Overhyped or Marvellously Magical? My Disney Wonder Cruise Review

[@gandjconway30]

Love your reviews Adrian - you give credit where it is due and a balanced critique. I can see that other lines are a better option for us!

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much

[@DaniellesBayouAdventure]

I’ll be taking my 4th Disney cruise in March and my 1st time on the Wonder. I enjoy doing Disney cruises without kids. It’s a whole different experience and I love it. My next 2 Disney cruises will be adults only cruises.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

I found that Disney Wonder had one of the best adults only experiences I've ever enjoyed on any cruise, anywhere! Ironic really haha. Enjoy your cruise.

[@FPSKelly]

Just went on the Disney Wonder in New Zealand with my 3 kids (6, 4, and 2). I was expecting a lot of relaxing days while the kids were off at kids clubs etc ... But this was not the case at all. Whilst it wasn't what we expected, it was so much better than I could have ever imagined. I thought there was absolutely no way it could be worth the money we paid, and that it would be a once in a lifetime kind of holiday ... But we're already excited about rebooking for 2026!! The best way I can describe our experience is that it felt like we were trapped in a theme park with our kids for 4 days. Exhausting, sometimes stressful, but absolutely amazing. The one thing that you can't really quantify or qualify was just how special they made each of our kids feel. Not only at formal meet-and-greets, or at dinner time, but even walking around the ship. Every single crew member said hello to the kids first and foremost as we walked past them in the hall. At first the kids were thrown off by this, but by the end, they felt so special. It really was their ship. Everything was top notch. We couldn't recommend our experience enough. It's expensive, incredibly so. But also an absolutely one-of-a-kind experience that we just fell in love with.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

That sounds like such a great experience. I love hearing about all the little touches that the Disney crew used to help make the trip feel that much more special for you and your family. Thanks for sharing.

[@kendodkins4727]

Another fantastic review Adrian and confirms this isn't for us but very interesting....well done....looking forward to sailing with you both in February...

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much Ken! See you in Feb 🥳

[@davec1034]

aaaah really reliving our Disney cruise now. Thank you Adrian. Pirate Night was fun for us. The Grandies loved each restaurant, Cabana's and the targeted kids activities. Our SIL and daughter are comic-Con people so most of the Character shows were eagerly attended. Our rooms had adjoining balcony and the partition was removed by the steward so we could go between rooms without using the hall doors.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Sounds like it was a very fun cruise 😬

[@maetherabbit9999]

As a childfree couple, we absolutely love the Wonder! Definitely recommend doing a minimum 3 nights so you get all of the shows and restaurants.

[@edumdumwong8663]

Yo Adrian! Enjoyed this review & recap of our cruise. Our? Yeah, we were your dining partners for the 2 nights. Really gd to hv meant u & ur partner. You guys were great company, the Animaters Palate interactive show blew & socks off & yeah. Surprise surprise….. Vanessa luved it so much & 2 nights were not enough… so we will be bk 4 d Xmas 🎉Cruise w d House of Mickey

[@t4N9410oR]

Even though I don't, yet, have a passport, this review, and the one on Have Wheelchair Will Travel, has put the Disney Wonder front and centre for taking my first ever cruise on. Thanks very much for your video review Adrian. :)

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much for watching! Don’t forget that on domestic cruises, those that don’t visit any international port, you’ll only require government issued photo ID.

[@t4N9410oR]

​ @TheCruiseandTravelGuy Noting what you said about the cruise you were on, being too short, I was thinking of the 6-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Sydney which travels Sydney to Nouméa, and back to Sydney. Everything else looks like too short a cruise. Hopefully that 6 night itinerary would still be available in the 2026/2027 season. If there was a 4 night or 5 night, Sydney to Melbourne and back to Sydney cruise, that would be great. Right now though, the main priority for me is to get my passport and save the cash so I can book to go on a cruise. It takes time to save money, being on the disability support pension. And as well, I have to factor in return airfare BNE-SYD and 2 nights accom in Sydney (the day before the cruise, and the day after getting back) in my planning. Additional planning that is not easy, or cheap. Not easy, since far too many hotels do NOT make it possible to book a disabled accessible room on their websites, despite saying they have disabled accessible rooms available.

[@WendyKoek-e8x]

Great review as always

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks Wendy!

[@ttwedell]

I've been on all 4 of the original ships and the Wonder is my favorite! Glad you handsome gents had a good experience, and I see you were treated to Lenora on the piano in the Cadillac Lounge !❤

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much! Lenora was amazing - a definite cruise highlight.

[@pw-sz6ds]

I love getting the luggage tags in the mail. I appreciate this detailed review. Very informative. I might actually try the Wonder. I like the Dream and Fantasy but you convinced me to try it even though it’s very expensive. I definitely don’t cruise for their food😆

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

The tags were a nice little touch point 😬

[@kathleenb6851]

Couldn't agree more. Family of 3 adults who just debarked yesterday. Great entertainment and service, food average especially in the buffet. I was just trying disney cruises out and I can't justify the cruise prices for another booking, even though my big kid husband and daughter would do it again. It was $18 usd for a cocktail!

