What were your best & worst Fish Extender Gifts

[kid-at-heart]

I love "local" gifts, be it a material item, foods or even postcards; something that represents where the person lives. Being an adult only stateroom, we also enjoyed gifts of mini-bottles of alcohol. Due to the current restrictions, I guess those particular adult gifts will be a memory from the past. We also enjoy gifts we can use at home, tea towels, aprons, coasters, wine charms.

 

[RedSox68]

Best: Pins, frame. Worst: stickers, and old candy!

 

[Elandon]

We've only done this once, and we asked for gifts only for our children so I don't have adults ideas. But in general:

Best gifts

• Coloring and sticker books, or small paperback picture books that kept the kiddos entertained at dinner;
• Small dollar store type toys (e.g., the "surprise" kind where it is a little pouch with a small cheap toy inside--in our case star wars);
• Character-themed bubble wands;
• Disney themed magnets / picture frames / other cruise memento items.

Worst gifts

• Anything bulky - we had limited packing space, and just couldn't fit the large water bottles and a few other large things;
• Candy - this a popular one, but it is TOO popular, and probably about 80% of the FE gifts we had were candy. As a parent it is a bit exhausting to have to tell the kids over and over that they already had enough candy for one day, only to have another new batch appear in the FE. Plus, it is worth remembering that diabetes, allergies, and other dietary restrictions could result in some kids being unable to consume edible FE gifts (doesn't affect us, but I know for that reason our school prohibits treat sharing on birthdays, and I think it is a good policy so no kids feel left out).

I have serious food allergies and love Disney because they are so good about it. I always think of this but I agree that many don’t.

 

[doublesided]

I have serious food allergies and love Disney because they are so good about it. I always think of this but I agree that many don’t.

We aren't going to do the FE because of our allergies, I don't want to deal with getting a bunch of items that my kid/I can't have around us and can contaminate the other good stuff that we would get. Just not worth the hassle.

 

[Red 2]

Is it common for adults to participate? I kind of like the 'random acts of pixie dust' idea!

Yes. Some cruises even organize Adults Only FE groups.

 

[Draes Miran]

I love the local stuff. I'm not really much into the "how much can I spend on gifts to wow everyone" that many fish extender groups do now. Time was it was just a "little" gift exchange for some magical pixie dust.

Postcards of your local historical spots works for me, too.

Postcards!! I love that idea! How neat would it be to get some postcard sets for people to drop off in port? I mail myself postcards all the time when I travel of stuff I saw or special memories. I keep them in my photo album.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Postcards!! I love that idea! How neat would it be to get some postcard sets for people to drop off in port? I mail myself postcards all the time when I travel of stuff I saw or special memories. I keep them in my photo album.

But, if you're giving them postcards to mail back to you, it's not really a gift for them, is it?

Also, generally speaking, postcards mailed in Caribbean can take months to get where they're going.

 

[Draes Miran]

But, if you're giving them postcards to mail back to you, it's not really a gift for them, is it?

Also, generally speaking, postcards mailed in Caribbean can take months to get where they're going.

No, give them a kit so they can send postcards to themselves....who cares if it takes months? That's part of the point. After vacation, these awesome reminders come in the mail.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

No, give them a kit so they can send postcards to themselves....who cares if it takes months? That's part of the point. After vacation, these awesome reminders come in the mail.

Ah...ok, I see what you're saying. I've sent postcards to myself, also, but they were ones from the specific location they were mailed from. Not ones from some other place.

 

[darnheather]

On my next cruise we are doing a postcard swap. But just here's one from our town how nice to get one from your town. No stamps needed.

 

[RRB]

Our upcoming September cruise and our last cruise (September 2017) had both adult FE groups as well as kids FE groups. We cruise without kids (they are older now) so we participate in the adult groups. There are actually allot of adults interested in the FE exchange. Our 9/22/18 cruise has 2 groups of 12 cabins each. Last year we found fresh, locally made candy and treats (3 different types) and they were very popular.

