25. Disney Cruises for Adults with Julia Levine

Are Disney Cruises just for kids? Not according to Julia Levine, who has enjoyed 15+ sailings and is my guest for today's episode. We discuss the different ships (including which ones to choose for the best adults-only experiences), why we're not excited about Disney's new Caribbean destination, and whether or not the themed cruises are worth it. Tune in for these discussions, plus some tips to make the best of a Disney cruise experience!

Download my free guide: 10 Tips for A Luxe Disney Vacation or connect with me on Instagram @michelevisitsmickey.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Michele:

Hello, my friends, and welcome to yet another episode of Let Me Adjust My Ears. Today is super exciting. A, I just got the email that my podcast has reached my 1st goal of 500 downloads. So we're very very excited and I get to say that and look at the face while we're recording this in no audio medium of my favorite podcast producer, This is Julia Levine of the podcast t shirt, but she's on here to talk with me about Disney cruises. So this is our first, let me adjust my ears. Discussion of Disney Cruisers. And there is no better person to talk about this because, Julia, tell me how many you've been on.

Julia:

Well, I think It's about 16 or 17. I've lost count.

Michele:

As I said, there's no better person for her to be telling us. So tell us, me really, how you got started on this Disney cruise thing? I should say. She is one of us. She is a Disney adult with no kids.

Julia:

That is correct.

Michele:

So how did you get started going on Disney cruises, and since you've been on so many, which ships have you been on? Like, just spill the tea.

Julia:

Oh my goodness. Okay. So to give you a little context of how I got started with Disney cruises, I have to tell you how my husband and I met. So we met through an online dating service, 21st century. Hello. And we were a match for multiple reasons, but one of the things that attracted me to him is that he had one of his profile photos was of him and Captain Mickey Mouse from the Disney cruise line. And my picture was me dressed as Minnie Mouse for Halloween that year.

Michele:

That's awesome.

Julia:

So we had a Disney connection from the get-go. That was his 1st Disney cruise that he had been on where that picture was taken. And so when we got together, He was like, you have to go on the Disney cruises. You love Disney. This is just great. And so I had never been on a cruise before, and I was quite nervous, a. But he convinced me, and so I'll I'll skip to the exciting part of we went on our 1st Disney cruise, and it was just amazing, magical and all of the things. And so from then, we just started taking more of them.

Julia:

At the time, we lived in Maryland and so we had to kinda hop down the coast to Florida to hop on those cruises. So we did that whenever we could take a long weekend or things like that. We did our honeymoon on a Disney cruise, half Disney cruise, half Disney World. A. So we just kind of gotten to love them, and I think you asked me which one was my favorite ship.

Michele:

Well, have you been on all 4 of the current ships. Right? We have 4, or do we have 5 now?

Julia:

There's 5.

Michele:

We have 5 now. Oops. My Bad. Have you been on all 5? 

Julia:

Yes. I have.

Michele:

And do you have a favorite?

Julia:

I sure do. It is the Disney Fantasy.

Michele:

I was gonna guess the Fantasy. I was. I was. I was. And why is the Fantasy because I'm definitely a Disney Wish girl and a Wish girl for sure.

Julia:

Okay. So I have to ask you, have you been on the other ships and the Wish, or have you only been on the Wish?

Michele:

No. I've been on 2 of the other ships on the Wish.

Julia:

Okay. Interesting.

Michele:

You know, because you've produced every podcast that you have had to listen to all of them. You also know that if I am picking a cruise for me, it's not gonna be Disney necessarily. I do wanna go on the Treasure, and all my friends who are listening also know that I'm just not a Disney Cruise fan. I don't know. I don't get it. But, anyway, why the Fantasy?

Julia:

So the Fantasy is one of the newer ships before the wish came out, And it's the larger set in the fleet. The dream, the Fantasy, and the wish are all about the same size, whereas the wonder and the magic are smaller, older ships. Yes. The Fantasy, it's just the perfect size. It's not too big. It's not too small. For the past, I don't know how many years, it has done the 7 day itineraries out of Port Canaveral, and it has done the special itineraries to the Southern Caribbean, which was something that we were interested in.

