For Alissa Falco (Moved from FAQ)

[ChuckElias]

Hi @alissafalco . I moved your questions here, so you'd have your own thread, rather than having to go through another long thread to find your post.

Hi, I'm possibly going on a Disney cruise in the spring for the first time ever. I had a few questions that I didn't find the answers for.
1) I read here that you can put Disney gift cards towards your account as a credit in the beginning of your cruise, but not knowing how much I will spend, I wanted to know if I could use my gift cards at the end of the cruise to pay my balance? Like I do at the resort.

Yes, you can apply the gift cards to your account at any time during the cruise.

2) What are the locks like on the doors from the inside? Do they have the single pull down handle with the top pull over lock so you can have the door open a crack but still locked like in the resort? I'm asking because I really want to know if they have that top pull over lock because little ones can easily just pull down the lower handle and get out (yes this did happen in WDW).

There's not a "top pull". The doors have a normal pull down handle with a deadbolt. So you cannot, to the best of my knowledge, have the door open and locked at the same time. You can prop the door open by leaving the deadbolt extended, but the door will not be locked at that point.

3) I have one extremely picky eater and was wondering if Cheerios are served on board? as well as chocolate milk (and if chocolate milk is included)? I would pack cheerios if it wasn't.

I know that there are Frosted Flakes, and if you forced me to guess, I would say that it's very likely that they have cheerios, but I'm honestly not 100% sure, because it's been a long time since my daughter needed to carry around a container of them.

Chocolate milk is definitely available and it is included in your cruise fare.

4) Would I be able to request to have a microwave in the room? if not, is there a community microwave I would be able to use like they have in the QS restaurant at the resort?

I've never made this request, but I highly doubt that they would accommodate you by letting you have the microwave in the room. And as far as I know there's no "community" microwave. But I have no doubt that if you asked Guest Services to help you warm a bottle or some food, they would be able to tell you exactly how you could do that. Even if you had to take it to Cabana's and have someone there do it for you.

I hope that's helpful. You'll have a great experience, honest!

 

[alissafalco]

Hi Chuck, Thank you so much, this is a huge help. I will call DCL and ask about the microwave situation and maybe someone else knows about the cheerios. Thank you so much!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Chuck gave you most of your answers but to add a couple, there are Cheerios! Also, you didn't ask, but if you have a verandah and are worried about them opening those doors, I can tell you they are very tricky to open. It takes an adult a while to figure out, so it's not a problem for little ones.
Definitely no microwaves in the rooms, but as Chuck said, they have no problem warming something for you.

 

[alissafalco]

Chuck gave you most of your answers but to add a couple, there are Cheerios! Also, you didn't ask, but if you have a verandah and are worried about them opening those doors, I can tell you they are very tricky to open. It takes an adult a while to figure out, so it's not a problem for little ones.
Definitely no microwaves in the rooms, but as Chuck said, they have no problem warming something for you.

Thanks Tammy...that's good to know about the verandah because I didn't even consider it an option because of that reason. Now I can re-think having a verandah. Thank you!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks Tammy...that's good to know about the verandah because I didn't even consider it an option because of that reason. Now I can re-think having a verandah. Thank you!!

No problem!

 

[ChuckElias]

Oh, by all means, consider a verandah!! My wife would be quite displeased if I booked us a room without the verandah. Nothing like free room service bringing coffee and chocolate croissants (and cheerios) so you can have breakfast on the balcony!

I know a lot of parents worry about a young child having access and possibly climbing the railing. But we've been in verandah rooms since my daughter was 6 and my nephew was 4 and safety has never been an issue. Definitely consider it!

 

[alissafalco]

Oh, by all means, consider a verandah!! My wife would be quite displeased if I booked us a room without the verandah. Nothing like free room service bringing coffee and chocolate croissants (and cheerios) so you can have breakfast on the balcony!

I know a lot of parents worry a lbout a young child having access and possibly climbing thve railing. But we've been in verandah rooms since my daughter was 6 and my nephew was 4 and safety has never been an issue. Definitely consider it!

I will consider it thank you! My daughter is 5 and my son is 2 1/2 so the verandah did have me worried.

 

[ScoutN]

I will consider it thank you! My daughter is 5 and my son is 2 1/2 so the verandah did have me worried.

Unless your 2 and a halfer climbed the chair then he would be well below level.

 

[Poster2]

"There's not a "top pull". The doors have a normal pull down handle with a deadbolt. So you cannot, to the best of my knowledge, have the door open and locked at the same time. You can prop the door open by leaving the deadbolt extended, but the door will not be locked at that point."
If the original question was about how to lock the main door so your kids can't get out in the middle of the night, that happened to us. We found out our 9yr old had slept walked out into the hallway and down to the bars in the lower level We woke up when we heard a knock on the door and found our son in his PJ's in the hallway.
Since the dead bolt opens when the door handle is turned, for our next cruise we brought a small jingle bell bracelet and just put it on the door so we would know if the main door is opened.

