I am so excited about the FE - we did it on our last cruise and the kids love it! So, even if we only get 5 staterooms, we can do something extra special and make it special for the kids.
We have done two cruises on the Dream, but this is our first 7 day cruise. That is what I am most excited about - to be away for 7 days!!!
My kids are Kyle (8) and Abby and Avery (twins, 6).
I have a bunch of tips for anyone that hasn't cruised
DCL before (I just gave these to my friends who are cruising the Dream for 3 nights):
-be sure to arrive the night before - we have done it two ways - you can get in the night before, stay at the Hyatt at the airport and then go to Port Canaveral first thing in the morning or go to Port Canaveral the day before and stay there (my kids loved the beach but beside that, there isn't much to do in Cocoa Beach. If you do stay there, stay at LaQuinta Oceanfront (There are two LaQuintas)
-I would recommend renting a car from the airport (do
Avis) and do a one way rental to Port Canaveral. It's about a half hour drive and we really prefer driving ourselves. Or you can use Happy Limo and get a limo there (works out to same price as the DCL bus)
-Disney is the only cruise line where you can take on your own alcohol. But you have to carry it on in a bag, you cant put it in your checked luggage (we usually take a Gym bag and stop at
Walmart on our way and stock up). You can take wine to dinner too if you want ($20 corking fee)
-We really preferred the late dining sitting. We would do the AquaDuck waterslide and the pools while everyone is at the early dinner (it is so quiet up there then) and then feed the kids something quick on the pool deck and then put them in the kids club and enjoy dinner just the two of us.
-But if you are going to take them to dinner, take them the night at Animator's Palate - it's really fun
-Your kids will love the kids club on
Castaway Cay and then I'd head to the Adult's beach
-But the snorkelling at Castaway is really cool too (there are Mickey Statues underwater)
-We never did any of the shows cause we just aren't into them, so I can't comment on whether they are good or not
-The D Lounge is a neat place to hang out with the kids
-Go to this link:
http://disneycruiselineblog.com. Then click on Personal Navigators - you can click on the one for your cruise so you know what to expect when you go (they are like newspapers you get in your cabin every night that tells you what is going on the next day). It helps to look at them ahead of time and plan what you want to do
-One night there is a pirate party and the kids get really dressed up! I plan on looking for costumes after Halloween when they are on sale
-you can take a pillowcase with you with a Sharpie marker and drop it off at guest services and they will get all of the characters to sign it for them for free and deliver it to your room. Or if they go to the kids club for Pluto's PJ party, they will get a pillowcase and then you can drop it off. It's kind of a cool souvenir - our kids really liked it
You can order chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk and those Mickey Ice Cream bars anytime to your room for free even though they aren't on the room service menu
Hope someone finds this useful. And here's to hoping that we get enough for a FE!
Sara
THanks for the quick reply though
