13 Reasons Why We Recommend the Disney Cruise Line For Your Vacation

Hi everyone!

We just returned from a 4-night Disney Dream cruise. This was my 4th Disney cruise since my first in 1998, just months after the Disney Cruise Line debuted. I also took ship tours 3 or 4 times through the years when I was an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, giving me a Disney Cruise fix in between sail dates.

We have videos embedded within our article, you can visit our entire Disney Dream 2014 playlist here! We will still be adding a few more videos over the next week.

This was our second time aboard the Disney Dream, the first being a 2-night media cruise in 2011 where we raced around to document the entire ship. This time around, we wanted to enjoy the guest experience. And we are already looking for Florida Resident discounts to reacquaint ourselves with the newly re-imagined Disney Magic, which is the ship I sailed on my first two cruises.

There are many cruise lines to choose from – so far, I’ve only sailed with the Disney Cruise Line. That may change someday, but it’s the Disney brand that keeps drawing us back to the cruises and parks.

Here are just 13 of the reasons why we recommend the Disney Cruise Line.

Character Interactions – Guests can meet with Disney characters from the time they first set foot into the Disney Cruise Line terminal. Minnie Mouse was greeting guests when we arrived to check in, and when she left, the attendant said not to worry – she’d be out another 50 times over the 4 days. I’m not sure if it was that often, but we saw her around frequently! We met so many characters without spending much time seeking them out – Princess Anna, Ariel, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale and more – and many characters change costumes through the cruise. We met Goofy in 4 or 5 different outfits! I wrote an article about meeting characters on the Disney Cruise Line here.

Cast Members – The Cast Members on the Disney Cruise Line have always been spectacular. From the moment we stepped onboard, it felt like we started forming relationships with them. Marco, our dining room server, remembered our names from our first meal. He always would greet our table of 6 as “family”. Corinne, our server from Palo, was one of the most delightful people I’ve ever encountered. I found it interesting that she was from France, but served in Palo – not Remy. And our stateroom attendant, Dewa was never without a smile and a “Have a great day”. Cast Members on the Disney Cruise Line work very long hours, yet bend over backwards to make sure that guests have a great time.

Sparking Clean Ships – From the common areas to the staterooms, the Disney Cruise Line ships are cleaned constantly. Staterooms are cleaned twice per day with turndown service in the evening. And it seemed like every time I walked into a public restroom, there was a Cast Member wiping something down or trash being removed.

Kids Clubs – It is not unusual for parents to see little of their children while on the Disney Cruise Line, due to the popularity of clubs that include the Oceaneers Club and Vibe. Children ages 3-17 have a place to hang out for organized or free play. While we don’t have children ourselves, I remember even back in 1998 another guest told me how much fun her kids were having. She usually didn’t see them until dinnertime! Of course, there are activities that families can do together as well. There is also “It’s a Small World Nursery” for infants (Flounder’s Reef on Disney Wonder, they are an additional fee). We noticed all the kids wearing what looked like MagicBands once they checked into the clubs.

Adult Areas – Some of our most relaxing moments were sitting in big, comfy chairs in the adults-only outdoor section of the ship. On the Disney Dream, there is the quiet Cove Pool attached to the Cove Bar. Guests can enjoy a jacuzzi soak here, or try to get online at the Cove Cafe hotspot (we had an impossible time getting on the internet anywhere, we were told they had just switched providers). A variety of nightclubs offer different themes, we enjoy the Skyline Lounge for the great “views” that include Paris and New York City.

Themed Dining – Each restaurant in the Disney Dream dining rotation is exquisitely decorated, from the fairytale Royal Palace to the immersive Pixar animation in Animator’s Palate, to the Versaille-inspired Enchanted Garden (each Disney ship is a little different with restaurant theming). The servers wear outfits that reflect the restaurant. My favorite of these restaurants overall was probably Enchanted Garden, with subtle Disney references (including a lovely Mickey fountain) and the best overall food we experienced in any of the main dining rooms. Cabanas was also a favorite of ours, with a terrific lunch buffet upon arriving on the ship that included carved turkey and beef, along with peel-and-eat shrimp and salads. Cabanas was also the setting for the late-night Pirate Night buffet that we stumbled upon (how did we not know they were having one?) We already had dinner at Palo that night, so we couldn’t indulge much – but definitely save room, the food looked great! Jeff did try the turkey leg below, in part because it made a great picture!

