Magic At Sea: Exploring Disney Cruise Line!

For the next few weeks we will be looking at Disney Cruise Line. This week we are looking at a brief overview of the different classes of ships as well as looking at what is included in the price of a Disney cruise. 

Interested in booking a Disney Cruise remember you can get up to $1000 onboard credit when you book with me! Here's how to contact me:

Email- Jeremyo@mickeyworldtravel.com

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Transcript

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Well, ahoy Disney fans and OTD family, and welcome aboard another episode of On To D with Me, your fast pass to all things Disney. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or just wondering what it's like to trade theme parks for ocean views, you're in the right place. Today we're diving into Disney cruise line. So grab your towel, grab a spot on the pool deck, and get ready to sail away with us. And I'll see you guys on the other side. I'm Jeremy, a travel specialist with Mickey World Travel. Mickey World Travel is an earmarked platinum level Disney vacation planner. Remember, it costs you no extra to use a travel agent such as myself. All quotes are complimentary. And since we're taking a few weeks to talk about Disney Cruise line, and this is anytime, not just for the next few weeks, anytime you can get up to a thousand dollar on board credit when you book a Disney cruise with us, with me. So here's how you can contact me, okay? Email Jeremy O at Mickey WorldTravel.com, or you can message me on Facebook. Just search for Mickey World Travel-Jeremy Overstreet. And thanks so much for letting me get that little bit of business out of the way. But very excited to talk about Disney Cruise Line for the next few weeks. We are going to take a break from Walt Disney World. But before we do take a break and dive into today's episode, did have some news come out this week for halfway to the holidays. So Disney has announced the dates for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party as well as Jollywood nights at Disney's Hollywood Studios. For Disney's Hollywood Jollywood nights, excuse me, at Hollywood Studios, that will be taking place select nights starting November the 7th through get this, January the 5th of 2027. So there are two dates in 2027 of January, January the 3rd and January the 5th, where Jollywood nights will be taking place. So that's pretty exciting. And then Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, I almost said not so scary Halloween party, but Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party will be going select dates starting November the 8th through December the 22nd. And tickets for those go on sale for resort guests starting July the 9th. If you have a trip booked for any of any of those dates, you can get tickets to those parties starting July the 9th, and they go on sale to the general public on July the 16th. So there we go. A little bit of news this week, some happy news for halfway to the holidays down at Walt Disney World. But now we're going to take a step back from Walt Disney World and dive into Disney Cruise line. So today we will be um doing just a brief overview of the ships and then breaking down what is covered in the cost of a Disney Cruise and what is not. So Disney Cruise Line operates eight ships across four distinct classes from um innate classic vessels to massive thrill-packed resorts at sea. Okay, and so we're just kind of briefly kind of go through each class, the ship in each class, and then we're gonna break down um what the cost of a trip is. And first of all, let me say um I'm getting this uh this week's episode out a little bit later than I I've been normally doing. Um but a lot of that is my my my dad did have some surgery this week, um so just been kind of taking care of him, getting him where he needs to be, um, and getting him home, and he's doing well. So that's why this episode is coming out a little bit um later than normal, but we still got to it. So there we go. So let's dive in. So looking at four different classes of ships, all right. We're gonna start with um the, I don't want to say the oldest, but yes, they are. They're the oldest class of ships, the first ships. Um you've got the magic class, which has two ships, the Disney Magic and its sister ship, the Disney Wonder. Um, next class up from that is the Dream Class. Um, you have the Disney Dream and its sister ship, the Disney Fantasy. And then to the Wish class, um, which obviously you have the Disney Wish, the Disney Treasure, the newest Disney Destiny, and coming out in 2027, towards the end of 2027, will be the new Disney Believe. So you will have four ships in the Wish class, and a new class since um they since Disney Company um purchased a ship from a cruise line that I think either went under or just didn't have the funds to complete this ship. You have their global class, which is the Disney Adventure Adventure, excuse me, um, which takes place uh overseas uh for their Singapore market and only hits that area. So massive, massive ship. I've seen some videos on that, so pretty, pretty cool looking. Um but that's your four classes the magic class, dream class, the wish class, and then the global class. And after the Disney believe, I I do believe um, there you go. Um I believe it was announced uh it was last year at D23 that uh they will be scaling down on the size of their ships for the next few ships that are coming out, um getting back more towards uh the smaller vessels. I don't think there's gonna be as small as as the magic class, um, but probably somewhere around the dream class, maybe, or maybe a mixture of between the magic class and the dream class, or between the dream class and the wish class, I don't know. But they will be kind of scaling down as far as size and getting to some smaller, excuse me, having some throat issues today. So now next week we will really dive into each class of ship um in in more detail, and we'll take each week um we'll take each class individually and we'll dissect each ship inside