fantavet

Valuable post. Just shared this story with my daughter who will be visiting the port this summer with her 2 daughters. I'm sure a mother towing around 2 young kids would be an easy bait and switch target. Also a good reminder for myself as I tend to be a little too trusting while on vacation.

Thanks all a lot of good info. Yeah wish Disney did not have that crazy arrival time window, and I'm probably reading too much into it. I can't even get a arrival time unti end of May from them.

Have not sailed on Disney in a LONG time. But when you check in you get to pick a port arrival time. I THINK it is in half hour slots. So if you get the slot 11:30-noon then you need to be at the port at that time. If you miss it they bump you down. Traveling with a group of 6, includes 2 kids, wheel chair so Uber is probably not a option. Its either hotel shuttle or shell out extra for a private car service so which would give me greater control over arrival times.

I'll be staying at the end of June for a Disney Cruise. You mentioned the shuttle service. I was a little nervous about trying to meet the Disney port arrival time. I heard the hotel shuttle will make multiple stops? Does this add a lot of time to travel to your terminal?

Been a long time since I cruised. Have grandkids now and I chose Disney for them because they did not grow up idolizing a RCL princess 🙂 But after this summer cruise I don't see myself going back because of the expense. But it will make for great memories so worth the extra splurge this time. They have not been to Disney World but that trip would be exhausting to me. Give me the condensed Disney experience on a ship.

I prepaid gratuities and I'm sailing this summer. Do the staff consider the pre paid the "bare minimum"? I would like to add cash at the end but really have no idea what is considered acceptable. $25 in each envelope or for cabin staff maybe increase to $50 or is all that too much? Tried watching youtube videos on cruise tipping and they are all over the place.

Appears to be that way, my last Disney Cruise was a LONG time ago, but my booking is still calling me Silver and my booking dates seem to reflect Silver status.

I was looking around for my granddaughter also. I pulled this from a 3rd party website but confirm with Disney. Hairstyling and Nail Polish Shimmering makeup and face gem Princess sash and totem Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique T-shirt This is the least expensive package available for girls as it doesn’t include a costume. The price is $99.95

Search youtube for cruise internet tips. Airplane mode being on is important. And another tip I heard about IPhones is to turn "Background Refresh" -OFF. A lot of apps will refresh on their own even closed which can burn through data.

I'm staying at Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel pre cruise. This is my first time travelling with a party of 6 and that includes a wheel chair that can fold, a stroller, and you can imagin the luggage count. Can't reserve a shuttle time until you arrive at hotel. Are the hotel shuttles adequate or am I better off booking a private van ahead of time?

Thanks for the replies, eases my mind.

We are sailing the Disney Magic later this year. My wife does not do well with long walking distances. So we will have a collapsable wheelchair. I know the rules state these must be stored in designated public areas or our room. So if she needs help to go from our room to the pool deck I would drop her off, and return the wheelchair back to our room until she needs it again? At Castaway Cay I know it is a bit of a walk to the trams. Does DCL have any assistance to the trams or do I have to use our wheelchair? Really didn't want to lug that all over the island. As you can tell this is the first time we ever had to travel with a wheelchair.

Yes thank you, found the Florida Departures forum and found some useful posts. Looks like I'm picking Renaissance Ft Lauderdale Marina. Like anything I find that tastes and level of "value" can mean all kinds of things to different people. Will see how it goes!

Thanks will look there, didn't realize that section existed

Having a tough time balancing price/quality with all the hotel choices. Anyone have a recent experience? I'm travelling with 4 adults and kids 5 and 11. So main features would be a pool, on site dining, and cruise shuttle. Rodeway Inn seems like a value for price, but with all the money I'm spending on the cruise I didn't want to cheap out on the hotel either. Has anyone stayed here recently? Embassy Suites Hilton is another one I'm looking at but a bit more expensive. Again trying to blance out that we are only staying that 1 night but also want to start the trip off with a positive experience.