Disney rescues wanted hacker at seas

Cruise ships pick up stranded boats and assist with rescues all the time. It is goodwill at sea. Save and help a ship in need and hope that if your ship ever has problems, someone will come to your aid. These rescues make news but are rarely controversial. That is until Disney Cruise Line saved a wanted hacker and turned him over to the FBI.


Martin Gottesfeld was on the run after a series of hacks into Boston medical institutions. He and his wife were traveling by sailboat near Cuba when they put out a distress call. Disney answered and saved the couple. The feds were not far behind.

Disney touting their six shows

Disney Cruise Line made a big splash with their recent debut of Tangled: The Musical. But that is not their only custom, cruise-line only production. The company has six different shows on its four different ships. Some are a mix of great Disney moments into musical reviews. Other new, simple stories that work in Disney themes and songs. The Tangled production is different. Tangled: The Musical adapts and enhances the Disney version of the story into a new experience just for cruisers. All the shows are great and all make Disney Cruise Line special.

Inside the Magic gives preview of the Disney Magic's Tangled: The Musical

One of Disney Cruise Line's hallmarks is great entertainment. Their live performances are crowd pleasers and incorporate many classic Disney moments and songs. For their new production of Tangled: The Musical, DCL is turning the movie into a live show, plus adding new songs and puppetry. In the above video, Inside the Magic has all the details as well as interviews with the show's key performers and choreographers. The show is set to premiere aboard the Disney Magic this November.

PassPorterGuides looks at the Disney's Magic Porthole

One of Disney's nice touches is their Magic Porthole. In the video above PassPorterGuides gives example of how the "windows" work and what you can expect.

Disney Cruise Blog looks at fitting in the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal has always been a popular and unique cruise itinerary. But as the demand for mega-ships grow, fewer are able to fit in the Canal. In an effort to give some perspective, Disney Cruise Blog posted the graphic above to illustrate how the current Disney Fleet fits (or doesn't fit) in the Canal.

There is good news for those who want to sail through the Panama Canal on a new, large ship. The Canal is nearing completion of an expansion that will enable more traffic and larger ships. The Bridge of the Americas still limits certain heights, but ships can adjust based on tides and what detachable towers and rods they can lower.

A tour of the Disney Wonder via Minecraft

We've posted dozens of video reviews, but this is something entirely different: a tour of the ship via Minecraft. The video above of the Disney Wonder comes from Robplaysthatgame.com. Rob's never been on a cruise, so as the makers of the ship explain the details of their build, it also provides a tour to Rob.

The details in the recreation are amazing. Aside from the intentionally blocky look that comes with Minecraft, it looks just like the Wonder. This is the type of video that any Disney Cruise fan or people who just like cruises should appreciate.

Inside the Magic takes a plunge on the AquaDunk

We've written extensively about the water slide arms race on cruise ships, but we've never really showed what it is like to ride one. Thankfully Inside the Magic has it covered. Above is their video on Disney's AquaDunk, including point of view shots. It looks thrilling and seems like a great addition to the Disney Magic.

Time's tips for Disney Cruise Line

Professional reviews always have a different tone than reviews you might find on Cruise Critic or Cruiseline.com. Because of their experience, access to the ship's leadership, and compensation, the writers often don't experience or notice the same things a regular cruiser would. That is why some of the best professional reviews come when the writer is cruising for the first time. That's what happened in this review of the Disney Dream from Time/Travel + Leisure's Stephanie Wu.

Wu mentions the usual cruise tips about packing and carry-on bags. She also knows that some excursions require early booking. With regards to tips and thoughts on this particular ship, Wu writes that the quality of the food was a pleasant surprise and loved the access to the Disney movie library (we enjoyed this same little detail when we took a Disney Cruise).

Like all good reviews, Wu sets the stage, gives some unique details but moves everything along. We're glad she had a good time and glad she shared her review.

Facts about Disney on Disney Cruise Line dining

We thought it was a good time to revisit Facts about Disney's reviews of Disney Cruise Line. In this clip, Facts about Disney covers what you need to know about onboard dining.

