There are lots of choices of cruise lines sailing in Alaska, and a few of them have what are widely considered to be better Alaska itineraries than Disney Cruise Line. Glacier Bay is a must-visit for many Alaska cruisers, and DCL does not have a permit to visit there.
We took our Alaska cruise with extended family to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Cruising is not the primary vacation mode for any of our family. My sister and I had been on one short Disney cruise each. My brother and his wife had taken another cruise line once pre-kids. My parents had never cruised. So with limited experience, we had to evaluate what was most important to us in trying to plan a large group vacation.
For me it came down to service, quality, and familiarity. Disney is known for its high level of service, both in the parks and on their cruises. Similarly, their ships are high quality and kept in impeccable shape. And their ships are elegant looking, as opposed to some of the other lines’ Vegas-style flashiness. But perhaps familiarity was most important to me. My parents had never cruised before and my dad was somewhat reluctant. Not having experienced other cruise lines, I couldn’t vouch for them and would have felt awful if he didn’t like it. I knew exactly what we were getting with a Disney cruise. And I knew it was our best shot at him enjoying the cruise aspect of the trip.
My parents aren’t Disney fans by any means. We went to Disney World twice growing up, but I realize now that those trips were purely for the kids. While I went twice as an adult before I had kids and enjoyed our two trips we’ve taken with the kids, my parents could have very happily lived their entire lives without setting foot in a Disney park. And my Dad probably couldn’t name a single Disney character beyond Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
So you have to look beyond the Disney brand to understand why I chose this trip for my parents and look to the Disney quality and service. From the moment I made our group reservation, the service was fantastic. Our booking agent asked if we were celebrating anything on the trip. I told her it was my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary and she typed notes furiously into her computer and then simply said “we’ll make it a magical trip for them”. And they did. There were special buttons waiting for them in their room when they arrived, our waitstaff recognized their anniversary on the first night, and they had special recognition in Palo when we had brunch there as well.
But beyond recognition of a special occasion, their day-to-day service is unmatched. Our dining room server was incredible, entertaining the kids and moving things along at just the right pace to keep everyone happy. Our head server popped up all over the ship and always sought us out to ask us how our day was going. Our stateroom host happily worked around our constantly changing schedules and kept our room in fantastic condition and always had a smile on his face when we passed him in the hall.
And even beyond those we had a personal relationship with, the staff on the ship were amazing. The crew out there early in the morning scrubbing the decks always had a smile on their face and a friendly word when I went to get my morning coffee. The character handlers recognized my son from all his visits and always greeted him personally. The kids club cast members kept our kids entertained and safe. Every single person we crossed paths with was genuinely friendly and happy to help. It is really an incredible accomplishment to bring together a staff that is so passionate about customer service and doing their job well.
So for us, service was the most important factor in the choice of cruise line and Disney did not disappoint. It is a real credit to them that non-Disney, non-cruise fans like my parents are touting their product and encouraging all their friends to go with their families.
While the service was second-to-none, there were also so many other aspects of the ship that contributed to it being an all around great experience.
Dining
We thought the food was really good on DCL (although not amazing). At dinner, we all enjoyed our main courses with very few exceptions. Desserts were excellent (and you could always have a Mickey bar if you didn’t want to indulge in one of the heavier choices). The menus were varied and had something for everyone.
But more than the food itself, we enjoyed the experience of the restaurants. On a 7 day cruise, you get to visit each main dining room (MDR) at least twice. Our starting rotation was Animator’s Palate – Tiana’s Place – Triton’s.
I loved starting off in Animator’s Palate. Watching the drawings on the walls come to life is so much fun. And of course having Sorcerer Mickey come through the room was a treat for the kids too. The second night in Animator’s Palate was even better, as everyone got to draw a figure that was incorporated into a show at the end of dinner. The kids loved to see their figures march and skate across the screen and then dance with Disney characters in different movie scenes.
Tiana’s Place was the second restaurant in our rotation and was new to us. (Animator’s Palate is on all of the ships, but the other restaurants are unique to each ship.) Inspired by The Princess and the Frog, this restaurant features southern cooking and live jazz music. I had read a lot of complaints about how loud the music was, and the Wonder was actually going into dry dock after the Alaska season to fix the sounds issues in the room (among other things). We sat far enough away from the stage that it wasn’t a huge issue, although it was definitely a little harder to carry on conversations in this restaurant. But it was fun to have live music, and both Tiana and Louis made the rounds in the room.
Triton’s was the last MDR in our rotation and the only one without a show. But a low key dinner was a nice change of pace, and I don’t think live entertainment is needed in all three restaurants. Based on The Little Mermaid, Triton’s has an underwater theme and serves a fusion of French and American foods. We had nice, relaxing dinners in Triton’s.
Cabanas is the buffet available for all 3 meals. I’m not a huge fan, although I full recognize the necessity of a place like this. We ate most of our breakfasts there and while there were a lot of choices, the whole experience was a little overwhelming and crowded and stressful and the food just ok. I far preferred eating the table-service breakfast in Tritons, but with some early ports of call we didn’t always have time.
