Disney Cruise - Pirate Night Tips

One of our favorite nights on our Disney cruise sailings has been pirate night. These occur on select cruises, mainly in Caribbean and Bahamian sailings. The evening has a host of pirate activities, including themed pictures with characters, pirate trivia, a pirate themed dinner menu, and a deck party including fireworks! Up until recently, Disney cruise line was the only company to be able to offer fireworks at sea. Now you can also see them on on Norwegian Cruise Line, but for our money.....we are still sticking to Disney. :)

Are you going on a Disney Cruise and want to make the best of it? Here are some of the tips we have picked up over our sailings.

1.Dress up! Many people are concerned about how much to dress up for pirate night. On every cruise, we hear someone comment with regret that they wished they had brought pirate costumes. However, no one who has dressed up has ever seemed to regret it. At home, it may be seem like a hassle to pack pirate costumes, but once you are on the ship and seeing other people dressed up, you will be glad that you did. For our family, pirate costumes take up an entire large suitcase, but I still would not leave them home! There are always people who chose to just wear a pirate T-shirt (I was one of those on a cruise when I was pregnant with Squirt), but fully enjoying the theme of the night and wearing your pirate best is really fun. Pirate costumes are available for purchase on the ship if you would rather buy them there, but don't plan on them being cheap.  Disney does provide each passenger with a pirate bandana, so if nothing else, you can sport that.

2. Put your costumes on before First Seating/First Show. Don't wait until it's dark to get into the pirate spirit! We aim for around 4 o'clock to gather everyone back to the stateroom to get ready. We usually have second seating for dinner, and we like to get our costumes on before the show that night. That way, if you want to get some pictures taken between the show and dinner (or vice versa if you have first seating), you are all ready.

3. On the larger ships, the Dream and the Fantasy, there are two pirate deck parties. On the classic ships, both shows are combined into one which is shown after second seating. The first is aimed towards younger children and includes Mickey and friends. The second one, after second dinner seating, is more for older kids and adults and includes Jack Sparrow and fireworks. You are welcome to go to both if you like. The times will be listed on your Personal Navigator. Our family really likes the second show.

4. Wear comfortable dancing pirate shoes. After the second show, the upper deck turns into "Club Pirate" complete with a DJ. Fun family dance party under the stars!

5. If possible, take a nap. Pirate night tends to be a night we are all up very late. Of any day on the cruise, this would be the one to plan for a nap for little cruisers if possible.

6. Save a little room. A pirate buffet is served in Cabanas after all the deck party fun has happened, complete with yummy deserts and turkey legs! Especially if you have late seating, keep this in mind while you are eating dinner.

7. Be aware that there is a possibility that the fireworks and deck parties may not happen. Sometimes bad weather happens, and it is just not possible. However, Disney will do their best. On our most recent voyage, I realized we were turning shortly before the party began, and found out afterward that the captain steered off of our original course to go around a rain storm so that there could still be fireworks and fun up on deck.