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14 Insanely Useful Disney Cruise Tips to Know Before You Go

October 25, 2019 //  by  Stephanie Kastan //   Leave a Comment

If you’re thinking about planning a Disney cruise, or have already booked one, these Disney cruise tips will help you get the most out of your vacation. Disney cruises are tons of fun, but, like with any vacation, you can miss out on some fun and relaxation if you don’t prepare! If you’re interested in what to pack, how to save money, or how to make the most of your time on your Disney cruise, I’ve got you covered!

Disney Cruise Line (DCL) currently has four ships: The Fantasy, the Dream, the Magic, and the Wonder. There are also more coming in the next few years! Each ship has slightly different offerings, so, whether you have kids or are a kid at heart, Disney definitely has something to offer every passenger.

Get a FREE printable 30/60/90 day Disney countdown by joining our private Disney Facebook Group and share your photos and ask for tips and tricks! 

Tips for Booking Your Disney Cruise

Best time to go.

Timing is obviously important for vacations, and this is especially true for Disney vacations! Time of year for cruising will also depend on your family’s needs and wants. For example, anytime school is in session is a good choice for a Disney cruise. Fewer people and often cheaper prices are a huge benefit to the off-season. However, if you absolutely cannot go during the school year, that’s clearly not going to work for you.

September is often hailed as the number one Disney cruise trip for best time to sail. It’s a good choice because the weather is still warm enough to enjoy the onboard pools and white sand beaches (unless you’re doing an Alaska or Europe itinerary- though warmer weather will still help these!). However, September is also during Florida’s Hurricane Season, and it can be a busy time of the season for storms (Note that in recent years both Hurricanes Irma and Dorian were in September).

If your family is looking for a specific itinerary- those have specific dates attached to them. For example, Alaska cruises only sail during the summer, for obvious reasons. Disney Cruise Line also has specialty sailings at certain times of the year- Halloween on the High Seas, Very Merrytime, Marvel Day at Sea, and Star Wars Day at Sea. If any of those strike your fancy, be sure to pay attention to which dates they’re offered.

Choosing your Stateroom

I highly recommend picking your own stateroom! This is one of my biggest Disney cruise tips. However, this can be overwhelming as there are so many options and things to consider. Fortunately, when you book through Disney, or if you go through a travel agent, you are able to view the deck plans to make an informed decision. For example, if anyone in your party experiences seasickness or motion sickness, it is absolutely crucial to pick a stateroom as close to mid-ship as you can and as low deck as you’re comfortable with.

If you are traveling with a bigger party you may be considering a suite that can sleep more people, but it is usually recommended to instead get adjoining cabins. It is actually cheaper to get two cabins than it is to get a larger suite most of the time, plus everyone will have more room (and bathrooms) to spread out.

You should also think about where you want to be in relation to everything else. There is dining on the lower desks if you want to be close to it, but usually most people think about being close to the pool deck up top. This is great if you want to be right there with the action and fun, but you should also consider volume. If you like peace and quiet when you go to bed and night, you may want to be a bit further away from the top decks. Personally, I like to cruise midship because I’d rather have the quiet at night and take an elevator to get to the pool.

Dining Times

Disney Cruise Line has a super fun dining rotation that allows guests to experience different restaurants during their sailing. There are also two dining times to pick from when you book your cruise: early and late. If you’re okay eating dinner at a later time, I highly recommend choosing this option as it will have fewer kids in the dining room (making it much quieter!) and it has the added bonus of Dine and Play. The Dine and Play program means that families at late dining can have dinner all together before the kids are taken to the kids’ clubs!

Your dining time will also impact your timing for the shows! Early dining is much more crowded, which means that most families go to the second show when they finish dinner. If you have late seating for dinner, you can see the show first and get better seats because you won’t have to rush from dinner to the theater!

Specialty Dining

Specialty dining is a total experience on Disney cruises, and one of my biggest Disney cruise tips. If you think you want to do it, book in advance! You can always cancel later but many times you’ll find that by the time of your sailing most reservations will be taken.

Palo and Remy, Italian and French themed respectively, are fine dining experiences. There is an enforced dress code, so pack accordingly! The Palo brunch is often the highest regarded meal, but I think it depends on your tastes. I am a huge sucker for brunch so the Palo brunch did win me over, but the chocolate souffle on Palo’s dinner menu is TO DIE FOR.

The specialty dining options are a flat fee, so while that does mean they’re a bit pricey, it also means you can eat as much as you want to. Just don’t fill up too much before dessert!

Character Meet and Greets

There are plenty of characters to meet onboard Disney Cruise Line (and on the private island, Castaway Cay), and just like in the parks, they’re happy to meet you and your little ones. These characters also have the great benefit of being in great, sea-worthy outfits! Eskimo Minnie on the Alaska sailings has totally stolen my heart, but Captain Mickey (and now Captain MINNIE!) are iconic.

Just like in the Disney Parks, there are designated times for meet and greats with the characters, and you’re able to reserve a spot for them before you sail! I highly recommend doing this if anyone in your party wants to meet the characters (especially the more unique characters like the Star Wars and Marvel crews on those specialty sailings), as the lines can get long and close very quickly.

But don’t worry! If you don’t reserve a time to meet the characters in advance, your cruise Navigator (delivered to your stateroom each day) will list times and locations for meet and greets. Just be sure to arrive early! 10 minutes is the recommended window to ensure you grab a spot in the line. And don’t forget your autograph books!

Tips for Making the Most of Your Disney Cruise

What to pack.

If you get motion sickness or seasickness, Dramamine is a MUST for your Disney cruise. You can find it at any drugstore or here on Amazon. Important note about Dramamine- start taking it several days BEFORE you cruise because it can take awhile to start helping you. Also, if you discover you need it after you’ve set sail, or have run out, you can find it onboard all of Disney’s ships!

For most itineraries, sunscreen is another must-pack item. I highly recommend (and encourage) going the reef-safe route, especially because these sunscreens are as effective as the non-reef safe ones are. My favorite ones are All Good and MyChelle , both of which are animal cruelty free and feel great on my skin.

I’d recommend bringing a light sweater on your Disney Cruise for dining and shows, as I find the interior of the ship can get a bit chilly with the air conditioning- especially if you’ve been in the sun all day! For those sailing on colder Disney cruises, I’d still recommend bringing a light sweater in addition to your warmer clothes.

Pins! This is one my favorite Disney cruise tips. I wish I had known to bring pins on my first Disney cruise- my husband and I are big pin traders. For those who don’t know, Disney Parks’ cast members often wear lanyards with Disney pins on them for guests to trade with. However, what I didn’t know was that during Disney Cruise sailings, there is an event held near the theater where the ship’s officers come out and trade pins with the guests! It was a great way to find some unique treasures and can be a great way to bring home a souvenir with a fun memory attached!

Another fun Disney cruise tip is to pack magnets! Why? Because Disney cruise guests often decorate their stateroom doors to show who they are, what they like, or what they’re celebrating! It’s a really fun way to get to know the people you cruise with and make a statement!

For more great ideas on what to pack, check out our post on Disney packing lists !

Bringing Booze on a Disney Cruise?

All right, adult Disney fans, this one’s for you: Disney Cruise Line allows you to pack booze in your carry-on to bring on your sailing! Honestly, I think this is a great idea for everyone. They do have limits and specifications, so be sure not to exceed them and risk losing the money you spent on the booze AND the money you’ll spend buying more onboard!

Disney Cruise Line allows you to bring two (2) bottles of wine and one (1) six-pack of beer PER PERSON in your carry-on luggage. You are also allowed to buy wine and beer while you’re in a port of call and bring it back to the ship with you! This is such a great money-saver for those who want to drink on their Disney cruise. Additionally, you can also bring wine to your dining room if you want to drink with dinner- the restaurant will charge your stateroom $25 for the uncorking fee.

Tips for Pirate Night

Pirate Night is such a fun and exciting part of Disney cruising. This event is only featured on Caribbean itineraries, so if your Disney cruise happens elsewhere then you can skip this section! Pirate Night happens up on the pool deck, and is a pirate-themed show, with dressed up characters and fireworks!

There is a buffet on the pool deck during Pirate Night, so you may opt to skip the dining room in favor of the buffet and staking out a spot for the festivities. The pool deck is PACKED during Pirate Night, so definitely get there early. Plus, it’s windy up there and you may end up getting a bit chilly (trust me) so bring your sweaters!

At dinner, you will get a Mickey banana to wear for the party, but most guests choose to dress up much more! The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique onboard the ship does offer kids’ pirate makeovers for Pirate Night, but I highly suggest packing costumes/accessories with you.

Get Connected

Honestly one of the most convenient parts about Disney Cruise Line for me and my husband was the DCL mobile phone app. If you’re wondering what my favorite Disney cruise tip is, here you go: download the app! It allows you to communicate with your party without using data or paying for wifi. No more making plans for the whole day and trying to remember what time you need to meet up with your family. Now you can message them while onboard! The app has other handy features, including a fun countdown to your cruise before you go, but it is a MUST for Disney cruising.

Embarkation Tips

Best Disney cruise tips for embarkation? Check in online is number 1! You can do this in advance and it will save you so much time at the terminal. When you check in online you can also select your arrival time- be sure to write it down! This saves you so much time in the port AND can help you get on the ship early! If you do this, definitely keep your swim gear in your carry-on so you can grab lunch and hit the pool while others board. Just make sure to still arrive one hour before your scheduled time!

For cruisers with kiddos, it’s almost always easier to sign up for the kids’ club after you board the ship. You are able to in the terminal but the lines get very long, especially compared to the ones onboard the ship.

Shore Excursion Tips

I highly recommend shore excursions if they’re in your budget! These are a great and EASY way to explore your ports of call. However, if you’ve been to one your ports of call before, this is a great time to enjoy the ship with fewer people. I live in Florida and have been fortunate enough to cruise multiple times, but the itinerary is always the Bahamas, so I usually skip Nassau to stay on board. This is when I ride the Aquaduck without waiting in line!

However, if you’re going somewhere new then I highly recommend excursions. When I do go to Nassau, my favorite thing is the Atlantis waterpark. It’s awesome! Most ports have a lot of options for you, so definitely check them out and decide on your family’s must-dos. And, if you’re going to Alaska, you’ve got to do the sled dog racing for me! That’s my dream trip. If you’re not a dog person, my mom swears by the glacier helicopter rides.

Before and After Your Disney Cruise

Transfers to and from the port.

Disney offers their buses, which are super cute, for ground transfer for a per person fee. These are an awesome option because you can check your luggage into the bus and it will be delivered to your stateroom without you having to lug it around. Trust me, the cruise terminal before embarkation is PACKED. The last thing you want is to deal with your suitcases and carry-ons and children, if you have them! Plus, bus rides are better on the environment than everyone riding individually, which is a win in my book.

If the shuttle service doesn’t work for you, Uber, Lyft, and other shuttles are all great options to get to the port. Be sure to prepare for a wait in the drop-off lane, though, as that can take awhile! There is also parking at the terminal if you want to drive your own vehicle, just know that the parking is a bit pricey and must be paid upfront.

Best Hotels in Cape Canaveral and Miami

Cape canaveral.

If you aren’t local to your port and are flying to them, I cannot say enough how much I recommend arriving a day before your cruise. It means you need to get a hotel, but it also means you won’t miss your cruise if you have flight delays or cancellations. Plus, if luggage is lost the last thing you want is to board the ship without it! Even if the airline can’t get your luggage to you in time, at least you’ll have time to pick up some necessities before you set sail.

Many Disney cruises embark from Port Canaveral or Port of Miami, so you may struggle to determine where you should stay! Port Canaveral is in the very small town of Cape Canaveral (home to the Kennedy Space Center), so if you want to stay close to the port, or maybe check out the space center, then below are a couple of good picks.

Country Inn

Canaveral Towers

If y0u’re sailing out of Port Canaveral, you also have the wonderful option of staying at Walt Disney World, which is about an hour away. Disney World is also closer to the airport and still offers ground transfer with luggage checking from the resort to the port.

If you’re sailing out of Miami, you may feel overwhelmed by the number of options for hotels. Port of Miami is right by downtown Miami, it can be pretty hectic. If you’re wanting to see the sights while you’re there, hotels downtown on South Beach are your best bets (and are still close to the port). Here are my favorite choices for Miami.

For Downtown:

Guild Miami

Holiday Inn

For South Beach:

Casa Boutique

National Hotel

Gratuities are a hugely important part of budgeting for your cruise, because most cruise employees rely on tips for their income. Thankfully, gratuities for your cabin and waitstaff are automatically included in your fare so you don’t need to worry much about this on a Disney cruise! However, you have the option to go to Guest Services and adjust the amount of tips provided to your staff. You can also tip cash in most currencies at the end of your cruise if you want.

If you order room service, you will need to sign the receipt and write-in a tip amount to be charged to your cabin because this is not an automatically tipped service. If you enjoy services at the spa, specialty dining, or concierge, gratuities are also included in the price but you are able to tip on top of that if you so choose.

Now you’re ready to book and set sail on your Disney Cruise! You’re going to have a wonderful time. I hope these Disney cruise tips have helped you to feel more prepared for your vacation so that, when the time comes, all you need to do is have fun! Happy cruising!

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25+ Disney Cruise Tips to Know Before You Go

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As a seasoned Disney cruiser, I’ve learned a lot of tricks and insider secrets that can make all the difference in your cruise vacation. If you’re planning your first Disney cruise , here are some tips to help you navigate the pre-booking process, pack your bags, and make the most of your time onboard!

This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on these links, I get a small percentage back at no cost to you! For more information see my  disclosure policy .

The Best Disney Cruise Tips

A Disney Cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people that can create unforgettable memories for the whole family. However, planning and executing your Disney cruise vacation requires careful consideration and preparation to ensure the best possible experience.

From packing essentials to insider knowledge, the best Disney cruise tips can help you get the most out of your vacation. Whether you’re a first-time cruiser or a veteran of the seas, this article will provide a comprehensive guide to help you navigate your next Disney cruise like a pro.

Get ready to set sail and make some magical memories with some of the best Disney Cruise tips around!

Check out prices below or get a free quote by calling 877-510-2929 and let them know Mommy Mouse Clubhouse sent you!

Pre-Cruise Tips

Preparing thoroughly before embarking on a Disney Cruise is always key. This section is all about pre-cruise tips and tricks that’ll have you feeling like a seasoned Disney cruiser before you even climb aboard.

Disney cruises are incredibly popular, and some cabins can sell out months in advance. Decide on your travel dates and book your cruise as soon as possible to secure the best room and any promotions that may be offered during that time.

Get the Best Cruise Rates

Generally, the farther out from the cruise you get, the lower the price is. As the date approaches and demand goes up, so does the price. If possible, book your cruise as soon as dates are available (usually 12-18 months in advance).

You can also get a great deal if your desired cruise date offers a guaranteed rate. These rated can be found by searching for your cruise or by clicking on “Special Offers” on the Disney Cruise Line website.

If you are interested in these rates, they do come with stipulations. Many times Disney will choose your room for you, you must pay in full at the time of booking, and there are no changes or refunds available for any reason.

I booked a cruise for my family of five with a “guaranteed with restrictions” rate and had a great experience. I saved over $2000 dollars booking two of these rooms over booking one deluxe family verandah suite .

Available Hotels Near Cape Canaveral Florida

Use a travel agent.

I always recommend using a travel agent to book your Disney Cruise. They have easy access to Disney and can take care of any problems easily that may arise. And, using a travel agent is completely free!

If you’re thinking about going on a Disney Cruise for your family, I recommend booking with my travel partner, Get Away Today. They can help you find the best ship and itinerary for your cruise vacation. I have used them many times and they have the BEST customer service. Give them a call at 877-510-2929 and mention Mommy Mouse Clubhouse sent you to get the best deals!

Get Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is always a good idea if you’re planning an expensive cruise. Not only can it protect your investment, but it can also cover things like missed flights or medical emergencies that may occur during your trip.

Fly in a Day Early

I highly recommend booking a flight that will arrive the day before your cruise departure. This will give you time to rest up, get acclimated to the area, and avoid any travel delays due to bad weather or airline issues.

Update Passports

You will be leaving the country when you sail on a Disney Cruise , so it is important to have the proper documentation like a passport.

Make sure that your passport is up-to-date and not about to expire. If it is, you’ll want to get one or get it renewed as soon as possible. It can take anywhere from 2-3 months for this process depending on whether or not you pay to expedite.

If you are in a time crunch, I have found that you can contact your local Congressman to help you get a new or renewed passport very quickly. I had to contact our’s before our Mediterranean cruise and they were very helpful and happy to do it!

If you are on a closed-loop cruise (where you start and end in the same destination within the United States) you can use a certified copy of your birth certificate and a driver’s license, but I highly recommend a passport.

If something happens in a port or you have a medical emergency that requires a helicopter, you will have many problems if you do not have a passport.

Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

Disney Cruise Line has their own app that is essential to download before your cruise. A benefit of downloading this app early is that it will give you a fun countdown until your cruise, complete with Disney characters !

Before your cruise, the app will show the countdown, your stateroom number, any balance owed (which can be paid through the app), check-in, maps, future plans, and available excursions.

During your cruise, the app will show the schedule of activities, restaurant menus, dining times, and more! So definitely download the app as soon as you book your sailing!

Join Your Cruise Facebook Group

As soon as you book your cruise, search Facebook for the date and ship you will be sailing. There is almost always a Facebook group that includes other passengers on your cruise.

This is a great resource for your particular sailing and is also the place where you can sign up to participate in Fish Extender groups (more on that later) or magnet exchanges.

Set Up a Character Call

This is a fun one! Before your cruise, you can set up a Character Call from the Disney Cruise Line for free! A Disney character will call your child at home and let them know about their upcoming trip! It’s such an amazing way to build excitement prior to departure.

Sign Up for Fish Extenders (If you want to)

Fish Extender groups are a group of cruise guests that sign up to give each other surprise gifts throughout the cruise. They got their name from the fish-shaped hook outside each stateroom on the Fantasy, Dream, Wonder, and Magic.

Participation in these groups is totally voluntary and whether you sign up for them or not, depends on the type of vacation you want.

I have both participated and not participated in Fish Extender gift exchanges on various cruises and both have been fun! It depends on my mood whether or not I sign up or not.

Book Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

For cruisers ages 3-12, the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a really fun experience . Kids can be transformed into their favorite princess, a Royal Knight, Captain Mickey or Minnie, or even a pirate!

One tip to save money at the Bibbidi Bobbidi BoutiqueYou can read all about our experience at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique here .

These appointments can fill up quickly, so if this is an activity you want to do, make an appointment as soon as you can:

• First-Time Guests: 75 days prior to sail date
• Silver Castaway Club Members: 90 days prior to sail date
• Gold Castaway Club Members: 105 days prior to sail date
• Concierge Guests and Platinum Castaway Club Members: 120 days prior to sail date

Cruise Check-In Tips

There are dates to know and procedures that are unique to cruising with Disney, so you’ll want to know these tips below to help you with the check-in process. With these tips, you’ll be ready to tackle everything from boarding groups to make reservations for certain onboard experiences.

Know When to Check-In for a Disney Cruise

Your check-in time will vary depending on how many Disney Cruises you have been on. The breakdown is as follows:

• First Time Guests: 30 days before sailing
• Silver Castaway Club: 33 days before sailing
• Gold Castaway Club: 35 days before sailing
• Platinum Castaway Club: 38 days before sailing
• Pearl Castaway Club & Concierge Guests: 40 days before sailing

Make a Reservation for the Princess Royal Gathering

The Princess Royal Gathering is a popular event on a Disney Cruise where guests get a reserved time to meet and greet the Disney Princesses. Reservations for the Princess Royal Gathering always fill up quickly, so you’ll want to get online and make a reservation for this event right at the 30 day mark (which is Eastern Standard Time)

If you are unable to secure a reservation, you can check with guest services or the Disney Navigator App as soon as you board the ship, to find out if there are any openings.

Get an Early Port Arrival Time (PAT)

When you check in for your Disney Cruise , you will be able to select your PAT or Port Arrival Time. I like to choose the earliest time that I can, so I can maximize my time on the ship!

Tips for Booking Cruise Port Adventures (Excursions)

Port Adventures (also known as excursions) will vary by cruise. The following tips & tricks will help you with making reservations for fun on the land!

Research Port Adventures Ahead of Time

You can find a list of all port adventures for your destinations at www.disneycruise.disney.go.com . I like to go through them and decide which excursions I want to do so that I’m ready when it’s time to book.

You are able to cancel Port Adventures up to 3 days before sailing and once completed, they will be charged to your onboard account.

Book Excursions As Soon As Possible

Some popular excursions sell out quickly, so it’s a good idea to decide what excursions you want to participate in and book them as soon as your booking window opens up. To book, your cruise must be paid in full. Here is the excursion booking schedule:

• First-Time Cruisers: 75 days before sail date
• Silver Castaway Club Members (2nd – 5th cruise): 90 days before sail date
• Gold Castaway Club Members (6th – 10 cruise): 105 days before sail date
• Platinum Castaway Club Members (11th – 25th cruise): 120 days before sail date
• Concierge Guests & Pearl Castaway Club Members (26th+ cruise): 123 days before sail date

Check Excursion Prices with Other Companies

When planning your cruise, it is important to know that you are not limited to the excursions offered through Disney Cruise Line. There are many tour companies that offer similar excursions in most ports of call. Some even have a cheaper price tag!

Before booking, search the internet for your port and compare excursions with Disney Port Adventures to find the right one for you! During my Mediterranean cruise last summer, I did a combination of Disney Port Adventures and private tours and loved all of the experiences.

Explore On Your Own

Often times when you visit a port, you don’t even need an organized excursion. Do some research for your ports of call, but I have had luck grabbing a taxi and heading to the beach on my own.

Skip a Port and Stay on the Ship

Sometimes its worth it to skip a port and stay on the ship! This allows you to enjoy the ship with fewer people, meaning you can use the pools and water slides with no lines!

My family did this when the Disney Wonder was in port in Ensenada, Mexico as well as when the Disney Fantasy was in St. Thomas and we had a great time.

Cruise Packing Tips

When it comes to packing, make sure to bring plenty of sunscreen and swimwear. Disney cruise ships have multiple pools and water features, and it’s easy to spend the majority of your time outside. Read my complete Disney Cruise packing list here.

Don’t Overpack

Even though I have an extensive packing list for Disney cruises here, don’t feel like you need to bring everything, especially when it comes to clothing.

The laundry facilities are easy to use on a Disney Cruise , so I often pack half of what I think I need and plan to do laundry if necessary.

You really only need shorts and a T-shirt during the day, a couple of swimsuits and cover-ups, nice clothes for dinner, and pirate clothes!

Pack a Light Sweater

Even in tropical climates, it can get cold on the ship. I always pack a light sweater to wear in the theaters and dining rooms.

Bring a Lanyard

If this is your first cruise, you might want to think about getting a lanyard to carry your Key to the World Card. This card will be your room key, will allow you to make purchases, and will be used each time you get on or off the ship.

A lanyard is nice to help you keep track of your key card, especially for kids. Check out these cute Disney Cruise Lanyards from Amazon . If you will be going on your second Disney cruise or any cruise thereafter, Disney will give you a lanyard.

Cash for Tips

Gratuities will be charged to your card at the end of your cruise for your room attendant and diing service team, but you will need to tip the porters who collect your luggage, room service attendants, and possibly tour guides on excursions. Bring some cash in small denominations so that you can easily provide tips during your stay.

Check the Prohibited Items List

Since you will be traveling on a cruise ship, you want to make sure that the items you bring with you are approved. Disney Cruise Line has a long list of prohibited items here that you should review before packing.

Bring Your Own Pharmacy Kits

Having over-the-counter medication for common ailments can save time and money on your Disney Cruise . I like to pack my own first aid kit with motion sickness medication, ibuprofen, antihistamines, and nasal spray for allergies. This can save you time if you need to grab something quick the ship store is closed. Read my full packing list here .

Embarkation Day Tips

The day you board your Disney cruise ship is called Embarkation Day. There are many things you need to know to have a successful embarkation day, so check out the tips below.

Port Arrival Time (PAT)

Your Port Arrival Time will be assigned to you at check-in. Try to time your arrival to the port around this time to avoid a long wait in the terminal.

Disney Transportation

Disney provides paid transportation to the ports for some cruises. If you choose to use this Disney transportation option, you will not need a Port Arrival Time.

I like to print out my paperwork for Embarkation Day to have a hard copy. To board the ship, you will need the QR code with your reservation number and port arrival time that you get at the time of check-in. It is much easier for me to keep the code printed out on a piece of paper than trying to pull it up on my phone each time I need it.

Carry-On Bag

When you arrive at port, you will give your luggage to the porters and it will arrive outside your room later in the day. I like to pack a carry-on bag to store items that I want to keep with me, including my cruise paperwork and passport.

Ask to Upgrade

You might be able to upgrade your room at a lower rate when you get to the port. I have heard of many people that asked at the port if any upgrades were available and were able to move from an inside room to a verandah room or even to a concierge room for a fraction of the price of booking that room ahead of time.

Wear a Swimsuit

On embarkation day, I suggest wearing your swimsuit under your clothes. That way, you can go straight to the pool area as soon as you board and get the most out of your first day on the ship. Often you can go on the AquaDuck, AquaDunk, and AquaMouse (depending on your ship) with very short wait times.

Carry On Your Own Wine

Disney Cruise Line allows you to bring a limited amount of beer or wine onboard with you. You will need to carry this on with you (do not pack it in your luggage). Check the DCL website for specific amounts allowed an restrictions.

Bring a Case of Water

You can purchase a case of water from the “Onboard Gifts” section of the Navigator App, but it is very expensive. We usually bring a case of water with us onboard in our carry-on suitcase.

Bring Your Own Soda

Soda is included on a Disney Cruise , but it is only Coke products. If you prefer a different brand, you are welcome to bring your own soda with you onboard. Just like with alcohol, and a case of water, you will need to carry it on with you.

Swim First, Then Eat

I already mentioned wearing your swimsuit on Embarkation Day, so this tip works with that. Most people head to the buffet as soon as they board and then go swimming. You can enjoy even shorter lines if you head straight to the water slides and eat lunch when you’re done!

Find a Sail Away Spot

After attending the Sail Away Party, it’s fun to find a good spot to watch as you sail away from port. You can wave at people in port or on a neighboring cruise ship as you set sail. If you want to see some marine life, try to find a spot as far forward on the ship as you can and watch for dolphins to lead the ship out to sea!

Tour the Kids Clubs & Teen Clubs

Embarkation Day is a great time to check out the kids and teen clubs on the ship. All clubs have “open house” time on this day where anyone can go visit and see what they are all about. I like to take my kids to visit during this time so they can know what to expect.

Onboard Disney Cruise Tips

The following tips will help you with experiences while on the ship. These things are good to know so that you can be prepared and understand what is going on while you are on your cruise vacation.

Stateroom Door Decorations

It is a tradition (not a requirement) to decorate your stateroom door with cute Disney-themed magnets. You can go all out and purchase magnets from Etsy, or you can make DIY magnets yourself, which is what I did and have continued to reuse cruise after cruise!

Pirate Night

Pirate Night is one of my favorite nights on a Disney Cruise . On this night, you can dress up like a pirate! Dinner has a pirate-themed menu , and there will be a pirate show up on the pool deck.

You can make the most of this night go all out with a pirate costume (get one on Amazon or check clearance sales after Halloween) or you can put minimal effort in and just wear a T-shirt (this is what I do).

Princess Royal Gathering

For all of the little princesses out there, Disney Cruise Line offers a fun event called the Princess Gathering. In order to participate in this activity, you will need to make a reservation through the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, 30 days prior to sailing (which is actually 29 days, 59 minutes, 59 seconds).

This experience is included with the price of your cruise, but making reservations is necessary. Just be aware that reservations can go quickly! But, if you are not able to snag a reservation at 30 days, keep checking the app for cancellations or talk to guest services as soon as you board the ship.

Character Meet & Greets

Another fun tip is to participate in the onboard activities, including character meet-and-greets and trivia games. Be sure to download the Disney Cruise Line app before your trip , as it will show the schedule for each event, activity, or show.

Broadway-Style Shows

On a Disney Cruise , you will experience a different show every night from Magic shows to Broadway-caliber shows like Frozen and Beauty and the Beast. The great thing about Disney is that you do not need a reservation for these shows.

Just check the Navigator app for the show and showtime each night. If you have an early dining time, you will go to the late show. If you have a later dinner time, you will go to the early show.

Daily Activities

Once you board the ship, your Navigator app will change and you will be able to see a list of activities for each day. I like to go through the activities and tap on the heart next to the activities my family wants to do each day. That way we can easily see what activities we are interested in and the app will also send you reminders about activities that you choose. Find an example of the Disney Cruise activity schedule here .

Disconnect and Enjoy your Vacation

Take time to disconnect and enjoy your vacation. This might mean turning off your phone for a few hours or even for a full day. I find that it is so important to unplug from technology sometimes and just enjoy the moments of being with family. You’re spending a lot of money to go on a Disney Cruise so put away the distractions and have some fun!

Use Booster Seat for Shows

If you’re traveling with little ones, there are booster seats available for them to use while watching the shows and movies!

Pop-Up Hamper

I always bring a pop-up hamper to keep in our stateroom closet. This helps keep our room clean and organized and makes it super easy to do a load of laundry during the cruise!

Beware of the Spa

The spas on Disney Cruises are amazing and I enjoy getting a massage from time to time. Just beware ahead of time, that the cast member will give you a heavy sales pitch at the end to try and get you to purchase their products. Feel free to buy them if you want, but don’t feel pressure or guilt to purchase them if you don’t.

If you absolutely need to bring a stroller for your little one (I’ve been there) Disney recommends that you bring your own, but there are a few available for rent on the ship. If you bring one, try to bring a small umbrella stroller. The hallways and elevators are a tight fit!

Midship Detective Agency

If your kids are looking for something fun to do, I highly recommend the Midship Detective Agency game on the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. It is a scavenger hunt-style game and it’s so much fun!

