if you're only going to watch one Disney Cruise Line video to get ready for your Disney trip on the Sea Watch this one because we're gonna fill you in on everything you need to know about Disney Cruise Line in just 15 minutes [Music] hey everybody it's AJ for Disney food Vlogs so if you're ready to take a Disney Vacation away from the parks then it's time to learn everything you need to know about Disney Cruises which I love I'm definitely in my cruise era right now but like that's a lot of information to retain right which is why we've boiled down all that info for you to give you the most important stuff today all in one short sitting one thing we're not going to be able to cover in detail during this video is what you need to pack for your Disney cruise but luckily we've got a whole free pdf that'll list out all those DCL packing Necessities for you which you can get sent right to your email right now by scanning the QR code you see on the screen or by heading to disneyfoodblog.com cruise packing all right let's get started there are currently five Disney cruise ships when you book a Disney cruise you'll have five different world-class ships to choose from the Disney Magic the Wonder the dream the fantasy and the newest ship in the fleet the Disney wish despite each of these ships being part of the Disney Cruise Line family each ship offers different restaurants and activities shows and Extras so you'll want to make sure you check out our ranking every Disney Cruise Ship video to see the specifics for each ship now next year the fleet will be joined by another new ship the Disney treasure which will be themed around Walt Disney's Lifelong Love of Adventure while drawing influences from Asia and Africa even Aladdin's Agrabah and in 2025 another new ship will join the Disney Cruise Line crew but we don't have a whole lot of details about that one just yet we'll make sure to keep you updated as soon as we learn more about it okay second thing to know prices do vary and that depends on several things much like a Disney vacation to the parks where hotel and ticket prices vary depending on lots of factors your prices for a Disney Cruise will also change up the price you'll pay for a stay aboard any of the ships will depend on the following first what ship you choose again different ships have different offerings second what state room you choose because inside staterooms are the most affordable but the smallest and concierge staterooms are the most expensive but with the biggest cruise perks in the middle of those two states weight room offerings you can have ocean view rooms and Ocean View with Veranda rooms now The Veranda rooms tend to be the most popular with guests and often book up real quick okay next thing that's going to change how much your cruise costs is what time of year you Cruise the summer season and around the holidays tend to be the most expensive times to book a Disney cruise while the early fall and early winter tend to be around the cheapest just keep in mind that when you book a cruise for the end of August or September for fewer crowds and lower prices that time of year does fall during Hurricane Season so if you are cruising in the Caribbean or in the Gulf of Mexico that might be a good time to invest in travel insurance and while January and February see way fewer crowds too temperatures are also much cooler so if you're traveling somewhere tropical to spend a day on the beach you may still have a better time booking during the early to late summer for higher temps and better swimming weather and how long your trip lasts will also change up your cost cruises can be as short as a two-night stay but they can also be as long as 11 to 15 nights depending on where you're traveling and speaking of travel destinations there are several locations you could potentially go the Disney Cruise Line covers a lot of ground to several overseas locations some Port destinations that your mega ship might travel to include the following that you can see on the screen right now and exclusive to the Disney Cruise Line lots of Disney Cruises also tend to make a stop at Castaway Key which is Disney's private island in the Bahamas Castaway Key offers white sandy beaches all-inclusive dining premium excursions bike trails and several other activities for everybody and starting next year Disney Cruises will also be setting sail to a second all-new Private Island area in the Bahamas called Lighthouse Point which is going to start welcoming guests in June 2024. for those cruising aboard the Disney Magic and while you're busy traveling over to these overseas ports get ready to sail in style because each Cruise also has specialty themed days and Deck Party nights for you to enjoy wear rare characters and limited time snacks and exclusive shows and several other fun additional offerings are going to be available throughout the ship some of these specialty days include Marvel day at Sea Pixar day at sea pirate night and a frozen deck party too so if you're cruising during the holidays then your entire cruise might be themed to celebrate the season they've had celebrations like Halloween on the high seas very merry Time Cruises or even a New Year's Eve deck party too because what better way to ring in the New Year than by watching a display of fireworks on a giant ship in the middle of the ocean alright let's move on to food now