Here’s a great cruise post from my reader Jessica…
What does Disney have that the others don’t; well there are many things you get with Disney that no other ship can offer.
1. Characters, Characters, Characters…..They are on the ship at different times every day from sun up to later in the evening.
2. 3 wonderful Disney themed restaurants. Animators Palate (Kids favorite of them all and I love it the best as well), Enchanted Garden (and Enchanted it is), Royal Palace (the name says it all).
3. The best food I have ever had and I have tasted food from a lot of places all over the US and several foreign countries. You get top notch service and will definitely have something for
everyone in your group to eat and never leave dinner hungry.
4. Well what about breakfast and Lunch. They offer casual dining in Cabanas for both meals with the same yummy food via a longggggg buffet or for Breakfast you can do sit down meals at
either Enchanted Garden or Royal Palace. There is also a Mator themed outdoor counter service where you can get hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, fruit and whatever the daily special is.
5. They have Nemo’s reef for the little one and it’s so much fun, a Mickey Mouse pool for the older children and a larger pool for all ages all on a deck that has a huge screen that they show movies on during the day and evening.
6. The coolest thing is on both of these ships they have the infamous Aqua duck and it is so much fun. It’s not scary yet it has a few small drops and turns. You sit in a raft and off you go on a trip around the ships top deck over the edge and a chance to see the vast ocean below or if at port a great 360 view of the destination you are at. For all those that don’t meet the height
requirement you will find a fun Yellow Mickey slide that is actually faster than the Aqua duck.
7. Child programs for children of all ages from the Nursery ages 4 months -3 years old, kids clubs for ages 3-12 (must be potty trained), and several clubs for ages 12 and up.
8. There are many adult spots on the ship as well. You have quite a few bars, a dance club, and even an adult only pool and coffee lounge. They are awesome games and different themes
throughout.
9. If you choose to stay on board the ship when docked we do both. You will have shorter lines and more opportunities to get on that Aqua duck or Mickey slide with little wait.
10. The great thing about both ships is they have non swimming stuff too. The Dream and Fantasy have a basketball court and a mini putt putt golf and also an arcade and virtual game room (the
arcade and game room are extra).
11. The Fantasy also has an older child version of the Nemo’s Reef on the deck below the Basketball and putt putt golf upper deck. Its Donald Duck themed (be careful the water is really cold on this one).
12. Let’s also not forget that there is a teen’s only area pool (I didn’t check this out since we have small children but I guarantee you it won’t let you down). The teens also have several night spots just for them.
If you are looking for a unique and once in a lifetime cruise the Disney ships won’t let you down and memories that will last a life time.
From the premiers of new Disney owned movies (we got to see Avengers on opening night), to shopping on board, the spa, hair salon or even an art gallery. In my opinion this is the best vacation we have been on and I will return even when the kids grow up and move out. What are you waiting for book that dream cruise and say hey to Mickey and Minnie for me.
Sincerely another Disney fan Jessica
Oh and you can bring that tall glass you have poured to dinner and They dont mind at all. My hubby would fill a 20 oz beer mug with his and it worked great.
Starting to figure out an approximate price for a Disney cruise to start saving up for one. It won’t be for 18-24 months but with 6 people it will probably take me that long to save for it.
I do like that you can take your own liqour on the boat. This could save some people a lot of $ if you brought a couple of your own bottles of wine on board. However I am not sure how I would feel about toting around a bottle around the ship…lol
Don’t tote the bottle around. Do what my DH did — get yourself a nice travel cup (we’re partial to the DCL ones but Starbucks and Tervis have nice offerings too), make your drink up in your cabin, and then you only have to carry the travel cup. You can keep your wine in the fridge-like cooler, and/or your cabin steward can bring you ice. I’m not much of a drinker, so I brought onboard my own soft drinks, because I do get tired of the same old restaurant offerings of Coke and Coke products. I didn’t bring my soda to dinnner with me, but DH always had his travel cup LOL. If you bring a bottle of wine into dinner, you will be charged a corkage fee.
I met a couple while we were on the cruise pictured above. They kindly asked the Gentleman that was cleaning and refreshing their Disney Cabin if he would be so kind to bring them a cork opener and wine glasses. He brought fresh glasses everytime. I understand Max S. stated that they brought a travel mug. i am a big wine drinker and that wouldnt work for wine. The steward is more than happy to make your dreams come true including your own little bar in your suite.
The corkage fee is 25.00 per bottle, they will store any wine bought at dinner and move from restaurant to restaurant and you wont be charged another fee. This is great for couples who dont share the need for wine or only a glass each a night.
Jessica, thanks for this info, I didn’t know this about the glasses (although I do seem to remember reading something like that somewhere else online but forgot until I read it here from you). (But this is good to know since I’m considering becoming a Disney Travel Agent.)My DH isn’t as much of a wine drinker, but he had to have his margaritas and etc. on the ship. He thought the travel cup would be better in case of rough seas LOL. We did buy the beer mug, and we enjoyed some beer, but it mostly was a nice souvenir, though lol.
You do have to pay $6 an hour if you want your little one to go to the nursery…and FYI, babies aren’t allowed in the regular pools–only Nemo’s Reef.
Disney cruise ships are amazing!! They also have 24 hour room service that is included in your fare!
That’s awesome!