Buy Souvenirs Early

If you see something you want to buy in the gift shops onboard or at Castaway Cay, buy it. Items tend to sell out quickly (sometimes on the Day 1) and what you want might not be available the next day.

Pixie Dusting

Pixie Dusting is along the same lines as the Fish Extender gift exchange, only a lot less pressure. With Pixie Dusting, you can bring your own small gifts and treats to share with random staterooms. I actually prefer this to Fish Extenders because I can give out these surprises as I please.

Return Kids Club Wrist Band

When your kids go to the kids clubs (Oceaneer Lab & Oceaneer Club) they will be given a wristband to wear for the entire cruise, similar to a Magic Band. You are welcome to keep this wristband as a souvenir, but you will be charged around $12-13. To avoid this charge, return the wristband to the kids club on the last night of your cruise.

Book a Placeholder While Onboard

To save money on a future cruise, you can purchase a placeholder while onboard through the Navigator app. You will pay $250 which can be applied toward the deposit for a future cruise in the next two years and you will also receive 10% off the price of your sailing.

If your future cruise is 7-nights or longer, you will also get 50% off the required deposit. Should you end up not using the placeholder, your $250 will be refunded.

If you use a travel agent to book your cruises , you will want to alert them of your placeholder and have them call Disney Cruise Line to have the placeholder transferred to them within 30 days.

Disney Cruise Dining Tips

Rotational dining.

Disney Cruise Line is different than many other cruise lines when it comes to the Main Dining Room (MDR) experience. Most cruise lines have one main dining room where you will go every night for dinner unless you have a specialty dining experience booked.

With Disney, instead of heading to the same main restaurant each night, your will rotate to a different restaurant. Your dinner time will remain the same and your serving team will rotate with you as well.

Main Dining Room

When you go to the Main Dining Room for dinner, know that you can order as much or as little from each course on the dinner menu. If you want 3 appetizers and no entrée, you can go ahead and order that! Or order two desserts if that’s what you want! Your servers will be happy to get you whatever you’d like.

I also have one drink that I prefer each night (Cherry Coke Zero) so I let my serving team know that I want that each night of the cruise. This cuts down on ordering time when we arrive at the restaurant because my server has our drinks ready for us.

You can also order items from other restaurants (sometimes). On our San Diego Disney Cruise , my kids fell in love with the Strawberry Shortcake Sundae from Lumiere’s and our amazing serving team were able to get that for their dessert for the next to nights. It never hurts to ask! See everything we ate on the Disney Magic here .

Late Seating

There are two different seating times on a Disney Cruise . The Main Dining time is around 5:00 and the Late dining time is around 8:00. I have done both, but I prefer the later dining because I feel like I have more time after returning from excursions, and the dining room is generally quieter because most small children utilize the main dining time.

If you prefer the main dining time but have been assigned the later dining time, you can be placed on the waitlist. If you are not moved before your cruise, make sure to ask once you board if you can switch. It isn’t always the case, but sometimes they can accommodate the change.

Themed Restaurants

One thing that sets Disney Cruises apart from other cruise lines is the themed dining experience. Each night, guests rotate to a different restaurant with a new theme and menu.

For example, on the Disney Wonder , you have the chance to dine at Tiana’s Place, themed after the Princess and the Frog movie and the menu includes things like “Mama Odie’s Creamy Tomato Soup” and “Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets”!

Request a Private Table

Depending on the size of your party, you may or may not be seated with another family. Some people enjoy getting to know other cruisers, but for others, this is a deal breaker. If this is something you don’t want to do, you can request to be seated at a private table and Disney will do their best to accommodate your request.

Dining with Kids

If your kids have a hard time making it through a long dinner time, you can request that your serving team deliver their kid’s meals with the adult’s appetizers.

Once the kids have finished their meals, have an adult take them to the kids club, and then finish your meal without having them lose their patience. This works well with teenagers too, I know from experience!

Popcorn Buckets

Outside the shows and movie theaters, you are able to purchase popcorn. They have refillable popcorn buckets for sale and a refill will cost around $1.50+tip.

My boys LOVE Disney Cruise popcorn, so we bring our bucket with us each time we sail. You can also bring refillable buckets purchased at Disney World or Disneyland and get the refill price as well!

DIY Ice Cream Sundaes

A perk of sailing on a Disney cruise is the unlimited ice cream cones! One thing you can do to take this up a notch is to bring your own sprinkles, chocolate chips , nuts, and chocolate syrup. Grab a cup from the soda station and make your own ice cream sundaes!

Make a Float

Along with making hour own ice cream sundaes, you can also make your own ice cream floats combining soft serve and soda!

Bring Your Own Soda Cups & Cup Holder

Disney cruises include unlimited soda, which you can get up on the pool deck. I like to bring our own reusable cups, with lids and straws, so that we can take our soda with us. There are small cups available at the soda stations, but there are no cups and straws.

I also like to bring along a cup holder (I get one from fast food restaurants) to make it easy to bring drinks with us to the movies and shows.

Drink of the Day

Each day or your cruise, Disney offers a “Drink of the Day”. You can purchase this for under $7 including tip!

Free Room Service

Room Service on a Disney Cruise is included with your cruise fare, but you will want to make sure to tip the cast member who delivers your order at least $1-$2 per item. We like to order war chocolate chip cookies and milk just before bedtime.

Secret Room Service Menu

Don’t feel like you are restricted to the Room Service Menu on the Disney Navigator App. There is also a “secret room service menu” that includes things like Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars and Uncrustables!

Order a Mickey Ice Cream Bar

Everyone loves a Mickey Ice Cream Bar at the parks, but on a Disney Cruise , you can order as many as you like! They are available for dessert in the dining rooms and also through room service.

Get Uncrustables for Excursions

For port days, I like to order some Uncrustables sandwiches (prepackaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) to take along with us on excursions. These are great as a snack for kids and adults alike. If you’re going to use this trick, make sure to order them the night before a store them in the refrigerator.

Breakfast & Coffee from Room Service

In every stateroom , you will find a breakfast room service menu that you can fill out and place on your stateroom door at night. You will choose a time for delivery and your order will appear in the morning!

If you are a coffee drinker, many people like to order a carafe of coffee at night and it will stay warm until morning.

Cove Cafe Pastries

Cove Cafe is the specialty coffee shop on a Disney Cruise . The coffee from Cove Cafe is not free, but the pastries are! Get as many pastries and croissants as you want, and you don’t have to purchase anything. I happen to think that these pastries are better than the ones served in Cabanas (the buffet).

Cove Cafe Card

If you do like specialty coffee-make sure to get the Cove Cafe stamp card so you can get a free coffee after your 5th paid one. Also, save your card for the next cruise and use it then, previous stamps will be honored.

Tips for Disney’s Castaway Cay

If you are going on a Caribbean Disney Cruise , you will most likely have a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Below you will find tips and tricks to maximize your time at this amazing destination!

Adult-Only Beach

If you visit Castaway Cay, make sure to spend some time on the adults-only beach, Serenity Bay. We like to drop our kids off at the kids club on the island and take the tram to Serenity Bay. It’s quiet and a great way to start the day. You can also grab lunch, or an ice cream cone, at the BBQ restaurant.

Scuttle’s Cove Kids Club

Scuttle’s Cove is an extension of the kid’s club on the ship. The same counselors from the Oceneers Club and Oceaneers Lab will be there, which helps a lot of kids feel more comfortable. At Scuttle’s Cove, you will find sand castles, games, and a small splash pad.

Cookies BBQ

Cookies BBQ is the restaurant available to guests at Castaway Cay. The food is complimentary and you will find BBQ chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and more! Be aware that it closes at 2:00, so be sure to grab lunch before that time.

Complimentary Strollers

We always bring our stroller from home, but if you forget or don’t have one, Disney has complimentary strollers for guests to use on Castaway Cay. These are great for those who need a little assistance getting around the island.

Snorkeling Gear

Snorkeling is really fun on Castaway Cay because there are hidden Disney gems under the water. There is snorkel gear for rent on the island, or you can bring your own. We use our masks from Amazon. You will need to use a complimentary life vest available at the rental shack.

Sunscreen with Sea Lice Repellent

Some times of the year people have complained about sea lice in the waters of Castaway Cay. I combat this by bringing sunscreen that includes sea lice repellent. I use this brand from Amazon.

Disney Cruise Debarkation Tips

The debarkation process is streamlined on a Disney Cruise. On the day you debark from the ship, you will go to breakfast around 7:00 AM if you have an early dining time, or around 8:30 if you have a late dining time. Below are some tips to help you navigate this procedure.

Express Walk-Off

For most guests, you will get a set of character-themed luggage tags on the last day of your cruise. You will fill out the tags and attach to your luggage, then set your luggage outside your room the night before debarkation.

Your stateroom host or hostess will pick up your luggage, and you will retrieve it when you get off the ship. You will be called to debark the ship by the character on your luggage tags.

If you have an early flight or don’t want to wait for your character to be called, you can do “Express Walk-Off”. To do this, you will keep your luggage with you and then debark the ship at your leisure (usually by 9:30 at the latest).

Breakfast at Cabanas or Marcelline Market

If you do not want to eat in your assigned Main Dining Room restaurant the morning of debarkation, the buffets (Cabanas and Marceline Market) are generally open until 8:30 am on debarkation day. There are fewer options on debarkation day, but it is an option for you if you prefer the buffet breakfast.

Disney Cruise Frequently Asked Questions

A Disney cruise includes a variety of amenities and activities on board, such as dining, entertainment, recreation options, a fitness center, soda, free room service, and unique experiences like character meet & greets.

Alcoholic drinks, spa services, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, shore excursions, and some restaurants.

Yes! Disney Cruise Line offers the Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab for children ages 3-12, as well as Scuttle’s Cove Kids Club on Castaway Cay.

Yes, each ship has several pool areas with waterslides, hot tubs, and other family-friendly water activities.

Yes, you can bring a certain amount of beer or wine. Check the Disney Cruise Line website for current restrictions.

The cost of a Disney cruise varies depending on the length, destination, and time of year. Generally speaking, 3-4 night cruises start at around $1000 per person.

Yes and no, depending on the cruise. If the cruise is closed-loop (begins and ends in the same port) you can use a birth certificate and valid driver’s license. But I still recommend a passport. For all other cruises, a valid passport is required for all guests on Disney Cruises. Be sure to check the Disney Cruise Line website for current passport requirements.

Yes! Disney cruise ships offer a unique experience for the entire family. The ships are full of activities and amenities that you won’t find on other cruises, such as character meet & greets, Broadway-style theatre shows, pool areas with waterslides and hot tubs, kids’ clubs, and more. There is something fun for everyone!

There are actually 5 Disney cruise ships now, and more on the way! Currently sailing are the Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish.

Final Thoughts

Getting ready to embark on a Disney cruise can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right planning and preparation, you can make sure that your last morning on board goes as smoothly as possible.

Whether you choose express walk-off or take advantage of breakfast at Cabanas or Marceline Market, following these tips will ensure that you have a stress-free and magical trip!

Good luck on your upcoming voyage, and happy sailing! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram @mommymouseclubhouse!

Read My Disney Cruise Reviews:

• 4-Nights on the Disney Dream

San Diego Disney Cruise

• Mediterranean Disney Cruise

More Disney Cruise Information:

• Disney Cruise Wi-Fi Packages
• Disney Dream Menus
• What to Eat on the Disney Magic

Disney Cruise Tips

Disney Cruise: What to Expect

Are you ready for your next Disney Cruise? We have all the information you need! From itinerary and cost, to what else is included in your vacation package! 

Disney Cruise Internet (Updated New Plans)

If you’re planning a Disney Cruise, you may be wondering about the best way to stay connected while you’re at sea. Disney Cruise Line offers several different internet plans, each with its own benefits and drawbacks.

Disney Cruise Deluxe Family Verandah Suite (Disney Dream 8614)

I’m so excited to be giving you a tour of our Deluxe Family Verandah Suite on the Disney Dream cruise ship. Our suite was absolutely beautiful and perfect for families. It has plenty of space for all of us to relax and enjoy our vacation.

What is it like to take a San Diego Disney Cruise on the Disney Wonder? You’re about to find out! This article will take you through a quick tour of some of the ship’s highlights, and go through what each day is like on a 5 Night Itinerary to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico. Follow along with us as we learn how this magical cruise works!

Day One on the Disney Dream Cruise Ship

Want to know what it is like to board a Disney Cruise? You are in the right place! I will show you what is required in order to board, how the boarding process works, and all about Day 1 of a Halloween on the High Seas Disney Cruise on the Disney Dream.

Disney Cruise Formal Night

Wondering what to wear on a Disney Cruise Formal Night? I’ve got you covered! See the most EPIC Disney themed suits for men and boys plus where to buy cute dresses for women and girls!

Disney Cruise Activity Schedule

Want to know what activities are scheduled on a Disney Cruise? Here is the schedule from our 4-Night cruise on the Disney Dream including screenshots from the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App!

What to Eat on the Disney Dream

Check out the menus for most Disney Cruise Line Restaurants!

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Disney Cruise Advice: Tips & Tricks Onboard the Ship

LAST UPDATE: 2/14/24

On this page we have collected some useful Disney Cruise advice, tips, and tricks that can help you save time and have more fun while you are on a Disney Cruise. Read the advice below and you’ll have a much better idea what to expect, even if you’ve never been on a cruise before!

Thanks to Marjorie Treger and to MouseSavers.com readers Jeff Evernham and Aileen B, who contributed some great tips.

Disney Cruise Advice & Important Things to Know

Embarkation, first-day bag packing list, staterooms and what’s in them, knowing what’s going on & planning your day, oceaneer club and oceaneer lab, edge and vibe, port days/shore excursions, useful things to pack, things you don’t need to (or should not) pack, disney cruise wear, phone and internet.

• Spa: Treatments, Products & Fitness Center

Disembarkation

Additional tips & tricks, trip reports.

Other useful Disney Cruise information pages:

• For discounts and tips on saving money on the cruise itself , visit our Disney Cruise Discount page.
• For tips and tricks that will help you plan your cruise , visit the Planning Tips & Tricks for Disney Cruises page.
• For advice that will help you with excursions, tours and activities  while in port, visit the Tips & Discounts for Port Excursions page.

“Embarkation” means getting on the ship for the first time during your cruise; “disembarkation” or “debarkation” means getting off the ship at the end of your cruise.

“Port” is the left side of the ship as you face forward; “starboard” is the right side as you face forward. “Forward” is obvious; “aft” is the rear of the ship.

Cruise lines are required to ensure that every passenger knows the safety procedures and has been physically shown where they need to muster in case of emergency. A mandatory muster drill is held in the afternoon of embarkation day, usually around 4:00 pm. Everyone must attend in order to learn the location of your lifeboat station and other safety information. The drill takes 20 minutes or less and you do not have to bring your life jacket with you.

Make sure you turn off the cellular service on your phone while you’re at sea, so you don’t end up paying through the nose for “cellular at sea” service . There is a Disney Cruise Navigator app that you can use on most iPhones and Android phones without needing to pay for internet access. The Navigator app includes activity schedules and menus, and has a kind of text message feature that seems to work much better these days. We found that notifications were showing up quickly when people messaged using the app (our experience was with iPhone, we don’t know how well Android works).

“Cay” is pronounced “key” by locals – so unless you want to sound like a novice, remember this for Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island).

Disney asks you to select a P ort Arrival Time (PAT) when you do online check-in prior to your cruise. This arrival time was not rigidly enforced in the past, but lately, Disney has been enforcing people’s PATs pretty closely, especially during the early part of the boarding process. If you get to the terminal before 12:30, you will probably not be let in to the terminal until your time arrives. After 12:30 or so, Disney seems to just let people into the terminal as long as the check-in line isn’t completely full.

Bottom line: if you want to get on the ship as early as possible, definitely be ready to check in online on the morning your check-in opens! See below for when you can check in online:

• If you are staying at an official Walt Disney World resort or at Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport the night before your cruise, AND you booked that hotel as a package with the cruise, AND you are using Disney’s bus service to the port, your port arrival time is less important, and you may not even see an option to select one when you check in. From a Disney hotel, they’re going to assign you a bus, and generally you’ll just get there when you get there and the terminal staff will be ready to process and embark that whole busload of passengers. If you’re staying at the Hyatt, there will be multiple buses and you can take the first bus they’ll let you on. In either case, it’s rare to experience much wait no matter what your port arrival time is. But if you are offered the option to pick a port arrival time at checkin, pick the earliest reasonable time, just to be on the safe side. It can’t hurt, and it might save you some waiting.
• If you are staying in a concierge level stateroom or suite , you can check in and receive your port arrival time 40 days before embarkation day. That said, your shore-side concierge will likely offer to check you in on the first day you’re eligible, so effectively you can just let them handle it and they should get you the earliest arrival time (unless they know you won’t be arriving that early).
• If you are a Pearl member of the Castaway Club (25+ previous Disney cruises), you can check in and receive your port arrival time 40 days before embarkation day. 
• If you are a Platinum member of the Castaway Club (10-24 previous Disney cruises), you can check in and receive your port arrival time 38 days before embarkation day.
• If you are a Gold member of the Castaway Club (5-9 previous Disney cruises), you can check in and receive your port arrival time 35 days before embarkation day.
• If you are a Silver member of the Castaway Club (1-4 previous Disney cruises), you can check in and receive your port arrival time 33 days before embarkation day.
• If you have never before taken a Disney cruise, you can check in and receive your port arrival time 30 days before embarkation day.

When you arrive at Port Canaveral, you’ll hand off your bags to the dock workers. Tipping is theoretically optional, but it’s customary to tip them at least $1-$2 per bag, and we tend to tip on the high side for very helpful or friendly porters. Keep your carry-on/day bag with you. Get in line to go through check-in (during which time you’ll show your port arrival document several times), then get in line to go through security (you go through a metal detector and your carry-ons go through an x-ray).

The first people who will get on the ship are Group 1, which will usually be concierge level guests. Shortly after noon, announcements will be made for general boarding by group number. You’ll present your port arrival document as you board, have a family photo taken (or bypass the photo and get on the ship that much faster), and then your family will be announced as you arrive in the atrium of the ship. After that, the ship is yours!

Most people will head straight to lunch, and if you’re hungry, that’s a great idea. If you’ve brought your swimsuits in your day bag, this is a perfect time to enjoy the pool (or AquaDuck on the Dream or Fantasy and AquaMouse on the Wish), because the ship is still relatively empty and a lot of people will not have thought ahead. If you still need to make spa appointments, change your dinner rotation, sign up for shore excursions, book Palo, Remy or Enchanté, or book any specialty character meals or tea parties, now is the time to do that. You can also get your kids’ wristbands for the kids club. If it’s your first time on the ship, this is a good time to get a map and wander around familiarizing yourself with everything.

If you are a concierge level guest, there is a special concierge embarkation lunch, or you can go to the concierge lounge, where you can relax and enjoy a snack. You’ll be personally assisted with any bookings or changes you’d like to make (dining rotations, spa appointments, etc.)

At about 1:30-2:00, your room should be ready. Your bags will be delivered at some point in the afternoon (up until about 6:00 pm).

On the embarkation day, you won’t get access to your room until 1:30-2:00 pm, and you may not get all of your luggage until 6:00 pm (or occasionally even later), so its recommended you carry a bag that contains everything you’ll need between boarding the ship and dinner. If you want to swim or ride the AquaDuck or AquaMouse, for example, you will need all your swim stuff.

Here’s our checklist for packing our day bag. Some people like to use a rolling carry-on, but we prefer a small duffel. It’s your call; whatever you feel comfortable lugging around for an hour or two. You can also pack a small backpack for everyone to spread out the load.

• Flip-flops or water shoes (the deck can get hot )
• Reading material, iPad, videogames or other entertainment
• Camera, if you aren’t using your phone
• Medications you might need between noon and dinnertime
• Change of clothes for dinner, if what you wear to board the ship isn’t reasonable (though it almost certainly is fine, as long as it’s not a swimsuit).

The TV in your stateroom offers limited live TV programming, but a pretty extensive selection of Disney-owned movie and TV content. There is the Disney Channel, ABC and ESPN, all owned by Disney, plus some 24-hour news channels (MSNBC & Fox) and a small selection of basic cable channels. You can watch a huge variety of Disney movies and a few other family-friendly titles “on demand” (no extra charge).

Disney no longer provides the cordless Wave Phones; if you need to contact other members of your party, you are expected to use the Disney Navigator app on your phone. If you don’t have a compatible phone or don’t want to carry your phone, you have to fall back on the tried and true “let’s meet in XXX at YYY” or put a magnetic white board on your room door to exchange messages. Note that the kids club staff will only be able to contact you via the Navigator app, so if you don’t carry it around, you can’t be informed of issues with your kids.

Fire codes prevent cruise ships from having irons in staterooms, but irons are available for your use in the laundry rooms. Speaking of laundry, you can charge the cost of self-service laundry to your room key by swiping it through the readers on the washers and dryers.

Inside staterooms have no window (except the “ secret porthole ” rooms on the Wonder and Magic that are classified as inside but have an obstructed porthole). Inside staterooms on the Dream and Fantasy ships do have the “virtual porthole” that provides some light. It can be turned off with a switch by the bed. Bear in mind that on the Wonder, Magic and Wish (or on the Dream and Fantasy with the virtual porthole turned off), inside staterooms have no external light coming in to wake you up in the morning or give you a sense of what time it is. So if you’re anxious to get up and go in the morning, make sure you set an alarm or request a wake-up call.

A portable hair dryer can be found in a bag in the bathroom or in a desk drawer (call Guest Services if you can’t find it). It must be plugged into a European (220V) outlet at the desk. If you happen to be in a stateroom that also has a built-in hair dryer in the bathroom attached to the wall, we recommend leaving it alone; they don’t work well. Use the one in the drawer.

There is no longer a paper Navigator schedule given out in your stateroom, or even available from the front desk. You can only get the activity schedule via your phone or via the TV.

You can download the Navigator app for Apple or Android devices before you arrive at the embarkation port and then, once onboard, connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi network—complimentary for app use only. Downloading the app does not enable general-purpose internet access – you have to pay extra for that. In addition to giving you the ship’s daily schedule, the app has some information that isn’t in the paper Navigator, including menus for the various restaurants and some other useful tidbits. 

The Navigator app also has the all-aboard time and the local number of the ship’s agent, who is your contact if you have an emergency or are running late and might miss the ship (or have missed the ship). It’s not a bad idea to write those things down on a separate piece of paper to carry with you when you’re in port, just in case you lose your phone or the Navigator app gets flaky. If you have an emergency and don’t have your phone or the info on paper, you can call the port and ask them who the port agent is for your ship, and then call Disney’s port agent to let them know what’s happening.

The Navigator app now has a FREE text messaging feature. The messaging feature is available on all five ships. You do not need to buy a data plan to send messages to other people in your party, assuming they also have a device that can run the app. We didn’t really use it much in previous years because there could be 20-30 minutes between sending and message and the recipient getting a notification on their phone, but on our most recent cruise everything worked fine. Also, if you get the newer internet service that you can leave on all the time (currently available on the Wish, Magic, Dream and Fantasy) it will work with iMessage, WhatsApp and other messengers, and it will work with SMS text messaging if everyone’s phone has Wi-Fi cellular enabled.

Onboard Entertainment & Activities Tips

If you’re curious to know what movies will be shown on your sailing before you get on the ship, call  Disney Cruise customer service (800) 951-3532 about two weeks before your cruise and ask.

Want to ride the AquaDuck water coaster on the Dream or Fantasy or the AquaMouse on the Wish? MouseSavers.com reader Bill V has this tip: “If you enjoy the AquaDuck during the day, find an EVENING to ride it as well! Riding it at night, with the red-and-white lights strobing around the tube at each of the supports, is a completely different experience than the daytime, not to be missed! Also, the lines are truly non-existent if you go during dinner or show times, far shorter than even the times when most passengers are ashore when the ship is docked–my daughter rode it one evening over a dozen times in less than 90 minutes, usually walking on with no line whatsoever.” (This advice would apply to the AquaMouse on the Wish as well.)

Some special activities require advance sign-up at Guest Services. For instance, “Tea with Wendy,” (or “Tea with Alice” or some other character) is sometimes offered on some 7-night cruises, but has limited seating, and on cruises near Christmas, there is a build-your-own-gingerbread house activity, but they have a limited number of kits available. Check for those activities (they’ll generally be listed in the Navigator app) and sign up as soon as you can. Certain popular character meetings are also now requiring advance sign-up, usually on the first day.

Theater snacks : the theaters where the movies and shows are presented have concession stands selling expensive goodies such as canned sodas, bagged popcorn and candy, which can be charged to your room key. If you want to keep costs down, go up on the pool deck to the self-serve beverage station and get FREE sodas (or lemonade, tea, etc.) to bring into the show with you. You can also usually get FREE cookies from one of the counter-service locations on the pool deck and bring those along (or order cookies from room service, for only the cost of a tip). Concierge level guests on the Dream and Fantasy can get snacks, including cans of soda and sometimes popcorn, from the lounge. The snack bar at the theater has a refillable popcorn bucket that can be refilled for the rest of your cruise at a much cheaper price, so if you like popcorn, it’s a good idea to get one at the beginning of the cruise. Some people have brought popcorn buckets from previous cruises or from Walt Disney World and had them refilled, though that may or may not be official policy.

Embarkation Day

Once you’re onboard on embarkation day, you can eat lunch in one of three locations (or the concierge lunch if you’re in a concierge stateroom): the buffet, the pool deck food outlets (burgers, pizza, etc.) or a dining room (on the Magic, the primary lunch dining room is Lumiere’s; on the Wonder, it’s Triton’s; on the Dream and Fantasy, it’s Enchanted Garden; on the Wish, it’s been 1923 or Arendelle). The primary dining room lunch is a la carte with a normal lunch menu similar to the menu served on sea days. It has a tendency to fill up pretty quickly, so if you want to eat there, get on the ship as early as possible. There is also a lunch just for concierge guests in a different dining room.

Note that if you head for the inside dining room, you will encounter multiple crew members who will try to herd you to the buffet, which can handle more people. Just tell them you’d prefer the interior dining room. 

Breakfast and Lunch

During the cruise, there are usually two or three breakfast and lunch locations with different hours (check the Navigator app for hours). You can choose from one or more full-service restaurants with open seating (just show up when you want during opening hours, and they’ll seat you), or eat at the buffet.

Dinner Rotations

Your dinner arrangements — meaning your restaurant rotation schedule, and whether you have the early or late seating for dinner — are assigned before you embark on the cruise. You can find your restaurant rotation by checking the “My Plans” section of the Navigator app. It will also show your table number and seating time, as well as the recommended dress code and menu. If you have trouble using the app, Guest Services or any of the dining locations can help you get that information. 

If you want to change your seating or your restaurant rotation, do that as soon as you embark. The location on the ship where changes can be made will be listed in the Navigator app, or just go to Guest Services and they can point you in the right direction.

If you go to your assigned restaurant for dinner each night, your servers will be the same for every night of your cruise. On longer cruises they’ll get to know you, and may even have your “usual” beverage waiting for you at your table. If you are served something you don’t like, tell the servers and they’ll bring you something else. And if you want to indulge, they’ll be happy to bring you two desserts (or two appetizers, or even two entrees)! In true Disney style, if you have a special event you are celebrating, make sure your servers know. You will get appropriate special treatment (usually a special dessert, and perhaps some singing).

We recommend not rushing to dinner. If you show up five minutes or so after they begin seating you’ll walk right in. If you show up early you’ll just have to wait in line! Don’t wait too long, though: in order to get everyone served in a timely manner, each server really needs to get all the orders from all their tables at once. If you come too late, it throws off their timing, necessitating multiple extra trips to the kitchen and long delays for everyone. Also, if you won’t be at the regular rotation dinner one night, it’s helpful to tell your server or head server in advance, so they won’t wait for you to arrive to start service for the other tables.

We also recommend having the Navigator app open to your dinner reservation and table number the first time you arrive at each restaurant, so you can be seated more easily. But if you remember your table number, you can just tell the servers.  

Each restaurant has a “special” menu that is only offered at that restaurant, which will be used on one of the nights you visit each restaurant (the same night as the show, if there is one for that restaurant). On the other nights, you’ll get “standard” menus that are the same at all three restaurants (they change every night, but each of the three restaurants gets the same menu). 

Dinner Shows

The following restaurants have special shows and menus on one night of your cruise . These shows are one of the unique entertainment experiences on a Disney cruise, so try to see them if you can! Ask at Guest Services or ask your server which night it will be for your rotation. Move your Palo, Remy or Enchante reservations or change your dinner rotation if you have to. 

• Animator’s Palate (Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy) — On the Magic & Wonder, this show allows everyone in the family to design a character and see it animated. It’s pretty neat! On the Dream & Fantasy, the show involves interacting with an animated character (Crush the sea turtle from Finding Nemo). On longer (7+ night) cruises on the Dream & Fantasy, they may also do a version of the “draw your own animated character” show on the second night you visit Animator’s Palate.
• Tiana’s Place (Wonder) — A rollicking dinner show with the characters and songs from The Princess & The Frog.
• Rapunzel’s Royal Table (Magic) — A fun musical show with characters and songs from Tangled.
• Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure (Wish) — An elaborate show where you’re a guest at an engagement party for Anna and Kristoff, hosted by Wandering Oaken. Enjoy songs and characters from the two Frozen movies.
• Worlds of Marvel (Wish) — A loud action spectacle involving Ant-Man and the Wasp (and some guest Marvel characters) takes place during dinner. Most of the action is ostensibly taking place elsewhere on the ship (you watch it on screens on the walls of the restaurant), but live-action Ant-Man and the Wasp appear near the end to wave at diners.

Premium Restaurants

If you enjoy fine dining, we definitely recommend making a reservation for Palo, Remy or Enchanté, particularly on a 4-night or longer cruise. There is a small extra cost (larger for Remy and Enchanté) but it is well worth it for the cuisine, the atmosphere, and the opportunity to enjoy a nice dinner without the kids. The Remy and Enchanté dinners are especially elaborate, and are similar to meals that cost much more at Michelin starred restaurants or Victoria & Albert’s at Walt Disney World. Palo can be found on all five Disney ships, though the menu is slightly different (and more steakhouse-oriented) on the Wish. Remy is only on the Dream and Fantasy, and Enchanté is only on the Wish.

