Me and my wife are going on our first cruise on the dream on November 30 and can't wait. What activities should we be on the look out for us to do?

Hi!

Going on the Magic to Alaska next summer with a 2.5 year old who absolutely loves the characters. We did the Treasure this summer and the characters were his favorite part!

For anyone that went this summer, what characters can we expect to see!

Thanks!!

This is for all you seasoned cruisers. First time cruising with DCL and first time cruising with kids. Any extra advice is appreciated in addition to the questions! TIA!!

1. Are magic bands necessary? We are not at the parks stage yet.

2. When do we know which nights we have which restaurant?

3. Our cruise is in February I know what the weather will be like in port Canaveral (former Floridian) but what is it like on the ship inside and outside? Trying to gauge what we need to pack!

Hi!

Was wondering who's been on the 4 day Disney Wonder cruise from SD to Ensenada in early January and what the weather was like. It's our first family cruise and want to be prepared! Thank you!

My boyfriend has been on the magic once. I’m a cruise virgin. He said he liked the magic but it’s one of the older ships and he wants to try a newer one. We will be married and on our honeymoon around this time next year. Tell me anything and everything that comes to mind. Destiny specific or DCL info in general! TIA

Just wondering what everyone’s favorite activities are on Sea days, or evenings after dining and the main shows are over?

We enjoy going to Trivia, some of the comedy entertainment. And have started to take a liking to the drawing classes. Our kids enioy spending time in the kids clubs meeting new people. We explore the ship as a family checking out door decorations.

What’s your adventures or activities that you enjoy?

We just got back this morning from a 5-day cruise on the Fantasy. One of the evenings we dined at Palo. Simply amazing. My wife and I were treated like we were honored guests. We were celebrating our anniversary and the ambiance did not disappointment. We scored a window seat. Our server, Annis, couldn't have been more knowledgeable or attentive. I'm not an expert on Italian wines, so Annis brought me sample glasses of different wines that paired well with my entree. The one I selected was "perfecto"! The chef, Alessandro, came to our table and chatted with us about Sicily, and asked us how well one of his new cooks was doing. The entire experience was beyond delightful. My wife loves dessert. We had the chocolate souffle and panna cotta. Both were out of this world! The hardest part was walking out of the restaurant. I was stuffed!

If your budget allows it, don't hesitate to book a reservation at Palo.

Our first cruise on DCL is in November and I’m watching the videos, of course, that are all over YouTube 😊 all of the pastries look really good but I was wondering you had a must-try? Or a noooooo-do-not-try 😩

Can someone who sailed recently on the Destiny share the casting changes for the Hercules show?

I saw the Fantasy and boarded her on Sunday, on Monday we saw the Destiny off castaway. We circled around then left to go to lighthouse. While we were at Castaway yesterday we saw the Dream but did not get close to her, and this morning the Wish was in front of us.

I got a good photo of the destiny in the dragon’s mouth, some of the Fantasy, proof that it’s truly a Disney experience when they have fireworks at sea, I ran into my good goofy friend yesterday, and a lighthouse point cat.

Just showing a quick video taken in Pride Lands during our 515 dining a couple months back. Show was fantastic, food options were unique and very good. Probably our best sit down over Marvel and a high competitor to 1923.

Cannot wait until our next cruise, safe travels.

Just got off a four night sailing on the Wish to both Nassau and Castaway out of Port Canaveral. Prior sailing was a four night on the Magic out of Galveston to Progresso, MX earlier this year. We sailed as a family of four with two kids of Oceaneer Club age. We also did the photo package both times.

Pros for the Wish
- The Wish has significantly more to do than the Magic. The Aqua Mouse, Hero Zone, multiple pools, quick service dining, shops, theaters, lounges, bars, and grand hall were all a pretty significant upgrade from the Magic.

- The staterooms are overall nicer. We did a verandah both times, and the Wish wins for more outlets, and a glass shower door alone.

