The information on this page was shared with me by Jeff Evernham in October 2007. I thought he had a lot of really useful observations and ideas about how to get the most out of a Disney cruise, and he kindly gave me permission to publish his article on MouseSavers.com.

Introduction

There are a number of things worth knowing before going on a Disney cruise that first-time cruisers might not know, or might miss in the information Disney provides. While there is so much going on that you couldn’t possibly expect them to cover it all, there are a few things worth pointing out so that you don’t miss them. This article intends to do just that, as well as providing a number of pointers from our experiences.

Our family recently returned from our second Disney cruise. Disney is the only cruise line we’ve ever sailed, so we don’t have anything to compare it to. But I will say that both were absolutely tremendous experiences and we highly recommend Disney Cruise Line. It’s expensive, but Disney does a tremendous job and the value for the cost is actually very good when you factor in everything that is included.

Our two cruises were the four night Bahamas cruise (Nassau, day at sea, Castaway Cay) and the seven night Western Caribbean cruise (Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Castaway Cay, and two days at sea).

Staterooms

If you’ve never done a cruise before, keep in mind that the interior staterooms have no window, which means there is no external light coming in to wake you up in the morning or give you a sense of what time it is. That might be just what you’re looking for (it makes for good sleeping!), but if you’re anxious to get up & go in the morning, make sure you set a wake-up call!

The staterooms all have a beverage cooler (not a refrigerator, so it keeps things cool not cold) with limited storage space. They also come with a hairdryer.

Fire codes prevent cruises from having irons in staterooms, but irons are available in the laundry area.

Excursions/When in Port

Since many of the excursions have limited availability, Disney encourages you to sign up as early as possible. I’d recommend doing this if there are excursions that you are sure you want to do, as some of the popular ones do sell out. However, keep in mind that excursions are non-refundable, and your interest in a particular excursion may depend on the weather. 

If you’re uncertain, ask the staff at the excursion desk if the excursion you’re interested in sells out often, and how many openings are still available (for instance, they told us that 122 of 160 spaces were booked).

We found that there was a lack of detailed information about excursions available prior to our trip, and the best information (and an opportunity to ask questions) was available on the ship. When you embark, go to the excursion desk and take a flyer – this lists all of the available excursions, the times, and the costs in one convenient place.

A few observations and tips for the port days:

• A limited number of strollers are available from guest services while in port.  They are free with a deposit. Since they are limited, don’t wait until most people have left the ship to ask for one.

• While in port is a great time to take advantage of the ship’s amenities (like the pool) with minimal crowds. From our observations, most people try to leave the ship in the morning and return in the afternoon. If you want to enjoy the pool when it’s nearly empty, reverse your schedule so you’re on the ship in the morning and in port during the afternoon. Depending on the ship’s arrival and departure times, this is easier to do at some ports than others.

• You don’t have to use Disney’s excursions, but generally we would recommend doing so – it’s much easier. Disney doesn’t charge much of a premium (for two we did, only $4 on an $85 excursion and $1 on a $38 excursion) and you know you’re working with a reputable operator.  Good reasons to do it on your own are if the excursion sells out, you want to do it at different times than what Disney offers, or you decide you want to do it once you’re off the ship.

Castaway Cay

“Cay” is pronounced “Key” – so unless you want to sound like first-timers like we did, remember this both for Castaway Cay and for Parrot Cay (one of the onboard restaurants).

If you like Jack Sparrow, make sure you pay attention to when you can get your picture with him in front of the Flying Dutchman – it’s a really unique opportunity!

There is a large play structure in the water for the kids to climb on. However, it is closed during low tide so the kids can’t get hurt while jumping off, so depending on the tide it could be closed most of the day.

If you’re going to go snorkeling, and want pictures, I’d recommend packing an underwater camera for the cruise. You can take your leftover photos of your kids playing in the water or on the beach.

If you’re the adventurous type and don’t want to just lie around on the beach, take advantage of the package excursions at Castaway Cay that include snorkel equipment, float/raft rental, and a one-hour bike rental. They are not available once you leave the ship (i.e., you have to pay the individual price for each activity, which will cost more). This is especially true if you’re doing the stingray encounter; the incremental price for the package is a good deal.

