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Disney Cruise Wifi 2024 Prices and Internet Options

By: Author tanialamb

Posted on Published: February 12, 2024

Disney Cruise Line has wifi on board all of their ships and they all now have the upgraded wifi. If you’re sailing on a Disney Cruise in 2024, the wifi increased in price in August 2023. Here’s everything you need to know about Disney Cruise Line internet like how much it costs, how to connect to the internet while sailing, and which data plan is best for you.

Disney Cruise Wifi Prices

How Much Does Disney Cruise WiFi Cost?

Disney Cruise WiFi prices start at $18 a day for the entire cruise. Disney Cruise Wifi options and prices are the same for the Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream, Disney Wish, Disney Magic, and Disney Wonder.

The 2024 Disney Cruise Line Wifi Package Prices Start at:

  • Stay Connected – $18 per day for a 24 hour period
  • Basic Surf – $28 per day for a 24 hour period
  • Premium Surf – $42 per day for a 24 hour period

Disney Cruise Wifi Prices 2024

If you book a wifi package for your entire voyage on Disney Cruise Line, then you’ll receive a discount on the wifi.

The price for Disney Cruise WiFi is per device in the room , not per room. So the price is cheaper per day if you choose wifi for the whole voyage. If not, you can choose 24 hour increments. 

For example, if you purchase internet on Disney Cruise Line on a Saturday at 5:00 p.m., you’d have until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday to use it before it shuts off. 

The graphic below shows how it works, but the prices are before the increase.

2023 Disney Cruise Line wifi prices

Disney Cruise Wifi Internet Packages

All Disney Cruise Line ships have upgraded wifi packages for 2024. Knowing Disney Cruise WiFi prices ahead of time will help you factor it into your budget.

The new and improved Disney Cruise Wifi is currently on the Disney Wish, Disney Magic, Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream, and now the Disney Wonder. The Disney Wonder was the last hold out. They introduced the new Disney wifi packages in 2022 and basically coincide with the old wifi packages – small, medium, and large – based on what you can do with them. 

Stay Connected Package

The Stay Connected package says it will allow you to post pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tumblr. However, some guests have reported to not be able to send photos.

You can also try one package and if it isn’t working the way you’d like, then you can upgrade. One of the benefits of the Stay Connected plan is that it’s the cheapest.  The Stay Connected package starts at $18 a day. 

Basic Surf Package

The Basic Surf package seems to work for guests who want to post on social media, check some emails, and use basic internet activity, plus send or receive photos. “Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites, send and receive emails, and make audio calls.” The Basic Surf Package starts at $28 a day. 

Premium Surf Package

The Premium Surf package is said to have faster connection speeds on a Disney cruise ship. “Make video calls, listen to your favorite music streaming platforms, surf the web, view short-form videos like TikTok.” This plan still does not support video streaming like Netflix. 

Disney Cruise Wifi Premium Surf

If you ever used the old Disney Cruise wifi, you know it was a struggle and it was slow. This new Disney Cruise wifi is definitely improved, though you still have to be patient, because you’re at sea. 

Pay-As-You-Use Disney Cruise Internet Prices

The old Disney Cruise Line WiFi  was a pay-as-you-use plan that started at $.25 per megabyte used. The Disney Wonder used to have the old wifi packages, but as of October 2023, the wifi has been upgraded and matches the rest of Disney Cruise Line.

Disney Cruise Line Wifi Prices

How Do You Connect to the Internet on Disney Cruise Line?

When you board your Disney Cruise, you should be able to use your regular data plan for internet until about 10 minutes or so after you leave your port.

However, to actually use the Disney Cruise Line app, you need to connect to guest wifi on board and be in airplane mode. The DCL app is where you find information about activities, schedule, stateroom, dining rotation, etc.

You don’t need to purchase internet services to connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi network when used only for the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app.

However, if you want to connect to the wifi on a Disney Cruise ship, there is an additional cost. Once you’re on the Disney Cruise Line app, you’ll see the options to Connect@Sea. Then you’ll need to set up an account if you don’t already have one.

Again, the Disney Cruise Line wifi packages are per device, and not per stateroom. 

Then you’ll select your package, how many devices, and connect.

Free Disney Cruise Wifi Hack : If you have an iPhone and use iMessages and are logged in before you board, my party was still able to text people on land that had iPhones. It didn’t work 100% of the time, but as long as I had logged into iMessages before I boarded the ship, I could text while at sea for free.

This is a nice perk to be still be in contact with friends and family back home.

Is Disney Cruise Line Wifi Worth It?

If you need to work or want to browse the internet, then wifi on Disney Cruise Line is worth it…if it’s necessary. However, it still can be glitchy at sea. 

If you don’t absolutely need to use it, then maybe wait until you’re in port to do what you need to do. Sometimes it’s also nice to disconnect from the world while on vacation.

You’re not always going to get the fastest wifi while on Disney Cruise Line or at sea, so I wouldn’t schedule an important meeting just in case there’s a glitch. However, the Basic Surf package should be enough to do what you need to do, provided you don’t need to make Zoom calls. 

With the price increase of Disney Cruise wifi, it’s not as cost effective and may not be in your budget. If you don’t have to use it, then save your money and buy Palo Brunch instead. 

I suggest trying it out for a day and then you can increases your package if necessary. If you find that the internet is not working, then you can also talk to Guest Services about their suggestions or request a refund if necessary.

Bon Voyage and have a great cruise!!

For more Disney Cruise Line tips, here is information on the Castaway Cay 5K and these are the Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique Disney Cruise prices . 

If you’re doing a land and sea vacation, then these are the closest Disney Character Warehouse outlets to Disney World!

Disney Cruise Wifi 2024

Wednesday 9th of August 2023

I think I remember years ago "one device" meant at a time, so I could log-in on one, log out and then my son could log-in on his. Is this the case on Disney Dream because $42/day is a lot.

I don't think you can change devices and have it still work. However if you're on your device and your son wanted to check his social media or something like that on your device, that would work. I haven't tried the workaround of logging in on another device. But the basic surf plan is usually sufficient for most guests.

Lukas Danny

Tuesday 13th of September 2022

Do you need to buy wifi per device or per room?

It is per device.

Friday 11th of March 2022

Does wifi on the cruise ships allpw vpn?

Thursday 28th of April 2022

@Dan, did you ever get an answer to your VPN question? I've been wondering the same and trying to search online first for the answer before calling.

Wednesday 7th of August 2019

Does anybody have current rates for Connect at Sea?

As far as I know, the packages are still the same price as in this post.

Friday 26th of July 2019

Is the free 50mb per guest or cabin? We are cruising for Christmas and will want to text/exchange photos Christmas Day at sea. Otherwise port WiFi should do.

Saturday 27th of July 2019

Both my husband and I were able to get the free mb. It goes very quickly though, especially if you're sending photos.

Image of a Disney Cruise Ship funnel and deck, with a Wi-Fi symbol superimposed

Disney Cruise WiFi: Packages and Prices

Internet access and cruising don’t always mix, but if you set sail on a Disney cruise , you have several options to post the occasional picture on Instagram or check your email. Disney Cruise Line offers several internet packages aboard its fleet. All Disney cruise ships have WiFi .

Until recently, all internet packages aboard Disney cruises were priced with a “pay for what you use” model, with data plans based on megabyte usage. With the arrival of the Disney Wish in 2022, Disney announced changes to the Disney Cruise Line internet packages, which are now priced based on the type of internet access you want in a 24-hour period. These changes have now been rolled out on all ships, with the Disney Wonder being the final ship to upgrade to the new system during a September 2023 Dry Dock.

Below, we discuss everything you need to know about how Disney Cruise WiFi works in 2023.

Prices shown below are accurate as of August 2023.

Prefer To Speak With Someone? Get Free Help From Our Favorite Disney Travel Agency!

Disney Cruise Line Internet Packages

WiFi is available in three packages, each with a different level of internet access:  Stay Connected , Basic Surf , and Premium Surf :

Chart showing WiFi internet packages on Disney Cruise ships

These packages are based on usage for a 24-hour period, not a calendar day. If the time of day you use the internet matters to you, you’ll want to purchase a plan at a time that will renew when it’s convenient — and not in the middle of a work meeting.

You can share the plan on multiple devices (as long as you log out of one device before using the other) or pay to connect multiple devices simultaneously. And you can save a little money by purchasing for the entire length of your cruise.

Packages previously varied by ship, but these are now the standard packages across the entire fleet: the Disney Dream , Disney Fantasy , Disney Magic , Disney Wish , and Disney Wonder .

Here’s more information about each package, including their prices:

Stay Connected

The most basic internet package on a Disney cruise allows you to access, post, and engage on social media platforms, specifically Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter/X, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Tumblr.

  • $18 for 24 hours of access
  • $16 per day if purchased for the entire cruise

This mid-tier internet package allows access to the social media platforms listed above, plus basic browser surfing and email capabilities. Audio WiFi calls are also available with this package.

  • $28 for 24 hours of access
  • $24 per day if purchased for the entire cruise

Premium Surf

The highest internet Disney cruise WiFi plan gives you all the access included in the Stay Connected and Basic Surf plans (with faster connection speeds). Plus, you can stream music and short-form video on apps like Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube. Video calling through FaceTime and Zoom is also available with this package.

  • $42 for 24 hours of access
  • $34 per day if purchased for the entire cruise

It’s important to know that none of the packages (not even Premium Surf) supports long-form video streaming such as using Disney+, Hulu, or Netflix.

Free Help Planning Your Disney Cruise

From the small questions such as details on WiFi onboard to the bigger questions about the best time to go on a Disney Cruise or how much it costs , you can get free help planning your cruise by contacting the Disney Cruise Experts at The Vacationeer .

Here are just a few reasons to use this Earmarked Diamond level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner to book your cruise.

  • Free Onboard Credit: Get up to $1,000 to spend while onboard the ship
  • No Planning Fees: There’s no cost to use their services
  • One Dedicated Agent: No giant call centers or waiting on hold
  • The Best Prices: Your cruise won’t cost any more than if you’d booked it yourself
  • The Best Discounts: They know all the ways to save and will even watch for new discounts after you’ve booked
  • No Pressure: Vacationeers provide free, no-obligation quotes so there’s no risk in contacting them

Does Disney Cruise Line Offer Free WiFi?

There are several ways you can get free WiFi on a Disney cruise:

Use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

Disney Cruise Line allows guests to access the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App for free.

Screenshot showing the DCL Navigator App

The app is powered by a free WiFi network (DCL-GUEST) that’s only available onboard the ship.

Screenshot showing the WiFi Connection screen

The app is similar to the My Disney Experience app and includes a host of information about your cruise. You can view your planned activities, excursions, rotational dining assignments, deck plans, entertainment schedules, dinner menus, and much more.

Screenshot showing a dinner menu on the DCL Navigator app

One of the app’s most handy features is the ability to message friends and family who are also on board.

If you want to truly unplug during your cruise vacation, the WiFi access you get through the Navigator app may be all the internet you need during your Disney cruise.

Stay in a Concierge-Level Stateroom

One benefit of staying in a concierge-level stateroom is free WiFi. How much internet you’ll get depends on the type of stateroom you booked. Those staying in Royal Suites get Premium Surf internet for the entire cruise. Concierge Suites get Basic Surf for the whole cruise, too. Other Concierge-Level staterooms get one day of Basic Surf for free.

Use Your Onboard Credit

Many Disney travel agencies offer a free onboard credit that can be used toward purchases you make while you’re onboard the ship. You can spend this on specialty dining, gratuities/tips , spa treatments, souvenirs… and virtually anything else that’s charged back to your shipboard account.

Luckily for you, onboard internet packages are charged to the folio, so onboard credit can be used to pay towards your onboard WiFi package.

The size of your onboard credit depends on the travel agency you pick and the cost of your cruise, but it could easily be enough to cover the cost of your shipboard internet.

Book With The Vacationeer To Earn Credit Toward Onboard Internet and Other Purchases

How to Use the Internet on Disney Cruise Line

Internet packages can be purchased through the Disney Cruise Navigator app once onboard and connected to the ship’s WiFi. To buy a plan, click the “more” tab in the app and scroll down to “connect to the Internet.” From there, you can select a package, the number of devices you want to use, and the number of days you wish to purchase. You’ll then be prompted to review the plan and check out. The package will be charged to your stateroom folio. If you have trouble connecting to the internet, the onboard internet help desk can troubleshoot internet and cell phone access onboard.

Can You Share Internet on a Disney Cruise?

You can share one internet plan on multiple devices if you only use one at a time and log out of each device when you’re done using it.

Multiple-device plans are also offered; choosing one of these will save you a bit of money versus the cost of purchasing two separate plans.

How Much is WiFi on a Disney Cruise?

WiFi plans have starting rates between $16 to $42 a day. The price can vary drastically based on the number of days you purchase and the amount of connected devices. You’ll get a slight discount if you purchase a plan for your entire cruise. You also save for each device you add.

Does Disney Cruise Line Have Cell Service?

Whether your cell phone will work on a Disney cruise depends on your carrier and plan. Cell carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile provide Cellular at Sea aboard Disney cruises, which allows you to use your plan like you normally would in your stateroom. However, you may need to pay roaming charges (which can get very expensive, very quickly) or purchase a special cruise add-on from your carrier. Your data allotment (cellular internet) also may be much more limited than on land. It’s best to check with your individual cell phone carrier before your cruise to determine how cell phone data usage will work while onboard.

How Good is the WiFi on Disney Cruise Ships?

While the internet speed on cruise ships has improved drastically over the years, it’s slower than the web surfing you’re used to at home.

Disney warns cruise guests that onboard internet may sometimes be slow, interrupted, or completely unavailable. This is especially true on at-sea days; the final sea day of a Disney Alaska cruise is notoriously bad for internet due to the ship’s position and direction of travel.

However, most cruisers will typically find onboard internet sufficient to occasionally check email, post on social media , or make a video call.

Get Free Help Planning Your Disney Cruise

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Guide to Disney Cruise WiFi: Tips and FAQs

Posted on 02/27/2024

While I typically enjoy unplugging on my Disney cruises, sometimes it’s important to stay connected to the outside world. Disney Cruise WiFi is available for an additional cost, and while it isn’t as fast or reliable as a land WiFi connection, it does work pretty well. It’s a good option if you do need to stay connected at sea.

If you are taking a Disney Cruise and are thinking of purchasing a WiFi package, this post will help you decide what level to purchase and will help you know what to expect from your coverage.

Disclosure: I received complimentary WiFi on media sailings and have also paid for my own WiFi packages. All opinions are my own.

two chairs on beach with umbrella in front of cruise ship

When you are on your sailing, you’ll want to put your phone in airplane mode . While cellular at sea is sometimes available, it can be quite expensive. Purchasing a WiFi package is typically the most affordable option if you want to stay connected.

AT&T and Verizon do have cruise ship packages that are separate from the Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi. I prefer using the ship’s WiFi, however. If you want to use one of these programs, you’ll want to contact them to make sure it’s added to your cell phone in advance. You’ll need to have this feature activated in advance.

IMPORTANT: You’ll want to talk to your cell phone carrier before your trip to make sure you understand how your phone works internationally. They will likely recommend that you put your phone in airplane mode while at sea. Taking it out of airplane mode can lead to some very high charges.

Disney Cruise WiFi Packages and Pricing

There are three levels of packages on the Disney Cruise Line. These are the Stay Connected, the Basic Surf, and the Premium Surf. Within these categories, you have the option to purchase WiFi for 24 hours, or the entire length of your cruise. Disney Cruise Wi-Fi pricing is based on the cruise period’s length or 24 hours.

If you think you’ll want WiFi just to look up something quickly, the 24-hour option is a good choice. Otherwise, you’ll save money by getting an entire length of cruise package rather than purchasing daily individual 24-hour packages.

The type of package you’ll need will depend on what you are doing. If you want to stream short videos or make video calls, you’ll need the Premium Package, while the Stay Connected package is best if you only want to look up text. Generally, long-form video streaming, like TV shows or movies, is not supported under any of these programs.

When I sail on the Disney Cruise Line, I typically purchase the Basic Surf package. It lets me send and upload photos, but I don’t need the streaming functionality.

The price per day of the WiFi packages ranges from $16 for one day of Stay Connected when purchasing the full voyage to $42 per day for the Premium Package when only buying one day.

So, is the Disney Cruise WiFi reliable? In my experience, it’s somewhat reliable, but not as fast as you’d expect for a land connection, and sometimes drops off. If you require more bandwidth, it’s a good idea to purchase the Premium Package.

two satellites on deck of Disney Cruise with chairs and small pool

What Can You Do Without Disney Cruise Wi-Fi?

