What to not miss on the ship

[msmama]

My 3rd cruise on the magic is coming up and I've honestly never considered going to Palo. I've heard excellent things about it, but I live in NY where Italian restaurants abound so I don't feel the need for fancy food. So unless you're a foodie or want a "date" night, I don't think it's terrible to miss Palo.

And, like other's have said, I've got 2 magic cruises (16 days) under my belt and I've barely scratched the surface on what there is to do on the ship. I always think I'm going to go to the movies, and then realize there's other things I'd rather do (I CAN go to the movies at home, I don't, but I can, so things that I can only do on the ship always win out for me).

 

[phinz]

What not to miss?

* The knowledge that you cannot do it all and you will make yourself nuts trying.

* Down time to relax.

* And mostly the knowledge that you simply cannot do it all. Even on a 7-night or longer cruise.

(Yes, that is on there twice intentionally.)

Quoting to reiterate, repeat and restate.

Vacations are for vacationing, not running ragged. Running ragged is too much like work.

 

[cheermom2four]

I'm a planner also and honestly DH and I went without our kids on our first cruise (only 3 night so a shorter cruise than yours) and I over planned and by the first evening I "threw everything out the door" with my planning as I realized I just couldnt do it all and we wanted to just enjoy the short cruise. We didnt do the adult dining the first time. Did I feel like I missed it? nope not at all as we had other things we wanted to do. Now we did do Palo for brunch and Dinner on our 2nd cruise only because it was a longer cruise and we were staying on the ship in one of the ports so we could enjoy the ship that day. Just remember to just relax because it will stress you out to no end if you try to plan and cram everything into one cruise. We are going on our third and we are winging it LOL except in ports where we are doing it ourselves for the most part. Our youngest is the pace we keep up with and when she needs down time, we take it!

But do book things like meet n greets if thats your thing as tickets do run out. We do and if we decide not to use them, we turn them back into Guest Services before the time so another family can have our spots.

 

[kiford]

We are doing a 5 night, will I feel overwhelmed trying to do it all in 5 nights?

If you try to "do it all" in five nights, you will be exhausted, overwhelmed and still won't be able to do it all. There's a lot going on all around the ship from casual encounters of characters to scheduled activities to musical interludes/performers both in lounges and on deck, movies, shows, shopping, swimming, spa, alcohol tastings, cooking demos, trivia, ship exploring by yourself or with tours..... You may not even be interested in all of the activities. And then there's relaxing by the pool, in a lounge or cafe, on deck, in your room, not to mention eating.

My suggestion: spend the first day or so just wandering about the ship and exploring (there is usually 1-2 tours on the first day - listed in the Navigator - I highly recommend it). Then pick some things to do that you really want to. Don't forget to add in time for lounging, relaxing and staring at the water. Go to the shows. Maybe a movie or two (either first run movies in the theatre or older ones on deck). After 10 cruises, we still feel like we haven't done everything plus there's always new stuff. Sometimes we end up spending a sea day doing little more than moving from lounge to cafe to pool to room to lunch to lounge to deck. I often joke with people that I have no idea what I did on my sea day but whatever I did it took all day. Some of the lounges are so lovely that we just want to spend some time in them and see what they're like (and if we have a drink or snack there, well, it's time well spent IMO).

I read that you have to dress up for the adult only restaurants. My husband does not dress up, has nothing but jeans and shorts and t-shirts. Nothing with a collar even. That was the main reason I decided not to eat there. Just didn't seem worth it to buy him something he will never wear again just to eat there. But if it's truely life changing it's so good then maybe buying dressy clothes would be worth a meal there lol. We are cruising on the magic.

I don't know if I'd call them life changing. We enjoy it but we also enjoy dressing up and spending several hours at a multi-course gourmet restaurant - that's as much a part of the vacation as anything else to us. Not only would I say that perhaps it might not be your thing based on your comments, but I actually don't recommend doing it the first cruise, especially a 5-day one. We did Palo on our first 4-day cruise and while it was very nice, I almost wish we hadn't. We missed the one night dining in Triton's on the Wonder and we've never sailed her since so I never got a chance to really see it. Since everything will be so new to you, I say stick with the main restaurants so you get a chance to see them all and all of the menus (no two nights are the same). If you really want to try Palo's, try the brunch if they do one as it's more casual and doesn't interfere with going to the main dining rooms (although it may interfere with your appetite for dinner!).

 

[mevelandry]

I read that you have to dress up for the adult only restaurants. My husband does not dress up, has nothing but jeans and shorts and t-shirts. Nothing with a collar even. That was the main reason I decided not to eat there. Just didn't seem worth it to buy him something he will never wear again just to eat there. But if it's truely life changing it's so good then maybe buying dressy clothes would be worth a meal there lol. We are cruising on the magic.

Oh honestly you don't have to dress up that much. My MIL and FIL went "smart casual" for the brunch and they did not turn us down. The dress code is not reenforced. It's just certain clothes that are forbidden like shorts and tank top. A polo with clean jeans would be fine.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

You will receive a printed Personal Navigator when you check in for your cruise. It will show all of the movies being offered that week in the Buena Vista Theater, as well as the nightly shows in the Walt Disney Theater. The dinner and shows in the Walt Disney Theater rotate so that you will have your dinner and then the show, or you will go to the show first and then have dinner afterwards. It all depends on whether you are on the first or second seating at dinner. In the evening at turndown service, your stateroom host will leave the next day's navigator on your bed, a schedule which will list all of the next days events and activities. There will be less activities onboard on the days that you are in a port, as most people will be getting off the ship to go on port adventures, exploring on their own, etc. As others have said, you will not be able to do it all. This is how they keep you coming back for more and more cruises! As far as the popcorn bucket is concerned, leave it at home. If you do go to a show and want popcorn, you can buy it in a bucket or a plastic, refillable bucket, ($1.50 for refills). People do bring popcorn into the Walt Disney Theater in the evenings. but honestly, you will have just had or be having a 4-course meal, so why??? On just a 5-night cruise, you certainly won't be able to do everything that you think that you would like. Most likely, you will end up booking a future cruise or go home thinking about booking a future cruise! There is a reason that Disney Cruise Line is adding 3 more ships to their line-up! Just remember that it is a vacation and have fun! It will be over before you know it! ETA: You can look on the Disney Cruise Line website to see all of the Deck Plans, i.e., what is on each level of the ship.