A Disney Cruise for Adults: 9 Things to Know When You Cruise Without Kids

Table Of Content

• The concierge lounge is extra magical
• I tried Disney Cruise Line's wearable DisneyBand+. Here's how it worked
• All the characters come out to say goodbye on the last night
• Disney Cruise Line extras: Which experiences are worth the splurge on your vacation? - Inside the Magic
• Best Disney Cruise Ships
• Vibe teen club for children ages 14–17

I shared a photo of the below beverage cart on Instagram while on a recent cruise and got dozens of messages from people shocked Disney would have Pappy's bourbon. That specific 23-year-old bottle goes for several hundred dollars per drink, and it's on board Disney cruise ships. Your "Key to the World" room key serves as your form of payment and identification on the ship. I highly recommend bringing a lanyard to keep track of this important card if it's your first Disney voyage.

Disney Wish Guests Disappointed with Service - Inside the Magic - Inside the Magic

Disney Wish Guests Disappointed with Service - Inside the Magic.

Posted: Wed, 12 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The concierge lounge is extra magical

Disney cruise ships offer two dinner options — early or late seating. Your showtime for the evening entertainment is opposite your dinner; if you have an early dinner, you have the late show and vice versa. There are plenty of characters to meet onboard Disney Cruise Line (and on the private island, Castaway Cay), and just like in the parks, they’re happy to meet you and your little ones. These characters also have the great benefit of being in great, sea-worthy outfits! Eskimo Minnie on the Alaska sailings has totally stolen my heart, but Captain Mickey (and now Captain MINNIE!) are iconic.

I tried Disney Cruise Line's wearable DisneyBand+. Here's how it worked

Family-friendly cruise rivals Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line, by contrast, each send three ships to Alaska each year, and Norwegian Cruise Line sends five vessels to the destination. Disney has cut back on voyages out of San Diego for 2024, after increasing its San Diego departures sharply in 2023. But it still offers several trips to Mexico out of the city on Disney Wonder. Disney Fantasy will also sail out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas and Caribbean year-round, offering longer voyages. Already, the first of those ships, the 2,508-passenger Disney Wish, has arrived, boosting the size of the Disney fleet from four ships to five and allowing for more departures to the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe.

All the characters come out to say goodbye on the last night

If you’re wanting to see the sights while you’re there, hotels downtown on South Beach are your best bets (and are still close to the port). Many Disney cruises embark from Port Canaveral or Port of Miami, so you may struggle to determine where you should stay! Port Canaveral is in the very small town of Cape Canaveral (home to the Kennedy Space Center), so if you want to stay close to the port, or maybe check out the space center, then below are a couple of good picks.

Seven-night sailings include calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Disney Cruise Line's top destination has always been the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Since its founding more than two decades ago, the brand has based the bulk of its fleet in Florida to offer sailings to the islands. Port Canaveral, which is just an hour away from Disney's Orlando-area theme parks, has always been its biggest hub. All these new ships arriving in quick succession will likely mean not just more departures to destinations where Disney Cruise Line is established but also sailings in new regions. Disney Magic has come a long way since its 1998 debut as the first vessel on the Disney cruise line.

Best Disney Cruise Ships

You don’t have to book all of your Port Adventures before embarkation or once you arrive at each port. So if you love the standard rotational dining aboard ship (and who doesn’t) you will adore dining at Palo or Remy even more. If splurging on an incredibly fancy meal aboard the Disney Dream or Disney Fantasy is in your budget, we’d choose Remy over Palo. But if you’re trying not to spend too much, we’d opt for Palo and skip the wine pairings.

How much does it cost to go on Disney Magic?

Cruises are easy to enjoy but can be complicated to plan if you are new to this type of travel. You want someone who can help you pick the right cabin type and location for your group and keep track of when you can snag those onboard activities you really want. Another way to save on a Disney cruise is to look at a one-way repositioning sailing, as those often price lower than other similar cruises. For example, the cruise line may need to end a cruise in a particular port to reposition the ship to do some sailings from there. You'll have to get yourself back home from that port, but you may save on the cruise in the process. On these shortest cruises, concierge-level cabins and access start at a little over $5,000 for a family of four.