So, do you need to have WiFi while on a Disney Cruise? There are still some things you can do without purchasing a WiFi package (or using Cellular at Sea).

The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App works even if you don’t purchase the package. You’ll be able to check schedules, look at your folio, and book experiences through the app. You’ll just need to connect to the DCL-GUEST network (and make sure your phone is in Airplane mode).

In addition, with app access, you’ll also be able to message guests directly through the app. It can make keeping in touch very easy. Everyone will need to have their own copy of the app loaded on their devices.

If you use the Apple iMessage system, you can send text iMessages to other users both on and off the ship. So, if you wanted WiFi just to stay in touch at home, you may not need it.

There are some Disney-owned websites you can also connect to at no cost when on the DCL-GUEST network without needing WiFi. These include:

  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Disney Cruise Line Photos
  • Walt Disney World
  • Disney Vacation Club
  • Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Adventures by Disney
  • Aulani Reservation Management

chairs and tables by pool bar on Disney Cruise

How to Connect to WiFi

Once you are on the ship, you can put your phone in Airplane mode and then connect to the DCL-GUEST network. From there, you can either stay with free access to the app or purchase a 24-hour or length of cruise internet package. If you purchase a package, it can be charged directly to your room to make it very easy.

International Day Pass/TravelPass

Some cellular phone providers offer an international day pass option. With this, you’ll pay a flat fee for 24 hours and will be able to use your phone just as you use it at home (with the same data, text, and phone package).

It’s important to know that these programs work in participating foreign countries, but do not work at sea. If you are hoping to use this program while at sea, you may find yourself with many unexpected charges.

Check with your cell phone provider directly to learn about these programs, and to find out if you are eligible. Just remember you can only use it at a port (in a participating country) and not when at sea. Your cell phone provider can let you know which countries are part of this program. You’ll need to have it activated on your phone before using it.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, you’ll purchase a WiFi package once you are onboard and connected to the DCL-GUEST network.

If you want to do that, you’ll need to purchase multiple packages.

Except for the uses mentioned above, free WiFi isn’t available. You’ll need to purchase a package to use the ship’s satellite WiFi.

In the past, the WiFi was billed by the usage but it’s since changed over to this new system. I prefer paying by the day because it was always difficult to know how many MBs I would use.

Have you ever used the Disney Cruise Wi-Fi?

satellites on the top deck of a cruise ship with sun loungers

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A Look at Disney Cruise Line’s Usage Type Based Internet Plans

Disney Cruise Line’s transition to usage type based internet plans over per megabyte (MB) is nearly complete. In this article I will share an overview of the plans, my thoughts, and answer some of your questions about the usage type internet offerings based on two sailings aboard the Disney Wish.

Over the summer, the Disney Magic was the first to go live with the new offering, followed by the Disney Wish, Disney Fantasy, and most recently the Disney Dream. The Disney Wonder will soon be upgraded and may be upgraded depending on when you are reading this article.

Disney Cruise Internet Plans

Disney Cruise Line is now offering guests Internet options starting at $12/day (a 24 hour period). The new Internet offering are based on type of usage versus a measured data plan such as a 1GB plan. The package tiers are Stay Connected , Basic Surf , and Premium Surf . Guests are able to purchase a-la-carte or the full voyage as well as choosing the number of concurrent devices. For the most up-to-date rates, refer to the information provided when you are onboard the ship.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022

Stay Connected

Stay connected on social media with our most affordable internet plan. With this plan, you can:

  • Post text and pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedln and Tumblr

The Stay Connected plan does not support surfing the web, accessing email or video streaming

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Stay Connected

Enjoy all the benefits of the Stay Connected plan – plus, full web access. With this plan, you can:

  • Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites
  • Send and receive emails
  • Make audio calls

The Basic Surf plan does not support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netfilx and Hulu.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Basic Surf

Premium Surf

Experience faster connection speeds and access to music platforms such as Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music – plus, all the benefits of the Basic Surf plan. With this plan, you can:

  • Enjoy faster connection speeds
  • Make video phone calls on platforms FaceTime, Zoom and more
  • Listen to your favorite music streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music
  • View short-form on platforms like YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok

The Premium Surf plan does not support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netfilx and Hulu.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Premium Surf

Internet Free Cruise Vacation

Experience faster relaxation speeds and access pure bliss without any online distractions. With this plan, you can:

  • Fall asleep reading a book on a promenade lounger without the distraction of emails and social media updates
  • Leave your phone in your stateroom and party like it was 1999*

Note: *This plan does to support long-term leaving of your phone in your stateroom as there are no paper navigators – you must use the app.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Internet Free Cruise Vacation

Disney Cruise Internet Plan Purchase Options

When selecting a plan tier, you are presented with a per cruise voyage price, or 24-hour a-la-carte price. Additionally, you can select the number of concurrent devices you wish to connect using the selected plan. More on this later, but you can login and logout of the plan on multiple devices, the device option is currently only limited to concurrent device usage.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Premium Surf Options 5Night

Once you select a plan, duration, and devices, you will be taking to a purchase screen.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Checkout

Almost immediately after clicking Purchase you will be redirected to a connected page where you can see your tier, and toggle the device on and off.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 Connected

Disney Cruise Internet Plan Purchase Process

You can initiate the purchase process by launching the Disney Cruise Navigator App, selecting the MORE tab, and clicking on the Connect to Internet option. Alternatively, you can visit onboardicafe.com when connected to DCL-GUEST. Please note, the link only works when connected to the ship’s WiFi network.

DCL Navigator App More Options

Below is a video showing the process of signing up and purchasing a Disney Cruise Line internet plan.

FREE: Complimentary Websites

Here is a list of the complimentary (free) websites passengers can browse while connected to DCL-GUEST without purchasing an Internet Package.

  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Disney Cruise Line Photo
  • Walt Disney Word
  • Disney Vacation Club – Welcome Home
  • Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Adventures By Disney
  • Run Disney – Every Mile is Magic
  • Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa
  • Aulani Reservation Management
  • Wireless Maritime Services (WMS)
  • Disney Cruise Line Lost & Found

DCL Free Internet Sites Wish 20231201

My Thoughts on the Internet Plans

The desire for, or necessity of internet connectivity on a vacation, specifically a cruise vacation, is HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE, and depends a number of external and personal factors. There are folks who take vacations and disconnect, some want to remain reachable by friends and family at home, some want to share their trip on social media. Then there are some, like it or not, which have responsibilities that necessitate going online for work or school. Thankfully, there are plans plans available to satisfy everyone from NO INTERNET to Premium Surf.

Before I share my thoughts on the new internet plans, it is imperative that I mention that during both cruises I utilized the premium surf tier – I did NOT test stay connected, or Basic offerings. Furthermore, the premium surf tier was provided to me for the duration of the Christening Cruise aboard the Disney Wish. I paid for the plan for the duration of the Maiden Voyage.

I utilized my plan significantly during my last sailing from posting to social media, publishing articles on this website, and a considerable amount of time on FaceTime video calls. I am not aware of any data caps, but the allocated bandwidth is throttled. While long form video from Hulu and Netflix is not supported, I was able to stream live TV from my Plex server.

PLEX Live TV Stream Golf 20220717

The speeds are not anything special, but for the most part it was stable and reliable for my use case. During the Maiden Voyage, the Speedtest (even the speed test from google ) was eventually blocked so I was unable to provide a test for each day of the 5-night voyage.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 SpeetTest 20220630

On the topic of multiple devices. You can use multiple devices on a single device plan. The limitation is for concurrent connected devices. For example, if you are logged in on a phone and try to use a laptop, you will be promoted that you are logged in on another device. You are given an option on the second device to logout of your other device to use the plan on the current device. There is a use case issue here for those that may need to connect to work or something specific that requires multi-factor authentication. Say you need to connect to work or school on a laptop and you have some sort of authentication mechanism on your smartphone. This technically requires both devices to be connected and the internet plans do not offer a grace period for devices. If you find yourself in a scenario like this, do your homework. See if there is an alternative method to connect to whatever you need to connect without have 2 devices online. I am not sure how it works on a Windows laptop, but from my experience you can reverse tether with apple devices. Connect an iOS device via USB to an Apple laptop, and the iOS device will use the internet connection from the laptop resulting in both devices connected.

Unlike the previous internet plans, the new service is from SES and from early feedback from guests on the Disney Magic, and my experience in The Bahamas on the Disney Wish, traffic is routed through SES in Maryland making it a bit less complicated for those who may have corporate networks blocking connections from outside of the United States.

DCL Wish Internet Packages 2022 SES Data Center

The voyage duration plan is great for the simplicity and does come with a discount. For example the 24hr price for premium was $36, the voyage price for a 5-night was $150 brining the cost down to $30/day.

However, the voyage duration may not be the best value based on your usage case, and itinerary. It may be worth considering various selections from the a-la-carte menu – remember they are good for a 24hr period, not a calendar day. Maybe social media access is all you need on a port day, the next port day you have access to wifi or cellular data in port and decide to go without a plan, but on a sea day you need to work, so you opt for the premium tier.

For the duration of my time on both sailings, I never experienced a period of time where there was no internet service due to satellite connectivity issues. This is not the case from those I spoke with who used the plans during the summer of 2022 on the Magic in Europe. Although, Disney Cruise Line does state, “ the technology involved and satellite connectivity, the onboard Internet service may be slower than you may be accustomed to, and may be interrupted or unavailable at times. ” It is a new service offering onboard date ship which involves new hardware, therefore I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here as they learn and fine tune the offering.

Overall, I like the new plans for the pure fact, I am not on a timer, or a megabyte limit. The freedom that comes with knowing I will not blow through a data plan allocation, and I do not ration usage, disable a background tasks & auto updates among other things on my devices is in itself refreshing. In my usage case, the new internet usage type plans are a significant upgrade over the megabyte allocated plans.

At this time, Disney Cruise Line still has not made any public announcements, or updated their website to reflect any of these changes – currently they are still referencing Connect@Sea on this page . However, this could change once the Disney Wonder is upgraded.

Have you tried the new Internet packages onboard a Disney Cruise? Let us know what you think about the revised offering in the comments.

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36 Replies to “A Look at Disney Cruise Line’s Usage Type Based Internet Plans”

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Thanks for a great review. Which plan do you think would be good for receiving videos via text from iPhone to iPhone?

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You don’t need one – as iMessage and WhatsApp texts are free without a paid internet plan

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Still need service which u dont have while on a cruise, so instead it would use wifi connection,

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I id premium surf, but sometimes it was slow. Im glad I was on the first voyage of the new internet on dcl

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bring back paper navigators… there are probably a lot of seniors and other folks being left out by this.

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Or people such as myself that opt to own a flipphone instead of a smart phone!

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I agree. Make the navigators available upon request. I had trouble on the maiden voyage and wrote them, spoke to guest services and was assured I would be able to get the crew type navigator on our next cruise for my mom that does not have a smart phone. I want nothing to do with my phone.i would pay for the paper navigator. Just make it an option.

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100% agree. It’s hard to read the print on a phone, and we like to keep the paper navigators as souvenirs as well. Would be quite simple to offer on request for those who want it. Can do without all of the advertising flyers though.

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Very good explanation. I hope to stick with the final option, but it’s likely that I will cave for at least 1-2 days.

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I’m curious if you can post short 10-15 sec) videos to instagram on the Stay Connected plan? Or is it pictures only? Anyone have experience with this yet?

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My wife and I are among those who want to just relax when on a cruise and not have to even think of the phone except as a camera. So these plans are nice that they offer something that (hopefully) works for all when needed. I have to agree that the paper navigators were great as I left my phone turned off, in the cabin safe, until we went ashore on an excursion. But I understand how the world is now and that some have to stay connected. I can recall when the only way to stay connected on a sea cruise was to place a massively expensive Radio Telephone call….

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For those of us who want (need ?) the disconnect, Will they still print a paper navigator if you asks for one at guest services?

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First 100 times you ask it will be hard NO, but if you ask 101 times you may get a printout of the crew navigator. Frankly, speak with your stateroom host and possibly leave a tip on the first night with a note asking for a crew navigator each day.

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Turn your phone off (except for navigator) and enjoy your vacation.

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The internet is enjoyment for many people. I guess we all enjoy our vacations in our own way.

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Nice to see that someone at Disney has a sense of humor: “Party like it was 1999”.

That was my joke, it is a made up plan, not actually something listed as an option.

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I knew it was you (your sense of humor). Loved it!!! Thanks for the article.

I do wish Disney would put the menus and navigators in pdf for on the disney website on the voyage or on the app, like to save the real menus, not a make over on the app. Carnival Cruise Lines put the menus in pdf form on the Hub app and schedules are available in paper or pdf. If you pay top dollar, even Royal Caribean has real navigators. Disney needs to step up it’s game for the price you pay. The Wish might be my last time sailing Disney

I used the internet plan on 3 separate cruises on the Wish and I loved it. I like to be connected all the time and since I am a night owl I used it every day and during the night into the morning hours while my husband was sleeping soundly. It was awesome not having to worry about what how much I was using. Just like home and seamless. I am boarding the Fantasy in a couple weeks and hope it will be just as seamless. I used facetime many times to chat with family and friends and that was perfect as well.

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I’m curious if there was improved reliability of the on-board texting feature within the Navigator app. We travel with teens and this has been an ongoing frustration for us.

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Little known fact: Whatsapp is working without any plan if you use text only and you are connected on the Disney Guest Wifi 😉

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I purchase a “24 hours” in Europe. It gave me 23 hours as I changed time zones. Obviously their system should base off UTC or a singe zone. I wonder if that complaint/suggestion will reach anyone at DCL.

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We purchased the basic plan but we’re unable to even send texts back to our dog sitter because our phone company had not set up at with it. I don’t have a Facebook I don’t have an Instagram I don’t have a Twitter. So purchasing the 4-day plan was absolutely useless it didn’t do me any good. Yes I’m one of those older people who wants to put my phone in the safe and not use it. We did use it for the last four cruises during the pandemic to check menus I was happy doing that. I came back from this Cruise last week with text neck and excruciating pain from having to stare at the screen to look for everything. I guess that’s my own fault. Should I not Cruise. What would happen if I told the person on my emergency drill check in that I didn’t have a phone. Am I being rude and belligerent and stupid. I don’t know what to do? not Cruise?

Continue to share feedback with guest services and shoreside. https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/help/email/

Best plan: Whatsapp

It is working for free when connected on the DCL GUEST wifi. You can stay conndcted a littld bit with your family and sometimes works better than chatting on the DCL app.

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With Basic Surf, I can send and receive text messages?

Luis, You would be able to use iMessage, but standard SMS text messages require cellular service which is different.

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Always love bumping into a fellow plex user!

I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it as it was blocked last time I sailed. I was also unable to connect to my VPN, but that is a different story.

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Is the per day plan on all the ships or just the Wish?

Currently, the new Internet plans are available on all ships except for the Wonder which will hopefully be updated after the 2023 Alaskan season during dry dock.

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I need to stay connected as I have elderly parents and need for them to be able to reach me. Doing the 14 day Panama Canal sailing in October. Any guess as to what the length of cruise cost might be for the middle tier?

I would imagine no more than $264, but I have not dug into the calculation for length of cruise. I opted for the premium which was $36/day a la carte, but it was $30/day when buying the length of cruise.

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Are you able to select a different plan per individual in your stateroom/shared plan?

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It’s trash. I Paid $42 a day for a whopping 3mbps

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Disney Cruise Line WiFi Packages & Pricing Vital Info

Picture this: you're lounging on an outdoor deck of a majestic Disney Cruise ship, salty breeze in your hair, nothing but ocean surrounding you. Suddenly you realize you forgot to send one last important work email before leaving for vacation and need to connect ASAP. But does Disney Cruise Line have WiFi?

Disney Wish cruise ship in the distance at the Port Canaveral terminal in Florida for embarkation day.

Hold onto your Mickey ears because navigating the digital waters is as much a part of the Disney Cruise experience as spotting Captain Mickey. Read to the end because we have a great money-saving Wi-Fi tip for you while in ports during your Disney Cruise from our experience sailing with them and traveling all over the world, accessing Wi-Fi. 

Embark on a journey with us through the world of high-seas WiFi with Disney.

Disclosure: This page has affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission if you click the link and proceed with a purchase  at no cost to you . We recommend cruises, experiences, products, and services we personally use. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Disney Cruise Line WiFi: Vital Info, including packages, pricing and more, with a picture of the aqua blue water at Castaway Cay behind it.

Is There Free Internet Access On Disney Cruises?

We know you might be thinking, “I'm here for the magic, not the megabytes!” But in reality, those megabytes might make or break your cruise. We know being connected has made a difference for us while on Disney Cruise ships as we check in with clients as small business owners or stay connected with family as needed.