Alternatively, consider booking the Palo, Enchanté or Remy brunch (offered usually only once or twice on most cruises). We find the premium brunches particularly fabulous and might even prefer them to dinner in Palo.

Palo, Remy and Enchanté are very popular, so book them as early as you can . If you’re not able to get a reservation in advance, check the Navigator app or ask a crew member to find the location where you can go and request a reservation onboard.

If you want to skip one of the regular rotation restaurants in order to dine in Palo, Remy or Enchanté, our suggestion is to call Disney to find out the dining rotations for your cruise and pick a night that is the second visit to a restaurant, since the first night is very likely to be that restaurant’s special menu (and will have a show, if there is a show at that restaurant). For example, if your rotation is “Enchanted Garden, Rapunzel’s Table, Rapunzel’s Table, Animator’s Palate”, pick the third night, since it is the most likely to be a “standard” menu.

Keep in mind that the dinner rotations and timing of Animator’s Palate, Tiana’s, Rapunzel’s, Marvel or Arendelle shows are subject to change, and in our experience the folks at the Disney call center don’t always have accurate information about when the show will happen. The people actually on the ship know, so if you want to be sure your premium dining doesn’t happen on a dinner show night, go to Guest Services or the dining reservation location listed in the Navigator app on the first day of your cruise and ask. If there’s a conflict, they can either reschedule your premium dinner or put you on a different main dining rotation.

Alternate Dining Options

There are always plenty of options for food: check the Navigator app to know which restaurants are open at what times.

In the past, Disney has opened up the buffet area (Cabanas or Marceline Market) for dinner on most nights of the cruise (usually all but the first night), but as a table-service venue, not a buffet. There’s no specific time, you just show up and choose from a limited menu that includes some of the same foods served in the main dining rooms (but without all the hoopla). Of late they haven’t been doing it, but all indications are that this is a temporary post-pandemic measure because of logistics issues, so it could restart any time. If you’d prefer a quieter dinner at your own dining time, ask if it’s an option on your cruise.

There are fast-food locations up on the pool deck, serving kid-friendly fast food. We think the burgers and other sandwiches on a bun are edible, and the mini-wraps are quite good. The pizza is not a highlight – the toppings are fine, but the crust is sub-par, except on the Wish, where it is pretty good. The Wish also has a barbeque window, and a Mexican food window with choose-your-own ingredient bowls, tacos and burritos (think Chipotle), and both of those options are quite good. The fruit is fruit; nothing wrong with it. The soft-serve ice cream is not very creamy, but it makes a nice snack on a hot day, and they usually rotate in some unusual flavors like mango or strawberry over the course of the cruise.

On most ships, there are some small snacks available most of the day. In the adult coffee bar, there have generally been free mini-desserts available during the day, and little antipasto nibbles during the evening, but we didn’t see them on the Wish. In the adult lounge area on the lower decks, there is usually a (small) hot snack buffet available for part of the evening, either in the pub or the hallway between the various lounges. Usually there’s something like a build-your-own nacho bar, plus some sort of hot savory like pigs in a blanket or egg rolls. Again, this little mini-buffet has not been present on the Wish. In the pub on each ship, there are about 4-6 extra-cost hot snacks & entrees you can order. Typically at least one of the pool deck food stations will be open until midnight, usually pizza. From midnight until breakfast time (6:30 or so) room service is the only food option.

On Alaska cruises, there have usually been some snacks on the front of the ship on the pool deck on the glacier-viewing day , including hot soup in small bread bowls, cookies and hot cocoa. They also usually do a special barbecue lunch that day on the deck behind the buffet, typically sausage, fish, and steak. Sometimes they have been known to serve elk or another Alaska specialty. Make sure you go out to the deck to check it out; we met many people who had no idea the cookout was happening and just ate regular buffet food instead of the fresh-grilled options just a few steps away.

Concierge guests have access to snacks and beverages (bottled water, soft drinks, coffee drinks) in the concierge lounge.

Kids’ Meals

There are kid’s menu options at all the table-service meals , but children are not limited to eating from those menus. Your servers will bring your kids whatever they want, including full adult appetizers, meals and desserts, and in fact if there’s something on the ship they can get or make, they’ll usually try to accommodate you even if it’s not on the menu. In other words, if all your kids want is french fries, that’s not a problem, assuming you’re OK with it.

It’s worth noting that asking your server to bring you something from another restaurant is not a trivial undertaking . They will almost certainly do it, because they really want guests to be happy, but don’t spring a request on them unless you really can’t find anything else for your kids to eat. And if possible, let the service staff know early if your child has specific food issues. If they know in advance that your child will only eat french fries and chicken fingers, they can have those ready each night.

If you have kids in the Oceaneer Club, they will be offered lunch and dinner if they are in the Club at the appropriate time. There are not usually a lot of choices, but what they’ll offer is going to be pretty simple and kid-friendly, like chicken nuggets and apple slices.

Two key things to be aware of: one, they usually don’t serve the kids dinner on the first night of the cruise (the day of embarkation). So if you have Palo or Remy reservations for that night, you’ll need to feed your kids yourself. Fortunately that’s easy: all you have to do is get food for the kids before or after your reservation from one of the fast-food restaurants on the pool deck. Two: be aware of when the kids are served. Meal times may be too early for your liking if you leave your kids in the Club.

Also, keep in mind that the Disney crew members will not make your kids sit down to eat. They will make sure every child is informed that food is being served, but they can’t and won’t make your children stop playing to eat, and there is one opportunity to eat for each mealtime. There are no snacks served in the club between meal times. It’s a good idea when you pick up your kids to check if they ate and if they are hungry.

Dine and Play Program

Please note : The Dine and Play program is temporarily suspended, but may return at any time. Ask about it onboard if you’re interested.

The Dine and Play program allows children to get their meals quicker and adults to check in a child for Youth Activities without leaving the dining room. The Dine and Play program is offered for families assigned to second dining, and is open to children ages 3-12. 

Here’s how it works: You arrive in the dining room and inform the server that your child would like to participate in Dine and Play. The dining room team brings the child’s meal first while serving the adults at a more leisurely pace.

About 45 minutes after seating begins, Youth Activities Counselors arrive in the dining room and sign in the child to Disney’s Oceaneer Club, eliminating the need for you to escort the child to Deck 5.

Adults are then able to enjoy the full dining experience with the knowledge that their children are having a great time in a safe, fun and comfortable environment.

Alternative approach: You can ask your server to feed the kids as fast as possible, and then have an adult walk them over to the kids club and check them in. It only takes a few minutes to get to the club and back. Some parents have told us their kids prefer this method over using Dine & Play, as you can get the kids to the club whenever they’re ready and there’s less waiting around.

Room Service

Room service is not a strong suit on Disney Cruise Line. The food, in our experience, is merely adequate. It is free (though a tip is welcomed) and convenient, though. Selection is mostly very basic and very middle-American: sandwiches, basic soups, chicken wings, a few salads, a cheese plate, burger, pizza or topped flatbreads. 

If the buffet or top deck restaurants are open, we suggest sending someone to the buffet or top deck instead of ordering room service . The selection in the buffet is much better and the food better prepared. The top deck restaurants have a more limited selection, but sending someone to the top deck for food has always resulted in hotter, fresher food when we’ve done it. That said, if you’re worn out, or come back really late from a port excursion, it’s nice to know they will bring you food any time.

Mickey bars (Mickey head shaped ice cream bars) and Smuckers Uncrustables (packaged peanut butter & jelly sandwiches) are not on the menu, but have usually been available on request.

Special orders are limited , but if you want something simple that is not on the menu, but is made with components used in items that are on the menu, such as a grilled cheese sandwich, plain salad without dressing, plain hamburger patty with no bun or just an order of french fries, they will usually make that for you on request.

Room service breakfast in the regular staterooms is a very basic Continental offering of various baked goods, cereal, milk, hot drinks and juice. There is nothing hot and no real protein, so if you like eggs and bacon in the morning, head for the buffet or whichever dining room is serving breakfast (it’s listed in the Disney Cruise Navigator app). We do sometimes use room service to get coffee delivered in the morning. Though lately we just have them deliver hot water, because we prefer the Starbucks Via packets to the ship’s reconstituted coffee product.

Guests in concierge staterooms and suites can order dinner from the rotation restaurants during regular dinner hours . Ask your concierge staff for a menu. All courses of your meal are brought at once, which doesn’t do good things for the quality of the meal, but it’s still better than the regular room service offerings. Concierge level guests can order hot breakfasts in their suites and staterooms during the cruise.

Many common beverages (including sodas) are available FREE most of the time , but there are situations where you could be charged for them. Here are the basic rules:

• The self-service drink station on the pool deck offers milk , juice , tea (hot or iced) , coffee, hot cocoa , lemonade, plain water and fountain sodas  at no extra charge 24 hours a day.
• The dining rooms (including Palo, Remy and Enchanté) offer milk , juice , tea (hot or iced) , coffee , hot cocoa ,  lemonade, plain water and fountain sodas  at no extra charge with meals. All other drinks can be ordered, but cost money.
• Castaway Cay offers milk , juice , tea (iced only) , lemonade, plain water and fountain sodas  for free. All other cold drinks (except iced espresso drinks) can be ordered at a bar, but cost money. No hot drinks are available. 
• Room service offers milk , juice , tea (hot or iced), plain water and  coffee free. All other drinks cost money. 
• All bars (including espresso bars) charge for all beverages , except plain tap water.
• Bottled water, canned and bottled soda and soft drinks , alcoholic beverages , mocktails , smoothies, shakes  and espresso drinks (and related drinks like chai lattes) always cost money no matter where you order them.
• The fountain sodas are all Coca-Cola products (which could change any time, but Coca-Cola has had a strong partnership with Disney for many years). The bars have a wider selection of canned and bottled beverages available, at a charge.

Consider bringing your own bottled water if you think you’ll drink a lot of it on shore excursions, Castaway Cay, etc. Bottled water on the ship or Castaway Cay is expensive. Consider packing a small carry-on suitcase with just bottled water. Then on the way home you’ll have room for all those things you didn’t plan to buy. (If you are staying on concierge level on the Dream or Fantasy, bottled water is provided in the lounge without cost.)

Disney allows each adult to bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or six 12 oz beers onboard at embarkation and at each port visited. Bottles must be sealed and they must be in your carry-on luggage.  Spirits (rum, vodka, whiskey, etc.) are not allowed (they will be confiscated and given back to you at disembarkation).

Sealed bottles or cans of non-alcoholic beverages can be carried on in any amount that will fit through the x-ray machines (carry-on bag sized, in other words). As for coolers, Disney officially says that you can only take aboard small (12″ x 12″ x 12″ max) soft-sided coolers for keeping things like insulin and breast milk cold. In practice, soft coolers can be any size that’s small enough to fit through the x-ray machine (again, basically the size of a carry-on bag), but no hard-sided or wheeled coolers.

Disney, like all other cruise lines, does not allow any beverages in checked bags , because checked baggage is stacked up and handled roughly during the loading process, which could cause containers of liquids to break and/or leak onto other people’s luggage. They do screen for those items. If they find disallowed items, the items will be confiscated and given back at the end of the cruise.

Coffee and Tea

Regular American-style coffee on Disney ships is unfortunately not good. The “drip” coffee they serve throughout the ship is made in a machine that looks vaguely like a coffee urn, but actually produces instant coffee on demand by mixing liquid concentrate and hot water. When it’s made in a properly-calibrated machine it tastes like OK instant coffee (not as good as Starbucks Via, but better than Folger’s Crystals). If the machine is out of calibration, it can be really weak or very strong.

If you like your coffee with cream and sugar or just aren’t picky about coffee, you may be fine with the reconstituted coffee . If you like quality coffee, you may want to order espresso drinks (at extra cost), which are available at most bars and sit-down restaurants and at the bar in the Wish, Dream & Fantasy’s buffets. You might also consider bringing Starbucks Via packets if you like them. In our experience the Via is much better than the reconstituted stuff.

If you’re a tea drinker, the news is better: there are a wide variety of Twinings tea bags (regular and herbal) at the main deck drink stations and in the dining rooms. And in the dining rooms, they almost always serve tea properly, with acceptably hot water and a small pitcher of milk upon request.

The iced tea served everywhere is unsweetened reconstituted iced tea from a soda machine (Fuze brand from Coca-Cola), but you can make your own iced tea by brewing fresh hot tea and adding ice and water, and that is much better. Our recipe: put two regular black tea bags in a cup of hot water, steep three minutes, stir in sugar if desired, then pour over a full cup of ice. Add water to taste.

Most bars on the ship have espresso machines , including the adults-only Cove Cafe on the pool deck and the all-ages Promenade Lounge on deck 3 (Wonder & Magic), Vista Café on deck 4 (Dream & Fantasy), and all bars and lounges on the Wish. Espresso is also available in the main dining rooms, the premium restaurants, and the Dream, Fantasy and Wish buffets. All espresso drinks cost extra, generally about the same price as on land. If you are a regular consumer of espresso drinks, be sure to get a coffee card. Each time you buy a latte, cappucino, etc. they will mark the card. Your sixth beverage is FREE! If you don’t fill your card during the cruise, hold onto it — it can be used on a future cruise, even on a different Disney ship!

Wine Packages and Refillable Beer Mug

Disney doesn’t have any “all you can drink” packages available. You don’t really need one for sodas, since they’re included (except at bars). Alcohol and other specialty beverages are always a la carte. There are, however, two programs that could save you some money (albeit with a few caveats).

Wine Packages

This is an opportunity to pre-pay for a certain number of bottles of wine, which you can enjoy at any of the sit-down restaurants. If you don’t finish one, you can get it recorked for the next night (and they’ll take it to the next restaurant in the rotation, or you can get it brought to you at Palo, Remy or Enchanté), or you can take it with you to your room. If you don’t end up drinking them all, you can take the remainder home. Your server will usually suggest buying one bottle per cruise night, but you can buy more or less if you like. The wines are all from a set list, which changes from time to time, and usually includes about 10-12 white wines and 8-10 red wines. There are two tiers, with the more expensive one including fancier bottles of wine. The wines on the list change regularly, but we think the choices are all pretty good, with a few real winners on each list. Disney pushes these packages aggressively: a brochure will be on the table your first night, and one of your servers will offer a sales pitch the first night.

We went to the trouble a few years ago to price out all the wines on the list and compare to the average cost per bottle from the packages . The price per bottle in the packages was about $2-3 cheaper than the average price of the bottles included in the package. However, the packages typically have only 5-7 selections that sell for more than the average price, and 12-15 selections that sell for less than the average price. So if you pick random bottles from the list, you’re very likely to end up spending more (or at least not much less) by buying the package. To come out ahead, you have to consistently order from the few bottles that are higher priced.

Frankly, our opinion is that it’s not worth the trouble, at least as a money-saving strategy . If buying your dinner wine in advance will help you relax, then go ahead; you certainly won’t lose much money unless you happen to always pick the cheapest wine on the list. And if you really love a particular wine or wines that you know are higher-priced, and you plan to only drink those, the plan will save you a few bucks per bottle.

Refillable Beer Mug

This is a large 21 oz glass souvenir beer mug that you can buy at any bar for $17 (last we checked). When you get it filled (at any bar or restaurant), you get 21 ounces for the price of a 16 ounce draft beer. One nice thing is that you don’t have to cart the mug around; they’ll give you a little token you can trade for a mug at any time. So you give the token to your server and get a mug of beer, and when you’re done you can give them the mug and ask for the token back. At the end of the cruise, just stop by any bar to get a nice clean mug to take home. The selection of draft beers is pretty good, and in addition to the standard American beers, there are always a few craft beers like Widmer or Full Sail and even sometimes a cider like Strongbow. (Disney Cruise Line advertises this as a 21 oz glass, but we heard from a reader who measured it and found it actually held 20 oz when filled to the rim.)

Purely as a money-saving strategy, it’s hard to get your money’s worth out of the mug unless you really like beer. However, if you like the idea of having a Disney Cruise Line souvenir beer mug, and the price seems reasonable, then the extra beer is basically FREE. Make sure to tell your spouse that when you buy it.

Disembarkation Day

Breakfast is served on the day of disembarkation. In fact, you’ll have an assigned restaurant and time for breakfast for disembarkation, or you can choose to eat at the buffet instead. It will be a much smaller selection than during the cruise: welcome back to the real world!

Regular guests do not have access to room service on disembarkation morning. Concierge level guests can order a standard Continental breakfast from room service on disembarkation morning.

Most kids find the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab, for ages 3-10, to be the best part of a Disney cruise. There is a lot to do, with great hands-on organized activities going on all the time.

Signing in and out is a relatively easy process considering what needs to be done to protect the children. However, you may have to wait in line either to drop them off or pick them up. Plan at least 5 minutes for the pick up or drop off process. If your children are 8 years old or older, they can be given the ability to sign themselves in and out on their own.

The Navigator app will tell you what’s happening and where your kids are at any given time. Check the app to see if your children will be out of the Club at the time you want to sign them out – for instance, they could be up on the deck playing basketball. Using the app to plan will save you a wasted trip. Also, when the kids are moving from one location to another, they will not allow you to sign them in or out, so there can be a 10-15 minute window where you have to wait.

You can keep your child signed in to the Oceaneer Club while at Castaway Cay. They will take the kids off the ship to special play areas for supervised games and activities throughout the day. If you do this, be sure to bring your phone with you. The Wi-Fi covers much of Castaway Cay and the app tends to work OK. But if you want your kids to join you for some time on the island, make sure you know their schedule of activities. They eat lunch fairly early, and are taken back to the ship before the beach closes.

Edge is the “tween” club for ages 11-14. Vibe is the teen club for ages 14-17. A 14-year-old can access both Edge and Vibe, but they will have to register for both. Disney will sometimes be slightly flexible about the age groups for these clubs, and will sometimes allow a child that is a little younger than the target age into the older teen club if they have space in the club your child wants to attend, especially if they have a friend or sibling in the older club. This is not guaranteed, but it’s worth asking.

The Disney Cruise offers many opportunities to meet characters . You will see most of the popular characters at some point or another on the Disney Cruise. Greeting times are available in the Navigator app. The lines for character greetings usually start forming about 15 minutes before the scheduled greeting time, so if you can get there 10 minutes beforehand, you won’t have a long wait once the characters arrive.

Some popular character meetings and meals may require advance booking . There’s no charge for the character meetings, but certain breakfasts or teas with characters may have an additional fee. You should book these as early as you can online; the bookings open on the same schedule as  booking excursions and Palo/Remy/Enchanté . You can also call or stop by guest services on the first day and ask about tickets; they may hold back some slots for onboard booking. Thanks to Sarah B and Rachel P for info.

Bring your kids’ Disney costumes, if they have any. The cruise is a great opportunity to get pictures of your daughter dressed as Belle with the “real” Belle herself, without her having to wear the costume all day.

If you’re on a 7-night cruise, you may have an assigned Character Breakfast on one of the days of the cruise. You’ll get a chance for photos with all the main Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie!

Most of the character greetings will include a Disney professional photographer , so if your own photo doesn’t turn out you can still buy a memento from Shutters, the onboard photo location.

Read our tips, tricks and discounts on Port Excursions !

The list below is mostly based on reader suggestions. We have to admit, we have taken Disney cruises at various times without these, and everything went just fine. So don’t go too crazy with overpacking! But some of these are good ideas for specific needs.

• Water shoes – Always a good idea if you’ll be snorkeling or wading where there are coral reefs and sharp rocks. Also handy to protect your feet on hot sand, concrete or the pool deck; the sun can make the deck very hot and you’ll want some of these or some simple flip-flops while hanging around the pool. You can wear water shoes that are secure and not likely to come off on the AquaDuck, AquaMouse and AquaDunk, but flip-flops or water shoes that slip off easily will need to be stowed before riding.
• Safe Sea lotion – This is a lotion that protects against jellyfish, sea nettle, and seabather’s eruption , caused by jellyfish larvae that are sometimes called “sea lice.” There is actual independent research that backs this up – we’ve read it and are satisfied that it works. We want to reassure people that large jellyfish are kept out of the lagoon at Castaway Cay by netting under the water, so we’ve never heard of anyone getting a serious sting there, but people do occasionally get seabather’s eruption. At other beaches in the Bahamas and Caribbean jellyfish stings are not common, but they do happen. The peak season for jellyfish is summer (June-August) and they’re rare in winter. We actually had a very minor issue with seabather’s eruption on one trip to Castaway Cay (on some skin that didn’t have lotion; we failed to note that you need to apply some underneath the swimsuit for full protection), and we can attest that while it’s not the end of the world, it’s quite unpleasant and worth avoiding. Certainly the lotion is a cheap form of insurance, and there are formulations that include sunscreen, which you’ll need anyway. Another option is to bring some jellyfish after-sting gel  just in case, or some sources recommend hydrocortisone cream or antihistamine cream .
• Body Powder – If you’ve ever tried to wipe beach sand off your body, you know it tends to stick in an annoying manner. It turns out it sticks to your skin because of residual moisture, and if you just rub your skin with water-absorbent powder (i.e. scented cornstarch), the sand drops right off. We used to recommend a very useful little mitt that contained cornstarch-based body powder for wiping off sand. Apparently that mitt isn’t made any more, but you can get the same effect by just sprinkling the powder on a towel and wiping with that. Do make sure you’re getting plain cornstarch powder, or at least talc-free powder. Talc is not good to breathe.
• Robe – if you like to wear one in your room, you’ll need to bring your own unless you’re in a concierge room. Some people have had luck asking their stateroom attendant, but it’s not guaranteed they can get you one.
• Pop-up Hamper – We like the rectangular kind with a circular opening on the top, as opposed to the ones that look like a big round cloth-covered spring. The squarer ones seem to hold their shape better. They only weigh 8 ounces, fold down to a small circle, and fit nicely into hotel and stateroom closets.
• Dry box/case – Basically, a small waterproof box or pouch on a lanyard. Used by scuba divers and snorkelers, these are handy for any beach visit, because you can keep your ID and some money around your neck, instead of sticking valuables in your shoe and leaving them on the beach (yeah, everyone knows about THAT hiding place!)
• Clothespins – These have a variety of uses, from weighing down a shower curtain that wants to stick to you, to anchoring your beach towel to a lounge chair. You can clip your curtains together if you want to minimize light leakage in the morning. Oh, and you can use them to hang laundry up to dry, too (there’s a retractable clothesline in the bathtub).
• Night light – Particularly if you are staying in one of the Inside cabins on the Magic, Wonder or Wish, this is nice to have. It’s pitch black in those rooms when the lights are off. If you don’t want to use up a wall plug, you can get a USB light that plugs into an empty USB charger port. (It’ll also work in a laptop USB port, but not all laptops keep power to the USB ports when they go to sleep, so you’d want to check that first.) An LED flashlight or headlamp can also be handy if you need to get up in the middle of the night and don’t want to turn on lights.
• Magnets – The stateroom doors are metal (except for the doors in the concierge section of the Dream and Fantasy). You can stick magnets on them to decorate your door, and it makes it easier for your children (and you) to identify your room. Don’t bring anything you can’t bear to lose: these do get taken sometimes. Please note that you are not allowed to use any type of adhesive on your door, including removable gel adhesives that supposedly come off clean. You will be charged for any damage to the door.
• Multi-USB charger – When we have a lot of things to charge while travelling, normally we bring a  travel power strip , but as mentioned below, power strips are generally not allowed on Disney ships. Now we bring a multi-charger, which can charge 4 or more devices from one outlet. We’ve used Anker brand as well as Amazon Basics, and they’ve both been perfectly fine. You’ll need to also bring the USB cable for each device. We’d recommend getting at least a 40W model if you have anything more than just a phone or two. A 60W model typically has six outlets and might be just the thing if you have a lot of tablets and phones to charge, or you want a spare port to plug a USB night light into. Note that on the Magic and Wonder, they’ve installed a few more USA-type power outlets near the desk, and there are a couple of USB charging ports at the desk and on the alarm clock next to the bed. The Wish staterooms have tons of USB charging outlets at the desk and next to the bed, including two USB-C ports, so you can probably get by without a USB charger on that ship.
• Irons are NOT ALLOWED as they are a fire hazard. Fire is a huge danger on cruise ships. If you take an iron it will be confiscated from your luggage. Irons are available for your use in the laundry rooms.
• Rolls of quarters – In the past, these were needed for the self-service laundry onboard, but now you just swipe your room key for use of the washer, dryer, soap and dryer sheets. The cost is charged to your account.
• Over-the-door shoe organizer – Some people have used these to store toiletries or other small items. Disney now asks that you do NOT use them as they “scratch and/or disfigure stateroom doors and trim.” You will be charged for any damage.
• Seasickness medication – Unless you KNOW you get seasick on cruise ships, don’t bother bringing this. If you do get queasy, the ship’s health center or the guest services desk will give you FREE over the counter medication (generic meclizine, the ingredient in Bonine or non-drowsy Dramamine). If you get super-queasy the health center can get you prescription medication (for a fee).
• Beach towels – They are provided when you get off the ship on beach days.
• Power/outlet strip – These are not allowed on the ship. MouseSavers.com reader Christina N reports: “… they confiscated these from my bag and from others. They do not allow them as it blows circuits in the room.” Technically, they only ban extension cords, and power strips with surge protectors, but in practice people have reported having just about any kind of multi-outlet strip or adapter confiscated, because the people doing the screening don’t want to figure out whether your power strip is one of the “bad” ones. One thing not many people know is that there’s an open outlet behind the TV in most cabins on the Magic, Wonder, Dream and Fantasy. The TVs are on a pivoting arm, so it’s easy to pull them out and expose the spare plug. Many smartphones and smaller tablets can be charged through a USB cable connected to a laptop, so if you take a USB cable you’ll only need one outlet, to plug in the laptop. Or you might want to pack a multi-USB charger like the ones mentioned above. And over time Disney has been adding USB charging ports to the outlets near the desk, so you might not need a power strip depending on how many devices you have.
• Extension cords – the only extension cords allowed on the ship are ones you can borrow from Guest Services ($50 deposit required; refunded when you return the cord). There are a limited number and availability is first-come, first-served. If you need one for a CPAP or other medical device, one will be made available, but all of the ships now have a plug next to the bed, so you shouldn’t need an extension for a CPAP. On the Wish, there are US-style plugs next to one side of the bed, and a European plug on the other side. So if you have a CPAP or other device that goes next to the bed, and you really prefer to sleep on a specific side, make sure you have the correct plug adapter and your CPAP power supply handles both 110 and 220 volt current (almost all of them do, but you should check).
• Hairdryer (maybe) – Hairdryers are provided, but the ones provided might not be up to your standards. If you’re not picky, don’t bother packing one.
• High chair / booster seat – Both are provided on request in the dining room.
• Pack and play crib – These are provided onboard (request when booking your cruise).
• Stroller (maybe) – There are some strollers available to borrow onboard (deposit required) and on Castaway Cay. However, there are a limited number and it’s first-come, first-served. If you have a little one, it’s not a bad idea to bring a small umbrella stroller along.

During the day and most evenings on the Disney Cruise Line, you can wear casual clothing. At dinner, you are asked to stick to “cruise casual.” Most men wear a collared shirt (aloha shirts and golf/polo shirts are fine) and long pants (chinos or dress slacks) or nice shorts. Most women wear a skirt, dress, nice pants or dressy capris. Disney requests no swimwear or tank tops at dinner, but in practice, dressier tank-style tops will usually be acceptable. People who show up to the main dining rooms in swimsuits are almost always asked to change.

There are times when dressing up to some extent is either required or encouraged:

• When having dinner at Palo, Remy or Enchanté, the dress code is basically “business casual plus.” Men are required to wear long pants suitable for professional work (which could include “nice” jeans), collared shirts and dressier shoes. Some men wear suits or even tuxedos. Women can wear pretty much anything “nice” that isn’t swimwear, casual t-shirts, shorts or sportswear. Semi-formal or even formal wear would not be out of place. At Brunch or Tea at either restaurant, the dress code is “cruise casual,” which basically means no shorts, swimsuits, tank tops or flip-flops.
• On 4-night or longer cruises, there will be one or two “optional dress up” nights that you can interpret how you will. Dressing up is not required, but some folks will make an effort to change for dinner. On our most recent Disney cruises we’ve seen a handful of tuxedos on dress-up nights and a few dozen men wearing jackets. A fair number of women were dressed in nicer outfits. Lots and lots of people were just in normal “cruise casual” outfits, so if you don’t like to dress up don’t feel like you’re under any obligation to do so. On the other hand, if you like to dress up, it’s a great opportunity. The crew and the Disney characters will be in nicer clothes, there will be photo stations where you can get a picture of the whole family in nice outfits, and you won’t feel overdressed in a gown or tux.
• Some people like to wear dressy or semi-formal clothing on the nights when they dine in Lumiere’s (Magic), Triton’s (Wonder) or Royal Palace/Royal Court (Dream or Fantasy), since those are the restaurants with the fanciest theming but this is not by any means required.
• Similarly, a few people like to dress in 1920’s inspired clothes when dining in 1923 on the Disney Wish. This is just a fun thing to do and not in any way required.

Where to Buy Disney Cruise Wear

If you’re looking for Disney-themed casual cruise wear (aloha shirts, etc.), a good place to look is DisneyStore.com . Unfortunately they only offer resort wear on a seasonal basis (usually spring and summer), but even in the winter it’s always worth looking to see if they have anything in the sale section.

DisneyStore.com  carries a significant amount of Disney Cruise Line clothing and other logo merchandise as well.

• See current discounts and offers for DisneyStore.com.

Your phone should still be able to reach a tower on land as long as the ship is in port, but once you are at sea, we strongly advise you to turn off international roaming and data roaming, to avoid having your phone accidentally use the “Cellular@Sea” service, which is very expensive. You can (and should) leave wi-fi turned on, so you can use Disney’s Navigator App to see the current schedules and menus and so forth.

