Tips for a Disney Cruise~ A full review and why it is the BEST vacation for families!

Disney. It is known as the happiest place on Earth, and for good reason. Kids are filled with excitement as they meet each beloved character or adored princess. Everything seems magical, and even adults are transformed into giddy children as they experience the magic! But, despite the magic, young children can really be at a disadvantage at those big ole parks. The walking, the walking, the walking…the LINES…the not being able to ride many of the rides because they aren’t tall enough, the waiting in more lines for the ones that they can ride… the 2 hour lines to see those beloved characters…THAT part is not magical for a young child. I mean, they have fast passes, which are amazing…and if you plan very very well, you can avoid some of that- but not all. Let’s just be real. Young children struggle, and sometimes it feels as though it was more of a chore than a fun, relaxing time. That’s just the truth. Nothing against Disney or any of the parks at all- I LOVE them all! Trust me- I am the biggest kid ever, but I took all of this into consideration as we planned our family vacation this year, knowing my kids are in LOVE with all things Disney!

My little girl is 5 and my little boy is 3. She loves all Disney movies and every Princess. She loves to dress up and pretend and thinks it is pure MAGIC to see characters of all kinds in real life. My son is a wild child who is beyond the realm of happy when he sees characters, and he loves to fight like a pirate and watch movies of all types, especially Disney. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and all of the Fab 5 characters in that. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wanted them to experience Disney at this age. This age is just such a fun age. Everything is fascinating through their eyes. They are so full of excitement and pure joy, and I knew that Disney was a trip I wanted to experience with them. We decided to do the Disney cruise as a family, and let me tell you- I was floored at how amazing it was! I had to write a full post just to highlight everything so that you too can see what I mean. Yes, they are more costly than some vacations you could go on, but let me tell you now…it is worth every single penny. Trust me on this 😉

So, let me highlight some of the top reasons we loved this vacation so much! (I will be posting some of my biggest tips at the bottom of the post)

A few details before I get started: We were on the Disney Wonder…it is a smaller boat (not small at all but not their biggest one). We took a 4 night to Nassau and Castaway Cay from Port Canaveral. We wish we had done a longer one.

So, back to why it was so great…

1.) Characters Were SO Accessible!

I am being dead serious when I say we saw every character there was to see and never waited in line over 10 minutes. Many times it was less than that. This is amazing when you have young kids, especially. They never got bored or ill waiting in line. They were just way too excited and couldn’t wait to get up there to meet them!

Disney cruises also specialize in “partying” and dancing with the characters. They have a greeting dance party the first day on the ship where the characters are on stage and there is dancing and singing. There is pirate night where they are dressed as pirates and dance and sing on stage for that. There was a dance party with the characters on the private island where they just mingle with you and dance with you. My son danced with Goofy and thought it was the coolest thing ever (above pic- isn’t he sweet?)! They have a See Ya Real Soon going away party on the last night of the ship where they all tell you goodbye and mingle with the crowd for a while. Literally, you have every chance in the world to meet them and take pictures and get autographs the whole trip.

2.) Themed Dining 

As you know, Disney doesn’t do anything half way. Dining is no exception. We were on the Disney Wonder, so the dining rooms that I am mentioning are on that specific boat. I can promise you that every boat is fantastic, but I can only speak to the dining rooms on the Wonder. When you book your cruise, you will choose between early and late dining. We chose early because we eat fairly early. Our dining was at 5:45. You are assigned a dining room each night, and when you get there, you have a table number with a specific server that is with you the duration of your stay. They follow you and your family to each dining room, so they really get to know your family and your likes and dislikes. Each night, we got to our table and the kids had a chocolate milk with their name on it. They knew I wanted a coke each night, and it was there. They were fantastic. The dining rooms were all themed. There was Tiana’s Place (Princess and a Frog), which was our favorite, Animator’s Palate and Titon’s. Tiana’s Place was pure New Orleans cajun flair! It was so much fun! One of the nights (we were at that dining room two nights) there was live jazz music and dancing. It was the most fun dining experience I have had. The kids danced at the stage and had a blast! Tiana came around to every table to chat and take pics and even Louis, the friendly jazz lovin’ alligator made several appearances with his trumpet! The kids got a big kick out of that. At Animator’s Palate is inspired by the magic of Disney’s animation, and although the dining experience starts out in black and white- it gradually turns to color as the dinner progresses. You have several screens all over that is showing the drawings from start to finish. The kids had fun guessing the characters before it was finished drawing it. It was a great atmosphere and a beautiful dining area. Titon’s is meant to reflect The Little Mermaid, but there wasn’t what I would call a strong theme in that dining area. There is a large mural on the wall that has thousands of little tiles that make up a picture of Ariel and Triton. It is very beautiful. The food at all of the restaurants were amazing, especially the entrees. You get tons of food options, and the kids get a kid’s menu. It is your own fault if you leave hungry 🙂

I should also mention that even though you go to a themed dining at night, there are other options for food all throughout the day across the boat. There is a buffet styled dining called Cabana’s that has a fantastic lunch menu. I am talking, it has everything imaginable. They also have a buffet for breakfast every morning. There is more food than you can even believe. The kids loved all of the doughnuts…you know, all of the sugary, icing filled ones that will rot your teeth. Yum! There was also a pizza place and other places to get sandwiches and pretty much anything else you could want. Room service is also available 24/7 at no additional charge. That is the best part- ALL paid in advance with your cruise purchase!

