Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated! :)

[LittleImagineer]

It's almost time for my cruise! I'm getting sooo excited. I would love it if you guys could give me tips and tell me some must do things. It's a 4 night Disney cruise which goes to Nassau and Castaway Cay. I appreciate all the help

[stitchrulz]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

OHHH!!! You are so lucky! I've been on seven cruises, I think. They are lots of fun.
A few tips:
1. Make new friends. This makes the cruise lots more fun; it gives you someone to hang out with.
2. Make sure you get a Personal Navigator for each day. They are basically bulletins with all of the next days activities.
3. Go to all of the Broadway style shows in the Walt Disney Theatre each night. They are fantastic.
If I think of anything else I'll post it. Any questions in particular?

[pixie chick]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Have a great time! I'm going on my first cruise in May, so I'm excited to hear all the tips everyone has. I'll be taking notes!

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

OHHH!!! You are so lucky! I've been on seven cruises, I think. They are lots of fun.
A few tips:
1. Make new friends. This makes the cruise lots more fun; it gives you someone to hang out with.
2. Make sure you get a Personal Navigator for each day. They are basically bulletins with all of the next days activities.
3. Go to all of the Broadway style shows in the Walt Disney Theatre each night. They are fantastic.
If I think of anything else I'll post it. Any questions in particular?

Thanks so much for the help! What about dressing to dinner? does literally everyone dress nice? What would you recommend wearing? I already have my outfits and everything and I know they are suitable for dinner, but I'm just curious what everyone else will be wearing too.

Also, do you recommend bringing anything that I might not think of at the moment? I just realized that I'm going to need to bring a watch because I'll have to turn my phone off.

My last question for now is, do you have any teens? If so, what did they like doing on the cruise and what would you recommend a teen to do?
Thank you!

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Have a great time! I'm going on my first cruise in May, so I'm excited to hear all the tips everyone has. I'll be taking notes!

Thanks so much! We booked our cruise in September of 2008 I think and I've been doing tons of research since then! This will be my first cruise and am so excited! Your cruise will certainly be here before you know it

[aashee]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Woo Hoo!

Make sure you do the Muster Drill right away or you'll have to do it later when stuff is going on.

Figure out what YOU want out of the cruise - Relaxation? fun & games? wild excursions? drinking at night? There's something for everyone so you need to create what you want.

Read the daily list of things going on the ship. Plan ahead as to some things you want to see or do. Also look at the menu posted before lunch & dinner. Sometimes it's not what you are looking for and there are plenty of eating options.

If the people you are going with are grumpy, stay away as much as possible. Don't let a mope ruin your hard earned trip.

Look up excursions well before the cruise through independant operators. Quite often you get A LOT more for A LOT less by looking into things ahead of time. I booked all my excursions through www.cruisecritic.com well before our sailing date and we were so glad we did!

Most of all have fun, if you have more questions fire away or PM me. I've been on 7 cruises and will have to wait for the next due to my Dad's health but we'll be back on the ocean in no time!

Chad


edit - What cruise line are you on, that will help answer a lot of quesions.

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Woo Hoo!

Make sure you do the Muster Drill right away or you'll have to do it later when stuff is going on.

Figure out what YOU want out of the cruise - Relaxation? fun & games? wild excursions? drinking at night? There's something for everyone so you need to create what you want.

Read the daily list of things going on the ship. Plan ahead as to some things you want to see or do. Also look at the menu posted before lunch & dinner. Sometimes it's not what you are looking for and there are plenty of eating options.

If the people you are going with are grumpy, stay away as much as possible. Don't let a mope ruin your hard earned trip.

Look up excursions well before the cruise through independant operators. Quite often you get A LOT more for A LOT less by looking into things ahead of time. I booked all my excursions through www.cruisecritic.com well before our sailing date and we were so glad we did!

Most of all have fun, if you have more questions fire away or PM me. I've been on 7 cruises and will have to wait for the next due to my Dad's health but we'll be back on the ocean in no time!

Chad


edit - What cruise line are you on, that will help answer a lot of quesions.

Thank you sooo much! Seven cruises is a lot!
Well, I'm looking to have lots of fun and maybe relax a little on the cruise. We already have our excursions booked through Disney. In Nassau we are going on an excursion called the Sea and See Tour. Here's what happens- we go on a boat that has little portholes under the sea that we all sit at and watch then we get off the boat and go on a tour around Nassau and are shown signifcant buildings, landmarks, etc.
In Castaway Cay we don't have anything major planned out. We are renting a paddleboat and are also getting a package that includes snorkeling equipment and inner tubes that are will be available to us through out the day.

