Who has been on a cruise????

I've done Disney for the last two years. It was awesome. Enjoy yourself!

Done 4 so far. I love them!!!! I love that you can relax or be as active as you like.

Try to get mid-ship up as high as you can to avoid sea sickness. . .

Have plenty of money for drinks and gambling.
Try to do some of the excursions off the ship when you can.

Most of all don't stress!!

Never before have I seen so much waste and gluttony. :noway:
However, the food in Grand Cayman was delicious. Plus, pool and exercise rooms all over the ship!

I've been on two, with my parents. The food was the best part for sure, the worst parts were the destinations. I felt so guilty walking past venders who rely on cruisers for their income, and hearing other cruisers complain about how everything is dirty and cheaply made, just to get back on this massive floating luxury hotel and eating myself into a feed coma. Now that I'm out of the house and can make my own vacation decisions, I won't be cruising again.

On the other hand, my parents love it. They like the shows and the hot tubs, and of course the food. They've been on several cruises and can't wait to go on their next one, as it's extremely relaxing and fun for them. We just have different ideas about what vacations should be.

My suggestion is to try as many new things as you possibly can. In the dining halls, if you order a meal and don't like it they'll bring you different one, for free, so if you see something on the menu that you have never tried, I say get it! That was my favorite thing about the cruise, I tried all sorts of new foods, and I also did things that are way out of my comfort zone like karaoke, diving contests, and other random silly stuff. Over all, you are the one who decides if you're going to have a good time. You could spend the whole time in your state room if you wanted to, or you could make the most of it. So make the most of it, and I'm sure you'll have a great experience. It's just not for me.

6. Go on cruisecritic dot com

^ This.

CruiseCritic is definitely the go-to place for any and all of your questions.

You might also look into the Cruise Radio podcasts. They've had several episodes on the Disney ships.

Cruise vacations are great. You're going to have a blast!

I went to the Bahamas two years ago and man was the cruise I was in HUGE! (I was on Royal Caribbeans Oasis of the Seas)

I have been on over 15 Disney Cruises, on every Disney Ship. They are all different, I like the newer ships better than the older ones.

Would I cruise again? I am doing the Alaska cruise in 1.5 weeks, so yea, I guess so.
Best parts of my cruise: Everything after the lifeboat drill to night before debarkation.
Worst parts of my cruise: The chaos of the pools on embarkation day, and getting off the ship on debarkation day.


Tips:
Hm...

If you are sick (nausea, vomiting), please stay home. Get trip insurance just in case someone gets sick. If you are flying to the embarkation port have Disney arrange travel--I arrived 8 hours late to one cruise and luckily had Disney arranged everything so we were still able to cruise, if we hadn't we likely would have had to try to meet up at the next port. On our own.

You won't be able to see everything on the ship without going nuts or being exhausted. The cruise is supposed to be fun (and they ARE), so cherrypick what you do.

Food is good in the restaurants (not GREAT) but I have had everything -> they will give you special requests. My son likes berries, so we always ask for a bowl of berries. They will accommodate us just about every time. Same with room service, ask for things not on the menu and if they give you a hard time, talk to your serving staff, they can get you things from the restaurants.

Bring a refillable water bottle, comes in handy because the free soda/water comes in these tiny paper cups. They throw away so much of this stuff.

I am cold in the room since my husband and I are totally temperature incompatible, so I bring my own blanket.

The rooms have two baths, one with a toilet and one with a shower--very nice.

If you get seasick don't go for those patches or Dramamine (too many side effects), ask your dr. for Zofran. It works much better with less side effects. However the only time I ever needed it was in the North Atlantic with 30 foot waves. The little rocking is not noticeable to me. But each person is different.

If you go to Castaway, this is the best day ever. Explore it. It is great!

If you have kids, watch them in the pool--the pools are small and there are TONS of people in them, especially on embarkation day unless it is crazy cold out.

Palo's has the best brunch--they have a Quattro Frommage pizza that they used to serve at dinner but now only serve at Brunch. Go to the Brunch and try this pizza. Awesome!

I have only been to Remi's twice. I can pass but some people would like it. French, ten million courses, hours to eat.

The gym has limited hours and you have to be 18 years old to use it.

People smoke on the running deck. Yuk. I can't remember which ships do this but the running deck goes through what seems like an engine room it is so hot (hot blowing air on you), so I prefer the treadmill on that class of ship. Sorry, can't remember if it is the newer or older ships.

So many things to do! Only one day of packing and unpacking.

Oh, make sure you tip--those guys get paid next to nothing. Most of their income is from tips. Treat the staff nice, they will go the extra mile for you.

I've been on three cruises, all with family when I was younger. My first was a Disney cruise in the Caribbean, second was Carnival in the Caribbean, and third was Carnival on the Mexican Riviera.

Worst part: Being sea sick during a storm. Take Dramamine, and if you get sea sick, walk. You'll feel better than sitting or lying around.

Best parts: The people I met, the dancing, the food. I love new people, dancing, and food though. Riding a horse along the beach in Mexico with my brother. Petting a wild dolphin in the Bahamas. And just quiet nights out in the open sea. It was beautiful.

Pack a little sweater; you may need it sometimes.

Exercise, and enjoy the food, but eat reasonably. I didn't pay any attention to weight back then because I was a kid, but my sister went on a cruise later as an adult. She gained A LOT of weight in that short week. It's easy to do!

Have fun, get a little crazy! And definitely dance like a fool! :drinker:

And would I cruise again? Probably not, but only because there's so much to do in the world and I've checked that off the bucket list a few times over. But if some friends wanted to go, sure, why not?

Have a great time!

If you're going on the Fantasy, then pick the "Scavenger Hunt" cards early. Go with the kids on the hunt since it's a lot of stair work!!!
Also on the final night, I was near the stairs (you can see it in my profile pics) and all the characters ended up going up so if you want close ups, that's the place to be.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Not enough Dramamine in the world to get me on a boat for that long. The short trip from Long Beach to Catalina Island was the closest I have ever felt to death.

the Catalina Express from LB to Avalon is not a good indicator of what traveling on a big commercial cruise liner is like. The Catalina Express was super bumpy; i was surprised how much i could feel it moving when i rode it. Big commercial liners you typically can't feel anything at all.

I've been on a half dozen or so cruises, and all have been magnificently fun. bring money for booze, and off-boat adventuring is fun. the excursions through the cruise lines tend to be a bit pricey, but can be fun. it's also fun to just putz around the cruise stops on your own. find a beach, a bar, a shop - and just waste time. cruises are SO much fun. enjoy!

also: if you're a booze drinker, purchasing bottles onboard or in any of the duty free shops can get you a steal! usually they don't give them to you until you're back home upon debarkation, but you've got them for regular life. one of the cruises i was on i got a couple bottles of some yummy absolut vodka - peach flavor and one other, can't remember. and the price was awesome.

Went on my first cruise last year had a blast, best vacation of my life! It was amazing, tip 1) bring at least one pair of stretchy shorts you will probably gain some weight ....tip 2) take the stairs not the elevators, and walk around the ship one or two times a day, both of those might help you not need the stretchy shorts, lol

Going on my second on 7 September...Loved the first one, got a feel for how everything worked and had a blast...this time I plan on having even more fun!