Never been on ANY cruise, HELP...

[kstrayer8]

Hey guys! I've never been on any cruise before, let alone a Disney one, and I need HELP! My boyfriend and I got a super good deal on a Disney cruise next month (Disney Dream 4 day to Bahamas) and we're about to book it. We are WDW and DLR experts (CM's) but total newbies when it comes to cruises. We're staying in a Verandah, I don't know anything about good stateroom locations though. So what I'm asking is for HELP on MUST do's on the ship and Castaway Cay/Bahamas and need to know info for Disney cruises! I don't want us to miss out on anything cool or special Both 21+ and it's just the two of us. Thank you!!!

Also, we have a YouTube channel where we vlog our weekly park visits and will be vlogging our cruise.. "Kelsey and Ryan"

 

[gismo1554]

I would definitely recommend reading the FAQ on this part of the forum as it has loads of great tips!

In the Bahamas I wouldn't really recommend anything. Personally I like to use this as an extra day on the ship but its totally up to you.

Definitely try and do a lunch in the main dining room at least once when onboard as I always find the sit down lunches great.

I would also be inclined to think about doing a drink tasting on your sea day as these are so much fun and relatively cheap ($20-35 each depending on what type). These you book while onboard.

As its your first time onboard I would actually not recommend a dinner in the "adult" restaurants unless you really want to try it. I would however recommend a Brunch in Palo. These are bookable in advance (which for you will be 75 days before sailing assuming you have paid in full) but they might show online as fully booked. Don't give up though! When you get onboard go and try and get a reservation as soon as you can (it will be listed in the Navigator you get in the port that tells you whats going on) as they keep quite a few for when people get onboard.

Don't be afraid to ask for extras at dinner - like two portions of something if you really like it. Also as all the food (apart from the adult restarants which carry a premium) is included try new things and then if you don't like them order something else (or there is always room service or quick service for later).

Definitely look on http://www.disneycruiselineblog.com for recent 4 night navigators that way you can see what is usually offered and get an idea of the things you would like to do. But remember, you can never do everything you want and you are meant to be relaxing! On my recent 14 night cruise I had a list of 44 things I wanted to try based on recent cruises on the same ship and I think I managed about 15-20 of them if that. It just means you have a reason to go back.

 

[kstrayer8]

Thank you so much for all the info! I've never been to the Bahamas so we'll probably explore a bit! The drink tasting is definitely something that we would love so we are gonna try that for sure! I feel like we aren't gonna have a clue what's going on once we get on board and I'm scared to be clueless going into this, we have less than a month to prepare haha but I will deff check out the FAQ and the blog!

 

[KT2038]

Hi! I am a DCL CM which ship are you sailing on? Which itinerary? Let me know if you have further questions!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Do yourself a BIG favor and get the Passporter Guide to the DCL..available on Amazon.

Then use the boards to refine things and ask particular questions.

 

[kstrayer8]

Hi! I am a DCL CM which ship are you sailing on? Which itinerary? Let me know if you have further questions!

We are going on the Disney Dream Very Merrytime 4-night Bahamian cruise on Nov. 16!

 

[gismo1554]

Honestly the navigator is your friend! It will tell you everything thats going on onboard. You get it each night and I would take a highlighter to mark what you want to do. The Passporter book suggested is a great resource too and definitely look at previous navigators as I said as then you can see whats going on. It will also alieviate your fears of not knowing as youll see just how much information is stored in them!

If you do want to explore Nassau is quite a small little town really and you can easily get around on foot. There are lots of water type activities there too like swimming with dolphins etc. Its not a very big island. A good place to start is to look on the Disney Cruise Line website at the places they go with their tours. Then I would suggest looking around on google to see what other companies offer trips to these places as sometimes DCL overprice things by a significant amount. If you book tours with DCL you get the guarantee that the ship wont leave port without you (good if you are cramming a lot in to a small amount of time) but if you book a private tour and are late back they will leave and expect you to find your own way back to the ship (or home). I would always recommend making sure you don't book any tours that get you back to the ship later than 1 hour before all aboard if booking a non-DCL tour as that way you know you should have a bit a leeway for traffic.

 

[reimero]

Another point worth mentioning: DCL offers a LOT of activities. You're not going to be able to do them all, so don't run yourself ragged trying. Pick the "big" ones in your Personal Navigator and leave some space for flexibility.
I also strongly suggest signing up with your cruise's "Cruise Meet" group (there's a link at the top of the first page here on the boards). It's a great way to make new friends pre-cruise and go on board knowing there are some kindred spirits!

 

[jk123]

For room places we always stay higher. Deck 8 or 9 is nice but be careful about 10 because I've heard you can hear chairs being moved around at night or in the morning