Ultimate Guide To Disney Cruises In Australia
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Disney Cruise Line has come Down Under for the FIRST time ever with it’s Magic at Sea sailings in Australia and New Zealand! We were fortunate enough to go on the FIRST EVER sailing in Australian Waters, and have put together this ULTIMATE guide to prepare you for your next Disney Cruise in Australia!
Not a bad view from the port in Sydney!
Travel Resources
Flights: Search for the best flight deals to and around Australia!
Book your cruise: Book your next Australian Disney Cruise through Klook! Use code ‘GOFORLAUNCH’ to get 10% off your first booking with Klook, up to $50!
Accommodation: Arriving early? Find somewhere to stay on Booking.com!
Activities in Australia: Looking for things to do before your cruise? Search GetYourGuide to find some fun things to do!
While the Disney Wonder is not a new ship, it’s journey down under is brand new, and as it’s first season in Australian waters comes to a close, we wanted to put together an article describing the experience and hopefully inspire you to book a spot on season 2, kicking off again in Australia in October 2024!
Mickey and Minnie on board the Disney Wonder!
The Disney Wonder
The Disney Wonder is Disney Cruise Line’s second ship in its fleet, first setting sail in 1999, and is home to 11 decks of staterooms, pools, restaurants, recreation areas and more! The ship itself can accommodate 2,400 passengers, around 950 crew members and consists of 875 staterooms.
It has been confirmed that the Disney Wonder will be the ship returning to Australia for its 2024/25 sailings!
AU/NZ Itineraries
Some of the exclusive Australia and New Zealand merchandise from the 2023/24 sailings!
At the time of writing this article, Disney Cruise Line operates itineraries leaving from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, and Auckland in New Zealand. Itineraries of varying lengths are available, with cruises with as few as 2-nights, and as long as 7-nights.
The shorter itineraries won’t make a stop anywhere other than the start and end cities, with some even returning to the same city it set sail in, while the longer cruises may offer up to two port days. For the 2024/25 season, the port options available include Eden, Australia, Hobart, Australia and Nouméa, New Caledonia, depending on the itinerary.
We personally participated on the FIRST EVER Disney Cruise in Australian waters, which was a 4-night sailing from Sydney to Sydney on the 28th of October 2023, docking in Hobart for one day. 4-nights is a great introductory cruise length, giving you enough time to experience everything on board, including all the dining and entertainment options, whilst it’s not overly long if it turns out cruising isn’t really for you. Obviously, the more nights you cruise for the more expensive the cruise, so if you aren’t able to justify one of the longer length cruises, you will still have a great time on a shorter sailing.
When we next go on a Disney Cruise, we’re unlikely to book anything shorter than 4-nights, as we found it hard to see and do everything, despite spending our Hobart day mostly on board the ship. At the end of the day it all comes down to personal preference! We had previously been on a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise and struggled to do everything on that one, so 4-nights felt a little short, but we still think it is a great cruise length and allows you to experience majority of what is on offer.
Use code ‘GOFORLAUNCH’ on your first Klook booking to get a discount on your Disney Cruise!
While not technically a part of the Disney Magic at Sea sailings in Australia, if you are feeling particularly adventurous, you can also look to journey on one of the re-positioning cruises, either bringing the ship to Australia, or back to the USA. For the 2024/25 Australian season, the first re-positioning cruise leaves on the 3rd of October 2024 and is 15-nights, from Honolulu to Sydney, sailing to Kahului, Hawai’i, Pago Pago, American Samoa, Suva, Fiji and Nouméa, New Caledonia. The return re-positioning cruise leaves Sydney on the 10th of February 2025 and sails to the same ports, with the only exception being a stop at Nawiliwili, Hawai’i in place of Kahului, Hawai’i.
What's Included
While cruises in general can be on the pricier side, there is a good reason for that. The novelty of a cruise is that (almost) everything is included, meaning once you’re on board, you can put your credit card away and just enjoy yourselves. Now what is included on a cruise will depend on the cruise line and while Disney Cruise Line has a somewhat higher price tag compared to some other popular cruise lines, it is justified by the many inclusions on offer.
There are some pretty amazing photo spots on the Disney Wonder
How much you spend onboard the ship is discretionary, with there being different activity, food and beverage options that come at an additional cost. However, even without opting in to any of these, you will not run out of included things to enjoy.
ACCOMMODATION
The first, and most obvious inclusion, is accommodation. The price of your cruise will include a stateroom for the duration of the cruise, and the type and location of the stateroom will depend on the category of room you have booked. The Disney Wonder has four main categories, which in turn encompass ten different room types. The most luxurious category is Concierge, and then you have Verandah, Oceanview and Inside.
Inside the stateroom you will generally find a bed, a couch (that can also turn into a pull out bed), a small desk, a fridge, some hanging space, and a bathroom, but obviously higher categories will have a larger space, and more inside the room.
The Disney Wonder docked in Circular Quay, Sydney in October 2023.
TRANSPORT
The second inclusion is also somewhat obvious, and that is transport. Depending on the itinerary you have booked, your time onboard the cruise as it sails through the seas and to any ports, is included. While the smoothness of the journey will largely depend on the weather, a lot of the time you may not even notice the ship is moving.
FOOD & DRINK
Next up is food. Having been on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the past, we were interested to see how this compared, and found the food and drink inclusions on Disney Cruise Line to be of much better value. While other cruise lines will make you pay for a drinks package if you want unlimited enjoyment of soft drinks, tea and coffee, these are all complimentary on a Disney Cruise. Obviously, and what tends to be common across all cruise lines, alcoholic or speciality coffee drinks are not included, meaning if you’re wanting to snap a picture of some Mickey Mouse coffee art, you will have to pay for your speciality coffee from Cove Café (more on this later).
The Black Truffle Pasta from Animator’s Palate is a must try and arguably the most popular dish on The Disney Wonder
Food-wise, the inclusions were fairly similar to other cruises. There is a buffet option (see Cabanas below), many quick service options, and then sit-down restaurants. While we can only compare our experience to that on Royal Caribbean, we found that experience on Disney Cruise Line to be superior. On Harmony of the Seas, there was a big main dining room that spanned several floors and this is where you could have your slightly fancier sit-down dinners, with an entree, main and dessert. On the Disney Wonder, instead of one, big main dining room, there were three sit-down restaurants, each themed differently, making the experience more interactive and exciting. While we’ll discuss the specifics of these in the next section, we found the value to be greater.
