Looking for the best Disney Cruise tips and secrets in 2017 for your family? This post full of Disney cruise line hacks has you covered! Join me aboard this Disney Magic Cruise Ship review and check out my special tips to make your family vacation full of more adventure and fun. These tips for your first time on a Disney cruise will show you how to enjoy every single moment aboard the Disney Cruise Line. It is a well known fact that at Disney World, magic happens and dreams come true. This is no different onboard a Disney Cruise too. We share our experience from start to finish.
Disney Cruise Tips, Secrets and a Review
My kids love Disney. After I threw my daughter a Minnie Mouse Birthday Party I knew I needed to plan a Disney themed holiday. When I came across the Disney Cruise line and began to research how to make the most of the Disney Cruise I was surprised by all the secret tips that were out there! Before we get into the Disney Cruise Tips first check out these travel tips.
Please note that affiliate links may be used in this post.
Disney Cruise Packing Tips
It is no secret that I love traveling with my kids. Traveling together can be as relaxing or as chaotic as you prepare for it to be. I feel that everything goes much more smoothly if you take the time to prepare before hand. Make sure you have your kids travel essentials and search online for more information on your destination. If you are participating in the Disney Cruise Fish Extender then make sure to keep some luggage space aside for the fish extender gifts that you will be giving and an equal amount of space for the gifts you will be receiving onboard. I suggest if you possibly think you might have motion sickness get some sea sick bands. Having them just in case always seems to make a difference.
The BEST #DisneyCruise Tips, Secrets and a review to make the most of #disney perks http://bit.ly/2fY3DXmWatch my Disney playlist here.
Disney Magic Cruise Line Hacks
A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep…
We went on the Disney Magic 3 day cruise to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral in Orlando.
By far the best resource of information is the Disboards Disney Cruise Line Forum. There is a wealth of information there however, the main problem is that it is extremely time consuming to sift through all this information. I do not doubt though that every moment you spend on these Disney boards increases your fun and ‘know how’ for your cruise. This can really add on to the magic of your Disney experience . There are so many tips there but I will include a few tips that I used found really helpful. If you have any disney cruise tips to add, please add it as a comment in this post. I am sure many people could gain from your wonderful sharing.
Read on to see more about our experience on the Disney Magic Cruise including the ports we visited and how each day went.
Checking In to Our Disney Magic Cruise:
While we checked in, our kids had a look at the beautiful Magic Boat on display. The back side is like a real life map.
Disney Cruise Tips and Secrets
Please note that affiliate links may be used in this post.
Tip #1 Check in as early as you can: I recommend checking in early so you can enjoy this extra quieter time on the ship. The cruise is expensive, why not make the most of every single second that you are allowed to be on board?!
- Roam around the ship and look at the kids clubs: At this time the different kids clubs as well as the baby nursery is open for everyone to come have a look. The nursery then closes for viewing a few hours later and is never opened again to the public during this sail.
- Make sure you go to the nursery in those first few hours! – You can still catch a glimpse of the other kids clubs but the nursery seems even more protected so makes sure you visit there first. (This is a safety precaution for the babies safety.) I unfortunately did not know that it was only open for those few hours and missed the opportunity to go have a look.
Disney Cruise Tip #2 – Bring pillowcases and fabric markers in a ziplock bag and hand this in to concierge once you board: After we checked in there was a Mandatory Life Drill at 4 pm. Before the drill I handed in my pillowcases with fabric markers to the concierge desk. The lady at the desk asked me if I wanted Mickey and Friends signatures or the princess’s signatures. For my girls I chose the princesses and for my son I chose Mickey and friends.
Each ziplock bag included: fabric markers and a pillowcase. I placed my pillowcases each in their own ziplock bag with some fabric markers. I was told that the pillow cases would be returned to me in my stateroom the last night of the cruise. I brought these embroidered pillow cases that I purchased on Etsy. My friend brought plain blank pillow cases and those worked just as well. (No need to go all out for this small memory keeper.)
Magic Cruise Tip #3 – If participating in the Disney Cruise Fish Extender, pack it in your hand luggage so you can put it up as soon as you board. My kids went for a quick swim and before I could put my fish extender out. We received our first presents before it went up. The kids were really excited! They immediately took our Fish Extender out and put it on our fish hook.
I purchased our fish extender (and pillow cases) from DooDadsWithCharacter. I definitely recommend his store. I had a problem with one of the threads on my pillowcase and he immediately sent out a replacement. I had told him exactly what I wanted my fish extender to look like and he did a marvelous job!
You can find a similar fish extender here, lots here and more here.
