you are a Costco member, go there for your passport photos. They are about $5 at Costco and they re-took mine as I realized I didn't like the photo after we got home. We went back the next day and I was prepared to pay again but they just took the photo and exchanged the bad for the good.

I can second the Radisson for convenience. We stayed there the night before our cruise last September. Can't comment on the pool as we didn't use it. The photos seemed nice... We liked it enough to make another reservation for the night before our next cruise.

We had our car so we visited Ron Jon Surf Shop in the afternoon and made it back to Fishlips for a early dinner and to watch the cruise ships depart. You know about that right? The Port Canaveral web cam is located at Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill. PTZTv dot com. Visit the Port Canaveral web cam around 4 pm or so to watch the sail away's. My wife made a 'we heart ptztv' sign and we made it onto the sail away video for our cruise. We were messaging with our daughter in NJ as the ship left. She was watching the live feed. Make a sign, find a spot along the railing, hold your sign to the glass, and wave. You can view the sail away video after the cruise. Hot pink poster-board with black lettering works well.

A couple of sightseeing things - SpaceX / Elon Musk keeps several of their vessels at Port Canaveral. These are the barges(?) that are used as landing platforms for their rockets and to catch the fairings when they return to earth. Sometimes, one or more are docked near Fishlips, sometimes they are on the other side of the channel. There is a Marine Traffic map below the Port Canaveral web cam that will show you what is in port. Also, after the ship leave the channel, assuming you are wandering around on the upper decks, look back to land on the north side of the ship and you should be able to see the Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center.

re: Check in - Several posters here have said they were able to perform some of the check in things on the evening before their check in date. The earliest time I saw so far was 8:15. They weren't able to reserve activities until after midnight, but were able to get other stuff done. Since you are going to be in the area, try to get the earliest PAT you can. If you are unable to schedule the activities you want during the online check in, you may be able to get them when you board. When you check in at the port you should be given a Navigator. It will tell you where to go on the ship to make the reservations. Check some of the Navigators posted online to get a feel for what to look for.

The itinerary for your trip is what we did in September - Cruise, SSR. We stayed in the Congress Park building at SSR as our plans were to visit Disney Springs. It is a short walk to the boats that ferry you around. We had requested a specific room at SSR and also used the Touring Plans site to make a request. It wasn't the exact room we wanted, but it was close enough.

Have a great trip!

 

[m3gg3m]

Well, I'm not that good. But, the law is a bit ambiguous, as it says "a copy of the official birth certificate". That could either mean the official copy that you get from the registrar where you were born (since that's what you get from them, not the real birth certificate), or a xerox copy of the birth certificate.

I'm not sure on DCL's stance on it, but I know on Carnival, a xeroxed copy works.

My take? Get the real, genuine, official copy from the registrar.

Regular ol' photocopy of birth certificates for our kids worked just fine in 2015. I called ahead of time to confirm. It doesn't look like the requirements have changed since then.

That said, our girls have their passport appointments coming up in November ahead of our Jan 2019 Fantasy cruise. But mostly because we expect to travel internationally with them in the near future.

 

[Travel60]

I agree with those who said get your documentation in order....that's really the most important thing.

Do check out the kids clubs, my kids LOVED them. Make sure they go the first night when introductions and ice breaker activities happen.

We don't get off the ship in Nassau but if you plan to, you might want to look at excursions. Castaway Cay doesn't require any early planning unless you want to parasail or do other watersports. We generally rent a bike and snorkles once there.

We don't worry about dinner rotations, just let it happen. We like second seating (even when kids were younger) but lots of families like earlier dinner.

You will be tempted to pack too much. Most daytimes a swimsuit and shorts/top suffice....can wear multiple days. We like to dress a bit for dinner but even then one pair slacks, one skirt and maybe a dress for me and a couple pair of khakis and several buttondowns or polos for hubby.

We don't do any of the other stuff...fish extenders, costumes, etc. You might do a pirate outfit for your youngest if hes/she's in to dressing up but Disney will give everyone a pirate scarf the night before....that's my "costume".

This forum can cause you to over think/over stress. Everything doesn't have to be planned. Let it happen.....

 

[DietCokeMommy]

According to the DCL website copies are ok. They say for closed loop cruises to the bahamas: "Original or copy of their state-issued birth certificate AND Government-issued photo ID"

Link for more info: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/passport-travel-documentation/