Palo is the adults-only Italian restaurant that has an add-on charge of $40 per person (for either brunch or dinner) and requires a reservation. We took my parents there for brunch on our last sea day to thank them and to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The amount of food offered during Palo brunch is ridiculous. There is both a massive buffet and a menu to order off of. The food was fantastic and the service even better. We really enjoyed our experience there and it was great to have a quiet meal without the kids. We had pre-booked the brunch, but my husband and I tried to make a dinner reservation once we got on board. There was no availability so book early if you are interested!
Note that when I made reservations online, it only allowed me to book for 6 people. I thought this was because it was fully booked so I called to see if there was any way they could add 2 more to our reservation since we had 8 adults in our group. They told me that 6 is the largest group size they accept reservations for but if I went to the dining changes/reservations station when I boarded they might be able to help me. As soon as we got onboard, I headed straight to Azure where the dining team was set up and within 2 minutes they had updated our reservation to 8. They explained that they would have to move some tables around to make it work so the setup might not be ideal but they would do their best. Sure enough, we had to stagger a little and leave a seat on one side empty so the wait staff could maneuver around the pushed together tables, but we were so appreciative that they made it work so we could all be seated together.
Entertainment
I think entertainment is another area where Disney Cruise Line sets itself apart from the competition. (It is Disney after all!) There were three live musicals on our cruise: The Golden Mickeys, Frozen: A Musical Spectacular, and Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic. On our first cruise, we only went to one of the live shows and regretted missing the others. On this cruise we went to all of them. The live shows are performed in the Walt Disney Theater.
The Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams are performed on multiple ships so if you have cruised before, you might have already seen them. The stories were cute and a little cheesy but they were fun for the whole family. Frozen is a new show and is currently playing on the Wonder and the Fantasy. The story fit in well on the Alaska cruise. We all thought it was great. I found the use of puppets to depict the younger kids to be a little odd, but once I got past that, it was a great show. I do think you need to know the storyline already to really follow it because it moves along quickly and doesn’t have time to build up the full plot line of the movie. (My dad, who has never seen the movie, was completely lost.)
Other than the live performances, current movies are shown both in the Walt Disney Theater and the Buena Vista Theater. We had held off on seeing Toy Story 4 in the movie theater before our trip so we could watch it on board. We loved it! The movies showing on our cruise included Disneynature: Penguins, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Captain Marvel, Aladdin, Dumbo, Avengers: Endgame, and Toy Story 4.
While movies and live shows are a key part of the entertainment on board, it is by no means the only part. The Daily Navigator (or the online app) lists activities that are offered all day long. From trivia to art classes to bingo, there is a constant schedule of activities to keep you as busy as you want. We did a few (music trivia in Crown and Fin and some character drawing classes) but barely scratched the surface of what they offered. It was nice to know that there were lots things to do if we wanted to participate but no pressure to join in if we wanted to just relax or do our own thing.
Kids Clubs
Prior to our first Disney Cruise, everyone had told us that we’d never see our kids because they wouldn’t want to leave the kids club. Apparently my kids were in the minority because they didn’t love it and spent very little time there. In fact, we hadn’t even made it through our Palo appetizer before our kids wanted to be picked up from the club when we tried to sneak in a date night on our first cruise.
This time was different though, and I think it was largely due to the fact that their cousins were with them. The youngest 4 (and occasionally my pre-teen) had a blast in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab, the two kids clubs for 3-12 year olds. They are connected through a secret passageway, allowing them to pass between the two independently. They didn’t do a ton of the organized activities but liked hanging out there together, playing, drawing, watching movies, and playing video games. They still didn’t spend all hours of the day there, making new friends and bonding with the counselors as some kids do, but they liked going there and went often enough to give the adults a little bit of kid-free down time.
But my 11 year old year old did have the more stereotypical “call me when you need me mom” experience in the Edge, the 11-14 year old club. He absolutely loved it and spent as much time there as we allowed. This was a surprise and a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I was so happy for him that he was making friends and enjoying his independence. On the other hand, I was sad that there were times when the other 14 of us were all together and he was off in the Edge. I think we found a good balance though so that he was able to have freedom with his friends while still spending quality time with the family. I had wondered before the cruise if he would be close to “aging out” of Disney Cruises, but with this new experience at the Edge, he wants to go on another cruise more than any of us.
Character Appearances
On our first cruise, my youngest had just turned 6 and was completely obsessed with meeting all the characters. We literally spent the entire sea day bouncing back and forth between character lines. Almost 4 years later, I thought he was beyond the character stage, but something about the characters in their Alaska clothes brought back the littler kid in him.
On glacier day, he met with Mickey, Goofy and Pluto up on deck in their Alaska clothes and then Chip and Dale inside near the Walt Disney Theater. That really seemed to get him back in the character mood, and during the rest of the cruise he visited Pluto (still his favorite!) multiple times, as well as Goofy, Stitch, Minnie, and Donald.
