On our first Disney Cruise I noticed that some rooms had these fabric pockets hanging from the metal fish on the wall right next to the door. When I got home, I did some Googling (seriously, how did we survive without Google?) and discovered that Disney Cruises have a gift exchange program (not sponsored by DCL, but solely organized and run by passengers) called a fish extender exchange. Here are the basics:
Every room has a metal fish on the wall outside the door like this (port side rooms have the fish below, starboard rooms have a starfish):
These are used kind of like a mailbox for your room. Throughout your cruise DCL will place important things for you on it, like excursions tickets, reservation reminders or copies of your account. If you choose to participate in the exchange, you just make or buy what is called a fish extender to hang from your fish all throughout your cruise. Fish extenders can be simple or elaborate, home made or purchased. They usually have a pocket for each family member, but they don’t have to. I have even seen a decorated shopping bag used as a fish extender before. You can search the internet and find all sorts of ideas. I have even seen one made out of duct tape before. I searched Etsy and Pinterest and found the following examples to give you some ideas. Here are some really nice ones that are sewn & embroidered:
If you don’t want to sew, here is one made by gluing bags together with ribbon:
And the same idea but with pencil cases:
I wish I had taken a picture of the duct tape one I saw because it was really cute. Each person’s pocket was themed after a different Disney character. I remember there was a Minnie, Buzz Lightyear and Tinkerbell.
Throughout the cruise, the people participating in the exchange will leave little gifts in the pockets of all of the other participants. Some people leave one gift per family and some leave one gift per person. The rules are typically agreed upon by the group members. Gifts may include things like candy, keychains, small bottles of hand sanitizer, magnets, or something specific to the giver’s hometown. If you want ideas for fish extender gifts, check out Etsy, Pinterest or do a Google search. I even have a Pinterest Board about fish extenders that you can check out here. Some people get really creative! Keep in mind that you will have to get all of the gifts to the ship in your luggage, so keep it small and lightweight.
So, now that you know how to get a fish extender and where to hang it, let’s talk about how you sign up for the exchange. Most sailings have a sign up going through either the Disboards cruise meet section (http://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-cruise-meets.85/) or through the Facebook page for the sailing. I suggest checking both places. There, you can express your interest in participating. There is usually one or two people from the sailing who have volunteered to coordinate the whole thing, and they will place your name, number of people in your family, and room number on the list. Once it gets close to the sail date, the coordinator will then distribute the list to all the participants so that you know which rooms to take your gifts to and leave in the pockets. Sometimes cruises have one large group, and sometimes they break it up into smaller groups within the same sailing so that you don’t have to make/bring so many gifts with you.
I have never participated in a fish extender group before simply because I think trying to get the gifts ready beforehand, while I am also trying to pack for the cruise, would just stress me out. I also don’t really have room in our luggage for anything else because we are NOT light packers. I think it is a cute idea, though, and I know that lots of families have fun with it.
.
Please click here to like my page on Facebook or here to follow me on Pinterest to keep up with all of the latest Disney Cruise Mom updates!
Okay, so next to packing organization, I am most obsessed over this phenomenon known as “fish extenders.” I have “researched”it, and speculated about it, and can’t even go into a store without catching myself thinking, “This would be a great fish extender gift!”
That being said, fish extenders hadn’t even been invented yet when we went on our last cruise, so I have absolutely no experience with them. One part of me absolutely loves the idea, but the additional cost would weigh heavy on me, never mind the packing space the gifts we carried would take up as well as the items we end up bringing back in return. I could see possibly participating during a longer cruise, but on a shorter cruise, I don’t feel like I would want to take the time to deliver gifts all over the ship.
In some respects, while you would lose the element of surprise in getting gifts for yourself, I could definitely see just bringing along your own pixie dust gifts for kids and other members of a travel group. It would be a whole lot simpler and likely less expensive in the long run.
I’ve gotta say that I am SO SURPRISED to read that you haven’t been all over this already…especially for the number of cruises you have under your belt…but I hear ya…it does sound like so much hassle sometimes and you really have to be on your game to make it successful.
I was meaning to mention in my post about not wanting to take the time to deliver the gifts all over the ship, like you said, but I must have forgotten. That is another reason I have not done it. We keep so busy on the ship that I don’t want to have to find the time or rush to get it done, like it is a chore. Does it surprise you that I have never participated in a “cruise meet” group either? We like to keep to ourselves on a vacation and we are so busy on the ship as it is, I cannot imagine trying to also squeeze in group events and activities as well. I really try to keep vacations as simple & relaxing as possible.
Well, even I don’t really have any desire to join a cruise meet group, so I guess that isn’t quite as surprising. Like you guys, we keep pretty much to ourselves when we travel and we like to experience a lot of the cruise with our kids, only putting them in child care for brief stints if my husband and I decide we want to do something special on our own. I can’t imagine all of those trip experiences without our entire family together. That being said, if, at some point, I were to bump into you on a cruise ship, I would definitely take a few minutes out of my “busy” schedule to sit down and chat with you. Grin!