Luckily, DCL offers free onboard internet for minimal texting. 

You can access your regular cellular carrier’s service for mere minutes after the ship deports from its port of embarkation in the United States, assuming the local cellular carrier is receiving service along the coast in that area. But you should connect to the onboard Wi-Fi after you lose cell service as you sail away from your port of embarkation or get connected before the Sail Away Party. 

Once on DCL’s Wi-Fi network, free texting is possible via iMessage or WhatsApp. That’s usually how we text message family and friends at home while we sail. WhatsApp works for iPhone and Android users in a similar fashion while onboard. You can also chat with other guests for free via the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App.

However, photos and videos will not be sent through iMessage without purchasing the mid-level or higher internet plan; only plain text and emojis will reach the receiving party on complimentary Wi-Fi. 

Note that complimentary WiFi is included in Concierge-level bookings. The package type differs depending on room type and can range from Basic to Premium .

Disney Wish cruise ship in the background with a Castaway Cay deck with fish netting in the foreground in the Caribbean.

Use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App for Texting and Cruise Activities While Onboard 

Using the app is complimentary to all guests regardless of whether or not you purchase an internet package. 

If you have not already done so, be sure to download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app and log in on your mobile device before your cruise. If you’re boarding the ship from Port Canaveral , we know from experience that there is Wi-Fi in the port that you can access while waiting to board the ship. You can also access the Navigator app while you wait to book things as if you are onboard.

DCL’s Navigator app is also great for cruise planning and a fun vacation countdown before your trip. It’s also useful for checking into your cruise before you board. It remains a helpful tool during your holiday. 

Think of the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app as your in-cruise digital director. It’s where you obtain details about daily events, dining rotations, and the ship’s deck plan. It’s also where you can do things like book excursions and activities, make reservations for adults-only dining at Palo , Enchanté , or Remy’s (depending on your ship), and spa treatments before or during your cruise.

The app is completely free to access and use as long as you’re connected to the guest wifi, which is called something like “DCL-GUEST.”

Screenshot of the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app in-app Wi-Fi connection.

You Need the DCL Navigator App for Childcare Communication 

If you check any children into childcare on any Disney Cruise Line ship, you will need the Navigator app to communicate with the team there. 

Don’t Let your Cell Phone Battery Die

For this reason and more, we recommend that you bring a portable phone charger with you. You don’t want to be tethered to a phone cord that needs to be plugged into a wall when you’d rather be at the adults-only pool when your child is enjoying the cruise at the Imagineer’s Lab! 

Trust us: You’ll be grateful you have a wonderful, lightweight, small portable charger, like Clutch. It charges iPhones, Android phones, and AirPods too! 

Must-have Portable Charger for your Cruise

This portable charger is incredibly compact and lightweight. It charges Androids and iPhones. We even use it to charge AirPods. More than that, it's a lifesaver when our phones are our lifeline!

Use code “SOMETIMES10” for a discount .

Clutch phone charger

Can You Browse the Internet With the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App?

Unfortunately, the Navigator app is only for cruise-related information. While it technically uses a network to function, you won’t be able to browse the web with it fully.

However, you can send and receive free text messages to other passengers onboard in the app. We especially love chatting with each other this way while at sea because we adore the little Disney character emojis that are only available through the app. Sometimes I text Dan a bunch of Disney character emojis “just because” with no words. They’re a lot of fun! 

How To Connect To DCL Wi-Fi on Disney Cruise Line

Once you’re on the Disney Navigator app while onboard your cruise, you’ll see the option to connect to the internet on the ship’s Wi-Fi network. Click to connect, open the app, and sign into your account if you’re not already logged in. 

Adding a Wi-Fi plan onboard is easy once you’re in the Navigator App. You have the option to purchase Wi-Fi for the length of the cruise or per day, per device. You can also add more devices to one plan for 20% off. 

Put Your Phone in Airplane Mode While Cruising

If you don’t plan on using your cellular carrier roaming data while cruising, we recommend putting your phone in airplane mode when you cruise. This will ensure that you can connect to available Wi-Fi networks but won’t be charged by your cell provider for roaming data. 

Putting your phone in airplane mode is kind of like telling it to use Wi-Fi, but don’t try to connect using cell towers. Conversely, if you want to use cellular data, do not put your phone in airplane mode because cellular data won’t work in airplane mode.

How to Easily Sign Up for Disney Cruise Line WiFi Once Onboard

Internet plans for DCL voyages are fairly straightforward. Here are three easy steps to signing up for onboard Disney Cruise Line WiFi:

◆ STEP 1: From the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, select “Connect to Internet.” A new browser should open with the available internet plans. Choose the package you need by determining what you want to use it for.

  • Complimentary Wi-Fi (no purchase necessary): free texting and messaging on iMessage and WhatsApp and within the DCL Navigator App
  • Stay Connected Package: good for browsing social media 
  • Basic Surf Package: appropriate surfing the web, checking email, sending and receiving photos 
  • Premium Surf Package: the way to go if you need to stream videos or music, send emails, send and receive photos, 

◆ STEP 2: Decide if you want it for the full cruise or a 24-hour period. There is a bit of a discount per day if you want to buy it for the duration of the cruise.

◆ STEP 3: Input the number of devices you want to use it for.

There’s an internet plan for every need aboard your cruise. Need to post and share that adorable selfie with Captain Mickey? No problem – go with the Basic Surf plan. Need to check and reply to work emails? Sign up for Basic Surf for that, too, as well as being able to check things like any documents on Google Drive. 

If you want to be able to watch YouTube videos, which require faster connection speeds, go with Premium. 

Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi Packages are Per Device

Beware that a Disney Cruise Line WiFi package is per device, not per stateroom. 

If you need to use Wi-Fi during your cruise but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to connect multiple devices at once or pay a premium for the highest package, we recommend connecting one device to check email as needed and bring along a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect in international ports with your computer or iPad. 

We love our Solis Wi-Fi device that we travel with for this reason and talk more about it here in this post. 

Disney Cruise Line Internet Packages and Cost 

You can select an onboard Disney Cruise Line WiFi plan based on your usage needs, how many days you want Wi-Fi, and the number of devices that will use the package. Pay, then connect.

It’s important to know that the internet packages offered by Disney Cruise Line are categorized by bandwidth per day, not by time, like on other cruise lines (like Celestyal Cruises or Star Clippers , for example). 

In other words, if you buy a package for the day, you don’t have to worry about reaching a megabyte threshold. You’ll be able to use the level of Wi-Fi speed you purchase for the entire day regardless of how many megabytes of data you do or do not utilize. 

Disney Cruise Line Wish ship at Castaway Cay port on a blue sky day.

Complimentary Internet from Disney Cruise Line

The free internet often isn’t enough for most cruisers, especially not in this need to be connected day and age. Let’s explore all your WiFi package options while away at sea with all your Disney friends.

There also used to be a free 50 MB offer when you first boarded the ship, but they no longer offer this to guests. This is partially because they no longer offer Wi-Fi per MB.

Stay Connected Package

➜ $16 a day for your full voyage, or $18 per day for 24 hours

The Stay Connected package should really be called the Social Media plan. It offers a convenient solution for sharing your Disney Cruise experiences on popular social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. It’s also the cheapest package and the most affordable plan.

However, the Stay Connected package has its limitations. While it permits most social media browsing, it does not support access to email, online browsing, or streaming games or videos, including short-form videos. 

One advantage of the Stay Connected plan lies in its flexibility. Guests can initially choose a package; if it doesn't meet your connectivity needs, you can easily upgrade to a more comprehensive option. 

Basic Surf Package

➜ $24 per day for the full voyage or $28 per day for 24 hours

For a little bit more bang for your buck, the benefits of the Basic Surf plan include the capability to access email, surf the web, send and receive photos, and check the weather. Of course, you can also access all your favorite social media sites. 

We’ve had people report they can make video calls through Facebook Messenger on this plan too. 

One point to note is that video streaming is not included in the Basic Surf Package. Not even YouTube shorts or TikTok. The Premium plan is the way to go for those looking to access nearly all of the wonders of the web you’re used to, including music or video streaming.

Premium Surf Package – Best Overall Value

➜ $34 per day for a full voyage, $42 for 24 hours

With this internet plan, you will get the fastest connection speed.

You may think that you would get something close to 5G internet speed capabilities as the top-tier internet package. And while the Premium Surf package offers the fastest connection available with Disney Cruise Line, it’s still nothing like fast internet at home. 

With it, you can make calls via Facetime or other video chat apps, listen to Spotify or Apple Music, surf the web, and view short-form videos like TikTok. However, you’ll have to survive without any of your streaming networks. This plan still does not support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix. 

Planning any Zoom or video call meetings for work is too risky. If it's a meeting for which you need reliable, fast internet, it's best not to schedule it during your cruise if you don't need to because the internet is too inconsistent. That's true of most cruise ships' connectivity, no matter the cruise line.

Tips and Tricks for Purchasing Wifi on a Disney Cruise

If opting for a 24-hour package, it’s a full 24 hours. Meaning that if you sign up at 9:00 am on Tuesday, your plan will expire at 9:00 am on Wednesday, the following day. 

Add more devices to your package and get a 20% discount. You can also opt to share a plan across devices.

If you don’t need internet access for the entire voyage, you can purchase it at any point during your cruise. In this case, you’ll be charged the discounted voyage rates for the remaining days. 

If you are sharing an internet plan across more than one device instead of buying a plan for multiple devices, you need to remember to log out of the internet when you're done using it so you can log in on another device. Otherwise, your other devices cannot access the internet using the same package.

Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi FAQs

Can you share an internet plan on a disney cruise.

You can share a single package as long as you log out of the Wi-Fi on one device and into it on another. If you want to use the same Disney Cruise Line WiFi package on multiple devices simultaneously, make sure you opt for that number of devices when you sign up and pay for a WiFi package. 

Yellow chairs in front of the teen club bar on Disney Wish.

Is The Internet Fast on Disney Cruises?

Accessibility and internet speeds on DCL ships are limited, so don’t expect perfection. Whether you opt for the very minimal free internet or a paid plan that allows for increased data, it's easy to share your journey with the world while aboard but don't get frustrated when it's not what you're used to at home.

The onboard internet access will likely be slower than you are used to and may occasionally be interrupted or unavailable due to the technology involved in bringing it onboard and satellite connectivity. It also varies per DCL ship; though “fast” is subjective, the internet speed and connectivity vary depending on which ship you’re on and where you are in the world. This is especially true when the ship is enjoying a Day at Sea, and more passengers are using the service.

So is it perfect? No, but for many, having connectivity is a must, no matter the quality, so it's better than nothing.

The fastest internet we’ve experienced at sea with any of the various cruise lines we have sailed with is any cruise ship with Starlink satellite internet. Disney Cruise Line does not currently use Starlink, unfortunately. 

Is There Wi-Fi on Castaway Cay?

Access to Wi-Fi on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, requires the use of your Disney Cruise Internet Package. We were surprised to find out that though the island is Disney's, free internet access in Castaway Cay does not exist as it does on the ship as we walked around in the sand trying to message each other from a distance.

Disney-character painted anchors in the sand with lush foliage behind them on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, for the best cruises to take this year.

Where Can I Get Help With the Internet on a Disney Cruise?

If you can't connect when you're onboard, head to Guest Services. Here you’ll be able to get help signing up for plans, choosing the best plan, and getting help with any troubleshooting issues.

Can You Use Your Cell Phone On A Disney Cruise?

You can use your cell phone on any Disney Cruise, such as Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream, Disney Wish , Disney Magic, Disney Wonder….and soon-to-be Disney Treasure! While at sea, your phone will connect to maritime network providers such as AT&T and Verizon, allowing you to make and receive calls just like you would ashore from your stateroom and public spaces. 

However, beware that making calls or texting at sea through your cell provider will likely incur additional charges for international roaming. It's wise to check with your service provider about rates if you don’t like surprises. 

Here is more information for Verizon and AT&T for using their networks at sea. 

In addition to roaming charges, Disney charges ship-to-shore rates for “ Cellular at Sea ,” which are posted in each stateroom.

If you choose to enable roaming and attempt to use your cell phone’s network at sea, your network should kick in when the cruise ship is at least a dozen miles or so away from the shore.

How to Get Wi-Fi in Ports if You Don’t Have an Internet Plan: Solis Hotspot

The best option is to bring your own internet Wi-Fi hotspot on the trip to use when you’re in ports. We do this for every trip, especially traveling to international ports.

Hand holding an orange Solis wifi pocket-sized hotspot.

We love our Solis Wi-Fi hotspot for many reasons, including: 

  • It’s small and lightweight – it fits in your pocket.
  • Multiple devices can connect to it, not just one. We connect computers, iPads, iPhones and more.
  • The day passes are affordable and convenient to activate. It can cost just $6 per day for Wi-Fi.
  • Not only can you connect on the ship as soon as the hotspot can receive signals from land, but you can also bring it off the ship to connect to the internet during excursions without having to incur roaming charges from your cell provider. As long as you’re in airplane mode and connected to the wifi from your hotspot, you’re good to go! 

The hotspot doesn’t work well in Castaway Cay, which makes sense because Wi-Fi on the entire island is weak, and cellular service is also weak there, which means that a hotspot won’t work well either. But in ports in the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, and Asia, this is 100% the way to go. 

Read this next:

  • Disney Cruise Line Embarkation Day: Vital Port Canaveral Info
  • Disney Cruise Line Check-in Process Online: Everything to Know
  • Palo Brunch vs. Dinner on Disney Wish: Which Wins?

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Mikkel and Dan Woodruff co-own and operate Sometimes Sailing. Through their cruising expertise, they bring the best travel ideas on the world's waterways to their audience along with packing tips, budgeting advice, and seasonal deals. They have been featured on many of the best cruise podcasts, including DCL Duo and the Joy of Cruising. Their articles are nationally syndicated and have appeared on AP Wire various times.

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Disney Wonder review: What to expect on the Disney Cruise Line ship with the coolest itineraries

Summer Hull

If you like the idea of cruising with Disney Cruise Line , but you want to go beyond the Bahamas and Mexico to destinations in New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Alaska and beyond, then Disney Wonder is likely the best Disney ship for you.

That's especially true if you want a ship with a lot to offer that's a manageable size and doesn't tempt you to spend money around every bend.

Disney Wonder is one of Disney's two smallest ships. It doesn't have amenities like a pay-per-scoop ice cream shop or fancy, adults-only infinity pool like you'll find on Disney Wish . Don't worry, though — Wonder still has all-you-can-eat, included soft serve out on the deck and is absolutely charming in its own right.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

disney cruise wonder wifi

Disney Wonder was the second ship in Disney's fleet, first setting sail in 1999, one year after Disney's original ship, Disney Magic .

In many ways, it is Magic's twin; it's the same size (984 feet long) and has the same number of staterooms (875). However, Disney Wonder features certain shows and restaurants unique to the ship and has a litany of unusual sailings that are unparalleled in Disney's line-up.

I've sailed on all but one of Disney's ships (I'll get on Disney Fantasy one day). I have had the pleasure of sailing on Disney Wonder twice: once to Mexico in a concierge-level suite and more recently to Alaska on my favorite cruise yet in a standard ocean-view cabin.

Based on these experiences and my general obsession with Disney Cruise Line, here's what you need to know about Disney Wonder.

Disney Premier Visa Card : Earn a $400 statement credit after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening + unlock Disney-specific perks

disney cruise wonder wifi

Overview of Disney Wonder

disney cruise wonder wifi

Disney Wonder can host up to 2,713 passengers spread across its 875 cabins, ranging from windowless inside rooms to multi-bedroom suites. Guests can enjoy 11 decks of fun operated by 950 crew members.

Like all of Disney's ships, Disney Wonder has a classic oceanliner vibe and coloring. Its interior is inspired by art nouveau design from the turn of the last century, unlike Disney Magic's bold art deco aesthetic. Disney Cruise Line uses design, colors and onboard fixtures from the Grand Hall's chandelier (inspired by Ariel's flower) to the carpet to tell a story, set the stage and sometimes even subtly communicate to passengers which way to go.

Disney Wonder is made for families, but it didn't forget about adults along the way. On it, you will find a waterslide; restaurants themed to "The Princess and the Frog," animation and "The Little Mermaid"; four kids clubs dedicated to different age groups (babies and toddlers, kids, tweens and teens); and adults-only spaces including a pool, multiple bars and lounges, and a high-end restaurant. (Incidentally, if you can snag a brunch reservation at that dining venue, I'd say that is the best $50 you can spend on a Disney cruise .)

