Castawaves For those addicted to the Disney Cruise

Not only is the Disney Cruise Line the best family cruise line, it has just been rated as the 4th most luxurious cruise line in the world according to Travel + Leisure Magazine recently released the results of it’s 2006 World’s Best Awards reader’s survey. So, not only are you planning a fantastic family vacation, you will live in luxury while the kids play.

The Disney Cruise Line started in 1985, when the Walt Disney Company partnered with Premier Cruise Lines and started up the Big Red Boat. This allowed Walt Disney World guests to enjoy a short Caribbean cruise in addition to their stay at Walt Disney World. For 10 years, the Big Red Boat sailed from Port Canaveral. During this time, Disney decided that the Big Red Boat was not the way to go, and launched the Disney Cruise Lines with it’s first boat, the Disney Magic, which set sail on July 30, 1998. Disney built a dedicated cruise terminal in Port Canaveral and purchase a private island, did massive work there, and renamed it Castaway Cay (pronounced “key”). The Disney Magic sailed three and four night Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral until the Magic’s sister ship, the Disney Wonder set sail on August 15, 2000. While the two ships look nearly identical form the outside, there are many cosmetic differences once you are on the ships. Cruisers aboard the Disney Magic enjoy an art deco look to the decor with deep nautical colors, while those aboard the Disney Wonder are treated to am art nouveau look, similar to that of old Paris. Many of the restaurants and clubs are have different names on each ship, though the layout of the ships are identical, and once in your stateroom, you will have a hard time figuring out which ship you are on. The Disney Magic now sails 7 night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises while the Disney Wonder sails 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.

We hope you have as much fun planning your Disney Cruise as you do on the cruise itself!

Cruise Itineraries

The Disney Cruise Line offers three, four and seven-night cruises, as well as special cruises throughout the year, such as the 10-night Christmas Cruise for 2006, and the Mediterranian Cruises for 2007.

Disney Wonder 3-night Cruise
Day 1 - Thursday - Depart Port Canaveral
Day 2 - Friday - Arrive early in Nassau departs after midnight.
Day 3 - Saturday - Arrive early in Castaway Cay departs about 5:00 PM.
Day 4 - Sunday - Arrive early in Port Canaveral. Disembark about 9:00 AM.

Disney Wonder 4 night cruise
Day 1 - Sunday - Depart Port Canaveral.
Day 2 - Monday - Arrive early in Nassau, Deck party night.
Day 3 - Tuesday - Arrive early in Castaway Cay; depart about 5:00 PM.
Day 4 - Wednesday - Day at sea
Day 5 - Thursday - Arrive early in Port Canaveral. - Disembark about 9:00 AM.

The Disney Wonder 4 day cruise no longer stops at Freeport.

Disney Magic 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise
Saturday - Depart from Port Canaveral
Sunday - At Sea
Monday - At Sea
Tuesday - St. Maarten
Wednesday - St. Thomas, with excursions to St. John
Thursday - At Sea
Friday - Castaway Cay
Saturday - Return to Port Canaveral

Disney Magic 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise
Saturday - Depart from Port Canaveral at 5:00 PM.
Sunday - Arrive in Key West about noon, depart at midnight.
Monday - Day at Sea
Tuesday - Arrive in Grand Cayman at 7:00 AM; depart at 5:00 PM.
Wednesday - Arrive in Cozumel at 11:00 AM, depart at midnight.
Thursday - Day at Sea
Friday - Arrive at Castaway Cay at 7:00 AM; depart at 5:00 PM.
Saturday - Return to Port Canaveral at 6:00 AM; debark at 8:30 AM.

Disney also offers special itineraries from time to time. The Disney Magic is the Mediterranean during the Summer of 2007, and will be sailing the Mexican Riviera during the Summer of 2008.

How to save money booking your Disney Cruise

Everyone wants to save money. While you won’t find any last minute deals on the Disney Cruise Line, there are ways to save money.

Book early and book often
The least expensive price will be available when the booking for that sailing is first announced. As the cruise date approaches and the ship fills up, the prices increase. All Disney cruises sail at over 90 percent capacity, with the majority of the cruises completely full. Disney will release any extra space available to Disney employees, so if any space is left 30 days before the cruise, it usually fills up with Disney cast members.

Stateroom options
On a Disney Cruise, the first two people in a stateroom, regardless of age, will pay the adult fare. Then, any additional people in your cabin will pay a lesser fare depending on their age. So, if an adult and a child cruise together as the only people in their stateroom, they will both pay adult fares.

