Our First Disney Cruise on the Disney Magic

 

We just finished our first Disney cruise and it was above and beyond our expectations.  Dale and I have gone on many cruises together and as a family. Disney Cruise Line really does set itself apart from the rest and they are truly magical for the whole family.  The things that made it so special for us were the attention to detail and the customer service from each and every crew member. 

Getting There

We started our journey with a 6am flight on Easter morning.  We have been burnt too many times from delayed and canceled flights to risk leaving the same day of the cruise. Although we didn’t have to be at the port until Monday morning here we were on Easter. After much debate on how the Easter bunny was going to arrive BEFORE 5AM at the airport! The kids woke up to tote bags full of fun treats and games to play on the airplane. The boys were ecstatic and fully entertained for the short flight. 

Embassy Suites New Orleans

We arrived in New Orleans and luckily the Embassy Suites allowed us to check in very early. We relaxed a bit before venturing out for lunch. This was my first time in New Orleans and although I was excited to try some fun food we also understood that it’s not the most kid-friendly city. We ate at Gus’s Famous Chicken, which satisfied my need for local food in a kid-friendly space.

Gus's World-Famous Fried Chicken

I always dress my kids in the same

bright color when traveling

Embarking

We were within walking distance to the cruise port from our hotel. After check out we could easily make it to our ship in time to embark for our 11:15am check-in time. With our cruise documents, passports, luggage, and Mickey ears on we were ready to set sail. I was impressed with how organized everything was (it was night and day to our Carnival Cruise out of Norfolk). We waited about 20 minutes before our group was called to board the ship. They have snacks and souvenirs available to buy but luckily I packed a few granola bars so we skipped that. 

Checking in 

Short 10-minute walk to the cruise terminal

The family boarded quickly. Hungry for lunch, we followed the crowds to Rapunzel's Royal Table. We were one of the first on board and therefore the first to eat. Whereas we had no wait to be seated it was apparent when we left that people were waiting quite a while for a table. You can also get lunch at Cabanas (the buffet) if you don’t want to the sit-down option. 

Pools and Slides

We were told that our room wouldn’t be ready until 2pm so I had packed our swimsuits in a carry-on. The boys were excited to get to the pool and this was the least amount of people that I saw in the kid's pool all voyage. The pool is on the small side and on sea days it was packed full of happy kiddos. Conor however absolutely loved it. He said he played a game called Dodge the People so to each their own. I didn’t want to get in on those days. There are movies playing 24/7 above the pool and the boys loved the distraction during pool breaks and dips in the hot tub. The twins preferred the other side of the pool deck where there was a long slide and splash pad. They mostly went down the slide over and over and over again. I am a little nervous about letting my kids go off on their own especially where water is involved but with the number of lifeguards and staff even I felt comfortable staking a spot in between the decks to read and relax. There is also an adult-only area that had more of a quiet spa retreat vibe, which was a nice change away from the chaotic fun. 

Bring your swimsuits and sunblock in your carryon 

                                    

Youth Clubs

I would recommend that at some point when you first get on board you also swing by the youth club. During the open house, kids can explore and get comfortable with the space with their grownups. The kids can also get set up with magic bands and emergency information so that they can be easily checked in and out. We did not do this and it was a mistake because we ended up in an extremely long line before dinner with the other parents that missed the open house. After making it to the front of the line though we were greeted by the most friendly kids club manager that walked my nervous children around the club and showed them everything. They ended up not wanting to leave!

Hand washing station

Checking In

There are two youth clubs for ages 3 years to 12 years old on board. One is the Oceaneer lab where kids can use their creativity to play games, make crafts and use their imagination. The highlights of this area were the Pluto Pajama Party where they colored souvenir pillowcases with Pluto. The other was making Stitch Slime with Stitch himself (better him than me!) The other youth club is the Oceaneer Club where there are favorite character-themed areas such as Andy’s Room and Marvel Super Hero Academy. The highlights from this area were Cinderella’s story time and web warriors where Spiderman came and taught the kids to use their spidey powers. 

Although there are two areas they are connected by a kid-only accessible secret passage.  So the kids can choose what they want to do and discover. These clubs are available to kids 3 years (and potty trained) to 12 years old. Although my kids fall into this category there are other clubs available for infants and toddlers as well as teens. There is a club just for tweens ages 11 to 14 years old with a hangout vibe. It includes organized activities and games as well as video games and a dance floor for special themed parties or karaoke nights. There is also a separate lounge for the oldest kids 14- 17 years old called the Vibe. Our room was actually near The Vibe and it always looked busy it was on the adult-only side of the ship giving them a little more reprieve from the littler kids. I mostly noticed hoards of teens and tweens hanging out together out and about so I imagine it was easy to make friends via the clubs. 

Dinners 

There are three restaurants that you rotate around to each night at your assigned dinnertime. We ate at the main dining time 5:45pm but you can also opt for the late dining at 8:15pm. We were on the waitlist for main dining until a few days before we left, so if you are also on the waitlist, just wait longer. 

