Is a Last-Minute DISNEY Cruise a bad idea?

[MamaBear58]

I am just starting to research Disney cruises after taking the family to WDW for our first trip this last November. I am trying to get an idea of timing--how far in advance of sail date can we book the extras that require reservations, such as character interactions and events, special dining, cabanas at Castaway Cay, spa appointments, BBB for my daughter, etc? There is a possibility that we could go the 3rd week in June, but I don't want to do so if everything is already booked.

Also, I thought I read something about a post discussing the likelihood of not being able to dock at Castaway Cay, broken down monthly, based on past sailings. Does anyone have the link to that? I have cruised many times, been to all the ports, etc. So while I realize it is never guaranteed, this is the big attraction of the Disney cruise for DH and me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[lanejudy]

If this is your first DCL cruise, you will be able to do online check-in and advanced reservations 75 days prior to the sail date. Unless you book concierge and then it's officially 120 days (requests made at 125 days) prior to sail date. Returning cruisers will be able to make advanced reservations from 120 to 90 days prior to the sail date.

Advanced reservations for cruise activities include things such as port excursions, adult dining, some spa appointments, BBB if you are cruising on the Fantasy. Adult dining and spa services may also be booked onboard if you don't find what you want available online earlier. Character meet & greets are not pre-booked and most you just show-up at the date/time/location noted onboard, but SOME (princess gatherings, Frozen characters, maybe Disney Jr characters) require a ticket which you can request after you board the ship. Cabanas as Castaway Cay -- honestly unless you will cruise concierge I don't suggest you get your hopes up for one as they are very limited in supply and typically booked by concierge or platinum cruises; it's possible for others to get one but not likely. I will say that MOST onboard activities do not require advanced booking.

DCL will do their best to dock at Castaway Cay, but safety of guests is top priority. If it is not safe to dock, the itinerary may be changed. This isn't really something anyone can plan around. If missing CC would be an absolute vacation ruin, you may want to plan a beach vacation instead of a cruise.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Character interactions do not require prior booking. There are a few character meet and greets, such as Anna and Elsa, where you will need to pick up tickets once you board, but it's not something you do before embarkation day.

There are a limited number of reservations available for the adult restaurants, Palo and Remy, ahead of time. But DCL holds a number of reservation times to be booked once on board. So if you can't get this booked online ahead of your cruise, check your Personal Navigator on embarkation day for information as to where/when to go to make these reservations.

Spa appointments will likely still be available once you are on the cruise. I'm not sure about the availability of the BBB appointments. I don't have a link to the survey of months where the cruises missed docking at Castaway Cay, but I do know most of that happens in the winter months, particularly January and February. It is a much rarer occurrence in June and July.

 

[jrabbit]

I know that there are some legitimate reasons for needing a Cabana at CC ... more than the "I just want one".

I had been to CC at least 8 times BEFORE DCL added the Cabanas for a Day "excursion". Not having a cabana has not lessened my enjoyment of CC. I spend most of the day in the water and there are not any over water cabanas yet (like in the south pacific) .. hey Disney ... here's a great money making idea

 

[rhinodadz]

We've sailed a couple times booking a last minute cruise (within 2 weeks of sailing) and had no problem getting restaurant and spa reservations. A cabana on CC will probably be tough to get, but not having one won't lessen your enjoyment of the island.

 

[Jl358]

We booked six weeks ago and we depart this Friday. We did not have a wide selection of rooms (I didn't care) and only had the choice of second seating for dinner. I have two young children and first seating would have been ideal but....... Of course, there were no cabanas either, but we didn't want one anyway. There were plenty of hours left for the nursery, plenty of reservations for the restaurants. It was nice to be able to do the online check in upon booking. We actually got the 10:30 check in time! I'd totally book last minute again. Only downside is we had to pay in full upon booking.

 

[ForMyBoys]

We booked in December for an early Feb cruise and I was able to get everything we wanted either scheduled ahead of time or rescheduled/scheduled on the ship (but note that we did not want a Cabana)

 

[vinotinto]

We booked just slightly more than 60 days out. I think the only difference between this booking and our previous one (more than 75 days) is that we did not get to select our cabin. It was GTY and assigned by DCL at 59 days out. I think the only "activity" that would not be available is the CC cabanas (and that is not something I'm interested in paying $600). First dinner seating may also be unavailable. But, that's about it.really no downside to booking later and with the way DCL has been operating, you may be able to get a much better *GT rate if you wait.

 

[KBinCO]

Our next cruise will be booked last minute. I think we'll prefer later seating anyway, so that's not an issue. Based on how we did our first cruise and how much fun we had, I don't think we will be at any disadvantage booking last minute. Plus I hate the long anticipation of booking way ahead of time.

 

[insureman]

I am just starting to research Disney cruises after taking the family to WDW for our first trip this last November. I am trying to get an idea of timing--how far in advance of sail date can we book the extras that require reservations, such as character interactions and events, special dining, cabanas at Castaway Cay, spa appointments, BBB for my daughter, etc? There is a possibility that we could go the 3rd week in June, but I don't want to do so if everything is already booked.

Also, I thought I read something about a post discussing the likelihood of not being able to dock at Castaway Cay, broken down monthly, based on past sailings. Does anyone have the link to that? I have cruised many times, been to all the ports, etc. So while I realize it is never guaranteed, this is the big attraction of the Disney cruise for DH and me.

Thanks in advance.

Here's that link.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/po...-miss-castaway-cay-due-to-the-weather.2854575

 

[Amunet]

I think booking a Disney cruise at anytime is just a good idea

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

On our first cruise, we booked just a couple of months out when they had released the IGT rates. We were still able to get the excursion we wanted because it wasn't one of the extremely limited ones. We didn't try for any speciality restaurants or cabanas, so I am not sure how that would have affected us. The only real downside to booking that late for us was that we didn't have a choice of dinner seatings; we automatically had the late seating because that's all that was left. That worked fine for us as two adults but wouldn't work as well for us now that we have a kid.