My Experience as a First Time Disney Cruiser
After living in Florida for over 20 years, my family and I had never been on a Disney cruise. Now, with three kids all potty trained and pandemic restrictions lifted, we knew it was time to make some magical memories. And let me tell you, this 7-day cruise was absolutely priceless for our family.
The Route
7 day Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean
- Day at Sea
- Cozumel, Mexico
- George Town, Grand Cayman
- Falmouth, Jamaica
- Day at Sea?
- Disney Castaway Cay
This cruise was booked 2 months before sailing and during a sold out weekend during Easter week.
The Deal
We were able to take advantage of an amazing deal for Disney+ subscribers, which allowed us to save on select sailings and have the 3rd and 4th person sail for free.
I had to call Disney Cruise to check for the availability for our family of 5 and was thrilled to find out that someone had just canceled and a spot was available. I put it on hold until midnight the next day and then had to pay in full since it was within 3 months of sailing time.
The charges ended up being $2,500 per adult, with child #3 and 4 sailing for free (saving us $3,000), and an extra child costing $1,500. The total cost, including port charges and taxes, was $7,400.
Luckily, I have a Disney+ subscription, which is reimbursed as part of my monthly $20 statement from my American Express Platinum card. This applies to certain streaming subscription services, including Disney+.
The charges were:
$2,500 per adult * 2
Child 3+4= FREE (Saved $3,000)
$1,500 extra child
Total: $7,400 including port charges and taxes
It ended up being just over $200 per person per day, which in our opinion, was a great deal considering the size of our family, the length of the cruise, and all meals included, except for the adult dining extras.
The Strategy – Disney Gift Cards
Now, let’s talk strategy. You can book and pay with a credit card in full and buy Disney gift cards later.
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After you have confirmed your reservation is paid within their timeframe, you can still apply Disney gift cards towards the Disney account used for the Disney cruise reservation. You will get a credit back to your credit card. Simply call Disney Cruise Line at (800) 951-3532 and ask for a credit to your account (goes back to your credit card) for any gift cards applied.
Before you call, you can combine several Disney gift cards online to make the process faster with the phone agent.
This is a maximization strategy if you can purchase Disney gift cards at retailers that earn more than 2x per dollar. I purchased all the Disney gift cards at Office Max/Staples, using my Chase Business Ink Cash card, which allowed me to earn 5x per dollar spent. This applies to buying ANY gift card in their store, including Disney.
Just keep in mind that the maximum allowed per day, per store, per person is $2,000 and will require an ID that a manager will input in their Anti Money Laundering system. But trust me, it’s worth it!
Total Earned from Gift card purchases: 35,000 Ultimate rewards points
I also earned the welcome bonus offer from Chase Business Ink Cash, for 90,000 (now 75,000) bonus points after all the gift cards were purchases
Total points earned from the Disney Cruise expense, after buying $8,000 in gift cards: 130,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards.
I will use those points for future redemptions and travel opportunities that can offer a good value.
Freebies before the cruise
Free Printable book from Disney Cruise Line to get you and your family excited about the upcoming sailing.
We have a binding machine so we made a book out of it and gave it to the kids before our sailing. There are coloring pages in the end which can come in handy for those with smaller children.
Magnet Downloads from Disney
A few things I learned before going on our first Disney Cruise
Search for THE DISNEY Facebook Group with your exact sailing dates
You will find many posts of other cruisers going on your specific sailing and it’s a forum to ask questions, ask about tours, recommendations, and signup forms for Fish Extenders, Pixie Dusting, and pin trading while aboard the ship.
You can bring 2 bottles of wine per adult, per port
Instead of wine, you can also bring a 6-pack of beer or seltzer beverage of choice (White Claw, TRULY, etc).
If you finish your bottles early, you can buy some at the ports where you stop.
No Alcohol, unless you want to have them hold it for you until the end of the voyage
The dining staff is awesome
All the food while on board is included, except for specialty things that would be indicated, like lattes, gelato, and adult dining. You change restaurants every night of the sailing and will see your assigned restaurant on the Disney Navigator App. This gives you a chance to sample different ambiance and menu themes.
