Seven Things to Ask Yourself Before Booking a Disney Cruise

There are many wonderful aspects of cruising: adventure, exploration, relaxation, entertainment, escape, and so on. We’re big fans! But cruising, and Disney Cruising in particular, is not for everyone. Here are seven things to ask yourself before deciding to book a Disney Cruise Line sailing:

1. Does Disney Cruise Line go where I really want to go?

In certain circles (online or in person), Disney Cruise Line gets lots of hype. “You MUST go on a Disney cruise! It’s the BEST vacation!” Before hopping on the hype train, remember that cruise ships are moving vessels. They all go somewhere, but they don’t go everywhere.

If your long-time travel dream has been to explore South America, you’ll find that DCL visits very few South American ports. Another cruise line might have itineraries that better suit your interests. Or if you’ve always wanted to see Central Europe, you won’t be able to get there on any cruise ship. If that’s your dream you might want to explore Adventures by Disney vacations – land tours or river cruises – or any number of other travel options.

We all have limited time and money. Be sure that you’re going on a DCL cruise because that is the optimal use of your scarce resources.

2. Do I have a medical situation that can not be accommodated on the ship?

DCL has a great reputation for accommodating guests will allergies, but if you have a niche allergy that requires personal food preparation, you will likely be unable to accomplish what you need on a ship. Other guests with medical contraindications might include those who:

• Have severe motion sickness issues that cannot be remediated with standard measures.
• Have severe claustrophobia, fear of open water, or other related anxieties
• Need 100% uninterrupted communication with medical staff at all times, either personal contact or streaming from an electronic device. The onboard Wifi is good, but expensive and not infallible.
• Need daily procedures such as dialysis or transfusions that cannot be accommodated in the onboard medical facilities
• Are you more than 24 weeks pregnant

If your medical situation includes these or other complex issues, then cruising may not be the right vacation for you.

3. Do I have the necessary identification documents?

All cruises require a birth certificate at a minimum and a full passport in many cases. Additionally, if you’re bringing minor children on board and you have custody arrangements that require permission from other parents or guardians you will need paperwork for that as well.

Also bear in mind that ID documents must all match each other and the cruise reservation. This could pose issues for anyone in the process of a name change for any reason.

If you can’t, or don’t want to, provide formal identification then a cruise vacation is not for you.

4. Do I understand the real cost of the vacation I want?

Disney Cruise Line posts the price of each stateroom on each sailing on their website. And while you can often get the real price of your cruise close to that number, you should realize that the actual cost of your vacation will be larger than the stated base cost. Do you need to fly to an embarkation port? Will you stay in a hotel before or after your sailing? Did you account for required onboard gratuities? Did you understand the cost of port excursions?

Make sure you can afford the entire cruise experience before booking.

5. Will my vacation be ruined if something goes awry?

Weather can impact any vacation, but the nature of cruising is that sometimes weather plays a larger role than it may on other types of vacations. For example, there are sailings a few times every year that have an unexpected port change or port omission due to adverse weather. Imagine that you’re not able to visit Castaway Cay on your Bahamian sailing and then do a real assessment of what your reaction might be. If you honestly think the vacation would be irredeemable, then cruising may not be your ideal vacation.

6. Do I need to have uninterrupted access to school or work?

As with the medical situation mentioned above, phone and Wifi access on the ship is not at all the same as on land. While access has greatly improved in recent years, staying connected with land is typically expensive and sometimes glitchy. Don’t expect to take lengthy Zoom calls or watch video-streamed lectures while onboard. If you need this, then opt for land-based travel instead.

7. Do I like Disney?

If you’re on Disney Cruise Line, you will be at least moderately exposed to Disney entertainment properties. There is Disney artwork throughout the ships, including in the staterooms. The evening stage shows are versions of Disney stories. Several of the restaurants have Disney-themed entertainment. There will be character appearances in the ship’s lobby atrium. And on and on. You don’t have to participate in most of this if you don’t want to, but if you can’t abide any Disney influence then you’ll want to skip the Disney ships.

What factors make or break your decision to take a cruise on Disney Cruise Line? Do you routinely sail some other line instead? Let us know in the comments!