First cruise. What are my first moves?

[Canadian Harmony]

The trip isn’t til 2021, but I’ll have it paid in December 2020. What are some things I can do to make our trip easier, memorable, and smoother for parents and teenage girls?

Please explain to me fish extenders, registration, and how to book excursions.

 

[Karin1984]

I think your first lesson has to be, you can't do it all. So don't try to do it all. A cruise is about relaxation. Don't overplan and don't make it unnecessarily complicated.
Like fish extenders, it's optional between guests. It's not my thing, so I don't participate (plus travelling internationally, I didn't want to bring all the extra weight in my suitcase ;-) )
I would suggest to look for a meet-group of your cruise either here on Disboards or on social media. It's nice to get excited for the cruise together and countdown together.

 

[Travel60]

Totally agree with above. Other advice is: this is not Disney World. There is very little planning required to have a good time. Things to consider:
(1) dining times. There are any number of discussions on this and some folks are adament about which is best....often having to do with young children and late nights. With teens, I would suggest second dining. Gives you more time during the day, dinner is a bit more relaxed, and afterwards teens can join friends in teen club while Mom and Dad go to adult activities. Just my opinion.
(2) specialty dining or not. There is brunch and dinner (for extra $). I enjoy Palo dinner. Some people rave about brunch....I didn't think it was worth it but my usual breakfast is oatmeal with fruit. I try to avoid breads and don't like eggs. That's just me. This is adults only...no teens
(3) excursions...you can go to the dcl website and look by port at the excursions offered. This doesn't guarantee that the same ones will be offered but you get a flavor of what is there.
(4) spa...you can make reservations but you can also do that once on board. Very pricey but sometimes you are in a splurge mood.

That's all I do. I don't do fish extenders...seems like a lot of work for people I don't know, takes up space in my bag and I get back stuff I probably don't want. Maybe I'm a Scrooge.

We don't do any of the liquor tastings but some get excited about them. You can find out about them from the Cruise Meet for your sailing on this website.

Everything else is walk-in...there is a daily schedule (used to show up on your bed each night during dinner, now online or you can pick up a copy at guest services. We usually go through it and circle what we might want to do, movies, etc. We never get it all done.

Finally, pack about half of what you think you will need. You will still go home with unworn edclothes.

 

[mevelandry]

The trip isn’t til 2021, but I’ll have it paid in December 2020. What are some things I can do to make our trip easier, memorable, and smoother for parents and teenage girls?

Please explain to me fish extenders, registration, and how to book excursions.

Which ship? How long is your cruise? What are the ports?

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Which ship? How long is your cruise? What are the ports?

The Wonder. 4 days. Catalina and Ensenada.

 

[mevelandry]

The Wonder. 4 days. Catalina and Ensenada.

Ok, since it’s a short cruise, you definitely can’t do it all... So I would recommend you look at old Personal Navigators to try to see what kind of activities or shows would be your priorities.

A lot of activities will be available for you to book on your Paid In Full date (Like Princess Gatherings, Palo brunch, etc.), once it’s done, there isn’t much to do except waiting for your cruise.

On the website there will be excursions offered to you so you can easily decide if those are for you or not.

Some people decide to stay on the ship on some port days so they can spend a little more time on the ship, by the pool, at the spa or to experience Palo brunch.

The Wonder has a nice Adult Only section on the ship so you might want to spend some time over there while kids are at the club.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Thank you! Are the meets and brunch extra $? When I book, can I do so through the app? Do they take Disney gift cards as payment in the spa and for excursions? How do I find out what boarding group we’re in? And where can I find old navigators to look at?

I appreciate the help.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Thank you! Are the meets and brunch extra $? When I book, can I do so through the app? Do they take Disney gift cards as payment in the spa and for excursions? How do I find out what boarding group we’re in? And where can I find old navigators to look at?

I appreciate the help.

Your boarding groups will be assigned at check in. As a new cruiser, you are the last group for online check in at 75 days out.

Palo brunch is upcharge. Character meets are free.

You can use gift cards for onboard charges by adding them at guest services .

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Fabulous! Thank you so much

 

[hcox31]

disneycruiselineblog.com has past navigators.

 

[anjuan]

I have a teenage girl and we just did 2 cruises on the Wonder this past year. Others have mentioned joining other groups.A lot of times these groups will set up a separate group for teens on another social media platform which can be helpful for them to talk to some kids before the cruise. I also highly recommend that they go to the club on the first night for the ice breakers to help meet other kids. On the Wonder my daughter also said that a lot of times the teens would hang out on the sports deck.

As far as dining times we did second seating for one of the Wonder cruises and first seating on the other. My daughter actually preferred the first seating because she said that a lot of the other kids she met had first seating as well.

 

[SG131]

When I book, can I do so through the app?

You have to book on the website. The app is just a countdown clock until you get onboard the ship.

 

[BadPinkTink]

just so people know

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...uise-meet-and-fish-extender-programs.3353477/
It has come to our attention that our members have received solicitations to post their information on other sites including Facebook and Google Docs.

We have had complaints from several members that these turned out to be solicitations from travel agencies and other forms of advertising.
We have examined the policy of other cruise forums and have found that they have policies forbidding this.

In order to protect our members the DIS Webmasters have decided to institute a similar policy. Moving forward there will be a new infraction "Attempting to lure DIS members to post private information on other sites". It will be a 40 point violation.

Links to Cruise Meet discussion/Fish Extenders other than those on the DIS may not be posted or offered by any other means (PM, email, "search" directions) and we expect that those who have already posted such links/offers will remove them.

We also encourage DIS members to let us know if they are solicited via private message or any other means. This policy was first posted in early July, 2014 and has seen minimal compliance so additional emphasis is now being placed on the issue.

As always, the safety of our guests is our number one priority.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I really appreciate all this information. I had no idea there were so many groups, etc out there. I also appreciate the warning as some people are nefarious.

You guys are an awesome resource and I really do appreciate all the assistance.

 

[shaunacb]

You have to book on the website. The app is just a countdown clock until you get onboard the ship.

No longer true - as of a few months ago you can add your reservation # to the app and book activities there, instead of the website. I still used the website since I was used to it.

 

[Mathmagicland]

The Wonder. 4 days. Catalina and Ensenada.

Here is a link to the DIS 2021 cruise meets for the Wonder. Each ship will have a similar thread each year, where folks can find or post a cruise meet thread for a specific cruise.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/find-your-2021-wonder-cruise-meet-link-here.3771915/
If you are on the 3/15 sailing, there is already a meet thread set up. If you are on the 3/24 sailing, no one has started one yet so you could start.

Have fun!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Thank you! I joined up. Much appreciated.

 

[mevelandry]

I really appreciate all this information. I had no idea there were so many groups, etc out there. I also appreciate the warning as some people are nefarious.

You guys are an awesome resource and I really do appreciate all the assistance.

By the way, you don’t HAVE to participate to fish extenders, if you don’t want to.

 

[iloveeeyore]

No longer true - as of a few months ago you can add your reservation # to the app and book activities there, instead of the website. I still used the website since I was used to it.

Yes, we have been using the app for booking and cancelling activities since we checked in! It is very easy to use. We board in 6 days.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

TBH I tend to recommend against Fish Extender if you are flying internationally or if it is first cruise.