Advice for first time Disney cruiser!!

We will be sailing on the Disney Magic this coming February for our BG Twins' 11th birthday (we are surprising them the day before we leave). My husband and the kids have never sailed and it's been over 20 years since I was last on a cruise ship.....any advice for us?? Especially curious about excursions in Nassau (which ones are worth it) and what the temps are like during that time of year. Any and all info and helpful tips will be SUPER appreciated!!

Hint 1--read the boards. There are a bunch of "Stickys" at the tip of the page with good info. However, much of this is OLD, so pay attention to dates.

Hint 2--a simple google search can answer most specific questions with current info.

Hint 3--stay on the ship in Nassau

Weather in Feb. is variable. We also cruise in Feb for a birthday. Most of the time it is high 70s during the day and cool on deck at night (bring sweater or sweatshirt). SOMETIMES is it downright cold. Always bring one outfit for each person for 50s kind of weather. Pools on DCL are heated. Ocean is not.

We will be sailing on the Disney Magic this coming February for our BG Twins' 11th birthday (we are surprising them the day before we leave). My husband and the kids have never sailed and it's been over 20 years since I was last on a cruise ship.....any advice for us?? Especially curious about excursions in Nassau (which ones are worth it) and what the temps are like during that time of year. Any and all info and helpful tips will be SUPER appreciated!!

For ship purchased excursions the DCL website has them listed, so your best option is to look at them and work out what works for your family, then ask questions about them.

Sorry, but 11 yr old twins is too wide of a generalisation for anyone to recommend and excursion. Boy's, Girl's, Boy and Girl, Active, semi active, beach time, budget....

It would be best if you looked and at what would suit your family and then asked.

Or if you want general excursions booked by yourself, CC has a good resource of reviews and recommendations on the Bahamas ports of call board here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

Google says Nassau temperatures in February are:

The month of February is characterized by essentially constant daily high temperatures, with daily highs around 78°F throughout the month, exceeding 84°F or dropping below 71°F only one day in ten.

And water temperatures for Jan-Feb 72°F-75°F

These are all really easy things to use Google or Bing or any other search engine for!

As for any advice and tips, there are many threads regarding packing tips, what to bring, what not to bring, and so much more.

My advice is explore the DCL website http://disneycruise.disney.go.com and look at the many posts on the DCL part of CC and see what you find!

There are so many questions already answered and ones you hadn't even thought about!

ex techie

I was going to agree with PP that you should stay on ship in Nassau, but the kids may like to go to Atlantis. Take a look at the DCL excursions that go there. You CAN book your own excursion there to save money, but I find in most cases it's just easier to let Disney take care of getting you there and back. I wouldn't bother going in to town with the kids though. Not much for them to do for a whole day.

Depending on your kids, they'll probably love the kid's programs and the newly imagined Marvel area on board. You may have a hard time getting them off the ship in Nassau!

Disney recently changed its alcohol policy, so you can only bring on a couple of bottles of wine or a six pack of beer per person (per port). I don't drink all that much so I just buy the drink of the day now and then and maybe a cocktail at night. There is a beer token you can get that will get you 22 oz beer for the price of 16 oz.

Make sure to eat in the main dining rooms if you can. Some folks like to forego that, but the food is pretty good and the servers are usually great with kids. One VERY important tip for dinner - while not on the menu, you can ask for Mickey bars for dessert (they're also available through room service).

Otherwise, just enjoy yourselves, don't try to do everything because there's just not enough time. Get to the shows as often as you can, they're up to Disney standards and are quite good.

My best advice thought . . . pack half as many clothes and twice as much money!

Have fun on your cruise, it should be a great birthday for the twins.

Hint 1--read the boards. There are a bunch of "Stickys" at the tip of the page with good info. However' date=' much of this is OLD, so pay attention to dates.

 

Hint 2--a simple google search can answer most specific questions with current info.

 

Hint 3--stay on the ship in Nassau

 

Weather in Feb. is variable. We also cruise in Feb for a birthday. Most of the time it is high 70s during the day and cool on deck at night (bring sweater or sweatshirt). SOMETIMES is it downright cold. Always bring one outfit for each person for 50s kind of weather. Pools on DCL are heated. Ocean is not.[/quote']

 

The reason I started this thread is because I HAVE spent A LOT of time reading the boards and I'm exhausted trying to find answers to my questions about excursions. And Google doesn't necessarily answer them either. I want to know people's personal opinions on their favorite excursions and most of the time I find just a description of the excursions. I've looked at the whole list for our trip and there are numerous ones that would be fun for us. Staying on the ship is just not going to be an option for the simple fact that the rest of my family has never been on a trip like this and my kids have never stepped foot on a tropical island. Thank you for the weather advice. That was very helpful.

