(This is the condensed version)
Lessons Learned:
GENERAL: (Applies to entire trip)
Confirm all arrangements made.
We confirmed all the arrangements that were made, including airlines and hotels. With the individual airline and hotel. We also noted whom we talked to and when. We also confirmed the shore excursion arrangements.
BEFORE LEAVING HOME:
Put all your cruise documents TOGETHER, along with your proof of citizenships, visas etc
And keep them together! Night before, check to make sure it is in a CARRY-ON bag and not packed, and that the photo IDs (adult 18 and over) are in each persons possession.
Bring some snacks, something that does not melt or spoil, sealed, is tasty and can take rough handling. We had some granola bars that we all like. It was good enough to take the edge off a hunger pain between meals or when traveling.
Pack in plastic bags, (the larger 2 gallon sizes) put in your clothes, and squish out the air. These are also good for bringing things back too!
If you are going over a holiday, like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc., bring some candy or other seasonal goodies you can pass to cast and crew members that help you. We were on an Easter Cruise and I had a bag of Chocolate eggs that I was passing out on Easter Sunday. So many people had not received even Easter Greetings, or other way remembered. This was a big hit!!
Many of the folks on the ship are young adults away from their families; this is a very nice touch. Younger kids can even make cards and fill out the persons name once on the ship (good for your stateroom host/hostess, and serving staff, and childrens program counselors).
Bring a BLANK address book or pages, and keep it with you. If you strike up a friendship, get the information EARLY. Not on the last night just before bed, or on disembarking day at breakfast.
If you take photos of your family or party with the crew, make a point of sending back a copy to them. Many decorate their quarters with these photographs. By the way, the crew has access to email, so that is another way to send them photos.
AIRLINE:
We had American Airlines; they are starting to go to mostly on-line and e-tickets, so if you have those flight coupons you will wait in a longer and slower line. NOTE: The weight restrictions on luggage has gone DOWN, no more that 50 lbs per bag! (I had asked the 1-800 customer service reps about it and had been told differently, the check-in service rep rules so keep the bags light, but each person is allowed 2 bags as checked, and on carry on. Carry on must be less than 45 lbs and fit either in the bin or under the seat. CHECK to see if you bags will meet these requirements BEFORE going to the airport. (On-line airline sites have this information.)
HOTEL:
The Hyatt at the airport was great! There is a heated pool that our daughter made a first stop before doing anything else. There are a couple restaurants at the Hyatt, but a cheaper and good meal could be had from within the airport.
The Hotel, if you didnt already know is IN the terminal between terminals A and B. It is VERY quiet and you will not hear too much noise above the third floor.
When waiting on the
Disney Cruise people to arrive at the hotel, ask WHERE they will set up and do not expect that you will see them come in. For the 7-day Eastern Cruise that departed on April 19, the Disney people set up to the RIGHT of the hotels front desk. (I have heard, sometimes it is to the left too!). NOTE: Your luggage will not be picked-up until you process with the
DCL folks in the lobby, but once you process, DO NOT LEAVE the area, or allow anyone in your group to leave. The Bus grouping will not leave without everyone there, but
you will make everyone else wait, increasing the tension that many might be feeling.
EMBARKING PROCEDURES:
Just like at the airport, remove all metal items, stow in a day bag to go through the X-ray machine. Separate film, (over 400 ASA should be hand screened anyways) for screening. AND have your picture ID ready. This is just to get into the building.
If you are an American citizen, and all the rest of your party are American citizens, go to the shortest line. Make sure you have your proof of citizenship out (Birth certificate or passport) for each person, and a Government issued Photo ID for each adult.
Send one person to stand in line, if anyone needs to use the restrooms at the terminal (top of escalator right). Then quickly rejoin them, the lines move fast.
If any member of your party is in a wheel chair, (advise using a motorized one if you can, rentals are available through several companies) let DCL know. You will have priority boarding, just like at the theme parks and resorts. NOTE: Entire party must keep together for this.
If anyone in a larger group has a Cat 1, 2 or 3 stateroom, they can make on-board arrangements for the remainder of their party. My Mom and Sister with her family were in a Cat 3, my Brother, his wife, and my family and I were in separate Cat 4 staterooms. We went with Mom to Sessions to make the appointments once on board.
AAA members If you have the Diamond Club coupon in your document packet (lead traveler only) go to one of the tables selling the mugs and refills, NOT the one in the entrance atrium, but the one towards the Promenade Lounge (aft) same deck, and get it there. The Atrium will get very crowded very fast; it is also too noisy to do anything there. These mugs are yellow, but you get the unlimited refill sticker on your Key to the World Card too!
ON THE SHIP:
Advice for parents of TEENS and TWEENS Set your limits on hours out, check-ins, meals with family, wake-up times, and so on, BEFORE leaving home!
Note: The wake-up time really is important. The room hosts CAN NOT enter a stateroom that has an unaccompied minor, they (the hosts) have duties to perform include making up the room, in addition to cleaning the hallways. They are spot checked and cannot get time-off until ALL their rooms are finished. While they will work if an adult is in the room, it is easier if everyone is out of the room. Many kids, while very rude to their own families will be considerate of another person that is outside of the family.
Teens and Tweens are the most difficult to travel with, let them enjoy their time on the cruise. Encourage going to Common Grounds (if old enough, minimum 13, or within a month of being 13) the first night. Even if they do not hang out there, they will meet other teens.
Learn where they like to hang-out. Even younger kids (8-10) when not in an organized activity have a favorite place to hang out. This allows you, as a parent, to keep tabs on where they are and what they are doing. Please note that this location may change during the day. My daughters crowd right after dinner (the families were all on Main (6pm) rotation) on Deck 6, right behind the mid-ships elevators. This was a smaller atrium/alcove area.
