We are doing a 3 night Bahama on the Dream in December and I have no idea what to plan or do. The only thing I know is we are on deck 8 and have main dining. We are traveling with a 12 year old and 7 year old. Any tips would be great. No I can not book a longer cruise this is what we can afford. So please give me advice you wish you had on your first cruise. Thanks so much we are super excited!!!
1. I actually do recommend doing a Fish Extender as your kids will like getting the gifts, and dropping off your gifts to others is a great way to get to know the ship. But keep it simple: stick to a group that is 10 cabins max, and one that doesn't have a bunch of strict rules about what & when to give. Our FE group was via Facebook, and had basically no rules except to give each cabin a gift. Perfect. I didn't do individualized gifts, but rather gave the same things to every cabin, dropping the gifts off with my son the 1st & 2nd day of the cruise. The drop-off was fun & as I said, one nice way to get familiar with the ship's layout. It's especially fun when you assign the kids to be the givers. In fact, with a 12 year-old, you might even give them the task to deliver the gifts independently while you unpack or do an adult activity, depending on how mature & interested your kids are. You can buy a Fish Extender from Etsy, or sew your own.
2. We loved our 3-night cruise last year. We definitely didn't feel like we got on then turned around to get off. However, since time is shorter, I especially recommend that you stick to the activities that appeal to you, rather than trying to do what others claim is a must-do. For instance, my son and I have no real interest in attending the shows. (We watched about 10 minutes of Tangled on last year's cruise, then discreetly walked out. Not because it was bad, but it just didn't hold our interest.) So we skip the shows, and have that much more time each day for other activities, which can include just relaxing in the stateroom watching a Disney movie on demand. Remember that it's a vacation, not a quest to complete the maximum number of available activities. Do what you feel like doing, and don't worry about missing the rest. We skipped Pirate Night on last week's cruise just because we were tired, and that didn't diminish our vacation at all. I'm glad we chose to relax that evening rather than try to cram in another "must-do".
3. Get a nice character stateroom door magnet from Etsy, or make your own if you're the crafty type. You'll see a ton of these on the ship, and your kids will like having one on your stateroom door.
