What They Don't Tell YOU About Disney Cruise..

so here's the thing I have done extensive amounts of research over the last decade and there is an abundance of Disney Cruise information out there but there are some things they just don't tell you and many of them are hiding in plain sight from gratuities to why you can't select a port arrival time and a couple of fun free items as well we're gonna dive into all the things that they don't tell you about a Disney cruise now the first one is the port arrival time this seems very upfront and easy on the surface but there are multiple ways that you do not select a port arrival time so for the most part you're going to do an online check-in before your cruise you will select your arrival time it will typically also have your group number and that is when you arrive to the port and that is close to when you award the ship you will get to the port I would say typically about an hour before you're actually going to board the ship sometimes it's only a half an hour it really just depends on the processes inside the terminal the thing is though not everyone is going to get a port arrival time for example if you are taking Disney transportation from the resorts to the port there will not be a port arrival time because whenever that Bus shows up is when you're gonna we're right one of the earliest arrival times you can get is about 11 A.M typically these buses from the resort are not going to arrive at the Port until after that sometime in the afternoon so whether or not you want to do that I think is a whole separate conversation some people really love to get to the port first thing some people like to get there later in the day and the other ways that you will not select a court arrival time is if you are concierge concierge gets to show up when they want and board the ship and they are the first group that will board unless this other group is there that day and that is the wedding party if you are getting married on a Disney cruise the bride and groom get to board the ship before concierge or at least at the same time as concierge typically it's before but again depends on ports Etc and the last group that does not need a port arrival time are the Pearl Castaway club members the Castaway Club is Disney Cruise Line's membership program if you have cruised over 25 times our Pearl level in the Castaway club and do not need to select a port arrival time another thing they are not going to tell you is that not every youth is going to like the youth clubs now that being said if they like it they love it so don't get me wrong this can be a huge game changer for your family if your little ones like these clubs there's a lot to do there they are really fun but they're just not going to be for everyone particularly that group that is ages 3 through 12 that is in the oceaneers club and Lab 3 to 12 is a broad age span both to interact and to entertain and I think that's why that particular Club does not always have as much engagement as people expect and that's okay there are a lot of things for the families to do as well so if they don't like the youth club there are some other things they can do there's going to be family trivia family game shows movies up on deck at The Funnel Vision movies in the movie theater the slides are a lot of fun so there are definitely things to do if they do not like the youth club if you enjoy these videos if they're helpful to you in any way please consider sharing these with a friend or your cruise group that really is the best way you can help us grow and I really appreciate it there is another thing that they don't tell you and it is the best way to ensure a positive youth club experience for your children and and that is the icebreakers an icebreaker is basically just a fun game to help everybody get acquainted with everyone else it makes it easier to start those conversations because you're not just walking up to people cold you're all in a big group getting to know each other and having fun while doing it this is a particularly important I think for Edge which is for ages 11 to 14 and Vibe 14 to 17. those clubs are going to be more interactive between the youth and so it's good to create a bond not only that these bonds can last throughout the cruise but throughout their life as well I have seen many people posting how their kids are still in touch with people from 20 years ago on the cruises or they met in Vibe or Edge and then they end up getting married my son went on his first cruise when he was 14 he met some people invite that he is still friends with on Facebook to this day so the youth clubs are either really big or they're really not those ice breakers on the first night is the best way for them to form those bonds I highly suggest you check into the navigator app as soon as you get on the cruise ship Disney Cruise Line navigator app is the app for the ship they will have absolutely everything on there including the schedule of activities so make sure you schedule those icebreakers into your first evening one other thing I will say about the youth clubs that can be a bit of a make or break is the design of the club the design of the youth clubs are not the same from ship to ship the magic and the Wonder have a similar setup the dream and the fantasy have a similar setup and the wish is different from all of those so I do suggest looking into these clubs if the youth club experience is going to be really vital to your cruise the teen club 5 on the dream and fantasy is probably the best in the fleet they've got their own pool they've got this cool doorway that locks everybody out except for 14 to 17 year olds obviously you can get a hold of them if you need to they've got amazing activities we were on a three-night cruise here's a pro tip for you that you're not going to hear three and four night cruises basically don't have much nightlife at all especially for adults most of the adults are with their tiny humans so they're not out very late the seven night cruise is completely different with those sea days built in people have a lot more time to hang out and enjoy the nightlife that being said The Nightlife for the teenagers on the dream and the fantasy on those show shorter cruises those clubs have activities till 1 or 2 A.M so where there was literally nothing going on for adults after 12 p.m there was a ton of stuff going on for the tweens and teens before we dive into the rest of the adult only and family information there are two things I suggest before your cruise the first is a character call you can request a character call from Disney Cruise Line you'll be able to do two of these you just go to this area right here and set up your call you can choose Mickey or Minnie or goofy tell them how many nights your cruise is where you're cruising from and one of those characters will call up your family and announce the cruise it is a really a fun way to tell your family you're going on a Disney cruise and even if they already know I just do this on the last day before we leave for the vacation just for a little