Share Your Ears Campaign for Make a Wish

Please post as many pictures as you can on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter wearing Disney Mouse ears during December. Disney is donating $5 for every picture posted with the labels #shareyourearsto #makeawish (up to $1,000,000). Please share this post! https://shareyourears.org/

Top 10 Tips for Planning Your Disney Cruise Line Vacation

This is the first of many in a series I'm posting that will include at least 100 Tips and Tricks for Planning and Enjoying your Disney Cruise Line Vacations. Subscribe so you don't miss a single tip or trick (and some hidden secrets).

Other titles coming up include: 

1. Top Must-Do's for your Arrival at Disney's terminal at Port Canaveral
2. Top Tips and Tricks for Enjoying your Disney Cruise Line Cruise
3. Top Tips and Tricks for Castaway Cay
4. Top Tips and Tricks for Pirate Night
5. Top Tips and Tricks for Disembarkation Day
6. Top Tips for Packing for your Disney Cruise (including a detailed packing list)
7. Best FREE Disney Cruise Line Souvenirs

1. Use a Travel Agent! They take the work out of planning your cruise, send you reminders, and keep up with current promotions, which they would apply to your cruise (if it is applicable). Not to mention, their services are FREE!

2. Buy photo package from www.mycruisephotos.com. If you pre-pay you will save money! We normally get the “All Photos Package”. It comes with little USB’s in a cute case, plus we get all the hard prints! Photos could cost $20 each if you purchase them individually. We normally leave with around 300 photos (depending on the length of cruise). If you see you are missing photos, check with the photo lab. Sometimes the Aquaduck pictures don’t get printed unless you ask. Also, your pictures could be mixed up in someone else’s folder.
   
   
3. We buy gift cards at discounted prices and apply them to our payments or put them on account to use on the ship. We buy our gift cards at BJ’s Wholesale Club and save 7%, but in order to save that, we have to buy the $50 cards for $46.99. I know there are other ways to save on gift cards; this is just the one we use.
   
4. Buy Vacation Protection! We found out the hard way that we need vacation protection on every cruise! The small amount you pay is worth it in case there is an emergency. We are still paying medical bills from 3 years ago because we didn’t have travel insurance and my husband ended up hospitalized in St. Thomas after racking up a hefty bill in the ship’s hospital.
   
5. Join your Fish Extender (FE) Group and Cruise Page on Facebook. This is a great way to meet fellow cruisers prior to your sail date. My favorite thing to do on those pages is to provide tips like these to new cruisers and see where everyone is traveling from. You never know, there could be someone you know traveling on your sailing! Just search the name of the ship and the date of embarkation. For example, one of my groups is Disney Dream December 29, 2017. Names of the groups might not be formatted exactly the same but for the most part, they are pretty close! Most FE/Cruise Groups on Facebook plan a structured get-together for your sailing. This is a scavenger hunt that was scheduled so the kids could get to know each other. We met just before the Muster Drill.
   
   
6. What is Fish Extender? Outside each stateroom there is a marine animal of some sort. This is essentially your “mailbox” for your cruise. Sometimes you will receive special certificates, letters of importance, and other communications from administration on the ship. Also, people like to hang special FE Organizers from them and participate in the Fish Extender exchange. It’s like a Secret Santa. You sign up with your cruise group on Facebook. Then you are assigned a FE group (you will get information on number of staterooms you will give to and ages of people in the stateroom). Each night of the cruise each person in your stateroom will receive a gift and you will give yours. I’ve never participated in it, but from what I heard, it’s extremely fun and exciting to come back to your room and have gifts waiting for you.
   
7. Schedule a Character Call! You do this from your reservation page when you do your online check-in.
   
   
8. Schedule your Port Arrival Time (PAT) when you do your online check-in. The sooner you do your online check-in the earlier you can get your PAT. The earliest PAT is 10:30 with the last person being able to board the ship at 3:00. Please don’t show up early to the terminal! You will not be able to get on any sooner than your PAT and this keeps the terminal from overcrowding.
9. Download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App! You can get a neat countdown to your sailing date. Once you are in the terminal, you can switch your phone to airplane mode and begin using the app. The app is great for keeping up with all the ships activities, character meet and greets, and you can now even view your dinner menu.
   
