Personal Navigator--That First One Is Very Important!

You've arrived at Port Canaveral and are in awe of the port.  You can see the Mickey ears just ahead of you, you've checked in and taken the security photo, completed the health form, and are waiting for your group boarding number to be called so that you can step onto that magical Disney ship.  Then, Disney characters begin to arrive! You are trying to keep track of your stuff and your people.  It feels exciting, magical, even overwhelming!  We know, we've been there.  But for your sake and the sake of your vacation, please take a moment and read over the very first Personal Navigator you were given upon check in. 

Why?  Well, because there is important information inside those four glossy pages.  In addition to character schedules, dining times, and drink of the day, there's news about upcoming events during your cruise.

Want to meet the elusive Anna and Elsa?  The Personal Navigator has information on how to obtain a ticket.  Does your darling have their heart set on interacting with Disney Princesses?  If so, that very first Navigator tells parents where to pick up a ticket to meet four Disney Princesses.  And, while we didn't take advantage, there is also a ticket for a special character breakfast featuring Jake from the Neverland Pirates.  Our Navigator indicated that tickets needed to be obtained at the Port Adventures Desk on Deck 5.  That was our first stop after we boarded the ship.

When we presented our ticket for the Princess Gathering, the Cast Members taking and checking our tickets had to fend off other families attempting to get in line.  They were directed to get tickets for further events.  I asked the Cast Member why he had to keep repeating that information as it was in the Navigator.  He thanked me for reading the Navigator and told me that we were now his "favorite family."  Note that throughout the cruise the location to obtain tickets for events changes.  Contact Guest Services if you are not sure.

Ask the husband about the peanut butter and jelly martini!

In addition to obtaining tickets for certain character meet and greets, that first Navigator told us where to go to sign up for various tastings and beverage seminars.  We went there, too, and obtained tickets for Mixology classes and a rum tasking seminar for the husband. 

Now, what to do with these tickets?  Well, we hung them on our stateroom door using magnetic clips--click here to read more about organizing your stateroom.  Then, we made sure we had the tickets when we proceeded to the various events.

The first Navigator also had the movie schedule for each day of the cruise.  That was also helpful as we planned our days.  The guys were able to watch three movies in the Buena Vista Theater while on board.

Gingerbread House Making on the Disney Dream

One of the activities available to guests on our holiday Disney cruise, was making Gingerbread Houses.  Several times were available and tickets, one per stateroom, needed to be obtained at Guest Services prior to participating.  The activity was advertised in the Personal Navigator guests received when checking in at Port Canaveral prior to boarding the ship.

I picked up our ticket at Guest Services and selected 10:30 am on Christmas Day, our day at sea.

Gingerbread House making was held in Animator’s Palate, a restaurant on Deck 3 aft.  When we arrived, the staff checked our ticket and we selected an empty table.  Materials for decorating were already distributed including a pre-fab Gingerbread House, a piping bag of icing, and various candies for decorating.  This was much easier that starting from scratch!  Decorating Gingerbread Houses Disney style. . . I think I like it!  And, no clean-up!

The large screens around the restaurant were used to display a live video feed for one of the onboard chefs as he demonstrated how to decorate a Gingerbread House.  The chef was at a station in the restaurant with a camera crew catching the action for the live video feed.  The cruise staff mingled throughout the tables wearing festive aprons and Santa hats and passing out Gingerbread people to be added to our design.

We had a great time getting creative and of course, included some “hidden Mickeys” in our design.

While we couldn’t bring our masterpiece home, or even off the ship, due to regulations regarding food goods being brought into the country from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, we sampled the goodies along the way.  We did take the Gingerbread House to our stateroom and proudly displayed it on the counter for the remainder of our trip.

Speaking of Gingerbread Houses, there was also an almost life size Gingerbread House on display on the ship, near the Lobby Atrium.  We also saw a Gingerbread Christmas Tree at the Contemporary Resort.

Decorating Gingerbread Houses was a fantastic family activity, and just one of many available to Disney Cruise Line guests during the holiday season.

5 Night Cruise on the Disney Dream--What's new or different?

I got my hands on the Personal Navigators from the first 5 night sailing on the Disney Dream.  Ok, you knew I would, and it was just a matter of time.

The first sailing of a 5 night itinerary on the Disney Dream left port on May 29, 2011.  The Dream had been sailing 3 and 4 night itineraries since its Maiden Voyage in January, 2011.  The internet was full of Personal Navigators—click here to read more about Personal Navigators—for those sailings.  But since we are headed for a 5 night cruise, I wanted to find out what might be in store for our upcoming Disney cruise.

If you want to take a look at the Personal Navigators for the 5 night itinerary—click here for a great site.

