Why a Disney Cruise is Worth the Money
By , Cruise Specialist | June 01, 2015 ( Comments)
Okay, so you’ve seen the price on the Disney cruise of your dreams. It’s certainly not the least expensive option out there, and most of the time, it’s not even close. It is at this point that a lot of travelers make the choice to pursue a different cruise line. After all, a cruise is a cruise, right?
Wrong.
Disney Cruise Line, without a doubt, is worth every single penny and more. The experience not only provides the perfect vacation, but will provide you and your fellow travelers with memories to carry with you for the rest of your life. The purpose of this post is to demonstrate to potential Disney cruisers without any reasonable doubt that the preceding statement is 100% truth.
Food on Disney Cruises
Shall we start with everyone’s favorite part? With the added cost of a Disney Cruise, many would assume that their food would be better than any of their competitors. And you’re right!
Disney Cruise Line’s food literally is unparalleled. The quality of every plate is the same level as the very best restaurants in Walt Disney World. Think Be Our Guest Restaurant, Citricos, and California Grill.
Although I love the food and product of Carnival, the lobster Disney is serving is much more succulent. You can taste just how tender it is, compared to the chewiness of Carnival’s.
On the very first day of your Disney Cruise, you will experience an amazing meal at the buffet, comprised of Lamb Chops, Stone Crab Claws, Mussels, Sword Fish, Ribeye steaks, and more! And that’s just the buffet! On Royal Caribbean, you are treated to nothing of the sort!
Where other cruise lines get away with lowering the quality of the food in the main dining rooms to drive guests to the specialty restaurants, Disney continues to increase the quality of all their dining venues.
And by dining venues, I mean multiple dining rooms! Disney Cruise Line uses what they call rotational dining, which means every night you’ll be dining in a different dining room, free of charge! Each new dining room brings a new experience. Dine in formal dining rooms such as Lumiere’s, Tritons, the Royal Palace, and the Royal Court. Enjoy the immersive experience of Animator’s Palate, where the dining room comes to life throughout your meal. You can even meet Crush from Finding Nemo in the Animator’s Palate, and become an animator yourself! Don’t forget about Carioca’s, Parrot Cay, and the Enchanted Garden, where daytime becomes night in a magical garden while you dine. All these experiences, all included.
Service on Disney Cruises
In order to work for the Walt Disney Company in any capacity, one must go through a vigorous training program known as Traditions. As a former Cast Member, I remember just how informative and inspiring this class was. I walked out of the training wanting to be the best Cast Member I could be, and make the most magic for the most amount of people. All of the crew members aboard Disney’s ships have been through this training program, and are ready to make your cruise vacation more magical than anything you have ever experienced. All of them are willing to help you with anything you may need, and are willing to do it with a smile. And the best part is, they will help you even if it takes them out of their way.
All of them go above and beyond what you would ever expect, and it all stems from the background in Disney training.
Other cruise lines do indeed train their employees very well, in fact, Holland America builds training campuses in other countries! None of them, however, can match the level of service that Disney provides. An important thing to keep in mind would be that Disney is not a cruise line. They are a massive company specializing in entertainment, hospitality and unparalleled service; they simply happen to own four cruise ships!
The Shows on Disney Cruises
If you’re looking for a major value-adding benefit of a Disney Cruise, the shows are definitely one of the first things to consider. The shows onboard Disney’s ships reach into Disney’s DEEP library of films, stories, and songs to create shows that everyone can relate to, regardless of age. Disney’s Believe, for example, is a story about a father learning that the real magic in life is the magic in his daughter’s heart. Complete with cameos from the Genie from Aladdin, Merlin, and even Fairy Godmother, this spellbinding spectacular is worthy of being on Broadway!
The best part is, you’ll find shows almost every night of your cruise! These shows include Tangled: The Musical, Villains Tonight, Wishes, Twice Charmed, the Golden Mickeys, and Disney Dreams. Do not miss the shows!
Other acts include variety shows of extremely talented artists ranging from jugglers to ventriloquists!
First Run Disney Movies
Been dying to see the new Avengers movie? Miss out on seeing Pixar’s latest masterpiece? Catch up on your movies at sea in Disney Cruise Line’s Buena Vista Theater! You can literally see as many first-run movies (movies still in theaters) as you want, all included in the price of your cruise.
We may or may not have gone and saw Avengers: Age of Ulton 4 times… I’ll never admit to it! (Just kidding I’m proud).
Children's Programming on Disney Cruises
Ever heard that a Disney Cruise is just for kids? The quality of their children’s programming is probably why! It is the most highly regarded children’s program on any cruise line. Kids ages 3 to 17 all have somewhere to go to have the time of their lives.
Kids 3 to 6 can hang out in the Oceaneer’s Club, a brilliantly Disney-themed space catering to this age group. They can explore four themed “lands” which would vary on each of the four ships. They can include Finding Nemo, Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars, Toy Story, and more!
Kids 7 to 12 would enjoy the Oceaneer’s Lab, which is a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed space where Oceaneers can “drive” the ship in a replica of the bridge, learn to draw their favorite Disney Characters, do some lab experiments, and more!
