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! When you’d prefer to see the video model, test my Instagram spotlight.
Our Disney Cruise Journey Recap!
We had a beautiful 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 in case you are planning a Disney cruise (or any journey for that matter!). We have been in a position to 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 in the future at sea. I’ve a number 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 advisable 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 look forward to 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 night time 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 testing 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, nevertheless it 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 a protracted line of site visitors to unload baggage, getting on the boat was pretty straightforward. Disney requires you to add your entire 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 contours, 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 speak 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 visitors.
Our Stateroom
After lunch, we went to take a look at our stateroom and unpack. We have been on the seventh flooring (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 may have a light-weight on and the boys have been at midnight.
We additionally had a welcome reward 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 Lavatory
I beloved that the toilet had two separate areas for the bathroom and bathe. We undoubtedly used each on the similar time many occasions. If somebody was showering, you could possibly nonetheless wash your arms on the opposite aspect. The lavatory was fairly good!
We unpacked our garments into the closets and drawers. I do assume they may have had extra drawers on the youngsters’ aspect.
Exploring The Ship
We explored the ship a bit earlier than the sail away celebration 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 youngsters membership had an open home so adults may stroll by it. We had three children below 10 (Birch, Avery, and Emerson) who may go to the membership. Mazen’s age group (12) was solely allowed in The Edge membership for tweens. At first we thought this was an enormous disadvantage that Mazen couldn’t be along with his cousins, however he ended up going to Edge so much and made associates there, so all of it labored out.
The Star Wars room on the Oceaneer Membership
Every little one was given a wristband that they wanted to register that we returned on the final day. They might select to go in from the foyer or by the slide! In addition they had the best handwashing station ever the place you place your arms into tubes of swirling water and cleaning soap. Really easy for youths!
I don’t have a ton of photographs from the youngsters membership as a result of adults aren’t allowed in on regular hours. However the children beloved 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, that they had character visits and particular occasions that stored it fascinating 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 wish to be picked up now.” It was formal sufficient that it was cute!
The Swimming pools + Waterslides
You’ll be able to see all of them right here! The white tube is the Aqua Mouse, which is a tube water journey that the youngsters LOVED! There have been additionally Disney motion pictures enjoying all.the.time. that you could possibly watch from the swimming pools. The road would get lengthy at occasions, however for those who 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 could possibly borrow in case you have a younger swimmer.
(It seems actually crowded right here as a result of this was through the sail off celebration on the highest deck! It was not often this crowded)
Toy Story Splash Zone
The 2 youthful children in our group beloved enjoying 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 advised us when the load was carried out so we may promptly change it over. I introduced two laundry pods from dwelling, however you could possibly additionally buy cleaning soap along with your card.
There have been tons and tons of machines out there. And ironing boards too! Whereas the $7 x 2 we paid to do laundry was nominal, I do assume it will be good simply to have this price included given what we paid for the cruise.
The Health Middle
We went to the health heart a handful of occasions. That they had a number of gear, 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, nevertheless it had stairs in the midst of it and it didn’t go all the best way 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! In addition 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 search 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
Reside Exhibits
We went to 2 reside exhibits whereas at sea: The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They have been each AMAZING! Numerous nice singing, dancing, costumes, particular results. I additionally beloved that they have been each roughly an hour so consideration spans may tolerate them, and on our day at sea that they had a manatee at 2pm for individuals who wanted to be in mattress by 8. 10/10!
Smaller Exhibits
There have been additionally exhibits and music happening within the grand corridor at numerous occasions. We stopped to eavesdrop on event.
Silent Disco
One night time, we discovered a kid-friendly Silent Disco! This was so enjoyable. My solely grievance was it solely lasted 45 minutes and the subsequent night time it was after bedtime.
Deck Events
There have been deck events every night time, however I not often stayed up late sufficient. One was pirate themed! And on New Yr’s, that they had 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)
Total Overview Of Our Disney Cruise
We had a good time, and we actually beloved the cruise! My total 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 for those who don’t have children except you’re a Disney fanatic. The cruise for us was all concerning the children! Having so many kid-centric issues (from the youngsters membership to decrease sinks within the bogs) was excellent for our household of youngsters ages 5, 6, 8, and 12. When you’ve got 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 beloved/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 arms 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 workers did a terrific job clearing tables and there was little trash anyplace (which is spectacular since there are such a lot of children working 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 very good assume 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 beloved our dinner service staff and each “solid member” we met was so form 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 needed to purchase a drink bundle. We had politely declined the primary few, nevertheless it 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 (below $10!) and cocktails have been perhaps $13-15. On Castaway Cay, my margarita was solely $8.75!! And it was nice. I actually appreciated this. And that every one tender drinks have been included.
The Exhibits
They have been excellent! Child pleasant and really Disney. We beloved them.
Themed Dinners
An extended overview will include that weblog submit, however the dinners have been unbelievable and the meals was excellent throughout the entire ship. There have been a couple of “misses” with dishes we ordered, however total I’d give the meals an A-. The one food-related grievance I’ve is that the espresso was horrible. Even the paid stage of espresso I believed 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 aggravated to pay that, however as soon as I related it was nice. Speaking with texting was truly fairly essential because the ship was so large and our group was all unfold out, so we have been glad that at the very least iMessage was free! Mazen may textual content us with out having paid wifi on his telephone. This meant he may go to the tween membership or keep out later and we knew he may attain out or we may attain him.
Heated Swimming pools
Such a recreation changer! Chilly swimming pools would have been depressing. They have been so heat and the youngsters beloved 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 an even bigger sizzling tub!
Loos All over the 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 occasions when it appeared like everybody was in a single place, however for a ship as big 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 Additional
As my sister put it, you could possibly eat limitless filet mignons however you needed to pay for popcorn! Popcorn exterior of the exhibits/theaters was further. This was so foolish to me since our children clearly needed some. I assume this simply retains everybody from getting it and making an enormous mess / losing it, nevertheless it was just a bit odd.
Character Traces
The one time I noticed tremendous lengthy traces was for characters. My children weren’t that concerned with assembly characters, however in case you have somebody who’s, be ready to attend in a Disney World-esque line.
Atlantis Resort
This overview is coming in a separate submit, 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 may 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 soothing time the early morning made for a cautiously early last night time and a extra worrying journey day.
Total Overview
When you 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 enjoying (Mufasa and Moana 2) that sadly we had simply paid to see within the theater! I believe 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 have got about particular issues within the feedback! Or share suggestions for those who’ve carried out a Disney Cruise and have one thing to share that I missed.
