Are Disney Cruises Worth It?

Are Disney cruises worth it? I get this question a lot. Look, Disney Cruise Line is expensive. Actually, let’s not beat around the bush. Disney Cruise Line is stupid expensive. It is not uncommon for a cruise with Disney to be double the price of any other line. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I researched Disney Cruise Line prices. Does the cruise come with the Heart of the Ocean?

There are ways to save money, but even on your best day, your wallet is going to be a whole lot lighter when your paid in full date rolls around. Are Disney cruises worth it? I believe they are. Are they better than Carnival cruises? It’s not even close. Comparing the two is like comparing the San Diego Zoo to those tigers in Joe Exotic’s shed. There are ten things that make Disney cruises special:

Ten Reasons Disney Cruises Are Worth It

1. Oceaneer Club

Oceaneer Club is the single biggest reason Disney cruises are worth it for adults traveling with young children. Do you enjoy peace and quiet and a meal without sippy cups? Me too. Drop your kids off at Oceaneer Club and give yourself a much needed break.

Oceaneer Club is included with your cruise fare. You do not need a reservation, and your kids can go there as much as they want. If you calculate how much childcare would have cost you, your cruise fare will suddenly seem much more reasonable.

Oceaneer Club Age Range

Oceaneer Club is for children between the ages of three and twelve. Adults are not allowed outside of open house hours. Children must be potty trained to be dropped off there, although my son had an accident and they were cool about it.

As the mom of a then three year old, the three to twelve age range made me nervous. I didn’t want my young children getting wedgies from sixth graders. Turns out, the club is amazing and the counselors are awesome. Both of my children left Oceaneer Club with their underwear in almost exactly the same condition as when they arrived (except that time with the accident).

Oceaneer Club Counselors

The counselors go out of their way to make younger kids feel comfortable. They are aware of food allergies and special needs. Kids wear bands that need to be scanned on the way in and out, so the area is safe. I’m not sure anyone would be dumb enough to try to kidnap a kid on a cruise (nowhere to go and all), but the bands completely rule out the possibility. When you arrive to pick up your child, the counselor is able to tell you exactly where he or she is within the club because of the tracking device band. I never had any concerns about their safety.

Oceaneer Club Activities

Oceaneer Club itself is incredible. It is massive. Every inch is immaculate. Each ship has different play areas, but they all include several different sections to appeal to various ages. There is a section with screens and video games, so you probably don’t even need the band to tell you the location of your son. Kids can play on their own or join in organized activities throughout the day. The activities schedule is posted on the Disney Cruise Line app. Characters also make regular appearances. Kids can easily be entertained for weeks on end in Oceaneer Club.

Oceaneer Club Hours

Oceaneer Club is typically open from 9:00 a.m. to midnight. These are much longer hours than other cruise lines offer “free of charge”. If your kids will take advantage of Oceaneer Club, Disney cruises are definitely worth it.

2. Dining

Food and most non-alcoholic beverages are included in your fare with Disney Cruise Line. While it is common for most cruise lines to include food, most do not include soft drinks. I am not going to pretend forty a couple of Diet Cokes cover the price difference, but it is just one example of how Disney does not nickel and dime you like other cruise lines. You pay more upfront, but more is included.

Disney Cruise Line has several dining options. The service throughout is exceptional.

Dining with Dietary Retrictions

Disney Cruise Line accommodates dietary restrictions like no other. This, combined with the quality of the food, sets Disney apart from the other cruise lines. I have to eat gluten free. There was no shortage of options, including gluten free bread, pizza, pasta and desserts, to name a few. They will prepare most things gluten free if you ask.

Disney is extremely cautious in handling food for people with allergies. I would not hesitate to eat on a Disney cruise, even if my allergy was life threatening. Disney takes every measure to avoid cross contamination.

Main Dining Rooms

Disney Cruise Line has three main dining rooms on each ship. You rotate between the three restaurants throughout the cruise for dinner, but your serving team comes with you. The servers get to know you and your preferences. Our server brought me a Diet Coke (juice for moms) and gluten free rolls each night without my even making the request.

You also have the option to eat breakfast and lunch in the dining rooms, but you will have a different server. The food in the main dining rooms was pretty good overall. It was much better than food we have had on Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

Buffets

Disney Cruise Line offers a buffet for breakfast and lunch. Again, extreme measures are in place to ensure people with allergies are safe. They will walk the buffet with you and bring you a safe plate from the back. I once asked if something was gluten free, and it was like I pulled the fire alarm. A manager was called to hand me a cup of yogurt. While this was a major overreaction in my case, I’m sure people with severe allergies appreciate it.

