While there is much more included in the cost of your Disney Cruise than is not included, here are several things people think are included but are not.
On my last blog post, I talked about some of the many things that are included in the cost of your Disney Cruise. And now it’s time for the bad news- what is not included. Some of these items such as gratuites and photos can be purchased ahead of your cruise, which can save you some sticker shock at the end of your trip when you get the bill!
What Is Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
Gratuities Are Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
Disney Cruise Line (and almost all cruise lines) expect you to pay gratuities to your dining room staff and your stateroom attendant. You’ll be automatically charged for the gratuities at the end of your cruise on your folio.Gratuities are one of those things that are not included in your initial price, but you can opt to pre-pay for them before you go, saving you the cost at the end of the cruise.
The current amount Disney Cruise Line charges for the recommended gratuity $13.50 per passenger/per day. You can modify or make changes to the gratuity amounts or if you’d like to pay in cash, you can stop by the Guest Services desk at anytime during your sailing. You can also add cash to the envelopes delivered to your stateroom on the last night of your cruise.
A 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine and deck service tabs. All gratuities can be charged to your stateroom folio. This is something not included in the option to pre-pay, so just be aware this is added on top of each drink you purchase.
Alcohol Is Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
While Disney Cruise Line does include sodas and coffee in a self-service beverage station on each cruise, alcoholic beverages are not included in the cruise fare. Like most other cruise lines, you can pre-purchase a beverage package, but you won’t save any money by purchasing ahead of time. In fact, to say that Disney Cruise Line offers a “beverage package” is not exactly true. They do offer some beer packages and wine packages but this is not an all-inclusive beverage package. Mixed drinks such as the drink of the day or other specialty cocktails will not be included in any alcohol package on any Disney Cruise Line ship.
Beer can be purchased in 6-packs, with either a domestic or international option. They also have a mug option- you can purchase a Disney Cruise Line-branded beer mug and bring it to any onboard bar and get a 21 oz. “refill” of beer for the price of a 16 oz. size. Don’t want to carry the mug around? Take advantage of the beer mug token. This will help you out so you can have a fresh, clean mug with every beer.
Wine Packages allow you to select one bottle of wine each night of your cruise, There are two options- a Classic Wine Package and a Premium Wine Package, which has more expensive wine options. You can save up to 25% off the a la carte cost per bottle by purchasing the wine package, so if you want to drink wine each night at dinner this is a great option. (Although don’t forget you’re allowed to bring wine onboard with you- two bottles per person per port of call!)
Port Adventures Are Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
Port Adventures (aka Shore Excursions) are not included in the price of your Disney Cruise. Port Adventures are available at just about every port and can range from sightseeing to salmon bakes to just about anything else you can do where cruise ships dock. There are a lot of ways to experience ports, whether you want to book them through the cruise line or through a reputable third party. In a lot of ports you can also just walk around or book a private beach club without an official excursion. Either way you’ll have to foot that bill separately from the cost of your cruise itself.
Photos Are Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
If you want the best pictures onboard, including character photos and formal night photos, your best bet is to get them from the professional photographers onboard. You can definitely take photos using your own camera (and you should), but if you want the best lighting, angles, and quality you can’t beat the professional photos. Unfortunately, they are not inexpensive!
One thing you can do is pre-purchase a photo package from OurCruisePhotos.com up to 2 days before you sail. This is a great option if you know you’ll be meeting a lot of characters or posing for the formal night photos.
If you don’t wish to pre-purchase photos you can always purchase one or two, or your entire folio of photos at Shutters onboard the ship. The photos are available to view most of the time just by swiping your Key to the World card, even when Shutters is not open.
WiFi Is Not Included On Your Disney Cruise
Lastly, WiFI is not included in the cost of your cruise. While you can get 50 MB of WiFi for free on your first day, that does go by rather quickly, and if you’d like to use more data you’ll need to pay for it. As I’ve said before, Disney Cruise Line really drops the ball on this one. In order to use WiFi you must purchase a pretty high-priced package, and be VERY careful you sign out when you’re done or you’ll run out of data quickly. Most other cruise lines offer an all-inclusive WiFi package, but on Disney Cruise Line you pay per MB.
If you can, just skip the WiFi for the cruise or purchase/rent a mobile hotspot device that will work on port days. You’ll likely save yourself a lot of headache and money that way.
What are your favorite shore excursions or other things not included in the cost of a Disney Cruise? Ask in the comments and we are happy to answer your questions!
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