Disney Cruise Line Announces Themed Holiday Cruises

This year, travelers can enjoy a special holiday cruise aboard the Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream or Disney Fantasy. Starting early November, Disney Cruise Line will add signature holiday experiences to each ship during “Very Merrytime Cruises,” with traditional Thanksgiving festivities, Christmas feasts, “snow flurries” and more. 

Holiday events include:

  • “Mickey’s Tree-Lighting Magic” in the atrium lobby on the first night of the cruise, where Disney characters lead holiday carols and the lighting of the three-deck-tall tree.
  • “Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball” in the atrium lobby, where Disney cruisers welcome the guests of honor, Santa and Mrs. Claus, with a celebration including Broadway-style entertainment, popular Disney characters, and classic holiday music. This evening is made complete when a pair of royal sisters joins the party and causes a flurry as snowfall overtakes the atrium.
  • Dickens-inspired carolers singing holiday classics throughout the ship, sometimes with the help of Disney characters. At the end of the cruise, children will have the opportunity to join the carolers onstage for a special farewell show.
  • Family holiday activities including building gingerbread houses and meeting Santa Claus.
  • Youth holiday crafts such as decorating stockings and gingerbread men cookies, making holiday cards, and creating holiday animation cells.
  • “Deck the Deck Holiday Party,” a tropical celebration with Disney characters leading games such as hula hooping and limbo under oversized candy canes, along with dances for the whole family like the “Yuletide Slide” and a conga line around the pool.
  • A special holiday edition of the cheerful farewell celebration on the final night of the cruise, with Disney characters and the ship’s crew in a musical finale led by Mickey Mouse.

On Thanksgiving Day, guests will enjoy a Thanksgiving Day feast and visits from Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse dressed in traditional Thanksgiving attire. Also, during the special Thanksgiving voyages, NFL football games will be broadcast live on the ships’ outdoor, jumbo LED screens – Funnel Vision – located near the family pool.

On Christmas morning at the atrium lobby tree, Santa Claus and his helpers will have a surprise for the kids, and guests will enjoy a musical performance from the children. A traditional Christmas dinner will be served that night in the dining rooms.

Christmas services will be held on Christmas Day with a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Hanukkah services will be held each day, December 2 to December 10.

When the ships stop at Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay, during the holidays, the celebration continues with “snow flurries,” a decked-out Christmas tree, Disney character meet-and-greets, and holiday island music.

To celebrate the holidays, the Disney Magic sails four-, five- and seven-night Bahamian cruises; five- and six-night Eastern Caribbean cruises; and five-night Western Caribbean cruises departing November 10 to December 23. 

The Disney Wonder sails four-, six- and seven-night Western Caribbean cruises and seven-night Bahamian cruises departing from November 2 to December 21; the Disney Dream sails three- and four-night Bahamian cruises departing from November 9 to December 24; and the Disney Fantasy sails seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises departing from November 10 to December 22.

For more information, visit disneycruise.disney.go.com.

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