ArthurUSCG

15 hours ago, Krazyfuntimes said:

Does anyone know if a kid can age up to go the Edge? My grandson turns 11 the day after the cruise ends. This year he really wanted to go but at age 9 they said no. I was hoping since he would be days away from 11 that this might be allowed. 

 

Any ideas?

Unless the ship is really light on 11 to 14 year olds, it's unlikely they will let him into the Edge.

While she's likely to be able to play in the area some, there are usually lots of little kids and the cast members will say something if there's issues. Most 8 year olds are to big for the equipment in Nemo's Reef.

The Fantasy/Magic/Wonder has the Aqua Lab behind the rear funnel and it is designed for larger kids and adults to be able to play together. For some reason the Dream did not get the Aqua lab in dry dock.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/aqualab-pool/

There's not really enough difference to pick one ship over another. (unless there's specifically something like Marvel day at sea). Pick the itenerary you want and let that decide the ship. In general the longer the better, the relaxed vibe on 7night vs 3/4 night is sooo much nicer.

The 3/4 night feels like a military style touring plan to see/do everything, while the 7night is relaxed since most activities are offered on multiple days/ times. So you don't feel rushed to leave the Quite cove pool to get to a scheduled activity.

The excursions listed on the website are for any of the sailings to that port, the excursions for your specific cruise/port are found under the Add activities.

Example, There are a ton of activities at Castaway Cay, but some might not be available for your specific cruise. The web site will have them all listed, but when you go to "Add Activities" only the excursions that are available for your cruise are listed. Everything that is "sold out" is at the bottom of the list.

Still no dark mode or dark theme.

You can look at the daily schedule at the below link to a blog. But if you go to DCL's website, you can limit the search by month and departure location.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/itineraries/ship-sailing-schedule/?ship=3

16 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

i got the app to work but waiting for the email.

This cruise in 4 weeks could be the first time ever I did not have any paperwork.  

Disney says just the check in portion of the process does not like MS Edge.   I mean really Disney should fix this.

In general, it's better to not use MS Edge, there's a lot of other sites that has problems with Edge. Some of them have almost a complete separate site for Edge users. But I agree that Disney does have site issues.

It varies based on when the ship clears customs and is authorized to let guest depart. When you book the excursion, you will pick a time slot to leave the ship, but once onboard the Navigator app will update with the time and location for the check in on the ship.

When you check in for the bus, DCL will be able to print them right there. DCL uses airline style luggage tags, so it's no big deal for them to print them out.

In case anyone else finds this post, if your going directly to the port, the curb side porters will print them out as well.

So the 3/4 night sailings are just to get a taste of what DCL has to offer. I've done them on the Dream and also done the 7 night sailing on the Fantasy (same class), and the overall feeling is very different. With the short sailings, most of the people on board are attacking the activities simular to the WDW minute by minute touring plans. So it feels so rushed. But with the longer sailings, most people relax into the cruise, they take time to breath and aren't rushing around.

The buzz and complaints around the Wish is only because it is new, and soon people will be moving on to the Treasure and then the 3rd ship in the class. If you look at the prices, usually, the 4n on the Wish is priced around 5-7 nights on the other ships.

I did the 7night Western Fantasy cruise for my 40th and it was amazing. There's not enough differences in the DCL ships that I would pick any of them over the itinerary and length.

The beer package is the same price as the bucket special or beer mug onboard.

The water on the ship is made thru reverse osmosis and is very tasty.

On 8/11/2022 at 11:29 AM, Norf9 said:

Wait, so when you arrived who was checking the PATs? When we showed up only the porters were in the drop off area, and the DCL folks were over by the checkin line (and since we were testing first we did not have to interact with them).

The post covid restart DCL had someone by the turn into the terminal checking your PAT. But has since moved that person near the check in area.

On 8/9/2022 at 9:21 AM, Norf9 said:

Hi All, just wanted to give an update in case someone finds the thread via a search. Before the cruise I had called DCL and they confirmed what was mentioned earlier in the thread that I could only show up at my PAT. However.......

I had a 1:30 arrival time. Due to various timings in dropping off my rental car and taking the shuttle I arrived at port Canaveral at 12:55. When we arrived no one checked the PAT and we were directed across the street to the testing area. Over there no one cared about the port arrival time and they gave our kid the test and we waited for the results. We ended up going over to the check in area at 1:25 or so and they let us in and we checked in without issue. So long story short, it was as I thought and the port arrival time only matters for when you actually go to enter the check in line. I don't know how strongly they are enforcing the PAT at checkin as we were technically allowed in early, but by the time we got there they were boarding all groups so I don't know if we had a earlier time if my experience would have been different.

