Family Cruise Advisor

Awesome Overview
With its obvious tie-in with Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line is an absolute no-brainer for families who want to cruise. Disney’s Caribbean itineraries can be blended with a stay at Walt Disney World and a cruise that stops at Disney’s highest-rated (by passengers) port: Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. Some complain about Disney overload, but the post-cruise reaction is nearly universal: Disney does it right, whether you’re 7 or 70.

Age Appropriate
The kid programs on both Disney ships rank among the largest and most comprehensive at sea. The 15,000-square-foot playrooms and kids facilities are spacious and well equipped. The activities are creative and fun, and the counselors know how to take care of the littlest ones, with fun stuff lined up for each age group. For ages 8 through 12, Oceaneer’s Lab offers high-tech play, including a new simulator allowing children to try steering the ship in and out of port. Teens do not need to ruin their vacations hanging out with little kids as they have their own dedicated space, decorated like a cross between a college dormitory and trendy coffee shop.

Too Much Fun
The evening entertainment on the Disney ships is a family friendly mix of revues and musicals that should keep you up to date on the Disney oeuvre. Don’t miss the “Pirates in the Caribbean” deck party, when passengers become pirates, and the special buffet, presented on parchment menu, is followed by a deck party that features, Disney characters, stage performances, fireworks and more – with Mickey topping off the event by arriving on a zip line.

Best Adventure, or THE attraction
The day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private Caribbean island. The ship docks at the pier (as opposed to tendering passengers ashore) so that you can come and go from the ship with ease. With long white-sand beaches, Castaway Cay offers snorkeling, kayaking, bike paths, walking trails or just a relaxing day at the beach under one of the many beach umbrellas. The entire island is, typical of Disney, landscaped and equipped just right, and Castaway Cay is a cruise highlight for many families. And in case you aren’t traveling with kids, Serenity Bay is an adults-only beach where drinks are served and private cabanas and you can get a massage in an open cabana looking out on the sea.

Keep’em Happy/No Shuffleboard, Dad!
On Castaway Cay, a supervised children’s area includes a “dig” at a replica of a half-buried whale skeleton. Overall, Disney does a fine job with all age groups of kids but deserves special recognition for the work they do with the kids under 5. Better than most, Disney has the resources to take care of the littlest ones without causing a parental-anxiety crisis.

Timing is everything
Although Disney has done an impressive job making its cruises appealing to adults without children as well as families, the best values on a Disney cruise are available when the kids are in school. This can work to the advantage of families with preschoolers. If you plan to cruise during the summer, spring or winter breaks, make your reservations well in advance in order to secure the best cabins.

Avoid the Crowds
Disney offers an integrated land/sea vacation package that eliminates a lot of the normal hassle. When the cruise is combined with a stay at a Disney hotel, you check in once, and the key that unlocks your hotel room also works on your cruise cabin. Increasingly a trend among cruise lines, guests can also use on-line tools to check in before they arrive at the pier. It also merits mentioning that there are adults-only areas, including a coffee shop, for guests who want to escape the happy squealing.

Can’t Miss
On Eastern Caribbean itineraries that call on St. Maarten, sail aboard an exciting catamaran to the French side of St. Maarten. Upon anchoring approximately 50 feet offshore, dive in for a swim and snorkeling adventure or retreat to the beach for a relaxing hour and a half of sun and sand.

Best Dining
Disney’s innovative dining plan calls for a different dining room each evening, with wait staff that travels with your family from restaurant to restaurant. Each restaurant has a theme that is enhanced by the tableware, linens, menus and waiters’ uniforms. For breakfast, Parrot Cay is probably the favorite, but the evening meal at Animator’s Palate may be most memorable. The room appears to be black and white as you enter, but it is transformed into exciting swirls of color with projected animation on the walls as the evening progresses. This is a memorably fun meal. For parents-night-out while the kids gorge at Goofy’s Galley, Palo is the intimate adults-only restaurant featuring Northern Italian cuisine. Reservations are required, and there is a $15 per person cover charge.

Anchors Aweigh!
It’s hard to imagine a better family cruise vacation than on Disney Cruise Line. Combined with excellent on-ship amenities that cater to kids, its own private-island (where the ship docks instead of tendering passengers ashore) and a stay at the Orlando theme parks, Disney offers a vacation that not one member of your family will soon forget.