First Time Disney Cruiser

[Shirley C]

We are planning a cruise next May on the Wonder. We will be taking our 7 year old grandson for his first taste of cruising and his first time at WDW. What suggestions do you seasoned Disney cruisers have to make this a memorable trip for our grandson (we have been on several cruises on other lines ourselves).

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hello,

He will have a blast. We are taking our 4 grandkids for the second timw this December. First I would suggest going to DCL's official site and ordering the free DVD. It will give you a good idea about the cruise. The kids clubs are great. They have free time and structured times too. Your GS will have his own paper called a Navigator which will list all the events he can choose from in the clubs. Some things you need to sign up for because only a certain amount of kids can do it at one time, but they repeat the event so everyone has a chance to do it. My grandson was 8 last time and he loved it when they made Flubber. They got to keep it and bring it home. You must sign him up for the clubs to be allowed in. You can do it on line as soon as you pay off your cruise or when you arrive on board the first day, your navigator paper in your room will state the place and time to do it. He will be given a wrist band and you will receive a beeper so they can reach you if necessary. Then he can come and go as he wants.

The day before you get to Castaway Cay they have a family kite making class that is great to do and then they have a portion of the beach where you can fly the kite the next day. That is a fun thing for kids to do. The Mickey 200 race is another funone, but he will need an adult with him. You make a race car from a potato, a carrot, 4 wheels, 2 sword picks and then you race them against others. The adult does the carving, and the kid can take it up to race it. Only 16 families can participate each time, so arrive a little early and give them your team name. They usually do this twice on a cruise. You only have 10 minutes to make the car, so practicing at home helps. Studio Sea is a family nigh club that has different family events all day and evening, it will be listed in your Navigator. They have game shows, dance parties, talent shows, Karoake, and much more. there is ping pong on deck 9, shuffle board on deck 4 and basketball on deck 10. there is a small arcade, but it does cost extra. On Castaway Cay they have the Grouper game room which has pool, chess, checkers, hoops to shoot, chip it golf, shuffleboard a large sandbox etc...

Promenade lounge (family lounge deck 4) has lots of board games available all the time if you want to play thise too. They always have family movies playing in the afternoon and early evenings too. Of course there is the family pool and kids pool with a slide if he is not too tall. All the shows in the evening are kid friendly, even the comedians, jugglers, magicians and musicals. Kids really enjoy them too. If your on the 7 day cruise they have a towel folding class. That sounds dumb, but it's really a cool thing to do, the kids love it. They can sit up close on the floor to get personalized help .They learn how to fold the towels to look like animals. You'll find a new animal in your room every night, then you can learn how to make them.

Kids really eat it up! Well there are so many things to list for all of you to do, I could go on forever! Get the DVD and it will really help you understand about the kids activities and how great the counselors are.

Oh I almost forgot the best thing. They now have a Pirate party on every cruise. It starts at dinner where everyone, even adults are encouraged to dress like pirates. Your wait staff is in costume, you have aspecial pirate menu, your given a pirate bandana to keep as a souvenir. The character are dressed like pirates, then about 9:45 P.M. you go to deck 9 and have live music, dancing a skit with characters, topped off by fireworks, followed by a big buffet on deck 9 too. It is FANTASTIC!!! So now is the time, with halloween around the corner to get your GS and your selves some pirate attire. Not everyone dresses up, but most do and all the kids for sure!

If you htink of any specific questions, just ask and I'll try to answer them when I check the board next time.

mom x4,grandma x4

[oscarmoraz]

Mom x4,grandma x4,

 

Are blow dryers furnished inside the cabins?

 

Trying to get my packing under way... :)

 

TIA,

Cindy

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Yes they have hair dryers in the bathroom.

mom x4,grandma x4

[oscarmoraz]

mom x4,grandma x4,

 

Thank you! It also put out enough power for my GD and me!

