Disney Cruise Insider Tips

Disney Cruise Line allows guests who have paid in full to make advance reservations online for shore excursions, spa treatments and Palo or Remy (the 18 and older restaurants). Parents can also register their children for the kid's clubs.

Planning these things when you're home is a big advantage. You can budget properly and it will allow you to relax and enjoy departure day knowing your reservations are all set.

If you have sailed with Disney before, you're automatically enrolled in the Castaway Club. Guests who have been on at least one cruise are considered "silver" members. After 5 cruises you are upgraded to "gold" and after 10, to "platinum.

Silver members can book ship activities and shore excursions online up to 90 days before departure. Gold members (and guests booked in a category 1, 2 or 3 stateroom) can access these online 105 days prior to the sail date and platinum members up to 120 days prior.

For first-time Disney cruisers, you can access the online system 75 days prior to your departure date.

All Castaway Club members receive insider exclusives and a dedicated number for help and booking assistance. All members also enjoy a special check-in line at Port Canaveral and an exclusive "Welcome Back" Castaway Club gift in their stateroom.

For a complete description of the benefits you receive with each level, visit
allears.net Expanded Castaway Club Benefits

If you are a first-timer, or even a returning Castaway Club member with prior Disney cruise experience, reviewing the map of the ship you'll be sailing on BEFORE YOU GO is very worthwhile. Once you and your party are announced as you board the ship, you'll be like a kid in a candy store and even though the ship has plenty of directional signs, knowing the layout of the ship beforehand will put your mind at ease.

If you aren't familiar with the Disney ships, the Dream and Fantasy are the newest, largest additions to the Disney fleet. The Disney Magic and Wonder have been in service since 1998 and 1999 respectively and are nearly identical in every way with the exception of a few differences in restaurant's names and design.

You can view a larger, zoomable image by clicking either map below.

In response to a lot of requests for more information about the ship's layout and staterooms, we've put together a lens dedicated to each ship.

Hot off the presses...
Disney Dream Deck Plans and Ship Tour.
Disney Fantasy Deck Plans and Ship Tour
Disney Magic Deck Plans and Ship Tour
Disney Wonder Deck Plans and Ship Tour

We go through the ships deck by deck and added a bunch of new tips, menus, detailed stateroom information and tons of pictures and other fun information to make your cruise more enjoyable.

The Personal Navigator is a 4-page guide published every day while you are onboard. It will contain activity and ship information of every kind. It's the TV guide, the menu, the newspaper and internet all rolled into one for everyone on the ship.

Waiting until you're on the ship before you get a glimpse at the Navigator is a mistake. People post their Navigators from previous trip's online. They vary depending on the length and destination of each cruise so you'll see 3-day, 4-day, 7-day, eastern/western Caribbean, etc... They also change quite frequently so you wont know exactly what's going to happen on your cruise but a majority of the information will be the same.

About a month before you depart on your cruise, browse the links below for the most recent Navigator that fits your specific cruise. Even if the most recent one you find is a year old, you'll still get a great idea of what to do after you board and you'll be a few steps ahead of almost everyone else on the ship.

wdwinfo.com Disney Cruise Line Navigators
disneycruiser.com Personal Navigators

Unless you have very small children who just won't tolerate dinner at a later time, the late dinner seating starting at 8pm has several advantages. It will be significantly less crowded and have less small children. It allows you to enjoy the sail-away celebration at 5pm on the first day without having to excuse yourself early to get ready for the early dinner seating. The late dinner guests attend the early stage show while the early dinner guests eat.

...and if you're in the mood for an early meal, you always have the option of skipping the late dinner seating and using room service or one of the quick-serve locations on the ship.

The late dinner seating also allows you more time to return to the ship from ports of call. The first stop on the 7-day western Caribbean cruise is Key West and you're due back on the ship by 7pm, definitely not in time for an early dinner seating.

...and if you're not in a rush when you leave the ship on the last day of the cruise, late dinner seating guests are scheduled last for breakfast and consequently usually the last to leave the ship.

