Introducing New Cruisers

So we consider ourselves fairly well-seasoned cruisers. I and our kids (who will be 9 and 7 at our next cruise) are Gold, and my wife is Platinum. We convinced some friends of ours -- who have never cruised -- to join us on a Dream cruise in June. They have a daughter, who will be 8, and she and our daughter are best friends.

Does anyone have any tips on what we have to show them or get them to do? We want them to have a great time, because we've already been talking up cruising and how much fun we always have. They are very much Disney people (they have the annual pass, and they always stay at the Grand Floridian), so we're hoping Dr Seuss isn't too much of a shock to them.

We will all be getting the Cheers! package. They are looking to us for excursion ideas (Montego Bay, Cozumel, Grand Cayman). We have spa deck cabins -- port for us, starboard for them. We have early dining. We are trying to get FTTF for them since we get priority boarding already.

First...stop "talking it up"...it takes away from the "discovery" of cruising! Then, suggest they read up on their ports, so they can really have a good time doing what THEY would like to do ashore! The library has guidebooks! After they've done that, make sure that what you and they both want to do "syncs"....sometimes, it's better to go your own way for some things!

I've found that the more you tell folks about how wonderful something is, the less wonderful they find it to be. So, stop...and let them discover cruising their way!!!

First...stop "talking it up"...it takes away from the "discovery" of cruising! Then, suggest they read up on their ports, so they can really have a good time doing what THEY would like to do ashore! The library has guidebooks! After they've done that, make sure that what you and they both want to do "syncs"....sometimes, it's better to go your own way for some things!

 

I've found that the more you tell folks about how wonderful something is, the less wonderful they find it to be. So, stop...and let them discover cruising their way!!!

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I like to let people look at a couple of old Fun Times - just to give them an idea of how many different/random things are going on throughout the day!

Does anyone have any tips on what we have to show them or get them to do? We want them to have a great time, because we've already been talking up cruising and how much fun we always have.

Be sure before you go each family member has a deck plan with public decks and the deck you're staying on. So much easier to jump into the fun if you know what's available and where it is.

I'd also take all the kids to visit the kids club the first evening (time will be listed in the Fun Times) All 3 will be able to decide if it's something they might want to do... or perhaps some selected activities. It's easier to join in if they visit the first evening than jumping in later when friendships in camp are already forming.

When we visited Grand Cayman in January '16, we did the stingray & snorkeling tour with Stingray Sailing (tripadvisor link at the end of this comment). SO GALD THAT WE BOOKED WITH THEM (<--- Yes I really am yelling that lol). It was such an amazing experience. Captain got us out to the sandbar earlier than the giant barge boats that have tons of people on them, so we got to start with a quieter session with the sting rays, and they were very friendly to our group, constantly swimming uptown and around us. Once the big boats get there, they send out workers to get the stingrays to move towards their group, so the animals disperse a little once they show up. But it was such a neat experience. Even my husband, who admitted to me that he was not all that excited about the sting rays (he said he thought it would be dumb) thought it was one of the highlights of the entire trip. And sailing on the catamaran was so nice. I recommend this company to everyone visiting Grand Cayman!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147365-d1420499-Reviews-Stingray_Sailing-Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

Does anyone have any tips on what we have to show them or get them to do?

I've taken a few Disney-loving-first-time-cruisers on their first cruise. I find the Disney fans like to have lots of info in advance so here's a video that gives first time cruisers a run-down on the Sail & Sign card...could help address some questions in advance so they can jump right into the fun.

[YOUTUBE]xRhqWJ4pXR8[/YOUTUBE]

So I don’t know why, but it seems my prior comment only included the link I attached. I actually had a review of that tour to share, sorry!

When we visited Grand Cayman in January '16, we did the stingray & snorkeling tour with Stingray Sailing (tripadvisor link at the end of this comment). SO GALD THAT WE BOOKED WITH THEM (<--- Yes I really am yelling that lol). It was such an amazing experience. Captain got us out to the sandbar earlier than the giant barge boats that have tons of people on them, so we got to start with a quieter session with the sting rays, and they were very friendly to our group, constantly swimming uptown and around us. Once the big boats get there, they send out workers to get the stingrays to move towards their group, so the animals disperse a little once they show up. But it was such a neat experience. Even my husband, who admitted to me that he was not all that excited about the sting rays (he said he thought it would be dumb) thought it was one of the highlights of the entire trip. And sailing on the catamaran was so nice. I recommend this company to everyone visiting Grand Cayman!

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I second the stingrays in GC. Mo Bay is a good port for an excursion, we hired a driver for the day and went to the Rockland hummingbird sanctuary. Cozumel is a great beach day and shopping downtown.