My Daughters Thought This Disney Cruise Was For Them. Honestly, It Was For Me.

As a child of the ’80s and ’90s, there was no such thing as a “Disney cruise”… but a trip to Disneyland? That was basically the child-equivalent of winning the lottery.

As immigrants who moved from Singapore and Malaysia to Canada, my parents made it a point to give my sister and me that magical experience. And we loved it. I grew up loving Mickey Mouse. I still have Disneyland hats that my daughters now wear. And I’ve lost count of how many times we watched Alice in Wonderland because my sister was obsessed.

It didn’t end there. When my family lived in Hong Kong in the 2000s, we were thrilled when Hong Kong Disneyland opened — even though I was already in my 20s. We went multiple times. We even had annual passes.

Now I have two princess-obsessed preschoolers who think trips to Hong Kong Disneyland are “tradition”, thanks to very accommodating grandparents. So when we got the opportunity to sail on the media preview of the Disney Adventure, I sent a big thank you to the universe (and my editor) before packing our Disney T-shirts and princess dresses for four days at sea.

The biggest ship in the fleet

The Disney Adventure is the largest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, and its first in Asia.

Unlike cruises to Alaska or the Caribbean — where the experience includes excursions and land activities — the Disney Adventure is a cruise to nowhere. Which means all the magic lives within its walls.

Its seven themed areas are designed to draw you into some of Disney’s biggest worlds like Big Hero 6, Toy Story, and Moana. There are rides (including the longest rollercoaster at sea), character meet-and-greets (and many, many photo opportunities), and a kids’ club that even I wanted to stay in.

PS: It opens till past midnight.

Entertainment all day

“And what exactly do you do on a four-night cruise?” my husband kept asking.

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure either.

Every guest gets access to two shows at the Walt Disney Theatre. Adventure of the Sea, featuring classic characters like Goofy and Minnie, is a fun welcome. But it’s the second show, Remember, that really gets you.

I may have cried through most of it while balancing my completely entranced four-year-old on my lap.

Even though it ended way past her bedtime and she was exhausted, she whispered to me: “I didn’t want to sleep because I didn’t want to miss any of it.”

Outside the theatre, there’s even more happening at the Imagination Garden stage. (Fair warning: it gets really hot in the day because there’s zero cover.)

My six-year-old, R, kicked things off at the Let’s Set Sail show by rubbing Aladdin’s lamp and releasing the genie. (Both this and the Avengers Assemble show include child participation.)

Meanwhile, my four-year-old, L, was excited to watch the first-ever Duffy and Friends show, The Friend Ship, after becoming obsessed with the turtle (Olu Mel) at Hong Kong Disneyland.

We also made our very princessy girls sit through the Avengers show because my husband and I wanted the acrobatics and action — and you know, broaden their horizons.

Meeting your idols

During our Disney Adventure cruise, my daughters met Mickey and Minnie, multiple princesses, and other characters.

That said, L is mortally afraid of Baymax, which is ironic because she loves marshmallows…

While R is a little skeptical about the whole fantasy, L was all in. It was fascinating watching this child — who, six months ago, loudly declared in a packed elevator “I DON’T LIKE PEOPLE” — suddenly come alive in this environment.

She curtsied to Snow White. She spun in her gown with Ariel. She talked to everyone, from strangers in elevators to cast members at dinner, and even a fellow journalist whom she proclaimed was her “best friend” throughout the cruise.

It was quite something to witness that kind of confidence in a child, in what really felt like a whole new world.

Even R, who is more reserved, found her own way. She eagerly spent time at the Oceaneer Club, a kids’ space for ages 3 to 10 with a high staff-to-child ratio. She even made friends from around Asia.

For four days, my girls stayed up late and ate ice cream daily. Of course, there was a trade-off. They were overstimulated and occasionally cranky. But in the “most magical place on earth”, even their meltdowns felt… manageable.

True magic is in the people

There’s been a lot of talk about this media/influencer cruise that I was on.

Full disclosure: we weren’t invited to try everything, and there were experiences I personally felt were too expensive.

I didn’t mind, as I want my girls to understand that we don’t always get what we want. So yes, we were happy to queue for an hour to meet Mickey or three princesses, but I wasn’t about to spend USD$300 at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where they get to don princess dresses and have their hair and makeup done.

Being on a media cruise also meant we weren’t surrounded by hardcore Disney cruise fans. There’s a whole culture that we barely scratched the surface of. Things like “fish extenders” and “pixie dusting” were very new to us. Since there wasn’t much time to prepare, I decided we would leave those for another time. (Next Disney cruise!)

Still, there’s something about being on a cruise run by a brand that calls itself “the happiest place on earth” that seemed to bring out the best in (most) people.

My daughters experienced so much kindness by strangers.

An American man offered them a stool at Wayfinder’s Bay so they could watch Moana: Call of the Sea unobstructed. After we complimented a neighbouring cabin’s magnetic door decorations, we returned one day to find one of them on our door. And that same fellow journalist? Still L’s “best friend” by the end of the trip. She even convinced her to nap so she could stay up for the Lion King: Celebration in the Sky fireworks!

The rotational dining was another highlight. It allowed us to experience a different themed restaurant each night, with the same service team following us throughout. It’s definitely not the kind of service we’re used to in Singapore.

By the end, my girls knew all the cast members’ names and looked forward to the magic tricks they performed. Honestly, this might have been their favourite part of the cruise.

Maybe that’s where the magic really lies.

Everyone on Disney Adventure steps into this magical world where people are kind, where we’re all here for the same reason — to enjoy Disney. (Creating content can wait.)

And that kindness is contagious.

A whole new world

As an old Disney kid, I loved being immersed in this world — from the themed spaces to the non-stop Disney music in the elevators (including some very obscure throwbacks).

As a parent, I loved watching my children experience it for themselves.

They were eager and curious, ready to take part in almost everything (except photoshoots with Baymax). They adapted quickly to life on the “Mickey boat”, as L calls it.

As cruises are new to us, something as simple as seeing the ocean at mealtimes felt special. (Not so fun: watching the pool water slosh around on a slightly rocky day, though no one else seemed to notice.)

Watching my children enjoy themselves made me think about how my parents must have felt taking me to Disney World and Disneyland when I was a child.

They loved the magic because of what it gave us. And now, they love our annual trips to Hong Kong Disneyland where they can share that magic with their granddaughters (and buy them way too much stuff).

There’s so much content out there about the physical features of Disney Adventure — the shows, the design, the souvenirs I wish I had bought.

While all of that is amazing, what really stays with me is the Disney spirit. The joy, the magic, the wonder. 

And that’s what I hope my children take with them too.

This experience was part of a hosted media preview of the Disney Adventure cruise. All expressed opinions are the writer’s own.