For ship purchased excursions the DCL website has them listed, so your best option is to look at them and work out what works for your family, then ask questions about them.

Sorry, but 11 yr old twins is too wide of a generalisation for anyone to recommend and excursion. Boy's, Girl's, Boy and Girl, Active, semi active, beach time, budget....

 

It would be best if you looked and at what would suit your family and then asked.

 

Or if you want general excursions booked by yourself, CC has a good resource of reviews and recommendations on the Bahamas ports of call board here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

 

Google says Nassau temperatures in February are:

 

 

 

 

These are all really easy things to use Google or Bing or any other search engine for!

 

As for any advice and tips, there are many threads regarding packing tips, what to bring, what not to bring, and so much more.

My advice is explore the DCL website http://disneycruise.disney.go.com and look at the many posts on the DCL part of CC and see what you find!

 

There are so many questions already answered and ones you hadn't even thought about!

 

ex techie

As I stated in my original post I have BG (Boy/Girl) twins and because this is their first trip like this then they will be happy with many of the excursions. I have read the whole list of excursions for our trip but so many of them would be good for us. This is why I asked what were some others favorite excursions. I like the idea of going to Atlantis with maybe the city tour and lunch but wasn't sure if the city tour was worth it. I'd really like to do one of the dolphin excursions but wasn't sure it was worth the money. My kids aren't great bike riders so that's out but most of the others are intriguing. We plan on just hanging out on the beach at Castaway Cay and relaxing if the weather is nice enough. Thank you for the weather info.

Thank you so much for the advice!!

Discovery Cove in Orlando was better than ANY dolphin thing we have done on ANY island. Yes, they have raised their prices since we did it...but I'd recommend either skipping dolphins on this trip and hitting Discovery Cove another time or adding a day or two to this trip so that you can do it this time.

We have not done the Bahamas city tour, but we've done island tours in other locations. Unless you are particularly interested in the stops on the tour, they tend to be boring for kids. They tend to "zone out" on the discussions of history and government of the islands, etc.

Atlantis is OK, but pricey. Cable beach is free. It is about a 15-20 minute walk or 5 minute cab ride from the exit of the port area. There are vendors, etc. who will rent you anything you want. You can do a day room at the Comfort Inn which will get you into the beach, etc. This is less costly than doing Atlantis thru DCL.

The shopping area at the port--straw market and street--is basically like every other shopping area on every island only a little dirtier, more drug traffic, and more aggressive with tourists.

With rare exceptions, we don't eat in island ports in the Caribbean. We take bottles of water that we have refilled on board the ship and sometimes bring pre-packaged snacks from home. My concerns are basically refrigeration and sanitation. I'm confident that the food on the ship is safe. I'm a whole lot less confident with some of the island vendors and I don't want a case of food poisoning on vacation.

Nassau is my least favorite of the half dozen or more Caribbean islands I've visited. Sorry to say that when it will be the first time for your kids.

I'm sorry that my first post offended you. You are correct that Google cannot answer a lot of questions about opinions. You asked a very vague, general question in your first post, and those are always hard to answer.

We get a lot of questions here like "What is DCL's policy on XYZ." This is the sort of question that google is great for. And also "has anyone ever stayed in cabin number XXXX." Yes, many people have stayed in that cabin, but that is never what the poster really wants to know. He/she wants info about the cabin, and a google search of Cabin XXXX Disney (name of ship) will usually lead one to several cabin reports from people who have stayed in that room. It is much more likely to give a result than hoping to catch someone here who had that room.

I gave you some excursion answers in the above post. Sorry, the edit function doesn't seem to be working for me since I changed locations.

As I stated in my original post I have BG (Boy/Girl) twins and because this is their first trip like this then they will be happy with many of the excursions. I have read the whole list of excursions for our trip but so many of them would be good for us. This is why I asked what were some others favorite excursions. I like the idea of going to Atlantis with maybe the city tour and lunch but wasn't sure if the city tour was worth it. I'd really like to do one of the dolphin excursions but wasn't sure it was worth the money. My kids aren't great bike riders so that's out but most of the others are intriguing. We plan on just hanging out on the beach at Castaway Cay and relaxing if the weather is nice enough. Thank you for the weather info.

Hi,

I too am sorry if you were offended by my reply. I've not seen the BG abreviation before on this or other boards hence why I asked two boy's/two girls/boy and girl.

Now it makes sense!

Your reply provides some more information for anyone to reply to, such as not good on bicycles.