If you're already signed up for the early dinner seating, you can request a change to the later seating. The early dinner seating is in high demand so making the switch to the later seating is usually granted without a problem.

After you have made the final payment on your reservation (usually 3 - 4 months prior to your departure), you will be allowed to "check-in" on the Disney Cruise website. You can fill out important forms and provide your passport and travel information, saving you a lot of time when you arrive at the cruise terminal the day of your trip.

You will also be asked to select a port check-in time. Disney does this to stagger the arrival of guests avoiding large crowds and lines at the terminal. The earlier you finish the online check-in, the better chance you'll have of getting an early terminal arrival time and being able to spend a few extra hours on the ship before you leave the dock.

If you planned on flying to the port the morning of your departure, give serious consideration to arriving the day before. Not only will it allow you to arrive at the port if you get an early check-in time, it provides you a little extra insurance to make sure you don't miss your cruise!

For cruises departing from Florida, let's say you had a flight that arrived in Orlando as late as 1pm. You should make it to the port (about an hour away from Orlando Airport) in plenty of time for the scheduled 4pm cut off for boarding the ship... but what if you're flight was cancelled or delayed because of bad weather or mechanical problems and the next flight the airline could get your whole family on didn't arrive in Florida until 4pm. Sadly, you will most likely be on the dock at 5pm, waiving to the ship as it leaves.

Arriving in your departure city the day before...a good thing !

Once you check-in, you'll be given a group number. Each group has about 50 people in it and the earlier you check in, the lower your group number will be.

Disney's stated boarding time is 1pm but boarding sometimes begins as early as Noon for the first groups of people. If you planned accordingly and are one of the first groups to board, you'll have almost 4 extra hours before the ship even leaves the dock !. Even if you check-in later and have a higher boarding number, Disney friends will help pass the time before your number is called.

Once you board the ship, you'll be directed to one of the two lunch buffets. The food is mouth-watering no matter where you decide to eat. You might want to seriously consider skipping breakfast (or having a really light meal) and by all means, don't buy any food in the terminal while you wait to board the ship. Once you've seen the lunch buffet, you'll know why.

Depending on how early you board, your stateroom might not be ready. They are usually ready after 1:30pm and your luggage will arrive sometime after that. Plan ahead and pack a day bag to carry on the ship. You might want to consider wearing or bringing a bathing suit. It's usually very quiet at the pools as people board the ship. Plan ahead and you could be lounging by the pool with a cool drink while you watch the rest of the guests go through the normal first day hysteria.

Sea-sickness is not a good feeling and boy, can it ruin the first few hours of your cruise. BE PREPARED for it but don't be intimidated by it.

It can come on quite suddenly. How suddenly you may ask? On one of my past cruises, the ship left port at 5pm. The gulf stream is usually the first thing the ship encounters out of Port Canaveral, Florida and depending on the winds and current, crossing it can cause the ship to move around a bit.

The kids were smaller so we booked the early dinner seating. The dining room was full at 5:45 when my husband noticed hanging pots and pans near the kitchen beginning to sway. One of my daughters said she wasn't feeling well and skipped the appetizer. I looked around the dining room and noticed children beginning to move closer to their parents... then they started leaning their heads on their parent's shoulder... then the children and parents began leaving. By 6:30pm, only 45 minutes into dinner, at least two-thirds of the dining room was empty.

Take a look at this article for more information about sea-sickness and how to prevent it. about.com Cruises

My "secret" remedy?... Ginger pills. They calm the stomach and are very effective at preventing sea-sickness.

From the moment the Sail-Away Celebration starts at 4:15pm, the entire cruise is really one big party. For the rest of the cruise, Disney gives you plenty of opportunities to be pulled into the fun. Let them pull you in. Don't stand on the sidelines and watch people on the dance floor. Get up, grab someone to dance with and make your way onto the floor.

If you're cruise has the Pirates IN the Caribbean night, join the fun and dress like a pirate!

If they ask you to participate, raise your hand and volunteer. You'll be glad you did.