Disney Cruise FAQ's

[Maggie Mae]

I see from discussion on this board from 2011, that you can put a Disney gift card for on board credit towards your room and things are charged to that - Is that still the policy? and if we hit that amount then will it start to charge to my cc?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I see from discussion on this board from 2011, that you can put a Disney gift card for on board credit towards your room and things are charged to that - Is that still the policy? and if we hit that amount then will it start to charge to my cc?

That is still the policy. If you put a gift card and credit card on your account, after the gift card is gone they will charge your credit card.

 

[Maggie Mae]

and should I do this at the beginning of my cruise??

 

[Disneyfalcon]

and should I do this at the beginning of my cruise??

Yes! You can call and apply it before you leave as an onboard credit, but that would make it more difficult to get back if you didn't spend it all for some reason. They usually can't do it in the terminal, so after boarding at some point that first day, go to guest services and they'll put it on there.

 

[kirari]

Can anyone give me the length of the dinner at Remy? if we book at 6p.m (if we lucky enough for that), do you think we could be out by 8p.m?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Can anyone give me the length of the dinner at Remy? if we book at 6p.m (if we lucky enough for that), do you think we could be out by 8p.m?

You could. I'd say 2 1/2 hours is safer, but if you let your servers know you wanted to be done by 8, they can move things along a little quicker.

 

[kirari]

thank you, that's what i was thinking; We don't want to miss the last show at 8:30pm, that's why I'm asking ^^.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

thank you, that's what i was thinking; We don't want to miss the last show at 8:30pm, that's why I'm asking ^^.

Sure! They are very used to that, so just ask!

 

[EnchantedRose]

What time should I book my cruise? Will the Disney site have it at midnight....or is it like Disney World Packages....that usually start at 7am?

Thanks!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

What time should I book my cruise? Will the Disney site have it at midnight....or is it like Disney World Packages....that usually start at 7am?

Thanks!

The Disney site won't have it at midnight, but it will be before the phone lines open at 8. Probably 7ish.

 

[EnchantedRose]

The Disney site won't have it at midnight, but it will be before the phone lines open at 8. Probably 7ish.

Thanks so much! Tomorrow they start booking the Magic out of NYC and I want to make sure that i'm all set to book it

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks so much! Tomorrow they start booking the Magic out of NYC and I want to make sure that i'm all set to book it

You bet! Those are going to be great sailings.

 

[Donald_Quackers]

I'm booked on the 10/29 NY sailing. Happy cruising!

 

[Megan Kelly]

I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere, I have searched and can't find it! My family is planning a cruise in May of 2017. It will be a fairly large group and most have never cruised before. I have only been once, the Dream in May of 2014 for my honeymoon, it was magical! But now I have been deemed the planner/organizer. I have a few questions for planning and I knew you all could help me out!

Typically when are itineraries released? Again, hoping to sail May 2017. We want to be on the lookout!

When is the best/cheapest time to book?

If multiple families are sailing together and one of the families is booked concierge, can those people sailing concierge include/make reservations for the rest of the family using the concierge level perks? (ticketed character events, booking reservations early, etc.)

Any other advice/tips are extremely welcome! This could potentially be a trip with 6+ staterooms involved. I want to make this trip special for all as we will be celebrating the end of my husband's residency program (and much-deserved vacation before fellowship!) as well as my brother and his family's return from being stationed in Germany, and a 50th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere, I have searched and can't find it! My family is planning a cruise in May of 2017. It will be a fairly large group and most have never cruised before. I have only been once, the Dream in May of 2014 for my honeymoon, it was magical! But now I have been deemed the planner/organizer. I have a few questions for planning and I knew you all could help me out!

Typically when are itineraries released? Again, hoping to sail May 2017. We want to be on the lookout!

When is the best/cheapest time to book?

If multiple families are sailing together and one of the families is booked concierge, can those people sailing concierge include/make reservations for the rest of the family using the concierge level perks? (ticketed character events, booking reservations early, etc.)

Any other advice/tips are extremely welcome! This could potentially be a trip with 6+ staterooms involved. I want to make this trip special for all as we will be celebrating the end of my husband's residency program (and much-deserved vacation before fellowship!) as well as my brother and his family's return from being stationed in Germany, and a 50th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary!

May of 17 will probably be out in the fall.

Usually the cheapest time to book is as soon as a cruise is released. Last minute discounts tend to take it back to opening day prices.

When only one family is concierge, they will be able to book adult restaurants like Palo and Remy for everyone, providing they are eating together. They'll also be able to book a cabana (or two possibly) for everyone. But that is it.

I'm assuming your brother is military? If so, there may be military discounts as the sailing gets closer, but only for his room.

Sounds like a great trip with lots of celebrations!

