Disney Cruise tips

[octmom]

We leave from Miami on a five-night Bahamian cruise on this Disney Wonder on Tuesday morning. Any tips? Ports are Castaway Cay, Nassau, and Key West. We are doing the shallow water dolphin excursion and water park at Atlantis in Nassau with all of my in-laws. SIL signed us all up for a glass-bottom boat ride in Key West, but I am not sure if we should cancel. I want to see Key West and the boat ride will take a few hours smack in the middle of the day, so I wonder if we should do a trolley tour and see it on foot instead.

I'm looking for tips about time on the ship as well as thoughts about these ports. The Atlantis adventure is not changing, so please don't tell me not to do it. ;)

Thanks!

[barkley1]

Following! We are cruising on the Magic next year....would love any and all tips/planning advice!

[hellbennt]

We went on the magic last Christmas to Cozumel - we did excursions through non-Disney tours - cheaper & great- in Mexico you can haggle - the tour operators are all licensed- we were a large grp, 9 of us. Oh! You can bring your own alcohol! This is unlike any other cruise line. You must carry it on & not sneak it & they don't care. On the ship I put some vodka in a plastic water bottle & discreetly brought it to dinner (& wherever) & spiked our drinks - non-alcoholic drinks are free :) what else? My sister & I splurged for the spa package - unlimited use of the steam/sauna room & they give you body scrubs...bring Dramamine for all. Get to the shows early- they're GREAT!


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[pharmjenn]

If you drink a lot of soda or water, bring a reusable mug (like a Tervis tumbler, Zak etc.) The soda cups are tiny.
You can get tickets to see Anna and Elsa, but they go fast. When you board, go to the Port Adventures desk to request tickets for your party. Everyone who wants to go in, even if don't want to meet the Princesses, needs a ticket.

[octmom]

Thanks! Here are some random things on my packing list, based on stuff I read online:
- refillable cups (I think I will bring some that I don't mind ditching there rather than lugging home)
- small power strip
- nightlight
- small magnetic dry erase board for the outside of our door (we're traveling as a group of 14 and I hear this is helpful)
- some clothespins for hanging swimsuits on the line in the shower

I appreciate the tips! Keep 'em coming!

[egoldber]

I posted an extensive review of our Fantasy cruise in 2013: http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?462848-Our-Disney-Fantasy-trip-%29&highlight=fantasy

It isn't exactly the same of course, but many things will be similar.

We actually didn't do any excursions, and preferred being on the boat when everyone else wasn't. :)

I don't get the need for a refillable mug, but to each their own. :)

A dry erase board is a good idea. I'd also bring a pad of sticky notes so you can leave notes on the mirror of your cabin. Now you can text through the Navigator app, so that may be less necessary.

[hellbennt]

Dh & I dined at the upscale restaurant for a 'date night' & it was worth it :)


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[octmom]

I posted an extensive review of our Fantasy cruise in 2013: http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?462848-Our-Disney-Fantasy-trip-%29&highlight=fantasy

It isn't exactly the same of course, but many things will be similar.

We actually didn't do any excursions, and preferred being on the boat when everyone else wasn't. :)

I don't get the need for a refillable mug, but to each their own. :)

A dry erase board is a good idea. I'd also bring a pad of sticky notes so you can leave notes on the mirror of your cabin. Now you can text through the Navigator app, so that may be less necessary.

Just read your review. Great details! Yeah, I wonder about the mugs. None of us are soda drinkers, so I'm not sure that we really need them. I've got some big lidded cups from Zoe's Kitchen that I wouldn't mind ditching there, so I may take those rather than our Disney World mugs from our 2013 trip there.

We're doing the Atlantis excursion but playing Key West by ear. SIL had signed up all up for a glass-bottom boat ride that would take up a lot of the day, and we decided to back out of that in favor of a little spontaneity and seeing KW on our own. MIL's health is not great and DH and his sisters are each taking one of the port days as primary caretaker. DH has the Castaway Cay day, so I won't be surprised if he spends a lot of that day on the ship while she rests. She runs out of energy pretty quickly.

