Disney Wonder! Our Experience As First Time Disney Cruisers.

When friends and family found out we were doing a Disney cruise I started getting “tell us if they are worth the money?” Then since we’ve shared pictures of our cruise, I’ve been getting messages asking if it was worth it. Well, this question is a little hard to answer, firstly because everyone has a different idea of the value of worth, and people will have different experiences. The second reason is I’m still on the fence about whether it was worth the extra price myself. Don’t get me wrong it was an amazing experience and there are some things that Disney does on their cruises that are magical and or amazing. but at the end of the day a lot of what you are paying for is the Disney name.

Why did we book a Disney cruise? Well, it all came about because I wanted to make the most of my husbands extended leave, plus I’m a holiday planning addict. I was looking at cruises and then suggested a Disney Cruise, then I told him the price, naturally I got the why is it so expensive (I’d had the same thought every other time I looked at the Disney Cruise prices), but I just said to him “it’s Disney, and you remember how good Disneyland was compared to other theme parks”.

We decided to do a short 3-night cruise as we didn’t know how the kids would go, but also due to our budget. I even got lucky finding a sailing departing from Sydney on the exact dates we were already going to be in Sydney, so instead of staying with my sister and her family for a few days, we went on the cruise instead (sorry, not sorry).

Since this was the first time we had cruised with kids, and first-time cruising with Disney Cruise Line, I joined a Facebook group just to see what tips people were sharing. I didn’t get many tips, but what I did learn is that there is a massive Disney holiday following, and people go crazy for Pixie Dust, I’ll come back to Pixie Dust later.

Now we are not crazy Disney fans, so remember this as you read about our experience.

The Ship

Disney Wonder is around the same size as Carnival Spirit (for comparison, if you have seen or been on Carnival Spirit).

On Deck 10 you’ll find table tennis, a foosball table and basket balls and a hoop at the forward of the ship, as well as a few sun lounges along port and starboard sides. This was great for taking the kids up and letting them walk/run around as we did a lap of the ship, as there weren’t many people up here. Vibe the Teenagers club is also on this deck, as well as Palo the Adult only restaurant (this is an additional expense)

Deck 9 has a lot going on, with the toddler’s water park, this is the only water area that children who aren’t toilet trained can go in, as they aren’t allowed in the pools, even with a swim nappy on (which sucks, but I also get how annoying it would be having to close the pool for code browns or vomits). You’ll also find the waterslide, kids pool, general pool and Cove café, adult only pool and bar on this deck. The gym and spa are located in the forward of this deck. The cove café is where you get your barista coffee from, it is an additional charge.

There’s a stage and big screen, where they have their deck and sail away parties, shows and play movies.

Theres a couple of food outlets on this deck where you can grab a bite to eat between the buffet and dining room opening hours. These are included in your cruise; I liked Daisy’s De-Lites as we could grab wraps and fruit for the kids snacks. The self-serve drink machines are also on this deck (also included in your cruise). The buffet is also located at the aft of deck 9.

Deck 5 is mostly kids clubs, as well as Buena Vista Theatre which is where you’ll find a range of Disney movies playing through your sailing.

On Deck 4 you’ll find two shops, Walt Disney Theatre, Preludes Bar, D Lounge, Shutters (Photography Studio), and Animator’s Palate Dining Room.

Deck 3 is the deck you walk onto when boarding the ship. It is mostly dining and bars, with two more main dining rooms and four bars. You’ll also find guest services, port adventures desk and a small gift shop.

Edge kids club is located on Deck 2, and Deck one is where you’ll go to leave the ship for shore excursions.

Entertainment

Each day had different activities on at different times throughout the ship, however on our sailing everything was aimed at school age and older, so there wasn’t really much on offer for our family with a one and three year old. We did get to partake in a craft activity, but again the craft activities were aimed at school age and above, with lots of instructions to follow. They would also have trivia on regularly in D Lounge, however we didn’t go as we knew the kids would get bored.

The waterpark and slide were a hit for our kids so we spent a lot of time here.

They have different character appearances scheduled each day throughout the sailing, so you could plan your days and know when to go to meet the characters. The longer the cruise the bigger the variety of the characters, we had Chewbacca on embarkment day, but it was before most people would have been onboard, of course Mickey and friends, there were a few Marvel Characters and the Princesses. I highly recommend booking the Royal Gathering as soon as it opens to book before your sailing. We waited around 40mins for every character meet and greet we did. It didn’t matter if we arrive earlier or waited until the scheduled time, it still ended up being about a 40minute wait from the time we arrived until our turn. They would monitor the line length and once it got to a certain length they would close the line off, as long as you are in the line before they close it off you will get your meet and greet. When we met Donald Duck, he had already been out for about 45mins and the line was getting shorter but still open so we joined, it was still about a 30min wait from that point before we met him, but they did close the line off around 15mins after we joined. There are Shutters staff there to take photos of you with the characters as well as a cast member to take photos using your phone or camera.

