12 reasons to take your family on a disney cruise

When my sister and I were younger our parents used to take us on cruises, I have extremely fond memories of those family holidays. Cheesy, yes but so much fun visiting a new place everyday, making friends on the ship, free ice cream at your finger tips … what more could a child want!

I was keen to try Oscar on a cruise too… however, he gets really badly travel sick so I decided to play it safe with a four day cruise. And what cruise line would be best? Well who does child-friendly better than Disney, and fortunately there were several short sailing from Southampton for 2024. It wasn’t hard to make the decision, and our family and my sister’s booked a short cruise on the Disney Dream sailing from Southampton and stopping in La Coruna. Here is what we found amazing about it!

1. Total Immersion in the Disney experience 

If you love Disney you can’t helped but be thrilled by how fully immersed the cruise ship takes you into the world of Disney. There are characters roaming the decks, princesses greeting you on the stairs, Mickey saluting you as you enter the ship, and Disney artwork everywhere. There is Disney music piped everywhere, in the toilets, in the lifts, in the shops… there’s Disney films on in the cinema, cartoons on the TV, shows in the theatre, parties on the deck. Everything everywhere is Disney! Now Oscar isn’t Disney-obsessed but you can’t help but be carried away with the magic of Disney on a ship like this.

2. Entertainment for the whole family

Following on from the above you can never be bored! Our absolute favourite thing about the experience on the Disney Dream were the West-End style shows in the theatre; Disney’s Believe and The Golden Mickey’s were extravaganzas of singing, dancing and favourite Disney characters and the Beauty and the Beast show was a slightly compressed version of the West End show.

The Buena Vista cinema shows multiple Disney films daily – we saw Inside Out 2 – and it’s not just cartoons, there’s plenty of adult films in the Disney repertoire. And that’s not the only place Oscar enjoyed watching films, he absolutely loved the big ‘Funnel Vision’ cinema screen that was above the pool.

The parties while we were on board were epic! We loved the sail away party that saw Captain Mickey and Minnie launching the ship with singing and dancing! There was also an amazing show on the top deck for Pirate night, we got dressed up in our pirate outfits and sang with Captain Hook and the gang.

As well as amazing ‘extravaganzas’ there’s lots of every day type fun to be had such as on Goofy’s Sports deck which includes basketball and mini golf and sport stimulators. Throughout the day there work shops such as arts and crafts, kareoke , trivia quizzes for both adults and children plus plenty of opportunities for character meet ups … we even entered Noah into a baby race!
The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is like a spa / salon for kids! Transforming children into princesses, knights or pirates with hair styling and costumes.

This is a place dedicated to entertainment and the only problem was deciding what to do and getting from place to place quick enough!

3. The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

I’m a huge fan of the fact that many hotels and leisure facilities have integrated apps into the overall experience. A cruise ship is so big and overwhelming but having the app at our fingertips meant we could navigate the experience so much more easily. There’s a map of the epic 14 deck ship, daily schedules of what’s on, dining details, the option to book activities, an onboard chat feature, the ability to make payments. It was fundamental in making the trip run so much smoother!

4. Gorgeous Interiors

As soon as we walked on to the Disney Dream I was completely blown away by the interiors! The Grand Lobby Atrium is three decks high with a chandelier worthy of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, a swirling stair case, gold shimmers everywhere and mirrors.

The styling is Art Deco and is just like the grand classic cruise liners but with elegant Disney detailing such as a bronze statue of Admiral Donald Duck. It really does appeal to both parents and children as it feels like classic luxury but also magical and whimsical. A theme that runs throughout in the theatres and restaurants.

5. The Pools 

There are multiple pools for the family to enjoy on board, as I mentioned Oscar loved the main kids pools, Mickey’s Pool and Donald’s Pool especially the opportunity to watch the big cinema screen. For me this really didn’t hold any appeal as the pool as just packed with people! But Oscar loved bobbing up and down in the pool watching the film! The AquaDuck was the ship’s water coaster with wound round the whole of the ship, a transparent tube allowing guests to view the ocean below… honestly I was far to scared to have a go, and Oscar was too young but there is another smaller slide more suitable for his age. FYI children who are not potty trained can’t use these pools but the ship is also home to Nemo’s Reef for under 3’s which is a series of water fountains for little ones to splash around in.

There’s adults-only options too such as the fountain and wading pool at Satellite Falls or the Quiet Cove Pool.

6. The Concierge Class experience

Opting to travel concierge class really enhanced our overall experience. This is was a VIP level that came with lots of additional perks. Before even boarding we were given the first option to book experiences and activities via the app. We were first to board the ship without queuing and treated to a special lunch as soon as we embarked. On the last day we had a guided disembarkation too meaning we skipped all the queues.

We had a large suite on the top deck – the best I’ve personally ever had on a cruise – I’ll go into more detail below.
The best thing was the concierge lounge which was like having a private living room! There was rolling buffet of breakfast, lunch and dinner and inclusive drinks from 5pm – 10pm (five happy hours of free rose anyone?). There’s even a sun deck with a hot tub and access to a personal concierge to assist with other bookings. We also met here before the theatre show to gain priority access with free popcorn and were treated to a private meet and greets with the characters.

