The night before our first Disney Fantasy sailing, I had a dream that we boarded the ship and immediately could not find the room and also there was a test I had not studied for and Gracie was missing a shoe. This is what I do with anticipation. I channel it into elaborate stress dreams.
In reality, boarding was smooth, the room was fine, and both of Gracie’s shoes were accounted for the entire trip. But there were things I did not know and things I got wrong and things I spent the first day figuring out that I should have known before we left.
Here is what I would tell myself before that first sailing.
The App Is Essential — Download It Before You Leave Home
The Disney Cruise Line app is how you manage most of your trip. Character meet times, dining reservations, activity schedules, your onboard account, and messaging crew members all go through the app. On the ship, the app connects to the ship’s Wi-Fi network without requiring an internet package.
Download it before you leave home and set up your account so everything is linked. Trying to do this on embarkation day while managing two toddlers in a loud terminal is not the optimal time to learn new software.
Also: the app has a chat function that works ship-to-ship without internet. Alan and I use this to communicate when one of us has a kid at the pool and the other is back in the stateroom. It is more useful than I expected.
The Wave Phone System (Know It Exists)
The staterooms have little cordless phones called Wave Phones that can call anywhere on the ship. You can also reach the guest services desk, dining reservations, and the kids’ clubs through these phones. I did not know this until day two and felt embarrassed about it when another family mentioned it.
Book Add-Ons the Moment You Can
Palo dinner, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, spa treatments, certain port excursions: all of these have booking windows that open based on your stateroom category and Castaway Club status. The dates for these windows are on the DCL website.
On our first sailing I did not know about these booking windows and tried to book Palo once we were on the ship. It was full. I spent most of the sailing slightly sad about it and we did not eat at Palo until our second sailing.
Know your booking window date. Set a calendar reminder. Be at the computer when the window opens.
Main Dining Seating for Families With Young Kids
I touched on this in the rotational dining article and I will say it again here because it is important: book main seating, not second seating, if your kids go to bed before 9pm. Second seating dinner starts at 8pm and does not end until 9:30 or later. This is not compatible with a pleasant experience for toddlers or for the families near you at dinner.
Main seating is typically around 5:45pm and you are done by 7:30. This is the right answer.
The Kids’ Clubs Are Better Than You Think
The Oceaneer Club on Disney ships is the best-designed kids’ club I have encountered anywhere. It is not daycare. It is an elaborately themed activity space with trained Disney staff running age-appropriate programming all day and evening.
On our first sailing, I was nervous about leaving the kids there and we only did it once. By the second sailing we were more comfortable and used it more, which meant Alan and I had time to ourselves that improved the whole trip for both of us.
You have to have your kids registered for the club in advance and check them in properly. Do the registration early on embarkation day, ideally during the open house period when you can walk the kids through the space so it is familiar.
”Fish Extenders” Are a Thing If You Want Them
Fish extenders are a community tradition among Disney cruisers. The fish-shaped door decoration outside each stateroom can be used to hang a small hanging organizer, and many cruise Facebook groups organize gift exchanges where you leave small gifts for the other families on your list. You put the gifts in their extender, they put gifts in yours.
It is completely optional. We did not do it on our first sailing because I did not know what it was, and I felt like I had missed something when I saw every other door on our hallway with an extender full of little gifts. By our second sailing I had joined the Facebook group for our sailing and participated. The kids loved getting little surprises left at the door.
It requires some preparation before you leave, usually small items like stickers, small toys, or character-themed trinkets. It is a nice addition if you want it and irrelevant if you do not.
Bring a Power Strip
The staterooms have a limited number of outlets and you will immediately need more than are available. Bring a basic power strip without a surge protector. Surge protectors are not permitted on Disney ships, but regular power strips are fine. We use one every sailing.
Formal Night Is Real But Not Mandatory
Disney cruises have a “formal night” (called Dress to Impress) and a “semi-formal night” (called Dress to Impress also, or similar depending on the sailing). People do actually dress up. Some families go all out with gowns and suits. Others interpret it loosely.
On our first sailing I packed a good dress for formal night and wore it. Alan wore his suit jacket over a dress shirt. We looked nice. The dining room looked pretty. Nobody inspected our outfits.
On subsequent sailings with toddlers, I have scaled back. My “formal night” is now a nice sundress and earrings. Alan wears the same jacket. The kids wear whatever they look cute in. Nobody has said anything and we feel appropriately dressed.
The Nighttime Shows Are Worth It
The Walt Disney Theatre shows are included in your cruise fare and they are genuinely good. Production value, live performers, and show content that works for both adults and children. They are not something to skip because you are tired after dinner.
On our first sailing we skipped the show on night two and I heard from other families how good it was and regretted it. On subsequent sailings we have gone to everything. The kids sometimes fall asleep. That is fine. You were still there.
Expect Everything to Cost More Than the Base Fare
I cover this in the cost breakdown article, but I want to say it here too for first-timers specifically. The cruise fare is not the full cost. Gratuities, specialty dining, drinks, port excursions, photos, spa, and souvenirs add up significantly. Going in with a realistic number prevents the sticker shock of the final stateroom bill.
Budget for everything. Or at minimum, budget for gratuities, one or two extras, and drinks, because those are the things that sneak up on you.
The First Day Goes Fast — Let It
On embarkation day, you will want to do everything. The pool, the food, the character meets, the show, explore every deck. You will not do everything and you do not need to. The ship will still be there on day two.
The most important thing on embarkation day is settling in, finding your footing, and getting the kids on some kind of schedule that will work for the rest of the week. Everything else follows from that.
One Last Thing
Somewhere around day three of our first sailing, I was sitting on the pool deck while Gracie played in the water and Rory had just fallen asleep in the stroller and I realized I was not looking at my phone. I was just sitting there. I had not looked at work email in three days.
I do not always manage to do that on vacation. On a Disney cruise, surrounded by everything our family needed, with nowhere to go and nothing pressing waiting for us, I did. That is the thing nobody put in an article that I want to tell you: it might actually work the way you hope it will. It worked for us.
