[B][/B]Please say I did the right thing![B][/B]

[happymommy]

I was looking for a way to spend this coming year's spring break (March 15th and on...)

I was looking for some all-inclusive, but we took DS once to Mexico (he has food allergies) and although we stayed in a 5 diamond property, it was super difficult. I was actually GLAD to leave, and vowed we'd never travel outside the US with him until he (hopefully) outgrew them. He lived on french fries and hot dogs without the bun for 5 days. Yuck... All-inclusives are mostly in Mexico and Carribbean. Nope, not gonna do it. Love Disney. So, I looked into it and there is a cruise Mar. 15, 7 night Eastern. I knew I wanted 2 rooms, as kids are gonna be 9 and 11. Well, it turns out it's CHEAPER to get two rooms with a window (cat 8) than one cat 4, which is almost the same size. I decided that it's better for them to not have a veranda anyway (okay, justified).

It's still gonna be probably 8 grand. But I am so excited. Am I crazy? I always swore I'd never go on a cruise, and DH hates to dress up on vacation, Hates it! He dresses for work, so he associates dressing up with WORK. How can I convince him? DS is so excited, he really wants to go! I will give the kids check in priviledges for the club, as they'll stick together.

Please help me with some advice! First of all, we have rooms 6524 and 6526 (cat 8 on deck 6). That is the best connecting rooms available. I like the fact that DD can go to sleep early if she wants (she frequently does on vacation, and she needs her sleep!). I like the 2 bathroom idea! We've never done 2 rooms for more than 2 days, as it usually doubles your bill on vacation, but not on all-inclusive like a cruise as I'm seeing. Is this a good area?

Second, can I let DS order whatever he wants? I browsed the "childrens menu" and he would probably want something more adult at dinner.

Also, any, any advice is super appreciated! Keep your fingers crossed, as I really want to do this!

 

[limati]

Hello Happymommy,

We are also sailing on the March 15 - 22 Eastern sailing. We are also on deck 6 (cat. 11). We have three rooms next to each other. I think the location is pretty good. The kids clubs are below us and we are fairly close to the midship elevators.

I'm certain the kids can order from the adult menus also. This board is full of fantastic info. (very addictive!). The search feature has been very helpful. We also have a thread going on the cruise meet board.

Happy sailing,

Lisa

 

[TanaL]

Hi, my son has food allergies (eggs and peanuts) and we have been very impressed with the way Disney handles them. On the first night we spoke to the head server and each night he would appear at our table to discuss my son's options. then he would serve my son himself, separately from everyone else (but around the same time the rest of the food arrived). He made sure my son had 3 courses too. Not just the stuff from the kiddie menu -- he would ask each night what kind of fruit my son wanted and then bring this artfully displayed huge plate of fruit. All of the kid can order off the adult menu if they want, and my son had steak a few times because he loves it and it is allergy free for him. But also they let my son order pizza from Palo's (the adult only Italian restaurant on board) because he wanted pizza and the kids menu pizza had eggs (it had to be pre-ordered the day before with our head waiter). So anyway, for the allergy issue, I say Disney is the only way to go!!


For the dressing up issue, I am not sure what to tell you. I enjoy the ambiance in the restaurants and I think the dressing up is part of that, plus the family photo ops are wonderful! For most dinners, khakis and a polo is as dressy as you need to get. If you don't feel like dressing up even that much, there is a casual restaurant too. Last time we went we didn't feel like doing formal night so we scheduled Palo for that night and we basically had 2 semi-formal nights.

good luck convincing your dh!

 

[KATHINOWA]

I hope you can convince your DH. It is the best vacation you will have!! My 9 year old son has peanut allergies and we are very comfortable with him eating on the ship. They really seem to "get it" and know what they are talking about. I understand what you're saying about travelling with food allergies. I am petrified to take a family vacation outside of the US. My husband's family wants to go to Germany in 2009 and I'm dreading it. Fortunately my FIL will be going and he is fluent in German so that should help us out.

