Questions from a new cruiser

[Ravens girl]

My DH and I recently booked our first Disney cruise, actually our very first cruise at all! I’m bursting with questions. I’m one of those people who plan ahead and am voraciously reading all I can. I still have some questions.
My first question might seem a little odd but what is the TP and facial tissue like on board? I’ve learned the hard way to bring my own if I’m going to a Disney resort, the stuff there is cheap, nasty stuff. Should I bring my own for the cruise?
My second question is about bottled water. I’ve heard from several sources that it’s expensive onboard, but what is “expensive “? $3 a bottle, $4 or more? It might seem silly but I’ve been reading about people who bring their own but it seems like a real PITA when you’re flying in from Maryland.
Third question is about the beds, are they comfortable? How about the sofa bed?
Fourth and final question (for now lol) is should we use the Disney bus or hire a town car service?
thanks to all of the veteran cruisers here. This has been a great resource.

 

[hrhdhd]

Re: TP: Do not bring your own. The toilets on a ship are different than those at your home, and the marine-grade TP provided will break down properly. I suppose you could bring your own tissues if that's a need you have; just don't flush them.

 

[Ravens girl]

Re: TP: Do not bring your own. The toilets on a ship are different than those at your home, and the marine-grade TP provided will break down properly. I suppose you could bring your own tissues if that's a need you have; just don't flush them.

Thank you. I will keep this in mind.

 

[Ravens girl]

A new question. Does anyone know what the pillows are made of? I don’t do well with feather pillows. They make me sneeze and get congested.

 

[Cheburashka]

My DH and I recently booked our first Disney cruise, actually our very first cruise at all! I’m bursting with questions. I’m one of those people who plan ahead and am voraciously reading all I can. I still have some questions.
My first question might seem a little odd but what is the TP and facial tissue like on board? I’ve learned the hard way to bring my own if I’m going to a Disney resort, the stuff there is cheap, nasty stuff. Should I bring my own for the cruise?
My second question is about bottled water. I’ve heard from several sources that it’s expensive onboard, but what is “expensive “? $3 a bottle, $4 or more? It might seem silly but I’ve been reading about people who bring their own but it seems like a real PITA when you’re flying in from Maryland.
Third question is about the beds, are they comfortable? How about the sofa bed?
Fourth and final question (for now lol) is should we use the Disney bus or hire a town car service?
thanks to all of the veteran cruisers here. This has been a great resource.

I've always found the main bed to be comfortable. I've never slept on the sofa bed, but my son and mother have, and they both said it was fine.

Their tissues are in the bathroom so you might want to bring a box if you want some within reach of the bed. Don't bring toilet paper as the ship's waste system isn't designed for that. The ship's paper is okay imo, but if you hate Disney resort TP then you'll also hate Disney cruise TP. Therefore my advice is for you to bring personal care wipes & use those after using the TP, then throw the wipes in the trash afterwards.

I recommend sticking with the transfer bus unless you're renting a car. When you take DCL transfers from the airport, you won't have to pick a Port Arrival Time. Also, leaving a ship is more complicated than leaving a hotel. It will be hard for you to pinpoint the exact time you'll disembark from the ship due to lines, customs, etc., so setting an accurate post-cruise pick-up time for the car service will be a challenge, and you might end up waiting around for them for quite a while. It's much easier just to walk over to the waiting DCL transfer buses & get on one. There's typically a brief wait for them to fill the bus, but no more than 10 - 15 minutes & then you're off to the airport.

I also recommend buying a 6-pack of water from DCL in advance of the cruise so that it will be waiting for you in your stateroom. It's always nice to have a bottle available in the stateroom & you can also take them with you to port. DCL's bottled water is outrageously overpriced but you're on vacation & the hassle of getting your own water from a grocery and lugging it around until your stateroom opens outweighs the cost imo. You can buy water bottles from DCL after boarding, but it's just one less chore to do onboard if you take care of it in advance.

 

[Marc D]

A new question. Does anyone know what the pillows are made of? I don’t do well with feather pillows. They make me sneeze and get congested.

All the pillows offered onboard are hypo-allergenic. They are usually very soft.

