Just Back - First Timer Worries Solved!

[cariann77]

A big thank you to everyone who answered one of my many questions that I had before our first cruise. Your advice was very helpful and appreciated it! Hopefully, this post will help out some other first time cruisers that might have the same worries that I did.

Arrival: Caught Magic Express from the airport (waited maybe 15-20 minutes) and headed to Port Orleans for two days a the parks. (Valium worked wonders for me on the plane by the way. Flew for the first time without tears in many years!) We spent Saturday at Epcot and Sunday at Magic Kingdom. The parks were really busy, but we still managed to get a lot done and had a great time. However, I would not do this again! By Monday, we were already exhausted and off to port.

Disney Dream - 4-night Bahamas (Ports: Nassau/Castaway Cay/ 1 Sea Day)
Stateroom: 6586 - family stateroom w/veranda (great room, perfect location!!)

Disney Cruise Transportation: We used Disney for our transportation to/from port and it worked out great. Bags were picked up from our resort room around 8:30am and then we were scheduled to depart the resort at 12:15pm. Made a quick stop at POFQ and we were on our way. Arrived at the port terminal just before 1:30 and quickly were on the ship and able to head right to our room. This process was very easy and there weren't any lines. Luggage was in our room by the time we returned from the assembly drill. Disembarking was a breeze and luggage was already on it's way to the airport.

Cruise Attire: I was worried about feeling the need to dress up for dinner every night. I bought sundresses for my kids to wear each night. They wore one the first night and never again. Dinner was a big mixture everything and no one pays attention to what you are wearing. I saw everything from short/t-shirts to suits/dresses. Optional dress up night was a large mix as well, I saw tuxes and evening gowns to people walking around in their swimsuits and cover-ups. So, cruise casual really means cruise casual. Wear what you are comfortable in.

Dining: Our dinner rotation was ERRA. We had the early seating. We weren't wowed by the food, but it was decent. Animator's Palate was by far our favorite. Our server had a very thick accent and was really difficult to understand at times, but he was very friendly and loved doing magic tricks and origami with the kids. He was great at suggesting dishes and would bring out extra of things that he wanted us to try. He never let my kids choose dessert just always showed up with Mickey Bars so, sometimes we'd just order an extra item for them. We had some mix-ups on what we ordered and found dinner service to be very slow, but it was still very enjoyable. We also really enjoyed the buffet at Cabanas!

Motion Sickness: I am very sensitive to motion and always get seasick on boats. I wore sea bands and took Bonine prior to boarding and every morning. The water was so still for the entire trip and I rarely noticed any motion. No side effects from the Bonine at all. The only time I felt a little queasy was on the last night. We were hauling back to Port Canaveral from Castaway Cay. Had dinner at Animator's Palate - that place was rocking! By dessert, I couldn't finish it and just had to get out of there. Once I was away from the aft, I felt much better. Plan on taking Bonine the day after too! I was positive that my house my swaying like the boat for the entire next day.

Kid's Clubs: Amazing staff! I can not say enough good things about how these clubs are run. My kids never wanted to leave. The staff is very hands on and gets involved to make sure that everyone is having a great time. My oldest is 11 and we put her in Oceaneer's the first night and she hated it. Bumped her up to Edge for the rest of the cruise and she made some great friends and had an amazing time. She took full advantage of the self-check out and I wasn't super comfortable with how much exploring she was doing around the ship. I wished that I had brought her ipod for easier communication with her. (I was afraid that she would lose the wave phone)

Nassau Port Excursion: We wanted the kids to see Atlantis since the always ohh and ahh over the commercials on tv. We did the Discover Atlantis Tour through Disney. Oh my, this was brutal. We had the most monotone, boring tour guide. It went on forever. We should have snuck away and explored on our own, but didn't want to be rude. It was a beautiful resort. The aquariums weren't as impressive as I remembered from our past visit when my husband and I went. Stopped for a snack and food was outrageous even compared to Disney. We had two appetizers, two drinks and 3 kids cokes - $90! Wished we would have stayed on the ship here! No one really enjoyed it.

