Even in Covid times, a Disney cruise can still cast a magic spell
As I watched Mickey and Minnie jig acrobatically around the lobby of Disney Magic, I resolved never to complain about wearing a mask again.
Adults on the ship currently need to wear face coverings when inside as part of Disney Cruise Line’s anti-Covid measures, but this feels pretty tame when confronted with performers who routinely spend hours with their head inside a costume.
But hush: for my five-year-old son Dexter, these were characters, not costumes. That was the most important consideration: could this two-night UK voyage, part of the line’s return to sailing following the pandemic’s enforced halt and the inaugural season of UK domestic cruises, deliver on a family-friendly holiday at sea?
As expected, each day was full of the Disney fun one would expect from their theme parks. This means after breakfast, we would stumble upon Thor and Captain Marvel demonstrating their best combat moves in a corridor, or find Pluto posing for pictures in the Buena Vista Theatre. Social distancing rules meant close-proximity interactions aren’t allowed, but the more orderly meet-and-greets gave even my occasionally shy son his chance to chat one-on-one.
When we came face-to-face with Spiderman he taught Dexter how to do a ‘superhero landing’ and answered his question about where Spidey gets his webs (Peter Parker makes them in science class, fact fans). Disney characters were everywhere, from the Sarge Says game show, led by members of the Toy Story Green Army Corp, to live performances from the Tangled gang over dinner at Rapunzel’s Royal Table.
Even Disney can’t guarantee sunshine in the English Channel, but the cloud cover didn’t prevent the top deck pools, splash park and waterslides being big hits, despite Covid restrictions leading to queues and time limits. Dexter rode the 250 foot Twist ‘n’ Spout slide until his teeth chattered and he started to turn a little blue.
My husband, Grant, and I were almost as tuckered out as Dexter by bedtime; thankfully our cabin was large enough to allow us to stay up a little longer than our five-year-old. The sofa turned into a comfortable single bed, separated from the rest of the cabin by thick curtains, and there was a small tub in the bathroom – a relatively tiny addition but a bonus for families with tots too tiny to shower.
Dexter is usually a nervous and reluctant kids’ club attendee, and Grant and I had reconciled ourselves to the fact we might not get a break from parenting duties. But the open house at the kids’ clubs on embarkation day, allowing children to sample activities in advance with their mums and dads in tow convinced him to give it a try.
He burst out two-and-half hours later in a whirl of excitement, having loved the Toy Story play area, with its super-sized slinky dog slide, the Marvel Avengers Academy, with Iron Man’s suit and Thor’s hammer, and a hands-on slime-making science session.
We made the most of our free time with a mimosa-fuelled brunch in Palo, the adults-only Italian restaurant with views over the stern, and an aromatherapy massage in the Senses Spa, where shoulder knots I’d been building since the pandemic started were finally hammered out.
Our fellow passengers were mostly families, with a mix of Disney veterans who’d been deprived of park trips for the best part of two years and wanted a quick hit without the potential pitfalls of travelling abroad, and novices like us, keen to treat the kids and enjoy some quality time without needing to commit to a longer voyage.
Any qualms I might have had about safety and hygiene were quashed. Cruisers aged over 18 must be double vaccinated, and those under 18 require a negative PCR test; all passengers take a lateral flow test at the cruise terminal before boarding. We were encouraged to wash or sanitise our hands at every opportunity – standard procedure on cruise ships, even before Covid – and with masks worn indoors the protocols are stricter than on shore.
On our final evening the August sun finally burst through the clouds, and while we watched it set from the top deck I asked my son for his verdict on this cruise experience. “Infinity out of infinity,” came the reply. Now that’s a score even Buzz Lightyear would be proud of.
How to do it
A two-night UK cruise on Disney Magic starts from £320 per person, departing London Tilbury on September 27, based on two adults and two children (aged 3-12) sharing. Includes all meals (0800 171 2317; disneycruise.co.uk).
Reader Service: Did you know that some cruise operators require specific cruise travel insurance? Learn how to get the right travel cover for your trip.