Michele:

I have clients who want to go on that very sailing as a matter of fact.

Julia:

They only do it once a year, which is just kind of ridiculous. But, anyway, the ship, like I said, it's the perfect Size, not too big, not too small. And, honestly, the biggest thing that sells me on the Fantasy class of ships, which The Dream also has, and the Dream probably could be one of my favorites as well except for the fact that it used to do just weekend itineraries, and the weekend cruise crowd is a very different crowd than the 7 day cruise crowd.

Michele:

That's what I'm missing. I've never done more than a 3 day.

Julia:

Yeah. Total game changer.

Michele:

I bet that's true. I believe that. And yet on Princess, Celebrity, Virgin, I've done lumber ships, and I bet that's true because I love my sea days. And when you're going on a quick weekend cruise out of Port Canaveral. There really aren't that many of those. I do love my Halloween on the high seas, though. That was very special. I mean, Halloween's my birthday, so that was one of my faves.

Michele:

But, yeah, I loved my Disney Wish even though it was just So a 3 or 4 day. I think it was a 4 day.

Julia:

Yeah. So we're gonna come back to the topic of the themed cruises in just a second because we have to talk about that.

Michele:

Excellent.

Julia:

But I did just wanna finish my thought about the Disney Fantasy and the dream. One of the reasons they're my favorite class of ship is because they have an adults only area called Satellite Falls, and it is the most magical place and it's at the very front of the ship. You have a shaded canopy, so you're, like, not directly in the sun if you don't want to be. There's a pool there, and it's in its own area, so no kids just happen to wander through, which is the case with the Cove adult Pool that is on the main pool deck. It's the main, like, thoroughfare

Michele:

Yes, hated the cove. Did not think it was all it should have been in terms of adults only. So you're schooling me. Clearly, I need to go on a 7 day. Oh, darn. Another 7 day cruise on my feet for on a different ship. Got it. Okay.

Julia:

Yeah. And I should say that the Cove pool, the Cove adult pool is the happening place. Lots of people drinking and mingling and all of that. I am the I want my peace, quiet, sound of the ocean serenity, and all you rowdy people stay away from me. So satellite falls was my personal favorite area. And one of the reasons that I didn't love the Wish is because they have a terrible adults only section. There is no satellite falls or satellite falls equivalent And just disappointing in that aspect.

Michele:

Oh, but there's nothing like that midnight kiss. Did you do the midnight kiss on the Disney Wish.

Julia:

We did the midnight kiss. It was fine.

Michele:

Oh, I loved the midnight kiss. It was awesome. It's so spectacular. Plus, it was Cinderella. Like, Cinderella has my heart. So it will always be a very magical, magical thing for me, that Disney Wish. And one thing I should say even though I don't usually pick a Disney cruise if I'm the one cruising, I will say that this particular Disney Wish cruise was during the inaugural year and it was a Halloween on the high seas. And it was for my birthday because my birthday is Halloween.

Michele:

If people didn't already know that, let me tell you again that my birthday is coming up soon and this year, we're gonna be at Magic Kingdom for Halloween. Very excited. But it was really recently after my dad died, which a, as my listeners also know, we're coming up on that 1 year. And so it was like 2 weeks, 3 weeks after, and my husband said, you found your smile on the Disney Wish, so that's probably always gonna be my favorite Disney cruise line from here on out. Just sentimental.

Julia:

Oh, absolutely. When you have a connection like that, for sure.

Michele:

Yeah. So you clearly have some opinions on the themed cruises.

Julia:

Oh, yes. Okay. So Disney cruises are wonderful, but they've been getting more and more expensive in past years. And Disney, as a company, has been going through some growing pains, and some of the decisions from corporate have not landed so well with the Disney fan base. We'll just leave it at that. But one of the things is that the adults only areas are being enforced less and less on the Disney cruises. And so - 

Michele:

She’s not wrong.

