What does the "at sea" day look like?

[Mousemommy1]

With our first cruise coming up in April, I am anxiously trying to gather information to see what our days will look like.

What are the things everyone does on their "at sea" days? Obviously, the ship is full on those days. Do you go to the movies? Go swimming? Shows?

Give me a vision, LOL. Thanks!

 

[phinz]

I don't go swimming. That looks like kid soup to me. No thanks. I sleep in. I sit on the verandah and read. I watch a movie in either my stateroom or in the theatre. I go to tastings, mixology, etc. Walk on the Promenade. Shop a bit. Sit in the Cove Bar and meet new people. Write. The sea days go by far too fast for me, to be honest. I'd just as soon the ship go to sea, do circles for at least a week and come back to home port.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I don't go swimming. That looks like kid soup to me. No thanks. I sleep in. I sit on the verandah and read. I watch a movie in either my stateroom or in the theatre. I go to tastings, mixology, etc. Walk on the Promenade. Shop a bit. Sit in the Cove Bar and meet new people. Write. The sea days go by far too fast for me, to be honest. I'd just as soon the ship go to sea, do circles for at least a week and come back to home port.

I am not sure how much swimming we will do because we have a 1 year old, and he is not allowed in the pool.

But, sitting on the verandah sounds so relaxing! I am most looking forward to sitting on it at night and just hopefully seeing a bunch of stars in the sky.

Do you have favorite or must-see shows?

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

You can go to movies, swim or take part in any of the many activities that will be scheduled in different areas of the ship.

 

[Sir William]

Over the years, I've read (usually on our veranda but sometimes by the pool), enjoyed the pool and hot tub, seen a movie, done a wine tasting, attended a cooking demo, wandered around the ship looking at the photos and art on the walls, enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the MDR, checked out the trading pin books in the shops, watched for whales (Alaska), walked 3 miles on the Promenade Deck, and a couple of times I've had a massage.

DW likes to spend the day in the adult pool area getting some sun while reading and enjoying adult beverages. She often gets a massage and plays a few rounds of bingo. She joins me for wine tastings and lunch, but otherwise I don't see her for much of the day.

In the evenings, I see the shows while DW continues to enjoy the pool, we meet in the room to clean up for dinner and enjoy a glass of wine, then after dinner visit one or more of the lounges for a drink, enjoy the adult shows, or sometimes socialize with new found friends.

I don't know where the day goes, but I find sea days the most relaxing and enjoyable days of the cruise.

 

[phinz]

Do you have favorite or must-see shows?

Nope. Haven't been to a show yet and don't foresee seeing one in the future. Not my thing. I'd rather go to Skyline for a pre-dinner cocktail.

 

[Justacruiser]

It looks like to me that you are going to be on the Dream and with your question it sounds like a 4-day cruise. Just imagine 3,500 people trying to anything and everything and you have one day to do it. Yes, it's that crazy. They will have movies in the theater at approximately 8:00, 2:00, 5:30, 8:00 and 11:00. The 5:30 and 8:00 will probably be the same movie. The pools and deck 11 will be crowded from about 10am till about 4:30. Pretty much the pool is to hop it, find a spot and stand till you get out. They will have movies outside on the jumbo screen showing all day. You can sit on deck 12 and watch the movies, have sunscreen on. Breakfast is served in Cabanas from about 7:00 (approximately) till about 11:00. Check your Navigator but they sometimes have breakfast on 1 side around 11 while the other side is setting up. I think lunch in Cabanas is open till around 2 (I think). we always do lunch when it first opens so we can get a table. All the shops will be open for you to purchase items. If you want the kids to swim, I recommend the following: get up and around and eat breakfast, be at the pool by 10am, swim till you want to leave to get showers, hit Cabanas or quick service for lunch, play miniature golf on deck 12 (about 20 minutes), watch a movie, get dressed for dinner, eat dinner or go to the show (whichever order you have), grab a piece of pizza or some fried on deck 11, and then fall asleep watching a movie on tv (on demand) in your room.

I am in no way trying to be a down for your sea day, they are GREAT, but I want you to be prepared.

Any other questions, ask away.

 

[Hundredacre]

The only problem with sea days is if you have an active child who does not like the kids club. This is less of a problem on the larger ships because there is a lot more for them to do outside of the kids club. Otherwise, sea days are great. We like to go to trivia and animation drawing classes, watch movies etc.

 

[Skiton]

There is so much to do on at sea days! I spend most of it reading in a lounge chair (main pool area if the kids are with me, adult area if they're at the club), but they offer tons of beverage tasting classes (champagne, martini, cognac, mixology, etc.) if you like that. There is usually a variety act scheduled for mid-day. You can't beat a good massage. We saw movies. Mid-ship detective agency is great to kill an hour with your kids, if you're on a ship that offers it. Lots of character meet-and-greets. We were never bored.

 

[Sir William]

But, sitting on the verandah sounds so relaxing! I am most looking forward to sitting on it at night and just hopefully seeing a bunch of stars in the sky.

On our cruise last year, I spent the majority of my "free time" on our veranda, unless I was attending some scheduled activity (wine tasting, cooking demo, a movie). This included sea days, mornings before we went ashore, and the afternoons after we'd returned to the ship. I also spent time on it while DW prepared for dinner, and then we usually had a glass of wine until it was time to go to dinner. Usually I read and watched the sea, and sometimes I dozed. I just enjoyed the privacy and solitude.