 

[Marc D]

Water onboard is created through a reverse-osmosis process, which produces very clean water. We bring a refillable bottle and fill them up either at the soda machines or the new refill stations. There is no need for bottled water.

The beds are very comfortable, and the rocking of the ship and blackout curtains make for the some of the best sleep I get anywhere.

The best option to get to and from the ship depends on many factors : when do you fly in, how many in your group, etc. The three of us prefer using the DCL shuttle from MCO, but we also used a car service in the past. There is no definitive answer.

 

[Starwind]

A new question. Does anyone know what the pillows are made of? I don’t do well with feather pillows. They make me sneeze and get congested.

While I believe that the pillows, duvet, and mattress pad are feather/down-free [they are "hypoallergenic", but as I have found out many times, that term does NOT necessarily mean feather/down-free], you can contact Disney Cruise Line Special Services by phone or email to request that your room be completely feather and down-free due to an allergy. See: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/guests-with-disabilities/information/

SW

 

[CM Dad]

Third question is about the beds, are they comfortable? How about the sofa bed?

In our 19 cruises, most of the time the beads have been fine. We did go on one B2B cruise, where I was unable to book the same cabin for both legs, so had to move down the hall a could of rooms for the second cruise. On the first cruise, this was the only bed that was uncomfortable. It sagged in the middle. Our room steward was able to make it less bad, but it still wasn't great. The room in the second leg was fine.

We have not slept on the sofa bed, so I don't have any personal experience, but I have not heard of any complaints from our family members that have been on cruises with us. Is has mostly been young grandkids, but included my 84 year old mother-in-law, and one boyfriend on our first cruise. He is probably a little over 6 foot.

 

[CamColt]

I haven't really noticed the toilet paper. I don't love the little metal thing that goes over the roll on the dispenser, but other than that its been fine.

I find the beds VERY comfortable. Love them!

The water on board is now in the metal (aluminum?) cans and IMO tastes horrible. We have always brought a case or 2 because we drink a lot of water but we bought 1 bottle on CC last month and I will have to be dying of thirst to buy another one of those. I never realized water could taste so bad.

We have done town car, DCL busses, rental car dropped off at the port, and driven ourselves and parked at the port. All options have worked fine, it just depended on the situation for that trip.

 

[tvguy]

Water onboard is created through a reverse-osmosis process, which produces very clean water. We bring a refillable bottle and fill them up either at the soda machines or the new refill stations. There is no need for bottled water.

Yes, a refillable water bottle is all you need, the water is purer on board than any bottled water you will bring or buy.

 

[Ravens girl]

While I believe that the pillows, duvet, and mattress pad are feather/down-free [they are "hypoallergenic", but as I have found out many times, that term does NOT necessarily mean feather/down-free], you can contact Disney Cruise Line Special Services by phone or email to request that your room be completely feather and down-free due to an allergy. See: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/guests-with-disabilities/information/

SW

Thank you Starwind. This puts me at ease.

 

[Weedy]

You may want to take a town car because they will do a grocery stop ( be sure to arrange this when you book the car). You can pick up wine or beer.
Each adult is allowed to carry on 2 bottles of wine or one six pack of beer.
You will have to carry it on and not give it to the porters so a small roll a board suite case is a good idea.
You can also buy some bottled water if you want to go that route.

 

[TinkerMouse]

My second question is about bottled water. I’ve heard from several sources that it’s expensive onboard, but what is “expensive “? $3 a bottle, $4 or more? It might seem silly but I’ve been reading about people who bring their own but it seems like a real PITA when you’re flying in from Maryland.
Third question is about the beds, are they comfortable? How about the sofa bed?
Fourth and final question (for now lol) is should we use the Disney bus or hire a town car service?
thanks to all of the veteran cruisers here. This has been a great resource.

If you bring your own refillable bottle you can just frequent the bottle refill stations. The case of 24 bottles of Dasani is $55 which is about $2.29 per bottle which costs more than a case at Aldi or WalMart but isn't exactly expensive. It's about half the price of park bottled water. They come in metal bottles which have their own taste so if you prefer the plastic taste this might not work for you.

I love the beds! The sofa bed is harder. If you don't like hard, the big bed is better but if you prefer hard (and don't want to share) the sofa bed is better. That being said, the sofa bed isn't long enough for noticeably tall people unless they sleep really curled up. My last stateroom host implied that the drop down (top bunk style) berth bed isn't as comfortble as the pull down (murphy style) berth bed.