3.) Pirate Night

From what I understand, pirate night is pretty much a given on most all Disney cruises. It is the most popular night on the ship, and the kids LOVE dressing up as pirates. Heck, who am I kidding. WE loved dressing up as pirates! You don’t have to dress up. In fact, there were many who didn’t, but there were just as many who did. Even your dinner experience is pirate themed, and the characters are all dressed in that type of attire that night. There is a big deck party with dancing and fireworks over the ocean with the characters and it is LOTS of fun! It is the highlight of the cruise for most people, and if you take part- it is a heck of a lot of FUN! I highly recommend taking part and going all out. It makes it so much more fun, and your kids will love doing it as a family!

4.) Oceaneer’s Kids Club

There is a kid’s club that has countless activities going on all day and night. They are fully staffed, and you can drop your kids off at any time during their hours (which are early til late) and leave them for however long and then pick them back up. The kids LOVE going to this and playing with the other kids, and it gives the parents time to themselves for a little while. I don’t call it “babysitting”, although in a way it is, I guess. It is just a fun place that your kids can be with other kids and play activities and games and even meet more characters. My kids went for about 3 hours one day. During that time, they did the Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital and even got to meet Doc! They were thrilled. They also got to meet Captain American, which my son thought was awesome! There were no pictures of that, unfortunately…but the memory they have will always be there. This is just a great option for some kid time and adult time. A lot of the kids were crying because they didn’t want to leave! Mine didn’t cry, but they did go on and on about how fun it was. It was nice for me and my husband to just enjoy some time together out on the deck in the sun! Win win for all!

5.) Pools and Water Play

There were 2 pools that kids were allowed in (1 for adults only). One of the pools was shallow enough for pretty much any kid, and it was monitored very very closely by lifeguards at all times. The kids could play and swim up a storm and you never had to worry. There was also a splash park area right beside the pool where they could play and splash and have lots of fun. There was a large slide that kids were LOVING. I saw the same kids going up that ladder again and again! There was also a little enclosed area called Dory’s Reef where there were characters from Finding Dory that were made into water features. That was a fun little area too. The other pool, called Goofy’s Pool, was a larger pool that was situated by the stage and the big screen. There were movies playing practically all day, so you could swim and watch Disney movies or lay out and watch them. Small children had to wear life vests, which were provided, to swim in that pool. The kids definitely don’t get bored!

6.) Princess Fun!

You can meet all of the princesses on the boat during the meet and greet, or you can spend about an hour and a half at the Royal Tea Party (Elsa and Anna are not at the Royal Tea, but you meet them during the meet and greet time)! We did this, and yes- it costs extra…but it was so worth it. My daughter LOVED it, and each princess made special time for her, to talk and take pictures. There was singing, dancing, food and lots of gifts! It was truly an amazing time for everyone.

7.) The Ship is CLEAN!

My husband and I talked countless times about how we were so impressed with how CLEAN everything was. I am talking, you could have eaten off the elevator floor. You constantly saw staff cleaning every single area, from the steps to the wall to the baseboards and so on. I even saw a man combing the tassels on one of the curtains. They take great pride in a clean ship, and I admire that. The crew wants your experience to be the very best that it can be. They know you work hard for your money and that it is costly to come on one of their cruises, and they make sure to give you the best of the best. It felt good to be on such a clean ship. Hats off to Disney!

8.) Castaway Cay- Disney’s Private Island

Let me tell you, their island is nothing short of amazing. It is gorgeous, as you would expect…and it is full of Disney charm. Everything has been thought out. There is something for everyone. If you care nothing about doing anything but laying in the sun, then hey- you can lay in the sun all day. There is snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides, jet skis, fun water slides and the list could go on and on. My kids loved playing at the beach in the ocean. It was shallow forever and they could run and play with no worries. That water was gorgeous! Blue/Green with such a sparkle. Ahhh…I wish I was there now! They provided lunch on the island for everyone, and it was amazing! There is also fountain drinks set up on the island, along with ice cream so that you could get that anytime you wanted. That is just so convenient and saves so much money! There was also a character dance party, as I mentioned earlier. It was fun to just dance and sing along with the characters and other travelers. You just become a kid again. Life is good on the island 🙂

9.) Luxury of NO phone!

