What do you wish you knew on your first cruise?

[squirrel]

I wish I would have known that I could watch the stage shows on the stateroom TV. My toddler was scared by the lighting and noise in the theater, so we missed all the shows on our first cruise. On our second we found out during the last show that we could watch it on TV. We cruised Fantasy and I don't know if the same applies to all the ships.

Yes, they play them on the Magic and Wonder also.

 

[rentayenta]

Bring less clothes.

Overeating, it's inevitable.

There's not a ton of nightlife.

You can't do it all.

 

[tink1970]

I wish I'd known that cruising would become addictive (see pp re: onboard booking)

I always have a sweater for the dining rooms and theaters- if you're thin blooded like I am, the a/c works really well.

Pack twice the swimsuits/sunscreen and half the other clothes you think you'll need.

If you want to try more than one dish at dinner, you can- and it's fun to try new foods since there's no extra charge- my first escargot was on the Wonder, ditto for DD and shrimp.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[chocolatecake]

I see a common theme - "you can't do it all" - and I 100% agree!

Mickey Bars for dessert every night in the dining rooms for my kids. They are not listed as a dessert every night but will bring you one any night you want one - hold the sprinkles and chocolate sauce. I even had a few in the dining room when the rest of the desserts did not appeal to me.

Try to relax. Take a nap.

 

[ptcbass]

The night of the Pirate Night buffet my DS and DH went to a movie. I enjoyed taking more picture of the ship that I hadn't had time for and spent a little time on deck 4 (love that deck!!). I wanted a little something to eat and headed to the buffet. Little did I realize it was midnight and they had already pulled everything (except a few rolls). I thought it would be up a little longer than that. We missed out on this all together.
It wasn't that big of a deal I guess since we all gained weight on the cruise.

We didn't make time for mickey ice cream bars for room service. We did do milk and cookies one night though. I thought I had read somewhere that the cookies were warm but ours weren't so I guess you would have to ask them to warm them. Live and learn and another excuse to go back.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

First cruise on the Dream in August and the "boards" have been extremely helpful. I go on everyday and learn something new to jot down.

 

[tadamom]

Planning our first cruise for September 2015 and LOVE reading these!!!

 

[KarBear]

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?

 

[frenigirl]

Hello-
We sailed the Fantasy on April 19, 2014. With kids, we had second seating. My choice. There was plenty of time to get to deck 11 for the party. Dinner was NOT rushed. We went straight up after dinner and the CMs were still prepping everything. The kids got a great spot right in front of the stage. The deck was almost deserted. I pulled over a chair right behind the area for wheelchairs (left of the stage when looking at it) or port side for you sailors and up against the side of the pool. This location was great since the fireworks were off the starboard side and I could see the kids.

We were late for the party on our first cruise and early is better!

 

[squirrel]

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?

The buffet happens after the Pirate Deck Party. Depending on where your cruise is it could be outside on the pool deck or inside the buffet restaurant on the pool deck.

Last year on the repo we almost missed it since they moved it indoors to the BBB. The year before on the repo it was outside on deck. We had late dining that year and we were quite stuffed so we didn't really try much from the buffet.

 

[TheChanClan]

I've gone cruising before, and yet some of these tips I still hadn't yet thought of!

My advice - don't worry/stress over anything. You're on VACATION!!! Enjoy it because before you know it you'll be on your way back home again

 

[rubberbootbunny]

the laundry service is great, they did a white cotton eyelet dress for my daughter beautifully washed and perfectly pressed. Is was cheaper than having it done at home, and I didn't have to iron it. Definitely a service worth using.

 

[ptcbass]

the laundry service is great, they did a white cotton eyelet dress for my daughter beautifully washed and perfectly pressed. Is was cheaper than having it done at home, and I didn't have to iron it. Definitely a service worth using.

I always wondered how people took nice dresses and suits on a cruise without getting them all wrinkled. Does everyone just get them pressed on the ship?

 

[llqool]

I always wondered how people took nice dresses and suits on a cruise without getting them all wrinkled. Does everyone just get them pressed on the ship?

Yes, we just leave what we want pressed on our bed right away on the first evening (because it seems like our last few cruises the formal night has been the second evening). They always have it back in time.

The prices were definitely cheaper than our local dry cleaners, and it's half the price of dry cleaning to just press. It's nice to not have to deal with ironing!

 

[Tinked]

Yes, the press only option is half the price of cleaning and pressing.

 

[holly1994]

I wish I'd discovered my favorite cruise ship treat on my first cruise, ice cream in my coffee!

 

[MadameMedusa]

I love playing Bingo on vacation and was excited to play onboard. There was supposed to be a big jackpot on the last day of our four night Dream cruise.

Unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed and won't do it again, even on a 7 day.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

1. Pack Less. Much Less.
2. Bring enough Sea Sickness Tablets for the entire cruise (somehow we miscalculated)
3. Don't sit on the "floor" on the boat (did this in our room. BIG mistake, I felt sick within minutes as I could feel the movement)
4. You won't be able to fit in everything. Pick your "must dos" and everything else is a bonus

 

[joycsk]

I've sailed the classics twice each, including Wonder in AK and Magic in Nova Scotia. We just sailed the Fantasy Western 2 weeks ago. For me, the Dream class ship was Much more steady than the classics. I probably didn't need my Bonine at all. I actually MISSED being rocked to sleep at night.

 

[jrabbit]

That Lunch on Embarkation day was served until 2 / 2:30!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day (DCL's first year - and What's a DisBoard), embarkation was officially started at 1pm. I figured that we wouldn't get lunch so we had an early lunch before leaving WDW. Oops!!