Disney Prohibits Smoking on Balconies

Disney Cruise Line will prohibit smoking on stateroom balconies effective November 15, 2013. 

Portions of open-air decks on each ship will continue to be designated as smoking areas. 

Guests found smoking in their staterooms or on their verandahs will be charged $250 for air filter replacement, carpet extraction, verandah cleaning and cleaning and replacement of drapes, comforters, blankets and pillows. 

Guests and travel agents with verandah stateroom booked will be contacted by email about the change, and guests will be reminded of the policy when onboard.

Source: TravelPulse

Disney Magic Special Rates Via Miami

Enjoy Special Rates on Select Sailings from Miami on the newly re-imagined Disney Magic

Now you can enjoy special rates on select 5-Night Western Caribbean sailings from the new departure port of Miami, Florida. 

5-night Western Caribbean cruise with stops at Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico, as well as 2 relaxing days at sea.

Rates for inside cabins start at $125 per day based on double occupancy - available on most 5-Night sailings November 1 to November 29, 2013, excluding November 24, 2013. 

The number of staterooms allocated for this offer is limited, so book through July 31, 2013 to take advantage of these special rates. 

Enhanced onboard experiences included with your cruise:

• Enhanced Kid's Spaces like Disney's Oceaneer Lab and Disney's Oceaneer Club, featuring Marvel's Avengers Academy.
• Revitalized Adult Entertainment District, with Fathoms nightclub, O'Gills Pub sports bar and Keys piano lounge.
• Luxurious staterooms, designed with your family's comfort in mind.
• Diverse dining options, including the Brazilian-themed restaurant Carioca's and the re-imagined Cabanas and Animator's Palate, featuring the Animation Magic dinner show where your drawings come to life.
• Splash-tacular upper decks including the all-new AquaDunk thrill slide, AquaLab water play area and Twist n' Spout kids slide.
• And so much more!

Visit Disney's site for more info

Disney Family Mediterranean Shore Excursions

Disney Cruise Line has created a lineup of family shore excursions for the upcoming Mediterranean season. 

The Disney Magic will sail 12 cruises in the region from Barcelona starting June 1. 

Designed to entertain children and adults, the excursions feature more scheduled breaks, complimentary snacks and beverages, and port activity sheets for kids.



New signature adventures in Venice include a private, after-hours tour of the Doge’s Palace, a walk over the Bridge of Sighs, and a reception with Disney princesses. 

Other options allow passengers to try piloting a gondola on the city’s lagoon or letting children create a traditional Venetian mask.

In Mykonos, parents can visit Delos for shopping and sightseeing while kids join youth counselors to make mosaics.

Disney Magic

Source: TravelPulse

Disney Basing Entire Fleet in Florida By 2014

Disney will operate all of its ships out of Florida in the early half of 2014, the cruise line announced as it unveiled new itineraries, which include a new port in Jamaica.

The Disney Magic will return to Port Canaveral, joining Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy in sailing off the central Florida coast.

And Disney Wonder will continue to home port in Miami. (In 2013, Magic is scheduled to sail out of Galveston, Texas; Barcelona and Miami.)

Most sailings from Port Canaveral will visit Disney's popular private Bahamian island, Castaway Cay.

Dream and Magic will sail a variety of itineraries, including three- and four-night Bahamian sailings. Fantasy will sail seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean routes, some of which will include a stop at Castaway Cay, and a stop in the new port, Falmouth, Jamaica.

Many passengers sailing from Port Canaveral combine a cruise with a theme-park vacation in nearby Disney World.

Meanwhile, Wonder, which begins sailing from Miami later this month, will offer four-night Bahamas sailings, and five-night Western Caribbean sailings, some of which include a stop in Castaway Cay.

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

Source: USA Today

Is Texas Ready For The Mouse?

The first Disney cruises out the Lone Star State kicked off over the weekend with a celebration at the Port of Galveston.

The ship will be based in Galveston through May, when it repositions to Barcelona for the summer of 2013.