You can also use the Disney Navigator App on your own phone to send messages to other people in your party. To get message notifications as quickly as possible, make sure that notifications are enabled for the Disney Navigator app, as well as background updates. Basically in our experience, the Navigator app needs to have all permissions set to “on,” including Location, Bluetooth, Notifications, and Background Update. You can (and perhaps should) turn those off again once your cruise has ended.

If you absolutely must use your phone to call or text while at sea, service may be available on Disney ships through the “Cellular@Sea” service. It is a very expensive form of international roaming and the ship must be 8 to 10 miles out to sea before you can access it. Most phones will just connect to Cellular@Sea without needing any special setup, but be aware that the service includes phone, text messaging, and data . If your phone is set to auto-update, you could end up on the hook for a large data charge because it decided to download a 100MB game update or something. Definitely turn off your cellular data, or set it to not use cellular data when roaming.

US phones will work in most international ports if you have turned on international roaming. You might need to arrange with your provider for that feature to be turned on in advance, but most providers have it set up by default. Depending on your provider, roaming may be very expensive (potentially over $2 per minute, and $10 or more per megabyte of data). Check with your provider for special international roaming packages, which may save you money if you plan to use your phone a lot.

Wireless internet service is available on all Disney ships . All internet is over satellite, and you shouldn’t expect speeds or responsiveness similar to what you get on land, though it’s usually good enough to send messages and emails and use Facebook and other social media.

Internet service on Disney ships is paid for by the day, and is theoretically “unlimited .” It’s pretty fast for cruise ship internet, but still slower than most land-based systems. You’re sharing bandwidth with all the other passengers and crew, so right after you leave a port, expect the internet to crawl as everyone starts posting pictures of their excursions to social media. If you have cellular internet service that works in that country (and is reasonably priced), you may want to post your pictures before you leave port via cellular rather than via wi-fi. If your cellular is flaky, get to the top deck and walk over to the side of the ship closest to land. Alternatively, wait until dinner time, when the wi-fi speeds will pick up considerably.

Prices are (so far) pretty reasonable for cruise ship internet, with a basic single-device plan that lets you use Facebook and similar apps (but not email or web) for $16/day (when purchased for the whole cruise), a fancier plan that includes email and web (but no streaming) for $24/day, and a premium plan that includes music streaming for $34/day. Video streaming is not supported on any plan , so no Netflix or Hulu. Plans cost a little more if you only buy a plan for individual days rather than the whole cruise, and there is a small discount for adding additional devices.

Spa: Treatments, Products and Fitness Center

Spa treatments are very popular and fill up early , so book them as early as you can . If you’re not able to get an appointment before you embark, go to the Spa when you get onboard and you’ll probably be able to arrange one in person.

We don’t recommend having any spa treatments done on the first (embarkation) day , because people are touring the Spa all afternoon and evening, making it busy and not very relaxing. It’s a good day to set up your future appointments, but not as good for actually having treatments done.

The changing rooms in the spa have fluffy robes for your use. Sadly, the robes are all “one size fits most” and aren’t big enough for many people. You then can choose a locker that contains a clean pair of spa sandals. The lockers allow you to set your own combination for secure storage of your personal items. We don’t find the sandals they provide very comfortable (again, they’re “one size fits most”), so we just wear a clean pair of sandals or flip-flops to our spa appointment.

You can change into your robe in the open locker room or in one of the toilet cubicles. Once you’re in your robe and sandals, an attendant will escort you to a quiet waiting room, where you can enjoy some water while you wait for your treatment. After your treatment you’ll be escorted back to the locker room, where you can use one of the spacious showers if you wish. Basic toiletries, disposable combs, etc. are provided. On the Dream and Fantasy, there is a dry sauna in the locker room that you can enjoy after your treatment for no additional charge.

If you are considering a Cabana Massage on Castaway Cay, here are a few things to consider first:

• The cabanas are rustic. There is no running water in them, so your massage therapist cannot wash her hands during your treatment. There is no air conditioning (there is a ceiling fan) or heat so it can be unpleasantly hot in the summer and uncomfortably cool in the winter.
• Your feet and lower legs will almost certainly be covered with sand by the time you get to the cabana, and there’s really no facility for removing it. (There is an outdoor shower near the waiting area, but you’ll then proceed across the sand to the cabana… you’ll get sandy again, trust us.) So the sand inevitably becomes part of the treatment. How you feel about having sandy oil rubbed into your skin is a matter of preference. And remember, the massage oil dissolves any sunscreen you’re wearing, so you’ll need to reapply it afterward, which enters the mix with the sand.
• When you envision this experience, you might think you would be relaxing to the sound of the ocean waves. Nope. The cabanas are located right above the lounge chairs along the beach (though visually separated by some plants), so you will hear the chatter of people sitting right below you.
• The Cabana Massage is billed as featuring “breathtaking views of Serenity Bay.” Well, that’s true for the massage therapist, but you’ll be lying on a table, and you won’t see the scenery from there.
• The Cabana Massage is more expensive than a regular massage in the ship’s spa, yet in many ways you are getting less for your money. If you have a massage on the ship, you’ll have access to showers, a locker room, robes and sandals, etc. With the Cabana Massages, you get none of that.

The Rainforest

The Rainforest is a lovely, relaxing co-ed spa area on each ship.

• On the Magic and Wonder , the Rainforest includes three tiled steam rooms (each a different temperature), some open showers with different scented “rain” programs and a few heated loungers.
• On the Dream and Fantasy , the Rainforest has a dry sauna, a hot steam room and a hammam (a large, tiled steam room that is less hot than the regular steam room), four scented showers with multiple “rain” programs, numerous heated loungers with views of the sea and two hot tubs on a private deck overlooking the water.
• On the Wish , the Rainforest has a dry sauna, hammam, a cryotherapy (cold) room, showers with rain programs, heated loungers, and a nice sun deck ( much larger than the one on the Dream & Fantasy) with two hot tubs and plenty of sun beds. The sun deck is tucked into the nose of the ship, one deck below the promenade, so there’s no ocean view, but you can see the sky and relax in the sun or the shade according to your preference.

You can purchase a day pass or a longer pass for the length of your cruise. A limited number of passes are sold on each sailing. Tip: the Rainforest Room is closed until around 5 on embarkation day, so you won’t typically get a lot of usage on the first day of the cruise. You may find it’s a better deal just to pay day-by-day, or ask if you can buy a shorter pass. The single-day passes for the sea day(s) will go first, followed by the full-cruise passes. A pass for the Castaway Cay day or other port day might be available same day, and could be a good alternative if you’re not interested in that port.

When you want to use the Rainforest, just tell the front desk staff at the spa and they’ll give you a wristband that opens the door to the Rainforest area. They will hold your room key while you are in the Rainforest. You then proceed to the locker room, where you can choose a locker and get a robe and sandals, if desired. A swimsuit must be worn since the Rainforest is mixed-gender.

Towels and drinking water are provided.

The spas on the Disney ships are operated by Steiner, a huge British spa company that runs spas for cruise lines and resorts. The staff do a great job performing the spa treatments, but Steiner trains them to offer product upsells at every reasonable opportunity. The result is that they almost always give cruise passengers a sales pitch on spa products. The products themselves are fine, but they are expensive and getting a sales pitch after your relaxing treatment can be annoying.

You’ll be given a “health form” before your treatment, asking about various health issues. Any issues you write on that form are used to help them sell you stuff (“Oh, I see you have very dry skin. You should try this cream.”). For that reason, unless you have an allergy or injury that directly affects your treatment , we recommend leaving the form as blank as possible .

Some people have tried writing “no sales pitch” on the form, but that is frequently ignored. Here are some other approaches we’ve used with success:

• A polite and friendly “no thank you” when they start showing the products or going through their list of recommendations is our first line of defense. That’s often the end of it! But if they start offering a second sales pitch, we make a concerned/confused face, pause for a moment, and say, again politely, “I’m really not interested, thanks.” The subtext you want to get across is that by not paying attention to your clear and polite “no,” they’re running the risk of affecting your overall satisfaction, with all that implies about things like tips and guest comment cards. You don’t need to make this explicit; the concerned face and second “no” usually does the trick.
• If they start the sales pitch while we are getting a relaxation treatment such as a massage or wrap, we usually just stay silent. We keep our  eyes closed and don’t respond to questions. Usually they quit talking, because it becomes quite awkward for them. But if they persist, we say politely, “Sorry, I’m trying to relax, and silence really helps me with that. Thanks!”
• If we are getting a haircut or pedicure, it’s harder to ignore the sales pitch. So instead we act very enthusiastic about every product they are pushing. Usually they’ll use one or more of the products on us during the service. If they offer samples we take them, with sincere thanks. When we go to check out, there is always a big stack of “suggested” products at the front desk. When they ask us what we’ll be buying, we say “oh, I want to see how the stuff I tried today works out, so I’m not buying anything right now.”
• Remember that no matter what happens, you can always change your mind about the add-on products when you check out. Until you sign the purchase slip, you haven’t purchased anything. Just say, “after thinking it over, I don’t need any products right now. Could you take these off the bill? Thanks.”

Fitness Center

A well-equipped Fitness Center can be accessed through the Spa on all of the ships. It’s usually open from early morning to fairly late – check the Navigator for specific hours. There is no charge to use the Fitness Center. The locker rooms, sauna and showers for the Fitness Center are shared with the Spa. Towels, robes and water are provided, and you can borrow an iPod shuffle if you don’t have your own iPod with you.

You never are expected to add any extra tip over and above the automatic gratuity amounts, which are listed below . You may , if you wish, add more, and you can even adjust certain tips down if you feel it’s warranted. Many people add extra gratuities purely because the service staff on a Disney cruise are extremely helpful and work very hard, but again, no one should ever make you feel like you are required to tip more.

Disney provides suggested tip amounts for the crew members who will assist you throughout the week: your server (takes your food orders for each dinner), assistant server (takes your drink orders at each dinner and delivers the food), head server (in charge of the overall dinner experience, special dietary requests and special occasions), and stateroom host/hostess (takes care of your room). As on all cruise lines, tips are the primary source of income for people working in these positions.

The suggested gratuities for your servers and stateroom host are automatically added to your stateroom bill. If you want to adjust the amount, you can go to Guest Services. Toward the end of the cruise you will be provided with slips indicating the tip amounts, which you can present to your servers during your last dinner on the cruise and leave in your room for your stateroom host. (They will get the money in their accounts whether you give them the slips or not, it’s purely a symbolic way of thanking them for their service. Don’t feel you need to do it if you don’t enjoy that kind of interaction.)

If you are staying in a concierge room, a separate form is provided to add tip for the concierge staff, with a suggested “average” tip amount. You can use your discretion to adjust it up or down based on how much help they provided your family. 

If you dine at Palo, Remy or Enchanté, many people add an additional tip to the per-person charge, though the basic charge is considered by Disney to cover the gratuity.

An automatic gratuity is added to all beverages ordered in bars and lounges; soft drinks, alcoholic beverages and bottled water from room service; and alcoholic beverages/smoothies/bottled water ordered in the dining room. There will also be a line where you can add an additional tip at your discretion.

You can add room service tips to your room bill. Even if your order costs nothing, you’ll be asked to sign a slip, and there is a space for tips on that slip. A dollar or two per item ordered is pretty common, but entirely optional.

You are allowed to give tips to crew members in cash, if you like, and they’re happy to take it in any major currency. If you have a meaningful amount of foreign currency (more than a few dollars worth) after your cruise that you’re unlikely to use anytime in the near future, feel free to leave it for your room host in addition to the automatic gratuity; they’ll be happy to get it.

As the skippers say on the world-famous Jungle Cruise, “You all have been outstanding on this cruise, but now I need you out standing on the dock!” Sadly, your cruise will eventually have to end, and Disney needs to get a few thousand people and their bags off the ship in the space of about 3 hours, so “efficiency” is the word of the day.

A few days before the end of your cruise you should be reminded to check the disembarkation instructions in the Navigator app , and you might get a paper form listing your specific disembarkation instructions. Disembarkation can feel very complicated and rushed, but it’s not that bad once you know how it works.

The first important decision is whether you want Disney to take your big luggage off the ship for you. If you have a lot of bags, or they’re unwieldy, you probably are going to want to have the bags moved for you, but if you can handle your own bags in one trip, that makes things immensely less complicated. These days we always choose to handle our own bags, but there are times we wonder whether it’d be easier to have Disney do it, usually when we’re wrestling our big roller bags down the gangplank. It’s worth trying it both ways if you go on multiple cruises, because you never can tell which one will feel easiest for you.

Whether or not you handle your own bags, you’re supposed to be completely out of your room on the final morning by 8:00 am so they can start cleaning and resetting it for the next guests (sometimes this time can change depending on the disembarkation port – check the sheet they give you or the app to make sure). This can make things logistically complicated, since if you want to do a table-service breakfast, it will be on a fixed schedule based on whether you are on the early or late dinner seating. The first breakfast seating starts early enough to get done before 8:00 am, but the later one does not. So if you plan to do table-service breakfast and you’re on late seating, you will have to take your luggage with you. Most people on late seating line up their bags in the hallway leading to the dining room. Don’t worry, no one will take your bags; your fellow guests are all far too tired. You can take smaller bags into the dining room and park them next to the table as long as they aren’t in the servers’ way. If you are planning an early breakfast in the buffet or you’re having sit-down breakfast on the earlier seating, you can just leave your bags in your room and then come back and retrieve them by 8:00 am.

Option 1: Disney Handles Your Bags

If you decide to have Disney haul your big bags to the terminal, then you’ll need to put most of your bags out the night before (typically by 10:30 pm – check the app to make sure). You need to hang on to at least one or two small bags to hold the stuff you can’t pack early, like toiletries and your pajamas. Make sure not to pack the clothes you’ll need to wear the next morning! You’ll get a set of luggage tags to put on the bags you’re putting out, and there will be a guide showing roughly when each group of bags will be ready to pick up in the terminal. For example, if you have bag tag “Donald Duck”, the sheet might say that your bags will be ready between 8:30-8:45 am. If you need to leave early to catch an flight or something, make sure you’ve got the earliest time they can give you. You can go to Guest Services to change your bag group if needed. On disembarkation morning, they will make periodic announcements about every 15 minutes, as each set of bags gets delivered to the terminal. They ask that you not leave the ship until your bag group gets called.

If you’re out of the room, but they still haven’t called your bag group, you’ll need to find somewhere to wait . In our experience, the lounges in the adult area of the ship are the most likely to have empty seats available, especially the main adult show lounge on the Magic, Wonder, Dream & Fantasy (Fathoms/Azure/Evolution/The Tube). Those are on deck 3, so you can just walk to the atrium when your group is called. On the Wish, there are fewer options on deck 3, so you may end up needing to go to another deck or sit on the floor. On the other hand, if you’re still in the dining room when they call your bag group, there’s not really any harm in waiting until you finish breakfast to disembark, assuming you don’t have transportation waiting for you. Typically they want everyone off by 9:30 am or so, so that’s your hard deadline.

When you get into the terminal, if you’re in a hurry, it’s not a bad idea to ask for a porter’s help. They’re usually lined up in the luggage area with carts, and they know the terminal well and will know if there’s any shortcuts or faster ways to get you into a cab or shuttle. They work for tips, and a typical tip is $1-2 per bag; more if they go above and beyond.

If you booked Disney’s transfers to Walt Disney World or the airport, then the timing is much more fixed. They will assign you a time to get off, and you really need to get off at that time so they can get you on the right bus. Arrange your breakfast plans accordingly.

Option 2: You Handle Your Own Bags

If you’re handling your own bags, there’s not really much you have to do the night before to prepare . Get mostly packed up the night before. Finish packing on the morning of disembarkation, get breakfast if you like, and then just leave the ship. You can leave any time after the ship is cleared, which will be 15-30 minutes after the ship is docked. They won’t necessarily announce to the whole ship that disembarkation has begun, because it’ll happen as early as 6-6:30 in the morning and they don’t want to wake everyone up with an announcement. If you can see that the ship is docked, just head down to deck 3 and wait for them to start letting folks off.

Skip the talks, except for the nature talks on the Alaska cruises, which can be excellent. The shopping talk is just a “rah-rah” for certain shops that are paying a marketing fee, and you might get a few coupons for free (junky) souvenirs. Both the shopping and disembarkation talks are replayed on the television repeatedly. Don’t waste your vacation time attending these lectures in person.

Read additional tips specific to the Disney Dream (which will also apply to the Fantasy) .

So what’s it really like to take a Disney cruise? Here are a few different perspectives on the experience:

• A look at what’s new and different on the Disney Wish , from a preview sailing in July 2022.
• A comparison of taking three cruises on three different ships in a six-month span between March and August 2014. It was rough, but somebody had to do it.
• Taking a cruise on the Disney Fantasy with a baby and a 3 ½-year-old , May 2012.
• First-hand report on the  Disney Fantasy  from March 2012: what’s new and different? See photos and learn more!
•   First impressions of the Disney Dream , from a preview sailing in January 2011.
• In summer 2007, friends of MouseSavers.com Ann and Danilo V wrote a travel blog about taking their 5 children to Europe for the summer. At the end of their trip they took a Disney Mediterranean cruise (10 nights roundtrip from Barcelona) in a Category 3 and a Category 4 stateroom. Then they did the 14-night Transatlantic cruise on the Disney Magic in the Walt Disney Suite!

Top 10 First-Time Disney Cruise Line Tips

Planning to set sail in 2020 or beyond? These first-time Disney Cruise Line tips will help you with things you might not know about the Magic, Fantasy, Dream, and Wonder DCL ships. Most are mistakes we made–and learned from–on our first DCL vacation, but we’ve also updated and tweaked this list with new info, ideas & changes. ( Updated October 31, 2019 .)

If you’re a Castaway Club member or a seasoned Disney Cruise Line veteran, some of these may seem obvious. However, based on our conversations with our guests aboard the Disney Magic, things aren’t always quite as obvious as they might seem. If you’re planning to set sail aboard Disney Cruise Line, these updated tips should come in handy.

Fortunately, setting sail on the Disney Cruise Line is a far less complicated experience than visiting Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or other theme parks, so there’s not a ton you need to know to “do it right.” These 10 tips should at the very least set you on the right course…

Note that these tips all cover the experiences aboard the Disney Cruise Line ships themselves. If you’re looking for Disney’s Castaway Cay Tips, read this post . If you want something more comprehensive or less aimed at first timers, check out our 101 Great Disney Cruise Line Tips . That’s more of a deep dive and covers a range of things–including stuff you might not know even if you’re a Platinum Castaway Club Member!

Let’s take a look at the tips for having a great time your first time setting sail aboard the Disney Cruise Line…

Every Restaurant is All You Can Eat

One of the selling points of Disney Cruise Line is that soda is all-you-can-drink and there are places to grab food throughout the day without a surcharge. (As a point of clarification since we’ve met many people who call this “free,” it’s not free–it’s built into the cost of Disney Cruise Line, which costs more than other cruise ships in its class.) However, many people don’t know that meals at rotational restaurants are all-you-can-eat, in a way.

At these restaurants, you can order as many appetizers, entrees, and desserts as you want, make substitutions, etc. If you really like a particular appetizer or entree, order another! We did this at every meal, and always found the servers happy to oblige. Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

We don’t recommend ordering so much food that you only eat half of what’s on each plate. Ordering a half dozen lobster entrees for yourself might seem like a good idea, but it’s wasteful and probably won’t endear you to your server.

Tipping is Different

We read that tipping was different prior to our trip, and everything we read made it sound super complicated. It’s not. Basically, your onboard stateroom account is automatically charged a set amount towards the end of your cruise for housekeeping, your server, your assistant server, and the dining room manager, with envelopes also provided for the same so you can leave additional cash should you believe they deserve more. You can find out what the exact default amounts will be for your cruise with the Disney Cruise Line Blog Tip Calculator .

Should you want to tip less, you can go to Guest Services to change the amounts. We noticed fairly long lines at Guest Services the last night of our cruise, and assume this was why. We’re not going to get into the controversial area of recommended tips here, but our general advice is “don’t be an ass.” In the cruise industry, these tips are customary, and these positions in the crew depend upon them. If you vehemently disagree with the concept of tipping these positions, maybe you shouldn’t take a cruise.

I know I wouldn’t take a cruise if I hated being on a boat, and this type of tipping is as much a standard of cruising as cruises taking place aboard boats. Personally, I’m not a fan of the social construct of tipping (I feel that what’s now “standard” gratuity should be built into certain wages, as they are in most of the civilized world) for a variety of reasons , but until I can convince the rest of society to agree with me, I uphold my social obligation to tip.

Nightlife is Tame, But Fun

This one varies widely depending upon the Disney Cruise Line ship you’re sailing, and how full your cruise is, I think. On our cruise, “After Hours” was pretty much a ghost town every night after 11 p.m. This is partly to be understood. Unlike other ships, Disney Cruise Line caters to families, precluding many parents from participating in the night life scene.

Still, we highly recommend checking out the night life. We found that, while sparsely attended, it can be highly entertaining. Perhaps not in the way you’re thinking, though. While it can be fun in itself, what we found more fun was people watching. (Yes, we were those people in the corner, creepin’ on the people in da club!) Some of the guests who have the most fun in the clubs presumably haven’t been on the party scene in a while.

Pour copious amounts of alcohol on that, and you the fuel for an awesome fire. We had a blast just watching the partying, and we are 100% certain the partiers had fun doing the party. Regardless of whether you want to be a party animal or a creepy lurker like us, we bet you’ll have a good time.

Don’t Miss the Fireworks

If you’re comparing them to the fireworks at Walt Disney World, the fireworks on the Disney Cruise Line are going to disappoint you. They are relatively short by comparison, and not as large in scale.

But take a step back for a second. Walt Disney World fireworks are launched from the land. On Disney Cruise Line, you’re floating in the middle of the ocean, with a private fireworks show over the water. That’s pretty impressive, and watching them explode over the water as other ships blast their horns in the distance is a pretty cool experience.

Research Rooms

Frequent cruisers are very particular about their room, and for good reason: not all of the rooms in the same class are the same! At first blush, choosing a room seems pretty easy, since there’s inside, oceanview, and verandah. However, there are actually several “secret” verandah and porthole staterooms, as well as mini-suites and oversized rooms, all of which are priced in a lower tier.

In our case, we didn’t have the ability to pick a room, as we booked a last-minute, restricted fare “verandah or better” (VGT–there are also IGT and OGT restricted) room. The benefit of this was saving money during the off-season (since the ship wasn’t full, last minute deals were offered) and guaranteeing ourselves a verandah view room. As a side note, you also should give serious thought to which class of room to you want, and whether it’s worth the money to splurge and upgrade.

While a verandah is probably nice on longer cruises, we learned that it was an unnecessary luxury on a short cruise. By contrast, we’ve heard that a verandah is pretty much a must-do on an Alaskan cruise, due to the view of whales it might offer.

Palo is a Must Do

Some guests are likely to balk at the cost of Palo, wondering why they should pay extra for a meal when their normal rotational dining is “free.” Well, again, those meals aren’t free, they’re built into the cost of the cruise. Instead of looking at those as free and Palo as $25 per person, look at Palo as costing about 2% the total of your cruise (give or take depending upon the cruise’s actual cost). For a 2% increase in cost, does it not make sense to upgrade to a superb fine dining experience?!

We have a full Palo Dinner Review you can read if you need further convincing, but suffice to say, we fully believe that Palo is well worth the additional cost and highly recommend it for any couple looking for a romantic meal or foodies wanting a fine dining experience. The incredible service, atmosphere, and cuisine are all virtually unparalleled, and we now cannot imagine doing Disney Cruise Line without a meal at Palo.

Don’t Skip the Nightly Shows

If you look at reviews of the nightly shows, they vary widely. We’ve now seen nearly a dozen different productions aboard Disney Cruise Line, some multiple times. Our enjoyment of these shows has been all over the place–sometimes a show we don’t normally love can be elevated by a stellar cast. Other times, the reverse is true. (About the only show we’ve consistently disliked is Villains Tonight!)

The point is, it seems that no one can agree on which of these shows is awful, good, or great, and the only one who can determine whether you will like the shows is you. That requires you going to see the shows. Besides, if you’re going on a Disney cruise, you really ought to see the Disney entertainment on that cruise. The good news is that, regardless of what you think of the story of the show, production values and acting are top notch in all of the shows.

Use the Personal Navigator

If you’re like me and think your main option for entertainment on a cruise is lying around reading a book (more like falling asleep with a book on your face), boy, are you wrong! There are multiple, simultaneous options pretty much all day long. Granted, not everything is going to appeal to everyone, but you’ll probably never be wanting for anything to do while you’re on the cruise.

You’re provided a Personal Navigator each day with the schedule of events on it, but we recommend downloading the Personal Navigator App and using that. Even though we couldn’t use our phones on the cruise, we still carried them for the clock (who wears watches these days?!) and other apps. Of course, if you’re going to be in the pools a lot, maybe carrying around your phone isn’t such a good idea.

The Ship is Beautiful

If you’re a fan of these styles of architecture or themed design, take some time to explore the ship. Go in the movie theater when it’s not in use, wander around the main lobby, stare at that handmade chandelier. A big draw of Disney is in the parks’ highly immersive environments, and while Disney Cruise Line doesn’t isn’t necessarily thematically transportive (although it is literally transportive), the ship itself does make you feel a bit like you’re aboard a ship during the golden age of cruise ships.

People Sleep In

This is one of those seemingly obvious ones, but it’s clearly not that obvious given that the ship is particularly deserted in the early morning hours. I know I often harp on being up for the sunrise, and I realize people take cruises on vacation, but get up for the sunrise at least one morning!

There are very few people around, and seeing the sunrise on the open water is really a sight to behold. You can see and do a lot without worrying about other people in the early morning, so why not get up early during your day at sea, and go back to your stateroom in the middle of the day to take a nap?

Okay, that covers the first-time lessons for setting sail aboard Disney Cruise Line. As I’ve said before, I didn’t think I was a cruise person before, but the Disney Magic sold me on the Disney Cruise Line . Since that first cruise, we’ve done all of the ships, and eagerly await our next journey. It’s a totally different type of Disney experience than the theme parks, but the change of pace, relaxing, and service-oriented nature of Disney Cruise Line has us hooked!

Planning to set sail aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships? Read our comprehensive Disney Cruise Line Guide to prepare for your trip, plan entertainment and other activities, and learn what to expect from your Disney cruise! For info on specific ships, see our Disney Dream Ship Guide .

If you want personalized recommendations for Disney Cruise Line itineraries, ships, and more, click here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner . They can find you all of the current discounts, and help you plan the details of your cruise!

Your Thoughts

If you’ve cruised with Disney Cruise Line before, what first time “lessons” would you add so that people avoid common mistakes? Any other tips? Any questions? Do you agree or disagree with our first-time DCL tips? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

Your blog is excellent. I will be using this as my reference guide for when we go on our cruise. It will be our first cruise ever. Coming from Australia the tipping thing is hard to get my head around. I always tip when I’m in the USA, but I always worry I’ve missed someone. It’s nice for me that Disney just includes that for me to the appropriate people. However, do I still need to tip the person who brings room service, if we have it? And is there anyone else that I need to tip that Disney doesn’t automatically include? I always just ask anyway, as I want to do the right thing, but any advice would be appreciated. thankyou

I recently went on a Disney cruise for the first time in several years (it was also my first time going as an adult), and I wish I had known about fish extenders/stateroom door decorating in advance!

Because the stateroom doors on the cruise ships are metallic, many people choose to decorate them with magnets, pin trading boards, and other fun things. Additionally, families will put up “fish extenders”– organizers that hang off the fish that displays your stateroom number– for other families to leave small gifts in. In order to participate in an exchange, you often have to join a Facebook group and sign up in advance, but some people are kind and will also hand out items at random.

Although I had seen fish extenders on my previous trips, I never really bothered to consider what they were for, and the system really adds an extra bit of magic to your trip, since preparing for an exchange helps get you excited for the cruise, and receiving gifts seems super fun, especially for those travelling with children. I was unable to sign up in time for an exchange on my last cruise, but I definitely plan on participating next time!

The kiddos will definitely like this. What a fun trip! I’m will surely take the kids on a cruise this time. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I’m going to bookmark your site and keep checking for new details about once per week.

I’m so glad you enjoyed the cruise. We are going on our first cruise on The Magic out of Barcelona next September. As much as I am looking forward to our port days, I am also looking forward to the 2 days at sea. Thanks for the tips!

Hi, Awesome tips we are going on our 1st disney cruise on-board the Magic, next Friday! We cannot wait!

Found this very helpful for my trip in a couple months! Much needed tips!

Having completed 12 cruises, the Magic sets itself apart because of the Magic’s unique itineraries – Med and Northern Europe. Concierge level rooms go above and beyond the already exceptional service; however, they are quite pricey. But the best cruise has been the B2B (back to back Dream cruise) 3 day followed by a 4 day. I primed the kids and told them that our trip was only a short one – lots of gloomy eyes on debarkation day – day 3. I played along and we intentionally left the ship late that morning. After leaving the ship, I told the kids that i forgot a document in the pre boarding area only to go right back on the ship as they welcomed us back as the first family back on the Dream – Life is too short, enjoy it!!

Haha. What fun! Yes, enjoy life.

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I was on Disney Magic last year for the first time. It was a DVC cruise and I loved it! Going again 2017 for a 7 night and can’t wait to explore more options on the ship. Entertainment was awesome, staff friendly, made fast friends. Nothing but awesome!

Hi Lillian! We are going on our first Disney Cruise and it is the DVC member cruise in 2017. What makes the DVC cruise more special than a regular Disney cruise? I am someone who needs to learn everything before our trip. What should we booking in advance? What are the must sees and dos? Thanks! Melissa

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27 Do’s and Don’ts for Your First Day Onboard a Disney Cruise Ship

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You may have waited months or even years for your Disney cruise. Finally, the day is here. You are about to board your Disney cruise.

What are you going to do on that first day of your Disney cruise? How will you get the most out of embarkation day on one of the Disney ships ?

Disney Cruise Tips

Disney cruise veterans may know exactly what they are going to do as soon as they board the ship. Disney Cruise first-timers may have no idea what they want to do.