that class. Um, what characters are on the hull and in the great hall, the restaurants that are on the ship, the entertainment that's on the ship, and just things like that. Okay. So starting next week, we'll take uh two or three weeks to really dive into each individual class. So there you go, that's your classes. So, what's included in your fare for a Disney cruise line? Again, I'll be one of the first ones to tell you that Disney Cruise Line is up there as far as costs go. You can go on some cheaper crew cruises, okay? You certainly can. There are some out there. Um, but I will be I I I will tell you I've only been on a Disney cruise, I've been on two, um, and the service and just what you get is is immaculate. It it truly is, okay. So you're going to book a Disney cruise and you're looking at that price and you're like, wow, that is insane. I can go on a seven-day cruise for this cruise line compared to a three to maybe four night on a Disney cruise ship, um, which is which is 100% true. But let's look at what is in the cost of your fare, okay? Um, number one, you obviously have your stateroom, okay? Your cabin, along with daily housekeeping and nightly turn down service, is in the price of your cruise. Next, Disney does something different. They do what we call rotational dining, okay? Um, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are at multiple main themed dining rooms, buffets, and quick service spots uh all along the pool deck. So really rotational dining happens for dinner. They have three main restaurants on each ship, and each night of your cruise, you go to each restaurant. If you're on a four-night or more, obviously you go back to um a dining location a second or third, you know, uh more than once, um, which on those nights I do believe the menus are different in those restaurants. So that helps with that. But they do have um buffets on the cruise lines. Most of them, if not all of them, are only open for breakfast and lunch. Um but during breakfast and lunch, one of the main dining locations is open for you to be able to sit down, order from a menu, and just be able to kind of relax and enjoy your meal if you want to do that. But then there's always the buffet. And then around the pool decks, especially on the wish class, there are more options, but there's some some options on the other classes as well. Um, they do have quick service spots all along the pool decks, um, which again we'll go more into that next week on what those um dining locations look like. So state room is in your state room, is in the price of your trip. Rotational dining is in the price of your trip. 24-hour room service is also included in the price of your cruise. Okay, most other cruise lines don't offer this. You have to pay for room service. Now it is suggested on Disney Cruise Line, obviously, that you do tip your um your host for your room. Excuse me. So, you know, obviously that's kind of a given. Um, you know, just a couple of dollars every you know, every time you ordered room service, but for the most part, it you know, it is 24 hours room service up until I want to say like maybe nine o'clock the night before you disembark, or somewhere around that time. The night before you disembark, there's a certain time where room service is cut off. Um except for the Disney Adventure. Disney Adventure has now come out with they do charge five dollars per time that you order room service. Now I've done some research and seen some people um who do way more Disney Cruise lines uh cruises than I do, um, who have kind of dug a little deeper into this. One of the reasons they believe they are that this is happening on the adventure is the adventure is such a huge ship. Um, it is the largest of all the ships right now. Um there's so many people on the ship, and and the the uh the room service menu on the adventure is so vast, it has so many options um that they are charging for uh just you know five dollars per time that you order room service. Um you know, and most room service items are complementary. I do know that if you order, you know, if you ask for like a can coke or uh you know a soft can soft drink or a specialty coffee or something like that, then I think you are charged for that to your stateroom, but everything else is complementary, um except for on the adventure. And hopefully this is only gonna be contained to the adventure and does not spread to the other ships because we you know for the price that you're paying to go on a Disney cruise, you want to, you know, we want to take advantage, and I do mean take advantage of any freebies or any perks that might be given to us. But as of right now, the the free uh room service, um 24-hour room service is available on all ships except for the adventure. And unless you're going to Singapore to go see the adventure, it's really nothing to worry about. All right, moving on. Um, what else is in the cost included in your fare? Uh beverages, okay? Unlimited soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water from self-serve stations on the pool deck, as well as served in the main dining rooms, okay? Like when you go to the buffet or when you're around on the pool deck, they do have self-serve drink stations where you can get coffee, you can get tea, you can get coke, Sprite, you know, soft drinks. Um, those are complementary, where a lot of your other ships you have to purchase a drink package to be able to get soft drinks on Disney Cruise Line, those are complimentary. Again, unless you order it, you know, from a can or something like that. But if you get it during your main meal, you ask for a Coke and they bring it next in a in a glass, it comes with your meal. It's complimentary, okay? So again, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water are unlimited. You can you can ask for many as many as you would like, or make as many as you like from the self-serve stations. Um, and those are included as well in the price of your fare. Uh now, world-class entertainment, all right, is in the cost of your fare. Broadway style shows. Um, if you happen to be on a