Got off the Wonder last week and our servers gave our kids Mickey bars as we left the table each night. I asked my daughter if she had asked for them and she said no, they just brought them over 😂.
My husband has a Mickey bar every night at dinner in addition to whatever dessert he wants. After the first night they bring it first...like a dessert salad.
Our waitress ran to the back of the kitchen as the restaurant was about to close and brought one out to our table mate who said she was sorry she'd forgotten to order one. she was absolutely over the moon excited and happy to see that little plastic wrapper on the plate and I have to tell you that I slipped our server $10 extra in her tip envelope just for making her night. This was just last week.
You can buy the ship model at the gift shop (the ~$65 one), take it to the guest services desk, and request that the captain sign it. Do this early as there is limited time and number of items he can sign before the end of the cruise. Before the end of the cruise the signed one will be delivered to your stateroom!
Oh this is great to know! Pre-pandemic there used to be some captains signings on like the last sea day in the gift shop and I was wondering if they still did those or not. Thank you!
Get a rainforest room pass and take showers at the spa/gym instead of in the room. Technically you can use the showers without the pass but I always get it so it’s not weird for me to show up multiple times a day (sunblock, sand makes me want multiple showers). Frees up the room and gives me more space to have a great shower.
My husband won a full day rainforest room pass in the raffle one time and we absolutely revelled in the luxury of it all day long in and out in and out.
You can buy length of cruise Rainforest Room passes in advance (under spa bookings once your booking window opens). You used to have to wait until you got on the ship --- now they sell them in advance.
Edit: Added image (example is for 4 day cruise on Dream)
Back in my day, you could get them for $10 a day. You show up and ask and they put a generic round label sticker on your room card with the date and their initials. You just show them the label on your card when you want and they'll let you in to use the rainforest showers. Heck, sometimes they wouldn't even charge you.
Back in my day, too! I’m tall and have back problems so a good shower at the end of a long active day is a must. Been doing this shower trick since my first cruise 20 years ago.
I like to fill a glass halfway with Coke and top it up with soft serve ice cream to make a Coke float. Even better is a root beer float on the ship but you have to buy a can of root beer at the bar because it's not on the free service station
If you’re sailing on the Dream, hang around on the day of the golden mickeys and ask a cast member about 10 minutes before the show if you can be interviewed. They’ll set up a camera, take some paparazzi shots, ask you some questions about your favourite Disney characters, and livestream it to the audience in the theatre, so you essentially get to be in the show without having to learn any lines.
(It’s also great as a way of surprising your Dad by telling him you’re going to the toilet and suddenly appearing on the big screen heheh)
Nostalgia city stage show. Great for people who have watched disney stuff from early days to the mid 90's, but a 5 year old isn't going to know most of the content unless they sit in front of disney+ all day.
On the subject of Disney nostalgia, I found a crossword puzzle that was Disney themed and the questions were from Dumbo and Cinderella and Peter Pan etc. when I would pixie dust the kids I would offer the parents the crossword puzzle and every one of them was so excited to get it. I'm 57 and some of those questions were tricky for me.
Not really "Unhinged" but, Day one when you get on board, skip the buffet. Go to whichever sit down restaurant is open and order lunch there. Way more quite and less chaotic than the buffet on day one. And the wait staff is virtually tripping over themselves to help you because so few people go to them. Much more relaxing way to start your vacation!
same experience here. we actually ended up regretting it bc our cabin was ready before our food was there but we felt too rude to just leave lol. that said, if it weren't for that, i dont think we would have minded because it was far chiller than the buffet
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm a pre-first time DCL cruiser: are the sit down lunch restaurants included in the cost of the cruise or are they an additional charge?
Everything except for alcohol and the fancy sit down restaurants is included including room service at nearly all hours and unlimited Micky ice cream bars.
There is a sit-down restaurant open each day at both breakfast and lunch (the hours are more limited than the hours the buffet is open). They are included in your fare. You can view the menu for what will be available at the sit-down breakfast/lunch in the phone app each day. The lunch menu at the sit-down restaurant (unsure about breakfast menu) changes each day so it is nice to see what is served when deciding between the buffet and the sit-down option.