Two theaters, the Walt Disney Theatre and Buena Vista Theatre, show first-run Disney movies and three Broadway-style productions on each sailing.

disney cruise wonder wifi

Disney is famous for its rotational dining, where your tablemates and servers move from restaurant to restaurant each night. On this ship, you can enjoy your included dinners at Tiana's Place, Tritons and Animator's Palate.

Disney Wonder is a classicly Disney ship that doesn't have the interactive virtual-realty-inspired games or paintings and chandeliers that come to life as you might find on some of the newer ships. But it has the pools, shows, kid clubs, games and itineraries to set the stage for a magical vacation.

FOR NO-COST ASSISTANCE WITH PLANNING AND BOOKING YOUR NEXT DISNEY CRUISE VACATION, CHECK OUT TPG'S DISNEY BOOKING PARTNER, MOUSE COUNSELORS .

What I loved about Disney Wonder

Ports of call.

Disney Wonder's biggest claim to fame is where it sails. While my first sailing on the ship was one born of convenience since it was out of my home port of Galveston, it's since moved on. As Disney Wish joined the fleet in 2022 — and with Disney Treasure to follow in 2024 — Disney Cruise Line got to shake up where it sails. Disney Wonder won the port-of-call lottery, so to speak, when it landed some interesting new sailings.

disney cruise wonder wifi

I adored our Alaska sailing out of Vancouver , bringing us to glaciers as well as cities such as Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau. But if spending the day with Mickey and Minnie in their warmest outfits isn't on your bucket list (and it really should be), the ship also sails to places such as the Mexican Riviera, Sydney, New Zealand, Fiji and Pago Pago in American Samoa.

disney cruise wonder wifi

Tiana's Place

One of the best restaurants in all of the Disney Cruise Line fleet is found only on Disney Wonder. Not only does Tiana's Place have great Cajun specialties (beignets, anyone?), but it's a fantastically fun party from appetizer to dessert. You'll only find Tiana's Place on Disney Wonder, so if you'd love to enjoy shrimp and grits with Tiana herself, this is your chance.

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The Disney Cruise Line crew members are always great, but they have the opportunity to be even greater on Disney Wonder. Thanks to a schedule of longer sailings, the crew can get to know the guests on board over the course of a week rather than meeting a new set of passengers every three or four days.

For example, the restaurant servers knew what our kids wanted to drink by the second or third meal. The room hosts learned who our friends were on board and would let us know where our teens were hanging out when they noticed us looking around.

Great entertainment

There's always something fun to do on Disney Wonder, from the game shows to on-deck performances and the three evening Broadway-style shows, including "The Golden Mickeys," "Frozen: A Musical Spectacular" and "Disney Dreams" (which is guaranteed to make your eyes water a bit on your last night).

These aren't just shows that help you pass some hours in the evening; some of them — especially Frozen — are at the level you would pay to see on Broadway. It's also really fun at night to pop into the theater and see a new Disney movie that is still playing on land without worrying about the costs of tickets or pre-reserving good seats.

What I didn't love about Disney Wonder

It's not the latest and greatest.

While Disney Wonder is in great shape and gets upgrades on a regular basis, its bones are 25 years old. Some of the styling — while classic — feels dated compared to Disney's newer ships, like Disney Wish. My family also missed the fun tech-enabled interactive elements they'd enjoyed on the line's newer ships because it gave them something to do between scheduled activities.

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The food is good — but not the best in the fleet

I enjoy the food on all Disney Cruise Line ships, but Disney Wonder is a step or two behind the new Disney Wish when it comes to dining. This is especially true in the grab-and-go department. The on-deck food on Wonder leans heavily into comfort food (pizza, burgers and chicken fingers). Although you can find other options if you look carefully, I missed the variety of Disney Wish with its taco bar and BBQ.

Disney Wonder needs a new bar

Not to overplay the comparison between one of Disney's oldest ships and its newest, but you really see the difference in design from the '90s versus today with the onboard bars. On Wish, they are spread throughout the ship, and you can find bright, airy spots to have a cocktail. On Disney Wonder, the bars are concentrated in one area, and all of them are dark and feel like tucked-away pubs. They could use a modern-day glow-up and more views of the sea.

Disney Wonder cabins and suites

Disney Wonder has multiple room types: windowless inside cabins (starting at 184 square feet), ocean-view cabins (starting at 214 square feet), verandah rooms with private balconies (starting at 268 square feet) and concierge-level suites that go all the way up to 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom suites that sleep up to seven guests.

We've had a chance to check out a few of those room types.

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Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom

Most recently, we sailed to Alaska in a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom that slept up to four guests with a queen bed, single convertible sofa and a pull-down upper berth. It's a comfortable room type for a family of three or a younger family of four.

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Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah

This room type is similar to the ocean-view room type, with the difference being the verandah rather than a porthole window. If you will use the private balcony, it can be worth buying up to this room type, as my parents did on our recent Alaska cruise. The cost to go from an ocean-view category to this one can be a few hundred dollars on some sailings or thousands more, as it did on our Alaska sailing.

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This room type, like most on Disney Cruise Line, has a split bathroom design. There's a sink and shower in one small bathroom, and a sink and toilet in another. This arrangement allows more guests to get ready at the same time.

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One-bedroom concierge suite

On a 2020 sailing, I had the chance to stay in a one-bedroom concierge suite, which measured 614 square feet and had a true living room area, along with a bedroom. The layout features a small dining nook, a living area with the double convertible sofa, a true separate bedroom with a queen-size bed and two bathrooms.

This was an indulgent way to sail with my mom, where we could all have our own space. The suite comes with concierge service, which takes things to the next level in terms of perks.

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Those in concierge-level accommodations get access to the Concierge Lounge, found midship on Disney Wonder's Deck 10. You don't need concierge access to have a great time on Disney Wonder, but if you can afford it, it sure is amazing.

When we sailed in a suite, we made the most of the lounge with its small food plates set out throughout the day, the included evening happy hour starting at 5 p.m. daily and the fully stocked fridge to grab bottled water and canned drinks to enjoy around the ship and on excursions.

Related: Is Disney concierge level worth it?

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Disney Wonder restaurants and bars

Disney Cruise Line pioneered what it calls "rotational dining." You get a schedule for your cruise, and you rotate through each of the included onboard restaurants, swapping each night. Your serving crew rotates with you, so you always have the same waiters even in different dining venues.

At all of Disney Wonder's rotational restaurants, you can order as much as you want and sample your way around the menu. Want three appetizers? Go for it. Want two lobster tails? They're yours. Want something like chicken fingers that you don't see on the menu? Just ask, and the waiters will deliver if possible.

If you are a true foodie, you won't be overly impressed by the included food on Disney Wonder, but most cruisers will be excited about something on each menu. We certainly enjoy trying various options — especially the seafood — without worrying about the cost.

Animator's Palate

One of Disney Wonder's three included-in-your-fare rotational dining venues is Animator's Palate, a staple on multiple Disney ships. Tucked away on Deck 4, this restaurant has a few different interactive shows and animation offerings on longer sailings — I won't spoil it. The physical restaurant will also come to life over the course of your meal, starting in black and white and ending up in color.

Don't miss the special guest who shows up at the end of your meal at least one of the nights.

While I'm not a huge fan of this dish, a popular item on the menu is the black truffle pasta purseittes.

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Previously mentioned as one of my favorite parts of the ship, Tiana's Place on Deck 3 is always a good time. On longer sailings, the entertainment in this restaurant will include jazz performers on one night and a full-on, second-line parade around the room with Tiana herself on another.

I'm a big fan of the shrimp and grits — or anything Cajun-themed — and definitely don't miss the beignets for dessert.

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Triton's

Off the main atrium on Deck 3, Triton's is the most formal of the three included restaurants on Disney Wonder.

It's themed loosely on "The Little Mermaid," but not in a way your kids will likely notice. If you are looking for dinner to be an experience and want to know which restaurant to skip, I'd recommend this one. It's more traditional than the other venues in the rotation.

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On-deck food

Whether you want a quick lunch or are in the mood for a more casual dinner, eating out on Deck 9 is a viable option on Disney Wonder. On-deck eateries include:

  • Daisy's De Lites: Salads, sandwiches, fruit and customizable rice bowls (the latter are one of my favorite options on Disney Wonder)
  • Sulley's Sips: For-purchase beverages and smoothies as well as free soft-service ice cream
  • Pinocchio's Pizzeria: Pizza by the slice with various toppings, available for long hours each day
  • Pete's Boiler Bites: Burgers, veggie burgers, chicken fingers, fries, and often-overlooked gyros and hummus

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Cabanas buffet

If you're looking for a classic cruise ship buffet meal, head to Cabanas. Currently open for breakfast and lunch on Disney Wonder, Cabanas is a traditional self-serve buffet. It's impossible to go hungry when you make a plate here because the venue offers everything from Mickey waffles (keep an eye out for the mornings that they have churro Mickey waffles) to chilled shrimp and crab legs.

No reservations are required; you can walk in any time during open hours. Some dishes change daily, while others are consistent throughout the cruise. My top recommendation is to start at the back of the line, where you'll find most of the seafood, so you don't fill up too much on the carb-loaded treats at the beginning of the line.

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Palo adults-only restaurant

The only place to have brunch or dinner on the ship without the kids is at Palo. The adults-only restaurant is reserved for the 18-and-up crowd.

The dress code here is a bit nicer than in other onboard restaurants. T-shirts, swimwear and sports attire are not permitted. You don't need to go super formal; a dress or a nice shirt with pants or jeans is perfect for dinner.

Unless you have Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club Platinum status or higher, dining at Palo will cost you a bit, but I'd argue it's worth it. In fact, I've said it's the best $50 you can spend at sea .

Brunch at Palo is a set price of $50 for all you care to eat from the menu, served on plates instead of via a buffet. For dinner, you can select the $50 prix fixe menu, with a choice of dishes for each course, or you can order a la carte from options such as baby arugula salad ($7), prosciutto and burrata pizza ($16) and jumbo scallops ($32). No matter what you get, save room for the chocolate souffle ($10) for dessert.

Palo is not part of your rotational dining plan, so you'll need to make advance reservations online or via the Disney Cruise Line app. Booking windows will vary based on your room selection and Castaway Club status, but they will typically open a few months before your sailing.

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Bars and lounges

On Disney Wonder, the bars are mainly in the adult area on Deck 3 forward. Though the spaces might be used for general activities during the day, the area transforms each evening into a space just for the over-18 crowd.

The lounges here include:

  • Crown & Fin Pub: British-themed pub with beer on tap, sports games on the TVs and small bites in a little buffet offering in the evening
  • Cadillac Lounge: Decor inspired by late-1950s Hollywood with live piano some nights
  • Azure: Nightclub with a bar where you'll find different evening acts and dancing
  • French Quarter Lounge: New Orleans-themed spot where you'll find beignets (for purchase) and cocktails, along with family-friendly activities during the day.

Pro tip: There are usually happy hours somewhere on the ship each day; check the onboard app for details. If you want to save a few dollars on your glass of wine — and like to be surprised — you can also save by having a sommelier's choice glass of wine at some of the bars; you get a nicer glass of wine for a lower price if you let the bartender choose the vintage.

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Coffee drinkers can find the basic beverage in Cabanas via room service or at the self-service drink station just outside of Cabanas on the top deck. If you prefer something fancier — such as a cold brew, salted caramel coconut latte or espresso — you'll need to pony up a few dollars at the Cove Cafe. Expect to pay around $6 or $7 for coffee drinks — or more if you go for the cocktails on the menu. The muffins and pastries are free of charge.

Pro tip: Get the Coffee Fanatics punch card if you plan to purchase multiple coffee-based drinks on your cruise. With the card, you get your sixth drink free after you purchase five coffee drinks.

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Disney Wonder activities

Pools and water play areas.

Disney Wonder has a few different pool areas. The main Goofy's Pool and two adjacent family-friendly whirlpools are on Deck 9 midship. Only guests ages 3 years old and up (and potty-trained) can use this pool.

Aft of Goofy's Pool is the Aqua Lab area. Here, you'll find a small, shallow pool for kids ages 3 and up; a splash pad meant for cruisers under age 3 in swim diapers; and a twisting waterslide made for those 38 inches and taller. This slide is a one-at-a-time slide and does not utilize inner tubes.

Forward of Goofy's Pool is the Quiet Cove Pool and two whirlpools, all for the exclusive use of adults only.

Pools are heated, and the hours vary, so check your Disney Cruise Line app once on board.

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If your young child doesn't meet the age minimum for the older kids clubs, there is a nursery for those ages six months to three years. Unlike with the other kid clubs, reservations are required for the nursery, and you'll need to pay an hourly fee.

The kids clubs are one of the best parts of a Disney cruise. They are so good that most kids want to visit them frequently, which means parents get a chance to be on vacation, too.

The main and largest kids clubs on Disney Wonder are the Oceaneer Club and Lab, open to guests ages 3 to 12 years old (and toilet trained). These two clubs have separate entrances on Deck 5, but they are connected via a "secret" hallway just for the kids who are checked in.

The clubs' schedules offer a mix of activities, games and free play that take place in themed areas, including:

  • Andy's Room, where there's even a Slinky Dog-themed slide
  • Marvel Super Hero Academy
  • Disney Junior
  • Frozen Adventures

These kid clubs are free, and reservations are not required. Check the operating hours in your app once on board, but the clubs are often open until midnight.

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Disney knows that little kids and big kids don't mix, so it also has separate hangouts for tweens and teens. Edge is the tween club for guests ages 11 to 14. Found on Deck 9, the club is themed as an under-the-sea submarine. Tweens can come here to draw, play video games or hang out, but supervising youth counselors also lead group activities, such as scavenger hunts, dance parties, bingo and more.

Unlike the Oceaneer Club, where there is a formal check-in and checkout procedure, the tween club allows kids to come and go. If you don't want to give your 11- or 12-year-old that independence, then the Oceaneer Club and Lab are better suited for them than Edge.

On the flip side, if space is available, you can sign a waiver for your 10-year-old to level up into Edge a year early if you think they are ready. This is most useful when sailing with older friends or family members already in Edge.

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Teens ages 14 to 17 have a space all their own in Vibe. On Disney Wonder, you can find Vibe tucked away in the funnel on Deck 11. Its cool spot gives it an exclusive vibe, befitting its name.

Like in Edge, teens can hang out and play arcade games, video games, draw or chat with the counselors and other teen visitors. If space permits, parents can sign a form to allow their 13-year-old to hang out at Edge one year early.

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Bibbity Bobbity Boutique

If your kid has always wanted to be a princess, Bibbity Bobbity Boutique is an awesome (albeit expensive) Disney Wonder experience. It's a salon for kids where fairy godmothers (aka stylists who work there) will transform them into their favorite princess or prince, Captain Mickey or another whimsical character. The character might depend on the costumes available on your sailing.

Depending on the package you book, your kid will choose an outfit before getting a makeover involving a glitter-infused hairstyle, painted nails and fancy make-up. The fairy godmothers do a great job at making their princesses-in-training feel extremely special.

You need to make advance appointments for Bibbity Bobbity, and prices range from $100 to $200, depending on the package you select. (Fair warning: The $100 package doesn't include the outfit or backpack, so BYO if you go that route.)

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Activities and shows

From the Sail Away party on deck the first afternoon to the See Ya Real Soon final farewell in the main atrium on the last night, there will be more shows and activities to see and experience on Disney Wonder than you'd ever be able to do in just one trip. (But seriously, don't miss the first and last shows; they are fantastic.)

In your Disney Cruise Line app, you'll find the time for all these shows and activities, such as trivia, bingo and karaoke. All the shows and most activities are free, but there are a few exceptions, such as bingo, that cost if you want to play. While it might feel weird at first doing a family game show or playing trivia, the more activities you participate in, the more fun you have.

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On-deck fun

For independent fun, head up to the Wide World of Sports area on Deck 10 forward. There, you'll find a netted area for basketball, ping pong and foosball. Down on Deck 4, the promenade features a walking or running track that goes all the way around the ship. You'll find shuffleboard courts there, as well.

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Character encounters

Sailing with Disney isn't complete without meeting some of your favorite pals on the ship.

Guests have a few ways to visit characters on Disney Wonder. Scheduled character meet-and-greets are listed on the itinerary each day in the Disney Cruise Line app. These will be popular events.

For example, if you are on Disney Wonder as it sails to Alaska , the first day that Mickey, Minnie and friends appear in their Alaska-exclusive outfits out on deck (which is also likely the day you sail close to a glacier), lines will form at least 30 minutes before the greetings start.

However, some of the best character interactions will be the ones that aren't announced or planned. You may see a character on the promenade waving goodbye to land as you sail away from a port or "sleep-walking" in their pajamas at night when no one else is around.

Definitely go to some of the scheduled character interactions if you want to get a photo, but keep your eyes peeled for those unannounced moments, too.

