Just booked our third cruise... over 500 days until we set sail! What do you do while you wait?

[Mouse~House]

We just booked a Fantasy cruise and are so excited since we have only sailed on the classics before. What kind of things do you do to help pass the time, in particular with your kids? I know we have a lot to research about activities on the ship and excursions. I would like to do something for the kids to keep the magic alive for the next 17 months!

 

[mandylovesdisney]

For a few weeks after booking I obsess about how long it is until the cruise, then I "forget" about it for a while (weeks, months...) until I check my app to see how many days are left, then I get excited all over again b/c so much time has passed and we are so much closer to sailing. LOL Then.... I start obsessing again and check my app every day or few days. The worst for me is when we are about 30 days out, up until sailing day. Absolute torture!!!

My kiddo (16) doesn't get excited like I do, until we are actually on our way to the ship

To keep the magic alive you could have a countdown calendar for them, maybe every so often pull up the DCL website to look at excursions offered for those ports, or something like that. Pinterest has a ton of ideas too!

Ugh... I have 93 days until my next cruise and 227 until the one I'm really looking forward to. I do have a countdown app with other trips/events so that helps distract me from the cruise app too. haha I know... I'm ridiculous.

Edit: I did 4 classic ship cruises before my recent Fantasy cruise. I was told by friends that I would hate the larger ships b/c they feel so crowded and it takes forever to get anywhere on the ship. I was worried about it until we got on the ship and I fell in love! Our Fantasy cruise was the best one we've been on yet!! It was so magical, never felt crowded (although I noticed it on CC), and I never felt like it took forever to get anywhere. I hope you love it as much as I did! I cried the morning we had to leave.

 

[Mouse~House]

For a few weeks after booking I obsess about how long it is until the cruise, then I "forget" about it for a while (weeks, months...) until I check my app to see how many days are left, then I get excited all over again b/c so much time has passed and we are so much closer to sailing. LOL Then.... I start obsessing again and check my app every day or few days. The worst for me is when we are about 30 days out, up until sailing day. Absolute torture!!!

My kiddo (16) doesn't get excited like I do, until we are actually on our way to the ship

To keep the magic alive you could have a countdown calendar for them, maybe every so often pull up the DCL website to look at excursions offered for those ports, or something like that. Pinterest has a ton of ideas too!

Ugh... I have 93 days until my next cruise and 227 until the one I'm really looking forward to. I do have a countdown app with other trips/events so that helps distract me from the cruise app too. haha I know... I'm ridiculous.

Edit: I did 4 classic ship cruises before my recent Fantasy cruise. I was told by friends that I would hate the larger ships b/c they feel so crowded and it takes forever to get anywhere on the ship. I was worried about it until we got on the ship and I fell in love! Our Fantasy cruise was the best one we've been on yet!! It was so magical, never felt crowded (although I noticed it on CC), and I never felt like it took forever to get anywhere. I hope you love it as much as I did! I cried the morning we had to leave.

Thank you for your reply! Right now it is hard to imagine forgetting to look at the app everyday LOL! I suppose in time I will. My kids all have the app on their phones from our cruise in January and they were thrilled to "Reset the clock". I'll check out pinterest for sure.

I can't imagine not loving the Fantasy, even though I do like the size of the classic ship. Castaway Cay is the only part I am even remotely worried about that and even then, a crowded CC day is better than any day not on a cruise! I will try my hardest to get a cabana, if not I'm sure it will still be fun!

 

[tink1970]

You can request an online video (in the old days they'd mail a DVD but guess DCL is saving on postage?) and watch with the kids.

Research the cruise with youtube videos (there are some good ones of the room types, etc). I would avoid the current one featured currently on the boards https://www.disboards.com/threads/kids-club-gratuity-charge.3610481/

Have Disney movie themed movie nights appealing to the kids ---princess, Star Wars, Marvel, pixar, etc.

Have a "save change" competition where everyone tries to collect as many pennies or nickels or dimes to save for a special treat on board prior to the cruise (gift store or Vanellope"s)---watch your purse though, kids are crafty


At maybe 100 days out start a paper chain.

And for you, obsessively reading the boards, especially the DCL trip reports.

We are 39 days out from a cruise I booked 15 months ago so trust me, your happy day will be here soon!

 

[mandylovesdisney]

You will love it. It was seriously the MOST magical vacation. We had so much pixie dust on that trip.

