What to Expect on a Disney Cruise

Disney Cruises are among the most popular family destinations.  But is a Disney cruise worth it?  We highlight the good and bad of the Disney Cruise Line for you to decide.

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Disney cruise staterooms positives

• Bibles in each stateroom! (check the drawer in your bedside table).
• Stars above the bunk beds that featured Peter Pan with Wendy, John, and Michael – our boys loved the stars.
• Spacious staterooms with plenty of storage including large drawers, closets, and mini-frig.
• Bathrooms are split in two with toilet and shower each having their own door.
• Verandas are available on most state room and families with adjoining rooms can have the balcony partition opened up.

Disney cruise stateroom negatives

• It’s hard to enjoy the fresh air given Disney’s policy of allowing smoking on stateroom balconies (our room would fill with second-hand smoke if our sliding door was open).
• Disney has a frustrating light switch in each room.  In order to turn on your light you must insert your room key.  It took us forever to figure out how to get the lights on and I kept “losing” my key because I would forget that it was in the light slot by the door.  The light feature was extremely annoying – I just wanted to turn on the LIGHTS!

Disney cruise good food

• Exceptional wait staff go above and beyond to accommodate guests (our dinner server overheard us raving about a prior night appetizer and went out of his way to the other restaurant to bring us all the off menu appetizer).
• ROOM SERVICE!  They deliver until 1AM  (especially important for late night munchies or for a healthy alternative to the more convenient burgers, pizza, and ice cream).

Disney cruise bad food

• Disney’s most accessible restaurant serves up traditional fast food options.
• Disney’s Cabanas Café has the largest selection of good and healthy food options, but has very limited hours of operation forcing passengers to choice between fast food or room service.
• Castaway Cay food can be really bad in comparison to what is served on the ship – plan an early lunch in case you need to get back on board for a do-over lunch.

Disney cruise activities and entertainment highlights

• Fun entertainment for kids of all ages which included: It’s a small World Nursery (3 months – 3yrs), Oceaneer’s Club (3-10yr old), Edge (11-13), Vibe (14-17).
• The Aqua Duck water coaster is unique to Disney Cruise Line (as of this writing) and is by far the biggest outdoor attraction for most youngsters.
• They give out Pirate Bandanas on Pirate night so everyone can be dressed up.
• Professional actors and dancers do an amazing job.
• Adult pools and adult only spaces to get a break from the swarm of kids on the main decks – though we rarely saw these spaces used.

Disney cruise activities and entertainment negatives

• The basketball sport court, mini golf, and foosball close to guest at 6 PM – our boys loved being at the sports deck and found it frustrating that it closed so early!
• With no sports activities available at night, our boys wanted to visit the for-a-fee arcade.  If you’re going to have an arcade, do you really need to charge to play?
• The Villain theatrical show could be scary for some kids and did not promote Christian values or Disney magic.
• Disney closes many events in order to steer you to the entertainment and events they want you to attend.  Our boys wanted to play longer at the Sports Deck but they would close it around dinner time (6pm) and it did not re-open for the rest of the night.  Our boys did not participate in the Kids Clubs because their ages did not allow them to be together that meant they had to find other entertainment on the ship.
• The Kids Club ages are a bit too broad and restrictive.  The Oceaneer’s Club is for ages 3 years old to 10 years old.  Who wants to have a 3 year old in the same room with a TEN year old?  There needs to be a 4-7 year old age group and 8–11 age group.  The Edge can be for the Tweens and young teens 12-14. Vibe can be 15-17 year olds.
• FEE for the It’s a Small World Nursery (3months – 3 yrs) – We can understand making the nursery BYOB/D (bring your own bottle and diapers), but is there really a need to charge a fee.  That is not necessary and should be removed since you pay so much for the cruise EVERYTHING on the ship that involves the kids should be included.

Castaway Cay highlights

• Castaway Cay gets high marks for being the only (as of this writing) cruise line to dock at their private island.  While the walk or tram ride takes a few minutes, being able to board the ship without waiting for a ferry is a great convenience.
• The water slides and play area keep children entertained.
• Adults without children in tow can enjoy a kid-free beach on the far side of the island.
• Those that have had enough sun can relax in a hammock or play games in the shade.
• The island is well managed with plenty of chairs and umbrellas (for the early riser).

Castaway Cay downers

• Cay food was not up to the standard of the food onboard.
• If you didn’t bring your own snorkel gear, plan to pay.  Didn’t bring your own bicycle, you’ll have to rent one.  When you pay as much as you do for a Disney cruise it would be nice to have Castaway Cay be a truly free and relaxing experience.  Disney, be the leader of the cruise industry and offer your private island experiences for FREE!
• There are no available wet suits on Castaway Cay.  If you travel during a cool season, prepare for chilly waters if you’ve not packed your own wet suit.

Cruise operations positives

• Disney staff is very friendly.
• Efficient embarkation and debarkation.
• Disney cruises seek to mimic the magic experienced at a Disney theme park.  The ships are classically styled with a Disney touch of décor featuring Disney animation throughout the ship and virtual pictures with computer animated scenes.  And it wouldn’t be a Disney cruise without ample opportunities to meet and greet Disney characters.

Cruise operations negatives

• The cost of parking at the Disney parking deck is quite pricey (75 dollars for 4 days 3 nights).
• NO hand sanitizer dispensers – this was a HUGE disappointment.  Most other cruise ships have automatic hand dispensers everywhere.  Disney has a large child population on the ship and we all know kids have a TON of germs.  There needed to be sanitizing stations all over the ship.  Disney did hand out hand wipes right before a meal but that is NOT enough.
• Not enough staff at the Customer Service Counter.  I had to visit customer service 4 times (our youngest son kept losing or deactivating his key card).  On several occasion there were at least 20 people in line and only 4 people working and our wait was at least 30 minutes.

Lots of pros, several cons.

Is Disney Cruise Line right for you?  Let us know.

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