Each night they would have stage shows in the Walt Disney Theatre, unfortunately we never made it to any of these as the early one was during main dining time and the late one which was during late dining was too late for the kids. On our sea day they did have a late morning, afternoon and evening time for Frozen so we did get to see that, and it was really good. It was the first time our children had seen a live stage show, so that was an experience for them.

There are movies running in the cinema, as well as outside on funnel vision throughout the day and evening, so can go and watch a movie. The in-room TV also has loads of Disney movies and shows to watch.

We didn’t have the famous pirate party or fireworks at sea, on our sailing as it was only 3 nights, however they did have Avengers Unite which was a show performed on deck 9 and has fireworks as part of the show, and if your stateroom is on the right side of the ship, you will be able to see the fireworks from your window and balcony.

Let’s talk food and beverage

Buffet, food was not bad for a buffet, deserts were delicious and they had a range of drink options in the buffet area. There weren’t any trays – assuming to reduce waste, but it made it difficult if you are trying to get food for a family with children too young to carry their own plates, and don’t have anyone to wait at the table with them. We would go to the buffet for lunch and we had one breakfast there. I personally thought the breakfast was better at the buffet than in the main dining rooms. The Buffet does get very busy, however we always managed to find a seat, and you can take your food out to the tables and chairs around the pool to eat as well.

There are three main dining rooms that are part of the rotational dining, we always ate in theses for tea, as well as for two of our breakfast. The rotational dining is really good, each night you’re assigned a different dining room; however, you have the same wait team and table number every night. This is really great as they get to know what you like, on our last night our main waiter picked exactly what I was ging to order from the menu, that was only a short cruise, imagine how well they would know you by the end of a longer sailing. Each main dining room has a different theme, and you get a bit of entertainment as part of your dining experience.

I believe room serve is included on Disney cruises, however we didn’t utilise this service so I couldn’t be 100% certain.

There is an adult only restaurant called Palo, which you do need to make a reservation for and it books out quickly and it is also an additional fee / not included in the cruise.

Also included in the cruise are a couple of food outlets on deck 9, these included pizza, fresh foods, such as fruit, salad and wraps, ice-cream, chips, chicken tenders, and burgers.

The only food you need to pay an additional fee for on a Disney cruise is any of the pastries from the cove café, meals from Palo restaurant and movie / theatre snacks like popcorn.

Non-alcoholic drinks, such as self-serve tea, self-serve coffee, juice, soft drink and cold water are included in your cruise, which is a huge saving for those not drinking alcohol. The water was actually nice from the self-serve machines as well which was great. The alcoholic drinks were on the pricy side, however the ones we had weren’t the typical watered down, cruise cocktails. Disney does not do drinks packages, however they have a very generous take on allowance which allows each adult to take one x 6 pack of beer or two bottles of wine on in their carry-on luggage, so if you don’t think you’ll drink much this could be a good option for you. Note they do charge a corkage fee in the dining rooms if you take these drinks to the dining room with you. This allowance may change so be sure to look it up before you depart.

Staterooms

I could not fault the stateroom we had. They cater to families extremely well! They even have cabin types that sleep 5, and suites that sleep up to 8 people.

There is a lot of storage space in the cabins, they even have space under the bed for suitcases, however as ours are hardcase suitcases we had to open them to be able to fit them under, as they were just a few centimetres too high to fit under closed. They have split bathrooms in the cabins which is so handy. One has a shower over a bath and a sink, the other has a toilet and sink, great for being able to go to toilet, do makeup, or shave, while someone is having a shower. The bath also made bathtime for the kids a lot easier.

The bed is a queen size (and was very comfortable). In the living/sitting area is a bar fridge, a small TV, a desk/vanity and chair. There was a small ottoman and a long lounge, which converts to a single bed. Above the lounge is a pull-down single bed, which essentially makes bunkbeds if both are needed. They set up a pack n play for our daughter, which took up a lot of room in the living area, however we still had room to get past to the door for the balcony or sit and relax. I did call to enquire if we could take our porta cot onboard instead of using their pack n play, as ours is more compact and has an actual mattress in it, however they never really answered my question, so I just requested one of theirs. There is a lock up high on the balcony door as well. This was a concern of mine not having been in a balcony cabin before.

There is curtain between the living area/kids’ room and the queen bed. I had read a few reviews about this being an issue with the TV on the wrong side of the curtain meaning you can’t sit in bed and watch TV if the curtain is closed, well you can actually, the TV is on a swivel wall mount bracket.

Our cabin could be used as an interconnecting room, so it had a door between us and the room next door. I was wondering how noise would go, but it wasn’t too bad, we only heard the family next door a couple of times.

Shops and Souvenirs

There are three shops on board that sell souvenirs. They have quite a good range of items in different price ranges, so everyone should be able to find something in the shop regardless of their budget.

