Need Cruise Advice Please!!!

[smoihusted]

Hi Everyone,

I am in desperate need of advice. We just booked a Disney Cruise on very short notice - my dh just found out he is being activated and deployed (he's a Major in the Army Reserves) - he'll be gone for almost 18 months so we booked a trip to spend some family time with our girls before he leaves in April. My daughters really wanted a Disney cruise so that's what we are doing. I booked the 7 day cruise on the Magic for April 1 - but admitedly for as much as I know about going to Disney World, I know NOTHING about the cruises!! Any advice about excursions, what to pack, activities for the kids, etc would be SO appreciated!! What is the pirate party I have heard about?

I really want to make this special for the kids - they aren't taking the news about Daddy leaving well. Please help!!

Stacey
Polynesian Feb 1976
Off property 1978
Grand Floridian (Honeymoon) June 1992
Yacht Club Resort Sep 1993
Yacht Club Resort Oct 1994
Grand Floridian Aug1995
Polynesian Sept 1995
Polynesian, All Stars Aug 1996
Off Property Dec 2000
Contemporary & All Stars May, Dec 2002
Contemporary Oct 2003
Contemporary Feb 2004
Shades of Green Jan 2005
Shades of Green Dec 2005
WE WERE THE WELCOME FAMILY at MK!!! 12/18/2005

 

[Momof4girls]

Lots and lots of info on this board and in the FAQs

Packing is a lot like packing for Disneyworld, IMO. You will also have a formal night and a semiformal night, iirc. Pirate night you can dress up as pirates
Other than that, swimwear (maybe even two suits) and beach stuff. Check out the excursions available on your cruise and see if there is something you want to do www.disneycruise.com

Other than that just roll with it and have a great time The meals are all essentially free - you will have to tip at the end and a little bit for room service and the 18+ restaurant charges a $10 sitting fee plus tip, kids can go to the clubs if you register them and will have a great time (all included in your cruise except the nursery).

You'll only need extra money for excursions, alcohol-based drinks, the nursery for the under-3s, tipping, and any shopping you want to do

HTH!

 

[kellib36]

Hi, Stacey!! Thank you and your family for your service! It takes the whole family, and we appreciate it! Your hubby can't do his job if he's worried about the family back home.

You will just love your cruise, I promise!! Doing a bit of homework will really get you excited, and a little knowledge about what you're getting into can't hurt!!

Pirate night is a lot of fun! If you all want to dress up, you can make a little something or go all out and buy costumes. In Jan, our whole table dressed up and got into the fun! So many people came by our table and asked how we knew about Pirate night. How DO these people live without internet?!?!?

Formal and semi-formal nights are also great for photos. They have lots of professional photographers stationed at different backdrops. Some have the ship, some have an ocean scene. They also have a solid white background. I really like the looks of the pics, but we've never actually done that one. Just get ready a bit early, as the lines do get long just before dinner.

Excursions will depend on the ages of the children and what activity level you all want. We love the parasailing on Castaway Cay, but I've heard good things about the glass bottom boat tour. The banana boat ride looks entirely too wild for me, but I've had friends that loved it. I agree to check out the website, since it has prices and length of tours. You can do some advanced planning. You may already be too late to book some excursions online, but if you check when you get aboard, they may still have openings.

I'd pack mostly beach-type wear, but have a sweater handy if you get chilled easy in the dining rooms. No shorts are allowed (supposedly) in the dining rooms, so I'd try to have a few nicer type things to wear to dinner. Even if you change right after dinner and wear the same 3 things for 7 nights, no one will be the wiser!!

Also, a lot of people try to take one of those over the door shoe hanger things to try to corral the bathroom clutter.

Any other questions, let us know. Have you checked the Cruise Meets board to see about a thread for your cruise? You may enjoy chatting with others that will be onboard with you!

