STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER Official Information & Questions Thread

[mousedroid]

Has anyone who has already gone done this yet - handing out business cards? I was thinking of doing similar, but I wasn't sure if cast members would accept things being handed to them by passengers or not.

Yeah, I'm not sure the CMs would even be allowed to accept them, and if they can't or won't, that's fine. But I figure if I'm getting hassled by "the man", offering them a business card is a good way to diffuse the situation and show I'm nothing more than a small business owner from the outer rim on a cruise with his lovely wife. *wink, wink*

 

[CarolynFH]

If we have a pre and post WDW resort stay booked, with the Starcruiser in the middle, does that count as a continuous stay for the purposes of booking ADRs +10?

Sorry, no. Each reservation has a different confirmation number, so the dining reservation system treats it as a separate stay. At 60 days before each checkin date you can book for that checkin day through checkout day for that stay, though.

 

[msmama]

Got my phone call from "Hamill" yesterday. I told him I was going in mostly blind because while I haven't been specifically avoiding spoilers, I've also been too busy to seek them out. He made sure we both had the disney play app (we did) and asked if we had any other questions. I'm glad I read on here that they were calling, though, because otherwise I'm not sure I would've picked up (even recognizing a 407 #).

I was only able to put together one "dress up" outfit for each of us. Does the afternoon/evening of day 2 make the most sense for those? Otherwise we're mostly just wearing every day star wars tees.

One more question (only tangentially "cruise" related). We check out next Friday morning, but our flight doesn't leave until 7:00 pm. I was thinking we'd just go to Disney Springs, and hang out and relax, but does anyone else have other suggestions? We will have a rental car so, really, anywhere in Orlando is an option. "Hamill" did tell me that I'd be exhausted.

 

[mousedroid]

I was only able to put together one "dress up" outfit for each of us. Does the afternoon/evening of day 2 make the most sense for those? Otherwise we're mostly just wearing every day star wars tees.

I think you'll be fine.

My fiancée and I are in the process of putting together 4-5 outfits each each and honestly, I'm exhausting myself trying to plan what we're going to wear when.

We each have 1 outfit for boarding and muster, 1 for dinner and the evening on night one, 1 for breakfast on day two and the excursion to Batuu, 1 for our photo op after returning to the ship, and 1 for dinner and the evening on night two. For breakfast and departure on day 3, we'll probably just wear Star Wars, or Disney shirts as well.

One question for anyone on the thread - as part of my day 2, excursion to Batuu outfit, I am planning to wear a kilt, specifically a utilikilt. I assume that won't be deemed inappropriate wear for the park?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I think you'll be fine.

My fiancée and I are in the process of putting together 4-5 outfits each each and honestly, I'm exhausting myself trying to plan what we're going to wear when.

We each have 1 outfit for boarding and muster, 1 for dinner and the evening on night one, 1 for breakfast on day two and the excursion to Batuu, 1 for our photo op after returning to the ship, and 1 for dinner and the evening on night two. For breakfast and departure on day 3, we'll probably just wear Star Wars, or Disney shirts as well.

One question for anyone on the thread - as part of my day 2, excursion to Batuu outfit, I am planning to wear a kilt, specifically a utilikilt. I assume that won't be deemed inappropriate wear for the park?

I think it's great that you're able to put together 4-5 outfits! I'm sure I'm in the minority, but we will definitely be on the other end of the spectrum from a costume standpoint. It's not really "our thing", so we are finding it difficult to find time to put together even 1 "outfit". My thought is that we will feel out of place.

Lol, but if I'm being honest, I was hoping I could just sport my jedi under armour t-shirt, my jedi cargo shorts, my jedi under armour low-cut socks, and my jedi brooks running shoes and try to go for more of the "theme-park patron on vacation" look. Maybe that's only cool on Earth.