 

In exploring the ship, I was actually surprised to see a ‘public’ Laundromat, with an ironing board and iron. A couple we spoke with explained that it helped them tremendously, since they were on a land/cruise package with 3 children. It was definitely getting a lot of use.

 

I thought that was a great feature to offer. Not that I would want to do laundry on vacation, but it is a definite plus in a situation above.

 

C

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Howdy,

I agree the laundry facilities are very helpful, especially with a family.

Once in awhile my husbands dress shirts get too wrinkled in the suitcase so a quick trip to one of the 3 laundries and a quick press and we're all set. The fact that the iron is free is a big plus. I have used the dryer once to dry wet clothes and swim suits after a day on castaway cay. I didnt want to pack damp clothes that night.

We just got back from a quick 3 day trip on the wonder. We booked 2 days out, so it was a quick pack job this time. But it was a awesome trip!

I hope your cruise was just as great as ours. Who knows, maybe sometime we will cruise at the same time and meet. I have met a couple of people that way. It is so much fun. I live close to WDW so sometimes I have met people from these cruise boards on their trip to WDW instead of a cruise. Next month I'm meeting a family who are sailing with us in Nov 2006, so we will have faces to go with the names way ahead of time.

These boards are great!!!

mom x4,grandma x4

Kathy

[ckrobyn]

:) Sounds like a great cruise line!

[oscarmoraz]

Howdy,

I agree the laundry facilities are very helpful, especially with a family.

Once in awhile my husbands dress shirts get too wrinkled in the suitcase so a quick trip to one of the 3 laundries and a quick press and we're all set. The fact that the iron is free is a big plus. I have used the dryer once to dry wet clothes and swim suits after a day on castaway cay. I didnt want to pack damp clothes that night.

We just got back from a quick 3 day trip on the wonder. We booked 2 days out, so it was a quick pack job this time. But it was a awesome trip!

I hope your cruise was just as great as ours. Who knows, maybe sometime we will cruise at the same time and meet. I have met a couple of people that way. It is so much fun. I live close to WDW so sometimes I have met people from these cruise boards on their trip to WDW instead of a cruise. Next month I'm meeting a family who are sailing with us in Nov 2006, so we will have faces to go with the names way ahead of time.

These boards are great!!!

mom x4,grandma x4

Kathy

 

Hi Kathy,

 

How wonderful you are able to just jump on a quick cruise! Your P&J sandwiches are paying off! :p

 

We had a wonderful cruise! It truly may be one of our best cruises, only because of how many times our GD’s face lit up! Needless to say, we have plans to cruise with Disney again. When it comes to grandchildren, what can I say! ;)

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise and thank you so very much on all of your information! I will be checking back when it is time to book our next one, which should not be too far in the future! Maybe then we will have the honor of meeting one another! :)

 

We are contemplating on canceling the Sovereign Family Cruise and booking the Disney Wonder in February. This way our (grown) girls can enjoy the experience with their families! But not sure it will be as much fun with the girls as when it was only Papa, myself and Sierra...;) I just don't see Sierra being up past midnight with her mommy! lol!

 

Cindy

[oscarmoraz]

We cancelled our Sovereign of the Seas Family cruise for a few reasons, one being our final decision is we were booked in a E-3 GTY Balcony, for the upcoming 12 day Jewel of the Seas cruise…13 days before embarking we received a call that Royal Caribbean is issuing a mandatory downgrade to a Category H, porthole. Either accept it with $100 s/b credit and 50% (which in reality is less) refund or cancel without penalty.

 

Needless to say they made our decision…in which I think will be the better choice in the long run. Now to plan the Family cruise! :)

 

C

[Maryandi]

Hi Mom x4++, Thanks for posting such an informative post (and alot of typing !).

 

We will be on the Wonder for 3 days - is all the fun you described on the 3 day cruises, too ? Sounds so great.

 

Shirley C. - We'll be on May 4, with a 7 yr old boy, 7 yr old girl and 5 yr old boy ( and their parents ) Group of 9.

