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REVIEW: Star Wars Day at Sea

Posted by Erik on February 12, 2016 at 08:30 AM CST


Many of you may know Lou Secki from our ForceCast Podcast Network. He was recently invited to partake in the inaugural voyage of Star Wars Day at Sea aboard Disney Cruise Lines. The following is his exclusive report!

Have some vacation and don’t want to do the same old thing? How about spending some time in a galaxy far, far away? Ok, let me explain. Disney Cruise lines has announced and started offering a Star Wars Day at Sea on select sailings in 2016. If you are a big Star Wars fan like me, you probably read that and thought, “Awesome, sign me up!” Then you thought about it a little more and said to yourself, “Self, why would I want to go on a Star Wars-specific cruise if the Star Wars portion of it was only one day?

I had these thoughts and a whole lot more when Disney Cruise Lines asked to me participate in their first Star Wars Day at Sea sailing in early January. Of course my first thought was, “Only one day? I want it to be a whole Star Wars-themed cruise!” My wife and I aren’t what you would call “cruise people.” In fact a few years we discussed the whole topic of cruises and dismissed the idea; we didn’t have any desire to go on one. Then there is the whole thing that my wife isn’t a big Star Wars fan. Wait, let me rephrase that: she isn’t a Star Wars fan at all. So, then I would have the additional burden of getting her to say yes to a cruise that included Star Wars. Finally, this was a Disney cruise. Didn’t we have to have children to go on a Disney cruise? Maybe I could rent or borrow some...

In the end, not only was this an opportunity to see what the whole Star Wars Day at Sea thing was about, it would be a great opportunity to see what cruises in general were like and what the Disney Difference was.

So even though the Star Wars Day at Sea was only one day out of the seven days we spent on the Disney Fantasy, I would have to say the entire cruise felt like we were at a Star Wars Celebration. Everywhere you looked there were people with Star Wars shirts, hats, dresses, luggage — you name it, it was there. This was, in fact, the first time Disney Cruise Lines let one property take over the entire ship for an entire day. Sure, Disney would do something special for a property like Frozen, but they would do that in one part of the ship for a short period of time. This was all Star Wars all day long. Hence the name, Star Wars Day at Sea.

So now you are asking, “Lou, why would I want to plan a vacation around a sailing featuring a Star Wars Day at Sea?” Let me tell you, there are many, many reasons:

  1. The Movies
    The Disney Fantasy has two impressive theaters on board and they showed Episodes I - VII during the sailing. That’s right, they were even showing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If I had a complaint it was that they didn’t show all the movies enough so that I had a chance to see them all before they showed The Force Awakens on Star Wars Day. Seeing the movies while on a cruise — definitely a plus.

  2. Characters all over the Ship
    Disney does a great job of having characters from the Disney family available throughout the cruise for photo opportunities with guests. Characters would range from Disney Princesses to the wide array of animated characters. Usually these characters were placed in one spot and a line would form to have your picture taken with them. During Star Wars Day at Sea things were a little different. In addition to a few select locations where you could meet some of your favorite characters, characters were simply roaming around the ship. First Order Stormtroopers were on the move all day long looking for rebel stowaways. A few times I even saw them detaining guests for questioning. The Tusken Raiders didn’t talk much, but they did try to barter with my wife. I think they wanted her watch (you always have to keep a close eye on your personal belongings while on vacation.) The highlight of the character appearances had to be the “pool patrol.” At one point in the afternoon, Boba Fett appeared high above the main deck on one of the ship’s stacks shooting off rockets and generally keeping an eye on things.

  3. Deck Party and Fireworks
    One of the big events for any Disney Cruise is the Dance Party and Fireworks display on the top deck at the end of Pirate Night. This cruise changed that up and did a Summon the Force, Star Wars deck party with, of course, the fireworks display. It was really great seeing so many fans of all ages enjoying Star Wars.

  4. Star Wars Themed Food and Drink
    Remember I said Star Wars took over the ship? Well I really meant the whole ship. Menus in all the restuarants were swapped out for Star Wars menus for dinner. Not just renamed food offerings to appease the Star Wars fans, it was a totally new menu. I had Vader’s Nerf Steak that evening. The bars and nightclubs across the ship also had some special drink offerings throughout the day. All in all, it was just one more little touch that added something special to the Star Wars Day at Sea.

  5. The Fans
    Like anything dealing with Star Wars, the fans are the heart of everything. I was so happy to see so many fans out there enjoying the cruise. Before the sailing I really had no idea what to expect. Sure, if you went to an opening night showing of The Force Awakens you would expect to see fans wearing all sorts of things from t-shirts to full blown costumes. Likewise, if you went to Star Wars Celebration Anaheim or will be attending Celebration London, you would expect to see fans proudly displaying their gear. But this was a cruise of 4,000 people, and I had no idea what percentage were actually there for Star Wars Day at Sea and what percentage were planning to be on a cruise and had no interest in the Star Wars aspect of it. I can’t give you a percentage of passengers who were there for Star Wars, but it was pretty high. If I made one mistake on this cruise it was not packing enough of my own Star Wars shirts.

