Once upon time, there was a very small but innovative cruise company named Premier that came up with a great idea. Painting a former ocean liner red and naming it the “Big Red Boat,” Premier Cruises added the magic to its cruise company in the form of the “Magic Kingdom.”
Locating this little Big Red Boat at Port Canaveral, very close to Disney World in Orlando, Premier co-marketed three & four-day cruise trips on board the Big Red Boat with four & three-day stays in Disney World. Their cruise ships catered to kids, with plenty of life-size Disney characters walking all around.
Finally, Disney Corp. noticed the endless possibilities and entered the cruise industry with its very own 1999 launching of the Art Deco-themed Disney Magic, a wonderful ship reminiscent of the trans-Atlantic steamship era. The cruise company followed one year later with its sister ship, Disney Wonder.
The first reaction to Disney entering the cruise market from already established companies was small fear, after all, Disney is somewhat an entertainment juggernaut. However, Disney kept their company to a modest two cruise ships until 2010 when they introduced Disney Dream, a more “magical” version of the first two smaller cruise ships.
All of the cruise ships have great 3D movie theaters. Main dining area is done in a great unique style named “Rotational Dining” where passengers sample a distinct themed restaurant every night, but they will eat with the same table-mates or waiters every night.
Taking the Children
As you may have been anticipated, Disney will provide wonderful programs or facilities for the youngest passengers. At Disney`s private island, Castaway Cay, children will enjoy a fifteen-acre snorkeling course above supervised games for most age groups, kayaks or rafts for renting, bicycling courses or a living reef.
The Oceaneer Clubs for children between four and eleven years old span nearly almost a whole deck, with supervised for kids with ages between three-five years old, and six-eight years old. Kids with ages between nine-twelve years old may enjoy high-tech interactive programs in the Oceaneer Lab, while those with ages between eleven-twelve years old will compete in a marine biology knowledge guest same show and also send digital postcards to all their friends. And they will see more Disney characters than at all the other theme parks.
Fellow Passengers
Disney`s main market is families with kids, although you will find more adult couples when children are generally in school. One thing they will all have in common, they all enjoy Disney and have maybe been to the theme parks more than once.
Shore Trips
Disney Cruise Lines will provide shore trips just like any other cruise company, but specializes in tours designed for children as well. These tours are being provided in various ports and its private island.
Tipping
At Disney, gratuities may be charged to the passenger`s shipboard account. The recommended tipping guidelines will be per passenger per cruise.