Tips From a First Time Disney Cruiser

[Musical Princess]

Hello everyone. Here are some things that my family and I learned on our first cruise ever:

1. Try your best to get a direct flight into your port the day before. On the way back, the second half of our journey got disrupted and resulted in flying from another airport to get home. This would’ve been an extremely stressful start to vacation. Not the best ending, but at least we had enough fond memories to look back on that it didn’t make it the end of the world.
2. Embarkation Day can be overwhelming, especially, for your first time. I think the best thing to do is, take a deep breath, change your DCL app to being on the ship, then go get lunch. You can figure out your plans for the rest of the day from there.
3. Speaking of lunch, Cabanas (the buffet) is also extremely overwhelming during the first day and peak (common) dining times. Keep that in mind and plan accordingly.
4. I brought a reusable water and Starbucks Tumblr to have water and soda. I didn’t end up using my Tumblr at all, but my reusable S’well bottle was great so I didn’t have to keep refilling my water bottle.
5. Dinner does take a long time. I learned not to plan anything for at least an hour and a half, two hours to be safe, after dinner started. To be fair though, I did see other tables leaving a lot sooner than ours did, so I guess it just depends. It’s something to keep in mind though.
6. If you see something you like, buy it. My mom didn’t do this and almost came to regret it. Luckily, they restocked and she was able to get her size.
7. The Disney magic is the smallest ship so I can’t attest to the others, but it didn’t feel too crowded. The most crowded times were embarkation day, special events like pirate night, and disembarkation day. It really wasn’t bad though and sailing in September, there weren’t too many kids. There are plenty of adult spaces, though, so make sure to utilize them because why not. Speaking of that, go to Serenity Bay, the adults only beach at Castaway Cay. It really lives up to its name.
8. This probably shouldn’t need to be stated, but make sure to save room for souvenirs. I didn’t do this very well, and had to be very creative with packing. If you think you’ll need that extra suitcase, bring it.
9. It can get chilly on the upper decks at night, even during the summer. Make sure to bring a cover-up. I also brought a pair of lightweight leggings that I didn’t end up using, but was really glad I had a jacket. It’s also good to bring a jacket or something similar in the dining rooms. They and a few other spots on the ship can get a bit cold from the air-con. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be, but still a bit cool.
10. Finally, you really won’t be able to do it all. It’s very tempting, but don’t do it. I did pretty much everything I wanted, but did have to prioritize. I thought I would stay up later and do more late evening events as I am a night owl, but buy the time our first dining rotation show was over, or special event like Pirate’s Night, I was really done for the day and knew I shouldn’t push myself. It is vacation after all. I even took a nap during the day at sea. Don’t feel bad if you do the same. Vacation how you want to end up feeling like you had the best vacation ever.

One final bonus tip: Watch Bluey. Just do it. I finally discovered it on the ship, and it’s now one of my favorite shows

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Third time cruise comiing up and still good advice. Some supplementals:

1. Taking a flight the day before, but if one can afford the extra day and time off, I think two days is now an even better recommendation. Airlines have been having tough times with staff management and full on flight cancelation. Our gate on the return trip from the second cruise got changed because the flight that was supposed to leave before it didn't have a pilot assigned to it.

3. Depending on my PAT, giving serious consideration to just doing a lunch on the pool deck or hitting the MDR for the third cruise.

5. If you do have an activity afterwards you really want to attend (especially a paid one), you can let your servers know and they will do their best to accommodate you (especially if they know at least the night before). We did this on the Dream on Beauty & the Beast night. Our dinner was finished in about an hour. We only stayed longer because we were in Animator's Palate for Animation Magic that night.

7. Most crowded places are going to be the pools, trivia, and game nights. Definitely easy to avoid crowds though.

8 This is definitely a hard lesson I learned on my second cruise back in April. I did carry on only with a small suitcase & backpacj. Had to check the luggage because my gf gave me this really nice beach bag as an onboard gift for my birthday & only allowed twi carry ons.

 

[MsChristy12]

Third time cruise comiing up and still good advice. Some supplementals:

1. Taking a flight the day before, but if one can afford the extra day and time off, I think two days is now an even better recommendation. Airlines have been having tough times with staff management and full on flight cancelation. Our gate on the return trip from the second cruise got changed because the flight that was supposed to leave before it didn't have a pilot assigned to it.

We did that for our last cruise, and it worked out perfectly! We are from the west coast, so when we arrived in Orlando it was already dinner time. The next day we spent it at Disney Springs leisurely. Then 3rd day it was embarkation day. I think from now on, we will plan for arriving 2 days prior to embarkation. That little extra cushion of time just makes me feel a lot more at ease!

 

[FastPasser.]

