Tell me about DCL

[Brandie]

I've got my very first Disney Cruise coming up and I'm hoping there's some experienced DCLers who can give me some advice . . . (It's me, my husband, two teen boys, 7 year old girl and 4 year old boy. Eastern Caribbean, end of November on the Magic.)

Castaway Cay . . . I plan on RDing. What are my "headliners"? Is there something I should have reserved before I get there? Are there any particular spots I should be trying to get? Are we likely to be splitting up? Is there something I should be directing my teens to?

Do the CMs trade pins?

We're planning on hitting all the shows, but who knows? Which are "must see"s?

I've glanced at a few Navigators. Looks like there are a lot of activity choices. More than I can analyze. Are there activities that you would recommend?

I'll be registering all of my kids in their appropriate club at 75 days (soon!) I'm considering Palo. We're not planning any excursions at this point. Is there anything else I should consider reserving?

We're trying to pack light (seems like there isn't much storage space.) We're packing normal vacation apparel but adding formal wear (including 7yo's Sleeping Beauty gown) and pirate garb. Am I missing anything? Can I use my over the door organizer anywhere in my stateroom? (I'm gonna need it or something like it!)

[peachygreen]

We did an Eastern on the Magic in Feb of this year and absolutely loved it. It was my parents, my DH and I and our 2 girls at the time 10months and almost 5.

We ended up not going to CC due to some medical emergencies and rough seas during our cruise but it was okay. We enjoied our extra sea day. So I can't help you with CC.

There is a lot going on. Having a 10 month old our cruise was very laid back.

In St. Maarten I'm not sure what I would do if we had it to do over again. We rented a car which was not a fun experience. The island is not well marked so we got turned around and stuck in traffic. We did finally make it to the butterfly farm and the beach. It was nice, but honestly we have a beautiful butterfly museum here in Houston and didn't see anything I couldn't have seen here.

In St. Thomas my parents took the girls to Coral world and had a blast. They just took a cab and went on their own. They said it was a lot of fun. My husband and I went snorkeling which I loved.

We missed Villians Tonight. I don't remember why. My favorite show was Disney Dreams. It was a great show. Twice Charmed was also good.

There is a lot to do. We were never bored. I am looking forward to our next cruise where I won't spend half the cruise walking the baby.

The under the bed is bigger than you would think. I was able to put both my full size suitcases (with the smaller carryon's inside), my DD booster seat, the stroller and a duffle bag under the bed and there was still plenty of room. If the suitcase doesn't slide just lift the corner of the bed and it will slide right under.

We had dresses/slacks and a button down for dinner each night along with formal wear for the whole family. It seemed that the majority dressed up for Formal night. We had our swimsuits and shorts/shirts for the day. The girls had pirate dresses, but my husband and I didn't wear anything special. There was a mix of people dressed/not for pirate night.

Be sure to check out Diversions. We had a nice time in htere as a family playing board games. I also loved deck 4. It was nice to walk around deck 4 and we had a great time playing shuffle board.


I can't wait for our next cruise in July.

[blyday]

Castaway Cay: You can have the kids go to the kids club area (you do need to sign up for this and only people signed up for their kids to go into the kids club on board the ship can use this on the island), send the teens to the "teen only" beach where they can socialize with other teens and have some time for you and your DH to relax on the adult only beach. I probably wouldn't do this all day but for part of the day it sure is nice to hang out at the adult beach and relax without worrying about the kids. The family area is a lot of fun also (well...at least from what I could tell!!!) CC was really my favorite part of our cruise. And the food there is incredible and included with the cruise.

I'd try for all of the shows if you can. We did a 3 night on the Wonder so we got the Toy Story one.....I would tell you to skip that one but you aren't on the Wonder so I'd really try for the rest. I've heard lots of good about them all.

[vicki_c]

We did our first (and only so far) cruise in 2010 with a bunch of Tour Guide Mikers. Honestly, I don't know what we did all the time - we were on the 4 day. But we really didn't do many on-board activities. It's funny that I can't remember - but I know we didn't do bingo, we did go to the DVC presentation because we wanted some free swag, Mike & I met the rest of the group in WaveBands a few nights for karaoke, we saw some of the shows. My kids were in the kids club all the time. We saw a movie (Princess & the Frog). I really can't figure out what we did the whole time!

But the point of all that was really that you might find just wandering around and relaxing most of the time is enough. Sleep in!