 

[disnut8]

I was in the same boat (crack myself up!) last year. I am a Disney World veteran but knew nothing about cruising. But I had a full year to plan. First of all, don't panic. It's painless. Don't fret about packing. Take something nice for the dinners. Nothing too over the top. Even the formal night can be had with simple black pants and a colorful shirt. Pack what you have on hand. There's no need to go out and buy anything special. You aren't going to get turned away from the dining room. I did two outfits per day - afternoon and then nighttime. I utilized everything. My husband packed his jeans and wore those most of the time (we did the Magic in December). The only time he wore "dress" pants was to dinner and then he immediately changed to go to the shows (had early seating). So he could re-wear his pants. That helped him a lot. Your kids will be fine in whatever.

Can't help with the excursions as we just did the things in and around the ports. Not much in St. Thomas so think about taking a taxi to a beach. You don't have to worry about Castway Cay. There's plenty of things to do there.

The pirate night is a big party on Deck Nine. If you want to go out and dance, go to Deck Nine. If you still want to dance but be a little removed from things, camp out on Deck Ten starboard side. You can still see everything but you aren't right there.

Kids activities - there are so many options. They can join in all the kids clubs on board or you can just do all the family options. And there are a ton of those too. That might be a better option with their father leaving. We (and we were two adults only) enjoyed family trivia and there were tours and things like that during the day.

Check out the recent Navigators for suggestions. All of the shows are VERY family orientened. All the TV movies and movies in the Buena Vista theatre are family friendly. I think there was one R rated movie and that was at 10:30.

Honestly, this will be the best thing you can do for your family. It is so carefree. Disney will take care of you. My mother-in-law, the veteran of about 15 cruises said this was the best cruise she's ever been on. She said that she never had to think about anything.

Remember that there are free beverages on Deck Nine available 24 hours a day. All Coke products and coffee and I believe tea. I've been to Disney World so many times and seen cranky kids. I didn't see one on the cruise.

I want to thank you and your family and especially your husband for your sacrifices. You deserve the trip and I hope you have a great time. But knowing Disney, you will! Relax and keep reading the boards for more hints and helps. Ask us more questions and we will help as much as possible.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

what a great idea! yes..i agree with the other poster to make your primary
objective just to enjoy. our kids always had fun in the clubs and that left time for us. i would also suggest read,read your navigator. for example, we
really liked the luimere's brunch over palo because all of us got together.
then we like the palo brunch over the dinner. in 99, we had no plans. even after 5 cruises, it remains our favorite. may i ask..how you're doing? i was
an officer in the naval reserves during desert storm. being combat trained,
i was called up the next day. my wife was in chicago for college and we had
two boys at home. [ we added the third a few years later]. for additonal
support, i would suggest the local veterans groups...i don't think most are
aware how much these groups are dedicated for our veterans and for the community.i.e...they are my primary sponser for running a sbd for kids. i
also believe the prefect "plan" dosen't translate into the prefect vacation.
if you just take a little time to walk around the ship, i believe you'll find
your own family magic. good luck! p.s. if you find the time to write a report,
[ i know you'll going to be busy] i am sure everyone would like to read it.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

We are on that ship/week. 28 days

You may not be feeling that right now.

How old are your girls?

Mine 14, 12, 8 1/2 and 6 (on 3/31)

We have a April 1 group on Cruise Meets. GO introduce yourself.

On St. Martin we decided to just go to the beach near the ship. Everyone tells me it is close by water taxi and you can go back to the boat for lunch or to change to go shopping.

On St. T we are going to take a taxi to Coral World and Coki Beach (www.coralworldvi.com) and if we want to at the time go back to the boat byway for the mountain top lookout spot. We decided not to spend the time to get to St.J and back.

We are going to wear tropical outfits on pirate night (AND WE ARE HUGE POTC FANS)

Relax, it is going to be great.

