Ultimate Guide to a Disney Cruise

Are you wondering if a Disney cruise is worth the money or you already paid a good amount to book it and want to make the most out of your adventure?

Whether you’re a first-time cruiser or a seasoned sailor, today we’re sharing our top tips from our recent Disney Alaska cruise to ensure your Disney cruise is nothing short of magical. From packing essentials to must-do activities and ship walkthroughs, let's dive into all the dos and perhaps more importantly the do NOTs - basically everything you need to know before you set sail! Come aboard with us and by the end you’ll be able to decide for yourself it this trip with awe-inspiring glaciers and Disney magic for all ages is the ultimate adventure for your family!

Our Cruising Background:

My husband and I first started cruising together for our honeymoon! We actually took two short ones (various reasons I won’t go into now) on Carnival which is the entry level cruise line, great for fairly newly working people like us that wanted a less planning intensive trip after planning a wedding! One went to Mexico, the other went to the Caribbean. We didn't know anything else, so it was fine and we enjoyed ourselves even if it was a lot of families, quite a bit of rowdy kids, and I remember sharing the dinner table with a group of people we didn’t know that in hindsight was fine but not necessarily ideal. Actually, I honestly don’t know how a couple would have been seated at Disney. I know I saw groups of 4 by themselves but I didn’t see 2. If you know, let me know in the comments!

We also previously went to Alaska on Norwegian with two other couples before any of us had kids around 2011. I remember it was beautiful, the food and activities were a step better than Carnival - less chaotic of a crew. Just keep in mind though that Alaska tends to attract the older crowd in general and on Norwegian that was absolutely true. We were also in a different life stage so we actually went to a lot of the adult focused activities or even (gasp) stayed up for late night entertainment and bites! We also went snowshoeing - activities that adults wanted too do without hearing whining about having to hike, whaaaaat? Am I right?

In 2019 right before the pandemic was our first Disney cruise from San Diego to Mexico. Mind you, we aren’t a big Disney family and I thought to myself can it really be worth the money but our friends suggested it so we thought why not try! We went with one other friend family and their moms as well as most of our parents. The kids LOVED that the grandparents came along and we all wore matching shirts! I have to say it’s no surprise that there’s a premium price but Disney really does hospitality and shows right! I’ll get into more of that shortly with clear examples of why I loved our cruise and why I think you should go too (and no I’m not getting paid for this as an endorsement)! Remember if you love this video, your comments help more people including potentially Disney see this so thanks in advance for your engagement! Sadly my kids don’t remember that much from that trip but they see pictures and their memories are jogged a bit with how they liked the matching Disney shirts we got and seeing the characters.

It’s now 5 years later, 2024, the kids are mid to upper elementary aged, so here’s to hoping they remember this one!!

Logistics & Price:

This was 1 week, Vancouver to Alaska and back aboard the Disney Wonder ship. It cost about $8k (definitely not cheap compared to other cruises) in an inside room on the 6th floor (meaning no windows) for our family of 4 just for the cruise. It's more like $10K total once you include flights to and from Vancouver, food and hotel the night before since I didn’t want to chance any flight delays on the day of, “suggested” gratuity on the ship, and port activities (more on added/hidden costs soon. We just looked at the princess cruise to Panama Canal, a bucket list item which would be about $1500/person for 16 days! That’s a big difference! Don’t worry by the end I'll let you know if it was worth it for us, and more importantly you can decide for yourself if it’s worth it!

On-off process:

It was quite smooth, even with customs since it was Vancouver. You sign up for a ship boarding time when you check in to your cruise from home so while you can drop off your bags earlier, you can only check in closer to your time so pick wisely. More status gets you access to earlier times if desired. We wre able to pick 12:30 so we got onboard for a late lunch. Disney gave us cute lanyards because we were returning members that came in clutch especially for kids so they didn’t lose their “key to the world” cards! They also give kids their kids club bracelets which will be used to check them in and out. There is a deposit for those bracelets so don’t lose them! I’ll give you a walk through of all the kids rooms from infant to teens in a bit - stay tuned!

We didn’t get on until probably 1:15 because of all the lines and moving through the areas. We went straight to lunch where the first day at the buffet they have crab and shrimp so don’t miss out on that! They actually had it at least one other day so it isn’t exclusive to the first day but it’s for sure there then! Our bags did take a bit to come to our room even though they said it’d likely be there by the time we got to our room, it actually took until close to dinner time!