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Senses Spa and Rainforest Room

On Deck 9 forward, you'll find the Senses Spa — home to treatment rooms, a nail and hair salon, a fitness center, locker rooms and the Rainforest Room thermal suite.

You can book spa treatments before the sailing and once on board. Look for discounts on booking treatments on port days, and if you book multiple treatments, you can often also qualify for a discount.

The adults-only Rainforest Room features heated stone chairs, various shower experiences and steam rooms. Access to this room costs extra, so visit the spa on the day you board for prices and availability. If you've been to the Rainforest Room on Disney Wish , Dream or Fantasy, know Disney Wonder's version is smaller. It does not include any whirlpools or some of the other offerings you'll find in the larger thermal suites.

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Disney Wonder nighttime shows and movies

Each Disney ship has a lineup of Broadway-caliber nighttime shows and a schedule of movies in the Walt Disney and Buena Vista theaters.

Currently, the flagship evening performances on Disney Wonder sailings are:

  • "The Golden Mickeys"
  • "Frozen: A Musical Spectacular"
  • "Disney Dreams — An Enchanted Classic"

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Seating is first-come, first-served, so get to the theater early for your pick of seats. Your time to see the evening show will be opposite your dinner time, so early dinner means seeing the late show, and late dinner means seeing the early performance.

In addition to the Broadway-style shows, Disney Wonder has a schedule of first-run and recent Disney movies that you can pop in and watch inside the Buena Vista Theater on Deck 5. If you are on the ship while a Disney show premiers on land, you can catch its opening night on the ship, too.

Disney Wonder itineraries and pricing

As we've mentioned before, Disney Wonder hit the lottery of itineraries.

While every year is a bit different, for at least the next year or two, Disney Wonder's schedule includes summer sailings from Vancouver to Alaska, an October trip to Hawaii after the Alaska season, then fall and winter sailings to, from and around Australia and New Zealand. There's a spring stop in Hawaii, followed by sailings from San Diego to Mexico before it resumes its summer season beginning in May in Vancouver.

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Pricing starts less than $2,000 for a family of four on some of the short Australia and New Zealand sailings. Sailings on the U.S. West Coast start around $3,000 for a family of four in an inside cabin.

To do a weeklong Alaska sailing with a family of four, prices will start at $5,100 for an inside cabin in the early or late season. Prime summer sailing dates from June to August cost a couple of thousand dollars more for that same interior cabin and thousands more still for a balcony cabin.

Related: How to save money on a Disney Cruise

What to know before you go

Required documents.

The required documents for sailing on Disney Wonder vary based on your itinerary.

All guests 16 and over who are U.S. citizens on the sailing from Vancouver to Alaska will need a U.S. passport, but children ages 15 and under can do that sailing with a state-issued birth certificate. Americans flying to Canada from the U.S. (or vice versa) will need a passport to enter the country by air, regardless of age.

U.S. citizens on round-trip sailings from the U.S. West Coast to Mexico can do the sailing with a passport or a state-issued birth certificate and a physical government-issued photo ID.

Those on the sailings to and from Australia and New Zealand will need different documents based on their nationality, but those from the U.S. will need passports and potentially visas, too.

Green-card holders and non-U.S. citizens must check requirements based on destinations visited. Additionally, you will need to check in for your cruise online, fill out the appropriate information and select an arrival time for your embarkation day.

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Disney Cruise Line recommends $14.50 in gratuities per guest per night; this is the amount auto-applied to your onboard bill unless you request to increase or decrease it. The gratuities are split among your dining room server, assistant server, head server and cabin host.

Those in the concierge level are charged $15.50 per person per night, with the additional going to the cabin assistant host, who helps with those accommodations. Tips for the concierge lounge team are neither included in that amount nor automatically added to your onboard statement. Disney recommends you tip $8 per person per night; you can do this in cash or ask to have it added to your folio toward the end of your cruise. The tips would then be shared among the concierge hosts.

I recommend bringing cash and tipping not only the concierge hosts but also the bartenders in the concierge lounge, assuming you get your drinks there.

For a seven-night sailing for a family of four, automatically charged gratuities come to $406 in a non-concierge cabin and $434 in a concierge cabin, plus an additional $224 in recommended tips to the concierge lounge attendants. In other words, don't forget to budget for this. You can also leave additional amounts charged to your room or in cash.

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Also not included in the amounts above are tips at the bar, at the adults-only dining restaurants, at the spa and for room service; tipping is recommended for those services. Note that an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine, deck service tabs and spa services.

Wi-Fi is not currently a strength of Disney Wonder. It is quite expensive and priced in an old-school manner.

There is no cost to connect to the ship's Wi-Fi network when used only for the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app (which can also be used for messaging other guests on the ship). Otherwise, Disney Wonder's current Wi-Fi options start at $19 for a 100 MB package and go up from there. At some point, the ship will likely switch to the program most other Disney ships use, which charges by the day and not by the amount of data.

Carry-on drinks policy

Guests 21 years and older (18 or under for round-trip Australia and New Zealand cruises) may bring a maximum of two bottles of unopened wine or Champagne (no larger than 750 ml) or six beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on board at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call. These beverages must be packed in carry-on (not checked) bags or luggage. You can keep drinks chilled in the small fridge in your cabin.

Guests wishing to consume wine or Champagne brought on board in one of the dining rooms will be charged a corkage fee of $26 per bottle.

Smoking policy

Smoking is permitted only in designated deck areas. It's forbidden in cabins and on cabin balconies, and those who violate this rule will face a $250 cleaning fee.

For an additional fee, Disney ships offer full-service laundry and dry cleaning services that include the pickup and delivery of clean clothes to your cabin.

On Disney Wonder, you'll also find self-service laundry on Decks 2, 6 and 7 midship. You pay for the facilities by using your Key to the World card. These services can get busy during sea days on longer cruises, so plan accordingly.

Electrical outlets

Cabins are equipped with multiple 110-volt outlets, which are standard in the U.S. and Canada.

Small electrical appliances such as electric shavers, curling irons and flat irons with standard North American plugs will function on board; 110-volt items should not exceed 1,500 watts, and 220-volt items should not exceed 2,000 watts. A hair dryer is provided in every cabin, but you may bring your own as long as it meets the guidelines above.

The currency on Disney Wonder, regardless of location, is the U.S. dollar.

On the ship, you don't need cash or a credit card — all incidentals, purchases and services will be charged to your cabin folio. Your Key to the World card serves as your onboard payment method. The only exception is if you want to tip a crew member in cash.

In port, you may wish to carry cash in a local currency or a credit card to buy snacks and souvenirs or to tip your tour guide.

Drinking age

The drinking age on Disney Wonder depends on where the ship is sailing at the time. For sailings to and from the U.S. West Coast and Canada, the drinking age is 21.

However, for round-trip cruises from Auckland or Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, guests 18 years and older may purchase and consume alcohol. For repositioning cruises between Hawaii and Australia, parents or guardians may sign a "Beverage Consent Form" that allows their 18- to 20-year-old children to consume alcoholic beverages while in the adult's presence.

During the day on Disney Wonder, people dress casually. If it's a sea day in a warm-weather destination, most passengers will wear T-shirts, shorts and bathing suits (with a cover-up to go inside). For Alaska cruises, guests should wear layers and bring jackets, hats and rain gear for cooler or wetter days.

During the evenings, dining attire in the three main restaurants is "cruise casual," meaning no swimwear or tank tops, but you don't need to dress up too much. The exception is if you are dining in Palo, where you do need to dress up a bit more.

Cruises that are seven nights or longer schedule one "formal night." Passengers can choose to wear a fancy dress, suit or sports coat, but it's not a problem if you prefer casual attire. You will see folks in jeans and shorts on formal nights alongside passengers in dresses and suits. For the kids, princess dresses and other Disney-themed costumes are always appropriate.

Pro tip: Be sure and pack that pirate gear or themed attire for Pirate Night or Frozen Night on the Alaska cruises.

Related: What to pack for your Disney Cruise

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Bottom line

Disney Wonder has been the setting for family vacations for about 25 years, and it doesn't show any signs of hanging up its waterslide anytime soon.

It's not the newest, flashiest or most modern ship in Disney's fleet, but it makes us smile every time we step on board. There's more than enough to do to stay busy on your sailing, and it's still a compact enough ship that you don't spend half your cruise figuring out where everything is.

In other words, Disney Wonder is a great choice whether you want to start your cruising with a ship that is a bit smaller or you are ready to chart an adventure to one of Disney's most far-flung ports of call.

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If you're looking for a just-right-size Disney Cruise Line sailing and enjoy a more classic approach to life at sea, Disney Wonder could easily be the ship for you.

Related readings:

  • Best tips for sailing with Disney Cruise Line
  • Best credit cards for booking a cruise
  • 5 reasons why Disney cruises aren't just for kids
  • The ultimate guide to Disney Cruise Line ships and itineraries
  • The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Disney Cruise Line ship
  • Disney cruise tips, tricks, secrets and extra magic to unlock when setting sail with Mickey
  • Best Disney cruise ships for everyone — even Disney adults

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Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi Review

Some cruise guests choose a cruise vacation specifically so they are forced to disconnect form the world and just enjoy a vacation with the family. Others like to post about their vacation for others to see. Maybe you need to be able to check video of a pet at home, be able to call parents or adult children if necessary, or you just really really have to get some work done while sailing the high seas. All of those things will require internet connectivity, which is not something that Disney Cruise Line has a stellar reputation for. During my recent (January 2023) cruise, I tested all of the various internet packages so that I could share what worked and didn’t, and how to make the internet package work for you.

Internet Purchasing Options

If it’s been a while since you last cruised with Disney, you are probably used to watching the dreaded data meter work its way toward zero, and frantically turning off the ability for any of your apps to burn through your allotment without your permission.

The good news is that  almost all ships (Wonder is still on the “old” style plans for now) have transitioned to plans that are based on speed and connectivity rather than measured data. Hooray! The bad news is, this generally means you’ll still be paying a lot for connectivity, with often not-great results. But more on that later. Let’s review each of the three new “tiers”, and what Disney claims you’ll be able to do with each.

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Stay Connected

The Stay Connected package is the lowest tier available. Not to be confused with Basic, which is the next-highest tier. This is less than basic. You can expect to pay at least $12 per day, or less if you purchase for the entire length of the cruise, or more if you need more than one device to be connected at a time.

With this package, Disney says that you will be able to “Post text and pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Tumblr”. They also specifically call out “This plan does not support surfing the web, accessing email or video streaming.”

So the intent of this package appears to be posting photos and reels to make your friends jealous, or updating your skills so that you can find a new job that lets you take more cruises. But nothing else.

The Basic Surf package is the next-highest tier, and it doubles the cost of the Stay Connected plan. You can expect to pay at least $24 per day for this access, or less if you purchase for the entire length of the cruise, or more if you need more than one device to be connected at a time.

With this package, Disney says that you will be able to do everything that the Stay Connected package can do, plus: “Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites, send and receive emails, and make audio calls.” The only activities called out as specifically not supported are “long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu.”

This is the package that  should allow you to do almost everything. You can call home if you have an app that will allow Wi-Fi calling. You can check your emails. You can read the news in the morning. Just no video streaming. Sounds reasonable. All for about $100 for a 4-night cruise. A little steep, but potentially worth it if it works, and if you need the safety of being able to check in at home with family or with your work.

Premium Surf

Here is where things supposedly get fancy. The Premium Surf package is the highest tier, and it triples the cost of the Stay Connected plan. You can expect to pay at least $36 per day for this access, or less if you purchase for the entire length of the cruise, or more if you need more than one device to be connected at a time.

With this package, Disney says that you will be able to do everything that the Basic Surf package can do, plus: “Make video phone calls on planforms FaceTime, Zoom, and more; listen to your favorite music streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music; View short-form content on platforms like YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok; and enjoy faster connectivity speeds.” Interestingly, Disney still calls out that you will not be able to engage with: “long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu.”

Odd that the top two tiers both have the same exclusion, so maybe the “Basic” tier isn’t as comprehensive as originally hoped. If you need a soundtrack to your day, or you want to be able to video chat with Grandma at home, you would theoretically need to purchase this package. And the cost is pretty steep.

Pricing Details

As discussed in the description of each tier, you can find a base price per day for a package. But then you are given options for duration and number of devices that can increase or decrease the actual final cost of your internet package.

disney cruise wonder wifi

On the first day of our cruise, I went through and grabbed pricing information for a variety of combinations. In every case, purchasing for the length of the cruise got me a 20% discount compared to the daily rate. So, I could get the Premium Surf package for $30/day instead of $36.

By the third day of the cruise, it was obvious that I needed to purchase Premium Surf for the remainder of the cruise. I assumed that this would knock down my savings, because two days had already passed. No! I was still given the 20% discount on the remaining days of the cruise, instead of the full price. So for my 5-night cruise, I could have theoretically gone without internet the first 3 days, then purchased Premium Surf for two days to catch up on all of the things, and I would have paid “just” $60.

I expected that there would be a similar price break for connecting with multiple devices compared to having individual log-ins for each device. Something like $36/day for the first device and $30/day for the second, etc. But no – each device was a pure multiplication of the per-day or per-voyage cost selected in earlier steps. Two devices for a day on Premium Surf? $72.

Premium Surf Package Performance

I had a checklist of activities to attempt while using each different internet package. The first of which was running a speed test to see what I was getting for my money.

disney cruise wonder wifi

If you know anything about internet connectivity, you know that those results are really sad. Really sad. And this was the best speed I got the entire length of the cruise. It was only downhill from here. I’m showing the best of the best. Immediately I knew that most of my checklist was going to be pointless, and I questioned how the other packages would function at all if this was the speed they were giving the premium users. Ouch.

But, science. I had to run my tests anyway. The first was uploading content to Instagram, so that my followers could do important things like goad me into trying the world’s worst non-alcoholic specialty beverage. To be fair, I was generally* able to post stories, even if they included short video content. Hooray. That’s something.

disney cruise wonder wifi

* Generally is the key word here. We’ll talk about overall reliability later, but there were lots of dead zones and many many dropped connections. Many.

I wanted to test out ability to stay up-to-date with games. The Disney community and video game community have some pretty significant overlap, and Marvel Snap is one example of an award-winning game that rewards those who log in and play consistently. Don’t want to miss those log-in rewards! Once again, on the Premium Surf package, I could almost always log in. But matching and completing an entire game was practically impossible. I would lose connection to my account or the game servers at least once, and that always led to losing (or forfeiting) the game. Boo.

disney cruise wonder wifi

In order to stay connected for work, (which, to be clear, was not  a goal of this cruise. I cruise to avoid work. But science!) I needed to access Outlook, Teams, and Slack. On the Premium Surf plan, Outlook loaded about 50% of the time, and timed out the other 50%. Teams connectivity had a slightly better success rate, because it refreshed appropriately about 75% of the time. And Slack almost always kept itself updated, but really struggled with marking things as “read”.

I was usually able to load web pages, if I was patient for long enough. I successfully read almost the entire Saturday Six that posted before our sailing. I could go seek out the “lite” version of CNN if I felt like news was important. I could use google to search for trivia answers (I kid, I kid) or whatever else I needed to know, if I could wait the 30 seconds it would take to load.

disney cruise wonder wifi

Video and loading/downloading is where things really started to falter. I could view reels on Instagram, but not anything on YouTube. There was absolutely no way I could stay connected long enough to download a podcast episode or even a PDF. And I could connect to Pandora, but was never able to listen to a full song. It kept losing connectivity or buffering too.

Basic Surf Package Performance

This section is going to be nice and quick, because as soon as I tried “downgrading” to the Basic Surf plan … almost nothing worked. I was miraculously able to run a speed test, though!

disney cruise wonder wifi

Okay, so … 30% worse. But I’ll be honest, I expected this difference to be negligible when determining if tasks were ultimately successful or not. Sure, things would take longer. I’d have to stare at my phone and wait more. But probably they would still work.

WRONG. Instagram posting didn’t work. Marvel Snap didn’t work. Web surfing (including the speed test above) worked 50% of my tries. No email, no Teams, no Slack. The conspiracy theory part of my personality assumed that Disney was prioritizing Premium traffic, and when I managed to get web pages to load, I was getting lucky with my timing.

I’m sorry, but paying $24/day to maybe be able to load web pages 50% of the time, but have everything else fail … is not worth it. And the constant griping overheard any time we walked past the Guest Services desk seems to corroborate my feelings.

Stay Connected Package Performance

The Stay Connected Package … did nothing. Couldn’t run a speed test (it is a web page, after all). Could even get Instagram or Twitter (or LinkedIn for that matter) to load at all. I was paying $12/day to frustrate myself with just trying all of the things and failing. Maybe that’s a form of therapy. I don’t know. But it certainly wasn’t keeping me connected.