 

MaryAnn (Check Roll Call board)

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Wowzo,

 

Yes, the 3 day is great too!

We love just taking a quick 3 day, for us it's so close we just make a 3 day weekend out of it to relax. There is plenty of things to do, but the 7 day obviously has more, because it is longer. If you get the chance to see the ice carving on deck 9,, do it. It's really fascinating to watch a block of ice become something beautiful in about 10 minutes.

If by chance in the Promenade lounge there is the duo of Don and Tommie, tell them Fred and Kathy said Hi! They misunderstood my husbands name, they called him Fred, instead of Greg for 2 days before we told him. It was really funny. They knew us from previous trips, and we stay in touch. So they will know who we are. That duo is great for doing requests if you have any that they know. The do some like Jimmy Buffet songs, Bob Seiger, some 70's rock in roll style. A really good variety.

You only have one port of call accept Castaway Cay Nassau. It is a different culture there and it really puts some people off because people are constantly asking you to buy stuff, but just say no thanks and walk on, they wont bother you. The 2 hour historical tour is really good, we had a great guide. Atlantis aquarium was good too. They go pretty fast, but you can go back in at your own pace afterwards as long as you have your wrist band on. Casino is fun to see the architecture too. Glass bottom boat is so so. Saw a few fish, but not that many. Pirate museum on your own is very good. $12 per person. Allow an hour or a little more to see. THe horse, carriage ride by the port is fun too, takes about 20 minutes, $10 per person. You'll have a great time,

mom x4,grandma x4

[Maryandi]

We took your advise and went out and bought pirate stuff for the kids while it is still in the stores.

 

I was in the travel & tourism business and worked in Ft. Lauderdale and Nassau for several years. I forgot about alot of that tourist stuff., I want to keep the kiddies occupied and altho' it's way in advance, I've contacted a friend over there to see about beaches, etc for snorkeling and lunch at Bahamas Kitchen or 3 Kings and shopping at Marathon Mall if any in the family is interested.

 

Thanks for your help., MaryAnn:)

[oscarmoraz]

We cancelled our Sovereign of the Seas Family cruise for a few reasons, one being our final decision is we were booked in a E-3 GTY Balcony, for the upcoming 12 day Jewel of the Seas cruise…13 days before embarking we received a call that Royal Caribbean is issuing a mandatory downgrade to a Category H, porthole. Either accept it with $100 s/b credit and 50% (which in reality is less) refund or cancel without penalty.

 

Needless to say they made our decision…in which I think will be the better choice in the long run. Now to plan the Family cruise! :)

 

C

 

Update...though we are still planning our family cruise with DCL!

 

RC has offered the passengers affected 100% comp plus $100 s/b credit for each person. I did not want to leave the bad taste out there especially after the issue was corrected!

 

Kudos to RC!:)

 

Cindy

 

PS Still working on mom to allow Sierra to play hooky so she can double dip with Gamma and papa in September! :)

[Shirley C]

Hi All

 

I started this post and then got busy moving and forgot about it. Now that the move and the holidays are over, it is time to concentrate on the cruise again. We are very excited. We haven't told our grandson about it yet since it is so far away. All he knows is we are planning a special vacation. His birthday is the end of April and we are going to tell him then. We booked a 7 day land/sea and then a three day post cruise land stay. We will be checking into the hotel on 5/28 and sailing on the Wonder on 6/1. Any helpful hints will be appreciated. There is already great information on this board, but can always use more.

 

I'm hoping to find some other people who are going on this same cruise -- always more fun that way.

 

Shirley

[JulieMcCoy]

Shirley, I never had a young enough child on our three Disney cruises to do this, but I remember lots of talk on the boards about getting a pillowcase for each child and submitting it for the characters to sign. Maybe someone else can fill you in on how that works. Also, the ship's TV and, I think, a sign near the service desk on board the ship post the day's scheduled character greetings, so you can make sure you don't miss favorites. Don't forget the autograph book!