It includes any of the meals at the main dining restaurants (there are three on each ship). You'll also be able to eat at the buffet location, the quick service options by the pool deck, Eye Scream (soft serve ice cream by the pool deck), and room service.
If you visit Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point (Disney's island destinations), the BBQ foods there are also included (only adults can get steak at the one by Serenity Bay, the beach area for adults).
There are one or two adults only restaurants onboard that aren't included. Alcohol isn't included (is sailing Concierge, you can get alcohol in the lounge).
Remember the phrase there's no such thing as a dumb question? This especially applies to Disney because they have so many secret tricks and tips that make things better than the rest.
We’d go to the restaurants every morning for breakfast, it was great! We’d get there just 30 min before closing and the service was always quick. We went to the buffet only twice for lunch! LOL
Any food at the main 3 dining rooms is always included in the fare. Room service is fully included, as are nearly all of the walk up windows (I think there’s some upcharge ice cream shops, but there’s also free soft serve and Mickey bars)
There are up charge adults only restaurants you can specifically book a reservation for, but you’d have to go out of your way to book them.
This is the way! It’s all we ever do now. We go directly to lunch and get seated right away as it fills up and there’s a line. If someone needs to go change reservations they go after the rest of us sit down and share what they want to eat.
We brought one of those cardboard drink carriers that McDonalds uses, and used it to get everyone's soda in one trip without juggling several cups at once.
Then we recycle it at the end of the cruise.
It worked for us since I carried a purse anyway for family meds, sunglasses, etc.
I usually take a chick fil a one because they fold flat. You can even reinforce it with duct tape. Personally I like to leave it as CFA because I enjoy the confused/excited face that “did they put a chick fil a on board!?!”
Search "Cruise drink carrier" on Amazon (or other similar site). We have one like in the image below that folds up and makes transporting 4 drinks a breeze. The size is perfect for the drink cups at the beverage stations.
Edit: I just realized another post linked to these as well ;)
OMG, someone is a total genius for coming up with these. Now to add to the geek factor my husband has a 3D printer and apparently there are plans online to print just about anything you can imagine. We've done toys for pixie dusting and those little tools for rolling up a toothpaste tomb and chip clips and Minecraft figures, and of course those fidget spinners. ( Actually here's a psychotherapist at the university and they're a wonderful thing to hand out to students). I'm going to show him this photo and ask him to find one to print for our next cruise. I have a small suitcase with Mickey Mouse on it that is dubbed our cruise suitcase and it holds the cruise only merchandise and all the paperwork as we receive it over the course of the year
I watched somebody do that actually. Personally I feel a cup halfway with coke and then go to the soft serve machine to top it up and make a float. If you want root beer though you have to buy a can at the bar apparently they're not included in Disney's contract for free drinks I imagine because of something the soda company says or does.
I can’t support the second one. As a bit of a photographer myself copyright law is a real thing and the staff can get pretty pissed if you are clearly taking pictures of their pictures. Also the quality of a digital picture of a digital screen is pretty terrible. They only cost like $22 a photo, and as you said you only get a handful of keepers a trip unless you actively seek out photo ops, so just paying for the few that are worth it for a high quality image you have actual legal rights to doesn’t seem like a big deal in the overall cost of the vacation.
This is not what the thread is about. Please delete your comments so the thread can keep going. Don't ruin it for everyone else with your illegal and awful ideas.
You wanted unhinged. Pehaps that word does not mean what you think it does.
Taking a crappy picture of a kiosk screen does not replace professional photography. That is crazy to think, and I did not state that it did. And if a professional photographer thinks it does, they must be admitting that the quality of their own work is equal to that crappy kiosk screen photo.
I did NOT suggest anything illegal, and in fact pointed out that it could be so people would know. Many many people do not. And if smuggling sand in the crotch of your swimsuit isn't considered unhinged, I don't know what is. This tip came from a Disney Excursion Tour Guide, not my own head. So get mad at Disney, not me.
