GENERAL CRUISING TERMS:
Embarkation: means getting on the ship
Debarkation: means getting off the ship at the end of your cruise
Port: left side of the ship as you face forward
Starboard: right side of the ship as you face forward
Forward: front of ship
Aft: rear of ship
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
A mandatory muster drill is held in the afternoon of embarkation, usually around 4pm. This drill is mandatory.
There are not many clocks onboard. Bring a watch with you as most cell phones will not work at sea. There are many scheduled fun activities on board and you will want to know what time it is so bringing a watch is a good thing.
“Cay” as in Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island) and Parrot Cay (restaurant onboard the Wonder) is pronounced “Key”.
EMBARKATION:
The more time you can spend on the ship, the more value you get for your dollar. Disney will tell you the ship leaves around 4 to 5:00 pm, but, typically check-in begins at 11:00 am and embarkation actually begins around noon. Personally I like to be among the first people on the ship, so I can enjoy it longer. Disney allows you to select a port arrival time when you do online check-in prior to your cruise. I will notify you once your online check-in window opens. When you arrive at your cruise terminal, you will give your luggage to a porter. It is customary to tip anyone that handles your luggage. Tip at least $1 per bag as a general rule of thumb. Once checked in and your boarding time is announced, you will present your stateroom key as you board, have a family photo taken, and then your family will be announced as you arrive in the atrium of the ship. After that, the ship is yours! Once onboard you can enjoy lunch at the buffet or usually one of the sit down restaurants will be open. Ask any cast member which restaurants will be open.
Pack your swimsuit in your carry on bag if you plan to swim first thing. Remember, your stateroom may not be ready when you first board, so pack accordingly. If you’ve brought your swimsuits in your day bag, this is a perfect time to enjoy the pool (or AquaDuck on the Dream or Fantasy, if it’s running). Pack any valuables, medication etc in your carry on bags. You may not see your checked luggage until 6pm on day of embarkation.
If you still need to make spa appointments, change your dinner rotation, sign up for shore excursions, or book Palo or Remy (adult only dining), now is the time to do that. If it’s your first time on the ship, this is a good time to review the map on your Disney Cruise Line Navigator app and wander around familiarizing yourself with everything. At about 1:30, your room should be ready. Your bags will be delivered at some point in the afternoon (up until about 6:00 pm). Disney Cruise Line is one of few cruises that allows you to bring alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages onboard. If you plan to bring your own alcohol, please carry it onboard with you and do not store in your checked luggage. You will have to clear security but carrying your beverages onboard is acceptable. If you do bring your own wine onboard and plan to enjoy at your dinner times, Disney will charge you a corking fee to do so.
STATEROOM INFORMATION:
The TV in your stateroom will offer limited programming but you won’t be in the room much!
Disney now offers “Wave Phones” in every stateroom. You can carry these phones with you on the ship to stay in touch with the other members of your party. Just make sure and keep them charged. If everyone in your travel party has a smart device, you can use the ship wifi and Navigator app to stay in touch through the messaging capability.
The staterooms all have a small, shallow beverage cooler. It is not a refrigerator; it keeps things cool, but not cold. You can use it to cool drinks, but it won’t keep perishable items (milk, leftovers) at a cold enough temperature to prevent them from going bad fairly quickly. Do not bring irons on board. They will be confiscated and are a fire hazard. Irons are available onboard inside the laundry rooms. Inside staterooms have no windows but Inside staterooms on the Dream and Fantasy do have the new “virtual porthole” that provides some light. For those guests staying in an inside stateroom, you will want to set your alarm or request a wake-up call since no sunlight will enter your room. Hairdryers can be found in a bag in the bathroom/closet in your stateroom. On the Dream and Fantasy, power is established to your stateroom by placing your room key in the designated slot in your room. You can use any credit card type card to keep the power going in your room. Avoid using your actual room key as I have walked out of my stateroom many times and forgot to pull out my room key from the power slot so then I was locked out of my room and had to go to guest services to get back in my stateroom.