Having been to Disney World, Disney Land, and on a Disney Cruise, I think that the character interactions on the cruise are the best. Perhaps because of the limited audience on a cruise versus the mobs in the parks, the characters seem to spend more time with you and really have a more meaningful interaction. I will never forget Stitch pretending to pick his ear and then chase my youngest around with his finger. Or Pluto getting down on all fours to play around with my son, who was doing the same. The character appearances truly made our first cruise special and I was so happily surprised that they were a meaningful part of our second cruise experience too.
And we all loved seeing them in their Alaska clothes on Glacier Day!
Shutters
On our first cruise, I bought the digital package from Shutters and was so happy that I did. With the amount of character meet-and-greets my youngest did, we definitely got our money’s worth. But with the kids being older now and not knowing if they would take any character photos, I wasn’t sure it would be worth it on this cruise. And the price difference between the package for a 4 night and a 7 night is significant. (For the full digital package, the 7 night price in summer 2019 was $295.95.)
But I was worried I would regret not getting the package. Or worse, that I would not buy the package and then end up wanting to buy a bunch of photos at the end of the cruise at $20 each, which would mean spending more money for fewer photos. So I went ahead and pre-ordered it, knowing I could cancel it while onboard if I didn’t think we were getting enough value from it.
I do think the quality of the photos that Shutters takes is better than what I take with my own camera. This is especially true indoors, but even outdoors I noticed a difference. See the two photos below of my boys with Mickey – the first is from Shutters and the second is mine. The Shutters photo is much brighter and crisper.
Aside from character photos, we also had quite a few photos from dinners. We really appreciated those photos because we could capture lots of different group pictures with our extended family – cousins, siblings, grandparents and grandkids. It was nice to get pictures of all of us together (and nice for me to be in a few photos instead of behind the camera).
So at the end of the day, I am glad I got the package, although I still cringe a little over the price. We got 60 photos, which isn’t a ton but was enough for me to be worthwhile. For us it worked out to be about $5 a picture. (Purchasing them on-board individually would have been $20 a picture so I figured as long as we had more than 15 “keepers”, I made the right choice.) This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I will never regret having these photos.
Character and Deck Parties
There are a few themed deck/atrium parties throughout the cruise, where characters come out and dance or do a short show. These tend to be super loud and super crowded so enter at your own risk. 🙂
The first was the Sail-A-Wave party, a big celebration to kick off the cruise. The classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy) all came out to sing and dance on the deck as we got ready to sail away from Vancouver. This is done on every ship and really gets everyone excited for the cruise. It’s especially fun for the kids. (For the non-Disney lovers, it can be overwhelming. I suspect my dad was wondering what he had gotten himself into at this point.)
A Frozen themed party, Freezing the Night Away is specific to Alaska and the Magic’s European cruises. (It replaces Pirate Night that is on the Caribbean sailings.) Like all deck parties, it involves characters singing and dancing, this time featuring Frozen characters of course. My boys aren’t super into Frozen so while this was fun, it wasn’t as exciting to them as Mickey zip lining in to save the day from the pirates. But everyone loved it when it snowed at the end! (And who doesn’t love Olaf!)
Being in Alaska, the Frozen theme was carried throughout the cruise with other activities, entertainment, and even dinner menus. We participated in Anna’s Chocolate Chase Scavenger hunt on our first sea day. Our stateroom host left the scavenger hunt on our bed and before dinner, we headed out to follow the clues. Each clue was a riddle that led you to a different part of the ship. Once there, you had to find the hidden symbol and write it down. We left the answers on our bed for the stateroom host and the next night he left our prize on the bed! The younger kids really enjoyed this activity. (And everyone enjoyed the prize.)
The Pixar Pals Party is an atrium party that is only on the Alaska cruises. Not all of the Pixar characters do character appearances on the ship so this was a unique opportunity to get to see all of them in one place. The characters come down in pairs (Woody & Jessie from Toy Story, Remy & Emile from Ratatouille, Joy from Inside Out (the only solo character), Russell & Dug from Up, Mr. & Mrs. Incredible from The Incredibles, and Boo & Sully from Monsters Inc.) and did a special dance on stage before moving off to the floor of the atrium to dance and mingle with the audience.
This show actually took place twice, once at 4:15 in the afternoon and once after the late dinner (at 10:15). I ended up going to both, as I went with my niece to the early one and we stumbled across the late one with the boys after dinner. Both were a lot of fun and we loved seeing all the Pixar characters.
And of course the last night of all Disney cruises is the ‘Til We Meet Again party. This was pretty similar to the Pixar Pals Party, with the main characters coming down the stairs to music. But instead of circulating and dancing with the crowd, they each went to a spot where you could wait on line to take pictures with them. (Because it was the last night, Shutters photographers were not there, but cast members would take pictures with your own camera for you if you wanted.) Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto (with a last minute surprise appearance by Stitch) were joined by a few of the princesses and some of the characters from the musical performances. After about 20 minutes of picture-taking, all of the characters gathered back on stage and then headed up the stairs, waving – not good-bye but ’til we meet again.
As we were walking back to our stateroom for the last time, my youngest had the hugest smile on his face. He said, “I don’t know what it is, but at the end of the day Disney just makes me feel warm inside my heart.” And those words, spoken from the mouth of a nine year old, are perhaps the best review Disney Cruise Line could ever hope to get.