Similar to other cruises, the included food is somewhat “unlimited”. At Cabanas, you can go back for as many plates as you’d like. In the restaurants, if you want to try every dessert, you can try every dessert. If you want a soft service ice-cream five times a day, go for it. Our servers in the restaurants liked to note that if we ordered something and didn’t like it, to let them know, and we could order something else. While we opted to not waste food, they are determined to ensure you get your value out of the cruise.
ENTERTAINMENT
Given it is a Disney Cruise, all the entertainment centres around, well, Disney! If you’re a Disney lover, this will be a dream, and you’ll find it hard to ever go on a different cruise again. If you’re not a Disney lover, don’t rule yourself out just yet, because the quality of the shows is right up there with the best.
The Golden Mickeys is a broadway-style show shown aboard the Disney Wonder during its 2023/24 season.
We will get into the specifics of the entertainment a little later in this article, but on a Disney Cruise sailing in Australia, you can expect the find the following included entertainment options:
Broadway-style shows
Nighttime spectaculars, including fireworks
Character meet and greets
Movie showings in the Buena Vista Theatre - and if you’re lucky, there may even be movies playing that have only just released in the cinemas!
Water activities (e.g. pools, waterslide and splash pads)
Recreational activities (e.g. basketball)
Fitness centre
Character dance parties
Onboard activities (e.g. trivia, drawing workshops and more)
KIDS CLUBS
Have you seen photos of Disney’s incredible kids clubs and thought, gee I wonder how much that costs? Well, you’re in luck. Kids clubs are included in the price of a Disney Cruise. This includes Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Lab, Edge which is designed for tweens, and the ultimate teen hangout Vibe. For more details on these check out our section below.
What's Not Included
An example of the exclusive Australian & New Zealand merchandise available on the inaugural sailings
Without getting in to too many specifics, not included in the price of your cruise will be:
Airfares and ground transfers
Gratuities
Speciality dining options
Shore excursions
Senses Spa & Salon
Certain onboard activities, such as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, bingo and mixology classes
Merchandise
Internet (more on this below)
Professional photography
“it’s a Small World” nursery
Dining Options
The Disney Wonder has a variety of different food options, both included, and at an additional cost, so you are bound to find something to suit your palate. Food options vary from sit-down restaurants, to a buffet, to heaps of different quick service options, so you should never go hungry on your Disney Cruise.
Disney Cruise Line are generally really good at accommodating varying dietary needs as well, so make sure you alert your server on your first night and they will help you find suitable options to meet your needs.
INCLUDED LOCATIONS
CABANAS
Breakfast at Cabanas! We definitely had a bit of a sweet tooth on our first day on the cruise!
Cabanas is your traditional cruise buffet and during the 2023/24 season was open for breakfast and lunch. In the past on the Disney Wonder, it was open for dinner, but we believe post-COVID this still is yet to be brought back. Hopefully for the 2024/25 season we may see a return of dinners at Cabanas.
Cabanas will serve a wide variety of different foods so if you or your kids are picky eaters, this is a great place to go. We had breakfast at Cabanas every single day as we loved the flexibility of just choosing what we felt like, and going back for more if we wanted to. Our personal favourites were the Mickey churro waffles, which made an appearance on our first official morning on the cruise, so make sure you keep an eye out for those.
Other breakfast options include your traditional eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, as well as cereals, fruits and yoghurts. You’ll also find a selection of pastries on offer as well.
For lunch, standard options will include mac & cheese, chicken nuggets and fries, and then there will also be various meat options, pasta options and a salad bar. On certain days you’ll find international cuisines like Mexican food, curries and more. You’ll also find a dessert bar with plenty of selections, so make sure you leave some space for that!
ROTATIONAL DINING
One of our absolute favourite things on a Disney Cruise is their use of the rotational dining system. If you’re a Disney Cruise newbie, in lieu of a “main dining room” most Disney Cruise ships will have three separate themed restaurants that are all included in the cost of your cruise. To ensure everyone gets a chance to eat at each of these, you will be assigned a restaurant each night of your cruise, and you, along with the other people on your table, and your servers, will “rotate” between each restaurant each night. Aside from the benefit of getting to try each restaurant, this system is great because it allows you to really connect with your servers and it makes the whole experience feel more personal. They will remember your names and your drink preferences, and will tailor their service to make your experience the best it can be.
You will be automatically assigned a restaurant each night, so please don’t just turn up to whatever one you feel like going to! If your cruise is less than 3-nights, don’t worry, you will be able to try the third restaurant during breakfast on your final disembarkation morning. Unfortunately, you will also be automatically assigned, so you won’t be able to choose which restaurants you visit for dinner. If you have a particular preference, you can try your luck at guest services but we’ve heard this can be quite difficult to change.
Tiana’s Place on board The Disney Wonder
Inside the restaurant there are tables of differing sizes, and you will have already been assigned a table. It is important to note that you may end up on a shared table. This can be a great way to meet other guests, and we really enjoyed it, but if you would like a private table, Disney is happy to accommodate this, but you will need to call them in advance of the cruise and request it.
Did you know we have entire playlist dedicated to Disney on YouTube? You can check it out here!
Last important thing to note before we get into the restaurants themselves is that there are two dining seatings each night in these restaurants, 5.45pm and 8pm. You will be automatically assigned, but can put in a preference in the app prior to sailing. If there is no availability for your chosen time, you can go on a waitlist and hopefully a spot will open up.
Triton’s is the first of the three rotational dining restaurants on the Disney Wonder, and as you can probably guess, it is subtly themed after the Little Mermaid. Triton’s is the most upscale of the three rotational dining options and in our opinion, the least kid-friendly, so if you have kids and want to skip your rotational dining one night and just grab a bite at some of the quick service options, this may be the night to do it.
