Monday, April 1, 2024

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

disney cruise reviews

There's also an adult coffee shop that transforms into a bar as the day goes on. It's hard to judge a whole spa on one service, but it really was great. There's dancing, pirating, battling and eventually, a fireworks show. Full warning, though, this fun goes on way past normal bedtime, so plan ahead with naps. The last hour of the excursion was spent in the pools and on the beach. We didn't fully explore the waterpark area, and the beach was less than glamorous.

I Loved The Promenade Deck

Much like Disney’s popcorn buckets, your beer mugs entitle you to cheaper refills on all your beer. The Disney Wish is the newest Disney Cruise Line ship and certainly its best. Among its many amenities, guests can find the first-ever Disney attraction at sea. It’s a 760-foot water slide filled with show scenes, lighting, music and more that touches down into a lazy river. 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.

disney cruise reviews

Included restaurants on Disney Magic

If you’re the type of person who wants to exercise while on vacation, the ship’s fitness center has you covered. Although I visited only once, I quite enjoyed the well-stocked facilities and the ability to look out over the water while working out. Deck Nine and above featured a couple of different pools, a splash pad, a waterslide and a sports area. Most everything you do during your cruise takes place courtesy of the Disney Cruise app. This includes viewing the daily schedule and booking any paid activities. There are almost too many things to do aboard this cruise ship, and we struggled a little trying to fit everything in.

Carry-on drinks policy

Disney Dream is the size of almost seven consecutive Olympic pools. There is no cost to connect to the ship's Wi-Fi network when used only for the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app (which can also be used for messaging other guests on the ship). Otherwise, Disney Wonder's current Wi-Fi options start at $19 for a 100 MB package and go up from there. At some point, the ship will likely switch to the program most other Disney ships use, which charges by the day and not by the amount of data.

Disney Wonder Cruise Ship Review - Photos & Departure Ports - Cruise Critic

Disney Wonder Cruise Ship Review - Photos & Departure Ports.

Posted: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 16:13:15 GMT [source]

Disney Wish is currently a workhorse of short three- and four-night sailings from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Bahamas, home to Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. Now, Disney Cruise Line has five ships sailing in those signature colors, along with three more on order. In a normal year, those five ships take tens of thousands of families on sailings to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Europe, Bermuda, Bahamas, through the Panama Canal and even to Australia and New Zealand. I found it easier than on Wish to simply enjoy what comes with the experience instead of feeling like you need to spend $10, $20, $50 or more several times a day to get the full experience. Floating lanterns dot the ceiling, and some of the stars of "Tangled" perform a musical show on a central stage while you dine.

Expert Review of Disney Destiny - Cruise Critic

Expert Review of Disney Destiny.

Posted: Fri, 22 Mar 2024 22:10:44 GMT [source]

If you're a huge Disney fan (or your kid is), you don't need to be convinced to sail with one of the best family entertainment enterprises around. If you're not -- or have never seen a Disney ship -- you might have the mistaken impression that this line is only for families with little kids who love Mickey Mouse and princesses. For an additional fee, Disney ships offer full-service laundry and dry cleaning services that include the pickup and delivery of clean clothes to your cabin. Additionally, you will need to check in for your cruise online, fill out the appropriate information and select an arrival time for your embarkation day. All guests 16 and over who are U.S. citizens on the sailing from Vancouver to Alaska will need a U.S. passport, but children ages 15 and under can do that sailing with a state-issued birth certificate. Americans flying to Canada from the U.S. (or vice versa) will need a passport to enter the country by air, regardless of age.

Disney Dream cabins and suites

You can also select from frittatas, waffles and pancakes, and mains like lasagna Bolognese, sirloin steak, veal and parmesan-crusted chicken breast. Mains include duck breast, rack of lamb and Chateaubriand-roasted steak. For dessert, consider the grand marnier souffle or the apple tart tartin. Wheelchair-accessible cabins come in nearly every cabin category except the Royal Suite. The narrow balcony features two metal and mesh upright chairs and a round metal drinks table. It has a childproof lock you can choose to use to prevent little cruisers from venturing out on the balcony unattended.

Included restaurants on Disney Wonder

If it's a sea day in a warm-weather destination, and you're bound for the top deck, that means looking like you're going to the beach. T-shirts, shorts and bathing suits (with a cover-up to go inside) are fine. Guests 21 years and older may bring a maximum of two bottles of unopened wine or Champagne (no larger than 750 milliliters) or six beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on board at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call.

There are lines everywhere.

Expect the least expensive windowless inside cabins to start at more than $200 per person, per night, based on double occupancy. The ship's marquee show, which runs 1 and 1/2 hours rather than an hour, is a stage adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast," based on the live-action movie. The show employs creative use of puppetry and high-tech scenery, and the performers are stellar.

The thing that’s more important to me than the age and the size of a ship, is how the spaces work and if they’ve been well looked after by the cruise line. I’ve been on some ships from the 1980s and 1990s, which were in much better condition than newer ships. I have to say I did love not having far to walk to the top deck and wherever I was, I was never far from my cabin which was good but personally, I’m a fan of the big cruise ships. Or if it was just a case of paying a premium for the Disney brand.

disney cruise reviews

Deck 11 midship is the main pool area with Mickey's pool and slide (the latter meant for ages 3-14) and the Goofy pool. The District, on Deck 4 aft, is the adult nightlife area, though it's used during the day to host events such as trivia. The District is a dark warren of interconnected rooms, so I only found the Skyline bar halfway through my cruise. Most families stick to casual options for lunch, but if you want a sit-down, multicourse meal, the Royal Palace is there for you.

Kids will love flying the Millennium Falcon, playing in Andy's Room, competing in Magic PlayFloor challenges and making crafts in Tinkerbell's Fairy Hollow. For a snack or simpler meal, a trio of food counters, collectively known as Flo's Cafe, on the opposite end of the pool deck from Cabanas offers all the kid favorites. Be aware that while these venues are open all afternoon, only Tow-Mater's is open for dinner; Luigi's Pizza opens again at 9 p.m. Cruisers seeking a more midsize ship, with attentive service and plenty of activities geared toward both kids and adults, will not be disappointed. Disney is strongly influenced by American and Canadian travelers, and its primary market, of course, is families (especially those with kids younger than 8). Beyond that, Disney has strong appeal for multigenerational travelers, and its superb spa, bar district and alternate dining facilities mean that adults of any age will find their own spaces onboard.

It currently sails just five ships, compared to 27 at its family-friendly competitor Royal Caribbean. 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. Here's a view of a Disney Wish cabin, showing the updated decor I'd love to see on Disney Magic. The youth staff offer some structured games and activities, but Vibe is largely a place to hang out, play video games and get to know other teens. In the interest of setting realistic expectations, expect pools to look much more like this (or worse) during the heat of the day.

If I was on an cruise line that included drinks, or I had a drinks package, this might have been different. There are only a couple of places onboard that are adult-only and we didn’t really spend much time there. I’d prefer to be out and about seeing what’s happening on the ship, than spending too much time in the pub. This was like a festival, but Frozen themed and for kids on the top deck by the pool. I didn’t expect the kids to sit still throughout dinner and the show but its definitely worth being aware of. My mum was hit by a Thor hammer, whipped with a Rapunzel braid, you name it, the kids were a bit wild and it did get very, very loud at some points.

We saw a few starfish out on the water and enjoyed just paddling around the area by the boat. And of course, your evenings are filled with your rotational dining and dinner shows so you always have a fun night planned. I visit both Disneyland and Walt Disney World multiple times a year and the shows at the theme parks are some of my favorite experiences of our trips.

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