Disney Cruise Tips?
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Anonymous
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We are leaving for a Disney cruise next month with ports in Castaway Cay and Nassau, Bahamas. Our kids are 4 and 6 years old. We plan to fly the day before so we will 1.5 days before boarding our ship. Do not plan on doing theme parks but open to sightseeing and low key attractions.
Where should we stay? Have not booked our hotel yet. Can you recommend things to do before our cruise? Any tips for the cruise itself? Have not booked any excursions. |
Anonymous
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Unless you want to go to the beach in Nassau, you don't really need to book any excursions. I've been to Nassau twice on Disney cruises, once we just walked around the town by ourselves, the second time we didn't even leave the boat.
As for things to do before the cruise, you could stay at an inexpensive Disney hotel, you would then get magic express transportation from the airport to the hotel. You could go to downtown Disney, that is free. For the cruise itself, as soon as you board, go signup for character meet and greets. You will get tickets with an assigned time, sort of like a fast pass. On our last Disney cruise, my kids were able to meet all of the Disney princesses and a bunch of the Marvel super heroes without waiting in line. |
Anonymous
| We went on the Atlantis excursion in Nassau. Kissed the dolphin with our 5-year old. Memorable! |
Anonymous
| We just got back from one and it was a blast. The kids loved it. Definitely let them do the kids club and definitely participate in Pirate Night. Enjoy! |
Anonymous
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We did the same cruise and with about the same age kids. Definitely get the advance tickets for Anna/Elsa and the princesses. Kids loved those. They also loved the shows (Golden Mickeys and Believe). If you're on the Dream, make sure to step on the gold circles on the floor in front of pictures when you see them. The pictures become animated! It's part of a treasure hunt but just making the art come to life was enough for our kids. Oh and they got a kick out of ordering room service (cheese platter once, and choc chip cookies and milk another time). Have fun!
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Anonymous
Does something special happen when you order room service? |
Anonymous
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Join the disney cruising FB page. You can post questions and you'll get tons of helpful responses from btdt cruisers within minutes.
We cruised on Wonder to CC and Cozumel. Best vacation ever! We are cruising on Wonder again this spring to CC, Nassau, and Key West. RE: excursions - we did the stingray feeding and snorkeling on CC. Kids must be 5. My DH and older kids did it. My little guys and I were able to sit with them for the educational portion and then stand on the beach and watch. They bring the stingrays close to shore for the feeding, so we were able to see a lot. We will do this again next time. For Nassau, we are considering the dolphin experience (where you pet, not swim) at blue lagoon. Can't wait! You will love the cruise! Go to all the shows--they are great! |
Anonymous
No, but it was a hugely fun thing for them to get to eat a snack on the balcony, or have cookies and milk before bed. Just special treats. And it's free! (Tip a few dollars tho). |
Anonymous
I assume you are sailing out of Port Canaveral? (Disney also sails out of Miami). We have sailed from both locations. We didn't do any port excursions in Nassau (stayed on the ship), but Castaway Cay is fantastic. You'll want to get off the ship early in the AM to get one of the prime beach spots (umbrella and lounge chair) -- especially if you're on the Dream or Fantasy. Definitely plan to utilize the kids' clubs on board if you can. My kids love them and it makes the cruise enjoyable for all of us (my husband and I get alone time, and they make friends on the ship). |
Anonymous
Plus 1. We did the dolphin interaction at Atlantis on two Disney cruises. Pricy but kids loved it. |
Anonymous
| Get your kids club bracelets on the ship not in the port before boarding. |
Anonymous
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We went on the fantasy.
When you get off at castaway cay, you have to sprint to get a chair and umbrella. The hammocks go only to Olympic-level sprinters. It's awful. It's like a prison break. |
Anonymous
Here's the thing: Castaway Cay has capacity for the two larger ships: dream and fantasy. Their older ships--magic and wonder--are literally half the size of those ships, so CC feels empty. I have pics from our wonder cruise where CC looks empty (we found a great spot on the beach). Hammocks by us were empty. Lots of us prefer the smaller ships since they don't feel crowded. |
Anonymous
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I went on the Dream during spring break, so the ship was fully at capacity. Castaway Cay was lovely - anyone who wanted a beach chair got one, and I wasn't running off any ships. We meandered down when we were good and ready.
Nassau is a bit more hit and miss. We paid for the visit to Atlantis (not the one with swimming privileges) which was fine for our kid. They have an aquarium you walk through and the place is set up for the fake narrative of the lost tribes of Atlantis. We did it to get off the ship. You can also wander around the port area. We also took the second dinner seating, which means we saw the shows first and ate second. I found that more pleasant. |
Anonymous
Why? |