Fine Dining – Speaking of themed dining…our most favorite meal of all was the Remy Champagne Brunch. Remy and our Palo dinner were our two splurges while on the cruise. I wrote an article about our Remy Champagne Brunch here! It is fine dining in an exquisite setting that revolves around the theme of the famous Pixar rat, Remy.

Disney Entertainment – Two shows in the Walt Disney Theater on the Disney Dream are not to be missed: The Golden Mickeys and Believe (Villains Tonight was just okay for us). The talented actors on the Disney Cruise Line put on a variety of different high-caliber performances. Whichever ship you choose to sail on, there is a slate of shows to enjoy. And we LOVED the “See Ya’ Real Soon” presentation with characters in the lobby on the last night of our cruise. It only lasted a few minutes, but capped off the cruise in a way that only Disney could. The Buccaneer Blast fireworks on Pirate Night are always a lot of fun as well!

Castaway Cay – Even for someone who isn’t beach inclined (I can usually take it or leave it), Castaway Cay is a relaxing oasis. We didn’t spend but an hour on Castaway Cay during our 2-night cruise due to being so busy, but we made sure to rectify that this time. There are shore excursions to be had here – I had my first (and last) parasailing experience on Castaway Cay in 2002. It scared me to pieces, but I was glad my one parasailing stint happened in this gorgeous location. I also have enjoyed biking around the island. This time around, we stopped to see nearly every character we found along the way – there were a lot! Captain Jack even came ambling down the adult beach, where we spent a couple of hours. While we enjoyed the Serenity Bay adult beach and the barbecue there, we eventually made our way back to the main beach, with a view of the Disney Dream. Jeff went snorkeling to find the Disney statues and 20k submarine, then took 5 trips down Pelican Plunge, which offers 2 slides that drop riders into the ocean! And before we re-boarded the ship, we sent ourselves a postcard from the Castaway Cay Post Office.

 

The AquaDuck and AquaDunk – The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy both offer a 765 foot water coaster known as the AquaDuck – the large slides provide great views for guests on the way down! The re-imagined Disney Magic has the new AquaDunk slide, which sounds like a lot of fun and we hope to get to try it this year.

Highly Rated – Conde’ Nast released it’s 2014 rankings of cruise lines, based on 80,000 reader reviews. In the big ships category, Disney Cruise Line took 4 spots in the top 5 (out of 20). In the 6 years I was an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I must have booked 100+ trips for guests, and I never received one complaint about the ships. Not one. And nearly every family booked another cruise while onboard.

First-Run Disney Movies – Not everyone wants to watch films while on a cruise, and we unfortunately didn’t have a chance to catch one (we also had seen and reviewed most of them). But for those who are interested, our cruise offered Monsters University, Frozen, Frozen Sing-a-Long, Thor and Saving Mr. Banks. It’s a great way to catch up on current Disney films in a theater setting without shelling out extra for a movie ticket. We were told that Frozen debuted on the ships at midnight at the same time it did in theaters.

Disney Difference – From the impeccable service onboard the Disney Cruise Line to all the little touches like the enchanted art on the Disney Dream, Disney music being piped through the sound system, even mirrors taking the shape of Mickey in the bathrooms – there is nothing like sailing with Disney. And one of my favorite little changes that happened years ago is the luxurious H20 products on the cruise (and in the resorts).

What really hit me during this cruise is how different everyone experiences the Disney Cruise Line. There is SO much to do, that the two couples at our dinner table had vastly disparate experiences than us. When we stopped at Nassau, Jeff and I mostly stayed onboard, just venturing out for a half hour. Another couple went to swim with dolphins, and the other rented a motorbike and drove through the streets of Nassau. And onboard it was the same. It was really fun each night to hear what adventures everyone at our table had during the day. There is nothing like a Disney cruise.

Visit Disney Cruise Line online for specifics about the ship and itinerary you are interested in!

We also talk about our Disney Dream Cruise on Mousesteps Weekly shows #88 and 89!

My next article will be recommendations for booking and sailing on a Disney cruise!