In a galaxy not so far, far away, Disney Cruise Line launched into hyperspeed with Star Wars Day at Sea sailings. The Disney Fantasy is the “space SEAship.” No need to use the Force: the 2019 itineraries are out. Padawans and Jedis, we’re sharing our sneak peek at our Star Wars Day at Sea experience. (As if you needed convincing.) Cue the Star Wars music!
Disney Cruise Line announced their itineraries for the 2019 Star Wars Days at Sea exclusively onboard the Disney Fantasy. We chose the April 2nd Western Caribbean sailing because it lined up with our Spring Break week, and the Star Wars Day at Sea fell on Day 5. Our family was excited to see what Disney Cruise Line had up its sleeve for this dedicated day which turned out to be quite the Star Wars celebration in theming, character meets, decor, food and entertainment.
Let’s break down all the details about the 2019 itineraries, what this special day at sea offers, and my family’s impressions of our Star Wars Day at Sea.
Star Wars Day at Sea Disney Cruises: Dates and Itineraries
2019 7-Night Western Caribbean Sailings
January 5, 2019
January 19, 2019
February 2, 2019
February 16, 2019
March 2, 2019
2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Sailings
January 12, 2019
January 26, 2019
February 9, 2019
February 23, 2019
What’s in Store for Star Wars Disney Cruise
New immersive encounters with favorite Star Wars characters
- The Dark Side takes over the atrium on the Star Wars Day at Sea eve to kick off Star Wars Day at Sea celebrations. This one-time experience the night before the day long even will feature Darth Vader and Stormtroopers marching into the ship’s atrium for an Imperial takeover.
- Feel fully immersed in the Star Wars galaxy as roaming characters patrol the ship, including more Imperial Officers and Stormtroopers.
Younglings summon their inner Jedi
- The Dark Side will also be featured with Kylo Ren appearing in Jedi Training Academy, where young Jedi-in-training summon their courage and the Force to face off against Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. New to the training this year is the addition of the Seventh Sister, more performances and a greater number of Padawans participating in each training.
- Even more Star Wars-themed activities and programs for kids to enjoy in all youth spaces.
Celebrate Star Wars with the Summon the Force deck spectacular…
- The Resistance side of things will feature Rey taking the stage in the Summon the Force nighttime deck show that celebrates great moments from across the Star Wars galaxy including iconic characters and new favorites, complete with an epic fireworks finale accompanied by John Williams’ iconic music.
Watch the latest films
- Guests can check out all of the Star Wars feature films in the Buena Vista Theatre, culminating in a showing of the newest film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Out-of-this-galaxy merchandise
- Exclusive to Star Wars Day at Sea 2018 sailings is an assortment of new merchandise including drink ware and clothing
Out of this Galaxy Surprises from stem-to-stern
Another new experience will be the Porgs Onboard! Scavenger Hunt. Chewbacca needs help tracking the Porgs that have been wreaking havoc throughout the ship. Guests can help find and decode secret messages to solve a ship-wide quest and be greeted by everyone’s favorite Wookiee at the end of their adventure.
Guests are guaranteed a time to meet and take photographs with C-3PO and R2-D2, Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Before they even step onboard, they have the chance to reserve these character encounters online under the My Disney Cruise section of disneycruise.com.
Additionally, guests can step into the saga and pose with a life-size replica of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite, as well as other cool Star Wars-themed backdrops.
In Star Wars Drawing Academy, your guests can learn to draw some of their favorite Star Wars characters as well as a new character from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars-themed interactive games, trivia and activities for the whole family will be hosted by Disney cruise staff on the pool deck and in the D-Lounge.
C-3PO will make an appearance in Star Wars: Command Post in Disney’s Oceaneer Club. During a special activity, children train to be members of the Resistance and fend off the First Order. C-3PO pays a visit to check on their training and further human-cyborg relations. Droid Racing is a fast-paced activity that the whole family will enjoy where Guests can race BB-Unit droids around a course in the ship’s atrium. In a hands-on activity for families, everyone tests their skills to become master droid builders and create an intergalactic droid.
