I’ve been on 4 Disney cruises. Here are 5 things I always do and 4 I never do.

I’ve been on multiple Disney cruises with my family. Jill Robbins I’ve been on 4 Disney cruises, and numbers 5 and 6 are already booked.   My family likes to do a table-service lunch on the first day and decorate the door of our room.

  But I’ve never gone swimming in the ship’s pool, and I don’t spring for Wi-Fi services.   I always eat lunch in the table-service dining room on the first day. It’s nice to start the trip with a good meal.

Jill RobbinsMany of my fellow cruisers make a beeline for Cabana’s (the buffet on the pool deck) as soon as they’re on board. But one of the main dining rooms serves lunch on embarkation day (the first day of the cruise), and I prefer it to the buffet. I find it more relaxing, and I like the more upscale vibe of the table-service dining room to set the tone for my cruise.

I always go to trivia and organized games. You can test your Disney knowledge on the cruise. Jill RobbinsThe Disney Cruise Line Navigator app gives a day-by-day view of activities you booked, showtimes, Disney character meet and greets, and activities anyone can join (like trivia and game-show style games).

Although many of the trivia and game events are held in the portion of the ship that’s 18 and up after 7:00 p. m. , there are some held in areas available to everyone or in the family lounge.

My family likes to decorate the door to our room. I buy some decorations beforehand for our door. Jill RobbinsDecorating our stateroom door is a fun way to add some flair to my cruise experience.

I’ve seen more decorated doors on Disney cruises than I have on any other cruise line. The stateroom doors are magnetic, and Etsy has no shortage of Disney-themed vinyl decals. You can also make your own decorations using letter magnets or whiteboards.

Walking through the hallway and admiring other passengers’ creativity and whimsy has always been a fun part of cruising for me. Bonus: If you decorate your door, you’ll always know which one is yours. I always unpack my luggage, even if it’s a short cruise.

There’s usually plenty of space to store our things. Jill RobbinsStaterooms on Disney cruises tend to be smaller than the average hotel room. But there’s adequate under-the-bed storage for suitcases, and the drawers and closets are surprisingly efficient for such a condensed space.

Since I don’t want to dig through everything I’ve packed each time I change outfits, using the drawers and closets for my clothes makes things so much easier. There’s precious little floor space as is, so if you leave your suitcases out, you’ll be tripping over them. Unpacking and keeping the suitcases under the bed makes cruise life easier.

We always select “second seating” for dinner. I don’t like to eat dinner too early. Jill RobbinsDisney cruises have two dinner times.

It can vary from cruise to cruise, but in general, “main seating” is 5:45 p. m. and “second seating” is 8:00 p.

m. Even when our kids were smaller, we opted for the later seating. We’ve found it to be less crowded since most families with kids want the earlier seating.

We also found 5:45 too early to eat — it didn’t give us much time to rest or freshen up after the day’s activities. Eating later gives us a more definitive transition between day and evening, and we feel less rushed. On the other hand, I always skip the movies on board.

I see live shows instead of movies on the ship. Jill RobbinsDisney cruises show classic, recent, and brand-new Disney, Marvel, and “Star Wars” movies in the onboard Buena Vista theater. Even though my kids have, I’ve never once gone to see a movie.

On our most recent cruise, the theater was showing the latest “Dr. Strange” movie, “Encanto,” and “Up. “There’s no extra charge to see as many movies as you want, but I’ve never been compelled to spend my cruise time seeing a movie I could easily see or stream any other time.

Instead, we go to the live performances in the Walt Disney Theater. I think the Broadway-quality shows, like “Tangled: The Musical,” “Dreams,” and “The Golden Mickeys,” are one of the best perks of a Disney Cruise. I don’t purposefully avoid it, but I’ve never gone swimming on the ship.

My kids don’t prioritize swimming either. Jill RobbinsI don’t board the ship declaring “I’m not getting in that pool,” but after four Disney cruises, I’ve yet to take the plunge. All of our Disney cruises have been to the Caribbean, and at least one stop always includes a beach day, so I’ve skipped the pool in favor of exploring other parts of the ship.

My kids are usually too eager to get to the youth clubs to get excited about swimming. I like to unwind on my cruises, so I don’t buy Wi-Fi. It’s nice to unplug on vacation.

Jill RobbinsDisney Cruise Line has several Wi-Fi packages available if you want to stay connected at sea, but I’ve never purchased any of them. Although I realize not everyone is able to do so, I use the cruise time to truly untether myself from my inbox. I’ve connected to free Wi-Fi in port when it’s available, but I leave my phone on airplane mode until we get back to our home port to avoid accidental international roaming charges.

Our family uses the chat feature in the Navigator app to stay connected if we’re doing different activities. I don’t think it’s worth it to have your bags removed from the ship by staff. We just carry out bags off of the ship ourselves.

Jill RobbinsColor/character-coded bag tags (i. e. green/Tinkerbell) are delivered to your stateroom on the last night of your cruise.

You can leave your packed bags outside your door at a predetermined time (usually 10:00 p. m. ) for the crew to take off.

 Passengers disembark based on whatever bag tag they received, which means waiting to leave the ship until your color/character is announced. Then your bags will be in a large, warehouse-like room, and you’ll have to find them among others with the same tag. But if you pack light, you can walk your bags off the ship.

The dining-room staff is used to people showing up with bags, and there’s space you can park them while you eat breakfast on your last day. This is so much simpler and makes our last moments on board easier. If you’ve got one suitcase per person, and everyone can manage their own, I recommend this route.

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