Julia:

Yes. While I have done 16, 17 of them and we do have more booked, we are expanding to other cruise lines. Celebrity is our other favorite cruise line. And so we find ourselves gravitating to Celebrity. But the time of year that I will not cruise another cruise line is particularly Christmas, although Halloween is a close 2nd, I'm more of a Christmas person than a Halloween person. Sorry, Michelle.

Michele:

No. It's I definitely wanna try the holidays, the jingle bell. Whatever. I can't even think of the name.

Julia:

Very merry time.

Michele:

Very merry time cruise. I definitely wanna do that. I love the characters and their Christmas best. So cute.

Julia:

Yes. Nothing can compare to the way Disney does those themed cruises. They are just an extra step and beyond with the Disney magic, the literal magic, not the ship, the magic to clarify there. So just with the characters in their outfits for the different themes, the different events that they put on, they have, like, gingerbread cookie decorating around Christmas time. The atrium is just full of holiday decorations, and it's just so the ambiance, you know, the environment that you're in. You just feel the magic.

Michele:

Decided to try it. I haven't ever done that. It's been a long time since I've done a holiday at Disney and this year, I'm just excited to get back there during the holidays to see the holiday decor. I'm always there as it's Halloween's coming down and a, the holiday decor is coming, but it's not full on yet. So I'm really excited for this year to at least visit the and do the cookie straw at Epcot. I've been missing out on my cookies the past couple years. It's been since before COVID. So, Okay.

Michele:

I digress as I usually do, I digress. But since you have done 16 or 17 and you have mentioned that you used to come down from Maryland to do them out of Port Canaveral and we should mention she now lives in Orlando. I assume you have some strong thoughts and feelings on Castaway Cay. What you've probably heard about the new Disney lite points. So share.

Julia:

Yes. I do have I don't know if they say strong feelings, but I have feelings. So I do live in the Orlando area now, and so it's super easy for us to get to the port. It's a little over an hour away, so we can hop on anytime, which is really great. And when we're able to grab those Florida resident discounts, that is even more amazing. We do love the itineraries that go to Castaway Cay, probably not for the reason that you think, though. So, we are not beach people. I do not do sand.

Michele:

Okay. Neither am I. I don't love sand either, but I still love Castaway Cay. Okay. This I gotta hear.

Julia:

Okay. So I love love love Castaway Cay because it has a lot of Olaf theming. And Olaf is my favorite Disney character of all time. And so when I go out onto the island, I love taking pictures next the little Olaf statue. And one time they had Olaf walking around, and so I got to go give him a big hug.

Michele:

Olaf loves warm hugs.

Julia:

Yes. He does. And they have lots of Olaf merch on the island, and it's exclusive to the island, you can't get it anywhere else. So I do love the island for those reasons. However, the biggest reason I love itineraries that go to Castaway Cay Is because everyone gets off the ship.

Michele:

We are the same in that yes.

Julia:

And I stay on the ship and I literally have the entire pool, sundeck area to myself.

Michele:

I know. I don't disagree. And what was even better was when the wish pulled into Castway Cay and everyone got off, the new roller coaster that they have, the roller coaster at sea was completely a ghost town, and I got to ride it like 5 times in a row without having to wait in line, and it was the best.

Julia:

Yes. Absolutely. And so it's so interesting that they're coming up with another island. I think they're calling it

Michele:

I thought it was Lighthouse Point.

Julia:

It's Lighthouse Point, but they released just At d 23 Expo, they released a different name. I think it's called Lookout Cay Lookout Key, Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. So I'm not as excited about that one for two reasons. 1st is that it's not a private island.

Michele:

Right. Agreed.

Julia:

That's one factor. And then the other thing is that it's a tender port where you have to get from your big ship to the little boat to get to the island and it just takes double, triple the length of time to get on and off the ship, and it's just a pain.

