Activity booking order - Wish

[gpjacobs]

Hello! I’m prepping to book activities for our cruise group. Sailing on the Wish in early October. Our FB group confirmed that the CC cabanas sold out before Gold could book – as did several other activities – so I want to be as prepared as possible.

Below is my plan of attack. Fully accept we’ll likely get very little of this, and I’m prepared to just keep re-checking the site as the cruise approaches, but I’d/we’d appreciate feedback on the initial start!

Activity/day

• Palo Brunch – Nassau Day (to leave CC day open, should we somehow score a cabana)
• Alcohol Tastings – esp. at Hook’s Barbery on embarkation day
• Olaf’s Royal Picnic – Nassau Day (or whenever it’s offered)
• BBB – Nassau Day (or based on availability)
• Parasailing on Castaway

Also, to confirm, check-in for first-time cruisers is at the 30-day mark, right – as is Royal Gathering booking? So totally separate from activity booking?

Thanks, as always, for the guidance!

 

[erionm]

Online check-in process open for Pearl 40-days, Platinum 38-days, Gold 35-days, Silver 33-days prior to the sail date. First time cruisers may begin check-in 30-days out.

Booking for the Royal Gathering is 30 days out for everyone.

 

[RedHead0186]

That seems like a strategic order, and I would probably tackle in the same order. Online check-in is now staggered based on Castaway Club Level: Pearl 40-days, Platinum 38-days, Gold 35-days, Silver 33-days prior to the sail date. First time cruisers may begin check-in 30-days out. Royal Gathering is still 30 days for everyone.

 

[gpjacobs]

Thank you both! Updated my post to reflect that check-in for first-time cruisers is 30-days out.

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[chuff88]

Hello! I’m prepping to book activities for our cruise group. Sailing on the Wish in early October. Our FB group confirmed that the CC cabanas sold out before Gold could book – as did several other activities – so I want to be as prepared as possible.

Below is my plan of attack. Fully accept we’ll likely get very little of this, and I’m prepared to just keep re-checking the site as the cruise approaches, but I’d/we’d appreciate feedback on the initial start!

Activity/day

• Palo Brunch – Nassau Day (to leave CC day open, should we somehow score a cabana)
• Alcohol Tastings – esp. at Hook’s Barbery on embarkation day
• Olaf’s Royal Picnic – Nassau Day (or whenever it’s offered)
• BBB – Nassau Day (or based on availability)
• Parasailing on Castaway

Also, to confirm, check-in is at the 30-day mark, right – as is Royal Gathering booking? So totally separate from activity booking?

Thanks, as always, for the guidance!

I have only done the advanced bookings for the Wonder and Fantasy, not the Wish, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Personally, if the alcohol tastings are very important to you, I'd go for them first as they almost all fill up, and some very quickly. Each alcohol tasting only has 1 or maybe 2 per cruise, and my experience is that they're capped around 25-30 people (I'm terrible at estimating the number of people in a group, so again... take this estimate with a grain of salt). Palo brunch, on the other hand, has multiple reservation times per day offered, so if you're not picky about the time you probably have a generally better chance at Palo Brunch than you do at specific tasting events. Again though, some of this comes down to the importance of each particular offering for you personally.

ETA: This next part can be disregarded, as some kind fellow posters pointed out that Palo brunch is not available on the CC day. Also, unfortunately, the odds of a CC Cabana are probably slim to none, so if you can't get the Palo brunch on the Nassau day, it might be easier to get it on the CC day.

 

[gpjacobs]

I have only done the advanced bookings for the Wonder and Fantasy, not the Wish, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Personally, if the alcohol tastings are very important to you, I'd go for them first as they almost all fill up, and some very quickly. Each alcohol tasting only has 1 or maybe 2 per cruise, and my experience is that they're capped around 25-30 people (I'm terrible at estimating the number of people in a group, so again... take this estimate with a grain of salt). Palo brunch, on the other hand, has multiple reservation times per day offered, so if you're not picky about the time you probably have a generally better chance at Palo Brunch than you do at specific tasting events. Again though, some of this comes down to the importance of each particular offering for you personally.

Also, unfortunately, the odds of a CC Cabana are probably slim to none, so if you can't get the Palo brunch on the Nassau day, it might be easier to get it on the CC day.

Thank you! I've never heard of Palo brunch being offered on CC day, so didn't consider that an option!

