Fish Extenders-Be Honest

[Alisa0934]

I am considering doing the fish extenders for our Alaskan cruise but it honestly seems like a lot of work and since we are flying to our port, it would take more luggage. Is it really worth it? I don't want to sounds selfish but it seems like we would have a lot of people to do gifts for. Please tell me your experiences.....good or bad.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

It's a fun thing to do on a cruise that has a lot of sea days, but I think I would pass on it on a port intensive or highly scenic cruise.

 

[lmhall2000]

We love it and do it everytime, still friends with families we met through it, you can get creative with small items. Most now break into groups of 10 cabins.

 

[moomy-san]

I've done them twice. My kids were happy, me... Well... Not so much. We spent a lot of time and $$ putting together hand made gifts. Some staterooms gave us cheap candy in return, or things that weren't age appropriate for our kids. Or worse, cd's that were supposed to have music on them but didn't. And numerous personalized gifts with names spelled wrong. And then we had to haul it all home. Not exactly what I want to use the extra room in my luggage for!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We did FEs several times. You're right, it is a lot of work and added expense. We ended up with a LOT of candy. We aren't really all that much of candy eaters so I left that for the stateroom host. Lots of baubles and bits also that I simply didn't have room for in the luggage so I left behind which made me feel bad/sad. Many thoughtful, creative things, too. Don't get me wrong. I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have & use a few things we got. And when I skip thru the CDs on the hard drive in my car it's always neat to happen by the one that plays all the DCL ships' horns. Makes me smile every time.

I used to plan for more than 1 gift so I could stretch out the fun for the recipients to get gifts multiple times. Good idea in theory but each delivery you had to carry everything and walk a LOT. Little time consuming. Not always my first choice of things to do. It'd weigh on my mind, this thing I had to go do. For me, I've found I like keeping my time as unscheduled as possible. Thus, I don't really do the meetups or any of that stuff anymore either. Rather keep my time free as possible.

I'm glad I did FEs the times I did. It was fun. I just eventually found that it wasnt something I had to do to enjoy my cruise. In the spirit of vacation/relaxation I decided it's best for us to keep everything as simple as possible: minimal added things to have to go do.

So, I've retired my family's FE for good. ((Cue the gentle sound of Taps playing in the distance.))

 

[Cruise-n-2015]

Hmmm now I'm second guessing if I want to do the FE. Most of the children involved are under 10, mine are all over 10. Hmmmmmmm

 

[Madame]

I've done them twice. My kids were happy, me... Well... Not so much. We spent a lot of time and $$ putting together hand made gifts. Some staterooms gave us cheap candy in return, or things that weren't age appropriate for our kids. Or worse, cd's that were supposed to have music on them but didn't. And numerous personalized gifts with names spelled wrong. And then we had to haul it all home. Not exactly what I want to use the extra room in my luggage for!!

I would have to agree with this. I spent a lot of time & $$ photoshopping personalized magnets & bags & postcards (& yes I know it's the thought that counts, but a lot of the FB groups that are FE specific make it seem that good quality gifts are the norm!!) only to get candy stuffed in a ziplock. It wasn't the $ spent, but the lack of thoughtfulness which turned me off.

That being said, my kids enjoyed checking their FE (probably their favorite part of the cruise) & I might be willing to do it again (going in with more reasonable expectations), but someone had come along & snapped the dowel on our FE in half (it would have taken a lot of force to do it so not accidental). That was heartbreaking.

I'm taking our FE on our next cruise, but hanging it inside the room & filling it with gifts from Tink at night.

Gift delivery was also a little tiring, especially for first-timers who didn't know the ship.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I don't want to turn anyone off to FEs. If you've never done it, it's worth doing to have the experience for yourself. Ive done it & found its not my thing which is okay.

@Madame, you stated it very well. It's not about $$ spent, it's thoughtfulness. I can appreciate that.

 

[bafleyanne]

We did it on our last cruise and enjoyed it. We are in the cruise group for our next cruise, but have chosen not to do the full FE and just be on the Pixie Dust list.

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

In fairness, I can't talk from experience since this is our first cruise. But I can give my reasons for participating in the FE knowing some of the gifts may not be completely awesome.

1. We have three kids and they will all be under the age of six. I know that they will be excited to see what they receive in their pockets!

2. This will probably be our one and only cruise. We only vacation every other year and we like to do different things. So I want to participate in as much fun as possible and this is a little extra magic that is only a little inconvenient for me.

3. I know I am going to have some time on the ship that I won't be able to do much. My girls will probably only be able to stay awake till 10pm. Enough time to see the evening show and head to bed. My hubby will stay in the room with them, but would pout if I left to do something he would like to do. The FE will give me an excuse to get out of our room and wander the ship.

4. I am crafty. So that means I can make awesome things for little $$$. I am also able to make my own fish extender so I am not laying down $50+ on hanging pockets. If it was costing me more, I would totally reconsider.

5. We are driving to port, so luggage is not really an issue for me.

6. It is better to give than receive. I am also making my girls my FE gift for girls, so I know one gift will be a keeper!

If your circumstances are different, I completely understand why you would skip it!

 

[SteelersLover]

Im a single mother who travels with my DS. We've cruised DCL 4 times. we participated in FEs twice on the Dream and it was alot of work. fun for my child tho. on the past two trips ive simply packed small gifts for my kid and hung out FE bag out. when he's sleeping or at kids club i put gifts in the bag and the secret is mine.. FEs are very fun for kids and yes a lot of times parents too, but after a couple times i prefer to save myself the time and the luggage space

 

[Thnlk]

We have done the FE on every cruise we have done. We always spend to much money. It takes up entirely to much time before the cruise. It takes room in our luggage that we can't spare. That being said when we are on the cruise doing it we enjoy it so much. We have a big box that holds everything we have gotten in the FE. Everyonce in a while when we need a cruise fix we pullout the box and go through it.