  6. Guests in Costume
    Not only were they wearing shirts, but they were also in costume as well. I got an early start on Star Wars day; I didn’t want to miss a thing. Being out early gave me a chance to see people in their cosplay. I saw some amazing Rey costumes, and of course there were some great Kylo Ren costumes as well. Twice during the day Disney let the fans show off. In the Lobby Atrium, an event was held where fans could really show off all their hard work. During the event they would call fans up to show off costumes, and for safety they kept the imperials away from the rebels at all times. From young to old there were costumes covering the entire range of characters from that galaxy far, far away. Some fans were even lost and ended up in the wrong universe, as I did get to grab a selfie with Star Lord who was there enjoying the festivities.

  7. The Little Things
    It’s the attention to detail that Disney does so well. That attention to detail always makes events better. Walking out of my stateroom the morning of Star Wars Day at Sea I was greeted by John Williams music being played over the ship’s speaker system instead of the normal Disney themed music. This told me right away they “got it.” If they had this sort of thing covered I knew things were going to be great all day. On a normal day there would always be ship-wide announcements over the ship’s PA system. On this day they were interspersed with announcements from the Imperials telling the passengers to be vigilant and on the lookout for rebels, and that they had things quite in hand and we were all safe. Like I said, it’s the little things that make the difference. Much of the ship’s crew wore shirts with the Star Wars Day at Sea logo and all of them had new Star Wars themed name tags. I have to say it would have been nice if they could have worked it out for the ship’s crew and officers to wear imperial uniforms all day but for all I know there is some coast guard regulation against it. It would have been very cool, I’m just sayin’. The ultimate little thing for me had to be the ship’s horn playing the Imperial March. you can even download it as a ringtone for your phone following this link.

  8. Merchandise
    What would a Star Wars event be without exclusive merchandise? On each sailing there will be some general Star Wars items like shirts and pins but there were also some exclusive items which are only available on the ship. Look for a future story over at RebelScum.com detailing some of the exclusive items on offer. It’s always nice to have something to take home with you after the event is over to remind you of the good times.

  9. Activities
    There was always something to do on the ship. On Star Wars Day it was the same, but some of the events were more Star Wars themed. The offered everything from a “Star Wars 101” show for curious passengers who may not have known what was going on with all that Star Wars stuff to other events for the more connected fan. The kids loved the “Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple” show, where many kids were called up on stage to help the performers find the temple and learn the ways of the force. A highlight for me had to be the Star Wars trivia contest in one of the bars at the end of the day. I’m sad to say I was ousted in the first of three rounds on what I will say was some questionable wording. I know that I would have been far outmatched in the last round where the final two were tasked with naming characters from images shown on a screen. There were some very obscure characters shown.


It wasn’t just the Star Wars Day at Sea activities that made the cruise for me. Disney puts on a first-class show in every aspect of the cruise. Like all of the Star Wars Day at Sea sailings, we were on the Disney Fantasy. This is the newest ship in their fleet of four ships. At times I totally forgot I was on a ship. The luxury of it all was just out of this world, no pun intended. I guess that’s what happens when you have a company that basically wrote the book on theme parks doing cruise ships. The Disney personnel on the ship talk about it as the “Disney Difference,” and wow does it show. Every aspect of the cruise experience had been well thought out. There wasn’t one thing I saw or experienced that made me think, “hmmm, that was a little weird, or that wasn’t quite right.”

Oh, getting back to the not having kids on a Disney Cruise thing I was worried about — it turns out they don’t check to make sure you have children with you when you board the ship. In fact, there were plenty of adult-only areas on the ship and plenty of adult-only activities to make sure those of us without children would have a great time. For those of you with children, from the tour I was given of the kid spaces on the ship, I have to imagine they take care of kids like no one else in the cruise ship industry. Everything in the kid friendly areas of the ship, from the nursery to the Oceaneer Lab and Club (ages 3-12) to Edge (ages 11-14) to Vibe (ages 14-17), was spectacular. It really made me wish I was a teenager again.

So how did the Disney Cruise hold up to the questions I had before I went? Well, I said I wasn’t a cruise person before going. Now I am looking forward to my next cruise. How did Disney do with a Star Wars event on the ship? Both my wife and I enjoyed the Star Wars activities. Remember, that is coming from one hardcore fan and one non-fan (however, she has since agreed to watch all of the movies with me), so, something for everyone. All in all, Disney Cruise Lines pulled off a wonderful Star Wars themed event which I think did justice to the franchise. Casual fans and hardcore fans alike will have a good time on a Star Wars Day at Sea sailing. If a cruise might be in your future, head over to Disney Cruise and check out all the offerings. They will have a Star Wars Day at Sea cruise every other week through mid-April.


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