Where Does the Disney Cruise Go?

Disney Cruise Line’s ships travel to ports of call all over the world.  Whether you’re imagining a tropical getaway, chilly Alaska, or the seaports of Europe, Mickey Mouse and his dedicated crew members can get you there.  Let’s take a look at where Disney Cruises go so you can decide which sailing is right for your family.  For each major cruise destination, we’ll list sample ports — these include the departure ports (where you’ll board the ship at the start of your cruise) and ports of call (where you’ll briefly visit for one or more days during your cruise).

Bahamas Cruises

The Bahamian cruise is one of the most popular Disney Cruise itineraries for several reasons.  First, most of these sailings depart from ports in Florida, making it easy to add a cruise onto an existing Disney World Vacation — great for folks taking a Disney Cruise for the first time.  They also tend to be shorter cruises — usually three or four nights — making them ideal for those wanting to extend their land vacation or needing a shorter trip due to not having much time off of work.  These cruises are popular enough that Disney has dedicated its newest ship, the Disney Wish, exclusively to these itineraries so far.

Ports on a Bahamian Disney cruise might include:

• Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island in the Bahamas)
• Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Galveston, TX
• Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point (Disney’s private port on Eleuthera, Bahamas)
• Miami, FL
• Nassau, Bahamas
• Port Canaveral, FL (closest port to Walt Disney World)

Caribbean Cruises

Caribbean Cruises are usually divided into regional itineraries, such as an Eastern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, or southern Caribbean cruises.  They’re usually a bit longer than a Bahamian cruise, often around 7 nights.

Ports on a Caribbean Cruise by Disney could include:

• Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island in the Bahamas)
• Basseterre, St. Kitts
• Bridgetown, Barbados
• Castries, St. Lucia
• Costa Maya, Mexico
• Cozumel, Mexico
• Falmouth, Jamaica
• Fort-de-France, Martinique
• Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Galveston, TX
• George Town, Grand Cayman
• Kralendijk, Bonaire
• Miami, FL
• New Orleans, LA
• New York, NY
• Oranjestad, Aruba
• Philpsburg, St. Maarten
• Port Canaveral, FL (closest port to Walt Disney World)
• Progreso, Mexico
• Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• Roseau, Dominica
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• St. John’s, Antigua
• St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
• Tortola, British Virgin Islands
• Willemstad, Curaçao

Bermuda Cruises

Bermuda cruises offer a taste of the Caribbean, plus a stop in Bermuda, an island escape much further north in the Atlantic Ocean. Most of these Disney cruises depart from New York.

Ports on a Disney Bermuda Cruise could include:

• Kings Wharf, Bermuda
• New York, NY
• Port Canaveral, FL
• Select ports also offered on Disney’s Caribbean or Bahamian cruises

Alaska Cruises

One of the more-stunning Disney Cruises is the Alaska itinerary.  While the cruises stay far enough south along the Alaska Panhandle that Northern Lights sightings are exceedingly rare, you’ll still enjoy outstanding natural scenery and wildlife (especially if you take one of the many Alaska Port Excursions offered by Disney). Alaska’s cruise season is in the summer, so you shouldn’t encounter any frigid temperatures unless you’re close to a glacier.  These cruises depart from Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada.

Ports on Disney’s Alaska cruises may include:

• Glacier Viewing (sail-through without disembarking) at Dawe’s Glacier / Endicott Arm Fjord, Hubbard Glacier, or areas along the Stikine Icecap
• Icy Strait Point, AK
• Juneau, AK
• Ketchikan
• Sitka, AK
• Skagway, AK
• Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada
• Victoria (British Columbia), Canada

Europe Cruises

Disney’s European Cruises offer a great way to sample the best of the continent in a short time.  Disney cruises to more ports in Europe than any other location on the planet.  Disney’s European cruises include specialty itineraries such as British Isles, Mediterranean, and others — all offering a diverse list of ports of call.

