Over New Yr’s, we joined our prolonged household for a Disney Cruise on the Disney Want. Right here is the primary of three weblog posts about our journey! If you happen to’d prefer to see the video model, verify my Instagram spotlight.
Our Disney Cruise Journey Recap!
We had an exquisite time aboard the Disney Want over vacation break! My prolonged household has been speaking about taking a Disney cruise for years, and we lastly felt that every one 4 grandchildren have been prepared. My sister is a journey advisor and did all of the planning for us. We simply needed to pay up! I extremely advocate you attain out to her if you’re planning a Disney cruise (or any journey for that matter!). We have been capable of get staterooms side-by-side, which was nice to have the cousins chat from the balcony and make plans.
Disney Want Itinerary (4 Nights)
Our cruise size was excellent for first timers. We visited two islands and had someday at sea. I’ve plenty of ideas on the islands, so keep tuned for these posts coming quickly!
- Depart Cape Canaveral
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Castaway Cay (Disney’s non-public island)
- Day at Sea
- Arrive Cape Canaveral
Touring To Cape Canaveral
We flew down the day earlier than, which is all the time really useful for cruise journey. We ended up having fairly the day of delays between our flight getting diverted from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale, after which our scheduled Uber getting cancelled. We needed to watch for an Uber on the airport which took a very long time. Ultimately we made it to our lodge – the TownPlace Suites Cape Canaveral – the place Grammie and Pea have been ready for us! I booked the lodge evening free utilizing Marriott Factors, and it was a pleasant, new, clear lodge. Would advocate!
Tremendous late dinner after arrival
Oatmeal with cottage cheese and coconut on the free breakfast!
Boarding The Ship
The subsequent morning, we took our time trying out and took a stroll to a park. At midday, our Uber got here to haul all six of us to the cruise port. There was additionally a lodge shuttle, but it surely was $10 an individual, so Uber ended up being cheaper (My sister and her fam met us there). The port was solely about 2 miles away.
As from an extended line of site visitors to unload baggage, getting on the boat was pretty straightforward. Disney requires you to add all your paperwork forward of time in order that check-in was straightforward. We had a 12:30 check-in time, and whereas there have been crowds and features, all of them moved rapidly. We have been aboard in most likely 20 minutes or so!
Deck Lunch
We bee-lined to lunch earlier than going to our room as a result of everybody was hungry! This was the one time we ate lunch on the deck as a result of it tended to be fairly busy. There have been stations for pizza, tacos, burgers, and extra. I hit up the DIY taco bar (paired with a Corona!) and the tacos have been delish. I’ll discuss a bit extra concerning the ship’s cleanliness once I get to eating, however we have been VERY impressed. There are hand washing stations in every single place, and a lot of the meals is served to you so there may be minimal touching amongst company.
Our Stateroom
After lunch, we went to take a look at our stateroom and unpack. We have been on the seventh ground (room 7034 to be actual!) and had a stunning balcony view. Our room had a queen mattress for the adults and two bunks for the boys which got here from the transformed sofa and down from the ceiling! Whereas it was undoubtedly cozy, it by no means felt crowded. There was additionally a pleasant curtain to divide the sleeping areas so we might have a light-weight on and the boys have been in the dead of night.
We additionally had a welcome present from our journey advisor! There’s a mini fridge drawer within the room to maintain drinks chilly. You might be additionally allowed to carry a six pack aboard, and my sister introduced some gluten free beers for herself.
The Toilet
I liked that the lavatory had two separate areas for the bathroom and bathe. We undoubtedly used each on the similar time many instances. If somebody was showering, you might nonetheless wash your palms on the opposite aspect. The lavatory was fairly good!
We unpacked our garments into the closets and drawers. I do suppose they may have had extra drawers on the children’ aspect.
Exploring The Ship
We explored the ship a bit earlier than the sail away get together round 4:00!
Nonetheless dressed up for Christmas
The Youngsters Membership
Aka the Oceaneer Membership aka the most well-liked spot on the ship! Once we arrived, the children membership had an open home so adults might stroll by it. We had three children beneath 10 (Birch, Avery, and Emerson) who might go to the membership. Mazen’s age group (12) was solely allowed in The Edge membership for tweens. At first we thought this was a giant disadvantage that Mazen couldn’t be along with his cousins, however he ended up going to Edge lots and made buddies there, so all of it labored out.
The Star Wars room on the Oceaneer Membership
Every baby was given a wristband that they wanted to check in that we returned on the final day. They may select to go in from the foyer or by the slide! Additionally they had the best handwashing station ever the place you place your arms into tubes of swirling water and cleaning soap. Really easy for teenagers!
