Best For Short Cruises: Disney Dream
Courtesy of Disney Cruise
Sails To: Bahamas
The Disney Dream is stationed in Port Canaveral about an hours drive from Disney World Resort in Central Florida ideal for families who want to visit the parks before their cruise. The main difference between the Disney Dream and the other ships in the fleet is that it only sails to the Bahamas on short, 3-to-5-night voyages that include Disneys privately-owned paradise, Castaway Cay. Dream first set sail in 2011, and like sister ship the Disney Fantasy, she carries 4,000 passengers significantly more than the two older ships . One highlight on Dream is the Aqua Duck Waterslide, a transparent, four-story slide that extends over the side of the ship that passengers zoom down in rafts .
Oceaneer Club And Oceaneer Lab For Children Ages 312
All four Disney ships have amazing spaces for kids in the 3- to 12-year-old range in the Oceaneer Club and Lab. Here youre going to find things like video games, an indoor slide, fun programs with the staff, surprise character visits and so much more. Your kids do need to be potty trained to stay in this club, so use that as motivation for a kid approaching 3 years old before your next cruise!
Your kids dont need an appointment to pop in here, they can come anytime from open to close and it stays open pretty late.
There will be open hours on the first day and select times on other dates that parents can stay with kids and play, but most of the time it is kids-only.
Your kids will check in and out by scanning a special MagicBand that also tracks where they are exactly within the kid clubs.
Once your child turns 8, you have the option of giving them self check-out privileges. We did not quite feel comfortable with that at 8 years old, but it is a choice and youll get a notification on your Wave phone when your child checks in or out of the kids club.
While kids up to 12 are welcome in the main, large Oceaneer Club, they may start hoping to move up to the tween club by the time they are 10 years old.
What Is The Difference Between The Classic And The Newer Disney Dream Ships
The really obvious answer to this is their size. There is a lot of difference if you compare the Disney Cruise Ships.
If you want a smaller Disney cruise ship which is easier to get around and also to get to know, you will be happier on the classic ships.
If you want more facilities and dont mind the fact that there are more people, the newer Disney ships are the best.
However, it really isnt that simple. There are many other things to consider when you ask yourself which is the best Disney cruise ship.
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Disney Cruise Line Fleet
While it may be a household name, Disney Cruise Line is actually a very small line. It currently has just four ships actively in the fleet, compared to 26 over at Royal Caribbean.
Out of the four, there are two smaller ships and two larger ones.
The largest two ships in Disneys fleet are the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy, at 1,115 feet in length and 14 decks high. These two ships have a passenger capacity of 4,000 people spread out across 1,250 staterooms. The overwhelming majority of cabins on these ships have an ocean view or verandah with only 12% being interior staterooms .
The Dream is a workhorse of short three- and four-night sailings from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Bahamas, home to Disneys private island, Castaway Cay. The Fantasy also normally calls Port Canaveral home but does various longer Caribbean sailings.
The smaller two ships in the Disney Cruise Line lineup are the Disney Wonder and the original ship in the fleet, the Disney Magic. These two ships are 984 feet long and 11 decks high, and each has the capacity for 2,713 passengers across 875 staterooms. On these two smaller ships, 70% of passenger cabins have ocean views or verandahs.
Disneys Wonder and Magic usually get around a bit more than the larger two ships. Depending on the time of year, you might find the Wonder sailing out of places such as Galveston, Texas New Orleans California or Alaska. The Magic can often be found in Miami, New York, Canada and Europe.
Only Teenagers Can Hang Out In The Coolest Part Of The Ship
The frontmost part of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy ships hosts a private sundeck and secret splash pools that are exclusively for use by 14 to 17-year-olds at onboard youth club, Vibe. There is supervision, of course, and Disney Cruise Lines famously fun activities, but its practically a private vacation resort for high schoolers to chill at all day and night.
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For The Ultimate Experience The Disney Fantasy Is The Best Cruise Ship To Try
Heres why: Of course, Disney will outfit its newest cruise ship with the best that it has to offer to Disney fans or people whod just like to try a Disney cruise. The Disney Fantasy is almost the same as the Disney Dream. The only difference youd find between the two sister ships is that their atrium and adult bars are decorated and named differently.
On top of that, the Disney Fantasy has longer cruises that sail on the Caribbean and the Bahamas. It also sails in Mexico, which makes for the ultimate Disney Cruise experience in other must-visit countries.
The 4 Best Disney Cruise Ships
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Best for Short Cruises: See Disney Dream Rates
“Only sails to the Bahamas on short, 3-to-5-night voyages that include Disneys privately-owned paradise, Castaway Cay.”
“Fantasy spends her time sailing to the Bahamas as well as longer voyages to both sides of the Caribbean.”
