First Time Cruisers Need everyones hottest Tips

[FlyToDis1]

Ok folks give us your hottest tips, and I will be well informed
we have stateroom 7063 Disney Magic Jan 4-8 2005 Thanks

 

[webray]

Ooh, good area.

Don't over pack....that is the best tip I was given, before our first cruise..I still overpacked..lol, but, I won't do it again.

 

[clarabelle]

IF you have younger kids. Let them wear their swimsuits on board underneath their clothes. That way they can swim immediately and not wait until your room is ready- or go into a bathroom to change.
Order the cheese tray from room service at least once.
Go to the trip reports forum and read lots of those so you know what to expect

 

[lilkitty819]

Don't forget a powerstrip...there's never many outlets in the room

 

[two-foxes]

Take a look at this post....

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=324082&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Lots and lots of pages of tips!

I believe there is another one floating around out there.

 

[RobinMarie]

This is what I have saved...

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=388591

 

[two-foxes]

Thanks, Robin Marie!!!! That was the one I had wanted to save to my faves. Much easier than the 10++ pages!

 

[canuk8156]

Take lots of $1 bills with you for tips (non-ship tips that is).
Depending on how you get to the port, for example you may want to tip at curbside airport check in, car rental shuttle driver and the list goes on. I always get a supply of smaller bills when I travel, so I am not stuck with just $20s or larger when I want to tip.

 

[canuk8156]

Take a supply of $1 bills for tips (non shipboard tips that is).
Depending on how you get to the port, for example you may want to tip at airport curbside check in, shuttle drivers, and the list goes on. Best to have some smaller bills available instead of being stuck with only larger bills. We also took a small supply of beer and coolers onboard with us.

 

[MarceRN]

1Don’t rush to the ship on boarding day, all you will do is wait. Go out to lunch in Cocoa Beach then leisurely board about 1:30-2P
2 bring an extension cord if you have a lot of things to plug in, a real cord not those double plug things with multiple outlets they do not fit
3 an over the door shoe holder is a must we did not have one and we had shoes everywhere.
4 Clothespins to hang laundry in bathroom tub. [Clothes line provided]
5Suit for the men
6Black dress pants for ladies, goes with all tops
7 Beer mug cost 9.00 you get a 22oz beer for the price of a 16 oz 3.25
8 Soda mug cost $35.00 instead of $1.50 per soda
9 bring your beer or soda mug to the coffee-tea station the cups provided are only 10 oz
10 the stateroom with separate toilet room and shower room was very nice this gave us 2 sinks and 2 mirrors
11 come to dinner 5 minutes late you avoid the line that goes down the hall
12 make your kids go to all the live shows then let them go to their clubs
13 We liked the group called Escape
14 We liked the bar on deck 3 called Promenade
[helpful hint we are middle aged white folks]
15We liked the inside stateroom as it was $700 less and the room was dark so the kids slept longer especially after staying in their clubs till midnight [and we drank till midnight!!]
16 We had no reason to even use a cooler or pack a lunch.
17 ALWAYS have your camera

 

[tkd lisa]

If you chew gum, bring it. It's not available on the ship. Bring lots of sunscreen. It's the one thing I always use more of than I plan.

Have a great time!

 

[IrishCowboy]

An incredible amount of information is available. I've been on 5 cruises and I still learn something new each week!

 

[The4OfUs]

Suction cup hooks for the shower - the clothes line is a bit wimpy and all our suits and such would fall to the middle, but 4 of these hooks on the shower wall, and our suits were always good to go!! LOVED that tip!

 

[crisi]

1. Swim early in the day. The kids had the Goofy pool to themselves the morning of sea day, and when the Mickey slide opened, they were able to go down it with almost no line. By 11:00 am, the pool was packed again. Its also nice to swim when you first board the boat, and anytime the boat is in port (the pools were great on Castaway Cay day).

2. Unless you are going to stand in line for a lot of character autographs and photos - a photo package probably isn't worth it for a three or four day cruise. We bought one, and bought ten out of twelve photos to use it - meaning we have two pictures that I would have passed on had they not been paid for. I think some people had TONS of photos however, if you get in line for every character meet you will have plenty to choose from.

 

[bwbuddy]

I'll be in that exact stateroom in July - remind me to fill you in!

 

[goofyguy1958]

MarceRN,

Please define "middle aged white folks" (age) and why did you like Promenade so much? Is this on the Magic? Gotta know where to go before we get there.

 

[jrabbit]

I respectfully disagree with the suggestion to arrive "late" at the port "because all you do is wait."

We like to arrive around 11am. It takes some time to get checked in. There is a enough to do to keep you entertained until boarding. The terminal is beautiful, there is a map of the bahamas, the model of the ship, the real ship is outside, there are Mickey cartoons on the many tv's throughout the terminal. Oh yea, the characters show up in the terminal too.

It's better to stand and wait outside (the ship or the parks) and then be able to cruise through any short lines you need to be in on the ship.

Don't eat a huge breakfast, the embarkation lunch buffett is wonderful and is a taste of things to come.