Happy Friday everyone!
One thing everyone can agree on is that Disney sure knows how to put on a show. And the cruise was no different! It was very evident they go above and beyond to make your time ‘magical’ (yes, I did just say that. I guess the Disney hasn’t worn off yet!) The employees are all in super happy moods (my brother-in-law joked that Disney must put something in the employees water because, in his words, no one can be that happy all the time!), and Disney’s theme is shown in even the smallest of details. And, like the parks, the cruise was very well kept. Disney knows how to keep up appearances, that is for sure!
I won’t lie, I was a little skeptical at first, thinking Disney cruises were just for young kids. But I have to say, Chase and I both have said we would cruise with Disney again!
We did learn a few tips from our trip, so I will share them with you.
Disney Cruise Line Must Know Tips and Tricks:
1. Don’t waste your money on buying the water bottle packages or fruit platters for your room when you first board. The water in the soda machines is surprisingly good, and there is PLENTY of food available in the buffets/restaurants. There’s mini fridges in the rooms, so if you want to go get a plate of fruit and put it in the fridge, you will save yourself a lot of money.
2. Bring a reusable water bottle- it’s handy for going off the ship on excursions.
3. Remember to order a Micky ice cream bar off the secret room service menu- just to say you had it!
4. On Castaway Cay, if you plan on mailing postcards (there are free postcards in the desk of each room), the post office is RIGHT when you get off the ship, so remember to do it first thing! The post office has weird hours and may close anytime between noon and 4pm. But if you do forget (which I did), you can go to guest services and send it on the ship (and it will even get stamped with the Bahamian mail stamp!)
5. If you don’t like part of your meal, don’t feel guilty- just order something else! I wasn’t a huge fan of one of my desserts one night, so I ordered something else and our waiter packaged it up for me to take back to our room- it was the perfect midnight snack!
6. Since there is no cell service, Disney provides two ‘wave phones’. They are handy for keeping track of people and such- we didn’t use ours much though. (update 7/10/23: this is pretty outdated! Now you use the Disney Navigator app and can text between app equipped devices on the ship)
7. Bring cash for tips- even if you pre-tip, you will want cash for tipping for room service and on excursions. We ended up having to get cash at an ATM in Nassau- which they have had problems with muggings at ATMs so I was freaked. Save yourself the hassle and bring lots of one dollar bills!
8. Evenings are chilly on the ship- bring a light jacket! And it’s almost almost very windy- just be prepared. I wore a dress that was sort of a wrap style and I would highly recommend not doing that! Let’s just say there was an incident and leave it at that.
Wow, if you made it this far in the post, I am highly impressed! That was a lot of typing. 🙂
All in all, we really did enjoy our time on the cruise! We are already looking into another- maybe to Europe next time!
Next week, I will post about our excursions- snorkeling in Nassau and a beach day in Castaway Cay!
Have a great weekend!
Update 7/10/23: Well, it’s been 9 years since we have cruised and we are going on our second Disney cruise in just a little over 20 days! As I’ve been planning this next cruise, I realized I left out some important trip logistics on this first post- we left out of Cape Canaveral, FL and boarded the Disney Magic for a 3 night Bahama cruise (stopping in Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay).