- Podcast 2.0 was my very first cruise...ever. And I was nervous. I get motion sickness riding in a car so I was nervous about sea sickness. I took some meds which did not help and spent the rest of the cruise wearing motion sickness bracelets. Lesson learned...have a back up plan just in case.
- Your whole family will enjoy the cruise. If they don't like anything Disney, like my husband, then they may feel a little frustrated. But my husband enjoyed the cruise, hated that everything was Disney, but kept an open mind and knew that if you had kids, this was the cruise.
- Podcast 2.0 was in December 2010 and a freak cold storm came through that week. WDW was freezing at night and very cold during the day. I thought that perhaps it would be warmer on the cruise going south. No such luck. It was too cold to swim at
Castaway Cay but gosh darn it, we swam in the ship's pool. Keep an open mind. There were kids and parents swimming at Castaway Cay, but did so for only a few minutes since the water was cold. They spent the rest of the day building a sandcastle. So try out the water and judge for yourself. If your kids can't swim they may be able to build a sandcastle. Most of the older guests just enjoyed relaxing on the beach drinking whatever.
- Like the post before, just try to relax and enjoy your first cruise as a family. There may be some arguing amongst the family members but remember you don't have to spend the entire cruise together. Let everyone enjoy activities they want to do and have fun. Look at the Navigator's that are in your room, usually the night before, and see what activities are being presented. Bring different color highlighters (one color for each family or family member) and highlight the activity.
- Unfortunately, you can't control the weather and neither can Disney. That is why they always have a Plan B. Just go with the flow and have a lot of fun. Check the weather channel.com for temperatures to make sure you packed appropriately. For 2.0 I packed shorts and tee-shirts up to the day before we had to leave. I checked the weather and had to dump everything and bring, instead, jeans and long sleeve shirts AND a winter coat.
- The doctor's office on the ship is expensive, and your health insurance may not cover it, so unless there is an emergency make sure to bring band-aides, tummy medicine, Tylenol, etc.
- Bring a can of spray for the bathroom. The bathroom is not exactly huge and for some reason every time I went in there it was smelly and sometimes bad. So I would use some spray and it helped. Make sure you put this can in a plastic bag just in case it leaks.
- Bring some plastic bags and clothes pins for the wet clothes. You can pin the clothes up to "dry" during the evening and then put them in a plastic bag just in case they are still a little wet.
- Have a small carry bag for the last night. Make sure you have everything you need for the next morning before you put your luggage out the night before. We used the bag to put in the night before items to carry to breakfast the last morning.
- If you are using passports make sure you have signed them. We used ours for simplicity and the Custom's lady was really ticked that we didn't read the entire passport book and sign it. She almost didn't let us back in until we sat there and read and then sign it. But another officer overheard the conversation and told her to let us in since there were a lot of people. We had to show our driver's licenses as well.. So make sure you have all the important paperwork or cards to get back into the country.
- Bring an extension cord. There are not many places to plug items in, so if you have a lot of items, like cell phone, battery recharger, etc. it can help.
- I am trying to figure out how to explain this..... During Pirate night, if you are standing in front of the big screen where the characters are putting on a show, look to your right and up towards the next level. If you can get up there and find a space it is a great place to watch the fireworks. AND a great place to see the show. BUT you have to be up there a least 30 minutes to an hour before the show starts. It may or may not be crowded so judge for yourself.
I wish you a wonderful first time cruise. Just keep your camera ready because surprises can happen at any moment and enjoy your time with the family.
