Merrytime Cruise

[swimfin]

Has anyone done this cruise and can you recommend the “do not miss” things or things that are extra special because it’s holiday time on the ship. Cheers!

 

[auntlynne]

It looks like I have done two. That’s a clue; I wasn’t sure and had to go through photos to find reminders.

Here was the Dream. This is my main memory. A lovely atrium. We stayed in Concierge. I remember my love of the deconstructed Caesar salad in the Lounge. And having our waiter from the EBTA we had done. And sitting in the circular booths in enchanted Garden. I did remember it had nice decorations.



But it is overshadowed by a visit to WDW pre-cruise. Back when the lights were at Hollywood (or MGM) Studios. And the castle at MK.




…Four years later, I did a mid-December Very Merrytime cruise, again in the Dream.

One of those (or both) had a giant gingerbread house in the lobby. Castaway has some decorations.

Otherwise, they could have been any other cruise - to me.

 

[auntlynne]

Hope someone else has more info.

Are you actually on a cruise in Christmas Day?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

We’re going our first one this November— I believe Disney has indicated a variety of seasonal entertainment options, but would love to hear from people who did it in ‘22 or ‘23.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Lots of old Navigators posted at DCLBLOG -

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

I’d suggest finding your ship and then viewing some of the more recent with similar itineraries to yours to see what was offered. Any possible seasonal activities may vary depending on destinations, number of sea days, etc.

 

[ArielRae]

 

[JM_97]

It looks like I have done two. That’s a clue; I wasn’t sure and had to go through photos to find reminders.

Here was the Dream. This is my main memory. A lovely atrium. We stayed in Concierge. I remember my love of the deconstructed Caesar salad in the Lounge. And having our waiter from the EBTA we had done. And sitting in the circular booths in enchanted Garden. I did remember it had nice decorations.

View attachment 904948

But it is overshadowed by a visit to WDW pre-cruise. Back when the lights were at Hollywood (or MGM) Studios. And the castle at MK.

View attachment 904950
View attachment 904949

…Four years later, I did a mid-December Very Merrytime cruise, again in the Dream.

One of those (or both) had a giant gingerbread house in the lobby. Castaway has some decorations.

Otherwise, they could have been any other cruise - to me.

I've never done one but if I were to ever do one, I would do it over the actual days of Christmas or New Years itself. That would make it more memorable than simply just a Christmas themed cruise.

I just don't have Christmas Day cruise money right now!

 

[swimfin]

Hope someone else has more info.

Are you actually on a cruise in Christmas Day?

We moved our January cruise to early/mid December… we are on the Dream. We have been doing Disney at Christmas for about 15 years and we have never done a holiday cruise so we were excited to have the opportunity to switch to this cruise! We get to stop at both islands! I was wondering if they had any special events like gingerbread house decorating or cookies or any nighttime holiday themes or anything. THANKS for your help! Cheers!

 

[swimfin]

Lots of old Navigators posted at DCLBLOG -

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

I’d suggest finding your ship and then viewing some of the more recent with similar itineraries to yours to see what was offered. Any possible seasonal activities may vary depending on destinations, number of sea days, etc.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

[swimfin]

I've never done one but if I were to ever do one, I would do it over the actual days of Christmas or New Years itself. That would make it more memorable than simply just a Christmas themed cruise.

I just don't have Christmas Day cruise money right now!

We can never go on Christmas itself at this point in time that will have to be a much later in the future trip!

 

[swimfin]

We’re going our first one this November— I believe Disney has indicated a variety of seasonal entertainment options, but would love to hear from people who did it in ‘22 or ‘23.

I’d love to hear what options you have on your cruise… Do you mind me asking which ship and how many nights? We are on the Dream 5 nights.

 

[msii]

We did a Merrytime cruise over Christmas in 2017 and are doing it again on the Fantasy this year. The decorations are fantastic and we loved the overall atmosphere of the ship and seeing the characters in their Christmas attire. We met Santa on Christmas morning in our PJs (and we're adults with older kids), they had a great Gingerbread display, there were carolers, and some of the ports had Christmas specific excursions that introduced their local traditions.

