boarding/booking Palo/excursions

[ganurse]

hey guys..headed out on April 20 on The magic for 7 day cruise. I have read my guide and just have a few questions. Does everyone board at the same time or does everyone have different times. I keep hearing as soon as you get on board to get in line for various activities (rest reservations, my sister will be in line for babysitting, different excursions)..Do the people who get board early usually take all the times or does every activity have a certain sign up time...can you book any excursions before boarding..thanks..amy

 

[wovenwonder]

Amy,
You can book excursions NOW -- you should have received the information when your final payment was made to DCL.

People will begin standing in line in the Port shortly after it opens - anytime after 10:30am. The first in line are the first to board the ship when they start boarding -- usually by 12:15 or so. You will receive your navigator (schedule) for the day when you check in at the port. Immediately check the starting time for ressie's for Flounders, Palo and the Spa. Plan on arriving to the designated locations for ressie's 15-30 minutes before the posted starting times. Palo, Spa and Flounders will probably all have different starting times for ressie's.If you are one of the first on board the ship - you should have time to grab lunch at Topsiders or Parrot Cay before the ressie scramble begins. You will be taking your carryon bags along to lunch though -- as the rooms are only ready for passengers around 1:00-1:30. Remember to pack your bathing suit in your carry-on if you might want to take a dip in the pool before your luggage arrives to your room -- which could be as late as 5-6pm.

 

[ganurse]

thanks..what =have you already booked? we dont have to carry all of our bags on the boat..i didnt realize they took them to your room for you. i havent gotten any info. my family has ll my paper but i printed out the disney guide and it said you could go to a website and find out how to reserve excursions..i must do some more research...you have been fabulous..

 

[albiats]

ganurse -

After you've made your final payment and after the 60 day mark before your cruise begins, you can make advance reservatiuons for shore excursions by calling DCL at 877-566-0968. I can't provide a link to the DCL page with this info because it's a pop-up window from the bottom of the 'Fun Onshore' page. I just learned that you can now email them, the address is in the area below.

cut and paste from popup on DCL Website
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shore Excursion Request

Call the Special Services Desk today at (877) 566-0968. Or e-mail your shore excursion requests along with your name and reservation number to dcl.shore.excursions@disney.com.

Shore excursions can be made within 60 days prior to sailing. Some excursions have capacity limits so be sure to make your request early. Reservations are taken on a first come first served basis. You can alter your shore excursion requests anytime up to seven (7) days prior to sailing. You should note that after that time, no new excursion reservations can be made and all existing shore excursion reservations are considered final and unfortunately cannot be changed or refunded. Of course if you decide not to pre-reserve shore excursions prior to your cruise, you can still stop by the ship's Shore Excursion Desk, located on Deck 3, on embarkation day, to check availability and purchase excursions. But remember, some excursions may already be full and therefore unavailable.

When your shore excursion is pre-reserved, you will receive excursion tickets delivered to your stateroom on embarkation day. Payment for confirmed excursions is conveniently billed directly to your shipboard account. We unfortunately will not be able to accept payment in advance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
end of cut and paste


You can't make reservations for Palo's or the Spa or Flounders in advance if you're in a cabin category of 4 to 12.

On a 7 day cruise, you have a very good opportunity of getting reservations for dinner at Palo's and for Spa treatments simply because there are more days available than on a 3 or 4 day cruise. You do have to be concerned about making a reservation for Brunch or for High Tea, since they are only available on days at sea.

I don't have first hand knowledge of Flounders but my understanding of how the reservations work is that they accept requests for several hours on embarkation day. They ask for your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices. Then they evaluate all of the requests and try to accomodate as many people as possible.

If you are booked in a Category 1, 2, or 3 suite, a Concierge will be able to help you with the Spa and Palo's reservations.

hope that helps.