Spend a Day in A Galaxy Far, Far Away! (Star Wars Day At Sea)

Time is flying by this year! It has already been two months since we started our epic February trip. Part of that trip was a 7-night sailing on the beautiful Disney Fantasy that included a Star Wars Day at Sea. Star Wars Day at Sea is an epic celebration of all things Star Wars aboard the beautiful Disney Fantasy. Experience Star Wars trivia challenges, character meet and greets, themed food, and end the day with a Star Wars deck party and fireworks. Only select sailings have this day, normally most January through March 7-night sailings, but if you get a chance to experience a Star Wars Day at Sea sailing we highly recommend it! Now, what all can you expect on these special days at sea? We’re glad you asked!

Everyone’s experiences are different, but Star Wars Day at Sea was a fun, busy, exciting, delicious, and long day for us. My day started out with a quick run on deck 4 before heading inside to the lobby to take a few photos of the Star Wars banners that had been hung in the atrium, as well as the now empty photo locations in the lobby including Han Solo frozen in carbonite and the giant Star Wars Day at Sea sign.

After returning to our room on deck two and showering quickly the whole family got ready for Christian’s Jedi Training. Jedi Training is one of the activities that requires signing up in advance. When our online check-in date came Christian wasn’t sure that he wanted to take part in the training, so we didn’t get him a slot. After watching the one at Hollywood Studios he was all about it! So when we boarded the ship two days later we went straight to the Guest Services desk to see if there were any spaces available. We were lucky, there was a spot left! So, we got ready and headed to the meeting location outside the Walt Disney Theater at just before 7:45am.

Christian had an AMAZING time! All of the kids that participated were checked in, received a Jedi robe and lightsaber to borrow, and were taken into the theater. Family members took seats throughout the theater ready to watch their younglings learn the ways of the force and fight evil.

Christian had a lot of fun using the force and fighting Darth Vader on stage! It was a great start to a great day of Star Wars fun!

With his Jedi/Sith hybrid cloak that his amazing aunt made for him pinned on and his own personal red lightsaber clipped at his side Christian was ready to meet the Sith Lord that he just fought! Our next stop for the day was our ticketed meet and greet with Darth Vader himself.

We like to arrive early to things, and in this cause that was a good thing! We were the first in line for our time slot for the Darth Vader meet. Right before our turn Christian donned his Darth Vader mask and we made our way up for our holo-scans. Darth Vader thanked us for his support, we took photos, and then were on our way to our two other ticketed meets.

Downstairs in Animator’s Palate we met Chewbacca, C3PO and R2D2.

The rest of the way was filled with Star Wars themed food, being on the lookout for characters in the atrium, Star Wars trivia, watching Star Wars Rebels and other Star Wars shows on deck by the pool, watching the Pool Patrol, catching a little bit of Episode I in the theater, hanging out, Christian enjoyed some time in the Oceaneer Club and Lab, and we ended the day with the epic Summon the Force deck party and late night buffet.

This is just a little bit about our experience, we could talk for hours about it all, but we’ll share you ALL of the details! What all is there to do on Star Wars Day at Sea, though? I’m glad you asked.

Activities

Personal Navigators, well at this point the Personal Navigator App, will be your best friend when it comes to keeping track of all of the amazing things there are to do around the ship throughout your cruise, but it is especially true for Star Wars Day.

Throughout the day there are things for everyone to enjoy! Here are all of the Star Wars activities that took place during our Star Wars Day at Sea.

Jedi Training – As we talked about earlier, younglings ages 4-12 can take part in learning the ways of the Force during Trials of the Temple. Advance sign-up is required.

Porgs On Board – Guests can take part in a scavenger hunt around decks 3, 4, and 5 to decode a secret message and reveal the meeting location where the can come together with their follow Porgs for a photo in the evening. Your decoder is also a porg mask that you can use to greet other porgs! Be sure to look high and low during this hunt.

Trivia – Do you think you know it all when it comes to Star Wars? If so then the trivia challenges on Star Wars Day are for you.

Ø  If you’re new to Star Wars, but want to learn more, Star Wars 101 is the place for you!

Ø  Star Wars Quote Trivia is a fun one. We attended this one and although we didn’t know all of the answers we did know a fair amount and had a lot of fun.

Ø  After Star Wars Quote Trivia we stuck around to watch the Padawan Mind Challenge which offers young Star Wars fans the chance to test their knowledge.

Ø  The last trivia of the night was the Star Wars Superfan Challenge. There are two time slots for this, one for the whole family, and one just for adults. We attended just to see it, but it was a lot of fun to watch. We knew some of the answers here, too.

Guest Speaker – On each Star Wars Day at Sea sailing there is a guest speaker that in some way has something to do with, well, Star Wars. On our sailing the guest speaker was Phil Szostak who wrote The Art of Star Wars. We would have loved to attend, but with all that was going on throughout the day, and two little ones that don’t like to sit still we had to pass.

Movies – Throughout the day you can catch Star Wars movies playing in the Buena Vista Theater. We stopped in for a few minutes of Episode I – The Phantom Menace. We also enjoyed some popcorn from our souvenir AT-AT popcorn bucket. Other Star Wars programming is also shown on Funnel Vision throughout the day. We caught a few episodes of Star Wars Resistance and The Star Wars Show.

Star Wars Drawing Academy – If you like to draw, and you like Star Wars, then the Star Wars Drawing Academy is for you! A few times throughout the day guests can learn to draw Star Wars characters! Each time is a different character. 

BB8 Races - Stop by the lobby during set times to watch guests race remote controlled BB8s!

Celebrate the Saga – This event is exactly what it sounds like. Held in the lobby twice on the evening of Star Wars Day guest can meet to celebrate all things Star Wars.