That’s about all I can say about this package. I ran through my checklist once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. And I tried it in different locations on the ship because that definitely had an impact on connectivity while using the other plans. But none of the magic trickery worked. This package was worthless.

Reliability and Troubleshooting

If you’ve made it this far in the post, you already know that connectivity and speeds are not impressive. Reliability was even worse. About 8 hours into the first full day of the cruise, while using and testing the Premium Surf package, everything just died. No posting. No surfing. Malarkey. I went to the Guest Services desk during the second dining service (an excellent time with no lines, if you need to visit that desk), and they walked me through the stereotypical IT troubleshooting steps. Turn Wi-Fi off. Turn Wi-Fi on. Turn airplane mode on, turn airplane mode off. Visit iCafe (the service that manages connectivity) and toggle the purchased package off. Toggle it back on. Restart phone. Toss it against the wall (kidding, again). They couldn’t fix it either.

Then, they had me go into iCafe (the service that manages connectivity), and totally log out of the service. Log back in. Disney magic happened, and I was back in business. That only took up 15 minutes of my cruise to figure out. They also admitted that they were having lots of Wi-Fi issues, and had been for several cruises. So there’s that.

disney cruise wonder wifi

From then on, that was the first step I tried when things stopped working. I kid you not – I had to log out of and into iCafe at least once every 2 hours for the rest of the cruise. I collected the data, because of course, and once I figured out the whole log out/log in fix, I averaged doing that “magic trick” every 90 minutes while awake. It usually kicked my Premium Surf package back into working, but didn’t make anything easier on Basic Surf or Stay Connected.

I know that many people feel like that they absolutely must be able to stay connected to the outside world during a cruise. Whether for home/pet safety, or work, or checking in with family, sometimes internet is just a must. But being forced to pay for the most expensive package, with such low speeds, and such frequent dropping, is totally frustrating in what is supposed to be an escape from frustration.

I recognize that connectivity at sea is tough. It’s a technical nightmare. Especially with that many people trying to utilize it at all times. But you should know what to expect – you’re not going to be video-calling friends or coworkers. You may not even be able to check email reliably or audio call at all. If the safety net of potentially being able to connect is worth the $30-$36/day for you, then go for it. Otherwise, you may be better off skipping the hassle completely.

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Becky Gandillon

Becky Gandillon was trained in biomedical engineering, but is now a full-time data and analytics nerd. She loves problem solving and travelling. She and her husband, Jeff, live in St. Louis with their two daughters and they have Disney family movie night every Saturday. You can follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-gandillon/ or instagram @raisingminniemes

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5 thoughts on “ Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi Review ”

What ship were you on and what itinerary?

I am going to be on a couple of 14-15 night cruises in a few months on the Magic and Wonder. I will NEED work connectivity. I am curious if the ship capacity, route, this specific ship technical problems, etc. are factors in performance and connectivity.

This was on the Wonder, and on a San Diego – Cabo itinerary, but I’ve heard that the Wonder had regular issues. Perhaps they’re addressed by now.

That’s good news that the Wonder has converted to the new plans!

Great review.

Maybe sometimes it also depends on route and weather. Rough seas make the satellite connection more difficult to maintain than while docked at Castaway.

Seems like ‘try if you want’ don’t be surprised if it is less than mediocre.

We had the premium package on our cruise over winter break. My kids were able to watch YouTube, but they could not play Roblox. It was slow, but workable.

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EverythingMouse Guide To Disney

Disney Cruise Internet Packages – What You Need to Know 2024

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In 2023 Disney Cruise Line introduced new internet packages.

These new Disney Cruise Internet Packages were a welcome change for the ships, which have up to now only offered expensive data usage-based options.

However, not long after these new packages were introduced, there were significant price increases.

Here I will look at what the options are and how much the Disney Cruise Internet costs.

For historical reasons, I will keep the original prices as a comparison.

What Are The Disney Cruise Internet Packages?

Disney Cruise guests can purchase Internet for either:

  • A 24-hour period

As you will see from the prices below, there is a 20% discount on per-voyage pricing compared with 24-hour pricing.

If you decide to upgrade to a Voyage plan mid-voyage you will only be charged for the remaining days. However, you do need to be aware that you will be charged for a complete day no matter what time on that day you choose the Per Voyage package.

So if you change your package at 11.59 pm to a Per Voyage package you are going to be charged a whole day, even though you only had a minute of that day left.

Adding additional devices to an Internet package will receive a 20% discount.

When Does This Increase Happen?

The new internet packages are now available on all five of the Disney Cruise Ships.

Disney Wonder was the last one to be upgraded, but this happened in the dry dock just before she sailed for the Transpacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruises in October 2023.

  • Disney Magic  – 7/31/23 
  • Disney Wish  – 7/31/23 
  • Disney Dream  – 8/1/23 
  • Disney Fantasy  – 8/5/23
  • Disney Wonder -10/23

There are three choices of internet package:

Disney Cruise Stay Connected Plan Cost

The old price was $10 per person per day

New Pricing

  • $16/day when purchased for the full voyage 
  • $18/day when purchased for 24 hours 

Stay connected on social media with our most affordable internet plan. With this plan, you can:

  • Post text and pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin and Tumblr

The  Stay Connected  plan  does not  support surfing the web, accessing email, or video streaming

Disney Cruise Basic Surf

The old price was $20 per person per day

  • $24/day when purchased for the full voyage 
  • $28/day when purchased for 24 hours 

Enjoy all the benefits of the Stay Connected plan – plus, full web access. With this plan, you can:

  • Surf the web, read the news, check the weather, and visit your other favorite websites
  • Send and receive emails

The  Basic Surf plan   does not  support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu.

Disney Cruise Premium Surf

The old price was $30 per person per day

  • $34/day when purchased for the full voyage 
  • $42/day when purchased for 24 hours 

Experience faster connection speeds and access to music platforms such as Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music – plus, all the benefits of the Basic Surf plan. With this plan, you can:

  • Enjoy faster connection speeds
  • Make video phone calls on platforms FaceTime, Zoom, and more
  • Listen to your favorite music streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music
  • View short-form on platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok

The  Premium Surf plan does not  support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu.

Guests can select the number of devices that they wish to add to the package.

Avoid These Disney Cruise Money Mistakes

Disney Cruise internet package

Disney Cruise Internet Packages for Concierge Guests

Disney Cruise Concierge Guests will enjoy an internet package as part of their concierge perks.

The package varies according to the category of concierge stateroom that the guests are staying in.

All concierge guests will have the opportunity to upgrade to a higher internet package category if they wish.

Family Concierge Stateroom Category 3 Stateroom Internet Package

Guest in Family Concierge Staterooms will have the Stay Connected internet package included for 2 guests in the stateroom.

These 2 guests can pay the upgrade price for a higher package.

If any other guests in the stateroom wish to purchase an internet package they will pay full price for whichever level they want.

One and Two Bedroom Suites Category 2 Stateroom Internet Package

Guests in One and Two Bedroom Concierge Staterooms will have the Basic Surf Package included for 2 guests in the Stateroom.

If those 2 guests want the Premium Surf package they will pay the upgrade price.

All other guests in the stateroom will pay the applicable pricing for their own internet package.

Royal Suites and the Disney Wish Tower Suite Category 1 Stateroom Internet Package

All guests in the Royal Suite on all ships and the Tower Suite on the Disney Wish will have the Premium Surf Disney Cruise Internet Package included for the length of their stay.

Is There Wi-Fi on Castaway Cay?

Wanting to connect to Wi-Fi on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay ?

Castaway Cay does not have a free internet connection. You will have to use your Disney Cruise Internet Package to use the Wi-Fi on Castaway Cay.

Really though who needs it on this beautiful island? It’s one of the only places where you really can escape from reality!

What do you think of the new Disney Cruise Internet Packages?

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HOW MUCH DOES A DISNEY WISH CRUISE COST?

disney cruise wonder wifi

Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando.  In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.

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In concierge family state rooms you get 24 hours free after that you pay.

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Internet Package Pricing Update

Disney Cruise Line Internet Package Pricing Update

Disney Cruise Line has increased the pricing on its Internet Packages. The pricing will take effect on the following dates

  • July 31, 2023, Disney Magic
  • July 31, 2023, Disney Wish
  • August 1, 2023, Disney Dream
  • August 5, 2023 Disney Fantasy

The Disney Wonder currently does not have the time-based internet packages, it expected to transition to the internet packages after the dry dock this fall.

Disney Fantasy Port Canaveral

The new pricing is as follows:

Stay Connected Package

  • $16 per day when purchased for the full voyage
  • $18 per day when purchased for 24 hours

Stay Connected Disney Cruise Line Internet Package Pricing Update

Basic Surf Package

  • $24 per day when purchased for the full voyage
  • $28 per day when purchased for 24 hours

Basic Surf Disney Cruise Line Internet Package Pricing Update

Premium Surf Package

  • $34 per day when purchased for the full voyage
  • $42 per day when purchased for 24 hours

Premium Surf Disney Cruise Line Internet Package Pricing Update

As a reminder, Guests can purchase Internet for 24 hour periods, or per voyage. Guests receive a 20% discount on voyage pricing vs 24-hour pricing, and adding additional devices to an Internet package will receive a 20% discount . If Guests purchase a voyage plan mid-voyage, they will only be charged for the remaining days . Please note: “ Days remaining” change at midnight, so purchasing at 11:55 pm will still charge Guests for the full day .

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This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, that if you make a purchase through my links, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support of this site.

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How to Connect at Sea using Disney Cruise Wifi

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Taking a cruise, but still need to connect to the real world? Take heart, Connect at Sea allows you to plug into your Disney cruise wifi. Here are some important details along with how to use it.

Large cruise ship, black on the bottom, white on top, anchored in the water with a blue sky

What is Connect at Sea?

Connect at Sea enables you to access the Disney Cruise internet service. From here, you can do whatever you need to whether that’s Facebook (or any other social media platform), Email or just surfing the web.

Enable all of your devices or just one. It’s up to you how much you need, or want, to remain connected. Be warned, though. Disney Cruise wifi is not cheap.

All Disney cruises have wifi. Plus, each Disney cruise ship has a Connect at Sea helpdesk. Stop by and pick up a brochure for current data rates or for any help you need connecting to the internet. Check your Navigator to see where they are located and the hours it is staffed.

Written instructions from Disney Cruise Line on how to Connect at Sea

Disney Connect at Sea prices

Either pay as you go or buy an internet package.

Disney Cruise Wifi Cost

As of November 2019, wifi on the pay-as-you-go package is 25 cents per megabyte. If you are not certain how much wifi you will use, this could be a good starter. You have the option of purchasing a package at any time.

A small data package of 100MB is available for $19. This would be the optimal choice for someone that still wants to stay connected by checking email every so often.

The medium package provides 300MB for $39. If you plan on posting your vacation photos to Facebook or Instagram, this plan may be for you.

If you need to do more data-intensive work, the 1000MB plan at $89 would be your best choice. Data can be shared, so if there are several of you that want to stay connected, this plan may be sufficient.

Do I need to buy a data package?

Absolutely not! In fact, neither my husband nor I purchased any data. We completely unplugged on this vacation.

It was great not having Little K ask if she could watch YouTube. She was told no internet from the start and just dealt with it.

Is there anything for free?

Yes! Actually, you can get 50MB of Disney Cruise Line wifi for free. There is a catch, you have to claim this data before midnight on embarkation day (your first day on the ship).

Here’s how to get it: – Turn Airplane mode on – Turn wifi on – Select DCL-Guest Wifi – Once in your browser, type dclguest.com – If it’s Day 1 on the cruise, you will see the option for 50MB free, plus the data packages

What is DCL-Guest?

DCL-Guest is the network name for the Disney Cruise Line internet. Besides connecting to this for data usage, there are a few onboard uses of it too.

Disney Navigator App 

The Disney Navigator app works with the ship’s Wifi. No data is needed. Download this while you are still at home to avoid any data charges. See Disney Cruise Embarkation tips for more information.

The Navigator app tells you everything about your cruise. From where you are having dinner that night to where you can find Disney character appearances. Use this app for anything pertaining to what’s happening on the ship.

In addition, there is a chat feature that lets you text anyone once you have their chat id. Truthfully, this is a little clunky, but once it’s set up, it does work.

Cell phone app showing 'Select a Day' and then 4 pictures of where the cruise ship was going

iMessage usage

Speaking of texting, anyone with an iPhone can use iMessage to chat with anyone else that has an iPhone, whether onboard the ship or not. You must be connected to DCL-Guest. This is a completely free feature on a Disney cruise.

This enabled me to keep in touch with family and friends back home without using any data as most of them have iPhones. Pictures, however, would not send nor could they be received. Text only.

iMessage texts to non-iPhone users will not go through. Both users must be on iPhones for this feature to work.

Personally, I thought this was great. We didn’t have to purchase an internet package, yet I could still text my family and best friend.

Get free wifi in Disney ports of call

While I never paid for wifi on the Disney cruise ship, I did connect to the internet a couple of times in port for free.

Many of the town squares or shopping areas have free internet. Just look for a sign with internet information and connect. I was able to download all my emails and browse through them looking for anything important.

Take advantage of it where ever you can.

Some restaurants and bars also have free wifi. Think Starbucks.

Use this time to your advantage if you are just shopping around in the port and have a few moments to use their internet.

White Mickey head against a red background with blue waves with blue sky and white clouds in background

Does Castaway Cay have wifi?

Unlike other ports of call that have free wifi, Castaway Cay does not. You need to use the internet package you purchased or the wave phones provided (see below). 

The Navigator app still works on this island, though, so you can stay up to date on what’s happening throughout the day.

Helpful Disney Cruise wifi tips

If you have purchased a Connect at Sea package or are using the free 50MB, turn off all background downloads or updates. This prevents your data from being used up faster.

iPhones on iOS 13 and higher have a low data mode that automatically restricts any background work such as transferring to iCloud.

Simply tap the ‘i’ next to DCL-GUEST in your wifi settings and click the slider for the low-data mode. Everything else is taken care of in the background.

Another good rule of thumb is to log off the wifi once you are done using it. This will also help prevent any accidental background data from using your megabytes.

DCL Wifi Wave Phones

Disney provides each stateroom with wave phones that can be used onboard or at Castaway Cay.

This is yet another option of how to stay in touch with members of your party, especially if you don’t have an iPhone that can utilize the free iMessaging.

Wave phones allow you to:

  • Send and receive text messages
  • Access the stopwatch and calculator

If you drop your child off at a kids club, you need to have a way to be contacted and the wave phone is a perfect choice. Plus, this saves on any Disney cruise wifi you may have purchased.

But, be careful to not lose or damage them! There is a $250 fee that will be charged to your stateroom if it’s not turned in on debarkation day.

Carrying your phone on a cruise

Ok, this just may be me, but I hate carrying around things. I gladly check bags on a plane just so I can feel lighter and not have to deal with carrying anything in the airport.

Since I didn’t want to lose my phone on the cruise, I purchased a small, cross-body bag to hold just my phone .

I didn’t need to carry anything else because my Disney Key to the World Card (which acts as your room key and a charge card) was in a lanyard around my neck .

Here’s a few you may consider:

Connect at Sea with Disney Cruise Wifi Summary

Although I didn’t purchase any data, I’m glad my iPhone let me ‘Connect @ Sea’ with people back home by using iMessage.

The free wifi on Disney Cruise was just enough for me, but I know this won’t work out for some people.

Everything else piled up, such as the 1,000 emails I had once I got home, along with all my Facebook notifications. But, in the end, it was worth it to disconnect completely. I was present for absolutely everything – even watching Descendants 1, 2 or 3 before bed with my daughter. Although I now know the words to most of the songs, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Have you ever completely disconnected for a week? Was it worth it? Let me know in the comments!

For other Disney Cruise information, check out the following: – How to organize your Disney Cruise Stateroom – Disney Cruise Embarkation Day Tips

Please PIN this! Thank you.

White Mickey head against a red background with blue waves with blue sky and white clouds in background with text reading Connect at Sea on a Disney Cruise Tips and Tricks

Christine is a Disney World annual pass holder and overall Disney expert and fanatic. She often visits the Disneylands around the world naming Disneyland Paris her favorite. To continue reading, click more about me .

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What ship were you on? The Fantasy , in an outside cabin did not offer the wave phone that you speak of. We just got off the ship July 16. Was there something that you had to do to get the iPhone to work? I couldn’t do anything other than the DCL App..Castaway Cay, the app definitely DID NOT work. I have Verizon and the wife has AT&T, we both have iPhones (granted only 10’s), but we couldn’t get ours to work without me tapping into the International feature on my phone.

