never been on a cruise and have some questions

[mickeymouse108]

I just got caught up on reading everyone's posts you all have given me some great information to use in to help me plan our first cruise I keep trying to justify going on a disney cruise rather than the other cruise lines the up front cost seems so high compared to the other cruise lines but I keep coming back to the drinks being included on the disney ships. My husband is the only drinker i like water tea lemonade ect... so have my husband bring rum for the coke and he will be happy. and with the fact that the rooms look so much nicer on the disney cruise ships and we would be all four of us in one room the split bath seems a must. I think I will just try to find the most affordable Disney date to cruise. I feel with all your advise I could probably keep the extra costs to a minimum. we would probably go out on our own at the ports and the day we are at castaway cay I just want to relax and snorkel. not planning on eating at the adult only restaurants so no money spent there. my biggest problem will be souvenirs. if we get room service I will make sure it has no soda or pre packaged food. I cant wait to pick a date and go on our first cruise.

 

[kiford]

I also recommend bringing some extra cash. Tips for the shipboard staff are great for the crew, but they are divided up by set amounts among those "core four" employees. You might find there are others outside of those "core four" who go above and beyond to make your vacation more memorable.

Note that you do not need to use cash to add tips to the "core four" or others (other than perhaps room service delivery). If you want to add extra tips to your server, room attendant, etc. you can either put cash in their envelopes on the last day or go to Guest Services and ask them to increase their tips. Tips to bartenders can be added to the chit you sign. Even sometimes you can add a tip to room service if there's something to sign. If there's no extra costs for room service, it might be easier to give cash as a tip for delivery. We've never used cash for anything on board. If we add extra tips for our regular servers, we add at Guest Services and I always add an additional tip for the individual bartender or server when we order drinks.

 

[over50visits]

We did a cruise once where we decided to spend zero other than the tips. We did it, it was easy, and we had a fabulous time! Walked around Nassau and enjoyed the sights and people, took our own pictures, swam at Castawy Cay, saw shows and movies, ate so much food we were miserable, swam, read, went to talks, listened to the free classes, enjoyed listening to the lounge entertainment, and so forth. It was wonderful! We had called and prepaid our gratuities, gave additional cash tips to the wonderful servers, used cash to tip room service, and had a ZERO account balance at the end of the cruise.

 

[thumpie's mom]

It is so worth the money! I hope you are able to go and when you do, it will be magical!

 

[EvieBug]

Quick question on this - we have the Disney Rewards Visa and are currently racking up the rewards $$ for our upcoming WDW trip. My DH really wants to do a Disney cruise next vacation - can we use the Disney rewards cards on the ship for things like gift shop purchases, concessions at the theater, or anything like that? (obviously that doesn't work for tips and probably can't be used toward port trips, etc but I am wondering if they can be used for some of incidentals on board)

 

[ptcbass]

You can get coke from the drink stations but my DH likes rum and coke so I brought a couple of bottle with us to put in the frig in the room. He did buy one and though it was a little expensive (don't remember how much it was) and was glad he brought his own with him.

 

[lanejudy]

Quick question on this - we have the Disney Rewards Visa and are currently racking up the rewards $$ for our upcoming WDW trip. My DH really wants to do a Disney cruise next vacation - can we use the Disney rewards cards on the ship for things like gift shop purchases, concessions at the theater, or anything like that? (obviously that doesn't work for tips and probably can't be used toward port trips, etc but I am wondering if they can be used for some of incidentals on board)

You can use your Rewards Redemption Card to pay for your onboard account. Anything purchased onboard goes to your onboard account (it's a cashless system onboard). That includes tips, port adventures, shops/souvenirs, bars, theater snacks, spa, adult dining, etc.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[EvieBug]

You can use your Rewards Redemption Card to pay for your onboard account. Anything purchased onboard goes to your onboard account (it's a cashless system onboard). That includes tips, port adventures, shops/souvenirs, bars, theater snacks, spa, adult dining, etc.

Enjoy your cruise!

Oooh, that's good to know! Thank you so much!

 

[tltay2005]

EvieBug, I just applied my Disney Visa rewards to my onboard account for our June Cruise. You can do before via your TA or call DCL directly, that way you don't have to mess with it after you board.