Disney Cruise Line Cruises

Disney is the family cruise line that charges like a premium one. The kids' clubs are the reason people pay it: Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab take ages 3 to 10, Edge is for 11 to 14, and Vibe is a separate teen space for 14 to 17. Those bands changed in December 2023 - before then the Oceaneer clubs ran to age 12 - so older advice about where an 11-year-old goes is out of date. Babies from 6 weeks to 3 years go to It's a Small World Nursery.

Dinner works on rotational dining: your table moves to a different main restaurant each night, and your servers move with you. Soft drinks, coffee and tea at meals and from the drink stations are included, which most big-ship rivals charge for; alcohol, specialty coffee, smoothies and bottled water are not. Most venues are cruise casual, while the adults-only restaurants keep a stricter dress guideline.

Gratuities are not built into the fare. Since January 2025 Disney's recommended amount has been $16 per guest per night in standard staterooms, infants and children included, and $27.25 in concierge staterooms and suites, which also covers the concierge lounge team. Guests who prepaid before an increase keep the rate they paid.

A Disney fare usually costs noticeably more than Royal Caribbean or Carnival for the same length of trip. What the premium buys is character-led entertainment and kids' programming split finely by age, which matters most to families with children under about 10. Couples without kids generally get better value elsewhere.

Sources: disneycruise.disney.go.com, cruisehive.com, kennythepirate.com, wdwnt.com, dclfan.com