Thank you for your reply! Right now it is hard to imagine forgetting to look at the app everyday LOL! I suppose in time I will. My kids all have the app on their phones from our cruise in January and they were thrilled to "Reset the clock". I'll check out pinterest for sure.

I can't imagine not loving the Fantasy, even though I do like the size of the classic ship. Castaway Cay is the only part I am even remotely worried about that and even then, a crowded CC day is better than any day not on a cruise! I will try my hardest to get a cabana, if not I'm sure it will still be fun!

I hope you have CD Jimmy and Asst CD Mike!!! Pic attached. They were so awesome!! Also, if you want amazing servers, request Jordan and Abraham. We had no kids at our table and they kept us entertained every night. AHHHH I want to go back. haha

 

[Mouse~House]

You can request an online video (in the old days they'd mail a DVD but guess DCL is saving on postage?) and watch with the kids.

Research the cruise with youtube videos (there are some good ones of the room types, etc). I would avoid the current one featured currently on the boards https://www.disboards.com/threads/kids-club-gratuity-charge.3610481/

Have Disney movie themed movie nights appealing to the kids ---princess, Star Wars, Marvel, pixar, etc.

Have a "save change" competition where everyone tries to collect as many pennies or nickels or dimes to save for a special treat on board prior to the cruise (gift store or Vanellope"s)---watch your purse though, kids are crafty


At maybe 100 days out start a paper chain.

And for you, obsessively reading the boards, especially the DCL trip reports.

We are 39 days out from a cruise I booked 15 months ago so trust me, your happy day will be here soon!

I forgot all about the vacation planning DVD, they discontinued that? I guess I can dig out an old one, great idea!

I did see the follow up post about the kids club gratuity so yeah, I'll avoid that lol

Thanks for your suggestions, 39 days! You are so close!

 

[Mouse~House]

You will love it. It was seriously the MOST magical vacation. We had so much pixie dust on that trip.


I hope you have CD Jimmy and Asst CD Mike!!! Pic attached. They were so awesome!! Also, if you want amazing servers, request Jordan and Abraham. We had no kids at our table and they kept us entertained every night. AHHHH I want to go back. haha

Thanks! Yeah, its so hard to not be able to go back constantly. I was so upset I didn't win the powerball this weekend LOL

 

[squirk]

I forgot all about the vacation planning DVD, they discontinued that? I guess I can dig out an old one, great idea!

I think they are still sending them out. I just got a new(ish) one in the mail a few months ago.

Of course, it took three requests on the web site before a DVD was actually delivered.

Things we do:

1.) When we have a trip coming up, we pop the DVD in on the weekends and hit "Play All". We know the audio by heart, but it's still nice to listen to on a lazy Sunday morning.

2.) We frequently listen to our DCL playlist. Some folks like cruise-inspired music, but we prefer a playlist that has music actually heard on the ships. It's nice to be walking around on-board and recognize music from our playlist.

3.) We buy travel guides for our ports of call and try to decide if we want to do an excursion or go off on our own.

4.) We listen to the DIS Unplugged podcasts about DCL. The "DCL primer" podcast they did back in late 2010/early 2011 is really good. About 90 minutes long, very detailed and still quite accurate. They also have several other podcasts covering the Dream inaugural sailing, and full reviews of both ships. Toss in the DCL episodes on the "Dreams Unlimited" podcast, and I dare say you have at least 12 hours of content there.

5.) We watch online videos of some of the stage shows we have already seen on the ship. It is interesting how different casts can make the same show feel different.

6.) I indulge my OCD on this board.

But as @mandylovesdisney said, at 500 days out, eventually you are going to have to forget about it for a while. I guarantee the "magic" will be right where you left it.

 

[Mouse~House]

I think they are still sending them out. I just got a new(ish) one in the mail a few months ago.

Of course, it took three requests on the web site before a DVD was actually delivered.

Things we do:

1.) When we have a trip coming up, we pop the DVD in on the weekends and hit "Play All". We know the audio by heart, but it's still nice to listen to on a lazy Sunday morning.

2.) We frequently listen to our DCL playlist. Some folks like cruise-inspired music, but we prefer a playlist that has music actually heard on the ships. It's nice to be walking around on-board and recognize music from our playlist.

