Family cruise on the Disney Magic to Northern Europe

If, like us, you are a Disney fan and love that Disney magic feeling you get when you are in the parks then I highly recommend trying a Disney cruise. My family and I got the cruising 'bug' in 2021 when we took advantage of the Staycation cruises that Disney Cruise Line offered to UK residents. We did a 3 night cruise and by the end of the cruise we had already decided we wanted to do another the following year, and for longer. We decided on Northern Europe as our destination as we had not visited most of the cities. The stops were Amsterdam, Warnemunde (with day trips to Berlin available), Copenhagen and Oslo. The ship departed from Dover which for us was less than a 2 hour drive and it meant no airports which was a huge bonus.

There are so many fabulous reasons to take a cruise but here are some of our favourite reasons for booking a Disney cruise:

Disney customer service: First and foremost, the service. Disney cruise cast members go out of their way to help you and make sure you have the most magical holiday. Nothing is too much trouble. Every night we returned to our cabin to find a new towel animal on the bed with little chocolates left on our pillows from the turndown service. The waiting staff in the restaurants are fantastic at remembering our likes and dislikes. The entertainment put on is top quality and just the relaxing and luxurious feel of the ship makes you feel like you are really on a special holiday.

Accommodation: The cabins are very spacious and family friendly. The bathrooms all have a small bathtub which is not common on most cruise ships and makes bath time with younger kids so much easier. Most cabins also have split bathrooms with bath and sink in one and toilet and sink in another, meaning more than one person can get ready at the same time each morning. The upper bunks are fun and safe and for those who have chosen a cabin with a balcony and worry about your children getting out (this was a worry I had the first time we cruised with our 3 year old) you can rest assured that it is very difficult for a child to open the very heavy doors and nigh on impossible to reach the lock at the very top of the door - I'm 5'4 and had to stretch!

Food: You are in for an incredible treat! From poolside dining, themed restaurants, a large buffet and room service (all of which are included in the price of your cruise) you are spoilt for choice! There are 3 main dining rooms on the Disney Magic: Lumiere's (the Grand Marnier Souffle is not to be missed!), Animator's Palate and Rapunzel's Royal Table. You will get to dine in each of them at least once as Disney operates a rotational dinner service. Every night you have your assigned restaurant to experience and the menus are never the same. Your servers will follow you on your dining rotation so they get to know you and how you like things which is very helpful if you are travelling with anyone who has very specific food preferences or requirements. And for a special treat you can book brunch or dinner at Palo, an Italian restaurant serving Northern Italian cuisine. It is reserved for adults only and is a paid dining experience.

Entertainment: The activities on board are plentiful and fun for young and old ranging from craft classes, trivia, swimming and water-sliding, bingo, art classes, themed family competitions, and plentiful meet and greets with your favourite Disney characters and princesses. There is a cinema on board showing recently released Disney movies as well as some older favourites. On Deck 4 is the Walt Disney Theatre which shows Broadway style productions like Tangled: The Musical and Disney Dreams, An Enchanted Classic, amazing not to be missed shows. And for the kids there are the amazing clubs which are open until late evening. For the younger kids they get to play, create and sometimes hang out with different characters – it’s the one place they can go to have a bedtime story read to them by a real Disney princess! My girls loved hanging out in the clubs and it gave us parents some quiet time to explore the adult only section of the ship which includes a swimming pool, hot tub, poolside bar and a specialty café. If you fancy some relaxation there is Senses Spa which offers a luxurious full-service spa and beauty experience. In the evening there are 3 lounges/bars which become adult only where you can have a drink, join in on some fun trivia or dance the night away.

There are never enough hours in the day for us to take advantage of all the fun things there are to do on the ship and that doesn’t even include the amazing stops we made in some incredible cities. Our family is quite varied in age and interests and all of us find things to do on board which we love and we are always sad when the ship returns to port. Thankfully we are able to book ‘placeholders’ on board to reserve us a discount for our next cruise (which needs to be booked in the following 24 months) and we can nominate our travel agent to handle this booking and placeholder for us. In Spring 2023 a new Disney ship will be coming to Europe, the Disney Dream. It will have all the same amazing features of the Disney Magic but is a larger ship with some more added magic for you and your family to enjoy. Please give me a call if you are interested in a Disney cruise and I’d be happy to have a chat with you, answer any questions you have and book this amazing holiday for you!