Most of the staterooms on board are designed to sleep a maximum of 3 or 4 guests. Disney will not allow you to have 4 people in a 3-person stateroom at all. If you have 5 in your family, you will have to book a category 4 stateroom, which is a deluxe family stateroom with verandah. Your other option, if you have 5, is to book 2 neighboring category 11 staterooms, or two connecting category 10 or 9 staterooms. It is usually less expensive to book two of the less expensive rooms than the one more expensive room, though you do get a verandah with the category 4. One other option, if your kids are old enough is to book a category 6 stateroom (deluxe stateroom with verandah) and a category 11 inside stateroom directly across the hall. The parents still get the verandah, and the kids get their own room. Disney requires at least one adult in each room, but once you are on the ship, you can sleep where you want.

The Disney VISA card
Disney has a introduced a Disney branded VISA card. Exactly like every other VISA card out there, and accepted virtually anywhere, there are some small differences. Disney often gives small discounts to Disney VISA card holders, and also often gives interest free deals if you pay for your cruise with the Disney VISA card. Plus, for every $100 you spend, you earn 1 Magical Reward dollar, that can be used to pay a portion of your cruise, your onboard charges or just about anything during your Walt Disney World Stay. You can get more information at: Disney VISA card

Florida Resident Special Rates
Disney Cruise Line periodically offers special savings for Florida residents, so be sure to ask. Florida resident rates typically come out 60 to 90 days prior to the sailing, and usually during slow times, such as the Fall and early Spring. Don’t wait until the discounts are released, the cruises tend to fill up quickly, and get more expensive as they approach. Instead, book early and have your travel agent change your rate to the Florida resident rate if one is offered later on. By booking early, you will have a better choice of staterooms, and better price if a Florida resident discount is not released. You will get to keep your reserved stateroom if the Florida resident rate is offered later on. Disney Cruise will not call you to tell you that there is a discounted rate on your cruise. Have your travel agent watch for discounted rates for you, and check local newspapers for advertisements. When a Florida Resident rate is offered Disney has a very limited number of staterooms available at the discounted rate, so act quickly.

WDW Annual Pass
From time to time discounts are offered for WDW Annual Passholders. Passholders always get a discount on the land/sea packages.

Castaway Club
If you’ve previously cruised on a Disney Cruise, you’re a member of the Castaway Club, and therefore you qualify for some special discounts and perks. Discounts are few and far between, but you do qualify for special check ins and a gift in your stateroom, not to mention the party with the captain.

Travel Insurance

When you book a Disney Cruise, you will need to pay a deposit at that time. That amount will be either $200 or $250 per person, depending upon the length of the cruise. 75 days before you cruise, the full amount must be paid. You can pay as you go along, but it must be paid in full by that point. Any time up until that 75 days prior to cruising, you can get a full refund of any money paid. After that point, there are severe penalties that take place if you have to cancel. Travel insurance is a good way to insure that you will not have to forfeit any money if you have to cancel. The Disney insurance policy covers trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, emergency medical transportation and emergency medical and dental. They policy that you purchase from the cruise line is not payable until 60 days before you travel, so the decision to purchase does not need to happen at the time of booking.

Current Disney Insurance prices:

There is on reason you have to purchase Disney’s insurance, or any insurance at all. There are several other companies that sell travel insurance. The first option might be to ask your travel agent if they know of any good insurance carriers. One good reason to go with a third party insurance company is that it will cover all portions of your trip, including airfare, etc. Disney insurance will only cover the portions purchased from Disney. We suggest you take a look at Insuremytrip.com. Just put in your information, and it will spit out a quote from a bunch of insurance companies. Rates can vary quite a bit, and can change on a daily basis.

Booking your Disney Cruise

There are several ways to book a Disney Cruise, through Disney directly, your local travel agent, an online agency such as Expedia or a Disney Travel agent. Although all roads lead to Castaway Cay, your experience will differ depending on which route you take. We suggest finding a Disney Travel agency that only does Disney travel. They will have agents who have been on the Disney cruise before, and have a first hand experience exactly what it is like to cruise with Disney. We recommend MouseMisers, our sponsor. They have all the experience in the world with Disney Cruises, as well as all things Disney. They will guarantee that you save at least 5% off of the prices that Disney Cruise will give you, often times, more than that.
You won’t end up paying more by going through a Disney specialist, and you may even pay less, but the input you will receive will be invaluable in planning your Disney Cruise. Before you do anything, take a look at DisneyCruise.com and check out prices there, along with some options. That will give you a good starting point as you start your planning.