Whether or not private car service is super expensive depends on how many people are in your party. If you're only going to be a small party of two or so it's much cheaper to do DCL transportation ($150 vs $250). That being said, you have more control over your time if you pay for a car.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My DH and I recently booked our first Disney cruise, actually our very first cruise at all! I’m bursting with questions. I’m one of those people who plan ahead and am voraciously reading all I can. I still have some questions.
My first question might seem a little odd but what is the TP and facial tissue like on board? I’ve learned the hard way to bring my own if I’m going to a Disney resort, the stuff there is cheap, nasty stuff. Should I bring my own for the cruise?
My second question is about bottled water. I’ve heard from several sources that it’s expensive onboard, but what is “expensive “? $3 a bottle, $4 or more? It might seem silly but I’ve been reading about people who bring their own but it seems like a real PITA when you’re flying in from Maryland.
Third question is about the beds, are they comfortable? How about the sofa bed?
Fourth and final question (for now lol) is should we use the Disney bus or hire a town car service?
thanks to all of the veteran cruisers here. This has been a great resource.

1. facial tissues and TP are both fine. Much like what I have at home (name brand Kleenex and such). Don't bring your own TP. The plumbing systems onboard ships is finicky and "real" TP doesn't break down as well or as quickly as what's used onboard.
2. Don't know the answer to this one, but I'll point out the water onboard the ship is fine for drinking. It's processed the same as most bottled waters (reverse osmosis and filtered). Just bring a reusable bottle and fill up in your room, or at the drink stations.
3. In my experience, the bed onboard are just great. The sofa bed isn't your typical fold-out sofa bed with the ridge across the middle. The back of the sofa folds down on the seat of the sofa and inside it is a regular twin sized mattress.
4. Depends on how many of you will be traveling. Cost-wise, if there are 2 or 3 of you, it'll be less costly to use DCL transfers. 5 or more, get hyour own transportation - limo, town car, rental, whatever.

 

[Cheburashka]

The water on board is now in the metal (aluminum?) cans and IMO tastes horrible. We have always brought a case or 2 because we drink a lot of water but we bought 1 bottle on CC last month and I will have to be dying of thirst to buy another one of those. I never realized water could taste so bad.

Metal water bottles? I just bought a case in advance of our cruise and the water displayed was in plastic bottles like usual. Maybe the water you bought on CC last month was different from what you buy in advance for your stateroom?

 

[CamColt]

Metal water bottles? I just bought a case in advance of our cruise and the water displayed was in plastic bottles like usual. Maybe the water you bought on CC last month was different from what you buy in advance for your stateroom?

It could be but I want to say I saw these on the ship too. Please report back and let us know what you get on the ship.

 

[TinkerMouse]

Metal water bottles? I just bought a case in advance of our cruise and the water displayed was in plastic bottles like usual. Maybe the water you bought on CC last month was different from what you buy in advance for your stateroom?

Yes, the bottles are metal now. The DCL website still uses the pictures of plastic bottles but they've switched. Disney has been eliminating plastic wherever they can to support the environment. Here is a picture from my room two weeks ago on the Fantasy. It only tastes bad if you don't like the taste of water in a metal bottle. People who don't like it also don't tend to use reusable metal bottles. I thought it tasted like Dasani in a metal bottle so no biggie.

 

[Lilsia]

The toilet paper is just fine, and I know what you mean about bringing your own at WDW.
The beds are probably the most comfortable bed that I have slept on in any hotel. I wish every hotel had those beds. Not even joking, they are super comfy and so are the bedsheets. I say this as someone who travels with my own bedding. My girls never complained about the sofa beds. And they do not use any feathers in the bedding. That would be a nightmare with the amount of people that are allergic to them. It's all synthetic material.
We like to take Disney transportation because if something happens, like a flat tire or traffic, and you are late, unless you take Disney bus, they will not hold the ship for you. I don't need that kind of stress so we take the bus. LOL
Can't help with the water since we just drink it out of the fountain.

 

[Ravens girl]

Thank you all for your responses. It helps me plan.