Newbie.... lots of questions?

[scootch713]

Been to WDW the past 5 Novembers, Nov 2009, doing DCL Western Caribbean with double Castaway Cay. I am totally clueless so I appreciate any advise.

A Few questions come to mind...
1)What do you take to prevent seasickness in kids and adults.? This is important as I am taking my daughters without hubby(we will be there with many other families, but I am the only adult in our family going)

2) Do they have photopass similar to WDW?

3) The activities(shows and such) do you sign up for them are they assigned to you???

4) Any suggestions on where I can find out more info in general other than here at intercot?

5) Any tips and advise you can think of... truely a newbie, this is my first ever post about DCL....

thanks a bunch!

[ElenitaB]

How great that you're going on a cruise and a double-dip at that one! Woo hoo!

I'll take a preliminary stab at your questions:

1)What do you take to prevent seasickness in kids and adults?
I've never suffered from seasickness so I didn't deal with that myself. I did worry about my DS though and talked with his pediatrician about what he could take. It was a few years ago, and I'm sure there are new things out since then.

2) Do they have photopass similar to WDW?
Not yet! :( It would be great in terms of flexibility and the environment, but it has yet to happen.

3) The activities(shows and such) do you sign up for them are they assigned to you???
Some activities you have to sign up for (mainly the adult activities such as tours, tastings, Palo dinner). If you're going on a week-long cruise, they will assign you the morning you'll be having your character meal. You may also have to sign up for the "Tea with Wendy" activity. Otherwise, you show up for the shows and games.
4) Any suggestions on where I can find out more info in general other than here at intercot?

5) Any tips and advise you can think of...
Get a copy of the Passporter Guide to DCL. You can get it through Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=intercotcom&path=subst/home/home.html). It's a very complete book. It's much better than the Birnbaum's book which I found to just be an overgrown tourism brochure.

We love to talk DCL, so stop by with your questions!

[crazypoohbear]

You don't say how old you kids are but you might want to look into booking them into the kids programs onboard.
They do have photographers all over the ship and Castaway Cay taking pictures so you will be able to get lots of pictures but you have to purchase them from the Gallery.
When you get your dinner seating assignment you will know which shows are the best for you to see, i.e. if you have an early seating for dinner then you would go to the shows after dinner. If you have a late seating then you should go to the shows before dinner.
For seasickness we brought along the seabands that you wear on your wrist (didn't need them!)
As your Pedi for advice on what meds to give/bring.
depending on the age of your kids (Tween/teen) I would make sure to NOT give them charging privledges onboard, my DS had charging and used it to keep adding money to his card for the arcade!!!!!

[TammiMcMan]

1)What do you take to prevent seasickness in kids and adults.?Bonine comes in both adult and children dosages, but it's always best to talk to your doctor. One thing to keep in mind about the medication is that it works best if you take it a few hours before you board. That can be tricky though, especially if you aren't sure you'll even suffer from seasickness. The wristbands can be a better alternative to medicine, but I don't know if they work for everyone.

[Donald_Quackers]

There's a galley tour that I didn't have to sign up for, I just had to be outside Triton's before it started.

[Auroring Good Time]

I don't get seasick but, my mom does. Doesn't stop her though, she's been on 13 cruises. She swears by Bonine as it does not make her drowsly. When we went on our first cruise, I asked the pediatrician about my DS age 3 at the time. He said that seasickness is a large part psychological and children tend not to get seasick as often as adults. I can actually attest to that as one of the DCL cruises we went on we hit a storm. 90% of the people on deck were kids and they thought it was "so cool".

[JMTStone]

I worry about giving my kids any medecine. I bought some wrist bands that is supposed to help with motion sickness at my local drug store. DD (10 at the time) did pretty good with them. But now they have Bonine for kids. I'll be buying that before our cruise in May for our 7 year old.

[jcshiff]

Regarding seasickness, there's a huge difference between small personal boats and large cruise ships. Unless the weather is bad, you will probably forget that you're even on a ship.

There was a show on the Travel Channel about the Disney Cruise with lots of great information. The Travel Channel website might say when it will be rerun, or they may even have episodes online. Just be warned, the Animators Pallet restaurant is not as cool as it looks on TV.

[Donald_Quackers]

Regarding seasickness, there's a huge difference between small personal boats and large cruise ships. Unless the weather is bad, you will probably forget that you're even on a ship.

There was a show on the Travel Channel about the Disney Cruise with lots of great information. The Travel Channel website might say when it will be rerun, or they may even have episodes online. Just be warned, the Animators Pallet restaurant is not as cool as it looks on TV.

I would have to disagree with that about Animators Palate. I thought the show was cool and watching to see what would change and when they would change was really neat. I just wouldn't knock it off until you actually are there on a show night.