Going on a Disney cruise has ALWAYS been on my bucket list. So, when Jonathan told me that he booked us one as part of our Christmas I was ecstatic! I was also totally nervous… Would I get seasick? Would I be terrified? Would I get claustrophobic? Would being out in the open ocean freak me out? Would there be too many kids for me to enjoy myself? Are cruises as relaxing as they say?
I found out all of this and more when I set sail on the Disney Wish in early December of 2022, and I’m here to spill all the tea to you and answer your biggest question: Are Disney cruises actually worth it?
First let’s start with the basic information.
We embarked on the Disney Wish for a 3-day Merrytime cruise to Nassau, Bahamas and Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. We wanted to start off slow and picked a 3-day cruise because neither of us had ever sailed before and we were a bit nervous.
Speaking of, let’s talk about nerves. I get motion sick extremely easy so that one basically was my main concern about going on a cruise. I decided to take Bonine every single day as a precaution. It’s usually what I use for riding in the car and on rollercoasters and it works like a dream. I figured that this would be enough for the cruise as well. (PS. If you struggle with motion sickness and you don’t use Bonine, do it! You’re missing out!) I started the Bonine in the morning of our embarkment day and I stopped taking it the day after we got home. I didn’t want to start and stop the medicine so suddenly because I didn’t want to shock my system. Overall, the Bonine worked perfectly, and I did not get sick once! The activities director even told us that we had rough waters and I still felt fine. I will say this though, bring something that will help you sleep. Jon took CBD and slept fine. I did not however, and I did not appreciate the rocking of the boat while trying to sleep.
Now I know what you’re thinking.
“Katie, were there an obnoxious number of kids?” “I want a relaxing vacation. Are there any adult only areas on the ship?” “Is it just as magical feeling like the parks?”
Alright first things first: there are a lot of families on a Disney cruise, but Disney is so good about having kid only activities the whole time, so it never felt overwhelming or too much. That being said, if you’re taking your kids and want to make sure that you have quality time with them don’t worry there are plenty of opportunities to make magical memories with your kiddos. Jon and I don’t have any kids, so we spent A LOT of time in the adult only areas.
There is an adult only pool and hot tub area. (There was also a DELICIOUS coffee shop in the adult only pool area as well. We spent a lot of time there, but I’ll talk about food in the next section.) Decks 13-15 were adult only decks. These decks included the coffee shop, the adult only pool area, two pay separately restaurants and a stunning bar called the Rose. On the other side of the ship there was a club called Luna and it would turn adult only at night. We went to a lot of events at Luna. There was karaoke, trivia, and couple games. Highly recommend the adult only night activities, they got a little raunchy, but they were so much fun!
It’s time for the best part! We’re talking all things food!
I feel like food is the main reason people go on cruises and honestly, I can’t blame them. The Disney Wish has some amazing food! There are three dining rooms included in the price of your cruise and you will eat dinner there.
The first is 1923 which is themed with production concepts for the animated films that Walt and Roy Disney worked on. I’d say this dining room is the “fanciest” one and it really isn’t that fancy. The food is top notch, and you can order as much as you want! I will say this. Alcoholic drinks must be paid for separately on EVERY PART OF THE SHIP and there is no drink package. So, if you are someone who takes advantage of the drink package with other cruise lines, a Disney cruise might not be for you.
The second dining room is Avenger themed! So fun! It had amazing food, great theming, and an interactive show with AntMan and The Wasp.
The final dining room is probably my favorite of them all. You get to eat dinner in the Arendelle castle and help celebrate Anna and Kristoff’s engagement! Everyone makes an appearance and that includes Oaken who threw the party!
In addition to these dining rooms, there are two pay separately restaurants: Enchante and Palo. I’ve heard great things about Palo and meh things about Enchante.
The bars! Wow I loved all of the bars on the ship! On the main deck you have The Bayou (themed Princess and the Frog and MY CAJUN HEART LOVED IT!), the Nightingale (we ran out of time to go to this one, but it looked like a piano bar), the Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge (AMAZING DRINKS, AMAZING ATMOSPHRERE). There was also Ale and Compass which was the sports pub on the ship, the Rose, which was stunning and, on the adult only deck, and various generic themed bars where you could walk up. These generic bars also offered coffee and there is a previously mentioned coffee shop on the adult only deck. The coffee here is AMAZING, and the Moana theming is SO GOOD!
For breakfast, we ate the buffet at the Marketplace. Everything was delicious and yes, there are mickey waffles! Around the pool are various quick service options including ice cream and fountain drinks. There was also a Inside Out themed candy shop, but we ran out of time and weren’t able to try it, but it looked super cute!
Entertainment on the ship was TOP NOTCH! Every night there was a stage show and they weren’t too long, about 30min – an hour. The first night was a cruise themed show and it had Disney appearances including Hercules which ripped my heart out. The second night was the reimagined Little Mermaid and I loved everything about this show! The third night was Aladdin, and it was so good! There were character meet and greets all weekend long and fun entertainment at the Sail Away party and the Pirate Party. The night of the pirate party, there were also fireworks at sea, and it was so magical! I will say a Disney cruise is just as magical at the Disney parks. There were so many times where I had tears in my eyes because everything felt so special. EVERYTHING was soaked in Disney magic.
Our last full day was on Castaway Cay which is Disney’s private island in The Bahamas. OMG, I could spend a whole week here! The beach is stunning. There were a ton of pay separately excursions to do. There is a bike trail, a 5k run, and snorkeling. Our favorite part was the adult only beach which was on the other side of the island. It was so so peaceful. There is a bar there as well and lunch is also served there so you could spend all day there if you want. (That’s what Jon and I decided to do next time we go!)
This blog is already so incredibly long and it’s just a testament of the cruise and all of the activities that are offered to you. If you want more information, go ahead, and listen to our podcast episode linked down below AND I vlogged our whole weekend for my personal YouTube channel so that link is down below as well!
So, let’s answer the question that we posed at the beginning of the blog: “Are Disney cruises actually worth it?” I say 1,000% yes IF you and your family already love going to the parks and experiencing Disney magic. It just goes one more step beyond on a Disney cruise. If you’re here and you don’t really like Disney all that much or you wouldn’t consider yourself obsessed, maybe save some money, and take a cruise with another cruise line.
That’s it for today magical basics! Let me know what you want to see from us here on the blog in the future!
Stay Magical,
Katie (@partofkatiesworld)
