Welcome aboard, Amanda! Choosing which Disney ship to enjoy is not a bad problem to have, right? I'm so glad that you're considering a cruise with Captain Mickey this winter. My family loves to set sail in the winter so we can escape the cold up north and head for the warm waters of the Caribbean!
No matter which ship you choose, you're in for magical experiences, top notch service, great activities and events for the whole family, and a cruise to some fabulous ports of call. I suggest simply starting by playing around on the
Find A Cruise page of Disney Cruise Line's website where you can select length of sailing, month, itinerary and ship. You'll be able to view costs here too so you can find the one that best fits your family's wants and budget.
The traditional gratuities are paid to your service team onboard the ship and are now being pre-paid before you set sail. These are not included in the cost of your cruise, but will be an additional charge. The traditional tips are as follows, per night of the sailing, per guest, including kids:
Server: $4
Assistant Server: $3
Head Server: $1
Stateroom Host: $4
So, if you have a family of four, your tips would be $48 per night. At the end of your cruise, you'll receive little tip envelopes and cards indicating what you've pre-payed. If you'd like to add anything additional for your service team, you can adjust this at Guest Services or simply tuck some extra cash in the envelopes before you hand the envelopes to your servers and say goodbye. Our service team has been wonderful each time we've sailed and we love that our dining servers follow us to each restaurant on our rotation so they're with us every night. They become like part of the family!
Have fun planning and stop back again if you have other questions about cruising with Disney, Amanda!