They can be totally overwhelmed about what to see and do.

Join this Disney Cruise Group for Tips. Secrets and Exclusive Giveaways!

We have spent many months on Disney cruises and can give you some ideas of do’s and don’ts for your first day upon the Disney ship.

DON’T automatically head straight to the Disney ship buffet. Unless you want to follow the crowd.

The Disney Cruise Ship buffet Cabanas or Marceline Market if you are on the Disney Wish, is pretty much where everyone else will go when they board the ship.

Ask a Cast Member where to eat to avoid Cabanas or Marceline Market .

We always much prefer to go to Enchanted Garden on the Fantasy or Dream or Triton’s on the Wonder. It is so much more relaxing.

DO head straight for the Disney Aquaduck if you are sailing on the Disney Fantasy or the Dream.

Or if you are on the Disney Wish, go to the AquaMouse!

Make sure that you pack your swimming gear in your carry-on luggage so that you can avoid the long lines that will soon form.

Be among the first to ride Disney Aquaduck while everyone else is in the buffet!

DO Download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App before you leave port. This will mean that you can use it to see daily onboard activities, menus, and schedules.

The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App is free to download and use onboard the ship. You can even use the onboard chat facility to text fellow passengers for free.

DON”T be hit with a cell phone call and data charges. Always investigate what you will be charged for if you use your cell phone at sea.

Charges can be excessive. You really don’t want the shock of a huge cell phone bill when you get home.

We always switch to airplane mode to be safe, the minute that we leave port.

DO change your rotational dining seating if you are not happy with your allocation. Disney cruise lines always do what they can to accommodate your requests.

If you have early dining and really wanted the later seating your request will usually be accommodated.

Early seating is the most sought-after , but Disney cruise lines want you to be happy.

They will always try to accommodate your request for early dining if they can.

DO make reservations for Palo on all the ships and Remy on the Disney Dream and Fantasy. The new Disney Wish has the exclusive adult dining restaurant Enchante.

Although many of the reservations will have been made prior to sailing they usually have some available.

Check out your Navigators App or schedule to see the number to call or the lounge to visit to talk with the dining reservation Cast Members.

DO visit Guest Services to see if there are any tickets left for the ticketed-only events.

DO go to the Senses Spa and make your reservations if you haven’t already done this online. The popular treatments such as the Couples Spa do book early onboard a Disney Cruise.

If you want a length of cruise pass for the Disney Rainforest Room you really need to book this on your first day as they only sell a limited amount.

DON”T forget to take lots of photos. You will have many amazing memories from this Disney cruise.

It is so easy to take hundreds of photos that will remind you of happy times for many years ahead.

You may also want to consider buying the Disney Cruise Photo Package. Click Here to find out how to save money on this option.

DON”T skip the mandatory Muster Drill. The information about where your Muster Station is will be on your Key to the World Card and your Navigators App.

The Muster Drill is usually held around 4 pm, before Sail Away. You will either have your Muster Drill in one of the restaurants or out on Deck. If you are unsure of the location on any of the saftery procedures, always ask a Cast Member.

Please always be on time to the Muster Drill. It can’t start until everyone is there. So if you are late you are going to be delaying a lot of people onboard as they all have to wait for you.

DO visit the Port Adventures Desk if you still need to book your excursions and activities for all ports of call.

If you are still undecided about what to do on Castaway Cay you can visit our Disney Cruise Castaway Cay Activities Guide

DO sign up for any classes that you think you will enjoy.

The Wine Tasting and Mixology events are very popular and do get booked up. Go to Guest Services to reserve your space.

DO take some time to walk around the ship to get orientated.

It can take some time to get familiar with where various features are on the Disney ships .

Remember that you can always ask a Cast Member for help!

DON’T skip the Disney Cruise Sailing Away Party. They are always a lot of fun and get you into vacation mode!

DO try out the Drink of the Day.

These are a bargain at $5.25 plus gratuity. We usually find that the cocktails on the first day are rather more generous with the alcohol!

Always remember that you can take 2 bottles of wine per adult with you onto the Disney Cruise.

You must pack the bottles in your carry-on.

This is a great 2-Bottle Wine/Water Bottle Tote to protect the bottles in your carry-on bag.

DO check out the adults-only areas on each of the Disney ships if you can.

We always go to Satellite Falls on the Disney Fantasy and the Quiet Cove Pool on any of the Disney ships. It tends to be quieter on the first day.

DON”T miss the first night of entertainment. Disney cruise lines have the best entertainment at sea. The first night sets the standard and you will see some of your Disney favorite characters.

DO take the time to meet your Stateroom Host They work incredibly hard to make your stateroom experience memorable.

If you need anything extra such as blankets or pillows make sure that you ask them. They will be happy to help.

DO browse around the shops as soon as you can. They won’t be open until you sail away.

However, the first night is the perfect time to check out what is available. If you see something that you want then buy it as supplies run out quickly.

DO go to your first rotational dining restaurant. This is the first time that you will meet your Disney wait staff. They will soon get to know you and your preferences for dinner.

The food on a Disney Cruise is amazing!

Still don’t know how Disney dining works on a cruise? Check out our guide at How Does Disney Cruise Rotational Dining Work?

DO take advantage of your balcony if you have a verandah stateroom. There is nothing like watching the sunset over the ocean, or simply putting your feet up and relaxing in your own space.

DON’T forget to take the Walking Ship Tour.

This is a really good way to get to know where everything is on the ship. It is usually scheduled for around 1.45 and 2.15 on the first day and repeats on select days on the cruise.

DON”T leave it too long to unpack. There is a lot of storage space in all Disney cruise staterooms .

They are well thought out. It doesn’t need to take a long time to unpack.

You can personalize your stateroom and make your stateroom a home away from home, particularly if you have followed our Useful Things to Pack For A Disney Cruise guide.

DO take the kids to the Open House at the Youth Activities Center. Most children love the kid’s clubs on a Disney cruise and this will give them a chance to make friends early on.

It will also give you the chance to go and enjoy some time in one of the adults-only areas on the ship!

DO check out your Navigator’s schedule to see when your favorite Disney characters are available for meet and greet.

DON”T miss all the Disney movies which are shown on a Disney cruise. The Buena Vista Theater is a great place to watch classic and new-release Disney movies .

A special treat is to watch a Disney movie on Funnel Vision at the pool.

Plan to do this at least once at night after dinner and a show. There is nothing like sitting out under the stars and watching a great Disney movie.

DO savor the moment. Time onboard your Disney ship seems to go so quickly.

The first day of your Disney Cruise is the day that you have been looking forward to. Make the most of these moments with your loved ones.

Join my Disney Cruise Group for exclusive Tips and Free Giveaways!

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Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando.  In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.

Saturday 27th of April 2024

You mention signing up for “classes” as in wine tasting & mixology, are these free? If not, how much are they?

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

Unfortunately they are not free. Here is a guide to all of the tastings available and the current pricing https://www.everythingmouse.com/disney-cruise-tastings

Disney Cruise Tips107 Disney Cruise Tips and Hacks You Have to Know Before You Sail 2018 - EverythingMouse Guide To Disney

Saturday 21st of July 2018

[…] 27 Do’s and Don’ts For Your First Day On A Disney Cruise Ship […]

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Everything You Need to Know About Disney Cruise Ships

Planning a Disney Cruise Line vacation? Here's what you need to know about the five Disney cruise ships, including the new Disney Wish.

Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure , covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to New York City from London, where she started her career as a travel blogger and writer.

Disney Magic

Disney wonder, disney dream, disney fantasy, disney wish.

There's plenty that sets Disney Cruise Line apart from its competitors — and not just the endless soft-serve ice cream, family-friendly staterooms, or being able to hug Mickey Mouse on your way to a Disney princess-themed restaurant. All five Disney cruise ships are elegantly designed and provide high-end services. With the best activities to keep kids entertained throughout the day, along with relaxing escapes for adults, Disney cruises offer plenty for the entire family.

Disney Cruise Line's loyalty program, Castaway Club, offers members exclusive benefits before and during their sailings.

From immersive dining adventures to Disney's first-ever attraction at sea, these ships present truly magical vacations that visit a number of exciting destinations. Disney Cruise Line's ports of call include places in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and, of course, Disney's private Bahamian island, Castaway Cay. And depending on when you cruise, you may be able to pick from themed itineraries for Halloween and Christmas. Here's what you need to know about Disney cruise ships, including the newest vessel, the Disney Wish .

Meet the Expert

As  Travel + Leisure' s on-staff Disney expert, I visit Disney theme parks, resorts, and cruise ships several times every year. I most recently experienced the magic of Disney Cruise Line on the inaugural sailing for the Disney Wish in 2022.

Inaugural Year: 1998

Ship Class: Magic Class

Number of Staterooms: 875

As the original Disney Cruise Line vessel, the Disney Magic retains its charm while embracing a collection of modernizations and upgrades to feel good as new. This ship established Disney as the best cruise line for families , read on to see why.

Onboard Entertainment

Three Broadway-style shows are performed on the Disney Magic : "Twice Charmed," a twist on the Cinderella story; "Disney Dreams — An Enchanted Classic," an original show with cameos by characters like Peter Pan and Aladdin; and "Tangled: The Musical," Disney Magic’s signature show featuring stunning sets and beloved songs from the film.

In addition to nightly live entertainment throughout the ship, families can take in Marvel, Pixar, Disney, and Star Wars films currently in movie theaters at the full-size Buena Vista Theatre. On the outdoor upper decks, the Wide World of Sports offers basketball and ping pong, a selection of pools and hot tubs, and the famed AquaDunk water slide.

Exclusively For Kids

Whisk down a Slinky Dog slide in the "Toy Story"-themed Andy’s Room area, join the Lion Guard, or learn hero-worthy lessons from Thor within a Marvel Super Hero Academy — it’s all part of Disney’s Oceaneer Club, open to children ages 3 through 12. There are even more exciting Disney experiences throughout Disney’s Oceaneer Lab, Vibe teen club, and Edge tween club, all included with Disney Cruise ship sailings. (“It’s a Small World” nursery, which charges a nominal hourly rate, is also available for younger children.)

Experiences For Adults

Disney cruise ships are covered in high-end decor and thoughtful design that feel more classy and less kid-focused, but select adults-only experiences, including exclusive lounges and pools, still thrive. A collection of bars called After Hours has live music nightly at Keys, a ‘50s piano bar, and an opportunity to catch up on sports at O’Gills Pub, while Palo, a higher-end restaurant that requires a surcharge and reservation, is the ultimate date night. Don’t miss the “rainforest room” in the Disney Magic ’s Senses Spa, as well as adult beverage tasting seminars.

Disney Magic Dining

Guests on the Disney Magic cruise ship will rotate between three restaurants nightly. Rapunzel’s Royal Table provides a themed night of lively music, revelry from some Snuggly Duckling denizens, and an appearance by Rapunzel and Flynn Rider within a lantern-lined ballroom. Animator’s Palate is surrounded by mementos from Disney and Pixar animated films that “come to life” throughout dinner, and Lumiere’s channels the elegance of "Beauty and the Beast ."

Casual meals can be had at Cabanas or ordered via 24-hour room service on board the Disney Magic . Otherwise, stop by Duck-In Diner for hot dogs, chicken fingers, or a shawarma sandwich or enjoy a quick lunch at Pinocchio’s Pizzeria.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island

Inaugural Year: 1999

A trip aboard the Disney Wonder can lead to familiar tropical escapes as well as a memory-making Alaskan vacation, with all the Disney cruise goodies included on board. Repeat cruisers love this vessel for its smaller size, which makes for a more intimate trip.

Disney cruise ships are famous for their nightly shows. "Disney Dreams — an Enchanted Classic" and "The Golden Mickeys" feature best-of-the-best Disney characters and music, but "Frozen, A Musical Spectacular," which brings Anna and Elsa's story to life with Broadway-style costuming and design, is a Disney Cruise Line favorite.

When you’re not enjoying Disney cruise activities like viewing Star Wars and Marvel films currently in theatres or playing ping pong and basketball at Wide World of Sports, there are plenty of pools, hot tubs, and AquaLab water play areas to enjoy on the outer decks. There’s even Disney Wonder’s Pixar Pals Party, a fun-filled celebration with characters from "Toy Story," "Up," and more, exclusively offered on Alaskan sailings with Disney Cruise Line.

Kids ages 3 to 12 can get up close to characters they love, dancing with Woody in a "Toy Story"-themed area, taking hero training with Captain America within Marvel Super Hero Academy, or building their own Mickey Roadster Racers in a Disney Junior games area on board the Disney cruise ship, as older kids enjoy their own slate of activities in Vibe teen club and tween hang The Edge. (There is also babysitting available for small children within the “It’s a Small World” nursery at a small fee.)

Make a reservation for Palo , an adults-only restaurant serving dinner each night and brunch on most sea days, or break for a pint at Crown & Fin Pub or a cocktail at Cadillac Lounge, housed within the Disney cruise ship’s After Hours section. There are also adults-only pool and outdoor areas on the Disney Wonder cruise ship, beverage seminars, and the Senses Spa’s “rainforest room”.

Disney Wonder Dining

Grab a slice at Pinocchio’s Pizzeria by Goofy’s Pool, a snack at Pete’s Boiler Bites, or some healthy fare at Daisy’s De-Lites — or hit the buffet at Cabanas, located on four Disney cruise ships. Dinner rotations bring diners to a new restaurant each night: Enjoy the flavor and fun of New Orleans at "The Princess & The Frog"-themed Tiana’s Place ; the elegant "The Little Mermaid" - inspired Triton’s ; or Animator’s Palate , which begins black-and-white and grows to be surrounded by color with a surprise at the meal’s end.

Related: Disney Cruise Secrets and Tips You Should Know Before You Go

Inaugural Year: 2011

Ship Class: Dream Class

Number of Staterooms: 1,250

This Disney cruise ship boasts variety shows like "The Golden Mickeys," an onboard spectacle celebrating Disney’s famed films and songs with plenty of character appearances, but its live rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" remains a signature show of Disney Cruise Line with its unfathomable sets, costumes, and performances.

Families can take in a round of outdoor mini golf on Goofy’s Sports Deck or stay inside to play Midship Detective Agency, a trio of interactive games featuring Muppets, Mickey Mouse, or Cruella de Vil. There’s plenty of aquatic fun to be had on this Disney cruise liner as well, with Nemo’s Reef for littles, an array of pools, and the AquaDuck, an onboard “water coaster” with views of the surrounding ocean, which is a Disney Cruise family favorite.

Packed with interactive features and themed spaces, Disney’s Oceaneer Club allows kids ages 3-12 to play in a "Toy Story"-themed room, explore Pixie Hollow with Tinker Bell, and take a simulated flight on the Millennium Falcon. There are also activities with characters, like Puzzle Playtime with Mickey and Friends, which lets young children play games alongside their favorite Disney characters, and more experiences within Disney’s Oceaneer Lab, tween hangs in Edge, and Vibe, a teen club with its own private pool.

Unwind at Senses Spa or indulge in upscale dining at Palo and Remy , both of which are exclusive to adults on board. (Be sure to make a reservation in advance.) Grab an after-dinner drink at Meridian, or head to The District for a bottle at Pink: Wine and Champagne Bar or drinks at Skyline, Pub 687, District Lounge, or Evolution.

Disney Dream Dining

Passengers on the Disney Dream will rotate between three different dinner eateries: elegant French fare at Enchanted Garden ; storybook fine dining at Royal Palace ; and a fully-immersive Animator’s Palate , bringing together the animated film libraries of Disney and Pixar for a meal filled with intrigue and surprise.

Order room service, hit Cabanas or Flo’s Cafe, a trio of Cars -themed eateries with chicken fingers and cheeseburgers, or grab a healthy smoothie at Senses Juice Bar or a special dessert at Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats for an additional fee.

Inaugural Year: 2012

Flex that vacation muscle at Disney Fantasy’s pools, including Nemo’s Reef for children and rides on the AquaDuck, a hybrid water slide and roller coaster with 765 feet of tubes above the top deck.

Uncover a hidden world of fun with Midship Detective Agency, an all-ages interactive game utilizing screens and props hidden throughout the ship. Watch current releases in the on-board Buena Vista Theatre or play basketball or experience VR sports simulators at sea on Goofy’s Sports Deck. At night, Disney Fantasy offers live shows including "Disney’s Believe," a narrative with visits from "Cinderella," "Mary Poppins" and " Peter Pan;" "Frozen, A Musical Spectacular;" and "Disney’s Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular," the Disney ship’s headlining show.

Kids ages 3-12 can learn mystic arts from Marvel’s "Doctor Strange" in the Marvel Super Hero Academy, sing and dance with "Toy Story’s" Woody in Andy’s Room, encounter real Stormtroopers at the Star Wars : Command Post, or enjoy kid-friendly activities with Mickey Mouse and friends. There’s endless inventive fun across Disney’s Oceaneer Lab and Club, and for older kids, at Edge and Vibe clubs.

Whether you’re shopping around the ship, grabbing a gin and tonic at Meridian — or taking a beverage tasting seminar to learn more about them — there’s loads for adults to do. The Disney cruise ship offers two adults-only restaurants: Palo , which serves elegant Italian dishes, and Remy , a French coursed menu experience. Plus enjoy Europa, a collection of stylized bars including Ooh La La champagne bar and La Piazza, an Italian bar reminiscent of a carousel.

Disney Fantasy Dining

Three restaurants aboard this Disney cruise ship means something different every night, whether it’s the fairytale-inspired Royal Court , beautiful Enchanted Garden , or Animator’s Palate , which utilizes real-time interaction with a popular "Finding Nemo" character. Quick eats can be found at Cabanas restaurant and Flo’s Cafe, while fanciful sundaes at Sweet on You and shakes at Senses Juice Bar are worthwhile upgrades. (Cove Cafe, with its Mickey cappuccinos, is also a must.)

Inaugural Year: 2022

Ship Class: Triton Class

Number of Staterooms: 1,254

The first ship in Disney Cruise Line's Triton class, the Wish will be joined by the new Disney Treasure , set to debut in late 2024.

Disney Cruise Line's newest ship, the Disney Wish , is packed with brand-new entertainment for all ages. The AquaMouse — Disney's first-ever attraction at sea — and Toy Story Splash Zone provide aquatic fun; two cozy theaters show new and favorite Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars films; and the Walt Disney Theater features Broadway-style shows, including a retelling of "The Little Mermaid," "Disney Seas the Adventure," and "Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular."

Exclusively for Kids

At Disney's Oceaneer Club on the Wish , kids ages three to 12 can live out their Marvel and Star Wars adventures in the Marvel Super Hero Academy and Star Wars : Cargo Bay, and join their favorite princesses in Fairytale Hall. In the new Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, they can discover Imagineer secrets and design their own coaster. Edge and Vibe offer organized fun for older kids.

Experiences for Adults

The Disney Wish pulls out all the stops for adults, with lots of magical experiences just for them. Star Wars : Hyperspace Lounge offers intergalactic sips inspired by galaxies far, far away, The Bayou has a "Princess and the Frog"-themed menu in a beautiful setting, and The Cove includes an adults-only pool and bar. The ship also has a Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement, a stunning restaurant offering a multi-course dinner that we think is totally worth the splurge. The Disney Cruise Line favorite Senses Spa is also on this ship.

Disney Wish Dining

In addition to the truly exceptional adults-only restaurants, the Disney Wish offers some delightful onboard dining for the whole family. 1923 serves California flavors in a space inspired by Old Hollywood; Worlds of Marvel features the escapades of Ant-Man and the Wasp; and Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure is an immersive experience with singing, dancing, and visits from everyone's favorite Frozen characters. Casual dining is available at several venues throughout the ship, including Marceline Market and Mickey and Friends Festival of Food.

Related: T+L's Review of the Disney Wish

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What to Expect on a Disney Cruise: A First-Timer’s Guide

Avital Andrews

Avital Andrews, SmarterTravel's editor-at-large, is a travel and lifestyle journalist who is also a contributing editor for AAA's Via magazine. Her stories have been among the 10 most emailed or viewed on the Los Angeles Times, Outside, Sierra, and SmarterTravel websites, and have also appeared in USA Today, HuffPost, Apple News, Business Insider, and many other nationwide outlets. Her travel book , sold at bookstores and on Amazon, is in its fourth edition, and her journalism gets national media attention, including from The New York Times , The Atlantic , Time , NPR, and MTV. She's currently working on her first children's book. Follow her on Twitter @avitalb .

The Handy Item I Always Pack: My laptop—the lightweight and stylish HP Spectre x360—since I'm almost always on deadline.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: A round-the-world cruise that makes stops to experience Aurora Borealis, the Olympics opening ceremony, Borneo, Madagascar, the Jerusalem Festival of Light, the Bolivian salt flats, Kenya's Giraffe Manor, the Galapagos, the Maldives, Bora Bora, the Seychelles, and every Disney park. (That itinerary definitely exists, right?)

Travel Motto: I'll steal Saint Augustine's: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Window, always. For the views and also the naps.

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What’s it like to go on a Disney cruise? I’ll tell you. But first I should disclose that I’m not indifferent about Disney. As you might gather from some of my previous pieces ( here , here , and here ), I’m kind of a fangirl nerd about most of what Disney produces.

I grew up in Southern California, so my parents took me to Disneyland often. The night before we’d leave, there was always that delicious, uncontainable feeling that made sleep impossible. I suspect I’m not alone in having felt that as a kid. (I might be more alone in still feeling that way now as an adult.)

So when my husband and I decided to burn vacation days by taking our three-year-old daughter on a Disney cruise for four nights, I was kid-on-Christmas-Eve excited. And I thought I had a sense of what to expect on a Disney cruise. Once onboard, though, I realized I wasn’t quite prepared for the full spectrum of what it’s like to travel via Disney Cruise Line.

Before our cruise, I’d scrolled blogs upon blogs devoted to Disney Cruise tips and hacks. But I found that most of these sites assume that their readers are repeat Disney cruisers looking to refine their travel skills. It wasn’t easy to find a primer on the basics for those uninitiated to cruising with Disney. So here you go.

Disney Cruise Ships and Itineraries

We sailed on the Disney Wonder, but if you book a Disney cruise, you may well end up on the Disney Magic, Disney Dream, or Disney Fantasy. (A fifth Disney Cruise Line ship will be added in 2021; a sixth in 2023.)

The Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are sister ships, having debuted in 1998 and 1999, respectively—although the Disney Wonder is fresh from an intensive 55-day dry-dock renovation, which transformed many of its spaces and made everything aboard feel brand-new. These 83,000-tonners are Disney Cruise Line’s “classic,” smaller boats, with 10 floors and 875 rooms. Each carries 2,713 passengers, though during our four-nighter in mid-November, there were about 2,600, a third of which were kids. Also onboard: 950 Disney Cruise Line employees seeing to it that everybody gets their money’s worth.

Disney’s newer cruise ships, the Disney Dream (2011) and Disney Fantasy (2012) are 130,000-ton vessels with 1,250 rooms that hold up to 4,000 travelers.

The Disney Cruise fleet’s four ships all offer themed family restaurants, live shows, deck parties, elaborate kids’ spaces, character appearances, at-sea fireworks, and more that feels familiar from Disney cruise ship to Disney cruise ship.

“However,” says Jennifer Haile-Tinn, a Disney spokesperson, “each ship is like a new adventure for our guests. Only on the Disney Wonder can kids train alongside their favorite superheroes in the Marvel Super Hero Academy. There are also special entertainment offerings that can only be found on certain ships, such as Frozen, A Musical Spectacular , which is exclusive to the Disney Wonder. ” Other one-ship Disney Cruise Line exclusives include the Aladdin show on the Disney Fantasy, a villain-themed show on the Disney Dream, and “Tangled: The Musical” on the Disney Magic.

There are also stylistic differences from cruise ship to cruise ship—the Disney Fantasy, for example, incorporates Art Nouveau details throughout, while the Disney Dream is more Art Deco.

When choosing your Disney voyage, though, the port stops will likely be your main variables. As Haile-Tinn points out, “Each ship has unique itineraries that allow guests to explore iconic destinations like Norway and Alaska.” The Disney Wonder traverses the Pacific coast—Mexico, California, and Alaska, as well as the Panama Canal. (Our trip made a single stop in Cozumel).

View this post on Instagram Today @disneycruiseline's Wonder ship is docked in the azure waters of sunny Cozumel, Mexico. A post shared by SmarterTravel (@smartertravel) on Nov 12, 2016 at 1:13pm PST

The Disney Magic makes transatlantic crossings and goes into Canada and Europe, including through fjords to see the northern lights. All four Disney cruise ships buzz around the Caribbean, with some itineraries stopping at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Bahamian private island. The Europe and Alaska itineraries have more adults aboard, while the Caribbean jaunts attract more families with kids. Each port stop comes with a big menu of shore excursions (starting around $50 per person), which should be reserved well in advance.

Disney Cruises: Onboard Activities

There’s enough to do aboard a Disney cruise to keep everyone entertained from early in the morning until late at night. So much to do, in fact, that you’ll have to make choices about what to attend and what to give up.

Laid upon your bed each evening, beside the chocolates, is a TV Guide -style sheet called the “ Personal Navigator ,” which lets you plan the following day in detail. (The same timeline is also available on the Disney Cruise Line official app .)

First up is the “Adventures Away” party—after you check out your stateroom and attend a mandatory assembly drill, you head up to the top deck for a high-energy bon voyage celebration, starring Mickey, Minnie, and friends.  Then, for the remainder of the cruise, you’re constantly choosing from a long list of activities.

There are character greetings around the boat (wait time in line: about 30 minutes). There are free, first-run movie screenings at the theaters. There’s an outdoor splash zone and swimming pool (Disney movies play on the huge screen above), plus a huge waterslide—worth it especially for the exhilarating view from the top—and a top-floor gym, which also affords a wide-ocean view. You can get a spa treatment, play Bingo, or make crafts. You can take your kids to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where they get transformed into princesses and pirates (princess packages start at $65). Or you can send them off to the kids’ clubs while you enjoy the nightlife at After Hours, the stylish and boozy adult district.

You can also, of course, eat.

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Food on Disney Cruises

All meals are included in your Disney cruise fare, unless you choose to dine at Palo or Remy, adults-only restaurants where a dress code is enforced, reservations are a must, servers are experts, and food is a step up.

At the other Disney cruise restaurants, the attire and cuisine are more casual. There are more than enough menu options for kids, and vegetarians won’t have a hard time either. As is the case throughout this experience, there really is something for everyone on a Disney cruise. You won’t have strangers at your table, just your own party, but you do tend to be seated near the same people each time you dine, so conversation with neighbors becomes inevitable.

Our first restaurant experience on the Disney Wonder was at a new restaurant called Tiana’s Place, based on The Princess and the Frog, a movie in which Tiana dreams of opening a restaurant in Louisiana. “Tiana’s Place transports guests to New Orleans,” says Ozer Balli, the cruise line’s Vice President of Hotel Operations. “We have a grand tradition of transforming our stories into real life.”

Indeed. Princess Tiana herself visits each table to greet her guests as they enjoy Cajun and Creole entrees (for dessert: pillowy beignets) while a talented quartet jazzes up familiar tunes. The rollicking finale is a joyful parade during which kids and staff march through the dining room as they clap, don Mardi Gras beads, play toy instruments, spin umbrellas, and belt out Disney songs.

Another impressive restaurant, called Animator’s Palate, is a tech-driven shrine to Disney’s drawn history. Screens all around the dining room bring to life how pencil sketches turned into movie gold. You’re assigned to draw a character on your placemat, then hand it to your server. Soon thereafter, your drawing, alongside those of your fellow diners, gets animated into a truly magical on-screen mashup.

For breakfast and lunch, there are big buffets available, as well as specialty stands that serve pizza, gyros, ice cream, and whatnot. It’s all you can eat, all day long. And yes, it’s all included.

There are two dinnertime options: 5:45 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.—you pick before you get on the boat. Then it’s the same each night, and you’re expected to be punctual.

If you’d rather skip the dining room, though, or if you get hungry in the middle of the night, room service is included, too, and you can order as much as you want without being charged extra. This was one of my favorite onboard luxuries.

The Rooms on Disney Cruise Ships

Our accommodations were bigger than expected, with an extraordinarily comfortable platform bed. Seriously, I haven’t slept that well in ages. It may have been the ship’s gentle rocking that lulled me to sleep so quickly, or maybe it was the melty-soft bedding, but whatever the trick, man, I want that at home.

The best part of our room, though, was our glassed-in balcony, where we sat with drinks and watched the ocean go by. We saw dolphins, tugboats, oil rigs, rain, birds, Mexico, clouds, and sunsets. Our hours on the balcony were beautiful—by far the most tranquil part of our Disney cruise.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMvMeVwDfHw/

Our room had enough space for all three of us to hang out, sleep, bathe, and store our luggage. Though not huge, we never felt cramped, thanks to the clever layout and a few key features: While you have dinner, your room attendant turns the couch into a comfy kid’s bed and adds a guard rail.

We kind of fell in love with our room attendant, actually. Every night he’d leave little gifts on our bed—Mickey bandannas for the pirate party one night, Ghirardelli squares the next—and every night, he’d fold our towels into amusing figures. But more than the stuff he left and the diligent care he took of our room, he was genuinely kind, sincere, and a very hard worker. My daughter still talks about “Mr. Bhong”—he became as cherished to her as the Disney characters.

(Side note: Bhong is Filipino, and it’s hard not to notice that the onboard staff makes for a real-life version of Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride. Unless you visit U.N. headquarters, you’ll never meet so many people from so many different countries in one place. All of them wear their country of origin on their name tag, and they’re very likely to talk about where they’re from. When I asked Balli whether it’s intentional that the crew members are so international, he replied, simply: “We have the opportunity to go around the world and find the best talent with the most passion for our product.”)

The onboard Wi-Fi in the room is not free—more on that later—but there is a nice-sized TV that runs a 24-hour Disney movie marathon on nearly every channel.

In the hallway, many of your neighbors will have decorated their doors with their favorite Disney characters. (There are printables online , and a cottage industry that deals in door decorations for Disney cruises.) We didn’t come prepared for this onboard tradition, but it was cute to watch my daughter develop the belief that behind each decorated door lived the characters on it.

