Disney Cruise Line Crew Member Facts
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Disney Cruise Line crew members go above and beyond to make every guest experience unique and magical. Of all the positive feedback received from guests, the No. 1 compliment focuses on the attentiveness, friendliness and overall positive attitudes of crew members.
More than 2,100 crew members work and live on Disney Cruise Line’s two ships and at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay.
These 2,100 crew members hail from six different continents and are of more than 60 nationalities.
Even with the diverse range of nationalities, all crew members speak English.
Shipboard positions range from navigation officers to entertainment performers and everything in between.
Both ships have full-time managers who organize social and recreational activities for off-duty crew members to relax.
Entertainment
From the over-the-top deck parties with the only fireworks display at sea, to spectacular live stage shows with Disney characters, entertainment aboard Disney Cruise Line is anything but ordinary and so are those performers, technicians and cruise staff who are behind the magic.
Each Disney ship has a Cruise Director who is responsible for all entertainment activities and performances onboard.
There is a cast of nearly 20 performers on each ship, known as the Disney Cruise Line Main Stage Repertory Cast, that calls the Walt Disney Theatre their home.
These Main Stage performers are required to be “triple-threats,” which means they are experts in singing, dancing and acting.
This team performs in three different live stage shows in the Walt Disney Theatre during a three-night cruise.
22 technicians support all the entertainment offerings and performances aboard from video productions to launching fireworks at sea.
The Walt Disney Theater is one of the most technically-advanced performance venues afloat. It spans three decks and includes state-of-the-art staging, rigging and lighting.
In addition, the Buena Vista Theater hosts 14 showings of first-run films, including Disney Digital 3D movies every cruise.
Youth Activities
Aboard Disney Cruise Line ships there’s nearly an entire deck dedicated to activities for children ranging from infants to teenagers. An entire team is focused on entertaining and engaging each of these age groups.
Each ship has a team of nearly 50 Youth Activities Counselors, the largest in the cruise industry.
All counselors are required to have at least two years or more of experience working with children.
The Youth Activities Counselors present more than 100 activities and entertainment programs to five different age groups throughout a typical cruise.
Youth Activity areas are open from 9am to 1am, daily. This means that during a three-night cruise there are 45 hours of youth activities programming available.
Dining
Dining aboard Disney Cruise Line is a one-of-a-kind experience with distinctive cuisine and superb service, for which dining room servers and galley staff aboard Disney ships are intricately responsible.
Disney Cruise Line pioneered rotation dining, which gives guests the opportunity to try three uniquely themed restaurants, with themed entertainment offerings and cuisine every day, all the while keeping their same servers.
Because of the rotational dining concept, Disney Cruise Line servers have a unique opportunity to get to know their guests’ tastes every evening, providing them an opportunity to take their service to an even higher level.
You’ll find 100 Disney Cruise Line crew members on the food and beverage team who have been certified at “Level 1” by the Court of Master Sommeliers, which is unique to the industry.
Disney Cruise Line’s shipboard culinary team has more than 300 members, many of whom were trained at the world’s top culinary institutes.
Housekeeping
The 877 staterooms aboard Disney Cruise Line ships are the most family- friendly staterooms afloat. A dedicated team of housekeepers works to ensure the daily upkeep and cleanliness, adding special touches along the way.
On a three-night cruise, these housekeepers create more than 2,300 towel animals in the shape of elephants, stingrays, dogs, monkeys and swans.
On a three-night cruise, the housekeeping team will make up an average of 10,000 beds.
The housekeeping team puts out 7,800 pieces of chocolate when they turn down guest beds on a three-night cruise.
And most importantly, the team is responsible for taking the hassle out of the beginning and end of the vacation by transporting guests’ luggage to and from staterooms at the start and close of every cruise. On a three-night cruise they handle more than 5,600 pieces of luggage.
Castaway Cay
Castaway Cay is Disney’s exclusive tropical island paradise in the Bahamas. It offers the quintessential beach experience where guests spend the day snorkeling, sailing, riding bikes or simply basking in the sun on the beautiful white sand.
60 crew members work exclusively on Castaway Cay. Most live on the island full time, but a few, who are from the Bahamas, commute to the island via boat every call day.
Island crew members look forward to three visits every week by Disney cruise ships. When there is no ship at Castaway Cay, the crew members are busy maintaining the facilities and landscape on the three-square mile island to prepare for the next call day.
Also at Castaway Cay is a dedicated team that assists an onsite marine biologist from Epcot’s Living Seas in the ongoing care and monitoring of the island’s own group of native stingrays. That team also supports ongoing research programs such as maintaining the health of coral reefs and other marine life native to the Bahamas.
Special for all Disney Cruise Line crew members is an area on the island reserved for their own enjoyment and relaxation when they’re off duty.
