How Not to Visit the Bahamas on a Disney Cruise With Your Family

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What comes to mind when you think “Disney Cruise”? A nautical-themed Mickey Mouse? Tropical locales, amazing service, and as many families as possible crammed on a boat? We experienced that and more during our recent winter four-night Disney Cruise accompanied by four other families in our extended family—18 people total!

Though stormy weather diverted our ship from our intended destination (the Bahamas), being on board gave us a flavor of what Disney Cruises entail, and overall, we might even plan to do it again–minus the diversion next time.

Read on for our experience and tips on maxing out your Disney Cruise with your kids and extended family, as well as how to ride the wave when confronted by choppy waters.

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Trip Purpose

We chose a Disney Cruise because of the all-inclusive nature—great for big groups who want to spend time together without much of the planning—and because we heard so many people talk about them positively as a great family trip. Personally, I also wanted to max out all the free options on the cruise!

DESTINATION: Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island). However, due to weather, we were diverted to Cozumel, Mexico* (our only port during the cruise).

WHEN WE VISITED: December

LENGTH OF OUR STAY: 4 nights

AGE OF OUR KIDS: In our party we had 10 kids, aged 0-12, with five kids under 5

Things to Consider When Booking

Children must be at least six months or one year old at the time of sailing, depending on the itinerary.

Based on tons of research, we heard that if you’re a first-time Disney Cruiser to pick a cruise that’s at least four nights in length, just to give yourself time to get used to the boat.

Disney Cruises run all times of the year to a variety of locales, from the Bahamas to Eastern Europe. Keep in mind that ports of call cannot always be guaranteed due to inclement weather or other reasons.

Notes on Group Travel

While it was great to have everyone on the same ship, the level of coordination was similar to being on land, due to the ship being so big and full of people. You have to use Disney’s proprietary cruise app to message each other to coordinate. The biggest benefit of being on a cruise together is they seat you together during dinner, so no matter how scattered you are during the day, there’s always a come-together point in the evening. Read about other multi-family travels on the blog here!

BASE COST
Airfare to Port	~$200-$500+/person
Disney Cruise Stateroom (2-5 people)	~$4,800 total
Meals	Included

Add-Ons
Nursery childcare	$9/hour
Shopping and souvenirs	~$50

Disney Cruises ain’t cheap.

The base cost depends on the number of people, ship, type of room, destination, number of nights, and ports of call. In addition, you can expect to pay more for port excursions or if you want, the adult-only restaurants on your ship. For this cruise, we paid about $4,800 for a family oceanview verandah room, which fits five people.

There are cheaper options as far as family cruise lines go, but the Disney experience is hard to compete with.

Before You Go

Possess valid passports with at least six months validity (depending on your destination)
Book travel to Cape Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from which the ship departs
Book and purchase excursions (we did not, but your booking window depends on how many Disney Cruises you’ve taken before)
Check in for your cruise online up to 30 days in advance to know your boarding group assignment

What to Pack

Passports
Standard diaper bag essentials
Plane ride essentials (works for the cruise, too!)
Summer clothes, including Disney swag
Dramamine, if you’re prone to motion sickness
Umbrella stroller, if needed
Ergobaby or soft baby carrier, if needed
Buy an e-sim to save on cellphone roaming costs when in port

Top Family-Friendly Activities on a Disney Cruise

Personally I wanted to max out all the free options on the cruise, including:

Kids' Club

Your portal to all-day childcare

If you want to maximize relaxation for adults, I would recommend you drop your kids off in the (very fun) kids’ club for a few hours or more every day.

There are club areas for every age group from toddlers (potty-trained kids ages 3 and older), to preschool, to high school. You can drop the kids off in the morning, and they can stay until after 11 p.m.!

For younger kids and babies, the cruise line offers a nursery for an added hourly cost and advance reservation.

It will be a relaxing time if you put your kids in the kids’ clubs. If you don’t, it will not be relaxing.

Arts, Crafts, Trivia, & Games

Staff lead these organized and interactive activities at various times of the day. Some of the trivia and games are very kid-friendly, and the more adult-oriented ones are in the evenings.

