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| (Ready to board the Disney Fantasy!) |
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| (About to get back onto the ship in Tortola, British Virgin Islands) |
BEFORE YOU GO:
Adults 21 and over may bring 2 bottles of wine each aboard
the ship! This certainly can save you a bit of money if you enjoy a drink every
now and then!
During online check-in, you choose your Port Arrival Time,
or PAT- Be sure to choose the earliest time available so that you may enjoy
lunch and the amenities onboard the ship on your embarkation day! Please note
that if you are taking the Disney shuttle from one of the Disney resorts, there
is only one pick-up time, and so you are at the mercy of Disney transportation
when it comes to Port Arrival Time.
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| (We chose to take the Disney Cruise Line shuttle bus from Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World, where we stayed for 2 nights before our cruise, to Port Canaveral) |
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| (The Disney Cruise Line terminal at Port Canaveral) |
Please keep in mind when choosing a dinner time, which you
choose upon booking, (dinner times are 5:45pm and 8:15pm) that Dine and Play is
offered for children at the late seating (8:15PM)- this allows children to eat
with your family, and once they are finished, cast members from the Kids Clubs
will escort your children to the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab so they may
play while adults finish their dinner.
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| (My husband enjoying his beef dinner at Royal Court dining room) |
Let me take the time to explain the Fish Extender Program:
many months before our cruise, we joined a Facebook group that was made by one
of our cruise-mates specifically for folks who would be on our sailing. We
enjoyed getting to know others who would be cruising with us, and we all had
many fun and exciting conversations about the fun we would have on our cruise.
One woman, whom we dubbed our ‘Fairy Godmother’, put together groups of 10
staterooms (this was done once we stated interest in the Fish Extender program),
which became our Fish Extender groups. We were given family information, such
as the ages and names of all of the children in the group, as well as
everyone’s favorite Disney characters. I spent several months buying different
gifts, including character towel clips for the girls, and Star Wars memorabilia
for the boys, as well as cruise-themed
hand towels for each cabin. I also made Mickey Mouse head post-it note
holders, incorporating favorite characters into these as well. I placed
everything in gift bags that I decorated with a paper cruise-ship, the family’s
name, and their cabin number, so that I could easily deliver by floor. During
our cruise, I delivered a few bags per day, starting with the lowest floors and
working my way up each day. If you do this fun program (which is unofficial, by
the way as Disney does not have anything to do with it!), make sure you bring
your own Fish Extender (this is the gift holder itself)! I ordered mine off
Etsy, but if you are crafty and have some extra time, I know that there are
plenty of people who make their own! We got so many fun gifts throughout our
week, from a fun t-shirt for Camden announcing that he was celebrating his
birthday, to magnets for the stateroom doors, to a Star Wars travel coffee mug,
to key chains, and more! It was so much fun to come ‘home’ to our stateroom and
check our Fish Extenders to see what gifts we’d gotten!
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| (Coming back to our stateroom and finding gifts in our Fish Extender was always so much fun!) |
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| (Mickey Mouse post-it holders that I gave to each family in my Fish Extender group- I also gave one to our 'Fairy Godmother' as a thank-you for organizing the program!) |
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| (Gift bags I made for everyone) |
Feel free to bring and/or make magnets for your stateroom
doors! We didn’t think to bring any, but luckily, we were gifted several in our
Fish Extender, and it made it fun and easy to spot our room as we were walking
down the hallways! Many people decorate their doors, and you can find
everything from simple homemade magnets to elaborate computer-generated ones!
During on-line check-in, the option to reserve (free)
tickets to several character meet and greets is available- go ahead and reserve
some of these tickets now! Our options were a Disney Junior Character breakfast
(available on 7+ night cruises), a Frozen meet and greet with Anna and Elsa, and a Princess meet
and greet with several classic Disney princesses. You are able to choose from
various days and times for these fun experiences!
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| (Frozen meet and greet) |
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| (Disney Princesses on their way to a meet and greet) |
Don’t forget to pack a few swimsuits for the kids! My son REFUSES to put on a swimsuit that is even slightly damp, and so always having a dry swimsuit for him to change into was very important!
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| (Fun on the beach in Tortola) |
Go ahead and download the Disney Cruise Line app on your
phone before your vacation! At home, all you’ll be able to see on the app is a
countdown to your cruise, but once you are connected to the ship’s wi-fi, you’ll
be able to text others in your party who are also using the app, check to see
what events are offered during the day, look at that night’s dinner menu, find
characters on the ship, and more- all for free!
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| (Snapped this screen shot on the bus ride over to the Disney Cruise Line terminal) |
If anyone in your family is prone to motion sickness, be
sure to bring along some remedies to help with potential sea sickness. I
over-prepared and brought Scopolamine patches, sea bands, Bonine, and ginger
pills- I initially tried the sea bands, but was still feeling uncomfortable, so
I put a Scopolamine patch on the first night. This seemed to work best for me-
I did have the side effect of blurred vision the first day, but honestly, I
preferred this over feeling sick!