Tweens age 11 to 14 can hang out in Edge, which is a “loft” like club that includes an illuminated dance floor and computers for video games. Many youth staff will lead activities such as music trivia, karaoke, and more.
Teens ages 14 to 17 can enjoy Vibe, which on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, takes up the entire bow of the ship! Teens have their own hot tubs and tanning areas in the outdoor portion, and a home theater, smoothie bar, dance area, and more on the inside!
It is truly the best kids programming at sea!
Fireworks on Disney Cruises
Enjoy the best fireworks at sea! (And the only worth mentioning). One night during every Caribbean or Bahamas Disney Cruise, the ship is transformed into a Pirate ship during the Pirates in the Caribbean night! Enjoy a unique dinner menu and even dress up in your pirate gear!
At the very end of the evening, the night sky on deck comes to life with fireworks queued to the music of Pirates of the Caribbean! Keep an eye out for Captain Jack Sparrow swinging down from the smokestack!
Disney's Castaway Cay
Ever visited paradise? If you’ve never been to Castaway, it’s likely you haven’t! Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. Almost every Caribbean and Bahamas cruise makes a stop here. With every other cruise line, the ships would not be able to dock on the island, so you’d have to tender in. Which means you’d need to get into a smaller boat to get to shore, not to mention wait in line for said smaller boat. This is not a problem for Disney Cruise Line, as any of their four ships can dock alongside Castaway for the best experience possible, you can get on and off as you please.
As an added benefit of being able to dock on the island, the ship can connect its onboard accounting system to the shops and bars on the island, so it’s a cashless environment! All you need is your key to the world card!
Also, almost everything on the island is included in the cost of your cruise. Use of all facilities including the kid’s programming, Pelican’s Plunge, the snorkel lagoon, Serenity Bay (the Adult-Only Beach), and the family beach are all included. Your food is also included! Feast of some delicious barbeque on sun soaked beaches. Ribs, Mahi Mahi, Chicken, and grilled to order Ribeye steaks! All you need to pay for on the island is alcohol and equipment rental.
Adult Areas on Disney Cruises
Believe it or not, 65% of all cruisers on Disney Cruise Line are sailing without children. Also, Disney Cruise Line’s ships have more space dedicated to Adults Only, than any other cruise line!
Guests over the age of 18 can enjoy Sports Bars, night clubs, adult only dining rooms, Champagne bars, adult only pools, hot tubs, tanning areas, and more!
The adult spaces are distinctive and alluring and quite likely the envy of passengers of other cruise lines. The Skyline Bar alone, which is a space where the “view” changes to skylines of different cities, is worthy of repeated visits. Not only does the view change, but so does the drink special, and the ambient music!
Soda and Alcoholic Beverages on Disney Cruises
While alcohol is not included in the price of your cruise, soda is! Soda is all you can drink, all day, from the buffet and dining rooms on all Disney Cruises. It is available 24/7. Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line to do this.
Even though any alcohol that you receive on the ship comes at a charge, Disney has a rather unique and surprising policy regarding bringing some along from home. Guests are allowed to bring as much as they want, so long as it is stored in the carry-on luggage. Who’d have thought?!
Disney Characters Onboard
How many of us have been touched by the timeless Disney stories told in their animated films? Whether we were young or old when we saw them, all Disney movies have something we can all relate to. Whether Simba’s running from his past, Elsa’s fear of what people think of her, Cinderella’s determination to be more than what her step mother wanted her to be. All of these stories feature characters that we have grown to love, and these are the characters that can be found onboard all four ships in person or in spirit.
Disney Cruise Line also is the only place you can meet Anna and Elsa without waiting an hour or more! (Just figured I’d put this here).
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian also have characters, but they are not Disney Characters. They are false imitations that may entertain kids, they don’t have the same weight as the true Disney characters.
The Little Things
How many cruises have you been on where you’ve seen crew members cleaning the outside of the ship? Probably a lot! But how many cruises have you been on where you’ve seen the crew members cleaning outside of the ship every single day? Probably not many!
On Disney Cruise Line, they pride themselves on the overall condition of the ship. There is no rust, there are no dents, and the windows are clean. That’s not something you find very often.
Aside from the outside, the interior of the ship is immaculate! The public restrooms are ALWAYS clean, carpet is always being steam cleaned or vacuumed, and paint is always being refreshed on walls. Nothing is ever out of place, and if it is, watch it for a few minutes and watch as the situation is fixed.
One of my personal favorite touches however, is that the Princesses and Characters actually remember your name! On several different occasions, I have been called out to by a Disney Princess and Captain America by name, after having only met them once!
In closing, although Disney Cruise Line may not be the cheapest cruise on the market, or have the best promotions, it is truly the best for guests of all ages and from all around. You’ll never find a more valuable cruise. If there is any product I stand behind 100%, it is Disney Cruise Line. I will always continue to pay more for Disney, because I don’t want to go on a mediocre vacation. I don’t want to waste my valuable vacation days on anything less than perfect. This is the vacation for you, and it’s worth every single penny, and more.
Wanna go? Call me at 1-800-439-1909 ext 7856 and get the best Disney Cruise Advice around! (and a great price!)
Nico
