My first Disney Cruise March 6, 2010`

[WallyBoag]

For Christmas my mom bought the whole family a Disney Cruise to Mexico! I'm very grateful for the gift, but nervous about the cruise. I do enjoy the sea and going whale watching, boats don't make me nervous...

But I have ADD and the thought of being in the middle of nowhere on a boat full of kids has me worried about being bored for a week. Also the fact that the concept is completely new and alien to me has me worried about things like tipping and drinking and what to do on shore. We don't have a lot of money so we are looking to be as frugal as possible on the cruise.

I know a lot of people here have taken Disney cruises before, so what's the deal? What do you do all day? What stuff is there to do on shore in Mexico that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Where's the good eats and drinks?

[dlfreak]

Yay!!! Never thought I'd see the day where the Mrs. would be dragging you onto the amusement at sea boat!

Honestly, the Cruise went by so quickly for us I don't really ever remember thinking god, when can we go find something to do. The ship is so big and there's a few different on-board things to do. Granted, there's a LOT more things for kids to do but the on-board festivities for adults are passable. We never once used the Walt Disney theatre for the free screenings of the Disney movies but that could be fun.

The biggest thing for me about the Disney Cruise is relaxation. I was never one to go on vacation to do nothing but the Disney Cruise opened up my eyes to how enjoyable that could really be. Sitting out on our private veranda in the morning and watching the sun rise. Walking around the deck in the afternoon after lunch, exploring the ship after dinner.

The "free" food is an attraction in and of itself. There's free room service which is a great thing to keep in mind--tipping is the only cost to incur. That's what we did for our sunrise breakfasts on our veranda. Plus, unlimited Premium Mickey Ice Cream bars!!!

As far as on-shore excursions we found it quite nice to again take on a day with no agenda and just explore the local marketplaces and just relax. We did our Cruise to the Bahamas but whenever we go to a DCL event the host always talks about his cruise to Mexico and ziplinning being one of the most memorable experiences he'd ever had.

Finally, we really found our Passporter guidebook to be really helpful throughout the whole process. It's a nice little field guide that explains pretty much every component including tipping, customs, and even what to do at the different Ports of Call.

[dlfreak]

Oh yeah and try to pack as light as possible. The rooms are small and storage space is tight. They get crafty with the storage places, you're suitcases are supposed to go under the bed. We took enough clothes for half of the trip and we used the on-board laundry rooms half-way through the trip to wash. Also helped to avoid the extra baggage cost on the flight over which probably won't be an issue if you're cruising to Mexico.

[mickey7]

Congrat's Wallyboeg, We are actually going on a Cruise in February this will be our first. I hope you enjoy your time on the ship. I am kind of nervous too but more excited than anything.

[Bob38dizfan]

Oh yeah and try to pack as light as possible. The rooms are small and storage space is tight. They get crafty with the storage places, you're suitcases are supposed to go under the bed. We took enough clothes for half of the trip and we used the on-board laundry rooms half-way through the trip to wash. Also helped to avoid the extra baggage cost on the flight over which probably won't be an issue if you're cruising to Mexico.

On the subject of clothes. I noticed during the Christmas parade the DCL ad of the new Ship(s) it showed the various 'fine dining' rooms and the guests dressed up. What kind of dress code is there for the 'formal' dining? and how did you deal with bringing extra 'dress clothes' with the luggage being limited?

[dlfreak]

There usually is a formal night so you'll definitely want to make sure you're prepared for that however as I remember you aren't restricted from entering if you are dressed in casual clothes... you'll just look pretty silly.

There's no in-room irons (fire hazzard) but there are in the laundry rooms so that's what we did, we packed the formal clothes into the regular suitcase and just ironed them on our laundry day. You could always use laundry service too if you're not adverse to paying for it.

[glockes1n2n3]

I recieved some updated luandry pricing info form DCL as I am contiplating bring less clothes and just having DCL to the laundry as needed. We are going on the Alsakan Cruise May 31. Can't wait...

There are three laundry facilities onboard for Guests to wash, dry, and
iron clothes. Each facility has 4 washers, 4 dryers, 1 iron, and
detergent vending machine.

Guests use their Key to The World cards to charge for washer and dryers
services, as well as to purchase detergent and fabric softener. All
Guest laundry facilities are no longer coin operated.

The cost is $2.00 per wash and $2.00 per dryer. The irons onboard are
regular irons with no steam. The detergent is Tide and Clorox 2 and the
fabric softener is Downy. These are available for $1.00 per box.

All pricing is subject to change to without notice.
Laundry facilities are located:

* Deck 2 - port side midship, opposite stateroom 2096
* Deck 6 - starboard side midship, adjacent to stateroom 6587
* Deck 7 - starboard side midship, opposite stateroom 7590

Complete laundry, dry-cleaning and pressing services are also available.
Price listings and bags are located within the stateroom in the closet.

The dry-cleaning prices range from $6.00 for shirts to $12.00 for 3
piece suits.

The laundry prices range from $3.50 for T-Shirts to $6.50 for pants.

You may bring aboard the ship a reasonable amount of clothing and
personal effects not to exceed two bags per person. In addition, you
may carry onboard on day bag plus a purse or briefcase. Day bags cannot
be any larger than 9" x 14" x 22".

All luggage must be stored in your stateroom; there is no luggage
storage area available at the terminal or onboard the ships.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

[dlfreak]

Updates, pictures, tell me everything! I heard this cruise in the news with all the tsunami stuff, did you have rough seas?