First Time Cruising - What to do first? (On Magic)

[leannak]

Our family is taking our first cruise (Disney or otherwise) soon on the Magic. I can't wait to step aboard the ship - even just seeing it for the first time will be so exciting! We have a 12:30 port arrival time and I have a couple of things I want to do - like check for Palo openings, schedule the Art of the Theme Show Tour, maybe Chill Spa for my daughter and a possible mixology for us... (I've been researching! ;-) Plus I have gift cards to put on our onboard account, etc. But I really want to just experience the ship!! I don't want to drag my family around taking care of business, nor do I want to split up from them and miss seeing my kids soak in the excitement! My kids have no idea what to expect (recently my daughter asked if they have electricity on the ship. BWAH HA HA! ) Even my husband doesn't know the half of it. They'll be so impressed I know they'll prefer to walk around and check things out rather than wear swimsuits under their clothes and head for the pool. I imagine we'll need lunch and I feel we should probably save the dining rooms for dinner... should we go straight to Cabanas for buffet?? Or is there something else we should see/do first? (Our kids are ages 3-14.)

Would it be foolish to not go try and get a Palo brunch first thing? Help!

 

[Magic - Mickey -and Madi]

If you're set on doing Palo, I would go right away (or right after grabbing a bite)! I wouldn't suggest it - the included meals are great. I think it's better to spend time taking in the ship, and if you're the kind of family that likes to really soak it up, a scheduled reservation might not even be in your best interest. Too much to do/see, way too little time to do it all!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'd still try for Palo brunch as it was one of my fave meals. The "normal" thing is to head to Cabanas for lunch, but I frankly found Cabanas super chaotic on the first day. That said, you need food at some point, and the MDR is available but likely slower. I think it's worthwhile to explore the ship for sure before muster drill. Walk around all of the decks, orient yourself, check out how the carpets and fish point you in the right direction, check out the kids clubs (they will likely all be in open house mode)...

 

[Sunshine2U]

Have you looked online to see what you can book NOW?

If Palo is important, do that first.

Gift Cards - handle this now. There's a Disney website where you can consolidate all of your gift cards onto one card (keep all of the other cards just in case and mark the "master" card). You may be able to add the card balance to your account now with a phone call. I'm sure someone here will know. But in any case, get them all onto one card to make the process simpler. If you have to handle it onboard, you can do that on day 2.

Research and know in advance where you sign up for each activity and what spa treatments, etc. you want. That way as you are going about the ship you can make sure to check off the important things first. For example, Mixology before Chill Spa. At each place there is sure to be something to ooh and ahh over along the way.

Keep in mind as soon as the younger kids see the pools they may insist on their turn. The pools can become like kid soup so the earlier the better; hopefully that won't be a requirement.

How long is your cruise?

 

[Geomom]

To sign up for immediately if unable to online: Palo Brunch and Mixology. The Chill Spa will likely have plenty of openings, so later that day/next day would be fine.

Art of the Theme Show Tour isn't a 'sign up' activity--you just show up. When we did it on the Wonder, the 'meet' point was outside of Palo.

Definitely get lunch. When to get in line for Palo depends on how disappointed you'll be not to get it. If you don't really care either way--see what the line looks like upon boarding...if it's long, get lunch, if it's short, get in line.

For our first cruise on the Wonder (to Alaska), we did the MDR lunch, then the 'walking tour of the ship' with the whole family, visited the kids' clubs, had Muster drill, went to the sail away party, visited more kids' clubs, unpacked, went to dinner, went to show. I discovered I'm better off learning where things are myself vs. going on a walking tour, the route the tour takes, isn't how I'd normally navigate the ship. I LOVED the Art of the Theme Show tour that we did on our last day at sea though--that was all about the design of the ship. We're not at the point of wanting to spend extra for Palo and are happy to enjoy all the included offerings instead!

 

[VTNuke]

No reason you couldn't book Palo now, but I get that you may want more information to make sure your meal doesn't conflict with other stuff going on during your cruise. It is a longer than usual meal.

If you have kids, get them registered online first. Waiting in the line to get their bands for the Kids Club can be a pain if you have to fill out a bunch of information too. Basically, the more you do online now, the faster you'll get onto the ship. You don't want to be sitting in the port filling out paperwork instead of running around the ship. You already will have to check in, get the kid's bands, stand in line to get your picture taken, and go through security before they announce your arrival on the ship. And that assumes you can get on the ship as soon as you arrive. Your Port Arrival Time is not the same as the time you can enter the boat.

Once you're on the boat, remember your room probably isn't ready yet, so you still have your carry on and it's just your carry on. Some will say bring the kids swimming stuff with you because the pool is usually less crowded at that point. I'd agree with that, but the weather is an important factor there.

Explore the boat. If you have "nothing" to do, check out the mid-ship detective agency. I'd bet that isn't crowded right away and it gives you the rest of the trip to solve the mystery. It's best to spread those out anyway. Also lets you explore the ship with a purpose.

Food is available pretty much all day. Don't feel the need to eat right away unless you're really hungry. Cabana's is fine, but there are other options once the boat starts heading out.

