help me plan!!!!!!!!!

[brookew]

We are going on a 3 day cruise in January. Ive never cruised with disney. We have a 4 and 6 year old. Is there anything I need to do in the planning dept?
I plan like crazy when we go to the parks, but I'm lost in the boat dept.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tee11]

You can relax, while the planning for the parks is crazy, there is very little needed for the cruise!

Do your online check in, and also check out "my cruise activities". You can look at shore excursions, Princess gathering tickets, Palo (adult only restaurant) reservations, and whether you'd like to make a spa reservation, or anything else onboard.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Depending on where you live and how you are getting to the port, you will need to decide on airfare, a way to get from the airport to the port (about an hour apart if you are going out of Port Canaveral), and perhaps a place to stay the night before your cruise, since a lot of people prefer to come a day earlier to make sure there are no issues.

It is much less planning effort than the theme parks though.

There are plenty of things you CAN thing about if you want to. Early or Late seating, alcohol tastings, the other things mentioned by tee11, and just generally getting familiar with the ship and what it offers. You can learn a lot here, and on DCL's website.

But most of all, have fun! Personally, I find preparing part of the fun of the cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

You don't really have to plan anything.

Each day you'll have a list of activities on the ship. You can download the Navigator app now then launch it once onboard with the free ship wifi and it will show you all the schedules for the whole cruise.

When you get to the boarding terminal get a schedule (called the navigator) and read through it. We like to circle interesting things with a pencil. Others like using highlighters.

Then when you board you'll know what's going on. I keep the Navigator with me, even when using the phone app.

While you are at dinner each night the room attendant will deliver the Navigator for the following day. It seems like it takes up precious time, but DO read it and note interesting things.

Your kids can go to the free kids club. If anyone is nervous, there will be open houses held, clearly marked in the schedule of events in the navigator, where anyone can go to the club. It's a great way to see the space, show the kids the space, and get everyone used to the idea.

If you have early dinner than you go to the later shows. If you have later dinner then you go to the early shows.

If you want to swim after boarding be sure to have swimsuits and sunscreen in your carryons. Luggage won't be delivered to rooms until later, and it will be 1 or later when you can even go to your rooms. Keep all medicines and important/valuable items with you.

Those are the basics I can think of.

 

[SillyInventor]

The only things you must plan for a Disneycruise are:

1. Get your paperwork (passport or Birth Certificate+photo-id are mandatory, it is efficient, but not mandatory to print and sign boarding papers in advance, they can be printed at boarding). Just to be clear: no id=no cruise, so triple check that this is in your carry-on luggage!
2. Fly in the day before your cruise to have enough time to counter flight delays/cancelations
3. Board the ship before "all aboard" time (duh!)
4. Attend the muster drill (the only mandatory thing on a cruise)
5. Relax! You are on a cruise and the point of a cruise is to RELAX and have a good time with your family.

Done!

Now, you will want to study the Personal Navigator to check out the activities on the ship. As you will be sailing a 3n Dream cruise many Navigators can be found here to prepare: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/ on the "Disney Dream" tab.

A 3n cruise is way to short to do all the things the Ship and cruise have to offer, so don't even try to do everything as it will just lead to major disappointment. Accepting this will improve your cruise experience and inevitably lead to the last thing on your to-do list:

6. Visit the "Future cruise desk" to book your next cruise with On Board Booking (OBB) benefits.

Enjoy!

 

[mevelandry]

No need to panic, it is so much easier than a WDW trip.

1) First seating or second seating? (At what time do you wanna eat?)
2) Do you want to do excursions (1- Get off the ship in Nassau or stay on board? 2-Just a beach day or excursion in Castaway Cay?)
3) Do you want to do special activities on board? (Some of them you can book in advance after your PIF date).
4) All shows will be played twice each night. You can dine and then see the show (and vice versa).

The rest of the stuff you need to book, you'll be able to read the list in the Personal Navigator and book at guest services on the day of embarkation.

You'll have a schedule every night for the following day that will help you pick what you wanna do "tomorrow".

I suggest you find old 3 days cruise Personal Navigator in order to view what kind of activities you can find.