Popular Cruising's Disney Cruise Line's Frozen Theme Cruise

There's never too much Frozen for Disney fans. As the above video from Popular Cruising shows, Disney worked in the blockbuster movie into its onboard entertainment, dining and even adult experiences.

This video is a bit different for Popular Cruising. Instead of a longer presentation with narration, Popular Cruising uses just images, music and video to highlight this Frozen cruise. But the shorter clip still makes it clear that Frozen is everywhere.

Happy 4th of July

Video Review: Facts About Disney

This video review is a little different, but we like different around here. Facts About Disney's video reviews are focused just on Disney Cruises and just specific aspects of the cruise. The clip above deals with traveling to the ship, embarking and the sail away party. Others in her series focus on food and attire.

The format is more confessional with fewer pictures of the ships, but it is still pretty thorough and helpful. And the informal, conversational style gives the review a unique feel for cruise novices.

Disney Cruise Line returns to Big Apple; Could New York support year-round Disney Cruising?

Disney Cruise Line unveiled their 2016 itineraries and announced a return to New York City. From the Big Apple, Disney will sail to the Bahamas and Canada. This obviously has Disney Cruise fans excited, but to us, raises an important question: could Disney sail year round from New York? The short answer is "yes," but there are some obvious challenges and a few big opportunities.

• Can the New York Market support it? New York is a growing cruise base with more and more companies adding departures. The local population alone is huge and when you add in drive market and air access, it can certainly support even more cruise traffic. NYC is already a big customer base for DCL and Disney's other vacation destinations, so the company could easily tap into a welcoming group of potential passengers.
• What about "offseason" weather? The big test for the 2016 return will be demand in October for the Canadian cruises. Is there enough interest for similar, colder destinations when most families are in school? Or perhaps there will be overwhelming demand for offseason trips to the Bahamas as New Yorkers try to escape the cold.
• Does Disney have enough ships? All the lines that sail year-round from the New York area have twice or three times the fleet that Disney has. Because the fleet is limited and the demand is so high, Disney has to be selective where they sail. 

Disney could make year-round sailing from New York work tomorrow if they wanted to try it. However, the company can only be in so many places at once. Until they have a bigger fleet or face over the top demand, year-round New York sailing will have to wait. 

MailOnline Video Reviews: Disney Cruise Line for adults

Since their launch Disney has been fighting perception that their cruises are just for families and children. They're not. Adults can have a great time too and avoid kiddie activities with all the private, and adults-only features on board. Here is a helpful video review from Daily Mail.

How the cruise companies are dealing with Puerto Vallarta

Continued violence in the region forced most of the major cruise lines to cancel or alter stops in the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta. Both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity bypassed their respective stops this week. Both ships scheduled for the port added an extra day at sea. As of Monday, Carnival was keeping their stops in Puerto Vallarta, although they were limiting excursion due to safety concerns.

Disney also announced they would bypass Puerto Vallarta this week and explained the change via letter to each cabin. The Disney Cruise Blog has the letter. In the letter Disney explains their concerns and reminds the passengers that their final bill will be adjusted with regards to port fees, taxes and cancelled excursion.

Cruise companies always worry about passenger safety, however, given the passengers killed in March due to violence in Tunisia, the companies are rightfully cautious now.

More details on the Star Wars enhancements to the Disney Dream

Star Wars fans have another reason to take a Disney Cruise. As Cruise Industry News reports, the Disney Dream will have series new enhancements after its dry dock in October, including new areas dedicated to the popular film series. The 12 and under area will look like a Lucas-style space ship and have a cockpit like the Millennium Falcon. The renovations are perfectly timed with the release of the latest episode in the film saga.

Adults will benefit from the dry dock too. Enhancements include a new splash pool and rainfall curtain. 

Disney hasn't forgotten the princess touches. The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique -- a huge attraction at Disney Parks around the world -- will also be midship.

Look for more pictures and details as the ship comes out of its dry dock this fall. 