 

[mousedroid]

I think it's great that you're able to put together 4-5 outfits! I'm sure I'm in the minority, but we will definitely be on the other end of the spectrum from a costume standpoint. It's not really "our thing", so we are finding it difficult to find time to put together even 1 "outfit". My thought is that we will feel out of place.

Lol, but if I'm being honest, I was hoping I could just sport my jedi under armour t-shirt, my jedi cargo shorts, my jedi under armour low-cut socks, and my jedi brooks running shoes and try to go for more of the "theme-park patron on vacation" look. Maybe that's only cool on Earth.

Like I said, I think you'll be fine. I'm certainly not going to judge anyone who isn't in costume while we're there, and if anyone judges you, kick 'em in the thermal exhaust port.

But please, tell me more about these jedi brooks running shoes. That sounds like something I might need to look for for myself!

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

But please, tell me more about these jedi brooks running shoes. That sounds like something I might need to look for for myself!

LOL, they're just black, very cushiony, and designed to keep an Earthling's feet very comfortable in normal conditions and any unexpected situations.

 

[mousedroid]

LOL, they're just black, very cushiony, and designed to keep an Earthling's feet very comfortable in normal conditions and any unexpected situations.

Ah, OK. So not officially themed or anything?

I'd seen Adidas had Star Wars sneakers, but not Brooks.

 

[floribr1]

If we have a pre and post WDW resort stay booked, with the Starcruiser in the middle, does that count as a continuous stay for the purposes of booking ADRs +10?

Yes, it does. However, it will require a phone call to Disney dining to make the reservations past check-out of your first stay. But you can definitely do it, as that is what we did.

 

[Spazz2k]

We just got back to the home planet this morning…. So here is my spoiler free experience.

Overall incredible experience…truly mind blowing…humbling…touching and uplifting experience. We met so many great people on this trip that we really connected with and enjoyed talking to. This was our 1st time doing the costume thing…but we killed it!! Going in my thought process was we are going full Star Wars…all Star Wars..all day and all night. We didn’t know how we would fit in, if we would be out of place, or feel silly. Turned out that most people were dressed up in one way or another and I would say as high as 85 percent of the people were in something costume related. What we didn’t expect was to fell like celebrities on Batuu, but we posed for pictures, answered questions about the trip and even were stopped by a couple of little kids asking if they could see my lightsaber and get an autograph. At one point we had a crowd of about 10 people listening and talking to us and asking questions about the trip and this and that….very cool. So if your debating about costumes…..JUST DO IT!!! Totally makes it that much better!!

Some points that will help people…

Arrival…
We arrived at about noon and checkin and unloading was a breeze. We were able to hang in the shade with the super fun crowd and time flew by and we were let in about 12:50 or so. Wife and I both agreed that this was the perfect time to arrive…and the “Die Hards” are always the 1st to show up and always a blast to talk with. That hour really set the stage for our trip. There was no talk of bus to DS or anything like that.

We were not offered Disney Data Pads…we used our phones…one IPhone 12 and and me on a Google Pixel 6 XL

What we did and how it worked out…

I made some Galactic Credits from 3d printer before the trip, and I bought some metal “special” ones from Etsy. These coins were used to hand out to the kids both on the Starcruiser and on Batuu….and they were a huge hit, with both the kids and the parents. My wife “Queen” would love handing them out to the kids and explaining what it was and what to do with it. On Batuu I gave a couple of coins to a couple of boys with their Mother, they had pins, so i knew they were from the ship…what I did not know was their sister was over on the other side of the ride on Rise of the Resistance…so I didn’t see her. We ran into them on the ship and the boys came running over to say hi and we noticed their sister for the 1st time…we felt so bad, so I gave her one of only 3 special metal coins I had and she was so excited she ran over to her Dad and just started bawling…was very touching and rewarding. By the end of the cruise we had a ton of kids and parents coming up to us to chat and ask if we had any credits for them…again incredible experience.

