What’s Included in a Disney Cruise?
What’s Included in a Disney Cruise?
If you’re thinking about planning your first ever Disney Cruise, then you’re probably wondering how Disney Cruises compare to the parks (for more on that comparison watch Disney Cruises vs Walt Disney World) and what Disney Cruises include that make them so magical and so worth it. In this blog, we’ll talk about what’s included in your Disney, what’s not included in a Disney Cruise, what additional costs come with a Disney Cruise, and share some pro tips from all our years sailing with Disney. We hope this list helps you, but if you want a more customized list based on what your family enjoys then reach out to one of our Recommended Travel Agents who can help you plan for $0!
What’s Included in My Disney Cruise?
Food
Breakfast: Table-service, buffet, or 24-hour room service (order breakfast before 3 AM)
Lunch: Table-service, quick-service bites, buffet, or 24-hour room service
Dinner: Table-service, quick-service bites, buffet, or 24-hour room service
Snacks: Quick-service bites, soft-serve ice cream, or 24-hour room service
Unlimited coffee, tea, water, and soda on deck and at table-service restaurants
Dedicated dining team at dinner in the main dining rooms (MDR) that get to know you and your family. This amazing team follows you from dining room to dining room so they get to know exactly what you like!
Stateroom including TV with Disney movies and shows, information on upcoming ports of call, what’s going on around the ship, sports channels, news channels, etc. plus a small refrigerator, safe, hair dryer, and basic toiletries. This all is accompanied by the fantastic care of a dedicate stateroom host who takes care of your room throughout your entire voyage.
Broadway Style shows like Tangled: The Musical, Frozen A Musical Spectacular, Disney Dreams (a personal favorite!), Disney’s Believe, Twice Charmed, and more
Kid activities and spaces in Disney's Oceaneer Club and Disney's Oceaneer Lab (3-12), Edge (11-14) and Vibe (14-17)
Adult-Exclusive spaces like nightclubs, lounges, and bars plus the kid-free pools, whirlpools, and fitness center
Game shows and trivia for the whole family (with adult-exclusive options available throughout your sailing)
First-run feature films including PremEARS at sea where movies debuting on land will be available for those onboard Disney Cruises too. Sometimes, you can even see them before they’re released on land! Keep in mind, this applies to the Disney brand family of films, not all films.
Character photos and interactions – meet as many characters as many times as you would like
Pro tip: On your Navigator App, be sure to “heart” which character interactions you would like to attend. This will send push notifications to your phone to remind you and your family. Also, we know that lines for some characters can get long. Be sure to go to a variety of events throughout your sailing as character interactions are frequent. Some of our favorite character interactions were unplanned, organic, just happened to be there moments like playing hide-and-seek with Chip n’ Dale in the Atrium! Don’t overplan your time onboard or you will miss the magic in these natural moments throughout your sailing.
Deck Parties including Sail Away Party, Pirate Deck Party, and Frozen Deck Party (select sailings)
Fitness Center (A18+)
Live music throughout the ship including the Atrium/Grand Hall, bars/lounges, and near the pools. Speaking of pools…
Pools, splash zones, wading pools, and waterslides including the AquaMouse, AquaDuck, and AquaDunk
Fireworks at Sea (available on most, but not all itineraries during Pirate Night)
Castaway Cay
Family Beach with beach chairs, hammocks, umbrellas, and beach towels included
Waterslide + Pelican Plunge + Splash Zone
Serenity Bay, the adult-exclusive Beach including its own barbeque restaurant with steak and fish (not available on family beach at Cookies or Cookies Too), yoga on the beach, beach chairs, hammocks, umbrellas, and beach towels
Character interactions, walking paths, Castaway Cay 5K with Medallion,
Barbeque lunch with burgers, hot dogs, ribs, banana bread (my favorite!), fruit, salads, chips, unlimited soft-serve, unlimited coffee, tea, and soda, and more
Tram transportation around the island
What’s not included in my Disney Cruise?
