Stupid questions thread!!

[gravymom]

I posted before that we have never cruised. What is there to do on a cruise beside bake beside the pool? I am a pooh-sized person (ok, let's be honest, I'm FAT!), so hanging out in a swimsuit (or in my case, handing out OF a swimsuit) all day is not thrilling me. If ones does not wish to bake in the sun, what does one do on a cruise? Would we (DH and three rugrats) be better off just doing a week at Disney or is there plenty of other stuff to do? Also, budget is an issue, so I don't think we could swing every shore excursion or whatever.

Thanks!

edited to add: What is and is not included in the cruise fare? I just read a thread where it looks like people dropped a lot of cash once on the ship. Are the children's programs an extra charge? Is it all-inclusive in terms of food (other than alcohol and bottled water?) I know that excursions and spa stuff is extra (I think) but I am in the dark otherwise.

TIA!!

 

[buck4568]

We did the 7 day News Years cruise on DCL and I can't recall ever sitting by the pool! There is so much to da on the ship, and it's pretty much all free. Except bingo and the spa! There is an arcade that can get expensive with the kids otherwise the kids programs are free also.

Go to ********************** to view the Navigators. This is a daily brochure that you get every day of the cruise and it lists all the activities for that day. There is so much to do that you have to cruise again and again to try it all.

Excurisions are an option. Many people make their own excursions up! Get off the ship and take a taxi to a beach. Bring snacks from the ship so you don't have to buy anything while on land. Total cost, $30-$40 tops, for the cab fare.

You can spend just as much money at the park for food, lodging, etc. so do not deprive yourself of the experience of crusing on one of the Disney ships!

 

[buck4568]

Whoops! Here is the link for the Navigators!!!

Go to castaway club .com. No spaces of course!

I can't get the hyperlink to work!

 

[ladypoo]

I am a rather large POOH sized woman, too. We went on the Disney cruise in the past 2 Sept. We did hang at the pool with my 4 year old DGD. We went to the movies that they were showing. We saw the live shows. There is a lot for us POOH sized women to do. We have another cruise scheduled for May of this year. We are staying in cat 11 room, because there are just 3 of us. We didnt drop a load of money on either cruise. Maybe $$. if that. We ordered room service in the mornings and tipped the server and then tipped the other positions as recommended. Pictures, alcoholic drinks, sodas bought at the bar type areas, spa treatment, Palo, and excursions are all extra. The souvenier(sp) glasses are extra. Hope this helps.

 

[musicgirl]

As mentioned, you don't have to do an excursion. At St. Martin, for $5 per person for unlimited water taxi rides, it takes you right from the dock to Great Bay Beach which is also the shopping area. It is so close that if you didn't want to spend money on a meal, you could pop back to the ship and go back to the beach if you wanted.

I also liked the entertainment series for adults. I went to the fruit carving, appetizer and cocktail seminars, and yes they have samples!!!! No charge!

A fairly cheap spa treat is to get a week pass ($50) for the rainforest for unlimited visits. I loved to relax in here!!! Most people wear bathing suits, but you can throw on one of the robes that they have available.

Just relaxing with a book taking a nap in the awesome blue deck chairs!!!

People watching around dinner time, especially on formal nights, character meets (the kids are so cute-mine-ds14 was not into to this, go figure!)

golf chipping contest, vegi car races, walk the plank game show, the shows,

so much to do, never enough time, I must go back in June-06 .

 

[cypress_star]

We cruised 3 years ago and we are about to embark on our next cruise. On the first we really didn't know what to expect so we didn't do ANYTHING except purchase a drink mug for our children because on that cruise the there wasn't drink machines, I now hear there is, yeah one less expense. We purchased our alcoholic drinks and pictures and souvenirs.

In Nassau I had splurged and purchased day passes for Atlantis, at that time we got 6 passes for $200, not so anymore, but definately worth it. We aren't doing Atlantis again, since we've already done it. On Castaway Cay we rent 2 floats and 2 sets of snorkel gear, can't remember the exact cost but I think floats rented for $7 a day and snorkel gear $10 a day. We didn't do any excursions, oh I forgot I let 2 of my girls get their hair braided, which was $2 a braid.

I believe we went the cheap route that year and as you can see we didn't do much and had a BLAST! If you go to the link that one of the other posts has, you will be able to see the Navigators for each day, Disney does an excellent job of having something for everyone all day everyday.