AKA my favorite topic of conversation the price of your stateroom won't only cover your room and destination it'll also cover all of your meals aboard the ship if you wanted to although the different Disney ships will provide you with different restaurant offerings aside from a few duplicate eateries here and there all Disney cruise ships have the following dining Styles they've got casual dining where each ship is equipped with a food Hall with Cabanas being the standard for the magic dream fantasy and wonder and Marceline Market being the brand new food Hall introduced along with the wish fish and these food halls work a lot like a really expensive buffet with tons of food offerings for all different types of pallets there are also food court like quick Services located on the pool deck for each ship too with all you care to enjoy options like hot dogs hamburgers pizzas and the cruise line standard unlimited soft serve ice cream you've also got rotational dining every cruise ship has three different heavily themed restaurants and these are the ones you rotate through dining at each night during your time on board your servers even move from restaurant to restaurant along with you so you'll all be real good buddies by the end of your time together when you're booking your cruise you'll get to choose your preferred dining type either at 5 45 PM or 8 or 8 15 PM depending on the ship it kind of changes depending on the ship however for sailings out of Europe the main seating begins at 6 pm and the second begins at 8 30 PM sometimes the preferred dining time you choose won't always be available and you'll be given the second dining time instead if this happens you can actually put on a wait list for the other dining time once you board the ship or before you you board the ship you can actually also call Disney Cruise Line and ask to be put on a waitlist before you even get on usually I've really never had trouble not getting moved to the dining time that I prefer but you know Never Say Never and guest services on the ship can also help you change up your dining rotations too so if you'd prefer to have a certain rotational dining experience at the beginning of your cruise rather than later on you can request the order be changed once you step foot on the ship just make sure to get that done really quickly before the ship leaves Port you definitely want to kind of have that wrapped up and sorted out before dinner starts now let's talk specialty dining along with the all-inclusive dining Disney Cruises also offer premium dining experiences that are not included with the price of your stateroom if you want to dine at one of these adults-only fancy restaurants you'll need to make reservations ahead of your cruise sometimes there are also last minute openings for these just go up to the premium restaurants host stand before the ship leaves and asks to be put on a first come first serve wait list while these last minute openings aren't always guaranteed they might be worth trying for if you decide on the day of boarding they actually do want to eat a Swanky meal while you're at sea but remember those are only for adults now lounges and bars there are themed lounges in bars and they're not really full-on restaurants or anything but they do offer a fun atmosphere tons of adult beverages and a variety of bar snacks although there are a couple places on the wish that have full-on menus but you will have to pay extra if you decide to eat there and then let's talk about my favorite the in-room dining not only is room service and in-room dining completely free and included in the cost of your cruise but it's available 24 7. to see the in-room dining menus just check your Disney navigator app that's the Nifty tool we're going to be talking about more later on and by the way even though Mickey bars are not listed on the in-room dining menu you can get them whenever you want 24 hours a day now let's talk activities there are a lot of different things you can do daily just like most all your breakfast lunch and dinner offerings many Disney Cruise Line activities are also included with the price of your stay like character or meet and greets specialty deck parties and Fireworks shows water slides and pools Broadway style entertainment as well as several newly released and classic Disney films either on the top deck or the indoor movie theaters and pre-scheduled activities like sketch classes trivia games and quiz shows other all included offerings aboard the ships are broken up with different age categories so that every family member can find something to do Disney's Ocean Ear Club is a hub specifically designed for ages 3 to 12 and has themed Disney fied spaces with tons of crafts and activities and character interactions which will differ depending on which Cruise you choose there are also tweens and teens specific areas like Edge and Vibe which will give your older kids the chance to interact with kids their own age and play games watch shows have dance and karaoke parties and take part in various counselor-led activities adults only areas like the quiet Cove pools for instance will give those who are 18 years and older a nice Serene get away from all the rest of the hullabaloo going on throughout the rest of the ship but not every activity offered on the Disney Cruise Line automatically comes with the price of your stateroom some activities