Movies and TV

The TV in your room is mostly Disney movies (and of course the Disney channel) – especially classics but some more recent ones as well. It also carries a few major channels like CNN, as well as ABC and ESPN (both owned by Disney).

I was pleasantly surprised that the on-ship theater shows current releases as well as classics. If a Disney movie opens on a Friday while you’re on the ship, they’ll probably have a midnight showing Friday “morning” as well as another one Friday evening. If there’s a recent release, they’ll definitely show it during the cruise. They also seem to show recent releases to DVD as well.

The new “Ariel View” large TV by the Goofy pool will also show movies, and it’s great for kids who want to watch from the pool or pool deck.

Crowds

On our second cruise, the ship was full (more than 2,600 passengers and only one available stateroom in the entire ship).  Disney does a marvelous job of crowd control and it didn’t feel overly crowded. Sure, there were lines for some of the popular events and the swimming areas were always full (the pools and the swimming lagoon in Castaway Cay), but we were amazed how it didn’t feel crowded.

Knowing What's Going On & Planning Your Day

Read your Navigator, which is the daily newsletter distributed to each stateroom. When Disney provides turndown service at night (usually while you’re at dinner), they place a Navigator in your stateroom for the next day’s activities. Study the Navigator carefully, as it’s the best source for what’s going on. By studying it closely, you’ll be able to plan your day, and you’ll know the hours of operation of  everything you need, from the excursion desk to the restaurants.

Be sure to check with Guest Services if any activities require sign-up. For instance, Tea with Wendy (7-night cruise) 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.

It’s a good idea to bring your Navigator with you wherever you go. If you find that you don’t have a Navigator handy, you can always get another one from Guest Services, but apparently not until they have been delivered to the staterooms (around 8:00 pm). They are also posted in various convenient areas (such as outside The Stack at midship on the pool deck) so you can find what you need without having to go all the way down to Guest Services.

At various points during the cruise you’ll want to do something – register for an excursion, reserve something at the spa, book your next cruise, etc. Make sure you know the times these services are available. (This is listed in the Navigator.) The lines are rarely long, but if you plan carefully you can probably find a time when there is virtually no wait, saving yourself 10 minutes or so. Also, you can usually get information from the Guest Services desk when the other areas are closed, so if you’re trying to find something out, ask them rather than waiting until the other services open again.

Also, it’s very convenient to call Guest Services to get a quick answer. If you’re up on the pool deck and trying to decide between two activities, find a courtesy phone and ask Guest Services what the two activities are like and they’ll be happy to tell you.

Oceaneer Club and Lab

My kids thought this was the greatest part of the Disney cruise. There was so much to do and great hands-on organized activities going on all the time.  The Navigator will tell you what’s happening when, and where your kids are at any given time.

Signing in and out is a relatively easy process considering what needs to be done to protect the children. However, it isn’t always a quick process so 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.

Disney makes it clear there are no exceptions to the age groups for the club and lab, although I’ve been told that they will be flexible if your child’s birthday is within three months of the cutoff age… and they have space. Disney only lets a certain number of children in each age group on any given cruise to ensure that there is enough space for each child in each area. This means they will not let you book a cruise with your child if the Club or Lab already has its allotment in that age group.

If your children are eight years old or older, they can be given the ability to sign themselves in and out on their own. Remember that many activities take place outside of the Club/Lab areas. Check the Navigator to see if your children will be elsewhere at the time you want to sign them out – for instance, they could be up on the deck playing basketball. Using your Navigator to plan will save you a wasted trip to the club or lab. 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 if they’re moving from one place to another. This time is labeled “Transition” on the Navigator.

You can keep your child signed in to the Oceaneer Club and/or Lab 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 beeper with you. It will work on the beach. 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.

Dining

Rule #1 for eating on a Disney Cruise – don’t worry!  There is ample food all the time and you won’t miss a meal. There are always plenty of options for food, but check your Navigator to know which restaurants are open when; certain restaurants will be closed for special events on certain days.

