Ideas to make cruise even more special??

[Robynemcb]

We will be cruising for the first time with kids ages 2-11 (3 are mine, but 8 total) on Disney Cruise line for Thanksgiving. Can anyone give me ideas of things you brought with you/created beforehand to take with you on the trip that might make it more special. for example, I know a personalized autograph book is something many suggest. Any other suggestions of what you did to make your cruise extra special for the kids? This is prob the one and only time we will be doing a Disney cruise...all together with cousins... (Due to logistics) I just don't want to get onboard and regret not being more creative with this special experience. Problem is, I'm not very good at thinking outside the box unless I have some ideas to go off of. Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[asamklove]

I left a cute new pair of Disney character pjs out & the room attendant arranged them on the kids' beds at turn down. They were surprised when they came back from dinner & they need pjs anyway so it's no extra packing space.

 

[SonicGuy]

Our kids have been on several Disney cruises and doing the Fish Extenders is one of the highlights each and every day for them

 

[wcw57]

we had a dry erase board on our door (which is completely unnecessary nowadays) and Mickey and Donald and Goofy signed it while we were away.....we have a great picture of our DGD discovering it....

 

[TimeAndTide]

I second fish extenders. My kids loved that. Even if you don't want to participate, exploring FE gifts might give you ideas of things you could do.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We will be cruising for the first time with kids ages 2-11 (3 are mine, but 8 total) on Disney Cruise line for Thanksgiving. Can anyone give me ideas of things you brought with you/created beforehand to take with you on the trip that might make it more special. for example, I know a personalized autograph book is something many suggest. Any other suggestions of what you did to make your cruise extra special for the kids? This is prob the one and only time we will be doing a Disney cruise...all together with cousins... (Due to logistics) I just don't want to get onboard and regret not being more creative with this special experience. Problem is, I'm not very good at thinking outside the box unless I have some ideas to go off of. Thanks in advance for your help!!

There is so much to do and see on the cruise I wouldnt worry too much about what e;se you can do.

The best advice I can probably give is to leave some things to the imagination, time of day, what feels right, etc. Don't feel like you have to try every neat thing someone else said. if you have time for midship detective agency, fine play it. But don't feel like you need to NOT go see a movie you've had your eye on or leave from the pool to do so. Don't really like mixed drinks but heard MIxology was cool, skip it...no biggie. One of the funnest things I did on the boat was something I heard nothing about before we went (Fantasy Football draft) and one of the things I heard was great (Senses Day Pass) I thought was completely overrated and a waste of a half of my day. For us, the things we remember the most and the things that become most special are usually the things we didn't see coming, but took the time to enjoy.

 

[storknurse13]

Something that may make boarding special is to create a family shirt so that everyone has on the same shirt. Your boarding picture will be awesome and you will have a treasure to display at home. Especially since you may not be able to take another Disney Cruise you will love looking back on it! My guess is you will all be hooked and will return. Maybe not all together but as families!!

 

[TinknPink]

check out the Creative Disigns forum. There are may disigners who will personalize things that you can make door magnets with. My family always ha

 

[TinknPink]

oops sorry about that. I was trying to say that our family has some new ones made every trip and the kids love to see their names on the magnets. it also helps them to find their own room. the Disigners do some amazing work and they do it all for FREE. Just make sure to make your request a few weeks before your trip

 

[DbleTheFun]

Yup- nothing more is needed then being part of a FE group to make your trip over the top magical. Get in your cruise meet thread ASAP and sign up. It is one of the most unique/fun parts of cruising DCL!

 

[MunFam]

We went on a Panama Canal cruise knowing that it would likely be our one and only DCL cruise. We did, or should I say I did:

-custom door magnets
-Mickey Mail each night (souvenirs repurchased on sale and placed on the beds, "delivered" by the different characters...some I had cards signed by the real characters at the meet and greets)
-Custom boarding outfits
-special Disney PJs
-tiaras for dress up night
-custom drink holder (based on tutorial found here)
-snack kits for the shows
-custom travel journals to fill out each night
-custom made autograph books
-custom made pirate night costumes
-rootbeer to make floats
-sprinkles for ice cream
-packed princess dresses
-packed gifts for cast members
-brought a few decorations for our room
-special lanyards
-custom "bon voyage" luggage tags and luggage ribbons

I can't think of anything else. I planned in 3 months. Pintrest and I went a little crazy. Oh and we did the Pixie Dist group from our FE group too.

 

[My2litteprincesses]

On our last cruise I secretly packed 2 princess dresses and placed them in the room with out my daughters seeing me do it. When we came back from dinner the first night, they were so excited and thought the Princesses on board left them there. They proudly wore them for dinner the next night & the princess autograph session. Really sweet

 

[diznymom]

Magnets.

Decorate your door. Magnets only, nothing sticky.

If you find something sticky you want to stick a magnet on, rub a little powder on it, then glue the magnet to the back.

 

[TinkMinnieMickey]

I thought of a few things for my girls 2 and 4. I bought crown necklaces off of groupon and found pixie dust necklaces for pirate night. I made mickey, minnie mouse, goofy, etc cricut cutouts and laminated them with all our initials. Added magnets so the girls could play with the different shapes on the door each day to make different color combinations. I bought special Minnie Mouse outfits for certain nights and had their pirate outfits ready. Found disney T-shirts at the outlet so they would have new shirts for the cruise. Found Disney princess character stray cups to use on the boat. (surprise to them.) I took cheap white tennis shoes from Walmart and put bling on them of black and pink for Minnie mouse theme for the week.

I may of gone overboard but, have to have fun with them. I am 4 months pregnant and will know I will not have much real one on one time with them in the spring when the baby comes.

 

[MunFam]

OH! We also had custom tumblers made with our names on them. It came in handy because DH left his tumbler behind and was easy to identify at guest services because it had his name on it...no one wants to "keep" a cup with someone elses name on it.