9 Special Disney Cruise Tips to Get More Out of Your Trip

If you’re heading on a Disney Cruise, especially for the first or second time, then these tips below will help you get more out of your trip, and make your vacation extra special.

Disney Cruises are amazing, but they’re also fairly pricey. After having been on three Disney Cruises, I have accumulated some tips below that will make your experience go smoother, be more magical, save big bucks, and generally keep you better informed.

There are also some interesting things to know about Disney Cruises that will allow you to get more out of your trip! Let’s jump in.

Tips for a Successful Disney Cruise

Tip # 1: Don’t try to ‘do it all’

Disney Cruise Line has a very impressive and diverse amount of entertainment, activities and things to do on board. I am impressed with how much they plan for passengers to do – besides the obvious stuff, there are also crafts, concerts, trivia, other games, karaoke, and more.

There’s designed to be more to do than necessary, so that there are tons of options for different interests on board, and to spread people put. This also means that you will likely not fit everything in, even if you try. This especially goes for shorter sailings (3 nights or less) on the newer ships because there’s less time to do everything.

If you do try too hard to fit everything in, then you won’t the cruise feeling relaxed. Instead, it’ll be a “needing a vacation from your vacation” kinda deal. So, I recommend just assuming that you won’t have time for everything, and prioritizing the stuff that you really can’t miss.

Some of the activities that we’ve really enjoyed are:

• Learn to Draw classes, which were run by a Crew Members, but also with pre-recorded instruction from a real Disney animator
• Character meets (see my tip about that, and photo packages below)
• Karaoke, usually held in the evenings
• Trivia games and Bingo
• Lots of crafts – if you’re on a multi day cruise, then the craft will be different every day
• The Broadway Style plays, which are different on each cruise
• Royal Gathering, offered on every cruise (we book it every time), this is where you get to meet and get photos with 4-5 different princesses
• The many concerts, plays and random entertainment they had

One way to have more time to relax and enjoy your ship is to go easy on the port adventures. On our last cruise, a bunch of our port adventures got cancelled and it was a blessing in disguise because we had more time to walk around the ports and do fun activities on the ship, plus sleep in longer. Don’t get me wrong I’ve done some amazing port adventures and I’m not saying to never do them. But don’t feel the need to book one for every single port, especially if it’s your first time at the port or if its your first Disney cruise.

Tip # 2: Wifi and On-Board Messaging

Wifi is not included in your Disney Cruise, and texting doesn’t work on board either. You can purchase wifi packages for an extra $50/day, but to be honest, I don’t recommend it. Having a break from wifi is a part of why I leave my cruises feeling so carefree.

There is one app that is free to use on board though, and its the Navigator app where you can check updates and activities and bookings. The Navigator App also has a FREE chat option that you can use with anyone in your sailing party, or anyone on the ship. All you need is their “chat ID” (which you find out on board) and you can open up a conversation with them. This allows you to chat with people from other staterooms too. It can be a bit glitchy, so you have to be patient with it.

Here’s the funny thing that we found out – WhatsApp might work on board! Even though my husband and I didn’t buy wifi packages, we found by accident that WhatsApp worked for us on board! Its much faster than the Navigator chat option too. So, I recommend downloading WhatsApp if you have it to communicate with anyone.

Tip # 3: Knowing Which Ship Would Suit You Best

There are now eight Disney Cruises in total, and they have gotten bigger and more beautiful (on the inside) over time.

Going on the first-ever ship (the Disney Magic) is going to be very different from going on one of the newer ships, like the Disney Destiny or the Disney Treasure. My first Disney Cruise was as a single parent with a 5-year-old. It was doable on the Disney Wonder (2nd oldest ship), but its not something I’d recommend on the newer ships.

Here’s the thing though –you can’t choose your cruise based on the ship – you choose based on the itinerary. I don’t think their booking site even has a way to filter by ship. However, if you’re curious I can help you figure out which ship you’d like best on my blog post here.

The smaller Disney Cruise ships have a much more low-key experience, because you’re sharing the deck space and the entertainment with fewer people. On the newer ships though, like the Disney Wish, Destiny or Treasure – the ships are so beautiful and stunning and have more going on.

Generally, if you’re going on the Disney Destine, Treasure or Wish – then you should expect longer line ups, and less pool space. This doesn’t mean they aren’t fun (we’ve been on two of the newest ones and we had an amazing time.) But, its something to keep in mind.

Tip # 4: Meeting Characters

Characters are usually wearing a different outfit each day so your photos, if you see them on different days, won’t be exactly the same. On Castaway Cay for example, the characters are wearing their beach outfits – which they don’t wear any other time during the cruise.

If you’re on one of the newer cruises (which have more passengers than the older ships), then you should get in line 10-15 mins before for popular characters and photo ops. Characters like Mickey and Minnie will be out several times during the cruise and they are always very popular.

Some characters though, may only come out once during your cruise. Mirabel from Encanto for instance or Jack Sparrow only came out one time only. Keep your eye on the app for times if you have your heart set on any particular characters

While we’re at it, lets talk about the photo package – if you don’t buy it in advance, then you will pay more for it on board. If you plan to meet lots of characters and do every photo op, then the photo package might be worth it. We received over 300 photos for example, which worked out to be $1 per image. I do recommend booking it before the cruise because if you wait until you’re on board, the price will go up.