Suara and Adam, our attendants, were from Bali and Malaysia. I enjoyed getting to know about their background and how their lives are working on a Disney cruise. They knew your kid’s preferences and another amazingness is they even cut your kid’s food for you! My son enjoyed trying so many nights of steak and they could always end with ice cream Mickey Ears for dessert.
The staff stays with you and your family during the rotational dining every night. This excludes the evenings when you plan to have adult dining nights, from service or self-service on the pool deck.It was great having the personalized experience while away from home for so many days.
Free Activities on Board
Midship Detective Agency
Solve a mystery case by collecting clues from interactive paintings around the ship. You can start this on Day 1 and complete at your own pace during your sailing.
- You need to register and get your card activated. on Disney Fantasy, the kiosks were in Deck 2 or 5. The cards will keep a record of all the clues received.
- Register several cards for different kids. They will all want to solve their own case and each picture will give a different clue to the case assigned to that card.
- Use the map of the ship to view the locations of the interactive artwork
- Find the artwork with the signs on the floor and activate it with your Detective card
- Solve the case after receiving enough clues. There are over 12 different endings so everyone can participate.
Kids/Tweens/Teens Club
Get them checked in on the first day and later find out if they will want to try the Kid’s Clubs. There will be a club for all ages and especially after being potty trained!
My younger ones loved it, but my teenager, not as much. Depends on your child, but they are entertained the entire time.
Animation Classes
This was great for all ages. A LIVE instructor will demonstrate step by step how to draw a Disney character. They also have a large projection screen so everyone in the room can view the demonstration.
You will receive paper and pencil to use and will need a table to hard surface so you can trace as the animator indicates.
I was able to draw Pluto one day and Stitch on a different day. I highly recommend for anyone that likes any kind of drawing and art.
Cook with Me – Cooking Classes
This is a fun activity for any age. We attended a class from the head baker on the cruise and learned how to make Apple Strudel. You get to watch, sample and take home the recipe.
Perfect for Days at Sea.
Endless soft-serve ice cream on the pool deck
You can make your own Sundae and make it fun by bringing sprinkles. That was a popular Fish Extender gift we received and also brought to distribute!
This is a busy area and has 4 flavor options including some mixed like Mago and Chocolate, which ended up tasting very interesting!
Other Fun things to try: Cabin exchange groups
Fish Extenders
Fish Extenders is a cabin gift exchange with other cabins cruising on the same voyage. You bring gifts for others in your assigned group of cabins to give gifts to. Those cabins will also give you and your family gifts.
You will need a hanging “mailbox” outside your cabin to receive these gifts from your Fish Extender group.
Questions the Fish Extender group will need to know in order to gift accordingly:
- Number of people in your cabin
- ages for each person
- gender
- favorite Disney character
- Cabin #
After signing up within the Facebook group, the admin will send you a Google sheet with all the members of your group and the answers to the questions above. My group was “Woody” and it was 5 cabins to exchange with.
Pixie Dust
If you do not want to commit to having to shop and bring gifts as a Fish Extender, you can still participate in the magic of Pixie Dusting! This is considered “Random Acts of Kindness” and you can also sign up your cabin for Pixie Dust only. The Facebook group Admin will send a list of all the cabins that said “YES” to pixie dust in the signup form.
Type of gifts received from Pixie Dusting:
- Disney Stickers
- Magnets
- Disney silicone bracelets
- Rubber ducks
- Ornament
- Pins
- Small toys
Pin Trading
Leaving an area outside your cabin with a “station” including pins you would like others to exchange with you. It is like you “take one and leave one”, kind of exchange. This applies to Disney themed type of pins.
We received Pixie dust items that were homemade Disney Cruise Line and details of the ship and year of sailing, which was nice to bring bag as our specific souvenir.
Magnet Trading and Room Decor
Bring or Find Ducks aboard the ship
This is a fun thing to know, just in case you find a rubber duck aboard the ship. Cruisers will leave or hide ducks around the ship, excluding pool area, shops, and restaurants.
You can hide your own ducks and leave a tag indicating where the duck came from, or your family name. We were lucky to find 2 of them, one along the hallway around the Kids Club and the other inside the elevator.