 

[auntlynne]

Merrytime specific activities
This 5-night cruise was a different length of time, probably due to Disney wanting to schedule Christmas and New Year’s cruises specifically. So, we benefited from a longer itinerary at a very convenient time for us. Our cruise was Sunday to Friday, December 18-23, which got us home just in time for the holiday festivities with our family. A few Merrytime specific highlights:

• Lighting the Christmas tree - The first night Mickey lit the huge tree, and it stayed lit the entire cruise. Mickey and the gang came down, sang a few songs with the crowd, and did a lovely countdown. I really enjoyed this activity.
• Visiting Santa and Mr. Claus - We did a great picture with them in front of the Christmas tree, and it was fun watching them interact with all of the kids. They did a few of these throughout the week, so don’t panic if you miss the first one.
• Storytime with Mrs. Claus - This was very popular with the kids, and happened several times during the week. It was in front of the tree and quite pleasant.
• “Gingerbread” house - This was also in the atrium, and provided a great backdrop for pictures with and without characters. Definitely visit this area.
• Holiday crafts - This activity was offered several times during the week, both for adults only and all ages. We didn’t do this, so I can’t comment on the crafts, but we looked in and it was hopping!
• Characters dressed for the holidays - We have spectacular pictures of us in our jammies with the characters. They were NOT, however, always in holiday or winter clothes, so if you are looking for “regular” pictures, you will absolutely have that opportunity.

Characters
We are adults who love characters…and dislike lines! The longest line for a character was for holiday Mickey, and it was thirty minutes exactly. That is because I specifically wanted that picture, so I asked the handler where to stand, so I wasn’t in line for the current character, but was first for Mickey. The shortest line was walking right up to not one but TWO princesses by the Christmas tree (Rapunzel and Tiana).

This is from a 5-night Wonder cruise from San Diego. Posted Dec 2022 in the Trip Report section for a sailing Dec 18-23, 2022.

I pulled out the section specific to Merrytime. My belief is that the length of cruise is more reflective if what you may encounter than the actual ship or homeport.

 

[Kindle Addict]

We’re going our first one this November— I believe Disney has indicated a variety of seasonal entertainment options, but would love to hear from people who did it in ‘22 or ‘23.

My husband and I are doing the Fantasy Merrytime cruise in mid-November. We cruise once a year with Disney but have never done the Merrytime cruise so we are super excited. If you check out YouTube, and put in Disney cruises Merrytime, you may see some trip reports pop up. We did that last year when we were considering booking and found several trip reports showing the ship and activities for a Christmas themed cruise. The ship looked beautiful and, as I recall, there is a holiday show in the atrium.

 

[swimfin]

This is from a 5-night Wonder cruise from San Diego. Posted Dec 2022 in the Trip Report section for a sailing Dec 18-23, 2022.

I pulled out the section specific to Merrytime. My belief is that the length of cruise is more reflective if what you may encounter than the actual ship or homeport.

THANK YOU SO MUCH since this is our length as well!

 

[auntlynne]

Since smell is linked to memory - I’m hoping they still build the gingerbread house out of real baking ingredients and that the scent is still there a month in.

It’s not a tiny house. Dwarves could live inside.

This is reported as being from the Magic, 2023.

 

[SeanSD]

We did one on the Wonder in 2022 and are going on one on the Fantasy this November. The holiday music, decorations, character outfits, atrium tree and gingerbread house are what I remember most. And many people dress in holiday theme. I think a few special snacks or menu items. And special events like lighting of the tree and the holiday party in atrium.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Since smell is linked to memory - I’m hoping they still build the gingerbread house out of real baking ingredients and that the scent is still there a month in.

It’s not a tiny house. Dwarves could live inside.

This is reported as being from the Magic, 2023.

View attachment 905338

Or they could just pump in whatever chemicals they use to make Beach Club smell like gingerbread all November and December.

Slightly off topic, but topic adjacent, we rode Haunted Mansion holiday tonight— did it always smell like gingerbread in the ballroom dance scene?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Or they could just pump in whatever chemicals they use to make Beach Club smell like gingerbread all November and December.

Slightly off topic, but topic adjacent, we rode Haunted Mansion holiday tonight— did it always smell like gingerbread in the ballroom dance scene?

Yes, it always does have the gingerbread smell with that overlay.

 

[Drfate102]

We have only done one Merrytime cruise and it was just after restart and loaded with COVID restrictions. So we didn't get a proper one. But we are booked on one for 2025.