And to be fair, you didn't ask what shore excursions were peoples favorites, you asked what were worth it.

That aside, do you have a budget for the excursions?

Would you consider non DCL excursions and planning them yourself?

Is a day at the beach something your family would like?

Personally, from what I've read, I would stay onboard and enjoy the ship whilst it is more quiet.

ex techie

I'm sorry that my first post offended you. You are correct that Google cannot answer a lot of questions about opinions. You asked a very vague' date=' general question in your first post, and those are always hard to answer.

 

We get a lot of questions here like "What is DCL's policy on XYZ." This is the sort of question that google is great for. And also "has anyone ever stayed in cabin number XXXX." Yes, many people have stayed in that cabin, but that is never what the poster really wants to know. He/she wants info about the cabin, and a google search of Cabin XXXX Disney (name of ship) will usually lead one to several cabin reports from people who have stayed in that room. It is much more likely to give a result than hoping to catch someone here who had that room.

 

I gave you some excursion answers in the above post. Sorry, the edit function doesn't seem to be working for me since I changed locations.[/quote']

 

I wasn't really offended, just rather taken aback at first. I can understand how answering the same questions over and over can get tiresome. I really do appreciate your input very much. I looked back on my first post and realized that it came across more vague than I intended. Sorry about that. I'm thinking we may skip Atlantis. If we are going to ever pay that much to use the waterpark it will be because we are staying there. Lol One of our friends suggested we do a snorkeling one but I'm hesitant because I'm not sure how comfortable they would be using the snorkeling gear. Since we don't have to sign up for excursions until November, I've definitely got some time to think about it. Lol

Hi,

 

I too am sorry if you were offended by my reply. I've not seen the BG abreviation before on this or other boards hence why I asked two boy's/two girls/boy and girl.

Now it makes sense!

 

Your reply provides some more information for anyone to reply to, such as not good on bicycles.

And to be fair, you didn't ask what shore excursions were peoples favorites, you asked what were worth it.

 

That aside, do you have a budget for the excursions?

Would you consider non DCL excursions and planning them yourself?

Is a day at the beach something your family would like?

 

Personally, from what I've read, I would stay onboard and enjoy the ship whilst it is more quiet.

 

ex techie

Yes, I looked backed and realized it came across as vague and not how I truly intended to ask it. Sorry about that. We don't necessarily have an exact budget. However, I'm not really willing to pay over $700 for Atlantis when we have season passes to Dollywood's Splash Country and spend all summer at a waterpark for WAY less than that. Since we are doing the beach thing at Castaway Cay I think we would like to do something different in Nassau. I would be willing to do a non DCL excursion as long as it was through someone who was reputable. I like the idea of being on the boat in some ways too. However, my kids have never stepped foot anywhere outside the states so getting off the boat, even for just an hour, is a must for us.....just so they (and my husband) can say they were actually there. Lol

OK, if your goal is to just get off so they can say they were IN Nassau, consider just walking thru the straw market and the adjacent shopping district. They can see how tacky it can be. :-)

DO NOT go off on your own in Nassau. There have been some attacks on tourists that have gone beyond the normal pick pockets. At least one of these was in a well known tourist destination. Stick to the main areas for shopping, etc. and you should be as safe as in any US city. Off the beaten path, no.

If you plan to snorkel, get gear that fits the kids. I was able to get a set for my daughter at about age 10 from a real dive shop for about $30--they made sure the stuff fit her correctly, etc. Then practice in a local pool so they can get used to the stuff before they hit the ocean. If you bring your own equipment to Castaway, the snorkel lagoon is free to use. You will need to use one of their required but complimentary snorkel vests there. Also, remember to sunscreen your back WELL. We find it useful to wear an old t-shirt over the swimsuit as well to keep sun off the back. No, practice in a pool is not the same as the ocean, but it lets them get used to the feel of the equipment and breathing thru the snorkel. You can also bring your own mask and snorkel and rent only fins at Castaway--saves a little money and a little suitcase space.

I agree with you; I don't think Atlantis is a good value. Others disagree.

Great!!! Thank you!!

I know a lot of people despise Nassau, but I have loved it. Atlantis is pricey, but since you already go to Dollywood and splash country, I wouldn't pay that much either. The faster and really fun rides, depending on how tall/short your kids are, may be too much for them. Truth be told, your kids may just enjoy boat activities with their new friends and you go on your own and shop. I felt totally safe in the "city" area, but I can see why people would get a little bit nervous once you leave the main area.