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What If You Dont Care At All About Disney Characters
Characters are just one part of Disney Cruise Line. If you dont seek them out, you rarely see any unless you hang out in the main atrium. They sometimes show up unannounced in various locations like the kids clubs.
Disney has great service, staterooms, food, family activities and entertainment that contribute to the numerous awards they have earned.
Plan To Exchange Your Currency Onboard
Not only does Disney Cruise Line take no commission for exchanging bills, but theyll actually honor the transactions rate of exchange for any leftover money. Simply present your receipt prior to the end of the cruise, and theyll convert your foreign currency back to your preferred denomination at the same rate, even if the exchange rate has since changed.
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Characters Have Their Own Cruise Wardrobe
Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Minnie wear special outfits for Pirate Night and on formal evenings, and they also tailor their outfits to where the cruise liner is headed that day. On Alaska sailings, expect to meet Mickey in fishermans overalls and Minnie in a fur-lined coat on trips through the Mediterranean sea, Goofy dons an Italy-inspired suit. Outfit changes are completely unannounced, so attend meet-and-greets often to see what the gang is sporting each day.
Rating The Worlds Best Cruise Line
In determining the winner for best cruises, readers ranked various cruise lines on staterooms, entertainment, food, service, shore excursions, and overall itineraries. Disney Cruise Line came out on top.
This has obviously been a challenging year and a half for Disney Cruise Line and cruises everywhere. Though sailings have picked back up for DCL, itineraries continue to be revised or entire cruises cancelled as necessary for the safety of passengers, Cast Members, and residents of ports of call.
Despite the issues cruise lines have been up against, Disney Cruise Line is sailing forward , with plans to make its maiden voyage in the Disney Wish in June of next year.
Not sure if youre going? You can just get more information about a potential Disney vacation.
Know your dates?
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Best Itinerary And Destination
The ships itinerary can be a strong factor in the quest to find the best Disney cruise ship for your family. For example, if you are looking for a cruise to Hawaii, this narrows down your choice right away since the Disney Wonder is the only ship that travels to Hawaii.
Similarly, you may want to choose the best ship for you based on the departure port. If you live on the east coast, you may not want to spend the time and money to fly all the way out to California for your trip.
Likewise, if you live near a specific port, you could drive and save money on flights. All of these factors could help narrow down your decision.
In addition, a ships itinerary may help sway you toward one ship over another. Castaway Cay, Disneys private island in the Bahamas, is a huge draw for cruisers. The best Disney cruise ship for your family may be one whose itinerary visits this picture perfect island!
The Kids Areas Arent Always Off
Activities at Marvels Avengers Academy and Star Wars: Millennium Falcon play areas are reserved for young ones, but all kids club spaces empty out for the open house,” when anyone can wander in and check out Vibes arcade games or OceaneerLabs high-tech designs. Dont skip out on Andys Room, either, which brings “Toy Story”to life while making for incredible Instagram snaps.
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The Most Memorable Character Experiences Wont Be At Meet
The lines to meet Mickey and Minnie are short on Disney Cruise Line, but favorites like Daisy Duck are known to freely wander the pool and jogging track decks, playfully surprising guests and often sharing elevator rides for a once-in-a-lifetime interaction. Dont miss the character dance parties either, which allow kids and adults to line dance with Goofy and shake it off with Donald Duck for an experience that goes beyond a hug and photograph.
Which Disney Cruise Ship Is The Best
- Post author:Drew S.
The Disney company has a total of four cruise ships. This is a relatively small cruise ship line compared to some of the other cruise ship companies. Nevertheless, there is so much to look forward to with each Disney Cruise ship. If you are trying to decide which Disney Cruise ship best, you have come to the right place.
So which Disney Cruise ship is the best? With only four contenders for the top spot, determining the best Disney Cruise ship is tough, especially for Disney fans. But while all Disney Cruise ships offer the best Disney-inspired cruise ship, the newest Disney Fantasy looks to be the best Disney Cruise ship to date.
Complete with an elegant design, high-end customer service, and some of the best amenities to keep both kids and adults entertained, Disney Fantasy is generally regarded as the best Disney Cruise ship. The Disney Fantasy cruise ship is also the newest ship of the Disney cruise line launching in 2012. Many people, however, say that Disney Magic, the oldest Disney Cruise ship, is the best.
Read on to learn more about which Disney Cruise ship is the best, as well as the feature and amenities of each Disney Cruise ship.
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Disney Wonder Cruise Ship
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Disney Wonder Overview
Disney Wonder is the second ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet and made its maiden voyage in August 1999. She is constructed in a nearly identical fashion as Disney Magic, although the ships interior is decorated in the Art Nouveau style rather than Art Deco. Disney Wonder has 11 public decks, 875 staterooms, a crew of roughly 950, and can accommodate 2,400 passengers. This Disney cruise ship has a length of 974 ft and a gross tonnage of 83,000.