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Eeeek those cocktail prices 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I will never publicly admit that our onboard spend was almost as much as the cost of the cruise… wait…

[@moiraw1111]

Just been trying to remember going on a cruise overseas ten plus years ago with my then teenage daughter, maybe RCL?? They had a couple of Disney events including a lunch and a meet and greet with characters; which were just as manic! Guess I won't be rushing back to repeat the experience 😄

[@Shorty2024-p9m]

RCL. That was their partnership with Dreamworks productions. We did the same thing when I went on my first cruise. I actually had to research it because people told me that RCL didn’t do it, wish they had kept it. Now they have a wiggles partnership for the younger ones, unfortunately we had already booked our cruise before we knew this, so the younger ones missed out on this experience cos it would have cost more to cancel and rebook later, not to mention trying to chance leave time

[@moiraw1111]

@@Shorty2024-p9m thank you for the confirmation :)

[@susanab7]

Loved my 4 night cruise Syd-Hob-Syd last year. We had an accessible room because I use a walker and it was lovely and spacious.Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful and honestly I can't wait to go on another cruise (planned for a few years time). The only downside is that there's never enough time to do everything! PS Agreed on the condition of the Wonder,she is a beautiful ship and didn't look dated at all.

[@dennisegrant5901]

We've been on numerous Disney cruises with our children starting when our youngest was 4 up until he was 16 and since then we've gone on many more sans children. They are wonderful and have stuff for everyone but I must say that the 'adult only' areas are generally busy because Disney has such good child care you can drop your kids off early in the morning and not see them again until they close (if you've a mind to do that).

[@PhilZamagias]

Thanks Adrian. That’s very helpful. I like Disney and have been to a few Disneyland theme parks but not sure I would go on a Disney cruise unless I was taking my grandkids. It was good to know there are adult areas when you can escape the noise. The price is a bit steep though. Will keep an eye on any specials that may be offered.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks Phil, glad you enjoyed the review. There look to be a few deals going around this summer - advertised fares up to 30% lower than originally priced. Which is interesting… I suspect their pricing has been a sticking point across the market.

[@aishaabdullah6993]

I love Disney and will probably take my child on there but we love royal caribbean. I love the longer cruises and just being able to chill out. I feel like we'd have to do everything to get our money's worth and rush around. If im saving all year for a cruise i want atleast a week.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

I think that’s part of the problem with a Disney cruise - it feels a bit chaotic. I could see that everyone was trying their best to maximise the Disney experience and to me at least, it didn’t look at all relaxing. A longer Disney cruise would be less chaotic, but then the cost would be considerably higher than a competitor such as RCI. 🤔

[@khardy1801]

I think if you don’t like Disney and don’t have kids, it won’t be for you. Not sure we’ll ever do another Disney cruise due to cost and wanting to explore other things, but we loved it. Our wait staff were in your video of Tiana’s ❤

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

It’s definitely a fun, bucket list experience. Very special, but difficult to justify as a non-Disney fanatic.

[@rasferrastfarian739]

I'm not a big Disney fan therefore I'd not waste the money especially at the prices you have shown. Hard No from me. Thanks for the review Adrian, great as always.

[@TS-pq8km]

With the mega Disney Adventure being permanently home ported in Singapore from mid 2025 do you think Disney will continue with a lesser ship based in Australia over summer? Great video. Your closing analysis as well as your pricing discussion is excellent. As to price point I think they take as their comparison point hotel costs at their theme parks. They market these hotels with lots of interactive character experiences as well. Probably not for me but there is no doubt they know how to leverage a product

[@MaggieKingsway]

Great review! I had been watching the prices for this 2 night cruise over the past month, hoping it would drop a bit. As a solo cruiser, it was just too much😮 maybe one day... Do they actually enforce the adult only spaces? Some of the other lines are very weak in this.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much. Yes, the enforcement was definitely there during our cruise. The adults only spaces were a godsend 😂

[@Kim-ul9to]

good job thank you

[@edvaira6891]

This is the ship that homeports most often in my hometown of San Diego and, for the one time we tried this ship, we found it frustrating because it just is NOT wheelchair friendly (my wife has cerebral palsy) and we found hallways surprisingly cramped….plus this has been the only ship I’ve ever cruised on that did NOT have its Accessible cabins located nearby the elevators (very frustrating!)…AND THE ELEVATORS ARE SO TINY! We frequently couldn’t get on an elevator for several attempts and the elevators rarely could accommodate more than just us so this would anger others when we took up the entire elevator (we had a simple folding manual chair, not any huge motorized one or a scooter and we still had trouble….)

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks for sharing your experience from that perspective. We did notice that the elevators were super small. Many of the doors leading from outer decks to indoor spaces were also pull/push with no electric operation.

