November 18, 2017 Disney magic from NY

[SnowBird8]

Hello everyone,

First time Disney cruisers here! Need some help on figuring out dining rotation on the 8 night cruise. Is there a formal night? semi-formal night? when is it?

Which dining is better? first or second? we have 2 kids under 5, and we are on the waitlist for 1st dining.

all the character meets are sold out, any chances of getting a ticket onboard the first day?

Thank You!

 

[tee11]

7 night cruises usually do have a formal night. We have had exactly one on the past cruises, and I don't recall any semi-formal nights. You can usually deduct when these nights are close to your sail date; not Pirate Night, and not Embarkation Day, not the last full day.
The dining rotation will be assigned on embarkation.
Waitlist for 1st dining is what we did with our young children, and we did get it. Most people with young children try to get first seating, but this is personal preference!
I'm not sure how you can still get tickets now that it's all online - did you see that there are character meets on more than one day?

 

[SnowBird8]

Checked all the Princess gatherings, all sold out online. So for dinners, we just know we will eat at 8pm, and the actual restaurant we will find out once we board? and formal night we just wear formal clothes to the assigned restaurant?

 

[dcassetta]

Hello everyone,

First time Disney cruisers here! Need some help on figuring out dining rotation on the 8 night cruise. Is there a formal night? semi-formal night? when is it?

Which dining is better? first or second? we have 2 kids under 5, and we are on the waitlist for 1st dining.

all the character meets are sold out, any chances of getting a ticket onboard the first day?

Thank You!

Welcome! We're on this cruise also, and hopefully the next two weeks will go fast!

This is the link to Scott's DCL Blog which has lots of great info, and the particular page I have linked is from a cruise that was very similar. You can see what was going on each day of the cruise.
http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...arvel-day-sea-cruise-new-york-october-6-2017/

There will be one formal night on the second night of the cruise. You will see everything from tuxedos to casual, and you go to the assigned dining room for that night. You are not required to dress up to go to dinner, but it is a great opportunity to get pictures. There will be several stations set up for formal photos and often you can get a photo with the captain.

If your waitlist does not come through for early dining, you can also check on-board after embarkation. Check front page of the navigator you get when you check in for the time and location.
The menus are the same for both meals. One benefit to late dining is dine-and-play. You kids will get their meals quickly and about 40 minutes into dinner, CMs from the clubs will come to the dining room to pick up the kids and then the adults can finish their meal in peace.

Go to guest services upon boarding to check for tickets to any meets you are not able to schedule ahead of time. Some are held back.

 

[TheMomFairy]

On that cruise too! Can't wait! Semi Formal night has been replaced by Marvel Day at Sea which is scheduled for that Friday. Hopefully (if you want) you can score some Halloween sale Marvel costumes for your little ones!

 

[SnowBird8]

Thank you! I will try the second dining and see how the kids do. what do you think about purchasing photo packages? We usually like to buy the photos from the cruise, should I purchase it early? Do I save money to do advanced?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you! I will try the second dining and see how the kids do. what do you think about purchasing photo packages? We usually like to buy the photos from the cruise, should I purchase it early? Do I save money to do advanced?

If you are purchasing the full digital package (and I think the smaller 20 photo package) there is a discount if you pre-purchase before the cruise.

You can go ahead and purchase that package, and, if you don't find enough pictures to make the cost worth it, you can cancel the package as long as you do it by the last full day of the cruise.