When we went on our first family cruise I did a lot of research to decide which cruise to take and which cruise line would be the best for us. Every single bit of research I did pointed to choosing a Disney cruise. While Disney cruises often cost more than other cruise lines’ trips of comparable lengths and destinations, everyone said it was worth the extra money. We were not disappointed! After having gone on more cruises since then, I’ve been able to compare and come up with a few reasons why to chose a Disney cruise!
Why to pick a Disney cruise
1. The characters!
If you have a kid (or adult!)who loves Disney they will love all the character appearances on the ship. This isn’t the only cruise line that has characters, but it’s definitely the best! Our cruise has characters for fans of all ages from Disney junior to Thor to princesses. We were greeted on board by Minnie and Mickey! The characters also have various costumes that change based on the port location and they even dresses up for the formal night!
2. The food!
The food on the Disney cruise was actually really awesome! The restaurants are themed out and you rotate through them every night. Some people don’t care for assigned dining, but I found it nice to have a schedule and get to try out all the different restaurants. The food was really good and the desserts were awesome! I think it really says something about the quality and effort they put in when even the desserts are great. Compared to another cruise we on where the dessert were very “cafeteria” tasting, the Disney food was top notch!
3. The adults only pool area.
Now, I know Disney isn’t the only cruise line to have an adults only pool area. However, the pool area was very underused. Since there is a high number of families on a Disney cruise, most people were at the kid friendly main pools. If your kids love going to kids club like ours, why not drop them off and enjoy some quiet time at the adults pool? It was super relaxing and as a bonus the hot tubs were never full!
4. Everything about the cost is up front.
This was a big deal because when we went on another cruise there were so many hidden charges and up-sells it was mind boggling. All cruises have tips added on, but we just found that on the Disney cruise there weren’t any extra fees expected beyond that. It’s nice to go on-board and not be bombarded with up-sells after you spent so much money booking the vacation in the first place!
5. Soda machine!
That’s right, soda is included! We don’t actually drink a ton of soda, but it was really nice to get it when we wanted. This also included lemonade and club soda from the fountain! And here’s a fun tip- you can make your own soda floats! Just fill a soda cup with soft serve ice cream and add your favorite soda!
6. Dress up deck party.
I know many cruises have dress up nights, but a Disney cruise has Disney themed dressed up parties! Our cruise was in Northern Europe, so our dress up party was “Frozen” themed. You could dress up like your favorite Frozen character (or not) and enjoy the themed party, complete with fake snow! Disney cruises in the Caribbean do Pirate parties instead, and I hear people really go all out! They also have a fun sail away party, holiday parties on the holiday cruises as well as Marvel day at sea on select cruises.
7. The service was awesome.
Disney does customer service well and on the cruise it was the same. All the employees were super friendly and engaged. No one acted like you were ruining their day or interrupting them with your questions. This was a noticeable difference from other cruises we’ve been on where some of the employees were grumpy and rude. On the Disney cruise they were much more helpful and caring.
8. Character Breakfast.
I know I mentioned the characters already but this experience was above the regular character meet and greets! The character breakfast was a full service breakfast and we got to meet a lot of characters. It’s just like the character meals at the parks, except it’s totally free! You just have to make sure you sign up for it ahead of time so you can reserve tickets. Seeing the excitement of meeting the characters on my sons face was definitely worth it!
Have you been on a Disney Cruise? What are your reasons for picking one cruise over another?
Check out more information on our Northern Europe Disney Cruise with some fun tips and tricks for cruising!