Next up is Tiana’s Place, which we loved. It is a bit more kid friendly than Triton’s, but still slightly fancier than Animator’s Palate. It offers live entertainment, and you’ll also find Princess Tiana and Louis wandering around from table to table! At one point in the night, they’ll even get everyone up for a bit of a boogie, so it was really a lot of fun. The highlight of a meal at Tiana’s is of course the beignets for dessert! Here’s a tip - you can order as many desserts as you want!
The rotational dining restaurants are themed, all the way down to the menus!
Beignets at Tiana’s Place are a must!
The final restaurant in the Disney Wonder’s rotational dining system is Animator’s Palate. This one is definitely the best for kids, but in all honestly, we had such a fun time as well. Themed around the world of animation, this restaurant is covered in different Disney sketches. The theming is immaculate, with giant paint brushes as pillars in the restaurant, and the butter knives also shaped this way. The entertainment is the best of the bunch, and while the food was great, the entertainment will undoubtedly be the highlight. When you sit down, you’ll have a piece of paper in front of you for you to draw a character/person of your own design. Later on in the night will be a show painted across all the walls of the restaurant, and your art may just come to life!
Animator’s Palate on the Disney Wonder
We were blown away by the whole experience at Animator’s Palate and it was probably our favourite restaurant of the three.
TIP: Animator’s Palate is home to the famous Black Truffle Pasta. I tried this and highly recommend it! It is a favourite of most people!
If there is a Pirate’s night during your sailing (only on sailings that are 3+ nights), you may see a menu change. We were on a 4-night sailing, so we returned to Animator’s Palate, but purely for the seating. There wasn’t the usual Animator’s Palate entertainment, but instead, it was a pirate-themed night, and this was the same across the other two restaurants as well. A pirate-themed menu brought plenty of Caribbean-inspired dishes, and honestly, this was our favourite food of the cruise! All the servers were also in their pirate-themed outfits, which made for a great night!
A satay-chicken appetiser that was absolutely delicious!
Pirate Night meant a Pirates of the Caribbean inspired menu!
DAISY’S DE-LITES
Daisy’s De-Lites is the first of the quick service options. All the quick service options listed here will be found on the pool decks, making them a great place to pick up a bite to eat if you’re enjoying your time lounging by the pool and don’t want to leave.
Daisy’s De-Lites is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat if you’re looking for a healthier option during your cruise. It offers up a variety of salads, sandwiches, wraps and fruit and is included in the cost of your cruise.
Enjoying a slice of pizza from Pinocchio’s Pizzeria!
PINOCCHIO’S PIZZERIA
This one is obvious from the name, but Pinnochio’s Pizzeria is another quick service option on the ship, located on the pool decks next to Goofy’s Pool, where you can grab yourself as many slices of pizza as your heart desires. During our sailing, they had on offer pepperoni, vegetarian, Hawaiian or plain cheese.
PETE’S BOILER BITES
The third of the quick service options on the pool deck, Pete’s Boiler Bites offers up a variety of classic American foods, like hot-dogs, chicken tenders and burgers. We found Pete’s often offered up some great plant-based options as well, like Impossible hot-dogs.
Pete’s also seemed to have daily specials on offer, like Chicken Shawarma which are worth checking out as well.
EYE SCREAM TREATS
This is definitely a fan-favourite spot on the pool decks, and it’s not hard to understand why. Eye Scream Treats offers up serve yourself, unlimited soft serve all day! Make sure you check back every day because the flavours changed throughout our cruise, and we saw chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and even banana at one point!
FUN FACT: You can get Mickey Premium Bars onboard! You can request them for dessert in the restaurants, or otherwise order them through room service, which is included in the cost of your cruise!
Ready for Pirate Night with my Mickey Premium Bar!
SPECIALITY LOCATIONS (ADDITIONAL COST)
PALO
Palo is the only speciality dining, sit-down restaurant on board the Disney Wonder, open for it’s famous brunch, as well as dinner. This is an adults only venue, and is considered to be a finer dining experience, so you will need to dress up slightly from your usual dinner attire in formal or semi-formal attire.
Palo serves up Northern Italian style food, with the interior also Italian-inspired. From everything we have read, Palo is absolutely worth the additional cost, with people particularly raving about the brunch. It is also extremely popular, so it does require a reservation, which you can make when your booking window opens up prior to boarding the ship.
PRELUDES
Sitting just outside the Walt Disney Theatre, Preludes is more of a concession stand with your usual theatre drinks and snacks. Unfortunately, purchasing anything at Preludes will come at an additional cost, but you can look to pick up some popcorn and other snacks prior to settling in for one of the ships many broadway-style shows.
If you are also looking to pick up a popcorn bucket, this is your best place to do it.
ROYAL COURT ROYAL TEA
Another speciality experience, the Royal Court Royal Tea Party provides you the opportunity to join Lady Chamomile, Chef Brule and an assortment of Disney princesses as you enjoy some tea and a mix of sweet and savoury treats. Each child will also be sent home with an assortment of gifts from their experience.
This is a popular experience, so will also require a reservation that you can make prior to setting sail through the Disney Cruise Line app. As a note, this is an experience aimed at children aged 3 to 12, and their parent or guardian. Children aged 13 to 17 can attend, but will charged at an adult price. It is not open to solo adults without children.
There are additional speciality locations onboard, offering up coffee, alcoholic beverages and more. We discuss these in detail in the Adults Only section below.
Onboard Activities
CHARACTER MEET AND GREETS (INCLUDED)
Various character meet and greets are available pretty much all day, every day of your cruise. To see who is meeting and greeting on any particular day, at what times, and where, you can check the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app once you have boarded your cruise. There are a wide variety of characters, including from classic Disney, to Marvel and Star Wars.
The more popular characters like Mickey and Minnie will have more frequent meet and greets, whilst more unique characters may only come out once, so make sure you check the schedule nice and early. Another point to note was that during the 2023/24 season, these were by far the most popular activity on board the ship, and could generate quite large lines. While some people will suggest you’ll be waiting in line for hours, this wasn’t our experience. We did find it best to line up about 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time, however, from what we’ve heard, cast members will continue to let people in the line until the end of the scheduled time of the meet and greet. From that point on, the line will be shut off from people joining, but if you are already in line, you should get to meet the character.