Animator's Palate

Lumiere's

The first night we spent at Lumiere’s it is a French restaurant inspired by Beauty and the Beast. The next night we ate at Animator’s Palate which shows how the art of your favorite characters develop from sketches to the movies. It also ended with an appearance from our favorite characters dancing with the wait staff. We ate here for the pirate night as well which had a slightly different flare. Then lastly we ate at Rapunzel's Royal Table and although we had eaten lunch here previously it was transformed. We were greeted by the thieves and ruffians from the movie Tangled rather than our usual crew. The lanterns were glowing and dinner included live music and a performance from Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. The cast even walked to each table to chat and take photos. As we have paid hundreds of dollars for equal experiences at Disney World I appreciated that a character dining was included onboard. 

Rapunzel's Royal Table

More than the ambiance and delicious food the wait staff was the true magic at all the dinners. Betty was our waitress and knew all of our names by the end of night one (yes even my identical twins Zander and Gavin). She was truly amazing and took care of everything at dinner including cutting food for the kids. I have also never met a more accommodating kitchen staff for food allergies. I was not expecting many options other than omitting dairy for our lactose-intolerant child. Conor was so happy with all the alternative options available from vegan butter to specially prepared desserts.  He felt so special and was finally able to order everything his little heart desired. That is also true for us non-allergy folks as well. We all felt very spoiled. They were all long dinners on average about 1.5 hours. We always had food and entertainment but if our cruise was any longer I might have opted for a buffet or quick meal for one night. 

Dairy-free ice cream

Specially made Tuna tar tar

Excursions 

One thing I really appreciated about our excursion was the white glove service to get to our outside party. Although the excursion wasn’t with a Disney company the crew members were still able to take the stress out of the trip. We have done excursions with other cruise lines and they say ok here is the door Hope you make it back!  And without fail, I forget a key card, ID, or something so where it should be as easy as going from point A to point B it's not with a family of five. Disney removes that equation. They have crew members making sure you have everything before you get to your meeting point INSIDE the cruise ship. We happen to forget our key card and towels but with a friendly reminder and a quick run to the room, it wasn’t a big deal at all. We all waited inside an air-conditioned theater while our excursion guide was running late. The Disney crew member got a message once they arrived and we walked single file and were hand-delivered to the excursion company…magical. The excursion itself was fine a 3-hour day at the beach with lunch, no complaints there!

Pirate Night

Most sailings on Disney Cruise Line include a special night called Pirate Night, for us it was on our third night. This was one of my favorite parts of our voyage. We knew about this and came prepared with costumes and makeup. The ship was invaded by pirates around 4:30pm; sightings of Captain Jack Sparrow and Hook and his pirate crew took to the ship. They made their way to the Oceaneer Club to teach the pirate alphabet. They took over the dining room where everyone was decked out in pirate gear and a special pirate menu was available. Then the party moved to the pool deck with pirate music. The kids (or I mean pirates) ran amok with swords, bubble wands, and excitement. Hook’s scurvy crew set the stage with a rock and roll show and Mickey saved the night with gorgeous fireworks. It was so magical to see the fireworks out in the middle of the ocean and there wasn’t a bad seat on deck. 

Liquor and Mixology Class

Dale and I had heard great things about the tastings and mixology classes onboard. We decided to take one and at $40 per person I thought it was a pretty good deal. We got there and were seated in the piano lounge with 2 drinks in front of us. The mixologist talked about the drinks and the components of the drinks. It was interactive and informative. We learned how to add mint to drinks and what juices worked with what drinks. We tried five in total each with a different type of alcohol. My only complaint was that I thought we would get to actually make our drinks versus being handed them by the bartender. It was still a really fun date and five drinks in I didn’t really care! 

Dale and I like to enjoy cocktails and wine when we travel. Cruises can get very pricey if you don’t watch how many mai tais you grab from the pool bar. Disney has a drink of the day special and we enjoyed this option. They are about $5 and are the perfect accompaniment to a pool day. We definitely still splurged on the occasional bloody mary or old fashion but the drink specials were a nice option. There are several lounges and a pub but we didn’t ever venture into them except for the mixology class. We also brought our own wine to enjoy on our private verandah. Not all cruise lines let you do this so we were happy to take advantage and bring some of our favorite bottles. 

Entertainment

There was literally always something to do for everyone. We spent our family time meeting characters around the ship. Dale and I took a tour of the art onboard and it was a great mix of history and design. The whole family really enjoyed the shows that ran every night. Our ship had three shows one on each night except for pirate night. The first night was a Tangled: The Musical this was basically a theatrical performance of the movie. Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story is the show for night two. This was one of our favorites it had enough of a nostalgic storyline while still portraying a new story. The last night was Disney Dreams- An Enchanted Classic and this was a compilation of all the stories that I grew up with hosted by Peter Pan. The caliber of voice talent sets and stories for all three were absolutely amazing. They were definitely a highlight of the trip and something we are all still talking about. I love sharing my love of theater with my kids and sometimes that is hard to do. I am so happy that Disney makes great theater accessible to children. 

Disembarking

After all that fun we did not want to leave. The whole experience was so organized and disembarking was no different. We went to breakfast one last time with our dining staff. It was a nice chance to say goodbye and thank you. Immediately after getting out of breakfast our group was called and we were quickly off the ship and out of the terminal. It probably took less than 15 minutes and we were out of our cozy Disney bubble. This may have been our first Disney cruise but it certainly will not be our last.