Room:

• inside room - it’s not super tight and I loved that there is a way to section off the bunk and king bed area with a curtain - we can do some reading while they go to bed! The bathroom even had a tub, my issue was that while the tub was big enough for me, the tub didn’t keep the water the whole time, it kept getting lower little by little… should I have said something? probably but I honestly didn’t use it more than once. We did hav an issue where the water wouldn’t turn hot the day we ventured out in the rain in Ketchikan which sucked (and I wish I had known about the sauna that day!) so we were cold and wet waiting for them to fix it for a few hours. That was probably my biggest issue on the cruise. Definitely the worst day for that to happen.

• kid bunk bed - the kids loved this feature that it was a couch during the day, and they magically came to put out the bunk bed while we were at dinner along with towel creatures and chocolates

• our friends had a balcony room so here’s what it looks like, the balcony was quite nice even if my husband really liked the pitch black room for sleeping. It also has a separate shower and toilet, which also meant 2 sinks - a nice touch. If you need joining rooms, the balcony rooms I think are your only option.

• we were happy with our 6th floor midship room - mid ship, mid floor so it didn’t feel rocky, wasn’t too loud from activities, wasn’t too far from everything, worked well for us! We were adamant about taking the stairs everywhere to work off/earn the food and force in exercise so I liked this spot.

Cruising "Insider" Activities:

• hook extenders - you might see people with things like this - On a Disney cruise, hook extenders are used to organize a special gift exchange among passengers. Participants sign up before the cruise and are then grouped together with other families. Each group exchanges small gifts, often left outside of cabin doors, throughout the cruise. This fun activity helps to create a sense of community and adds an extra layer of magic to the cruise experience.

• door magnets/decor - people go wild! If you want to decorate plan ahead!

• pin exchange - you can buy Disney pins and exchange them with staff that have pins on them - who knows you might get something super cool and unique!

Food (you know it’s one of my fav things):

• Animator's Palate - This was my favorite eating spot because the decor and shows they do are SO cool! You have to check out the video(s) for what I mean and get the full effect. The one where they animate your drawings is one of the coolest things!

• Tiana’s Place - this is super fun if you like live music - both nights there was jazz and Louis the alligator and Tiana made appearances! This is also where they serve standard sit down lunches. The menu changes every day so feel free to check the menu in the app if you want to decide between a nice sit down and buffet.

• Triton’s -no special performances happen but there were some delicious meals - their lobster tail was fantastic! This is also where they serve standard sit down breakfast. The menu doesn't change day to day but it's nice to have a window seat and be served a slow, yummy breakfast!

• Palo - paid meals for brunch or dinner that must be reserved, goes quick so book it if you know you want itwe did dinner last time with the grandparents and it was fabulous! didn’t do it this time, but our friends did dinner and brunch and said they were fabulous)

• Buffet food -1st day only crab and shrimp cocktail, others were mehhhh So grab that while you canbuffet has nice stuff especially if you have impatient kids that don’t want to wait at a sit down or you just want to grab stuff on your own - I found I ate way too much but the kids loved it especially for breakfast - we mostly did sit down otherwise poolside food pizza, soft serve!

• Room service - not slim pickings but available for “free” you already paid for it!

Ok here come my hot tips for sit down restaurants: first one being don’t be afraid to order multiple appetizers, entrees or desserts, YOU DESERVE IT! You’re looking at a girl that ordered 2 entrees almost every dinner, and maybe even lunch - yes the whole menu looked great and your girl likes to EAT! I may not have finished everything so I felt a little bad about the wasted food but the menu changes every day (except breakfast) so ya I'm trying it and not even feeling bad! If you’re with me, give me a “yes multiple entrees” in the comments! Don’t let anybody shame you!

There is a 5:45pm and 8:15pm seating - if you can’t get the one you want initially, waitlist yourself online! If you aren’t bumped up, take care of that first thing when you get on the ship, they’ll likely be able to adjust that for you and add you to your friends if you weren’t able to link online. Apparently if one of you. books on Costco and another Disney, they can’t connect it prior to onboarding so go find the people ready to adjust stuff for you when you get on the ship! I was worried but thankfully we had no problem being bumped up to the 5:45 time and sitting with our friends, phew!

I love that you are assigned dinner locations so you don’t have to reserve dinner locations or times. You also have the same table number and staff that follows you for dinner in each place - hospitality is fantastic! They really get to know you and they anticipate things in advance, even if they kept bringing out juice to my kids right away even if I didn’t want my kids to have juice EVERY night and they gave me puppy dog eyes to see if they could have it. Sorry kids, I’m dead inside, I know you’re on vaca, but you still can't have UNLIMITED sugar...

If you want to bring your own alcohol, you can bring your own wine and pay a corkage fee of $25 - if you want nice wine, it’s worth it! my mom did it last time and our friends did it this time, the glasses aren’t outrageously priced by any means (at least for us coming from the Bay Area lol) and we ended up buying a bottle the last night but it’s an option if you are particular!