Some character experiences may require longer waits, but once it’s your turn you’ll appreciate the character taking the extra time to interact with you and/or your kids.
Some meet and greets are available to everyone, whilst others may be inclusive to paid experiences, or for example, in the Oceaneer Club.
While the characters available may change prior to the 2024/25 sailings, during the 2023/24 season, the following meet and greets were available:
Unsurprisingly, Captain Mickey is a very popular meet and greet!
Mickey Mouse (sailing outfit & pirate outfit)
Minnie Mouse (sailing outfit & pirate outfit)
Donald Duck
Daisy Duck
Pluto
Goofy
Rapunzel
Belle (Royal Gathering)
Cinderella (Royal Gathering)
Princess Tiana (Royal Gathering & Tiana’s Place)
Ariel (Royal Gathering)
Mirabel
Black Widow
Spider-Man
Thor
Black Panther
Rey & Chewbacca
Stormtroopers
Captain Hook & Mr Smee (Pirate Night)
Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirate Night)
Stitch (Oceaneer Club only and no photo or autograph opportunity)
Fighting crime with Black Widow!
While majority of the above meet and greets are available to everyone and do not require a booking, the Royal Gathering, while a free experience, will require a booking. This is an opportunity to meet four Disney Princesses all at once. While the line up can change, it generally includes Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Princess Tiana. You may be able to snag a photo with some of these princesses at other points on the ship, but this is the best and most popular wait to meet all four at once. You can pre-book this 30-days out from your cruise once you’ve checked in, however, if it does book out quickly, you can also try your luck at Guest Services on board.
Other characters will also make appearances during nighttime spectaculars but are not available for meet and greets. If you’re lucky, you may bump into them around the ship (some people have gotten lucky). These include characters like:
Chip and Dale (Pirate Night)
Captain America
Ant Man
Loki
The Wasp
TRIVIA (INCLUDED)
There is a HUGE variety of trivia available on the ship, and there is certain to be a category of trivia that will tickle your fancy. If you’ve never heard of trivia on Disney Cruise ships, it is a pretty popular activity as it presents the opportunity to win one of the famed Disney trivia medals, only available on the ships.
There is of course a lot of different Disney trivia variations, but there are also some more general options as well. Some sessions are also 18+, so are perfect if you’re looking to get a break from the kids.
During our 2023 sailing, we saw and participated in a wide variety of trivia, including:
General Disney
90s music
Disney songs
Disney movie quotes
Australia
2000s music
Marvel
BINGO (ADDITIONAL COST)
There will be quite a few different bingo options throughout your cruise, and from what we found, the prize money increased the closer you got to the end of the cruise. The highest we saw was $10,000!
Entry to bingo will come at an additional cost, and you have a choice as to how many sheets you want to purchase. Depending on the prize money on offer during your session, the price of entry may differ. Kids are welcome during bingo, but it’s best if they are supervised by a parent or guardian.
TIP: If you plan to let your kids do their own thing on the ship, it’s best to put a cap on your onboard account so they can’t get too tap happy with their stateroom cards! You can do so at guest services.
It’s important to note that the costs of the bingo sheets during the 2023/24 season were in USD, as was everything available to purchase on the ship.
VARIOUS CRAFTS (INCLUDED)
While the kids clubs are full of different crafting opportunities, there are also various craft sessions run for the whole family, or even some that are just 18+! Some of the options available on the 2023/24 sailings included origami pages, memory pages and buttons.
Cruises are a great way to switch off and do things you wouldn’t do at home, so why not try your hand at a few different crafts!
art of a theme show tour (INCLUDED)
The Art of a Theme Show tour is a guided tour of the ship. This is a really great experience to get a bit of history of the Disney Wonder and learn more about its design and some fun facts! This will only run once or twice on your cruise, so it’s best to do it the first time you see it so you don’t miss out.
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Rosh went on this tour and brought back so many fun facts about the ship. We run through some of our favourites in our full video we made of our time on the Disney Wonder, so you can check that out if you’re interested!
The tour will also take you through the kids clubs, so if you do miss out on the Open Houses, this is another way to check out the inside.
BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE (ADDITIONAL COST)
Arguably the most popular onboard activity to book, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a once in a lifetime opportunity for children of all genders.
Princesses meeting and greeting during the Royal Gathering!
Your child will undergo a magical makeover into either a princess of their choosing, knight or sea captain. There are four different packages that can be booked, with different inclusions in each. The lowest tier package is the Deluxe Carriage Package, which includes hairstyling, shimmering makeup and face gem, princess sash and cinch sack, nail polish and a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique t-shirt.
The next package up we would argue would be the most popular, which is the Castle package. This includes everything in the Deluxe Carriage package, but instead of the t-shirt, your child will choose a Disney Princess gown of their choice.
If princesses aren’t you kids thing, don’t worry! The last two packages are the Royal Knight package and the Captain Mickey costume package. The Royal Knight costume package will include a knight costume and backpack, hairstyling with gel, a mighty sword and shield and confetti.
The Captain Mickey costume package will also include hairstyling with gel and confetti, and will also come with a captain cinch sack, an autograph book and pen and a Captain Mickey costume and hat!
You will absolutely need a reservation for this, and it does book out very early. Make sure you check when your booking window is set to open prior to your cruise and be ready to book this in. If you do miss out, you can also head to the Boutique on the ship and see if there are any openings.
WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS
This is a great way for your kids to burn some energy, with options like basketball and table tennis. We’d recommend checking it out on a port day, because it was super quiet and we had the courts to ourselves.
POOLS & WATERSLIDE
The Disney Wonder has three pools - Goofy’s Pool, which is accessible to all ages, the AquaLab, which is tailored more towards kids, and the Quiet Cove Pool, which is 18+. If you manage to get some nice weather, this is a perfect way to chill out on the ship.
The AquaLab on board the Disney Wonder
Goofy’s pool features a main swimming pool, as well as two whirlpool spas, while AquaLab is an 1800-square-foot entertainment area, with showerheads, jets, a splash-pad for those 3 and under, and a waterslide.
Plus if you struggle to get your kids away from the pool, there are plenty of quick service food options on the deck, including unlimited soft serve ice-cream!