I don’t have a ton of images from the children membership as a result of adults aren’t allowed in on regular hours. However the children liked it! They went for a couple of hours every day which was SUCH a pleasant break for us to train or lounge.
Along with the continued actions, they’d character visits and particular occasions that stored it attention-grabbing for them. The cutest half is that after they’re able to be picked up you get an alert by your app that claims “Birch want to be picked up now.” It was formal sufficient that it was cute!
The Swimming pools + Waterslides
You may see all of them right here! The white tube is the Aqua Mouse, which is a tube water journey that the children LOVED! There have been additionally Disney motion pictures taking part in all.the.time. that you might watch from the swimming pools. The road would get lengthy at instances, however when you went at an off-peak time you’d stroll proper on. The yellow slide was nice for littler children. The a number of swimming pools have been on the small aspect, however they have been HEATED which was so good! And there have been loads of life jackets you might borrow when you’ve got a younger swimmer.
(It appears actually crowded right here as a result of this was in the course of the sail off get together on the highest deck! It was not often this crowded)
Toy Story Splash Zone
The 2 youthful children in our group liked taking part in right here for a day. Once more, the water was WARM and that was so key on a cold day! We actually appreciated that as a result of chilly water would have made this space depressing.
The Laundry
For these questioning, the laundry room was nice!! We did laundry twice in 4 days (I do know, I do know) and it was so pretty to have our airport journey day garments clear for the return journey in addition to exercise garments not stinking up the room. Every load prices $3.50 that we simply swiped onto our stateroom card. And the perfect half was the app instructed us when the load was executed so we might promptly change it over. I introduced two laundry pods from house, however you might additionally buy cleaning soap together with your card.
There have been tons and tons of machines obtainable. And ironing boards too! Whereas the $7 x 2 we paid to do laundry was nominal, I do suppose it will be good simply to have this value included given what we paid for the cruise.
The Health Middle
We went to the health heart a handful of instances. They’d plenty of tools, Peloton bikes, weights, and even a cycle room.
Considered one of my solely complaints I had about our ship was that there wasn’t a round strolling monitor. There was a monitor, but it surely had stairs in the course of it and it didn’t go all the way in which across the ship so that you stored having to show again. I like to stroll on the higher decks if attainable.
The view from the health monitor regarded into the spa backyard.
HyperSpace Lounge
There have been a number of lounges on board, however my favourite was the Star Wars themed HyperSpace Lounge! Going inside felt such as you have been getting into a ship with a push-button sliding door, and the screens went into hyper house periodically! Additionally they had the perfect drinks with an iPad menu. Take a look at the bubbles of smoke!
Adults-Solely Space
It took me til the final day to seek out the adults-only space; it was that secluded! The chairs have been further plush, there was a personal bar and low store, and an infinity pool (which sadly, I by no means acquired in).
Leisure
Stay Exhibits
We went to 2 reside exhibits whereas at sea: The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They have been each AMAZING! A number of nice singing, dancing, costumes, particular results. I additionally liked that they have been each roughly an hour so consideration spans might tolerate them, and on our day at sea they’d a manatee at 2pm for many who wanted to be in mattress by 8. 10/10!
Smaller Exhibits
There have been additionally exhibits and music occurring within the grand corridor at numerous instances. We stopped to eavesdrop on event.
Silent Disco
One evening, we discovered a kid-friendly Silent Disco! This was so enjoyable. My solely grievance was it solely lasted 45 minutes and the following evening it was after bedtime.
Deck Events
There have been deck events every evening, however I hardly ever stayed up late sufficient. One was pirate themed! And on New Yr’s, they’d a kid-friendly countdown at 7:30 and one other at midnight. Mazen was the one one to watch for the midnight fireworks!
Weblog Posts To Come:
- All of our buffet meals and theme dinners (Wednesday)
- Our two island stops (Friday)
General Overview Of Our Disney Cruise
We had a good time, and we actually liked the cruise! My general impression is that this cruise is ideal for folks with children within the age group of toddlers to tweens. In comparison with different cruise traces, Disney is VERY costly. I might not advocate going when you don’t have children until you’re a Disney fanatic. The cruise for us was all concerning the children! Having so many kid-centric issues (from the children membership to decrease sinks within the bogs) was excellent for our household of youngsters ages 5, 6, 8, and 12. If in case you have older children, I might let you know to choose one other cruise line and save your self some cash. That stated, there have been some issues that Disney did so effectively. See under!