Kids Programs

• kid rooms - It’s a small world nursery, oceaneer’s lab and club, edge and vibe for teens and tweens

• activities for younger kids include toys, drawing, crafts, characters coming to visit, dance parties, video games, scavenger hunts, etc - some are always there, some are outlined as special events in the app/itineary page

• activities for older kids - more video games, board games, origami, outdoor for sports area and other fun special events also on the app/itineary page

• check in/out process - The band you get when you start boarding is required every time the kids go in and out. Also it's super important to remember the code word you set when you check in for your cruise weeks before the trip! We had to rack our brains for our secret word to pick our kids up - if you don’t remember don’t worry they can reset it the first day but boy I was trying so hard to remember when they asked me the first time! They can also call you if there is any issue. The Oceaneer’s lab and club have a passage way in between so they can go back and forth unless one side gets closed off for open house or an activity. It’s pretty neat/freaky where they know exactly what zone your kid is in when you come get them!

If you’re curious what it’s like in there and want to take pictures, go during open house times at the beginning or throughout because pictures and adults aren’t typically allowed inside otherwise so I wouldn’t be able to show you my favorite Woody’s play area, how cool is this??? I’m definitely a kid at heart!

Entertainment

Download the Disney cruise app before you go because that’s how you know what’s happening (paper ones like this can be obtained at the front desk each day/night if you want but you have to ask now), and how you text other people unless you’re paying for internet/big fees for roaming

• Movie theater playing new releases or recent releases - we got to watch Inside out 2 woohoo - note that popcorn is extra, you have to buy the bucket for $10 and from then on it’s $2 for refills on this ship or I assume any future ship you choose to go on. I did see people bringing stuff in from other places though!

• Pool/slide stuff -also big screen at one of the pools so you can watchjust beware the kids pool area, especially the hot tub can become a clown car type situation where kids that aren't yours may sit on you, no joke it happened to me and my husband. There’s a reason why there’s an amazing adult only pool and hot tub area!! Genius! A water lanyard is also clutch!

• Characters - There are times to meet and greet all kinds of favorite classic characters like mickey, Minnie, Donald, goofy, princesses like belle, Tiana, Elsa, and marvel characters like spider man and black panther. They even show up around the ship randomly or at dinners!

• Outdoor Sports area -basketball/table tennis/foosball etc (beware it’s windy and sometimes it’s off limits because Alaska has a environmental sound regulation in some areas)

• Various all age activities in spaces around the ship like origami, 3d crafts, game shows, towel creations class

• Adult only bars/entertainment if you don’t want kids everywhere

• Gym - workout or take a class while you look out at sea - if you love the sauna, hot tip, there’s one in the changing room for the gym and it’s BEAUTIFUL! I’m so sad I only discovered it on the last day! In that same changing room they also have way more amenities stocked like razors, shaving cream, hair spray, deodorant, etc so if you don’t want to check those things into a suitcase, it’s there! You heard it here!

• The SHOWS! There are two times for featured shows in the big Walt Disney theater each night- we had 3 broadway type shows, one comedy/magic show, one comedy/ventriloquist show, an Inside out 2 movie showing, and

Staff friendliness & Cleanliness

Everybody was super nice, things were clean, so I didn’t have a problem with this at all!

Port stops

• Icy Strait Point - we just took the $50 gondola all day pass up to the top and hiked. No joke, I think we took 3 round trips for the beautiful views and to justify the cost. We wanted to do the ropes/zipline course but were indecisive and sold out by the time the whole family decided.

• Juneau - There are tons of excursions but we just walked to the whale statue and back. It is about 30 mins but part way in the seaside walk is absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend!

• Ketchikan - It was a rainy day for us so we just walked to Creek Street for some seafood souvenir shopping, looking at shops, and looking at totem poles.

The video has some quick highlights but if you want more details, let me know and I’ll make a more detailed post/video on budget/nonbudget options on that if you let me know in the comments!

Added costs/hidden costs

Suggested gratuity of $14.50 per day per person (also not cheap) is automatically added - yes, you can change it down or up, but I’m guessing most people don’t adjust down so add it into your budget - if you want a money saving tip here, you can get a Disney gift card from target with a red card which will save you 5%.

Upgrade restaurants, boutiques, spa, nails, experiences, classes adventures - like any cruise you can book something off ship but you take the risk of something going wrong and being left behind!

Soooo... was it worth it for us??? YESSSSS!

Would you agree this would help you have an unforgettable Disney Alaska cruise? If you found this video helpful or want more, I’d love to hear from you so don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you don't miss any of our upcoming videos. Safe travels and enjoy your cruise! Until next time, happy sailing!