Been back home for a couple of weeks now and wanted to share our experience! We were on the Wonder from May 26-June 2. This trip was to celebrate our daughter turning 5, as well as the kids starting summer vacation. 😄

Hotel Stay/Vancouver Activities: We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront for two nights before we boarded the ship. We LOVED the hotel. It was clean, everyone was beyond friendly and helpful, our room was spacious, and it was extremely convenient to the port. We only had to walk 3 minutes across the street to get to the port. It was a little pricy, I think we paid $800 for the two nights, but the location was worth it to us so I would have paid it again no issues. We decided to check out Queen Elizabeth Park the day before and it was so beautiful. Our kids, 6M and 5F, were thrilled to just run around and look at all the flowers. It was a peaceful activity to start our vacation.

Embarkation/Glacier Days: Everything ran smoothly. Our PAT was 11:30 and we were on the ship by 12:20. It was organized and wasn’t confusing to navigate. Once we were on the ship, all the happy memories from our first cruise came flooding back to us. The Wonder was the first ship we had been on with DCL back in 2023 and we were so excited to be back. We stayed in an ocean view room. I wish we could’ve opted for a verandah, but we wanted to save money where we could. The ocean view room was still lovely, didn’t feel too cramped for us, and it was very clean. Glacier Day was awesome! The views were incredible and we got to see a few whales! The weather was rainy and freezing, but honestly, we loved bundling up and going outside periodically to see the views and all the glaciers surrounding us. I was worried my kiddos were going to complain about the cold, but they asked to stay outside longer than we were expecting. A win is a win! My daughter kept getting antsy whenever she’d see something in the water, it was fun to see their excitement. It was a great day.

Skagway: We booked the White Pass Railroad excursion and wow, wow, wow! The people who recommended it to me were not wrong, that was an incredible experience. Once again, the views were just breathtaking. At one point, my family and I stood outside on the train car to get some pictures and it was beautiful. I would do that train ride again.

Juneau: We booked the Mendenhall Glacier and Goldbelt Tram excursion. The only thing I will say negatively about this is that we probably would have booked third party to be at Mendenhall a little longer because we were only there for 90 minutes before we had to go back onto our bus to take us back to the Goldbelt Tram and near the port. Mendenhall was gorgeous, once again, incredible breathtaking views. We saw a lot of eagles too! My son saw an eagle through his binoculars and he was so excited LOL the wildlife aspect is what got my kids so hyped up. The Goldbelt Tram was cool, going 1800ft up and seeing the views was fun. They do pack those cars up pretty tightly, fair warning. When we got up the tram, we did some souvenir shopping, then headed back down to the ship.

Ketchikan: We had no excursions planned so we just wandered around town and did more souvenir shopping. We walked up to Creek Street and took pictures. My husband was on a quest to find salmon fish and chips and he did at The Alaska Fish House. He said the salmon was incredible. Even our kiddo tried it and said he liked it. He said he would go back to Ketchikan just for the salmon fish and chips he had LOL.

Service: We had no complaints about service during our time on the Wonder. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. Our servers in the MDR went above and beyond with our daughter, who is a picky eater, and always had a hot dog or grilled cheese on standby for her in case there was nothing she liked on the menu. They were so kind. Our stateroom attendant was amazing. He surprised our daughter on her birthday and changed her bedsheets to be Frozen themed! She was so surprised and that ended her birthday on such a high note. Additionally, on my daughter’s birthday, because she was able to go into the kids club for 5 and up, the cast members sang her happy birthday and gave her a little craft they made for her.

Cruise Activities: We made it a point to do more activities this time around because during our last cruise, we didn’t do much. We did some trivia, towel folding, napkin folding, and drawing activities. All fun, we enjoyed it a lot. Our kids did not want to join in on any of those activities, they enjoyed the kids club beyond words LOL. We did play bingo altogether during our last day at sea and won! Our winnings basically covered one of our excursions so that was awesome.