Disney moving into River Cruising

Monday, Disney announced a new partnership with AmaWaterways to create a Disney-branded river cruise experience. Sold through the company's Adventures by Disney's arm, the first steps will be small -- only five sailing in 2016. Given the millions of Disney devotees and their very loyal cruise customers, selling out those first five cruises will not be an issue. They could double their capacity in the first few years and still not scratch the surface of Disney-river cruising demand. The unknown is Disney's long-term plans in the space.

The partnership is a great way to test demand. But are there enough young families that want the River Cruise experience to support a full-time Disney River Cruise ship? Even those customers who enjoy the Adventures by Disney tours might find the smaller, river cruise ships limiting. Will it ever make sense for Disney to build its own ship?

Like Viking expanding from river cruises to ocean cruises, this is good news for the industry and cruise fans. It is also only a matter of time before ocean cruise company announces an expansion into river cruising.

Laughingplace's report on Disney's meet up for Disney Cruise Line

Disney Parks' Blog regularly hosts "meet ups" for their active fan and media communities. What's nice about Disney Cruise Line-themed meet ups is that it brings Disney fan-focused media into the cruise world. That perspective is what we appreciated about Jeremiah Good's recap of the Disney Cruise Line meet up on Laughingplace.com.

Good shared plenty of photos of the event and reported on the new entertainment coming to various Disney ships. Tangled fans, Star Wars fans and of course Frozen fans will all be able to see and interact with their favorite characters on upcoming cruises. Follow Disney Parks Blog, Laughingplace or Cruise Needs for more information on future Disney Cruise Line Meet Ups.

Cruise Needs' Review: “Disney Dream Cruise with Food Network.”

Friday night, the Food Network aired “Disney Dream Cruise with Food Network.” In the special (sponsored by Disney Cruise Line), Food Network stars Jeff Mauro, Katie Lee, Amanda Freitag, and, Melissa d'Arabian, as well as their friends and families, sailed to the Bahamas aboard the Disney Dream. Being the Food Network, the special focused on dining, but also hit many of the highlights of the Disney offering. Based on our DCL experience, here are some of the things the special got right, some they got wrong and a few things we are surprised that weren’t featured.

What they got right

This was a food show, so they certainly showed off Disney’s great dining experiences. While the TV chefs toured the galleys and the storage facilities, the aspect that is relevant to a typical passenger was the rotational dining. DCL regulars know and love this feature -- where you rotate dining rooms with your wait staff -- while people who haven’t experienced it yet might not appreciate how well it works. Disney championed this experience in the industry and it highlights their service and unique experiences. It is the center of the dining experience and deserved its place on the special.

What they got wrong

The Food Network stars raved about the buffet service and food on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. d'Arabian’s experience was very different from ours. We found the service, the crowd management, the taste and temperature of the food on Castaway Cay to be lacking -- well below Disney’s standards in their theme parks and certainly below the standards and food quality of the Disney Cruise Line’s food service on board. Obviously a Disney-sponsored special is not going to degrade their own quality or service, but be warned the meal at Castaway Cay was the worst meal of our DCL experience. Our recommendation is to enjoy the beach and water activities on the island but dine back on the ship.

What they left out

It wouldn’t be a DCL television special without the AquaDuck, but I really think the DCL does itself a bit of disservice by always featuring this one ride on every TV opportunity. The AquaDuck is great and fun, but is it that much better than many of the water and thrill experiences available on most cruise companies newer ships? Why not use some of the special time to highlight the Disney shows (which are outstanding) or some of the other unique to Disney offerings. Based on the lines alone, we would suspect that the character and princess interactions are more popular than the AquaDuck. Maybe DCL assumes people know the characters are on board or maybe that the characters only appeal to their youngest customers. However, there are other sports, entertainment and social offerings beyond the AquaDuck that might attract older kids, teens and cruise fans of all ages. Valuable TV time should highlight those attractions instead of the upteenth ride on a water slide.

"Disney Dream Cruise with the Food Network" airs again April 4. (Being the Food Network, the special will likely air again and again in the coming months.) If you’re a Disney fan, a DCL fan or just someone who likes cruise specials, the hour is well worth your time...as is a cruise on the Disney Dream.