What to not miss on the ship

[Amanda8619]

We have never cruised before. I want to make sure we do all the must do things on the ship and not miss anything. We are doing a 5 night, will I feel overwhelmed trying to do it all in 5 nights? Or is that plenty of time? We do no plan to eat at the adult only restaurants while on the cruise. Is there a place to see a list of every single thing there is on the ship? Is there only one show per night? Do they have multiple movies all through out the day or just one movie per day? Do they allow you to use a popcorn bucket from a Disney park that is a few years old for popcorn or do you have to buy the one on the ship? Sorry for all the questions I just want to go into this knowing everything I can so I don't end the cruise feeling like I missed anything or wasn't as prepared as I could be.

 

[Dug720]

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.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have never cruised before. I want to make sure we do all the must do things on the ship and not miss anything. We are doing a 5 night,
1. will I feel overwhelmed trying to do it all in 5 nights? Or is that plenty of time? There is not enough time to do "everything". Just accept that and you'll enjoy the cruise so much more.

We do no plan to eat at the adult only restaurants while on the cruise.

2. Is there a place to see a list of every single thing there is on the ship? No. The Navigator can hit most of the activities, but not everything.

3. Is there only one show per night? There are 2 shows every night in the Walt Disney Theater. They roughly coincide with the dinner seatings. If you have early dinner, you go to the show afterward. If you have late dinner, you go to the show beforehand.

4. Do they have multiple movies all through out the day or just one movie per day? Multiple movies.

5. Do they allow you to use a popcorn bucket from a Disney park that is a few years old for popcorn or do you have to buy the one on the ship? It's been reported both ways. Some people report being able to use the park bucket. Others not.

Sorry for all the questions I just want to go into this knowing everything I can so I don't end the cruise feeling like I missed anything or wasn't as prepared as I could be.

My responses in red (within your quote).

Just be aware that you CAN'T do everything. We've been on 11 DCL cruises and still haven't done everything. Remember, it's a vacation, take some time to sit on deck and watch the ocean go by.

 

[bbn1122]

Read trip reports to get ideas on what there is to do.

Enjoy the beauty of the ship and the beauty of being out on the open water. The ship is a floating resort. I enjoy that I am never far from anything. The pool, spa, movie theater, dining room, gym, nightly shows and the adult areas. These are just a few things.

I love just walking around inside and out. Being out on the deck looking out on the ocean is just fantastic.
I love the rotational dining, Palo Brunch and going to the Buena Vista Theatre for a movie or two. My DH and I never get to the movies in our daily lives.

I love the adult bar areas in the evenings. To just chill together with a cocktail or two.

Reading the daily Navigator and just have fun.

 

[mevelandry]

Which ship are you sailing on?

I don't know why you are saying that you won't eat at the adult only restaurant (you did not make it plural so I am assuming that you're sailing on a classic where there is only Palo) ... Is it because you have kids with you? Because if you don't, I would highly recommend trying Palo. On your dining rotation, some MDR will repeat themselves which would be a good timing to book Palo for dinner ... The food is great and it's very nice and romantic.

Otherwise, Palo brunch (which happens during a sea day) is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it too.

Don't feel overwhelmed. I have done only 3 and 4 nights so far and I have been very satisfied. Pick your priorities and then, if you still have room left on that day, you can alway add some extras.

If you want, you can take a peak at old Personal Navigators in order to see how the cruise works and what kind of activities you'd be interested in.

 

[MUN]

Do they allow you to use a popcorn bucket from a Disney park that is a few years old for popcorn or do you have to buy the one on the ship?

I'll address your popcorn question. I don't know if they will let you use the Disney park bucket; however, there is no requirement that you have to buy a popcorn bucket on the ship. Of course, they sell popcorn on the boats and you're welcome to buy popcorn, but you don't have to buy popcorn. IMHO, there is plenty of good food that is included with your cruise cost that it seems silly me to buy popcorn. Just my 2¢.

Enjoy your cruise!

MUN

 

[Amanda8619]

Read trip reports to get ideas on what there is to do.

Enjoy the beauty of the ship and the beauty of being out on the open water. The ship is a floating resort. I enjoy that I am never far from anything. The pool, spa, movie theater, dining room, gym, nightly shows and the adult areas. These are just a few things.