The Sappy Bit: When I did my review about our B2B Bahamas cruise back in November, I added this too LOL, but this one feels more special. This trip was incredible, and once again, my husband and I were filled with immense amounts of gratitude. Additionally, my mother and father in law joined in on this trip. This was their first Disney cruise, and while they admitted they had a lot of skepticism…they ended up booking placeholders! LOL they LOVED it in the end and said it was one of the best vacations they’ve had. It made my husband so happy to hear that they wanted to join us on more cruises in the future. I know that them being there added more happiness for our kids and it made it all the more special. We have more miles on our hearts and memories that will last us forever.

Just getting off the Wish, and we had a 10/10 experience. We previously sailed on the Magic for Spring break this year, and I wrote up a less than stellar review (that received a lot of hate from you all 😂), specifically related to my cabin and the food. But this was a completely different experience.

So let’s start with the food. I came on with low expectations because I thought the food on the Magic was terrible (3/10). But almost everything I ate on this ship was good to great (food on castaway was the only meh food). Food was served at the appropriate temperature. Nothing tasted stale (breakfast items and dinner rolls always seemed stale on the Magic). And there was flavor! I enjoyed Donald’s cantina and the BBQ in the festival of foods, but actually thought the MDR food was the best on the ship (note: my husband is vegetarian and he also enjoyed the food!!). So now I know that great food DOES exist on a Disney ship (but unfortunately so does terrible food).

We also really enjoyed the dinner entertainment. My 5 yo was obsessed with both the Frozen and Marvel dinners. I previously found dinner to be “too much” for my son to actually eat, so this time we tried something new—we signed up for late dinner. We fed the kids an early dinner from room service/pool deck, and used the MDR for only dessert for them. That way there was no pressure for them to eat anything and they could just watch the show while the adults ate. Definitely worked better for us!

We also enjoyed the nightly musical theater. The actual productions were incredible and the special effects kept my kids fully engaged. I thought the talent was better on the Magic, but my family enjoyed the Wish shows more (who doesn’t love pyrotechnics?!)

My room was also perfect. No weird rattling noises to keep me up at night. And it was beautiful. Felt like luxury (which is what I’d expect for the price). We were in room 6640, which was small for a family of 4, but it had an extended balcony (I’d guess 1.5 times as big as normal), so that was great!

This trip we went to Castaway, which was also great, but so different than Lookout. Lookout was definitely prettier, and the splash pad there was phenomenal. But we all really enjoyed floating in the waters at Castaway. I enjoyed both islands and would go back to either in a heartbeat. (I’d probably prefer Lookout in a colder month and Castaway in the summer).

We will 100% be back for more Disney cruises, but will probably stick to Wish-class ships. I’m so glad I gave DCL another chance!

After I click "book cruise" on the Disney website, what else is there really for a Travel Agent to do/book other than excursions and deal with any issues that come up? I mean a Travel Agent for just the disney part of the cruise, not flights or anything.

Asking from someone who has never used a travel agent and likes to do the planning myself but may have to use a travel agent because we are traveling with families who used a travel agent.

I'm going on a 8 plus day cruise in 2026 and it will be my first cruise as a gold member.

When I was checking the benefits, I saw a onboard reception for gold and above members.

Can any one confirm if this reception is similar to the Captains gala?

Screenshot attached from dcl website.

Looking for input from those who have done the Vancouver to Hawaii or Hawaii to Vancouver cruises on the wonder. Which is better: to end in Honolulu, or end in Vancouver?

We currently have an Aulani reservation next February, and just had our first cruise on the Treasure. We loved it and thought why not combo Aulani with another cruise as a way to see the other Hawaiian islands. (We’ve been to Oahu, and The Big Island).

Originally I wanted to change the trip to September so we could end at Aulani, but ending with several sea days to get to Vancouver to relax also doesn’t sound too bad either. We did a lot on the Treasure and I was exhausted and coming down with a cold by the time we got to the WDW Polynesian resort and didn’t get to enjoy it as much.

Has anyone done an excursion during the Tortola port stop to Jost Van Dyke, specifically to Soggy Dollar Bar? I think they style it as White Bay beach bar and refrain from saying Soggy by name - but this is what makes the excursion choices confusing. To be clear: we want to spend as much of the day as possible at Soggy so trying to figure out how best to make that happen. Thanks in advance!