I know a lot of people despise Nassau, but I have loved it. Atlantis is pricey, but since you already go to Dollywood and splash country, I wouldn't pay that much either. The faster and really fun rides, depending on how tall/short your kids are, may be too much for them. Truth be told, your kids may just enjoy boat activities with their new friends and you go on your own and shop. I felt totally safe in the "city" area, but I can see why people would get a little bit nervous once you leave the main area.

Thanks so much for the advice. My kids are really tall and will ride any and all water rides but I still think we will pass on Atlantis because of the price. We have talked about going to Atlantis for a stay and I know the park is included with your stay so I'll wait for that I think. I'm really leaning toward the partially submerged submarine excursion. But we will see!! :-)

We have done the 3 and 4 night cruises on the Dream and have never bothered getting off the boat at Nassau. Since a lot of people do, it is a great time to ride the AquaDuck and do other activities on the boat. The wife and I got the Couple Choice massage while the kids played in the Club/Lab.

I would rather DCL due a double dip at Castaway Cay.

Go have a look at one of the big Disney boards, there is a load more information on every aspect of the cruise.

Get na guidebook and read up on your ports. You may find that what interests you doesn't require any excursion at all! Beaches, and shopping generally are easy to do on your own. Find out what each place offers that your family would enjoy, and THEN decide HOW to do it!

If you've never been to Nassau, it's worth getting off the ship. You don't have to spend the entire day there, you know!

If you haven't sailed in 20 years, you'll find the experience to be less than you remembered....they've downgraded the entire experience in the last 5-10 years. But, it's still a fun time.

You can learn a lot about Disney from the boards.

I would also use the internet to research each of your ports of call.

Keith

 

If you haven't sailed in 20 years, you'll find the experience to be less than you remembered....they've downgraded the entire experience in the last 5-10 years. But, it's still a fun time.

This is so true! Our first cruise was 20 years ago. At that time I felt that Nassau was OK but nothing special. 16 years ago it had been cleaned up and was much improved. Now it is significantly worse than 20 years ago.

This is so true! Our first cruise was 20 years ago. At that time I felt that Nassau was OK but nothing special. 16 years ago it had been cleaned up and was much improved. Now it is significantly worse than 20 years ago.

Yeap this!

AKK

You will find there is a TON of stuff that Disney has planned on the ship whether its a sea day or not. Even if this is the first time away for the kids, they may be more interested in staying on the boat.

We went in April and stayed on the boat in Nassau. I can't speak to how good/bad it is, we just wanted to give the kids time to themselves and hang. They LOVED Castawy Cay and didn't want to get back on. You'll get the beach, and excusions that they can experience there as well.

But again, if this is the first time for them and your husband, I would reccommend something small to do in Nassau. That way they can at least experience it.

I was going to agree with PP that you should stay on ship in Nassau, but the kids may like to go to Atlantis. Take a look at the DCL excursions that go there. You CAN book your own excursion there to save money, but I find in most cases it's just easier to let Disney take care of getting you there and back. I wouldn't bother going in to town with the kids though. Not much for them to do for a whole day.

 

Depending on your kids, they'll probably love the kid's programs and the newly imagined Marvel area on board. You may have a hard time getting them off the ship in Nassau!

 

Disney recently changed its alcohol policy, so you can only bring on a couple of bottles of wine or a six pack of beer per person (per port). I don't drink all that much so I just buy the drink of the day now and then and maybe a cocktail at night. There is a beer token you can get that will get you 22 oz beer for the price of 16 oz.

 

Make sure to eat in the main dining rooms if you can. Some folks like to forego that, but the food is pretty good and the servers are usually great with kids. One VERY important tip for dinner - while not on the menu, you can ask for Mickey bars for dessert (they're also available through room service).

 

Otherwise, just enjoy yourselves, don't try to do everything because there's just not enough time. Get to the shows as often as you can, they're up to Disney standards and are quite good.

 

My best advice thought . . . pack half as many clothes and twice as much money!

 

Have fun on your cruise, it should be a great birthday for the twins.

Lol...I love your last tip :D

I have been with family members several times to Nassau. Our favorite thing to do other than walking through the straw-market is to visit Junkanoo Beach. It is a free beach not far from the ship and has a "Fat Tuesdays" right on the beach. The fresh fried conch is awesome along with the hot wings and other tasty dishes. I get a kick out of watching some of the patrons JUMP OFF the banister of the establishment into the water, swim to shore a short distance and jump again... It is allowed and encouraged. We keep saying we are going to do it, but after a few NICE beverages with our meal we settle for a wade in the water...lol...some sun bathing and back to the ship...Enjoy your trip!!! I am going in November...maybe, just maybe, we will try it then ;):)