I wish we had taken a chance on booking early flights home on the last day. Our choices were earlier than they recommended or not until evening, and we booked the evening flights from Fort Lauderdale to Richmond. Now we have a whole day to kill (with luggage) in Miami/ Fort Lauderdale before our flights home and then an hour or so drive after we land, getting us home after midnight. I think the kids are going to miss the first day of school after break.

[gymnbomb]

Have not been on Disney, but cruise fairly regularly and read lots of cruise forums. Taking DS (10 months) on his first cruise next weekend! I don't quite get the mug recommendation, although I am also not a soda drinker at all, but I do find it useful to have a water bottle with screw on lid (either a Nalgene type or just one of the cheap disposable ones you buy by the case) so I can throw it in my bag and not worry about leaks. I carry it around the ship, but it is probably most useful when leaving the ship.

[pharmjenn]

Thanks! Here are some random things on my packing list, based on stuff I read online:
- refillable cups (I think I will bring some that I don't mind ditching there rather than lugging home)
- small power strip- nightlight
- small magnetic dry erase board for the outside of our door (we're traveling as a group of 14 and I hear this is helpful)
- some clothespins for hanging swimsuits on the line in the shower

I appreciate the tips! Keep 'em coming!


Dh & I dined at the upscale restaurant for a 'date night' & it was worth it :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk; moderator infantreflux.org/forum


Have not been on Disney, but cruise fairly regularly and read lots of cruise forums. Taking DS (10 months) on his first cruise next weekend! I don't quite get the mug recommendation, although I am also not a soda drinker at all, but I do find it useful to have a water bottle with screw on lid (either a Nalgene type or just one of the cheap disposable ones you buy by the case) so I can throw it in my bag and not worry about leaks. I carry it around the ship, but it is probably most useful when leaving the ship.

You will not be allowed to use a power strip. They stopped allowing those last year. I did have a multiple outlet plug that our cabin attendant did not say anything about. (It allowed to plug 3 items into a single, 2 outlet plug. Don't forget out the outlets behind the tv and the phone for extra outlets.


Love Palo. The brunch, in my opinion, is better than the dinner. They are very accomodating to you in all the dining rooms, and want you to enjoy your meal. My first entree I did not like at all, and the second I didn't care for either, but my DH was finished with his meal by then, so I just told the server I was full from the appetizers and intermezzo and left it.

If you are not a big soda drinker, you probably won't need your own cups. I brought a 16oz for my DS5 on our first cruise and realized we didn't need one for him on our second. I also brought a 24oz for my adult niece, who filled it with water at the pool, as she doesn't drink much soda. So you can decide if it will be worth it to your family.

[LD92599]

How was the cruise? We just booked the Dream for August. It'll be our 9th DCL and 2nd on the Dream. The kids (esp the 4 yo) are really looking forward to it!

[octmom]

It was great! Disney really does it well. I'm glad I didn't bring cups from home. Definitely not necessary for us. The nightlight was useful (my kids are used to one), but the rest of the "extras" weren't needed.

We stayed on deck 7 Aft in a deluxe ocean view stateroom with verandah. We all loved having the verandah. I watched the sun rise each morning and we chatted across verandahs with my in-laws. We had four staterooms in a row for our family, two SILs and their families, and MIL. We were two decks below the Beach Blanket Buffet, beverage station, pools, etc. it was a great location.

I need to run now but am happy to answer any questions about our experience.

[egoldber]

Glad you had a good time! What did you end up doing on Key West?

[octmom]

We skipped the glass bottom boat tour and explored Key West. :) We did a trolley tour and walked a lot. We even walked over to the state park beach. That wasn't great-- small, crowded beach, choppy water and a looooong walk. Everything else there was great. :)