PARENTS, CHARGING TO ROOM
You can allow charging on the Key to the World cards or no charging. Previous information from DCL about putting limits on the dollar amount is out-of date. There are, at least on the 7-day cruises, a snack bar where some chips and bags or pre-popped corn are for sale. Plus other goodies --- set a dollar amount for spending per day, and check with Guest Services regularly to see your kids are keeping to it.
Photos from Shutters (the ships photographers) these are usually high quality photos, candids and in-formals (these are all 6 by 8 ) are done well. BUY the package deal, and yes, if you buy a 10 picture set, and decide later to increase it, you only pay the DIFFERENCE, not the entire amount Example going from 10 to 20, the difference in prices was $65. (Separate 10 picture package is $85.). There are also packages for the formal photos (8 x 10) (with a background, poised, etc
) that include a free folder with your photo on one side and a stock photo of the ship on the other. This will be the largest (on-board) expense for many families.
If you can choose between the upper bunk or lower bunk, for sleeping, use the upper bunk for sleeping and the lower bunk remains a couch to sit on. This is good if you have someone (like a teen) that stays out late and sleeps in late.
Use room service, at least in the mornings to get those first cups of coffee while dressing, and as a secondary wake-up for the day. You are on vacation!
DINING:
This is almost always excellent! Although the food can get really fancy, or taste strange, most kids and adults do well with it. Resort Casual means NO SUITS, but you should change clothes for dinner. Jeans and shorts are not encouraged, women and girls in nice slacks and top or blouse, or a dress; men and boys in nice slacks and a shirt with a collar, (polo shirt excellent). But you well see EVERYTHING so, dont sweat it much. Parrot Cay is the most causal dining room; you can get by with nice, clean denim slacks (i.e. jeans) in here.
EASTERN SHORE PORTS OF CALL:
St. Maarten/St. Martin: ⅓ Dutch, and ⅔ French.
Best Buy! The Water Taxi from the pier to town of St. Phillipsburg. $ 5.00 all day, multiple trips.
Not much really interesting sightseeing, the best beaches are in front of resort hotels, although there is a decent beach along the towns waterfront.
The shops in the immediate area of the pier tourist orientated, (t-shirts, jewelry, postcards, booze and other mass produced in China items) and expensive. This island was hit very hard by a major hurricane a few years back, many homes are still being rebuilt. Unemployment is very high, and the area, except for tourism, is depressed. St. Martin is a very dry island, (little annual rainfall) and has very large salt ponds/lagoons. (This was once where Europe got much of its salt in the 1800s to mid 1900s). Most of the shore excursions were reported to be very good, and my husband and daughter really enjoyed their snorkel trip by boat to a shipwreck cove.
St. Thomas/St. John: These are two islands, part of the United States Virgin Islands. You will have an EARLY wake-up since EVERYONE must process through U.S. immigration before ANYONE can leave the ship. Have your passport or birth certificates ready for EVERYONE in your room, and their bodies with you, (my daughter was body present, and mental zombie) you can go back to your room and sleep some more afterwards.
There are NO water taxis on St. Thomas from the pier to town. There is a BIG shopping area right off the pier, with 6 buildings of things, including a small gourmet grocery store, a bookshop and Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream.
A 7 minute walk away from the pier is a cable car to the top of a ridge that has a small bar, restaurant and some nature trails and an excellent view of the bay and Charlotte Amelia. This is a pretty good bargain, and the DCL price is $4 cheaper than to walk up and buy a ticket. Another 2 min walk from the cable car base is a supermarket (Pueblo) and another 3 minute walk is a K-mart! (This is America after all!)
Taxis to town are $3 and often it is an open van or bus that can hold about 10 to 12 people. (Remember, sometimes up to 4 ships can be docked ant the same time). There is a taxi stand area in town on the water front to catch one back to the pier.
The town of Charlotte Amelia has many historical buildings, some built in the 1700s when this was a Danish Colony. The park where you get dropped off is called Emancipation Park and has a replica of the Liberty Bell that was casted from the same mold, and has no crack. This one has been rung a few times. All the trees have yellow ribbons around them for our troops in the Gulf.
The Tourist area is about 6 blocks with the usual shops, and bars. The water front in town has no beach.
Reports from those that went to the sister Island of St. John were excellent! This island is a national park, mostly undeveloped and very beautiful.
CASTAWAY CAY
Many changes since the last time I was there in 2001. More buildings, improvements in plumbing, some buildings moved, additional activities.
If you go between March and June when it is high season for Sea Lice, use Sea Safe® lotion. (See the discussion thread on the other board)
SPA ACTIVITIES:
Adults, couples -- Do the Surial session in the Spa! We did and it was great!
Now the important one
WHAT WOULD WE DO DIFFERENT:
Different Staterooms: 8046 is very quiet, even with a party going on in the Goofy pool area or mechanical problems with the Goofy Pool pumping equipment. This is a Cat 3 stateroom suite. 8044 and 8042 (both Cat 4 staterooms) were noisy whenever there was something going on in the area of the Goofy Pool, and when the Goofy Pool water was being changed or drained. Otherwise the rooms were fine. I would guess the ones on the Starboard side had the same problems with noise.
Pack even less, had about ⅓ of our clothes that we packed never get worn.
Leave the kids? Well even with Disney, it can get to those moments. What was great for me was when the off-spring behavior was at its worse, at dinner we could reminisce about family vacations that we took with our family when we were young, (we did get the parents curse Wait till you have kids!)
And like they will tell you the night before disembarking You will forget something. We have clothes and shoes to wear and toothbrushes and toothpaste, even separated the film. We forgot to turn in our survey. So if anyone from the ship has read this, we did mail it to DCL!
We had an EXCELLENT time.
Sandy Dent
, I'm on my way.....
