When I got back from our 9-night Disney cruise to Alaska, I was asked by several people if it was too long on a ship, if there was enough to do. Let me tell you I could have been on the cruise ship for a month and never ran out of things to do!
Stateroom
Activities
One of the great things about Disney is that the cruise ships have both family activities and adult only activities. We participated in many family activities but did sneak in a couple adults only ones too.
We enjoyed several Animation classes where crew members took us step by step to draw some of our favorite Disney characters. S even followed along! We also participated in 3D Arts and Crafts and Origami.
On our cruise, there were two Disney Friends Tea Parties offered however it is a ticketed event (free). In order to obtain tickets, ask at guest services preferable the first day aboard because the seating is limited. The tea party that we attended had both Rapunzel and Tiana, whom walked us through the proper way to have a tea party and the proper way to waltz. After we drank our apple juice (tea) and chocolate chip cookies, the guests were able to meet and take photos with each princess. We really enjoyed the tea party! It was a great activity to do as a family.
My husband’s favorite adult only activity was Beer Tasting for a nominal fee (there were other tastings and pairings offered throughout our cruise including Mixology, Wine, Champagne, Martini, Tequila and Margarita, Cognac and Whisky).
I was able to attend an Art of Entertaining program where one of the Chefs from the restaurant showed us how to make an appetizer, along with the tasting of the risotto we received a pairing with wine (free).
There is no gambling on Disney cruise ships, however Bingo with jackpots are played. The Wonder also offers an arcade, shuffleboard, pools (even in Alaska – the pools were heated), spa, running/walking track and Wide World of Sports deck.
There were so many different activities planned, that you had to figure out what you really wanted to do. We had hoped to see a new release movie in the theater, but never made it. Maybe next time!
Rotational Dining
Are you familiar with rotational dining? It’s where every evening you rotate to one of three restaurants and your servers rotate with you. Our wonderful servers were one of the things that made our trip! Every evening our servers already had our preferred drinks on the table waiting for us when we arrived. Their attention to detail and catering to our every need made us feel like royalty. If we wanted anything different like multiple desserts or to order off the children’s menu, they did not bat an eye. S still says “I miss Harlan (our waiter)” and who wouldn’t? From Mickey shaped ketchup to magic tricks at the table, every dinner was fun. I also still miss our servers and the food! 🙂 Whoever says cruise ship food is not good, did not eat at the sit down restaurants on the Disney Wonder! My family enjoyed some of the best lobster, shrimp and filet that we have ever had!
Characters
There were many Disney characters that had scheduled meet and greets, however some of the characters only appeared once or twice during the whole cruise. The most popular meet and greet times were around dinner and the evening shows. Twice during our cruise the Princess Gathering was offered where 5 princesses: Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Rapunzel and Tiana met. You stood in line once to meet all five princesses, one right after the other.
There were other ways to meet characters too! The aforementioned Disney Friends Tea Party. The characters were frequent guests to the kids clubs and we would often see them in the halls for a quick wave or hug. Or even out wandering the decks.
Another place to see Disney characters are during the Sail Away Party, the dance parties (Pixar Party and Til We Meet Again) and the evening shows.
If you are planning a Disney cruise, you may be interested in my 10 Tips for First Time Disney Cruisers.
Are you thinking of cruising to Alaska? Check out all our ports of calls here.
You may find me linking up with the following: Mon: Magic Moments; How Do You Do It? Parenting Linkup; Made by You Mondays; Creative Mondays; Click and Chat Social Media Link Up; Merry Monday Linky Party; Motivational Monday; Weekend Wanderlust;Tue: Treasure Box Tuesday; Turn it Up Tuesday; Good Tip Tuesdays; Project Life Tuesday; Lou Lou Girls Link Party; Delicious Dish Tuesday; SoMe2; Wed: The Wednesday Roundup; The Super Mommy Club Party; Centerpiece Wednesday; Whatever Wednesday; Retro Repin Party; Wake up Wednesday; Creative Spark; A Little Bird Told Me; Thur: Weekly Kids Co-Op; The Pin Junkie Pin Party; Thrify Thursday; On Display Thursday; Fri: Pretty Pintastic Party; Foodie Friends Friday; That’s Fresh Friday; Family Fun Friday; For the Kids Fridays; Craft Frenzy Friday; Product Review; Friday Favorites; Weekends: Show and Share Saturday; Country Kids with Coombe Mill; The Weekend Social; Snickerdoodle Sunday; Ultimate Link Party; Coast to Coast Blog Post Party
Alex says
Oh dear, I so want to do this now! A cruise is on my bucket list. Jack Sparrow looks a bit sad tho 😉
Alex – Funky Jungle
mybigfathappylife says
Jack Sparrow’s mannerism was spot on. He was great!