bit of extra fun you can schedule two character calls per Cruise they also have this really fun 30 page PDF on their website I had never seen this before I found it just randomly through researching for the videos obviously this is geared towards your tiny humans but I think it's fabulous for adults as well it is really just a fun way to see what you are going to experience on the cruise as well as save some of those details so that you have those memories afterwards there's also some free stuff that is available on Disney Cruise Line but I want to get into a few things for this first day they are not really going to tell you anywhere that you can get free Wi-Fi on that first day it is not a lot but it is available they have a Wi-Fi desk on the ship you can go there and get set up and pro tip if you are having any issues with your phone getting it switched over from normal use to Disney Cruise Wi-Fi they can help you with that as well I typically have a lot of things that are opening as soon as I turn on my phone that I'm not really aware of those will drain your Wi-Fi so it's good to check into that and of course make sure your phone is on airplane mode all the time you don't want any surprise bills they do use Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi on the ship or the navigator app on the first day if you're going to have any cocktails or mocktails while you're on the ship you might want to consider getting the drink of the day cup this cup is available only on the first day I believe it's 13 to 15 it'll come with a drink in it after that you can use this cup for the drink of the day and you will get that drink of the day for like five or six dollars it's a good deal you can use it for other drinks as well that price point is specifically for the drink of the day and they have some really good ones and if you're not a drinker they also have mocktails or as they sometimes say zero proof cocktails and it's also just a fun souvenir to have at home and actually if you have one of those that you want to throw in your suitcase and bring it back onto the ship that's fine too they will refill them for the same price that cup is available only on the first day of the cruise another way you can get a little bit of a discount on drinks is their coffee cards they tried to phase these out for a while about five seven years ago they are definitely active now after you purchase five coffees from The Cove Cafe adult only coffee shop you can get one free it's a little punch card you've probably seen these before at other places on land just stick it in your lanyard or whatever you travel with so it'll be on your next Cruise if you don't fill it up on your first cruise you can take it back another thing they don't really tell you about is the gratuities they do tell you that there is a 1450 per person per day gratuity suggestion this is for your three server at dinner and your stateroom host it gets split between those four people but it is not split proportionately when you're on the cruise they're going to give you these little tickets at the end of the cruise it says exactly how much is for each server or room host based off that 1450 per Cruiser per day and it just seems shockingly low honestly you get such great service you really build friendships and bonds with your host team while you're on the ship it's really nice to have some extra money to tip them I highly suggest budgeting that in that being said there are some gratuities that are automatically charged on the ship if you get a cocktail on Deck there's going to be an 18 gratuity added I'm pretty sure they will do this in the bars as well they definitely do it in the spa for the rainforest room so make sure you take a look at your receipt so you can tell if you have had Auto gratuities added we typically add a little bit more to that as well they really just take such great care of you it is truly a luxury experience their service is top-notch now one of those things I mentioned in there with auto gratuities is their rainforest room the rainforest room is incense's Spa since the spa is the adult only Spa on board and the spa and the people that work in it are all third parties so they did not work directly for Disney Cruise Line one of our absolutely favorite parts of the spa is the rainforest room specifically on the dream in the fantasy the rainforest room consists of heated loungers showers with different temperature water on the dream and fantasy they have these beautiful hot tubs that are overlooking the ocean you can see onto the bridge which is pretty cool on the wish they're going to have this outdoor area as well with one of the few hot tubs available on the ship and the magic and wonder have a rainforced room as well it's not as exciting as the others but it can be a good way to just go get some peace and quiet on the ship that rainforest room is available to purchase once you get on the ship you can purchase a pass for the duration of the cruise or sometimes they have day passes available as well this is one of those things that you want to go do first thing in case they sell out and for the link of stay pass they do have 18 gratuity added on to that I think they do for the daily passes as well another thing that's kind of cool at the spa that they don't tell you about actually is on the the first day they're going to have a little bit of a spa raffle you do have to be there to win and they will also typically have spa deals on that first day as well as on Port days not a lot of people are going to be getting treatments on those days so you can get a little bit of a price break sometimes and one other thing about that first embarkation day is they do have some foods that are only available on that first day in the buffet area they are typically going to have crab peel and eat shrimp and Lamb on the first day only in the restaurant this muffaletta is a huge hit for embarkation lunch and I personally love their leek and potato soup you will see that throughout the cruise but I always get it on the first day anyway so good if you have any special requests make sure you go check into those as soon as you get on board if you wanted your own table for dinner go check with the dining team see if they were able to do that or if they can do that for you now if you wanted early dinner instead of late again go find that dining team see if they can help you out follow reservations will typically have their own area if you're trying to get a alcohol tasting and they were sold out there's our crew member set up somewhere to assist you with that just ask any crew member when you get on the ship where these specific guest service teams are located and you can go see if they can adjust things you might want change do you want to make those requests before you get on board as well but sometimes you can't find out whether or not they were able to do that until you get on the ship sometimes there were things that were not available during your pre-selection times so you can see if they might have that available once you get on the ship one