I’ve Booked My Disney Cruise…Now What?
Keeping the excitement of a future cruise – especially one that is over a year away – can be difficult unless you are sailing with Disney! Once you have booked your cruise with Me and The Mouse Travel, here are some things to do or consider.
1. Join the cruise Facebook group.
Each Disney cruise has a Facebook group organized by an individual or group of individuals on the sailing, usually a DCL veteran. In the Facebook search toolbar, type the name of your ship and the year of your cruise i.e. Disney Wonder 2017, and you should be able to locate the group. Groups are typically “closed” and a request to join is necessary. It is a great way to get to know your fellow Guests, and many groups schedule a group meet-up or other private events on board. It also serves as a wonderful resource to ask questions.
2. Join a Fish Extender or Secret Mickey group.
Within each Facebook cruise group, an individual coordinates a gift exchange program. Guests sign up and provide family names, cabin numbers, and additional information. Many gifts are homemade and personalized, and you receive a set number of cabins to gift while you receive gifts from your group of cabins. The Secret Mickey exchange is similar to Secret Santa, and you exchange with only one other cabin. The recipients do not know who is giving the gifts until the end of the cruise or even after returning home.
3. Watch videos.
Official and unofficial Disney Cruise Line videos can be found on YouTube to help keep you excited and see adventures posted by other Guests.
4. Download the DCL Navigator app.
While onboard, the app will provide activity schedules, ship information and maps, dining room menus, free texting capability with other guests or groups, and more. At home, a countdown clock is visible anytime you open the app once you enter your sail date. Visit the iTunes or Google Play store to download the app for free. A note about the messaging capability: Guests do not share personal information. Guests provide a designated chat number to other guests they want to be able to message. Even if the chat number is shared, no personal information is provided to the recipient. Parents have the capability of granting messaging access to children.
5. Schedule a character call
Each reservation gets the opportunity to have a generic pre-cruise character call. These are great to use for surprising kids with the trip.
6. Review Personal Navigators from similar sailings.
You can find Personal Navigators {daily activity schedule} from previous cruises here. The more recent the sail date, the less the activity schedule changes. These serve as a great resource for advance planning.
7. Submit dining room requests.
If you would like to be in a specific dining room on a certain night, you can have your Me and The Mouse agent submit your request to DCL. If you have severe food allergies, those can also be submitted in advance.
8. Book onboard activities and shore excursions.
Each Guest has an individual booking window depending on their frequent cruise club status. Click here to calculate your window. Booking opens at midnight Eastern, so adjust accordingly to where you are located. Any changes that are needed can be made until approximately three days before sailing without cancellation fees, depending on the item or excursion reserved.
9. Complete your online check-in.
You can complete this up to two days prior to sailing. Have your travel itinerary, passports {if applicable}, and credit card ready. Many people like to complete check-in when it opens at the same time as the booking window in order to get the earliest port arrival time possible.
10. Review DCL gifts and photo opportunities available.
Visit disneycruise.com and you can see the gifts available for purchase that can be delivered to your cabin or someone else’s cabin. You can also make advance photo purchases, which offer savings versus while on board.
Don't Forget: Pack and complete final preparations! Your Me and The Mouse agent will supply you with a packing list before you set sail. If applicable, be sure to check-in for your flight in advance and allow plenty of time to get to your
Jenniffer Sheldon
Guest Contributor || Disney Cruise Platinum Guest