[bnoble]

DCL is not like WDW. You don't really have to "plan" things in advance so much. It's much more flexible. Except for some of the characters, nothing generates a "line" that you have to wait in, and your dining is all reserved (in the "real" sense) so there's no need to think about ADRs or when to make it to lunch. I don't recall many CMs with pin lanyards. Do try to see the shows. I wasn't blown away by all of them, but I'm glad I saw them. That's about it for planning. My wife *loves* DCL---much more than WDW---and the go-with-the-flow nature was a big reason why.

That said, do consider one or more excursions, and if there is one you think will be fun, do it. It's hard to put together your own day in a port unless you already know it a little bit, and frankly I can do without the ubiquitous jewelry/t-shirt/"local artist" shops that seem to dominate the walking-distance zones of every cruise port on the planet.

I have to admit I am a little ambivalent about DCL, especially vis-a-vis Disneyland/WDW. The ship is set up to almost encourage kids and parents to separate. And, a little of that is fine, but I guess I expect more "family time" during a family vacation. For example, my son would have been happy hanging out with his fellow tween alpha males in The Edge literally all day. Getting him to come up to the stateroom to watch the fjords and glacier on Tracy Arm day was like pulling teeth, though once he got up there he enjoyed it. But, as soon as we started pulling away from the glacier..."Can I go back to the Edge now?"

That said, we did also go to martini and tequila tastings, so it's not like I didn't appreciate some kid-free time. All in all, the cruise was great, and I'd do it again.

[bnoble]

One more thing: Palo is worth it. We did brunch, not dinner, but brunch was fabulous. I suspect dinner would be too. For a short cruise I might not bother, but for a 7-day, go for it.

[TxTiggerFan]

Brian nailed it - DCL is much more go with the flow than WDW. It's why my husband loves it after only 1 cruise. We did a 5 day on the Dream this summer. He wants to do a longer one next time. Take a look at the navigators and see some of what's going on that might appeal to you but other than that just relax and do what you feel like that day. Not sure if they'll do this on the 7 day eastern but the shows played on the tv in the state room around the same time they were going in the theater. So if for some reason you can't get to the theater you can still view them in your state room. Came in handy for us when I caught a bad cold mid-cruise and didn't feel like messing with going down to the theater.

Definately consider booking an excursion if something appeals to you. We didn't in Nassau and I regret it. Everyone says Nassau is "blah" so I didn't bother. We walked around the area right off the dock, got our rum, and a few trinkets but it was "blah" and my opinion of Nassau is much like others - it's not really worth it. However, I don't think we gave the place a chance. Next time I'm considering booking a sight seeing touring to see more of what there is to offer there.

Castaway Cay - Serenity Bay is what turned my former beach vacation loathing husband into a beach vacation addict. If you get the chance, definately let the kids to their own thing and spend some quiet time there. The family beach is fun but crowded. Very busy. My daughter was with us but she's 17 so I can't offer much advice for younger kids on CC. My daughter did the teen excursion on CC and enjoyed it. She was exhausted afterwards but glad she did it.

We had the opposite experience of Brian with my daughter and the teen club. She went frequently but didn't really click with it or anyone there. As she put it, "Everyone was just a little off". I'm presuming she meant off personalitywise and not mentally disturbed. She'd go down there for activities she wanted to check out but would come back to the room or hit the deck and read. So getting her to do stuff with us was easy. But the divistion of adult and kid stuff did make it hard. If we wanted to go check out the clubs in the evening, she couldn't go with us so either she was in the teen club or hanging out in the cabin. The other day she said by the end of the cruise she was ready to get off the boat. I think it was due to her age (a older teen who acts like she's going on 30 sometimes) and the fact that it was a bit hard to do stuff together.

[Brandie]

Thanks for all the advice! I am looking forward to a more relaxed vacation than WDW/DLR, but I am nervous about not knowing what to expect and not having all the answers (that my family has come to expect me having.) Looking at the Navigators had my head spinning. So many choices!!

I am worried about my oldest spending most of his time in the teen club. I'll see him nightly for the show and dinner, I imagine.

I hadn't planned on excursions, but now I'll put some effort into researching them.

I hadn't considered Palo for brunch, either. I was planning on dinner being when we all meet back up (we're traveling with my in-laws as well) so fitting in a meal there other than dinner makes more sense.

Again, thanks so much!

Anyone else?