little fun trinket that I like to get is these free charms yes they're free they're not huge they're not very expensive they are just little fun trinket reminders of your cruises especially for the young ones though but I have this as well if they don't have the bracelets on board you can get that at Diamond International if they don't have the charms on board you can get those at Diamond International typically while you're in Port it will have a different charm for each Port location and those are typically going to be found at the Port shopping desk they will also have Port shopping talks during the cruise these will be listed in the navigator app and they do have free things that they give away during these talks you will also be able to find the charm typically on a little table outside the talk if you want to get it from there I've been to a few of these talks it is fun to listen to them in person maybe get a free item but if you are not able to get there and you did want to hear the information these are available on your stateroom TV as well these can be useful if you are looking to buy some luxury items especially jewelry you can definitely get better price points on these cruises than you'll probably find at home places that are typically in the ports they're all pretty similar places that are going to be in each Port especially in the Bahamas and the Caribbean but those little charms are a great souvenir they're absolutely free a lot of fun and you don't have to go sit through the park to get them and the last thing they're not going to tell you about are some Disney Cruiser LED activities these include cruising Ducks fish extenders magnets pixie dusting and Facebook groups so what are these basically people create Facebook groups for the specific sailing that they will be on Within These groups there will be multiple exchanges set up that you can take part in recipe exchanges ornament exchanges which is one of my favorite magnet exchanges people love to take mag minutes and put them all over their door it looks really cute you're going to notice this when you go on the ship and it's just a fun way to identify your door and have a little bit more fun on the cruise people will also hide cruising Ducks these are plastic rubber duckies themed or not they typically have a tag on them saying what state they originated from maybe a funny little saying when you find these ducks you can hide them or take them home as souvenirs there are Facebook pages where you can go and try and find the person that hid the duck it's a whole thing when this first started on Disney Cruise Line a few years ago they literally were throwing them away they did not want cruising ducks to be a thing but Cruisers didn't give up and I think it's pretty much standard now fish extenders is basically a gift exchange if you are in a cruising group you will definitely see a sign up sheet for this within the group you will sign up for a fish extender gift exchange on the fish extender sign up sheet you will put your stateroom the people in your party their ages and favorite characters are typically the main items each group will have five to ten staterooms in their exchange sometimes there's a cost limit there's a little clip on the outside of your stateroom they will use this clip to put Communications as a matter of fact you should have your key to the world card when you first get on the ship basically people take a pocket organizer hang it outside the stateroom so people will take a zip tie hang their pocket organizer onto that little fish or starfish this really is just to exchange fun trinkets have a little more magic when you come back to the stateroom these can be really involved with people hand making items cups are a big thing with personalized names on them so if you are participating in a fish extender group you will have a gift for each person or each stateroom within your group some groups will put a dollar limit on it it really is very individualized what's fun though is these fish extenders have been going on for a long time they started off with a group that was doing Panama Canal or transatlantic I believe it was on the disboards they just wanted to have a fun exchange within their group it took off fish extenders are a huge thing now and I was really intrigued to see in 2019 when we did our Maritime Cruise we bought the stateroom package with the holiday blanket and it also had a three pocket fish extender included in that set so Disney Cruise Line has obviously realized fish extenders are not going away and they may as well get in on the fun and a pro tip here for you make sure you have shoes for the pool decks they do get hot also those pools are not for swimming most the time they're not big enough and if they are they are always full it is Tiny human suit basically standing room only and the last thing that they are not going to tell you but you will definitely see in any Cruise you go to the Disney letdown is real Disney Cruise Line is such a fabulous experience Disney World is great Disneyland is great I love going to those places they are very hectic very busy and sometimes you are very grateful to go home afterwards the Disney Cruise Line is an entirely different experience as far as being able to relax as well as just luxury service and so getting off the ship going back to shopping for your own food cleaning dishes even just having to figure out where to go it is really a little bit of a shock for a day or two because at the parks you're still go go you got to figure out where to have lunch you got to pick the times you gotta this you gotta that on the Disney cruise ships if you gotta do it it's only a few steps away and it's very limited time usually so there's not as much processing thinking traveling it's more enjoyment relaxation and pampering that's how I feel their services on the cruise ships I think they really do pamper you especially your stateroom host and your dining team and if you're wondering more about Disney Cruise dining we've got a huge video on everything food you could possibly want to know on a Disney cruise make sure you're here next week they are going to be releasing the details on the Disney treasure and of course we're going to have all of them for you so check back set a reminder in the meantime if you haven't seen it yet we've got a brand new Disney Cruise news video from this week as well as things you should never do on a Disney cruise ship

Channel: DisNEEDS

Views: 55,360

Keywords: disney cruise line, disney wish, cruise news, news disney cruise, disney cruise, cruise disney, disney cruise 2023, cruise disney 2023, disney wonder, disney fantasy, disney treasure, disney vacation, disney new ship, new ship disney cruise, dont disney, don't disney, don't disney cruise, dont disney cruise, disney cruise don't, disney cruise dont, tell disney cruise, don't tell you about disney cruise, disney cruise tell, you disney cruise, disney cruise you, disney, dis

Id: Cyl3hT51zC0

Length: 16min 49sec (1009 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 31 2023