Disney Vacations Plan Your Disney Vacation

Table Of Content

• Experience Bliss Aboard the New Disney Treasure
• NEWS: Disney Announces MagicBand+ Is Coming to Cruises!
• Learn All About Disney Cruise Line and Its Various Ships
• Baja Mexico and Mexican Riviera Disney Cruises
• I love that the ship docks right at the island, so there are no tender ships involved
• How much does a Disney cruise cost?
• Included restaurants on Disney Dream
• Disney Cruises

Disney Dream will spend the start and the end of the year sailing short trips to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale, with a stint in the middle of the year (from May to October) sailing in Europe. Disney Fantasy will also sail out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas and Caribbean year-round, offering longer voyages. Already, the first of those ships, the 2,508-passenger Disney Wish, has arrived, boosting the size of the Disney fleet from four ships to five and allowing for more departures to the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. And, before I head back to the ship, I stop at the Castaway Cay post office to send postcards back home. Plus, just off Serenity Bay Beach is a fun beachside bar serving up drinks and snacks.

Experience Bliss Aboard the New Disney Treasure

At the top of the "costs extra" list are the restaurants Palo (found on all five ships, though it's Palo Steakhouse on Disney Wish), Remy (on Dream and Fantasy) and Enchante (only on Disney Wish). In addition to the buffet, a few grab-and-go quick-service restaurants on the pool deck serve salads, chili, pizza, barbecue and more, depending on which ship you're sailing. You must choose between an early and a late dinner time, with your showtime opposite your dining time. Some restaurants, such as Animator's Palate, are found on multiple ships, while others are unique to one ship, such as Tiana's Place on Disney Wonder and all of the rotational restaurants found on Disney Wish. On each Disney ship, three main dining rooms serve as dinner restaurants that participate in rotational dining. Each ship has its own lineup of themed rotational restaurants, but the concept remains the same on each.

NEWS: Disney Announces MagicBand+ Is Coming to Cruises!

After decades of success making families smile and laugh at its theme parks, Disney dipped its toes into the world of cruising in 1998. Disney didn't just copy another cruise line's model for success or slap its name on the side of an existing ship. But the (extra-charge) activities that Disney has organized for the ports aren't always the same as what other lines offer. The one vessel Disney sends to Alaska each year, the 1,754-passenger Disney Wonder, stays for nearly the entire summer season, from late June to mid-September and offers a distinctly Disney take on The Last Frontier. Here are our picks for the five best Disney cruise destinations you can visit with your family.

Learn All About Disney Cruise Line and Its Various Ships

Departures from New York offer stops at several Canadian ports, along with a picturesque stop in the northeastern US. The same three-night Bahamas cruise sailing during Disney's Silver Anniversary at Sea starts at $2,345 for two guests. Family-friendly but with adults-only areas, Disney cruises offer some of the most comprehensive cruise options around. Let’s break down everything there is to know about the Disney Cruise Line, including pricing, destinations and its loyalty program. Another reason to consider going through a travel agent is to get onboard credit. Some travel agents will offer onboard credit based on the amount you spend on your Disney cruise.

Baja Mexico and Mexican Riviera Disney Cruises

These voyages are designed to be paired with a visit to nearby Disney World for a longer Disney vacation. Disney Cruise Line's top destination has always been the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Since its founding more than two decades ago, the brand has based the bulk of its fleet in Florida to offer sailings to the islands. Port Canaveral, which is just an hour away from Disney's Orlando-area theme parks, has always been its biggest hub. Some other cruise line's private islands, like Norwegian's Great Stirrup Cay, don't have a dock, so cruisers must take tender ships (small boats) from the cruise ship to the island.

Disney Dream cruise ship review: Mostly magic with a bit of mayhem - The Points Guy

Disney Dream cruise ship review: Mostly magic with a bit of mayhem.

Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

One thing I love about Disney Cruise Line and Castaway Cay is that there are plenty of adults-only spaces where kids are strictly not allowed. I enjoy seeing the Disney characters on the ship, but love seeing Mickey and his pals even more at Castaway Cay. Speaking of gear, at Castaway Cay, cruisegoers can borrow free towels as soon as they get off of the ship.

