Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy: What is Cove Cafe?

Every one of the five existing Disney Cruise Line ships has a coffee bar called Cove Cafe. The decor is slightly different at each, but they are all located in the adults only (18+) area of the ship. The beverages here are not included in the price of your cruise. Think Starbucks pricing and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Also note that there is an 18% gratuity added to Cove Cafe bills.

The good news is that every Cove Cafe distributes “Café Fanatic” loyalty cards; with every five stamps on your card, you get a free drink. Theoretically, the cards are not supposed to carry over from cruise to cruise, but often been able to use a partially completed card from a previous cruise to get a jump start on my free caffeine consumption on my next cruise. There is free coffee offered at dispensers near the pool deck soda machines, but many guests find it to be of questionable quality.

The better news, at least on the Wonder, Magic, Dream, and Fantasy, is that there is nice selection of free snacks available at Cove Cafe — sweet treats during the day and savory bites in the evening. The savory items (cheese, olives, and like) are almost enough to serve as a light meal dinner if you’ve overindulged during the day. There are no free nibbles at the Wish Cove Cafe.

In addition to coffee and snacks, there is limited selection of alcohol, and coffee beverages that include alcohol, available at the Cove Cafes. If you’re buying a latte-like beverage, be sure to ask for them to add a character to your foam. Special machines can top your coffee with images any of several dozen Disney, Marvel, or Pixar characters. I’ve even heard that they put a character atop your espresso martini.

Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy is an offshoot of our “Disney in a Minute” posts. Both are bite-sized nuggets of information that can better help you understand a Disney term or planning topic, but here we’ll be focused on all thing Disney Cruise Line (DCL). Have a question about a DCL term that is unfamiliar to you? Suggest it here for an upcoming segment.