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Original poster

Has anyone been on a Disney cruise?

63 replies

IsaacCox · 28/07/2013 13:47

(Reposted from long haul as I only just noticed this cruise section was here :))

We're planning on going to Disney again in 2015 but to satisfy our Disney needs grin we were thinking of going on a Disney cruise next year. Or actually, another idea was to add on a cruise after our stay in florida the year after next.

If we were to do it next year, we would either do a European one or transatlantic. I've found a pretty good deal I think- 2 weeks transatlantic starting in Barcelona and ending in Puerto rico for around £1500 in total. If we were to tag one onto the end of our next trip, it'd be around the Caribbean for a week or under.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has been on one, where was it, which ship and what did you think? I've never been on a cruise before but DH has, though he was about 11, so any tips or info gratefully received!

Thanks Flowers

OP posts:
Fluffy1234 · 28/07/2013 21:49

We went on Disney magic two years ago around the Med and loved it. I have my eye on Disney Fantasy for next year around the Caribbean. Both your ideas are good. The service, ship, food were all amazing. I loved the Med one as really enjoy sightseeing so it was a brilliant way to see Rome, Pompeii, Barcelona and Pisa.

Original poster
IsaacCox · 29/07/2013 13:19

Thanks for your reply :)

I'm so excited now! Grin

I've ordered a brochure from the Disney cruise line website, can't wait for it to come.

I think we may end up having a week in Disney then a week around the Caribbean/Bahamas.

OP posts:
Fluffy1234 · 29/07/2013 13:48

That's what I want to do next year, perhaps 4 nights at a Universal Studios hotel and then a week on Disney Fantasy. My DS's are teenagers now and may not want to go with us in a few more years. Well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!
The ships really are beautiful. The adult only pool was like a luxury boutique hotel, with wooden loungers, thick cushions, unlimited towels and staff handing out cooling cloths. There was the perfect balance of kids stuff, family stuff and adults stuff. The dining was clever, you rotated around 3 restaurants but had the same waiters each evening which was lovely. The snack bars for lunch were also good on top deck. I loved the one that did yummy salads and wraps and the DC and DH enjoyed the hotdogs and burgers. The fireworks at sea were absolutely amazing.

Original poster
IsaacCox · 29/07/2013 14:06

It all sounds amazing :)

Can I ask who you booked it with please?

OP posts:
Fluffy1234 · 29/07/2013 14:39

We booked cruise only Iglu cruise and then booked the flights separately. We booked 1 inside cabin and I balcony cabin and they were lovely sizes. Probably slightly bigger than a junior suite I had on a NCL cruise.

Original poster
IsaacCox · 29/07/2013 15:47

Great, thanks. Wish we could book it now Grin

OP posts:
Lormiccro · 01/08/2014 08:10

We spent 1 week in Florida & the second week on the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney magic 2 years ago, was just amazing can't wait to go back and do it all again.

Dancergirl · 13/08/2014 09:26

Sounds great.

Anyone know how disney compares to royal carribbean?

goshdarnit · 13/08/2014 09:35

I haven't, but this woman has. I bet she freaked the staff right out! Grin

(my dd watches these videos for the shock value!)

it gives a good view of the ships and entertainment, though!

Ilovefluffysheep · 23/08/2014 20:41

Next week we are going on our 4th disney cruise. They are amazing and we are hooked!

Last year we did a transatlantic, and it was our favourite cruise. Both kids (teenagers) cried for a week after, as they had made such good friends.

I book with an American travel agent. No one is allowed to discount disney cruises, but different agents offer differing amounts of onboard credit. The advantage of an American agent is they have the same terms as disney, so you pay your deposit, then if you change your mind you get your full deposit back provided you cancel before the paid in full date. UK travel agents don't tend to have those conditions.

I use dreams unlimited travel, but there are plenty of others.

Ilovefluffysheep · 23/08/2014 20:44

Sorry, just a bit more info. It's the Magic that does the transatlantic. Beautiful ship (this will be 3rd cruise in it, and done one on the Wonder which is sister ship same size).

It's recently been refurbished so I can't wait to see it. It's a beautiful ship, amazing service, wonderful food, fantastic shows, and all the extra special disney touches you would expect.

RocknRollNerd · 28/08/2014 11:37

We did the European cruise on the Magic last year (just before it went into dry dock for a full refit). It was absolutely amazing, one of the best holidays we have had. Even though the ship was about to be completely refitted it was beautiful and being Disney they were still keeping everything in top condition eg they were relaying bits of carpet one day. Service is as you would expect from Disney - faultless, nothing is too much trouble for them. The 24 hour room service (free!) was a huge hit with DH and DS who discovered that you could order whatever you fancied eg a plate of cookies, mac and cheese at 4pm in the afternoon and it just appears!

The entertainment is of a hugely high standard as well and it's great for the character meet and greets as they publicise the times and unless you want to do the princess gathering (thank god for having a DS not a DD!) the queues aren't hideous. The adult dining and pool areas etc also mean it feels like a grownups holiday too - we had an afternoon in the spa and an evening at Palo without DS and both were great.

We booked with Virgin including flights, as we hadn't cruised before we wanted the easy option and it was worth it for us as when BA changed flight schedules so our morning flight wouldn't get us to Barcelona in time, Virgin took care of the rebooking and when they could only fly us out the day before paid for hotel in Barcelona and transfers to the port. The only thing I would probably do differently next time is not pay for the excursions as they are mega-bucks if you book with Disney and you can probably do them much cheaper yourselves.