The 1,754-passenger Disney Magic set sail from the port on Saturday for the first of several dozen four-, six-, seven- and eight-night sailings to the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Disney already has announced plans for more cruises out of Galveston over the winter of 2013-14 aboard the Disney Magic's sister ship, the Disney Wonder.

To salute its arrival in Texas, the Disney Magic displayed a Texas-sized cowboy hat on its funnel on Saturday as it arrived in Galveston. Crew members and Disney characters waved from the vessel's upper decks.

The Disney Magic is one of five cruise ships sailing out of Galveston this year. Also based in the port full- or part-time are the 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph, Royal Caribbean's 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas and (starting in December) the 3,080-passenger Crown Princess.

Source: USA Today Travel "The Cruise Log" - Click to read these related stories
- Disney shakes up itineraries out of Texas
- Photo Tour - Disney's two newest ships compared
- Disney Magic has begun stocking wines from the Bryan, Texas-based Messina Hof winery at its bars

Cruise Lines Arrange for Couples to Jump Ship to Tie the Knot

If you can’t decide if you want your destination wedding to be on a cruise ship or a sunset beach ceremony, why choose?

Cruise lines are increasingly offering a complete wedding experience that is part cruise, part beach paradise. Cruise passengers board vessels with their betrothed in hand and their wedding parties in tow -  all of whom will jump ship to celebrate the big event on, and then re-board where the party continues.


“It is a great trend and it’s cost effective.  They can have their wedding in a beautiful venue on land while local wedding planners do the paperwork and make all arrangements in advance and the couple gets back on the ship for the honeymoon,” says Susie Wagner, founder and publisher of Honeymoons.com

Always ahead of the pack, Disney Cruise Lines’ Fairytale Weddings has been organizing off-the-ship weddings since 1998 when the cruise line purchased a Bahamian island, Castaway Cay.

Royal Ocean Events coordinates weddings for many of the cruise lines, including Holland America, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises.

Holland America offers a wedding destination for the couple and 10 guests at its own chapel on Half Moon Cay, the cruise line's private island, as well as at Bluebeard’s Castle or Lime Tree Beach on St. Thomas, Pigeon Point Beach on St. Lucia, Cockle Shell Beach on St. Kitts, Valley Church Beach on Antigua and Grand Old House on Grand Cayman.

Carnival also offers destination wedding packages at just about any port of call in the Caribbean from Barbados, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Nassau.

Read entire article

Top Large Ship Cruise Awards

Travel & Leisure Magazine has posted their annual awards for the best travel in the world 

For the category of "Top Large Cruise Ships", here are the full results . . .

• Crystal Cruises 89.90
• Regent Seven Seas 89.36
• Azamara Club Cruises 87.31
• Oceania Cruises 86.05
• Disney Cruise Line 84.96
• Cunard Line 83.26
• Celebrity Cruises 81.61
• Holland America Line 80.37
• Royal Caribbean 79.40
• Princess Cruises 79.08

The scores are results of reader surveys from the Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Visit the site, and check out the award winners of the Small-Ship Cruise Lines, River Cruises, Domestic Airlines, International Airlines, Car Rental Agencies, Safari/Tour Operators, as well as the top Hotels, Cities, and Islands. 
http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2012/air-cruise-more

Disney Pixar-Themed Cruises For Limited Time Only

Disney Cruise Line is offering four Pixar Animation Studios-inspired seven-night California Coastal cruises onboard the Disney Wonder from September 16 through October 14 with appearances by Mr. Incredible, Remy, Woody, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear and other Pixar stars.

Special entertainment and offerings designed for children and adults alike include:

Pixar Presentations and Sneak Peeks: Artists and filmmakers from Pixar Animation Studios provide guests with an inside look at the creative process used in the development of an animated short or feature.  Guests can go behind the scenes and expore the making of Pixar's newest release "Brave" and get a look at footage of future Pixar films.