PLANNING YOUR DAY ONBOARD:
You need to download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App, available for Apple or Android devices. Be sure to do this before you leave home! Once onboard, you will connect to the ship’s wifi network (leave your phone in airplane mode!). The ship’s wifi is complimentary for the Navigator App use only. This app will also allow you to text message with friends and family on the ship with you.
A daily listing of activities will be in your Disney Cruise Line app. The app will list the hours of operations for all activities, dining, shore excursions, etc. You can mark the items you would like to participate in.
DINING ONBOARD:
Breakfast and lunch are usually served in two or three breakfast and lunch locations with different hours (check your Navigator for hours). You can choose from one or more full-service restaurants with open seating (just show up when you want during opening hours, and they’ll seat you), or eat at the buffet. Your dinner arrangements will be pre-assigned to you. Disney offers rotational dining for dinner, meaning you will eat in a different restaurant nightly but you will keep the same wait staff throughout your cruise. Dining rotations are assigned to you before you embark on the cruise. You can determine the restaurant you are scheduled to dine at each night by looking on your room key. Your rotation is indicated using letters, such as ERAA or PALPALP. For the Magic and the Wonder, P = Parrot Cay, L = Lumiere’s and A = Animator’s Palate. For the Dream and Fantasy, R = Royal Palace, E = Enchanted Garden and A = Animator’s Palate. On the Dream you’ll also see an assigned time for the evening shows. If you are on a 7 night cruise, you will eat at each restaurant at least twice. On the Wonder and the Magic, make sure you attend your first assigned seating for Animator’s Palate. The coloring of the restaurant décor and the “show” by the servers only occurs the first night; they don’t repeat it on the second night at Animator’s Palate because you’ve already seen it.
Dining:
- If you want to change your seating rotation or dining time, do so first thing when you get on the ship (embark).
- The Navigator will list where to make such changes or ask any cast member onboard the cruise where to go to change your dining time/rotation.
- Arriving a bit later for dinner (just 5 minutes) will reduce your wait in line to get into each restaurant.
- Room service is included in your cruise price. A room service menu is located in your stateroom.
- Soft Drinks, milk, juice, coffee, lemonade are all included and available with all meals onboard
- There is a self-service drink station near the family pool area. You are welcome to bring your own plastic drink containers or use the small cups provided by the drink station.
- There will be a charge for drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that are ordered at any bar area.
- Consider bringing your own bottled water with you. Disney does allow this.
Adult Only Dining:
If you enjoy fine dining, then you may want to consider an “adult only” meal onboard your cruise. Disney offers Palo on all cruise ships and on the Fantasy and Dream, they also offer Remy’s. There is an upcharge for dining at these locations but well worth it.
You can pre-arrange dining at these locations once final payment has been made and registering with Disney Cruise online. You can also check availability at the adult only dining locations while onboard. For the longer cruise, Disney also offers mid-day tea and brunch on select days. You can book these online or onboard as well. There is an upcharge for this as well.
Youth Programming:
The Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are available, free of charge, for children ages 3-10.
When you get onboard, you will want to take the kids to their designated child care programing areas to become familiar with
the staff and so your entire family can get a tour of the facilities
Children ages 3-10 will need to be signed in and signed out for their protection and Disney will offer a pager system as well.
The Edge is the “tween club” for ages 11-13 and the Vibe is the “teen club” for ages 14-17.
CHARACTER MEET AND GREETS:
Disney Cruise will offer many opportunities to meet the characters. Check with your Navigator for times and locations. Arrive about 10 minutes prior to character arrival so you won’t have as long of a wait in line. For the longer cruises on the Magic, Disney will offer 1 character breakfast. The date and time of your character breakfast can be found in your stateroom or ask any cast member. Check with guest relations for other fun character meet n greet opportunities. Typically, on seas days, Disney cruise offers a fun and free tea time with Alice in Wonderland. Check with guest relations and book early as this fills up quickly.
ITEMS TO BRING ONBOARD THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED:
- Pre-addressed address labels for luggage tags, postcards etc
- Candy….for the movie theater or evening shows….there is a charge for candy onboard
- Corkscrew, if you plan to bring your own wine
- Dry Erase Board: to communicate with your family. You can use a magnet to attach this to the outside or inside of your stateroom door.