 

[Mousemommy1]

It looks like to me that you are going to be on the Dream and with your question it sounds like a 4-day cruise. Just imagine 3,500 people trying to anything and everything and you have one day to do it. Yes, it's that crazy. They will have movies in the theater at approximately 8:00, 2:00, 5:30, 8:00 and 11:00. The 5:30 and 8:00 will probably be the same movie. The pools and deck 11 will be crowded from about 10am till about 4:30. Pretty much the pool is to hop it, find a spot and stand till you get out. They will have movies outside on the jumbo screen showing all day. You can sit on deck 12 and watch the movies, have sunscreen on. Breakfast is served in Cabanas from about 7:00 (approximately) till about 11:00. Check your Navigator but they sometimes have breakfast on 1 side around 11 while the other side is setting up. I think lunch in Cabanas is open till around 2 (I think). we always do lunch when it first opens so we can get a table. All the shops will be open for you to purchase items. If you want the kids to swim, I recommend the following: get up and around and eat breakfast, be at the pool by 10am, swim till you want to leave to get showers, hit Cabanas or quick service for lunch, play miniature golf on deck 12 (about 20 minutes), watch a movie, get dressed for dinner, eat dinner or go to the show (whichever order you have), grab a piece of pizza or some fried on deck 11, and then fall asleep watching a movie on tv (on demand) in your room.

I am in no way trying to be a down for your sea day, they are GREAT, but I want you to be prepared.

Any other questions, ask away.

Thank you for the detailed insight! Yes, the Dream on a 4 day.

I anticipate that our older kids will want to spend time in the kids club but we also have a 1 year old, so he will likely be hanging with us for the most part. The only time we plan on sending him to the nursery is when we have dinner at Palo (if we get reservations).

 

[amanda ek]

Thank you for the detailed insight! Yes, the Dream on a 4 day.

I anticipate that our older kids will want to spend time in the kids club but we also have a 1 year old, so he will likely be hanging with us for the most part. The only time we plan on sending him to the nursery is when we have dinner at Palo (if we get reservations).

We started cruising with DCL when my daughter was 15 months so no pool, but we spent like an hour a day in the little kid splash area. They also have toddler time with mats in the floor and 2 CMs to entertain your kid. We put her in the nursery for nap time and when we wanted to go to palo, see a movie, etc but she spent most of the time with us.

 

[Quellman]

Thank you for the detailed insight! Yes, the Dream on a 4 day.

I anticipate that our older kids will want to spend time in the kids club but we also have a 1 year old, so he will likely be hanging with us for the most part. The only time we plan on sending him to the nursery is when we have dinner at Palo (if we get reservations).

There is a wake up with Disney Jr event, and usually an open house in the nursery that you can do. Also, throw on some swim diapers and use Nemo's reef water area. Out guy had fun at 14 months.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We started cruising with DCL when my daughter was 15 months so no pool, but we spent like an hour a day in the little kid splash area. They also have toddler time with mats in the floor and 2 CMs to entertain your kid. We put her in the nursery for nap time and when we wanted to go to palo, see a movie, etc but she spent most of the time with us.

Awesome!!! Our little guy will be 15 months old at the time of the cruise, but we also have a 9 and 11 year old who will probably want to hit the pool at least once, so we will probably have split up for a bit.

 

[Trera]

one word.................Brunch!!

 

[taishartrueblood]

I cant say enough about the blissful relaxation that is the Rainforest Room in the spa. I tend to hang out there, hang out on the pool deck reading/watching movies/watching people, or do some of the extracurriculars like tastings.

 

[phinz]

I cant say enough about the blissful relaxation that is the Rainforest Room in the spa. I tend to hang out there, hang out on the pool deck reading/watching movies/watching people, or do some of the extracurriculars like tastings.

My wife is perfectly happy in the Rainforest Room sauna that has the big picture window overlooking the ocean. She'll stay in there until she's about to pass out.

 

[Claireywalsh]

We could not drag our 7 year old away from the club at all on our recent cruise. If we were on the ship, that's where she wanted to be!! On our first sea day we had character breakfast but we lazed on the verandah first with coffee and blankets. She then hi tailed to the club and we met friends for coffee in the cove - alcoholic coffees of course! I think we then did the spa before getting back together for lunch, more club time for the lady and mixology for us! Was a fabulous day! We did do almost all the shows, as we had late dining and it just worked well for us!! Just go with the flow, you'll love it

 

[Shanti]

There are lots of activities on Sea Day- that actually was my favorite day, though I loved Castaway Cay. Bingo, other family games, character meets, water slide, lounging on deck, etc., etc.

 

[kiford]

We had several at sea days on our 12-day northern European cruise in July. I'm not exactly sure what we did all day but I do recall that it seemed to take all day and we didn't get to do lots of things we'd planned. I think we did some movies, sat on deck and had snacks (ice cream, shwarma) and drinks and spent time with our tablemates (we've cruised with them before so we'd end up just watching the scenery and chatting), gym time, port talks, reading at Cove Café, cooking demos, trivia). I'm a big fan of at sea days. Somehow, not doing anything in particular seems to take a lot of time.