Disney Cruise Shows

Twice nightly in the 977-seat Walt Disney Theatre, performers on the verge of Broadway put on fantastic stage extravaganzas, and there’s a new show to see each night. You don’t need to reserve a ticket or pay anything extra—just show up and grab a seat at any of the Disney cruise shows.

In November, “Frozen, a Musical Spectacular” debuted on the Disney Wonder. It really is a spectacular interpretation of the smash-hit movie, with plenty of wow moments and special effects that inspire the audience to break into applause mid-song. The most notable one is during Elsa’s rendition of “Let It Go,” when she transforms, right onstage, from the reined-in princess to the glittery-blue queen while reclaiming her own power. It’s hard not to get swept up while watching—my little one’s mouth was open the entire time.

We also saw “Disney Dreams,” a heartfelt Disney cruise show that uses special effects—and its singers’ prodigious talents—to whisk us into favorite Disney scenes and songs. At one point, there’s the theater-wide illusion that Tinkerbell has covered the entire boat in pixie dust.

And during “The Golden Mickeys,” the loose plot is that a clumsy stage manager learns to believe in herself to become the star of the show—a positive message packed, again, with Disney friends, plus an on-screen appearance by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Note that Disney cruise shows aren’t necessarily the same across boats, so if there’s one you have your heart set on seeing, make sure you’re choosing the right ship .

Kids’ Areas on Disney Cruise Ships

Whichever Disney cruise ship you’re on, there will be several places where you can drop your children off to be supervised by attentive camp-counselor types while they (and you) have fun.

Aboard the Disney Wonder, we left our three-year-old at the Oceaneer Club ($9 per hour) while we dined at Palo. I worried about her during our meal but when I picked her up, she was absorbed in an art project and wouldn’t leave until she was finished. After that, she kept asking us to take her back to the kids’ area.

There’s no mystery as to why children love these spaces: Disney Cruise Line’s creative professionals invested many months of thought and work into making each room magical. As Theron Skees, the project’s lead Imagineer, put it, “We created the spaces to immerse kids in stories. The idea that we can add story into everything we do is really exciting.”

This means that popular characters like Elsa, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Black Widow interact with the kids in settings inspired by those characters’ films and shows. On the Disney Wonder, there’s the Wandering Oaken trading post from Frozen, Andy’s colorful playroom from Toy Story , a Marvel-themed Super Hero Academy, and a “navigation center” where kids can feel like they’re steering the ship. Basically, kids playing on Disney cruises will feel as though they’ve melted into a movie.

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Disney Cruise Costs

So what about the cost? Well, this isn’t a budget vacation—but it won’t necessarily zap your savings, either. Fares on the Disney Wonder start at $978 per adult and $360 per kid for a three-night Bahamian cruise in a room with no balcony. So for a family of four, the minimum price to get onboard is around $2,700, though that number could go way up depending on the type of stateroom you choose, where your itinerary goes, and for how many nights.

While that might sound like a lot for a short vacation, a Disney cruise doesn’t turn out to be as expensive at it seems at first glance. For all its upfront inclusions—all food, shows, and activities—a four-night Disney cruise can actually end up being less expensive than a four-night Disney World vacation, as this handy comparison chart demonstrates. Plus, you can book early to save money.

And if you live close enough to drive, instead of fly, to your embarkation port, taking a home port cruise  will cut your overall cost, which explains why our sailing out of Galveston was packed with Texans. Onboard, the best way to keep your tab small is to forgo add-ons—especially onboard Wi-Fi and alcohol. Keep in mind that you can bring your own alcohol as long as you comply with Disney Cruise Line’s fairly reasonable rules on the matter.

The Overall Disney Cruise Experience

If you’re trying to figure out what type of trip a Disney cruise ends up being, I’ll be honest: There’s so much to do onboard that it can’t really be called a relaxing vacation, unless you’re absolutely determined to make it that way. With all that goes on—all the time—it’s easy to fall prey to some serious FOMO.

But that’s not a bad thing. You come off the Disney cruise with so many new memories that having made the effort to show up to a majority of activities ends up having been worth it.

One strategy to avoid coming home exhausted: Tack on a couple of relaxing beach days after your cruise. We stayed along Galveston’s seawall for a couple of nights afterward, at the beautiful Hilton in the San Luis Resort . This proved to be a good way to unwind, a worthy quiet counterpoint to the exuberance of the Disney cruise experience.

From another perspective, though, taking a Disney cruise is an unexpectedly good option if you’re looking for a vacation that offers a detox from mainstream and social media, and the constant rush of emails and texts—the perfect way to kick off a digital cleanse. This is mostly because it’s very expensive to be connected: $20 buys just a few minutes online.

If you purchase enough megabytes to be as plugged in as you are at home, you’ll spend a small fortune. So, unless money is of no concern, you stay disconnected for the vast majority of the cruise, which is sometimes frustrating but mostly serene. No matter what’s going on in the world, a Disney cruise is basically Disneyland on the boat: unapologetically happy, removed from reality, and with no trace of the morose or glum.

As for that signature excitement that Disney is so expert at generating, it’s vividly a Disney cruise from start to finish. A week before we got on the boat, Mickey and Minnie “called” my daughter to tell her how excited they were to see her onboard. I received a beautiful packet in the mail with my itinerary, luggage tags, and instructions about how to get the most out of our Disney cruise experience.

View this post on Instagram Embarking next week! Follow my coverage over at @smartertravel (Insta, Twitter, and Periscope) as @disneycruiseline debuts its redone Wonder ship. #disneycruise #disneywonder #travel #disney #wanderlust #lovemyjob A post shared by Avital Andrews (@avitalb) on Nov 4, 2016 at 2:38pm PDT

Our last night aboard, at 10:15 p.m., all the main characters gathered in the lobby atrium to give guests a final chance to interact with them, take photos, and give hugs. The cruise director delivered a farewell speech, and each child was handed a battery-run candle and invited onstage to partake in a moving rendition of “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” followed by an avalanche of Mickey-shaped confetti. I let my little one stay up late for this, and it was worth it. In true Disney form, it was the perfect ending.

More from SmarterTravel:

• 6 Cruise Ship Myths You Shouldn’t Believe
• 10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before My First Disney World Vacation
• Disneyland vs. Disney World: Which Is Cheaper?

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Ultimate List of Disney Cruise Line Tips and Secrets for 2024

By Lisa Gilmore Leave a Comment

Ship discounts, carpet compasses, what you can’t bring onto the ship, and how early you need to make your reservations. There’s so much to the Disney Cruise Line that you might not know about. But we’re here to fill ya in on all things DCL ! 

The Disney Dream Atrium

We’ve got the ultimate list of things you’ll need to know before cruising with Disney — including the basics, the insider tips, and the secrets that’ll make ya go, “Huh. Wow — I never THOUGHT about THAT before.” 

Thinking about cruising with Disney in the near future? Then make sure to download our FREE Disney Cruise Line Packing Checklist — which features an extensive guide to everything you need to have packed and ready to go before you ever step foot on any of the ships. You can print it out to take with you or save it on your phone for quick access. 

Download The App

Much like you need to download the My Disney Experience App for a Disney World vacation, or the Disneyland App for a Disneyland vacation, it’s important to download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App months before the start of the trip.

©Disney Cruise Line

Initially, the app will show you a trip countdown, along with your payment summary, online check-in feature, and trip modification options.  But once you climb aboard, the Navigator App will be your go-to guide to make sure you’re in the know about what’s happening on the ship at all times.

The app will be able to tell you things like:

• Where character meet and greets are happening
• When deck parties will kick off
• And what your itinerary for the day looks like (based around your pre-registered activities too — which we’ll talk more about later on)

The app also has an onboard chat feature, so you can easily message the other people in your cruising group and keep tabs on where everyone is. 

Get Your Passport NOW. RIGHT NOW. 

Have you gotten a passport for your DCL trip yet? If not, stop everything and GO do that ASAP.

Will You Be Traveling Soon?

According to The Department of State website, there is a high demand for passports right now — making the average processing times currently 10-13 weeks for standard applications and 7-9 weeks for expedited applications.

So if you don’t yet have a passport, you’ll need to make sure to plan on getting one months before your cruise. (I’d even go so far as to recommend applying for one half a year out, just to give yourself plenty of processing time.) You can usually apply for a passport at government offices near you — so check on where and when you can apply and get ‘er done!

Don’t Get Off The Ship Without THESE Things…

Your cruise doesn’t just take place on the ship. You’ll be able to get out at a couple (or a few) ports of call during your trip to do some exploring. But every time you leave the ship, make sure you take your key card and ID with you.  You’ll need both of these to get back onto the ship — so don’t leave them behind in the room!

Some Information Has Been Blurred Out But You Can See the Basics

If you do happen to leave your key card back in the room on accident, you’ll need to go to Guest Relations to have a new key card issued. ( You can ask one of the Cast Members at the front of the ship out at port to help you pull this off! ) 

(But this will deactivate your old key card — so don’t worry about taking the first one along with you everywhere when/if you find it again. Its job is done!) 

Book The Nursery In Advance  

If you’re looking to book a massage, or enjoy a nice dinner with your partner, or even just lounge by the adults-only pool undisturbed for a bit, you can take your baby (who falls between the ages of 6 months to 3 years) to the “it’s a small world” nursery onboard the ships.

Here’s the catch — this nursery does cost extra, and you will need to book it well in advance, once you’re able. (And, yes, the nursery does book up solid — so it’s best to make those ressies just as soon as you get the chance.)

It’s a Small World Nursery

There is a per-hour charge — with a minimum of 1 hour — and cancellation fees do apply if you cancel your arrangements without at least 4 hours’ notice

Parents are required to provide their own diapers, baby wipes, extra clothing/pajamas, pre-made bottles of milk/formula, baby food in jars, sippy cups, and security items such as blankets, pacifiers, and favorite toys. And everything should be labeled with the child’s name — just like any daycare or childcare facility you’d use back home. 

Nursery on the Disney Wish

The nursery counselors use the chat feature in the Navigator app to communicate any needs or situations to the parents — so you don’t have to stress about continuously going back to check in on your baby once you’ve dropped them off. 

Kids/Tweens/Teens Clubs Are FREE

You know what you DON’T have to pay for? Kids/Tweens/Teens clubs !  So let’s take a super-quick look at all the kids/teens options available across the ships!

Disney’s Oceaneer Club (Ages 3 to 12) starts off as a central hub that splits into different themed rooms with unique theming and activities going on in each. 

Oceaneer Club

Which cruise you’re on will determine what kind of Oceaneer Club rooms kiddos can experience while onboard (but they CAN include areas themed like Andy’s Room, the Star Wars: Command Post, Marvel Superhero Academy, Pixie Hollow, Frozen Adventures, a Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, and several other immersive offerings that’ll make kids go “oooooh… aaaaaahh….”) 

Fairtytale Hall on the Disney Wish cruise ship

Disney’s Oceaneer Lab (Ages 3 to 12) let’s kids explore their more creative sides with craft studios, media rooms, and other various artsy workshops. You’ll need to pre-register your kids (through the Disney Cruise Line website) for access to these sections of the kids clubs before your cruise, so they don’t miss out on all the artsy-fartsy fun! 

The Disney Wish includes an Imagineering Lab for kids!

When you arrive on the ship, your kids will receive Oceaneer Bands — which will grant them access into both the Oceaneer Club AND Lab.  Just make sure your kids are registered during the check-in process for your cruise reservation. (Don’t worry, Disney will prompt you when it’s time to get the youngins all signed up).

Marvel Superhero Academy on the Disney Wish

According to the Disney Cruise Line website, “Check-in is available beginning 30 days prior to your sailing date and can be accessed via the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app or by signing into your account on the Disney Cruise Line website.”

Edge (Ages 11-14) provides kids with a chance to hang out with other tweens/teens their age while getting the chance to play games, have dance or karaoke parties, and engage in counselor-led activities.

Vibe (Ages 14-17) is a club built with teens in mind, where technology and social media reign supreme. You’ve got giant screens (complete with surround sound) for watching films and concerts, non-alcoholic refreshments, and even a private deck area (if  you’re cruising on the Disney Dream or Fantasy, that is).

On the Disney Wish, tweens and teens can also enjoy Hideaway, a unique “third teen/tween space” adjacent to Vibe. It’s a sort of flex space that can be opened to the teen club or closed off for tween-only events. 

What Is the Best Age for a Disney Cruise?

The kids clubs stay open late.

Once kids get to the Oceaneer Club, they may never wanna leave — which is why it’s nice to know that the typical hours for this exclusive kids club range between 9AM to midnight. According to the Disney website, the Oceaneer Clubs usually never close early — but on some mornings, they could open an hour or two later. 

Disney Cruise Edge

Just keep an eye on your Navigator App, so you’ll know the exact Oceaneer Club times for each day of your cruise. 

Book Your Cruise As Early As Possible

You might think it wouldn’t matter when, exactly, you decide to go ahead and book your cruise — but it does. It really, really does.  Generally speaking, the further away from your selected sail date you book your cruise, the better.

The open sea!

The Disney Cruise Line has tiered pricing, meaning you’ll find lower rates the earlier you book.   Not only will you potentially save money by using this method ( due to some limited-time savings opportunities that we’ll talk about later on ), but booking early also increases the choice of staterooms you’ll have. 

Cruises tend to fill up closer to the sail date; so if you put off making a reservation, then you might be left with slim pickings ( and, potentially, pricier stateroom options ) when it comes to your accommodations.

The Best Times to Book Your Disney Cruise

Know when you can start booking extra activities.

Alright. Let’s go ahead and dive into the BIG stuff — when can you ACTUALLY start booking your port excursions, fancy dining opportunities, kids club activities, and (if you’re lucky) private cabanas?

When you get to book these extras, all depends on your Castaway Club Member Status.  Now, don’t let this “club member” title throw ya off. You automatically become part of this club once you book your first cruise.

For first-time cruisers, you’ll be able to start booking those extra activities 75 days before your trip.  However, the more you cruise, the sooner you’ll be able to start making reservations for things.

Castaway Cay

Silver Castaway Club Members (who have booked 2 to 5 sailings) can book activities 90 days out, gold members (who have booked 6-10 sailings) can book activities 105 days out , and platinum members ( who have booked 11-25 sailings) can book activities 120 days out, and Pearl members(who have booked 26+ sailings) can book activities 123 days out  (Pearl and Platinum members have the BEST chances of getting those highly-coveted cabanas.) 

You can also book activities 120 days in advance if you’re staying in a concierge-level stateroom (which will ALSO give you exclusive access to the ship’s private lounge). 

What Is The Best Way To Book A Disney Cruise?

Booking a cabana is a struggle.

Disney even admits on their website that booking a private family beach cabana on Castaway Cay is quite the feat. These cabanas are super popular with guests, and only have a limited number available at any given time.  Beach cabanas can be pricey (ranging around $399- $1300, depending on the style you book), but IF you get a chance to purchase one, you’ll have your own personal space with private beach access, rental items at your disposal, and all-day concierge services. 

So how can you increase your chances of getting a cabana rental?

First off, you need to know the soonest time you’re allowed to start booking extra activities.  As soon as the clock strikes midnight on the day you can start booking your extra activities, they’ll go live for you to start picking and choosing on the site and Navigator App. 

If you don’t get the cabana ressie you were hoping for (which, not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but it’s very likely), then you can always go up to guest services on the day you board the ship to ask to be put on a cabana waitlist. This doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to GET a cabana, but it still may be your best shot at getting one, regardless. 

Disney Cruise Line

And if you’re on a cruise that makes not just one, but TWO stops in Castaway Cay, you’ll have a little bit more of a chance to get a cabana the second time around. (Again — the odds can still be against you, depending on your “cruise status,” but double the Castaway Cay trips means double the opportunity.)

What Characters Are On Disney’s Castaway Cay?

You can book beverage tasting seminars  .

One of the MANY different activities you can book BEFORE your trip is a beverage tasting seminar — which is available on all five ships.  Now, the TYPE of tasting seminars do vary from cruise to cruise, but you might be able to take part in a class that specializes in different spirits, such as rum, whiskey, tequila, bourbon, beer, or even a combo chocolate-and-liquor tasting, too. 

Keg & Compass

There are also mixology classes you can take part in where you’ll be able to make your very own cocktail (thanks to the bartender-lead workshops)

Not All Excursions Have To Be Disney-Specific 

Though it might be easiest (and most convenient) to book any of your port excursions directly through Disney, that’s not your only activity-booking option for overseas ports-of-call.  Depending on where your port of call is, you can book third-party excursions, if you wish — which could take you around new areas that a Disney-specific excursion might not hit up (including unique places to sightsee, shop, scuba dive, etc. etc.)

The Disney Wish

Although these third part excursions are often cheaper than what Disney will offer you, there is one MAJOR downside to them.  If your third-party excursion happens to run late, your Disney Cruise ship will NOT wait up for you. (Meaning you’ll have to find another way to get back home — and, man, would THAT put a damper on your trip.)

However, if your DISNEY excursion runs later than expected? The ship will hang tight until you’re safe and sound back onboard. 

Get A Fine Dining Reservations At The Last Minute (Possibly)

Let’s say you wanna book a nice meal for one night of your cruise — yet all the tables are already booked by the time you go out on the website to make reservations.  When you first board, go immediately to this fancy-shmancy restaurant that you were wanting to book, which could be Palo/Palo Steakhouse, or Enchante, or Remy — depending on what cruise ship you’re on.

Enchante on the Disney Wish

Talk to a host at the front of the restaurant and see if you can put your name on a first come, first served waitlist.  That way, if availability DOES come up, you still might be able to get your classy date night after all. 

Poularde Fermiere at Enchante

Note: Just like the cabanas, this isn’t ALWAYS gonna be a guarantee for ya — but, unlike the cabanas, you’ve got way HIGHER chances of getting a last minute table by using this walk-up method. 

Book A Fancy Brunch

You know what books up faster than a fancy dinner? A fancy BRUNCH.  Palo is known for its high-end Italian cuisine, but this restaurant also brings its Italian flair to its brunch offerings too.

Dining Area

While Palo is available to book for any night aboard every Disney Cruise Ship (aside from the Disney Wish — which offers Palo Steakhouse instead), brunch is only offered on limited mornings (and usually only on sea days).

Palo Brunch on the Disney Dream

To find out when this classy brunch is happening during your next cruise, make sure to — yet again — check your Navigator App for an updated dining schedule. 

FULL REVIEW of Palo Brunch on Disney Cruise Line

No disney cruise ships are alike   .

Currently, there are five Disney Cruise Ships that you can sail aboard — the Disney Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy, and Wish.  These cruise ships might operate similarly. They may all offer pool deck parties and private kids clubs and all-inclusive dining and musical performances — but that doesn’t mean they’re all the same, by any means.

Each cruise has unique offerings; and some of those offerings may end up being the biggest selling points for you and your group.  You can learn more about every Disney Cruise available during our Ranking Every DCL video , live on the DFB channel NOW.

But, overall, just make sure you study up on all the different offerings across the different ships so that you don’t end up booking the WRONG choice for your family. 

Kids Clubs Can Be Intimidating 

As exciting as an exclusive kids club can be for some, others may find the idea of not having their parents close by and surrounded by a bunch of strangers in a place they’re not familiar with to be downright nerve-wracking. 

Your kids will LOVE this slide down into the Oceaneer Club!

Make sure to talk to your kids about how these Oceaneer Clubs operate before you book your cruise — and make sure they’re aware that all grown-ups (aside from the cruise line counselors) are not allowed in these spaces. Even if your kid decides not to take on the Oceaneer Club, there’ll still be plenty of activities for them to do with the whole family — so no need to worry about these kid-exclusive clubs being a make-or-break ordeal.

Take Advantage Of Open House

Okay, we lied a little. There is one way grown-ups will be able to check out the Oceaneer Club — and that’s through the cruise line’s open houses.

Open houses allow adults to get a sneak peek at those super-awesome kids-only spaces before all the fun begins. Usually, you’ll find open houses listed on your Navigator App during Embarkation Day (but open houses can also happen at other times during your cruise, too. Just check the app’s updated schedule for a list of times for when you can swing on by!) 

Get Ready To PARTY!

Need help deciding what to wear out at sea? Keep those deck parties at the forefront of your mind while packing!  On select days, the Disney Cruises will have themed events with exclusive meet and greets, shows, games, and nighttime extravaganzas (that’ll keep ya from hittin’ the hay early).

  You may be able to experience things like:

• A Marvel Day At Sea
• Pixar Day At Sea
• Pirate Night
• A Frozen Deck Party
• Or even seasonal events (if you’re planning a cruise around Halloween, Christmas, or New Years Eve)

Marvel Day at Sea

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, different cruises will have different themed events — so make sure you know what events will be happening during YOUR trip (and plan to pack accordingly!) 

Hair Salons Are Not Gender-Specific  

On the Disney Wish, there are two places where you can get a nice fresh hairdo — one is Hook’s Barbery (that the Disney website states is “fit for a captain”) which offers hot shaves, beard trimmings, and even a hidden whiskey bar (for those 21 and older)

In case you need a haircut!

The other is the Untangled Salon (inspired by Rapunzel’s luscious locks), which features a full range of salon services as you sit underneath dozens of floating lanterns.

Untangled Salon

But don’t be fooled by these two distinct salons. If you’re a female and would rather get a mani-pedi at a place with dark leather furniture and whiskey samples, go to Hook’s Barbery. And if you’re a male who’d rather receive a royal treatment in a much brighter atmosphere, go to the Untangled Salon.   It’s really no big deal which one you wanna choose — just go with where you’re most comfortable to enjoy that much-needed rest and relaxation.  

PHOTOS: The Most Relaxing Spots on Disney’s New Cruise Ship– The Wish

Shopping while at port is not a thing.

Warning — Don’t put off your souvenir shopping until your ship is at port! 

Treasures Untold

Disney Cruise gift shops are only open while out at sea — so if you’re thinking you’re gonna hold off on all your shopping until you’re at a port of call, you might find yourself awfully disappointed.  

Food Is All-Inclusive. Mostly.

The set price you pay for your stateroom also includes food. Tons and TONS of food.  The Disney Cruise Line operates on a rotational dining system. That means guests are rotated through different sit-down meals each evening of your cruise.

Cabanas on the Disney Magic

You also have a chance to eat at breakfast/lunch buffets, grab quick service meals, munch on snack-y items while you’re on-the-go, and even refuel on sodas, water, hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. And, just to reiterate, this is ALL included with that stateroom price. This also includes free ice cream cones. Know about them. Love them. Never take them for granted.

However, not all drinks and dining are all-inclusive.

Hyperspace Lounge

If you decide to get a little bougier, and you wanna book one of those signature restaurants, or sip on an alcoholic beverage at one of the lounges, or get a specialty cappuccino/latte, or grab a sweet treat at one of the candy shops, then, yeah, you’re gonna have to pay extra for those.

But you don’t HAVE to. You can always stick with what’s included with your stateroom price, and you’ll be good to go. That being said, you should bring some extra cash with you, just in case you wanna grab a cocktail or two later on. 

An Overview of EVERY Disney Cruise Line Restaurant

The all-inclusive food doesn’t stop at sea.

Spending the day at Castaway Cay? Good news! You don’t have to backtrack to the ship around lunch just to find your all-inclusive eats.

Castaway Cay has three dining locations: the first two are for the whole family — Cookies BBQ and Cookies Too BBQ — while the third one, Air Bar BBQ, is over at Serenity Bay (AKA: the adults only beach). Anything you pick up food-wise from these three locations is free game, but Air Bar also offers up some specialty adult cocktails, too, that you will have to pay extra for.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich at Castaway Cay

As far as dining around other ports of call — other than Castaway Cay — you will have to pay extra for all your non-Disney meals. So, again, bring extra cash if you plan on getting some grub outside the Disney bubble and at one of the local food stands.

Eat How You WANT To Eat

Remember that all-inclusive rotational dining I talked about earlier?  Each rotational restaurant has a three-course option where you can order an appetizer, entree, and dessert.  But that doesn’t mean you’ve gotta stick to those dining parameters for each meal. 

Animator’s Palate restaurant on the Disney Magic

If you wanted four appetizers, no entree, and one dessert — you can do that. Or if you wanted three entrees and no extra apps/sweets, you can do that too.

Palo Antipasti Charcuterie

The dining world is your OYSTER while you’re out at sea. Just make sure you let your server know what, exactly, your palate’s craving and they’ll make sure it’s good and satisfied.

Room Service Is FREE

Now this is a big plus in Disney’s favor.  Many cruise ships don’t have a free room service option — but Disney does. And they have it 24/7. 

Now here’s a tidbit of advice for ya — even though you won’t see these on the menu, go ahead and order some Mickey Premium Ice Cream bars up to your room to enjoy out on your verandah (if you’ve got one, of course)

Order Mickey Bars through Room Service

You can also order Mickey Premium Bars in the dining rooms at any time. Just ask, and you shall receive! 

How To Find A More Relaxed Breakfast Spot

There are two ways to enjoy a good ol’ morning meal on-ship without having to pay extra moolah for a fancy brunch.

The first way is through the ship’s casual buffet offering, which will be located over at Cabanas on the Disney Magic, Wonder, Dream, and Fantasy — and Marceline Market on the Disney Wish. These buffets provide you with a lot of food, minus a lot of waiting around but these spaces can get pretty packed out in the morning hours.

Cabana’s Buffet

The second more peaceful breakfast option is eating in select dining room areas instead, when available.  Normally, you’d eat at these dining room locations during one of your rotational dinners, but some of these restaurants open in the morning, too, for a more casual (and relaxed) sit-down meal. 

Triton’s

These dining rooms include:

• Lumiere’s on the Disney Magic 
• Triton’s on the Disney Wonder
• Royal Palace on the Disney Dream
• Royal Court on the Disney Fantasy
• And Enchanted Garden on the Disney Dream AND Fantasy 

Go ALL OUT With Specialty Sundaes

We raved about the free soft serve earlier, but there’s also something to be said about the premium sundaes you can get during your cruise, too. 

Sundaes can be ordered at specialty ice cream/candy shops, such as Sweet On You (like you’ll find over at the Disney Fantasy) and Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats (like you’ll find on the Disney Dream).

Disney Fantasy

These sundaes can get over-the-top especially if you choose to order something like the Vanellope Von Schweetz Race Kart Sundae, which is served in this adorable race kart that looks just like Vanellope’s own set of wheels outta the Wreck-It-Ralph films.  But if you wanna, like, brag about how awesome your sundae is, you can actually have it pre-ordered and delivered to you during dinner that night.

Sundae from Vanellope’s

NOT KIDDING. It makes ya feel real special. And the jealous stares from other tables makes ya feel all high and mighty, too.   

Elevators Can Be… Confusing . 

We came across some weird elevator changes when the Disney Wish first set sail last year. So let’s… talk about ‘em. 

Unlike the other four ships, The Wish doesn’t have a central elevator bank. Which is kinda a bummer, since the central elevators tend to be the least crowded ones on the Disney Dream, Wonder, Fantasy, and Magic.  Instead, the Wish only has two elevator banks – forward and aft.

Atrium Space

  Also, keep in mind that only certain Wish elevators will go up to the top floors.  For example, if you’re trying to get to floor 13 to go to Palo Steakhouse and are currently on floor 6 in the aft elevator bank, only the farthest toward the wall elevators will take you up to floor 13. The others will stop at 11 and 12. 

So when an “up” elevator opens, check the buttons inside to see if there is a button for 13. If not, you’ll need to wait for another one. 

Disney Magic Elevator

One last elevator note, the elevator buttons on the Wish are also “touchless,” which means they are activated by someone just being near them. But that means when an elevator is packed – which, if anyone’s cruised on DCL before, you know they always are – then someone will inevitably press up against all of the buttons to let someone by, which means they all light up in Buddy-the-Elf fashion.

If you’re able, give that elevator button panel some space so you don’t find yourself stopping on every. single. floor.

The Rules For BYOB

So, you don’t feel like paying for booze on the big boat, eh?

Disney Cruise Line will allow you to bring up to two bottles of wine (OR 2 six packs of beer) per person for those who are 21 years and older, of course. But hard liquor is a hard NO-GO. 

The wine selection at Enchante on the Disney Wish

Now, let’s say you purchase some real-nice tequila or bourbon or something while you’re at a port of call.  If that’s the case, these purchases will be checked before you get back on the ship, and stored by Disney for the remainder of your trip. Once you’re back at home port, you can pick up your liquor then (and enjoy it in moderation from the safety of your home, post-vacation)!

There Are Corking Fees At Restaurants  

But what if you wanna take your own bottle of wine to the fancy restaurant you’ve booked a reservation for? What then?

Our Selection

The good news? Disney’s cool with that. The bad news? They’re still gonna charge you for it. The corking fee at Disney Cruise Line restaurants is $26 per bottle. So you may wanna think twice before bringing that $6 Barefoot wine along with you on your dinner date.

Your Rotational Dining Isn’t Set In Stone

There are three unique rotational dining experiences that you’ll be able to try on your cruise. And — say it with us— it aaaaaallll depends on which cruise you book.  Just to make things easier on ya and the cast members onboard, your rotational dining schedule will be predetermined after you select your preferred dining time slot upon booking. There are two dining time slots you can choose — the first at 5:45PM, the second at 8PM.

1923 restaurant on the Disney Wish

You’ll be able to find your dining rotation schedule — as well as dining times — on the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app once you get onboard. Your schedule will also be printed on your room key cards.  

However, let’s say you’re cruising on the Disney Wish — and you see that your restaurant schedule has placed you dining at 1923 on night one, Worlds of Marvel on night two, and Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Experience — but you were really hoping to start off your trip with the Frozen-themed sing-a-long, and end your trip on a classier note with 1923. 

Worlds of Marvel — Ant Man

If you wanna switch up your rotational dining schedule, make sure to ask about it at guests services just as soon as you get on the ship. For the most part, switching up your meal lineup shouldn’t be too big of a deal. But once that ship takes off? Your schedule is SET.