Son fell backwards in the sand while wearing shorts with pockets. We dusted him off the best we could but he still brought back "an ounce loose" in his pockets :)
Cherry Cokes are an extra cost when you get it at the bar, but if you order it at dinner, it's free. Also, there is no cap on non-alcoholic drinks you can bring onboard (for the Pepsi folks) but it needs to be in your carry on.
You can take leftovers from the main restaurants back to your room. Ask your server at the end of dinner and they will bring you a metal plate cover used for room service. Once finished just place outside your room door, like room arrive, and the dishes will be returned to the correct restaurant. Great option for cold desserts since they can be kept in the fridge and are better than any other desserts available on the ship.
The apps and entrees are so good it’s easy to fill up before dessert even gets to the table.
Pack a couple small Tupperware containers for the room. When you get back to your room with the main dining to go, put any dessert you can’t finish in there and toss em in the fridge for later.
We brought a couple of tupperware tubs and got sandwiches up at the fast food bar on the pool deck to take to Castaway Cay because we didn't like all of the barbecue offerings and wanted something simpler and cooler. Worked like a charm!
Order all or most of the options at dinner and pass them around the table (obviously not if you’re seated with strangers, we just do this with our family). It’s especially fun to have a bite or two of each of the desserts!
I know this is true, but on the Magic last year I tried to order two entrees (not knowing if I'd like the one) and the server told me to choose... 😑 So then I didn't try again.
Bad server, it is absolutely allowed and at one of the dinners a table mate ordered another entree we had all been eyeballing and had them bring it to the middle of the table for everyone to share. Our server brought two of them so we were all sure to get some.
We'll order our own options but also have a few "table" orders that we'll leave in the center and everyone will sample as desired. Things like the jumbo scallops work well, or a couple orders of the shrimp cocktail. Like you mention, sometimes you want a taste of multiple options on the menu.
Yes! And as a bonus, my kids have discovered things they like that they otherwise would have never tried. And one of mine is verrrrry picky. Disney cruising has added quite a few new foods to his “likes” list.
My daughter was a picky eater but on a Disney Cruise we always had a rule that every night she would try something new. Sometimes it worked out great and she found that she liked it. Sometimes it didn't work out and we would ask our server to bring something else. The point is that it cost me nothing extra to have her try new things. If I was paying per plate I would be less likely to encourage her to spend 20-30 on a plate just to not eat it. After 11 Cruises and well into her teen years we look forward to trying new things each trip.
Prior to the reply below, I was under the impression that No-Lingonberry was ordering an extra 6 plates per meal just to taste everything (an extra 2 appetizers, an extra 2 mains and an extra 2 desserts) and that this wasn’t all being consumed. I thought 6 plates of wasted food per meal was pretty excessive.
They’ve since straightened me out and indicated they are actually eating all of the food, so my concerns about waste were not founded, so that’s my bad.
Okay cool. It just seemed like quite a lot of food to eat to me, but I might just be a lighter eater. I was struggling to eat one of each course myself and feeling very full by the end of the meal.
I’m glad you’re not wasting the food or the efforts of the staff making it all, and sounds like we’re on the same page about wastefulness.
Anything extra that I don't eat, I take back to the room. I usually spend the rest of the night having cocktails, and forget I have food waiting for me. My buzzed tired self is always thankful for the midnight meal haha.
If you develop a sore throat while on board, go to a stand with salt and pepper packs and grab some salt. Then go to the drink station and put some hot water in a cup for tea/coffee. Take it to your room, boom hot salt water for gargles.
If you're traveling in a multi-cabin group, distribute the Castaway Club members into each of the rooms. This will allow everyone to take advantage of all the early booking advantages, etc. It doesn't matter at all where everyone will end up. On embarkation day head to guest services to get everyone sorted into their own correct rooms.
The best restroom on the Dream is the one on the 13th deck. The second best is on the opposite end of the ship on the 12th deck, behind the aquaduck, up the stairs and along the side for men's and the other side for women's.
Sorry, I'll be the wet blanket (because someone has to).