Routes: The routes include the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Alaska, and the USAs West Coast
Still an excellent cruise ship .
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Disney Wonder Dining
Disney Cruise Line uses a dining rotation where guests rotated to a different restaurant each night. Guests are seated at the same table number with the same table guests and wait staff for every night they are on board. This creates less confusion and a friendly commodore among the guests.
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Disney Wonder Entertainment
Some of the entertainment and lifestyle highlights of Disney Wonder include Crown & Fin Pub, an adults-only British style pub, Frozen, A Musical Spectacular, and the relaxing and rejuvenating Senses Spa and Salon. Check here for a list of all onboard activities.
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Disney Wonder Activities for Kids
There Are Plenty Of Adult Spaces And Activities
The ship offers quite a few places for grownups to escape. These range from the adults-only pool and sun deck to a cluster of venues — a pub that shows live sporting events, a Champagne lounge, a bar with live music, and a nightclub with a DJ and dancing — that becomes adults-only after 9 p.m. Programming in these areas includes dancing, trivia, game shows and even a Quest scavenger hunt. Adult activities on a Disney cruise are often seasonal, as well. For example, our sailing, which was during Halloween, included an adult costume contest.
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The Entertainment Will Make Your Jaw Drop
Because Disney Cruise Line is backed by the Walt Disney Company, it has myriad resources at its disposal the entertainment options are mindblowing. One night on each sailing, a group of pirates takes over the ship, and Captain Jack Sparrow rappels down the funnel to save the day, kicking off an impressive fireworks display. If you’re looking for a bit of interactive fun, each vessel’s Midship Detective Agency sends you around the ship to gather clues via animated wall art.
In select Animator’s Palate restaurants, Crush from “Finding Nemo” interacts directly with passengers via LED screens throughout the venue.
Production shows are anything but the stale song-and-dance revues you might expect from other cruise lines. The special effects, costumes and choreography are simply spectacular — Broadway could learn a thing or two — and there’s enough adult humor sprinkled in to keep more mature cruisers interested. Like movies? You’re in luck. Disney owns Marvel, Lucasfilm, Touchstone and Pixar , so you can catch first-run films onboard, too.
A Disney Cruise For Adults: 9 Things To Know When You Cruise Without Kids
Ever wonder what it’s like to do a Disney cruise without kids? It’s probably all screaming children, overzealous “kidults” in cheesy Mickey apparel, obnoxious characters and overpriced food, right? Not even close.
While there are no Disney cruises for adults exclusively, we were still pleasantly surprised by what we discovered when we sailed on a three-night Disney itinerary aboard Disney Dream. For a look at what two kid-free travelers — one with no kids and one who left her 2-year-old at home — learned, read our list of nine things to know about a Disney adult cruise.
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View Of Beach At Castaway Cay
Want a view of the beach when in dock at Castaway Cay?
Book a room on the starboard side of the ship.
Disney ships will usuallyback into Castaway Cays dock, so the port side cabins will face the dock and the tram area while the starboard side cabins will face the beaches on Castaway Cay.
Just know, this is not a guarantee.
Sometimes there are conditions that will require docking in the opposite direction.
Save These Tips For Choosing A Disney Cruise
If youre considering setting sail with Disney, then be sure to save these tips on how to choose a Disney Cruise. Just pin the graphic below to Pinterest. Go ahead and follow while youre at it!
Do you have any tips or questions about how to choose a Disney Cruise? Let us know in the comments below!
This story is brought to you in partnership with Get Away Today. We receive a small commission on any vacations booked through Get Away Today, at no extra cost to consumers.
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What About Families With Food Allergies On Disney Cruises
Weve been very impressed with how well the staff of accommodated our food allergies and dietary restrictions on our cruise.In addition to notifying cast members in advance of specific allergies, we found that our rotational dining servers got to know our restrictions, but even when we ventured away from the dining rooms, cast members told us what we could have at the Castaway Cay lunch buffet in advance. And when we dined in the adult-only restaurants, the chefs made custom dishes when the menu could not be easily modified.
All four ships have Disneys unique rotational dining concept where guests have dinner in three uniquely themed restaurants throughout the cruise, and the dining room staff rotates with them so they stay in tuned to the guests needs and requests.
Book Your Preferred Disney Cruise Ship Early
Booking your Disney Cruise ahead of time will also save you money since you can book less expensive interior staterooms. Most of the time, a Disney Cruise trip will be more costly for you if you wait for the last minute before booking your trip. The reason is that pricier staterooms are left last, so an emergency or out-of-the-blue Disney Cruise trip might end up more expensive than Disneys regular prices.
Its also important to note that Disney seldom offers discounts. But when they do, you can get a fair amount of discount to save on your cruise trip.
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