Merrytime Disney Cruise

Disney Very Merrytime Cruise Tips

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Disney Merrytime Cruise

I love the holiday season, especially Christmas and no one does Christmas quite like Disney.  I’ve been to Disney World a couple times during the holiday season and the parks are decorated beautifully!  But nothing beat a Disney Very Merrytime Cruise!

A few years ago, I caught a glimpse of the Disney Fantasy cruise ship being turned over from Halloween to Christmas and I knew then that I wanted to experience a Merrytime cruise on one of the Disney ships.  And I will tell you – it did not disappoint!! 

What Happens on a Disney Very Merrytime Cruise?

There are a few things that differ between a regular Disney cruise and a Disney Very Merrytime Cruise. The biggest is the decorations. The ship is decorated for the holiday season, including a huge Christmas tree right in the atrium.

There are also some special events to put everyone in the holiday spirit. It makes the cruise extra special!

Here is what you can expect and some Disney Very Merrytime cruise tips!

Merrytime Disney Cruise

The decorations are AMAZING! As soon as you board the ship, you can feel the all the Christmas feels when you walk into the atrium.  There is a 3 story Christmas tree that is all decked out.  Each floor is also decorated with gorgeous garland!

Disney Very Merrytime Cruise

On the bottom floor of the atrium, a large gingerbread house is constructed that is all lit up and completely looks real!  The detail of it is unbelievable and it’s a great place to take a family photo! It is a great way to get the Merrytime cruise started! 

Merrytime Disney Cruise tips

Disney Very Merrytime Cruise Characters Wear Festive Outfits!

While the characters still have their usual cruise outfits on for parts of the trip, they also have on some really cute and fun holiday outfits!  There were more formal outfits and then fun, more summery holiday ones.  Who can resist a picture with Goofy dressed up as Santa or Pluto dressed up like a reindeer?

Merrytime Disney Cruise

Don’t Miss Surprise Character Sightings

There were also quite a few “surprise” character sightings. On a couple nights, when the music was playing in the Atrium after dinner, we spotted characters out having fun dancing with the passengers. 

One night we got to see Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale and Stitch all out having fun!  It was a fun surprise when you were just enjoying the music and the kids love being able to interact with the characters in an informal setting.

Merrytime Disney Cruise

Fun Parties on the Merrytime Disney Cruise!

On the first night of the cruise, they have a fun tree lighting ceremony in the atrium lobby where all your favorite characters come out and turn on the lights on the tree. 

One of the best features of this was they had a special area up front only for kids to sit in so that they could easily see the characters up close.  There were no grown ups allowed and it made it pretty special for the kids.

Merrytime Disney Cruise

Another fabulous part of the Merrytime Disney Cruise is the Winter Wonderland party.  This party celebrates the arrival of Santa and Mrs Claus. 

Merrytime Disney Cruise

Once he arrives all of your favorite characters join the party, including an extra surprise – Anna and Elsa straight from Arendale! 

In a completely magical moment, Elsa makes it snow right there on the cruise ship and the characters come out for a big dance party!  The kids get to pick their favorite character and have fun dancing to the music with them.  It is such a fun experience!

Merrytime Disney Cruise

Holiday Spirit Runs Deep on a Merrytime  Cruise

One of the things to expect is to see the passengers dressed in many different Christmas outfits – some dress up to the nines on formal night, some wear fun Christmas headbands and many wear family Christmas pajamas!  They all make for fun, memorable pictures of the Merrytime Disney Cruise.

What are your favorite holiday activities? 

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Check out these other posts about Disney Cruises you may enjoy!

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2 thoughts on “Disney Very Merrytime Cruise Tips”

  1. I am glad that you all had a great time. We absolutely loved it! Everything was beautiful and magical. Now, we want to experience the Halloween on the High Seas 🙂

    1. We have done one of those as well – it was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the Christmas one more, I think because I just love Christmas but it was fun to see all the characters dressed in their Halloween costumes and get to dress up! We have some fun family pictures!

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