Yes, we were on the Fantasy. It was Christmas 2019, so just before everything shut down. I did some research on your questions. It looks like the wave phones are ‘paused’ because they are high-touch items. I will go ahead and mention that in my post. Now, the question of whether iPhones work or not is a little harder. I read several forums where people said iMessage worked fine, some people said it did not work for them, and others said it worked for a couple of days, then it stopped working. So, I am not sure what to think! At that time, I had an iPhone XR. I had no issues using iMessage with DCL_GUEST wifi to keep in touch with those back home – just couldn’t send pictures. There was a forum where people said last month (June 2022) that it worked perfectly fine for them, but they heard that Disney was upgrading its internet in July. I wonder if you happened to be in the time period some upgrade was happening. It’s frustrating that it works for some people, but others it does not and I can’t begin to think why that would happen. Sorry that it didn’t work for you! If anyone else has any comments related to this, please let me know!

White Mickey head against a red background with blue waves with blue sky and white clouds in background with the text Connect at Sea on a Disney Cruise

disney cruise wonder wifi

All About The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

I f you are planning to go on a Disney Cruise , you’ll want to download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. This free Disney cruise app has always been extremely useful when you are onboard the ship because you’ll be able to get information about activities on the ship as well as communicate with your family members. Now, however, it’s essential more than ever.

If you don’t have to pay for WiFi on the ship, and if you don’t want to use roaming cellular data, it can be a great way to communicate with friends and family on board. Here’s what you need to know about the Disney Cruise Line app.

Disclosure: I have been on one complimentary media cruise, two cruises as part of Social Media Moms, and countless cruises at my own cost. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links and a purchase/click through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us. 

Check cruise prices here .

The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

Getting started: download the app before you go.

Make sure you download the free Disney Navigator app from the app store before you head out on your Disney Cruise. Do it while you are on cellular data or WiFi , and make sure all of your family members have it as well. Don’t wait until you are onboard the ship.

If you already have the app, make sure you are using the latest version. It is regularly updated, so you’ll need to check if you don’t have automatic updates. It’s also a good idea to log in and make sure you know what your ID and password are.

Using the App Before You Go

Originally, the app wasn’t very useful before you got on the ship. Now, however, there are several things that you can do right on the Disney Cruise Line app.

You’ll be able to log into your account, find your sailing, and make modifications and changes to your plans. You’ll find things like spa and fitness appointments, beverage seminars and other onboard activities, Port Adventures, and reservations for adult dining at Remy and Palo . You’ll also be able to see your current plans.

The app offers the same openings that you’ll find on the website, so it’s still a good idea to make those reservations as soon as possible within your booking window. Many of these experiences are very popular with limited openings. If you have multiple sailings booked on the Disney Cruise Line, you’ll be able to choose your specific sailing from the list.

When You Are on the Ship

Go to the onboard chat feature section and add each of your friends or family members. Those in the same stateroom will show up easily, but you’ll need to get a code from others to add them. If you have friends or family in other staterooms, you’ll want to set this up as soon as you can – while you are still on WiFi.

If you have kids in your stateroom, they can use the onboard chat feature but will need your permission. Again, this is something that you may want to do while you are still on cellular data, if possible.

Make sure that you understand what coverage your phone will have before you leave. We turn off all cellular services to avoid charges – but check with your carrier to know exactly what you should do.

When you are on the ship, you can turn on airplane mode, and then enable WiFi, and choose the DCL-Guest network. Even if you don’t purchase the Disney Cruise WiFi, you can still use the app.

In addition, guests can use iMessage on the ship to communicate with other iMessage users (even those off the ship). To do that, you’ll need to connect to the DCL-Guest network but won’t have to pay. This has been extremely useful in communicating with family back home.

If your entire family (on the ship) has iMessage, this can be the best way to communicate on a cruise. Otherwise, the chat option in the app works well.

Get Schedule Information

In past years, a Disney Cruise Line Personal Navigator with full schedule information was provided in your stateroom each evening. Unfortunately, this paper Disney Cruise Navigator is no longer offered at the port or in your room.

You can use the app to find everything you need. While I liked glancing at the paper Navigator, I find the Disney Cruise Line app more helpful since you can sort and view it more easily. You can search by category and sort.

In addition, you can “heart” a specific event, and get a reminder for it, right on your phone. With the app, you can also see the ship’s schedule for every day of your cruise, making it easier to plan.

If you are interested in an event, but the timing isn’t perfect, you can use the app to see if the event is offered later in your cruise.  You can also use the app to get the operating hours of the shops and services on the ship.

Sometimes things do change with the schedule. For instance, one day, on our Castaway Cay day, there was a downpour and we had to leave the island. They ended up adding some additional activities on the ship, and having the app was a great way to stay informed of the changes. 

The app also shows a schedule of the various ports of call during your cruise so you can stay organized during your trip. 

Communicate With Family Members

In the past, it could be difficult to communicate with your family members who were at different places on the ship. Because of the ease of using the app, the wave phones have been removed from the staterooms and everything is now done on the app.

I find that it’s especially helpful with tweens and teens, who always seem to be heading in different directions. My kids especially love the Disney emojis that you can use on the app. My son just kept sending messages filled with various emojis.

It’s important to note, however, that once you are back in port, the app resets. As a result, you won’t be able to see your old messages. If you meet new friends on the ship, you’ll want to get their information before the cruise is over.

You can use the app to see menus for all of the restaurants you’ll be dining at during your cruise. We like looking at future menus, so we can plan out what we’ll be eating.

Find Your Way

The app shows maps and deck plans to help you find your way on your cruise. There are plenty of maps located near the elevators on the ship, but it’s nice to have everything right on the app.

Laundry on the Disney Cruise Line app

While I typically don’t love doing chores on my family vacation, sometimes I do like doing laundry on the Disney Cruise Line. That way, I don’t have to bring quite as much with me, since I can wash clothes and re-wear them during my trip. But when I take away vacation time to do laundry, I don’t want to hover over the machine.

Luckily, the Disney Cruise Line app will alert you when your washer and dryer have finished running. That way, you can go about your vacation, and just pop into the laundry room when you need to.

Check Your Account Balance

No one wants to be surprised with a big bill at the end of their trip. You can look up your account balance and charges at any time on the app. That way, you’ll know how things are adding up without having to make a trip to guest services. 

Have you used the Disney Cruise Line app?

When booking a Disney Cruise , I recommend booking with Get Away Today. Plus, when you mention Family Travel Magazine, you get an extra $25 onboard credit! Give their agents a call at 877-510-2929.

Read our guides to the Disney Dream , the Disney Fantasy , the Disney Magic , and the Disney Wonder .

The post All About The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App appeared first on Family Travel Magazine .

If you are planning to go on a Disney Cruise, you’ll want to download the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. This free Disney cruise app has always been extremely useful when you are onboard the ship because you’ll be able to get information about activities on the ship as well as communicate with your family …

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Disney Wonder

Where wonders never cease., onboard fun.

Be immersed in a seemingly endless stream of one-of-a-kind offerings to inspire and delight the entire family—where Disney’s world-renowned quality and service are matched only by the magic that can be found around every corner.

View All Onboard Activities on the Disney Wonder

Entertainment

Enjoy Broadway-style musicals, see your favorite Disney characters in new and exciting ways and behold a new fireworks show at sea. View More

Imaginative kids clubs, adult-exclusive hotspots, 3 themed pools—everywhere you turn, there’s something fun for everyone. View More

Amid fanciful restaurants, savor gourmet dining and casual bites—all with a dash of Disney whimsy. View More

FIREWORKS AT SEA

Character appearances, first-run movies, daily activities.

View all Entertainment on the Disney Wonder

YOUTH CLUBS

For the adults, sports and fitness.

View all Recreation on the Disney Wonder

MAIN DINING

Casual dining, adult-exclusive dining.

View all Dining on the Disney Wonder

SPOTLIGHT AT SEA

Set your sights on some of the newest onboard enhancements and must-see experiences designed to stir your entire family’s imagination and create memories to last a lifetime.

Tiana’s Place

Sup on a stirring celebration of southern cooking and live Dixieland music at this restaurant based on Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Crown & Fin Pub

Pull up a chair, share in a frosty pint and enjoy a round of jolly laughs at this adults-only bar resembling a classic British pub.

Marvel Super Hero Academy

Inside Disney’s Oceaneer Club, kids can see their favorite super heroes and enjoy fun-filled games and activities.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Venture inside this enchanted beauty salon that offers magical, head-to-toe makeovers for young princesses, captains and knights.

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For the first time in forever, relive Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Arendelle adventure in a unique Broadway style, musical stage show.

Senses Spa & Salon

Sink into pure bliss at this relaxing retreat, home to therapeutic and beautifying services for women, men and teens.

Whether it's a cozy private retreat or an extravagantly appointed suite, Disney Wonder staterooms are tailored for families—featuring innovative comforts and modern features you won't find anywhere else.

The most spacious and luxurious accommodations aboard the Disney Wonder, boasting separate bedrooms, first-class amenities and unparalleled service.

Breathe in the ocean air from these richly appointed staterooms designed for families of 3 to 5—featuring a private balcony and sweeping sea views.

Relax in roomy quarters bedecked in a charming nautical motif with Art Deco flourishes—plus one or 2 portholes for admiring the scenery.

Sail away in a stateroom embellished with original artwork, warm wood finishes, custom fabrics and beds fitted with fine Egyptian cotton linens.

PORTS OF CALL

Drop anchor in some of the world’s most stunning destinations—from tropical locales bathed in endless sunshine to frozen wonderlands bursting with unspoiled natural splendor—on your next Disney cruise aboard the Disney Wonder.

Rugged mountainsides, sweeping glaciers and lush rainforests make Alaska a scenic utopia everywhere you look.

Inviting wineries, colorful towns, golden beaches and world-class fishing are yours to explore on the Baja Peninsula.

Sparkling waters, invigorating recreation and luxury shopping at deep discounts await you in the cities of the Caribbean.

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How much does an alaska cruise cost in 2024.

Compare the prices of these eight voyages before booking your Alaska cruise.

Alaska Cruise Cost

The Holland American Line Noordam ship in Skagway, Alaska.

Courtesy of Holland America Line

If you're planning a cruise to Alaska this year, you may be enticed by low prices (in the hundreds) for a weeklong cruise. However, it's important to know that those fares are just the beginning of the cost for the entire trip.

Typically, the lowest advertised prices with mainstream cruise lines don't include taxes and port fees, specialty dining costs, alcoholic or nonalcoholic drinks, shore excursions , Wi-Fi access, gratuities and other expenses. On top of that, bargain fares usually refer to inside cabins with no windows. In a picturesque, bucket list destination like Alaska, you will realistically want a room with a private balcony so you can take in the spectacular scenery from the comfort of your room.

When to cruise to Alaska depends on what you're interested in seeing and doing during your vacation , but summer is typically the best time to visit The Great Land. Between mid-May and mid-July, you can experience 24 hours of daylight. This period is also an optimal time for wildlife viewing; you can see bears feasting on salmon, humpback whales and orcas, furry baby moose and thousands of nesting bald eagles. Cruise lines often reserve their lowest prices for sailings early or late in the Alaska cruising season , but it's still possible to find deals in the middle of the summer.

With all of this in mind, we've listed both the lowest interior cabin fares and the average total costs for a balcony stateroom across eight popular cruise lines for weeklong itineraries in June 2024. (Note: All fares quoted are per person, double occupancy, unless otherwise noted. Prices were accurate at the time of writing.)

Find your perfect cruise

Holland America Line

The Holland America Line Noordam in Yakutat Bay.

Holland America Line's 2024 Alaska season extends from April to September; in 2024, there are more than 60 cruise-only voyages and cruisetours (combined land and sea packages). With the exception of one 28-day journey, itineraries range from seven to 18 days.

Average starting price (per person)

This June, Holland America 's lowest-priced itinerary is the 7-Day Glacier Discovery Southbound voyage departing from Whittier, Alaska, on June 23, 2024, aboard Nieuw Amsterdam . The voyage features scenic cruising in Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve and the Inside Passage. You'll also stop in the Alaska towns of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, before disembarking in Vancouver, British Columbia . The starting price is $409 per person for an inside cabin, and veranda staterooms start at $2,114 per person (cruise-only fare).

Starting price (per person)

For this sailing, there is a $291 charge per person for taxes, fees and port expenses. Specialty dining, alcoholic drinks (and many nonalcoholic beverages, such as bottled water and specialty coffees), excursions, Wi-Fi access, gratuities and some other amenities cost extra.

Instead of paying for these extras individually, you can book Holland America's "Have It All" package. It covers one dinner at a specialty restaurant; one shore excursion (up to $100 per guest); a signature beverage package (for drinks up to $11 each) and a Wi-Fi package. For a limited time, you can also receive a $200 onboard credit per stateroom. A veranda stateroom plus the package starts at $2,569 per person.

If you purchase the "Have It All" package with the veranda stateroom, select the location of your cabin yourself (an additional $90), add in the port taxes and fees ($291) and include crew gratuities at $17 per guest, per day for non-suite staterooms ($119), the total cost is about $3,000 per person. You'll still need to budget for drinks that cost more than $11 each; bottles of wine with dinner; additional evenings of specialty dining; other shore excursions and miscellaneous expenses.

Total cost: From $3,069 per person

Princess Cruises

The Crown Princess in Haines, Alaska.

Courtesy of Princess Cruises

Princess is offering 14 unique itineraries and 68 cruisetours during the 2024 Alaska season, which runs from May to September. Itineraries range from a seven-day cruise to a 17-day escorted cruisetour.

Princess's lowest-priced cruise in June is the 7-Day Voyage of the Glaciers with Glacier Bay (Northbound) from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska , on Grand Princess. Embarking on June 5, 2024, the sailing includes scenic cruising in College Fjord and Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, a day at sea and stops in the coastal towns of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway in Alaska. Interior cabins start at $448 per person, while staterooms with a balcony start at $1,698 per person. If you select your own balcony stateroom (instead of letting the cruise line place you), the cost is $1,791 per person.

Additional fees (taxes, gratuities, etc.)

Taxes, fees and port expenses for this cruise will run you $284 per person. At the $1,791 rate, you will be in the Princess Standard fare class, which includes the ships' complimentary dining venues, entertainment and the MedallionClass experience.

You can upgrade to Princess Plus (starting at $2,211 for a balcony room) to add Wi-Fi access (one device per guest); gratuities; a beverage package (covering drinks up to $15 each); two fitness classes per cruise; two premium desserts per day; two casual dining meals and more. For additional amenities, such as Wi-Fi access for up to four devices per guest; a higher-level beverage package (for drinks up to $20 each); two specialty dining meals per guest; unlimited exercise classes and more, opt for the Princess Premier package. Balcony rooms under this category start at $2,351 per guest.

If you purchase the Princess Premier package with the balcony room, the total cost with port taxes and fees is a little more than $2,600 per person – and the pricing is nearly all-inclusive. This package may also include free cruise fare for third and fourth guests traveling in the same stateroom. You will still need to budget for shore excursions; note that over-the-top experiences like flightseeing, helicopter and dog sledding tours, and scenic rides on the historic White Pass and Yukon Route Railway can get pricey.

Total cost: From $2,635 per person

Norwegian Cruise Line

The Norwegian Bliss in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line offers one of the longest Alaska cruising seasons. In 2024, there are 44 scheduled cruise and cruisetour itineraries between April and October, ranging from seven to 18 days.

The June 3, 2024, sailing on Norwegian Jewel is Norwegian Cruise Line 's least expensive Alaska cruise that month, starting at $449 per person for an inside cabin. In comparison, a balcony cabin starts at $1,879 per person. The itinerary – Alaska: Hubbard Glacier & Skagway – embarks from Seward, Alaska, and includes scenic sea days cruising Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage, plus stops in the ports of Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan (Ward Cove) in Alaska, before disembarking in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The line's ongoing "Free At Sea" deal is included in the price and features an unlimited open bar, free specialty dining (up to $180 for the first two guests in the stateroom), a discount of $50 per excursion and complimentary Wi-Fi access (a savings of up to $200).

Open bar and specialty dining gratuities in the package are approximately $175 per person. Taxes, fees and port expenses are about $302 per person. You'll also need to include the additional $20 per person, per day service charge ($140 for the seven-day voyage).

If you book the balcony stateroom at $1,879 per person, which includes the "Free At Sea" package, and add in the taxes and port fees, dining and beverage gratuities and the daily service charge for the crew, the total cost for the cruise is around $2,500 per person. Remaining costs for shore excursions, specialty dining over $180, additional Wi-Fi usage, gratuities and other miscellaneous costs are not included in the "Free At Sea" package.

