Less than a week ago, I was sitting on a 7th floor balcony of a floating vessel, staring out at water that was the bluest blue I have ever seen. That floating vessel was none other than the Disney Magic, the first cruise ship owned by Disney and put into service in 1998. This also happened to be my first cruise entirely, so there were a lot of firsts on this voyage that I experienced, and also some things that I learned to carry into my next cruises (and hopefully some of those on Disney).
I learned that the two most chaotic days of a cruise are going to be embarkation day, and disembarkation day. I hope I can bring forth some tips from the perspective of a first-time cruiser to make these days a little less messy for other first-time Disney cruisers. I also learned, while I was excited for the sea day scheduled in our itinerary and the chance it was going to give me to really explore the ship, you feel the crowds the most on this day, since everyone else on the cruise is also exploring the ship that day.
What I also learned, though, is the service on a Disney cruise is first class. Your servers are devoted to you, and spend the extra time to learn who you are and what you like and dislike. The room host or hostess is continuously checking with you as to how your stay is and how they can make it better. Even the bartenders enjoy conversing with their customers and have a spectacular memory of who they’ve served (and what they like to drink!). After stopping at a specific lounge a couple of times for a pre-dinner glass of wine, the bartender who happened to serve us immediately recognized us on Castaway Cay and seemed truly happy to see us and say hello, before we even recognized him.
Then there is the food, and the shows, and on board activities… This was a whole new animal for me, as I had not experienced any of it before. I have become something of an unofficial expert on Walt Disney World and know what to expect when vacationing there. A Disney cruise was uncharted territory for me, a whole new world, and so different from that WDW vacation.
When planning a Disney cruise, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, the best price is going to be right when itineraries are released. Disney does not have to discount their cruises, because generally they do not have issues filling their ships. Occasionally good rates can be found very last minute, but that would require complete flexibility and acceptance that on board activities will likely be filled. This may not be the best way to go for a first-time Disney cruiser, because the experiences can be limited. A better rate might also be obtained by booking a particular class of room and forgoing choosing where that room will be. This can work for or against you though, as you may get an ADA room that has twice the space of other staterooms, but you may also get the obstructed view or noisy engines next to you. Booking what you want in advance means that you can pay for that cruise at your pace. A down payment is required at the time of booking, but as long as the final payment is made by the date determined by Disney, the customer can determine if they want to make payments along the way or wait and pay the balance on the due date.
Second, those that have cruised before will get first pick at onboard activities before the first-time cruisers. Since this was my first, availability was low when my opportunity to book activities opened up. Brunch at Palo, which is only offered on “at sea” days, was full, as was all of the wine tasting courses and mixology classes. I expected this though, after researching the cruise, so was not disappointed. I was able to book Palo for dinner one evening, and knew there would be numerous activities on board that didn’t require pre-registration.
The last thing to keep in mind is the excursions that can be booked by the cruiser. There are basically two ways to do this, one being through Disney, and the other is booking through a third party. When going through Disney, the same rules apply as the on board activities. There is a specific date in place for different tiers of cruisers, and those cruising for the first time will have to book excursions last. For my cruise, I decided to go through a third party company called Shore Trips. I booked excursions for two of our port days in Key West and Nassau months in advance of Disney’s offers, and while some of the excursions offered differ from what Disney offers, there are also some that are the same. The biggest difference between booking through Disney and booking through Shore Trips is the amount of people. Disney excursions tend to be very large. Some of the groups waiting to disembark at a port were easily 60 or 70 people, while in Key West my tour consisted of myself and my husband, and in Nassau there were about 10 of us. Much more intimate, and typically led by a local tour guide familiar with the area. A fear I have heard from many people who prefer to book through the cruise line is that if the excursion runs late, Disney will obviously wait for tour groups booked through them. This may be true, but Shore Trips also has a guarantee that if anything should delay an excursion group to the point of missing their ship, and it’s Shore Trips’ fault, Shore Trips will pay to get the cruisers to their next port to meet the ship. This is something they have never had to do, nor do they want to, so seeing you get back to your ship on time is a high priority for them. I was very satisfied with the excursions and tour guides I booked.
Would I do another Disney cruise? Yes, I would. I was trying to figure when the next trip might occur before I even disembarked this trip. There are so many options for the next: another Caribbean that will visit different ports, the potential to sail from New Orleans, or how about a New York City departure with an itinerary up the Eastern coast into Canada during peak fall season? Oh yes, there will be another in the future, but I also plan on sharing all of my adventures and magic from the Magic.