What You Can Expect on a Disney Cruise with Star Wars Day at Sea
The Star Wars spirit
Seeing so many fans who were dressed up in some hardcore Jedi or C-3PO costumes was contagious fun. Music was changed out from the usual Disney fare to the Star Wars music we all know and love by legendary composer John Williams. The atmosphere was festive and you could overheard people chatting about their plans and bubbling up with enthusiasm.
Star Wars Character greets
You could rank your preferences on meet and greets and submit your vote to Guest Services. Then you were issued tickets for your meet and greet location. The choices were Dark Side, Tattoine, and Bespin.
My only complaint-we got Darth Vader for our Dark Side character (alternating with Captain Phasma) and Darth Maul for our Tattoine tickets. Darth Maul was creepy and his eyes-AAH! Had to be colored contacts but still very unnatural! Both our character interactions were Dark Side in my mind. Bespin characters were Boba Fett and Chewbacca. I would have loved to get Chewie! As if to accommodate all the requests for character meet and greets, we also got tickets for the next day but were unable to use those because the time slots overlapped our son’s Sports Simulator appointment. But kudos to DCL for adding an extra day and more chances to interact with beloved characters.
Out of this galaxy food
Disney Cruise Line really nailed the Star Wars themed food. Our favorite was the frozen Han Solo for the Han Solo Frozen Carbonite Sundae.
There were even custom dinner and dessert menus with Tie fighters and X-wing holograms. All the dishes were named after characters and locations from Star Wars.
The late night buffet in Cabanas looked amazing!Any time you can get a Darth Vader cupcake made of chocolate, it’s a great day!
Watching Newly Released Star Wars movies
I’ll admit, it was fun watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens as part of the 2016 Star Wars Day at Sea. And there were ample opportunities to watch since it was shown three times that day, including in both theaters (one in 3-D and one without). So I would bet that the new sailings would include the newest Star Wars movies that have been released.
The ship will have TWO Star Wars horns!
Changing the ship’s horn to play the “Imperial March”? Brilliant! We loved hearing that one. But new this year is the inclusion of the iconic “Main Title” in addition to the “Imperial March.” Two special horns? Even Jedi and the Dark Side can agree that this is very cool!
Fireworks
There’s just something about watching fireworks out on the open sea. They aren’t nearly as ornate or as lengthy as the Walt Disney World and Disneyland fireworks, but all 3 1/2 minutes of this fireworks show are showstoppers. Maybe it’s because they are synchronized with Star Wars music. And it’s something different from the pirate fireworks.
More Jedi Training Academy slots
Kids who have their hearts set in participating in the “Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple” will have more opportunities to participate. This is great news! Selection is random. Previously, only 16 were chosen at each of the 5 shows. Too many kids, not enough space. So Disney Cruise Line listened to feedback and has added more slots for participants and more shows.
Special Guest Speakers
During our 2016 sailing, Tom Kane, the voice actor for Star Wars: The Clone Wars was featured. He’s voiced Yoda and C-3PO. I didn’t get to see this one but my teen daughter did with her friends and they loved hearing him voice Yoda and explain how he got his start. The list of tentative guest speakers can be found online.
“Summon the Force” Deck Party
The “Summon the Force” show at 10:30PM gets Decks 11 and 12 crowded with anticipation for the forthcoming fireworks. Clips from the movie were interspersed with characters on stage. There’s nothing like seeing the Star Wars clips on the gigantic Funnel Vision screen!
Summary: The Disney Fantasy 7 night cruise with Star Wars Day at Sea was definitely our family’s favorite cruise to date. All the Star Wars Day at Sea touches enhanced our enjoyment and made the day really stand out as unique. I would recommend you summon the force and choose a 2018 sailing and make that jump to hyperspeed by booking soon!
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