Author: valskate86

What To Do When Your Disney Cruise is Rainy

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So you booked your dream cruise to the Caribbean? That’s great!

You and your travel agent have researched and planned to make your cruise the best.

Your online check in is complete and you have awesome excursions booked.

You’re looking forward to the couple of sea days and time to soak in the sun.

As you’re getting ready to board, you check the weather one last time before you shut off your phone to disconnect and have fun with your family.

Oh no!  The weather forecast has changed and rain is now predicted for most days.  You immediately think “our cruise is ruined!  What a bust!”

Stop.  You’ll still have an awesome time!  There is a ton to do!  Here are just some available activities.

-Roam the ship and check out the beautiful details.  How many Hidden Mickeys can you find?

-Meet some characters!  Check out your daily Navigator for meeting time and locations (though the surprise meeting is exciting too!).  There are some ticketed character events as well such as Anna and Elsa.  Stop at guest services if you weren’t able to grab a ticket to meet them when you did your online check in.

-See a movie.  The movie theater is awesome and shows the new Disney releases (of course!).  Don’t forget to buy your refillable popcorn bucket on day one (refill it for only $1.50 the entire cruise!)

-Send the kids to their respective youth clubs (adults can visit during open house hours). The clubs are a sight to see and have so many activities available. The youth staff is top notch and will keep the youngsters busy for hours.

-Read a book on the verandah.  Order a snack from room service and enjoy the sound of the sea and view.

-Don’t have a verandah? Stop back in the room and check out all the movies available on demand on your TV.

-On the Dream or Fantasy, play a round of Midship Detective Agency.  A scavenger hunt across the ship.

-Also on Dream and Fantasy, book some time in the sports simulator.  Sports include: golf, basketball, football, hockey, and more).  This is an extra cost.

-Shop! In true Disney style, there is a huge amount of merchandise available (including a Tiffany store on Fantasy!).

-Send the 13-17-year olds to Chill Spa.  Several services are available just for the teens.

-See the nightly show.  Shows vary from ship to ship.  All are amazing and some Broadway style (Aladdin is my favorite so far!).

-Join a trivia or bingo game! Check your Navigator for location and time.

-Head to Cove Café to have a coffee and pastry treat.

 

A Few For the Adults

-Buy a Rainforest Room pass.  A less costly option than spa services.  There are two hot tubs, multiple saunas, fund showers with different temperatures and scents, and AMAZING heated tile loungers.

-Book brunch at Palo on a sea day.  Palo is an adults only restaurant.  Start with a mimosa and your server will guide you through the rest.  Palo is one of the best dining experiences I have ever had.

-Once you have brunch at Palo, you’ll want to have dinner too.  The sommelier will help you with your wine selection and your server will attend to your every dinner need.  A wonderful Italian dinner.  A very relaxed and unhurried experience.  Don’t forget to save room for the Palo chocolate soufflé!

-Attend a mixology class

-Attend a wine or beer tasting

 

 

These are just a few of the many, many activities available on the Disney Cruise Line ships.  Some have an extra charge; but lots are already included.

See?  The rain isn’t going to ruin your vacation.  The rain gives you the opportunity to try lots of new activities that you may not have had time for in the past.  A cruise is about the journey, not just the destinations.

Is Disney Cruise Line Just for Families with Kids?

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So often when talking about cruising with friends and family, the first thing I hear when suggesting Disney Cruise Line is “I don’t want to be on a ship with all those kids!” or “isn’t that line just for families?”.  I had the absolute pleasure of cruising with five of my friends last November and found out for myself just how wrong both of those statements are.

Spaces on the ship

-Mallory says “I went in thinking wed have to stick one little portion of the ship to avoid hyped up children.  That wasn’t the case at all!”.

-the Cove pool and bar was one of our favorite hangouts on the ship.  The Cove is an adults only area and Disney does a wonderful job of enforcing this rule. There are cast members near the “entrances” gentling reminding families that this is adults only area and not to linger as they pass through.

-The District includes several very different bars and lounges.  The whole area is a great area for adults to have a drink, dance, and even sing.

-Don’t think that the “adults only” areas are the only places you’ll find magic.  We also rode the aquaDuck and of course ran into some of our favorite characters!

 

 

Dining and Entertainment

-“some of the best food I’ve ever had”

-Disney utilizes rotational dining in which your party rotates to a different dining room (Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, and Animator’s Palate) with your serving team every night.

-Each dining room provides a different atmosphere and menu.  Everything we tried was delicious!

-Our serving team was outstanding!  They really engaged with us and learned some of our likes and dislikes.  For example, we had a bowl of cherries on our table every night.  They definitely brought a little extra magic to our trip.

-We went to a show every night before dinner.  These truly are “Broadway style” and appealed to all ages kids to adults.  Absolutely phenomenal!

-Room service is also an available option for dining.  We used it for snacks and coffee in the morning.  We were sure to order milk and cookies and of course Mickey Bars!

-In additional to the dining rooms and room service, Cabanas is also an option.  Cabanas is casual buffet style dining with many yummy options and we were always able to find a table to seat us all.

 

Accommodations

-There were five of us and we were able to book two connecting balcony rooms.

-Plenty of space for all of us.

-Bathrooms are split which was a HUGE bonus with five adults getting ready for dinner or a day in port.

-Beds were comfortable as was the fold out on the couch

-As our rooms were connecting, the divider between our two balconies was able to be opened which let us has have one large balcony to share. The below picture is before the divider was open.

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Ports

-We had two ports on our ship: Nassau and Castaway Cay

-Nassau was our first port and we scheduled excursions here.  There was a large selection of excursions and we had no problem finding two that our group split up to participate in.  The selection of excursion was varied and had great options for families and adults.

-Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island) was our second port.

-When we first boarded the ship we went directly to guest services to register for the Castaway Cay 5K.  5K participants we among the first off the ship when we docked at Castaway Cay.  Abilities vary and we were not the only participants walking.

-After the 5K some of us went to the ship to change and we headed to beach.  Serenity Bay is the adult’s only section.  The water is shallow and perfect for waiting.  We had no problem finding enough chairs for all of us to sit together.

-Near Serenity Bay are a bar and an eatery.  Lunch was wonderful.  So many options; chicken, fish, ribs, and sides.  Don’t forget to grab some banana bread or ice cream for desert!

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This is only a taste of our trip and I think the only complaint we had was that we didn’t have enough time to explore the ship.  We embarked on Friday and left on Monday.  So to answer the question of “isn’t Disney Cruise Line just for families with kids?” the answer is NO!  There is so much to do for adults too!