Tip # 5: Oceaneer’s Club Band

If you have kids in the Oceaneers Club (ages 3-10), they will rent you a Disney+ band for a $25 deposit.  This band can also be used on all of the games and magic treasure hunt pictures without having to buy your own. We were going to buy bands for all of us and were glad we didn’t because our youngest essentially got to use one for free.

You have the option of keeping the band after your cruise if you just keep it and forgo your $25 deposit. At that point, it becomes a souvenir

Tip # 6: Princess Dress Options for Bibidi Bobidi Boutique

Bibidi Bobiti Boutique is a really special experience for girls 3-12 years old, where they get their makeup, hair and nails done plus a few gifts to take home. The ‘Fairy Godmothers’ who work there turn your daughter into a princess.

The Bibidi Bobiti Boutique packages are not cheap, but you can save quite a bit of money (over $100 USD) if you bring a princess dress you already own from home. We had a really nice Elsa dress already so we brought it. It didn’t feel any less magical to me doing the cheaper package because the focus was instead on her hair, nails and makeup and sash.

The package that includes buying a dress at the boutique is currently $229 but the less expensive package if you have a dress already is $119 USD. (2026 prices.)

Tip # 6: Doing laundry

There are laundry facilities on all Disney Cruise ships, but it costs extra for both washers and dryers. Bring your own laundry detergent and dryer sheets to save a few dollars at laundry time.

If the dryer stops, don’t open it unless it actually says it’s done. My husband thought it was done because it stopped but the clothes were still wet and he had to pay an additional $3.50 to continue drying them.

Another thing to keep in mind is we’ve only ever done laundry on 7-night cruises. I think you can easily do without it altogether on a shorter cruise.

Tip #7: Talk to your Crew Members

Customer service is Disney Cruise Line’s specialty. They really strive to offer you the best experience they can, and if anything isn’t right or if you need help, they will move mountains to make it happen, within their power of course.

For example, if you’re sailing with a baby, or if you have limited mobility issues, then they are very accommodating to help out where they can. They also do a lot to accommodate dietary restrictions, such as vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. I eat mostly plant-based and have always been impressed with the different options they had available for me.

Tip # 8: Showing Appreciation to Crew Members

I don’t know how Disney Cruise Line maintains such a great front-line staff, but I do know that we as their customers, can help them out by showing appreciation.

You will see people mention leaving cash tips for their dining and room attendant team, which you can do. But there are actually a lot of ways to show your thanks to your team at the end of a cruise:

1) Prepaying tips

If you prepay your tips then DCL will distribute them among your service staff (head server, server and assistant server and your room host.) You can then fold them and put them in envelopes so that the team who helped you knows who it’s from.

You don’t have to put them in envelopes or hand it to them, but its an option if you’d like. They will receive it either way. The receipt they put in your stateroom (if you prepaid) is essentially just a receipt of what will be deposited into their account.

The prepaid tips option is meant to be a convenience so that you don’t have to worry about cash amounts by the end of the cruise. If you want to go above and beyond, I’ve heard that crew members have been touched by thank-you cards and drawings from kids. So, maybe bring cards and extra stuff in case there’s someone you want to do this for.

2) Letters about host/wait staff.

Another thing you could do if you really think that your team went above and beyond and made your cruise magical is to write a letter, email or mention by name in the guest survey. We had gone to guest services wanting to add a tip via credit (which by the way they don’t do) and guest services told us how much writing an email, letter about the crew members is far more useful and helps them out a lot. (They can get days off, and other perks if letters have been written about them.)

3) Remembering the names of anyone who makes your trip magical

In addition, if anyone on the cruise ship goes above and beyond for you whether it’s a random person or your dining or room attendant, look at their name tag and take note of their name.

If you recognize them by name in either a letter or in your survey at the end of your cruise, they can get bonuses and perks from their employer.

The Guest Experience Survey at the end of your cruise

The guest experience survey is per stateroom, not per person. I filled it out as soon as I saw it and I wish I’d consulted my husband before answering.

The survey used to be paper, but now its found in your Navigator app. It’s available to use right before you disembark.

Disney Cruise Line has excellent customer service but I think recognizing them so that they can be rewarded for their hard work helps contribute to making DCL so magical for everyone, for many cruises to come.

Tip # 9: Disembarkation Day

A day or two before you disembark, you’ll notice that luggage tags will be delivered to your room. If you add the luggage tags and leave your luggage outside your room the night before disembarkment, then they clear your luggage for you. There is a small catch with this though – it means you have to be off the ship at a certain time, usually earlier. (Which might work best for you, if you have an early flight.)

If you have a lot of time before your flight and want to take it easy on the ship for as long as possible, then keep your luggage with you and don’t add the luggage tags! You don’t need to be off until 9-9:30am if you keep your luggage with you.

Tip # 10 (Bonus): Stateroom items for purchase

You can buy some items in your stateroom, such as the towels and the throw that they keep on your Queen bed. We found out that the beautiful Disney Treasure blanket is $390 USD, and I believe they ship you a new one rather than you just taking the one from your stateroom.