It’s a little known secret on Disney Cruise Line that their Drink of the Day is one of the best bargains around! When it comes to Disney, “bargain” isn’t a word that comes up often, so when it does, it’s something to take note. We sailed on the Disney Fantasy recently, and we’d like to discuss our Drink of the Day experience with you as you plan your Disney cruise.
What is the Drink of the Day?
Obviously we should start with the most basic question: what is it? On Disney Cruise Line, their Drink of the Day is a daily drink special available at most bars on the ship. As the name implies, the drink changes every day. Disney offers an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic drink of the day each day of the cruise except for your very last day (the morning when you disembark the ship).
As of this writing, the alcholic drink of the day is only $6.75, with the non-alcoholic drink of the day coming in at $5.25. Seriously, that’s a bargain! Keep in mind that an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the total. On days when we ordered two drinks, the auto gratuity came out to $2.16. Not a big addition, but just know it’s going to be added to your total automatically.
To find out what the Drink of the Day is while on your cruise, simply log in to the Disney Cruise Line app, and on the main screen, scroll down until you find “Drink of the Day”. Click on the image for more detailed information.
We were recently on a 5-night cruise, so we have 4 days of drinks to share with you! And yes, our favorite happened to be one of the non-alcoholic choices. (although a little rum would have been nice).
Embarkation Day: Paradise Punch
Our embarkation day Drink of the Day was Paradise Punch. Acai Berry Liqueur, Malibu Coconut Rum, Pineapple juice, and Grenadine. We enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a drink we were bonkers over. It’s a good “welcome to your vacation!” drink to help set the mood for a relaxing cruise.
Two more things to comment on as we get started. First, these glasses are terrible for taking drink photos because of the rose tint. It’s kind of hard to capture an accurate color of the drink, especially if there’s any layering or floats added.
Secondly, our straw was edible! It tasted like a crunchy Fruit Roll-Up, if that makes sense. It was like having a drink AND a snack! They had several straw options available, but the yellow-orange straw was what we had most frequently. This was a very welcome change from paper straws, and though we had our own biodegradable straws on hand, we never needed to use them thanks to this.
Sea Day: Mai Tai
So good, we almost forgot to take a picture! Once again, these darn glasses muting the color of the drink. Anyway, yes, the Mai Tai! White and Dark Rum, Creme de Almond, and Pineapple Juice. We love a good Mai Tai even though it’s one of those stereotypical Tiki Bar drinks. We’re partial to the Captain’s Mai Tai that we had on the Disney Wish, but this one was just fine on it’s own.
Nassau Day: Bahama Mama
Ah, the classic Bahama Mama. Dark Rum, Creme de Banana, Malibu Coconut Rum, Orange juice, Pineapple juice, and Grenadine. This is right up there with the Pina Colada for classic cruise cocktails. Tasty, dependable, and never disappointing!
Lighthouse Point Day: Sunken Treasure (alcoholic)
We’ve had the Sunken Treasure before on other Disney Cruise Line ships, so it’s defintely one of their staples. Malibu Coconut Rum, Midori Melon Liqueur, Blue Curacao, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, and Sprite. We thought for sure this was their customary drink of the day on Pirate Night, but past cruises tell us otherwise. Regardless, you will see this as a drink of the day at some point during your cruise!
We’re not the biggest fans of Midori, but Disney loves to put it into their cocktails. Fortunately we were able to better capture the color of the drink despite the glass, thanks to some mid-day drinking.
Lighthouse Point Day: Parrot Song (non-alcoholic)
We did not order two of these! (although we would have). The bartender made too much, so he gave us the extra in a second glass. I think painter Bob Ross would call this a “happy accident”.
Parrot Song is our favorite Drink of the Day! Coconut Cream, Pineapple juice, and fresh Banana. Blended with ice until frothy and served with some cherries for garnish. It’s basically a non-alcoholic Pina Colada, and that might be the reason we loved it so much.
Castaway Cay Day: Stingray (alcoholic)
We’ve had the Stingray before on the Disney Wish. In fact, we’ve had it twice before! Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Midori Melon Liqueur, Pineapple Juice, and Cranberry Juice. This is the other drink of the day that has appeared on Pirate Night on past cruises. Like the Sunken Treasure, you’ll probably see this as a drink of the day at some point during your cruise.
Again, day drinking was the reason we could accurately capture the color of the drink for you. These glasses don’t really do the drink justice because our Drink of the Day discussion from last year on the Wish really showed off how nice the drink looks. It’s definitely worth a look after you’ve finished reading.
Castaway Cay Day: Princess Delight (non-alcoholic)
Well doesn’t this look fancy! It’s all swirled and there’s decorative dried fruit on top. But more importantly, the Princess Delight contains POG juice! POG juce is a Disney staple, much like Dole Whip. We’re not exactly fans of the name “Princess Delight”, but we’ll overlook it this time.
The Princess Delight is made with Mango puree, Orange, Passion, Guava juice (POG juice), and Raspberry puree. Again, blended with ice to make a refreshing frozen drink. If you don’t like mango, you may not be a fan of this. We enjoyed this because we’re fans of POG juice so seeing it included in a drink is a hit for us!
Hits and Misses
As we wrap this up, it’s time to reflect on what was good and what was not-as-good. Obviously the hit this cruise was the Parrot Song drink. We couldn’t get enough of it! But we do love a Pina Colada, and this was pretty much the non-alcoholic equivalent. Most of the drinks we had this cruise were good, while a few were great.
One more thing to keep in mind as we wrap this up: Disney Cruise Line does not offer a drink package, so each drink you order will be charged to the room. We think they do this to send the message that this isn’t a party cruise.
The miss for the drinks on this cruise was the glass! We’ve cruised on the Disney Wish, and was better able to capture the colors and vibrancy of the drinks because they were served in clear glasses. While the majority of the drinks we had were enjoyable, the glasses they were served in didn’t make them the most photogenic.
It’s not really a big deal for taste, but when you’re trying to tell others about how great these drinks are, not having great pictures of the colors doesn’t really sell it. We’ll try again on our next cruise.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time!
Disney Rover 