7. The Room

The Staterooms on the Disney Cruise look great and super spacious but on travelling Concierge Class meant we had a large suite with bedroom, living area, two bathrooms and a verandah! The blue, brown and gold fit the overall Art Deco theme of ship but I did feel like it could have benefited with a few more Disney touches to make it even more special.      
There lots of storage which is particularly useful as the room can accommodate a family of five. By day the arrangement is as bedroom and living room and in the evening the stewards open up the sofa bed plus there’s another pull down bed and we had a cot for Noah. The rooms can be divided by doors so that you can separate your children in case like us you have a baby who wakes in the night.

The concierge suite also comes with with upgraded amenities such as a pillow menu, down duvets, and free WIFI.

8. Themed Dining

The three main restaurants on the Disney Dream were just gorgeous! The Royal Palace is inspired by Disney’s most famous Princesses; Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping and has the most gorgeously regal interior with chandeliers, tapestries, gold touches and beautiful mosaic tiles – it was my favourite of the three restaurants. The Enchanted Garden represents a French conservatory with shimmering stars, glowing flowers and a central fountain. Finally Animator’s Palate was probably our boy’s favourite with sketches of characters on the wall and animation screens – we got a surprise when Crush the animated turtle on the screen actually talked to us and fully interacted. The ship operates something called rotational dining which means every family has the chance dine in each restaurant and our servers moved along with us. The menu is different and themed to each restaurant and on Pirate night there’s even a pirate theme to the food.

Whilst the decor and service was top notch, the down side to the dining was the actual food. Some of which was found quite inedible… though by the end we had realised the best things to order… dishes such as steak were usually better. After having an a bad breakfast on the first day we just stuck to coffee and pastries from the concierge lounge.

Elsewhere on the ship was the Cabana’s buffet which we never tried as there were always queues and the food didn’t look good. There’s also Flo’s Cafe, an outdoor food court serving pizza, burgers and hot dogs and Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats (not part of the all inclusive) serving ice cream and sweets .

It’s worth pointing out that the vast majority of the food was covered by the all-inclusive concept, even room service! You can opt for different drinks packages but we didn’t drink much outside the concierge lounge so these weren’t worth it for us.

9. Kids Club

There are multiple Kids Clubs on the Disney Dream and this being Disney – they were some of the best clubs I’ve ever seen. I’ll also note I was very impressed with the safe and easy to use system of signing children in and out via a wrist band.

The main kids club is Oceaneer Club – several magical spaces intended for children aged 3 – 10 inspired by Disney films. This kids club was perfect for Oscar and Jackson and they couldn’t wait to go in there every day! Highlights are ‘Andy’s Room’ a space decked out like Toy Story and the Star Wars Millennium Falcon! Parents weren’t really allowed in but the clubs hold an ‘open house’ so parents can look around plus there is a Toddler Time in Andy’s Room where you can play with your little one.

Edge is the space for Tweens 11 – 14 to enjoy activities and video games while Vibe is where teens can hang out. The Small World Nursery was the dedicated space for babies which needs to be booked and unlike other kids clubs is subject to a fee. Noah wasn’t really happy there so we couldn’t use it much.

10. Adults only areas

If you think of a Disney Cruise of course you automatically assume it’s for kids, but there’s lots to do for adults too and plenty of peaceful adults only areas. We saw lots of adults there without any kids! The Quiet Cove Pool is quite far removed from the more noisy family pool, and it also includes the adult’s only Cove Cafe which is separate from other crowded areas.

Though we didn’t use the Sense Spa, I did take a peek inside and it was super serene with stunning views out to sea, a Rainforest room with sauna and steam room and a salon. There are two restaurants, Palo and Remy, which are adults only and offer more sophisticated dining but as I didn’t try them I can’t say whether the food here is any better. If our cruise had been longer, I would have liked to try at least one of them though there is an additional cost.

Finally for adults is The District which is a collection of lounges and bars. District Lounge is a piano bar, 687 is a sports bar, Skyline a sophisticated bar and Evolution is a nightclub. We didn’t try many of these but as soon as I saw Pink, the champagne bar I knew that was for me and we managed to get a glass of bubbly and a macaron there while the boys were in the kids club.

11. Ease of Travel

Everything about going on the cruise was super easy. We got the train to Southampton, and from there the cruise terminal is a short walk or taxi ride. We had the VIP access and breezed through security straight on to the ship, our luggage was delivered quickly too. At the end of the holiday disembarkation was super organised, we left our luggage outside the room the night before and picked it up quickly after we got of the ship, jumped on the train and were home in no time! On the ship everything is orientated to families so it’s no trouble getting a high chair, pleasing fussy children or getting baby supplies.

12. Destination Variety

Of course, one of the selling points of a cruise is the opportunity to visit different countries without the inconvenience! Our four day cruise only had one stop off and that we La Coruna in Spain, we kept it simple and just had a nice lunch out but Disney organises excursion suited to all different interests.

As I mentioned throughout the post, there are definite downsides to the cruise, the main ones for me being the crowds (and resulting queues) and the food quality. However, we seriously had the most amazing time and I wouldn’t hesitate to book a longer cruise. I’m particularly keen visit Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island!