Gentlemen, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that planning a cruise is WAY less complicated than planning a Disney World trip. There are no dining reservations to make, there are no FastPasses to try and get, and you don’t have to pick and choose between a seemingly endless stockpile of hotel room configurations and resort themes. The bad news is…there’s no planning to do. You pick the cruise and room, pay your money, and that’s about it. Okay, so there are a few things you can reserve ahead of time (mainly shore excursions), but you’re really not mentally committed to the Disney cruise like you are when you plan a vacation to Disney World. But rest assured, these 7 Best Disney Cruise Tips for Dad will give you plenty to plan for. So let’s get to it…
- The Shower – I’m not going to sugar-coat this. The showers in the stateroom are not great. They’re tiny. For a guy that is 6’2″, tiny is not a good thing. However, you can go to Senses, which is the spa area that has the gym attached to it. The spa costs extra money, but the attached gym is included. Part of the gym is the men’s locker room. Inside the men’s locker room is a sauna and two large showers. Free for your use are clean slippers, robes, razors, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Basically everything you need is there and it is amazing. The best part is that not many people know that they are there. Trust me on this. Use the showers in the locker room.
- The Beer – I’m not talking about the beer on the boat. Yes, they have it. No, it isn’t included (or cheap). You can, however, bring on board a six-pack for each adult in your party in your carry-on. There is a mini-fridge in your room for your convenience, which is perfect for cans of beer. However, the only readily available empty cups are small and made of styrofoam for soft drinks. Ask for a grown-up cup (my words, not theirs) from one of the bars on the upper decks and you’re all set. You have craft beer (please don’t take domestic, for all our sakes) for about $1.50 each.
- The Food – It’s included. A Disney cruise includes all food. I will say that again. The cruise includes all food. You can have as much as you want, pretty much whenever you want (room service is included as well). Every evening at our sit-down dinner, I ordered two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts. I didn’t order three because I didn’t want to be ridiculous. First, take advantage of the great cuisine on board and order whatever sounds good to you. Then, plan your diet after the Disney cruise while waiting on your last dessert to arrive.
- The Tastings – Make a point to visit Guest Services when you board your Disney cruise and check out the itinerary that has the different tasting options. To be totally upfront, these do cost extra. We signed up for a mixology class, a beer tasting, and a whiskey tasting and they were all about $20 per person. That said, they are totally worth it. The whiskey tasting includes four good pours of really great whiskey. Then, the bartender gave us all two more pours. Here is a picture of the first four.
- The Adult Area – We all love our kids. However, we all want time away from them too. All Disney cruises have an adults only section with an exclusive pool and bar sans kiddos. Enjoy!
- The Kids Only Area – So, how do we ditch our kiddos? Disney cruises do not have casinos like most cruise lines. Therefore, they dedicate almost an entire deck to kid spaces. There are several great things about these places. First, adults who don’t work there are not allowed in the space and you need a secret password to get the kids out. Second, you can use the cruise app on your smartphone or the portable phone that is inside your stateroom to be notified if your kid has a problem or wants to be picked up. Finally, the cast members in these areas are amazing. They do some pretty impressive activities that the kids absolutely love and really want to be a part of. Here’s a picture of one of the themed kids areas. Can you tell which movie it’s from?
- The Bars – So, if your carry-on beer doesn’t last the entire cruise, Disney has you covered. They have several really cool bars on board, both inside and out. Outside, you will find your typical pool bars. Inside, however, you can find an upscale bar and a themed bar at a minimum (adults only area). On the Disney Wonder, you will find the Cadillac Lounge as the upscale bar and is decorated like a Cadillac, complete with authentic leather seats. The Crown and Fin is the themed bar and is an authentic english pub.
So, there you have it. These 7 Best Disney Cruise Tips for Dad will set you up for an incredible cruise. I wish I had known all of these tips before I went on our first Disney cruise, but I was sure to incorporate all of them after that. If you want to see any of these things live, I will be posting videos of our entire cruise and more on our YouTube channel, WorthMelting4. Here is the link – www.youtube.com/worthmelting4
Thanks so much for reading and please let me know your thoughts about these tips. I’d also love to know if you have any more tips to share.
Recent Comments