DRAWING CLASSES (INCLUDED)
Drawing classes are a really fun experience, and while there will be a Disney Cruise Line cast member hosting the experience, the actual learn to draw component is done by a video with a real Disney animator!
Rosh’s attempt at Groot in our Learn to Draw class! Pretty good if you ask us!
There will be quite a few of these on during your cruise, and a mix of being open to all ages, and 18+. There will be varying characters on offer, so make sure you check your Disney Cruise Line Navigator app at the start of your cruise to make sure you don’t miss out on your favourites!
We were able to draw Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy which was a lot of fun, but we also saw on offer Donald, Captain Hook and more!
SENSES SPA & SALON (ADDITIONAL COST)
Senses Spa & Salon offer a variety of different spa, salon and barber services at an additional cost. These include things like Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Facials and Aroma Stone Therapy.
While primarily for guests aged 18 and over, guests aged 13 to 17 can undergo some of the services and treatments on the condition that these are booked by a parent or guardian and the parent or guardian accompany the child for the duration of the treatment.
This can be a great way to relax and unwind on the cruise - plus, you’re on vacation, why not!
Pricing will vary depending on the treatment, but it is worth noting that an 18% gratuity will be automatically added to all spa services. Reservations are required and can be made after 1PM on Embarkation Day in the app.
FITNESS CENTRE (INCLUDED)
Even though you’re on vacation, we know there are some that still like to use the gym. The use of the fitness centre is included in the cost of your cruise, but it is only available to those 18 years and older.
ALCOHOLIC DRINK TASTINGS & MIXOLOGY CLASSES (ADDITIONAL COST)
A variety of different 18+, alcohol-based activities are on offer at an additional cost, and these are available to book when your booking window opens prior to your cruise. During the 2023/24 season, this included things like chocolate & liquor tasting, beer tasting and mixology classes.
Night Time Entertainment
What night time entertainment you get will depend on how many nights your cruise is. Again, if you are on a 2-night sailing, you will not get to see all the offerings. Additionally, the shows below were what was on offer during the 2023/24 sailing, it is unclear whether these will be the same shows on the 2024/25 sailings, or whether there will be some new ones.
On our 4-night sailing, three of the four nights had broadway-style shows, and all four nights had some sort of entertainment up on the top deck.
In terms of the broadway-style shows, you do not need to book these, you will be automatically assigned a session, based on your dining time. For example, if you have the early dining seating, you will be assigned to the later show. This is something we really loved about the Disney Cruise as it alleviated a lot of the Embarkation Day stress of rushing to make reservations the second you were on board.
If you decide not to attend your dining session, it’s best you still attend your assigned show, to ensure there are enough seats for everyone.
THE GOLDEN MICKEYS
On our first night, we were brought The Golden Mickeys! The area in front of the Walt Disney Theatre was transformed into a red carpet as we were all invited to the Disney Wonder’s very own Hollywood-style award show.
The idea behind The Golden Mickeys is to give awards to various Disney movies for things like Most Heroic, Most Romantic and more! There are musical performances from some all time Disney classics, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Tarzan & more!
This is a super fun show and is not to be missed (although, we will say that for all the shows)! Unfortunately, at least during the 2023/24 sailings, if you did a 2-night cruise, this is the broadway-show that will not be shown.
The Walt Disney Theatre on the Disney Wonder is home to three spectacular broadway-style shows!
FROZEN, a MUSICAL SPECTACULAR
This by far seemed to be the most popular show, although, I’m not sure why anyone would skip any of the shows! As we had the early dining seating, our shows were generally at 8.30pm and on this particular night, it was PACKED. So full that some people, like us unfortunately, couldn’t find a seat. We’re presuming a few people assigned to the earlier show, decided to come to the late show, which meant there were not enough seats for everyone. Fortunately, about halfway through some seats opened up and we were able to get a little more comfortable!
This was really like Disney had plucked the show off broadway and put it straight on the cruise. It was truly incredible! It is essentially a shortened version of Frozen the Musical, but the talent on display was amazing and this was a great one for the whole family.
DISNEY DREAMS - an enchanted classic
The third and final broadway-style show on the Disney Wonder was Disney Dreams - An Enchanted Classic. The story follows a girl named Anne Marie, who has lost the ability to believe. One night, she is visited by some very special Disney characters, who help her, through the power of classic Disney scenes and songs, find her ability to believe.
The show features scenes and songs from Disney classics such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and Aladdin.
SAIL-A-WAVE PARTY
Putting this under night time entertainment is definitely an interesting choice we know, but for us, this happened at 10.30pm! Now this wasn’t the case for all Australian sailings, we believe it was select sailings out of Sydney due to some port related issues.
Traditionally, Mickey’s Sail-A-Wave Party takes place as the cruise departs to initiate the start of your vacation. You’ll join Mickey and the gang for some music and dancing to celebrate leaving work, school and life behind to cruise on the Disney Wonder!
We were unfortunately on one of the sailings where this occurred once we were already out at sea, much later in the evening, but nonetheless, it was a great time and a perfect way to start your cruise.
Mickey and the gang celebrating the start of the inaugural Disney Magic at Sea sailing in Australia during Mickey’s Sail-A-Wave Party!
It is worth noting that all the parties up on the deck were at 10.30pm on our 2023/24 sailing, making for quite a long day. We’ve seen a lot of questions around whether it is worth keeping your kids up for this, and the answer is absolutely yes. The kids more than anyone had so much fun at the various deck parties, and they do a great job of creating sections just for kids to ensure they can get a good view and dance away.
For any of these deck parties, if you want a good spot, we’d suggest arriving at least 30-minutes early. There has been a lot said about adults vs kids, and how kids should get priority at the front, but at the end of the day, if you want to guarantee yourself or your kid a good spot, get there early, it’s the fair way. We did this for all three and were always front row or near front row. While we were happy to let kids go in front of us, not everyone is if they have waited 30+ minutes for their spot, and this certainly doesn’t mean the whole family should get to go on through either. Like we said, your best bet at getting yourself a good spot is to get there early and wait like others will.