The Art of Pixar: Storyboards, character sketches, environment paintings, maquettes and other inspiring concept art used to design Pixar films will be on display in a special art exhibition at sea.  This collection of art has only been seen outside of Pixar Animation Studios when it has been displayed at leading art museums around the world.

Pixar Film Fest: Guests can enjoy the entire Pixar library of films while onboard, including a selection of animated shorts.  Viewing opportunities will take place in the Buena Vista Theatre, the Walt Disney Theatre, at the jumbo LED screen on deck or on in-stateroom televisions.  The voyages coincide with the theatrical premiere of "Finding Nemo 3D", which  guests can enjoy at either of the two theatres equipped with Dolby 3D projection systems.

Pixar Character Encounters: More than a dozen Pixar characters will meet with and greet guests throughout the cruise.  There will be special Pixar-themed dance parties in the Atrium Lobby.

Guests sailing on the Pixar-themed voyages will receive a commemorative lithograph created by Pixar artist and "Brave" co-director/screenwriter, Steve Purcell.

The Disney Wonder will sail out of Los Angeles and visit San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico during the four Pixar-themed voyages. Rates for the seven-night voyages start at $799 per person for a deluxe inside stateroom, based on double occupancy.

For more information, visit www.disneycruise.com or call 888-DCL-2500.

Source: Travel Agent Central

Disney Fantasy Begins Caribbean Sailings March 31

The Disney Fantasy, the fourth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, was christened on March 1 during a star-studded christening celebration at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York City.

On a night filled with celebrity performances from the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Neil Patrick Harris, Nick Cannon and Heather Headley, it was Disney Fantasy godmother, Mariah Carey, who took center stage for the christening moment. 

Similar to the famed New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square, Carey led the audience in a countdown that triggered a 6-foot tall bottle of champagne in the Atrium Lobby to erupt and shower onlookers with confetti and streamers as a traditional bottle of champagne broke against the ship’s hull.

Read full article - Disney Fantasy to begin Caribbean sailings March 31

Disney Cruise Video- Bahamas and Caribbean

New Disney Ship Fantasy Floated Out in Germany

The Disney Cruise Line's newest ship, the Disney Fantasy, has taken to the water for the first time.

The 2,500-passenger vessel on Sunday was floated out from a dry dock in Germany where it has been under construction for more than a year -- one of the last major milestones before its maiden voyage in March.

A sister to the much-heralded Disney Dream, which debuted last year, the 130,000-ton Disney Fantasy is arriving as the line gears up for a major expansion that includes its first cruises out of New York, Seattle and Galveston, Texas. The two new ships are Disney's first in more than a decade and together are more than doubling the line's capacity.

Read full article - New Disney cruise ship, Fantasy, floated out in Germany - USATODAY.com

New Disney Ship, Attractions and Experiences

Guests will be able to enjoy new experiences at Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland in 2012.

The Disney Fantasy’s maiden voyage is scheduled for March 31, 2012. The newest ship from the Disney Cruise Line fleet will sail on week-long Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla. The 4,000 passenger ship features a cast bronze statue of Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse dressed in vintage 1920’s fashion as the main statue in the lobby.

Here is a list of what will open this new year

• Sections of the new Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom will open early in 2012. In February the first phase of the Fantasyland expansion will be open.

• In early 2012 the Barnstormer coaster, Fantasyland Station and the first half of the Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction will be open to the public.

• Sorcerers will invade the Magic Kingdom in early 2012. During the new interactive experience, “Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom,” Merlin the magician recruits guests as apprentice sorcerers to undertake missions to hunt for villains inside the park.

• The Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Resort will welcome new supercars and a custom-built one-mile track in mid-January. 

• New Royal Guest Rooms come to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort in mid-February.

• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort located next to Disney’s Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World will open in May of 2012.

Read entire article for full details on all new Disney happenings for 2012

New Disney Fantasy AquaLab

Disney Fantasy is slated to make its Florida debut in April 2012 after its maiden voyage on March 31.

Fantasy will feature 14 towering decks, a ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet, the 128,000-ton vessel includes 1,250 staterooms and has the capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers.

