I’ve been on 5 Disney Cruises now. We live in Texas and usually book the 7 night cruises out of Galveston to save us some money on flights. But the trip we got back from last week was our first Marvel Cruise, officially known as Marvel Day at Sea and Disney invited us to be hosted for this experience.

I’m doing this writeup for people who might be interested in booking a Marvel Cruise and wondering what it’s all about. Is it worth the hype? What should you expect? This blog post will answer all of those questions.

First of all if you’re wondering what you can do on a Disney Cruise, here are 100 things (and that’s not everything or even including things from Marvel Day at Sea).

What is Marvel Day at Sea?

Marvel Day at Sea is a special themed day on select Disney Cruises. Dozens of Marvel characters converge on these sailings and you get to see many that you otherwise not see in the parks or on other cruises. The entire day is Marvel themed. Though not required, many cruise goers also dress up in Marvel attire or full on costumes (like you might see at a comicon convention). Dinner is Marvel themed, and instead of Disney music playing throughout the ship you’ll hear Marvel tunes. During the day there are Marvel movies playing in the theater, and at night there’s a big show on the deck with a fireworks finale.

As stated on Disney Cruise website “For the first time ever, we’re journeying through the Marvel Universe with more than 30 Super Heroes and Villains, including debut appearances from Captain America Sam Wilson, Mighty Thor, Shang-Chi and more. Get ready to take a stand with returning fan favorites like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, Loki and Black Widow during a heroic day at sea filled with thrilling activities and one-of-a-kind entertainment—available on select 5-night cruises from Miami to The Bahamas and the Western Caribbean.”

If you want, you can watch our vlog about Marvel Day at Sea to see some of it from our perspective. 

Is the whole cruise a Marvel Cruise theme or just a day?

While you might see some Marvel characters around during your sailing, the entire isn’t Marvel themed. Just one of the “sea days” meaning, a day that you’re at sea the entire day and not embarking, debarking or stopping at an island. The nice thing about this is you sorta get the best of both worlds with a Disney Cruise as well as a Marvel Cruise. You see your regular Disney favorites: Mickey, Minnie and friends, princesses like Cinderella, Tiana, Rapunzel, Jasmine and more, and other popular Disney characters. On Marvel Day at Sea Mickey, Minnie and some of their other friends dress up in Marvel attire also. 

On one other night during the cruise there’s also an event called Pirate Night where guests and characters aboard dress up like pirates and have a special pirate-themed show that night. 

How Does this Cruise compare to your other Disney Cruises?

This was our first themed Disney cruise (there’s also Star Wars Day at Sea as well as Pixar Day at Sea) and we really enjoyed it. It was also our first 5 night cruise. I personally still prefer the 7 night cruises because I feel like it takes a few days to get to know your way around the ship and two and from your room. Then having a couple days to get all into the theme is fun, but a couple extra days to kinda chill and enjoy more of the boat is nice too. That’s why I love those extra nights. I didn’t want to go sit in a movie for 2 hours knowing I could be out playing trivia or something.

On the 7 night cruises I feel like I get enough time to really enjoy everything. That said, my husband thinks the 7 nights are way too long and that the 5 nights are perfect. 

The Marvel Day at Sea was really so cool. Honestly it’ll be a little sad going on a “regular” cruise after experiencing something so fun. I love Marvel as does my 9-year-old son Ty so this was really a great bucket-list experience for us to check off. If you enjoy Marvel I think it’s worth adding to yours as well. 

Wondering how a Disney Cruise compares to a Disney Parks vacation? I break it down in this post.

Which ship is the Marvel Cruise on?

This year Marvel Day at Sea sailings were on the Disney Dream. This was our second time on this ship (the first time was only 3 nights). It’s one of Disney’s larger cruise ships. We’d previously sailed on the Wonder and though small, it’s still wonderful 😉 

The 2024 Marvel Day at Sea sailings are also on the Dream, leaving from Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Are food and drinks included?

All of your meals are included on Disney Cruises. Drinks are too so long as they’re not alcoholic beverages or bottled. There are extra snacks and popcorn and things available for purchase as well. Vanellope’s sweet shop for example had candy and ice cream available at an extra fee. But you can get soft serve ice cream cones on the top deck, and other desserts at meal time or delivered to your room with free room service. 

There’s also quick service restaurants on board where we often went for a quick slice of pizza, or order of fries. 

Did your room sleep 5?

Yes!! It was so neat to get a room that sleeps 5 for our family. During the day it was a queen bed with a couch in the “livingroom” area. Then at night our stateroom attendant converted the couch into a bottom bunk, pulled the top bunk down from the ceiling, and a murphy bed came down from the wall beside the bunk beds. 

Not all of the staterooms sleep 5 though so if that’s something you need make sure you book early to get the best price! 

Which characters did you see?

If you watched our vlog videos you might have seen Ty get SO excited about meeting his favorite Marvel superheroes. Jayda was also excited to go meet and take pictures with some characters. Lee Lee was less than thrilled about it this time and told me “I was nervous” when I ask her how come she didn’t tell Rapunzel her favorite color. “But I’ll tell her next time,” she adds. 

Along with Rapunzel we saw: Jasmine, Belle, Cinderella, Tiana, Ariel, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, Daisy, Pluto, Captain America (both Sam Wilson and Steve Rodgers), Black Panther (both T’Challa and Shuri), Dr. Strange, Black Widow, Woody, Groot, Loki, Star Lord, Spider-Man, Iron Man and more. 

You can watch our vlogs on TikTok or instagram to see more! 

Have any other questions? Let us know!