WHILE ABOARD:
Enjoy the legendary Disney service- From the moment you
arrive onboard your Disney Cruise Line ship to the moment you disembark, you
will be treated to some of the best service that you’ve likely ever experienced!
From being greeted by name upon arrival onto your ship, to the attention to
detail that your stateroom host provides (twice daily, including nightly
turndown complete with Ghiradelli chocolate!), to the special attention that
the children receive onboard, and more- this is definitely classic Disney
service that is second to none!
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| (We came 'home' each night to a new towel animal, tomorrow's Personal Navigator event guide, and Ghiradelli chocolates) |
Pin Traders rejoice- just like at Walt Disney World, there
is pin trading aboard the Disney Cruise Line! Be sure to check your Personal
Navigator (paper event guide) for times that pin trading is offered, and be
sure to attend the officers’ pin trading event- my son Camden got a really cool
Disney Cruise Line/ Star Wars pin from one of the officers at this event!
Whether your children are tiny and will be using the onboard
nursery, are school-age who will be using the Oceaneer Club and Lab, or are
teens who will be using Edge or Vibe, I encourage you and your children to
check out these safe and fun areas aboard the ships! While we can only speak of
the areas for younger children (which we cannot recommend enough!!), we saw ‘tweens’ enjoying a dance
party on deck with their new friends and the cast members of the clubs several
times, and they appeared to be having a lot of fun!
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| (After Camden's first afternoon in the nursery, he came out with this handy cinch sack to hold his diapers, wipes, and anything else we wanted to send him to the nursery with, which we really appreciated) |
Keep in mind that room service is free aboard the ships (but
don’t forget to tip!). We enjoyed breakfast in the stateroom on the day we had
an excursion booked in the British Virgin Islands- this way we didn’t have to
trek up to the 11th floor for breakfast, only to come back down to
the restaurant (located near our stateroom!) to meet our excursion group. We
enjoyed cereal, fruit, pastries, coffee and juice while we got ready for our
day at the beach!
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| (Breakfast in the stateroom before heading out to paradise!) |
If you enjoy running, or even walking 5k’s, be sure to sign
up for the FREE Castaway Cay 5k, offered on all cruises which have a stop at
Disney’s own private island, Castaway Cay. This is a fun way to check out the
island before spending your day in paradise (not to mention you can work off
some of those calories you consumed while on vacation!), and all participants
are given a runDisney finisher’s medallion!
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| (I purchased this dry-fit t-shirt to commemorate my first 5k outside of the United States!) |
Do yourself a favor and watch sail away as you pull away
from port on the first day! In Port Canaveral, there are many bars and
restaurants along the path that the ship takes to enter the Atlantic, and it is
so much fun waving to all of the people sitting here watching the ships leave!
I may or may not have shed a tear or two as I stood there waving, watching us
sail out to the deep blue and thinking to myself, ‘I am really on a Disney
cruise!’.
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| (Heading out to sea- bye-bye, Florida, hello Atlantic!) |
Something to keep in mind is that children who are not potty-trained are not allowed to use the pools onboard any of the ships. There are fun splash areas on all four ships for the littlest cruisers who may still need diapers, and swim diapers are available for purchase onboard!
PORT DAYS:
For those folks traveling to St. Thomas, I want to give you
a tip- my family looked at the excursions offered, and decided to do St. Thomas
on our own, which turned out to be MUCH cheaper. We simply took a taxi (which
is a large open-air van) to Magen’s Bay Beach (rated one of the world’s most
beautiful beaches) on our own- the taxi ride was $8 for adults and $4 for
children (rates may vary a bit) each way, and it cost us $5 for our family to
enter the beach. Lounge chairs and umbrellas were available for rent as well,
but we preferred just to put our towels on the sand since we spent most of our
time in the water. We also got a few adult beverages, as well as a can of soda
for our son from the nearby bar. Taxis are plentiful, and you can’t miss them
after you go through security upon debarkation of your ship. There are plenty of taxis
waiting to take everyone back to their cruise ships at the end of the day. I
don’t recommend doing things on your own in every port, but as St. Thomas is
part of the United States Virgin Islands, we felt safe doing things on our own
here.
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| (Enjoying the water in St. Thomas) |
Port days provide a great opportunity to ride the water slides on the ship, as there is little-to-no wait on these days!
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| (That clear glass tube is the water coaster aboard the Disney Fantasy, named the Aqua Duck) |
I hope you have enjoyed the tips and tricks that I have provided. If you haven’t already, please also see last month’s post, located here, highlighting my seven favorite Disney Cruise Line experiences. Thanks for reading, and Happy Travels!
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