1st Time Help!

[MarriedAtDisney]

Ok, we've been lurking the message boards since we got married at Disney in April of 2000. We finally scheduled our first cruise (with Disney of course) and I was hoping to get some opinions and suggestions.

(p.s. we're in a cat 6 room - but its guaranteed so we don't have a room number)

Questions:

1. Disney offers a romantic/honeymoon package for $170 that includes two 30 minute massages (one each), reservations to Palo's, and a bottle of champagne and special gift. Should I go ahead and buy this to ensure we're able to get into Palo's and at least one massage? I read that getting reservations for both is stressful.

2. We know which excursion we're taking at St. Thomas, but we're unsure what to do in St. Martin. We're taking the Leyland Sneed snorkle trip in St Thomas, should we try something different? We don't really want to shop..... any suggestions?

3. My wife is a coffee-aholic. What's the best way for me to have her coffee for her when she wakes up in the morning?

4. Any "Romantic" or special-event suggestions while on the trip? As I mentioned, we were married at Disney almost two years ago and this is our post-poned Honeymoon.

5. Can you use your own laptop if you buy the unlimited internet access? (We want to send the parents digital pictures so I need a USB port.)

6. We're staying at the Swan/Dolphin the day before, any suggestions for activities?

7. Is it difficult to get seats for the stage shows? I read that it is and that it isn't......

8. We're going to get to the Port on our own. What time should we get there - what's the earliest you can board? If we're there early, does that help with trying to get reservations?

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

(P.S. we were married at the Wedding Pavilion and had the reception at the GF. It was the best wedding ever! Disney was absolutely fantastic! We felt like celebrities the whole time!)

Thanks!

 

[calhous2]

I can't answer them all for you but I'll tackle a few.

I got my coffee each morning at the 24-hour beverage station on deck 9, then enjoyed it on our verandah while the kids slept in and the wife walked the decks. You'll love having the verandah.
Although I didn't take advantage of it, I understand you can also have coffee delivered to your cabin via room service.

Never had any problems getting seats for the shows. The Walt Disney Theatre is pretty big and not everyone goes to the shows anyway. Just get there within 10 minutes of showtime and I think you'll be fine.

Others can problem chime in with exact times, but I believe you can usually start boarding the ship around noon-1pm. You'll want to enjoy as much time onboard as possible so I'd plan on getting there around noon. Usually I think you can start booking Palo and Spa reservations about 2pm or so. And yes, the earlier you can get on-board will help with reservations as you can be waiting in line when they start taking them.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by MarriedAtDisney

we've been lurking the message boards since we got married at Disney in April of 2000.

<i><b>Lurking for 19 months?!?</b></i> Well, for goodness sake, it's about time you came out of the shadows and joined us on this side. Welcome to the sunny side of the message boards!

we're in a cat 6 room

You're going to <i><b>love</b></i> it. Very spacious and comfortable for two honeymooners traveling alone.

Disney offers a romantic/honeymoon package for $170 that includes two 30 minute massages (one each), reservations to Palo's, and a bottle of champagne and special gift. Should I go ahead and buy this to ensure we're able to get into Palo's and at least one massage? I read that getting reservations for both is stressful.

I'd say go ahead and book it because it sounds like a good deal, but you're still going to want to take part in the "Ressies Scramble" anyway for other Palo and spa ressies.

we're unsure what to do in St. Martin. We're taking the Leyland Sneed snorkle trip in St Thomas, should we try something different? We don't really want to shop..... any suggestions?

You're honeymooning? Hmmm... go to a beach, but stay away from Great Bay Beach, Dawn Beach, and Orient Beach... that's where all your fellow passengers will be heading. That still leaves 34 other beaches from which to choose, and I'm sure you can find one that meets your tropical island beach fantasies. Check out these two links to read descriptions of the other beaches:

www.odrc.com/beaches/beaches.htm
www.kctravel.net/sxm/beach.html

My wife is a coffee-aholic. What's the best way for me to have her coffee for her when she wakes up in the morning?