PIRATE NIGHT (INCLUDING PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN DECK PARTY)
Pirates Night is a common occurrence on Disney Cruises, and fortunately this did come down under for sailings of 3 or more nights. If you forget to pack a costume from home, never fear, a Pirates in the Caribbean themed bandana will be left on your bed during your turnover service to make sure everyone gets to join in.
On Pirates Night you will see exclusive appearances from popular Disney pirates - Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow, and you’ll be able to do meet and greets with various characters in their pirate outfits, like Mickey and Minnie. You may even spot Chip and Dale wandering around the ship as well!
Pirates Night will bring it’s own themed dinner with Caribbean-inspired food, as outlined above, and to cap the night off, you’ll be treated to a Pirates in the Caribbean Deck Party with the whole gang.
Heroes Unite was a popular night time spectacular on board the Disney Wonder
This was a really fun night, and again, worth keeping the kids up for.
MARVEL HEROES UNITE
Again, the shows may vary for the 2024/25 sailings, but during the 2023/24 season, all cruises were treated to Heroes Unite, where you can catch all your favourite Marvel heroes on the upper deck for a show filled with stunts, pyrotechnics and fireworks!
Unless you get super lucky, this will be your only chance to spot a lot of popular Marvel characters, like Ant-Man, The Wasp, Doctor Strange, Iron Man and Loki, so if you, or your kids are big Marvel fans, make sure you get to this one nice and early to get a front row spot for all the action.
DISNEY EVER AFTER
Again, whether or not you see this show will depend on the duration of your cruise. Our 4-night cruise had this as the entertainment on the final night and it was the perfect farewell to our cruise.
The whole gang were there to dance and celebrate, and there were some incredible fireworks as well.
The whole gang finishing the inaugural Disney Cruise in Australia with Disney Ever After!
Fireworks on the Disney Wonder during Disney Ever After
Fun For Everyone
While the majority of your Australian Disney Cruise will be a full family affair, there are venues that are either only for kids, or only for adults. While most of the lounges are exclusively for adults, particularly in the evening, there is one great lounge that is family-friendly all day every day.
D LOUNGE
D Lounge is a family-friendly lounge which, during the day, plays host to many different activities such as trivia, karaoke and dance parties, and then at night, turns into a family-friendly nightclub.
D Lounge also serves a variety of drinks inside including non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks at an additional cost.
Kids, Tweens & Teens Only
Disney Cruise Line has some of the best kids entertainment going around and the Disney Wonder is no exception. Outside of all the general entertainment on the ship such as the character meet and greats and broadway-style shows, the Disney Wonder has some incredible hangouts for children of all ages.
While the different kids clubs do have age brackets, we have read that if your child is only one-year below a certain club, you can sign a waiver to allow them to access the next club up. This is particularly useful if you are travelling with other friends and family and you want to keep the kids together.
Additionally, while each of these do have age brackets, kids of all ages can experience these areas during Open House hours. This can be a great way for you as a parent to check out the space, but also for your kids to see what’s an offer with the comfort of you by their side.
DISNEY’S OCEANEER CLUB (3 to 10 years)
In order to use Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Lab, children and parents have to check in at the front desk, which can be done on Embarkation Day, where you can fill out paperwork and your child will receive their wristband, granting them access to both the Club and Lab.
To attend Disney’s Oceaneer Club outside of open house hours, your child must meet the age requirements above, but they must also be fully toilet-trained. This club is connected with Disney’s Oceaneer Lab below, so your children can freely move between the two as they please. On a similar note, adults are not able to enter the kids club either outside of the Open House, so if you want to check out what your kid will be getting up to before leaving them, the Open House is your chance!
Disney’s Oceaneer Club on the Disney Wonder
Disney’s Oceaneer Club is a pretty epic space, with incredible themed play areas and surprise character appearances (including Oceaneer-club only character visits, like Stitch!). On the Disney Wonder, the Club is made up of four themed play spaces, including:
Andy’s Room: This is a multi-level area themed to all three Toy Story movies. It has a giant Slinky Dog slide and you can expect some Toy Story themed activities!
Marvel Super Hero Academy: Themed as the command post of S.H.I.E.L.D., there are plenty of Marvel-themed activities to entertain your child, including visits from some surprise superheroes!
Mickey and Minnie Captain’s Deck: This area is targeted more towards the younger end of the age bracket, designed around Disney Cruise Line itself.
Frozen Adventures: This Arendelle themed space is perfect for any princess-lover. Join Olaf for a sing-along, or prepare for a royal coronation with Anna and Elsa.
While children can come and go as they please, never fret, there are trained Youth Activities counsellors on hand to provide guidance and support. Additionally, even though the age bracket for this club is particularly broad, the counsellors will ensure your children are well looked after and have guided activities created to suit your child’s needs.
As a note, while characters do make appearances in the Club, there are no photo sessions and no photographers snapping pictures. These sessions are just designed for the kids enjoyment. You can snap pictures if you visit during the Open House, but not while it is kids only.
DISNEY’S OCEANEER LAB (3 to 10 years)
Contrasting slightly from Disney’s Oceaneer Club, the Lab provides more of a hands-on creative experience for the kids. This includes a variety of activities such as conducting experiments, developing culinary skills and other craft activities. The Lab has four themed spaces:
Animator’s Studio - drawing and sketching
Captain’s Workshop - watch Disney movies and play video games
Craft Studio - hands-on arts and crafts studio
The Wheelhouse - large LCD screens and navigation simulators are used to allow your captains-in-training to steer their own Disney ship
In addition to the many activities available in the Lab, guided activities also take place daily, including cooking, slime-making and a pyjama party!
EDGE (11 to 14 years)
If your tween is a feeling little too old to enjoy what’s on offer in the Disney’s Oceaneer Club, then Edge will be the perfect place for them.
While Edge is fitted with state of the art technology for your tweens to enjoy, such as TVs, computers and video games, Disney’s counsellors run a variety of different activities every day to ensure your tweens always have something to keep them entertained, such as ship-wide scavenger hunts.
On the Disney Wonder, Edge has an under the sea theming, with the lounge designed to look like an old boiler room. In addition to being fitted with a variety of technology, it also has tables for arts and crafts and a dance floor!
