Your top tips for first timers???????

[MrsBadley]

what would be your top tip for my family who have never cruised Disney or otherwise before? It is myself, my husband, son 10 and daughter 6.

 

[dcassetta]

what would be your top tip for my family who have never cruised Disney or otherwise before? It is myself, my husband, son 10 and daughter 6.

Relax, have fun and don't worry about trying to do it all. But, make sure an visit the future cruise desk before you disembark to book cruise #2 at a discount.

 

[MrsBadley]

Relax, have fun and don't worry about trying to do it all. But, make sure an visit the future cruise desk before you disembark to book cruise #2 at a discount.

I think this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us! But who knows a lottery win may allow us to book #2!

 

[TestingH2O]

Have each person identify one thing they would MOST like to do. You will never be able to do everything available, but if you know everyone's top priority, you can make extra effort to include those things.

 

[Geomom]

Enjoy your cruise! Which cruise (ship/itinerary) are you doing? (That way people can give you must do's for that ship, etc.)

As far as the future cruise desk...for a $250 deposit, you can book a 'placeholder' cruise--if you cruise within 24 months you can use the placeholder towards it--it will give you 10% off that future cruise and on board credits of either $100 (cruises under 7 days) or $200 (cruises 7 days or more.) If you don't use your placeholder within 24 months, your $250 will be reimbursed to you.

As far as some general DCL tips:

• Look at ship maps ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the areas of the ship, especially for a short cruise.
• Look at some personal navigators on the disneycruiselineblog to get ideas of some possible activities for your cruise: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/
• Relax: Take time to enjoy a sunrise or sunset.
• Know that you can't do everything and enjoy what you choose to do with no regrets!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Relax, have fun and don't worry about trying to do it all. But, make sure an visit the future cruise desk before you disembark to book cruise #2 at a discount.

You can buy Disney Gift cards at a 5% discount at BJs or Sam's to pay for your cruise - that will help!! Just make sure they are the ones that have DCL logo on them (not ones only good at the Disney store)

 

[Mitura]

Read thru this forum! Most questions you may have are answered here!

Otherwise have fun! There is too much to do, so you can't do it all. Enjoy it all.

 

[jrabbit]

to paraphrase myself (vs me just quoting me )
1) You can't eat it all - but try new foods - on the ship your servers will bring you "replacement" food at no additional cost if you don't like something that you ordered
2) You can't do it all - The hardest part about a Disney cruise is deciding what NOT to do. And sleep is for AFTER the cruise
3) Sunscreen early and often - the sun IS different in the Bahamas / Caribbean than where you live (usually)

And then there's the "Real Life" Advice ... Stuff Happens! The best laid plans can go awry. So try to go with the flow as best that you can. Don't take your frustrations out on people (employees / crew / cm's) that really can't help your situation out - they will try their best ... be civil!! (I've seen some people turn nasty when everything didn't go right for them and they take it out on guest services or whoever is around - both on DCL and DL and WDW). Yes, you've paid a lot for a vacation of a lifetime ... but so has everyone else. Sorry ---> "Debbie Downer" out! <---

Back to a happy place Your kids will be "over stimulated" and probably get tired and a bit cranky. Try to make sure that they "enough" rest. But this IS vacation, so let everyone have some extra time up and out and about. This is also a very hard balance!!

Kids Clubs, some kids love them and never want to leave, others for whatever reason don't like them and never want to go. That being said, I wish that I was in that 8 - 12 year or range because to this 60yo man, the kids clubs look awesome!! Again, you will have to figure out what your kids want to do ... and what you want them to do.

 

[MrsBadley]

We are sailing on the magic for the Mediterranean cruise in May. We are from the UK staying in Barcelona the night before the cruise. Thank you for all advice so far!!!!

 

[Riles330]

Don't forget to breathe...there is so much to do, its ok to skip some things!

 

[rtravels]

We just went on our first Disney Cruise last month (have been on Celebrity 5 times).

We were on the Magic out of NYC to Quebec City. 7 nights.

I would say skip the Fish Extender. It seems fun and for some people it really is, but it can cost a good chunk of change and it takes up a lot of space in your luggage. We did it just with our party in the next stateroom and it was charming but also a little bit exhausting.

Palo Dinner was really great. It puts the other dining rooms to shame and is worth the upcharge.

Food is so subjective. It definitely wasn't as good as standard Celebrity food and was well below Celebrity's Aqua Class. It was totally fine, just not great. Our service was also just okay. They didn't do anything rude or wrong they just weren't outstanding in any way.
The environment for all the restaurants was special. I just wouldn't have the highest expectations for the food or the service. If you find it's great for you---then awesome. I personally never want to eat in Rapunzel's Royal Table again. It was chaotic, the show was somehow too loud and muffled at the same time and the menu was the worst on the ship. The concept seems great but, for us, totally failed in execution. I really wanted to like it and we just didn't. On the other hand, Animator's Palate was very well done and really worked for us. The 'show' didn't feel super distracting or intrusive. It actually felt magical.

Entertainment is really where DCL shines. The activity staff is by far the best I've seen on a ship. You feel like you get to know them and even simple games seem much more impressive because they have a great presence and are fun hosts. Everything feels like a well-thought-out show and I appreciated that dedication. The characters are plentiful and very easy to meet.

There's a lot to do. On the Celebrity ships (which I love) you have to kind of make your own fun for most of the day. On Disney, there's a lot more happening.
The adult areas were much better than I expected. We loved 'Keys'. Great entertainment at night in a real upmarket atmosphere. I think the adult area on Disney is more fun than the adult areas on Celebrity. The adult pool area was also really nice and I very much enjoyed the spa/gym on the ship.

Okay, this sort of devolved into a review--but I hope this gives you a possible way to manage expectations.

We had a great time by the way. I'm nitpicking stuff. The ship was beautiful and we felt thoroughly relaxed and entertained.

Enjoy!!

 

[MichelleCanada]

I agree with so much that was already written!!

I would say if you are not sure - just ask! We have only been on two cruises and on both we had very positive experiences with the crew! They really do want you to have a good experience and will do what they can to make that happen. Just have a conversation with them and you will be amazed what you will learn about the ship, Disney, the crew member or one of the ports. Don’t rush - enjoy the experience and whatever you are doing at the time!