Recent FE opinion

[tlprice]

I thought about doing FE for my 1st cruise thinking my daughter would be disappointed if we didn't do it because it sounded like EVERYONE was doing it. I decided that if I did it the first time, she would expect it every time and the cruise should be enough of a fun experience and she could just suffer without the FE. I realized on my first cruise that we actually saw very few FE holders outside rooms and she had no clue what they were so she didn't care. We have now done 6 DCL cruises and never done FE. She knows what they are now because she has asked when she's seen some, but she doesn't care one bit that we don't do them. I'm so glad about the decision I made on that first cruise!

 

[lklgoodman]

I thought about doing FE for my 1st cruise thinking my daughter would be disappointed if we didn't do it because it sounded like EVERYONE was doing it. I decided that if I did it the first time, she would expect it every time and the cruise should be enough of a fun experience and she could just suffer without the FE. I realized on my first cruise that we actually saw very few FE holders outside rooms and she had no clue what they were so she didn't care. We have now done 6 DCL cruises and never done FE. She knows what they are now because she has asked when she's seen some, but she doesn't care one bit that we don't do them. I'm so glad about the decision I made on that first cruise!

Same for us. Glad we didn't do it on our first cruise. We'll be going on our 6th and don't plan on doing it for it either.

 

[lady9]

I think we must have been very lucky on all 4 of our cruises. Our FE exchanges were very enjoyable, and the families we met were awesome, still in contact with several. I am a fairly laid back person who stresses at work, but not at home. My daughter and I enjoy crafting (although sometimes not so good at it!) and the time we spend planning and making our gifts is cherished by me. I appreciate all the thought and effort that goes into the gifts we receive but if we don't use them all, that's OK, we find someone who will. I am sure there are things we give that are not used but that's OK, too. We try but people have different tastes and expectations. We are going on another cruise this year and have joined an FE group. I can't wait to meet some of the people in our Meet and Greet group. The interaction has been fun.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I enjoy making magnets, music CDs and other small items to give as FE gifts. I used to get similar kinds of things and enjoyed them very much. On my last cruise, I received a gift that I expect cost at least $25 based on similar items I have seen on Etsy. I would never spend that kind of money on one gift and was a little embarrassed to receive something so costly, when I had not spent anywhere near that amount. It seems that this is a trend and I will probably choose to not to participate in the future.

I was wondering if you would share what you received? Maybe the person who makes the impressive gift was the Etsy maker? Your kinda a big deal in some circles. So could it be someone appreciated you and wanted to show it also?

 

[ironz]

Is this for the upcoming Panama Canal because it sounds like my trip? I'm in two FE groups, two candy groups and there are groups for exchanging fabric, ornaments, magnets, and recipes. I think organizing all that is bulky here on the DIS. Obviously no one has to do FEs but I find them fun and so do my kids.

Yep! See you there! (and then we can come back and answer the questions on Las Caletas-- we're doing that excursion as well)

 

[mousefan73]

I totally agree with this. Before my 2018 Dream cruise, 2005 was my last cruise and what I had in my head about what it would be like based on my last cruise experience 13 years prior with meeting up and becoming friendly with DISboards people was not what it turned out to be.

It was completely anonymous, it ended up being expensive and stressful to find things that did not feel lame and to find time to deliver it all. It was not what I had imagined it would be like, but my son really enjoyed finding little surprises in his FE. someone in another thread suggested I just bring the FE and leave little surprises for him myself and that sounds like best of both worlds to me.

I think the only way I'd do it is if I hit it off with a group of people and we formed a real relationship beforehand. On our December 2016 trip to WDW we met a GREAT group of people on the DISboards and we all still keep in pretty close contact... a situation like that I would do it in a heartbeat but not with strangers.

So I have been on 2 groups this past year and it’s not anonymous. On a certain site. In fact both groups my kids were part of a precruise kid’s snapchat group for older kids. Of course parent approved, monitored. Kids had “ friends” to meet up in the kids club. Edge and up. We even met for a group pic after tge muster and had a mixology group.

 

[darnheather]

Yep! See you there! (and then we can come back and answer the questions on Las Caletas-- we're doing that excursion as well)

Well I'll see you there too! That one is a surprise for my kids but I know they are going to enjoy it. I'm trying to decide if we should do some of the optional things like the stingray swim or the massages. I can't wait!

 

[Claireywalsh]

I think it’s what you make of it that’s important. We didn’t do it on our first cruise but chose to take part on our second. It was all about making our trip a little extra special - coming back to find little treats and delivering out the treats was really enjoyable and we had no expectations of what gifts we would receive. I am taking part again on our next cruise in the summer, and I must say there has been no pressure on spend, the group has been capped to 10 cabins and it’s been nice chatting to fellow cruisers. The things that I don’t personally want to get involved in is all the other stuff - magnet exchange, sock exchange, candy exchange, door decorating competition etc etc Like someone said above - it’s holiday time - with FE you can prepare before you go and deliver at your convenience - if you were signing up to all the other stuff and doing meets for all of them along with completing the actual exchange I think it would just take over your cruise.