My wife and daughter are wanting to go on a Disney cruise. None of us have ever been on any type of cruise.
My daughter is 14 in case there are any age specific things that she would enjoy.
Thanks!
Never been on a Disney cruise, but have been on lots of other cruises including one to Alaska with our daughter who was then 14. First, where are you going, and, if it is in the Caribbean, is it still standing? Second, does she like Disney a lot? They definitely have stuff for kids, but I’d guess the ages for the kids would run younger than 14. Fewer old people, though.
Cruise ports can be divided into sun and fun places, where you lie on the beach, shopping places, and interesting places like historic towns and rain forest kind of tours. We like the latter, but evaluate the ports for what you like.
I think we would take the cruise that stops in Nassau.
It will be probably be very late this year or early next year, so hopefully everything will be somewhat put back together down there.
I have a friend whose family takes a Disney cruise every other year for as long as I’ve known her. Her boys are 17 and 19 now, and they still enjoy going so I don’t think your daughter is to old the enjoy the “Disney” aspect of it all.
I’ve never cruised with Disney, but I’ve looked into it, and they seem to be considerably more expensive than other cruise lines. Maybe they offer lots more than Princess or Royal Caribbean or Norwegian on similar cruises. I won’t bother to find out, tho - I’m more than satisfied with cruises on the other lines. And I’ve never cruised with kids, but I’ve noticed lots of activities for kids of all ages with other lines.
14 year old boys.
Cruisecritic.com is the place to go for cruise info.
This question is right up my alley. We have actually gone on six Disney cruises, and have sailed on all four of their ships. Our first was back in 2010, when our son was 13, and our last was this past May.
We’ve done three of the 4-night cruises to the Bahamas, a 6-night repositioning (one-way) Eastern Caribbean cruise, a 7-night Western Caribbean, and a 7-night Mediterranean cruise. We’d like to do an Alaska cruise at some point.
If you’ve never gone on a cruise before, the 4-night cruise to the Bahamas is a good one. It includes a day at sea and a stop at Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island). They also have a 3-night cruise with the same port visits (Nassau and Castaway Cay) but without the day at sea…but I think it would be too short. (Frankly, our family now actually thinks the 4-night cruise is too short to be worth it. The main reason we kept repeating this cruise was because we were going with other family members who had never cruised before.) Our favorite cruises so far have been the two 7-night ones we’ve gone on.
A great resource for Disney cruises is the Disney Cruise Line Forum on DISBoards.com.
The best guidebook I have found is PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line. I have several editions of their guidebook in paperback, but they seem to be transitioning to an electronic PDF version (which I downloaded onto my iPad).
As for timing, if you are looking at later this year or early next year, I would get going on booking. Prices are generally lowest when cruises are first announced, and increase thereafter. Also, you have more choices when picking a cabin the further out you book. We now try to book cruises 12-18 months out – but did book our first cruise just 5 months out, and booked another one just 3 months out.
Disney Cruise Line (DCL) is more expensive than many other cruise lines, but I think you get what you pay for for the most part, and they tend to not nickel-and-dime you like some other lines do (like charging for non-alcoholic beverages onboard). Another perk is that room service is included for all guests.
If you are prone to motion sickness, the cabins that are midship have less motion. My wife is very prone to motion sickness, so she always gets a prescription for a scopolamine patch. The only time she felt ill was on our first cruise when she hadn’t applied the patch yet. Ever since then, she has put on a patch before departure, and has had no issues (including in a January cruise with considerable wave motion last year). Because of her concern about motion sickness, we’ve also always gotten a cabin with a balcony (aka a “verandah”), so we can open the door and get a breeze. The view from your cabin is an added bonus.
Not Disney-specific but applicable to all cruise vacations really… you can probably get much more out of your port stops by arranging tours directly with local providers rather than booking through the ship. As **SmellMyWort **mentioned Cruisecritic.com has lots of info including port-specific discussions to help you plan.
We’ve done both, and I tend to agree with you. Our best port excursions were the ones we booked through local operators, especially in Europe.
On the other hand, if you book through the ship, the tour operator is under tremendous pressure from the cruise line itself to get you back to the ship on time. If the tour group were to be delayed getting back for some reason through no fault of yours, they will either delay the ship’s departure, or arrange for your transportation to the next port stop at the cruise line’s expense.
If you book directly with a local tour operator or go off on your own, all of the liability for getting back on time is on you…and in that case they will generally NOT hold the ship, and the cost of getting to the next port stop is on you. On a ship with thousands of people on board, there seems to always be at least one who literally misses the boat. 
On one of our cruises, the cruise director put it like this: “You must return to the ship no later than 4:45 pm. If for some reason that’s not possible for you or if you are running late, be sure to bring your camera with you…so you get get a photo of the lovely Disney Fantasy sailing away without you.” :eek:
I think our last Disney cruise my daughter was about 13 or 14 and LOVED it. We’d been on them previously when the kids were younger as well. My son didn’t, he spent his whole time in the cabin.
My daughter would be at the teen club when it opened. She would join us for dinner (for us, that is a family cruise rule - everyone needs to go to dinner together and be together for shore excursions - except on the private island), then go back, and stumble into the room when the teen club closed. Teens on a Disney cruise tend to be sort of geeky - the kind of kids who still like Disney as teens - my son is not at all geeky, more of a jock, and somewhat less extroverted - and while they have a basketball court, the jock activities weren’t engaging for him.
