I haven't been on DCL or cruised in over 10 years so I spent a ton of time on disboards looking for tips. Here is the list I compiled...number 25 is my favorite.
DCL Tips
1. if you have to have an inside stateroom, book on deck 7 aft, so you'll have the "secret verandah" to go out and enjoy.
2. the "secret" cat 7 rooms on deck 7 (used to be cat 5)
3. Mickey bars, which aren't listed on the menu but ARE available from room service
4. order room service the night before a port visit, and pack it and take with you as a snack
5. order room service, sandwhichs or go up and and get burgers or chicken strips on Deck 9, put them in ziplocks and bring them with us on our excursions
6. wear your swimsuits under your clothes when boarding, or bring them in a day bag. There are bathrooms right outside Topsiders. Get the pool to yourselves for almost an hour
7. Mickey Mouse wake-up call
8. Purchase pirate gear ahead of time (Party City, etc.)
9. Carry-on beer and wine
10. Re-book on board! Save at least 10% on your next cruise
11. buy your own cruise insurance
12. take a roll of bubble wrap for anything you buy that's breakable
13. laundry pen for t-shirt autographs
14. at Cookies BBQ, the line right in front is sometimes long (facing beach) go around the right side, and you'll find another serving station that is usually empty
15. castawayclub dot com and dcltribute dot com also seem to have good information
16. Feather Pillow - ask your stateroom attendant if you want one
17. Bring extra hangers! there isn't much drawer space in the cabins. or Better yet, leave the hangers at home and ask your stateroom attendent for more
18. Room service cake of the day!
19. Order coffee, etc via room service the night before so it is delivered the next morning
20. Extension cord -- Used ours constantly, iPod, hair dryer, cameras, travel clock, etc., easy to plug things in overnight and take them for the next day
21. take a pillowcase or picture frame or whatever to guest services at the beginning of the cruise and leave it with Sharpies and request just princesses, Fab 6 or all the characters sign it
22. booking excursions on your own, most are very easy to get to on your own and are much cheaper than if you book them through DCL
23. The coffee table raises up to make it easier to sit on couch and eat from room service
24. Arrive 5-10 minutes after your scheduled seating time. There are no points for being the first 50 into the dining room. Avoid the lines and the cattle waiting to be seated
25. Pack half the clothes and twice the cash
26. asking the room steward to remove our coffee table and he did. We didn't use it and it gave us a lot of needed floor space!
27. candy for movies and shows
28. If the ship's stores are closed and you need a toiletry item of some kind for the ladies, like tampons, you can ask at guest services and they will get some out of the back room and give them to you discretely in an envelope. They also have asprin and seasick meds. No charge
29. Bring 2 bungee cords if you have connecting rooms to keep the doors open. They are heavy doors and will not stay open by themselves. If closed you cannot open them from the other stateroom. The cords worked great! You need one for each door.
30. get your bill from guest services midweek, just to see how much you've spent, and also in case they do make a mistake or two.
31. If you are a scrapbooker, the evening before disembarking, pick up extra luggage tags of all the characters - great for your scrapbook pages!
32. Pack ziplock baggies. Order a sandwich or 4 from room service before going on shore and then pack in the baggie - walking around lunch/snacks for on shore. Best of all - "free
33. If you scrapbook - take a plain scrapbook page and pen to dinner one night and have your servers sign them...because you *will* have pictures of them and it is nice to have a memento from them. Do the same for your, travel companions, table mates, room steward and other cast members you associated with often or enjoyed. Take pictures with the cast members, they like knowing you enjoyed their work and efforts.
34. buy the matte, take the cellophane off of it, and bring it on board with you. You can either give it to guest services for the characters to sign (you'll get it back on Friday night of the cruise), or you can take it around by yourself and have it signed by whoever you want throughout the cruise. Very important tip here, have a photo direction (vertical or horizontal) in mind before asking for signatures, that way you'll know which way they should sign. As you get the professional pictures taken throughout your cruise, you can ask the photographer to take them any direction you want.
35. The Glade Flameless candle was a great addition to our stateroom. Not only did it give the room a constant "pleasant" aroma... but it served as a great night light! We also brought along a mini fan. It wasn't used for cooling purposes but worked great as an air cirulator in our inside stateroom.
36. DON'T WAIT IN THE KIDS CLUB REGISTRATION LINE AT THE PORT!!!! Seriously, the line seemed to be over a hundred people long at most times (we were there around 11:00 AM and boarded around 12:30 PM). When you get on the ship just go to the kids club, we went to the Oceaneer's club on Deck 5 and registered in about 5 minutes (and got our pager).
37. you can turn off charge privileges on your kids KTTW card but you can add a preset amount for them to use for smoothies, movie candy, arcade, etc.... this saves them running up big $$ on the room account but they still have some "pocket money".