Right here is my listing of issues we liked/appreciated:
Cleanliness and Sanitization
I LOVED having sinks and cleaning soap in so many locations. Hand sanitizer alone doesn’t kill norovirus, and I washed my palms usually. There have been even a row of sinks going into the informal eating space. Earlier than dinner we have been all given hand wipes. The ship was additionally VERY clear. The employees did an amazing job clearing tables and there was little trash anyplace (which is spectacular since there are such a lot of children operating round!).
Lifeguards at Swimming pools and Castaway Cay
I used to be additionally so appreciative of all of the lifeguards! They have been in every single place they usually have been strict (a great suppose from the dad and mom’ POV). Even after we acquired off the boat at Castaway Cay, there have been lifeguards in every single place watching the play zones and snorkelers.
Service
The service on board was fabulous. We liked our dinner service group and each “forged member” we met was so sort and useful. We solely have one main grievance on this entrance and that was on our first day about 25 completely different folks requested if we wished to purchase a drink bundle. We had politely declined the primary few, but it surely acquired a bit extreme when new folks stored coming as much as ask us again and again. Everybody was nonetheless good although!
Drink Costs
You’d anticipate drinks and wine to be obscenely priced on a cruise ship, however they weren’t!! Wines have been $9-15 (beneath $10!) and cocktails have been possibly $13-15. On Castaway Cay, my margarita was solely $8.75!! And it was nice. I actually appreciated this. And that every one smooth drinks have been included.
The Exhibits
They have been excellent! Child pleasant and really Disney. We liked them.
Themed Dinners
An extended overview will include that weblog put up, however the dinners have been incredible and the meals was excellent throughout the entire ship. There have been a couple of “misses” with dishes we ordered, however general I’d give the meals an A-. The one food-related grievance I’ve is that the espresso was horrible. Even the paid degree of espresso I assumed was fairly unhealthy.
WiFi
It might have been good to have free WiFi. Thomas and I each paid $88 to have full web (minus streaming, which was extra) on our cruise. I used to be irritated to pay that, however as soon as I linked it was nice. Speaking with texting was truly fairly vital because the ship was so massive and our group was all unfold out, so we have been glad that at the least iMessage was free! Mazen might textual content us with out having paid wifi on his cellphone. This meant he might go to the tween membership or keep out later and we knew he might attain out or we might attain him.
Heated Swimming pools
Such a recreation changer! Chilly swimming pools would have been depressing. They have been so heat and the children liked them. There was just one sizzling tub that I keep in mind seeing within the adults-only space, and it was small so it was all the time packed. They want a much bigger sizzling tub!
Bogs In every single place
There are tons of bogs that have been all the time clear, so FYI for these of you who care about this sort of element. 
Was it crowded?
There have been a couple of instances when it appeared like everybody was in a single place, however for a ship as large as The Want, it didn’t really feel too crowded to me. It didn’t really feel empty, however I didn’t really feel claustrophobic.
A Few Critiques…
Popcorn Value Further
As my sister put it, you might eat limitless filet mignons however you needed to pay for popcorn! Popcorn outdoors of the exhibits/theaters was further. This was so foolish to me since our children clearly wished some. I suppose this simply retains everybody from getting it and making an enormous mess / losing it, but it surely was just a bit odd.
Character Strains
The one time I noticed tremendous lengthy traces was for characters. My children weren’t that eager about assembly characters, however when you’ve got somebody who’s, be ready to attend in a Disney World-esque line.
Atlantis Resort
This overview is coming in a separate put up, however we SO remorse getting off the boat to go to Atlantis. Extra on this quickly!
Disembark Timing
We have been at port on our final morning earlier than we awoke and we needed to be off the ship by 9 or 9:30. The entire morning felt rushed and chaotic. I want we might have had just a little extra time to take pleasure in a last breakfast and get off just a little extra slowly. I perceive they must turnover the boat, however after such a calming time the early morning made for a cautiously early last evening and a extra hectic journey day.
General Overview
If you happen to love Disney, you’ll love a Disney Cruise! Actually all the things from the towels to the music to the exhibits is Disney branded. There have been two new launch motion pictures taking part in (Mufasa and Moana 2) that sadly we had simply paid to see within the theater! I feel Disney Cruises are perfect for households with children. It undoubtedly felt like extra of a trip for the grown-ups with all the things being so kid-friendly. The meals choices, the expectations, the actions, and the service was all geared in direction of children which simply makes all the things a lot simpler.
Disney clearly is aware of what they’re doing as a result of the entire course of was organized and enjoyable. Be happy to ask any extra questions you may have about particular issues within the feedback! Or share ideas when you’ve executed a Disney Cruise and have one thing to share that I missed.
Discussion about this post