Disney offers alcohol tastings for adults - like a scotch or tequila tasting, or a martini tasting - they are extra and you’ll want to book them early - but if you enjoy drinking, its fun (and you will drink quite a bit).
Disney does a good job keeping the adult areas separate from the kids areas - there is a special adult pool - and no, your teen is not an adult (some of the ships have a pool at the teen club for teens - no adults - the two older ships do not to my knowledge).
You will have a dinner seating, your servers will rotate with you, you may or may not have tablemates. The dining rooms are each themed differently, and if you don’t like what you get - or think two things look good - order them both. Cruising was where my kids tried snails for the first time - its a good time to try things - because there is no risk (and food pretty much all the time if you decide you just want a slice of pizza or a sandwich).
Disney has a spa called the Rainforest Room. You can get a day pass (or a cruise pass) which will let you use the steam room, sauna, showers, and heated loungers. I love it there and would spend an hour or two every day in there.
They have one (or two on some ships) adult dining rooms. There is a slight upcharge. You want to book it. The food is wonderful. You’ll need to book it in advance and reservations can go quickly.
Disney is a great introduction to cruising, they are a top notch outfit with great service and entertainment focus on family. I recommend the 4 night cruise out of Port Canaveral and agree with the reasons robby gives for that. The day at sea gives you a chance to explore the ship’s amenities. I did that on the Disney Dream. That was my very first cruise, and it was excellent. I’ve also done Disney to Alaska, out of Vancouver. And then I’ve done Norwegian in the western Mediterranean, out of Rome, this past July. That is my cruise experience.
OP, especially if your daughter is a Disney fan, then Disney is an excellent choice. Because of the hurricanes, if you’re considering the Bahamas then check on how much damage has been done there and also at Castaway Cay (it’s spelled Cay but is pronounced Key, but you probably already knew that). Castaway Cay is tiny and could easily get wiped out by strong storms.
ETA: and yes, book early!
Since everyone above seems to have Disney specific advice covered, I thought I’d throw in some generic cruise advice, which is applicable to a few different Caribbean cruises (including Disney’s).
Depending on when you go (it got a bit…destroyed…by the hurricane, but they’re rebuilding), Nick Maley has a museum in St Maarten. You can also meet him, if he’s there when you are.
As I said, it was pretty beat up by the hurricane, but they’re rebuilding & Nick said on Facebook that the exhibits were safe & fine. It’s nothing I’d plan a trip around, but it’s something to do if you find yourself in St Maarten after it’s reopened. It’s one of those hidden gems that isn’t really a secret but isn’t as widely known as one would think it is.
I agree with Dangerosa. Whether a Disney Cruise is right for you largely depends on your kid’s personality. We only cruise with Disney when traveling with my sister and her family because it’s too expensive when traveling just as adults. We love Disney Cruises, but our most recent Disney cruise (July 2017) was pretty much a waste because her older kids are aging out of Disney and are rather introverted.
My nephews do not like the Kids Clubs. Because of this fact, Disney cruises are no longer appropriate for my sister’s family (and by extension, us). The main selling point of Disney Cruises is the kid’s clubs. Disney pretty much invented Kids Clubs on Cruises and families that love Disney Cruises largely point to the excellent kids clubs as the reason.
Some couples go on Disney Cruises without kids. I can see the appeal, but it’s kind of expensive for that.
Can your kid make friends quickly? If not, at least consider alternatives (Royal Caribbean is great for families too, especially teens). Disney is still a great product, but if your kid won’t like going to the kids club, then you would be paying a premium and not using a major portion of what makes a Disney Cruise great.
Look at the ships and see if there are things that you and your family want to do.
I agree that the DCL kid’s clubs are great. My son has aged out of them, but still loves going on Disney cruises regardless. I think I would have a hard time getting my family to try another cruise line.
Of course, we also love Disney in general. If we are sailing out of Port Canaveral in Florida, we invariably combine the Disney cruises with a visit to Walt Disney World before and after the cruise.* We’ve been to WDW for a week or longer nine times in the last 10 years.
About the only negative thing I would say is that their prices have increased markedly in recent years.
*This is mainly because I am of the opinion that you never want to fly in the day a cruise departs, in case of travel delays. Again, the ship will not wait for you. A few days’ cushion is even better. And if we are going to be in Florida for a few days beforehand, we would just as soon go to WDW. We did do one cruise out of Galveston, and visited family in Houston beforehand. We did another cruise out of Barcelona, and toured the city the day before the ship departed.
Following a cruise, they toss you off the ship first thing in the morning, so we generally stay in a hotel for a few more nights to get the most out of the trip.
Or they are Disney People, not Cruise People. Disney People like Disney cruises. It isn’t necessarily the cruising that they enjoy, they like the Disney bubble and Hidden Mickeys in the railwork and a ships horn that blows “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
I’m a Disney person with disposable income, so I get it. But I also know I’m a Disney person with disposable income - and both of those things have got to be true for Disney to be worth cruising on - because it IS more expensive than many other options.
This sounds about right for us as well. 
My understanding is that Castaway Cay is running at 100% currently.