Cruise for beginners?

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PA-Maze

New Member
Original Poster
Gooooooooooooooood Morning WDWMagic experts. We are from PA and go to the parks usually every year, this year we are leaning toward the cruise...looks like tons of fun. Thinking about the Carribean cruise. However we've never been on the Disney Cruise (or any cruise for that matter). So before we get into too many specifics about this cruise, there are a lot of things reading that I don't understand. We are hearing things like Formal night, or Dining rotation. So do you not make reservations, or is formal night for certain restaraunts? Also, We keep hearing about tipping being in an envelope at the end of the cruise, but how does that work if you have different servers at every restaraunt. Also, shore excursions seem REALLY expensive...any tips there? See, told you we are new to cruises. Anyone that can tell us the basics or where to read about the basics would be FANTASTIC!
Thanks again
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
PA-Maze said:
Gooooooooooooooood Morning WDWMagic experts. We are from PA and go to the parks usually every year, this year we are leaning toward the cruise...looks like tons of fun. Thinking about the Carribean cruise. However we've never been on the Disney Cruise (or any cruise for that matter). So before we get into too many specifics about this cruise, there are a lot of things reading that I don't understand. We are hearing things like Formal night, or Dining rotation. So do you not make reservations, or is formal night for certain restaraunts? Also, We keep hearing about tipping being in an envelope at the end of the cruise, but how does that work if you have different servers at every restaraunt. Also, shore excursions seem REALLY expensive...any tips there? See, told you we are new to cruises. Anyone that can tell us the basics or where to read about the basics would be FANTASTIC!
Thanks again
Click to expand...
The 3-4 night Caribbean cruises are great starter cruises. They are just long enough to get into the swing of things and not so long as to be unpleasant if you find that cruising is not for you.

Formal night....This is the night where you dress up for dinner. Some men will go as far as tuxes and likewise women will go with formal gowns. Most of the time men will be in suits, tie or military dress uniform with women being comparably dressed.

Dining rotation....The Disney ships have 3 restaurants in the dining rotation. You will start at one on your first night the second on your second night and so on. If you are there more than 3 nights you repeat the process until you run out of nights. You can trade one or more of those nights for dinner at one of the signature resruants on board (Palo and/or Remy) for an adtional cost. With the exception of Palo or Remy, you sit in assigned seats and your wait staff follows you from restaurant to restaurant. You will be on a first name basis with them by the second night.

No reservations are needed except for the signature restaurants.

Since your dining staff follows you, it is customary to tip at the end of the cruise and not every night. You can however tip them when and however you like. We have had occasion to tip extra right away when a server goes above and beyond.

Excursions can go anywhere for reasonable to "Are you freaking kidding me?!" The best thing to do is set a budget and find what will fit into it. You also do not have to do excursions. We frequently just stay on board and enjoy the ship when in port.
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Let's see...

Formal night. Formal night is on all cruises that I believe are 7 nights or longer? Maybe 6 nights? I think it's 7. Anywhoo, it's typically the night of your first at-sea day. My theory is they want you to still fit into your fancy clothes you brought from home. LOL! No, you do not pick which restaurant you want for formal night per se....which leads me to....

Dining rotation. This is something I believe Disney introduced to the cruise industry. On each of the ships there are 3 different themed main dining rooms (MDRs). When you receive your room key you will see a series of letters on the key. Here's my room key from our recent 8-night from Galveston:

IMG_2196_zpsf33ef41d.jpg


See it under the words SILVER CASTAWAY? It says: "Dinner: 8:15 PM-LAAPLAPL". Translated for you, this means my dinner seating time in the main dining rooms is 8:15 pm. The letters are the restaurants in order for each night of the cruise. We had Lumiere's, Animator's Palate, Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, then Lumiere's. This is so you always know what your assigned restaurant is. One thing you'll always have during the cruise is your room key, right? So each night you rotate to a different main dining room at your assigned time. Your servers will rotate with you. So no matter which of the main dining rooms you rotate to, your wait staff will be the same for the entire cruise. I love this because they get to know you. They start to understand your preferences. A few nights in it's not uncommon to arrive to your assigned table (they're all numbered and you'll always sit at the same table number in all main dining room dinners) and have your usual beverage selections already on the table waiting for you. Or, when it's dessert time they will appear with the dessert you ordered plus a plate with another dessert you commented that you really liked. They get to know you which is awesome! And that leads me too....

The gratuities. The gratuities will be paid to your assigned wait staff. No need to worry about the right person getting the tips. They've been with you the whole cruise. Their name is on the little tickets that you will be given that you put in each corresponding envelope. We generally tuck some cash in with the prepaid tickets as an additional tip if the service we received warranted it. ;)

There are adult-only dining venues that you can book if you so choose. These are the specialty upcharge restaurants onboard. On the classic ships that would be Palo. On the new ships that's Palo & Remy. These you book the same way you do excursions or other extras. You can choose from available days & times when it's time to do all the fun booking of extras when you get closer to your time of sailing. For new cruisers that will begin 75 days prior to sailing after you are paid in full. Which conveniently leads to....