I love just walking around inside and out. Being out on the deck looking out on the ocean is just fantastic.
I love the rotational dining, Palo Brunch and going to the Buena Vista Theatre for a movie or two. My DH and I never get to the movies in our daily lives.

I love the adult bar areas in the evenings. To just chill together with a cocktail or two.

Reading the daily Navigator and just have fun.

Which ship are you sailing on?

I don't know why you are saying that you won't eat at the adult only restaurant (you did not make it plural so I am assuming that you're sailing on a classic where there is only Palo) ... Is it because you have kids with you? Because if you don't, I would highly recommend trying Palo. On your dining rotation, some MDR will repeat themselves which would be a good timing to book Palo for dinner ... The food is great and it's very nice and romantic.

Otherwise, Palo brunch (which happens during a sea day) is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it too.

Don't feel overwhelmed. I have done only 3 and 4 nights so far and I have been very satisfied. Pick your priorities and then, if you still have room left on that day, you can alway add some extras.

If you want, you can take a peak at old Personal Navigators in order to see how the cruise works and what kind of activities you'd be interested in.

 

[Amanda8619]

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.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

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.

For Palo brunch, it's not quite as dressy as for dinner. Think garden party. A polo shirt and nice slacks will work.

 

[bbn1122]

Palo Brunch, Collared shirt, no sneakers and I think you can get away with new dressy jeans.

It's worth it!

 

[bbn1122]

And movies are all day. Different movies. Not all are shown every day.

 

[stephmarty]

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.

If he hates dressing up, I doubt he'd enjoy the dinners enough to be worth it. We've eaten at Palo, but not Remy. But the experience in both, I believe, is half of what you go for. If he wouldn't enjoy the more formal experience, I'd skip the specialty dining. As others have said, there's no shortage of good food elsewhere on the ship.

 

[Sytrace]

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.

Life changing...not in the least. Something to try...sure. Brunch is less dressy than dinner and even dinner is not as dressy as it once was.
And just remember to relax and take everything in. You probably will not be able to do everything in one cruise. Disney knows this which is why they encourage you to book a placeholder or a cruise while you are on board and caught in the magic. lol.

Be selective on things that actually interest you and not what other people are telling you that you need to do or should do in order to have a great cruise.
For example, we don't take in the shows...(I know...blasphemy for some folks) We prefer to go up to the Rainforest and relax while everyone is having early dinner or going to the shows.
We don't like Palo Brunch (another blasphemous statement) we prefer dinner for the ambiance. Is it a do or die situation? No.

Take a moment to sit down and review what you want out of this vacation and work from there. And have a great cruise.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Read your navigators and look for activities that you like. We like the trivia. We also like the entertainment in the adult area at night. Match your mate is our favorite. It is a Newlywed type game.

 

[Geomom]

We've only been on 1 cruise so far, Disney Wonder to Alaska. We didn't do Palo, and don't plan to do it for quite a while, if ever. We wanted to experience all the MDR menus--and we enjoyed them all. No regrets! We went to all the evening shows--enjoyed those as well. 'I' never saw a movie in the movie theater, I saw 2 in the Walt Disney theater, one was the 'evening show', the other was a special daytime showing of a new movie. The rest of my family saw a movie in the movie theater, while I was doing laundry.

As others have said, you will not have time to do it all. The Alaska cruises had naturalist talks...I planned to go to all 4 of them...I made it to 2 of them, lol. There is so much going on that you need to pick and choose. It is so funny because I went into the first cruise going, I have to play shuffleboard and ping pong, just because...and we did neither.

Anyways...if you have a chance, try all the different free dining options--for breakfast and lunch go to Cabanas buffet or the sitdown restaurant or just the 'pool' area food on different days. Get Room service sometime. And get yourself lots of free soft serve ice cream!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Jack & Monica]

It is difficult to respond because I do not know enough about your family. What I can recommend is to look at some of the past navigators from a similar cruise to the one you are going on. These are the daily schedules that have all of the activities on the cruise. This will answer a lot of your questions. You can find your ship with a similar itinerary here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/category/cruise-planning/personal-navigators/

I am sailing in January (7 days on the Fantasy). We will not eat at the Adult Restaurants. (They are fabulous -- I have eaten there in the past). I just like the regular meals we will enjoy during our normal meal rotations. We DH (me) DW DD 12 and (my mother in law -- who is staying in an connecting cabin). My daughter absolutely loves the Muppets detective agency game (only on the Dream and Fantasy) but there are other things to do. I would print out the navigators and provide all in your family a copy to get them excited and to see what is available. First-run movies play continuously. We have difficulty making the time to ensure we see the films we want to see.

