What is it really like on a Disney cruise?
Step aboard the first of the riotously themed ships to sail Australian waters and you might find kids are not the only ones caught in the spell.
It’s pirate night aboard the good ship Disney Wonder and Triton’s restaurant is a joyous riot of colour and excitement. My (almost) five-year-old granddaughter is scooped up by our waiter Lemuel.
He straightens her headscarf, checks her plastic dagger is securely in place and off they go, heading a conga line around tables and along passageways to an enormous amount of shouting and clapping.
A chap at our adjoining table pauses to straighten his eye patch and anchor his shoulder parrot and then leaps up to video the scene. He’s got to be at least 80 and clearly is having as much fun as his group of sugar-stoked great-grandkids.
“Yo ho, yo ho … A pirate’s life for me!” he sings, and so do all of us, although mentions of pillaging, plundering and kidnapping might have been standard for Pirates of the Caribbean but have no place here as we sway towards Bass Strait and readjust our Mickey Mouse ears.
I first boarded a ship at age four, from Sydney to Southampton.
It was a journey to a new life in England and was a real “voyage”, with assigned tables and set time frames for “tea” each night, bunk beds and divided quarters for first class and the rest of us.
I was about the same age as my granddaughter and, according to my parents, only stopped crying when I was sleeping or spewing up my junior sailor meals.
There are photos of me festooned with billowing crepe paper and inflated paper bags on fancy dress night, but no clear indication what I was supposed to be. A wind bag, perhaps?
The granddaughter gets her sea legs instantly, bounding into our Deck 6 stateroom where her Mummy and I will share a comfy king bed and she’ll sleep behind striped curtains on a converted sofa and pretend she’s in a tent.
There’s a veranda, good-sized TV, smallish ensuite with tub and shower, and a separate toilet room. Storage is ample and cabin attendant Maria keeps things remarkably tidy, straightening up our Captain Mickey illustrated pillowcases and Set Sail pennants that hang above the bed, and somehow manoeuvring around a trunk containing all the costume requirements for a junior princess. Elsa and Ariel gowns are given special wardrobe space, along with a line-up of tiny tiaras.
The arrival of Disney Wonder in our waters this summer heralds a new region for Disney Cruise Line, which operates a fleet that will swell to eight by 2025. Ours is a four-day return sailing from Sydney to Hobart and, despite what attractions lie ashore, it’s all about the ship and the continual whirl of shows and events.
When the granddaughter isn’t hanging out with the activities counsellors in the Oceaneer Club, she’s on water slides, in splash pools, posing for photo ops and hamming it up with Disney characters. She bumps fists with Captain America and Thor. Cuddles up to Chip and Dale. Snuggles with Goofy in an armchair.
Twirls with Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Watches outdoor movies way past bedtime on the “funnel vision” screen. Squeals when Spiderman arrives towards midnight on a zipline across Deck 9 on Marvel Heroes night. Dances wildly on a stage under fireworks. I wouldn’t have been surprised, by this point, to spy Captain Hook kissing Cinderella.
The ship, launched in 1999 and upgraded in 2019, takes 2400 passengers so it’s reasonably large by cruise world standards.
There’s an agreeable flow to the layout, with a multi-level art nouveau-styled atrium as the central facility, theatre and cinema for live shows and films, and multiple dining options. Palo is a stylishly fitted-out bistro for adults-only, with an Italian chef and classy menu; try the Champagne brunch. Self-serve and fast-food deck options include Pinocchio’s Pizzeria and Daisy’s De-Lites.
At Cove Cafe, a smart zone for grown-ups, the cheeky baristas swirl Mickey Mouse motifs into coffee foam. The French Quarter Lounge is inspired by old Louisiana. Animator’s Palette restaurant has a drawing theme and is great fun, like being let loose in an artist’s studio and then seeing your cartoon characters beamed on the wall.
Main dining rooms – Dixieland-themed Tiana’s and The Little Mermaid-inspired Triton’s – are large and while menus are not particularly imaginative, servings are generous and there are daily specials.
Lemuel and Abadi look after us as if we’re family and it’s impossible to imagine kinder and more attentive waiters. If we were to return with tweens or teens, Edge (ages 11-14) and Vibe (14-17) would be the dedicated clubs for video games, music, movies and karaoke.
No one is going to be hungry or bored on Disney Wonder. Nor thirsty, given the number of huge, neon-coloured cocktails with names like Bayou Moon being balanced around the decks by passengers in full, and sometimes unwise, Disney costumes. I ask one woman if she made her Tinkerbell gear. She almost hisses at me.
“Everyone buys their costumes online or at the actual Disneyland!” Oh, OK. The boutiques on board sell paraphernalia of all kinds, and it’s easy to be persuaded to stock up on items you never knew existed, let alone needed. A “G’day First Mate Mickey” T-shirt, anyone?
Silly souvenirs aside, Disney Wonder is a brilliant product with an edge of unexpected sophistication, including Senses Spa and Salon, where the fortuitously named Dr Angel from Mexico presides over all sorts of rejuvenation therapies. But I am not in the market. I already feel younger, a silly kid again with my granddaughter as the best and brightest sidekick ever. Would we do it again? You betcha. Bibbidi bobbidi booked.
In the know
Magic at Sea sailings aboard Disney Wonder range from two to six nights ex Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland through to February next year. Disney Wonder will sail from Vancouver to Honolulu in late September 2024 and onto Australia and NZ for a second season. Sailings are selling fast; a two-night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Sydney to Brisbane, October 20-22, 2024, starts at $US972 ($1493)
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Disney Cruise Line.
