Can someone tell me more?

[goofygal]

About Disney cruises?

Are they the old type with banquettes and getting dressed up or are they very disney all star movies with lots of characters and entertainment for kids?

I'm trying to get an idea whether it'd be right for us or not

oh and is there loads to do on board?

[wdwgrandma]

There is so much to do on a Disney cruise that you can't possibly do it all - and that doesn't include the shore excursions!

Disney does what they call "rotational" dining. What this means is that you are assigned a seating arrangement for dining in their restaurants. And your dining staff rotates with you. So the person who took your drink order at the first restaurant will be at the next restaurant with you. Now, if you don't want to spend every evening (the same time each evening...) at a sit down meal, there are places to get burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and there is a buffet with lots to choose from.

On our cruise we did have a formal night - the Captain's night. We dressed up and had a ball!

Mickey and crew can be found on the ship and are available for photos and autographs.

The nightly entertainment can be very fun! And movies are also shown.

There's a kids' club that I'm told is so much fun that the kids often don't want to leave. We don't have little ones anymore, so I know this info only from what I've read and heard.

You can get a massage, swim in one of several pools, play games, and just generally relax and enjoy yourself. No casinos or gambling.

I had so much fun on our cruise that they had to pry my hands off the railing to get me to leave the ship at the end!

[catrancher]

Ok, let's try to answer your questions!

Are they the old type with banquettes and getting dressed up or are they very disney all star movies with lots of characters and entertainment for kids?

They're all that and more!

All this pertains to the Disney Magic and the seven day cruises. The Disney Wonder is similar. Just with shorter cruises.

You'll be assigned a dinning rotation when you check in. You'll dine in one of three themed dining rooms each night of your cruise. You keep the same dinner partners and servers for all nights. Tables in the restaurants typically seat 6 to 8 guests. You choose one of two dinner seatings. Early (5:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.) or late (8:00 p.m., 8:15 p.m. or 8:30 p.m). You'll have either the early dinner seating and late show or the late dinner seating and early show. Most nights, dinner is a resort casual dress type of affair. Slacks and shirt for the guys, nice dress or pants type outfit for the gals. There are however, two special nights (on the seven day cruises). One night is formal night and one night is semi-formal night.

There's also a adults only restaurant (Palo). Palo requires reservations and is an extra cost per person. Although the cost is trivial and the restaurant is absolutely more than worth it!

There's also casual buffet style dining available if you don't want to play in the main dining rooms. Also, all manner of junk food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, ice cream.

No matter what you choose, you won't go hungry!

oh and is there loads to do on board?

There's more to do on board and in the ports than you could possibly accomplish in a 24 hour day. In your stateroom every day, you'll get a document called you "Personal Navigator". This document outlines everything that will be happening on board the next day. You couldn't possibly do it all!

As far as whether or not a Disney Cruise is for you or not, all I can tell you is this. My DW and I have been on 3 of them. Our kids are all grown and gone. It's now our very favorite vacation. Even more so than Disney World. I'm sure that people with kids find it even better! Being Disney, there's more children's activities than you can believe. Characters, games, adventures. A child's paradise. There's special areas for the kids (depending on age). There's adults only areas. Teens have their own special areas too! No matter who you are, there's something to do and someplace to go on a Disney Cruise. The only exception to this would be if you were looking for onboard casinos to do a little gambling. Disney doesn't have those.

Anyway, I tend to ramble on when I get on the subject of Disney Cruises! To me, they are undoubtedly, the most enjoyable, delightful vacation value that anyone can have.

Check out the earlier thread I posted here:
Learn and get excited about Disney Cruises

The videos that I linked to there will give you all the information you could possibly want. If you have any problems, let me know and we'll get you the videos another way!

Tom (... self-appointed Assistant Cruise Director)