What I would do differently: I would not do the parks on the front end again! We went on the cruise already wore out. I really wished that we had opted to skip the parks and do a 7-night cruise. There's just so much to do that 4-night just didn't seem long enough. Totally kicking myself for not booking the place holder, too!

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to sail again! Hoping to save and plan for 2019! The staff on the ship is wonderful and they work so hard. We're all in love with cruising now.
Thank you to everyone that helped with my planning. This board made everything easier.

 

[dprincessmom]

Thank you for sharing.We are first timers in December so this helps.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I would not do the parks on the front end again! We went on the cruise already wore out. I really wished that we had opted to skip the parks and do a 7-night cruise.

Generally, most of us who combine the parks and cruises do the parks first. For just that reason. The parks are go, go, go. The cruise is rest and relaxation.

 

[tarheelz]

Thanks for this. We're first timer cruisers in January. I had been reading all the advice that you should do WDW first. Good to see our plan for a "test-cruise" of three days before heading off to WDW isn't completely crazy.

 

[hanscarlet]

we did the parks this time and we didn't like how it kind of made us exhausted at the start of the cruise, we've discovered we're not going to be doing those again for another 5 years or so

 

[mmouse37]

No right or wrong answer. Many prefer the rush of WDW first, then relaxing on the ship. Some prefer cruising first then making the magic last by hitting WDW after....whatever works for you is great!!

MJ

 

[Trera]

We were on that same cruise and we couldn't believe how flat and calm the waters were. The sea day had some of the calmest seas I have seen in a long time. There was also a wonderful full moon while on the cruise.

 

[cruiser21]

We just did a 4 night cruise and 7 nights at the parks. We come from the West so the first few days in Orlando I have hard time getting up before 8am which is basically 5am pacific time. Since in my opinion Disney world is a less crowded experience if you get to parks by 9am I have always chosen to cruise first. By the time the cruise is over my body has adjusted to the time zone. I will admit I came back more jet lagged and tired from my WDW trip then I did from my last two Europe trips. I think WDW is pretty exhausting now matter how you do it. In a good way though... we had a great time. I love staying at the Epcot resorts...so fun.

 

[StaciaRae]

Thanks for sharing! We are going on our first cruise in January and I'm excited but nervous! We're doing a 4 day cruise followed by 4 days at WDW. Everyone has suggested parks first but it just doesn't fit our schedule. We've done WDW already so we would not be going commando on the parks, hoping for warm weather for some pool time.

 

[cariann77]

The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I expected a full starry sky being in the middle of the ocean but surprised that there were very few. The moon was beautiful as were the sunsets.

 

[cruiser21]

The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I expected a full starry sky being in the middle of the ocean but surprised that there were very few. The moon was beautiful as were the sunsets.
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The sunsets over the Pacific are beautiful aren't they? It's one thing I miss about California. It was one of the best things on our Hawaii cruise.

 

[cariann77]

Thanks for sharing! We are going on our first cruise in January and I'm excited but nervous! We're doing a 4 day cruise followed by 4 days at WDW. Everyone has suggested parks first but it just doesn't fit our schedule. We've done WDW already so we would not be going commando on the parks, hoping for warm weather for some pool time.

Sounds like a lot of people prefer the parks first, but it just didn't work for us. With three kids and the crowds, it was just too much. You'll have a great time!!

 

[Dug720]

Sounds like a lot of people prefer the parks first, but it just didn't work for us. With three kids and the crowds, it was just too much. You'll have a great time!!

The parks are likely to be busy and stressed on either end. And the crowds will still be there. (As will I presume your kids...)

It just seems to come down to most people like to use the cruise to decompress and relax from the high activity of the parks. I feel like if I was combining them I would rather have the high activity part first.

If you would rather have that high activity faster, that may just be your style.