Excursions! There's a wide range of offerings in terms of activity levels, types of excursions, and costs. It's up to you to read thru them and weigh what's worth it to do. Some, yes, are quite pricy. It's like going to the parks in that you can buy add-ons (such as tours, premium dining experiences, etc.) depending on what kind of money you are willing to spend. If you heard about a cool VIP-type experience at WDW you prob'ly wouldn't just book it and throw money at it blindly. You'd research as much as possible first, right? So when picking thru the lists of excursion offerings go out on the interwebs and Google those things. Go to YouTube and search for related videos to see different perspectives. Come here and ask if anyone has done that excursion before. Find other cruise or destination specific websites that might have more people to ask about it or who have already provided reviews. Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic are great resources. The cool part about booking far in advance is that you have more time to study the offerings and decide what to do in each port call. Even if you don't schedule a thing you have the opportunity to step off the ship and see something you might not have seen before. For the bargain price of free you've got a whole new world to explore. That's awesome!!!

The FAQ thread here is great. Lots of great info that you can readily pick thru to answer the questions you have. And, of course, you can always ask and plenty of folks are happy to help with responses.
 
EOD K9

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
@Disneyfalcon and @sweetpee_1993 I think being the newest first timer I can finally answer a question or two. @PA-Maze Their answers are spot on though. We did the 5 day 4 night Bahamas trip.
One of our nights was optional dress up. You either dressed up or you went cruise casual. Its always cruise casual or pirate on pirate night. There were people in suits and nice dresses, but I never saw a tux. In regards to rotational dining, my rotation was Royal Palace, Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, Enchanted Garden. The normal EG menu was not the norm as that was Pirate Night. We had a Pirate Menu, then the normal EG for night number four. We tipped in the envelopes at the end. We gave the suggested gratuity plus a tad more. Why? Well, the assistant server, by night two, knew I liked Kahlua and milk, and asked me the next two nights if I wanted my usual. Also, my server allowed me to get a meal from another restaurant even though we weren't dining there. He also got me a little extra of the main course. They went above and beyond and therefore got a little extra dough.
For shore excursions to Nassau, you can actually just get off the ship, take a taxi or ferry to Atlantis and do the same things they offer you through Disney. It can actually be significantly cheaper. The downside is that if there is a Disney sponsored excursion that is late, they may hold up the departure for the group. If not, have your camera ready as you'll get a wonderful picture of the Magic, or Wonder, or Dream, or Fantasy pulling out of port. This was my first cruise and it was perfect for a first timer. So much so that we booked again for next year. I think that should tell you something.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Just to clarify

Shorter cuises do not have a FORMAL night - they have a dress up night - Sport Coat and slacks, shirt and tie w/no coat, think business casual. And if you don't dress up, don't worry - half the people don't pay attention

Longer Cruises of 6+ nights have a FORMAL night - dark suit, tux, military dress uniform etc.

If any of the dress up nights are causing you dismay, you do not have to attend the dinner on that night (or any other night for that matter). You can always eat in any of the more casual locations on boad.


-dave
 
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PA-Maze

New Member
Original Poster
That is fantastic, I appreciate the information. So, they tell you where and what time for dinner. What about lunch and breakfast? Also, can you just go to any snack area or other restaraunt between meals and eat what you want? Is there Pin trading on the boat also? Thanks again!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
@PA-Maze, the dinners are assigned times & restaurants for the Main Dining Room rotation. First seating will be at 5:45 (I believe) and second seating at 8:15. The big theater shows each night are shown at least twice to accommodate each dinner seating so you don't have to worry about missing a show. If you opt not to eat at the Main Dining Rooms there's room service 24 hrs except the last day, walk-ups until 11 p.m., pizza 'til midnight, and a sit-down meal in what is usually the buffet with open seating for 3 or 4 hours each night except the first & last night. Breakfast & lunch are served in the buffet restaurant (open seating) and a la carte in 1 or 2 of the Main Dining Rooms (also on a walk-in basis). The last morning before you get off the ship breakfast in the Main Dining Rooms is assigned. You will eat at the restaurant where you had your last dinner assigned to you at a specific time that corresponds with your usual assigned dinner time. The quick-service windows near the pools open during the morning time and stay open thru late evening. Sodas are available 24/7 at no additional charge at the beverage stations also up on deck. Between meals you are welcome to hit the walk-up spots, ice cream machine, and a few other places that have some snacks. You can also order ice cream bars, cookies, etc. from room service at no additonal charge (other than to tip the cast member who brings you the food, we usually give a $1 or 2). On Pirate Night there will be an additional special buffet for that. Seriously, at any time during the cruise you would have to work hard to NOT find something to eat. LOL!