That same site will have menus for your ship on a 5 day cruise also. You can get an idea of what your meals will be like.

Another thing you can do is find a trip report from someone who is going on a 5-day cruise similar to yours. This will also give you a great idea about what to expect.

Bottom line -- plan -- ensure to fill out all of your paper work ahead of time -- ensure you have passports ahead of time -- transportation to the ship etc.
BUT don't overplan too much. That is the beauty of a cruise. You can relax.

I am an overplanner. When we go to WDW or DL I plan almost down to the minute -- LOL -- but on Disney cruises -- I plan in detail on us getting there. Once we are on board, I sit down with the family and (usually at dinner) go over the next day's navigators to decide on what everyone is going to do the next day. The only exception is if we are going to do an excursion.

I tend to wax poetical about all things Disney --so I will just leave it at that. You will have an awesome time!

 

[FigmentSpark]

The only 'for sure' not to miss... the station where they sell the on board bookings/placeholders for your next cruise. Even if you decide, after you leave the ship that you don't want to sail again, that deposit is refundable. But after you leave the ship, the discounts and deals available on board are no longer available to you.

 

[MUN]

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.

For less than $4.00 at Goodwill you can buy a brand new (to him) polo shirt, or camp shirt. Heck, my GW has 99¢ specials. Perhaps a Tommy Bahama style camp shirt would be nice for him on the cruise. However, don't feel like you need to dine at Polo/Remy, the MDR's are plenty good. That being said, my wife and I love Palo brunch!

 

[Amanda8619]

It is difficult to respond because I do not know enough about your family. What I can recommend is to look at some of the past navigators from a similar cruise to the one you are going on. These are the daily schedules that have all of the activities on the cruise. This will answer a lot of your questions. You can find your ship with a similar itinerary here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/category/cruise-planning/personal-navigators/

I am sailing in January (7 days on the Fantasy). We will not eat at the Adult Restaurants. (They are fabulous -- I have eaten there in the past). I just like the regular meals we will enjoy during our normal meal rotations. We DH (me) DW DD 12 and (my mother in law -- who is staying in an connecting cabin). My daughter absolutely loves the Muppets detective agency game (only on the Dream and Fantasy) but there are other things to do. I would print out the navigators and provide all in your family a copy to get them excited and to see what is available. First-run movies play continuously. We have difficulty making the time to ensure we see the films we want to see.

That same site will have menus for your ship on a 5 day cruise also. You can get an idea of what your meals will be like.

Another thing you can do is find a trip report from someone who is going on a 5-day cruise similar to yours. This will also give you a great idea about what to expect.

Bottom line -- plan -- ensure to fill out all of your paper work ahead of time -- ensure you have passports ahead of time -- transportation to the ship etc.
BUT don't overplan too much. That is the beauty of a cruise. You can relax.

I am an overplanner. When we go to WDW or DL I plan almost down to the minute -- LOL -- but on Disney cruises -- I plan in detail on us getting there. Once we are on board, I sit down with the family and (usually at dinner) go over the next day's navigators to decide on what everyone is going to do the next day. The only exception is if we are going to do an excursion.

I tend to wax poetical about all things Disney --so I will just leave it at that. You will have an awesome time!

I am an over-planner as well. I am trying real hard to just sit back and relax and plan once we get on the ship, I just don't want to leave the cruise wishing we had done something we didn't do. But I really do need to just try to relax more then be be busy every second.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am an over-planner as well. I am trying real hard to just sit back and relax and plan once we get on the ship, I just don't want to leave the cruise wishing we had done something we didn't do. But I really do need to just try to relax more then be be busy every second.

There are a few things that do need to be "planned" ahead of actually getting on the ship. One would be any excursions that you're sure you want to do. Sometimes excursions will sell out and you can't add them once onboard. Also the adult dining. You seem like you might be interested in the brunch option. Not all cruises have the brunch option (it's only offered, usually, on sea days). That would need to be booked ahead. And any of the ticketed character meet & greets: Frozen or the Princess Gathering.