It Paid To Stay Up Late

90 days out was our target. Our target to begin the on line check-in process for our upcoming Disney Cruise. At 90 days, we could also book our port adventures, also known as shore excursions. We hit the 90 day mark on Wednesday—at midnight Eastern Time. Since we live in the Central Time zone, it meant that I could access our Disney Cruise Line reservation on-line at 11:00 pm Central (also midnight Eastern.)




So, at 11:00 pm Tuesday night, I logged on using our log-in and password along with our cruise confirmation number and was able to reserve our port adventures. All of the adventures we wanted were available for the times we wanted. Yeah! If we had wanted to reserve spa treatments or dining at Palo or Remy, I would have been able to do this, too. If we needed to reserve nursery times on-board, those would have been available to us as well.



The rest of our on line check-in wasn’t available at the same time, so I logged in the next day and completed the rest of our on line check-in. It was easy!



Your target date for booking port adventures will vary depending on your level in Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Club—click here to read more. Depending on your level—based on the number of Disney Cruises you have sailed, your date for booking will be different. Also, your cruise must be paid in full to reserve your port adventures on-line and complete the on line check-in. Disney Cruise Line’s on line check-in is available up to 3 days prior to your cruise.



When I completed the rest of the process later on Wednesday, I was able to select our port arrival time—which is something new for Disney Cruise Line and helps manage the now larger group of cruisers due to the new, larger ships. An early port arrival time, 10:30 am -11:00 am, was available for us and I took it! Since we are flying in the day before our cruise and staying at the Hyatt at Orlando International, getting to the port early will be a breeze using Disney transport. Boarding usually begins around 11:30 and getting on board early is one way to maximize the value of your cruise. Click here to read more about your first day on-board.



It paid to stay up late and get a head start on reserving popular port adventures. Now, we wait! Oh, and pack!