First-time cruise tips, Part 3
Part 1 and Part 2 of my first-time cruise tips posts talked about our surprise(!) Father's Day cruise on the Disney Dream! Here I'll finish up with our final day before our disembarkation in Port Canaveral.
We spent most of our day on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, which deserves a post entirely to itself! I'll be sharing that post soon!
After got back to the ship, we showered and then headed to the 6:00p show of Disney’s Believe, which was wonderful, as expected. We loved being able to recognize the performers from the previous night’s show and were amazed to learn that the cast members participate in several shows each week. And look at this theater! No photos during the show, of course – I snapped this before it began:
After the show, our girls opted for room service and a movie, while my husband and I went to Palo, one of the adults-only restaurants, for our 8:00p reservation.
Palo deserves its own blog post too, but in succinct terms, go there! Everything was top-notch, from the food, to the service, to the décor. Definitely one of our top dining experiences anywhere and a bargain at the $35 per person upcharge. We tried incredible appetizers, the bread service and salads, scallops, filet of sole, fileted at the table, and their chocolate soufflé for dessert. Our server gave me a rose for our anniversary, gave us both chocolate anniversary wish, and we even had a visit from the chef.
Don’t hesitate to book a special dinner at Palo. TIP: make reservations BEFORE you travel. Take advantage of the kids’ clubs if your children and small and go!
After our lovely dinner, we pulled our clothes out of our suitcases for the next day, tagged our luggage and sat it in the hallway, and headed to bed. TIP: keep a large travel bag with you to put your nightclothes and toiletries in the next day. You will see many guests carrying plastic bags around with them the next morning. Including us, because we misestimated what we would have to carry off the ship and had to use the laundry bag from our closet!
Overnight, the seas were rough as the ship moved from the warm Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and my night was not fun, but everyone else slept just fine. TIP: do not discontinue motion-sickness medication because you feel great – that’s why you feel great!
The next morning when we woke up, we found that we were docked in sunny Port Canaveral, FL! We headed with our bags to the Enchanted Garden for our 8:00 breakfast (you’ll be assigned a breakfast time for your final morning). Beautiful restaurant!
Our wonderful servers, Aut and Diana brought me ginger ale with breakfast since I still wasn’t feeling great.
Breakfast was very quick, but we made time to take a photo with our servers. I love that the other Cast Member managed to sneak a selfie with my phone. TIP: tip your servers well; they work so hard and always with a smile on their face!
We headed upstairs to look at all of our photos and decided to buy one for each of the girls. TIP: if you plan to buy any photos, take Disney Cruise Line’s advice (and mine) and buy them before the last day. It is busy then and the prices aren’t as good.
A few last photos and we were off! You will be directed to head back into the terminal, find the character that you were assigned for your luggage and pick up the bags that you sat in the hallway the night before. Here is our tag – so cute!
We claimed our luggage, texted our ride service, then headed out the door. I couldn’t resist snapping two last pictures – one of the terminal and one of the Disney Dream.
I completely concur with everyone who says a 3-night cruise just isn’t long enough. We will definitely cruise again, but not for less than 4 nights. I think a 4 to 5 night cruise would be perfect for our family. TIP: look for the cruises that stop at Castaway Cay twice! If you like to have time to relax, while still not missing anything there is to see, that is a perfect option. If you’re interested in learning if a cruise is right for your family, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Happy Sailing!
After the show, our girls opted for room service and a movie, while my husband and I went to Palo, one of the adults-only restaurants, for our 8:00p reservation.
Palo deserves its own blog post too, but in succinct terms, go there! Everything was top-notch, from the food, to the service, to the décor. Definitely one of our top dining experiences anywhere and a bargain at the $35 per person upcharge. We tried incredible appetizers, the bread service and salads, scallops, filet of sole, fileted at the table, and their chocolate soufflé for dessert. Our server gave me a rose for our anniversary, gave us both chocolate anniversary wish, and we even had a visit from the chef.
Don’t hesitate to book a special dinner at Palo. TIP: make reservations BEFORE you travel. Take advantage of the kids’ clubs if your children and small and go!
After our lovely dinner, we pulled our clothes out of our suitcases for the next day, tagged our luggage and sat it in the hallway, and headed to bed. TIP: keep a large travel bag with you to put your nightclothes and toiletries in the next day. You will see many guests carrying plastic bags around with them the next morning. Including us, because we misestimated what we would have to carry off the ship and had to use the laundry bag from our closet!
Overnight, the seas were rough as the ship moved from the warm Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and my night was not fun, but everyone else slept just fine. TIP: do not discontinue motion-sickness medication because you feel great – that’s why you feel great!
The next morning when we woke up, we found that we were docked in sunny Port Canaveral, FL! We headed with our bags to the Enchanted Garden for our 8:00 breakfast (you’ll be assigned a breakfast time for your final morning). Beautiful restaurant!
Our wonderful servers, Aut and Diana brought me ginger ale with breakfast since I still wasn’t feeling great.
Breakfast was very quick, but we made time to take a photo with our servers. I love that the other Cast Member managed to sneak a selfie with my phone. TIP: tip your servers well; they work so hard and always with a smile on their face!
We headed upstairs to look at all of our photos and decided to buy one for each of the girls. TIP: if you plan to buy any photos, take Disney Cruise Line’s advice (and mine) and buy them before the last day. It is busy then and the prices aren’t as good.
A few last photos and we were off! You will be directed to head back into the terminal, find the character that you were assigned for your luggage and pick up the bags that you sat in the hallway the night before. Here is our tag – so cute!
We claimed our luggage, texted our ride service, then headed out the door. I couldn’t resist snapping two last pictures – one of the terminal and one of the Disney Dream.
I completely concur with everyone who says a 3-night cruise just isn’t long enough. We will definitely cruise again, but not for less than 4 nights. I think a 4 to 5 night cruise would be perfect for our family. TIP: look for the cruises that stop at Castaway Cay twice! If you like to have time to relax, while still not missing anything there is to see, that is a perfect option. If you’re interested in learning if a cruise is right for your family, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Happy Sailing!
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