Jeanne's 4 night Disney Cruise - October 2005

by Jeanne, Virginia

Cast of Characters: Jeanne and Husband, 2 daughters (9 and 11)

After spending hours reading Disney Cruise emails and soaking up good advice, we headed south for our 4-night Disney Cruise 10/9-10/13. We've been re-living the experience by looking at over 200 digital photos and still have an hour and a half of video to sit back and watch tomorrow.

The short version:

• We are a family of four from Virginia with two girls, 9 and 11.
• We had a category 9 on deck 2 with a "picture-window" sized porthole. We were very happy with the room.
• 4 night Wonder cruise with embarkation at Port Canaveral, a stop in Nassau, a stop in Castaway Cay, and a day at sea.
• Early seating, no Palos, Oceaneer Lab, no Disney excursions.
• Flew into Orlando on United using VISA points, Budget car to Port Canaveral (using Costco discount), overnight at Comfort Inn, turned in car at the Port, Budget shuttle to ship. Reversed going home minus the hotel overnight. A little tedious, but manageable.
• No use of the internet (family had all contact information for emergencies).

Some lessons learned:

Dining times:

We were wait-listed for the early seating and got it. We saw advantages and disadvantages to both seatings. It seems more fun to take in the show after eating and it gives you time to digest before the late night snacks. (All diets were on hold!)

The late seating, though, gave more flexibility to lunch times and afternoon snacks at the pool. We have a family of night owls, so bedtimes weren't an issue. We skipped our second round at Triton's and ate at the snack bar while the kids swam in an otherwise EMPTY pool.

The dining rotation:

I had supposed that the 3 dining rooms would be visited in sequence. Instead, we were scheduled for Parrot's Cay, Tritons, Tritons, and Animator's Palette. Since we had a reservation for Palo's on the last night, our family would miss the Animator's Palette and the last night's "show" by the wait staff. Even though I thought a quiet night at Palo's would be a favorite, we actually chose to cancel.

The other issue was that the kids would have to eat at a different time, they weren't thrilled with the children's-only menu options offered during lab meals, and the activities scheduled during the Palo hours weren't interesting to them. We'd also have to miss part of the last night's "Disney Dreams" show. With Palo's canceled, we only had a little "us" time, but we went with family togetherness in mind, so it worked out just fine!

The food:

I've seen some negative comments on the lists about the food. I was happy with breakfast and lunch, but dinners weren't up to the standards of Royal Caribbean, etc. though still good. I also agree they don't use enough flavoring, but maybe that's to cater to the tastes of the kids. My girls were automatically given kid menus, but even they can only stand so much mac and cheese and fries. They do allow kids to order from the adult menu. My favorite dessert: the "Mickey Bars!" If you want classy food, Palo's is the answer.

The water:

The tap water is filtered and I didn't notice a funny taste, so unless you are picky about your water, forgo the $$ bottled water.

Overall I would recommend AmeriSuites as a good place to stay if you are looking a reasonably priced place to stay close to the Orlando airport.

Favorite tips:

• We went with the suggestion to bring suits in our carry-ons and enjoyed an early afternoon at the pool.
• I put down "no product or sales info" on my spa form before my massage and was pleased that the only "pitch" she gave me was to set up the products on the counter and ask if I had any questions. I'd also suggest you not give them personal health info they ask on the form unless it's necessary for the procedure you are asking for; they just use the info to make sales.
• We went to Guest Services the first night and turned in pre-washed white pillow-cases and two "Makit" plates along with the correct type and color markers. I had already used sharpie/watercolor markers to put my girls' names on them and I labeled the gallon Ziplocs carefully. The last night, viola! Signed souvenirs. Much better than standing in long lines with our autograph books. I saw others turn in picture mats.
• They sell necklace-style ID holders for $8 and they are very useful, but of course, you can bring your own. Great when your hands are full or for the older kids who don't have pockets and purses.
• I'm wary of impulse buying and try to consider if we will still appreciate a purchase a year from now. We came away with only a handful of things and a "boatload" of pictures :) Make your first visit to the shops without the kids to get some secret gifts or look over prices. It'll keep you more levelheaded when they join you in there!
• Take walkie-talkies! We do this every vacation. We didn't use them much, but appreciated having them when we were going in different directions. Especially helpful if you allow your kids to be on their own.
• Stuff is on sale all the time. They bring out carts of souvenirs from the shops to the deck during party nights. One item my kids wanted to buy was glo-necklaces. I had thought to bring my own!
• Each evening, you'll get a towel animal on your bed. Leave out sunglasses or a hat and the steward will probably make use of it! Special requests were quickly attended to. I asked for extra soap and more hangers.
• We had a digital camera and a digital video camera (3 days old at sailing!) Let your kids have a disposable or two for their own shots.

 

Oceaneer Lab:

With only two children, I didn't expect it to be difficult to schedule activities, but it was! Not only are there fun lab choices, but the Personal Navigator also lists many family activities. I found myself doing "homework" at bedtime with the next day's Navigator and two lab schedules to see what overlapped and how to make sure everyone got to do their favorite thing. We thought our 11 year old would be ok with the younger set (and the lab crew allowed the change), but after one activity, she felt way too old. We kept her in her own age group and switched her late the last night to do a "macaroni tower" project so we could get all the packing done before the 11pm luggage pick-up. Even though both our girls were the right age for the Oceaneer Lab, the 8-9 group had different schedules than the 10-12s. Since you aren't allowed to pick up your child during a transition, one or the other was just finishing or just starting an activity when we wanted to do a family activity. Definitely wear a watch! They can page you anytime they want for a pick-up, but ours were more likely to want to stay longer!