38. DO YOUR CRUISE DOCS ONLINE AND PRINT THEM OUT!!!! So many people DO the online registration, but they forget to print them out and bring them with them. If you don't print them out, you have to do it all over again at the port
39. give the photographer or his assistant your camera too and ask them to take your picture with it...they will
40. keep piling up your pictures in Shutters, one behind the other, until the end of the cruise. Then you can pick out the best of the best to use with your package.
41. Downy wrinkle spray...works great
42. There is free dramamine in a box outside of the first aid station on deck 1
43.if you have a late seating for dinner on pirate night...don't eat...there is a beautiful buffet on deck
- pack clothes with dry cleaners plastic between layers and ROLL to avoid wrinkles -- we had none when we unpacked
- shoe organizer was amazing! we have five people - so everyone got one row (oldest/tallest on top) to keep personal items and lanyards and such
- take all the memory cards you own. once you've finished one, put it in a seperate place from your camera so if you lose one, you don't lose both
- don't bring a white board or water bottles -- they give them away for free in the kids' clubs and Ocean Quest
- don't buy souvenir Tshirts for the kids -- they get them and Mickey ear graduation hats for free from the Kid's club the day before the cruise ends
- make contact with the entertainment staff running the programs -- when they see you, they tend to call your kids up on stage
- for our family of 5, we needed one full can of sunscreen for every port plus half a facial sunscreen stick. We also needed one can for every two days on the ship.
- take everything you can that is disposable and just leave it there.
- if you use a loofah and body wash at home -- buy the Huggies brand disposable wash clothes with body wash in them, cut them in half and use and dispose
- take your own pics at EVERY opportunity that the photogs do or ask them to take the pics -- we didn't buy one single photo from shutters because ours were identical!
- before you leave, if you have extra supplies, ask your servers or host if they would like them. My servers practically jumped up and down at the prospect of getting my shoe organizer! I wound up giving her the organizer, humidifier, full size conditioner, lysol and room fresheners. The crew doesn't get off the ship much, so they're very appreciative!
- take advantage of the $15 day pass to the Rainforest Turkish bath in the spa. It was absolutely amazing and my pores are still looking amazing! Next time, I'm getting the week pass.
DCL Tips
1. if you have to have an inside stateroom, book on deck 7 aft, so you'll have the "secret verandah" to go out and enjoy.
2. the "secret" cat 7 rooms on deck 7 (used to be cat 5)
3. Mickey bars, which aren't listed on the menu but ARE available from room service
4. order room service the night before a port visit, and pack it and take with you as a snack
5. order room service, sandwhichs or go up and and get burgers or chicken strips on Deck 9, put them in ziplocks and bring them with us on our excursions
6. wear your swimsuits under your clothes when boarding, or bring them in a day bag. There are bathrooms right outside Topsiders. Get the pool to yourselves for almost an hour
7. Mickey Mouse wake-up call
8. Purchase pirate gear ahead of time (Party City, etc.)
9. Carry-on beer and wine
10. Re-book on board! Save at least 10% on your next cruise
11. buy your own cruise insurance
12. take a roll of bubble wrap for anything you buy that's breakable
13. laundry pen for t-shirt autographs
14. at Cookies BBQ, the line right in front is sometimes long (facing beach) go around the right side, and you'll find another serving station that is usually empty
15. castawayclub dot com and dcltribute dot com also seem to have good information
16. Feather Pillow - ask your stateroom attendant if you want one
17. Bring extra hangers! there isn't much drawer space in the cabins. or Better yet, leave the hangers at home and ask your stateroom attendent for more
18. Room service cake of the day!
19. Order coffee, etc via room service the night before so it is delivered the next morning
20. Extension cord -- Used ours constantly, iPod, hair dryer, cameras, travel clock, etc., easy to plug things in overnight and take them for the next day
21. take a pillowcase or picture frame or whatever to guest services at the beginning of the cruise and leave it with Sharpies and request just princesses, Fab 6 or all the characters sign it
22. booking excursions on your own, most are very easy to get to on your own and are much cheaper than if you book them through DCL
23. The coffee table raises up to make it easier to sit on couch and eat from room service
24. Arrive 5-10 minutes after your scheduled seating time. There are no points for being the first 50 into the dining room. Avoid the lines and the cattle waiting to be seated
25. Pack half the clothes and twice the cash
26. asking the room steward to remove our coffee table and he did. We didn't use it and it gave us a lot of needed floor space!
27. candy for movies and shows
28. If the ship's stores are closed and you need a toiletry item of some kind for the ladies, like tampons, you can ask at guest services and they will get some out of the back room and give them to you discretely in an envelope. They also have asprin and seasick meds. No charge
29. Bring 2 bungee cords if you have connecting rooms to keep the doors open. They are heavy doors and will not stay open by themselves. If closed you cannot open them from the other stateroom. The cords worked great! You need one for each door.
