A lot of people have been asking, “How was the Disney Cruise?!”
I told them I’d write a blog post about it soon. There’s a lot to cover, and there’s a lot I won’t cover because we just didn’t have time to do it all!
Those who read my blog know I try to be very transparent, especially with finances. I’ll try to give you an idea of how much everything costs in case you decide to sail with Disney Cruise Line.
Which ship did you sail on?
We were on the Disney Wish for 3 nights and 4 days. The Disney Wish had its maiden voyage in the summer of 2022. It’s currently Disney’s newest ship.
This was our itinerary for our cruise:
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We actually didn’t disembark at Nassau in an effort to make the most of our time on the ship. We got off the ship at Castaway Cay (pronounced “key”).
What is Castaway Cay?
Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. It has an interesting history. Before Disney bought the island, the island was used as a base of operations by Pablo Escobar (of cartel and Narcos [Netflix] fame). If you run the Castaway Cay 5k, you actually run on the airstrip he used.
This island is worth getting off at (as opposed to staying on the ship). It’s basically a really long beach, and there are plenty of beach chairs. The water is clear, and occasionally, we saw schools of fish swimming around our legs.
For those who want to be more active, there are other paid activities you can do (e.g. stingray encounter, snorkeling, biking, etc.). You can also run the Castaway Cay 5k (for free). The 5k is no longer organized, so you just start and finish at the 5k sign when you want and pick up your medal at the finish. I ran it with my friend Eric, but we didn’t know we were supposed to run the loop twice, so we were about a mile short.
How much did it cost?
For 2 adults and 2 children (7yo and 4yo), the cruise itself was $2,974.76. To be clear, we got an inside stateroom (no window), but the room was still really nice. We decided to book with a travel agent (Michelle Shumate of Fairy Godmother Travel), and the experience was awesome. She provided us with a lot of information and was responsive to all of our questions, so we felt totally prepared. She provided us with an onboard credit as well. I would highly recommend her if you are booking a trip to Disney / Disney Cruise. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and you always have an expert to answer all your questions and email you about important things. (UPDATE: I joined Fairy Godmother Travel because of my positive experience using Michelle as a travel agent (3 times). I can now help you book travel too!)
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We paid a $500 deposit upfront and paid the remaining balance a little before the trip.
The room, food, room service, and entertainment is included in the price. Gratuities were an additional $174 ($14.50 per person per day). They give you a sheet with perforated slips for the head server ($15), server ($57), assistant server ($45), and stateroom host ($57) with the preset amounts. You can always tip more if you want. They provide envelopes for each person, and you put the slip into the envelope and give it to each person on the last night.
Alcoholic beverages, special drinks, photography, excursions, internet, and special activities are not included.
I think we ended up spending about $700-$800 on extras. I paid $24 twice for two 24-hour periods of internet (for work). We paid ~$200 for our daughter to do the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We paid ~$230 for unlimited access to all the photos Disney took for us. $174 was for the gratuities.
We also put a $250 refundable deposit on our next Disney Cruise. If you put a deposit down while on the cruise, you get 10% off your next cruise if you sail within 24 months. If you don’t book, the deposit is refundable.
All in all, I think we spent a little under $4,000 on things related to the cruise for our family of 4.
How was the food?
Overall, the food was excellent. Generally, we did breakfast and lunch on our own time, but we attended the scheduled dinners at the themed restaurants: Marvel, Arendelle, and 1923. We often ate on the 11th deck at Marceline Market, which is an expansive buffet.
The servers at dinner were excellent. On the last night, I wasn’t feeling great so I stayed in my room. The server walked all the way over to my room and delivered the food to me. Room service is free anyway, but this was our dinner server.
I learned from a friend that you can order any entree from any restaurant, even if it’s not on the menu. I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass from Arendelle a couple times. You can also order as many entrees, desserts, and appetizers as you want. It’s all included!
