1st Cruise booked! Now what? About This Page:

[wyomom]

A Grand Gathering is taking place on Disney Wonder in February 2009!
Dad aka Harley Man
DH
DS
DD
DSis
DFuture BIL
DNiece
DBrother
& Me

This is a first cruise for all of us! Three generations are taking it on together!

Since I am an avid organizer and planner, I feel adrift (pun intended!). What do I do now? I have the Passporter for Cruising, I have the pdf files on everything Passporter has for cruising and I have the Disney DVD. What else do I need to make this trip memorable for us all?
I am at the mercy of past cruisers and your expertise!

[elis mom 08]

first ever cruise, so I can tell you some of the things that were important to us....(mostly me, since I was the planner). The main thing, and the most fun to plan was going through the excursions, and then doing research on them. For instance, one of our excursions will be Boatswains, and they have a site of their own. Doing the calculating for expenses for that, and looking at ages, and thinking of what we would most enjoy. Plus watching the podcasts, and some YouTube stuff.
Also, the envelopes for tipping. We did not want to run up a ship board account, so I premade the tip envelopes, which came out to like 260.00 for the three of us ( more for you because your party is so large), and started adding money to them so we don't have to worry about tips. Also, start thinking about the reservations that you will want to make, like to the adults only resteraunt, or to the spa, etc. You are able to start making those 75 days before the actual day of embarking. But it is nice to discuss, and to know what you want to do! Have fun!

[Tinkerbell34]

We just got off our first ever cruise and I know exactly the feeling you have! I am very well versed in WDW but I felt completely lost and so googled "disney cruise forum" and went to all the sites I could find. I researched myself silly. The one thing that made the cruise more special to me was being on a cruise meet board......those friends were awesome and it was so nice to be able to have others to share in the excitement of the up coming cruise. We did a small gift exchange on board and it was really cool to come back to our room and find something else waiting for us.
There are so many things I could blurt out. It sounds like you may want to put some money aside for the great photos you are sure to encounter at shutters. I'm not sure if you have young children going but the one thing that really was magical to them......we took a pillow case (one for each child), put it in a zip lock bag with diffrent colored sharpies, and handed that to guest services the first night. The last night of our cruise it was delivered to our stateroom with all of the characters signatures! The kids sleep with it every night.....a very prized pocession! This is free! The people on this board are a wealth of information. Good luck and happy sailing!

[colleymouse]

Wow! How exciting! We are counting down to our second cruise but we have planned this one so much better. You are already ahead of the game with Passporters and reading this board. Don't be shy to ask questions and do lots of research on excursions and have fun! Counting down is almost as much fun as the cruise!

[kewbrickny]

We did our first cruise in April with friends of ours. You are off to a great start, just check out everything online and continue to ask questions here! Know that with a large group, it would be a logistical nightmare to try to do everything together. Plan for all together events and small group / individual events. That way everyone gets to do what they like without feeling like they have to always be with the group. Also make sure you know what special reservations you might need for the 75 day out point. Other than that - ENJOY!

[IdahoDisneyMom]

Congrats on your cruise!! My family and I will be taking our first Disney cruise next year too! DH and I cruised Carnival on our honeymoon (12 yrs ago - pre DCL), but I feel like a cruise newbie too! Thanks for asking these questions, and good luck planning!

[duck addict]

Happy planning and congratulations on the cruise.

[1unracer]

Congrats on booking the cruise!
One of the first things I did was buy a PassPorters book for each family so we all had access to the same info. There are 11 of us on the Wonder in December, ages 4 to 62, and everyone is different. I am doing a monthly newsletter with tips and info for everyone and as a reminder of what paperwork needs to be in when. We have had a great time planning what to do. Since we are spread all over the country, we have had more emails and phone calls than usual. The kids are very excited, too. There are many blogs and places to get info especially here.
Lynda

[wyomom]

Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom and support!
So far, we are off to a great start!
I did order Deluxe Passporters for my sis and dad so they can be as organized as me! Really, they will enjoy reading up on everything DCL offers as they are new at this cruising thing too.
I have a question:
We have three children attending this vacation (10, 5, 5) so we are looking into land excursions that will interest them all on Nassau. I know the younger ones will be pooped out by 2-3pm and DS will want to hang back to play games so I was thinking of taking them to the Oceaneer Club for the rest of the afternoon.
My question is, how far is it to the wharf to Atlantis/Paradise Island? I know the adults in the group may want a bit of big people time and I wanted to know how conveinent it is to do this. Are the water taxi's quick, easy to get? What is the approximate time to get from ship to Paradise Island?
Any tips, pointers, and ideas are appreciated!

[emtpej]

Be sure to look at castawayclub.com for more info.
also, you might be interested in the activity / info sheets I posted here:
Navigators from 3 Night Wonder Cruise

DIS also has info:
Disney Cruise Line Information on Disney Cruises

And allears:
Set Adrift -- Sailing with the Disney Cruise Line - Part 1

[Dave Marx]

The water taxi and land taxis to Atlantis are both near the ship, at the end of the wharf. It's a pretty short trip (from the ship you feel like you can nearly touch Atlantis) - figure about 15 minutes by car, a bit longer by water taxi (they add a small harbor tour to the trip). Be careful of the return-trip schedule for the water taxi. The last water taxi may leave Atlantis/Paradise Island sooner than the gamblers want to leave (in which case, a land taxi would work fine).

[wyomom]

Much obliged folks! Bit by bit I am learning so much about cruising! DH and I feel that this won't be our last!
Again, I appreciate your help and support!

[chezp]

Congrats on booking it - have fun planning!