The Disney Fantasy's AquaLab is a new 1,800 square foot water play area on deck 12, near the entrance to the AquaDuck water coaster.

As the story goes, AquaLab was created by Donald Duck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, and features a variety of water “experiments” designed to drench the whole family.

Disney Fantasy guests will be left in charge as the nephews are away, but left with instructions to "control" the speed and water temperature of the AquaDuck by turning wheels and moving levers.

Also on deck 12 forward is a wading pool with a fountain water feature, ample seating and lounge chairs under canopy offer a respite in the shade.

Exclusively for Adults

In addition to Quiet Cove Pool and Cove Bar on the Disney Fantasy, a new adult-exclusive area offers a retreat on the upper decks for guests 18 and older.

At Satellite Sun Deck on deck 13 forward a brand-new water feature called Satellite Falls is a circular splash pool with benches and a rain curtain.

Head over to Disney Cruises and find out more about this new ship

Disney Makes Historic Hawaii Call

Be a part of Disney history!

The first Hawaii cruise in April 2012 has just about sold out - and the line has added a second trip in the Fall of 2012.

For the first time ever, Disney Cruise Line is visiting Hawaii. Set sail on an island-hopping adventure that blends tropical scenery and exhilarating activities with the modern comforts and conveniences of a Disney cruise. Enjoy world-class dining, shopping, entertainment, museums and aquariums - all amid magical surroundings.

Best of all, you can choose from 2 Hawaii sailings in 2012! While the 15-night cruise is now limited in availability, the newly added 14-night cruise offers the same spectacular ports of call. Please note, online booking is not yet available for the 14-night cruise.

15-Night Hawaii Cruise - Embark on an epic journey from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back, with a stop in Ensenada, Mexico. Visit all 4 major Hawaiian islands—the Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai.

More Info

Disney Fantasy update: Final building block in place for new Disney Fantasy cruise ship - OrlandoSentinel.com

Disney Cruise Line is one step closer to bringing the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship into the fleet.The Port Canaveral-bound ship is slated to make its Florida debut in April 2012 after is maiden voyage on March 31, 2012.

The Fantasy will offer alternating seven-night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean with stops at Castaway Cay, the line's private island in the Bahamas.

The 4,000-passenger ship is a sister to the Disney Dream, also based at Port Canaveral, that debuted in January and will up the Disney Cruise Line fleet to four, with the line's two original vessels, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.

View Video at link below:


Disney Fantasy update: Final building block in place for new Disney Fantasy cruise ship - OrlandoSentinel.com:

12 New Ships For 2011

CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) predicts the most popular destinations this year are Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific, South America, Asia - and also an interest in River Cruises.

Great ready cruise fans - 12 new ships will premier this year:

MAJOR CRUISE LINES

Carnival Cruise Lines' Carnival Magic - 3,652 passengers
Costa Cruises' Favalosa - 3,502 passengers
Celebrity Cruises' Silhouette - 2,850 passengers

Disney Dream - 2,500 passengers
Oceania Cruises' Marina (shown above) - 1,260 passengers

SMALLER CRUISE VESSELS
Seabourn Cruise Line's Quest - 450 - passengers
Pearl Seas Cruises' Pearl Mist (shown above) - 210 passengers

RIVER CRUISES:

Avalon Waterways' Panorama - 166 passengers
AMA Waterways' Amalotus - 124 passengers
Amaverde - 162 passengers
Amakaterina - 212 passengers
Uniworld Grand River Cruises' Douro Spirit - 128 passengers
SS Antoinette - 164 passengers
River Victoria - 206 passengers

NCL To Launch Two New Ships

Norwegian Cruise Line just announced it will launch two new class of Freestyle Cruising ships.

The two new-generation cruise ships are scheduled to be launched in the spring of 2013 and 2014. Both ships will carry 4,000 passengers - 200 fewer passengers than Epic -  and will be built at the Meyer Werft plant in Germany. Meyer Werft built the Jewelclass ships: Gem, Pearl, Jewel and Jade.