 

[DSteph]

Ok, I've read through all 38 pages and picked up a lot of great info. I have a couple of questions currently. My wife and I recently reserved a spot on the Dream/Bahama 4 Night - February 2016. It's our first cruise with DCL (or any other). First question: The ship departs on Monday. Will lunch be served on board after we check in, or will we need to take care of that before boarding? Secondly, I'm curious about the ship-wide parties on the top deck during the cruise. There is one on Pirate night and one on departure day, right? How about on the final night? And how many of those include fireworks? Thanks.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Ok, I've read through all 38 pages and picked up a lot of great info. I have a couple of questions currently. My wife and I recently reserved a spot on the Dream/Bahama 4 Night - February 2016. It's our first cruise with DCL (or any other). First question: The ship departs on Monday. Will lunch be served on board after we check in, or will we need to take care of that before boarding? Secondly, I'm curious about the ship-wide parties on the top deck during the cruise. There is one on Pirate night and one on departure day, right? How about on the final night? And how many of those include fireworks? Thanks.

Lunch will be served onboard. It's a great lunch. There's so much excitement in the air. Don't miss it!

One on pirate night and a sailaway party. Some special itineraries have others, but you'll have those two. The pirate night has fireworks. There's a kind of party on the final night. It's in the atrium and the cruise director, characters and performers come out and wish you goodbye. There's lots of great photo opportunities that night. You don't want to miss it!

 

[kirari]

Hi there, I have some questions, wondering if you could answer me.
First one, I'd like to order an in room gift. I will call for that, but i was wondering if you pay by the time you place the order, or if they put the price on you onboard credit (just like the excursion).
Second one is something I read in the Tips and tricks thread:

•Take a t-shirt, pillow case, or picture mat with a sharpie to Guest Services at the beginning of your cruise. At the end of the week you will get it back with character autographs all over it. It’s a great souvenir!

Is it still possible to do that? I love this idea, and would never have thought about it!

Last one is concerning activities. We are interested in two activities at castaway cay:
-the stingray adventure
-the snorkeling adventure (adults only)
Is it actually possible to do both activities the same day? And I was wondering if the snorkeling adventure worth it. We have never done snorkeling, I'm mad with fishes and It is one of my dream of all time to snorkel. But I know that you can do it for free on castaway cay, but is there lot of fishes to see?

Sorry if those questions were asked before, I've read several threads, but could not find my answers.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Hi there, I have some questions, wondering if you could answer me.
First one, I'd like to order an in room gift. I will call for that, but i was wondering if you pay by the time you place the order, or if they put the price on you onboard credit (just like the excursion).
Second one is something I read in the Tips and tricks thread:


Is it still possible to do that? I love this idea, and would never have thought about it!

Last one is concerning activities. We are interested in two activities at castaway cay:
-the stingray adventure
-the snorkeling adventure (adults only)
Is it actually possible to do both activities the same day? And I was wondering if the snorkeling adventure worth it. We have never done snorkeling, I'm mad with fishes and It is one of my dream of all time to snorkel. But I know that you can do it for free on castaway cay, but is there lot of fishes to see?

Sorry if those questions were asked before, I've read several threads, but could not find my answers.

I can help!

You do pay for in room gifts when you order them, not onboard like excursions.

You can definitely still drop things off to be signed at guest services. It's a great souvenir. You can do two items per room.

The stingray excursion is fairly short, you can do it and still have lots of time left for something else.

We love snorkeling at Castaway Cay. You can find a decent number of fish out by the sunken objects, especially by the sunken sub and things like that. The underwater Mickey and Minnie statues are great too. It's free if you brought your own snorkeling equipment, otherwise you will have to rent it. Either way you will need to use one of their life jackets, those are free.

They won't run out of snorkeling gear, so you can wait until the day you are there to decide. I'd recommend booking the stingray excursion in the morning and then waiting on the snorkeling equipment (unless you are bringing some). Then once you are there you can decide if you'd rather just relax on the beach, or give it a go!

 

[Master Yoda]

I can help!

You do pay for in room gifts when you order them, not onboard like excursions.

You can definitely still drop things off to be signed at guest services. It's a great souvenir. You can do two items per room.

The stingray excursion is fairly short, you can do it and still have lots of time left for something else.

We love snorkeling at Castaway Cay. You can find a decent number of fish out by the sunken objects, especially by the sunken sub and things like that. The underwater Mickey and Minnie statues are great too. It's free if you brought your own snorkeling equipment, otherwise you will have to rent it. Either way you will need to use one of their life jackets, those are free.

They won't run out of snorkeling gear, so you can wait until the day you are there to decide. I'd recommend booking the stingray excursion in the morning and then waiting on the snorkeling equipment (unless you are bringing some). Then once you are there you can decide if you'd rather just relax on the beach, or give it a go!

@kirari I will add a little to that...

The snorkeling equipment they rent is garbage. Like Wal-Mart would be embarrassed to sell it garbage. If you are not tight on luggage space, a basic US Divers Snorkeling kit that is around $50 is light years better than what Disney rents for $30 and you own it.