The Safety Drill:

Maritime regulations state ALL passengers onboard your Disney cruise are required to participate in the Safety Drill, held on the first day of the cruise, shortly before the ship gets underway. The drill is held to familiarize families with emergency equipment and procedures. The ship's staff will inform you of these procedures shortly before the drill. Each passenger deck is assigned a Muster Location. That location is posted inside the door to your cabin, along with other information about the drill.

Each stateroom is equipped with enough life-preservers for the everyone who is registered in the room. The vests are each equipped with water-triggered locator beacons, reflective identification, and whistles for attracting attention. If there are not enough life preservers to equip everyone in your family, notify one of the Disney crewmembers immediately.

While you wait in the muster station, pay close attention as your Muster Station Officer calls roll, to verify attendance. The whole procedure lasts about ten minutes. As you wait, Disney Crewmembers are busy performing their assigned tasks. All to ensure the safety of your family in the very unlikely event that the order to abandon ship is announced.

Safety in the Verandah Cabins:

Many parents express concern over the safety of the open-air verandahs. Some fear an unattended child could fall overboard. While we do not recommend leaving your children unattended on the verandah, Disney Cruise Line has taken steps to make the balconies safer.

The door to the verandah is a heavy sliding door, mostly glass, but with a steel rim, as most maritime-engineered doors. At the top of the door, you'll find the lock to secure the mechanism from sliding open. That lock is beyond the reach of your children.

Should the door be left unlocked, the actual handle that opens the door is child resistant, requiring a good bit of strength to open it. It's also tricky to operate.

Once out on the deck, you'll find additional safety measures in place to keep your kids in check. On many cruise ships, the balconies are railed by a series of horizontal steel bars, topped with a wooden rest. Disney's ships are no different, except for a sheet of clear plexiglas that's bolted to the bars- keeping little feet and hands from using them like a ladder. Still, Disney urges parents not to let their children lean on the railing at all.

Acquiring your Sea Legs:

Cruising is a lot of fun, and half of that fun comes from your body's acclimation to the rocking and swaying of the ship. While Disney's ships all have very-effective stabilizers, your body will still notice the effects of motion. Most of the time, you're body won't have a problem compensating, but should you encounter rough seas, it can get a little wobbly. Because of this Disney suggests keeping hold of handrails that are available throughout the ship. After time, you'll find your body compensating fine.

With all the space around you and all there is to see and do, you'll find it easy to forget you're on a ship. Keep in mind that like all cruise ships, the Magic and the Wonder have doors that are designed differently than what you may be used to. Many of the doors have large transoms, and you can easily trip over them. Many of the doors to the open decks are very heavy and should be opened with caution.

During inclement weather, you may find some areas of the ship's higher, outside decks roped off. This is done for your protection as the wooden decks can become slippery when wet. High winds may also be a hazard. Be sure to abide by any safety notices you may encounter onboard!