- Dining staff. Our servers, as well as multiple servers we spoke with had been on the Wish since launch. They really had it down to a science and everything worked like a charm.

- Better cafe/bar selection. Between Cove, the Bayou, Wishing Star, Hyperspace lounge, Hook’s Barbery, Luna, and Enchanted Sword, drinks were never far, and always high quality.

- The Grand Hall > Atrium. It felt much less congested, and way easier to get from decks 3-5 on the Wish than the Magic. Also the chandelier is gorgeous, and the multiple Goodnight moments made for an awesome experience.

- Oceaneer’s Club. There’s more to do for the kids, and the options for drop off with the slide were so much more convenient than having to wait in a pickup line to drop your kids off.

- Photo moments. The Wish has a significantly better space for photos, and we were able to get tons of really great photos.

- Wait times. The Magic has lots of lines everywhere due to its size, and aside from the AquaMouse, I don’t think we waited more than 5-10 min in line for anything we wanted to do.

- You can actually get to the front prow of the ship on the Wish.

Cons for the Wish
- The Wish is a confusing ship to navigate. The lack of central elevators REALLY hurts this, as you have long traffic jams of people trying to get on the elevators. Normally we’d opt for the stairs when we could, but needing to get from deck 2 to pick up the kids to go to the pool deck on deck 11 meant we’d had 9 flights of stairs to climb. No thanks. Also certain elevators not going past deck 11 meant you were waiting longer if you needed to get to deck 13.

- Dining Room experiences. Rapunzel’s Royal Table has a better princess experience than Arendelle, Animator’s Palette outshines Worlds of Marvel in almost every way, and 1923/Lumiere’s were fairly comparable. We lucked out and got Animator’s Palette for Pirate night as well which is absolutely amazing.

- Pirate Night. Captain Mickey zip lining between the funnels will always be a highlight, and Captain Jack on the Wish didn’t really have the same effect.

- Stateroom TV placement. While we were rarely in the stateroom outside of winding down for the night or getting ready, when we were, my kids wanted to watch something, and the TV being in front of the main bed made for some awkward viewing angles.

- Hallway moments. On the Magic, it was super common to run into a character while walking somewhere and get a quick photo with them or even just a quick interaction. On the Wish, I don’t think this happened once.

Stray Observations
- The food is overall better on the Wish, but Worlds of Marvel was the worst menu between the two ships.

- There felt like there was significantly more for adults to do on the Wish than the Magic. Not that there wasn’t stuff to do on the Magic, but the Wish had lots more smaller options.

- Not a dealbreaker, but I like that Deck 4 on the Magic goes completely around the ship as opposed to the Wish not having a full loop.

- It felt like the Wish had more merch/shopping variety than the Magic between Mickey’s Mainsail and Treasures Untold.

- The Wish has beautiful decor/theming, but I still prefer the art deco style of the older ships.

- Possibly a controversial take for this last one, but I feel like we ran into significantly more “Disney entitlement” from the crowd of the Wish compared to the Magic. I don’t know if this was due to time of year, Sailing out of FL vs. TX, or because it was a Halloween cruise, but I saw a lot more grown adults having tantrums on the Wish.

- Castaway Cay was way more fun than I thought it would be.

Overall, both cruises were great. I’d say on the whole I enjoyed the Magic more, but we’re looking at a 4.5/5 for the Magic and a 4/5 for the Wish. Curious if anyone else shares these thoughts or has insight on anything.

Next up: a cruise on the Destiny, and a soon-to-be-booked sailing on Fantasy/Dream.

Taken at roughly 11:15am.

Looking for a ltitle insight on if our DCL transportation was typical or if I should bring it to Disney’s attention.

We stayed at Pop specifically to get to and on the ship early. The bus was supposed to leave at 10:15, it didn’t leave until after 10:30. Then, the bus randomly pulls over on the side of the road and sits for 15-20 minutes, no communication as to why is given. The bus then drives to Orlando airport, drives around it twice and continues on its way to Port Canaveral. We don’t make it to the ship until after 12 and aren’t onboard until closer to 1.