   
   
   
10. Have you seen posts about printing magnets and decorating your stateroom door? Find a Disney graphics group on Facebook to get them for free, order custom-made ones on Etsy, or design your own (get ideas from Pinterest). Here are some designs we used on our doors.
    

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog for the rest of the tips in this series!

Dining Dress Code on DCL

Many people ask, "What is appropriate for dress in the dining rooms?" Well, this is a topic that is debated often. The information below is taken right from the Disney Cruise Line website. I have included my opinion as well as observations and photos below the official information.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/dining-food-beverages/dining-dress-codes/

Q. Are there dress codes or guidelines regarding dressing for dinner?

A. In general, most onboard dining locations are "cruise casual,” so casual attire, such as shorts and T-shirts, is permitted, with the exception of swimwear and tank tops. Most cruises have special theme nights that provide opportunities to dress up for a one-of-a-kind family photo. Here's a breakdown of special dress events by cruise itinerary:

3-night cruises:

• One cruise casual night—no swimwear or tank tops
• One pirate night themed deck party
• One optional “dress-up night"—jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women

4-night cruises:

• First night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops
• One pirate night themed deck party
• One optional dress-up night—jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women
• Final night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops

Pirate Night in Animator's Palate

7-night cruises:

• First night is cruise casual—no swimwear or tank tops
• One pirate night or other themed deck party
• 3 additional cruise casual nights—no swimwear or tank tops
• One formal and one semi-formal night—both give you the opportunity to dress up and take advantage of the onboard photography services. Though optional, we recommend dress pants with a jacket or a suit for men, and dress or pantsuit for women

Formal Night

Semi-formal Night (photographers did not get around to our table, but this is what we wore)

Dress Codes for Palo and Remy, Adults-Only Restaurants for Guests 18 and Older

So that we may provide an enjoyable and refined dining experience for all Guests, please be advised that tank tops, swimsuits, swimsuit cover-ups, shorts, hats, cut-offs, torn clothing, t-shirts with offensive language and/or graphics, flip-flops or tennis shoes are not permitted at Palo or Remy. We thank you for your understanding and your cooperation with the following dress requirements

At Palo: The elegant northern Italian-inspired dining venue aboard all 4 ships.

Dinner and Brunch

• Men: dress pants or slacks and collared shirt; jacket is optional
• Women: dress, skirt or pants with a blouse
• Jeans may be worn if in good condition (no holes)

At Remy: Serving sophisticated French cuisine aboard the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

Dress to Impress

To preserve the elegant atmosphere, you are asked to adhere to a strict dress code when dining at Remy.

Dinner

At dinnertime, the following dress code is enforced:

• Men: A jacket (such as a sports, suit or tuxedo jacket) is required, with dress pants/slacks and shoes. Ties are optional. Please no jeans, shorts, sandals, flip-flops or tennis shoes.
• Ladies: Cocktail dress, evening dress, pant suit or skirt/blouse are required. Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, sandals, flip-flops or tennis shoes.

Brunch and Dessert

During brunch and dessert, the following dress code is enforced:

• Men: Dress pants and a shirt are required for men. A jacket is optional. Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, sandals, flip-flops or tennis shoes.
• Women: A dress or pantsuit is required. Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, sandals, flip-flops or tennis shoes.

If you prefer more formal attire during the optional dress-up evenings, you're invited to pre-order tailored formalwear rentals and have them delivered directly to your stateroom upon arrival. To learn more, visit Cruiseline Formalwear.