[aashee]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Thank you sooo much! Seven cruises is a lot!
Well, I'm looking to have lots of fun and maybe relax a little on the cruise. We already have our excursions booked through Disney. In Nassau we are going on an excursion called the Sea and See Tour. Here's what happens- we go on a boat that has little portholes under the sea that we all sit at and watch then we get off the boat and go on a tour around Nassau and are shown signifcant buildings, landmarks, etc.
In Castaway Cay we don't have anything major planned out. We are renting a paddleboat and are also getting a package that includes snorkeling equipment and inner tubes that are will be available to us through out the day.

THat'll work, a relaxing cruise sounds perfect. I would imagine if you want to eat in the main dining rooms you will need to dress up. I'd check with the cruise line to see exactly what they say, it could be slacks and a collared shirt or a suit and tie - better safe than sorry. Girls have a little more leeway because most dresses work just fine

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

THat'll work, a relaxing cruise sounds perfect. I would imagine if you want to eat in the main dining rooms you will need to dress up. I'd check with the cruise line to see exactly what they say, it could be slacks and a collared shirt or a suit and tie - better safe than sorry. Girls have a little more leeway because most dresses work just fine

Yes, thank you. We are planning on eating in all the main restraurants and were told by Disney to dress somewhat nice for dinner. They said that shorts, spaghetti strap shirts, bathin suits, etc, weren't allowed to be worn during dinner in the main rooms. They suggested wearing a nice pair of jeans with no holes or slacks with a nice shirt or dresses, skirts, etc. I will be wearing sundresses for the most part.
You may not have an answer to my next question, but I'll give it a shot anyways. Do you suggest any activities for teens?

[Ride Warrior]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

There's supposed to be some kind of character drawing activity at one of the restaurants. Plus, I heard about a 3-d theater (on the order of Tough to Be A Bug, Mickey's PhilHarmagic) to be added to the cruise ship experince, along with a water slide that is supposed to take you out over the edge of the ship! However, these new additions may be limited to newer ships.

[stitchrulz]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for the help! What about dressing to dinner? does literally everyone dress nice? What would you recommend wearing? I already have my outfits and everything and I know they are suitable for dinner, but I'm just curious what everyone else will be wearing too.

Also, do you recommend bringing anything that I might not think of at the moment? I just realized that I'm going to need to bring a watch because I'll have to turn my phone off.

My last question for now is, do you have any teens? If so, what did they like doing on the cruise and what would you recommend a teen to do?
Thank you!

Well as far as dressing for dinner, I'm a guy and I usually just wear cargo pants and a polo. My sister usually wears a casual short dress (sundresses are acceptable and quite popular; there usually is a formal night when formal pictures are taken, so you might want to bring something a little nicer for that, men wear jacket and tie, ladies wear dresses, etc.) My sister is 11. And as for not using your phone, I just turn mine onto airplane mode and adjust the time manually.
Oh and as for if I have any teens, I am one! 14. I really like all of the youth programs. They're lots of fun!

[Anders]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

I went on several cruises as a teen myself, long before there were really Teen Activities, but I had a great time just wandering the ship myself and meeting up with other teens. My second most recent cruise we had my then 13 y/o daughter with us and she met a few teenagers from all over (Texas, England) and she hung out with them all week long. She had a great time.

The important thing, like aashee said, is figure out what you want the cruise to be for you. You'll be able to do just about anything.

As for what others will wear for dinner, it will vary greatly, on a "formal" night some people go all out with ball gowns and tuxedos. While others stick with a pair of jeans and a dress shirt. In general, people will be casual, jeans/khakis and a polo is probably average for most guys and jeans/dress pants/sundress and a nice top is typical for women.

Have a great time!

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Well as far as dressing for dinner, I'm a guy and I usually just wear cargo pants and a polo. My sister usually wears a casual short dress (sundresses are acceptable and quite popular; there usually is a formal night when formal pictures are taken, so you might want to bring something a little nicer for that, men wear jacket and tie, ladies wear dresses, etc.) My sister is 11. And as for not using your phone, I just turn mine onto airplane mode and adjust the time manually.
Oh and as for if I have any teens, I am one! 14. I really like all of the youth programs. They're lots of fun!

I'm 14 too! Haha.
Turning your phone onto airplane mode is a perfect idea! I never even thought of it before. I also got a really nice dress for formal night
Thanks for the info!