 

[taeja71]

Hi Everyone,

I am in desperate need of advice. We just booked a Disney Cruise on very short notice - my dh just found out he is being activated and deployed (he's a Major in the Army Reserves) - he'll be gone for almost 18 months so we booked a trip to spend some family time with our girls before he leaves in April. My daughters really wanted a Disney cruise so that's what we are doing. I booked the 7 day cruise on the Magic for April 1 - but admitedly for as much as I know about going to Disney World, I know NOTHING about the cruises!! Any advice about excursions, what to pack, activities for the kids, etc would be SO appreciated!! What is the pirate party I have heard about?

I really want to make this special for the kids - they aren't taking the news about Daddy leaving well. Please help!!

Do searches on the cruise forum... "pirate night", dining rotations, fitness room, tours (any you can think of), Castaway Cey or CC (Disney's private island). Type and search for what ever you are looking for including menus or dining rotations. Educate yourself the best you can before you go. Find your fellow cruisers from the Cruise meets forum and see what's going on there. It might/will be helpful to talk to fellow cruisers. Have a fabulous time! Don't freak out (the DIS can be overwhelming at times) things will turn out great! Thanks to your DH for serving our country. Duty. Honor. Courage. Awesome.

Here's the link to the cruisers you will be cruising with. I'm pretty sure its the right thread. April 1 - 8, 2006 - Magic - Eastern

You are going 2006 right?

 

[smoihusted]

Thank you for all the advice! We are SO looking forward to this cruise. I'll head to the April 1 link too and introduce myself next.

Lil Grumpy, I'm doing okay - at this point I am so busy trying to get everything ready for him to leave as well as for our trip, I don't have much time to think, which is probably a good thing. We've been waiting for this call up since 9/11, so we are as "prepared" in the practical sense as we can be (ie., wills up to date, insurance done, etc). We were a bit surprised to learn of the length of time he'd be gone - we didn't expect it to be as long as it will be, but we'll get by. Unfortunately the unit he will deploy with is 2.5 hours away from where we live, so the family readiness group won't be much help to us.

As for my girls, they are 9 and 6 1/2 and SO excited about this cruise. We gave them the choice of any trip anywhere (Hawaii, etc) and this is what they chose to do. So off we go.

I will go and buy a shoe organizer thing - that's a great idea. My girls will love the pirate party - they went on the Pirate Adventure Cruise at Disney in Dec and thought it was a blast.

Thank you again too for all the advice - and the prayers and good wishes. That means a lot to all of us!

Stacey
Polynesian Feb 1976
Off property 1978
Grand Floridian (Honeymoon) June 1992
Yacht Club Resort Sep 1993
Yacht Club Resort Oct 1994
Grand Floridian Aug1995
Polynesian Sept 1995
Polynesian, All Stars Aug 1996
Off Property Dec 2000
Contemporary & All Stars May, Dec 2002
Contemporary Oct 2003
Contemporary Feb 2004
Shades of Green Jan 2005
Shades of Green Dec 2005
WE WERE THE WELCOME FAMILY at MK!!! 12/18/2005

 

[BuzzNutt]

Hi Everyone,

I am in desperate need of advice. We just booked a Disney Cruise on very short notice - my dh just found out he is being activated and deployed (he's a Major in the Army Reserves) - he'll be gone for almost 18 months so we booked a trip to spend some family time with our girls before he leaves in April. My daughters really wanted a Disney cruise so that's what we are doing. I booked the 7 day cruise on the Magic for April 1 - but admitedly for as much as I know about going to Disney World, I know NOTHING about the cruises!! Any advice about excursions, what to pack, activities for the kids, etc would be SO appreciated!! What is the pirate party I have heard about?

I really want to make this special for the kids - they aren't taking the news about Daddy leaving well. Please help!!

