Disney Cruise Line

Disney promotes Magical Vacations “where dreams come true”… so we thought we would check out whether the Disney Cruise Line lives up to the motto.

We took our two boys, one tween and one eight year old, to embark on a 4 day, 3 night Disney Dream cruise.  Leaving from Port Canaveral we set out for Nassau, Bahamas and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.  En route, we enjoyed the Dream, but the cruise was not without shortcomings.

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Christian Travel Advisory:

• Family Friendly:  Disney cruises are different.  Cruisers will experience the same family friendly atmosphere that permeates the Disney parks.  You’ll find Disney characters and decorations as well as Disney movies and themed theatrical shows.  On the amusement side, Disney offers traditional activities like putt-putt and sport court, but goes a step further by featuring the industry’s only (as of this writing) water coasters, such as the Disney Dream Aqua Duck.  Everything is designed to give travelers the sense that they are at Disney.  Further consider that half of the travelers are children and the result is a fairly tame crowd as opposed to the hedonism present on many other cruises.  But remember that family friendly is not the same as a Christian environment.

While Disney Cruise Line is family friendly, one can’t help but get the sense that Disney has created every opportunity for families to not spend time together.  Parents are encouraged to leave their children in order to go to one of the many onboard bars and to partake in the adults-only beach on Castaway Cay.  There are suprisingly few activities and locations for families to spend time together in comparison to a Disney Park.

• Profane Elements:  Though Disney offers great theatrical shows, we were shocked at the content and message of the “Villains” show.  The star of the show is Hades along with his two side-kicks Pain and Panic.  Other co-stars included villains from several Disney films all of which sought to “sell” the audience that villains aren’t so bad.  The performance included the song “Welcome to the Underworld” and a skit on the worship of YZMA.  The show glamorized, humorized, and minimized evil in a way that is inappropriate for young audiences.

• Spiritual Content:  Each stateroom includes a Bible.  As for the cruise itself, the Dream is about as spiritual as a Disney theme park, not so much.

• Sexual Content:  Disney cruises are safe on this front.  The worst thing will be what you see on the sun decks.

• Smoking:  Designated smoking areas are few and far between, a welcomed feature relative to other cruise lines.  However, smoking is permitted on stateroom verandas which can lead to unpleasant smoke wafting into your room.

• Alcohol/Drugs:   While family friendly, alcohol is prevalent on Disney cruises.  On the Dream, there are nine (9) bars and countless Disney servers encouraging passengers to buy umbrella drinks on the pool and sun decks resulting in a fair share of drunks on board.

• Gambling:  Disney gets high marks for having no casinos.  Families can instead engage in wholesome bingo.

So is a Disney Cruise worth it?

If you have limited vacation time and you want to be able to combine adult time, family time, and kid fun all into one then a Disney cruise can accomplish that for you.

If I were going as a couple or single person I would not choose the Disney cruise.  The ship is full of children which can be overwhelming at times.  We got bowled over at lunch, on the stairs, in the hallways, by enthusiastic children that were running everywhere and not looking where they were going.  We also had children outside our hallway that ran up and down at all hours of the day and night.

It is expensive and there is the feeling that you must do it all which did not leave much time to relax.  (We recommend taking at least a 5 day cruise because we were exhausted after the 4 day one)

However, after cruising with Premier Christian Cruises and with the Disney Cruise Lines we would choose Premier every time!

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