I met Ned in grad school. He is a kindred spirit who loves the same stuff I love; dumb jokes, the great outdoors, writing, movies, Clint Eastwood, and Bruce Campbell. In the past thirteen-plus years, we have traveled to South Carolina, the Everglades, and Scotland together. He was the man of honor at my wedding. He is totally annoying, and I do not know what I would do without him in my life. This year, he invited me and hubs to go on a Disney cruise with his family.
Honestly, I was skeptical since hubs and I are a childless couple pushing forty. I feared it would be four awkward days loaded with sideways glances at us, that weird couple with no kids, an endless cacophony of small humans screaming, whining, and crying, and nothing to eat but hamburgers. Oh, and every surface is sticky for some reason. I knew Ned would not steer me wrong, or at least he would be suffering with me if it was terrible, so hubs and I decided to take a chance. After all, it was a relatively short cruise from a nearby port. The Disney Dream launched from Port Canaveral which was convenient for us central Floridians. The Disney campus and Disney cruise ships are destinations for many, we saw license plates from all over the country in the parking garage, but for us, they are home.
The Cost of Admission – My mother goes on cruises every year. She is a die-hard Royal Caribbean fan. She said she would never do a Disney cruise because it is significantly more expensive, and she is right. The bottom line – you have to weigh the benefits of a pricier cruise versus the cost. In my opinion, these are some of the things the hefty Disney price tag gets you.
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- Organization – Overall, things were well-organized. I received several emails leading up to the cruise with my reservation details and easy-to-follow instructions on how to book excursions. Shortly before the cruise I received a nice spiral binder with luggage tag stickers and cruise information. Some other cruise lines make you print out your own luggage tags. Parking, luggage drop-off, security, and check-in were relatively quick and simple. It was easy to navigate the ship, excursions, dinner schedules, and activities. Disembarkation was painless. We got up early, ate breakfast, and walked off the boat as soon as we were finished eating. Easy peasy.
- Accommodations – We have booked comparable rooms on other cruise lines, one king bed with a balcony, and this room was superior for a number of reasons. There was a ton of storage. We had two large closets, shelving, drawers, space under the bed, and a storage ottoman. The water closet was separate from the shower room, and the shower had a small bathtub. The couch was comfortable and did not feel like the pathetic dorm-room style couches used by other cruise lines. The balcony was so spacious Ned (6’8″) actually slept on his a few nights.
- Dining – The cruise had the standard dining options; seated dining, buffet dining, and fancier restaurants for an additional charge. There were a few noteworthy features. Seated dining permitted casual attire which was awesome because it meant I could take advantage of table service in shorts and a t-shirt and did not have to pack nice clothes solely for dining. I also enjoyed the fact there were three dining rooms, and dinner rotated between them. In general, the food was family-friendly and unpretentious. They offered the standard cardboard pizza and burgers for the kiddos and had satisfactory food options for the adults. Most importantly, our group of fifteen was seated together, so every evening we had a chance to come together, share a meal, and discuss our day. As an added bonus, a soft serve ice cream bar and pop were included in the cost of admission.
- Activities – There was a full activity schedule as is standard for any cruise. However, Disney cruise activities differed in two key ways. One, activities were broken down by target age group (e.g., kids, teenagers, adults, suitable for all ages). Matt and I could have easily avoided childrenthe entire trip if we had chosen to do so. Secondly, there were a few Disney-specific activities. We could have run a 5K on Castaway Cay. There were Disney character meet-and-greets all over the place. Old and new Disney shows and movies were projected on a handful of movie screens around the ship. Hubs and I did not not spend much time in the room, and we had a great time. We went on
Fort Charlotte, Nassau an excursion, hit the gym, lounged in the adult pool area and listened to folks around us snore, soaked in the hot tub, played lots of trivia, did whisky and cognac tastings, saw two movies, and poked around the shops. Side note – the tastings were available for an extra charge, and I felt the cost was reasonable and totally worth it. We also met Ned and his dad in the Meridian bar for a whisky flight (Macallan 12, 18, 25, and Rare Cask), and the hour or so we spent in leather wingback chairs warming our bellies and shooting the bull was absolutely my favorite time. Disney definitely makes it easy to spend your money.
A Few of My Favorite Things
4) Disney Cruise Line Navigator Mobile App – The Disney Cruise Line Navigator mobile app was a nice, free feature. The layout was clean and simple, and it was so easy to navigate a child could and most likely has done it. It included deck plans, a filterable list of activities by day, the ability to make a short list of favorite activities to create a personalized itinerary, excursion details, and chat functionality complete with Disney-themed emoji. The app needed fine tuning though. The chat feature was offline for a good portion of our cruise. Disney provided a portable phone system in each room for on-board communication, and it would have been great if it integrated with the app. Additionally, the app allowed individual users to sign in on multiple devices, but individual user content was not synced between devices. Activities could only be filtered by one category, so I could only sort by adult activities OR teen activities OR kid activities. I oftentimes defaulted to the paper Navigator schedule provided daily because the single item filter was not helpful.