Alcohol is not included in your Disney Cruise, but did you know that adults (21+) can actually bring alcohol onboard a Disney Cruise? To learn about how to save money on a Disney Cruise by bringing your own beer, wine, or champagne then check out “Can I Bring Alcohol on a Disney Cruise?”.
Specialty drinks like coffees, smoothies, milkshakes, and lattes
Nursery care for sailors from 6 months – 3 years (or 1 to 3 years old on itineraries for Transatlantic, Hawaii, and Panama Canal) in It’s a Small World Nursery
Alcohol tastings including beer, bourbon, champagne, cognac, martini, mojito, martini, tequila, whiskey, and so many more
Excursions at any ports of call, even Castaway Cay
Adult-only restaurants like Palo (Italian), Remy (French), Palo Steakhouse (Italian), and Enchanté (French)
Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats, Sweet on You, and Inside Out: Joyful Sweets which are all dessert shops onboard with items like Rice Krispie treats, cake pops, ice creams, and macarons. Remember that all the desserts inside the restaurants, on the Room Service menu, and the unlimited soft-serve are all included so you won’t be without desserts.
Bottled water
Pro tip: you can have this delivered to your stateroom at the start of your cruise!
Gratuities (a fancy way to say tips) of $14.50 per night per guest (including children) for your dining room server, assistant server, head server, and stateroom host. This increases to $15.50 for Concierge staterooms plus you’ll want to consider your Concierge Lounge team as well (recommended gratuity of $8.00 per night per guest). Wondering why Concierge is worth it? Learn more here.
We know that tipping is not customary in all countries around the world, so this is an additional amount you’ll want to factor into your Disney Cruise planning. We always recommend pre-paying if you can so that this is one less thing to pay for when the cruise is over. If you’re wondering what else you might need to think about before your Disney Cruise, check this video out.
Pro tip: You can always tip more than the recommended amount. We always pre-pay our tips ahead of time, and then once onboard, we can give extra based on the excellent service that we receive from our teams. If someone onboard gives you outstanding service, please show them appreciation by tipping the additional amount you feel best as well as filling out the comment card (more on that in here in the Top Tips to have the Best Disney Cruise).
Popcorn at shows and movies
Photos from onboard photographers
Internet services
Personal fitness training in the adult-exclusive gym
Senses Spa and Salon which includes treatments like massages, haircuts, facials, teeth whitening, and so much more. To find out why so many adults love to visit Senses, read more here.
Ground transfers which take you to and from the airport/hotel to the ship terminal
Hotel (for our top recommendations, check this list out of our Top Hotels for a Disney Cruise)
Travel Insurance
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where guests 3+ can be transformed by a Fairy Godmother into a princess, knight, pirate, Captain Mickey, or Captain Minnie. To save money here, you can always have your little one pick out their costume ahead of time on land. We have some of our favorites from Amazon and Target linked on our Disney Cruise Packing List.
Virtual Sports Simulator
Royal Court Tea and Olaf’s Royal Picnic for some additional character interactions and special memories
Onboard shopping which includes items like art, photos, souvenirs, jewelry, handbags, ornaments, and any travel essentials you might have left at home
Castaway Cay beach accessories like snorkel gear, floats, rafts, and bike rentals
We know that you probably have more questions after reading through all of this. What additional activities and excursions are worth the cost? Do we have to spend anything additional to have a good time? What should my family skip and what are must-do for our Disney Cruise? Well, that answer is easy – it depends! It depends on what your family likes, which ship you’re on, what itinerary you’re sailing, etc. To get a customized recommendation on what’s best for your family, reach out to one of our Recommended Travel Agents who can help you book your Disney Cruise at no cost to you. That’s right – their services are free for you! Wondering why so many Disney Cruisers use a Travel Agent? Learn more by reading why so many people use a Travel Agent to book a Disney Cruise here. We can’t wait for you to set sail on your Disney Cruise soon!