[@melissaluttke3694]

we just sailed disney wonder over the weekend. whilst 1 of my children is disney obsdssed the other 2 are not so much. we did really enjoy our time and were exhausted as we did a 2 night trip too and its hard to jam pack everything in in that time to get value out of the trip. however ive booked a 9 night islands trip with carnival for the same price as we paid for two nights with disney.. and my husband will not get left at home then. whilst it was ebjoyable and cheaper than a trip to Disneyland it wont be on our to do list again for a long while

[@alanacorney9648]

Completely agree with you regarding the adults only space - we did have a kid with us but the nursery was fabulous so we got a couple of hours to ourselves! Sad to hear the lines are still insane, and completely agree on the food front - our only other gripe was with the fact you ended up near the same people every night at dinner - fine in theory, but if you get stuck next to an annoying attention grabbing group on day one, you’re stuck with them for the whole cruise 🫠

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Good point! We were lucky to meet some very nice people, but I can imagine it’s not always the case 🫣

[@volrathy1]

Great video balanced review I think my kids are abit old now for disney - 15 & 18 (is he a kid now??) I've done p&o / royal / carnival. I think value wise I will stick with p&o but I want to give princess a try if the price is right (under $100 per person p/n)

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much. I think Princess is a great value proposition. Some of their cruises are really chock full this coming summer.

[@jacquelinefoodlover8963]

Great review as always Adrian. Well done. Didn’t appeal to me before and still doesn’t. ps are you only 25? 🤔

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks Jacqueline! No, I wish 😂 👴🏼 36 (first cruise at 11, which was 25 years ago)

[@jacquelinefoodlover8963]

Oops!! Can’t add up 🤭🤣

[@chucknorris8704]

Was the gyros included for free??? That would get me on the ship ASAP.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Yep, all of the deck based food items were included in the fare 😬

[@1999nathanule]

Im definitely going to book at least a 5 night experience ,its only just me so its perfect Having adults kids now ,l can go have as much fun as l like COOLLLLLL lm a Disney lover always have been ,so when l heard they were coming to Melbourne l couldn't have been more happy. Ive treated my kids to cruises before but for some reason Disney doesn't interest them ,even though as kids they were Disney lovers BIG TIME ,l suppose some grow out of it ,but not me.

[@Wellnessfromscratch]

Sorry but you didn't mention that kids club for ages 6 months to 3 years is an extra cost for parents at an hourly rate. I just think its important to mention considering Disney cruises are meant for families.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

No need to be sorry. Thanks for mentioning it. I think the overarching premise with Disney Cruise Line, is be prepared to pay - lots. 💰

[@suerobinson844]

Hi Adrian, I enjoyed your break between subjects. Did you get on board credit ? I am boycotting Disney since they sacked Johnny Depp. That is a crazy price. I did like the adult only facilities, guess you would need them. ❤ Sue

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks so much Sue - glad you enjoyed the breakdown of subjects too. We didn’t have any onboard credit, I booked the cheapest fare I could find 😂

[@suerobinson844]

At least you saved on the fair. Thanks for your reply. Happy sailing ❤ Sue ​@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy

[@user-qe4dw8dy9i]

Thanks, Adrian. I considered booking a Disney cruise for our wedding anniversary next month; my wife owns nearly 200 Mickey Mouse watches. But I could get 7 nights in a balcony on Ovation of the Seas for less than 5 nights in an interior cabin on Disney. I just couldn’t justify the price.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks heaps for watching. Totally get that - the pricing is a hard pill to swallow when compared to other options. I also don’t know that people get the full Disney experience as compared to the theme parks anyway…

[@sylvaniaboi]

Thanks for the review - HOWEVER the price is the KILLER !!!! If you are paying $600 per day - then what are you really getting for that ? I for one wont be ever doing that cruise line...ever.

[@calumshaw]

Looks too expensive. Jan 23 we sailed 3 nights on Grand Princess, Melbourne to Sydney via Eden in the aft facing Owners Suite (You did a review of the Grand suite last year). We spoilt ourselves and did the 3 night cruise just to move us up to Princess Elite (the Free Laundry Class) and it was miles (kilometres) cheaper than the Disney fares you quoted.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Princess offers much better value, and honestly, is more my type of cruise experience for a relaxing holiday

[@calumshaw]

@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Have to agree although I do wish they'd be a little more inventive about their Australian itineraries. NZ and Noumea/Vanuatu/Fiji are becoming very passe.

[@grateful7785]

There's so much you didn’t experience with only 2 nights. I hope you’ll go again. Try no less than 5 nights. Ideally, a minimum of 7 nights. Thanks for your video.

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

Thanks for watching! What would you suggest we try on a longer cruise?

[@H.R.B.]

Announcing your arrival. As a solo cruiser, that would be so embarrassing. I would feel like a complete loser!

[@chucknorris8704]

Tell su something we didnt know

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

lol I didn’t think about that! The lady announcing names asked us what we’d like to be called… so I think you could just ask for no announcement and they’d oblige.

[@H.R.B.]

@@TheCruiseandTravelGuy Then I would like to be called single and ready to mingle.

[@grateful7785]

​@@H.R.B. 😂

[@smileyem2]

Stuck with your kids 😂😂😂

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

🫣 🤣

[@mrscuteas]

It’s a hard pass from us 😂

[@TheCruiseandTravelGuy]

🤣