Check Out These Complimentary Items Available for Your Little Ones While on a Disney Cruise!
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Every great Disney cruise begins with an idea; that moment when you and your family decide that your next adventure will be sailing on board one of Disney’s ever growing fleet of ships. Regardless of the itinerary that you select, each Disney Cruise will feature world class shows and entertainment, delicious food, and unparalleled service.
During the booking process, you’ll have the opportunity to provide Disney with important details about the members of your travel party and begin to make special requests for items that will help your little ones feel at home, even while they’re away. Once you officially board the ship, you can speak with Guest Services for additional assistance and inquire about other items that can’t be reserved during booking, but are still available to guests on a first come first serve basis. In this post, I’ll share with you all of the items that we were able to request directly from Disney Cruise Line during our vacation at no additional cost!
Sleeping Accomodations
This information will vary based on the type of stateroom so please keep that in mind! On our trip, we stayed in a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with a Verandah. For the purposes of this post, I’ll just give a brief overview of the sleeping accommodations. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive review of our stateroom, be sure to check out my other post found here!
Our stateroom featured a Queen size bed, a pull down sofa bed, and an additional pull down bed from the ceiling (think bunk bed style) that could be accessed from a ladder. The pull down sofa bed worked great for my older son who was 4 at the time of sailing. For my younger son, who was 1 ½ at the time, we were able to request a Pack n’ Play.
The Pack n’ Play comes with a clean pair of sheets and the thin pad that comes standard with most Pack n’ Plays. Your Stateroom Host will take care of setting it up for you, and depending on your preference, can take it down each morning or leave it up for nap time. We chose to just leave it set up since there was plenty of space for us to all move around the room while the Pack n’ Play was open.
For my older son, I was able to request bedrails that made him feel more comfortable while sleeping at night. Once more, our Stateroom Host did such a great job of setting up his bed every night with sheets, blankets and pillows and then would also add the bedrails. In the mornings, the bedding and rails were removed so that we could utilize the sofa during the day. The bed pulls down horizontally from the upper couch cushions and most closely resembles the size of a twin bed. It was the perfect set up for my 4 year old and he slept great during our trip!
Dinner Time
I want to preface this section by making a side note on the rotational dining. Each night of your cruise, there will be two seating times for dinner at one of the rotational dining restaurants on board the ship. The first dinner seating begins at 5:45PM and the second begins at 8:15PM. (Times are subject to change by 15 minutes; be sure to verify your dinner time via your Cruise Line Navigator App). Part of the process for booking your cruise will be to select which dinner time you would prefer. The earlier seating time is very popular, especially amongst families with little ones. If you end up selecting the later seating time, there is a chance to speak with a cast member once on board the ship, but there are no guarantees that they can switch you to the earlier time. Take special note of this choice when booking your trip!
In addition to your dinner seating time preference, this is also the point during the booking process when you can request a high chair. Your family will be assigned a table ahead of time for dinner each night and your server will ensure that if you requested a high chair(s) it will already be set up for you upon arrival. You will also find a large number of high chairs available on Deck 11 where the Quick Service dining options are located. Additionally, we found high chairs available for use in Cabanas (on the Disney Fantasy) which is where buffets for breakfast and lunch can be found.
Guests are permitted to bring baby food jars on board the ship in their carry-on bags, provided that they are in the original manufacturer’s packaging, and are unopened. As another option, you can speak with your Server while at dinner and request fresh pureed vegetables at no additional cost. You can also request them by contacting room service.
Bottle Feedings
My younger son was still drinking a bottle at night and in the morning at the time of our sailing. He does not enjoy cold milk, but bringing your own bottle warmer from home is prohibited. After some research, I found that there are a limited number of approved bottle warmers available upon request, once you board the ship, at no additional cost to you. They are available on a first come first serve basis, but we had no trouble speaking with Guest Services after dinner our first night and making the arrangements. If you find they are out of bottle warmers, you can request hot water to be delivered to your stateroom at any time by contacting room service.
In addition to a bottle warmer, you can also request a bottle sterilizer from guest services upon boarding the ship. If you would prefer to clean bottles yourself, or you find that they are out of bottle sterilizers, I brought this travel bottle cleaning kit with us and it worked out perfectly! There are 2 collapsable drying racks, a bottle brush, straw brush and a nipple brush. It also comes with a small pump bottle so you can bring your own soap. The inside tray is removable to help drain water and the entire thing is compact enough to easily fit inside your diaper bag or suitcase.
Diaper Changes
At the time of booking, you will need to provide Disney with the age of any little ones traveling with you. Disney used this information to determine that we would benefit from having a diaper pail in our stateroom to assist with our little one’s changing needs. I did not see requesting one ahead of time as an option, so I was fully prepared to speak with Guest Services once we boarded the ship. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was already one there. Your Stateroom Host will take care of changing and replacing the bags which is so helpful and greatly appreciated!
Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point
Our itinerary included stops at both of Disney’s private islands: Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. In order to assist families with little ones, Disney provides a limited number of strollers and wagons at no additional cost on a first come first serve basis. There is an approximately ½ mile walk from the ship to get to the trams at Lookout Cay, which can be quite a long walk if you’re trying to juggle your little ones and all of your beach gear. The wagons will typically be lined up as you leave the ship and you can grab one as you walk by. There are also additional strollers and wagons available once you’re on the Islands. Additionally, there are a limited number of wheelchairs that have special wheels designed to be pushed in the sand that are available for use.
Strollers (Onboard the Ship)
Disney has a limited number of complementary strollers available for rental on a first come first serve basis. Once you board the ship, you can speak with Guest Services and inquire if one is available. We chose to bring our own stroller. It was helpful to have when we needed it and I didn’t want to worry about one not being available. Admittedly, they can be cumbersome to navigate while on the ship, and it means you can’t just hop on the stairs if there’s a long line for the elevator. However, there were so many times that we were just leisurely exploring the ship, where waiting for the elevator was not a problem, and I know our youngest one appreciated having the stroller to sit in. Keep in mind that you will have to store your stroller inside your stateroom.
Final Thoughts
Disney provides a number of complimentary items to families traveling with little ones on board a Disney Cruise Ship. A number of them can be requested ahead of time when booking your vacation. These include a high chair, Pack n’ Play, and bedrails to name a few. Also during this time, remember to book your preferred dining time! Once on board the ship, you can inquire with Guest Services regarding a bottle warmer, bottle sterilizer and stroller. Speak to room service if you’re interested in hot water for warming bottles or freshly pureed vegetables. I found all of these options to be extremely helpful and they made our trip even more magical.
We’d love to hear from you! Do you have any questions about planning a Disney Cruise with little ones? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll try to help answer them!