Photo session…
We booked everything by what the cast members recommended to us, so we had a 2:00 2nd day time slot. The time was perfect because most people were busy on Batuu still…which is important for many reasons..but the main one is nobody is in the way. Before our session we saw some people we had met in line…they were doing the 1:30 photo session. They said they wished they had some lightsabers…so I ran to the room and grabbed my lightsaber case..lol…a couple of blades and off to meet them on deck 4. Not only did this work out for them, it also worked out for us as we just jumped in at that location as soon as the guys were done. So we didn’t have to waste time in the atrium going over everything and it also allowed us to do many shots at 3 different locations. We cannot wait to get the pictures on the app in about a week.

So after our session we ran into the photo pass guy upstairs and he proceeded to do a 1 on 1 session with us all over the ship, which was unexpected and incredible of him.

Lightsaber Training and Bridge Training…
So again as stated, we went by what the cast members recommended for us as far as times go, so again they were spot on with times they recommended.

6:15 Day 1 Lightsaber training…perfect time during 1st dinner. Was definitely better than you would think after seeing that 1st video….I really loved it.

5:15 Day 2 Bridge training….this was in my opinion the only time I would book the bridge training for!! This time slot is tied into a major event!! Not only do you get 2x the amount of time in the bridge, but trust me when I say….if you can book this time. Our cast member specifically told us we “had to do the 5:15 training” again JUST DO IT!!

Some wow moments…I got private time with Rey!! Which was very cool…was so odd that I had to ask her if she really was Rey. The reaction from her was priceless…we chatted for a little bit and then, well I can’t really say I guess.

We can’t really go over much more as it would be spoiler territory stuff…so some final thoughts that may help people.

You can bring a steamer…worked for our costumes great!!
Watch the weather on Batuu…Summer in Florida is brutal and if your wear a heavy costume…it will take a toll.
Get they early…we met so many great fans that we talked to and saw our entire trip.
No corkscrews…
Don’t waste money on a suite….if your in your room for more than sleep and costume changes, you are missing out.
There are missions that you are rewarded with special merchandise you can buy….they pull it out from a special panel too….very cool
The bunk beds are cool and fine for sleeping on…I only tried it for about 10 mins.
Lost my m-band, they gave me a new one, then they found my original one.
They have no stock of the nice Batuu excursion pins…they gave us all generic buttons and they stink. Also they do not like to talk about it..lol finally a cast member told me it was a sore subject for Disney because it is a supply issue and people just assume they are cutting back.

All for now…must go get ready for Disney Springs

Ignite the Spark!

I will post some pics soon

 

[Bluemystique]

We just got back to the home planet this morning…. So here is my spoiler free experience.

Overall incredible experience…truly mind blowing…humbling…touching and uplifting experience. We met so many great people on this trip that we really connected with and enjoyed talking to. This was our 1st time doing the costume thing…but we killed it!! Going in my thought process was we are going full Star Wars…all Star Wars..all day and all night. We didn’t know how we would fit in, if we would be out of place, or feel silly. Turned out that most people were dressed up in one way or another and I would say as high as 85 percent of the people were in something costume related. What we didn’t expect was to fell like celebrities on Batuu, but we posed for pictures, answered questions about the trip and even were stopped by a couple of little kids asking if they could see my lightsaber and get an autograph. At one point we had a crowd of about 10 people listening and talking to us and asking questions about the trip and this and that….very cool. So if your debating about costumes…..JUST DO IT!!! Totally makes it that much better!!

Some points that will help people…

Arrival…
We arrived at about noon and checkin and unloading was a breeze. We were able to hang in the shade with the super fun crowd and time flew by and we were let in about 12:50 or so. Wife and I both agreed that this was the perfect time to arrive…and the “Die Hards” are always the 1st to show up and always a blast to talk with. That hour really set the stage for our trip. There was no talk of bus to DS or anything like that.

