Disney Cruise Lines launched their first ship, the Disney Magic, in July of 1998, and followed it a year later, with the Disney Wonder, making a fleet of two, fun ships for adults, children, and entire families.

The two ships are virtually identical, with only small variations in the decoration, and names of some of the facilities. Both the Wonder and the Magic are 964’ long, 106’ wide, and have a gross tonnage of 83,000. Each ship is powered by five engines totaling 15,448 horsepower, for a cruising speed of 21.5 knots and top speed of 28 knots. The vessels are environmentally friendly, distilling seawater to make fresh water, and drawing water from the air conditioning system, to be used in the laundry facilities.

There is a crew of 945 on the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic, to serve passengers in the 875 staterooms on each ship. Of those accommodations, 73% of staterooms have ocean views, and 44% of those have private patios.

Mickey’s colors, are the scheme on both Disney Cruise Lines ships, with predominantly red, blue and yellow combinations. The two vessels differ in some of the interior and exterior décor. Disney Magic displays Sorcerer Mickey on the bow, with a painting of Goofy on the stern. The interior design is largely art deco, featuring elongated and slender shapes, straight lines, and a definitively modern touch. In the lobby, guests are greeted by a statue of Helmsman Mickey. Disney Wonder is led by Steamboat Willie on the bow, with Donald Duck and nephew Huey, following along on the stern. Inside the ship, art nouveau takes over, utilizing shapes from nature in a free wheeling décor of swirls, whorls and flowing lines. When passing through the lobby, you’ll see a statue of the Little Mermaid.

While the Disney name is synonymous with family entertainment, singles and couples adults will enjoy the cruises as well. For the active groups of every age, there is on deck basketball and street hockey, ping-pong, and running laps, or you can visit the gym for aerobics and yoga. There’s plenty of “fun” stuff too, with chip-it golf, bingo, scavenger hunts, and karaoke. Take a break and have a specialty coffee in the Cove Café, or take in a movie in the Buena Vista Theatre. When the sun goes down, entertainment moves to the bars that offer top 40 DJs as well as live music.

Grown-ups who want to get away by themselves, can laze away the afternoon by Quiet Cove, the adults only pool. Then for a little pampering, it’s on to the Vista Spa and Salon, where you can work out, and afterwards, enjoy a wide array of therapies from around the world. Come dinnertime, you’ll enjoy the ambience of Palo, the adults only restaurant which features candlelit dinners for two, with Italian cuisine. And the evening offers lots of possibilities, from the Cadillac lounge with its bucket seats and fin-style decorations, where you can enjoy piano entertainment or personal listening stations; to Sessions, the bar/lounge where you can relax in the depths of their chairs, while having a drink and listening to the live piano sessions.

Children of course, are a big part of any family vacation, and even the wee ones can travel with you. The Flounder’s Reef nursery, decorated with the characters, Scuttle, Flounder and Sebastian from “Little Mermaid”, is designed for youngsters 12 weeks to 36 months old. There is a quiet room for sleep time, and a wonderland of toys and activities for when they’re up and active. Disney Cruise lines supplies trained staff at a ratio of 1:4 infants, and 1:6 for toddlers. Parents are given pagers, so they can keep in touch with the nursery. Space is limited, and should be pre-booked or booked right after boarding. There is also a limit on the number of hours you may use the service during a cruise.

Youngsters that are a little independent, will enjoy getting away from Mom and Dad for some of the fabulous on board activities offered to the 3-7 year old group. Among the long list of things for them to do, are whipping up goo in the science lab with a real professor, making a cellophane stained glass window in the craft center, learning the dance of the Seven Dwarfs and performing it with a surprise guest, becoming a Mouseketeer in training, or getting into the swing with the Tarzan themed activities.

The “big” kids who are 8-12 years old, will get the thrill of their lives in Disney’s Oceaneer Club. Exciting science-based activities are led by trained counselors, experience in giving children enriched opportunities to explore the worlds of electricity, computers, and more. The lab is a mysterious place where they’ll learn how to turn liquids into solids, and make a Flubber type of goo. Or they can use the laws of physics and maybe a little push, to compete in the Regatta races with bars of soap. Artists will show them how Disney animated movies were first created with hand-painted cells, then everyone will get a chance to create their own animation cell to take home.

Even teens won’t have a chance to get bored on ship or off. On the Disney Wonder, “Aloft” is the teen only zone, a duplicate of the same facility on Disney Magic, where the teen area is called “Stack”. They’re crammed with teen-type activities that can be enjoyed late into the night when 13-17 year olds are most likely to be active, and looking for things to do after special teen only shore excursions. There’s music, videos, computers, games, and just a space to hang out and make friends.

The Disney cruises, which set off from Port Canaveral, Florida, sail the Caribbean for a varying number of days, depending on the itinerary, which may include Nassau, St. Maarten, St.Thomas/St.John, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Disney’s private island Castaway Cay, where adults, parents, and children of all ages can enjoy excursions created just for them.