Costume Celebration – Immediately following Celebrate the Saga guests stay in the lobby to celebrate and showcase the best costumes of the day! Christian wore his cloak and hood, as well as his lightsaber, for a while, but the rest of us wore Star Wars shirts, and I wore Star Wars Mickey ears for the day. Don’t feel obligated to dress up if that’s not you’re thing, but don’t be afraid to wear your best Star Wars costume either!

Youth Clubs – The youth clubs throughout the ship have special events and crafts for the special day at sea as well.

Ø  Vibe: Star Wars Animation Cels, Build a Droid, Star Wars Trivia, Padawan Mind Challenge

Ø  Edge: Star Wars Animation Cels, Build a Droid, Star Wars Trivia, Padawan Mind Challenge, Star Wars Crafts

Ø  Oceaneer Club/Lab: Padawan Crafts, Star Wars Drawing Academy, Star Wars Movies, Padawan Mind Challenge, BB8 Recruitment (on other days as well), Resistance Base Challenge, Star Wars Animation Cels.

Crafts – 3D Star Wars crafts are also available for adults as well!

Summon the Force – The evening ends with a special Star Wars deck party! We’ll have more information about that in a little bit.

Characters

One of the best parts of Star Wars Day at Sea, at least for us, was meeting characters throughout the ship! There are some meet and greets that require tickets and registering in advance. These include Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO. These tickets can be booked as part of online check-in/activity booking at your online check-in date. If you are unable to get anything when you can book your activities don’t give up! Keep looking back, something might open up! You can also check for openings as soon as you board the ship on embarkation day.

We attended all three meet and greets and enjoyed all three! I personally think that meeting the droids was incredibly cool! Christian really enjoyed meeting Darth Vader, especially since he had just fought him as part of Jedi Training. And Chewie is amazing as well!

If you look at a Personal Navigator from Star Wars Day you’ll notice that there aren’t characters listed like there are on other days. That’s because the characters on Star Wars Day roam the lobby/atrium area on deck 3, 4, and 5. You never know who you’ll see! It’s a lot of fun being on the lookout throughout the day as well!

We’re pretty sure that we saw all of the characters that were out and about during our Star Wars Day at Sea. I had a lot of fun looking around to see who we could find. At one point we were coming down stairs from the pool deck to grab something from our stateroom and Christian wanted to take the elevator instead of the stairs. Keep in mind that on the Fantasy the pool is on deck 11 and on this particular sailing our stateroom was on deck 2. We took the midship elevators and while looking out the windows I spotted some characters. Instead of getting off at deck 2 we got off the elevator early so we didn’t miss any character opportunities!

Throughout the day we meet, talked to, and got photos with Stormtroopers, Imperial Officers, Jawas, Gamorrean Guards, Ezra and Sabine from Rebels, Ahsoka Tano (more than once, super cool! The second time I ran into her she asked where my younglings had gone!), Zam Wesell, and Christian’s favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett!

Pool Patrol – Be sure to be on deck during one of the Pool Patrol time slots as well! Stormtroopers patrol the pool deck looking for Rebels! You may also be lucky enough to be on deck to see one, or more, of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters!   

Food

No Disney Cruise is complete without delicious food and Star Wars Day at Sea is no different!

At lunch we went to Flo’s on deck 11 for some quick eats. On that particular day the Star Wars lunch specials were:

Ø  Death Star Pizza (Pepperoni, Beans and Chili Flakes)

Ø  Boba Fett Pizza (Green Bell Peppers, Black Olives, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella Cheese)

Ø  Darth Vader Bantha Burger (Bacon Cheese Burger on a Sith Bun)

Ø  Gorba Melt Panini (Smoked Turkey, Tomato & American Cheese with Whole Grain Mustard)

Ø  Pulled Pork Sandwich (BBQ Pulled Pork on a Sweet Potato Biscuit with Coleslaw)

Dinner in the main dining rooms also features Star Wars themed eats like:

Ø  Bantha Steak Empanadas

Ø  Mos Espa Grand Arena Tailgate Sandwich

Ø  Padme Amidala Souffle

Ø  Lord Vader’s Nerf Steak

Ø  Stormtrooper Flatbread

Ø  Kid’s Stormtrooper Cheese Pizza

Ø  Skywalker’s Grilled Chicken Skewer

Ø  Cloud City Macarons

Ø  Queen Breha Organa Cake

And so much more! We’ll have another post about the delicious Star Wars easts that we enjoyed in the next couple of weeks!

Following the Summon the Force Deck Party there was also a Late Night Star Wars Buffet that we enjoyed as well. The buffet included fajitas, rice, pulled pork sliders (on Sith buns), carved meats, desserts, and more! There were also Star Wars decorations all over the buffet!

Fireworks

Speaking of Summon the Force! Everyone comes together, guests and characters, to summon the Force and celebrate all things Star Wars. Droids, Jedi, Sith Lords, Imperial Guards, Jawas, bounty hunters, Tusken Raiders, Chewbacca, Stormtroopers, and Kylo Ren are on the deck stage, clips play on the Fennel Vision screen, and it all ends with fireworks set to Star Wars music. I asked Christian the other day what his favorite part of Star Wars Day was, and he said this!

* Keep in mind that this was our experience – no two experiences will be exactly the same. Food, characters, and activities are all subject to change.*

We loved everything about Star Wars Day at Sea and we hope to do it again someday! We highly recommend taking a Star Wars Day at Sea sailing!

Are you ready to set sail?! I’m an independent travel agent with World of Magic Travel and I’d be happy to help you plan your next magical vacation, on land or sea, to just about anywhere in the world! Contact me at miriyawhitaker@worldofmagictravel.com to get started! For more Disney and travel information follow me on Facebook.