My Beliefs on Dining Room Dress

• As long as you are not in offensive or skimpy clothing, you should be OK. 
• I would wear decent shoes, like you would wear at a nice restaurant (not water shoes)
• Sometimes I will wear jeans (not torn or ragged) with a nice shirt. Most of the time it's a dress or pirate wear. We usually get pictures made before and after dinner and we want to look nice.
• My husband will wear a button down or Hawaiian shirt and slacks. 
• My daughter usually dresses nice (but that's her always)
• I take a hoodie or a sweater for my daughter and myself for the main dining rooms because I get cold easily. On days I forgot, the waitstaff was nice enough to bring me a heated tablecloth to wrap up in. Some days it seems like you are eating in a refrigerator. 
• Swim suits, running shorts, and tank tops (exercise type) are not appropriate.
• A lot of people who don't feel like dressing up for formal or semi-formal night choose to eat at Cabanas or one of the quick stop places. We never skip a main dining room. Cabanas and the quick places are great for lunches, but we love the 5-star meals we get in the MDR's.
  

Just a side note...when we take cruises, we get to "fake" (LOL) that we have money, so we want to play the part the entire time! We take advantage of feeling like royalty so we dress and act that way.

Merrytime Cruise on Disney Dream

Merrytime Cruise on Disney Dream: December 2015 B2B

Christmas Tree in the atrium. 

 The following pictures were from the atrium on Christmas Day. The chefs on DCL made amazing goodies for everyone for Christmas morning. They even served cool hot cocoa and hot cocoa, gave away cookies for free that you would pay an arm and a leg for in the parks, and had special music playing and snow falling in the atrium.

 
 

 

The characters were all decked out in the Christmas best!

Santa Goofy on Christmas Day. The real Santa was still delivering gifts across the world.

Mrs. Claus reading Christmas stories on Christmas Day

Minnie Mouse in her Christmas best on Christmas Day.

We sailed past Fantasy on Christmas Day near Castaway Cay at sunset.

Instead of the chocolate Mickey's, we got a cute gingerbread man on our sundae.

Gift in Stateroom on Christmas Eve

Gift in our Stateroom on Christmas Eve

We made gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve

Deck the Deck Tropical Holiday Party with favorite Disney Characters

One of the photo studios is in front of the Christmas Tree

Santa on Christmas Eve (borders on photos in photo package are changed to holiday theme)

Mickey on Christmas Eve

Mickey on Formal Night (Christmas Night)

Christmas Tree at Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay is Decked Out

Characters Wear Christmas Attire

Decorations at the Terminal

Click Here for a Quick Merrytime Cruise Video

Character Meet and Greet Surprise after Mrs. Claus' Read Aloud

Charles Dickens' Christmas Carolers...they were Amazing!

Back-to-Back Merrytime Cruise December 24-December 31, 2015

Would you ever think about spending the holidays on the high seas? This is one question I had to ponder over and over. I just didn't know if my daughter would be OK not being home the day the big man in the red suit showed up in the middle of the night. I had to tell her we had booked a cruise over Christmas. We would be leaving on December 24 and returning on the 31st. What she didn't know was that we had a back-to-back planned. (You can hear in the video, I almost spoiled that surprise when I broke the news to her, so I covered it up by restating we had another cruise booked for Spring Break). We decided to only tell her about the first leg of the cruise and would tell her we were going to be staying at the beach in Melbourne, FL for New Year's Eve. 

I walked into her room and told her I needed to talk to her. She immediately asked me if we were cancelling our trip to FL and asked if we would be staying home for Christmas. Well, I broke the news to her and as you can see in the video, I was very hesitant. I initially told her we were going to be moving to FL. She was not very happy about that, but knew I was playing. so here I was thinking I was going to get this great response full of excitement...you know, the kind you see on YouTube where the reactions are priceless. I told her we were going to see the Mouse. To my surprise, she said, "Yea, so." (So not what I expected). This was the not-so-priceless part of the reveal. Then she asked if we would be staying in the castle. I told her no and we would be floating with Mickey. A small smile broke, but then she was worried Santa would not visit and if she could bring her American Girl dolls with her. I wanted this to be exciting for her. I didn't want to ruin her Christmas. 