For example

Watch a Live Show

In true Disney fashion, the cruise line hosts very elaborate, Broadway-style shows in a theater. There are two showings per evening, but be sure to arrive early to reserve your seats.

Word is there was a physical mom-fight during the Beauty and the Beast show due to saving seats! Those beautiful moms became beasts for their kids, unfortunately. Parents need to chill (but understandably, when you’re paying bank to provide a magical experience for your kids, it’s hard to be chill all the time).

Play at the Pool

Great for cooling down with the fam

Be sure to check out the pool and the Aquaduck, a slide/ride for the whole family. There’s also a sprayground for those who can’t swim.

While the water areas are a fun diversion, the pools were tiny and packed on our visit. Go for an evening swim for a less-crowded experience.

Paid Activities

Great for adding some extra magic to your trip

There are some add-on paid activities on the cruise (like a makeover, princess gathering, etc.) but we did not partake. Like I said, I wanted to max out all the free/included options on the cruise, and we already had plenty to choose from without shelling out any extra cash!

Where to Eat

For lunch and breakfast, you can go to the buffet or the one sit-down restaurant open for those times.

For dinner, your party is assigned a dining time and a rotating selection of restaurants every night. Personally, I love this as it decreases mental load. We liked all of the dining experiences, as they each had their own theme, vibe, and menu.

There are also adults-only restaurants that you can enjoy for an additional charge.

Other Noticings

I was amazed and surprised at how diverse the crowd was on the ship– much more diverse than my own neighborhood.

Still, there are vestiges of cruise culture that are rather curious. Why are there two jewelry stores aboard? Why does all the food, while delicious, seem appropriate for a 1999 wedding in New Jersey? (Avocado salmon tartare, I see you). Why are towels recklessly tortured every night to contort into animal shapes? Why are our room stewards, a hybrid of housekeeper and therapist, (“Oh, Ms. Evelyn, where is your husband tonight, is he well”?) so awesome that I want to tell them my childhood trauma while they polish the bathroom counters?

Cynically there was a lot of American excess. Food, entertainment, noise. But I’m choosing to see it as abundance. Abundance of crab legs, abundance of chicken tenders, abundance of mostly international workers whose whole wage is based on how they make you feel, abundance of Disney characters that made my toddler shriek with glee because they’ve been gracing her Huggies diapers (and yogurt and tshirts and cereals and water bottles) since she was born. (Heck I coulda had my umbilical cord branded with Mickey Mouse but there was an upcharge )

Right before you leave the cruise, you can pay a deposit for a “placeholder,” giving you 10% off for your next Disney Cruise taken within two years. None of those in party elected to do this. If we do another Disney Cruise, it will be likely when our kids are a bit older (read: out of diapers and no more naps).

Four-Day Disney Cruise Itinerary

Trip map created using Wanderlog, for making itineraries on iOS and Android

DAY 1: Depart

DAY 2: Port at Cozumel, Mexico* (originally Nassau, Bahamas)

DAY 3: At Sea (originally Castaway Cay)

DAY 4: Return

*Personally I stayed on board the entire time and did not get off at Cozumel. With the last-minute itinerary change, I didn’t feel comfortable signing up for an excursion, having not researched in advance. It was much less crowded on the ship during our port day, so no regrets.

Wishlist for our Next Visit

I hope we can actually go to Castaway Cay next time!

Every customer aboard was united in wanting to give our kids a fun time without the exhausting burden of having to plan and pay for everything piecemeal like you do on regular trips. Our family’s intention was to spend time together (all 18 of us) and for the most part we accomplished that. I will say that the cruise was not nearly as relaxing as some of us may have assumed—there were long lines especially for character greetings, racing to activity to activity, and crowding in many areas, so much so it felt oxygen was a precious commodity. Not exactly relaxing.

Overall, I recommend a Disney Cruise if you love Disney or if you want a more premium cruise experience with excellent service. If you want an all-inclusive vacation that is relaxing and not as expensive, I would pick an all-inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean, or one of the cheaper cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean.

Evelyn W.

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Evelyn Wong is a mom of three girls and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She’s obsessed with Trader Joe’s, sunshine, and looking at recipes but cooking them only 4.2% of the time.