Michele:

I don't disagree with you there. Yeah. One of the coolest things is to wake up early as your ship holes into Castaway Cay and watch it as the captain. It's like parallel parking that ton of ships and just watch him or her. I think they're all hens parallel park against the dock at Castaway Cay. It's the best. There's no tender. So if you're like everyone else, you get off the ship, I go on the roller coaster, Julia goes and grabs her spot by the pool.

Michele:

But then I do go up because there are great character meet and greets. Mickey and Minnie and their sand dune buggy is always a fun one. And I love cookies, so I love the barbecue. And then I'll go back to the ship while everyone does their snorkeling or whatever because I too am not a beach person. I don't like salt water. 

Julia:

I don't like sand and I don't like creatures in the ocean.

Michele:

Well, there you go.

Julia:

Unless I'm on, like, some kind of excursion to look at them, and I've only done one of those excursions once because it just freaks me out.

Michele:

So you mentioned that weekend cruisers and non weekend and cruisers is like a game changer. So you've obviously been to a lot of different port cities. Do you have a favorite port city that you really like?

Julia:

Oh, that's an interesting question. So we've done the itinerary so many times now that we pretty much don't get off anymore, and, again, enjoy the ship while everyone else gets off. But that Southern Caribbean itinerary, there are some unique stops on those itineraries. A couple years ago, it went to Martinique, which is a territory of France. And so it's technically France. Like, there's EU license plates and stuff at the island, and it has a very different vibe than the rest of the Caribbean islands. I'm guessing it has a very European vibe. I haven't been to Europe to know if that's the case, but it's very different from all of the other Caribbean islands.

Julia:

So that's one that we really enjoyed. Unfortunately, that one wasn't on the most recent Southern Caribbean sailing that we did just this past summer, but we did go to Bonaire of the ABC Islands for the 1st time just this past summer, and that was really nice as well.

Michele:

And have you done the Alaska itinerary? You just said you haven't done anything in Europe, so I'm guessing

Julia:

We have not done Europe, and we have not done Alaska yet. We have milestone birthdays in 2025, and we are looking at an Alaska cruise, probably not on Disney because of the prices, but Some kind of Alaskan cruise in 2025.

Michele:

So that was where my husband and I went on our anniversary. It was our honeymoon, excuse me. We took an Alaska cruise because I had been to all 49 states, and that was the 50th that I needed to get to. So there was really no discussion about where we're going and he really had no say. We were gonna take an Alaskan cruise, and we did Celebrity for that one too. But I do think the Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Daisy costumes on the Alaskan cruise might be worth the price difference. I desperately need a picture with Minnie and her big huge Alaskan chauffeur.

Julia:

Yes.

Michele:

You know what I'm talking about? I need that photo very much.

Julia:

Yeah.

Michele:

Yeah.

Julia:

That is definitely very, very appealing. I wish that you could arrange to be in port at the same day and just hop on for some pictures.

Michele:

Do it for the gram, Disney. Do it for the gram. Alaska is honestly, since I have been to all 50 states, I can say Alaska is one state that I would definitely go back to again, and do that exact same itinerary. Usually, I'm always like, oh, I have to go somewhere new. I've already done that. I would definitely go there again. It was just God's country. And especially now it's getting so hot in the summer everywhere else.

Michele:

We should all move to Alaska for the summer. So I can't believe it. Our time is almost already up. Any other thoughts that you have about I haven't even touched, like, cruises 2 through 10. We only talked about the beginning and the endings.

Julia:

Yes. There is one more thing I wanna say about the Disney cruises, and that is about the production shows that are on board because they are phenomenal Broadway caliber, West End caliber performances. They are absolutely amazing. They have Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen, and then a couple of their other ones that are made for the ships. I

Michele:

love the ones that are made for the ships. They're so good.

Julia:

They are they have such a cheesy story line

Michele:

Yes.