Before you leave 

Before you leave for your Disney Cruise, there are a few items you will need to have in your possession. Please do not wait until the last moment to obtain these items, as many of them may take weeks or months to receive.

Passport

Sometime in the near future, all passengers aboard a Disney Cruise ship, or any cruise of that matter, will be required to have a valid passport in their possesion. They mean everyone! Even infants will need one, or they will not be able to board the ship.

Currently, adults need either a passport or a picture ID with an original birth certificate from your county of birth. Children need either a passport or an original birth certificate. If you have a passport, use that, it will make your trip more enjoyable.

Disney Cruise Documents

Prior to leaving home, you should receive cruise documents from your travel agent, or if you booked directly through Disney, from them. These contain forms you will need to fill out and present at time of check in. They also include some luggage tags so you can assure your luggage will reach your room once on board, along with some informational items. Don’t fret if you do not have these, as they can all be easiliy replaced when you arrive at the terminal. They sure are nice to have, and will save you quite a bit of time during check in if you have the completed and ready to hand over.

What to pack

On board the Disney Cruise, your attire will change dramatically from day to day. During normal hours, casual wear is accepted and expected, both around the ship and during meal hours in restaurants. For breakfast and lunch, they expect to not see any swimming suits in the restaurants, though cover ups work well. During dinner hours, the restaurants require men to wear long pants and shirts with colars, while women are expected to wear a dress of sorts. Your Disney Cruise will also have at least one formal night on board, so a suit and tie for men as well as a nice dress for women.

For the most part, we take along mostly casual wear, for the pool, beach and walking around town. We also bring along a couple of casual/dressy outfits that can be used for dinner or night time shows, as well as one formal outfit.

Please don’t forget any medicines you may need. Also, a camera, video camera, a few toys from home for you child are nice to have a long as well. If you are doing any excursions, make sure you bring along any attire or shoes that may be needed for that excursion.

Weather

Weather is pretty constant in the Caribbean, Hot! For example, the average high in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas is 86 all winter and 90 in the summer. Islands that are more to the north tend to get a little cooler in the winter, but not much. Here are the links to the current weather in most Disney ports:

St.Thomas
St. Martin
Key West
Grand Cayman
Cozumel
Nassau
Port Canaveral

Getting to your Disney Cruise

The Disney Cruise sails out of Port Canaveral, just north of Cocoa Beach, Florida and about 45 miles East of Orlando International Airport (MCO). If you are flying to Florida for your Disney Cruise, and you plan on using Disney transportation to the cruise, you will need to fly into MCO. It is the closest and most convenient airport to all points in Orlando.

Please note that you should plan on arriving at the Disney Cruise terminal around noon the day of your cruise or before. Please do not arrive later than about 2PM, as you risk missing the boat completely. If you are not able to find a flight that arrives in time the day of your cruise, you must fly in the day before and stay the night before the cruise. Many Disney Cruise guests fly in the night before, just so they can be sure of not missing the cruise. There are hotel options both by MCO and near the port, though we have found staying near the airport is more convenient, many more choices and cuts down on travel after you flight. Recently, since the introduction of the Magical Express, we have started staying at Walt Disney World, giving our kids something to do the night before the cruise.

The cruise terminal is often crowded, due to the neighboring Carnival Cruise terminal. Plan on about one hour for travel from MCO to the terminal. The Disney Cruise terminal is like a small airport, you will be required to show ID to enter the grounds, and then again as you pass through security. All of your luggage will be scanned, just like boarding a flight. As you enter the terminal, you will pass security, go up one floor on the escalators, and enter the main part of the terminal. On the left hand side is where you will check in for your cruise, on the right hand side are some seating areas and a small coffee shop. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of Disney Cruise employees to help you if you are lost. Expect long lines, though they tend to move pretty quickly. Once you are checking in, enter the line to board the ship. If you arrive early enough, there will be characters entertaining kids in the terminal while you wait to board the ship. Typically, they will start boarding around noon, but it may be as early as 11 AM and as late as 2PM. We suggest you try to arrive around 11:30. By the time you check in, you should be ready to board. There is no huge hurry to board the ship, as your stateroom will not be ready for a few hours, and you are now able to book all on board activites online prior to leaving. The Disney Cruise terminal is beautiful, take a few minutes to walk around and check it out before boarding.