Disney Cruise Line Reusable Shopping Bags Set Sail Replacing Plastic Shopping Bags

Earlier this year, Disney Cruise Line launched their own reusable shopping bags. The initial collecion of cruise line reusable shopping bags come in two two different designs, a blue bag available across the fleet for onboard shopping, and another unique to Disney’s Castaway Cay.

The Castaway Cay reusable bag is blue, green and white with the Castaway Cay logo on one side and a 4-panel graphic featuring Mickey, Minnie, a Disney Cruise ship, and an Adirondack chair.

DCL Reusable Shopping Bag Castaway Cay DCL Reusable Shopping Bag Castaway Cay

The reusable bags found onboard are designed with the tradition Disney Cruise Line logo colors of blue, red, and white. One side of the bag is the Disney Cruise Line Logo and the back is 4-panel graphic featuring Captain Mickey, Captain Minnie First Mate Minnie, a DCL ship wheel, and a cruise ship.

DCL Reusable Shopping Bag Onboard DCL Reusable Shopping Bag OnboardDCL Reusable Shopping Bag Onboard

Disney Cruise Line’s reusable shopping bags come in 3 different sizes and all bags are $1.00 USD regardless of size. As of now, discounts such as the Gold & Platinum 10% off discount cannot be used on the reusable bags. The launch pricing for Disney Cruise Line is different than you will encounter shoreside at Walt Disney World where the bags are currently priced at $1, $1.50, and $2.00 for the respective sizes.

DCL Reusable Shopping BagsThe sides of the bags mention they are made from 80% recycled plastic bottles. For anyone interested in learning more about Disney Environmentality (this is not a misspelling) the message invites you to visit Disney.com/Environment

DCL Reusable Shopping Bag Onboard

The reusable shopping bags are manufactured by Keenpac in Morton Grove, Illinois, but the actual bags are made in China.

DCL Reusable Shopping Bag Onboard

Disney introduced the bags earlier this year with the following video.

Unlike at the Disney Parks, where the reusable shopping bags are being offered as an alternative to plastic shopping bags, Disney Cruise Line has done away with all single-use plastic bags to in their words, further extend their ongoing commitment to conservation and advance environmental sustainability goals.

Just hold on to your receipts as it just looks shady when you buy something in the shops and opt to forego the purchase of a reusable bag. I feel bad for security having to monitor the shops not that it is commonplace for guests to walk out with merchandise they paid for without a bag of any kind.

The cruise line’s reusable shopping bags are available at all of the shops and not just behind the checkout counter. The bags, at least during our cruise were on display as regular merchandise onboard and at Castaway Cay.

DCL Reusable Shopping Bags Castaway Cay Reuable Shopping Bags

This isn’t the first time Disney Cruise Line offered a reusable bag, when I was going through some old merchandise photos, I spotted a Very MerryTime reusable shopping bag from 2012.

DCL 2012 Holiday Merchandise - Reusable Totebag

As a result of Disney Cruise Line eliminating the plastic shopping bags, this may play a role in how you pack for a cruise. In the past, we’ve used shopping bags a time or two to pack wet swimwear or wet/muddy shoes (think Alaskan cruises) on the final night if it did not dry in time to put our luggage out in the hallway. I will say, the medium and large bags are great as a beach tote as the largest can easy hold an entire family’s towels.

What do you think about Disney Cruise Line’s reusable shopping bags? Do you plan on dropping $6 for one of each size in both designs like I ended up doing on our last cruise?

17 Replies to “Disney Cruise Line Reusable Shopping Bags Set Sail Replacing Plastic Shopping Bags”

  1. Nancy D

    Yes, yes I will, be spending $6 for DCL reusable shopping bags on our next cruise in Oct! We are happy with this change by DCL.

    Thanks for the tip to use them as a beach tote. We’ll use them as our carry-on on our Feb 2020 cruise, and beyond.

    Reply
  2. Kate

    If Disney really wanted to be environmentally friendly they would provide paper bags made from recycled paper that are truly biodegradable. The bags they sell are still going to end up in the landfills and oceans. They are not biodegradable.

    Also, if they really were environmentally friendly (and not just padding their pockets pretending to be), they would stop selling balloons, plastic souvenirs and clothing/other items made from polyester. Also to be environmentally friendly they should start using natural materials (not plastic) when building resorts, walkways, rides, etc. Or at least when building/renovating in the parks/resorts, they could limit the amount of plastic to what is only necessary to create the effect they are trying to create.