As for being "FAT", you are going to be surprised about how unimportant that is once you get there. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in and have fun, you don't know these people and will probably never see them again, enjoy your cruise. I promise you never once did I feel out of place, practically every woman there is a Mommy so you're not cruising around with woman that are in their prime (if I may be so bold to say, hope I'm not offending anyone that reads this). I wore my swimsuit proudly with stretch marks, overhangs, droopy ****s, etc. and never once did I feel out of place.

Hope this helps,
Paula

 

[chrisn]

about being pooh sized or having enough to do besides bake by the pool. I agree with the previous poster. Most of your fellow passenger's bodies have also seen better days (including mine) . Nobody cares. Everyone is too busy having a great time. Wear what you feel comfortable in and whether you want to bake or not just have fun doing it. Really there is so much to do we hardly had time for the pools and you know what, even skinny girls have stretch marks, hangovers, bums that giggle even after you stop walking and yes even saggy ****s LOL! You'll love cruising, especially with Mickey. It's "Magic!"

 

[DeeCeeSW]

WDW is the only place where I do not care what I look like in a bathing suit bc no one is paying attention to me. I have seen women twice my size (and I'm pleasantly plump) wearing bikinis and no one bats an eye. I'm glad to hear that it should be the same way on the ship. Who needs to worry about stuff like that when you're on a fantastic cruise?! Have fun!

 

[gravymom]

Thanks for the replys. Obviously, being fat (not to be confused with PHAT in my case ) does not bother me that much or I would do something about it. I just wanted to make sure that being in my very modest suit all day was not the only option.

Thanks again and I am sure I can come up with about 1 million more questions.

Ohhh, here is one: if given the choice between a 7 night cruise or a week at the park staying at the Contemporary (which is heaven to us, but if you don't like it then sub in your favorite hotel above), which would you choose?

Thanks

Amy

 

[Henlady]

Hi Gravymom,
We'll be doing our first Cruise in October. I am tall pooh size lady. I am uncomfortable being in public in a bathing suit, but I did want be able to spend time with DH at the pool and beach (he loves the sun - I don't). So
I came up with the idea of making a Sarong to use as a coverup. I can cover as much a I want, but still have a "pool/beach" feel to the coverup. I was lucky enough to get some attractive material at Walmart - on sale for $1.00/yd. so it only cost me $2.00. All I have to do is even up the ends and stitch up a straight hem on each side. I'll also be useing about a 50spf sun screen, but that's another story. Just a suggestion in case you want to be "comfortable" for some pool/beach time.

Kris

 

[scrapcreator]

One of the things I loved about our first Disney cruise was that I actually felt pretty comfortable wearing a swimsuit at the pools, Castaway Cay, snorkeling, etc. I didn't feel out of place since there were a variety of body types on board and I think everyone was having too much fun to worry about how someone else looked. If it makes you feel more comfortable, buy a coverup, sarong or wrap. I wore my coverup or wrap up to the pool - I'm not brave enough to wander the ship in just a swimsuit.

There is PLENTY to do on board beside hang out at the pool. My dh had never done a 7 day cruise & was a bit leary about all those sea days, LOL. We couldn't even come close to doing all the indoor & outdoor activities scheduled! So, of course, we'll have to come back

Disney cruisers are beautiful - inside and out.

Jeanne

 

[SQUIGGLE]

Another POOH sized person checking in.
There is soooo much to do on the ship that you can go all day long and never even get to the pool. And, as another poster noted - those nice blue deck chairs on Deck 4 are just perfect for people watching.
You don't have to do any excursions. But, maybe that could be a good time to hit the pool; when most people are ashore.
There are several trivia games onboard that are a lot of fun; as well as the Navigator Series.
As for your second question - The Contemporary was my favorite place in the whole world----until my first cruise. Don't get me wrong the CR is still a very close second; but a 7 day cruise on the Magic is #1. Just MHO, of course.

 

[natsmom125]

Gravy...I too am a Pooh sized lady or BBW(Big Beautiful Woman) and we have been on 6 DCL cruises and one on the other with the fan tail stack!!! Don't worry about it...you will feel perfectly comfortable in whatever you wear.

The cruise, except for alcohol, souviners, excursions, spa treatments is all inclusive. If you go stay at the Contemporary, which don't get me wrong, is our favorite hotel and we are going probably in the summer, you will have to pay for all of your food, plus all of the things mentioned above. And food in the hotel is VERY expensive. You don't have to do any excrusions if you don't want to...we have never done an excursion on any cruise we have been on. Park tickets are very expensive, as well as the food.