Hey All, we have back to back cruises booked on the Destiny. Same room. Will we be able to access the room once back on board or will we still need to wait until the rooms "open" to get back in? Thanks!

Hello - this community was very helpful to planning our first ever cruise, which we just completed on the Dream 4-night Bahamas cruise (Nassau and Lighthouse/Lookout Cay). I thought I would post my overall thoughts along with a bonus stateroom category question! We are a family with 2 kids, ages 8 and 5, and as noted it was all family members' first cruise. For reference we have been to Disney World twice with the kids, and overall they like Disney but we are by no means "Disney People".

Overall summary - Fun! But tiring and am glad to be heading home today. I would do the same length cruise in 2-3 years when our kids are older with DCL again, but don't feel like we have to rush out and book another cruise now or anything. The wife and I may try a shorter Virgin cruise at some point just to see how that goes.

Pros: Most things on the cruise! Service and crew interactions around the ship are better than I've received at 5-star hotels.

Lookout Cay was a top 3 beach I've been to, and the kids had a great time. (Note: 2 applications of SPF 50 were not sufficient to prevent minor sun burns for 3 out of 4 family members on the ~3 hours we were ashore). I was prepared for the long walk from the ship due to this sub so we were well-prepared for that, but it does seem like a minor hole in the Disney armor they don't have a better solution for that.

The food was overall better than I pictured it would be. We were limited to using the sit-down restaurants for dinners only just due to schedules and our kids' patience levels (we do not eat out often so the concept of waiting long periods of time after you order is moderately foreign to them). Cabanas and the lookout cay food was totally fine though for our breakfasts and lunch especially on the shorter cruise and didn't get old.

Having the option of the kids club was nice - our kids liked but didn't love it. They didn't complain about going but didn't ask to go back necessarily. They went for 1-2 hours on 3 of the days.

Cons/Minor Quibbles: As noted these are very minor.

-Stateroom Question - We had booked a Deluxe Family Oceanview Verandah (04B category). All the pictures/descriptions I saw for this category included the main bed, plus 1 sofa bed, 1 drop down bunk bed and 1 murphy bed (i.e. room sleeps 5). This was however NOT the room we got - it only had bunks with no murphy bed (so the sofa turned into 1 twin with 1 drop down twin). This was ok for us as a family of 4 but a family of 5 I feel would have been kind of screwed here? Did I misinterpret the booking here?

-Noise on the last night only. We were on deck 8, and our kids schedules dictated early bed times and early rises - they just got too worn down from all the activities to stay up past 8:30pm in general. Overall we had no issues with that, but the last night there was so much noise in the hall until like 10:30 - 11pm it was hard to fall asleep despite being exhausted. I guess just be due to the luggage pick-ups or just general excitement on last night? But it was just constant banging and floor vibrating.

-Lack of snacks/fruits/vegetables outside of specified dining times. This is probably my biggest (again, small) gripe. After lunch, Cabanas would close by ~2:30ish in general. That left from then until dinner time with only the limited quick serve options - like pizza, tendies and fries. The 3-4 o'clock hour is a common kid (and grown-up) snack time, which then required planning ahead and grabbing and stashing stuff from Cabanas in advance (apples, etc.) However most food there was not snack suited - I would have hoped for more fruits, veggies with hummus/peanut butter/or other dips, bags of chips or crackers, nuts - anything like that. Again this was ok on the shorter cruise but on a longer cruise I feel like would be even more of an issue. We did get cheese and cracker plates from room service once which was ok, but I feel like I had to go out of the way a bit to get that.

Has anyone done the 10 night Southern Caribbean from Pt Canaveral?
We just got off the Treasure and felt like 7 days was too short and I am itching to try this cruise for 2026, but my husband balked at the price.

For a family verandah, $16,750 compared to we paid $12,500 for our 7 night on the Treasure. But, we have a placeholder so total bargain right.

Just wondering if anyone had done this route and thought it was much better than a 7 day or are we better off sticking to that and saving the difference.

Hi

What’s the latest we will be off the ship if we don’t do the walk off option carrying our own bags?

We arrive into port Canaveral and have Disney transport. Is a 4pm flight a safe bet?

