What do you wish you knew on your first cruise?

[Ptwolfman]

Free seasick pills outside the infirmary on deck one

Also, cove cafe has a card where you buy 5 drinks & get one free. Ask for it

James

 

[Brendonsmom]

What great responses and ideas!! The buffet after the pirate night? What time is that? We have 2nd seating dinner - is it right after that or will we miss the pirate time if we go to dinner? When does all this happen?

It's right after the deck show and is located in Cabanas. Taco bar, turkey legs, a crepe station and petite pastries.

 

[August2010]

I wish I knew the counter service area (Cars theme) was open on day of embarkation.

 

[DancnJwl]

I wish I knew not to pack so much stuff! We packed way more than needed and never used half of it. This time around I will be bringing much less.

I also wish I knew not to stress so much about "sold out" excursions online. They hold some back for once you board the ship, so if you go straight to Guest services you should still be able to get a spot. We did that last year and had no problems. Every event sold out online, we were able to get in once on the ship.

 

[tee11]

Sorry!!!



Nope you don't ask, it's self service. There are plates and napkins next to the display case, grab the tongs open the door and put what you want on the plate, close the door and you are good to go.

But I do end up asking EVERY time .... It almost seems like sneaking (stealing) them without asking first

and they have different item in there in the mornings and afternoons. So go Twice!!!

Ahhhh! Thanks!

Now is there a Cove Café on the Wonder, too? That's where we will be next! I totally missed out on the Dream!

 

[drclaws]

Sorry!!!



Nope you don't ask, it's self service. There are plates and napkins next to the display case, grab the tongs open the door and put what you want on the plate, close the door and you are good to go.

But I do end up asking EVERY time .... It almost seems like sneaking (stealing) them without asking first

and they have different item in there in the mornings and afternoons. So go Twice!!!

...and sometimes the "left over" desserts from Palo Brunch end up here....

 

[rsx3bishop]

--Use the Navigator (and/or the app) as soon as you get on board!!! These are full of fun and useful information that will keep you moving in the right direction. This year.....we will use highlighters so we can manage everyone's wish list!

 

[soniam]

Cove Cafe - It always looked closed. Great coffee. They also have appetizer snacks late afternoon/early evening.

Onboard Airline Checkin - Leave your luggage outside your door the last night. You don't have to bother with it again until you arrive at your home airport. You don't even have to have it with you through customs on the ship. No trying to find it at the port. No lugging it off the ship, onto your airport transport, or in the airport. It was awesome

Remy - It's 100 times better than I thought it would be.

Pirate Night Buffet - I was disappointed, because I was used to the traditional cruise midnight buffet. It's really just extra food, nothing really artistic or cool.

White Wall Verandah - I wished I had understood the different between the white wall an the regular ones. It's not a big deal, but your view is blocked a little bit. The regular ones are more expensive though.

Drink of the Day - It's not available at all bars. Not all bars, like the small ones on the pool deck, can make any drink.

Souvenir Glass - It's plastic.

Castaway Cay - There's a kids club there too. Lounge chairs fill up fast near the beach in the shade, not with people, just people's stuff The glass bottom boat excursion is just OK, probably not worth the money. You can wait to rent snorkel gear there. They never seemed to run out. We reserved it ahead of time, but I felt bad and didn't use mine. We didn't realize that there's a water slide on the island, but DS doesn't really like them anyway.

Mickey Bars - Besides room service and MDRs, I still don't know where all you can get them. I should have gotten one

Toiletry Samples - The shampoo, conditioner, and lotion provided are really big. You could probably get away with not bringing your own, if you aren't picky and don't have skin allergies.

Rent Shoes - Men can just rent dress shoes. You don't have to rent the whole tux. It's helpful if you don't want to bring those big boats in your suitcase for 2 meals.

Pictures - Don't wait until the last day or night. It gets really busy.

Mixology Class - Do it. Sometimes the Disboard meet group will organize one for them, but you have to know about it in advance. I wished we could have signed up with that one, but the one we did was still awesome.

Fish Extenders

Decorate Your Door - Bring magnets or vinyl cling to make it more homey.