    Reply
    1. Mine

      That’s right. And while they’re at it, they should stop running these HUGE ships that burn fossil fuels and are an incredible waste of energy. They should stop allowing their customers to fly in airplanes to get to Orlando, and stop allowing them to travel by automobile, which also burn fossil fuels. While we’re at it, let’s do away with electric cars as well (the electricity is generated from burning fossil fuels!). In fact, let’s all just sit in our houses, grow our own food, and turn off all electricity (including videos, games, and cell phones) and just eat nuts and berries.

      Reply
  3. Frank Duer

    I would like to know can you purchase these bags only at the parks & ships or can you order them on some website.

    Reply
  4. Margot

    It annoys me to pay for a bag after I have made a purchase. Just wrap it into the price like they used to do. I just won’t buy anything because really doesn’t this whole environmental deal kinda start with overconsumption? At the parks, Disney can send my purchase to my hotel. (Or mail it to my home which will generate even more waste!) But I am getting older, kids are in college, I need to start downsizing and figure out what to do with all the Disney crap, uh, souvenirs that I already have! So really, it just helps me stop buying.
    Reality is that we love our lives and it would be very hard to give up cars and electricity, etc. The other reality is that we are killing our planet (and ourselves) so every step we take, even the baby steps that cost us money, are steps in the right direction. I agree paper would be better than more plastic. There are probably other things Disney could do. There are other things I could do. There are other things you could do. So let’s celebrate our baby steps and try to take more of them. I am generally pretty reactionary so I saw myself in Kate and Mine. I had to laugh, it took the edge off my frustration! Kudos to the bold among us, who put it all out there! And make us take a moment to review…

    Reply
  5. Angelina

    I AGREE WITH THIS LAST COMMENT, WHILE PURCHASING ITEMS IN DISNEY STORES, BAGS SHOULD AUTOMATICLY OFFERED. IT’S A SHAME YOUR HURTING FOR A WHOLE $1.00.

    Reply
    1. Jeff

      I think you are both missing the “reusable” part. The idea is that you buy a bag once and then use it for all subsequent purchases. If you don’t want to buy one of the DCL reusable bags, you can also use any other bag that you happen to have with you. The charge is intended to encourage this by making purchases a bit cheaper when you re-use a bag you already have instead of getting a new one.

      I live in Los Angeles and this approach was mandated at most stores by local regulations a couple years ago. I was initially not thrilled with the policy based on concerns about convenience, but in the long run we’ve found it to actually be preferable since the reusable bags are sturdier and can be used for a lot of things. We always keep a few in the car for unexpected shopping stops and it works out just fine. One thing that did take a little getting used to was feeling comfortable using bags with a different store’s logo, but it really didn’t take that long to get over that. 🙂 In other words, I don’t think anyone is going to give you a hard time if you use a bag from your local grocery store (or even from Universal!) on a Disney ship or at WDW.

      Reply
      1. Margot

        I agree about recycling. However what happens with those when they wear out? Paper would biodegrade? Or not? I spend half my time wondering “should I use a bunch of water to wash out this plastic to recycle it or is that more damaging to the environment?” Now that I know plastic rejected from China ended up in Malaysia in illegal recyclers (and what does that mean?) hands AND dumped in ravines and such, is it better to just throw plastic away and be sure it ends up in a landfill vs. open land or the ocean? Recycling. Not black and white. Who knew? And who knows? Sorry – off topic I go. And wait – I recycle plastic bags every week at the grocery store. Do they just throw them away? It says recycle on the bin!!?? I’m confused.

        Reply
  6. John Welch

    The medium sized bags were in very short supply during our recent cruise on the Wonder. We were lucky to be able to get one.

    Reply
  7. Dawn

    This isn’t DCL’s first foray into reusable bags. I have one made of nylon that folds into a small pouch. I bought it several years ago and I have been carrying and using it for at least 2 years on cruises and in the parks when I realized that I already had a lifetime supply of DCL and Disney Parks plastic bags. I still throw an extra bag in my luggage when I travel for wet swimsuits or muddy boots. I would love to see more of the small foldable nylon bags as they travel easier. I collect reusable bags as souvenirs when I travel. They make me smile when I go to the grocery store.

    Reply
  8. Dave F

    They should give everyone 2 free bags per passenger when they board. Then charge $1 per bag in the shops. That way if you remember to bring your bag there’s no charge.

    Although I’ll miss those bags. They were great. It’s hard to find a good quality plastic bag and those are great for beach days.

    Reply

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