Oh for sure Michelle! I bet we would end up talking for hours if we ever ran into each other! Maybe one day! 🙂
You should check out this fish extender website. It’s the best one I’ve seen so far and it’s super easy to use. There is a small charge for it but it’s worth it considering I’ve had such little luck with volunteer led FB groups.
http://www.disneyfishextenders.com
We mail “Fish Extender” items ahead of time (to port) instead of taking them in our luggage. Disney pins make great gifts; they’re easy to transport; cost approximately $0.45 if bought in bulk (check eBay). We divide the ship by decks, break up for 1/2 hour to deliver them & enjoy the remainder of the cruise. I highly recommend participating at least once but it’s addicting.
What a great idea to mail them! Can you share the details on how to do this? I’m sure a lot of people would like to know.
So do you deliver gifts to each person each day?
If there are 10 rooms with 4 people each, I need 40 gifts per day?
Or give each room 1 gift throughout the week?
Hi Natalie! Different groups have different rules & expectations as far as which days to deliver gifts and whether it is per person or per cabin. You would have to check with the organizer for your sailing. Hope this helps!
We’ve done a fish extender on our first cruise (only a 4-day, so not many on that trip), my girls loved coming back to the room at the end of the day to find their pouches filled with “gifts” from our group. We drove that time, so carrying some extra stuff in our luggage wasn’t a big deal. Our next cruise (March 2017) we need to fly, since we’ve moved and I’m planning on mailing some FE stuff. Since we book usually over a year in advance, there’s plenty of time to prep our FE gifts.
How do you mail them ahead?
I have no idea. Hopefully someone who does can chime in and let us know!
If you are staying at a hotel the niht before the cruise – you can shpip to the hotel and have it be there when you arrive. I’ve Amazon’d stuff to Disney hotels before we arrived!
Thanks for the tip Keri! That’s a great idea!
We finally started doing FE with my daughter’s fourth cruise. She loves delivering our gifts even more than receiving but loves coming back to see what is there. So many people are now using the vinyl machines i.e. Silhouette and creating cute gifts. We don’t spend a lot of money but try to make it appropriate for each individual and his/her interests. The best gift we ever received was Pooh spray.
For the folks who asked about mailing, here are the instructions posted on the FB FE page.
• One box per stateroom, no exceptions.
• The package must have the guest’s full name, ship, sailing date, stateroom number or GTY if you have not been assigned a stateroom number.
• The package also must have a packing slip attached to the outside of the box that details the contents of the package. For prescriptions, a copy of the prescription is sufficient. Your list may or may not be read but it must have one. Write packing slip on the outside of the envelope.
• NO FOODS/DRINKS OF ANY KIND, LIQUOR OF ANY KIND, FIREARMS, ETC. Items that cannot be shipped to the Disney Cruise Line Warehouse and delivered to the ship include: food products (any and all food products including baby food/formula), beverages (liquor, water, etc.), chemicals, and luggage. These items will not be accepted at the warehouse and will be returned.
• The required size of the cartons you are shipping down have to be about the size of a record storage box 12 inches on a side and should not weigh more than 20 pounds.
Address your package to:
Disney Cruise Line Warehouse
Guest Name/Stateroom # (GTY, if you don’t know what your room number is)
8633 Transport Drive
Orlando, FL 32832
Phone: 407-566-8196
In the bottom left corner of the top of the package put the following information:
ATTN: Housekeeping
• Name
• Sail Date
• Ship
• Stateroom Number
• Packing slip
Note – the following are old but it seems essentially you need to ensure it arrives by 3 PM at least one day prior to sailing.
Packages must arrive by Friday by 3:00 PM for the 7-Night Cruise on the Disney Magic. (Saturday)
Packages must arrive by Friday by 3:00 PM for the 4-Night Cruise on the Disney Wonder. (Sunday)
Packages must arrive by Wednesday by 3:00 PM for the 3-Night Cruise on the Disney Wonder (Thursday)
If your box is hit on by the screening dog or chosen for additional screening they will open the list and the box and look through it. They will close it back up and provided nothing forbidden is in it, then it will be in your room as usual after boarding. These boxes will be coming on the ship with the crew mail among other things so they may be in the staterooms later than the rest of your luggage.
Thank you SO much Jennifer!!! I’m sure a lot of people will be happy to have these instructions!
How many people are usually participating in the FIsh Extender Program on a ship?
It varies by sailing and is up to the organizer. Some sailings have 1 large group, and some limit them to say 10 cabins but may have several separate groups.
Great information. Thanks so much! I just scheduled a cruise for 2017, our first with the grand-kids and know they will love this extra activity – from making the Fish Extender to delivering gifts to strangers. What fun!
We have over a year to plan and make gifts so I am not stressing however if time was short I would definitely have some anxiety. I think it will be a great way to make the 5 night cruise excitement last all year. Hoping so anyway.
Thanks to Jennifer for the shipping information. We are flying in and if need be shipping a few things to the boat may be cheaper than additional baggage fees with the airlines which can be quite expensive.
Oh and what pray tell is “Pooh spray”? I have to know.
Hi Terri! Pooh spray is a type of air freshener that you spray in the toilet. I have seen it called “poo-purri” and you can buy it here: http://amzn.to/2686Fcs or make your own. It works REALLY well, much better than normal air freshener in my opinion.
Neat idea! Family invited us on a Disney cruise and if we go, I’d love to do this. Thank you for explaining and the tips from commenters too. Sail on 🙂
So you gift a family one time ( everyone in your group)
It depends, different groups have different rules. You would have to check with the person in charge of your group.