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10 Things I'll NEVER Do Again on a Disney Cruise

Sarah Burton

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Ready to avoid the most common Disney cruise mistakes? 🚢✨ These real-life Disney cruise tips will help beginners (and even repeat cruisers) skip the stress and cruise smarter.

After 8 Disney cruises, I’m sharing the honest “what I wouldn’t do again” list—so you don’t have to learn the hard way. From transportation decisions to Castaway Cay surprises and excursions regrets, these tips are all about maximizing your time, money, and fun onboard. Some might surprise you (yes, even fan-favorite experiences didn’t make the cut 👀). If you’re planning your first Disney cruise or want to level up your next one, this is for you.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Disney Cruise Mistakes Intro
00:15 - Disney Cruise Transportation Tips (Skip This?)
02:05 - Luggage Strategy & Disembarkation Hacks
03:42 - Pirate Night Dinner: Worth It or Not?
05:12 - Sports Simulator Review (Save Your Money)
06:06 - Castaway Cay Mistakes: Serenity Bay vs Family Beach
08:22 - Fish Extenders Tips: Why I Quit
10:10 - Dole Whip on Disney Cruise Reality Check
11:18 - Kids Club at Castaway Cay Tips
12:09 - Excursion Mistakes to Avoid
13:36 - Themed Lounge Drinks: Overhyped?
15:09 - Bonus Disney Cruise Tip: Let Go of FOMO

#DisneyCruise #DisneyCruiseTips #CruiseMistakes #CastawayCay #FirstTimeCruiser

17 Comments

@sarahburton5 Creator 4 months ago Pinned

What are the things you won’t be doing again on your next Disney cruise? I’d love to know!

@puneettalwar6832 1 day ago

I agree with you

@scottsutcliffe3266 1 day ago

We do express walk off and Disney transportation gets us to MCO very early. We can take a noon flight home.

@earth8127 1 day ago

agreed on the dole whip. i was disappointed

@jimgibney5649 4 months ago

Very helpful, honest commentary from someone who has taken multiple Disney cruises. Thanks Sarah!

@timgersh6787 4 months ago

this is a rare helpful video

@journeys_with_jen 4 months ago

This is great information Sarah! It’s so easy to over commit with excursions, I do it all the time. I would never book a 3 night Disney cruise again. It ends too quickly and I leave feeling like I did not get my fill.

@BobTuskey 4 months ago (edited)

100% agree about Serenity Bay. I'm 60 and don't like it. I would rather snorkel on the family beach until exhausted and then eat at Cookies or Cookies Too. Although, most Disney ships I've been on have also had lamb at the buffet on these days...

Also, I always take some time to read on the ships. My favorite spot is the Promenade Deck, or on my balcony if I have one. Nothing like watching the sea go by.

@shardae5219 4 months ago

I'm 100% with you on the Fish Extender groups. My last love language is gifts AND I had zero time before the cruise so we did Pixie dust candy outside our stateroom and topped it up twice a day.

@LoveTish 4 months ago

We are platinum and choose to board at 1:00. No rush in the morning. We also take our own luggage off. We have had luggage damaged letting them take it and we want to get going.I disagree about Pirate night. I love it. I also disagree on Serenity Bay, I love it. I agree about the fish extenders. I dislike Dole Whip. Your son is correct. Don’t overdo.

@sophiebrousseau7974 4 months ago

Hi Sarah
It’s been a long Time…
Thanks for your input. I agree with everything except for the Haunted Mansion Parlor which we adore. You can Just order a beer or they can make you any drink on demand.
The one thing we will not do again is getting the rain Forest package for the entire cruise. Too expensive and we don’t take advantage of it fully as we want to explore the ship and do other things.

@davidrigoni8231 4 months ago

As far as not using Disney transportation, to me the challenge is then you have to be super tech savvy and have everything down
Into a file and hope it downloads by 12:01 to get an early boarding time.

@MrSnoomun1983 4 months ago

This is great, thanks for making this video. Glad to hear about the fish extenders. We had one made for what would have been our first disney cruise in 2020 and were part of a group and had little lego kits to make ships that we were going to gift, it was simple. The covid canceled that one and we're finally going to be on the Fantasy in 13 days. The FB group and FE lists are INSANE now. These people are nuts spending hundreds of dollars on a ton of stuff to gift. We'll hang our FE and if people pixie dust our kids then so be it.

@ShellMarieG 2 days ago

Was skipping Pirate night dinner before or after the menu update?

@csharrison2011 3 months ago

OMG. 💯 on the nose with all of it. We’re 2 adults with no kiddos and we’re at the point with Serenity at Castaway where we just hang out on the bar deck and then get a drink around noon, head over to the Head’s Up bar for another and then go back to the ship for lunch. As for the themed lounges, I learned in Haunted Mansion bar on the Destiny that all those bottles on the back bar are liquor just covered in sleeves. So if I’m feeling a cocktail I’ll order a vodka soda. The signature cocktails are all too sweet for us. Hubby just brought a beer in from The Sanctum and we tipped well on the cocktail. This was great, thanks for sharing!