Star Wars Day at Sea

My recent Disney Fantasy cruise featured Star Wars Day at Sea. This was something that I had wanted to do for years. When we started talking about taking a memorial voyage there was no doubt as to what type of cruise we were going to book.

I was on a Marvel Day at Sea cruise back in 2019, and that was my favorite day that I’ve spent on a Disney Cruise Line vacation. I wasn’t even much of a Marvel fan at the time! That is still my favorite cruise day, but Star Wars Day at Sea is a close second.

If you have followed Disney Over 50 at all, you know that I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I also love cruising, so this was the perfect combination.

Cruising is a bit different right now because of COVID protocols, and things are also scaled back because capacity is way down. I was told that there were 1,345 passengers on our cruise, which is well under 50 percent. The ship felt empty.

Part of the fun of themed cruises is the extra characters. There were plenty of them! Since there weren’t many passengers, we had plenty of time for interactions. The conversations were priceless for a Star Wars nerd like me.

Most of the characters were wandering around the ship. There were two experiences that we needed to make reservations for. These did not cost anything extra, and we made them through the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App.

The first was Darth Vader, who was located in The Tube. He was imposing, like always, and there were recorded standard phrases to interact with the guests. The phrases all fit perfectly, and I’m sure that most people didn’t realize that they were recorded.

The second was R2-D2 and C-3PO, followed by Chewbacca. These were both in Animator’s Palate. Before we entered the restaurant the Crew Member checking reservations had an encounter with two First Order officers, which was a blast. The character encounters were great as well.

There was a short Stormtrooper show with Rey near the pool. They then stayed for pictures, until Rey returned. Rey had lousy timing, we were next in line! We did get the picture after the next show.

Speaking of shows, there was a deck show after dark that focused on the light and dark sides of the Force. This was fun, but I was totally blown away by the Marvel show and so in a way it didn’t like up to my expectations. There were circles for social distancing, which was nice because everyone could see. I don’t miss everyone crowding in together.

All three rotational dining restaurants had the same Star Wars themed meal. This was my favorite dinner of the cruise, and one of the best Disney meals that I’ve had.

We had Star Wars fireworks, but they were the next night.

Since this looks like it is the last year for Star Wars Day at Sea, I’m glad that we finally went. If it does come back, I would go again without hesitation. Next year the Disney Fantasy will have Pixar Day at Sea instead. I do love Monsters, Inc…