Additional details about each of the new ship's features will be released as construction progresses.

New Cruise Ship For Disney

There is a new ship in the Disney Cruise Line - the Disney Dream will set sail in 2012.
Disney Dream is designed to be larger, more luxurious, and more whimsical than all others before it.

One of the main features of the new Disney Cruise line is the addition of a water coaster. This attraction will be set on the top deck, and will be aimed at entertaining scores of children.

Disney Dream

The Disney Dream™ is the majestic third ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet.

Boasting 14 towering decks, a ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet, the 128,000-ton vessel includes 1,250 staterooms and has the capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers—along with the over 1,458 Crew Members.

The Disney Dream is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage on January 26, 2011, from Port Canaveral in Florida.

Disney Dream Innovations

AquaDuck, a first-of-its-kind water coaster, is an exhilarating, high-speed thrill ride that combines all the ups and downs of a roller coaster with all the twists and turns of a water slide.

Magical Portholes offer a “virtual window” to the world for inside staterooms, with a real-time view outside the ship where high-definition cameras feed live video to each stateroom.

Enchanted Art immerses guests in Disney storytelling and looks like other hanging art pieces around the ship, but is actually a framed LCD screen with technology that recognizes a guest is present.

Remy, an exquisite top-deck restaurant, only for adults, with incredible ocean views and French-inspired, gourmet cuisine by two award-winning chefs.

Disney Dream Activities

Stranded Disney Cruise Ship Returns

More than 2,400 Disney cruise ship passengers are back on land after gale-force winds kept them in the Bahamas for an extra day.

The delay left hundreds of other passengers waiting before they could head out to sea and begin their vacations.
When Disney informed the waiting passengers that their seven-day getaway on the Disney Magic had turned into a six-day cruise, many expressed disappointment.

Source: Family Friend Travel

Disney Cruise Line Children's Programs

Disney Cruise Line has announced a change in its popular kids programming that is sure to please parents -- children no longer will be grouped by age, but by the activities they choose to participate in.

While Disney will continue to recommend activities that appeal to specific maturity levels and ages, all offerings in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are open to children ages 3 to 12 on the Disney Wonder and ages 3 to 10 on the Disney Magic.

In addition to the obvious benefit of have a wider range of things to do, this change also makes planning easier for friends and extended families who vacation together and have children of different ages. That definitely would be a key point for my children and their cousins.

How could they not be excited by these possibilities with popular Disney characters?

- During the new Cinderella's Royal Ball, young guests can feel like royalty as Cinderella shows them how to be princes or princesses.

- So You Want to be a Pirate offers adventurous tales of the high seas, pirate training for young buccaneers, swashbuckling fun and a special appearance by Captain Hook.

- Children are immersed in the world of Disney- Pixar's Toy Story during Toy Story Boot Camp. Led by Corporal Green, toy recruits participate in interactive activities.
Other activities are hands-on sessions designed to appeal to children's sense of creativity and invention:

- In Ratatouille Cooking School, kids work together to bake tasty chocolate chip cookies.

- During the new Animal Tracking Series, children discover that conservation can be fun as they learn about endangered animals, create an animal tracking device and locate (plush) cotton-top tamarin monkeys using telemetry tracking on Castaway Cay.

- In Flubber, one of the most popular youth activities on Disney Cruise Line, children join Professor Goo in creating magical green goo and other interesting concoctions.

Other onboard youth activities include playful programs such as Mouseketeer Training and Little Einsteins for preschoolers; challenge-and solution-games like Stitch's Great Adventure and Detective School with Goofy.

High-action group activities such as Kim Possible, Cruise Control and The Challenge of Davy Jones; and unstructured free time to enjoy the youth areas, play on computers and spend time having fun with new friends.

And those are just the children-only offerings. Disney stage productions, family activities, first-run films in digital 3-D, poolside movies, deck parties, a family club and the Castaway Cay Family Beach provide even more opportunities for families to make memories together.