sgraves28 Last year my family was blessed to be able to go on a Disney Cruise and it was unbelievable! The perfect mix of fun and relaxation and always something to do, or just chill, whatever your preference. I wanted to share these Disney Cruise Tips You Need to Know to help make your Disney Cruise or any cruise the best it can be! I’ll be posting more details soon about the shows and attractions we experienced but wanted to start with these now in case you might be traveling soon!
*There is so much to do, you can’t possibly do it all. Pick your top things you want to do each day and then some other items you might want to do to help prioritize.“Favorite” all the things you want to do in the cruise app and it will send you reminder notifications
*Bring refillable water bottles, one for water & one for sodas at the fountains (they only have small paper cups with no lids), also small Dish soap/bottle brush to clean them
*Bring magnetic hooks to hang swimsuits, hats, etc and also good idea to bring a hanging closet shoe organizer That can be hung in the closet cabinets (over the door ones are not allowed).
*Pack day necessities in your “day bag” to carry on the ship for when you board: travel docs/passport, swimsuit & sunscreen if you want to go ahead and swim/ride the water slide (great time to do this with low lines), sunglasses, meds etc because the luggage you check with the porter won’t be delivered to your room for a while. Here’s a great bag that can be a duffel and a backpack.
*Bring a backpack you take take off the ship with you if you disembark for port days to carry any needed items like sunscreen, snacks, water bottles, etc.
*Waterproof phone case came in very handy and also a lanyard to put your key to the world card in.
*Bring a old gift card for the light slot (that’s how you keep the light turned on)
*ship can get chilly at night, bring a jacket, sweatshirt or cardigan
*Be sure to bring cash for tipping porters and excursion guides, room service deliveries
*Any snacks you bring on board have to be “factory sealed” so like individual packaged bars, bags of goldfish, pouches etc
*Bring any meds you think you may need with you because they can be expensive on the ship: Bonine tablets are a great less drowsy motion sickness prevention, I’m not a medical professional but they worked great for us! We took one each night, also motion sickness bands you can wear on your wrists are super helpful.
*There isn’t a lot of bathroom counter space, recommend hanging toiletry bag and/or hanging shower organizer to prevent items from tipping over as ship moves
*Shampoo/conditioner/body wash & hair dryer are provided if you don’t want to have to bring your own
*Bring portable phone charger to keep your phone charged. I love this one that easily plugs into your phone. You can communicate with guests in your party in the cruise app without WiFi.
*Get Magnets to put on your room door so that you can easily recognize your room, it’s easy to get mixed up and turned around and this helps your room stand out easily.
*If traveling with kids highly recommend collapsible buckets and shovels for a beach day. They are expensive to purchase at port.
*Be sure and purchase any costumes for pirate night or special meet and greets, autograph books, matching shirts ahead of time.
*Book any excursions as early as possible as they may fill up and can book certain specialty meet and greets ahead of time as well.
*On your online check in night for the cruise: Save needed info in notes on your phone or a word doc for a quick copy and paste: passport number, flight info, etc. Also once its time, Go for royal gathering first if you want to do the free princess meet and greet, it books up within minutes. Then do your checkin & Try to get early port arrival next.
*There are multiple meet and greet options for most characters but some are only there certain days especially if it’s a themed cruise (Marvel, Pixar, etc). And Mickey and Friends change their outfits according to the theme of the day (pirate day, marvel day, etc) so plan accordingly! The lines get long so try and line up at least 10-15 minute prior to the time listed as the do cut the lines off at certain times just like at Disney World.
*Many specialty characters you can catch roaming around sometimes which is really fun! On Marvel Day at Sea, that night after our dinner we got to meet several characters in the main lobby area just milling around. So cool!
You can shop all the Cruise Travel Items such as the collapsible buckets, pirate costumes, etc that I recommended above plus others here! Full disclosure I do get a small commission for sharing those items, but they are all things we used and worked well for our trip. Hope these tips help you, you can find more travel posts here!