However, if your budget is tight, keep an eye out for specialty drinks in keep cups and popcorn cups. I got a Mater Popcorn cup, it’s actually shaped like Mater, not just a cup, this was a great souvenir for our son. In the room they have a complimentary Disney Cruise Line Pen and Postcards, and the wash bag with Disney Cruise Line embroidered in gold on it is USD10 if you want to keep it and it makes a practical souvenir for future holidays.

We also purchased the Sherpa Blanket set through the app before sailing. They had this set up on the bed for our arrival and while on the pricy side, it was very good quality and a lot thicker than the blanket they had in the gift shop.

There is also a Jewellery shop on the ship.

Pixie Dust

This a Disney Cruise thing, where people hang bags or hanging organisers outside their cabins (your cabin number is actually a fish hook to hang these on), in the hopes that someone might Pixie Dust you (drop a small gift in). Some people go all out decorating their door with magnets, stickers, posters. The Pixie Dust can range from anything from glow sticks, stickers, stick on tattoos, lolly pops, wrapped lollies, to wrapped gifts. Now I had heard about Pixie Dust before the Cruise, but wasn’t going to participate. However, once we got onboard and seen the extent some people went to, I decided to hang a shopping bag on the hook to see what we caught. I’m not going to lie; it was a lot of fun coming back to the cabin and emptying the bag out on the bed with the kids to see what we had been left. Now since I hadn’t bought any Pixie Dust with us, I just took what we were given and walked around and popped it back in other people’s bags. Yes, I re-dusted our Pixie Dust, but at least I gave back.

Google Pixie Dust, you’ll be amazed to see the effort some people go to, but I guess that is the magic of Disney!

Our Experience

As mentioned, we did a short 3-night cruise return to Sydney with a stop in Eden. But a short sailing doesn’t stop the Disney Magic. As you walk on the ship, before you enter the Atrium, there is a cast member waiting with a microphone, they will ask your name / family name and then announce you/your family welcoming you onboard, all while other cast members are standing around clapping. Oh yeah, the crew members are called Cast Members on Disney Cruise Line!

Once onboard they usher you around to the dining room that is serving lunch. You can skip this, however they do it to stop people from going to their cabin before it is ready. When we did get to our cabin our luggage was already there waiting. This was a first as with past cruises we’ve always had a bit of a wait for our luggage to arrive.

We aren’t a Disney crazy family, but it was still a lot of fun to see Mickey and friends walking around the ship, disappearing behind doors, and of course Donald Duck being a bit cheeky and dancing and wiggling his bum on the balcony in the atrium. It was a bit hard waiting 40 minutes to meet the characters with the kids getting bored, so we only seen a few.

The dining experience was great, having the same wait team every night just added that special touch. Plus, the food and drinks were really good.

The waterpark, water slide and kids pool were a lot of fun and kids really enjoyed these.

The Frozen stage show was really well done. It wasn’t too long, which was great for kids. While we didn’t get to watch any movies in the Theatre, we thought this was great idea. The Avengers Unite show held on deck 9 and 10 was cool, as they really spread the characters out and they kept popping up out of nowhere. I did find the acting in this one a bit cringe worthy though.

I love to check out every inch of the ship when I cruise, so it was great being able to sticky beak at the kids Clubs during their open houses. I never made it to the Teen or Tween kids Clubs open houses, but I’ve heard they’re pretty cool. The Nursery Kids Club seemed a little dull and boring, but the others I seen seem like a lot of fun. We didn’t utilise the kids club as it was a short cruise and we wanted to spend time together as a family. After all a 3-night cruise is really only two full days on the ship.

The Sail away party was high energy and really caught our kid’s attention. Lots of dancing and fun had here. We ended up sitting and listening to music at the French Quarter bar, while the kids danced most afternoons.

I stuck my head into all the bars, but didn’t actually go to any except for the French Quarter bar. There are all different themes, so there’s a watering hole to suit everyone.

One thing that was obvious to me was how much safer for kids the whole ship seemed to be. While any child could find away to climb onto the railing if not supervised, it wouldn’t have been easy and didn’t look inviting for kids to climb on. There were also life guards standing right on the edge of the pool watch the kids closely. Disney really has put a lot of thought into making their cruises family friendly.

We loved having the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App to communicate to each other throughout the cruise, as well as planning our days. The Self Serve Laundromats located on most stateroom decks around midship were very reasonably priced with good sized machines.

All up we felt our Disney Cruise was a very relaxed experience with some great touches at that really make you feel a little bit special. It’s definitely not an action-packed cruise and a lot of the activities are better suited for families with children from may be 5 years old and up. We spend more time in our cabin on this cruise than other cruises, but this was mostly because of the kids and the youngest one needing her naps. Although the cabin was comfortable, and we were happy just to chill out and quietly watch a Disney movie on the small screen while she slept. But it was a great experience, and definitely a very family friendly cruise option. The crew are amazing and very friendly.

Would we do a Disney Cruise again? Never say never, maybe when the kids are older and more into the Disney characters. The Disney Treasure ship does look pretty amazing though, but doesn’t come to Australia.

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