As we approach our 3rd Disney cruise, I’ve had a few people ask me “Is a Disney Cruise worth the money?” I can tell you that absolutely 100% yes. YES!
Then, comes the “why?” What makes a Disney Cruise so wonderful?
I’ve had two fabulous times aboard the Disney Dream, and can’t wait to experience the Disney Fantasy in a month.
13 Things that Make the Disney Cruise Worth It
Disney Service
Disney is known for its service. They roll out the red carpet, sprinkle the fairy dust, and make your vacation magical.
A lot of fun things happen on this staircase on the Disney Dream! The Merrytime Cruise (the Christmas themed cruises) have a fantastic tree lighting ceremony right on these steps!
Disney starts your cruise immediately by making you feel special. When you go onboard a Disney cruise ship, you are greeted by an announcement welcoming your family’s arrival and staff is lined up clapping for your family as you walk onto the boat. It’s a movie star entrance.
You even end your cruise with the same special treatment, as staff line up and wave goodbye to you with their Mickey hands as you disembark.
(Almost) All-Inclusive
While not everything is included – I mean, you do have to buy your own alcohol and movie snacks – the majority of things are included!
Your dinners, even soft drinks at dinner, are included unless you dine at one of the specialty reservation-only restaurants. There is all you can eat soft serve ice cream on the main pool deck! There are also soda fountains that are free on the pool deck.
Our favorite main pool deck attraction on the Disney Dream is the Aquaduck! It’s an awesome water coaster/slide that is super fun!
You don’t pay for any onboard entertainment, and that even includes the movie theatre!
They also offer 24/7 room service, which happens to be included. You can’t ask for anything better than having a Mickey ice cream bar up to your room before bed.
Kid and Teen Clubs
They also offer a kids club and a teen club. Also included. This alone makes the cruise worth it! It’s a kids club that your child will BEG to attend (mine sure did!) and you can enjoy some adult time!
The Kids Club has rooms upon rooms of themed play. This is the Disney Infinity room!
And don’t worry – the kids club is very secure. It takes a magic wristband and a password the parents set to check your child in and out.
The FOOD!
You rotate from dining room to dining room on a rotational dining schedule. By doing this, your servers rotate with you so that you have the same server every night. The servers that you will experience at dinner will go above and beyond for you – ensuring you like everything placed in front of you and that you are never left wanting anything else.
The Enchanted Garden is one of the dining rooms on rotation.
They even had a new card trick or magic trick for the kids every evening at dinner. The servers also remember your wants/dislikes – my son always had a Sprite waiting on him after the first night – complete with his name and Mickey drawn upon the lid!
My son’s cup was waiting for him at dinner!
The food itself is absolutely amazing. Some of the best food I have ever had! They have a wide variety to choose from as well, so there is something for everyone!
Castaway Cay
Castaway Cay (pronounced “key”) is Disney’s private Bahamian island. This is always one of my favorite stops. It will only be your cruise ship that is on the island during your day there.
It has great family areas including an awesome water slide. You can rent snorkeling gear, floats, or rafts. They have plenty of seating including some hammocks. Disney Cast Members will come to your seats if you want to order any drinks.
A beautiful stingray that came right up to us at Castaway Cay (on Serenity Bay, the adult section).
Castaway also has several small stores and a post office. You can send a postcard from the post office if you want! Castaway Cay souvenirs are only sold on the island, so be sure to do some shopping.
They also offer a 5K if you are interested in running (or walking) around the island. My husband and I did this on our first trip to Castaway Cay. They open the kids area early on the island, so you can drop your children off on the way to the start of the race. Everyone who finishes gets a Castaway Cay 5K medal!
My husband and I after we ran our 5K on Castaway Cay!
Adult Only Areas on the Cruise Ship
Disney does an amazing job with adult-only areas on the ship. There are night clubs, sports clubs, pubs, adult only trivia, and even an adult-only section on Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. You can find out some of the amazing adult activities offered in this blog post.
Amazing Cruise Ship Staterooms
I’ve stayed in an inside stateroom as well as a stateroom with an ocean veranda, and they were both spectacular. They are impeccably clean and large for a cruise stateroom.
The inside stateroom bed with the magical porthole over it.
The inside stateroom may not have any windows, but they make you feel special with their magical porthole. You can turn it on and off for a real-time view from the front of the ship. Not only that, but you get occasional visits in the porthole from your favorite Disney pals. My son LOVED watching the porthole for Mickey to pop up.
The stateroom with the ocean veranda had a separate bathroom situation – the toilet was in one room while the tub/shower was in another. This made getting ready much simpler.
You can see our Castaway Club Silver gift waiting for us on our bed! This is the Ocean View with Verandah room.
A glimpse at the separate shower/tub room in the Ocean View room.
Broadway Caliber Shows
I’m just going to tell you – I cried at the Beauty and the Beast performance. It was one of the most beautiful and well-done shows I have ever seen. It’s my favorite Disney movie and to see it brought to life with this epic show was one of the highlights of all of my travels.
All the nightly shows are at the caliber of Broadway performances, with amazing talents. Don’t miss these!
The Buena Vista theatre on the Disney Dream, where the Broadway caliber shows are performed.
Pirate Night and Fireworks at Sea
The Dream and the Fantasy both have a Pirate Night – usually the same night as the Fireworks at Sea. They leave pirate bandannas for you on your bed so you can dress up and participate in the event! Hang out on the main deck and watch as Captain Hook battles Captain Mickey!
Dinner is usually a special Pirate night fare with a special menu, but save some room! After the fireworks, Pirate night continues with a pirate spread – from chocolate fountains to delicious crepes, there is a treat for everyone!
It doesn’t get any more special than Disney fireworks, especially when done at sea. And don’t be concerned, Disney has a reputation of working toward helping our environment, and the fireworks are made of a special biodegradable material that is essentially fish food.
Movies
The movie theatre is one of my favorite parts of the ship! They play current and sometimes not yet released Disney movies! Again, completely included in your cruise. During our first cruise, we got to watch Dr. Strange in 3-D and Moana!
Excursions
Disney has planned excursions you can pick from every different port of call. One of the great things about a Disney planned excursion is you can ensure you are with a knowledgeable and safe guide as well as being sure to get back to your ship on time before it leaves the port.
The Chance to Be A Castaway Club Member
After you sail once with Disney Cruise Lines, you become a Castaway Club member. The second time you sail, you will automatically be a silver member. This allows you to check in the Club member line when at the port and you’ll find a small gift awaiting you when you get to your room. On our last cruise, the gift was a very nice crossbody bag embroidered with the Disney Castaway Club logo as well as a Castaway Club.
A Relaxing, No Stress Family Vacation
Last of all, and the best thing of all, is a relaxing stress-free family vacation. With the rotational dining, the nightly shows, and planned excursions, you can truly sit back and relax and enjoy your family.
My family all feel like these are the best vacations that we have taken. We just get to have fun and enjoy one another!! This alone makes a Disney Cruise worth it!
Other Disney Cruise posts you may enjoy:
Not So Obvious Things to Pack on a Disney Cruise
Have you ever been on a Disney cruise? What special things made your Disney cruise worth it to you?
Glad to hear it’s as fabulous as it seems! We haven’t cruised Disney yet… but I’m sure it’s in our future!. Next up is becoming annual pass holders ( we’re in VA) and hitting all the festivals and holiday events!
Wow annual pass holders would be amazing!! Definitely try a cruise. But warning you’ll be addicted to Disney cruises! 😂