Almost everything is free on a Disney Cruise. Okay, almost everything is included on a Disney Cruise (you’re still technically paying for it). There are a few exceptions: excursions, spa treatments, lattes, exclusive dining, tips, smoothies…and alcohol. Getting a drink on a cruise is one of the non-negotiable things for many adult cruisers. But alcohol is expensive. Here’s how to minimize the cost of alcohol on your next Disney Cruise.
I’ll go ahead and tell you at the outset, if your drink of choice is liquor or a mixed drink, there’s no real way to save money on this except buying a double at the bars, which will save you about $5 compared to buying two drinks.
Bring Your Own Alcohol
Disney Cruise Lines allows you to bring a limited amount of alcohol aboard the ship. Each guest over the age of 21 can bring a certain number of drinks aboard. Each adult can bring two 750ml bottles of wine or champagne, or they can bring a 6-pack of beer. Make sure you bring that onboard the ship. Click here for a detailed look at the rules for bringing alcohol.
If you bring bottles of wine, make sure you bring screwtops or a bottle opener. It’ll be frustrating if you can’t get into it. That being said, I took ours to the lobby bar, and they opened it for free. If you want to use your wine at dinner, they charge you a corking fee if you bring the bottle, so if you can pour it before you come, they’ll let you have it at the table for free.
The Kendall-Jackson Vintner Reserve is my wife’s go-to wine for taking aboard the ship. We love the flavor. It has a screw top, and it costs $20 less at Sam’s than aboard the cruise ship. It’s one of the choices on the wine package.
If you bring beer, consider bringing a high-gravity beer. Most of those come in 4-packs for legal reasons, but if you buy two, you can put 6 of them in a makeshift six-pack carrier. Disney doesn’t care if you bring six 12% trippels or stouts aboard.
Finally, if you bring beer, consider only bringing aluminum cans or else you can’t bring it to the pool.
Purchase Alcohol in Ports of Call
A lot of people know about the alcohol that you can bring aboard the ship, but did you know you can bring the same amount of alcohol back aboard the ship after each port of call? Go to the shops at the port and purchase two bottles of wine or a six-pack of beer (far cheaper than the rates on the boat).
The Disney Magic in port.
The hard part for me is finding decent wine or beer in the ports. We mostly sail in the Caribbean, which specializes in rum and tequila. If you try to bring hard liquor back on the ship, they’ll hold it for you until the end of the cruise. Great for later; not so great for your cruise.
Now on to purchasing alcohol on the boat.
The Disney Cruise Line Beer Mug
The best deal, if you’re going to drink a lot of beer, is the Disney Cruise Line mug. If you purchase it at any bar or before your cruise, it will run you roughly $15 (at the time of writing). After that, you can get 21-ounce pours for the cost of 16-ounce pours. Given that most beer costs are about $10, you can get your money’s worth after three beers. Beyond that, you’re saving a bunch of money for each beer you purchase.
The Disney Cruise Line Beer Mug on my stove. I loaned it to a friend who returned one in much better condition.
If you don’t feel like carrying the giant mug around, you can trade it into any bar for a token (that I keep in my lanyard). Then you can use it for a bigger pour when you are ready to use it. They’ll also exchange your glass mug for a plastic one when you are on the pool deck.
You can also bring the mug home with you. You can reuse it on your next cruise, and you can share it with friends so that they can save money on their next cruise.
Now here’s a way to double up on your savings with the Disney Cruise beer mug.
Happy Hour on Disney Cruise
Many of the bars on Disney Cruise ships have a happy hour that gets you discounts on drinks. The prevailing deal is 30% off of drinks at certain bars during the happy hour. Sometimes certain bars have happy hours multiple times a day. You’ll need to check the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to figure out when certain bars are offering it, but you can save a lot of money by following these deals.
And, if you have the beer mug, you can get 30% off a 16-ounce pour but get 21 ounces! I went to O’Gills and got a 21-ounce pour for $5. That’s better than most bars anywhere. It’s almost better than buying it at the grocery store at home.
The tap at O’Gills. I really like the O’Gills American Ale on the left, though it’s a little weird that it’s not an Irish Ale.
Drink of the Day and Drink of the Day Cup
Disney Cruise Line also offers a Drink of the Day each day during your voyage. It’s usually a fruity cocktail, but if it’s your style of drink, you can order these for a discounted price each day at the restaurants and bars and get your fix.
Signals, the bar at the Adults’ Only area on several of the ships (pictured: Disney Magic), is a great place to get your Drink of the Day and enjoy paradise.
The Drink of the Day also has a souvenir cup that you can purchase in order to get a larger pour for the same price. This will allow you to get more alcohol (and a whole lot more sugar) for a much lower price than the other drinks. If you like fruity beach cocktails like daiquiris and rum runners, this is the way to go.
Wine Packages on Disney Cruise
The next way to save money on drinks is to purchase the wine packages. If you want a glass of wine with your meal, wine packages are the way to go. They cost a lot of money upfront, but they are considerably less expensive than buying wine as you go.
You’ll get an assortment of wines to choose from (regular or premium), and those bottles will follow you to each dining room. They’ll be waiting for you each time you dine. And, if you don’t finish them, they’ll cork them for you and let you take them home.
This is a great way to have bottle service in each dining room and not shell out far more than you expected. However, it will cost more than you’re expecting, so don’t use this option if you don’t plan on drinking this much wine.
We learned from the wine package how much my wife loves the Kendall Jackson Vintner Reserve Chardonnay. It’s her go-to wine at home now.
Tip: If you end up dining at one of the fine dining restaurants like Palo or Remy, they’ll substitute your wine package options for one of their finer options at no additional cost (at least in our experience). We got an awesome Italian wine that wasn’t on the list as part of our package.
Drink Less
Finally, I know you don’t want to hear this, but the best way to avoid paying for alcohol is realizing that you don’t need alcohol to have a great vacation. Disney Cruise Line offers free soda (unlike most cruise lines), so just relax and enjoy the experience without the need for a drink. You’re already in paradise.
Free soda onboard Disney Wonder. You won’t find this on cheaper cruise lines.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article prepares you for saving a few dollars on drinks, knowing that you can bring your own aboard at no cost and that there are discounts to be had across the ship. If you want to see other ways to save money on a Disney Cruise, check out this article.
Let us know in the comments how you’ve saved money on alcohol aboard Disney Cruise Line!
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