Each cruise has its own regional itinerary; but in general ports on a European Disney Cruise could include some of the following:

• Akureyri, Iceland
• Ajaccio (Corsica), France
• Alesund, Norway
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Barcelona, Spain
• Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Bergen, Norway
• Brest, France
• Cádiz, Spain
• Cannes (Monaco, Monte Carlo, Nice), France
• Cartagena, Spain
• Catania (Sicily), Italy
• Chania, Greece
• Cherbourg, France
• Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
• Cobh (Cork), Ireland
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Dover, England
• Dublin, Ireland
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Eidfjord, Ireland
• Frederica, Denmark
• Gdynia (Gdańsk), Poland
• Genoa (Milan), Italy
• Geiranger, Norway
• Gibraltar, United Kingdom
• Gothenberg, Sweden
• Greenock, Scotland
• Hamburg, Germany
• Haugesund, Norway
• Hebrides, Scotland
• Helsinki, Finland
• Heraklion (Crete), Greece
• Ibiza, Spain
• Invergordon, Scotland
• Ísafjörður, Iceland
• Katakolon, Greece
• Kefalonia, Greece
• Kiel, Germany
• Kirkwall (Orkney), Scotland
• Kotka, Finland
• Kristiansand, Norway
• Kusadasi, Turkey
• La Coruña, Spain
• La Rochelle, France
• La Spezia (Florence, Pisa), Italy
• Le Havre (Paris), France
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Liverpool, England
• Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Italy
• Maloy, Norway
• Málaga, Spain
• Marseilles, France
• Mekjarvik (Stavanger), Norway
• Messina (Sicily), Italy
• Molde, Norway
• Mykonos, Greece
• Naples (Pompeii), Italy
• Newcastle upon Tyne, England
• Nordfjordeid, Norway
• Nynäshamn (Stockholm), Sweden
• Olbia (Sardinia), Italy
• Olden, Norway
• Oslo, Norway
• Palermo (Sicily), Italy
• Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Peter Port, Guernsey
• Piraeus (Athens), Greece
• Plymouth, England
• Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal
• Portland (Stonehenge), England
• Porto, Portugal
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• Riga, Latvia
• Ringaskiddy (Cork), Ireland
• Rostock, Germany
• Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Salerno, Italy
• Sandnes, Norway
• Santorini, Greece
• Skagen, Denmark
• Skjolden, Norway
• Southampton, England
• Stavenger, Norway
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Tallinn, Estonia
• Toulon (Provence), France
• Valencia, Spain
• Valetta, Malta
• Vigo, Spain
• Villefranche (Monte Carlo, Nice), France
• Visby, Sweden
• Warnemünde (Berlin), Germany
• Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium

Mexico Cruises

Disney’s Mexico cruises depart from San Diego, California for trips along the Baja Peninsula and Mexican Riviera.

Ports on a Disney Mexico cruise may include:

• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Catalina Island, CA
• Ensenada, Mexico
• Mazatlán, Mexico
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• San Diego, CA

Canada Cruises

While Disney’s Alaska cruises depart from Canada’s west coast, they don’t visit any Candian ports during the cruise.  To find a cruise with a Canadian port of call during the cruise, you’ll need to head east.  Departures from New York offer stops at several Canadian ports, along with a picturesque stop in the northeastern US.

Ports on a Disney Canadian Cruise may include:

• Baie-Comeau (Québec), Canada
• Bar Harbor, Maine
• Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Canada
• Halifax (Nova Scotia), Canada
• New York, NY
• Québec City (Québec), Canada
• Saguenay (Québec), Canada
• Saint John (New Brunswick), Canada
• St. John’s (Newfoundland), Canada
• Sydney (Nova Scotia), Canada

Hawaii Cruises

A Hawaiian Cruise with Disney Cruise Line offers stops at gorgeous, lush ports where mountains, beaches, and waterfalls meet.  Ironically, you’ll have to head to Canada to visit most Hawaiian ports of call via Disney Cruise Line — thanks to maritime rules requiring visits to a “distant foreign port,” these cruises currently will either begin or end at a port outside the US, typically Vancouver, Canada.

