We love how many things Disney Cruise Line offers its guests; however, there are some that we choose to skip. This could be because of the time they take, the amount of extra money they might cost, or because we are less interested compared to other options.
The amazing thing is that we do not feel like we are missing out or making any big sacrifices. We still have a phenomenal time and feel like our cruise is complete.
So do not stress out if you cannot or do not want to fit everything in. Your cruise should be fun, entertaining, but relaxing too.
Here are 7 things we skip and you can too:
1. Stressing about booking the perfect room
There is a lot of advice out there about picking the perfect stateroom on your Disney Cruise. This is valid if you may deal with severe motion sickness, have mobility issues, or need adjoining rooms for a large group. If you are someone who spends a lot of time in your stateroom during the cruise, then this also holds more weight.
But for the most part, we are so busy participating in all of the cruise and port activities, we do not spend that much time in our room. And I promise that you will be so thrilled to finally be on the ship, you will not be giving your room too much extra thought.
So do some research or ask your travel agent for a recommendation, but skip the stress of trying to book that “perfect” room.
2. Fish Extender Gifts
What now? You give gifts to the fish?
Not quite!
Disney Cruise staterooms have a small decorative fish outside of the door where you can hang things. The “fish extender” is usually made of fabric and contains several pockets. You can hang it vertically from this fish. The pockets are there to hold gifts which are given through a passenger organized gift exchange.
This is usually planned via a Facebook group before the cruise. You are assigned a group of staterooms to drop off small gifts to, and then you receive gifts in return.
Think friendship bracelets, key chains, magnets, socks, or stickers. Gifts can be homemade or store bought, Disney Cruise related or not.
While it is a cute and generous idea and can help possibly strike up friendships with other guests, we skip this one. Here’s why- my family is not very active on Facebook so we aren’t privy to the groups who organize this. Even if we were, I feel like I have enough other things to get in order to prepare for the cruise. This just feels like one more thing. Never mind trying to find space in our luggage for the gifts we would give and receive.
If you are crafty, creative, and want to go home with some fun, surprise souvenirs, then the Fish Extender gift exchange may be for you. We have not yet participated and so far do not feel like we are missing out.
3. The Wifi Package
The DCL wifi offers free access to their Navigator App which holds ALL the information you need for your cruise. It also has a text feature (with the cutest Disney emojis) so that you can communicate with others in your group or people you may meet on the ship.
There are also paid data packages which allow you to browse the web or use streaming. This is the part we skip.
Packages range from $26-$49 per day. To us, it is not worth the extra cost because we prefer to be as unplugged as possible on our vacation.
My husband and I are lucky enough to have flexible jobs and trusted people covering for us while we are away. We don’t have to check work email or access our organizations’ websites. We also do not post live on social media. I personally use my cruise time to do a digital detox of sorts which really helps me stay present.
However, if you need to be accessible for your job or family members back home, or do not want to be cut off from breaking news, the wifi package may be necessary for you.
4. Rushing to the pool on embarkation day
I’m not saying my family and I have never gone to the pool right after boarding the ship, but it is not as much of a priority to us now. There are several factors to take into consideration when deciding “yay” or “nay” on a first day pool day:
- What time did you board the ship? If you are some of the lucky guests who got to board first, then you might have a lot more time to have some fun in the sun than those who boarded say, 1:30pm or after. This is because you will have to leave the pool at some point to attend the mandatory muster drill, after which they close the pools for the sail away party. Later boarding time means much less pool time.
- How hungry are you and where do you want to eat lunch? Sure you could grab some pizza or burgers at the pool side food counters, but if you want to eat at Cabanas buffet or the sit down restaurant you may not have time to also go to the pool before the sail away party. Let your stomach decide here.
- When do you want to explore the ship? There is so much excitement on day one, it is hard to commit to doing just one thing. You could park it at the pool or you could visit the Oceaneer’s Club open house, start to get autographs and pictures with characters, find your stateroom, grab a cocktail…the list goes on.
- How fresh do you want to be for dinner? If you have the early dinner seating (5:45pm), your luggage may or may not be delivered to your stateroom before you have to head to the dining room. Which means you may or may not be able to shower or change clothes before dinner. If you have the later dinner seating (8:15pm), this is less of an issue.
Lounging at the pool is one of my favorite things to do on a Disney Cruise. Watching favorite movies on the Funnel Vision screen, with the ocean in the background, while the sun kisses your skin is truly iconic. But the pool isn’t going anywhere so don’t stress if you don’t hit it on day one.
5. Pin Trading
Pin trading works similar to the Fish Extender gift exchange. You buy pins either ahead of time or on the ship that you intend to trade with other guests.
There is pin trading info on Facebook groups, pin trading events onboard (Including one where you trade pins with the ships’ officers), and pin boards hanging outside of guest staterooms (where you take a pin, leave a pin).
People display their pins on their lanyard, a corkboard, or Pin Folio. There are a lot of pins for sale at the onboard shops and I have to admit there are some great ones.
But I am not much of a collector so I am not sure what I would do with all the pins once I got back home.
If you want another opportunity to interact with fellow guests and enjoy collecting Disney paraphernalia, then pin trading might be a great activity for you!
6. The Photo Package
There are photographers everywhere on a Disney Cruise ship. From pre-boarding photo ops at the terminal, to character meet and greets, to special backdrops, and candids on Pirate Night, you can get your picture taken a lot!
That is why DCL offers a photo package for you to be able to access your pictures. There are several packages at different price points. You can even save if you pre-purchase before your cruise.
Before a photographer takes your picture, they will scan your Key to the World card so that the pictures go to your account. You can view these on the TV in your stateroom (fun!) or at the kiosks at Shutters onboard. You must choose which pictures you want to add to your package (or purchase individually) by the last night of your cruise. You cannot do this one you leave the ship!
I purchased a photo package one time and was satisfied with the pictures I bought. I added some to a photo book that I made but that was about it. Most of them were not “frameable” and were not quite as good as what you would get with a professional photo shoot.
A couple other reasons I now skip the photo packages- my family only has so much patience with getting their pictures taken. It sometimes means waiting in a long line if you want one of the more popular backdrops, and they just aren’t here for it. After several days in, I’m sure my husband is thinking “what’s the point?” and my kids’ smiles are ever so slightly less genuine.
Also- and this is especially true for the character meets and greets- there are cast members available to take your picture with your camera or your phone. When you meet a character, the DCL photographer will take a few pictures. You can take some of just your kids, and/or you can give your phone to the cast member so that you can hop in the picture as well. This is the norm- do not be afraid to ask.
I love that there is no pressure from DCL to buy a whole photo package. If there are a few that perfectly captured the moment, then feel free to buy those individually. Otherwise the pictures that you take with your phone are likely to suffice.
7. Spa Services
I have shied away from booking any spa services onboard for a few reasons. First, I do find them to be quite a bit more expensive than a comparable service in my hometown. A massage on a cruise ship or a massage at the local salon, is still a massage. And I bet both would feel amazing.
But if I am in the spa onboard, I feel like I am missing out on things that I could only do onboard. Such as reading my book on the verandah, room service order on the way.
I also find the Disney Cruise line vacations so relaxing in the first place- do I need to relax even more? (Probably yes!)
So maybe the spa services do not belong on the “skip it” list, but on the “don’t knock it ’til you try it” list!
Final Thoughts
Overall, the decision of what to do or what to skip on a Disney Cruise is highly individual. These are the choices that work for me and my family right now. They help us save time, money, or stress. But tastes and circumstances change, so who knows, I may be booking my spa treatment at any time!
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