 

[trivial]

Regarding dressing up, the dress code in the restaurants is very relaxed, with some reasonable exceptions (ie. no speedo thongs, etc.). Outside of the restaurants, there is no dress code. I do believe there is a formal night on 7-night cruises, but you needn't attend your scheduled restaurant if you don't want (do the buffet or Palo instead). You're expected to dress up a bit for Palo, but nice pants and a dress shirt for men are just fine.

 

[carolmp]

As with Limati, we are on this same cruise too. Check out Disney's dress code. Jeans are allowed in the dining room, so you can dress up as much as you want. It does have some restrictions, but jeans are allowed.

 

[plutospup]

I think your rooms (6524/26) are in a great location! We've been in room 6512 three times. There is less traffic in that area, so there is less noise. Also it's only one floor down to the Kids Clubs. Best of all the Walt Disney Theatre, Rockin' Bar D, Sessions, and Diversions are all at the front of the ship, and are easily accessed by nearby stairs, or elevator. Also, the Quiet Cove Pool/Hot Tubs, and Vista Spa are located in the front of the ship. A quick trip in the nearby elevator and...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...relaxation!

 

[SnowWhite2]

Your kids are the perfect age and the same age as mine when we cruised spring break 06. The room location is great - we had a cat 8 this year on deck 5 forward and loved it. I thought it might be noisy due to the kids club on that deck but it was surprising quiet. In my opinion, all of the rooms are convenient to something you will be doing during the day. And with all of the food that you eat, it's good exercise to walk to your destination.

For dinner, we don't have "dressy cocktail" outfits. The guys wore suits and the ladies wore "church dresses" - something nice but not fancy. We fit in fine. Each cruise is a little different but you will see all kinds of dress on formal night with the exception of shorts and bathing suits. Don't worry - a shirt and tie would be fine on formal and semi-formal nights.

My kids only want to cruise DCL for vacations. They do not want to visit the parks, go on another cruise line or another type of vacation. Both of my kids have different personalities but they are outgoing and make friends easily which helped make friends on the ship.

Can I suggest that you fly down the night before you depart? Because of the crazy weather and airline issues, most people like to get to Orlando or Port Canaveral the night before in case something goes wrong with the flights. Just because it is not snowing doesn't mean that the airlines can't have a problem somewhere in their system and cancel a bunch of flights. I see that you are in MD also. We leave out of BWI. The only flights to get you to Orlando early enough to make it to the ship by 1 pm leave BWI around 6 am. That makes for a long first day, especially with kids. It's nice to get to FL and settle in for the night, even if it is around 11 pm by the time we eat and unpack a bit.

Let me know if you have any other questions. PM me if you'd like.

 

[flowers]

I'v heard that Disney is one of the best cruiselines about food allergies, you will love the service.

I think 2 cabins is the only way to go so you can have some private time with hubby with the door locked

Get the cruiseline version of Passporter from your library if you cant soak up enough here fast enough. Im hooked, line and sinker. We are going on a RCI cruise this fall and will be in Orlando and plan on looking for some Disney tee shirts to wear on our Disney cruise and whatever else we can pick up.

 

[happymommy]

Thanks everybody! I think the cabins will be a good choice. Also, yes, we'll fly in the day before, although I don't know if we'll head to Port Canaveral, stay at the Hyatt, or go to Disney (probably be too much for that, but who knows). I definitely don't want to have to catch a 6am flight the day of sailing, and be super tired the first day.
DH will just have to wear slacks and polos, bring one suit or we may do the tux thing. I like wearing a nice sundress/cocktail dress to dinner myself anyway, but of course there may be a night that we just grab the casual dinner and relax. It's nice to know that is an option on Disney.
I thought about later dinner seating - but then you have to go to the show earlier don't you? If that is the case, at least we can enjoy a cocktail and the show before eating, right? I can't imagine eating dinner at 5 or 6 pm most nights on vacation.