- Magnetic Door Signs or Regular Magnets: fun way to decorate your cabin door and an easy way to locate your cabin. There are some really cool custom magnet options available for purchase in Etsy!
- Spare Duffle Bag: for your souvenirs
- Flashlight
- Folder or Large Envelope: to store your daily newsletters/paperwork
- Glow Necklaces and other pirate gear: for pirate night
- Night Light
- Snorkeling Gear: if you plan to snorkel
- Ziploc bags, for wet swimsuits etc.
- Own beverage mugs/containers for the self-service drink station. The cups onboard are paper and do not come with lids. Also, the straws are paper so you may prefer to bring your own reusable straw.
- Soft-sided, collapsible cooler to store snacks in while in port
I will also be emailing a recommended packing list as we get closer to your cruise.
WHAT TO WEAR:
During the day and most evenings on the Disney cruise, you can wear casual clothing. At dinner, men can wear a collared shirt and long pants. Most women will wear a nice pant or capri outfit, sundress or skirt. Disney requests that no swimwear, tank tops or shorts be worn at dinner time in the dining rooms. The only times that casual wear is not appropriate on the Disney cruise is if you are dining at one of the adult only restaurants or on one of the “semi-formal” or “formal” nights. On 7 night cruises, there will be one semi formal and one formal night. For the 4 and 5 night cruise, there will be one “dressy night” and for the 3 night cruise, there will not be a “dressy night”. You will typically see ladies dressed in a nicer dress or gown and the men wearing a suit or jacket and tie for the “dressy night”. Don’t stress about the type of dress you bring for the more ‘dressy’ nights…whatever you feel comfortable in. You will see those in tuxes and those in khaki’s too.
PORT DAYS:
There are a limited number of strollers available from Guest Services while in port. They are free with a deposit. To ensure availability, check early with Guest Services or bring your own umbrella stroller onboard with you (umbrella strollers are easier to store) You do not have to get off the ship at the ports. This is an excellent time to take advantage of the ship’s amenities (pools, spa, etc) with less crowds. If your cruise stops at Castaway Cay, get off the ship early to secure a good spot on the beach! You may want to consider ordering room service for this morning so you aren’t rushing to dine and get to the beach! Castaway Cay has it’s own post office, so pick up
some postcards and have them mailed to yourself and family and friends right from Disney’s own private island. Makes for a fun and inexpensive memento of your cruise. Disney offers a wide variety of shore excursions. Disney calls their shore excursions, “Port Adventures”. Some excursions/ port adventures are very popular and fill up quickly so book as early as you can.
If you are unable to get the excursion you are wanting before you get onboard, then go to Guest Services or the Excursion (port adventures) desk as soon as you get on the ship. Sometimes, they will have availability or may be able to put you on a wait list for the activity you are interested in.
SAFETY TIPS (when getting off the ship in any port):
- Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
- Carry limited cash
- If you have 2 adults with you, have each carry a different credit card in case one gets lost
- Do not take your passports with you when you are in port unless the ship has indicated you must bring them with you (very few ports require this).
- Make a photocopy of your passports and bring those with you instead. Store your passports in your in-room safe. Also, make sure and do bring a photo id for all adults with you.
DISEMBARKATION:
Gratuities: Disney will provide you with a suggested tip amount at the end of your cruise. You can either pay these gratuities directly in cash or you can add the amount to your stateroom bill. If you want to take care of tipping through your room bill, then Disney will leave a form in your room on the second-to-last night. You will be provided with envelope, which you then present to
your servers during your last dinner on the cruise and leave in your room for your stateroom host.
Breakfast is served on your disembarkation day but room service breakfast is not available unless you are staying in a concierge level room. You will be assigned a restaurant and time for breakfast on your disembarkation day or you can choose to eat at the buffet.
BOOKING YOUR NEXT DISNEY CRUISE:
While onboard, you can book your next Disney cruise and receive a special rate. This is the best way to ensure you are receiving the lowest possible rate. You can then get Whitney World Travel added to your new booking and receive our amazing complimentary services!
