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A Disney cruise costs more than a similar cruise on a line like Royal Caribbean, so it's easiest to justify the expense when your kids love Disney the most. Disney went so far into charting its own path as to get special approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for its ships' lifeboats to be yellow instead of regulation orange, to tie into the colors of Mickey himself — black, red, white and yellow. It’s Disney Cruise Line’s first ship and not only can you see the care put into it from the start, but Disney has gone back to keep updating the Magic without ruining it.
Disney Wonder: Best Disney ship for West Coast cruisers
If you want to sail with Disney, you’ll find everything from two-night cruises to 15-night cruises. The two-night cruises are in Australia and New Zealand, and Baja Mexico cruises from San Diego. Since there are only five ships, the routes change each season, and the ships move around and reposition. Look into one of Disney’s repositioning cruises for a unique – and longer – cruise. One ship will move from the Caribbean to Europe for summer cruises from Barcelona and Southampton, which results in a (roughly) two-week transatlantic cruise. When ships move from the port of San Diego back to the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean, repositioning cruises pass through the Panama Canal.
Cruises
These services can get busy during sea days on longer cruises, so plan accordingly. An 18% gratuity is added to onboard spa, bar, beverage, wine and deck service tabs. You can always add an additional gratuity for any of your services or servers. Parents can stay with kids and play during open hours on the first day and select times on other dates, but most of the time, the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are kids-only. Your kids will check in and out by scanning a special MagicBand that also tracks where they are within the kids clubs. Here you'll find video games, an indoor slide, fun programs and games with the staff, arts and crafts, surprise character visits and more.
Buffet and grab-and-go
Disney Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean: Which family-friendly cruise line is for you? - The Points Guy
Disney Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean: Which family-friendly cruise line is for you?.
Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Deluxe Family Oceanview Staterooms and Deluxe Family Oceanview Staterooms with Verandah add about 40 more square feet to the equation. If you want the largest within those room categories, search for rooms that can hold five people on the Disney Cruise Line website. This split bathroom situation places a sink and the shower/tub combo in one bathroom and the toilet and another sink in the other. Each has its own separate door, so someone could use the toilet/sink room while another takes a shower, all in private and at the same time. You'll also see cruisers who love Disney regardless of age and are proud to wear their Mickey ears while hearing the first seven notes of the "When You Wish Upon a Star" melody blown from the ship's massive horn.
The Magic truly lives up to her name with a plethora of entertainment and activities. From Broadway-style shows to glittering fireworks, and character meet-and-greets to state-of-the-art movie theaters, every moment onboard is filled with wonder. Adults can enjoy a night out at the sophisticated Fathoms, while the Walt Disney Theater and Buena Vista Theater offer entertainment for all ages. They’ve got this cool rotational dining thing where you get to try different restaurants. At Animator’s Palate, you’ll see some awesome technology in action, and the Royal Court feels like a romantic fairy tale.
Decktop attractions
The cruise line also regularly offers seven-night sailings out of Port Canaveral that visit Caribbean islands like St. Thomas and Tortola. The Disney Wish is the newest of the Disney cruise ships, and she is absolutely stunning. She is packed with a lot of exciting features, including the first Disney attraction at sea, the AquaMouse – which takes the ‘water coaster’ idea of the earlier ships and adds better theming and a story. Disney Wonder was the second ship to launch for the cruise line, back in 1999, and similar to her sister ship the Disney Magic she has been well maintained.
Q: Is the Disney Dream bigger than Disney Magic?
They aren't the priciest voyages out there, but they will cost more than cruises with family-friendly competitors such as Royal Caribbean by a noticeable margin. Cruises that are seven nights or longer schedule one "formal night" — though even then, it's only encouraged, not required. On that night, you will see suits, sports coats, cocktail dresses and similar from some guests. If it's a sea day in a warm-weather destination, and you're bound for the top deck, that means looking like you're going to the beach.
Which is the Best Disney Cruise Ship for Castaway Cay?
With the addition of Disney Wish to the fleet, Disney Dream now spends its summer across the Atlantic, offering European cruises from May to September, then spending much of the rest of the year based out of Fort Lauderdale. But unlike at the Disney theme parks, which can be a bit complicated to navigate, long lines and complex strategies are rarely a part of the Disney cruise experience. There’s plenty that sets the Fantasy apart from its sister ship, however. It’s a great finale for the animation-inspired restaurant and gets always guests excited. Enchanted Garden (which is also on the Fantasy, but we’ve ranked that higher for reasons we’ll explain later) is pretty, but doesn’t have a strong theme.
Each ship has its own lineup of themed rotational restaurants, but the concept remains the same on each. You'll see many families with kids in those preschool, elementary and middle school years. But what really elevates Disney Fantasy is its adult district, a.k.a. Europa. As the name suggests, Europa takes guests on a tour of Europe, making it the most seamlessly themed adult district on any Disney Cruise Line ship.
If you are on a ship that still charges by the amount of data used, we recommend not doing that and connecting either when you are in port or via a plan from your cellphone provider. Disney Cruise Line adds a service gratuity of $14.50 per person per day to final bills. If you are unhappy with the service you receive, you can lower this amount.
Seven-night sailings include calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish will operate the trips from Port Canaveral, while Disney Dream and Disney Magic will sail from Fort Lauderdale. Disney Wish, which is Disney's newest ship, will be based in Port Canaveral year-round to operate the line's classic three- and four-night sailings to the Bahamas. These voyages are designed to be paired with a visit to nearby Disney World for a longer Disney vacation.
During the evenings, dining attire in the three main dining restaurants is "cruise casual," meaning no swimwear or tank tops, but you don't have to put on a party dress. That said, many guests do dress up a bit in the evening, but it's not required unless you are dining in Palo, Remy or Enchante. If you want to be more active, head to your ship's sports deck to play basketball, foosball, miniature golf and more. You may even have some sports simulator options beyond your traditional in-person fun. As with the waterslides, we recommend enjoying these first thing when you board if you want to try them without crowds. Otherwise, you won't find so many people in the pools on port days, early in the morning and right before dinner.
For round-trip cruises from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Brisbane, guests 18 years of age and older may purchase and consume alcoholic beverages without parental consent. When you are on the ship, you will not need cash or a credit card — all incidentals, purchases and services will be charged to your cabin folio. Your Key to the World card (or your DisneyBand+ on Disney Wish) serves as your onboard payment method. Ships also provide 24-hour, self-service guest laundry facilities equipped with washers and dryers, along with detergent and complimentary ironing equipment.
Palo serves brunch and dinner and focuses on Northern Italian-inspired cuisine. There are also adults-only pool and outdoor areas on the Disney Wonder cruise ship, beverage seminars, and the Senses Spa’s “rainforest room”. 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. Disney’s largest cruise ship is the Disney Wish, a true leviathan of the seas within the Disney Cruise Line’s fleet. It boasts the most extensive tonnage and a plethora of cutting-edge features, making it not only the largest but also a frontrunner in innovative maritime experiences.