One-way positioning cruises — that is, those that end in a different location from where they started — are often much cheaper per night than standard round-trip cruises. When the wave of pandemic-related cruise cancellations hit in 2020, I was so grateful to have a travel agent — instead of me — spending time dealing with the cruise line. Cruises that are seven nights or longer schedule one "formal night" — though even then, it's only encouraged, not required. On that night, you will see suits, sports coats, cocktail dresses and similar from some guests. During the evenings, dining attire in the three main dining restaurants is "cruise casual," meaning no swimwear or tank tops, but you don't have to put on a party dress. That said, many guests do dress up a bit in the evening, but it's not required unless you are dining in Palo, Remy or Enchante.

The Disney Treasure is already under construction and is due to first sail in 2024. By providing my email address I'd like to receive updates, special offers, and other information via electronic messages and postal mail from Disney Destinations, LLC and other members of The Walt Disney Family of Companies. The Disney Magic offers several early 2025 Disney Cruise departures embarking from Texas. From January to March 2025, the Disney Magic will sail from Galveston, Texas to Progreso and Cozumel in Mexico and Grand Cayman. Choose from an assortment of three- to five-night early 2025 Disney Cruise voyages aboard the Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, Disney Dream and Disney Magic.

Here, you can travel to outer space and stroll through 11 countries in a single day. Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme ParkBehold the magic of nature and delight in wild animal encounters, high-speed thrills, nightly entertainment and Pandora – The World of Avatar. The original concept of the ship was that it would have Shanghai, China as a home port. If you want to sail on a Disney Cruise from the West Coast in early 2023 and 2024 you can book the Wonder from San Diego. Every year one of the Disney ships makes the Transatlantic Cruise journey to Europe from North America and back.

There are thousands of people on the ship and only a few small pools, so plan accordingly. A valid reason to want to sail with Disney is the onboard fun that awaits — especially for those who love Disney characters and stories. If your cruise takes you to Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, you're in luck, as there's plenty of included food to eat there, too. In addition to the included soft-serve ice cream and Mickey bars available via room service, your ship may have some shops with extra-fee ice cream. On Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish, you'll find an ice cream shop stuffed with candies, gelato and ice cream — all for an extra charge. If you are on the fence about concierge service, it's arguably most valuable when you are on a shorter cruise, have some specific popular must-have items on your reservation wish list or want someone else to take care of everything.

The Disney Wish also has dedicated areas themed for "Frozen," the Marvel Universe and "Star Wars." You can book your Disney cruise directly with Disney Cruise Line either over the phone or online, but I'd argue you shouldn't. The currency on Disney Cruise Line ships, regardless of location, is the U.S. dollar. All cabins are equipped with multiple 110-volt outlets, which are standard in the U.S. and Canada. Cabins on Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy are equipped with a combination of 110- and 220-volt (European) outlets. Guests wishing to consume wine or Champagne that they have brought on board in one of the dining rooms will be charged a corkage fee of $26 per bottle.

To give an idea of the cost, a four-person family on a four-night cruise would pay $232 in recommended tips. The amount is split among your team of dining room servers who quickly learned your kids' preferences for dinner and your cabin hosts who made your room look like magic while you were out enjoying yourself. Having sailed four of Disney Cruise Line's five ships, I can say the experience is indeed special — especially if you have kids.

For 2024, the 1,754-passenger vessel will offer a mix of three- to seven-night sailings to Mexico during March and April. Shorter three- and four-night sailings typically feature calls at Ensenada, Mexico, and California's Catalina Island. Seven-night sailings include calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. All these new ships arriving in quick succession will likely mean not just more departures to destinations where Disney Cruise Line is established but also sailings in new regions. Additionally, the company is set to open its second private island destination during the season, introducing Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in early June. Plot the perfect getaway by choosing from 3 amenity-packed Disneyland Resort hotels.

The line has yet to announce which of its ships will go to Europe in 2025. Disney offers a wide variety of itineraries in Europe every summer, from Mediterranean voyages out of Barcelona and Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome), to Northern Europe sailings out of Southampton, England. The big factor driving Disney's cutbacks on sailings out of San Diego in 2024 is its new focus on voyages out of Australian ports. Disney Wonder will spend much of January and February sailing out of Australian ports and then return to the region in October for another season of Australia trips.