Tuesday, April 2, 2024

First Time Disney Cruise Tips: The Complete Guide for 2023

disney cruise cruise

Even most entertainment and food on Disney's private island Castaway Cay (and upcoming private island destination Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point) is part of the fare. Added costs on Disney include tours, alcoholic beverages (Disney doesn't have onboard drinks packages to potentially save you money) and specialty dining in the adults-only restaurants. Disney cruise ships offer many other dining options beyond the three included themed restaurants — most included, some not.

Included restaurants on Disney Wonder

For the tiniest cruisers (up to age 3), the “it’s a small world” nursery! It’s no surprise that Disney ships host Disney characters throughout the journey. It starts with a sail-away party and continues with traditional character meet-and-greets each day.

Port Everglades — Disney’s Second Home Port

Here are a few quick highlights of the things that make a Disney Cruise special, whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned cruiser. Once a bottle of wine is opened, Disney must serve it (in its entirety) that day. Because of this, Disney ships have a sommelier bin, with opened bottles of wine served by the glass at highly discounted rates. This is your chance to sip on otherwise pricey pours at a bargain price.

Skip the ports to enjoy fewer crowds at the pool.

The cruise line does offer some European sailings, limited cruises around Australia and two 2024 Asia sailings. Disney ships offer minimal extra-fee restaurants, with Disney Magic and Disney Wonder offering just one and Disney Wish, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy featuring two. The highlight of all five ships is Palo (Palo Steakhouse on Disney Wish), which features elevated Italian cuisine with sweeping ocean views.

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It can also get busy, but typically less busy than the family area. If you like getting away to relax, look at purchasing access to the Rainforest Room for heated stone loungers, aromatherapy showers and even hot tubs on the larger ships. You can buy a one-day or full-cruise pass to this area of the spa, but get a tour first as the layout and inclusions in this space vary dramatically from ship to ship. A valid reason to want to sail with Disney is the onboard fun that awaits — especially for those who love Disney characters and stories.

Included restaurants on Disney Magic

Roughly speaking, a family of four will pay about 50% more for two cabins than they will for everyone to stay in one cabin of the same size. This won't be an entire private island like Castaway Cay, but it will be an exclusive beachfront space designed for Disney Cruise Line with many similar offerings to Castaway. Disney Magic, Disney Wonder and Disney Fantasy will call on this new destination for the first time in 2024. These two ships are 984 feet long and 11 decks high, and each has the capacity for 2,713 passengers across 875 staterooms. On these two smaller ships, 70% of passenger cabins have ocean views or verandahs. Ahead of your cruise, you’ll be able to do Online Check-In to complete and print important documents.

Decktop attractions

Your dinner is already included in the cost of the cruise, so it’s a great way to try something different. Fearlessly order the escargot or pate — if you don’t like it, you can always get something else at no charge. You’ll want to study the ship’s deck plans (or get help from a travel agent) to decide what’s best for you.

disney cruise cruise

They may be a traditional room, a one- or two-bedroom suite, or even an astounding multi-story room. Because Castaway Cay is Disney’s own island, you won’t be competing for beach space with passengers from another cruise line — Disney doesn’t even bring two of its own ships there on the same day. For example, some Disney cruises have a Pirate Night where everyone dresses up as pirates, enjoys a special meal, and then heads up to the pool deck for a pirate-themed party. If your itinerary takes you to Disney’s Castaway Cay, then you can partake in one of Disney Cruise Line’s most beloved activities, the Castaway Cay 5k — and it’s completely free to all guests. Suitable for runners and walkers alike, this on-your-own race invites you to discover Disney’s private island from a different vantage point as you travel through its stunning tropical paths. Enjoy the latest Disney releases at the on-board theater without having to buy tickets in advance.

Some of the cutest Disney activities are also ones that cost extra. Kids who want more time with the Disney characters might be interested in the Royal Court Royal Tea — a tea party with characters for kids ages 3 to 12. According to planDisney (Disney's online resource for vacation-planning tips), the cost is $220 per child and $69 for anyone 13 and up. Each tea party includes a selection of tea and a two-course meal; every child gets an assortment of gifts.

Third Disney Cruise Line crew member arrested on child pornography charges - USA TODAY

Third Disney Cruise Line crew member arrested on child pornography charges.

Posted: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 22:44:53 GMT [source]

Dining on both Carnival and Disney is abundant, but Carnival leads the pack with its plentiful and tasty free options, plus a variety of extra-fee specialty restaurants. Disney is known for its unique rotational dining plan and entertaining dinner shows. A seven-night cruise in the Caribbean will likely start around $5,000 for a family of four.

Four specialty dining restaurants are offered across the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Exclusive to Disney Wish (and coming soon to Disney Treasure) are Enchante and Palo Steakhouse. Expect to pay $60 to $205 plus an 18% auto-gratuity for a meal at Enchante; Palo Steakhouse is $50 for a prix-fixe meal, but an a la carte menu is also available.

These lines can get long, so I recommend riding first thing when you board if the port is warm enough. All of Disney Cruise Line's ships have some kind of waterslide on board. You can work off some of those treats and drinks at the onboard fitness center on each ship. You'll see jackets and dresses in Palo, but you can also get by with nice jeans if you want. Disney Treasure, expected to join the fleet in 2024, will be in the same larger Triton class of ships as Disney Wish. The largest ships in Disney's fleet are Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, at 1,115 feet long and 14 decks high, and Disney Wish, at 1,119 feet and 15 decks high.

One way to make your cruise money go further is using an Onboard Credit, which is somewhat like a rebate. Some ports are more expensive to visit than others and some itineraries are simply more popular and command higher prices. If you’re already a fan of the Disney theme parks, you might have wondered what cruising with Disney is like. Maybe you’ve never even cruised before — a whopping 40% of Disney Cruise passengers say they wouldn’t have even considered cruising if Disney Cruise Line didn’t exist.

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