First time Cruiser

[gbajwa24]

a friend of mine informed me about this site, so I am giving this a try..our family is thinking about taking a disney cruise next year sometime.. I have two kids 7 and 4 and I know they would absolutely love this.. after all it is DISNEY.. which kid does not love disney.. Anyways.. any feedback, comments, suggestions would help.. we are trying to keep the cost down as much as possible.. I look forward to hearing from you .. HELP..

[eh2zed]

From time to time, they will have a kids sail free promotion. Unfortunately it is not predictable either in terms of month or itinerary. Right now there is one for Mexican Riviera but I believe it is for this year yet.

[guitargal168]

Returned home from Alaska on our first Disney cruise (and first cruise EVER) on July 5th. Had an absolute blast!! You can definitely get a lot of tips from these postings but, I'll throw in a few here. Do all your "extra" booking online and as early as possible so that you can get what you want. As a first time cruiser, you can book excursions, spa treatments, Palo etc...at, I believe, 75 days before sailing. Go through the options before that time and make some 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices. Then, book at the 75 day mark. I booked excursions early and got exactly what I wanted but missed out on Palo because I waited too long. Spa treatments also get booked pretty quickly but they do offer a number of specials that are available day to day so, if you don't book early, you may still have a chance.

As for activities for your kids, nobody does it like Disney! So many activities and you'll never worry about their safety. My daughter is 13 and she really loved the staff at the Edge. She also really enjoys being around young kids and even she noticed how much fun all the younger kids were having. (she even got a wee bit jealous at some of the activities offered to the little ones...I think she would have joined in on a few if it were allowed!):)

There were also tons of "family" activities offered (trivia, drawing, crafts etc) so if you want to do some things together, there are plenty of options.

Before we left, one of our concerns was the reviews of the food. I am happy to say that we LOVED the food options. Our servers were amazing and were masters at entertaining during dinner. Your children can eat off of either the children's menu or the adult. The kids options are a bit "normal" (mac/cheese, chicken fingers, etc) BUT the adult menu always has roast chicken available (it's written at the bottom of the menu) and lots of appetizer choices too that your kids might like if they are not picky eaters. For example, soups, chicken skewers, dips. The entrees alway have at least one type of steak, chicken, fish and vegetarian type.

OH...and bring your camera with you at ALL times....you never know what will happen! We were eating dinner one night when we looked out the window and saw a gorgeous double rainbow. I jumped out of my seat, ran outside and got some of our most beautiful pictures! Not to mention...all the character sightings, fun things your server/assistant server might do at the table, etc... It's a Disney cruise and we never stopped smiling from the moment we were "announced" on board!

A few more things....1. don't bother with the onboard WIFI connection. It's not worth the cost and it is very iffy. (We didn't do this, but we learned about it from several crew/cast members) My husband is on 24 hour call/365 days a year. We simply left the Disney Cruise line phone number provided with our documents and our stateroom number with his work and a few family members (just in case) and left the rest of the world behind! (a refreshing change from our typical lives!) 2. Get to the shows about 10 minutes early, they are fabulous...don't miss them! 3. Almost forgot a big money saver...remember that bit about bringing your camera everywhere? Well, a little, hidden gem of information is that the cast members are HAPPY to use your camera to take pictures of you with characters! They have character picture taking everyday, many times a day. They take beautiful, but very expensive pictures! Get in line (very short...maybe 10 min. at most) and then hand a cast member your camera. At least then, you can choose to either buy the picture they take OR have the free one! It's a nice option to know about if you are trying to save a little!

Good luck and if you think of some specific question, let me know! One more thing....having never cruised before, I will tell you that we had one of the best vacations ever and have already booked our next Disney cruise on the Magic to Canada next June 17th!

[TaraLynne]

a friend of mine informed me about this site, so I am giving this a try..our family is thinking about taking a disney cruise next year sometime.. I have two kids 7 and 4 and I know they would absolutely love this.. after all it is DISNEY.. which kid does not love disney.. Anyways.. any feedback, comments, suggestions would help.. we are trying to keep the cost down as much as possible.. I look forward to hearing from you .. HELP..

 

I see you live in Florida...keep an eye/ear out for Florida resident specials! Those will likely get you a better deal than anything else :)

 

If you drink, Disney actually allows you to bring alcohol on board! It just has to be sealed and in your carry-on. My husband and I brought a couple pint bottles and some nippers on our 3-day Disney cruise.