On our last cruise, we only got off in the ports because DD had to collect things as part of her homework. We were probably off the ship 2-3 hours max in each port.

Our biggest expense on this cruise was dining in Palo and purchasing wine with dinner in the regular dining rooms. And we would do it all again. We only spent a little over $500. Of course, on one cruise, we spent 1400.00!!!
DH almost died!!! lol I guess you could cruise and not spend any money if you wanted to.

Anyway, my observations and thoughts....

Phyllis

 

[Philadisney]

i went on a wonder cruise this summer. i enjoyed the time spent at the parks more than the time spent on the boat, BUT castaway key was the greatest part of the entire trip. so beautiful!!! i went parasailing there and snorkling when we stopped at the bahamas, both firsts for me and both very fun!!! i'm not a lie by the pool person either but my cousin and i enjoyed the piano bar and the dinners were to die for. the main problem was that we didn't have kids, so after 10pm the ship was dead as parents went to pick up their kids at the oceaneers club. one night we had the dance club entirely to ourselves! the shows, though, are totally entertaining - we loved the mickey awards and i also got to see a movie at the movie theater on the ship that i had been wanting to see.

 

[Disnurse2B]

Since you are having trouble deciding on a cruise or park stay, why not do both!
Disney offers a wonderful land/sea package which my family is taking in May. Best of both worlds. You can choose either 3 nights at a Disney resort with 4 nights at sea, or 4 nights at Disney with a 3 night cruise (the option we decided on.) They will give you a package price that seemed, to me, quite reasonable. There is more info on the official Disney web site. Have a great trip!

 

[missmulan]

just read your title and wanted to say that no question is ever stupid.

 

[momtokendantom]

Do you use the verandas as much in January?

 

[scrapperjill]

I didn't get a chance to read through all the post listed...but I just wanted to add there is soooo much to do on the ship..you could spend your whole day inside...and no where near the pool. With the movies, shows (don't forget the matenees) charator apperances, games, spa time, meals (non-stop). Well lets just say we didn't spend a whole lot of time at the pools...we never made it to the adult pool and only once for a short time to the goofy pool...So besides the couple times we took our DDs to the Mickey pool...we spent our time doing other things. I was actually suprised at how little time we spent lounging and being on the decks or near the pool. If you enjoy reading...not much could be better than grabbing a good book and sitting in either a lounger or in one of the BIG window seats as you read away.

As for the $$$$ question...It really depends on how much you want to spend. Everything you would need is included in the cruise fare...ie meals, beverages (not alcohol, bottled water or soda from a lounge) entertainment, port fees. Really the only things you'll need to pay for additional is....mixed drinks, beer, smoothies, bottled water, soda if ordered at a lounge/bar (sodas are free of charge in the dinning rooms, at the beverage bar on deck 9 and at the topsiders/beach blanket buffet)...souviners, shore excrusions and tips....oh if you choose to eat at Palo there is a fee for that restraunt onboard and of course the spa treatments.

 

[mist_e_rose2002]

I posted before that we have never cruised. What is there to do on a cruise beside bake beside the pool? I am a pooh-sized person (ok, let's be honest, I'm FAT!), so hanging out in a swimsuit (or in my case, handing out OF a swimsuit) all day is not thrilling me. If ones does not wish to bake in the sun, what does one do on a cruise? Would we (DH and three rugrats) be better off just doing a week at Disney or is there plenty of other stuff to do? Also, budget is an issue, so I don't think we could swing every shore excursion or whatever.

Thanks!

edited to add: What is and is not included in the cruise fare? I just read a thread where it looks like people dropped a lot of cash once on the ship. Are the children's programs an extra charge? Is it all-inclusive in terms of food (other than alcohol and bottled water?) I know that excursions and spa stuff is extra (I think) but I am in the dark otherwise.

TIA!!

I like that a pooh sized person! that's good.

I am also a plus size, but the bulk of my weight is in my butt! I am going to work out every day until the cruise. But if worst case scenario, I do not lose any weight, I have a cover up for my fatter half.

If I were you, I would not worry. You gotta love yourself first. If no one loves you because you aren't perfect, then I bet they are missing out on meeting a good person and that is their short-sightedness coming out.