bluezy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
I can't find any information on Disney's site about the Illuminations cruise. Is it only offered seasonally? I'm just curious about the pricing compared to the Pirates & Pals cruise.
Here's the link: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/specialty-cruises/
Our most recent Illuminations cruise this past June was $371.xx plus a tip for the driver (we usually tip $50) and the boat holds up to 10 people. The current price for the Pirates & Pals cruise is $72/adults and $43/children. We're a family of 8 Disney adults so the Illuminations Cruise is less expensive for us. Plus we get a boat to ourselves and a great unobstructed view of the fireworks. There are also pre-packaged snacks (granola bars, cookies, chips, pretzels, etc.) and drinks (water, soda, etc.) on the boat for the entire cruise. While the snacks and drinks aren't anything special, it's nice to have them on the boat with us the whole time so we can snack and drink throughout the entire hour or so that we're on the boat. You can also order (at an extra cost) dinner, desserts, etc. through Disney Dining and have those on the boat as well. As an added bonus, when we did the cruise last June, our captain offered to take us over to DHS after Illluminations so we could watch the fireworks from the Star Wars show. We were happy to take him up on that offer (and added more to our usual tip for the extended service). He even stopped back at the Yacht Club dock after Illuminations so we could take a bathroom break. We spent over 2 hours on the boat that night and enjoyed every minute of it.