LondonLee · 30/09/2014 19:51

Hi, the Americans definitely seem to have a more 'customer friendly' system. Do you have to use an American address to book via an American agent please? It seems a very good idea.

jolufc · 02/10/2014 19:46

No. We booked with dreams unlimited with a uk address.

Ilovefluffysheep · 07/10/2014 15:24

I use dreams unlimited as well, definitely don't need an american address. The agent I use is great, really helpful, and I like the onboard credit they give as well.

titchywitchy · 07/10/2014 15:34

Anyone had to eat gluten-free on a Disney cruise? If so, how was it?

LondonLee · 09/10/2014 00:01

Thanks Ilovefluffysheep, I will definitely check them out next time we book a cruise as we have lost our deposit several times due to circumstances. When we first went on a cruise, the cruise company (Celebrity) was fine if any changes were needed, now, unless you book direct with them, they impose charges and will only let you change to a different cruise if it is more expensive! Booking with a US agent would avoid this and also the problem of prices going down after booking, as we could just cancel and re-book without losing our £300 deposit!

Ilovefluffysheep · 22/10/2014 20:38

There are a few American agents that people from the UK tend to use. I've always used Dreams Unlimited and been really happy with them. I've also heard good things about Travel on a Dream. The good thing is you get onboard credit for booking with them rather than direct with disney (which is also an option).

I've moved cruises before, moved cabins, changed dinner seating etc, all with no problem at all.

RocknRollNerd · 27/10/2014 12:54

Not GF titchy but DS is allergic to nuts. Disney in our experience (both in the US and on the Cruise) are amazing with allergies. At the buffet lunch on embarkation day a senior chef walked me and DS down the buffet saying what he could/couldn't have and then got 'fresh' of things directly from the kitchen where there was even the tiniest risk of contamination from the buffet.

In the restaurants for lunch/breakfast we always had a senior server (maitre'd) or chef come out and talk to us once to check DS choices etc. DH also noticed that very discretely DS food orders always went on a different coloured note pad so I'm guessing once they hit the kitchen they get routed specially/treated differently.

At dinner the rotational dining works really well for special diets as after the first night the waiters (who are the same for your table every night) know exactly what the score is and handle it really well.

Happy to answer any more questions you might have (only just saw your question as this had dropped of my threads I'm on), but I find Disney dining the least stressful eating out experience we ever have with DS.

MLC3105 · 13/01/2015 11:38

Following on from this older thread, it’s something we’re looking to do next year (2016) ... this is probably going to be our one and only ‘big’ family holiday – it’s mine and DP’s 40th, and our DC will be 7 and 5.

I’m so very tempted by the ‘cruise and stay’ at Disney that includes a few nights in a Disney hotel (Florida) taking in a few days of the Parks.... has anyone done this? Can anyone offer any advice, or tell me if this is a good idea or bad?

Thank you!

Fisharefriendsnotfood · 03/04/2015 08:41

We have never cruised before, my 3 dc will be 8,6 and 3.9 next summer. We normally pay about £7k for two weeks all inclusive in a huge two bed apt 5 * hotel..

Pricing disney cruise we seem to be looking at at least £6.5 for one week and that's if we do the ones that don't need flights. Can anyone tell me if it's really worthhalf the holiday for the same price?

Fisharefriendsnotfood · 03/04/2015 15:45

Bump

Ilovefluffysheep · 09/04/2015 15:58

Which cruise are you thinking of doing Fish? Prices have definitely gone up for next year. We have just booked a Disney Cruise for May half term, its from Dover which will be a first for us, and its round the Norwegian Fjords. Definitely not cheap, but I'm balancing that with not having to book flights, plus the ease of being able to drive to port, not have to worry about how much luggage we take etc.

I can't answer whether its worth the amount of money you're talking about. All I can tell you is this will be our 5th Disney Cruise, and we love them. I'm a single parent with two teenagers, and we all think its the best holiday ever for lots of reasons. On the one hand I wish I'd discovered Disney Cruise Line when the kids were younger, on the other its probably a good job I didn't as would never have been able to afford it.

Fisharefriendsnotfood · 09/04/2015 17:03

I think I need to forget about it.. The non flight ones are still coming out at over £8700 for a week in 2016!

Ilovefluffysheep · 11/04/2015 17:07

Is that because you need two cabins? I've just booked the Norwegian Fjords cruise from Dover that goes in May half term, and thats around £2900 for the 3 of us. That is an inside cabin, have only ever had an inside as you're in the cabin so little it doesn't make sense in my opinion to pay more!

That is probably the most expensive Disney Cruise I've paid for, but I balanced that off with no flights, no worrying about luggage allowance, can drive down that morning so no hotel the night before etc etc. I also always book with an american travel agent so I get an onboard credit ($200 in this case) plus the same terms and conditions as disney themselves, so if need to cancel (am having major surgery this summer and may have some ongoing complications) I can do so as long as I do it before the paid in full date at the end of January, and I will receive my deposit back.

I don't tend to spend much onboard - have never done disney excursions, we do our own so is much cheaper. I also take my own alcohol onboard, which you are allowed to do, so don't buy drinks (soft drinks are all included). Don't so the spa or anything, so other than tips, a couple of bits in the shop, and the photos I bought for the first two cruises, its not a huge amount. Onboard credit tends to cover all or most of tips.