Disney cruise and a new movie comes out made from Disney or Pixar or even Lucasfilm, um, if it if it comes out in the theaters while you're on your cruise, the Disney ship will show that new movie while you're out on your cruise. So that's pretty awesome. Um, but you've got Broadway style shows, first run Disney movies, deck parties, and character meet and greets are all included in the price of your fare. And let me tell you, there are some amazing shows on these um Disney cruise ships. And there's a reason why they say that they are world-class entertainment Broadway style shows. So those are that's also included in your fare for your kids. You have youth clubs. Um, youth clubs are also tied into the price of your cruise. Whether you have children, whether you're going with children or not, it is automatically tied into the price of your fare to go. Um, supervised immersive themed clubs for kids and tweens, as well as dedicated hangout spaces for teens. All of that is included in the price of your cruise. And I will say the first cruise we went on on the Disney Dream, we didn't take advantage of the kids' clubs the last time we went two years ago now, I believe, on, or coming up on two years, um, on the Disney Wish. We did use the kids' club, and Declan absolutely loved it. Um, Everly liked it for about 15-20 minutes and then she was done. She just wanted to hang it out, hang out with everyone, which is completely understandable. But Declan, we could have just dropped him off in the morning and left him there and maybe come back and got him for dinner and taken them back. But um youth clubs are in tied into the price of your cruise fare, and they're pretty awesome. And again, they they are supervised and really immersively themed in those kids' clubs. Um, also and tied into the price is obviously pools and recreation, um, whether it's onboard water slides or on the new wish class ships, the water coasters, um, pools, splash uh zones, and sports decks are all included in the price of your cruise. And also, finally, the big one is private islands. And I know several cruise ships have their own private islands, um, and they're probably tied into the price too, but Disney Cruise Line is no exception to that. Um, you have access to Disney's two uh private islands, Castaway Key or Lookout Key, Lookout K at Lighthouse Point. Um, and on both islands, this includes a complimentary lunch, um including barbecue burgers, things like that. And then you also have beach access and tram service to get you um, especially on Castaway Key, from the ship to a couple of destinations on on the island. So that's what's all included in the cost of your Disney cruise. Recapping real quick, your stateroom, including daily housekeeping and nightly turn down service, rotational dining between the three main uh dining rooms at dinner. One of them is always open for breakfast and lunch. You obviously have quick service spots on the pool decks as well as the buffet. 24-hour room service, except for the adventure, is um is tied into the price as well. Unlimited beverages such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water, um, world-class entertainment, Broadway style shows, first-run Disney movies, deck parties, character meet and greets, your youth clubs for your kids, tweens, and even hangout spots for your teens, um, pools and recreation, and finally private islands. All of that is tied into the price of your trip. So once you kind of break some of this down, yes, a Disney cruise line is a little more costly, but what you're getting in the price of your trip as as well as the service that you were receiving while you're on the ship is absolutely phenomenal. And I will say this Disney cruise lines are extremely family friendly, okay? And above that, if you even if you don't have little kids, Disney cruise lines also have amazing adult opportunities as well. Because I will I will say this, even though they are Disney cruise lines, yes, they're beautifully themed, but it's not thrown in your face like here's Disney theme, you know, here's Disney kid stuff. There are some amazing spots all along the ship for adults to be able to have a good time themselves from adult-only areas, um, you know, spas and things, you know, coffee spots, it just and and all of that. There's lots of different spots, but once we kind of break down each individual ship in class, we'll kind of look at those adults-only areas as well. So what's not included in the cost? And what cost extra on a Disney cruise? Yes, there are some things that cost more above what you're already paying to go on a Disney cruise, okay? And some of these we've talked about before, but we're gonna recap them, okay? So what costs extra? Number one, obviously, is alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees, okay. There are coffee bars as well as adult bars where alcoholic beverages are served. Disney Cruise Line does not offer drink packages for adults, you have to pay for each specialty coffee and alcoholic beverage individually, okay, which can add up over the course of your trip. Now, Disney Cruise Line does offer a specialty adult beverage for the day that you can get for a little bit cheaper than everything else. So you kind of just have to see what that is and determine whether you like it or not. But alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees are not are uh do cost extra. They are not complementary. Now, specialty adult dining venues uh on each ship, such as Paolo and Enchante, do cost extra, and you do have to book those, you have to make reservations for those. Those can be hard to come by. Um but any specialty dine adult dining like that um does cost extra. Obviously, any excursions or port adventures cost extra. Um whether it's Disney's private island or if you stop at Nassau in the Bahamas or wherever it is that you're that the that the boat is is going, any excursions or port adventures obviously cost extra as well. Um Wi-Fi and internet packages cost extra as well. And they do have a couple of different tiers of Wi-Fi packages of whether you want the