How Much is a Disney Cruise for a Family of 4?

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How much does a Disney cruise cost for a family of 4?

If you are thinking of sailing on a Disney cruise with your family it is important to know whether or not this is going to fit into your budget. And what factors will influence the cost of your cruise.

The cost of a Disney cruise depends upon:

• How many people sail
• Which Disney ship you choose
• Your choice of stateroom
• The date that you sail
• How many days you sail

Taking all of these things into account let’s have a look at some different options for a family of 4 wanting to sail on a Disney cruise with budgets of:

• $3000
• $5000
• $10,000

The other thing that we actually have to think about is what these costs include.

Here I am only showing the cost for the cruise.

That includes accommodation for 2 adults and 2 children in the stateroom shown. Taxes and port fees are included.

All prices shown are up to date on 3 February, 2024 and the lowest possible cost for each stateroom category is shown.

There are of course other costs involved with sailing on a Disney cruise, such as transportation to the port, travel insurance, gratuities, port excursions, onboard activities, souvenirs.

If you want to find out what is included go to:

What is Included on a Disney Cruise and What is Extra

For an explanation of how tipping works here is a guide:

Disney Cruise Tipping – What You Need to Know

What Does a $3,000 Budget Get a Family of 4?

I have to admit that when I was writing this I was surprised at what is not within this budget. I could not find a Disney Wish sailing for a family of 4 for $3,000 or under. Even the 3 night sailings were at least 10% over this budget.

And it is pretty difficult to find options for this price point, unless you go a little over budget.

Disney Wonder Baja Cruise

It is not quite possible to sail on a 3 night Disney cruise from San Diego unless you go a little over that $3,000 budget.

One cruise that you probably are not going to ever get within this $3,000 is a Disney Alaskan Cruise.

However, if you want to take a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego for 4 nights you can still come in slightly under budget.

Disney Magic

There are plenty of options within the $3,000 budget for Disney Magic sailings from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

These prices are for 3 night sailings with a port stop at Lighthouse Point, Disney’s new Private Island.

If you go a little over budget you can sail on a 3 night cruise from Fort Lauderdale on Disney Dream with a port stop at Lighthouse Point.

Disney Cruise from Galveston

You are going to have to stretch that budget a little as well if you want to sail on a 4 night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston on Disney Magic.

Cruises from Australia

Disney Wonder embarked on a new adventure to Australia and New Zealand starting in 2023.

If you are a family of 4 there are a number of options for short sailings that will get you a Disney cruise with a budget of $3,000.

The lowest priced Disney cruise for a family of 4 that we could find is a 2 night sailing from Aukland, New Zealand.

There is also a 2 night sailing from Melbourne that is under budget.

For this 2 night sailing from Sydney you can even get a Verandah stateroom for $19 over budget.

However, these prices are for 2 night cruises which we really do not recommend unless this really is your only option. You only get one full day on the ship, and a lot of time is spent in embarking and disembarking. So whilst these cruises will get you a cruise under budget, you do have to be aware that they are limited.

There are some 3 night cruises on Disney Wonder that will still meet your $3,000 budget.

These 3 night cruises from Melbourne are available:

3 night cruises from Brisbane are also available.

$5,000 Budget

We have seen that with a $3,000 budget you can sail on a Disney cruise with a family of 4, but your options are limited.

If you have $5,000 you have a lot more choices.

Including Disney’s newest ship Disney Wish. She sails 3 and 4 night itineraries from Port Canaveral, Florida. All sailings have a scheduled port stop at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay.

You will be able to find a 3 night cruise that fits within this budget, but a 4 night is going to be difficult to snag.

Here are some dates that $5,000 will get you a 4 night Disney Wish cruise:

The 3 night Disney Wish cruises will certainly be an option for that $5,000. I even found one which will get you a Concierge Stateroom!

Disney Fantasy with Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point

Your $5,000 will even get you to Disney’s new private island which will debut in June 2024.

A 4 night sailing on Disney Fantasy is within budget.

You can even get a Verandah stateroom and have some change to spare.

Sailings from San Diego

You have a number of options from San Diego on Disney Wonder.

You can even book a 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise from San Diego. However, one thing that we would say about this is that this is relatively late availability and so the under budget rate is for a Guarantee Stateroom. This can be a great way to save money, but you will not have a choice of which stateroom in that category you get – Disney will choose that for you.

Cruise from Galveston

Your budget will stretch to a 6 night cruise from Galveston on select dates. This includes port stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

European Cruises

A European cruise is on many people’s bucket list – but is it possible within this budget for a family of 4?

I found one cruise from Southampton which is a 3 night cruise to Belgium. A verandah stateroom is available for your budget, but this is the only European cruise I could find.

Australia and New Zealand

There are lots of options here. Many of the 2, 3 and 4 night cruises will be within budget.

The longest cruise I found in this category is a 5 night Cruise from Melbourne ending in Aukland. This will even get your change from $5,000 – but you will probably need to use that for the higher costs of getting to one or both ports as this is a repositioning cruise.

$10,000 BUDGET

Obviously this opens up a lot of options for your party of 4.

Let’s look at some of the cruises and staterooms this higher cost will make available.

Alaska Cruises

Those Alaska cruises that your $5,000 just couldn’t get you on, become possible when you double your budget! But for most dates, it still won’t get you a Verandah stateroom for 4.

I found a couple of dates in 2024 that will get you that coveted balcony.

Europe

This much larger budget finally gives you a lot of options for a cruise in Europe.

If you are looking for one of the best values on a per-night basis, and have a lot of time to spare, a Transatlantic cruise is always one to look at.

This 13-night cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale will even give you change from $10,000 for a verandah stateroom for 4.

If this doesn’t fit in with your plans, what about a 7-Night Mediterranean cruise from Rome with port stops in Santorini, Mykonos, Chania, and Naples. You can just squeeze in under budget for this one.

Just look at the price of the Royal Suite!

You can also sail on a 7-Night cruise from Southampton and have some money left over even if you book a balcony stateroom on Disney Dream

Disney Treasure

A $10,000 budget is your entry point for your family of 4 sailing on the new Disney Treasure Cruise ship which is set to launch in December 2024.

She will be sailing 7-Night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Here are some sample prices:

Final Thoughts

This gives you an overview of just how much a Disney cruise costs for a family of 4 and the different choices that increasing your budget will give you.

I have been following and writing about the costs of Disney cruises for over a decade now. And over the last few years, with the exception of those “bargain” days immediately after the pandemic, the prices have definitely been going up. And going up pretty quickly.

The best time to book is generally still as close to opening day as you can get. I know there are some exceptions when guarantee staterooms become available closer to sail dates, but these can’t be relied upon. And if you want a specific sail date and stateroom then still the best way to save is to book as early as you can.

Remember that there are other ways to save on Disney cruises which could mean that more possibilities come within your budget.

Here are some resources to help you save:

Disney Cruise First Timer Money Mistakes to Avoid

The Easiest Way to Save Money on a Disney Cruise