MJ @ Daisy & June says
Oh My! That food looks amazing! Looks like you had a great time!
mybigfathappylife says
Thank you, we did!
Lisa says
I’ve never been on a cruise, but I love all things Disney. It looks like this cruise was amazing!
mybigfathappylife says
You will have to try a cruise! We love all things Disney too.
Teresa @ Crafty Wife says
My husband and I are annual passholders for WDW and have talked about going on a Disney cruise for forever! It looks like so much fun!
mybigfathappylife says
I wished I lived close enough to WDW to have an annual pass! You should definitely go on a Disney cruise – the more nights the better 🙂
Nicole says
Dang, it seems like everyone is going on a cruise this summer! Looks like y’all had fun:)
mybigfathappylife says
We had a lot of fun!
ashley says
Oh this is something my daughter would absolutely love. We really enjoy cruising and hope to be able to take her one day.
mybigfathappylife says
I hope you get to go, we had a blast!
Shannon says
I’ve been wanting to cruise to Alaska for awhile, but probably not on Disney since we don’t have any kids yet!
mybigfathappylife says
Alaska is beautiful! Disney’s ships do have so many adult only activities, pool, fitness center, spa and lounges/coffee cafe. But I totally understand!
Fatima says
i am getting ready to go on a cruise with my sister in november and i can’t wait! never been on a cruise before. Yours sounded like so much fun!
mybigfathappylife says
You are going to have so much fun!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
I’ve never been on a disney cruise but it looks pretty fun – even without kids lol
Although, that Jack Sparrow looked a big scary…just saying
Stopping by from Blog Love
mybigfathappylife says
Thanks Giselle. There was so much to do for only adults!
Caryn says
I do love Disney Cruises. Like at the parks, the cruise ship takes allergies seriously. I was incredibly impressed how the wait staff and all chefs were very cautious with my son’s allergies. If you have any food sensitivity or special diet, I think Disney cruises and parks are the way to go.
mybigfathappylife says
That’s so good to hear Caryn! We don’t have allergies in our family, but I’ve always heard they go above and beyond!
Kristina & Millie says
how fun! Sounds like you could go without the kids? 🙂
mybigfathappylife says
You definitely could! My parent went with us and they had a blast by themselves.
Jana says
My daughter was just talking about doing a Disney cruise earlier today and this looks like exactly what she was thinking about. So fun!
mybigfathappylife says
Yay Jana! I hope you guys get to go on a Disney Cruise soon; we had a blast!
Kaz @ Melting Moments says
Oh my! How totally awesome is this!
mybigfathappylife says
It was so awesome 🙂
Bridget says
Ok! I’m sold! Planning my first cruise immediately. I think the kids would absolutely love a Disney cruise. Thank you so much fro sharing your awesome experience. Now yall come check on me if I try not to come back.lol
mybigfathappylife says
Oh Bridget, you and your kids will have so much fun!
aimee fauci says
We almost went on this cruise but had to cancel due to needing to save money for a house. Oh I loved the idea of this cruise.. Disney provides so many great things. Linking up from That’s Fresh Friday.
mybigfathappylife says
You and your family would have had so much fun Aimee! We are going to be taking another Disney cruise from Galveston next fall, wanna come have fun with us?
Julia@Happy House and Home says
What an awesome vacation! I would love to do this some day!!! Thank you for sharing your experiece and photos with us on Merry Monday Link Party! See you next week I hope, Julia
mybigfathappylife says
I hope you get a chance Julia! Our cruise was great!
Lauren says
I’m like you – I never could think a cruise is long enough and could easily stay on board for a month! Thank you so much for sharing and linking up with #WeekendWanderlust!
mybigfathappylife says
Thank you Lauren!
Carmen (CarmensTraveltips) says
We love cruising and have been on several. We never did the Disney cruise. One of my friends just got back from one that she went on with her son. They had an awesome time. We just got back from an Alaskan cruise a few weeks ago. I never knew that Disney went to Alaska. I hope you had better weather than we did. Thanks for linking up to #WeekendWanderlust.
mybigfathappylife says
We had awesome weather Carmen – no rain except our first at sea day. We had an awesome trip and the service from Disney is amazing! I hope you had a wonderful cruise to Alaska despite the weather.