Sunblock and sunburn
Wear it or you WILL get burnt. We are both fair skinned and take meds that make us more vulnerable to skin exposure. We took Coppertone 45spf Oil Free and were well protected until the day at Castaway Cay. We were OK the first half of the day but should have reapplied it mid-way through our day of snorkeling as we still managed to get a wicked burn on the spots where the salt water washed away our SPF protection. If you do get burned, I highly recommend some products that were great for us. We used Panama Jack's Aloe, Lidocaine After Sun Relief Gel, Solarcaine Aloe, and Lidocaine Burn Relief Gel. The aloe soothes the tightness and dryness of the skin, and the Lidocaine cools the heat and numbs the burn. If you are real deep fried and tender, make sure whoever applies it rubs some onto their fingers and palms first, so it doesn't feel like sandpaper against your skin. Also by using the above products, we never peeled at all!
Photos
Some people suggested taking a repeat commorative photo of the same thing each cruise. One family took pictures of all of their feet in a circle. We just took a picture of our room number and the little pewter fish by the door. It's a nice keepsake and then you can also make notes about what you liked about that particular room location for future reference.
There are lots of great photo opportunities such as the Character Breakfast which was fun for even us big old kids! Lots of characters come around to every table and you can take turns with your tablemates getting lots of closeup pictures. There are also lots of photo ops in the atrium with individual Disney characters, but they're always mobbed by a bazillion kids of course. A good tip is to go up on the balcony overlooking the atrium and use a zoom lens quickly in between when they greet each child. There is also a Princess Signing Night where Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Alice, etc, are all at a long table in the atrium signing autograph books. If you're a real photo nut like I am, keep your camera with you at all times because you never want to miss a great op from anything like the parties, the islands, the characters, the sunsets, your new friends, the shows, a family member who's unexpectedly pulled up on stage, etc! These are captured memories for a lifetime after all! There are also lots of really nice formal pictures that Disney takes and
then you can pick and choose the best of 6X8's or 8X10's. The 6X8's were about $10 each and the 8X10's were about $20 each. There are package deals which you might come out ahead on.
Some of the backdrops for these pictures are: The ship in the background at night, Mickey Clouds in the background, Island backdrop on Tropical Night, and one at the ship's rail with Disney Cruise Line life preserver in front of you. We also got some portraits of us with Chip and Dale, one with Minnie Mouse, one with Mickey, and one as were boarding the ship with a poster of Mickey that says Welcome Disney Magic with the date in big letters. We missed out on the one with the ship and Castaway Cay in the background. To avoid this be sure to listen to the PA announcements in the morning and afternoon of which pictures are taken at each specified time frame and which night. This information is also included in the Navigator. We got really dressed up on the Palo night and wanted to get 3 of our formal portraits taken only to find out they weren't doing any that night, so we had to do it all over again on another formal night which we had really planned for a casual night's activities.
Canvas Freedom Bag
I highly recommend this. It is sold at Bently's Luggage stores and also on QVC. It's a carryon bag with tons of pockets for all your toiletries, cosmetics, back up meds (keep your main ones in your purse), etc. I buy one of everything I would normally use, deoderant, shampoo, lotion, soap, cosmetics, etc and leave it in the bag at all times. That way it's always ready to go, saves a lot of packing time, and I never forget anything. I love this bag. It's the best piece of luggage I've ever owned. It's the size of a small briefcase but holds more stuff than any other cosmetic case I've ever had. It's a carryon that fits easily under airline seats or overhead bins.
Wrinkle Release Sprays
Forget it! Seems like a great idea, but we've tried this 3 different times and they have leaked all over our luggage every time. Fortunately ours were packed in Zip Lock bags in shoe side compartments so our clothes weren't runied, but it was a big mess. I guess if your determined to use these, dump a little out so there's room for inflight pressure expansion, tape the lid securely with masking tape and double bag and lock it in two Zip Locks. Good luck!
Food on board
Scrumptious and lots of it, all the time. You WILL gain weight. There's something for everyone. Plan on diet and exercise upon return home.
Will have more tips later...