Your dining arrangements (your restaurant rotation schedule, and whether you have the early or late seating) are assigned before you cruise. You can determine your restaurant rotation by looking at your meal ticket.  It will tell you what seating you have, when your character breakfast is (7-night cruises) and your restaurant rotation using letters where P = Parrot Cay, L = Lumiere’s, and A = Animator’s Palate.

If you go to your assigned restaurant for dinner each night, your servers will be the same for every night of your cruise. While not a big deal on a 3-night cruise, on the longer cruises they’ll get to know you – and even have your “usual” beverage waiting for you at your table.

If you are on a 7-night cruise, you will eat at each restaurant at least twice. Make sure you attend your first assigned seating for Animator’s Palate. The coloring of the restaurant décor and the “show” by the servers only occurs the first night; they don’t repeat it on the second night at Animator’s Palate because you’ve already seen it.

We definitely recommend doing Palo (pronounced Pal-oh not Pale-oh) on one of the nights. We almost didn’t because of the extra cost but it was well worth it, for the cuisine, the atmosphere, and the chance for a nice dinner without the kids. Palo is very popular (book it as soon as you pay for your cruise, if you can) and Disney limits reservations to one per stateroom, although you can ask to be waitlisted for a 2nd night if there is availability.

If you want to change your seating or your restaurant rotation, or make reservations for Palo, I’d recommend doing that as soon as you embark if you weren’t able to make arrangements beforehand.

There is some flexibility in dining. If you can’t make your seating, or have a favorite restaurant and would like to deviate from your rotation, contact Guest Services. It’s possible that they can accommodate you (for instance, someone may be dining at Palo that night). Just note that you won’t get the same servers that night. Also, although it’s not well-advertised, Topsider’s is usually open for an order-from-the-menu dinner.

If you are served something you don’t like – no problem, they’ll bring you something else. And if you want to indulge, they’ll be happy to bring you two desserts! In true Disney style, if you have a special event you are celebrating, make sure guest services and/or your servers know. You will get appropriate special treatment (usually a special dessert, and perhaps some singing).

Parrot Cay (pronounced “Key”) and Topsider’s/Beach Blanket Buffet have the same food selection, particularly for breakfast. Topsider’s/Beach Blanket Buffet is a true serve yourself buffet, while Parrot Cay has servers who bring your beverages. Also, you can eat outdoors at Topsider’s/Beach Blanket Buffet.

Lunch is served the day of embarkation, and you will get breakfast the day of disembarkation, although that isn’t clear from the brochures. In fact, you’ll have an assigned restaurant and time for breakfast for disembarkation, but you can also choose to eat at Topsider’s instead (just realize it’s a much smaller buffet than during the cruise – welcome back to the real world!).

Kids' Meals

If you have kids in the Oceaneer Club or Lab, they will be served lunch and dinner if they are in the Club/Lab at the appropriate time. This is most often done at Topsider’s but can also be from Pinocchio’s. Two words of warning here – one is that they usually don’t serve the kids dinner on the first night of the cruise (the day of embarkation). So if you get Palo reservations for that night, you’ll need to feed your kids yourself. But it’s easy, all you have to do is get food for the kids before or after your reservation from one of the self-serve restaurants on the top deck (Topsider’s, Goofy’s Gallery, Pluto’s Dog House, or Pinocchio’s). Two is to be aware of when the kids are served; we found that mealtimes came too early for our liking if we left our kids in the Club/Lab.

Special “Meals”

On the night of the Pirates In the Caribbean party, there will be a food and dessert buffet on the top deck after the party. Although we were full we always managed to find room.

Also, on 7-night cruises, there is a late-night dessert buffet in Lumiere’s. No excuses for an unsatisfied sweet tooth! Watch your Navigator for this treat.

These events were two of the few occasions where there was a significant wait during our cruise. You should either be prepared to be first in line, or wait until the line dies down about 20-30 minutes after the buffet opens. Don’t worry, they will NOT run out of food!