Some of you may be thinking, NOOOOO….I can’t live without my phone! Trust me, I am glued to mine way too much. It was so refreshing to not even think about it or worry about it. I soaked in every second with my family, and I could not have cared less what anyone in Facebookland or anywhere else was doing. It was great to be hands free and eyes on. You do have the option to have phone access, but we chose not to… so if it makes you feel better, you CAN get service if you chose to 🙂

10.) Broadway Shows Nightly

This may be my #10, but trust me, these are NOT in order. The shows are one of my very favorite parts. Disney goes ALL OUT on their shows, and the kids loved every single second. Each show is Disney themed in some way, and there are countless Disney characters in all of them. On the Wonder, there is even a brand new Frozen show that is truly spectacular. Watch out, because it may even “snow” on you during your show. It is truly an amazing show! These shows would cost no telling what to see off the boat. We loved Mickey theatre. And, it is stadium seating, so kids can see good pretty much anywhere. I do recommend getting there early though, because the shows fill up pretty fast. You won’t want to miss a second! I wish I could show pictures from these shows, but they are strictly prohibited, so I obeyed and didn’t take any 🙁

**And a couple more bonuses!**

Free Soft Drinks {and ice cream!}

This may sound silly, but on a lot of cruise lines, you have to pay for soft drinks any time except dinner. Not here. They have fountain areas set up where you can get a fountain drink anytime. It is right beside the pool area! There is also soft serve ice cream available at all times for your convenience over by the pool area. The kids loved this, of course. They thought they had to have an ice cream cone every time they walked by!

NO walking! Naps when you need them! 3 minutes from your room at all times! Do I need to say more????

Some of my TIPS:

1.) Take a lanyard.

You will get a key to the world card that will be with you at ALL times. You will want that sucker on you because it is what will get you into your room, let you buy something if you want/need to…and well, pretty much anything else you can think of- you will need it. You can have everything else under the sun, but if you don’t have your Key to the World, you are outta luck! They have lanyards for sell, of course…but save some money and have one on hand. We wish we had one. I never had a pocket, and it was just an inconvenience for me. My hubs had the key most of the time for me. Take a lanyard.

2.) Take Bottled Water.

Disney allows you to pack bottled water in your suitcase. They do have water to drink at all of the restaurants and even in the fountain drink area, but as far as bottled water, you pay for that. We took some in the suitcase and kept it cold in our room fridge. It saved lots of money. I wish I could say I drink water, but I don’t. My hubby does, and he found this to be very beneficial. Also, take your water to the private island with you! You can buy it there, but it is NOT cheap. Trust me on this, we didn’t know…and we left ours in the room. We spent more than we had hoped on bottled water. Take it with you.

3.) Take a Small Extra Bag.

I highly advise that you take an extra little bag with you. I took a little draw string bag that I carried around to the pool and stuff with our sunscreen, etc…and it was so handy. I also took it on the ship with me when we boarded. I had sunscreen and our bathing suits in it so that we could swim when we got on the ship. The luggage takes a couple of hours to get to your room, so if you don’t have that stuff with you, you just have to wait. Trust me, those kiddos do NOT want to wait! I also hated to bring a big ole beach bag with me along with our other luggage, so this worked for what we needed. You do NOT need towels at all. They provide all of those at the pool area in excess. Take as many as you need. You will also need your little bag over at the island! I did see several people with big beach bags, but for us, it was just less to carry and we had all we needed. It is totally up to you, but this is my suggestion.

4.) Consider skipping Nassau (if it is one of your stops)

Ok, hear me out. Nassau is fine! You can find plenty to do, and you can have lots of fun…BUT it is very touristy and the beach is super crowded. It is just not kid friendly. If you go to a private island, that is a whole other story- but to just get off and go around the main area, I did not care for it at all. I also heard several others say the same. I had been twice previously, so I already knew this. We stayed on the ship this time and enjoyed the pool area and other activities. So many people do get off the ship, so it is much quieter and peaceful. We loved it and highly recommend it! 🙂

5.) Luggage Tips

When you get to the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral, there is a place to drive up to where they take your luggage for you. The cruise line provides luggage tags for you in your documents they send before sailing, so just have them on and ready to go! They will take your luggage for you and it will greet you at your cabin door! You don’t have to carry anything through the check in process or boat. It was awesome. We didn’t realize this, and we expected to be hauling all of our luggage. We almost wish we had brought an extra empty suitcase for souvenirs now that we know we aren’t the ones hauling it everywhere 🙂

Also, the night before you leave (last night of the cruise), you can set your luggage outside of your cabin door, and they will pick it up for you and have it waiting at the terminal. This is another time that little bag is handy. You can put the clothes you had on in there so that you don’t have much to pack to breakfast the next morning. This was so handy. We enjoyed how easy they made everything on us.

I could honestly go on and on. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this trip. Disney Cruise Lines do things up right, and I highly recommend them to every family. There is fun for ALL ages! If you have any questions, I would love to help you if I can. Feel free to comment or shoot me an email!

See ya Real Soon!

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Last Updated on May 10, 2021