This isn’t a holiday solely for kids. Disney Cruise Line has arrived Downunder and with it, a trove of experiences for adults and children alike, writes Anna Sarjeant
I’m riding the hotel elevator when yet another tell-tale (tail?) Disney employee gets in with me. There’s a mouse-shaped lanyard around her neck, so I take no time in telling her I’m boarding the Disney cruise ship later that day. Disney Wonder, part of Disney’s fleet of five ships arrived in Sydney’s iconic harbour at 4am (three more ships will join in 2024 and 2025). The cruise line has never ventured Downunder before and the excitement for the inaugural visit is both palpable and apparent. My lift buddy informs me that hundreds of Disney fans, decked out in all the usual Disney paraphernalia, lined the harbour at the crack of dawn to welcome the ship into dock. The applause was deafening.
A few hours later, I’m crossing the threshold myself, as part of a one-day celebration to welcome Mickey and his comrades to the Southern Hem, before Wonder’s first guests board the following afternoon. Stepping off the gangway I enter a scene from Beauty and the Beast. The walls are golden, the lights are twinkling, the balustrades gleam and I suddenly want to don a big poofy dress and sing at some birds.
Disney dubs their cruise experiences as “Magic at Sea” and it seems I’ve just been hit with a literal boatload of enchantment. At the grand age of 37, I’m transported back to a very special time in 1991 when I was 5. Speaking of, I’m standing next to an actual 5-year-old, complete with Minnie Mouse ears and a spotty handbag, and she is equally enthralled. What this cruise ship will continue to confirm over the coming hours is that Disney is timeless. No one is immune to the magic.
Somewhere between the Cinderella-style staircase and top-deck swimming pool, complete with water slides and Monsters Inc. “Ice Scream” parlour, I sit down with Thomas Mazloum, president of New Experiences Portfolio and Disney Signature Experiences, and he validates my new-found nostalgic giddiness. “We’re not a traditional cruise ship,” he says. “We’re in the business of telling stories and it’s our business to create happiness.”
I’m nodding enthusiastically because 5-year-old me is very happy. Mazloum goes on to explain that while Disney is a dream for children, the cruise line is what he calls a “compromise-free holiday” for every member of the family. “Compromise just doesn’t happen on our cruises,” he says. “Everyone has the ability to customise their experience. Everyone chooses what they want to do and then they can meet up later as a family.” I’m nodding again. This time as a parent. The on-board nursery welcomes passengers as young as 6 months, and Mum and Dad can beeline to the Crown & Fin British pub for a pint. There’s also a spa and an entire adults-only area that spans several themed bars, a fitness centre and pool area. If you tire of shovelling spag bol into fussy mouths (or watching it from afar), Palo is the ship’s adult-only restaurant.
Caught up in the moment, I start telling Mazloum about every Disney experience I can remember, including how Covid thwarted my 2020 plans to visit Disneyland Paris. He jumps at the chance to highlight the cruise line’s other major perk. “So many New Zealand and Australian audiences love to watch our movies and there’s an emotional connection to the brand,” Mazloum says. “We’re bringing Disney to your backyard. The ship is the destination. There is no distance involved like going to one of the theme parks. We’re bringing it to you.”
I find Mazloum’s words echoing in my head a few hours later when we’re back in the foyer hugging Disney princesses. Children and adults alike are stepping up for autographs and selfies with Cinderella, Belle and Rapunzel. Why go and rescue a princess when she can come to you? Minnie and Mickey are doing the rounds too, and Daisy Duck is absolutely beside herself when she spots a young lady with a bright pink handbag. They dance together, purse appreciation in full flow.
Like everything Disney-related, whether it’s a film, theme park or theatre show, the attention to detail is second to none. As guests, we are privy to dinner and a show on board. The meal is held at Animator’s Palate, where the ceiling is supported by giant paintbrushes and the walls are adorned with dozens of TV screens. It’s not as simple as splattering a cartoon across the restaurant though, oh no, if you want entertainment, you have to draw your own. I won’t spill every secret but suffice to say, each guest leaves with a certificate in animation.
Earlier, I’d asked Mazloum why he thought Disney Wonder sold out in New Zealand and Australia as soon as it hit the market, and along with the storytelling and the no-compromise perks and proximity, he told me that “the cruises are the highest-rated guest experience at Disney”. He beams. I beam back – and then launch into a lengthy monologue about my love of Buzz Lightyear.
Magic at Sea and then some. No one’s immune.
Cruises range from 2-7 nights, departing from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland with ports of call including all the above, as well as Hobart, Eden and Noumea, New Caledonia (itinerary-dependent). Don’t worry if you missed out, Disney Cruise Line returns to Australia and New Zealand from October 2024 through February 2025.
DETAILS
disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruise-disney/magic-at-sea
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