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

I went on several cruises as a teen myself, long before there were really Teen Activities, but I had a great time just wandering the ship myself and meeting up with other teens. My second most recent cruise we had my then 13 y/o daughter with us and she met a few teenagers from all over (Texas, England) and she hung out with them all week long. She had a great time.

The important thing, like aashee said, is figure out what you want the cruise to be for you. You'll be able to do just about anything.

As for what others will wear for dinner, it will vary greatly, on a "formal" night some people go all out with ball gowns and tuxedos. While others stick with a pair of jeans and a dress shirt. In general, people will be casual, jeans/khakis and a polo is probably average for most guys and jeans/dress pants/sundress and a nice top is typical for women.

Have a great time!

Thank you so much! I want to do like everything on the cruise, but I have a feeling that that's not possible. Ha
I'm hoping to make some new friends too even though I can be shy at times, but I think I'm going to be too excited to be shy if that makes any sense.

[LittleImagineer]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

There's supposed to be some kind of character drawing activity at one of the restaurants. Plus, I heard about a 3-d theater (on the order of Tough to Be A Bug, Mickey's PhilHarmagic) to be added to the cruise ship experince, along with a water slide that is supposed to take you out over the edge of the ship! However, these new additions may be limited to newer ships.

A character drawing? Sounds fun!
I also read about the new additions somewhere, but I think they won't be added that soon. I'm pretty sure they are going to be on the new ships too.

[alphabassetgrrl]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Formal night; yes, people will dress up but it's not required. They're looking to make it fun, so how you dress depends how you feel about it. Generally, pants and a decent shirt will work. I'm not big on dressing up while I'm on vacation, so I didn't.

Activities- the Magic has the special teen lounge and I think most of the teens hung out there. Didn't really see them anywhere else; it must be cool in there!

I loved going to the gym on sea days and on port days, we scheduled excursions. Castaway Cay is a lot of fun- we spent the entire day (aside from lunch) snorkeling and hanging out on the beach.

The Navigator/daily schedule is definitely something to look at over breakfast, and figure out what you want to do. There's so much going on! And I second the vote to watch the shows in the big theater in the evening.

Have fun! I have to wait until January 2011 for my cruise... ::sniffle::

[stitchrulz]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

I'm hoping to make some new friends too even though I can be shy at times, but I think I'm going to be too excited to be shy if that makes any sense.

Trust me, I'm EXTREMELY shy.... A combination of the free soda on Deck 9 Aft and the delusional tiredness that comes around midnight tends to help with this. You will have NO inhibitions left. Expect some late nights and late mornings!
(Did that make sense?)

[Gino USMC]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Get the drink of the day. And try request a big table for main dining. We met a great couple on our Med cruise who we go on cruises together with now.

[clockworkmonkey]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

My number 1, most important tip for your cruise is this: Arrive to check in as early as you're possibly allowed.

Call to find out how early you can check in. It will be about 10 a.m., if memory serves. Why arrive at 10 a.m. for a cruise that doesn't leave until 5? It's well worth it. When you check in, you'll be given a number. That's the number of the group you'll be entering the ship with. Groups will start getting on board around noon or 1:00 (again, going from memory).

Two of the restaurants will be serving buffest by then. The pools will be open, you can go all over the ship and learn where things are. When I went on my first cruise, we'd eaten, enjoyed the sun, checked out most of the ship, and people were STILL just getting on. For the same price, we enjoyed about another 1/2 day on the ship more than the people to check in late.

Arrive as early as possible. Can't stress it enough.


As for the art classes: my family took one of these. It was probably the only disappointment of the trip. The teacher was very up front about having no artistic ability, and boy did it show. You'd get as much out of the most basic "how to draw mickey mouse" tutorial from a one-page comic book filler. Avoid.

[clockworkmonkey]

Re: Cruisen' Soon! Tips and other things greatly appreciated!

Other advice/opinions:

Dress up. Go all out. The more you dress up, the more special the occasion feels, the more you'll like your trip photos. This goes double for pirate night, which for whatever reason, Disney doesn't do a great job about communicating about with cruisers ahead of time. We knew about it and went all-out with our pirate costumes and had a lot of fun because of it.

First cruise:


Second:


Characters: if you enjoy meeting charcters and getting pictures with them, the cruise is great. Pre-dinner lines can get long, but meeting characters on deck and on Castaway Cay usually offers much shorter lines than you'd find in the park - and in a variety of different outfits throughout the cruise. Check your navigator for times.

Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer - fun gameshow for the Disney fan. Participants randomly selected, but quite a few get to go.

Mickey Ice Cream Bars (and lots of other stuff) delivered to your room at any time and all you have to do is tip the room service castmember. So nice.