Connie
Wear it or you WILL get burnt. We are both fair skinned and take meds that make us more vulnerable to skin exposure. We took Coppertone 45spf Oil Free and were well protected until the day at Castaway Cay. We were OK the first half of the day but should have reapplied it mid-way through our day of snorkeling as we still managed to get a wicked burn on the spots where the salt water washed away our SPF protection. If you do get burned, I highly recommend some products that were great for us. We used Panama Jack's Aloe, Lidocaine After Sun Relief Gel, Solarcaine Aloe, and Lidocaine Burn Relief Gel. The aloe soothes the tightness and dryness of the skin, and the Lidocaine cools the heat and numbs the burn. If you are real deep fried and tender, make sure whoever applies it rubs some onto their fingers and palms first, so it doesn't feel like sandpaper against your skin. Also by using the above products, we never peeled at all!
Photos
Some people suggested taking a repeat commorative photo of the same thing each cruise. One family took pictures of all of their feet in a circle. We just took a picture of our room number and the little pewter fish by the door. It's a nice keepsake and then you can also make notes about what you liked about that particular room location for future reference.
There are lots of great photo opportunities such as the Character Breakfast which was fun for even us big old kids! Lots of characters come around to every table and you can take turns with your tablemates getting lots of closeup pictures. There are also lots of photo ops in the atrium with individual Disney characters, but they're always mobbed by a bazillion kids of course. A good tip is to go up on the balcony overlooking the atrium and use a zoom lens quickly in between when they greet each child. There is also a Princess Signing Night where Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Alice, etc, are all at a long table in the atrium signing autograph books. If you're a real photo nut like I am, keep your camera with you at all times because you never want to miss a great op from anything like the parties, the islands, the characters, the sunsets, your new friends, the shows, a family member who's unexpectedly pulled up on stage, etc! These are captured memories for a lifetime after all! There are also lots of really nice formal pictures that Disney takes and
then you can pick and choose the best of 6X8's or 8X10's. The 6X8's were about $10 each and the 8X10's were about $20 each. There are package deals which you might come out ahead on.
Some of the backdrops for these pictures are: The ship in the background at night, Mickey Clouds in the background, Island backdrop on Tropical Night, and one at the ship's rail with Disney Cruise Line life preserver in front of you. We also got some portraits of us with Chip and Dale, one with Minnie Mouse, one with Mickey, and one as were boarding the ship with a poster of Mickey that says Welcome Disney Magic with the date in big letters. We missed out on the one with the ship and Castaway Cay in the background. To avoid this be sure to listen to the PA announcements in the morning and afternoon of which pictures are taken at each specified time frame and which night. This information is also included in the Navigator. We got really dressed up on the Palo night and wanted to get 3 of our formal portraits taken only to find out they weren't doing any that night, so we had to do it all over again on another formal night which we had really planned for a casual night's activities.
Canvas Freedom Bag
I highly recommend this. It is sold at Bently's Luggage stores and also on QVC. It's a carryon bag with tons of pockets for all your toiletries, cosmetics, back up meds (keep your main ones in your purse), etc. I buy one of everything I would normally use, deoderant, shampoo, lotion, soap, cosmetics, etc and leave it in the bag at all times. That way it's always ready to go, saves a lot of packing time, and I never forget anything. I love this bag. It's the best piece of luggage I've ever owned. It's the size of a small briefcase but holds more stuff than any other cosmetic case I've ever had. It's a carryon that fits easily under airline seats or overhead bins.
Wrinkle Release Sprays
Forget it! Seems like a great idea, but we've tried this 3 different times and they have leaked all over our luggage every time. Fortunately ours were packed in Zip Lock bags in shoe side compartments so our clothes weren't runied, but it was a big mess. I guess if your determined to use these, dump a little out so there's room for inflight pressure expansion, tape the lid securely with masking tape and double bag and lock it in two Zip Locks. Good luck!
Food on board
Scrumptious and lots of it, all the time. You WILL gain weight. There's something for everyone. Plan on diet and exercise upon return home.
Will have more tips later...
Connie