Have room service bring a pot of coffee to your room just before you go to bed. It's served in thermal carafes that will keep it hot all night long. It will be hot and ready for her in the morning.

Or you could place a room-service breakfast order on your doorknob before you go to bed. They'll call you on the phone just before coming to your room so you'll have time to "get decent".

Any "Romantic" or special-event suggestions while on the trip?

You <b><i>gotta</i></b> book the Surial Bath. Have you heard of this? Read this essay about it, and you'll be falling over yourself during the Ressies Scramble to make sure you get this booked.

www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-dave-surial.htm

And of course, dinner and/or brunch at Palo.

Can you use your own laptop if you buy the unlimited internet access? (We want to send the parents digital pictures so I need a USB port.)

Nope, sorry. There is no way to connect your laptop to the terminals used in the Internet Cafe. The only way to email photos is to download them from your camera onto your laptop and then download them onto a floppy disk. You can upload from the floppy disk into your email at the Internet Cafe.

We're staying at the Swan/Dolphin the day before, any suggestions for activities?

You're within walking distance of Disney's Boardwalk. Go over there and have dinner and see a show. Or have dessert. Or take a water shuttle ride between the Swan/Dolphin and one of the other stops on the route (Yacht Club, Epcot, Boardwalk, Swan/Dolphin, MGM Studios).

Is it difficult to get seats for the stage shows?

Depends on your expectations. Some shows are more popular than others. For Hercules or Disney Dreams, you need to plan on getting a seat when the doors open 30 minutes before curtain. You can't expect to just waltz in at curtain and get a good seat. For other shows, less advance arrival time is required.

We're going to get to the Port on our own. What time should we get there - what's the earliest you can board? If we're there early, does that help with trying to get reservations?

The gates open at 10:30. The check-in desk opens at 11:00. The line to board starts getting some length to it by 11:30. Boarding usually starts between 12:15 and 12:30. You'll want to get there early enough to get a good spot in line so you'll be onboard before they start taking Palo ressies and spa ressies. You're going to want to sign up for the brunch, the Surial Bath, and the open-air massages at Castaway Cay. You'll get a Navigator when you check in. Verify the time/place that these ressies will be taken, and then be there at least 15 minutes beforehand. Split up as necessary. Yes, the Ressies Scramble is stressful... but it's worth it... it pays its dividends in all the enjoyment you'll have on your cruise for having all the activities you'd hoped to. Once you're done with the Ressies Scramble, the rest of the cruise is yours for relaxing.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

If you haven't already, download Entropy's Magical Disney Cruise Guide. It will answer most of your questions including questions we didn't even know we had yet. It's available in HTML, Microsoft Word, and plain ASCII text. We downloaded it and read it cover-to-cover.

hometown.aol.com/entropym

I also maintain a site that has some useful reference info:

www.dcltribute.com

And any reference info that <i><b>I</b></i> don't have, you can certainly find at Barb's site:

www.castawayclub.com

we were married at the Wedding Pavilion and had the reception at the GF.

That sounds wonderful. I'm sure it was very elegant. I love the Grand Floridian. Disney did a really nice job with that.

 

[Mickey4Me]

My wife is a coffee-aholic. What's the best way for me to have her coffee for her when she wakes up in the morning?

One of my favorite memories of our cruise was early AM coffee on the verandah. Use the room service order form the night before and you should be set.

As I mentioned, we were married at Disney almost two years ago and this is our post-poned Honeymoon.

Dh and I took the 4 day cruise in Oct.'98 for our anniversary which was the day we docked in Nassau. We made sure we got Palo revervations for that night and took one of the shore excursions to the casino that evening. Unbeknownst to me, DH had told our cabin steward about our special day and when we got back to our cabin that night there was a bottle of champagne, a Mickey cake and two towel swans waiting for us. Definitely a magical way to end a specail day. Make sure you tell your room steward and Have Fun!