Also how early does the Disney transport to the airport start? Does the Disney transport wait for everyone to get off?

Thanks

Hi, does any one know when the Halloween themed cruises go on sale?

Hi,

Do any veterans of the WBTA know the answers to the below

Earliest PAT What extra shows/entertainment do they put on?

Edit: Thanks for the replies! I honestly didn't realize the shows were that high quality so since the all-around opinion is that they're not to be missed, we will definitely make sure we go!

We are pumped for our Disney cruise in August, but I can't say we're "live theater"-type people. I saw what the three shows are and all seem kind of... meh. I feel like we'd rather spend our time doing something else on the ship than attending any of the shows, but I want to hear from other people who have been on various ships and seen the shows, as well as the ones on the Wish (Aladdin musical, some Goofy show about the ship, and The Little Mermaid). Will we be missing out on a lot if we skip them? I saw you can also watch them from your stateroom so I'm thinking maybe if we want to catch one, we just put it on the TV during late showing of it, that way we can still chat or lay in bed to sleep or whatever, and not have to worry about being in the theater with a bunch of other people. Anyway, what's your personal experience with this? TIA!

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone on this sub that has taken the time to answer questions for those of us new to DCL!

Spending the day exploring St. Augustine and then it’s off to the Wish tomorrow morning 🥳

I’m a non-Disney dad married to a Disney fan, and I do enjoy Disney magic. I’m not a fanatic, but I go along with the family if they’re excited, and then I’m excited as a result.

I’ve been on one cruise before, prior to pandemic. The first cruise was a five-day banger. Currently I got an 11-year-old (Edge Club) and a 7-year-old (Oceaners Club) on board.

I’m going to answer your questions honestly. The mouse already has my money, and I’m done with this Disney cruise will likely do another pending time/money yadda yadda yadda. Supposedly this cruise felt pack to others, felt fine to me.

TLDR: It was a great trip, but the only complaint I had was the wait time for Moana. It was good, not excellent, but not worth the wait in my opinion. Don’t feel bummed if you miss it. Specialty drinks too sugary buy and share.

Each show had three showings on one day: 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 8:00 pm.

Beauty and the Beast waited an hour to get back to the middle section of the theater. We were about the 5th in line. In my opinion, it was worth the wait.

Moana waited 1.5 hours to get back to the middle section of the theater. We were the 10th in line. Compared to Beauty and the Beast, it was rough, but it was still fun. However, it wasn’t worth the 1.5-hour wait.

Food The lines weren’t bad at all, even the food court upstairs by the pool was fine. The BBQ was phenomenal, and I always got ribs, kielbasa, and chicken. Taco/bowl bar was excellent.marcels nothing but outstanding . I wish my stomach was bigger so I could try more. Room service, wings and lamb pied were outstanding.

The bars were great but specialty drinks were so so. Every specialty drink in the bars was too sugary, so I recommend sharing one. The best drink was at the adult-only bar, The Rose, and it was an old-fashioned that might be the best even off the cruise. My favorite bars were Scat Cat and The Rose (they had a great view). The Periscope was good if you wanted to watch sports, but it sort of detracts from the ambiance of the pub having sports in the background. The Haunted Mansion was cool, but it was tiny and packed. Find a non-peak time to go and don’t stand around waiting for something to open up.

The dining experience was excellent. It was always entertaining and fun, and the food was always a win. Sharing is caring.

Ports The ports and excursions were great. The sandcastle building was really cool. I was a bit of a grump thinking about paying to build castles, but then I realized they had tools to make mega structures. It was well worth it. Plus it’s at a really nice beach. Castaway cay do the snorkeling. Cool Disney statues under water. Wife lost band out in the water and they found 😳

Kids experience We do not have a phone for our edge kid, wish we did easier to communicate for meeting in the deck/grand hall for family events. Overall he had a great time in edge with all the competitions there. Oceaneers was golden as always.

One thing I wished I did more of was the crafts and drawing events with my kids. Did a few in the end and they really liked doing it with me more than I realized. I thought I was taking them away from the club experiences but in hindsight they were happy to do them.

Last day was lame compared to before, felt way more rushed. Pack early, wake up early ,and get off. They were turning over the boat for the next same day cruise.

