Talk to me about the Pirate Makeover...

[celina14]

Hi! We are about 3.5 weeks out from our first ever Disney Cruise. I currently have the Pirate Night BBB Makeovers booked for my 8 year old daughter and 5 year old son. I'm still not positive we are going to keep them so I'm curious to what people thing about is it worth it? It's on our port day in Jamaica which we don't have any excursions planned. We were thinking about just going to the Margaritaville at port. The appointments are at 1pm. I just don't want to have to worry about getting back to the ship to make the appointments if it's not really worth it. Does anyone have photos that I could see that did the makeovers?

Thanks!

 

[PendingPeril]

When I posted about it someone replied with this - "The pirate makeover was the biggest waste of money I've spent on DCL. They just put a bit of makeup on for $50. And it's a pain in the *** to try in vain to scrub that makeup off our kids before bedtime. So I wouldn't feel like you are missing out on anything critical if you decide not to do it."

We ended up skipping it and just getting the kids cheap pirate outfits, which also ended up being a waste. The kids were so tired from the day at Castaway Cay that they fell asleep before dinner.

 

[celina14]

When I posted about it someone replied with this - "The pirate makeover was the biggest waste of money I've spent on DCL. They just put a bit of makeup on for $50. And it's a pain in the *** to try in vain to scrub that makeup off our kids before bedtime. So I wouldn't feel like you are missing out on anything critical if you decide not to do it."

We ended up skipping it and just getting the kids cheap pirate outfits, which also ended up being a waste. The kids were so tired from the day at Castaway Cay that they fell asleep before dinner.

Good to know! That's what I was afraid of, that the makeup won't even be anything special. I could probably do pirate makeup myself. I'm starting to lean more towards canceling it.

 

[Chemist]

If you get their pirate makeup done at 1:00 pm, that means you won't want your children in the pools all afternoon.

For my boys, that would have been a BIG no.

(My son's favorite thing was floating in the pool watching movies on funnelvision.)

 

[celina14]

If you get their pirate makeup done at 1:00 pm, that means you won't want your children in the pools all afternoon.

For my boys, that would have been a BIG no.

(My son's favorite thing was floating in the pool watching movies on funnelvision.)

Good point!

 

[DisBNewB]

It's not just the make-up - they also get a different bandana, a sash to hold a sword, a sword, a little pouch with pirate trinkets, and a letter declaring them an official pirate.

Not saying whether or not that makes it worth $50 to folks - just letting people know.

We signed our kiddo up for it (9yo) because they're obsessssssed with pirates and have been since they were little. I thought they'd love it, and they did. The boutique worker who did their make-up was fantastic and made them laugh and such as the make-up was being applied, and they loved looking like a pirate and didn't want to leave behind any of their stuff or take off the make-up at the end of the day. (It was also pretty cool to get a photo op with Jack Sparrow in the full pirate get-up.)

I will say that (thankfully? I guess?) they didn't much care to fight for space in the pool but instead were obsessed with the water slides, so keeping them out of the pool wasn't an issue, and they just did a ton of water slide stuff in the morning before the appointment (it was ~2:30 I think?).

Anyhoo - we didn't splurge for much on the cruise, so were happy to do the make-over, and our kiddo loved it. If your kids aren't obsessed with pirates like mine is, or would really hate missing out on the pool for those few hours, then give it a pass.



(striped shirt & red sash from home. brown sash, sword & bandana from the make-over. not visible: necklace with skeleton key & pirate coins that came in the small pouch also from the make-over.)

ETA a better look at the make-up, and you can see the key necklace:

 

[disneymagicgirl]

My boys ask to do it every sailing. They started with they were 4 and 2(he didn't get to do it of course) and most recently at ages 9 and 11. It is a not to be missed thing for them. Definitely worth it.

 

[tlprice]

My daughter has done it on all 7 of our cruises. She would never miss it. The enjoyment she gets out of it is totally worth it to me. We always do around 5:00 appointments though so it is closer to the pirate show times.

 

[greensombrero]

We just did it and loved it. We were all dressed up for pirate night and felt it made for great pictures. We did do them right after though when everyone’s makeup was still in good shape. They do get swords, pirate treasure necklaces etc as has been mentioned. We felt the value was there considering the price of the things that get if you bought them in a park. We also loved the photos we got. Not sure we will do it again but we definitely enjoyed it and felt it was worth it this time.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

It’s nothing like the Pirates League at Magic Kingdom. My DD (8) and I were unimpressed with her experience there earlier this month. She still enjoyed it but said she isn’t sure if she wants to do it on our next cruise. If she does want to do it again, at least the makeup is easier to remove than it is at the MK Pirates League!

 

[monkeydawn]

If anyone decides to go the DIY route you might want to look into makeup "tattoos". They are basically those old school tattoos that you put against skin, put warm washcloth to the back for a minute and viola, intricate makeup and a lot less work. These wont come off in the pool, you will want to bring makeup remover.

I did a dead pirate look with a Calavera face tattoo on my cruise. Had a dead parrot for my shoulder. It was a hit.

 

[Missus_Aitch]

Do people think it’s worth doing if you can only get an appointment at 6:00? We have late dinner, but I can’t remember what else is going on then on Pirate night that we might miss. It’s Castaway Cay day, so I think it’ll be a magic show or something rather than one of the big DCL productions.

 

[geegee14]

My oldest son did one at age 4 then again this year at 5 and loved it. I’m sure next year he’ll want to do it again. My daughter did it once and her makeup was really cool, but it was a one and done for her.

My youngest turned 3 a week before we sailed this past October so I booked one for him. I didn’t know how it would go with him being so young, but the experience was priceless. His outfit (bought there) and makeup was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen and watching him repeat the entire pirate oath was hilarious. He really got a kick out of the whole experience and felt like he was a big kid getting to do it. The pictures I have are my favorite from the trip.

We’ve always done the makeovers after CC around 5pm. Sure by 8pm the costumes are off, but it’s more about the experience for them. I do agree the makeup is hard to remove and my 3yo looked like he was wearing eyeliner for a few days...but I’d still do it again!

 

[celina14]

I'm so torn! My issue is, we are in Falmouth this day and were planning on going to Margaritaville. The latest appointments I could get were the 1:15 and 1:30 ones and I'm just not sure we will be ready to leave by then but maybe we will be. If the appointments were a little later I'd probably just keep them so the kids could have the experience. I guess maybe I will let them decide.

Is this something that they may have more availability for once you get on board so maybe I could move them a little later.

 

[Sunshine2U]

Our boys (grands). 5 and 9, loved the experience and the photos were priceless. I think they may hold appointments back. Online there were only two back-to-back appointments available but they were able to take both boys at the same time and some cast members were without appointments. I suggest you check and check back as the actual cruise goes along. I agree they would not be worth doing at 1:15 if it meant coming back early. But those boys sure did love, love, love everything about it.