 

[alissafalco]

Unless your 2 and a halfer climbed the chair then he would be well below level.

Please dont give me nightmares...

 

[alissafalco]

"There's not a "top pull". The doors have a normal pull down handle with a deadbolt. So you cannot, to the best of my knowledge, have the door open and locked at the same time. You can prop the door open by leaving the deadbolt extended, but the door will not be locked at that point."
If the original question was about how to lock the main door so your kids can't get out in the middle of the night, that happened to us. We found out our 9yr old had slept walked out into the hallway and down to the bars in the lower level We woke up when we heard a knock on the door and found our son in his PJ's in the hallway.
Since the dead bolt opens when the door handle is turned, for our next cruise we brought a small jingle bell bracelet and just put it on the door **** so we would know if the main door is opened.

Actually, yes that was my concern. My daughter did the same thing when we were at WDW. I was hoping there would be a top pull over lock so she couldnt reach and the door would stay locked even when the handle was pulled down.

 

[englanddg]

"There's not a "top pull". The doors have a normal pull down handle with a deadbolt. So you cannot, to the best of my knowledge, have the door open and locked at the same time. You can prop the door open by leaving the deadbolt extended, but the door will not be locked at that point."
If the original question was about how to lock the main door so your kids can't get out in the middle of the night, that happened to us. We found out our 9yr old had slept walked out into the hallway and down to the bars in the lower level We woke up when we heard a knock on the door and found our son in his PJ's in the hallway.
Since the dead bolt opens when the door handle is turned, for our next cruise we brought a small jingle bell bracelet and just put it on the door **** so we would know if the main door is opened.

Amusing story.

But, to be fair, those handles on the front doors do take a bit of force, and the door itself (which opens inwards) is extremely heavy and spring loaded...

A set of jingle bells might do the trick, but I don't see kids under a certain age (9 not being that age, but rather under 5) wandering out much on their own unless there was some other assistance.

 

[englanddg]

Actually, yes that was my concern. My daughter did the same thing when we were at WDW. I was hoping there would be a top pull over lock so she couldnt reach and the door would stay locked even when the handle was pulled down.

This would be an evacuation concern. The doors are extremely easy to exit, for a reason. That said, they do take some force. I doubt my kid (especially in a semi-conscious state) would have the strength to open it easily from the inside at age 5 or so.... At 9 or 10, easily, but 4 or 5? It's a bit of a snug handle...and the door is extremely heavy and likes to swing shut on its own.

You could just try putting some luggage in front of the door at night, assuming you have an adjoining veranda / interior door that you can slip back to your side on.

 

[englanddg]

One other suggestion...

Why not go for a midship room that has, for the adults, a verandah, and for the kids, a separate room with no verandah (instead a magical portal) across the hall? They exist...I can get you stateroom numbers if you need them (but I'll need more details, like specifically the ship).

 

[englanddg]

No problem!

I owe you an email chum! Been way to busy once I got back, I'm sorry.

 

[englanddg]

Chuck gave you most of your answers but to add a couple, there are Cheerios! Also, you didn't ask, but if you have a verandah and are worried about them opening those doors, I can tell you they are very tricky to open. It takes an adult a while to figure out, so it's not a problem for little ones.
Definitely no microwaves in the rooms, but as Chuck said, they have no problem warming something for you.

I second and third this.

To open a verandah door that is completely locked down (which your room steward will do twice daily even if you unlocked it earlier....)

1) You need to turn the actual handle to a certain angle
2) You need to be tall enough to release the verandah door deadbolt (which is over my head by a few inches, and I'm 6 foot 2)
3) You need to then apply enough pressure to open the door itself, which doesn't slide easily...I mean, it's not hard, but it isn't like a normal sliding glass door my any means.

 

[ScoutN]

Please dont give me nightmares...

Like @englanddg said, as well, the cabin doors have a very heavy spring in them. If she can get that open AND out then you need to start entering her into some strength competitions. The wifey2b has to even put some oomph into getting it open.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I owe you an email chum! Been way to busy once I got back, I'm sorry.

No worries!

 

[alissafalco]

Thank you @englanddg i feel better about it. From what you have desrcibed its sounds much harder to open than the doors in WDW, and theres no way the verandah could be opened by either one of them from what you described. thank you

 

[alissafalco]

Hi, ok next question, how far a walk is it from the ship to the beach on CC...I know there is a tram but I'd rather not have to fold up the stroller with all the bags etc, it would be easier for me just to walk. Is the walk really that bad? I've been reading mixed reviews.