 

[DnA2010]

Fav: drawstring bag with the DCL symbol and date, little first aid kit with sealed meds/sunscreen etc, mini Disney Kleenex packs (we got lots but that's ok- we still use), ice cream float kits - Disney cup with a fun straw spoon and a can of rootbeer (impressed they hauled the rootbeer on!), icecream sundae kit (had little pack of sprinkles, a pack of oreos, a fun spoon), alchohol minis from where they are from (I know these are not allowed anymore), pillow cases (we cruised when you could drop off items and get them back later signed)

Least Fav- "normal" candy (we enjoyed the stuff that was unique to where they were from), dollar store type trinkets/toys, shot glasses (they were super cute but we have so many)

 

[Elandon]

Can someone set me straight on the alcohol thing? I thought you could bring alcohol as long as it is in your carry on. Does that exclude the tiny bottles? Or have they done away with that option overall?

 

[Dug720]

Can someone set me straight on the alcohol thing? I thought you could bring alcohol as long as it is in your carry on. Does that exclude the tiny bottles? Or have they done away with that option overall?

For at least 2 years now you can ONLY bring on 2 750ml bottles of wine OR 6 regular size bottles of beer per adult on embarkation and at ports. In your carry-on.

NO other alcohol allowed to be carried on.

 

[kid-at-heart]

For at least 2 years now you can ONLY bring on 2 750ml bottles of wine OR 6 regular size bottles of beer per adult on embarkation and at ports. In your carry-on.

NO other alcohol allowed to be carried on.

I loved being able to give/receive mini bottles when that was allowed. Being able to bring on alcohol was one of the best perks (in my opinion) that set Disney apart of the other lines. And we are not even big drinkers but do prefer to be able to sit in our room and enjoy a pre-dinner drink without spending $$$.

 

[Dug720]

I loved being able to give/receive mini bottles when that was allowed. Being able to bring on alcohol was one of the best perks (in my opinion) that set Disney apart of the other lines. And we are not even big drinkers but do prefer to be able to sit in our room and enjoy a pre-dinner drink without spending $$$.

Too many people abused the system.

 

[oakleycat]

Favorites: Yeti-style cups with logos, chapstick, wet bag, waterproof phone cases, movie-theatre style candy boxes (my kids loved taking those to the movies), and blind bags for the kids (surprise packs with Lego, Marvel, tsum tsum figure)

Least favorites: large foam craft kit and dollar store water bottles which got left behind because they took up too much luggage space

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I loved being able to give/receive mini bottles when that was allowed. Being able to bring on alcohol was one of the best perks (in my opinion) that set Disney apart of the other lines. And we are not even big drinkers but do prefer to be able to sit in our room and enjoy a pre-dinner drink without spending $$$.

Too many people abused the system.

Exactly so. There were reports of non-adult types (as in under 21s) actually dipping into FEs that contained those mini bottles. That was speculated to be part of the reasoning for the alcohol change from "anything you want" to the more "in line with other cruise lines" option of wine/beer only.

 

[Knickle]

Thank you for posting this- helps me decide what to take!!

 

[Angie_T]

We just participated in our first FE exchange. Our group was great! Someone made me a cinch backpack with my favorite character on it. One cool gift was a suction cup toothbrush holder to stick to the mirror and a toothbrush for everyone in our family. My kids loved finding little gifts when we got back to our room. My boys loved the Lego kit with instructions that were a cruise ship, my daughter loved the hair ties and Disney Themed ribbons. We also each received a zip bag to put little things in, which was nice to contain everyone's items. I can't really comment on any "bad gifts"...I think our group was exceptional. Our cruise was Star Wars so I got some Star Wars Pez dispensers as one of the gifts. We also picked up magnets at the different ports throughout our week and stuck them to the doors of our group so a little gift from each port. It was fun and I'd definitely do it again.