Disney Cruise Line: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets
Here is the list of our personally tried and tested Disney Cruise Line tips, tricks, and secrets:
Table of Contents
Character Call
Surprise your kiddos by scheduling a free character call wishing them a happy sailing. A fun way to get them excited about an approaching Disney cruise vacation.
Just go to My Reservations under My Disney Cruise , click “Request Call” beside the Free Character Call header, and select the character.
Current character options are: Mickey, Goofy, and Mickey & Minnie.
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App
Make sure to download
Use it at home to plan your trip, book activities, make special requests, modify dining seating, make payments and check in online. Once on board, enhance your vacation with Onboard Chat, easy access to booked plans, daily activities, entertainment schedules, restaurant menus and table assignments, destination details, and more.
Personal Navigators
Gone are the days when the Personal Navigators printouts were delivered to your room every night with detailed schedule of the activities for the following day, port information, specials, reminders and so.
Now you can access them via the Disney Cruise app. To get an idea of what the schedule looks like, see our post with the navigators’ screenshots here.
Dining Rotation Schedule
Since Disney Cruise Line has rotational dining, meaning you, your tablemates, and your server team rotate to a different restaurant (almost) every evening, it might seem it will be impossible to remember what restaurant your dinner is each night. But Disney made it easy for you: just open the Disney Cruise app and you will see a link to your Dining Schedule on the first page.
| Ship | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Magic | Animator’s Palate Lumiere’s Rapunzel’s Royal Table |
| Wonder | Animator’s Palate Tiana’s Place Triton’s |
| Fantasy | Animator’s Palate Enchanted Garden Royal Court |
| Dream | Animator’s Palate Enchanted Garden Royal Palace |
Be Prepared for Motion Sickness
If you are going on your first cruise and you are not sure whether you might get seasick, it is better to be prepared.
I usually bring:
- Sea Bands (acupressure wristbands)
- Motioneze (all natural topical oil)
If you decide to bring Dramamine, make sure it is a non-drowsy version. Once I made a mistake taking the “regular” version, and then wasted the whole day sleeping.
Secret Verandah Staterooms
There are four staterooms on Wonder and Magic with slightly obstructed view verandah (see the image below) that are being sold as a lower category “navigator’s verandah”. These rooms are 6134, 6634, 7120 and 7620.
There are also similar rooms with various degree of obstruction on Fantasy and Dream. Reach out to your travel agent to help you find the best deal.
Secret Porthole Staterooms
There are several staterooms on Decks 5 and 6 of Wonder and Magic that are sold as inside rooms but actually have an obstructed view porthole.
There staterooms are 6006, 6506, 5020, 5520, 5022, 5024, 5522 and 5524.
Note that these obstructed view rooms are more expensive than “regular” porthole rooms on the lower decks.
Book Early...
Save on the cruise by booking it early. Typically, the prices are the lowest the day the itineraries are released. I’ve seen the prices go up by over $1,000 the closer it got to the cruise date.
...Or Late
Sometimes you can score a great last-minute deal. These are restricted fares that are released close to the sailing date if the cruise is not filled at a regular rate.
A few years ago we scored Very Merrytime Cruise NYC to Puerto Rico for about half price.
Midship Detective Agency
If you are sailing on Fantasy or Dream, don’t miss out on this fun interactive activity.
This game is great fun for all ages and can be played solo or with the whole family. Visit the self-serve kiosk at the Midship Detective Agency to get debriefing instructions from Mickey and pick up your detective badge and casebook.
Your mission will take you all over the ship where you will use barcoded detective badge and the ship map in your casebook to unveil clues, rule out suspects, take notes and ultimately crack your chosen case. Your badge’s barcode will track your progress, so you can stop and start the game as you please.
Bring Your Own Wine/Beer
Guests 21 years and older may bring 2 bottles of unopened wine or champagne (no larger than 750 ml) or 6 beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on board at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call. These beverages must be packed in carry-on (not checked) bags or luggage.
If you wish to consume wine or champagne that you have brought on board in one of the dining rooms you will be charged a corking fee of $25.00 per bottle. You can avoid the fee by bringing wine to the dinner in your own cup. I use a cup like one of these:
Mickey Bars & Rice Crispy Treats
While not listed on the menu, Mickey Premium Bars and Rice Crispy Treats are available on most on the cruises and can be requested from the room service or at the restaurants.
Staying in Touch With Your Travel Party
Disney used to provide two Wave Phones per stateroom that you could use while aboard the ship to reach out to your travelmates. They, just like personal navigators, are a thing of the past.
Now you can use the chat function in the Disney Cruise app to communicate with your travel party. You can also use iMessage.
Staying in Touch With the Outside World
If you want to stay connected with the outside world, but don’t want to shell out $$$ for Disney onboard Wi-Fi ($89 for 1,000MB!), check if your wireless provides offers roaming plans.
I have Spectrum, and they don’t have daily plans, they charge per MB, and it is not cheap. So for our last cruise I got eSIM cards for the Bahamas and Mexico from Airalo (use my referral code LARYSA252 to save $3 on your purchase) .
See our post on how we used eSim in Iceland here. It is the same concept to use it on the cruise. Just make sure to carefully read the instructions beforehand.
Wrinkle Release Spray
You cannot bring your own iron or steamer (I do not travel without my steamer! unless forced to go without by Disney Cruise Line), so bring a bottle of Downy Wrinkle Releaser if you don’t want to clothes to be wrinkled.
Onboard Booking
Want to save 10% on a future Disney cruise? Book it while onboard.
You can do it right in the Disney Cruise app! You will have to pay a refundable $250 placeholder and you must sail within 24 months of the booking.
This reservation is transferable to your travel agent.
Bring Your Own Cup
Soda is complimentary on the Disney Cruise Line, but the cups provided on the pool deck are tiny. So if you are a big soda drinker, bring your own cup.
I like these cups as they keep soda cold for a long time and they will keep your coffee warm!
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See our other Disney Cruise posts:
Explore the Disney Cruise Concierge experience – Is the splurge truly worth the magic? Find out in our in-depth review of all concierge perks!
Sip, savor, and sail in style! The Disney Dream Concierge Lounge review: location, hours of operation, service, and food & drinks offerings.
Explore Disney Dream cruise dining – menus and food pics. Your tasty voyage begins here!
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