Ports on a Hawaiian Cruise with Disney may include:

• Hilo (Hawaii / Big Island), HI
• Honolulu (Oahu), HI
• Kahului (Maui), HI
• Nawiliwili (Kauai), HI
• Vancouver, Canada

Pacific Coast Cruises

Disney’s pacific coast cruises begin in San Diego, California or in Vancouver, Canada and make their way up the west coast for stunning scenery and maybe a passing whale or two.

Potential ports on a Disney Pacific Coast cruise include:

• Astoria, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada
• Victoria (British Columbia), Canada

Panama Canal Cruises

A Panama Canal cruise is, at its heart, a very utilitarian thing.  When you have a cruise ship that needs to reposition itself from sailing the Atlantic Ocean to sailing the Pacific Ocean, you need to put that ship through the Panama Canal.  These are one-way cruises — you’ll end your cruise in a different port than you started.  But along the way, you’ll sail through an architectural marvel (and see a few other neat ports along the way).  There are typically only two of these offered each year — one westbound and one eastbound — so it’s a rare treat to be able to travel on this itinerary.  Just be sure to bank your vacation time; it’s a 14-night sailing.

Ports on Disney’s Panama Canal cruises include:

• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Cartagena, Colombia
• Cozumel, Mexico
• Galveston, TX
• George Town, Grand Cayman
• Miami, FL
• Panama Canal
• Port Canaveral, FL
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• San Diego, CA

Transatlantic Cruises

Much like a Panama Canal cruise, a transatlantic cruise is primarily a repositioning cruise to allow the ship to move from US-based sailings to European sailings.  For those who have plenty of vacation time to burn (typically 11 to 13 nights) — and who don’t mind ending their cruise on a different continent than they started on — it’s a great vacation.  Because you’re transiting across the entire Atlantic Ocean, don’t be surprised if upwards of half the cruise is spent as “days at sea” (meaning the ship is simply in motion without stopping at a port); if you love spending time enjoying a ship’s onboard amenities, this is the itinerary for you!

Potential ports on a transatlantic cruise include:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Bilbao, Spain
• Dover, England
• Halifax (Nova Scotia), Canada
• La Coruña, Spain
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Miami, FL
• New York, NY
• Ponta Delgada, Portugal
• Portland (Stonehenge), England
• Ringaskiddy (Cork), Ireland
• St. John’s (Newfoundland), Canada
• Sydney (Nova Scotia), Canada
• Plymouth, England

South Pacific / Transpacific Cruises

Similar to the transatlantic cruise, a South Pacific / transpacific cruise is primarily a repositioning cruise; sailings are typically 10-15 nights in duration and will end in a completely different hemisphere than they started in.  Expect an extensive number of days at sea in which the cruise simply sails without stopping at a port.

Potential ports on a transpacific cruise may include:

• Honolulu (Oahu), HI
• Kahului (Maui), HI
• Noumea, New Caledonia
• Pago Pago, American Samoa
• Suva, Fiji
• Sydney, Australia

Australia / New Zealand “Disney Magic at Sea” Cruises

It was announced at the 2022 D23 Expo that Disney Cruise Line would be adding cruises in Australia and New Zealand.

Although any traveler is certainly welcome, these are not cruises designed primarily for people who want to visit Australia or New Zealand; rather, the target audience is Aussies and Kiwis who, up until now, have never had the chance to experience all of the onboard benefits of a Disney cruise ship.  This is evidenced in part by itinerary lengths as short as two nights (or as many as six).

Given the name “Disney Magic at Sea,” we expect them to be heavy on days at sea, with less of an emphasis on stopping at ports along the way.  In addition to the usual Broadway-style shows, onboard dining, and deck parties, passengers can also expect some other special events.  These include Disney Ever After Fireworks at Sea, a Pirate Night deck party, Royal Gathering princess encounters, and character visits including Mickey, Minnie, Toy Story characters, Star Wars characters, and Marvel super heroes, among others.

By the way — don’t let the name “Disney Magic at Sea” confuse you; these sailings are onboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship — not the Disney Magic.

Ports on an Australia / New Zealand Disney Magic at Sea cruise may include:

• Auckland, New Zealand
• Brisbane, Australia
• Melbourne, Australia
• Sydney, Australia