Quick Service

There is a quick service restaurant, typically offering things like pizza and burgers, and self serve ice cream on the pool deck. The quick service can also accommodate dietary restrictions. A manager handled my gluten free pizza.

Room Service

Disney Cruise Line includes free room service twenty four hours per day. This is a nice option if your kid passes out and you miss dinner or if you just need a break from adults with Minnie ears. People often order Mickey ice cream bars or cookies to their room as a treat before bed.

Adult Specialty Dining

Disney Cruise Line has two adult only, specialty restaurants, Palo and Remy. Both have an extra charge, but the food is quite good and there is not a kid in sight.

Palo

Palo is an Italian restaurant. It serves dinner each night and brunch on sea days. It has a buffet with really good seafood. You are encouraged to order from a menu in addition to the buffet. At the time of this writing, the cost is $40 per person.

The service is phenomenal. Our waiter was great about recommending gluten free items and bringing me special desserts from the back. He also quietly decorated a plate for our anniversary instead of having a bunch of waiters make a scene TGI Fridays style. Palo is definitely worth a stop.

Remy

Remy is a French restaurant. Bust out the Cristal for this one. Your meal comes with several courses and takes a very long time to complete. As of the time of this writing, the cost is $125 per person. We have not tried Remy, but people who have are very excited about it.

3. Characters

Disney Cruise Line has characters as far as the eye can see. You can meet them at times specified on the app. They also roam the ship pretty regularly. You can get photos with much shorter wait times than at Disney World.

The characters take their roles very seriously. Peter Pan ran around the ship and scolded my children for giving Captain Hook a hug. Woody needed to take deep breaths after receiving high fives too quickly. The people in those costumes clearly studied at the same acting school as that lady at Universal who does plays with the Lorax, but it makes the experience really special for kids (and adults who missed the memo about it not being a real mouse).

4. Water Areas

Disney Cruise Line’s ships are filled with intricate details. The water areas are no exception. Each ship is unique, but all have several options that cater to different age groups. The variety of water play areas is a big reason Disney cruises are worth it.

Nemo’s Reef

Swim diapers are not allowed in a pool on any cruise line, but they are allowed in splash pads. The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have Nemo’s Reef. Nemo’s Reef is a cute area where younger kids can entertain themselves without fear of being trampled. There are fish that shoot water and a small slide down a stingray.

Water Slides

Each ship has at least one water slide. The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have the AquaDuck, a water slide that takes you around the ship on a tube. You can ride the AquaDuck on a double tube, so you can accompany a child who is not ready to try it alone. The Disney Magic has the AquaDunk, a water slide that begins with the floor dropping out from under you. The Disney Wonder, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Magic all have the AquaLab, a water play area, some with a water slide contained therein.

Pools

Disney Cruise Line also has regular pools. There is a large screen that plays movies throughout the day on the pool deck so you can watch a movie while you swim. The pools are nice if you can beat the crowd. They do fill up, so try to visit during off times.

5. Disney Cruise Line Staterooms

Disney Cruise Line staterooms are clearly designed with families in mind. The staterooms are not as big as most hotel rooms, but they are large by cruise standards. They also do a great job maximizing the space.

The rooms come with one bed and either a pullout couch or berth that pulls down from the ceiling. The ceiling above the berth in our room was painted like the night sky, which was a fun surprise for our then five year old. There is a heavy curtain that separates the room so people on different sleeping schedules are not all forced to go to bed at 8:00 p.m.

The bathroom is a split bath, allowing more than one person to use the bathroom at once with privacy. It has a bathtub rather than just a shower, which is relatively uncommon on cruise ships.

The same stateroom host comes to your room twice per day to clean. He or she sets up the beds while you are at dinner and puts them away after you leave the room in the morning. The stateroom host makes sure you have everything you need for your stay.

6. Service

Disney Cruise Line has a well deserved reputation for offering the best service of any cruise line. Every employee you encounter greets you with a smile and goes out of his or her way to help you. If they are annoyed with the two thousand screaming children onboard, they hide it well. This is definitely not the case on other cruise lines. Our family is generally pretty low maintenance, so I didn’t think the difference in the level of service would matter all that much to us, but it really did. Happy employees do wonders for the ambiance.

7. Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. The majority of the Caribbean cruises stop there. The island is clean, beautiful, relatively untouched, and blissfully uncrowded. The only reason Castaway Cay isn’t higher on this list is because every cruise does not stop there.

Characters dance with you, but do not pass out sunglasses.

No one tries to guilt you into buying anything. You appreciate this island even more after visiting other Caribbean islands with multiple cruise ships in port. Castaway Cay is a major reason Disney cruises are worth it to a lot of the people who cruise with Disney repeatedly.

Castaway Cay Location

A stop at Castaway Cay is convenient because the cruise ship can pull right up to the island. You do not have to take a tender boat ride to reach it. You can either walk from the ship to the beach area or take a tram. It is very easy to get on and off the island, multiple times if needed.

Beach Areas

Castaway Cay has both family and adult only beaches. There is plenty of room to spread out. You can rent tubes and snorkeling equipment to use in the ocean.

There is a splash pad for smaller children. Water slides that plunge you into the ocean and cleanse your sinuses with salt water are available for older kids.

Port Excursions

Castaway Cay offers several port excursions, including bike rentals and parasailing, for an extra charge. However, you can easily occupy yourself all day without doing any of these extras. You can drop your kids off with kids’ club counselors on the island as well, so if you want to try something they won’t be able to do yet, you have childcare available.

Dining

Food is served on the island at two buffet restaurants. You can pre-order food if you have dietary restrictions to ensure it is safe. There are self serve ice cream machines, because it would be impossible to go four hours without one by that point in the cruise. There are also bars and plenty of servers taking drink orders on the beach, so fruity cocktails flow freely.

8. Disney Cruise Line Shows

Disney Cruise Line puts on theatrical productions that are very well done. I generally don’t care for jazz hands, particularly at a theme park, but these shows are the exception. The cast members can actually sing, and the sets have a ton of detail. The shows are included with your fare. They typically offer two shows per night to break up the crowd.

The shows vary throughout the ships, but as of the time of this writing, you can see Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, and Frozen. The ships also offer theatrical productions on other nights that feature characters from several different movies, like The Golden Mickeys and Disney’s Believe.

In addition to live theater, Disney Cruise Line plays movies currently in the movie theaters. This is a nice perk that saves you a little money if you were planning to see the movie anyway.

9. Pirate Night

Pirate Night is offered on select sailings. Everyone loves a good theme, right? The majority of the passengers and employees dress up.

There is a Pirate Night menu in the main dining rooms. After dinner, they put on an elaborate deck show. Pirates fight and swing on ropes around the ship. There is a fireworks show that would be considered decent by any standards, but gets bonus points because the fireworks are being shot off the side of a ship. When the show is over, there is a very loud dance party. This is about the time most middle-aged people check out.

10. Easy Access to Disney World From Caribbean Sailings

You already dropped a big bag of money. Why stop now? Caribbean sailings depart from Port Canaveral, located near Orlando. Adding a stop at Disney World either before or after your cruise is convenient. Disney offers a shuttle to transport you to Disney World resorts. You can also arrange private transportation, which is often more cost effective. The location of the port allows you to extend your trip without booking multiple flights.

When Are Disney Cruises Not Worth It?

This is a personal preference and judgment call, but I think the exorbitant cost of a Disney Cruise may not be worth it for you if:

1. Your children do not require childcare

2. Your children cannot be dropped off at Oceaneer Club because they are too young or not potty trained

3. You are only traveling with adults and are not Disney obsessed

If any of the above applies to you, you may want to consider another cruise line for half the price. Celebrity Cruises has food and service on par with Disney, but does very little to cater to children. I love Celebrity for adults, but would not personally consider it with kids. Royal Caribbean is another option for families, but prepare yourself to pay for a lot more out of pocket onboard. Carnival is a budget option. You get what you pay for.

Final Thoughts – Are Disney Cruises Worth It?

Disney cruises are expensive, but they are worth it for most people. They cater to families with small children better than any other line. The ships are beautiful, the service is outstanding, and dietary restrictions are taken very seriously. Oceaneer Club is the perfect place to deposit your children when you just can’t take it anymore. Castaway Cay is one of the best beach days ever.

If you like the cruise, be sure to book a placeholder onboard to save money on your next one. Disney Cruise Line is definitely worth a try. Go make some memories on the ocean.