You May Not WANT To Experience Certain Ports Of Call

So here’s our big-bad-honest opinion for ya.  It’s cool knowing that your cruise ship won’t just stop at one port. Like, if you’re cruising on the Disney Wish — for instance — you’re not just cruising to Castaway Cay. You’ll also get a chance to get off the ship at Nassau in the Bahamas, too! 

But here’s the thing — these types of pit stops along the way… probably won’t be your favorite part of the trip.  Yes, you can potentially see some cool landmarks — like Fort Charlotte (built in honor of King George III’s wife) and the Queen’s Staircase (leading to Fort Fincastle) — but the shopping streets here are lined with in-your-face sales folk.

Though the Disney Cruise Line will give you quite a bit of time to explore this port, and you should at least step out for a little while, just to say that you did, I wouldn’t spend your whole day here. Instead, I might recommend getting out for an hour or two, then hopping back on board to experience way less busy pools and spas, which is ten times more relaxing than being shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists onshore.

Disney Wish

 If you do, however, want to explore a certain port of call for longer, because, hey, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do so with those overseas locations, make sure to research the area you’ll be stopping at ahead of your trip to learn about what places may be worth checking out while you’re off the boat, instead of wandering aimlessly against the crowds. 

Find Out When The Rides Are Open

The AquaMouse (available on the Disney Wish) and the AquaDuck (available on the Disney Dream and Fantasy), are the star water coaster attractions for their respective ships. 

And, although you’re not gonna have to wait 2+ hours to ride either one — like you might have to do with Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom — the lines aren’t always necessarily the SHORTEST for these coasters, either. ESPECIALLY during the heat of the day.

Now, when it comes to my usual theme park advice, we normally recommend hitting up those popular rides at the start of the day — but that’s not ALWAYS gonna be the case for the Disney Cruise Line coasters.  When you’re out at sea, these rides could open as early as 9-10AM.  However, on Embarkation day and Castaway Cay day, these rides may not open up until 1PM. And yet by 12:30PM on those days, the lines are already gonna start forming.

How Long Would You Wait?

Per usual, your Navigator App will be able to give ya the specifics for when these rides will open for the day and how long they’ll stay open for.

Character Meet And Greet Lines Can Get LONG

Just because they’re out at sea doesn’t make them any less popular! Lines for character meet and greets can get lengthy like they do over in the parks — so make sure to prioritize the characters you really wanna meet during your cruise. 

Character meet and greets will happen several times during your trip, all throughout the day. So at the start of your cruise, sift through your navigator app schedule, filter for the “character” experiences, and “heart” the characters/meeting times you wanna make sure you prioritize. 

Donald and Goofy

You may also be able to “cheat” some of the lines by signing up for a Royal Gathering as one of your pre-registered activities.  These types of meet and greet sign ups won’t cost you anything extra, and they’ll give you the chance to meet several princesses in one go without the massive waits.  

That being said, there are also premium character meet and greet experiences on select cruises that will cost extra — like the Royal Court Royal Tea and Olaf’s Royal Picnic.  Again, meet and greets happen several times during the course of your trip, but the only exception is gonna be those specialty “party” days like we talked about earlier. 

Mickey and Minnie at Pirate Night on the Disney Wish!

Party days may be the one and only time you’ll get to meet rare characters like Pirate Daisy or Loki Dale — so don’t miss out!

Hit Up The Pools EARLY

Things can be pretty overwhelming on Embarkation Day — especially if this is your first-ever cruise. So, if you don’t need to go to guest services for anything… what should you do first?  Many guests will make a beeline to the food courts to get a head start on that all-inclusive dining. But if you’re not hungry yet, we’d recommend heading on over to the pools. 

Adult only pool

Unless you decide to hang back during one of the ports of call, embarkation day may wind up being one of the least-busy times to take a dip in the main pools and the adults-only pools, too!   

The Early Bird Gets A Private Pool Party

Did your interest perk up with the “adults only” pool talk?  Each Disney Cruise has an adults-only pool area (aka: Quiet Cove) — but the Disney Wish steps it up a notch by offering an adults-only infinity pool area — which can get reaaaaaally popular during the afternoon hours. 

Adult-only area on the Disney Wonder

If you wanna avoid feeling like human soup, try hitting up these adults-only pool areas early in the morning as a way to kickstart your day with some much-needed peace, quiet, and swim time.

Ask About The Sommelier Bin

This one’s a gamble, but it’s a gamble worth asking about.  When you’re at one of the Disney Cruise Line bars, ask about the Sommelier Bin.

Some of the Bottles

The Sommelier Bin is designated for open bottles of wine. If a guest orders a particular type of wine that hasn’t been opened yet, then the rest of that bottle will need to be used on the same day (to guarantee its freshness).   And that means you can sometimes get a really pricey glass of wine for a base price IF you order whatever’s in the Sommelier Bin during the time of your visit.

Champagne and a View

 Your mileage on this may vary — because, sometimes, you’ll just end up with a standard wine you could’ve gotten elsewhere — but still… you get wine either way, and for a potentially cheaper price, too!  Again— this isn’t a guarantee, but it doesn’t hurt to check!

Different Restaurants, Same Server

Rotational Dining might put you in a new restaurant each night, but you’ll have the same server following you between meals.  

Rapunzel’s Royal Table

The reason Disney keeps you with the same server each night — instead of pairing you up with a different person meal after meal — is so that your server can learn about your specific preferences and food accommodations, which they’ll — then — use for all your future dinners aboard the ship!

Plus… it’s just really nice to get to know your server, too! These cast members are great at what they do, and they do an ah-may-zeeng job at making sure you’re having a good time, while also validating your dining requests.

Tipping Works Differently 

After getting to know your server, you’ll more than likely be thrilled to leave a gratuity for them, since they’re gonna go above and beyond to make sure you’re taken care of aboard ship.  To customize that gratuity amount for servers, assistant servers, and stateroom hosts, you’ll need to add prepaid gratuities to your DCL reservation through your Disney account.

Awesome Cast Members!

Now here’s the catch — if you don’t set a prepaid amount for gratuities before your trip, Disney will automatically charge the suggested gratuity to your onboard account and assume you’re a-okay with that. Which is $14.50 per night per stateroom, and $15.50 per night per concierge stateroom.

Outdoor Oasis © Disney

The places where gratuity is NOT factored out in advance are for… well… any other additional services like the spas, lounges, and signature restaurants. Then, the amount you tip will be entirely up to YOUR discretion or, in some cases, automatically tacked onto your bill.

Follow The Stars

Don’t be embarrassed if you get lost trying to find your stateroom. These ships are bigger than you may think!  Finding your way around these cruises, in general, can get downright confusing. 

A Totally Different Carpet!

Which way is toward the front of the ship? Which way is toward the back? How do you know where to go when many of the stateroom hallways look exactly same time?

Look at the Carpet!

If you’re getting overwhelmed trying to find your way back to your room, just look down!  The carpets generally feature stars or Mickey Heads, if you’re cruising on the Wish. If the stars/Mickeys are pointing straight (meaning the peak of the star is pointing forward, in the direction you’re walking), then you’re walking forward. If the stars are not pointing straight, then you’re headed aft! 

Leave Your Power Strips At Home

The Disney Cruise Line has quite a list of no-no items that you are NOT allowed to bring aboard the ships.  When it comes to electronic devices, you can NOT bring aboard things such as:  Electric blankets, electric steamers, extension cords, power strips, surge protectors, heating pads, or celebratory light bulb strings.

Leave these power strips at home ©Amazon

Now, the power strips can really trip some families up — since having multiple outlets can be handy for charging multiple phones at once. But — in order to prevent any potential electrical fires on board — Disney isn’t gonna budge on this rule. No sir-ee. 

That being said, you can bring a USB splitter, instead, to still help you charge multiple devices in one go.  There are more items on the “No Go” list that’re posted on the DCL website.

A Full List of What You CAN’T Bring on a Disney Cruise

Pack a reusable water bottle.

It’s funny how many tips and tricks for the cruise ships overlap with the tips and tricks we give ya for the parks — but the reusable water bottle advice is such a banger that we can’t help but bring it up yet again. Reusable water bottles are great to have on hand to keep you hydrated all day long.

Mickey Mouse Water Bottle

And — what makes a reusable water bottle even better for the cruises is your ability to refill them with not just water, but those all-inclusive sodas and tea, too! So whenever you see a soda dispenser at one of the quick services or buffets — make sure to fill ‘er up! 

Are You Ready for the Best Day Ever?? Check Out the New Water Bottles We Found in Disney World!

You can never have too much water.

You’re surrounded by this stuff out at sea, but while you’re busy admiring the water outside your stateroom, you’ll wanna keep it inside your stateroom too. You can bring some cases of bottled water with you on your cruise to help keep you hydrated.

Must…find…water!

But if you do bring your own cases of water, you’ve gotta make sure they’re “factory sealed” and not being kept inside your checked luggage. You can also order a case of water through the actual cruise line, too. 

Bottled Water

You can purchase bottles of water before your trip through Onboard Gifts which is an extension of the Disney Cruise website that allows you to pre-order celebratory items or necessities you want brought up to your stateroom pre-arrival.  Or you can call room services and purchase a case of water via your stateroom phone. 

Don’t Rely On Your Fridge 

When you’re looking over the different amenities found in your stateroom before your Disney Cruise, you might notice that one of the listed features is a “refrigerator.”  Don’t get too excited about this. These fridges are, essentially, small cool boxes but nothing more than that.

Bottled water

The Wish’s “fridges” are a bit fancier than what you’ll find on the other four ships. However, none of these refrigerators are gonna do an upstanding job at keeping ice cream treats preserved or leftovers from spoiling.  They can, however, keep drinks cool so you don’t have to gulp ‘em down at room temperature. 

Bring An Expired Card. (Literally Any Old Card)

Here’s something that might take ya off guard if you’ve never cruised with Disney before.  The Disney Cruise Line prides itself on being eco-friendly — which is why they strive to save power any chance they get. 

So instead of having regular old light switches in each of the staterooms, you’ll turn on the lights by inserting a card into the light slot that’s next to the door.  Disney would like you to use your key card since that forces you to retrieve it and turn off the lights before you leave the room, but — um — not everyone always remembers to do that. Meaning you could very well accidentally lock yourself out of your room. Er… Whoops?

Disney Magic Stateroom

Fortunately, you don’t actually have to insert your DCL-specific key into the light slot — any ol’ card will do! Got a used up Starbucks gift card? Use that! Or an expired library card? You can use that too! Or maybe even a gym membership card? Hey, gotta use that sucker for something, right?

Magic Stateroom

It’s still a good idea to retrieve these cards upon leaving your room instead of keeping your lights on the whole time you’re gone, but at least if you forget to retrieve it, you’re not gonna accidentally lock yourself out. 

Join In On The Fish Extender Fun

During your cruise, you may notice these pouches or felt organizers displayed in front of other cruisers’ staterooms. These are called fish extenders. You can make ‘em yourself, or buy ‘em off Etsy or Amazon, but — the important thing to remember is Disney doesn’t have a whole lot to do with this extra cruise feature.

A cruise cabin on the Disney Dream

Instead, this is a secret Santa-like concept created by DCL fans where you can leave little goodies for other cruisers outside their doors.  Most folks find their fish extender friends through DCL forums online. Make sure the forum you’re using to meet these cruise line companions is reliable — and that you’re not giving away any super-personal information through these websites.

You do not have to participate in this activity if you don’t want to. But, if you think it’d be kinda fun to drop some cute little stickers and keychains and lanyards as a surprise gift for someone else — and hopefully receive some surprise gifts in return — then, by all means, do your research and find out how you can get involved! 

However, if you’re not interested in this side activity, but you’re still kinda wanting to spruce up your stateroom door just for funsies or to put an identifying marker outside your room for it to be easier to spot down the hallway, just make sure you use magnets and magnets only, Any decorations that use tape or command strips will be taken down immediately by cast members who spot them in passing, since these kind of adhesives aren’t good for the paint on the doors.

If you have something you want to put on your door and you already know it’s most certainly not magnetic, you can always buy a few cheap sticky back magnets at your local craft store to slap on the backside of your decor. Ta-da! NOW it’s a magnet!

Pack A Sweater. (No, Seriously)

Do NOT underestimate the power of cruise ship air conditioning.

Even if you’re cruising in the summer, there are certain indoor sections of the ships where the AC is high and mighty. If you tend to get chilly easily, bring a little hoodie or jacket that you can easily slip on and off.  

Don’t Forget About The Scavenger Hunts!

Sleuthing, capers, and mysteries galore — if you’re looking for a free activity that’ll help you thoroughly explore the ship you’re sailing on, the Midship Detective Agency is on the case!

The Disney Dream and Fantasy both host the Midship Detective Agency — an interactive game that takes guests all around the ships to solve, well, a mystery .  There are three different mystery options you can choose from,  involving Mickey and friends, characters from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, or the Muppets. (YAY Muppets.)

Disney Princess icons

The Disney Wish also has its own interactive game called Disney Uncharted Adventure.  Disney Uncharted Adventure uses the Play Disney Parks app and AR technology on your mobile device to play games and interact with your favorite Disney characters.

But that one’s not as Muppet-y. So the Disney Dream and Fantasy win in that regard.

Run, Run, RUN!

You may not think going on a jog during your cruise is gonna be an activity you’d be super-stoked for, but the running decks offered on the cruises are actually one of my favorite places to go onboard.  First of all, many guests don’t even realize that the walking/jogging track is there, so you’ll often have a lot of space for yourself.

Do you work out on vacation?

Secondly, the jogging/walking track can sometimes take you past some really unique spots on the ship! For instance, on select Disney Cruise ships, there’s a porthole along the track that actually looks into some of the ship’s kitchens! So these little trails can wind up weaving ya past a few behind-the-scenes areas that you wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.

However, when it comes to the running deck over on the Disney Wish, things get… kinda weird.  Instead of having a continuous track like the other four ships have, the Wish’s track is broken up — so you have to go up various stairs and cross-overs to actually complete a full lap. I dunno — I’m not a fan of the setup there, but you still might wanna at least walk around it, just to check things out. 

It’s Hard To Do EVERYTHING

This is just a general PSA to keep you from underestimating these ships and/or setting yourself up for failure.  Disney Cruises might be less intense than the Disney parks, but that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of things to do. There are so many shows, excursions, dining experiences, spa days, shops, and events that you’re gonna be able to jam-pack your days with. 

Ground Floor of Luna on the Disney Wish

So make sure you study up the different cruise offerings before you head out so you can figure out what you wanna prioritize.  But, in the same breath, give yourself a little wiggle room to take things as they come. If you wanna spend more time just relaxing on the Castaway Cay beach, do it. If you wanna go lounge hopping on the last night of your trip, do it. If you wanna get your 736th soft serve cone because it’s already paid for, do it. 

Grab a cone from Sweet Minnie’s Ice Cream!

The Disney ships tend to be a healthy mix of keeping you busy all cruise long while also reminding you not to overextend yourself. 

You Might Find Ways To Save Money (With A Little Help)

It doesn’t happen often but, at limited times throughout the year, the Disney Cruise Line maaaaay just sneakily drop a nice discount for their future cruises. 

Small World Vacations

Restricted rooms are unsold surplus staterooms in a specific category for very specific cruise dates.  The agents at Small World Vacations are extremely good at keeping us in-the-know when it comes to deals like this — so if you wanna be in-the-know too, you might wanna reach out to them for a free quote as you start planning your future Disney vacation. 

Real Talk: You May Wanna Hold Off On A Cruise Right Now

Wait, WHAT? You just gave us FIFTY tips on how to basically SUCCEED at any Disney Cruise, and you’re telling us to… not go on one now? Well… Not necessarily. It really depends on how patient you can be. 

There are two new DCL ships that’ll start setting sail over the next couple of years that — who knows? — you may like even better than the ones we’ve been talking about today.  The Disney Treasure will enter the DCL fleet in 2024 as the Disney Wish’s sister ship — and will be a ship “inspired by the grandeur and mystery of a gilded palace,” drawing influences from Asia, Africa, and even Aladdin’s Agrabah.

Disney Treasure ©Disney

And in 2025, the DCL will invite another ship into their family — but we don’t know a whole lotta details surrounding that one just yet.  What we do know about it, however, is that it’ll be based in Singapore and feature what Disney describes as “innovative experiences along with the dazzling entertainment, world-class dining, and legendary guest service.” 

We’re on pins and needles, waiting to learn more about both of these new ships, but we promise to keep ya updated just as soon as we learn more info about either one of them ‘em!

Who’s ready to start sailing?!  Don’t forget — before you get to packing for your Disney cruise, make sure to drop us your email for an EXTENSIVE checklist of what you need to have packed in your luggage and ready to go BEFORE you set sail! 

What You Need to Know About Disney Cruise Line

Learn all about disney cruise line and its various ships, explore disney’s mega cruise ship – the wish, a full list of what you can’t bring on a disney cruise, these are the best times to book your disney cruise, the best ways to save space in your tiny cruise cabin, 10 things you need on your next cruise (that you won’t think to pack), what it’s like to live on a cruise ship for 6 months, join the dfb newsletter to get all the latest disney news delivered right to your inbox click here to subscribe.

Have you been on a Disney Cruise? What are your cruisin’ tips? Drop them in the comments below!

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What to Know About Disney Cruises

A Disney Cruise is an altogether different kind of vacation from a Disney theme park. So it’s understandable that you might feel a bit lost if you’re planning your first cruise ever . We’re here to help! Although we’d never be able to fit every possible detail into a single article, here are some of the most important basic things to know about Disney Cruises.

There are five Disney cruise ships

Disney Cruise Line has five cruise ships, with three more on the way . The two smallest (and oldest) ships are the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder ; their smaller size means they can visit smaller ports of call which are unable to accommodate bigger ships. The newer Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy ships are much larger and have more onboard amenities such as a waterslide-style coaster. The newest ship is the Disney Wish , and it will soon be followed by the Disney Treasure (2024), the Disney Adventure (2025), and the Disney Destiny (2025).

Which ship is best? It’s likely going to be a matter of personal preference; some people love all that there is to do on the larger ships, while others gravitate to the charm of the smaller ships. Fortunately, in the age of YouTube you can see countless walk-throughs and reviews to help make up your mind.

Disney Cruise prices are per person and based on age

One of the biggest differences in cruises versus a traditional land vacation is that cruises are priced by the person (more like airline tickets than hotels).

Disney Cruise prices are usually based on something called Double Occupancy. This means that the price you see is based on two people staying in the stateroom (cabin). For people who are cruising alone, expect to pay something called a “Single Supplement,” meaning that you’ll probably pay the same price for your room as if two people were in it.

On Disney Cruises, the first two people in the room pay the full double occupancy rate, while the fare for any third/fourth/fifth passengers (in the same room) is based on their ages and is usually significantly lower.

As an example, we checked prices for a typical three-night Bahamian cruise with an oceanview stateroom and a party of five (three adults, an 8-year-old, and a 2-year-old). Here’s the pricing breakdown:

• First Adult: $963
• Second Adult: $963
• Third Adult: $525
• 8-Year-Old: $504
• 2-Year-Old: $289

You’ll also have to pay some mandatory fees such as taxes and port expenses. On our sample cruise above, these fees total about $507 combined for the entire room full of passengers.

Finally, it’s customary to tip several crew members including your dining room staff and stateroom attendants; Disney Cruise Line will automatically add these gratuities (on a per person, per night basis) to your shipboard folio before the end of your cruise, and it’s not shown in the price quote you seen online. You can request that the charges be removed, but understand that this is very much an industry standard and the tips are, quite frankly, expected.

Comparing Prices

It can be a little tricky to compare prices from one cruise line to another.

Some cruise lines prefer to post their pricing for a family of four, others for a group of two, and still others simply show the per-person price.

And, some cruise lines show fees in the rate on the front page of their site while others show them later in the booking process. So make sure you know exactly what you’re looking at when comparing prices.

The Disney Cruise Line website allows you to enter the exact number of travelers and their ages and displays a total price which includes all mandatory taxes and fees.

Other factors also impact the price you pay

In addition to the number of passengers an their ages, you’ll also find other things that affect the price:

• Cruise Itinerary: You’ll pay more for longer cruises, or for cruises which visit more exotic locales. Some ports charge higher fees than others.
• Stateroom type: Cabins with better amenities such as large porthole windows or private verandah balconies are more expensive than inside staterooms which have no view
• Time of Year: More popular seasons such as the summer cost more than less popular times such as hurricane season
• Popularity of the ship: Newer ships often command higher prices due to increased demand (as well as updated amenities)
• Optional add-ons: Beyond the cruise fare, you can opt to do paid excursions in the different ports you visit, or do optional paid activities onboard the ship

Meals and some drinks are included

The price of a Disney Cruise includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, unlimited snacks, most non-alcoholic beverages, and even room service.

Breakfast and lunch are casual “come and go as you like” affairs, whereas dinner is a bit different.

Disney Cruise Line, unlike some other cruise lines, does not require you to make dinner reservations; instead, when you book your cruise, you’ll pick either an early or late dining time that you’ll have for the entirety of the cruise. Then, once onboard, you’ll be told which restaurant to dine at each night. Your table number will be the same each night, and your servers will be the same, too! Disney calls this “rotational dining.”

Of course, you’re not forced to take part… you’re free to skip out and go to one of the optional dining locations, whether it’s one of the restaurants offering open dinner seating, or one of the adult exclusive restaurants (reservations and upcharge required).

In addition to adult-exclusive dining, there are a few other cases where you’ll need to spend a little extra to eat or drink onboard. For example, there are optional dining events such as wine tastings; you can opt to buy specialty drinks or beer/wine packages; and alcoholic beverages themselves require a charge.

Plan ahead for necessary documents

One thing that will end your cruise before it even begins is not having proper documentation. Those who don’t have proper proof of identity/citizenship will not be allowed onboard the ship. And even if you do get onboard, if your documentation doesn’t meet the requirements of any countries you’re visiting you could be prevented from getting off the ship to explore.

Generally speaking, U.S. citizens do not need a passport to take a Bahamian cruise, but at the very least you’ll need a government-issued photo ID as well as a certified original copy of your birth certificate (no photocopies accepted). A passport is always the safest bet for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s the ONLY way to get home via air in the event you have an emergency mid-cruise. And if your cruise leaves from a non-U.S. port (or if you’re not a U.S. citizen), a passport will likely be mandatory. Given that processing times can be long, it’s best to research the requirements and make any necessary applications several months in advance of your trip.

Vaccinations are not required on Disney Cruises , and as of mid-November 2022 there’s no longer a need to show proof of a negative COVID test.

We’ve only scratched the surface of what you need to know about Disney Cruises; be sure to look through our other articles to learn even more. Or better yet, call in an expert!

Our official Disney Travel partner The Vacationeer offers free help planning your Disney Cruise ! They can answer all your questions, make sure you’re aware of everything you need to know, and even provide suggestions if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Best of all, they can handle all your cruise reservations, and even arrange for hotels before/after the cruise and ground transportation to/from the airport!

2023 Disney Cruises have already been released , so start your planning today!

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I've Been on 7 Disney Cruises, Here Are the Best Things for Adults to Do Onboard

• I’ve been on seven Disney cruises and have sailed on all five Disney cruise ships.
• You might be surprised to learn there are a ton of adults-only spaces and activities onboard and during shore excursions.
• I’ve discovered that even adults traveling without kids can have a great time on a Disney cruise.

Disney Cruise Line vacations are one of my favorite ways to travel. I’ve been on seven sailings with Disney and have been lucky enough to cruise on all five ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Even though Disney is known for its family-friendly cruises where kids are allowed to be almost anywhere, there are some secluded spots on Disney’s cruise ships where children are strictly not allowed.

If you’re sailing with kids, the line’s kids club (called the Oceaneer Club) is available on every ship in the fleet and is a fun place for them to hang out under supervision while you enjoy an adults-only experience. But with so many adult-centric spaces and activities onboard and on land, you may want to consider booking a Disney Cruise without kids too. Here are my favorite things to do and places to be on a Disney Cruise for adults.

Indulge in a Spa Day at Senses Spa and Salon

The spa is a quiet oasis on every Disney cruise ship where you can truly sit back and relax without a care in the world. DCL’s Senses Spa and Salon offers everything from couples massages to facials and body wraps.

LOVE BOATS: 7 Best Cruise Lines for Couples (and Their Most Romantic Voyages)

One of my favorite hidden gems of the spa is the Rainforest Room. This area is available in every Senses Spa fleet-wide and you can book a pass for the day or for the length of your cruise. I always book a length-of-cruise pass because it allows me to come and go from the spa at my leisure, and I’ve found that I go for at least an hour every day of the sailing, even on port days. Passes do fill up quickly, so try to get to the spa the moment you get onto the ship to ensure you get the pass that you want.

The Rainforest Room features a series of showers that have different water pressure, temperature, and lighting effects, plus sound and smell to give you the sense of being in an actual rainforest. There are also saunas and heated tile loungers. On the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder , the Rainforest Room is fully enclosed with no view of the ocean. On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy , the space has a wall of windows that look out to the ocean near the heated loungers, plus two dipping pools. If you’re sailing on the Disney Wish , the Rainforest Room also has a private outdoor space with hot tubs, swings, and loungers—and an ice room so you can feel like Elsa singing “Let It Go.”

Dining Experiences on Disney Cruises for Adults

If you’re 18 or older and looking to get away from the main dining rooms for a date night or other special occasion, you can make a reservation at one of the four adult-exclusive dining options on your Disney Cruise ship. 

On the Disney Magic , Disney Wonder , Disney Dream , and Disney Fantasy , Palo is an adults-only restaurant specializing in Northern Italian dishes. Dinner at Palo is a treat for pasta lovers, with dishes like potato gnocchi, penne arrabbiata, and butternut agnolotti.

NO KIDS ALLOWED: What You Need to Know Before Setting Sail on Virgin Voyages’s Adults-Only Cruises  

My favorite meal at Palo is brunch, which is an impressive a la carte menu, but you can order as much as you want from the menu. Highlights of the meal for me include the wood-fired pizzas, house-made lasagna and chicken parmesan, and the wide range of desserts. Brunch is typically only served on sea days on the ships, so be sure to plan accordingly. You can book brunch through the Disney Cruise Line app before your sailing, or head straight to the restaurant when you get onto the ship to see if there’s any availability. 

Remy is the second adults-only dining option on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy . The French restaurant is inspired by the movie Ratatouille and features a menu created by Lallement of Enchanté and Chef Scott Hunnel from Walt Disney World’s Victoria and Albert’s restaurant. After dining here on a recent cruise, I can say that Remy is worth the cost. 

SET SAIL: 7 Best Disney Cruises for Families in 2024  

Dinner starts out with a complimentary champagne cocktail called “Collette” after the female chef in Ratatouille . The restaurant has a seasonally rotating menu with ingredients from around the world, so adventurous eaters will be delighted to sample things they may not have tried before. Remy also offers a five-course dessert experience and a champagne brunch on sailings that are four nights or longer. 

On the Disney Wish

If you’re sailing on the Disney Wish , you have the option of booking Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement , which is inspired by the Disney animated movie Beauty and the Beast . The French-inspired menu is a feast for the senses. If you can’t get in for dinner, you can also try booking the Champagne brunch (which is a prix fixe meal) or a five-course dessert menu. 

Alternatively on the Disney Wish , you can try Palo Steakhouse , which is a new take on Disney’s signature adults-only Italian Restaurant Palo. Inside the steakhouse, you can choose from incredible Italian dishes and prime cuts of steak, including Japanese Miyazaki beef. Palo Steakhouse also offers a decadent brunch menu.

Some of the family-friendly rotational dining restaurants on the Disney Wish are perfectly suited to adult sensibilities as well. The dining room in 1923 serves up sensational California-inspired dishes in an elegant atmosphere, for example, and Worlds of Marvel is huge fun for super hero fans of all ages.

Bar Hopping During the Day or at Night

Craft cocktail fans, be sure to take time to try out all of the bars on Disney Cruise Line. Each one has a fun theme, and even though during the day they are used for family activities, after dark each space is adults-only. Each ship also hosts a variety of daytime cocktail classes that you can book, which is a great way to try a few drinks and learn a bit about bartending.

Disney Magic Bars

One of the newest spaces on the Disney Magic is Soul Cat Lounge , which is themed after the New York City jazz club from the Disney movie Soul . Inside, live music plays and there’s a small dance floor for those who want to feel the rhythm. The bar is known for its city-inspired cocktails like Manhattans and martinis.

EVERYTHING’S INCLUDED: 7 Best All-Inclusive Cruise Lines in the World  

Other bars on the Disney Magic include Fathoms , which is where you’ll find all of the adults-only games and activities at night; Keys , which is the piano bar; and O’Gills Pub , where sports play during the day and beer and Irish whisky is served late into the night. 

Disney Wonder Bars

If you’re sailing on the Disney Wonder then you’re privy to four adult-exclusive bars once the sun goes down. The French Quarter Lounge is themed after The Princess and The Frog and has a fun Mardi Gras vibe. The Crown and Fin Pub is where you should go for live sports and live music. For drinks with a show, head to the Cadillac Lounge , where you can sip on cocktails while singing along to iconic songs played by a live pianist. Azure is where most of the fun takes place each night with game shows and dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

Disney Dream Bars

The Disney Dream is my favorite and probably the best Disney cruise ship for adults (in my opinion) because its overall feel is perfect for me and my family. The ship has an entire adults-only bar area called The District, where there are five lounges and nightclubs: Pub 687 , District Lounge , Evolution , Pink: Wine and Champagne Bar , and Skyline . Of these bars, Skyline is my top pick because every few minutes the large “window” shows off a new destination city like New York, Hong Kong, and London.

BEFORE YOU BOOK: Everything You Need to Know about Disney’s Cruise Ships

If I really want to get away from everything, I head up to Meridian , the adults-only bar between Remy and Palo. Here, craft cocktails are expertly mixed, and a great view of the ocean wake is always on deck. There are also two outdoor patios on either side of the bar where you can enjoy your drink in complete peace. 

Disney Fantasy Bars

Similar to the Disney Dream , Disney Fantasy has an enclosed adults-only district where multiple bars and lounges can be found. During the day, this space is used for family-friendly trivia and games, but at night crew checks to be sure there are no kids running around. The Disney Fantasy also features Meridian, so be sure to check it out between Palo and Remy.

