Disney Cruise Line

With five ships in service for the first time ever, the Disney Cruise Line has lots of itinerary options for 2023. Bookings are currently open through summer of 2023, and with this schedule, you’ll find some new itineraries and ports to experience.

A Disney Cruise Line vacation can be such a fantastic, bucket list vacation for your family. With four (soon to be five) ships, many different home ports, and varied itineraries, there are plenty of options to choose from.

However a Disney Cruise Line cruise can also be expensive. To maximize your vacation dollars, you’ll want to be sure to do everything you can in advance to ensure a smooth vacation. Here are 10 tips to help you have the best DCL vacation possible.

Disney Cruise Line is a family cruise line that caters to Disney-loving families.

Disney Cruise Line is known for offering everything from enchanting entertainment with its Broadway-style shows to delicious dinners in themed restaurants and character meet and greets. Don’t forget the firework show at sea - the only of its kind that's sure to leave you speechless! 

Building on its success with theme parks, resorts, and its overall brand success, Disney launched its own cruise line with its first ship, Disney Magic in 1998. Since then it has grown to become a popular cruise line, sailing to numerous destinations internationally.

While the Disney Cruise Line offers included rotational dining for each night of dinner, there are also a few adult-only restaurant options that are available for an additional fee. All of the Disney Cruise Line ships offer Palo (an upscale Northern Italian restaurant), while only the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream have Remy (a French restaurant). The new Disney Wish features Enchanté. 

The Disney Cruise Line offers many differentiating factors from other cruise lines, especially when it comes to family travel. Seeing some of your favorite characters on board is really appealing to families. It can be much easier to meet and interact with characters on the ships than it is at the theme parks.

If you are going on a Disney Cruise with young kids, you’ll probably want to take advantage of all of the family-friendly activities on the ship. From entertaining Broadway-style shows to traditional character interactions, these special Disney touches are the things that make the Disney Cruise Line stand out to families.

There are also other activities available on the ships - sometimes offered at an additional cost. One of these is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which originated at Walt Disney World and expanded to additional locations including the Disney Cruise Line.

The four (soon to be five) ships of the Disney Cruise Line generally run year-round. While some of them change homeports during the year, the ships don’t take a seasonal break (unless they are in drydock during a refurbishment).

So, what is the best time of year to go on a Disney Cruise? It really varies, depending on your own plans as well as what you want to experience onboard the ship.

Disney Cruise Line has extended their cruise date flexibility policy through September 30th 2022.