Similar to Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Lab, Edge is also included in the cost of your cruise.
VIBE (14 to 17 years)
Vibe is the perfect place to leave your teens to be, well, teens! Available to children aged 14 to 17 years, Vibe is a great place for your teens to just hang out, or participate in some of the various teen-only events, such as dances parties and karaoke.
On the Disney Wonder, Vibe consists of a lounge fitted with multiple flat-screen TVs, video games, board games and tablets, and even has a dedicated bar serving a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.
The best part is, this experience is also completely included in the price of your cruise and unlike the nursery below which requires reservations, your teen can come and go as they please.
“IT’S A SMALL WORLD” NURSERY (6 months to 3 years)
This nursery is available for children from 6 months to 3 years old, noting that the minimum age to travel on a cruise as of the day of sailing is 6-months.
Use of the nursery comes at an additional cost and reservations are required. Reservations can be made during the open house on Embarkation day or anytime through the cruise, noting that this is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The nursery consists of play areas and a dedicated quiet room for naps, ensuring your child is both entertained and well-rested, depending on their needs! If you are wanting to stay up to enjoy some of the nighttime entertainment, this is a great option so that you don’t need to keep your child awake during the show.
Adults Only
While there are some areas and venues on the ship that are adults-only 24-hours a day, every day, there are also venues that are accessible to all during the day, but become adults-only at nightfall. Nonetheless, there are plenty of options for you if you are cruising without kids and would like to spend more time in the company of other adults.
Food and drink purchases at any of these venues will come at an additional cost to you.
CROWN & FIN PUB (18+ AFTER 9PM)
If you’re looking for your traditional English pub fix onboard this ship, this is the place to go. This is an 18+ venue, and during the day plays hosts to plenty of onboard adults-only activities, such as drink tasting, trivia and learn-to-draw classes.
You’ll truly feel like you stepped straight into a classic pub when you enter through the doors, and as an added bonus, there are big-screen TVs throughout the pub playing different live sporting events from across the globe. Unlike some of the other venues on this list, Crown & Fin also has a small food menu if you’re looking for a bite to eat while watching a game.
Crown & Fin sits within After Hours, which is a section of the ship that becomes exclusively adults-only every evening.
FRENCH QUARTER LOUNGE (18+ NIGHT ONLY)
Exclusive to the Disney Wonder, the French Quarter Lounge is a family-friendly location during the day, serving up beignets and coffee, and host to many activities, including trivia. However, at night, this becomes an adult-only area, serving up some classic cocktails.
TIP: The French Quarter Lounge offers a beignet and coffee combo in the mornings at an additional cost, but this is actually reasonably priced. If you’re looking for your beignet fix after Tiana’s Place, this is a great option.
Cove Café offer these novelty coffees with a variety of different character options!
COVE CAFÉ (18+)
This is another adults-only lounge and is where you’ll find those fancy coffees with various characters imprinted on top that you’ve seen all over social media.
Aside from speciality coffee, Cove Café also offers speciality cocktails, wine and some smaller eats.
QUIET COVE POOL (18+)
If you continue on just past Cove Café, you’ll made it to the quiet Cove pool. Again, this is available to guests aged 18 years and older, and is the perfect sanctuary if.you are travelling kid-free. Aside from the pool, there are also some whirlpool spas to enjoy.
CADILLAC LOUNGE (18+)
With a more sophisticated, 1950s vibe, the Cadillac Lounge is an adults-only nightclub, which hosts live piano music every night. Similar to the Crown & Fin pub, it sits within After Hours, which turns into an exclusive adults-only area at night.
AZURE (18+ NIGHT ONLY)
The last of the three venues that sit within After Hours, Azure offers drinks and dancing in this nightclub themed around the ocean.
SIGNALS (18+)
Situated right next to the Quiet Cove Pool, Signals offers up a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
SENSES SPA & SALON AND THE FITNESS CENTRE (18+)
Both of these are only accessible to those aged 18 or older, the exception being the spa which is available to children aged 13-17 if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Unique Australian Touches
AUSTRALIAN & NZ MERCHANDISE
During the inaugural season down under, there was plenty of different merchandise exclusive to the Australian and New Zealand sailings. this ranged from t-shirts and Spirit Jerseys, to a Lounge Fly backpack, to pins and plushies. The availability of the various merchandise did vary from sailing to sailing, and it’s not clear as of yet whether there will be new Australian and New Zealand merchandise for the 2024/25 sailings, or any exclusive merchandise at all!
AU/NZ Spirit Jersey available on the 2023/24 sailings
AU/NZ Lounge Fly backpack available on the 2023/24 sailings
Nonetheless, if there is exclusive merchandise, this is a great way to commemorate your Australian cruise.
NOTE: The merchandise stores will not open until a few hours after you have left the port on your Embarkation Day due to tax reasons.
AUSTRALIAN TRIVIA
Another fun Australian touch that was on board were Australia-related trivia sessions. We didn’t do any of these but it was nice to have this little touch on the cruise.
Final Notes
EMBARKATION DAY
When you check in for your cruise, you will have to select a boarding time. Most cruise lines will operate in a staggered boarding experience like this, as it makes for a smoother Embarkation day. On the day of your cruise, arrive at the port at your boarding time and drop your bigger bags off. You will receive in the mail prior to your the cruise a little welcome packet, which will also contain luggage tags. If you don’t receive this, or there are not enough luggage tags, don’t worry, you can pick some up at the port.
Two very excited girls ready to board our first ever Disney Cruise!
Once you’ve dropped your bags off, you will go through security and then be ready to get on the ship! You’ll walk on to the ship to your names being announced, which is a really fun experience, and then, if this is your first cruise, you’ll be left wondering, what now?
There will be plenty of cast members around to help you out, but once you’re on the ship, it’s really up to you. Your stateroom is unlikely to be ready as soon as you get on, so depending on the time you get on the ship, why not grab a bite to eat. Cabanas is usually open on the first day, as well as one of the sit down restaurants, so why not start your cruise with an excellent feed.
Make sure you connect to the ship WiFi, as this is the only way to get the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to work. Once connected, you will be able to check the schedule of activities for your entire cruise, and start noting down everything you’d like to do. You will also be able to see what restaurant you have been assigned to each night.