 

[chuff88]

Thank you! I've never heard of Palo brunch being offered on CC day, so didn't consider that an option!

I'm honestly not sure that it is, we've always done the brunches on our sea days, so I might have said that out of turn. Apologies if that was incorrect information!

 

[erionm]

Also, unfortunately, the odds of a CC Cabana are probably slim to none, so if you can't get the Palo brunch on the Nassau day, it might be easier to get it on the CC day.

Thank you! I've never heard of Palo brunch being offered on CC day, so didn't consider that an option!

I'm on a 4-night Wish Cruise this September and Palo Brunch is only available on Nassau Day and the Sea Day.

 

[gpjacobs]

I'm on a 4-night Wish Cruise this September and Palo Brunch is only available on Nassau Day and the Sea Day.

Thank you for clarifying!

 

[chuff88]

I'm on a 4-night Wish Cruise this September and Palo Brunch is only available on Nassau Day and the Sea Day.

Thank you for the correction!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We sailed on the Wish beginning of June. We're Silver CC. During our on line check in, all tastings were sold out. Couldn't get Palo Brunch, but did get Palo dinner. No CC cabanas, of course. I did check all the time leading up to our cruise but nothing became available. But, I did go to Luna after a long sail away lunch at Arendale. I wasn't going to go but it was right there. Walked right in and saw someone right away and got Palo brunch. Didn't ask about any tastings, wasn't interested anymore. I did walk by Hook's Barbery many times (for some reason) during the cruise and while their tasting(s) were going on. It looks like a pretty small space and I only saw maybe 4 people (men) in there each time. If that's the case, it would seem they don't accomodate many people and may be harder to get? The second to last day of our cruise, we were getting notifications that were could go to our Palo dinner reservation earlier and that more reservations opened. Even got a call from the restaurant. We couldn't change because we planned to see a show. When we got there, it was practically empty. Us and 3 other tables.

 

[gpjacobs]

We sailed on the Wish beginning of June. We're Silver CC. During our on line check in, all tastings were sold out. Couldn't get Palo Brunch, but did get Palo dinner. No CC cabanas, of course. I did check all the time leading up to our cruise but nothing became available. But, I did go to Luna after a long sail away lunch at Arendale. I wasn't going to go but it was right there. Walked right in and saw someone right away and got Palo brunch. Didn't ask about any tastings, wasn't interested anymore. I did walk by Hook's Barbery many times (for some reason) during the cruise and while their tasting(s) were going on. It looks like a pretty small space and I only saw maybe 4 people (men) in there each time. If that's the case, it would seem they don't accomodate many people and may be harder to get? The second to last day of our cruise, we were getting notifications that were could go to our Palo dinner reservation earlier and that more reservations opened. Even got a call from the restaurant. We couldn't change because we planned to see a show. When we got there, it was practically empty. Us and 3 other tables.

Well, our FB group basically confirmed everything I was interested in is sold out. So re-checking the site and ultimately going to Luna (or the desinated location day of embarkation) is most likely our best bet!

 

[chuff88]

Well, our FB group basically confirmed everything I was interested in is sold out. So re-checking the site and ultimately going to Luna (or the desinated location day of embarkation) is most likely our best bet!

On my very first Disney cruise I was able to get a Palo brunch booking on embarkation day. I've also had luck getting things (tastings, mostly) by just checking every few days to see if there's any availability. Our first cruise was a 7-night though, so that might have been a factor.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Well, our FB group basically confirmed everything I was interested in is sold out. So re-checking the site and ultimately going to Luna (or the desinated location day of embarkation) is most likely our best bet!

With the high number of concierge guests and those who are gold, platinum, etc...and a shorter cruise, there are not reservations left. Don't give up. People change plans. My initial plan was to go straight to Luna. I believe it opens at 1pm but people start lining up way before that. I was so hungry and went to Arendale for lunch and then went to Luna. No lines.

 

[gpjacobs]

With the high number of concierge guests and those who are gold, platinum, etc...and a shorter cruise, there are not reservations left. Don't give up. People change plans. My initial plan was to go straight to Luna. I believe it opens at 1pm but people start lining up way before that. I was so hungry and went to Arendale for lunch and then went to Luna. No lines.

Good reminder to pack a snack and my patience! We're coming from the Hyatt, so we should arrive early/with a good PAT and can line up early.