Before I begin a comparison, know that there are different itineraries for the 5 night.  The itineraries include 2 stops at Castaway Cay—double dip, a stop a Nassau, and a day at sea.  What’s different is the order of the days.  For the first 5 night, the Nassau day came before the day at sea, while it will be reversed on our cruise.

So, here’s what I have discovered:

·         Pirate Night coincides with the stop at Nassau.  So, that could be the 3^rd or 4^th night of the cruise depending on the particular itinerary.

·         There is still a mandatory safety drill on the first after noon on board, but you no longer have to wear the life vest from your room.  Darn!  We sort of liked donning the vibrant orange life vests before making our way to our assembly station.

·         While some of the earlier sailings had 2 “Sail Away Parties” on the first day on board, it looks like there will be just one Sail Away Party—4:45 pm.

·         Characters, Characters, Characters!  We know and love meeting characters on the ship, especially the Princess Gathering—click here to read more, but the Navigators indicate even more characters that we didn’t expect—characters from Toy Story, the Incredibles, and Remy from Ratatouille.  (Makes sense given the more Disney/Pixar themes on the ship.)

·         The Oceaneer’s Club and Lab open at 6:00 pm on the first evening for secure kids’ activities.  On our last cruises the kids’ clubs didn’t open until 7:00 or later on the first evening, so the early opening is great for us.  Our dinner starts at 5:45, so once the boy eats, he can head to the club—which is what we do on the other nights, but can now do on the first night due to the earlier opening of the Club and Lab.

·         No character breakfast.  Well, we sort of knew that would be the case, as typically character breakfasts are for 7 night or longer itineraries.

·         No Kids’ Club “graduation” such as “Friendship Rocks” which were typically held on the last evening in the Walt Disney Theater just before the first dinner seating.  The kids gathered in the theater on stage, wore t-shirts, sang, and watched a slide show of their activities together.  The boy has done this on our last 3 Disney cruises, but alas, no more.  He still has the other 3 t-shirts from the previous ceremonies! (I think they are packed already!)

·         There is much to do!  OK, this isn’t new information as we already know that there is way more activities on a Disney Cruise than one could even hope to participate in.

Once I found the Navigators on line, I started pouring over them, trying to capture every detail, every nuance.  Did we have time to meet Remy before dinner on our first night?  We would definitely do the portrait session on the other nights, etc.  What I realized was that I was pouring over the set of Navigators—1 per night—just like I do when they are silently slipped under our stateroom door late in the evening for the next day.  I smiled.  Yep, it was a similar feeling, but instead of reading/studying while lying in a comfy bed in a stateroom on the ocean, I was sitting outside on the patio.

I’ve still got them. They are printed and bound with a heavy duty clip, so that I can make reference to them at any time.  Most likely, I’ll keep them until we get to replace them with our very own set of Navigators from our 5 night sailing on the Disney Dream. 

Disney Cruise Line--Personal Navigators--Gotta Love 'em!

When sailing on Disney Cruise Line, you will receive a Personal Navigator that lists the events of the next day.  Each evening, your cabin host or hostess will slip the Person Navigator for the next day under your door.  It is like getting the newspaper a day early!

Each Personal Navigator is 4 pages. The first page or cover highlights important information for the coming day. Sunrise, sunset, time in port if applicable, shows, any time or clock changes that may be necessary, and, of course, the all important drink of the day.

Page 2 is my favorite page. It lists all the events on the ship and the events are by categories. So, if you are traveling with a teen, there is a category that lists all the teen activities. Or, you can search by time. Oh, we have until 1:00 pm before our spa treatment, what can we do before lunch? Or, you can search by shows or movies. It is also handy to take your Personal Navigator with you during your day so that you can refer to times and places for activities. And, if you forget or just want another copy, stop by Guest Services.

Page 3 highlights the events on page 2 and gives a brief description. On-board specials can be found on page 3 and 4.

Page 4 typically includes a list of all ship services, where they can be found, and phone extension. Our favorite phone extension is 7-PALS. Call this number from your stateroom or any phone and get a listing of all the character appearances on board for the day.

Sometimes there are inserts in the Personal Navigator. Tendering instruction, shopping guides for various ports, or Port Adventure lists are just some examples of inserts.


Also know that you are given a Personal Navigator the minute your check-in at the cruise terminal. This first edition you receive is a sort of shortened edition highlighting events for the following days of your cruise as well as events during your first day on board.

I think I have written this before, but I love Personal Navigators. I look forward to scouring the publication before going to bed at sea each night. I want a Personal Navigator for my life everyday while not sailing. . . with an organized list of all the choices for the day!


If you want a sampling of Personal Navigators from various Disney Cruise itineraries, check out the Platinum Castaway Club web-site.

We try to get an extra copy of Personal Navigators to bring home with us; copies that have been folded or tattered due to being carried around with us. We then use them for scrapbooking or scan them for digital scrapbooking.