When we’ve left from the airport in the past we were there much earlier.

Is this normal?

Of course I'm not planning on being late but things happen that are out of your control. So I was wondering would Disney allow you to go to the late dining time?? Thanks for the help.

I recently booked a Western Caribbean cruise on the Treasure for February. We'll be stopping at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay. This is our 2nd Disney cruise, but we were spoiled our first time and stopped at both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay last time, so this will be our first time at a non-Disney owned port.

I'm looking for any and all advice on how or what to do on the 3 days stopping at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth. Our traveling party consists of my wife, me, our 2 year old, and my father (separate stateroom for him).

I've looked through some posts asking similar questions already and this is kind of what I've gathered so far:

• In general, these 3 stops are good for active, adventurous excursions, which I think we unfortunately have to rule out due to our 2 year old. We're looking for kid friendly, easily accessible things to do (or not do).
• I think I've seen people recommend a nearby bazaar/shopping area in Cozumel that's walking distance from the port and getting lunch there?
• I've heard people talk about the Turtle Center on the Grand Cayman, which sounds like something our toddler might be interested in, but I don't see that listed under the Port Adventures, so any and all advice regarding that would be appreciated. Also, the Nautilus Undersea Tour seems interesting and toddler friendly. Has anyone done that before?
• I haven't heard nice things about Falmouth so far, so am currently leaning towards skipping and staying on the ship, but could be talked out of it.

Thank you for any and all tips/advice! Again, I literally have no idea what to expect when getting off at a non-Disney port, so don't be afraid to ELI5 me!

Now that we know more about Believe, I am thinking about what this means for the Wish's drydock next year. It's a brief drydock, but I wouldn't be surprised to still see some of these changes. What changes, if any, do you think the Wish will see?

-Add storytellers (now only Wish class without them, and the ship will be doing longer itineraries following the drydock)

-Pluto's Pita Platters (why not add this before the European itineraries)

-Shift in Arendelle restaurant; drydock is a few months before Frozen 3 comes out. Anna and Kristoff are supposed to get married in that movie. Will the restaurant continue to be planning their wedding?

EDIT: The Wish's drydock is May 8-22, 2027. It is after the transatlantic and before the European itineraries start. Only 2 weeks, but DCL did convert Carioca's to Rapunzel's Royal Table restaurant on the Magic during just a 12 day drydock.

Hi everyone! I’m taking my 5yo and 8yo to Disney Cruise for the first time ever. On port days, do they have a shallow area where you can see fish? The only person in my family who can swim is my 8yo. 😂 I can swim from one end to the other, but cannot tread, which is weird, right?!

I just want to make my 8yo happy but I don’t feel safe doing the snorkeling tour as of yet.

In addition, what can I do in Nassau with these young kids?

Did they just change the way pricing is shown on the website to per person instead of total cost? Is anyone else seeing that? I’m not a fan…

What a great time! Yes. The walk at Lookout Cay was long. The beaches were closed due to rough seas. But the onboard activities and Castaway Cay made up for it. Palo was amazing. Believe was a great show. Can't wait for our next cruise.

Hi! Looking to surprise my parents this Christmas with a gifted cruise… I’m thinking of a balloon surprise box to place under the tree and save for last, but wanted to see if anyone has done something similar or in addition to this that made the surprise special? Thanks for any thoughts!

Hi, it is our first time on a cruise and we chose the Disney Dream.

On our itinerary, we have Nassau.

Can you give me some tips on how to navigate Nassau? I have checked and there are seven other ships there that day too. 😭

I just want to eat good local cuisine and be on a less crowded beach.

We are just two young adults trying to enjoy ourselves without breaking the bank too much.

I have watched videos and read some articles, but I cannot decide.

Is there veg food available on castaway cay?