 

[cadien]

We were on the Magic in April, which was also our first Disney cruise. We did take care of Palo brunch immediately, because there were never any openings online. But after that, we just explored. We ate a late breakfast so there was no need to go to Cabana's. Yes it's 'free' food and there's crab, but we'd rather avoid crowds at the beginning of the trip.

 

[lklgoodman]

No reason you couldn't book Palo now, but I get that you may want more information to make sure your meal doesn't conflict with other stuff going on during your cruise. It is a longer than usual meal.

If you have kids, get them registered online first. Waiting in the line to get their bands for the Kids Club can be a pain if you have to fill out a bunch of information too. Basically, the more you do online now, the faster you'll get onto the ship. You don't want to be sitting in the port filling out paperwork instead of running around the ship. You already will have to check in, get the kid's bands, stand in line to get your picture taken, and go through security before they announce your arrival on the ship. And that assumes you can get on the ship as soon as you arrive. Your Port Arrival Time is not the same as the time you can enter the boat.

Once you're on the boat, remember your room probably isn't ready yet, so you still have your carry on and it's just your carry on. Some will say bring the kids swimming stuff with you because the pool is usually less crowded at that point. I'd agree with that, but the weather is an important factor there.

Explore the boat. If you have "nothing" to do, check out the mid-ship detective agency. I'd bet that isn't crowded right away and it gives you the rest of the trip to solve the mystery. It's best to spread those out anyway. Also lets you explore the ship with a purpose.

Food is available pretty much all day. Don't feel the need to eat right away unless you're really hungry. Cabana's is fine, but there are other options once the boat starts heading out.

The Magic doesn't have the Mid-ship Detective agency, it's only on the Dream and Fantasy.

 

[darnheather]

Relax! I tried to do so much in the first few hours of our first cruise that I stressed everyone out. We all ended up in tears. The second cruise we got onboard, the girls got in the pool and I had a drink. Then we had a casual lunch. So much nicer.

 

[VTNuke]

The Magic doesn't have the Mid-ship Detective agency, it's only on the Dream and Fantasy.

You are correct. I missed in the OP where she was going on the Magic.

 

[GPaLarry]

On our first cruise we took the tour of the ship (Magic), led by a cast member (to be seen later in one of the evening shows) after lunch. You can leave it at any point, but it at least gives you a good "on site" orientation. You don't have to rush into everything (except the Palo res.). The Navigator you receive before you sign in will give you an idea what is going on and where to book future activities. Swim if you like or check out the decks and views...always fun no matter how many cruises you have been on. Our house isn't eight stories high overlooking the ocean with a large mouse on the loose.

 

[kiford]

We usually board around 1-1:30 pm so we're able to go right to our stateroom. We usually check to make sure our excursion tickets are correct (twice we've had to have them corrected) and drop our bags off. Sometimes we go to Guest Services before we go to our room to check out times and options for various tastings. Only once have we had to go to make a modification for Palo dining to consolidate our dining time with friends but I would definitely do that first to make sure you are able to book something if you can't do it online prior to boarding. Then we go for lunch. Lunch will at available at both Cabanas and one of the MDRs but will still be buffet. The buffet is a bit more comprehensive in Cabanas but you get served drinks in the MDR and don't have to find your own table. Lately we've done the MDR on embarkation day just because we're lazy.

After lunch, we usually wander around a bit - doesn't matter that we know the ships well, we still like to just walk about a bit and point out anything we think is different or just to remind ourselves of where everything is especially in relation to our cabin which is always in a different location every cruise. We usually make sure to be in our cabin just prior to the lifeboat drill to check the life vests to make sure I remember how to put them on that there are no issues with them (yes, I actually do that every single cruise; in an emergency, your brain will take a bit of a vacation so anything you can do to make it more natural or habitual will help). Our luggage usually arrives after the drill but before the deck party so I make sure to check for it and unpack immediately.

We've been to so many deck parties, we don't always go to them but we've probably been to half of them. You have to go to at least one. If we're on the Dream/Fantasy, we usually spend it in Meridian lounge out on the outside deck as we leave port and/or during the deck party. On the classic ships, we'll usually spend it on our balcony. I may order, ahead of time, a bottle of champagne to be delivered to the cabin so we'll drink it while watching us leave port (sometimes I'll get a couple of slices of pizza from the QS places on deck and take it back to my room - there's nothing better IMO than pizza and champagne on a balcony while pulling out of port - now that's a great start to a vacation!).

We've done the ship tour a couple of times on different ships. I can certainly figure my way around on my own and have been on all four ships but it's still an interesting and useful tour. If you've never been on the ship, it's a great way to orient yourself and get some tips. IIRC, it runs at about 2 pm.

We have late dining so we have lots of time between drill and dinner so we just typically wander at will, maybe sit in a lounge, or sit on deck, or sit on our balcony and watch the water or go to the early show.

I would actually suggest that you do drag the family around to do the errands. It's helpful for future navigation, it gives everyone an idea of where they may need to go to get something done later, and you won't lose track of them. Also, if you don't do the errands right away, it's really easy to forget about them with all of the activities going on.