I think it depends on where you’re flying in from. We fly in from Atlanta and always fly in on the day of the cruise. We’re platinum and it’s worked out so far.

We fly in early and if it’s canceled there’s another flight a couple of hours later. I prefer not to book a room and arrange transportation. It works for us.

 

[Dug720]

I think it depends on where you’re flying in from. We fly in from Atlanta and always fly in on the day of the cruise. We’re platinum and it’s worked out so far.

It always does until it doesn't.

 

[Musical Princess]

We did that for our last cruise, and it worked out perfectly! We are from the west coast, so when we arrived in Orlando it was already dinner time. The next day we spent it at Disney Springs leisurely. Then 3rd day it was embarkation day. I think from now on, we will plan for arriving 2 days prior to embarkation. That little extra cushion of time just makes me feel a lot more at ease!

Yes. Two days is great if you can do it. Especially if the port is in a fun city to explore

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I think it depends on where you’re flying in from. We fly in from Atlanta and always fly in on the day of the cruise. We’re platinum and it’s worked out so far.

We fly in early and if it’s canceled there’s another flight a couple of hours later. I prefer not to book a room and arrange transportation. It works for us.

I think if I lived 7hrs away I'd just drive at 5 o'clock in the morning or drive day before.

 

[Husker Mike]

I think if I lived 7hrs away I'd just drive at 5 o'clock in the morning or drive day before.

Kind of this. I wouldn't drive at 5 am, but I would drive halfway to the port the night before and then finish up the next morning. That flight might save you three hours, if all works out. But if you drive, you don't have to worry about port transportation or any of the other headaches.

 

[Kwami]

Kind of this. I wouldn't drive at 5 am, but I would drive halfway to the port the night before and then finish up the next morning. That flight might save you three hours, if all works out. But if you drive, you don't have to worry about port transportation or any of the other headaches.

But you might have to worry about a car accident or mechanical troubles!

If I can fly in less than four hours and if the flight is direct and if it's a route that the airline flies regularly (at least daily), then I'm OK with flying in the day before the cruise. Otherwise, it's two days. The airlines are all just terrible lately.

 

[DisneyConvert]

.

 

[FastPasser.]

It always does until it doesn't.

Delta flys from Atlanta to Orlando hourly. There are five flights after our initial flight that we can take and still be at the port on time. Plus there are five other airlines making the same flight.

 

[Dug720]

Delta flys from Atlanta to Orlando hourly. There are five flights after our initial flight that we can take and still be at the port on time. Plus there are five other airlines making the same flight.

OK. You keep doing you. Hopefully it always works out for you - or you have trip insurance for the time something happens and it doesn't.

Like I said, it works until there is something happens and it doesn't. Airlines are very often flying full enough that you can't just hop onto the next plane - you have to be on stand-by and more times than not that means you're standing there going "Bye!" as the plane leaves.

 

[pachy25]

It always does until it doesn't.

last time we cruised, we flew out a day early from Atlanta. Thank goodness, our early AM flight didn't leave until 9:00 PM.

 

[RedHead0186]

Keep in mind too with flights, it's not just about you making it, but your luggage making it. Flew from Chicago to Orlando (on the earliest direct flight of the day) for a cruise in 2016. The flight (and all of us) arrived on time, as did all of my friends' luggage. Even though we all checked our bags at the same time, my suitcase did not make it.

My suitcase did make it on the next flight down, and SW worked with DCL to get it right to the ship (so we didn't have to wait around for it). But it was a stressful few hours waiting to hear, planning an (unscheduled) shopping trip for me to get some clothing and necessities, etc. Not the way I wanted to start my trip, though all ended up being okay. But if you're checking a bag, keep in mind both you and your bag(s) have to make it (and that doesn't always happen like it should!).

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Keep in mind too with flights, it's not just about you making it, but your luggage making it. Flew from Chicago to Orlando (on the earliest direct flight of the day) for a cruise in 2016. The flight (and all of us) arrived on time, as did all of my friends' luggage. Even though we all checked our bags at the same time, my suitcase did not make it.

My suitcase did make it on the next flight down, and SW worked with DCL to get it right to the ship (so we didn't have to wait around for it). But it was a stressful few hours waiting to hear, planning an (unscheduled) shopping trip for me to get some clothing and necessities, etc. Not the way I wanted to start my trip, though all ended up being okay. But if you're checking a bag, keep in mind both you and your bag(s) have to make it (and that doesn't always happen like it should!).

It's funny. On my return trip back in April, we had a late flight ftom Miami. American Airlines let us check our bags hours before our flight. Got a message a few ours later saying our bags made it to our destination on an earlier flight. We got instructions on where to pick our bags up and we practically walked out the door with our stuff with no more fuss than showing our claim tags to the person looking after the luggage.