Skyline Lounge - Awesome decor and drinks. Plus, they offer a passport where you basically get a drink, maybe two, for free if you purchase so many.

Views of the Sea - They are actually fairly limited, especially from most of the bars and MDR. However, the bar between Remy and Palo has excellent views, including the sunset.

Karaoke - Happens pretty late, so I never got to do it with my son.

Small purse - I wish I had brought something with which to carry around my room key, lip gloss, hand lotion, and phone. I did have a lanyard to carry my room key, and once they convert to magic bands, that won't really be a problem. However, my regular purse was just too big. I looked to buy something on board, but most things were D&B (expensive) or more for kids.

Excursions - I wish I hadn't booked ones with food. You're already paying for food on the ship, and usually the excursion food is just OK at best. However, some excursions are not available with the food.

Dunns River Falls (Jamaica) - I wish I had known that there was a paved trail next to the falls. We went a long time ago by ourselves and felt it was a bit scary for our DS. I would have done it, if I had known there was an easy path. We'll just have to do another cruise, so that we can do the falls I also heard that there's chicken exits on the underground river excursion (Cozumel I think). I was worried our DS would freak out, and we would be stuck in a deep dark cave with a panicky kid, so we skipped it.

Embarkation/Debarkation - I wished I had known earlier that we needed to be on the ship by 3:30pm in PC. We bought a multiday ticket to KSC but only used one day. I prefer to get the earliest embarkation time possible, to take advantage of the pool and food, for which you have already paid. Plus, it gives you time to sign up for classes and explore. On debarkation day at PC, they really boot you off the ship early, by 9am. We ended up with a lot of time at MCO. Luckily, the Disney stores at MCO have an awesome selection of stuff. I even found stuff there that I hadn't seen at the parks or online. There's also a Universal store.

Pressed Pennies - They have DCL pressed pennies at the terminals. I should have looked at the press locations before we went, because now I can't get one until we go again. So, we'll just have to go on another cruise to get one

 

[mrslfc]

Hi

We are just back from our first cruise and I wish that I had taken ear plugs with me.

Also don't try to do everything, you just cant!!!!

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

* I can't believe I didn't know that the treats in Cove Cafe were included (no extra charge). I've been kicking myself about that since our cruise ended.

Wait? What? What's free in Cove????

 

[gumbypee]

Wait? What? What's free in Cove????

The snacks I believe are free, not drinks

 

[LoveToCruiseDisney]

This is great information. We are doing our second Disney cruise and love all the information.

 

[TAK]

Wait? What? What's free in Cove????

All the pastries, treats, desserts, etc. I saw them in the case and I think i just assumed that, since you're paying for specialty coffee, you're paying for treats. But you're not, the food in Cove Cafe is no extra charge. Yum!

 

[missyp]

I am actually glad that there were some things that I didnt figure out until after our first cruise. We certainly had an amazing time on our first cruise and learned some new tips and tricks here on the boards and were able to experience new things on our second cruise. We didn't order any room service on our first cruise and we really enjoyed having midnight Mickey bars on our second cruise. It became a fun thing to do at night when everyone got back to the room while we chatted about our day

 

[UCLAVES]

And all who shared. This was very helpful!

 

[VArunner]

These cruise forums are a fabulous way to get the inside tips that would take a few cruises to learn. Thank you all so much for the great tips!

I like to check out the forums before I cruise on a new ship.
Going on Dream for the first time over Halloween.
I always bring an extension cord. Are the outlets US two prong?
Any ship regulations with power cords? Other ships state that they will confiscate them if they aren't a certain type.

 

[irishkiss]

One thing I didn't see, bring a clip to hold sliding door curtains totally closed. Keeps the crack of dawn away

 

[krisinparis]

okay-- I didn't read through the whole thread-- but what I wished I had known was to pack swimsuits in your carry on (or wear them under your clothes) so you can be in the pool while everyone else is waiting to get their luggage.

 

[lin7]

We wish we knew how much fun it was going to be so we can book a back to back lol.

Where is the cove cafe?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We wish we knew how much fun it was going to be so we can book a back to back lol.

Where is the cove cafe?

At the adult-only pool area.