Pin trading. Yep, pin trading happens onboard. There's usually a scheduled pin-trading event at least once. Longer cruises may do it more. I haven't paid that close attention to it since we're more of collectors rather than traders. ;)
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
PA-Maze said:
That is fantastic, I appreciate the information. So, they tell you where and what time for dinner. What about lunch and breakfast? Also, can you just go to any snack area or other restaraunt between meals and eat what you want? Is there Pin trading on the boat also? Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Yes, they tell you where and when for dinner. You will get a rotation assigned to as (as Sweetpea explained) and you will be given either early or late seating for dinner - it will be the same time for the entire cruise. You can put your prefrence in for your seating time when you book, but you may not get it. You can also try and change your seating time when you first board.

Early seating is set up so you can do the stage show and then dinner. Late seating is flip flopped.

Lunch and and breakfast are on your own. There will be a buffet restaruant open and also a table service or semi-buffet open as well.

There are snack and food (pizza, sandwiches, wraps, chicken fingers, etc.) available all day long (roughly 11 AM unitl 10 PM or so)

Room service is free (but you should tip) and is available 24/7 (If you get drinks like soda via room service they do charge)

On the topic of soda. There is a beverage station - soda, coffee, tea, juice, etc. avaialble 24/7 - also free

Yes, they do have scheduled pin trading sessions, but it's not like the parks where CMs walk around with lanyards.


-dave
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
@PA-Maze, the dinners are assigned times & restaurants for the Main Dining Room rotation. First seating will be at 5:45 (I believe) and second seating at 8:15. The big theater shows each night are shown at least twice to accommodate each dinner seating so you don't have to worry about missing a show. If you opt not to eat at the Main Dining Rooms there's room service 24 hrs except the last day, walk-ups until 11 p.m., pizza 'til midnight, and a sit-down meal in what is usually the buffet with open seating for 3 or 4 hours each night except the first & last night. Breakfast & lunch are served in the buffet restaurant (open seating) and a la carte in 1 or 2 of the Main Dining Rooms (also on a walk-in basis). The last morning before you get off the ship breakfast in the Main Dining Rooms is assigned. You will eat at the restaurant where you had your last dinner assigned to you at a specific time that corresponds with your usual assigned dinner time. The quick-service windows near the pools open during the morning time and stay open thru late evening. Sodas are available 24/7 at no additional charge at the beverage stations also up on deck. Between meals you are welcome to hit the walk-up spots, ice cream machine, and a few other places that have some snacks. You can also order ice cream bars, cookies, etc. from room service at no additonal charge (other than to tip the cast member who brings you the food, we usually give a $1 or 2). On Pirate Night there will be an additional special buffet for that. Seriously, at any time during the cruise you would have to work hard to NOT find something to eat. LOL!
Click to expand...
To sum up....You will not be able to walk 50' without tripping over food.:D
 
5thGenTexan

5thGenTexan

Well-Known Member
Be forewarned as a first time cruiser.... they use some kind of airborne crack on the ships. Once you get started, you can't stop. Some people even think about not starting construction on thier new house so they can feed the cruise habit. Ok, that last part might just be me. ;) But, planning for the next cruise before the current one is over is very common among the addicted. :D
 
EOD K9

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
On my trip last week, first dinner seating was at 1815. Also, being as it was my first cruise and was addicted immediately, we booked on board for next year. The great part is that if you book while on board, you get 10% off, only need to put 10% down (instead of 20%) and you get on board credit on the next cruise of $100 for less than 7 nights. $200 if its over. You can also change dates as much as you need to. I couldn't resist that offer!
 
HollyAD

HollyAD

Well-Known Member
Just got back from 5 night Caribbean on the Wonder. You have all the same questions I had a few weeks ago. Just do your research for the excursions. We ended up just doing our own thing in Cozumel and found an excellent and inexpensive place to go by taking a taxi. On Castaway Cay we just rented bikes and did the trail and observation tower. The beach itself on CC is awesome and you will find plenty to do.
As far as dressing up we saw a little bit of everything. There was one formal night but not too many people were actually "formal." I would avoid flip flops and jeans all nights except for pirate night which is casual. There were a lot of people going all out on pirate night (kids and adults). You will be given a pirate bandana at dinner for everyone. I used my sons left over Halloween costume which was Peter Pan for him.

For breakfast we preferred the beach blanket buffet. I am not a buffet fan but I enjoyed the wide variety and it all tasted good. There was everything from cereal to mickey waffles and omelets. My son's favorite were the krispy kremes! We ate at Triton's for breakast before disembarkation and it was good but we thought beach blanket was better. For lunch there are a few easy options. On the main deck outside there was Goofy's Galley that had fresh sandwiches, wraps, paninis, salads and fresh fruit. This was my fav lunch spot. My son enjoyed Pinocchio's Pizza, which was also pretty good. Around the corner was Pluto's Doghouse which served grill items which were your average theme park burgers and fries, chicken tenders, etc. There is also a 24 hour beverage station with sodas, coffee and tea. My husband and I enjoyed on night at Palo which was certainly worth the $20 per person charge plus tip. It was excellent and has a great view. You will enjoy all the restaurants you rotate through as well. They all have different menus and the service was great and fun.

Don't worry about everything too much. For me, everything just fell into place when we boarded the ship. You will get a new schedule of events each day which includes activities for kids and adults.
 

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