A Disney cruise fare covers more than most lines — your room, every rotational dining restaurant, the Broadway-scale shows, the kids clubs, the pools, and all the soft drinks you can carry. What it doesn't cover is a shorter list than people fear, but it adds up faster than they expect. Gratuities alone put $448 on a family of four's account for a 7-night sailing before anyone buys a drink.
Here is every charge that is not in your fare, what each one actually costs in 2026, and four worked budgets so you can see where a real total lands. Compare the sailing fare first in the price tracker; this page is everything on top of it.
Included vs extra, at a glance
| In your fare | Costs extra |
|---|---|
| Stateroom and all rotational dining | Gratuities ($16 per guest, per night) |
| Quick-service food, room service* | Alcohol, specialty coffee, bottled drinks |
| Soft drinks, coffee, tea at meals | Adult-only restaurants ($55–$145 per person) |
| Broadway-style shows and deck parties | Wi-Fi ($30–$49 per device, per day) |
| Kids clubs, ages 3–17 | Nursery for under-3s ($10 per hour) |
| Pools, waterslides, AquaDuck/AquaMouse | Port adventures (excursions) |
| Fitness centre | Spa, salon, and adult recreation |
| Character meets and most activities | Shutters photo packages ($150–$296) |
*Room service is included, but a tip for the crew member delivering it is not, and a delivery charge applies to some items.
Gratuities: the one nobody can opt out of easily
Disney adds automatic gratuities to your onboard account for your stateroom host and dining team. Since departures on 23 January 2025 the rate has been $16 per guest, per night for standard staterooms and $27.25 per guest, per night for concierge. It applies to every guest in the room — children and infants included, which is the part that surprises families.
| Sailing | 2 guests | Family of 4 | Concierge, 2 guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-night | $96 | $192 | $163.50 |
| 4-night | $128 | $256 | $218 |
| 5-night | $160 | $320 | $272.50 |
| 7-night | $224 | $448 | $381.50 |
Pre-pay before you sail
Wi-Fi
Disney raised Wi-Fi prices in January 2026. Standard access is $30 per day and the premium streaming plan is $49 per day — and critically, that is per device, not per stateroom. A family that wants two phones online for a 7-night sailing is looking at $420 on the standard plan.
Before you buy anything: the ship's guest Wi-Fi carries the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, iMessage and WhatsApp for free. For a lot of families that is genuinely all they need, and the paid plan is money saved. Our Wi-Fi guide covers what actually works at sea.
Adult-only dining
Every ship has at least one adults-only restaurant, and the prices split cleanly into two tiers:
- Palo and Palo Steakhouse — $55 per person, brunch or dinner
- Remy — $145 dinner, $85 champagne brunch, $70 dessert experience
- Enchanté — $145 per person, lunch or dinner
- Wine pairings at Remy and Enchanté cost extra on top
Which one your ship has, and whether the $90 jump is worth it, is the whole of our Palo vs Remy vs Enchanté comparison.
Drinks and the 18% you forget about
An automatic 18% service charge lands on every bar, spa, wine and specialty-beverage purchase. It is easy to overlook when you are budgeting drinks at menu price, and on a week of casual drinking it is real money — roughly $50 on a $280 bar tab.
Disney has no all-you-can-drink package, which cuts both ways: nothing to buy up front, but nothing capping the total either. Official BYO rules and what is actually included are in the drink package post.
Childcare, photos, and the rest
- Nursery (6 months–3 years): $10 per hour at it's a small world nursery. The kids clubs for ages 3–17 are free.
- Shutters photos: unlimited digital runs about $195 on 3–4 night sailings, $212 on 5-night, and $296 on 7-night. A 10-photo package is around $150.
- Port adventures: the widest variable on the list. A beach day can be $40 a head; a helicopter tour or private guide runs into the hundreds. Book through Disney for the return-to-ship guarantee, or independently for less money and more risk.
- Spa and salon: massages, facials and blowouts are all extra, plus the 18%.
- Laundry: self-service machines are a few dollars a load; valet service is priced per item.
Four worked budgets
Published prices are exact. The drinks and excursion lines are estimates, because those are the two things that swing hardest by how you travel.
| Couple, 4-night | Family of 4, 7-night | Budget family, 3-night | Concierge couple, 7-night | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gratuities | $128 | $448 | $192 | $381.50 |
| Wi-Fi | $120 (1 device) | $0 (free app only) | $0 | $343 (1 premium) |
| Adult dining | $110 (Palo ×2) | $110 (Palo ×2) | $0 | $290 (Remy ×2) |
| Drinks + 18% | ~$240 | ~$300 | ~$60 | ~$700 |
| Photos | $0 | $296 | $0 | $296 |
| Nursery | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Excursions | ~$150 | ~$400 | ~$120 | ~$600 |
| Extras total | ~$748 | ~$1,554 | ~$372 | ~$2,610 |
The rule of thumb, and where it breaks
Four ways to cut the total
- Skip the Wi-Fi plan. The Navigator app, iMessage and WhatsApp are free on the ship network. Test that first before paying $30 a day per device.
- Do Palo brunch instead of Remy dinner. Same adults-only escape, $55 against $145, and repeat cruisers rebook the brunch more often anyway.
- Use the free kids clubs. Ages 3–17 cost nothing. Only the under-3 nursery bills by the hour.
- Decide on excursions before you board. Last-minute bookings at the port desk are where budgets quietly go. Our ports guide covers what is worth paying for.
Bottom line
Gratuities are unavoidable and predictable — $16 per guest, per night, so work them out the day you book. Everything else is a choice, and the two that move the total most are drinks and excursions, not the headline items people worry about. Compare what a sailing actually costs before extras in our price tracker.
Prices verified August 2026 against Disney Cruise Line published rates. Gratuity and Wi-Fi rates last changed 23 January 2025 and January 2026 respectively. Port adventure and beverage figures are typical ranges, not fixed prices — always confirm current amounts in My Reservations before you sail.