Questions about 3 day cruise

[Asil65]

Hello Disney experts, My husband and I are new to DCL. In April we are booked on a 4 day land ,3 day sea package. I know we should have at least gone for the 4 days at sea. It didn't fit into the kids Spring Break schedule. I have a few questions for you seasoned Disney cruisers.I have heard about a character breakfast on the ship. Is this something that we need to sign up for? Does this even happen on the 3 day cruise? What kind of activities are a must for our kids ages 5 and 7? Should my husband and I plan a dinner at Palo's? Which of the restaurants should we skipwhen we eat there? I'm thinking Parrot Cay. Anyone in agreement? If we decide to eat at Palo's can the kids eat at the kids club? Do any people take their kids to eat and then go out by themselves after? How does breakfast work?Is only one rest.open in the morning? I am not a big buffet fan. I enjoy sitting down for breakfast. That is what we are paying for. Is dinner dress dressy casual? Thanks in advance. Lisa

 

[aprilgail2]

I have only ever had the character breakfasts on the 7 day cruise. The kids can eat wit hthe kids club if they want. I actually liked Parrot Cay..Tritons was my least favorite of all the restuarants. There is a sit down restaurant open for breakfast and also the buffet.

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi Welcome to the DIS!

The character breakfast is only on the 7 day

The kids can eat with the club-5 to 7 are in the same group

If you want to skip-skip Tritons

 

[HookedonMagic]

Hello and welcome to cruising with DCL!

I've sailed DCL four times...2 three night cruises and 2 seven night cruises. I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. The character breakfast is only offered on the 7 day cruises.

2. I agree with Aprilgail...we like both Animator's and Parrot Cay better than Tritons. Others will not agree. You can browse the menus online and decide which night to dine at Palo based on your personal preferences.

3. Yes, you can eat with the kids first and then take them to the club while you dine at Palo.

4. You have three breakfast choices. You can use one, two or even all three. There is room service, one sitdown and the Beach Blanket Buffet.

5. Dinner attire is basically "resort wear" or "business casual", although DCL says men "may" wear jackets in Tritons (MANY do not.) On the 3 night, most men wear khaki's and polo shirts, while most women wear capris, skirts or simple dresses. DCL asks that you do not wear shorts or tank tops in the dining rooms (kids, too.) Most people comply.

Happy Sailing!

 

[Asil65]

What a bummer about the character breakfast. Will there be many chances to meet the characters on the 3 day cruise? You both think I should skip Tritons. Thanks. I was just searching some old posts and found out that they will feed the kids if we decide to eat at Palo's one night. How does child care work? Do you sign up fo the times your kids are going or just drop them off when they are interested in something? Seems like they must have too many kids sometimes.

 

[HookedonMagic]

When you board, and each day thereafter, you will be given a Personal Navigator. It lists all onboard activities for each day, including character greetings. The characters are plentiful, both onboard and on Castaway Cay.

I have a teenage daughter and a toddler, so I don't have any experience with the clubs. I'm sure someone else will reply with the scoop.

 

[drdelsol]

We got back from our second three day today. Tritons is nice, but both trips I have liked the food there the least and for some reason the meal always took a lot longer.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Asil65
How does child care work? Do you sign up fo the times your kids are going or just drop them off when they are interested in something? Seems like they must have too many kids sometimes.

You only sign them up the first day and that is for the entire cruise..after that you just drop them off when they feel like goign or when you have an adult thing to do.

 

[sweet angel]

I just returned from the 11/11 Wonder also. We did the 4-night land/3-night cruise as well.

I agree, skip Tritons if you must skip, although that was where I felt I had my best meal. Of the three, Tritons is the "stuffiest". The kids would like Animator's for the changing walls (which I thought was cool even though I knew all about it from the video) and the staff puts on a small limbo/conga line thing at Parrot Cay.

I heard rave reviews about Palos while on board, but we didn't make it there.

I believe each morning you can eat breakfast in the restaurant where you had dinner the night before, but I would check the Navigator's to be sure. We just did the buffet in Beach Blanket Buffet each morning.

Be warned...you will be exhausted when you come home. We could have used a week for each portion (land/sea) to see everything fully. To us, it felt like rush, rush, rush.

Oh yeah, and I saw grown men in shorts at dinner (while 99% were dressed nicely) and a grown woman in a black t-shirt with a saying on it. I was kind of surprised.

 

[Asil65]

Sounds like Tritons will be the one to miss. I know we will be exhausted. My husband and I have only done 1 week cruises. Those are sooo relaxing. Too add to our exhustion we will be driving back and forth from Virginia pre and post cruise.When do you find out what your rotation for the dinners is? I have heard that you need to book your dinner at Palos as soon as you board. I want to make sure that we miss the right meal. On second thought maybe we will go to all of the dinners. We could have an appetizer at Tritons ,drop the kids off at the oceaneers club, and head over to Palos.

 

[sweet angel]

That sounds like a plan. We didn't get our dining rotation until we got into our room (about 1:30). The dining tickets were on our desk.

Whatever you decide to do, you'll have a great time! We had a blast even though we were exhausted. Castaway Cay is absolutely beautiful...and I can't say enough good about Serenity Bay (the adults only beach).

You can sign your kids up for the kids club there, too, and enjoy the adult beach!