3.) We buy travel guides for our ports of call and try to decide if we want to do an excursion or go off on our own.

4.) We listen to the DIS Unplugged podcasts about DCL. The "DCL primer" podcast they did back in late 2010/early 2011 is really good. About 90 minutes long, very detailed and still quite accurate. They also have several other podcasts covering the Dream inaugural sailing, and full reviews of both ships. Toss in the DCL episodes on the "Dreams Unlimited" podcast, and I dare say you have at least 12 hours of content there.

5.) We watch online videos of some of the stage shows we have already seen on the ship. It is interesting how different casts can make the same show feel different.

6.) I indulge my OCD on this board.

But as @mandylovesdisney said, at 500 days out, eventually you are going to have to forget about it for a while. I guarantee the "magic" will be right where you left it.

I was able to get the online version of the DVD so thats good enough!

Podcasts, great idea! I haven't listened to the DCL ones yet. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[lklgoodman]

Go crazy. We made magnets for our cabin door while waiting for our last cruise to get here. Our next cruise isn't until March 2018. I don't want to think about how many more days until then.

 

[Geomom]

I drive DH and the kids up the wall talking about our upcoming cruise...they don't want to hear about it anymore, lol. I come here (to be with people like me) to get my cruise fix while waiting for our cruise that takes place in 421 days...

 

[Mouse~House]

Go crazy. We made magnets for our cabin door while waiting for our last cruise to get here. Our next cruise isn't until March 2018. I don't want to think about how many more days until then.

March will be here before you know it, especially ones the holidays arrive time will fly!

 

[Mouse~House]

I drive DH and the kids up the wall talking about our upcoming cruise...they don't want to hear about it anymore, lol. I come here (to be with people like me) to get my cruise fix while waiting for our cruise that takes place in 421 days...

It all seems so far away! So far I don't think I've made them sick of talking about it but I am sure that day is fast approaching hahaa

 

[Trera]

We just booked a Fantasy cruise and are so excited since we have only sailed on the classics before. What kind of things do you do to help pass the time, in particular with your kids? I know we have a lot to research about activities on the ship and excursions. I would like to do something for the kids to keep the magic alive for the next 17 months!

I book a cruise that is only 150 days out so I dont have to wait so long!!!

 

[Belle-adonna]

I drive DH and the kids up the wall talking about our upcoming cruise...they don't want to hear about it anymore, lol. I come here (to be with people like me) to get my cruise fix while waiting for our cruise that takes place in 421 days...

Yeah this is kinda what I do cos I have a tendency to drive people crazy about it too. I don't mean to but it's something in my life that is fun and exciting so I focus on it to keep my head above the water as they say. 305 days to go lol

 

[bcwife76]

We have a cruise on the Fantasy that is over 500 days away, too (maybe the same one?) Join your cruise meet thread and groups, that's always fun.

Or plan more cruises in between We have 75 days until our next cruise and 11 months til another one before the Fantasy

 

[Mouse~House]

I book a cruise that is only 150 days out so I dont have to wait so long!!!

HAHA I wish we could! We did that with our last cruise and it was lovely. We booked it one week before we could do online check in! Between saving for the next one and school schedules we had to wait boo!

 

[Mouse~House]

Yeah this is kinda what I do cos I have a tendency to drive people crazy about it too. I don't mean to but it's something in my life that is fun and exciting so I focus on it to keep my head above the water as they say. 305 days to go lol

305 isn't bad ad all! Especially in comparison to my 507 haaa

 

[Mouse~House]

We have a cruise on the Fantasy that is over 500 days away, too (maybe the same one?) Join your cruise meet thread and groups, that's always fun.

Or plan more cruises in between We have 75 days until our next cruise and 11 months til another one before the Fantasy

I see your signature and I am jealous! If it didn't cost so much for the 5 of us to fly and cruise I would definitely be booking more cruises! I am on the Nov 3rd sailing. I didn't join any groups for our first 2 cruises. I'm going to look into that this time around. Have a great time on all of your cruises!

 

[jdb in AZ]

In order to get a really, really good on a river cruise, we booked 2 years in advance. That was a tough wait! We came home and booked a cruise to Alaska 7 wks away. We also have a cruise scheduled a year from now and our travel agent sent us some propaganda for 2019. Nice, but it's not what we're looking for. Otherwise we might have been tempted, but I really don't want that two-year wait again.