Ten Reasons to Take a Disney Cruise
As my family begins talking about a next Disney vacation, the Disney cruise line is coming out on top. We've taken one Disney Cruise already and were big fans of the experience. In this post, I'll share why a Disney Cruise can be just as enjoyable as visiting Walt Disney World.
Reason One: Convenient to Walt Disney World and Disneyland
At least some Disney cruise ships always depart from Port Canaveral (about an hour away from Orlando, FL), and somewhere in California (It was the Port of Los Angeles, sometimes the Port of Long Beach, but recently moved to the Port of San Diego). This makes adding a Disneyland or Walt Disney World vacation to your cruise quite easy. When our family went, we did 4 nights at Walt Disney World (a park a day), and a 4 night cruise. It was the best of both worlds. Look for "Land and Sea" package promotions on the Disney websites.
Reason Two: Family-Oriented Cabins
You'll find the usual cabin types on Disney cruises (inside, outside, and veranda) but you will also find family cabins, which while not quite suites, do take into consideration a lot of the things families might find desirable.
A family cabin will have two bathrooms, for example, on with a shower and a sink and one with a toilet and a sink so that family members can get ready at the same time. It will also have a bed and a pullout couch and pull-down bunk. A blackout curtain can divide the room into two separate sleeping areas. And connecting cabins can accommodate larger families.
Reason Three: Quintessential Cruising
Disney cruise ships took design cues from the ocean liners of old, from the paint job on the hull, to the teak panels on the promenade. The ships are definitely not old, and have many modern features, but the overall style harkens back to days of luxury transatlantic cruises on steam-powered ships.
Reason Four: Dining Rotation
Like many cruise lines, you will rotate your main dining room each night. You do have the option not to go to the main dining room and instead catch a quick bite at several other locations aboard the ship as well, but with main dining included in your fare, you'd be missing out. And you aren't limited on what you can order. If you want to try two different entrees and have a dessert for both your appetizer and your actual dessert, you can. And it's all included.
But the best part, in my opinion, and the part I wasn't excited about until I realized how great it is, is that your servers rotate with you. So you will always be seated at a table with the same people, and you'll always be served by the same servers. This meant we knew them by name and they knew us by name. This meant they had our beverages of choice ready and waiting for us when we sat down because they knew our order. Toward the end, it meant they could recommend dishes we would probably like based on our tastes.
AND they were Disney Cast Members, so of course the level of service was out of this world. I remember their names to this day (Helen and Itza). They were fabulous.
Reason Five: Castaway Cay
I'm not sure how Castaway Cay got pushed so far down on this list, but I suppose I was trying to account for what people look for in a cruise before throwing in the magical extras. Castaway Cay is definitely a magical extra. It's an island in the Bahamas that Disney owns, and almost any cruise out of Port Canaveral involves a stop there. When I say it's a Jimmy Buffet song come to life, I am not kidding. There is a kid's club with their own waterpark, a family beach, an adult beach, a cookout tent, biking trails, crab races, a bar at the end of a pier, and so much more. We LOVED our day there. My daughter, who was only 4 at the time still asks to go back to "Disney Beach".
AND Disney is working on another Disney-owned port of call in the Bahamas on the island of Eleuthera. Imagineer Joe Rohde is heading up this project and says it will focus on the ecology and history of the area, and honestly, I can't wait to see what this becomes.
Reason Six: Muster Rarely
Rarely if ever on a Disney cruise do you have to get one another boat to get to shore. Disney has tried wherever it can to make it so you can walk right off the boat and be at your destination.
Reason Seven: First Run Disney Movies
In addition to a nightly show which could be anything from a Disney stage show to a comedian, there is a theater on every Disney ship that plays Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars movies, including those popular in theaters at the moment.
Reason Eight: Fireworks at Se
Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line permitted to have fireworks at sea, which is generally part of your Pirate Night celebration (toward the end of the cruise), and it's a great show! You can see other cruise ships gathering around to also take in the show, but aboard the Disney Cruise, you get the music and lights too.
Reason Nine: Actually Not Crowded
A Disney Cruise can be a welcome opposite to the theme parks, especially when it comes to crowds. The ships are not overly large and generally can hold about 2500 guests compared to the 5-7 thousand some cruise lines will pack in. While the ship doesn't feel empty, it does feel "just right".
Reason Ten: Holidays
Disney goes all out for the holidays and the cruise line is no exception. You'll find meet and greets with Disney characters on every Disney cruise, but on holidays you'll also see the ship and Castaway Cay decorated in holiday fashion, and sometimes there are special themed holiday cruises.
That's ten reasons and a lot of things (stabilizers to reduce motion sickness, the aquaduck, the shipboard interactive mystery, the horn that plays "When You Wish Upon a Star", tequila tasting, the kid's club...) didn't even make it in. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Disney cruise and hope to make it back soon.
Have you cruised with Disney? Or do you have questions about cruising? Share in our comments or on our Facebook page! Until then, we'll see you next week!
