I went on my first Disney Cruise pretty clueless, but cruises are awesome because they are so stress free! No intense planning like a big trip to Walt Disney World. But, these few tips will help to make sure you are prepared for your time at sea!

1. Decorate your stateroom door – when you’re walking down the long halls of staterooms, you’ll see tons of doors decorated with magnets. It’s a fun way to locate your room. We loved looking at everyone’s decorations! I got my sets on ETSY.
2. Play Family Bingo – make sure to check the daily activities in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator’s App to find times for Family Bingo. It’s very popular because they give away large cash prizes and Disney Cruise Line Swag! Get there early to purchase your bingo cards and get a seat.
3. Take advantage of less crowds – the pool decks are less busy when the ship is at Port. It’s a great time to do some swimming or ride the AquaDuck!
4. Make sure you have all of your documents when you stop at a port of call – when you debark the ship at any port of call, you will need your Passports and each person’s room key (even kids).
5. Bring Downy Wrinkle Release – There are no irons in the staterooms, so this a great item to bring with you! They have travel sized bottles in the travel section of drug stores. I get mine at Target.
6. Bring refillable cups with lids – there are beverage refill stations throughout the ship, but they give you a small cup with no lid.
7. Bring your own movie candy – it’s so fun to watch a movie in the Walt Disney Theater! There isn’t a great selection of candy in the gift shop, so we brought our own!
8. Bring a few small travel games or a deck of cards for on the pool deck – we love hanging out on the pool decks and watching the Disney movies they play on the big screen. Get a good seat and have some small games to play!
9. BYOB – you can bring your own Wine or beer onto the ship (see my blog post that spells out all of the rules around BYOB). We love ordering the “all hands on deck” and enjoy this cheese plate with our wine on the Verandah as an appetizer while we get ready for dinner!
10. This is maybe Disney’s Cruise Line’s best kept secrets! Room service has Mickey ice cream bars, but they aren’t on the menu! My son LOVED calling down and ordering them!