Once your stateroom is ready, you can head up and your Key to the World card will be waiting in an envelope outside your door. This will be your most important thing to carry with you on the cruise, as it is not only your room key, but your currency. Everything you purchase will need to be paid for with your Key to the World card.
Your bigger bags will be brought to your room at some point throughout the day, so if they aren’t there when you get to your room, don’t worry, they’ll turn up. This is also why it’s important to pack anything you might need on the first day in your carry on bag, such as bathers.
INTERNET AND CELLULAR SERVICE
While the ship does have “free” WiFi, this will only allow you access to the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App. If you wish to use other apps and general internet browsing, you will need to purchase an internet package at an additional cost.
NOTE: We didn’t purchase an internet package, but found we were able to send and receive WhatsApp messages, and sometimes iMessages while cruising on the ship free WiFi (even to people off the ship), but were unable to send photos or videos. We also could receive Facebook Messenger notifications but were unable to reply to these.
A lot of people presume that as they are from Australia and the ship is in Australia, that they will retain cellular service. While you’re out at sea, this is not the case. You will lose cellular service, and to avoid any surprise roaming charges, we’d recommend checking your phone settings before boarding. When you do dock at any Australian ports however, you will be able to use your phone as normal.
CURRENCY
An important note is that during the 2023/24 season, all onboard prices were in USD. Make sure you keep this in mind whenever making any additional purchases on board the ship. This is also a good thing to note when choosing which card to link to your onboard account to avoid any international transaction fees.
GRATUITIES
Gratuities are not included in the cost of your cruise, and as it is an American Cruise Line, these are expected. You can pre-pay your gratuities when booking your cruise, or through the Disney Cruise Line app prior to your cruise. If you forget to do this, don’t worry, onboard the ship you can pay at Guest Services, or otherwise, these will be charged to your onboard account.
We did not pre-pay or pay at guest services. Instead, on the final night, we received a package to our room, which outlined our servers and room attendant, and the suggested split of the gratuities and how much this would be. This was charged to our onboard account and the actual distribution of the gratuities to our servers and room attendant was done by Disney, therefore, we didn’t need to bring any cash. A nice little touch though was that the package also came with little envelopes and note cards so you could personally hand this to your servers and room attendant and thank them, regardless of the fact that you are not actually handing them the money.
Disney will suggest the amount of the gratuities, which is usually calculated based on the number of people in your stateroom, and the number of nights of your cruise. Obviously, if you wish to tip more, you can see guest services to arrange this, or alternatively, if you wish to, you can bring cash onboard as well.
It is also worth noting that if you do purchase any drinks or food onboard that are not included in the cost of the cruise, you will also be asked to tip.
PHOTO SERVICES
All character meet and greets will have photographers that will take your photo. If you wish to access these photos this will come at an additional cost. Photo packages are available for purchase onboard at an additional cost.
If you are not looking to purchase a photo package, don’t worry, once they are done taking the professional photos, the cast members will also take photos using your own camera or phone.
Whether or not a photo package is worth the money will depend on your circumstances - if you plan to only do one or two meet and greets then you likely won’t get as much value out of it as someone who plans to try and meet every single character.
FISH EXTENDERS GIFT EXCHANGE
While not a Disney-operated activity, Fish Extender gift exchanges is a popular activity onboard Disney cruises.
Fish extenders are essentially pouches that you can hang on the door of your stateroom. While Disney doesn’t sell fish extenders, there are plenty of shops on Etsy and other similar websites that sell them, and many even offer customisation.
The crux of the exchange is that you will be assigned a bunch of people to exchange gifts with while on the cruise. It’s super fun if you have kids and they get to come back to their room to some special gifts waiting for them.
The best way to get involved in this is to search for groups on Facebook or other social media where these are organised. The organiser of the exchange will assign you people to exchange gifts with, will let you know their stateroom numbers, and the ages of the kids/people you will be buying gifts for. In some circumstances, you may even be able to give preferences of your favourite characters as a suggestion for those who will be leaving gifts for you.
While the specifics of your exchange will depend on the group you join, generally you can choose if you want to just give one gift during the cruise, or lots of smaller gifts. Keep in mind, people will be giving you gifts in return so you do want to make sure if you choose to join in on the fun that you commit.
THE DISNEY CRUISE LINE NAVIGATOR APP
I’m sure a lot of people want to go on a cruise to disconnect and put their phones away but… this app will be your lifeline on the ship. It will have all the information you could possibly need, including the daily activities on offer, the dinner menus, showtimes and more. Make sure you have it downloaded before boarding the ship, and set up with your account, so all your information will be up to date.
TIP: If you are bringing your kids onboard and they either have a mobile phone, or you have access to a spare one you can bring for them, this is a great idea! The app has an in-built chat function which will work even if you don’t purchase an internet package, so this is a great way to communicate with your kids, especially if they are off in the kids club all day!
So... Is It Worth It?
Waving at everyone who turned out to watch the Disney Wonder depart on its inaugural sailing in Australian waters!
Not a bad view as the Disney Wonder departs Circular Quay in Sydney on its inaugural sailing!
In our experience, it absolutely was. We had dragged our feet at booking a Disney Cruise for years, mainly because of the higher price tag. When it was announced the Disney Wonder was coming to Australia, we knew it was the perfect excuse to give it a go and it was a truly incredible experience.
As two adults, we weren’t sure if the experience would entirely be for us, but the ship has such a good mix of kids-focused activities, and adult-focused activities that we could always find something to do. If you are wanting a break from the kids on board, there are plenty of adults-only areas and 18+ activities to enjoy. The best part about taking a cruise is being able to tailor the experience to what you like and enjoy and a Disney Cruise is no different.
A lot of people will suggest Disney Cruise’s are tailored towards kids, but this is absolutely not true. While there are plenty of activities tailored to kids, there are equally as many adults-only areas and experiences. Disney Cruise’s are for everyone!
Well, we hope you found that informative and it helped you get ready for your next Disney Cruise in Australia! If you’d like to check out our personal experience on the ship, you can watch here.
