Disney Cruising with Mickey Mouse and Friends | A Family Guide to Character Sightings and Meet and Greets On Board Disney Cruise Ships

When it comes to cruising with Disney, there may actually come a point where your child walks by Mickey Mouse and doesn’t beg to see him. Shocking, I know! When you visit any Disney park, at no point do you ever balk at the 90 minute marker to see Mickey Mouse. You just do it, because he’s the reason you came to the park. Cruising with Disney is cruising with Mickey Mouse and his pals – they all come along for the ride! They stand for meet and greets and photos, they play at Castaway Cay, they come into the Kids Club and lead fun activities, they meet you for breakfast, they appear around every corner and wave, they hold your hand and walk you to dinner…, basically there is no end to the constant companionship.

Mickey joins you along with his clubhouse friends, princesses, Jack Sparrow and his scurvy crew, Marvel superheroes, and anyone else Mickey can convince to come along on the best family cruise on open water.

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If you cruise during the holidays, you’ll even get to meet some extra special guests. During our cruise to the Caribbean on the Disney Wonder in December, Santa Claus brought Mrs. Claus because she’s always wanted to see the warm beaches of Castaway Cay! We were thrilled! We were even there the night he arrived!

It was a madhouse! Everyone wanted to see him, of course, and for good reason. We didn’t know how long he’d be there, or how many times he’d be available to hear the children’s Christmas wishes! Surely, he had to get back to the North Pole to prepare for Christmas! As it turns out the elves had everything under control and he cruised with us for the next three nights!

It was a very special experience for all of us! Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Claus wanted a little vacation of their own, so the window to see him only lasted a few minutes each day. We lined up early and made sure we were ready to go when he was but it was a little nerve wracking to ensure we fit that in.

Most of the characters joining us on the cruise were available throughout our voyage, but others required special tickets to visit. You can pre-reserve tickets after booking your cruise on the Disney Cruise website, or if you aren’t able to secure them, you can get them on the cruise when you first arrive at Guest Services. Don’t put this off as they are only available in limited quantities.

One of the ticketed events we enjoyed was Breakfast with Disney Junior Friends Doc McStuffins, Jake from the Neverland Pirates, Sophia the First and Mickey Mouse of course! Our littlest daughter loves Sophia and was especially excited to be able to see her in person. It was definitely the highlight of her trip!

Four beautiful princesses all gathered in the atrium lobby one morning, and were kind and gracious as always. They visited with our children and learned all about their favorite hobbies, colors, interests and favorite things they loved on the cruise. They listened earnestly and enjoyed every minute with them!

Of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit Elsa, Anna and Olaf as our oldest daughter believes she is the next in line for Queen Elsa’s throne. This meet and greet was held in the restaurant Animator’s Palate where the entire restaurant is turned into the snow kingdom of Arendelle.

What was even more significant and exceptional was that we were the very last family to visit Elsa and Anna. Because of this, the sisters invited our girls to walk out of the restaurant with them, hand in hand.

My girls still talk about how special this moment was for them!

On Pirate Night you can expect to see Jack Sparrow, Smee and Captain Hook. Tinkerbell can be found fluttering about the ship. Stitch, Daisy, Pluto! Everyone is along for the fun!

On certain sailings you may even find yourself part of a Star Wars or Marvel Day at Sea! On our Disney Magic cruise we made friends with Spiderman, Thor, and Captain America. It was so much fun to meet and chat with them all in person. Our son had so many questions regarding the Marvel Universe that he was able to clear up directly from the source! Of course, Hulk couldn’t be there, because obviously – he’d break the ship.

► For Kids: This doesn’t even touch on all the friends who come visit the Kids Club and do personal activities with them. From Iron Man, Spider Man, Thor and Dr. Strange to Woody and Jessie to Mickey Mouse himself. A Disney cruise is a personalized experience through and through that every member of your family will enjoy.

Who is your favorite Disney character, and who would you be most excited to meet in person?

► Nap-Time Version: The who’s who of Disney character greeting and sightings on a Disney Cruise.

As much fun as it is on board the Disney cruise, check out our awesome port stops on the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder and the Disney Fantasy (coming soon)!