30. get your bill from guest services midweek, just to see how much you've spent, and also in case they do make a mistake or two.
31. If you are a scrapbooker, the evening before disembarking, pick up extra luggage tags of all the characters - great for your scrapbook pages!
32. Pack ziplock baggies. Order a sandwich or 4 from room service before going on shore and then pack in the baggie - walking around lunch/snacks for on shore. Best of all - "free
33. If you scrapbook - take a plain scrapbook page and pen to dinner one night and have your servers sign them...because you *will* have pictures of them and it is nice to have a memento from them. Do the same for your, travel companions, table mates, room steward and other cast members you associated with often or enjoyed. Take pictures with the cast members, they like knowing you enjoyed their work and efforts.
34. buy the matte, take the cellophane off of it, and bring it on board with you. You can either give it to guest services for the characters to sign (you'll get it back on Friday night of the cruise), or you can take it around by yourself and have it signed by whoever you want throughout the cruise. Very important tip here, have a photo direction (vertical or horizontal) in mind before asking for signatures, that way you'll know which way they should sign. As you get the professional pictures taken throughout your cruise, you can ask the photographer to take them any direction you want.
35. The Glade Flameless candle was a great addition to our stateroom. Not only did it give the room a constant "pleasant" aroma... but it served as a great night light! We also brought along a mini fan. It wasn't used for cooling purposes but worked great as an air cirulator in our inside stateroom.
36. DON'T WAIT IN THE KIDS CLUB REGISTRATION LINE AT THE PORT!!!! Seriously, the line seemed to be over a hundred people long at most times (we were there around 11:00 AM and boarded around 12:30 PM). When you get on the ship just go to the kids club, we went to the Oceaneer's club on Deck 5 and registered in about 5 minutes (and got our pager).
37. you can turn off charge privileges on your kids KTTW card but you can add a preset amount for them to use for smoothies, movie candy, arcade, etc.... this saves them running up big $$ on the room account but they still have some "pocket money".
38. DO YOUR CRUISE DOCS ONLINE AND PRINT THEM OUT!!!! So many people DO the online registration, but they forget to print them out and bring them with them. If you don't print them out, you have to do it all over again at the port
39. give the photographer or his assistant your camera too and ask them to take your picture with it...they will
40. keep piling up your pictures in Shutters, one behind the other, until the end of the cruise. Then you can pick out the best of the best to use with your package.
41. Downy wrinkle spray...works great
42. There is free dramamine in a box outside of the first aid station on deck 1
43.if you have a late seating for dinner on pirate night...don't eat...there is a beautiful buffet on deck
- pack clothes with dry cleaners plastic between layers and ROLL to avoid wrinkles -- we had none when we unpacked
- shoe organizer was amazing! we have five people - so everyone got one row (oldest/tallest on top) to keep personal items and lanyards and such
- take all the memory cards you own. once you've finished one, put it in a seperate place from your camera so if you lose one, you don't lose both
- don't bring a white board or water bottles -- they give them away for free in the kids' clubs and Ocean Quest
- don't buy souvenir Tshirts for the kids -- they get them and Mickey ear graduation hats for free from the Kid's club the day before the cruise ends
- make contact with the entertainment staff running the programs -- when they see you, they tend to call your kids up on stage
- for our family of 5, we needed one full can of sunscreen for every port plus half a facial sunscreen stick. We also needed one can for every two days on the ship.
- take everything you can that is disposable and just leave it there.
- if you use a loofah and body wash at home -- buy the Huggies brand disposable wash clothes with body wash in them, cut them in half and use and dispose
- take your own pics at EVERY opportunity that the photogs do or ask them to take the pics -- we didn't buy one single photo from shutters because ours were identical!
- before you leave, if you have extra supplies, ask your servers or host if they would like them. My servers practically jumped up and down at the prospect of getting my shoe organizer! I wound up giving her the organizer, humidifier, full size conditioner, lysol and room fresheners. The crew doesn't get off the ship much, so they're very appreciative!
- take advantage of the $15 day pass to the Rainforest Turkish bath in the spa. It was absolutely amazing and my pores are still looking amazing! Next time, I'm getting the week pass.
What time are you allowed to check in at?
We are in Valencia. The bus sounds good lol.[/QUOTE]
At least I'm getting all of this over with before the cruise!
Leia and Bear. We adopted Leia 2 years ago, she is very mischivious when it comes to food, she will do anything for food and snacks. We adopted Bear 1 year ago, he is a cutie pie and always follows Leia's lead good or bad LOL... They are my kids. 
Hubby and I went down on Monday to see the ship...it got me that much more excited about the trip!! 