We were not offered Disney Data Pads…we used our phones…one IPhone 12 and and me on a Google Pixel 6 XL

What we did and how it worked out…

I made some Galactic Credits from 3d printer before the trip, and I bought some metal “special” ones from Etsy. These coins were used to hand out to the kids both on the Starcruiser and on Batuu….and they were a huge hit, with both the kids and the parents. My wife “Queen” would love handing them out to the kids and explaining what it was and what to do with it. On Batuu I gave a couple of coins to a couple of boys with their Mother, they had pins, so i knew they were from the ship…what I did not know was their sister was over on the other side of the ride on Rise of the Resistance…so I didn’t see her. We ran into them on the ship and the boys came running over to say hi and we noticed their sister for the 1st time…we felt so bad, so I gave her one of only 3 special metal coins I had and she was so excited she ran over to her Dad and just started bawling…was very touching and rewarding. By the end of the cruise we had a ton of kids and parents coming up to us to chat and ask if we had any credits for them…again incredible experience.

Photo session…
We booked everything by what the cast members recommended to us, so we had a 2:00 2nd day time slot. The time was perfect because most people were busy on Batuu still…which is important for many reasons..but the main one is nobody is in the way. Before our session we saw some people we had met in line…they were doing the 1:30 photo session. They said they wished they had some lightsabers…so I ran to the room and grabbed my lightsaber case..lol…a couple of blades and off to meet them on deck 4. Not only did this work out for them, it also worked out for us as we just jumped in at that location as soon as the guys were done. So we didn’t have to waste time in the atrium going over everything and it also allowed us to do many shots at 3 different locations. We cannot wait to get the pictures on the app in about a week.

So after our session we ran into the photo pass guy upstairs and he proceeded to do a 1 on 1 session with us all over the ship, which was unexpected and incredible of him.

Lightsaber Training and Bridge Training…
So again as stated, we went by what the cast members recommended for us as far as times go, so again they were spot on with times they recommended.

6:15 Day 1 Lightsaber training…perfect time during 1st dinner. Was definitely better than you would think after seeing that 1st video….I really loved it.

5:15 Day 2 Bridge training….this was in my opinion the only time I would book the bridge training for!! This time slot is tied into a major event!! Not only do you get 2x the amount of time in the bridge, but trust me when I say….if you can book this time. Our cast member specifically told us we “had to do the 5:15 training” again JUST DO IT!!

Some wow moments…I got private time with Rey!! Which was very cool…was so odd that I had to ask her if she really was Rey. The reaction from her was priceless…we chatted for a little bit and then, well I can’t really say I guess.

We can’t really go over much more as it would be spoiler territory stuff…so some final thoughts that may help people.

You can bring a steamer…worked for our costumes great!!
Watch the weather on Batuu…Summer in Florida is brutal and if your wear a heavy costume…it will take a toll.
Get they early…we met so many great fans that we talked to and saw our entire trip.
No corkscrews…
Don’t waste money on a suite….if your in your room for more than sleep and costume changes, you are missing out.
There are missions that you are rewarded with special merchandise you can buy….they pull it out from a special panel too….very cool
The bunk beds are cool and fine for sleeping on…I only tried it for about 10 mins.
Lost my m-band, they gave me a new one, then they found my original one.
They have no stock of the nice Batuu excursion pins…they gave us all generic buttons and they stink. Also they do not like to talk about it..lol finally a cast member told me it was a sore subject for Disney because it is a supply issue and people just assume they are cutting back.

All for now…must go get ready for Disney Springs

Ignite the Spark!

I will post some pics soon

Now I'm curious what kind of mission merchandise you got! And that's a shame about the excursion pins. If it's any consolation, the pin backs were pretty weak on them so there's a good chance you might have lost them while in Batuu anyway.

 

[Spazz2k]

Now I'm curious what kind of mission merchandise you got! And that's a shame about the excursion pins. If it's any consolation, the pin backs were pretty weak on them so there's a good chance you might have lost them while in Batuu anyway.