We bought a few at the Dollar tree and I added a Disney vinyl sticker and our tag, indicating it came from Florida. My kids enjoyed hiding those around the ship for others to find. Other cabins gifted us ducks as part of their pixie dust, so we kept those as a memento.
Shows and Entertainers
The entertainment is included aboard and includes nightly shows. During our voyage, we saw a Broadway-like show of Aladdin, Frozen, and other entertainers like a ventriloquist comedian and an illusionist. in the DCL Navigator App
Extra Fee Activities
There are optional add-ons you can reserve in advance and be able to plan your itinerary if certain activities are important to you.
I love the Spa and having a nice quiet dinner while we have a built-in Kids Club.
SPA
When on vacation, a stop at the Spa for a massage is always a great way to unwind, if you are able to secure an appointment. This can be reserved in advance of the cruise, on the Disney Navigator App, and I suggest booking early for days you plan to be on the ship.
There is only access to a steam room inside the ladies’ bathroom, and no access to the Rainforest area. That was a separate day or weekly pass that was offered and I did not select.
I enjoyed a 50-minute massage for $149 + 18% gratuity.
Enjoy a Dinner date with Adult Dining
Palo and Remy restaurants
Palo is fine Italian dining and is a la carte. Although suggested price is $45 per person, which is how it shows up on the Disney Cruise Line app.
Remy – French Cuisine
Remy is French fine dining beautifully crafted by a Michelin star chef on board. The experience will last up to 3 hours and 2 menu selections with a pice-fixe menu of $125 per person.
Drinks are not included in either restaurant. They can assess a corkage fee of $25 per bottle that you wish to bring on board from home or various ports
Both restaurants had excellent service, unobstructed ocean panoramic views, and were well worth the experience. Let’s not forget that the kids are happily being entertained inside the Kids Club, which is already included.
Goofy Sports – Golf Simulator
We were able to secure a 30-minute slot on one of the mornings of our port days. IN our case, it was Day 5, Jamaica, and since we had no tours planned, I decided to put my teenage son’s name down.
Cost for 30-minute golf simulator: $29
My son was able to try virtually playing on the Pebble Beach golf course and the machine had a glitch while he sill had 10 minutes left. I asked if he could make up the time later and they said yes, so he came back 2 hours later and had another 30 minute session.
Specialty Coffee and lattes
For those latter lovers or in need of better coffee options. You can purchase coffee, for about $5 each. They are very cutely decorated on top of the foamed milk with a Disney character.
Ask for the Frequet Coffee Drinker card and for every 5 drinks you purchase, you get one free. I was able to cash mine in on the last day and took it for the road after debarkation. There is a small bar in the lobby, near the pictures that is open until everyone leaves.
Gratuities
You can select to have the gratuities charged to your onboard account. At the end of the cruise, they charged $14.50 per person per day. It reflects on the Navigator App as a deduction per person of $100, for a total of $500 in gratuities for 5 travelers for 7 days.
The night before the end of the cruise, you will also receive envelopes, should you decide to extra appreciate in cash, some of the service team members like the Head Waiter, Room Steward, other wait staff, etc. That is completely up to you.
I calculated this in advance and pre-purchased a Disney gift card to add it to my onboard account.
Photos
You can buy packages of 10 photos for $149, up until the morning of debarkation.
Unlimited photos are $249.
You can download them after the cruise, on this link
Podcast Episode – Listen on the Disney Points Podcast
I had the pleasure of re-living my experience aboard the Disney cruise on the Disney Points podcast. I thank Sam and Kim for hosting me and I hope you all take a listen!
Conclusion
Overall, our first Disney cruise was an unforgettable experience that our family will cherish forever. With some strategic planning, we were able to make it even more affordable by taking advantage of promotions. So if you’re considering a Disney cruise, don’t hesitate to take advantage of any deals or strategies that can help make your dream vacation a reality.
For $200 per day per person for an all inclusive Disney vacation sounded like magic to my ears. There was entertainment for everyone and the kids were very happy and so were we.
Regardless of the travel hacks, this vacation was priceless.