Total cost: From $2,496 per person

Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas in Seattle.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International's 2024 Alaska cruise season extends from April to September; there are 50 scheduled cruise-only and land-and-sea tours. Combined pre- and post-cruise tours last up to 13 nights, and cruise-only itineraries last between six to eight nights.

For the lowest fare in June, sail from Seward, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia, on a seven-night cruise aboard Radiance of the Seas on June 7, 2024. The inside cabin fare starts at $438 per person. A balcony stateroom starts at $2,877 per person (to select your own room). This voyage cruises around Alaska's Hubbard Glacier, sails the Inside Passage in Canada and stops in Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan in Alaska.

The guaranteed balcony price at $2,877 is for a smaller stateroom; you can select a larger cabin for a higher cost. Taxes, fees and port expenses for the cruise are $389 per person.

The total cost for the balcony stateroom, port taxes and fees, and gratuities ($18 per person, per day) for this Royal Caribbean cruise is about $3,400 per person. This price does not include extras like specialty dining, shore excursions, beverage packages or Wi-Fi access, so you will need to budget extra to cover those expenses.

Total cost: From $3,392 per person

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Disney Cruise Line

Disney cruise ship in the Alaska fjords.

Kent Phillips | Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line has 19 five- to nine-night itineraries for the 2024 Alaska season, which runs from May to September.

The lowest price for a seven-night Alaska cruise in June with Disney Cruise Line is the June 3, 2024, voyage on Disney Wonder . The price for an inside cabin starts at approximately $3,472 for two guests, which includes taxes, fees and port expenses. In contrast, the fare for a guaranteed veranda stateroom starts at about $6,482 for two guests (including the additional fees); at this rate, Disney will select your specific cabin.

This round-trip sailing embarks from Vancouver, British Columbia. You'll begin your journey with a day at sea, then glacier viewing at Stikine Icecap in Alaska. Guests will stop in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan in Alaska before another sea day and disembarkation in Vancouver.

Guests staying in regular stateroom accommodations will have gratuities of about $15 per person, per night. Once you add that in, you're looking at a cost of close to $6,600 per room (based on double occupancy) – or around $3,300 per person, if you split it. This price covers the cruise fare, taxes and port fees, the complimentary dining venues, onboard entertainment and gratuities for the crew.

You will need to budget extra for port adventures, beverages, and meals at adults-only venues like the Cadillac Lounge and Italian-themed Palo. The line offers Wi-Fi packages for an additional fee, which you can select once on board. You will also need to pay extra for alcoholic beverages, and there is an 18% gratuity added to bar and beverage services.

Total cost: From $6,587 per room (double occupancy)

Carnival Cruise Line

The Carnival Miracle in Alaska.

Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line's 2024 Alaska season runs from April through September, and there are 16 itineraries that range from seven to 14 days.

The lowest Alaska fare in June is $814 per person for the June 4, 2024, voyage aboard Carnival Spirit . The seven-day round-trip itinerary departing from Seattle, Washington , includes one day at sea, cruising in Tracy Arm Fjord and stops in the Alaska port towns of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, plus Victoria, British Columbia. A guaranteed balcony room without an obstructed view starts at $1,579 per person.

Taxes, fees and port expenses for this cruise are about $313 per person. If you'd like Wi-Fi access, you can purchase the Social Wi-Fi Plan starting at approximately $15 per person, per day. The higher level Value Wi-Fi Plan costs about $20 per person, per day, while the Premium Wi-Fi Plan comes in at around $21 per person, per day.

A nonalcoholic beverage package, Bottomless Bubbles, starts at around $10 per adult and around $7 per child each day. For nonalcoholic beverages and select alcoholic drinks (up to $20 each), purchase the Cheers package. It starts at about $60 per person, per day, but you can save 10% if you purchase the package before you sail. With Cheers, you'll also receive a discount on bottles of wine (plus other perks). Gratuities cost $16 per person, per day, in a regular stateroom. Restaurants like the Mexican-inspired BlueIguana Cantina and Guy's Burger Joint are complimentary.

When you add up the price of the balcony stateroom, port taxes and fees, the Value package for Wi-Fi access, the Cheers beverage package and gratuities, you're looking at around $2,600 per person for this Carnival Cruise Line itinerary. In addition to those expenses, you'll have to budget extra funds for shore excursions, specialty dining and some other amenities.

Total cost: From $2,564 per person

Silversea Cruises

The Silver Nova lit up at night.

Courtesy of Silversea Cruises

Silversea Cruises is offering 35 Alaska voyages between May and September 2024. The shortest itinerary is seven days and the longest itinerary is 16 days.

The lowest-priced Alaska cruise with Silversea in June is the June 27, 2024, seven-day sailing aboard Silver Muse from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seward, Alaska. The intimate 596-guest ship will visit Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Skagway and Valdez in Alaska – and complete two days of scenic cruising – before disembarking in Seward.

The all-inclusive port-to-port fare starts at $4,350 per person for a Classic Veranda Suite (the most affordable suite category with a balcony). For a room with a window instead of a balcony, book a Vista Suite starting at $3,350 per person.

Silversea's all-inclusive fares include luxurious suite accommodations, Champagne upon arrival, butler service and other perks. The pricing covers port taxes and fees; complimentary gourmet dining; all beverages, including Champagne, wine, beer and premium spirits; and gratuities. You'll also receive personalized, attentive service with a nearly one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio, and at least one included shore excursion in every port. Complimentary excursions in Skagway include a ride on the White Pass Scenic Railway, a visit to a sled dog and musher's camp and the Chilkoot Trail Hike & Float Adventure. Many of the included excursions with Silversea are quite costly on other lines.

There are no additional fees with the all-inclusive fare. However, you might incur additional personal expenses if you choose to order a fancy bottle of wine with dinner or book an extreme shore excursion adventure, like flightseeing over the glaciers.

Total cost: $4,550 per person (all-inclusive)

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

A suite balcony on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent Seven Seas' 22 Alaska cruises in 2024 sail between May and September and last seven to 14 nights.

The seven-night voyage on June 5, 2024, is the line's lowest-priced June sailing in Alaska, starting at $6,599 per person. Guests on Seven Seas Explorer will sail from Seward, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Sitka, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan in Alaska, plus two days of scenic cruising at the Inside Passage and Hubbard Glacier.

The 2-for-1 all-inclusive fares include a luxury veranda suite with a welcome bottle of Champagne and a fresh fruit arrangement. You'll also have an in-suite minibar, free valet laundry service and other upscale amenities. In addition, the fare includes a selection of free unlimited shore excursions; free unlimited beverages with fine wines and spirits; prepaid gratuities; complimentary specialty restaurants; unlimited Wi-Fi access and more.

There are no additional expenses on this Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage – unless you choose a shore excursion that comes with an added cost or purchase a special bottle of wine at dinner.

Total cost: $6,599 per person (all-inclusive)

Bottom line

The low base fares for Alaska cruises on larger cruise lines may grab your attention, but as you click through to see what's included and make your booking, you'll find additional costs on nearly every page.

Before making a reservation, be sure to read the fine print and find out exactly what's included (and not included) in your cruise fare. You may find that booking an all-inclusive rate with a luxury line offers a better value – an option that you may never have considered unless you compared the total price of each cruise.

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Gwen Pratesi has been an avid cruiser since her early 20s. She has sailed on nearly every type of cruise ship, including the newest megaships, traditional masted sailing ships, river ships in Europe and a small luxury expedition vessel in Antarctica . She has cruised to Alaska and visited The Great Land in the summer, fall and winter, and journeyed to remote areas by bush plane above the Arctic Circle. She used her knowledge of Alaska cruises and extensive research to write this article. Pratesi covers the travel and culinary industries for major publications, including U.S. News & World Report.

You might also be interested in:

  • The Top Alaska Cruise Lines
  • The Top Luxury Alaska Cruises
  • The Most Affordable Alaska Cruises
  • The Top Northern Lights Alaska Cruises
  • Alaska Cruise Packing List

Tags: Travel , Cruises , Alaska Vacations

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  1. 2023 Disney Cruise WiFi Prices and Review: All You Need to Know

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  2. Disney Cruise Wifi 2022

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  3. 2023 Disney Cruise WiFi Prices and Review: All You Need to Know

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  4. Disney Cruise WiFi: Packages and Prices

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  5. 10 Steps to Conserve Wi-Fi On Your Disney Cruise

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  6. WiFi HACKS on the DISNEY CRUISE Line Ships

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COMMENTS

  1. Disney Cruise Wifi 2024 Prices and Internet Options

    Disney Cruise Wifi options and prices are the same for the Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream, Disney Wish, Disney Magic, and Disney Wonder. The 2024 Disney Cruise Line Wifi Package Prices Start at: Stay Connected - $18 per day for a 24 hour period. Basic Surf - $28 per day for a 24 hour period. Premium Surf - $42 per day for a 24 hour period.

  2. Wifi Service

    For assistance with your Disney Cruise, please call (800) 951-3532. Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Eastern time; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern time. Guests under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call. Learn about the availability of Wi-Fi service on board Disney Cruise ships.

  3. Disney Cruise WiFi: Packages and Prices

    With the arrival of the Disney Wish in 2022, Disney announced changes to the Disney Cruise Line internet packages, which are now priced based on the type of internet access you want in a 24-hour period. These changes have now been rolled out on all ships, with the Disney Wonder being the final ship to upgrade to the new system during a ...

  4. Internet and Phone Services

    Cellular at Sea. Disney Cruise Line offers Cellular at Sea—a convenient cruise mobile phone service available in staterooms and public spaces aboard the ship. Please contact your cellular provider for your specific rates. Easy-to-use cruise plans are available from AT&T and Verizon. Choose the plan that meets your needs for talk, text and data.

  5. Updated Pricing for Onboard Internet Packages • The Disney Cruise Line Blog

    Disney Cruise Line's pricing for onboard Internet packages have been updated this week for the fleet, except for the Disney Wonder should, based on reports, be updated to the new internet plans during an upcoming dry dock.. The new pricing is as follows: Stay Connected Package . $16/day when purchased for the full voyage ; $18/day when purchased for 24 hours

  6. Guide to Disney Cruise WiFi: Tips and FAQs

    Disney Cruise WiFi Packages and Pricing. There are three levels of packages on the Disney Cruise Line. These are the Stay Connected, the Basic Surf, and the Premium Surf. Within these categories, you have the option to purchase WiFi for 24 hours, or the entire length of your cruise. Disney Cruise Wi-Fi pricing is based on the cruise period's ...

  7. A Look at Disney Cruise Line's Usage Type Based Internet Plans

    Disney Cruise Line is now offering guests Internet options starting at $12/day (a 24 hour period). The new Internet offering are based on type of usage versus a measured data plan such as a 1GB plan. The package tiers are Stay Connected, Basic Surf, and Premium Surf. Guests are able to purchase a-la-carte or the full voyage as well as choosing ...

  8. Is there wifi inboard Disney Wonder?

    There is so much to do and see onboard that ship, you're going to have a fabulous time! There is wireless internet access onboard the Wonder, yes. Access is now shipwide and available in all staterooms. Guest services can provide you with a paper explaining how to log in and choose your pricing option. Keep in mind a few things though.

  9. Disney Cruise Line WiFi Packages & Pricing Vital Info

    Here are three easy steps to signing up for onboard Disney Cruise Line WiFi: STEP 1: From the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, select "Connect to Internet.". A new browser should open with the available internet plans. Choose the package you need by determining what you want to use it for.

  10. How Does Internet Access Work On Disney Cruise Line Ships?

    Let's look at how the internet currently works aboard the Disney cruise ships.. Wireless Internet; Cell Phone Usage; WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE. For assistance with the internet, visit the Connect@Sea desk, which is located in the Promenade Lounge (Deck 3) on the Magic & Wonder, and on Deck 4 near the midship elevators on the Dream & Fantasy.See rates below (subject to change).

  11. Disney Wonder review: What to expect on the Disney Cruise Line ship

    Disney Wonder restaurants and bars. Disney Cruise Line pioneered what it calls "rotational dining." You get a schedule for your cruise, and you rotate through each of the included onboard restaurants, swapping each night. ... Otherwise, Disney Wonder's current Wi-Fi options start at $19 for a 100 MB package and go up from there. At some point ...

  12. Disney Wonder Cruise Ship

    For sailings 7-nights or longer: Internet/Wireless Internet Access. Pay as you go - $0.75 per minute. 100 min for $55.00 ($0.55 per minute) 250 min for $100 ($0.40 per minute) 500 min for $150 ($0.30 per minute) Printing $0.25 per page. Teens can also access the internet from Edge and Vibe teen areas (fees apply).

  13. Disney Cruise Line Internet Access

    Let's look at how the internet currently works aboard the Disney cruise ships. Wireless Internet; Cell Phone Usage; WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE. For assistance with the internet, visit the Connect@Sea desk, which is located in the Promenade Lounge (Deck 3) on the Magic & Wonder, and on Deck 4 near the midship elevators on the Dream & Fantasy. See ...

  14. Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi Review

    Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi Review Becky Gandillon February 8, 2023 February 11, 2023 5 Comments. Share This! ... (Wonder is still on the "old" style plans for now) have transitioned to plans that are based on speed and connectivity rather than measured data. Hooray! The bad news is, this generally means you'll still be paying a lot for ...

  15. Disney Wonder Cruise Ship Review

    Disney Wonder Cruises: Read over 500 Disney Wonder cruise reviews. Find great deals, tips and tricks on Cruise Critic to help plan your cruise. ... even when logged out of the ship's paid internet ...

  16. Connect the Navigator App to Wifi

    In your device's Settings, turn Airplane Mode to "On" to prevent roaming charges. 2. Also in Settings, activate your Wi-Fi connection. This will locate available networks on board. 3. Select the DCL-GUEST Wi-Fi network. 4. Launch the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, and let the magic begin! Please be aware that using the DCL-GUEST wireless ...

  17. Disney Cruise Internet Packages

    The new internet packages are now available on all five of the Disney Cruise Ships. Disney Wonder was the last one to be upgraded, but this happened in the dry dock just before she sailed for the Transpacific, Australia and New Zealand Cruises in October 2023. Disney Magic - 7/31/23. Disney Wish - 7/31/23. Disney Dream - 8/1/23.

  18. Disney Cruise Updates WiFi Plans

    This plan costs $30/day. Premium Surf. You can choose to pay for 24 hours of service or for the full voyage. There is a discount to choose the whole voyage. The charge is also per device there are some savings when you add a device 10% off for 2 devices up to 15% off for 4 devices. Number of Days and Devices.

  19. Internet Package Pricing Update

    August 5, 2023 Disney Fantasy; The Disney Wonder currently does not have the time-based internet packages, it expected to transition to the internet packages after the dry dock this fall. ... Premium Surf Disney Cruise Line Internet Package Pricing Update. As a reminder, Guests can purchase Internet for 24 hour periods, or per voyage.

  20. Disney Wonder Review: What We Really Thought

    In Summary: Our Disney Wonder Review. After experiencing the Disney Wonder cruise, we can confidently say that it is a great choice for families looking for a fun-filled vacation. Our Disney Wonder cruise review is almost entirely positive. Yes, the late nights were exhausting but it was only a 3-night cruise.

  21. How to Connect at Sea using Disney Cruise Wifi

    Here's how to get it: - Turn Airplane mode on. - Turn wifi on. - Select DCL-Guest Wifi. - Once in your browser, type dclguest.com. - If it's Day 1 on the cruise, you will see the option for 50MB free, plus the data packages.

  22. All About The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

    Even if you don't purchase the Disney Cruise WiFi, you can still use the app. ... Read our guides to the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy, the Disney Magic, and the Disney Wonder.

  23. Disney Wonder

    Imagine a place where families can reconnect, adults can recharge and kids can immerse themselves in fantastical worlds only Disney could create. Renowned for its classic design, modern innovation and timeless whimsy, the Disney Wonder is home to 11 decks overflowing with restaurants, pools, recreation and more—ready to transport you to ...

  24. Come Aboard The Disney Wonder Cruise Ship!

    I was recently invited to set sail on the Disney Wonder to explore everything she has to offer. Being the second ship in Disney's fleet, the Wonder is consid...

  25. How Much Does an Alaska Cruise Cost in 2024?

    The lowest price for a seven-night Alaska cruise in June with Disney Cruise Line is the June 3, 2024, voyage on Disney Wonder. The price for an inside cabin starts at approximately $3,472 for two ...

  26. Disney Cruise Line unveils plans for summer 2025

    The Disney Wonder in Alaska. Photo Credit: Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line unveiled its ship deployments for summer 2025, including the Disney Fantasy's first season in Europe and the Disney ...