Characters

From our experience, the Disney Cruise was a phenomenal way to meet characters. The scheduled greetings are an excellent way to get pictures of your children in matching costumes (i.e., wearing their Snow White costume in a picture with Snow White) without having to wear the costume all day, as they would have to at one of the theme parks. Plus, there is a level of interaction on a Disney Cruise that you just can’t get at the parks – there are chances to dance with characters on stage.

If you’re on a 7-night cruise, don’t miss your 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!

You will see most of the popular characters at some point or another on the Disney Cruise. Not all greeting times are published in the Navigator, so if you want to get every photo opportunity, there is a phone number you can call that has a recording of the schedule.

The lines for character greetings usually started 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.

Most all of the character greetings will include a Disney professional photographer, so if your photo doesn’t turn out you can still buy a memento from Shutters on Deck 4.

The princess gathering is a good opportunity for photos with Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beaty), and Belle (but not Snow White). Note that they are individual photos (not a group shot) and the Disney professional photographers do not show up for this particular greeting.

When there are back-to-back characters scheduled, keep in mind that by the time it’s your turn, the character’s shift may be over and you might be greeting someone else. Usually at that time, there are some in the line who are waiting for the next character, so the cast members will ask “is anyone in line to see Mulan, before Peter Pan gets here?”

Attire

Of course a jacket is recommended for Palo. But did you know about all of the other theme nights? Some of them took us by surprise, but you may want to pack appropriately to join in the fun. For instance (and the attire may vary by length of cruise):

• There’s a formal night, where Mickey and Minnie don a tux and a graceful evening gown.
• There’s a pirate night, where everyone is encouraged to dress like a pirate.  At least bring your eyepatch and pirate hat or bandanna!
• On 7-night cruises there’s a semi-formal night.

The formal and semi-formal nights are very nice affairs, but you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to don a tux. Make sure you dress nicely, but you won’t be refused service (and you won’t be the only ones) if you’re not interested.

Bring your kids’ Disney costumes. The cruise is a great opportunity to get pictures of your girls dressed as Belle with the real Belle herself, without having to wear the costume all day. Mickey and Minnie wear different outfits each night and we saw that many Disney regulars have their children dress to match the outfits each day, so they can get photographs dressed like Mickey and Minnie. One of the Mickey/Minnie photo ops is in their traditional outfits, which is again a good time for Mickey ears and Minnie costumes for your kids.

Fitness, Games, and Other Activities

The few times I went to the fitness center, it was busy but usable. However, if you’re looking for a treadmill you may have to wait a while, there aren’t a lot of them and they are popular. I’d suggest getting there early. An alternative is the walking/running track on Deck 4 that runs around the outside of the ship. It’s usable but there are some close quarters, and it’s not protected from the weather so it’s not very usable if it rains – you’ll get wet and the deck will get slippery. Portions can also be closed during the cruise when they’re performing maintenance, in which case you just have to reverse direction.

I was surprised at how difficult it was to figure out what sports/games were available on the ship. We couldn’t get a good answer ahead of time. The top deck has a couple of basketball courts, and the pool decks have ping-pong and foosball.  You can play shuffleboard on Deck 4. And, in the adults-only lounge on the top deck, chess is available.

One of the activities you’ll see on the Navigator is “Friends of Bill W.”  At the time we were unaware that that phrase is essentially a code for Alcoholics Anonymous (Bill W. was a cofounder of AA).  Since alcohol is available on the ship, it’s nice to see that Disney makes meetings available to those who would like to participate.

Clocks

Relax, you’re on vacation!  Seriously, there are not many clocks on board, so without a watch it’s hard to know what time it is. This is important because there are many scheduled activities offered throughout the day. If you want to participate, or know when you need to take your kids to the Oceaneer Club/Lab, you’ll either need to bring a watch or frequently ask people what time it is.

Communication

Cell phone service is available on the Disney ships through most major providers, as a form of international roaming (so it costs a lot). The ship must be 8 to 10 miles out to sea before you can access cell service. Service is limited to the staterooms. Common areas do not have cell access. You must contact your provider before the cruise and arrange for access.

Cell phones will work while in most ports, but almost all plans will carry an extra charge at foreign ports (call your cell phone carrier for prices). You will need to arrange in advance for international roaming with your provider.