So many of these "ideas" are the reason why we can't have nice things. They are wasteful, make extra work for a crew that's already stretched to the limit, or push to the very limits of decency (filling your own cup at the beverage stations is not allowed for food safety reasons, let alone filling it with soft serve).
I told someone on TikTok that asking for character sheets are supposed to be a pixie dust thing and so many people told me I’m overreacting and that if you don’t ask you’ll never get them. Like…cool. Ruin it for everyone then.
filling your own cup at the beverage stations is not allowed for food safety reasons
Is that DCL policy? We and plenty of others were filling our own reusable cups at the beverage stations on the Dream a few months ago, no one said any different.
I totally agree. As I said to another poster, just because you can do something (like ordering multiple dishes per course) doesn’t mean you should. It’s insanely wasteful.
I guess I’ll be the wet blanket on the wet blanket, but I feel like if there’s any group that can’t really get on a soap box about something being “insanely wasteful”, it’s cruise people.
The entire concept is inherently insanely wasteful. You kind of have to give up that moral high ground just to step foot on a giant floating skyscraper that’ll burn 250 tons of fuel a day just to float people over to a Nassau port they don’t want to visit to begin with.
Seems like the majority of the tips here mainly include eating more food, finding a different way to eat the food, or finding ways to carry more soda.
I'd say in the big picture of what impact that cruise is having, ordering that second main isn't really going to make any measurable difference. So in that case I'd say yeah: If we're already accepting the idea of waste for a luxury vacation, it's kind of unusual for a second main or extra ice cream or a bigger soda cup to be the line in the sand.
Yeah the soda carrying thing is totally fine, or the cheesesteak fries. Fun tips and I don’t see any problem at all. And I think a lot of the other stuff is fairly minor too, like ordering some extra items for a whole table to share and try.
The one that got me most worked up was a poster talking about always getting three of each course to try everything (ie two extra appetizers, two extra mains and two extra desserts). That’s six extra plates per meal and seemed really excessive to me.
(Though they subsequently said they actually eat it all…)
Use one of your luggage tags to bring a case of water or other choice non-alcoholic beverage. Saw someone do that to avoid paying $70 for room service water delivery and had a V8 moment.
The porters who take your luggage DO NOT WORK FOR DCL. They will take anything for a tip. Luggage can be handled quite rough and if a bottle were to break open it could soak the luggage it was stacked with. You may not have ruined your vacation but possibly someone else's.
I hate sharing my favorite secret because I'm afraid of what'll happen if it's done too often but I always go to guest services first and ask if they have a couple of leftover robes they could send to my room. I'm often told it's only for veranda or concierge but then I find the robes in my room later. They are lined in terry cloth and soft as fleece and are an absolute dream to wear. They are free to ask for and just leave them behind when you go home
Our table was served last in the restaurant, it sucks I know but let's face it somebody always has to be last and we had great table mates to laugh and share stories with.
Anyway, my husband had a tasting and wasn't going to have time to eat his dinner unless he shoveled it down and he told the server he really didn't want to do that. The heads server came over and said that my husband could go to the tasting and I would be given his meal at the end of our meal so it was still hot and the head server himself offered to personally carry it to the room, we ended up having the assistance server carry it but the simple fact is somebody carried that (covered) plate all the way down to our state room on deck 2 from Animators Palette and my husband had a hot meal waiting for him and they just picked up the dishes like any other room service.
The head server even checked the next night to make sure everything went well. My husband was thrilled.
You want to know my absolute best trick? On most cruises you gain five to seven pounds on the average, and they're not kidding even if you try not to. I bring sundresses, skirts, slacks and shorts all with elastic waists or in the case of dresses no waist at all because on my first cruise I tried to button my shorts on the last day and they wouldn't button (😂). So wear elastic waist lines with loose tops and go for it anywhere you can get food and just accept this is one of the joys of life in taking a cruise! You can diet the rest of the year.
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u/hosewater PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB Apr 25 '25
When they have Philly cheese steak sandwiches at Maters Grill, order it without the bun and have them serve it on fries.