will cost extra and may have to be booked before your trip this includes things like spa treatments drink seminars Castaway Key excursions and Cabanas and of course the premium dining experiences you'll also need to pre-book and prepay for the It's a Small World nursery if you have a kid between the ages of six months to three years that you may want to drop off with those experienced Nursery counselors while you and your honey are enjoying a nice night out at one of the adults-only locations there are two main rooms in the nursery the first is an activity room filled with perfect items for tiny hands like horns to honk and wheels to spin and buttons to push while the second room has the lights turned down for a calm setting perfect for nap time and they have plenty of cribs in there as well now while you don't have to book any of these premium activities to still have a great time aboard the ship you can start book ing any activities that are going to become your must-do experiences weeks before you set sail for first time Cruisers you'll be able to start booking those extra activities 75 days before your trip starting at midnight however the more you Cruise the sooner you'll be able to start making reservations so more seasoned Cruisers will have the best chances at getting those highly coveted reservations for things like the Castaway Key Cabanas and premium brunches for the specialty restaurants all right time to talk navigator app much like you need to download the My Disney Experience app or the Disneyland app for a Disney Vacation it's important to download the Disney Cruise Line navigator app months before you set sail if you're like me initially the app is going to show you a trip countdown that you'll probably look at obsessively like I do leading up to my cruise along with your payment summary and online check-in feature and trip modification options but once you climb aboard the navigator app will be your go-to guide to make sure you're in the know about what's happening on the ship at all times the app will be able to tell you things like where character meet and greets are happening when deck parties are kicking off what your itinerary for the day looks like the menus for the restaurants and the app also has an onboard chat feature so you can easily message the other people in your cruising group and keep tabs on where everybody is and we want to make sure you know about cancellation policies while you probably don't want to think about canceling your cruise and hopefully you won't have to it's always good to know what to expect just in case something comes up cruise cancellation policies differ depending on how many nights your cruise lasts as well as if you've booked a concierge level room or not for cruises that take place up to five nights you can cancel 89 to 45 days out and only be charged that initial deposit fee meanwhile if your cruise is six nights or more you'll need to cancel 119 to 56 days out in order to only pay for the initial deposit and then there's the concierge level rooms and Suites across all sailings which require you to cancel 90 days or earlier to only charge you that initial deposit fee standard staterooms can give a partial refund for your cruise until you're 14 days away from sailing after that you'll still have to pay for the entire cruise whether you go on it or not and for concierge and sweet level rooms you'll need to cancel your cruise before the 29 days out marker otherwise you'll be charged a hundred percent of the vacation price again if you'd rather be on the safe side of things you can always invest in travel insurance to help completely refund your trip in case anything were to happen that keeps you from taking it Disney even has its own Disney Cruise Line vacation protection plan that you may want to look into that can help cover your hide in case of a trip cancellation or delay or medical emergency or lost baggage now my advice discuss your options by reaching out to professional travel agents like Small World Vacations these are folks we've been working with for a long long long time small world services are a hundred percent free they can help you book your Disney Cruise as well as arrange special accommodations that you might need aboard the ship they can find you great Cruise Line deals that you might have overlooked yourself elf and of course discuss your travel insurance options with you so you feel confident in whatever decision you make I'll go ahead and Link Small World Vacations information down below just in case you want to ask them for a free quote okay my 15 minutes are up time flies when you're cruising Now One Last Thing Before we wrap up here don't forget that we have that Disney Cruise Line packing guide ready to send your way over at disneyfoodblog.com Cruise packing so if you need help keeping track of what you're putting in your suitcase for the seat you can have a Nifty free guide downloaded and ready to refer back to whenever you need it we've also got a ton of other really awesome cruise videos here on the channel go check them out like I said I'm in my cruise era and I absolutely adore doing all of these videos for you thanks for listening everyone and thanks for watching I hope this one was helpful and if you're thinking about a cruise do it it's gonna be the greatest as always this is AJ for Disney food blog and we'll see you real soon