[lisapennie]

If you haven't purchased the Passporter guide yet, do it. It was probably the most valuable prep item we did for our cruise, and I would not hesitate to buy it again. I read it cover to cover and basically planned how I did things based on what it told me, and I was very happy I did so.

[Brandie]

Thanks for the advice, Lisa. Last time I considered the passporter they were working on a new edition. I think it has been released now . . . I'm off to check!

ETA: Got the book ordered for delivery and downloaded to my iPhone & Kindle. I've got some reading to do!

[Peggy]

We took the 3 day Dream cruise over easter. Too short! We never would consider less than 7 days. I knew this going in, but that is what fit our vacation schedule.

On CC, there is no longer a "teen beach". It has been made into the Cabana area. There is a teen "area", but it is away from the water. Looks like it had some volleyball courts, etc.

My girls, 15 and 13, didn't really like the Edge. They went down the first day, and came back reporting the kids were "strange". From the description, it just sounded like a lot of kids trying hard (perhaps a bit too hard) to make friends. They never went back - but it was only a 3 day and they had each other to hang out with.

Not sure I'd do DCL again with older kids - not sure the extra money for Disney is worth it at this age. I'm thinking if we do another cruise, we may try RCL. But we had a great time, I'm sure you will too!

[Brandie]

Thanks for sharing, Peggy. I'm so glad we're on a 7 night!

Now that I've got access to my Passporter, I'm starting to get interested in excursions. My first thought was only Castaway Cay, but now it seems silly to just hang out in a boat when there's adventures waiting for me on shore.

Peachy has already chimed in (thanks!) but now I'm considering excursions on St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Any thoughts?

[Brandie]

Another question . . .

Fish extenders (and the exchange that goes with them): Yea or nay?

[bnoble]

My wife does them. I'm not enthusiastic.

[Brandie]

My wife does them. I'm not enthusiastic.

Is it exciting for the kids?

[peachygreen]

I did the FE on our cruise and honestly I probably won't do it again. It was a lot of work (and honestly once I added everything up cost a bit of $$ too) to get stuff together for it, it took up a lot of space (more coming home then going) and most of the things fall into the category of stuff and I'm trying really hard to get rid of stuff.
If the girls were older it might have been more fun. Megan was excited about getting some stuff but she would have been just as happy without.

[sunburnin]

You'll love the cruise!!!

We have been on both the Eastern and Western Magic cruises and had a great time on both. DW and kids love it so much we're going on the Fantasy in 2012.

Some of my experience based on your questions and other comments here:

Castaway Cay: It's worth it to be some of the first 15 minutes off the boat. Take the tram ALL the way to the 2nd (last?) stop. You'll find it a lot less crowded at the far end of the beach. Same logic as WDW. "They" all go to the closest spot first. "You" will go the other way. :) No need to reserve anything, just go and enjoy the day. If the kids are having a blast in the kids clubs and met some friends, they have great activities on shore that day. Ours went in for ~1 hour, but mostly hung with us swimming, playing in the sand, going down the water slides, etc. It's a great beach and the food is great too! If you're a shopper, there are some things that you can only buy on shore, so look at the stores there too. Since CC is the last day of the cruise, I bet your teen sons will have found some other teens or teen girls to follow around. hehehe

Shows? Try them all out. We enjoyed everyone! I assume you're talking about the main ones in the evenings.

Pins? Yes, there are traders on board. Typically the officers I think. Even pins you can only get on DCL and CC.

Space and Packing? We always end up over packing. I found that my evening clothes were easy to re-wear (shhhh) since they were only on for a few hours (I'm a guy btw :) ). There's enough storage space in the closets and drawers. Assuming you'll have 2 rooms for the 6 of you should have plenty of room. We had an oversized suitcase that we stood up in the closet and it became our laundry basket. We'd shove the dirty clothes in there, then zip it up. Never had to reopen it until we were back in the house.

Activities? You'll find the cruise VERY relaxed and laid back. Try what you like or seem interested in. Lots are fun - nothing stands out to me at the moment, but a lot to choose from.

You'll have a great time!!!!

Oh, and Palo is definitely worth it. We did the brunch so we could enjoy the dinners with the kids. It was a great meal and very well done.

[lisapennie]

We shoved our suitcases under the bed to make more room (the bed lifts up), and then had one of those mesh laundry bags that we kept in the closet. Worked like a charm.