Making the Most of Your Disney Cruise
Making the most of your Disney Cruise Line experience is key! Disney Cruise Line voyages are amazing-but can be pricey. So how do you make the most of your Disney Cruise? Making the most of your Disney Cruise is essential to having a great voyage. You have saved and planned, and not it’s time to board that fantastic Disney Cruise ship for a magical voyage! Let me show you how to make the most of your Disney Cruise!
Sailing on Disney Cruise Line has been one of my top vacation experiences ever. I absolutely love it. Not only do I love the experience and magic of Disney, but I also love the value. Disney Cruise Line is “all inclusive” cruising. That means that unless you want a special drink at dinner or choose to book a few special meals or spa experiences, EVERYTHING is included. I have been on several sailings where the only “extra” money we spent was for souvenirs onboard.
You can board a Disney Cruise Line ship and not spend any extra if you do not want to-and still have an amazing time. Making the most out of your Disney Cruise is easy with these tips!
Leave room in your budget for gratuities. Gratuities are “tips”, given to your stateroom host, head server, lead server and assistant server. You can pay these ahead of time, or when you disembark the ship. Either way, it is the same amount of money, and they are not worked into your cruise fare.
Gratuities are based on the number of nights you sail and are per passenger in your room. These are split amongst four Crew Members who do everything they can to make sure your voyage is amazing. From past experience, I wanted to tip them more! If you do not pay them in advance, they will get added to your onboard account and you will pay them before you disembark.
Learn to use the Personal Navigator. Your Navigator is found in your Disney Cruise Line app. This lists all the onboard activities, the nightly shows, the drink of the day, as well as character meet and greets. There is SO much in the Navigator! Be sure to know where to find it in your app so you can sort of plan your day and not miss any activities you really want to enjoy. It is also a great way to let everyone in your family enjoy something different. So while you are meeting characters with your little one, the older two can be in the D Lounge enjoying the animation class.
Do not miss the live shows each evening. These are included in your cruise fare, so be sure to see them! Many families may not experience Broadway caliber shows, but on the Disney Cruise Line, there is no reason not to! If you have the main seating time for dinner, you will see your show afterward. If you have second seating, you see the show before dinner. Be sure to get there a few minutes early to get a seat. Should you miss the show, or want to watch it in your stateroom, you can do so. They stream them on the TV in your cruise cabin. This time is a great way to spend some family time together, if you have sort of gone your own ways during the day.
Use some of your time to try new foods and new experiences. For example, I would never order lobster at home if we were out to dinner! But, it was an appetizer at one of our dinners, and I went for it. Why? Because I wanted to try something new, and I had already paid for it. So why not? My kids also tried new foods, and it was so fun to do so! It’s also fun to try new experiences on your ship. Drawing classes, towel origami classes, watching first run movies, mixology classes, and so much more! There is SO much to do onboard, you may never get to do all of it!
Take advantage of the unique Disney experiences when you are at sea. There is the Pirate Deck Party, which is unique to Disney Cruise Line on sailings that offer a Pirate Night. One night of your sailing, the menu will be pirate themed, everyone will be in pirate garb {including the characters}, and you’ll want to hang out on the pool deck for the pirate party and fireworks!
Another fun experience is the character meet and greets. You do need to book the the Royal Princess Gathering ahead of time. If you are unable to do so, you can still meet SO many characters, including the princesses. You will still see all the princesses, some multiple times, at various occasions on board. I do not feel like your family will miss out on ANY character meet and greets at all!
Castaway Cay is also unique to Disney Cruise Line. Be sure to get off when you port at Disney’s Castaway Cay and enjoy the island as long as possible!
Our Disney Cruise Line voyage was the most amazing trip we have ever had! Making the most out of your Disney Cruise is crucial to having a great time! What tips do you have to share?