There are two seatings for dinner every night. We had the earlier 5:45 seating. You can show up later than 5:45 if you want, but I would try to get there before 6:30 so they have time to set up for the later seating.
Dinner was quite the experience at Marvel and Arendelle. At Marvel, it’s an interactive experience. At Arendelle, there’s live entertainment in the middle of the dining room, and some of the characters walk around and greet you during dinner.
I didn’t take many food pics, but it was good!
How was the service?
The service was excellent. Our stateroom host cleaned our room every day, opened and closed the sofa bed and ceiling bed, cleaned our bathroom, and gave us new towels.
We did room service a couple times, and they were always pretty fast. The dinner servers were very attentive and put in a lot of effort.
Overall, we experienced the level of service you would expect from Disney.
How was the entertainment?
Each night, there were two shows. If you had the early dinner, you can go to the later show (I think it was at 8:30). If you had the later dinner, you could go to the earlier show.
The shows were top notch Broadway-style shows. The first night was Disney Seas the Adventure, the second night was The Little Mermaid, and the last night was Aladdin. For me, these shows were one of the highlights of the trip. I would not miss these. I don’t have any photos or videos of the shows because any sort of recording is not allowed.
What do the kids do?
On Disney cruises, there is the Disney Oceaneer Club, which is basically a kids club (no adults allowed). They give the kids a wristband to check in and check out. You can drop off your kids and pick them up as late as midnight. The area is huge, and there are plenty of different rooms for the kids to explore and play. There are lots of Disney staff entertaining and playing with the kids.
We didn’t get to drop them off as often as they liked because there were just so many things to do.
The day we were docked at Nassau, the kids played in the pools on the main deck. We also got to try out the Aqua Mouse, which is a giant water slide that soars above the periphery of the ship.
How is luggage handled?
For the boarding process, Disney will have already mailed you luggage tags. When you arrive at the port (Cruise Terminal #8 for Disney at Port Canaveral), a porter will help you with the bags. You leave it with the porter on the sidewalk there, and they will magically appear in front of your stateroom door sometime before 4pm.
For the disembarking process, you will need to have your bags packed by 10:30pm the night before. You leave the bags with a different tag (provided in your stateroom) outside your stateroom. You can keep small bags or any bags you need with you.
How are the rooms?
We had an inside stateroom. It wasn’t huge, but it was well-designed, especially the bathroom. There was a small combination tub/shower in the bathroom. The handle for the shower had two knobs, one to control the temperature and one to control the water pressure. The glass shower door opened inside and out. There were two levels of light in the bathroom (night and regular) so you don’t disturb others if you have to get up in the middle of the night. There is a queen bed, a sofa bed, and a pull-down bed that your host packs and unpacks for you every day while you’re out. There’s a TV in each room with Disney movies and shows. There’s space to put your clothes and space under the bed to leave your luggage. There’s a safe to keep your valuables in.
Some of our friends with bigger families had adjoining rooms. The larger rooms also have a split bathroom, so one person can shower while another person uses the toilet.
I didn’t know, but it’s a thing to put your names on the doors with magnets. My wife made ours, but everyone has different styles or ways to do it.
Was it worth it?
Yes, to me, it was totally worth the experience and the memories for us and the kids. I think it will be something that the kids remember as a happy memory. I’ve also been on Royal Caribbean cruises, and they are nice too and a bit cheaper. I had a pleasant experience with both cruise lines. Since I have younger children, I think the Disney experience was worth paying the premium. The kids club is also a nice place to drop off your kids if you want some time without the kids.
Do you get to meet Disney characters?
Yes! There are many opportunities to meet many of the Disney characters and take pictures with them. They are all around the ship at different times, and some will also be part of your dinner entertainment.
I took more video than photos, so if you want to see more, find me on Instagram @realtordannylee and @danny_fairygodmothertravel and give me a follow. I do wish I took some more photos, but I was trying to enjoy my time there and enjoy the food.
I have a name, Danny! Don’t dehumanize me!
Lol! Sorry, you are now Humanized!