3) Adults Only Stuff – On our way through security, an elderly woman in front of us confided that her husband played Santa Claus on the cruise. Santa protested her secret identity reveal, and she dismissed him because we “cah-lear-ly did not have kids.” Awkward. Then hubs and I walked into the cruise terminal and saw roughly one million screaming children. I thought to myself, I have made a terrible mistake. Honestly, once we cleared the terminal, I realized the no-kid thing was no big deal. Sure, there were lots of kids and kid activities; however, there was also an abundance of adult-only areas and activities. Castaway Cay, the Disney-owned island we visited on Day 3, had a large, adult-only beach, bar, and dining area. Three of the upper forward decks of the boat were designated 18+ areas with a hot tub, several pools, bars, and a lot of chairs. There were plenty of adult-only activities. Also, it was not uncomfortable to be a childless couple at shows or activities listed as suitable for people of all ages. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at how much of a non-issue it was to be an adult couple on a Disney cruise. A couple I know went on a Disney cruise for their honeymoon, but I did not believe Disney couples cruising was a thing until I experienced for it myself.
2) Movies – The kiddie pool had an outdoor movie screen with all sorts of fun animated features playing which I watched on my many runs to and from the soft serve ice cream bar. For the most part, we opted for the indoor Buena Vista theater. I know it sounds stupid to go on vacation in the glorious Caribbean and spend hours in a cold, dark theater, but I could not care less. I live in Florida. I roast in the subtropics year-round. It was so cool to see Disney films playing in theaters now such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Coco, and Thor: Ragnarock. There were 3D showings and closed captioning showings too. I suppose if the most blasphemous offense was that they charged for popcorn, then maybe there was not too much to complain about. But seriously, Disney, you include prime rib in the cost of admission but try to charge me $4 for popcorn?!? Get it together.
1) Castaway Cay – Several cruise lines have purchased or leased Caribbean islands for day stops. I have been to one or two and know you would not go wrong with a day spent on any of these islands; they are clean, well-laid-out retreats with standard beach loungers, walking paths, and plenty of food. However, Castaway Cay was my favorite by far. The entire island is laid out like a Disney theme park – wide, paved walkways, thoughtful decorations, shops, bars, bike rentals, a tram with four stops, lots of BBQ and self-serve ice cream, a post office, and plenty of hammocks and lounge chairs. There were a handful of excursions like swimming with the stingrays, jet ski rentals, and Jetovater (Google it.) rentals. We walked the paths, waded the crystalline waters, and lazed on lounge chairs in the adult-only beach. My favorite oddity was the old airstrip you travel to access the adult-only beach, observation tower, and sections of bike path. I could have stayed there a week.
Travel Tips and Trivia Tidbits
- Pieces of Flair – Repeat Disney cruisers researched and came prepared. There was a Facebook group for our ship and tour date so you could meet folks ahead of time. People brought lanyards for the “Key to the World” ID card issued when you check in and decorated their stateroom doors with door knob hangers, magnetic pictures, and name cards. Folks brought costumes for the pirate-themed night. I wore my “Goonies Never Say Die” t-shirt to dinner only to find Ned had worn a t-shirt with the exact same saying. Great minds.
- The Artist’s Palette – Dinner at the Artist’s Palette was painful. There were televisions screens throughout the dining area, and characters from Finding Nemo traveled between screens and engaged the kids, loudly and for the duration of the meal. To make it tolerable, I suggest a drinking game where you take a shot every time you hear Crush say “Dude.” I call the game “Gone in 60 Seconds.”
- Discounts and Promotions – This January, the Disney cruise website had a small number of cruises with Florida Resident Discounts available for a limited time. Our group booked through Small World Vacations and received shipboard credit as part of our deal. A 10% discount was offered to folks who booked their next cruise while on board.
Final Thoughts
I do not consider myself a cruise person, and yet I have been on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, and Carnival cruises. Disney offered the same things other cruise lines offer, but they went the extra mile. They also offered a handful of phenomenal features not offered on other cruise lines. It all comes at a price, of course. Ultimately you have to decide if the benefits are worth the extra expense. As for hubs, he has decided he is never going to cruise with another cruise line.
Excellent synopsis. My only added is how cool it is to be able to order room service, including Mickey-shaped ice cream bars anytime of the day free of additional charge. Hubs and I loved the fruit and cheese plates that we nlshed on while sharing bubbly on the balcony.