Disney Wish Bars

The Disney Wish doesn’t have all of its adults-only bars clustered together like the other four Disney Cruise Line ships, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less fun to bar-hop. Keg and Compass is the sports bar onboard and The Bayou is known for its live music. And Star Wars fans are going to want to get reservations for Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge , where intergalactic drinks and otherworldly oddities are found. My favorite bar on the Disney Wish is Nightingale’s , which is themed after Cinderella , hosts nightly piano sing-a-longs, and has drinks to please just about everyone in your family. 

HIDDEN GEMS: 6 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do on a Disney Cruise  

Pools on Disney Cruises for Adults

Each of the Disney cruise ships has an adults-only pool area. On the Disney Wish , the adults-only area features the cruise line’s first infinity pool. On the Disney Dream and Fantasy , the Quiet Cove Pool is a large pool with a swim-up bar and a whirlpool spa; there’s also separate wading pool where adults can enjoy the water, sunshine, and sounds of the ocean going by on deck 13. If you’re sailing on the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder , the Quiet Cove Pool has a large pool plus two whirlpool spas. 

Adults-Only Port Adventures

You’re in luck if you plan on getting off of the cruise ship at any of its ports of call because there are some adults-only port adventures (what Disney calls excursions) to try. For example, in Antigua you can take a three-and-a-half-hour tour of the island where you’ll see local villages and the only working Georgian dockyard in the world, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Alaska, you can take a ride through Victoria, British Columbia , to see the Empress Hotel, Antique Row, and more, plus enjoy afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. 

Serenity Bay at Castaway Cay

If your cruise includes a stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay , you can take the tram over to Serenity Bay. This adults-only beach has everything for a perfect beach day, from chairs and umbrellas to hammocks and a bar. Serenity Bay is also home to its own BBQ lunch spot, so you don’t have to walk to Cookies (on the kid-friendly side of the island) to have a meal.

More from FamilyVacationist:

• Kids Sail Free on These 6 Cruise Lines
• 5 Best Cruise Ships for Teens
• 10 Things You Can Do at Disney World That Are Better without Kids  

The post I’ve Been on 7 Disney Cruises, Here Are the Best Things for Adults to Do Onboard appeared first on FamilyVacationist .

I've taken 4 Disney cruises without kids. Here's why they're actually the perfect adults-only getaway.

• Out of the 15 cruises I've been on, Disney Cruise Line is my favorite company to travel with.
• Disney cruises offer the perfect getaway for adults without children.
• From animation classes and private islands to Broadway-style shows, I never run out of things to do.

After taking over 15 cruises on most of the major lines , one stands out as my favorite company to travel with — Disney Cruise Line. Disney cruises combine what I love about the theme parks with relaxation and stellar dining, making them the perfect getaway.

I also love that Disney continues to invest in its cruise line. For example, the company's newest ship, Disney Treasure , plans to embark on its maiden voyage in December.

And next year, Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure will set sail for the first time. The company also invested between $250 million and $400 million in a new island in the Bahamas, which I was lucky enough to visit.

Although some may think of Disney Cruise Line as a company that caters to kids, I've had an incredible time on adults-only vacations with my sister, mother, friends, and husband. Here's why I think Disney cruises are the perfect choice for travelers without children.

I’m never bored on a Disney ship.

On most of the cruises I've been on, the main activities include eating and drinking. However, that's not the case on Disney cruises.

In addition to having great pools, Disney ships are known for having a wide variety of activities throughout the day. My favorites include trivia, mixology classes, panel discussions with Disney animators, and animation classes.

The food is by far the best I’ve had at sea, and I’ll always splurge on the specialty restaurants.

Food plays a big role in determining where I vacation, and I've had some of the most incredible meals on board Disney ships. In addition to the food, the restaurants are well-themed and detailed. While there are plenty of elevated eats, there are also casual bites, like pizza, and Disney favorites, including Mickey waffles.

While the main dining rooms are delicious — and included with the cruise fare — I'll always splurge on one of the specialty restaurants that charge an additional fee.

These upcharge restaurants offer a more intimate experience with super personalized service and a greater variety of dining options. My favorite is Palo, which is open for both brunch and dinner. Here, I've enjoyed fresh pasta, standout wine, and high-quality wagyu.

I love the themed bars, and the drinks are surprisingly affordable.

While Disney doesn't offer a drink package that includes cocktails, the well-themed bars are worth the splurge.

From a Star Wars-themed watering hole to a Peter Pan-themed speakeasy, I really enjoy the inventive cocktail programs and immersive settings. Each bar also has its own unique themed drinks, which keeps things exciting.

As a regular at Disney World, I was also surprised to find that drinks are much more affordable on a Disney Cruise, with prices consistent across the ships I've been on.

For example, my favorite Dole Whip spiked with rum was $9 on board, compared to the exact same version priced at $14 at Disney World .

There are plenty of adults-only spaces.

While I tend to spend much of my day at the lively main pool, which features Disney movies and live entertainment, there are also plenty of adults-only spaces, including pool areas exclusive to guests 18 and older.

Some ships even have bar districts with multiple venues exclusive to adults.

The rooms are spacious and practical.

I've found the rooms on Disney cruises to be the most spacious — and practical in design — I've encountered.

Most rooms on Disney ships also have a split bathroom, which means the toilet area is separate from the shower. This is a vacation lifesaver when multiple adults are trying to get ready at once.

There are also plenty of opportunities to enjoy Disney Magic.

I love Disney ships because, from dressing up for pirate night to meeting my favorite characters, there are plenty of opportunities to feel like a kid again.

The shows on board are Broadway-quality.

I'm a sucker for live entertainment, and each Disney ship offers at least one Broadway-style production. From "Frozen" to "Beauty and the Beast," I always make sure to check out these high-quality musicals, which are included in the price of the cruise.

Disney’s private islands are very relaxing.

I've been to several cruise-line private islands, but Disney's are by far my favorite. Castaway Cay , located in the Bahamas, exudes relaxation. The island is home to one of my favorite activities, the Castaway 5k, which is included in the cruise fare and allows participants to earn an exclusive race medal.

Disney's newest island destination, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, is located near the southern tip of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. The beaches here blew me away and were some of the best I've experienced after dozens of trips to the Caribbean and Mexico.

Disney Cruise Line is the perfect adults-only vacation, and I can't wait to plan another trip.

As a big fan of the parks, Disney Cruise Line takes those magical elements and upgrades them at sea with incredible food, live entertainment, and relaxation — making for the perfect adults-only vacation.

Its ships are home to some of the most exciting, highly themed lounge options I've encountered, and I love the Broadway-quality productions. While on board, I'm able to do as much or as little as I want.

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Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point: A complete guide to Disney Cruise Line’s private beach destination

Editor's Note

If you're wondering what a Disney Cruise Line private beach destination is like, you might imagine it's Disney World in a tropical atmosphere. However, I can assure you that Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point isn't like the parks at all — it's different in all the right ways.

For starters, it's not crowded, and it offers beaches instead of amusement rides. Although you'll share the beach with others, you won't wait in sometimes hourslong lines for a lounge chair. Instead of retail shops and restaurants urging parents and other visitors to spend, spend, spend, there are only a couple of shops, and all eateries are free of charge, which reduces temptation.

Lookout Cay is also unspoiled and happily lacks the commercial feel of other cruise line private islands. Through a partnership with the Bahamian government, Disney Cruise Line created an oasis that's a nod to the culture, food and art of the Bahamas. It features local seafood, native flora, art classes, sculptures by local artists, Disney music with an island twist and Junkanoo dance celebrations. It also houses a nature trail that leads to a lighthouse overlooking the sea, which is how Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point received part of its name.

However, it does feel a little like it's still growing into its ears. When it received its first ship call, signage was still being installed, and bicycles weren't yet available to rent for use on its bike paths. There was also a marked lack of shade because most of the native flora Disney planted hasn't yet matured to provide it — something that will take years.

Want to know what else to expect during a visit to Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point? Here's a rundown of all the beachy business.

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Where is Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point?

Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is on the southeastern tip of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Disney Cruise Line purchased 900 acres of land for the purpose of creating its own private beach destination there but developed less than 16% of the overall parcel.

The line also donated 190 acres back to the Bahamian government, including the southernmost point and a significant amount of beachfront property.

Which cruise ships go there?

Disney Lookout Cay is exclusive to passengers who sail on Disney Cruise Line's ships, and all of the line's vessels are able to call there. At press time, voyages visiting Lookout Cay through 2024 included three- to six-night sailings, mostly on Disney Magic . Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are also scheduled to make a handful of stops there.

How do you get to and around Disney Lookout Cay?

Although Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point has a pier for its ships to dock, vessels tie up a half-mile from the destination entrance in an effort to avoid harming the coral reefs that grow closer to shore. Unfortunately, that means passengers face a 10- to 15-minute walk in the Bahamian sun with no shade.

A limited number of complimentary wagons are available near the pier entrance for passengers with small children to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis.

Passengers who can't make the trek on their own can request golf cart assistance by contacting guest services on the ship. Due to the width of the pier, a more robust shuttle service cannot be offered for everyone. It's surprising that the cruise line didn't anticipate this need, particularly since it caters so heavily to families with young children.

From the entrance to Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, visitors will take a free shuttle from the Mabrika Cove area to the Goombay area, where most of the action happens. The latter is home to the beaches, restaurants, buffets, entertainment and cultural venues that the destination offers.

Shuttles depart in pairs on a regular cadence, and since there's only one route with two stops — one at the beginning and one at the end — it's an easier system to navigate than the one on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay .

Be prepared for the ride to take about 15 minutes in each direction, and note that there could be waits at peak times. Shade is provided in the form of a long pavilion at each of the two shuttle stations. During the trip, you'll hear a recording that features a cast of sea creature characters who aim to educate riders about the history of the island, what it offers, and the types of plants and animals that call the island home.

When you arrive at the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop, wagons and strollers are provided for passengers with children to use on a complimentary first-come, first-served basis.

A series of gorgeous boardwalks connect points of interest in the Goombay area. Instead of providing straight paths, they're largely winding. That makes them aesthetically pleasing but also frustrating because their layout forces you to walk longer than necessary when moving from place to place. Due to a lack of signage, which the line says it's working on, it can also be difficult to find your way between locations.

After you take the tram back to the Mabrika Cove area at the end of the day, you'll have to pass through a security checkpoint in order to begin the long walk back to the ship.

What are the Lookout Cay beaches?

The Goombay section of the destination is divided into two tiers. The upper tier has bars, restaurants, bathrooms and attractions. It also has small sandy areas with loungers and umbrellas. However, to access the ocean and beaches at Disney Lookout Cay, cruisers must venture to the lower tier via stairs or one of five accessible ramps, which descend a short distance down the dunes that separate the tiers.

Instead of several separate beaches, Lookout Cay has one long white-sand stretch that encompasses two areas: Family Beach, which is for everyone, and Serenity Bay Beach, which is for cruisers 18 and older only.

The beaches flow into one another with no visible divider. However, crew members will direct families with children to the proper beach if necessary.

One other beach area — at Mabrika Cove, near the entrance to Lookout Cay — is only accessible if you rent one of the family cabanas there. (See below.)

Beachgoers who enjoy the two main beaches can take advantage of bars and buffets that are a short walk away. Cruisers accessing the Mabrika Cove beach via cabana rental have their own dedicated dining pavilion in that area. (See below.)

All beaches have complimentary access to loungers, umbrellas and nearby bathrooms. Lifeguards are stationed both on land and on personal watercraft that scan all of the beach areas. Life jackets for children and adults also are available for complimentary use.

Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point has no pools.

A towel station is near the Mabrika Cove tram stop, so you don't need to bring your own from the ship.

A limited number of first-come, first-served beach wheelchairs will soon be available for complimentary passenger use.

What are the best things to do at Disney Lookout Cay?

For families.

Families looking for more than just a day lazing on the beach can head to Rush Out Gush Out, Disney Lookout Cay's colorful, family-friendly water play area. It features water sprayers and a couple of small tube slides for kids.

A separate splash area for kids is Sebastian's Cove, where young children who are signed up for the cruise line's kids club activities can play under the supervision of youth club staff. Parents can check their kids in during set hours to enjoy some adults-only time while the little ones splash among fountains adorned with sea characters a la "The Little Mermaid."

For interactive fun and games, check out the "Disney Fun in the Sun Beach Bash," which is, ironically and mercifully, held in the shade of the Play-Play Pavilion — a large, covered, open-air structure used for family activities. The bash happens twice a day and involves ring toss and water games for kids, hosted by Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto. Other kid-friendly activities — Hula-Hoops, soccer, etc. — happen throughout the day, too.

Next door, you can also check out Triton's Trumpet Stage, where various family-friendly activities and music performances take place. During my visit, artists were there making sand sculptures.

For beach bums

This one is easy. Simply plant yourself at one of the free umbrella loungers along any of the beaches, and enjoy. For a kid-free experience, head left just past the Goombay area's information station and make your way to the far end of the beach, where you'll find Serenity Bay.

If you have the budget and you can book one before they sell out, renting a private cabana is another great way to enjoy the beach — but with extra amenities. (See below.)

For culture vultures

If you're eager to learn more about the Bahamas' beautiful culture, visit the Goombay Cultural Center in the heart of the Goombay area of Disney Lookout Cay.

In addition to admiring the local art pieces displayed, you can take part in art classes taught by locals and learn a bit about the islands' history.

It's also the place to view "Rush! A Junkanoo Celebration" — a vibrant and energetic performance by local Junkanoo dancers. It features elaborate, brilliantly colored costumes and visits from Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy.

For active visitors

Passengers who just can't sit still can rent bicycles at the Rocky Point rental stand near the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop ($15 per person for the whole day). Pedal along a series of bike paths that wind throughout the destination. (During my visit, the trails weren't yet ready and, therefore, weren't open to visitors.)

If counting steps is more your thing, you won't want to miss a walk along the Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point nature trail. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes each way to walk the sandy but firm path to see the old lighthouse, from which the destination's name was derived. It's a great spot for photos, and along the way, you're sure to spot some of the island's native plants and maybe an animal or two. You can walk it on your own or book a guided tour.

Given the terrain, I don't recommend wearing flip-flops for the walk. Additionally, because the trail is hard-packed, it's largely wheelchair accessible. However, the route has some mild inclines and areas where the terrain might be a little looser or rougher. Anyone using a mobility aid should proceed with caution and discretion.

Want some watery fun while you burn calories? Rent snorkeling gear (a mask with a snorkel, a life vest and fins) for $38 per person for the day. You can pick up the gear at the Flippers & Fins stand, about halfway between Family Beach and Serenity Bay Beach.

Like Castaway Cay, Lookout Cay will eventually host a 5K run for passengers wishing to take part while they're in port. At press time, information about the specific route was not yet available.

If you'd like to pay for an active excursion, options abound, including biking, kayaking and snorkeling. (See below.)

For eco-conscious guests

If you're interested in the local environment, check out the Discovery Trail, part of the nature trail experience. A series of posted signs throughout the destination offer QR codes that provide information about native plants and animals, the island's geography, and more.

Several eco-tours are offered among the list of shore excursions that take passengers out of the immediate Lookout Cay area and into the rest of Eleuthera. (See below.)

Can I meet Disney characters at Lookout Cay?

Yes, opportunities abound to meet and take photos with Disney characters. Check the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App for scheduled appearances.

You can also catch a glimpse of Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy during "Rush! A Junkanoo Celebration" at the Goombay Cultural Center. Plus, Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto lead the "Disney Fun in the Sun Beach Bash," held at the Play-Play Pavilion.

What are the excursions at Lookout Cay?

What's nice about Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is that it's not the entirety of the island. Unlike Castaway Cay — which is its own island, entirely operated by Disney Cruise Line — Lookout Cay is a small portion of a larger island on which people live, work and go about their daily lives. Because of that, Disney is able to offer excursions that venture beyond the cruise line's designed areas.

During my visit, excursions listed on the DCL app included:

• Bahama Bank Boat Escape: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $109 (ages 10 and older) or $79 (ages 8-9)
• Banana Boat: A 45-minute tour for $59 (ages 10 and older) or $49 (ages 8-9)
• Bike and Kayak at Disney Lookout Cay: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $99 (ages 10-80) or $89 (ages 4-9)
• Boiling Hole Reef Snorkel: A three-hour, 15-minute tour for $109 (ages 10 and older) or $79 (ages 8-9)
• E-Bike, Sand, Snorkel and History: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $139 (ages 16-75)
• Historical Nature and Buggy Tour (two people) : A one-hour, 45-minute tour for $239 (ages 12 and older)
• Historical Nature and Buggy tour (four people): A one-hour, 45-minute tour for $399 (ages 12 and older)
• Nature Walk and Coral Nursery: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $59 (ages 10 and older) or $49 (ages 8-9)
• Pirates of Eleuthera: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $79 (ages 10 and older), $69 (ages 3-9) or free (ages 2-3)
• Private Historical Cultural Tour (in SUV): A four-hour, 15-minute tour for $799 (ages 18 and older)
• Snorkel by Boat: A two-hour, 45-minute tour for $109 (ages 10 and older) or $89 (ages 5-9)
• South Eleuthera Eco and Cultural Tour: A three-hour, 45-minute tour for $149 (ages 10 and older), $119 (ages 4-9) or free (ages 2-3)
• South Eleuthera Eco and Historical Tour: A three-hour, 45-minute tour for $119 (ages 10 and older), $79 (ages 4-9) or free (ages 2-3)
• Tropical Reef Safari Snorkel: A two-hour, 15-minute tour for $109 (ages 10 and older) or $79 (ages 8-9)

You can book excursions prior to sailing, on board at your ship's Port Adventures desk, via the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App or upon arrival at Lookout Cay. Tours depart from either the Turbot Berth stand at Mabrika Cove, just inside the entrance to Lookout Cay, or The Gathering Tree to the left of the information center near the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop.

Does Disney Lookout Cay offer cabanas to rent?

Disney Lookout Cay has two cabana sections: Mabrika Cove Cabanas, designated for families, and Serenity Bay Cabanas, designated for adults only.

All cabanas book up quickly on a first-come, first-served basis. They're one price for the entire day for a set number of people, depending on the size. However, you can add more people (up to a maximum number, depending on cabana type) for an additional fee (per person). (See below for details.)

Accessible cabanas are available. Passengers can contact Disney Cruise Line's special services at 407-566-3602 to inquire about booking those.

Mabrika Cove Cabanas

Oddly, the family cabanas are in Mabrika Cove, as the name suggests, which means they're a 15-minute tram ride away from the main entertainment location – something that doesn't seem particularly family-friendly.

Fortunately, families don't have to make the journey to grab a bite to eat. In addition to snacks provided in the cabanas, lunch is served at a dedicated dining pavilion nearby. Visitors can dine at tables there or take food back to their cabanas.

Cabanas for families come in two sizes. Family Cabanas are the smaller of the two and can hold up to six people for $963. The second, Grand Family Cabanas, are a little larger and can accommodate up to 10 people for $1,375. Additional people can join for $56 each. In total, 20 cabanas are available: four Grand Family Cabanas and 16 Family Cabanas.

Cabanas are not air-conditioned. They consist of three walls (one with counter space and a minifridge stocked with bottled water and soda), a main entrance and slatted windows that push out to open. A fourth partial wall is mostly open-air and leads out onto the attached wooden deck, where visitors can take advantage of padded loungers and a table with chairs.

Inside, a couple of chairs and coffee tables make for pleasant and comfortable indoor seating. Passengers wishing to venture to the beach can do so via a set of stairs that leads down from the deck. Waiting in the sand are loungers, upright chairs and an umbrella (which doesn't provide nearly enough shade for all of the chairs).

Larger cabanas include more deck space, additional outdoor loungers and an indoor dining room with a large, long table and chairs.

Family cabanas also include freshwater outdoor showers for easy sand removal, food (snacks and lunch) and nonalcoholic beverages, sand toys, sunscreen, beach towels, and a safe for use during the day. Snorkeling equipment is also included upon request. Cabanas do not have private restrooms, but a public restroom facility is nearby.

Serenity Bay Cabanas

Exclusively for guests 18 and older, the Serenity Bay adults-only cabanas are about as far from the family cabanas as you can be on the developed part of the Disney property.

They consist of two types: Serenity Bay Cabanas, which hold up to four people for $523, and Serenity Bay Grand Cabanas, which can accommodate up to 10 people for $963. Additional people can be accommodated for $56 each. Six cabanas make up the total inventory, with two of them in the Grand Cabana category.

Layouts and amenities are similar to those of the Mabrika Cove Cabanas, and they are also not air-conditioned, nor do they offer private bathrooms. Public ones are in the vicinity, however.

Is food included at Disney Lookout Cay?

You bet. Lookout Cay has two main (and free) buffet areas: True-True BBQ and True-True Too BBQ. True-True is found between the information booth and the family beach, and True-True Too is between the information booth and Serenity Bay.

Both serve fish (mahi-mahi and salmon), chicken and seafood rice bowls, barbecue ribs, rotisserie chicken, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Impossible Burgers, and crispy chicken sandwiches. Sides include couscous salad, coleslaw, baked beans, grilled broccoli, corn on the cob, baked plantains and sweet potato fries.

Unfortunately, the food areas have a fly problem. The insects buzz all around the serving areas and often land on the food items. The line has taken steps to curb the issue, including adding fans to food service counters and tables in the seating areas.

Speaking of seating, True-True has five covered pavilions with tables, and True-True Too has four. At peak times, it can be difficult to find a spot.

Each location has a drink kiosk area that offers free self-serve water, soft drinks and soft ice cream.

Additionally, Serenity Bay has its own complimentary buffet, Serenity Bay BBQ, which serves the same items as True-True and True-True Too. It also has its own shaded seating areas and a stand with drinks and ice cream. The nearby Blue Hole Bar is the place to grab an alcoholic beverage.

The buffets are the only places at Lookout Cay that serve food, and they do so between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. That means if you're hungry or need a snack earlier or later, you're out of luck. Be sure to eat a good breakfast before you disembark, and pack your own nibbles if you think you might be peckish in the late afternoon.

Are there bars at Lookout Cay?

Of course! Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point has four bars, a smoothie stand and a coffee kiosk. All are in the Goombay area, with the exception of the coffee stand, which is at Mabrika Cove.

The Blue Hole Bar serves the Serenity Bay adults-only area, and it's the bar with the easiest access from the beach. The next closest one to the beach is at the totally opposite end, at the end of the family beach. Halfway between the two are the Watering Hole Bar, near True-True BBQ, and the Bow & Ribbon Bar, which is near True-True Too BBQ.

The menus include Volley, Truly and White Claw seltzers; Kalik and Sands beers; a selection of flavored cold-brew coffees; and cocktails like a black cherry pina colada, Junkanoo Juice (rum, banana, lime, pineapple and passion orange guava) and a Bahama Sling (peach rum, Cointreau, lime, orgeat and bitters).

The menu also features specials: Eleuthera Euphoria (rum, pineapple and Dole Whip pineapple) and Butterfly Switcha (lemonade, jasmine green tea and a tastebud enhancer).

You can also purchase souvenir pineapple cups and tumblers at the bars for $21 each.

Sandsational Smoothies, the smoothie stand near the Watering Hole Bar, offers nonalcoholic frozen drinks. (Try the Tropical Teaser: vanilla ice cream, mango, pineapple and tropical Pop Rocks.) Nonalcoholic specialty drinks include flavored iced tea and watermelon limeade.

The coffee stand Mangroves & Go is just beyond the entrance to Lookout Cay. It's ideal for grabbing a morning cup of joe to start your day ashore. Choose from double and single shots of espresso, lattes, cappuccinos, iced coffee and cold brew, as well as spiked coffee beverages and specialty island concoctions like the Junkanoo Latte — a blend of cold brew, vanilla and lavender.

Oddly, most bars and the smoothie stand are pretty far from the beach, meaning you'll have a bit of a trek to grab drinks. It can be an ordeal if you have to pack up the kids every time you head off in search of water or other hydration, which is crucial in the hot Bahamian sun.

The cruise line says it's working on adding water stations beyond the soda fountains found near the buffet areas. In the meantime, one rather pricey option beachgoers have is to purchase a cooler bag at Mabrika Cove. Each carries six bottles of either Dasani or Smartwater for $26 or $32.25, respectively.

Since Disney Cruise Line doesn't offer beverage packages, each drink is charged a la carte to your onboard account using your keycard.

Is there shopping at Disney Lookout Cay?

Is Mickey a mouse? Shopaholics can satisfy their retail therapy cravings at several outposts, including Disney T'ings and Treasures of Eleuthera, both in the heart of the Goombay Cultural Center area, near the tram stop of the same name.

The former offers Disney merchandise, which includes a variety of apparel bearing Bahamian-designed representations of popular characters like Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. You'll also find Lookout Cay Spirit Jerseys, T-shirts, hats, tumblers, Loungefly bags, beach blankets, photo frames, water bottles, magnets, holiday ornaments, Crocs and, of course, mouse ears.

The latter features handicrafts made by local artists. During my visit, the shop showcased paintings, prints, straw purses and totes with Disney characters hand embroidered on them.

Visitors wishing to have their hair braided can do so at the nearby Plaits & Pleats.

For passengers who just can't wait until they arrive in the Goombay area — or those who waited until the last possible second before heading back to the ship — there's the First & Last Chance Stand. Found just past the entrance to Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in Mabrika Cove, this small kiosk sells shirts, beach towels, sunscreen, pins, keychains and an assortment of other essentials and Disney-branded items.

What additional amenities will I find?

As far as the basics go, plenty of bathrooms, trash cans and recycling bins are dotted throughout Disney Lookout Cay. Places for service animal relief are also designated throughout the area.

You'll find an information desk and a first aid center when you arrive at the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop.

Wi-Fi is available there. If you've purchased a package , you'll be able to access it but note that you'll likely lose connectivity on the tram ride between Mabrika Cove and Serenity Bay. You can also connect to cellular data if you have an international plan that covers the Bahamas. Otherwise, keep your phone on airplane mode .

If you walk to the far end of Family Beach, past the Play-Play Pavilion, you'll find the entrance to the nature trail. If you continue straight instead of turning to the left to enter the trail, you can follow the path from the nature trail to the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop. If you're making your way back to Mabrika Cove and don't want to deal with other passengers on the winding boardwalk, it provides a less chaotic route to hop on the shuttle.

Can you stay overnight at Disney Lookout Cay?

Although the island of Eleuthera is inhabited, passengers are not able to stay overnight at Lookout Cay. The private destination itself has no hotels or other sleeping accommodations that would allow for overnight guests.

What's the typical Lookout Cay weather like?

The weather in the Bahamas is generally pleasant and warm all year, with average temperatures in the high 70s in winter and the high 80s to low 90s in summer. Expect the most rain in June, August and September.

Hurricane season , which runs from June to November, can affect weather conditions, with the most activity generally seen between August and October.

Shade, sunscreen (preferably one that's reef-safe ) and hydration are key to avoiding the damaging effects of the sun. Be sure to drink plenty of water, reapply sunblock and seek shelter if necessary. Protective clothing, sunglasses and hats are also essentials.

Can I see a Disney Lookout Cay map?

Passengers can request a paper copy of the Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point map at the information desk near the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop. Although it's available on the Disney Cruise Line app, it can be difficult to see on a tiny phone screen, especially in the bright sun.

Note that the map can also be cumbersome to read because each item is numbered instead of labeled, and you have to use a key to determine what's what.

Click here to view, download or print a larger PDF version of the map.

Have more Disney cruise questions? We can help:

• Ultimate guide to Disney Cruise Line ships and itineraries
• The best Disney cruise ships for everyone – even Disney adults
• Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Club loyalty program
• The types of Disney Cruise Line ships, explained
• How much does a Disney cruise really cost?
• How to save money on a Disney cruise
• All about Disney Cruise Line kids clubs
• Tips and tricks for your next Disney cruise
• The best destinations to visit on a Disney cruise
• A guide to Disney Cruise Line drink packages
• Disney Cruise Line ships from newest to oldest
• Disney Cruise Line ships from biggest to smallest

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NEWS: Hurricane Forces Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship To Change Course

With Hurricane Beryl moving across the Caribbean , many cruise ships have had to alter their courses.

In an effort to avoid the storm, as well as for the safety and comfort of passengers on board, cruise lines like Norweigan Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, and even Disney Cruise Line have made changes to their itineraries.

Currently, the Disney Fantasy , the fourth ship in Disney Cruise Line’s fleet , is on a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise. 

The ship left Port Canaveral on Saturday and was expected to make stops at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay .

The ship was supposed to dock in Falmouth, Jamaica, tomorrow, July 3rd. However, due to Hurricane Beryl, this port day was replaced with a day at sea.  Disney along with other cruise lines want both passengers and crew to be safe during this storm and moving from a port day to a sea day does just that.

We will continue to update you on the status of Hurricane Beryl and any effects it might have on Florida. As always, stay tuned to AllEars.net for more Disney news.

Hurricane Beyrl is Now a Category Five Storm

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Have you ever been on a cruise during a storm let us know in the comments., trending now.

There's a BIG sale happening at Target that you don't want to miss!

Shades of Green -- one of Disney World's oldest, and least-known resorts -- announced a...

If you hear these codes at Disney World, turn the other way.

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You won't believe the prices of these Disney Loungefly bags!

Universal's NEW souvenir is pretty magical!

Disney Visa cardholders have access to an out-of-this-world exclusive piece of merchandise.

Attention, Disney fans! We found some GREAT new Disney X Nike gear online!

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It's time to get spooky with a new Disney merchandise collection.

A classic ride's return from refurbishment is to blame!

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We're seriously shocked these hotel hacks haven't been banned yet!

We're letting you in on a rope-dropping secret!

ANOTHER celebrity just visited Disney World!

This forgotten attraction in EPCOT’s Germany Pavilion is technically STILL there, you just need to...

Flights are about to be grounded at this popular Magic Kingdom attraction.

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D23 Gold Members can preview Disney's NEW Country Bear Jamboree show in Magic Kingdom before...

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