Well, as you can see here, we had an amazing trip! We revealed to her we would be staying on for another cruise after that one ended. She didn't believe us because she thought she had to start school again. She was so excited we were staying on the Dream because, you see, she makes friends with anyone she meets. She had become close with some photographers and officers on the ship. The bracelet she shows is a friendship bracelet Rhaul made for her (he is a photographer). [If you have questions about the disembarkation and embarkation process on a back-to-back, let me know. I'll be happy to share our experience!]
What is special about a Very Merrytime Cruise on Disney? Well, everything, really! The characters are decked out in their holiday best and worst (ugly sweaters). The Charles Dickens Carolers were amazing. There was snow in the atrium. Santa came on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day Mrs. Claus read stories to the children in front of the Christmas tree. In the atrium there was hot (and cool) cocoa, cookies, cakes, and all kinds of treats. We were given a special Christmas gift from Disney Cruise Line in our staterooms on Christmas Eve (a DCL miniature santa hat, goodies, and a collectors poster) and on Christmas Day we got another special gift in the atrium (a DCL calendar). We made gingerbread houses. Christmas Day was even more special when Disney Dream sailed past Disney Fantasy near Castaway Cay at sunset. There was also special character appearances and a Christmas Day deck party, Deck the Deck Tropical Holiday Party, for the kids and families. 

Will we sail over Christmas again? Yes, but not until Emily becomes her own Santa. Until then, we will sail on other holidays. We haven't experienced Halloween on the High Seas yet. Maybe next year! This year, we will be on our first New Year's Eve cruise on Disney Dream! I can't wait to share my experiences with you!

I hope you enjoy the videos. They make me laugh. Emily (my daughter) is a character of her own! Feel free to ask me specific questions you have about Merrytime Cruises. I will do my best to answer them based on my experiences. Feel free to browse this Merrytime Cruise Album with over 1,000 photos for your viewing pleasure. 

Read more: http://mickeychats.com/thread/61/merrytime-cruise#ixzz4wgBcBRH0


Here are some highlights from our Very Merrytime Cruise: 

Surprise Character Appearances

Charles Dickens Christmas Carolers

The video below is the, "Surprise! We are staying on for another Disney Cruise!" 

Transportation

Transportation: We live in Charlotte,  NC which is only 7-8 hours from Port Canaveral, depending on the time of day we leave. Most of the time we leave a day or two before the cruise to make sure we make it there on time. Once we stayed at the Radisson at the Port and left our car there with the Stay and Cruise package, which saved us money on parking at the port, but we were on a Back to Back and needed to take things to the car between cruises, so it was slightly inconvenient. All the other times we paid to park at the port.

This is from DCL's webpage under FAQ's:

Disney Cruise Line Air Program

Flying to a departure port? Experience flexibility, convenience and peace of mind when you book air travel through Disney Cruise Line for your upcoming cruise vacation.

• The Disney Cruise Line Air Program includes these features and benefits:
  • Economy round-trip air transportation
  • Peace of mind knowing that if your flight changes due to certain airline-related delays, Disney Cruise Line will take care of the arrangements
  • Flexibility to make changes or cancellations to your air reservation without fees up to 90 days prior to the start of your vacation—or even as close as 75 days for select itineraries
  • Convenience of not having to pay for your air arrangements until your final cruise payment due date
  • Ability to make special requests for upgrades, extended stays and specific airlines or flight itineraries (subject to availability; additional charges may apply)
  Reservations 
  To add air to your cruise vacation, please call Disney Cruise Line at (877) 566-0967. Guests under 18 years of age must have adult or guardian permission to call.
  Please note that the Disney Cruise Line Air Program cannot be added to cruise packages booked by using a Disney Vacation Club Membership.
  As of November 8, 2016, the Disney Cruise Line Air Program no longer includes Ground Transfers.
• https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/air-program/

Q. How do I arrange air and/or ground transportation to and from my port of departure? 

A.

 

Please call us to make flight arrangements to and from an airport near your port of departure and, if needed, book any overnight accommodations. For certain itineraries, we offer ground transportation to and from select hotels.

We can also plan your ground transportation from local airports to the embarkation port and get you back to the airport at the end of your cruise.

To discuss specific options for your cruise and travel itinerary, call Disney Cruise Line at (800) 951-3532. Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/booking-reservations/air-ground-transportation/