Not trying to undercut your experience. I'm just stating how weird it is to me that airlines clearly have the capability to get our luggage to our destination yet can still somehow not put it on the correct flight and cause all kinds of stress (luggage arriving before us did actually cause me some stress because I got notices at different times for the different passengers on my account)

 

[RedHead0186]

It's funny. On my return trip back in April, we had a late flight ftom Miami. American Airlines let us check our bags hours before our flight. Got a message a few ours later saying our bags made it to our destination on an earlier flight. We got instructions on where to pick our bags up and we practically walked out the door with our stuff with no more fuss than showing our claim tags to the person looking after the luggage.

Not trying to undercut your experience. I'm just stating how weird it is to me that airlines clearly have the capability to get our luggage to our destination yet can still somehow not put it on the correct flight and cause all kinds of stress (luggage arriving before us did actually cause me some stress because I got notices at different times for the different passengers on my account)

Yes, while I would prefer your experience to mine, I definitely agree that either way it's stressful when your luggage doesn't make it on the same plane as you. Not sure what American's motivation was in your situation (unless it was an "oops."

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Yes, while I would prefer your experience to mine, I definitely agree that either way it's stressful when your luggage doesn't make it on the same plane as you. Not sure what American's motivation was in your situation (unless it was an "oops."

Probably thought "well we have this luggage sitting here. Let's throw it on a totally different plane...nevermind it'll technically unattended when everyone else claims their bags"

 

[tvguy]

Hello everyone. Here are some things that my family and I learned on our first cruise ever:

1. Try your best to get a direct flight into your port the day before. On the way back, the second half of our journey got disrupted and resulted in flying from another airport to get home. This would’ve been an extremely stressful start to vacation. Not the best ending, but at least we had enough fond memories to look back on that it didn’t make it the end of the world.
2. Embarkation Day can be overwhelming, especially, for your first time. I think the best thing to do is, take a deep breath, change your DCL app to being on the ship, then go get lunch. You can figure out your plans for the rest of the day from there.
3. Speaking of lunch, Cabanas (the buffet) is also extremely overwhelming during the first day and peak (common) dining times. Keep that in mind and plan accordingly.
4. I brought a reusable water and Starbucks Tumblr to have water and soda. I didn’t end up using my Tumblr at all, but my reusable S’well bottle was great so I didn’t have to keep refilling my water bottle.
5. Dinner does take a long time. I learned not to plan anything for at least an hour and a half, two hours to be safe, after dinner started. To be fair though, I did see other tables leaving a lot sooner than ours did, so I guess it just depends. It’s something to keep in mind though.
6. If you see something you like, buy it. My mom didn’t do this and almost came to regret it. Luckily, they restocked and she was able to get her size.
7. The Disney magic is the smallest ship so I can’t attest to the others, but it didn’t feel too crowded. The most crowded times were embarkation day, special events like pirate night, and disembarkation day. It really wasn’t bad though and sailing in September, there weren’t too many kids. There are plenty of adult spaces, though, so make sure to utilize them because why not. Speaking of that, go to Serenity Bay, the adults only beach at Castaway Cay. It really lives up to its name.
8. This probably shouldn’t need to be stated, but make sure to save room for souvenirs. I didn’t do this very well, and had to be very creative with packing. If you think you’ll need that extra suitcase, bring it.
9. It can get chilly on the upper decks at night, even during the summer. Make sure to bring a cover-up. I also brought a pair of lightweight leggings that I didn’t end up using, but was really glad I had a jacket. It’s also good to bring a jacket or something similar in the dining rooms. They and a few other spots on the ship can get a bit cold from the air-con. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be, but still a bit cool.
10. Finally, you really won’t be able to do it all. It’s very tempting, but don’t do it. I did pretty much everything I wanted, but did have to prioritize. I thought I would stay up later and do more late evening events as I am a night owl, but buy the time our first dining rotation show was over, or special event like Pirate’s Night, I was really done for the day and knew I shouldn’t push myself. It is vacation after all. I even took a nap during the day at sea. Don’t feel bad if you do the same. Vacation how you want to end up feeling like you had the best vacation ever.

One final bonus tip: Watch Bluey. Just do it. I finally discovered it on the ship, and it’s now one of my favorite shows

Interesting observations.
I agree about flying in the day before. As someone who has been cruising for 43 years, that used to be required by the cruise line, and they threw in the hotel room for free. I guess it depends on where you live, but just seems direct flights are hard to get. Airlines want everyone to go through their hub city. I'm looking at a non-cruise trip to St Louis and there is only one direct flight per week, it's on Saturdays.
Dining time was interesting too. I expect a cruise dinner to last about as long as a typical full service land based restaurant which is a minimum of 90 minutes. My first cruise, dinner was a 3 1/2 hour production.