basic package, which I I think helps maybe get you to like be able to text or um maybe check Facebook or something like that. But they do have different levels that you're able to do a lot more in that wife in those Wi Fi packages. But Wi Fi internet packages do cost extra. Gratuitously. Gratuities, hello, gratuities for stateroom hosts and dining services, uh, your dining servers, um, those cost extra. Now, at one point, and I haven't looked lately, you at one point you were able to prepay for your gratuities because they kind of add that up per person, and they were able to add that into your trip. I don't know if they're still able to do that or not. I I think they are, but don't hold me to that. Um, but even if you can pre-pay those gratuities and pay them before you go on the ship, um, it is still recommended because of the amazing level of service that you get to still tip them a little bit at the something at the end of the cruise as well. And we always do that. Just again, the the service that you get is is phenomenal. And then finally, um spas and salon services are extra um on the cruise ships, whether it's the adults uh adult adult spa um or the bibbity bobbity boutique, or they even have um a tangled salon and I think a hooks barber shop on uh a few of the ships. Um those type things cost extra, and you do have to book those things ahead of time. Um so there you go. That's the things that cost extra. And here's the thing, guys, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, okay? Here you go, you ready? If you book with me, you get that up to a thousand dollar onboard credit that can go towards some of these things that are not included in the price. Hey. Now let's face it, to get the $1,000 onboard credit, you've got to pay uh you've got to be top tier of what you're spending on a Disney cruise, okay? But let's say the last time that when two years ago when we went on the Disney Wish, we went with some family and they got an onboard credit of some got $50, some got a hundred, which did help cover the cost of some excursions. Um some people take advantage of that for specialty coffees and alcoholic beverages, um so you know, or even to be able to use towards adult dining or even a spa service. So there are ways around that by using a Disney travel specialist such as myself and being able to get those onboard credits credits. Apparently, I can't talk today either, um, to go towards your your cruise, and that can cover some of those extra costs. So there you have it, guys. That's uh a brief kind of rundown of the classes and each and the ships in those classes, um, as well as what is covered in the cost of your Disney cruise and what cost extra. Um, I know it can be very overwhelming, especially when you see that price at the end. And here's the thing Disney Cruise Line is different from Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World requires you to pay uh just $200 down, no matter how much um your your your trip cost, it only costs you uh $200, a $200 deposit. Um Disney Cruise line requires um I'm checking just to make sure that I I do this correctly. I want to make sure I give you the right information. Um it's a percentage, if I'm not mistaken. I want to say it's yeah, it's generally 10%, I think, of um of your cruise. Um now over the last year or so, Disney Cruise Line has been coming out with some pretty amazing uh deals um and promos, whether it's percentages off certain cruises. I know they've tossed out one recently of um third and fourth. Um if you're doing a f like a family of four, I believe, or even five, you know, the that your second your third and fourth person or something like that is like half off the fare, and they've even tossed out one previously of um half off the percentage of your deposit. Um so you know, there's a lot of promos that are being tossed out there um that you can catch here and there. So that's it, guys. That's the beginning of our uh few weeks of talking about Disney Cruise Line. Um so thankful that you tuned in today and putting up with my hacking and apparently my voice that is acting up today. Thank you for being patient with that. Uh, but we will be we will be back next week where we will start diving into each individual class and the ship ships in each individual class, kind of looking at everything that is offered on each of the ships. Hey, real quick before we go, just a reminder if you're interested in booking a Disney Destination vacation, I would love to help you book and create um those magical memories, whether it's Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, uh Disneyland, Alani, or Adventures by Disney. If you're interested in sponsoring a show, uh reach out to me, email Jeremy O at Mickey WorldTravel.com. We can talk about what that will look like. And then also uh over the course of this past week, we have been on Apple Podcasts, obviously, since we have started, but as of this uh past week, we uh can now be found on to D can now be found on Spotify and iHeart Radio. Just search for us um on those uh podcast platforms as well. So Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio, three amazing ways to find the show. Hey, when you find us, when you get to us, um make sure that you save the show so you're able to see when uh a new episode comes out. Like the show, share the show, um, give us a good rating, leave us some fan mail, uh, let us know how we're doing in the future. Once we finish the D uh Disney Cruise Line segment, if there's a topic that you would like to hear discussed, reach out to me and let me know as well. But as always, I'm so thankful for those of you who are going along this journey with us, helping us to continue to grow. And I look forward to seeing where we are headed in the future. But that's it for me today, guys. A little bit of a longer show than last week, but some great topics to start talking about. But guys, I appreciate it again, you listening, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your Friday and a magical rest of your weekend. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.