Ooooh! The beach countdown chain is a good idea to start off with!
First off with the easy stuff...wave phones are available on the Magic!
That is a huge plus on the ships!
DOTD stands for Drink of the Day! Cruises have a drink on special every day.
Breakfast can definitely be ordered each morning, except debarkation day. It is continental only via room service though. (Only exception to this is concierge/suites which can order hot breakfasts off the dining room menu, and also continental on debarkation day.)
I do not believe 2014 will be available to book yet during our cruise (although you never know!). If it's not, book a dummy date to lock in the discount and OBC (or whatever the special is Disney will be offering)...you can then change your dates once 2014 becomes available. I actually did this in 2009 for our 2010 cruise. (I should add there have been rumors about DCL no longer allowing the dummy dates by not allowing discounts to be moved. Not sure what the final word was on that one!)
Excursions - hmmmmm. That really depends on what you want to do. I have often stuck with snorkeling and water sports, and with little ones I am guessing that would be out!
In Key West, we just winged it on our own (I went to school at Univ of Miami and spent quite a bit of time down there...even so, it is a very easy port to get around on your own). If you want to do the trolley, I would suggest booking on your own rather than through DCL. On your own you would be able to get on and off...DCL's version does not allow you to get off at any stops. Key West has a great butterfly farm that your little ones might enjoy. DCL does have an excursion that goes to this. (You can also walk or cab there, just as an FYI.) We love the museums in Key West, especially Mel Fisher's (which is just a couple of blocks from the pier), Truman's Little White House, and Hemingway's House. All of these can be done on your own and are within walking distance, but you would definitely need a stroller for the kids. I believe you can do all three of these via the Trolley Tour if you book it on your own as there should be trolley stops near all three.
Nassau is a bit more difficult as this is where I usually snorkel. We did do a pirate museum and city tour through Royal Caribbean once and liked it. The closest thing Disney has to this is the Nassau Forts and Junkanoo Discovery. It does not stop at the pirate museum, but it does have the stop at Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase which are two of my favorite places in Nassau (you can get to the fort and staircase by foot, but it is a bit of a hike!). If you want to check out the Pirate Museum, you can do that on your own...it is within walking distance of the pier. I'm not a fan of the Atlantis excursion (Atlantis has a huge waterpark within their hotel grounds) as I think you can go to better waterparks in the states for much less money. Having said that, this is a very popular excursion!
Castaway Cay - you definitely do not need an excursion to enjoy it here! We have rented bikes in the past...you can't beat the price of $6/person for an hour! Plus, it's a good way to just get a nice view of the island itself (or at least the accessible areas of the island!). I also love Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure. We didn't even snorkel with this one...our main goal was feeding the rays and just wandering in the shallow water with them. Very cool experience!
Tips and extras - Whew! I just hunted down our final bill from our 7-day Western last year. To be honest, we do not do the spa thing (not our cup of tea). For a 5-night cruise, gratuities will be $60/person to cover dining staff and stateroom host. If you decide to upgrade to a suite, the concierge manager is tipped at your discretion (most people base it on how much the person does for them). I think the typical amount is $25 - $50, although that is really a total guess! When you order drinks a 15% gratuity is automatically added to the bill...you can tip extra at your discretion, but certainly do not have to. Drinks will be anywhere from $5 - $15 on average. (DOTD's are typically a bit less, I believe...although I was using my souvie glass for them, so cannot give a good answer on this...hint souvie glasses hold a bit more than the standard glass.) My dealings with drinks in general were that they were around $3.50 - $8.00 for what I ordered (ranging from wine and champagne to margaritas and rum runners). An $8 drink was something super special; I rarely paid over $4-$6 though for the most part. Since sodas are included with your cruise when you get them at the drink station and at dinner, we didn't have to purchase sodas, which meant I was the only one buying drinks! Our drink total for the cruise came to around $40. (I'm not a big drinker either! LOL And I did carry on a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne too.)
We bought a photo package (word is some of the lower priced ones have to be purchased in advance...not sure about that though) for $89. This gave us 10 credits...8x10 photos are 2 credits, 6x8 photos are 1 credit. And one thing to keep in mind, however they print the photo is the size you are stuck with (if you like an 8x10, you cannot get it in a 6x8).
For souvenirs, we spent about $100 on the ship and at Castaway Cay. This included picking up a few things for friends and family too. We probably spent about $150 in the ports also, but we visited Cozumel and Grand Cayman in lieu of Nassau. To be honest, we typically do not spend alot on photos and souvenirs, but this was our first 7-night cruise and it was a special occasion so we splurged. The norm for us is probably somewhere between $50 - $100 total in both port and on the ship.
I'm thinking you will not be trying Palo since you will have the two little ones with you (although some folks do squeeze this in while the kids are in the clubs or in the nursery). If you do visit, plan on the $20/person charge plus additional tip and anything for drinks. Our Palo total was $50 back when it was $15/person.
That's all I can think of for extras. Oh! We did spend the night before at the Port, and also the night on return at Wilderness Lodge. Keep in mind those extras if you will be staying before/after.
Our total bill on our KTTW cards for the 7-night cruise (which wouldn't include anything purchased in the ports), less our upgrade to the suite, was $664.09. This included:
- Island Tour in Grand Cayman for 2
- Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure at CC for 2
- 10 credit photo package
- About $32 in Internet usage charges
- Gratuities for 2 for 7-nights
- Drinks
- Palo
- Merchandise purchases onboard and at CC
Since we did Key West on our own, I will need to go back and figure out what we spent on the museums there. Need to hunt down those receipts! LOL
Hope this helps! I bought a few things for my FE gifts this weekend. Think I will start working on them soon since I thought 5 months last year was plenty of time.
It wasn't!
)
) I think doing Hawaii Disney-style will be easier and more fun at this stage in our lives. 
You can't sail if you are more than 24 weeks pregnant, so it can't happen too soon or I wouldn't be able to go!! lol! Planning a family around a cruise date, of course!