I found that some children were in the lab group all the time. Some thrived and seemed to fit in as if it was a summer day camp. I did speak to one boy who was frustrated that he was "stuck" there while his parents did their own thing. If your child is there often, you'll find they make friends to hang out with, and if they don't go much at all, they may feel lonely. A middle ground seems the best bet to me...let your kids choose a few favorites from the list, work in one or two more to give you and your spouse free time, then spend the rest of the time as a family.

The lab counselors are top-notch. They are very strict about safety, and you see them doing head-counts at every transition. They also insist every child washes hands as they enter the lab. I didn't allow my girls to self-checkout or have run of the ship, though it's an option when you register. If you feel comfortable and your kids have limits, you can change that. The counselors told me some parents let their kids check out after the first couple of days when they know their way around the ship. If you find the pick-ups awkward to coordinate, self-checkout may be a good option. I registered online and then went in to look over the lab and confirm the registration. Turns out the online registration didn't go through, but the paperwork was easy. You'll have pager to carry whenever they are in the lab.

Evening Shows: When all four of us are enjoying a great evening show, I really feel like the $$ for a cruise is well spent. We enjoyed Hercules, a ventriloquist, the Golden Mickeys (my favorite) and Disney Dreams. All were excellent. About 1/3 way up from the stage seemed ideal. It's really important to be there early for good seats. Any child enrolled in the Club or Lab also are invited to perform at a 5pm show on the last night where they file up on stage and Mickey and Minnie join them for a "graduation" ceremony. The kids get a souvenir cap and t-shirt. Fun for the kids and all the parents (a.k.a. paparazzi). Don't count on easily finding your child among the throng!

Other entertainment:

Bon Voyage Party, live bands, family karaoke, "Mickey mania" (my youngest and I were one team!), napkin folding, cooking demonstration, crew lunch, arcade, pools, Pirate night, dancing for adults, tons of characters... you just can't get it all done! We missed the fireworks during the Pirate party because there were some events the girls wanted to do and the music was just too loud! I heard from other cruisers that it was a good show. Things we wanted to do, but didn't: the behind-the-scenes cruise talk, arcade time ($10 cards) and the ping-pong tourney. I brought my workout gear, but we took the stairs almost every trip, so I didn't really miss exercising!

Nassau:

Expect lots of pushy vendors and colorful characters. My first choice was the dolphins but I thought it was too expensive; we may try during another trip to Florida. We tried the Pirate Museum: pretty good; a self-tour of a well-decorated exhibit. It also got us in the mood for pirate night. It wouldn't be exciting enough for anyone coming directly from the World. We also took a short walk through the straw market and bought each child a t-shirt. We headed back to the ship in time for lunch and a swim in the not-so-crowded pool. Just FYI, I thought the museum was too far to walk - it wasn't and we paid $15 for a 20 minute, round-a-bout tour from a talkative taxi driver who was giving us a "deal."

Castaway Cay:

Better than we expected, and we expected a lot! We were blessed with great weather and the day was pristine. We didn't sign up for any special activities, and still had plenty to do. We enjoyed the beach as a family, the kids spent a little time at the game hut and "digging" for bones with the Lab counselors while we walked to Serenity Bay. It was a hot walk - I would recommend the shuttle! Snorkeling gear is available, but you can't see much unless you float far out from shore where they've sunk some ships and created a reef. Great for adults and older kids, but the little ones seemed to abandon the gear within 10 minutes. My younger daughter isn't a strong swimmer and the light wind and current gently but persistently takes you away from shore. They provide free-of-charge inflatable life vests at the lifeguard stations, which gave a little more peace of mind. I left 45 minutes ahead of my family for a pre-massage shower and the others did a quick geo-cache. There's an excellent photo spot just to the left of the snorkel rental: you get the ship and sailboats in the background and are surrounded by palm trees. It may be our Christmas picture.

Embarkation and Debarkation:

Get there earlier than the official boarding time; the lines open before the advertised time. You may not have access to your stateroom, but if you've packed your carry-on thoughtfully, you'll be fine and get a couple extra hours of on-board time. Long lines moved efficiently (only one adult needs to stand in line), and they had an excellent model of the ship to look at and Minnie visiting for pictures. Packing to go was frustrating, because you aren't ready to leave! Luckily, the kids were enjoying one last Lab activity, so we had the room to ourselves to get things done. All checked luggage has to be outside your door by 11 pm. The disembarkation meeting is shown on one of the cabin channels continuously all afternoon, so if you miss the official meeting, don't worry. To get an extra hour's sleep, we skipped the official breakfast seating (6:30am!) and ordered late night room service to save in the frig and eat in the morning on the deck. The Beach Blanket Buffet was also open the whole morning, which we hadn't remembered. You have to be off the boat by 9am.

General:

We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise 5 years ago without the kids and loved it. This was our second cruise and the first with our kids and we loved it just as much, but for completely different reasons. Disney keeps "service" uppermost, and it's wonderful to feel special and pampered and to see the kids having so much fun is priceless. With so many other vacations we want to do, I'm not sure another Disney cruise is in our future, but I sure wouldn't complain if there was! We all will have special memories from this one.