17 Tips for the Disney Destiny

Our little family recently returned from a 4-night cruise on the Disney Destiny out of Port Everglades in Florida! Josh and I learned a few things about what makes a toddler-friendly Disney Cruise Line vacation a good time for all—and what to skip. If you’re planning your first DCL family getaway, learn from our trial and error with these tried-and-true tips.

Before You Set Sail

1. Set realistic expectations: Yes, Disney is suuuper fun and whatnot but give yourself and your family grace. Things won't go exactly as planned. Josh and I thought our son would love The Oceaneer Club — a floating Disney Theme Park for him! 12 hours of complimentary childcare for us! I even packed 3 books I'd been longing to read poolside and dreamed of evenings spent canoodling with my husband at De Vil's Piano Lounge. This was not to be. The Oceaneer Club is amazing, but our son only wanted to stay for ~45 minutes here and there so I had to pivot from my initial expectations of our trip. I never did see the inside of that piano bar, but Josh and I had a few coffee dates at Café Megara and Café Cove (adults-only) with a lovely lunch at 1923.

2. Snag the earliest boarding time: Be online the minute your booking window opens. Getting on the ship early sets the tone for the whole trip and maximizes vacation time! Even though we live locally, we were racing to the port to make the last boarding window and I legitimately thought we'd miss the ship.

3. Download the app early: Get the free Disney Cruise Line Navigator app set up at home. You’ll rely on it heavily onboard. None of the cruise activities or fitness classes are posted before the sailing (yes, I checked), but you can still get an idea of the ship layout, shows, and more.

4. Order a DisneyBand+: If you don't already own one, this high-tech bracelet is super convenient for stateroom access, onboard purchases and embarking/disembarking the ship. We live in Florida so we know we'll be going to Walt Disney World in the near future and they can be used at Disney properties around the world! The MagicBand+ is compatible on the ship if you already own one.

Thriving on Embarkation Day

5. Disney is in the Details: When you get into your stateroom, take a moment to appreciate the artistry, hospitality and craftsmanship in your tiny temporary home. The elegant gold foil drinking glass covers. The tiny threaded Mickeys on the Frette sheets. An adorable certificate and pin celebrating Josh's birthday. It's fun to appreciate the little things that Disney does that make a big impact.

6. Connectivity is key: Internet does not really work at sea. That includes iPhone texts! Buy the WiFi package for the adults for the duration of the cruise so you don't lose each other on the massive ship. There is an app-based messaging system but it didn't work for us.

7. Hit the Oceaneer Club first: Don’t unpack. Don’t wait in a long line for an ice cream cone. Walk straight to the Oceaneer Club and register your little person immediately before the lines get chaotic!

8. Avoid the "Set Sail" party: This is just a personal preference, but lemme tell ya the decks are extremely crowded right before the 4:15 PM welcome party. The energy felt like Mardi Gras on a Carnival Cruise. And wrangling a three-year-old in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds with music blaring felt too chaotic for me. It's so crowded because nothing else is happening on the ship and most passengers don't even have access to their luggage yet. Find a quiet spot by the railing on a higher deck to wave goodbye to port instead. Or just explore the ship interior while it's peaceful. Or watch a fav Disney movie in your cabin. Ha!

Ship Life & Making Memories

8. Embrace Door Decor and Pixie Dusting: I'm so glad my buddy Chrystall told me about the magical realm of fish extenders and Pixie Dusting! This is a Disney Cruise Line tradition. There's a community of passengers who spread random acts of kindness by bringing little treats to "pixie dust" (gift) their fellow cruise neighbors and leave them in fish extenders, which are canvas holders. Our son loved checking our door for tchotchkes like stickers, magnets, rubber duckies, little toys, etc. Decorating our stateroom door with magnets was so much fun and I decorated ours to surprise Josh for his 42nd birthday!

9. Dress the part: Have everyone pick a theme for your dinner outfits, and absolutely go all out on your Pirate Night costumes. Pirate Night is typically the second to last night of the sailing. I love playing dress-up so I packed literally every "Piratey" paraphernalia we owned and that was my favorite night. We even made pirate names for ourselves!

10. Accept that you can't do every activity: This is a hard one for me. I am a WOO girl. I am a YES girl. But you don't do it all. There are literally dozens of enticing activities and amusements every day! Pick a few "tent pole"activities as Josh would call them and allow plenty of free time for spontaneity. You never know what you'll walk into on the ship!

11. Request printed schedules: The app is great, but I was born in 1987 and I like printed things, okay? I don't love being on my phone a lot so having a physical daily schedule would have made planning our activities much more enjoyable.

Disembarking at Castaway Cay

12. Walk the Castaway Cay 5k: What kind of freak does a 5k on vacation? Me! Josh and I walked a lovely trail on the island, which measures 3.1 miles. It's an untimed course with no official start time. You even earn a little medal. This was a vacation highlight. We got the meaningful and intimate date I desired after all!

13. To Beach or Not to Beach: We are blessed to have lived at the beach for the past 11 years, so we weren't clamoring to sit in the sand. But if you're from a land locked state, you will love it. Just know that it's very crowded.

14. Scuttle's Cove: This is such a nice kids club for children ages 3-17 with lots of engaging outdoor activities! Of course, you'll see familiar faces as it is staffed by the onboard counselors. It's conveniently located near the family beach and the first tram stop after you disembark. Our son got a little scared once he saw "brown clouds" so we picked him up soon after that.

The DCL Crew

15. Get to know your dining room servers: Allergies? Dietary preferences? Let your servers know! They are extremely flexible and want to bring you the food that you want to eat. I was hoping to eat pretty clean whole and high-protein foods and thanks to our Server Claire, I was able to make that happen. You will have the same server for your rotational dinners around the ship. She was incredibly engaging, warm and extraordinary at anticipating our son's needs.

16. Spoil your crew: The DCL staff differentiates the overall experience from any other cruise you'll go on. They are engaged. They are eager to bring you joy. They are sleeping in tiny quarters below the water, but leading with a deeply embedded sense of gratitude and pride for the work they do. Massive shoutouts to our housekeeping staff led by Jose for went above and beyond. Jose always greeted us by name and even surprised our son one night with LIGHTNING MCQUEEN sheets on his tiny bed. You can do this digitally, but bring plenty of cash to tip above and beyond the automatic gratuities!  I brought notecards from home so I could leave handwritten messages, because that's how my momma raised me.

17. Consider early debarkation: When it’s time to go home, let your porter know you'll be carrying your own luggage off. It beats waiting around the crowded lounges!

I asked Wicklow for his "Top Tips" and this is what he said his favorite parts of the trip were:

• Coloring with Daddy

• Pancakes

• Brownies

• Pirate Night

And there you have it! We learned a lot of valuable lessons for our first Disney Cruise Line sailing and can't wait for the Disney Dream this December to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday.