HELP: Party of 6 Online booking

[ish&ishaorosa]

Hi. Newbie to this forum and a fan of Disney parks since 1982
Living in Asia, it is very tedious to be planning a Disney getaway in the U.S. Good thing Japan and HK have Disney, but honestly, DWD is still different...

2012 will (hopefully) be a blast to my entire family since I'm turning 40 and my son is celebrating his birthday, as well. I have a question on booking though...

We are a party of six - my parents, my wife and I, and my 2 kids (aged 5 and 3 at that time). I'm planning to join Dream's 4-day cruise in May 2012. Thing is, I can't book all of us in one Family Stateroom. Guests over 5 has to get 2 Staterooms, which will be too expensive.

Can I just book 5 and bring in my toddler on the trip and pay for her when we board?

Please help

 

[CaptainShortty]

I'm not sure about the answer to your question but I think your best bet is to call DCL at (800) 951-3532. They'll be able to answer the question best for you. Happy Planning!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm 99.9% sure you would not be able to book just the 5 of you then show up with your toddler to add the day of sailing. You'd most likely not be able to sail and you'd lose the money you paid. First and formost, there are occupancy limits to the different staterooms that cannot be exceeded even with a small child or baby. Each ship has a certain number of passengers it can have in each room, in each category, and on each ship at any given time. These numbers cannot be exceeded even by 1. Consider that a great number of Disney Cruise Lines' sailings are 100% booked, especially on the newer ships. At the time of booking DCL requires full name and dates of birth for each passenger sailing regardless of age. I read that there's a manifest, or complete list of passengers, that the cruise line has to submit to some authority at least a couple weeks before the date of sailing. That's why even on cruises that aren't completely booked you can't just pop in at the terminal on embarkation day and pay to join the departing cruise. Adding names/people after a certain point is not an option. I'd hate for you to show up at the terminal on the day of sailing only to be turned away. Your best bet is to call Disney Cruise Line directly. :wave:

 

[ish&ishaorosa]

Thank you for your replies, CaptainShortty and sweetpee_1993. I'm on the other side of the globe but will just call DLC then. Really difficult from where I'm at (just imagine the 22 hour plane ride with 2 toddlers).

This will be my toddlers' first US trip and our first cruise and I want it to be smooth sailing (pun intended) and memorable.

Thanks again!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Hi ish & ishaorosa!

Sweetpea is right, you definitely can not bring your toddler if she's not booked. Every single person on that ship must be booked. They will not even be allowed in the terminal if they are not registered.

If you need help, I'd be happy to help! Just send me an email. I can save you some phone calls to DCL and it won't cost you any more than booking directly through Disney.

Either way I hope you have a wonderful trip!