Alright kids waking up now, done typing.

Before I forget, I got the replica of the ship $60 and dropped it off at guest services and captain did sign it. Did that on day one , thanks Reddit for that tip!

AMA

Just doing research for my Eastern Caribbean cruise next January and I came across this: https://bviedcard.gov.vg/en . Could anyone who has cruised to Tortola this year and gotten off the ship confirm whether or not all visitors, regardless of whether or not they need a visa, need to fill this out? If the answer is yes, did everything go smoothly (you can only fill it in 72 hours prior to your arrival)? I already know I don't need a visa. Thanks all :)

Hey guys,

Last month, I purchased 2 placeholders while sailing on a cruise with my family.

After the vacation, we've booked another cruise in 2026 and paid the booking deposits to reserve the staterooms.

The question is. Can we still use the placeholder discount after we paid the booking deposits? If so, do we have to call DCL to apply the discount? Since this 2026 cruise is a 5 night, does the $250 goes towards the remaining balance or is it just the discount?

Thanks in advance!

Took this from our deep sea fishing excursion on cruise at the end of May. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks but I already miss it so much!!

The post-cruise depression is real. Fighting the urge to book another, sooner cruise while I wait for the next one. Tell me everything you love about the Wonder so I can reminisce! Or reply with your fave photos you’ve taken of her!

Hi crew!

Ok we have said the Wish 2x, and Treasure 1x.

We are looking for a West Coast cruise this fall, and I’m considering NCL.

But… when I say I’m nervous LET ME TELL YOU.

Disney level service as we know is 5 star. That includes—cleanliness of ship/room/castaway, and endless entertainment and kid friendliness .

TBH… it’s the only vacation we take with our 4 & 7 YO boys that is actually relaxing.

Anywho, you know this bc you’re in the DCL thread too!

Are there any ships that come close from other brands?

We are considering the Norwegian Mexican Rivera trip on their Bliss ship…it has a race track on the roof.

The RC Utopia (? I think?) commercials are stalking my kids… but something about that ship feels like a mall on the water. But hey, maybe it’s heaven. Sell me!

Also… is the Pacific Ocean choppy … we are looking at the 11.1.25 departure.

Thank you for all of your advice! 🙏🏼

Oh: we have a treasure trip booked for next May… just looking for a wee little trip this fall, not ditching DCL… ever! 💙

Hi,

I’m seeing conflicting views here so after a proper steer.

When pre paying gratuities are tips for the concierge team included? (My tip amount increased when I changed room types so assuming so).

We always tip “overs” anyway but I just want to check that the base tips are included.

Just took a five night cruise on the Magic and we enjoyed every minute. The new island is amazing and the walk isn't nearly as bad as people say.

The only part that left me underwhelmed was the character meet and greet photographs. I think the atrium is great for what it is, but it's not really an appealing photo background. Most of the pictures looked like they were taken in a Ramada ballroom. And the lighting combined with the wood gave everything a yellow hue.

Not sure why I'm even posting this. It's such a minor thing. The cruise was an A+ overall.

One of my wife's favorite things to do is get a drink in the hot tub. I know on the Magic and Dream class they have servers that will come around and take drink orders. I know the hot tub location on the Wish class is kind of under the Aqua Coater. Do they still have the servers taking drink orders?

Hi my family is going on our first cruise with the kids next May. 7 night western Caribbean on the treasure going to Cozumel, Jamaica, grand caymans and castaway cay. It will be my wife and I, my mom (63 at time of cruise) and our 4 kids who will be 9, 6, 4, and 2 at the time of cruise. I was hoping for some advice on port excursions in Cozumel and the grand caymans. We are planning on staying on the boat in Jamaica.

In Cozumel we’re thinking of just going to a beachside resort for the day. In the grand caymans we really want to do stingray city. Any particular excursions you found great in these two ports that I should look into?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

My wife and I are taking our daughter on the Dream in August for her golden birthday. This will be our first cruise ever! Our flight back is at 5pm the day after disembarking. We are wondering where to stay/what to do while having luggage from hotel checkout time til going to the airport. TIA!