DCL enforces the early PAT times, due to people showing up early and needing to spread out the workload/crowd. Once they transition to open boarding, they stop looking at the PAT. The exact time this happens varies on each cruising based on a lot of things. My rule of thumb, is anything before noon, don't arrive before your PAT. For the early PATs, if your lucky, they will let you arrive 15 minute early. I've arrived 16 minutes early and the guy held us there for a minute before we could drop off our luggage.

Before 9pm is when most of the family friendly activities happen. After 9pm, most of them switch over the adults only. In the USA we still suffer the affects of Puritan and Prohibition, so our cultural norms are to not have kids around alcohol. This will be the norm for Carnival, Celebrity and most other cruise lines when sailing out of the USA.

I'm just happy DCL allows liquor sales on Sundays.

On 6/3/2022 at 10:04 AM, hillaryswain said:

2. bring your own hair dryer or use the one in the room?

 

The hair drier onboard is 220V, make sure you are using the outlet that says "Hairdrier". Anyone that complains that it doesn't have any power plugged the drier into the 110v outlet.

Given there are now 2 vaccines approved for 6months to 5 years old, the previous exemption might not apply. Wait about a week and ask if the 6 week window still applies.

1. From past experience, it doesn't matter how it's packaged as long as you are all boarding together.

2. The water doesn't need to stay in the packaging. But, DCL has very good water, it is made thru reverse osmosis. So, I would suggest skipping the bottled water and bring water bottles to refill.

3. Look at the  Prohibited Items list. For us, it works better to use a normal carry on suitcase.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/prohibited-items/list/

4. Message guest services once on board, and they will print new cards that will provide access to the other room.

5&6, I can't answer

So, DCL will review the photos of the ID and face pics about a week before the sailing. If they are not accepted, you can take new pictures, or they will take them there in the terminal (the same way they did preCOVID).

The airline sticker style luggage tags arrive about a week before the sailing, but if they don't the terminal porters will print them out. They aren't blank, but have a QR code that is linked to your reservation. It's the same process if you have more pieces of luggage then what you are mailed  (usually 2 items per person)

The Port Arrival Form has the QR code for your entire boarding party, along with the Port Arrival Time (PAT), as the name implies, that is the time you are to arrive at the port. It is not the boarding time. If you arrive earlier then your PAT, they will tell you to come back. There are reports of some groups being allowed to check in 15 minutes early, but it sounds like it depends on how smoothly DCL/SafePassage/Port is able to process those before you, so don't count on the 15minutes early if you have a Uber/Taxi.

When you do the online check in, 30 days before the sailing, you will upload pictures of the passport/ID and enter the information.

The wait times are horrible right now due to a systems "upgrade" and the same staffing issues that are plaguing most call centers.

On 3/22/2022 at 4:52 PM, ycl said:

Have you been asked to provide proof of vaccination before boarding or while onboard a Disney cruise ship?

Their website states, “we MAY ask you to confirm whether you and those in your travel party have received a COVID-19 vaccine including proof of vaccination and date given.”

 

the “may ask” in the statement made me wonder.

 

You have to upload a picture to the DCL Safe Passage website for verification prior being cleared to enter the terminal. If there is any issue you will be asked to physically show the card for verification at the terminal.

No one would know since the ship isn't out yet. It could be plumbing related, preventing the roll in shower.

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

When the CDC allows them.

It's more about the Bahamanian goverment requirements. The CDC really hasn't been a player for months now, since the other nations implemented stricter requirements.

Precovid there wasn't that many toys. But the Oceaneers Club was designed for the younger age group with a climbing areas, drawing, and free play areas.

But right now with all of Covid procedures, it's more group activities.

This is why we chose to drive to the port and keep our luggage with us until we received the Clear to Sail. That wait for the luggageto be returned had to be horrible.

50 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

zoinks 200 mill a month burn. i did bermuda in oct and it was a very good price. no complaints at all but i did wonder while waiting 3 hours to get tested, who is paying for all those people there to test us? that was a lot of additional staff and i sure didnt see any increases in cruising pricing. (did economy, not haven).  multiply that by all the other port testing going on and it has to be crazy.

 

the one certainty is they have absolute numbers at different capacities that they can compare now to see if shutting down vs running is worth it. 

3hrs is a crazy wait. We cruised on thanksgiving with DCL and it was about a 30 minute wait for the test results and not wait at all to be tested.