Have you ever splurged on extra experiences on a Disney Cruise Line vacation? Let us know in the comments!

The video captures the retriever, who is trained in mobility assistance and medical response to help Ashton travel safely and independently, excitedly interacting with one of Disney's famous characters. “We don’t know for sure if Katie was ever declared an SP,” Ortega told Page Six. A regular church member, whose wife and daughter left Scientology, would be encouraged to disconnect from them, but Cruise might have been spared that option because of his “top celebrity” status. There have been questions about whether Holmes and her daughter were declared Scientology “suppressive persons,” or SPs, after the divorce. But Suri’s relationship with her father changed after Holmes reportedly “blindsided” him by filing for divorce in 2012.

Vibe teen club for children ages 14–17

Disney cruise ships offer many other dining options beyond the three included themed restaurants — most included, some not. Palo is the adults-only restaurant on each of the four Disney Cruise Line ships. It will cost you an extra $40 per person for brunch or dinner, and an extra $99 per person if you choose to do the wine pairing option with dinner. The restaurant itself is themed after Northern Italy with elegant Disney touches, and it comes highly recommended by most Disney Cruise Line guests.

I also found the DisneyBand+ to be helpful when paying for extra items onboard such as merchandise and opening our stateroom door. Effectively I never needed to carry my Key to the World Card (Disney’s term for their room keys) while I was onboard the Disney Fantasy ship. On October 18, 2023, Disney announced that guests sailing onboard Disney Dream will be able to use DisneyBand+ beginning on November 20, 2023. There seems to be no such thing as a discounted Disney cruise or a Disney cruise deal. I found that our trip cost easily 2-3x the cost of other cruises! I’m not sure if all the Disney extras were really worth the inflated price.

She was ill one evening and ate in her room and the other two nights our party ate at Remy and Palo. If you’re sailing in a concierge stateroom, tipping is slightly different – I’ll cover that in a sec. The bare bones Disney Cruise Line gratuity amount is currently $14.50, per person, per night, for guests staying in non-concierge staterooms. For myself personally, I now view the DisneyBand+ as a fun accessory to wear that has some added technology to enhance the cruise experience with Disney Cruise Line. I would caution guests from purchasing a band simply for the technology itself, as this aspect is limited. If you are looking for a fun, unique, and wearable Disney cruise souvenir, then perhaps a DisneyBand+ would be a good purchase for you.

If you’re just giving the recommended amount, you don’t really have to do anything. Your folio (cruise bill) will be billed the standard amount (or you’ve paid the standard amount in advance) and that amount will be automatically distributed to your crew team. Several years ago I traveled on a three-night Disney Cruise Line with a group of friends.

On a seven-night cruise, there will be one "formal" night in addition to a semiformal night. The clothing requirements are actually the same for both formal and semiformal nights; the biggest difference is on formal night when the characters also dress up for photos. The best location on a Disney cruise ship if you are prone to getting seasick is the center part of the ship because you’ll feel the least movement there. Specifically, try to reserve Deck 6 Midship on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, Deck 6 or 7 Midship on the Disney Wish, and Decks 7 and 8 Midship on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Like Disney Magic, Disney Wonder offers the Oceaneers Club and the Oceaneers Lab for children ages 3-10.

Something fun and unexpected that we discovered during our cruise onboard the Disney Fantasy was that whenever we clapped during a show or entertainment the DisneyBand+ would light up and change colors. You'll want to make sure it's always charged and ready to go, so you do not miss any of these experiences. “Don’t miss your chance to add these delightful nautical bands to your Disney collection, because these exclusive designs can only be purchases by guests sailing on a Disney cruise! DisneyBand+ designs may be limited on board - so be sure to purchase in advance to ship the full variety of available bands,” states Disney Cruise Line. DisneyBand+ is a rechargeable device, and we found that the charge lasted for about two days of use on a full charge, meaning that we only had to charge our DisneyBand+ a couple times throughout the 7-night cruise.

Click here for a no-obligation quote so you can chat with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner about your next Disney Cruise Line experience. There's no doubt that families make up a large portion of the Disney Cruise Line passenger base, but a Disney cruise is not just for kids. The ships cater to childless couples and friend groups with special spaces reserved just for grownups.