We then went for our cast off party. This is not to be missed! The countdown, the atmosphere, the vibe was all amazing! I included a link to the video on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2vJ8DMR41Y
Disney Cruise Tip #4 – Call in your dietary restrictions at least a week before your cruise. Disney caters to guests individual needs if you call them ahead of time and make your dietary requests. I requested that we be served Halaal food on the cruise. We had the option of having anything on the menu as well as a few items off the menu. As we took our seats we were greeted by Abdul Aziz who was our waiter. He showed us what Halaal meat they had on board for us and assured us that they would take the greatest care when preparing our food.
The vibe during dinner on a Disney cruise is very casual. Unlike other cruise liners you do not need to get dressed up.
We were welcomed every night to the art of character towels. This was such a special touch. I remember walking in to that monkey with my daughters shorts and my husbands glasses. We all had such a good laugh.
Every night there is a theater show and they are all pretty entertaining.
Disney Cruise Tip #5 – Order free cookies and milk from room service at night before bed. – Did I mention that it is free?! Don’t forget to tip though! We ordered cookies and milk before bedtime every night and thereafter we had a peaceful sleep while being lulled by the oceans waves (possibly choppy water).
Disney Bahamas Cruise Review
Our first stop was Nassau. It is so beautiful there but it is very hot in April. I took my stroller with (which was not a good idea).
It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?
You are only halfway through this Disney Magic Cruise Review and I am sure you can see that we had a wonderful and magical time.
Disney Cruise Tip #6 – Use the ships pools when the ship docks. One thing that I have learned from being on two cruises (Royal Caribbean Freedom Of the Seas and Disney Magic) is that the ships pools are empty and peaceful whenever the ship docks. We returned early and spent some time at the pools.
We met most of the princesses as well as a few other characters. Mickey and friends were there too! The lines were much shorter than Disney world lines.
Our next stop was Disney’s Castaway Cay (Cay is pronounced like key).
It is a very pretty private island where only Disney Cruise Liners dock. That means it was never too full. Also, knowing that you are on such a special island that is not open the the public seems even more special, doesn’t it?
Pirate night was fun. Everyone dressed up as pirates and the waiters handed out pirate bandana’s for everyone. The fireworks during the evening show (I think it was the last night) on the sea was amazing. It is truly breathtaking to see fireworks while on a cruise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEJ6rntWUGw
I didn’t get a picture of the restaurants but every single night we ate at a different restaurant and each had its own decor, food and vibe.
Two of kids spent as much free time in the kids clubs as they could. My youngest child was only six months old and she wasn’t easy going enough to be left at the nursery.
The kids clubs were amazing. There was a lot of entertainment there and a lot of activities.
Last night
On the last night we got our signed pillowcases back. They were left on the bed in our room.
A few more tips to make the most of your Disney Cruise
Tip #7: Make sure to fill in all your information online. Including authorized people who are allowed to take your kids out of the kids club as well as all information needed for check in. This allows you to breeze through the check in process.
Tip #8: Apparently, if you go to check in earlier you have a chance at upgrading your room for a discounted price. This however, does not apply to those of us who need connecting rooms!
Tip #9: Check your stateroom number on the Disboards forum. Some rooms have a restroom plumbing problem (during the time I was cruising) and there will be complaints on the website. You can actually look at reviews for the actual room that you are booking. (Seriously, it’s that amazing!)
Tip #10: Join a Disney Cruise Fish Extender group. It really makes the cruise that much more magical!
Tip #11: Make sure to make reservations for the Disney Princess gathering and any other onboard events ahead of time. If you cannot get reservations at that time then go to guest services as soon as you board.
My thoughts on our experience aboard the Disney Magic Cruise
It is a dream come true. We had a great experience on our cruise. Our rooms were perfect. Our waiters were amazing. We truly felt like very special valued guests onboard and I can’t think of one thing that could have made our experience any better. The only regret we have is that we did a 3 day cruise instead of the 4 day. (The 4 day did not fit within our travel plans.) I would love to board another Disney Cruise ship in the future. It was the perfect Disney Family Cruise experience.
Check out my very thorough post on Kids travel tips to make your family vacation go more smoothly. You can also take these kids travel activities with you for the plane ride there.
Check out this wonderful free Cruise Packing List to ensure you don’t forget anything.
Looking for more family Travel experiences? Check out my 10 Things To Do In Dubai With Kids post. The Hello Kitty Spa is a must!
Cindy Raines
Help! How do i get on a fish extender group?
Nadia
Hi Cindy, I have linked in the post with how to get into a Fish Extender. I’m sorry I missed your email. If you haven’t already gotten into one send me an e-mail back and I will send you links directly.
nydia domenech
hello! excited to go on our familys’ disney cruise on july 24th 2017. please add my 3 kids to the fish extender list. 6yr old female, 6&9yr old boys.