Julia:

Which gets to me after, you know, the 10th, 11th cruise, but they are the cheesy story line is an excuse to sing all the favorite songs, which I do love.

Michele:

See, that's another reason I loved the Wish. I thought that captain Goofy was the best for that show.

Julia:

He was pretty entertaining. So what's your favorite? 

Julia: 

Beauty and the beast.

Michele:

That was good. That was good. I loved Tangled. That was my favorite.

Julia:

That's the one I missed in my list. Yes. Tangled is great. We've only been on the magic and the wonder once, and so I've only seen Tangled once, but it was very good.

Michele:

I loved Tangled. That was good. So now that we're talking about favorites, You've also now experienced because those expert Disney Cruisers know that it has rotational dining, so you never have to fear about missing out on a restaurant. So and some of the ships have different restaurants. Do you have a favorite restaurant? Again, I have to go back to the Wish. My favorite restaurants were on the Wish, though.

Julia:

Which one was your favorite on the Wish?

Michele:

1923.

Julia:

That was my favorite on the Wish as well. The other 2 were so overstimulating, And you're packed in there like sardines on the wish. Oh, that was challenging for me. But on the other ships, animators palette is typically my favorite rotation.

Michele:

Yeah. I've been to 2 different animator palettes where they do different things. 1 is with Mickey and 1 is with Crush, and I'm not So sold on either one of them. It's got such a great premise and it just to me, it fails. But now, we're gonna segue into have you been to Celebrity and gone to their quote, unquote animator's palate?

Julia:

We have not. The Le Petit Chef thing?

Michele:

Yes, the Le Petit Chef.

Julia:

We really wanted to, but my husband and I both have the palate of a 5 year old, and they have kind of fancy food there, and we were like, don't know about that.

Michele:

You have to do it. It's one of the best meals at sea I've ever had. It was So fun. It was so good. But eventually, we're gonna work you out to an Oceania cruise because then you really get to test your palate. Anyway, So before I let you go really quickly, we have like 2 minutes before my editor will start cutting from this point forward. Any, like, number 1 tip you would tell people who are getting on their very first Disney cruise, who are adults without a pint sized entourage. What would you tell them?

Julia:

I guess I would just say that like Disney World and the parks, that Disney cruises are not just for kids. And so when they have activities, you know, adults are always welcome.

Michele:

Except for tea with the princesses. Do you know how many times I tried to go to tea with the princesses and they will not let me go to tea with the princesses? Because I am not 12.

Julia:

Oh no! I didn't know about that one. I guess I've never tried to have tea with the princesses.

Michele:

Mhmm. Disney, if you're listening, I wanna go to tea with the princesses on my next Disney cruise.

Julia:

A. So when you wanna take a picture with a character or anything like that, hop right in line with those little ones because you are equally entitled to all of the pictures and fun things as well. And I will say that if you are looking to escape the pint sized entourage as much as possible, I would highly suggest choosing the Fantasy or the Dream for your cruise because of that additional all adults area that I mentioned earlier, Satellite Falls. The Wish does not have that and the Wonder and the Magic do not have that. And then we didn't even get to talk about the adults only, like, nighttime entertainment areas, but same thing.

Michele:

We have to have you back then.

Julia:

I will be happy to come back.

Michele:

I know where to find you. Yes. Disney cruises part 2. We definitely have to have you back. Yeah. I forgot all about the nighttime entertainment. That's probably because my bedtime a. I'm almost like 9:30, and so I only go down there during the day for trivia, which is really hard. Even for Disney fans like me, I wanna say I do not do well on Disney trivia on the Disney cruise line.

Julia:

It is really hard.

Michele:

Now when I go on other cruise lines and they do Disney trivia, I rock it out.

Julia:

Yes. The Disney, their own trivia is very, very, very challenging.

Michele:

Yes. Okay. So, Julia, thank you so so much, and I mean it. I'm gonna get you to come back to do part 2. But in the meantime, see you real soon.