Stacey
Polynesian Feb 1976
Off property 1978
Grand Floridian (Honeymoon) June 1992
Yacht Club Resort Sep 1993
Yacht Club Resort Oct 1994
Grand Floridian Aug1995
Polynesian Sept 1995
Polynesian, All Stars Aug 1996
Off Property Dec 2000
Contemporary & All Stars May, Dec 2002
Contemporary Oct 2003
Contemporary Feb 2004
Shades of Green Jan 2005
Shades of Green Dec 2005
WE WERE THE WELCOME FAMILY at MK!!! 12/18/2005

As it has been said before, thank you to your family for your sacrifices and service.
As far as St. Thomas, I can recommend some things but it really depends on what you want to do. There is the aquarium and plenty of beaches around. Shopping and good food too. I will recommend staying away from Megan's Bay on your trip. It usually is beautiful but I have heard form my dad, he lives there, that the tide has been rough on that side of the island. Coki, Sapphire, and Secret Harbour are still clear.

Please feel free to email me with any specific questions.

Have a great family trip!

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hi Stacey and family,
Welcome to the Disfamily team. First please extend my sincere thanks to your hubby for caring enough about us to go and keep our Country safe. Thoughts and prayers will be with him, you and the family.
Now will you please call me when you have the chance - this is Shirley from The Perfect Gift shop - you can call me at 800-950-4559 when you have the chance.
Stay safe and good thoughts are being sent to you and yours.
Blessings always
Shirley and Norm

 

[tetrimble]

I'm sorry to hear that your husband will be gone for such a long stint, but a very big thank you to him and your family for his service.

As for your question, I haven't taken my first cruise yet (can't wait until Dec.!!!) and we're only going on a 3 night, but it's my understanding that there is formal dining night on a 7-day, so make sure you have clothes for that. I don't think your DH has to wear a suit or tux, but would need a suit coat? A nice dress would probably work for you. Also, I'm planning on taking some nicer slacks on our trip because I think I read that casual attire is expected in the dining rooms (meaning no shorts or jeans...oh well). If you don't want to deal with all those additional clothing items, you could eat at one of the other restaurants or counter services that aren't listed in the dining rotation.

Other than that, I'm just taking everything in and hoping I pack appropriately when our time comes.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks to your DH and your family for your sacrifices! I am an AF wife, mine hasn't had to go - we are at a fighter training base, so we need to keep training.

We just took that cruise in December for the first time! You will love it - it is the best thing we ever did! Everyone's advice to read these boards, look at the website and pull up the excursions to see what your kids will like is so helpful.

The French side of St. Maarten where you dock has nude beaches, so you might want to choose something on the Dutch side. We did the Pinel Island snorkel, which was a small group, kid friendly with a good little beach to play on, the food and drinks are very expensive, bring a bag or small cooler with drinks and snacks and plan to eat your meal back at the ship. There were sea turtles all over! We even got to bring a baby turtle out and set it free there!

For you and your hubby, check the kids into the oceaneers lab and book the Rasul at the Spa! It is relatively inexpensive, and sooooo nice A good treat before a long time away from each other. It is very private and very discreet and lots of fun

You can have a tux sent right to the room for your DH for formal night. We got the white jacket and then used the black jacket with regular pants and shirt for the semi-formal night. Some people were fine with a shirt and tie also. I will send you a personal message with the website link.

Above all, celebrate your family! Take Care! And wear sunscreen!

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi Stacey!

I don't have any advice but wanted to wish you all a wonderful vacation. You'll have a wonderful time. It's a perfect family vacation and a great way to have that needed family time.

My son's military as well so I know the mixture of pride/fear/patriotism/sadness and so many other feelings that you're going through.

The cruise is a brilliant idea. Have a magical time!

 

[disnut8]

Stacey -

Just realized from your sig that you are right in my backyard! I'm over here just off Hamilton Mill and I85 near Brasleton. PM me if you need anything.

Sheri

 

[snelsonbrown]

Stacey,
I need you to call me TODAY at the shop at 800-950-4559. Its super important
Thanks
shirley

 

[WDWLVR]

Stacey - you've been given some great advice so all I'll add is a great big thank you to your DH for serving us all so well. May this cruise be a MAGICal one for your family.


BTW - call Shirley - she is an angel!


















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