 

[Baysailors]

We did the FE on our 1st cruise and have signed up for our 2nd. DD loved it and we had fun putting our gifts together. It was a way of channeling our pre-cruise excitement. We gave items that were easy to pack so that wasn't an issue. I thought it was a great way to spread a little extra magic.

 

[NoodlesMom]

I love the FE exchanges. I could really care less about the gifts we get. It's just fun to come back to the room and see something. I don't make individualized gifts. We make one per stateroom. My expectations are not high so if I get candy, so be it. My kids are 10 and 14 and will sometimes get little kid gifts but their eyes still light up because they got something. Let's not forget that it's suppose to be fun. People complain about the room it takes up and the amount of time they put into it but don't appreciate when someone just brings candy. Maybe they didn't have room in their luggage but still wanted to participate.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Thnlk said it simply - it takes some time and money to prepare and pack, but fun and interesting too. We participated on our first cruise - over Christmas Day - on the Dream. We brought Postcards from our city as there are some interesting (and well-known) landmarks etc, and an item of candy that was made in the downtown (non-chocolate so no worries on melting). We wrote a personal message on each postcard, as well. So even if the postcards were looked at/read and then discarded, it still provided entertainment at a lower cost, or easy to pack if the family took them home. We received a number of items (some candy, some small and meaningless trinkets), but the kids enjoyed those and some made it home, some did not. Thoughtfulness is important, but does not need to be expensive. One FE gift I take out at Christmastime is a single sheet of paper that has "Twas the night before Christmas" rewritten to be all about Christmas on the Disney Dream and Santa on his sleigh, etc. Very fun to read and always makes us smile. Another gift was a packet of useful items for a cruise (ibuprofen packets was one these items and I was very thankful as I injured my ankle and used these when my small stash was gone). Another gift was a small piece of artwork, personalized for each child, from an professional artist who was on the cruise.
Don't worry about packing everything up in your suitcase - choose a small item and most others will have done the same. Also, I packed an older pair of dress shoes that were fine to wear, but could be left behind if I needed the space (and I did leave them behind - in the trash can so as not to be mistaken as a forgotten item).
For planning purposes I begin writing ideas for FE gifts and keep adding to it until I am ready to get the FEs together. Lots of resources to find ideas - depending on if you are crafty or not. FE hangers do not need to be fancy or expensive. I made the last one (No fancy embroidery, but I did buy nautical trim and gold metallic paint pen for fabric). This time, I am not sure what I will do for the FE hanger, but it will be nice but simple. Also, the FE gifts I am planning to give will be small, as the DCL cruise departs from Europe.
Good luck with your decision, and enjoy if you decide to participate!

 

[lizabu]

I did it on our 1st cruise and won't do it again. I spent a great deal of time and effort making gifts. It sucked up quite abit of time passing out the gifts. In the end we got mostly halloween candy, stickers and pages printed off the internet.

 

[SarahKate]

In my opinion it was a lot of work. It was sometimes a little stressful trying to figure out what to make or buy and we ended up buying more than we made. On the actual cruise it was a lot of fun to distribute the gifts and see what others had made for their FE's. It was also fun to come back to our room and there was almost always something waiting for us. It was a challenge to pack everything given to us! Some things were a little difficult to pack and a bit bulky but we felt like we had to because they were great items that we could use later. Some of my fave items were the little tropical rum bottles and different types of chocolate. One of the families made custom tumbler cups for each of us, which was really nice for filling up with soda (and throwing in a little rum too, lol) but those were a little hard to pack to take home.

Would I do it again for our next cruise? Probably not. I want the next cruise to be more relaxing and not have to worry so much about all the stuff to do beforehand.

 

[JimGA]

I originally signed up and joined a group..but backed out and when I was on the cruise I was SO glad I did not participate. All I had to do was relax enjoy my family and the cruise.

Not having to worry about going all over the ship to deliver stuff was priceless

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have never participated in a real FE. I have organized "Local Candy/Snack" exchanges and have enjoyed them immensely! I have kept the groups to 6-11 cabins. We use the Fish Extenders to give local treats, as examples, this last time (Fantasy 21, 2015!) we got some chocolate covered dried cherries from Michigan and a box of cream chocolates from Canada. People give a brief history of the candies, snacks.

I think it is fun to come back to the room and get a surprise! When there has been enough interest for 2 groups, I try to organize groups by floors or locations.

Bobbi

 

[KashasMom]

We've done FE on our last two cruises. On our last cruise we had about 5 groups of 12 cabins. Even doing 1 group took up a full suitcase for us. We had a great organizer who provided maps of the cabins for delivery (by group). That was fantastic! Easy to plan how many you'd drop off at a time. My daughter (5 1/2) LOVES seeing gifts waiting for her. We did receive a lot of things we won't use (liquor, bottle stoppers), which we gave away. We loved getting the card to leave the lights on but....between 2 cruises we have four of them. I would have loved the option of only having the kids in the FE. I am glad we did it but for the future I've decided to just bring gifts for my daughter and put those in each night.

BTW, I saw it mentioned that FEs were getting too expensive and people were trying to outdo each other. I feel at a disadvantage since I'm not "crafty". I don't think the point should be how much you spend either.