New to DCL and have a question

[mattdenine]

So we have finally decided to do a cruise and will be going March 2019. My question is a friend told us we can purchase something online that allows our kids to meet a number of characters at the same time however I have searched and haven't found anything. Is this a real thing?

I apologize in advance if this has been discussed before i tried to search but without even knowing what to call it i had no luck.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

It's not something you purchase. When you are allowed to book port adventures/online activities, that's when you book it. They do it for the princess gathering and the Frozen characters. They also have a character breakfast on some sailings. All the other character meet and greets you just wait in line for.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Our cruises pre-dated the reservation system so this comment is just to reassure you that not every guest on your sailing will be interested in meeting a particular character, so the line, while not short, wasn't unreasonably long. Given that the number of guests on a ship is fixed during the cruise, we frequently saw the same families in line and we knew that most of the other families were not interested in character meet & greets. Also, we really heavily relied on the printed daily schedules ("the Navigator") for when and where the characters were having their meet & greets. The events, if they overlapped time-wise, were held in different parts of the ship (i.e. lobby, auditorium, club, etc). We did see a simultaneous princess gathering in the main lobby (I think it was like 4 princesses or so) but people formed small lines by each one so the rotation was pretty good and efficient. We are not sure how the signup system works and our kids probably aged out of wanting to do meet & greets anymore for our future cruises. Have fun and don't sweat things too much.

 

[mattdenine]

It's not something you purchase. When you are allowed to book port adventures/online activities, that's when you book it. They do it for the princess gathering and the Frozen characters. They also have a character breakfast on some sailings. All the other character meet and greets you just wait in line for.

Thanks so much. How far out are you allowed to book activities?

 

[pezgirlroy]

Thanks so much. How far out are you allowed to book activities?

It depends. Concierge is request in at 125 days out. Platinum 120 days out. Gold 100 days out I think. Then Silver and then first time cruisers (not concierge) I believe is 75 days out.

 

[mattdenine]

Well by the sounds of that I might have a hard time booking that since its our first cruise. Thanks for all of the help

 

[ChuckElias]

Well by the sounds of that I might have a hard time booking that since its our first cruise. Thanks for all of the help

Even if you're unable to book the event before your cruise, go to Guest Services on your Embarkation Day and ask if there are any spots available. Most people don't realize that DCL holds back a few spots for almost every type of reservation for people to book once onboard.

 

[mattdenine]

Even if you're unable to book the event before your cruise, go to Guest Services on your Embarkation Day and ask if there are any spots available. Most people don't realize that DCL holds back a few spots for almost every type of reservation for people to book once onboard.

Thats great to know, i'll have to try to remember this for next year.

 

[EOD K9]

Thats great to know, i'll have to try to remember this for next year.

Lines are also not usually terrible. There were times we ran into Mickey on his way to a meet and greet and we had about 6 minutes where nobody else was around. My daughters had good one on one time with him. At one point, Tiana was tucked away in the corner and we had a lot of time with her. During Pirate Night, Tiana’s friend was just another crew member dressed as a pirate and came over to say hello to us. My daughters didn’t know who she was, but we did. The fixed number of passengers makes the vacation more enjoyable.

 

[mattdenine]

Lines are also not usually terrible. There were times we ran into Mickey on his way to a meet and greet and we had about 6 minutes where nobody else was around. My daughters had good one on one time with him. At one point, Tiana was tucked away in the corner and we had a lot of time with her. During Pirate Night, Tiana’s friend was just another crew member dressed as a pirate and came over to say hello to us. My daughters didn’t know who she was, but we did. The fixed number of passengers makes the vacation more enjoyable.

Good to know I guess it will take some adjustment compared to the normal planning of Disney.

 

[ScoutN]

It depends. Concierge is request in at 125 days out. Platinum 120 days out. Gold 100 days out I think. Then Silver and then first time cruisers (not concierge) I believe is 75 days out.

Gold is actually 105 and Silver is 90.

 

[pezgirlroy]

Gold is actually 105 and Silver is 90.

I knew I probably got that wrong. Thanks.

 

[jaklgreen]

Plus many characters come out several times during the cruise.

 

[mattdenine]

Oh yes they do! My jaw almost hit the floor when we saw Tiana just casually wandering the hallway on the Wonder after we arrived onboard the ship.

We are looking forward to it, although we don't go until March 2019 on the Disney Dream. Thankfully we have a WDW trip booked this summer.

 

[jaklgreen]

Oh yes they do! My jaw almost hit the floor when we saw Tiana just casually wandering the hallway on the Wonder after we arrived onboard the ship.

One of our favorite meet and greet surprises was on the Fantasy this last May. We had just boarded the ship about an hour before and we wanted to check out the updates to the Oceaneers Club(my kids are too old for it now). So we were walking around and ran into THOR!!! OMG he looked amazing! There were only about 3 groups in line since he was back in a corner room. They did an amazing job of casting him since he looked very much like Thor with the height and everything.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

When the ship docks in Port Canaveral, is a visit to the Disney parks included in the price of the cruise or is this an additional cost?

 

[ChuckElias]

When the ship docks in Port Canaveral, is a visit to the Disney parks included in the price of the cruise or is this an additional cost?

Hi Dennis,

When the Dream or Fantasy returns to Port Canaveral at the end of each cruise, a visit to WDW is not part of the experience.

However, when the Magic sails from NYC in the summer and ports for the night in Port Canaveral, each person receives a 1-day Park Hopper ticket and transportation to and from WDW.

 

[LAKid53]

Hi Dennis,

When the Dream or Fantasy returns to Port Canaveral at the end of each cruise, a visit to WDW is not part of the experience.

However, when the Magic sails from NYC in the summer and ports for the night in Port Canaveral, each person receives a 1-day Park Hopper ticket and transportation to and from WDW.

I did not know that about cruises originating in NYC. Does this apply to all NYC sailings, including the Marvel cruises?

 

[jaklgreen]

I did not know that about cruises originating in NYC. Does this apply to all NYC sailings, including the Marvel cruises?

It does not look like there are any Marvels cruises out of NYC in 2018. There are a few 7 night NYC based cruises that do stop at Canaveral.https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/list/#new-york-new-york

 

[LAKid53]

It does not look like there are any Marvels cruises out of NYC in 2018. There are a few 7 night NYC based cruises that do stop at Canaveral.https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/list/#new-york-new-york

Oh, I'm going to have to check on the 2018 Marvel cruises. My son-in-law wants to do one, but he didn't want to travel to NYC for it. Thanks for the info!