Booking Tips

Selecting the right room for your family is an important first step. We recommend you consider the following four key items:

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• Room category - Select a room category that meets your budget and travel preferences.  There are 4 primary categories:  Inside, Oceanview (with one or two portholes), Verandah (with an ocean balcony), and Concierge. (Note:  Our concierge recommendations are offered in separate blog post.)

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• Room type - Select a room type that meets your family size and budget. Most rooms accommodate 3-4 people.  The deluxe family rooms can accommodate up to 5 and typically offer more space.  If you are traveling with a party larger than 5, you will want to explore connecting staterooms. For more information on the room types, check out the stateroom information under Our Ships on the DCL website:  https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/

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• Room location - We recommend rooms that are mid-ship on the upper to middle floors (not directly above or below the restaurants, theaters, or pools) to avoid ambient noise and minimize motion.  You can also opt for a "guaranteed" room in a specific class - this guarantees a room in that class or higher, but Disney will select the room for you - to save a bit of money if you are willing to try it.  (We have done it on several shorter sailings and never had an issue.)

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• Room nuances - There are some slight variations in room types that you may want to be aware of, as they are often in the "fine print" of the room description:

• No Split Bath - Split bathrooms (where you have one bathroom with the shower & a sink and one with the toilet & a sink) are standard with the exception of the standard inside staterooms. However, there are a few exceptions in the ocean view category that offer more interior space, but a single bathroom.  (We love the split bath, so we typically avoid these configurations.)

• Tub Shape - On the Dream and Fantasy, some family category staterooms do not have a standard tub, but a small circular tub.  We generally only use the shower and prefer the circular tub as they are not as narrow, have rain shower heads, and have a seat. 

• Bump-out verandas - On the Wish, Treasure, and upcoming Destiny ships, these are rooms that have verandahs on the bump-out, so they have larger curved verandahs.  (Note they do have a bit of an obstructed view on the sides, but you can get a pretty good extension on your balcony - and these vary by stateroom.)  Check out the resources below for more information on staterooms with bump-out (or extended) verandas.

• Obstructed verandas - These are verandas that have a partially obstructed view.  These are typically offered at a discount; however, the amount of obstruction varies.  In some cases, the obstruction is very small...making them a pretty good deal.  Check out the resources below for more information on staterooms with obstructed verandas.

• Navigator verandas - These are enclosed verandas.  These are typically offered at a discount; however, the configuration varies.  Check out the resources below for more information on staterooms with navigator verandas.

We recommend checking out the following resources for additional stateroom information:

• Cruise Deck Plans - We recommend Cruise Deck Plans to see if there are any pictures or videos of the stateroom posted.  Just pick your ship and locate the stateroom, an icon will appear if there is a video or photos of the room available. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/cruiseline.php?line=Disney

• Disboards - We recommend Disboards to check out reviews or additional insights from previous customers on a particular stateroom.​  https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/stateroom-reviews.cfm

If you are traveling by air to the port, we highly recommend arriving at least a day before your sailing. Travel delays are common these days and you don't want to miss your cruise due to a delayed flight.    Disney does provide an array of travel planning services including Air, Hotel, Ground Transfers, and Travel Insurance. 

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• ​Air - Disney does provide assistance in booking airfare.  This can be great if you are looking to hit the easy button or want one number to call if there is an issue.  However, many customers (particularly seasoned travelers) prefer to book their airfare using miles and/or directly with a preferred carrier for more direct control over their airline reservations (selecting seats, food preferences, etc.).​

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• Hotel - Disney also has good rates at hotels close to the airport and/or departure ports and offers ground transfers (for a fee) from hotels booked through DCL.  Again, this can be great if you are looking to hit the easy button or want one number to call if there is an issue.  Many travelers prefer to book their hotel using points and/or leveraging their loyalty/rewards programs.

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• Ground transfers - The transfers are a convenient option to give from the airport (or a local Disney hotel) to the port.  This is very convenient for ports that are a good distance from the airport (i.e. - Rome).  It is priced per person, so it can get expensive for larger groups/families.  More budget-conscious travelers may want to look at 3rd party options. 

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• Travel Insurance - We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect your investment.  DCL offers 3rd party travel insurance that is competitively priced.  [We personally purchase the DCL-offered travel insurance for all of our sailings.  We haven't had a cause to use it yet...and hope to keep it that way :)]. There are many travel insurance providers, so more budget-conscious travelers may want to look at 3rd party options.  Additionally, if you are looking to extend your vacation with a pre or post-stay, you may want to price 3rd party providers that will cover the whole trip, not just the cruise portion.    ​

Dining on Disney Cruise Line is rotational.  This means that you will assigned a rotation to visit one of the three main dining restaurants each night while on board (but your server will follow you in the rotation so they will be the same every evening and learn your dietary needs and preferences...which is great!).  There are two dinner seating options for rotational dining:

• Main dining (early seating around 6 PM) 

• Second dining (later around 8 PM)​

​The main dining is the more popular option.  With main dining, you eat dinner at your assigned restaurant first then see the show.  With second dining, you will attend the show first and then go to your assigned restaurant.  Main dining is our preference for U.S.-based sailings, for overseas sailings some of the excursions run into the early evening, so you may want to take that into account when booking your dining time.  We recommend reserving main (if available) and changing to the second seating (if needed) once you finalize your itinerary.  Also, if you want private dining (not sharing a table at dinner), be sure to review the section below about downloading the Navigator app and “reviewing your cruise options”.  (see below).