My wife got it as a special reward on a mission on Batuu. So we had to wait until there was nobody in the gift shop...she said something to someone and they slid open a hidden door and handed her a special pin that did some special things. I did not receive that reward but they asked if I wanted one also, which I did.

To keep the spoiler free thing I won't discuss what it is or what it does...but if anyone wants to know, message me and I will provide a pic and explain when we get back home

 

[Primerz]

Sorry, no. Each reservation has a different confirmation number, so the dining reservation system treats it as a separate stay. At 60 days before each checkin date you can book for that checkin day through checkout day for that stay, though.

That’s true that the reservations have a different number BUT you can circumvent this issue by asking to speak to Guest Services. We had a 12 day stay at five resorts, including the Galactic Starcruiser. Yes, we we had to it it via the phone, and yes, it took a long time but don’t miss out on those ADRs!

 

[Kmk2]

Yeah, the pins were super sad. They should make it clear it’s not a cutback.

 

[CarolynFH]

That’s true that the reservations have a different number BUT you can circumvent this issue by asking to speak to Guest Services. We had a 12 day stay at five resorts, including the Galactic Starcruiser. Yes, we we had to it it via the phone, and yes, it took a long time but don’t miss out on those ADRs!

Wow, I guess that’s a privilege of a GS guest. Before the pandemic closure, DVC members could call DVC Member Services to book ADRs across split stays, but we don’t get that privilege anymore. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Spazz2k]

So as I think of different things or helpful things I will post them...this one we did not realize till we left.....

We didn't see that they automatically add a tip to your drinks in the bar. They never said the tip was included and there is a suggested tip at the bottom where it normally is....so I added a 10.00 tip to every 2 drinks we bought. I don't mind that they added a tip automatically, but they should tell you and they should not have the suggested tip on the check.

 

[Kmk2]

So as I think of different things or helpful things I will post them...this one we did not realize till we left.....

We didn't see that they automatically add a tip to your drinks in the bar. They never said the tip was included and there is a suggested tip at the bottom where it normally is....so I added a 10.00 tip to every 2 drinks we bought. I don't mind that they added a tip automatically, but they should tell you and they should not have the suggested tip on the check.

Same! They will do this with drinks at dinner as well. They should definitely point out that there is 18% autograt included.

 

[Kmk2]

Here is a tip I didn’t even think of b/c I didn’t book the captains table.

They may try to seat you in a shared table (they have 3 four tops pushed together). If this is something that doesn’t appeal to you get to dinner early or make a notation on your reservation.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

So as I think of different things or helpful things I will post them...this one we did not realize till we left.....

We didn't see that they automatically add a tip to your drinks in the bar. They never said the tip was included and there is a suggested tip at the bottom where it normally is....so I added a 10.00 tip to every 2 drinks we bought. I don't mind that they added a tip automatically, but they should tell you and they should not have the suggested tip on the check.

I really appreciate this info and any other tipping info from anyone. I have never been on a cruise or to an all-inclusive resort, so I feel a bit lost as what to do, if anything, for your servers at meals and such. Tripping on drinks for which you are charged extra seems relatively obvious, but what if we don't order any such drinks but still get food at the Sublight Lounge, for example?

 

[PrincessofAlderaan]

So as I think of different things or helpful things I will post them...this one we did not realize till we left.....

We didn't see that they automatically add a tip to your drinks in the bar. They never said the tip was included and there is a suggested tip at the bottom where it normally is....so I added a 10.00 tip to every 2 drinks we bought. I don't mind that they added a tip automatically, but they should tell you and they should not have the suggested tip on the check.

Tipping is mentioned on the Starcruiser FAQ.

"Your Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser vacation package includes gratuities for food service. It does not include any optional gratuities for valet parking, cabin or suite cleaning, or any other service where optional tips are customary. If you wish to do so, please tip at the time of service."

The inclusion of a recommended tip on the receipt is kind of awful and confusing, but is probably just the default in whatever software/device they're using.

(Emphasis was in original copied text. Also edited to remove the weird highlight on the linked website.)