You may want to bring your cell phone just to use it during embarkation/debarkation from the home port, especially if you want to rendezvous or keep tabs on others in your party.

You can always use your stateroom phone (even while at sea) but at $7/minute you’ll want to save that for emergencies only.

Walkie-talkies can also be a great asset if your group will be splitting up and I’d recommend bringing them. They can be great at the ports and can even be helpful on the ship, as there is no easy way to find out where the rest of your group is once you split up. And there are enough activities going on that there will be times where you’ll want to split up!

Wireless internet service is available on the ship, in most staterooms and in various public "hot spots." This costs $0.75 per minute, or you can use a pre-purchase plans (on the Wonder, it's $27.50 for 50 minutes, $40 for 100 minutes, $75 for 250 minutes; on the Magic, it's $55 for 100 minutes, $100 for 250 minutes, $150 for 500 minutes).

Computer terminals are available in the Promenade on Deck 3 and the Cove on Deck 9 if you don’t want to bring your laptop. Prices are the same as the wireless plans. They also have printers hooked up to those terminals so if you need to print something (like boarding passes for your return flight) you can, for $0.25 per page.

Cameras and Photos

Always have a camera with you. You don’t know when Disney Magic will happen.

There are Disney photographers who show up throughout your cruise, especially around characters and on Castaway Cay – and they’ll take your photo upon embarkation. The photos they take are put on display and available for purchase on the ship. There are also numerous “scene” photo opportunities with the captain or various Disney-themed or cruise ship backdrops. Many people use these as opportunities for family portraits or for a Christmas photo. Formal nights are a particularly popular way to get a family portrait with everyone dressed their best.

The photos are put on display at Shutters. Unlike the parks, there is no PhotoPass on the ship but it’s pretty easy to find your photos although it does get crowded at peak times. Try to decide during the cruise what photos you want (go ahead and purchase them) and throw away the ones you don’t want; if you’re on a 7-night cruise you’ll have to sift through large stacks of photos to find the ones you want.

You can buy individual prints. They also offer discounted photo packages if you plan to purchase a number of prints. You can purchase the packages at any time, but they are also refundable if you don’t end up buying as many prints as you planned, so there really isn’t any risk in buying a package.

Fireworks

Did you know there will be fireworks on the ship in the evenings?  Nothing amazing, but a unique experience - Disney is the only cruise line in the world authorized to launch fireworks from the ship.

Graduation Ceremony

At the end of the cruise, there is a “graduation” ceremony that the kids put on for the adults, that includes each child receiving a Disney cruise T-shirt and a graduation cap. If your children don’t participate for any reason, you can probably get a T-shirt for your kids by going to the guest services desk and requesting one.

A Unique Memento

Castaway Cay has its own post office, so your stop there is a great opportunity to send postcards to your friends. All of you scrapbookers out there will want to bring an extra postcard or two to mail to yourself; they’ll receive the Castaway Cay postmark!

Tips

Disney provides suggested tip amounts for the cast 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), head server (in charge of the dinner experience for all guests), and host/hostess (who takes care of your room). You can either provide these tips directly during your last dinner on the cruise (or at the assigned breakfast on the day of debarkation), or you can add the amount to your stateroom bill. Guest Services will provide you with cards and envelopes so you can still deliver the tip in person.

If you dine at Palo, you need to tip your server separately (he/she will bring a bill at the end of the meal for the $10 per person charge, any alcohol, and a tip).

All of the cruise staff stays at sea for an extended period (most of them are at sea six months, then receive two months off) so they appreciate calling cards as a special thank-you. These are also great on-the-spot tips if a cast member provides you special service.

Castaway Club

If it’s your first cruise and you’re particularly observant, you may notice something called the “Castaway Club.” This is a status that Disney gives to repeat cruisers. It includes priority check-in, earlier online reservations for Palo and excursions, and a few other little perks like a special trading pin, small keepsakes waiting for you in your stateroom, and a special meet and greet with the ship officers. Nothing major, but it’s a nice way Disney says “thank you” to repeat customers.

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