A personalized e-mail from Disney Cruise Line hit my inbox
the other day. The greeting assured me
that magic on the high seas was coming soon in the form of our 5th Disney
cruise and our second aboard the beautiful Disney Dream.
The e-mail contained important information such as our
reservation number, sail date, Castaway Club number and level, and date that we
could begin reserving shore excursions if our cruise was paid in full by that
date.
Depending on Castaway Club level—silver, gold, or platinum—guests
have various paid in full dates and ability to reserve shore excursions. The higher the level—platinum—the further out
the paid in full day—120 days from the cruise—and therefore the first chance to
make reservations for shore excursions, spa appointments, and Palo or Remy
dining reservations. Gold Castaway Club level members have the ability to
reserve ship services at 105 days before their cruise if the trip is paid in
full and Silver level members booking window opens at 90 days before the sail
date. New cruisers are able to make
reservations for shore excursions, etc. at 75 days prior to sailing. All cruises, excluding suite or concierge
reservations, must be paid in full 75 days in advance.
Our plan includes having the cruise paid in full prior to
the 90 day mark. And, I have previously
been at the computer at 11:00 pm central ready to log-in to the Disney Cruise
Line web-site to reserve our shore excursions on day 91, as the reservations go
live at midnight eastern.
Completing the on-line reservation for the cruise is easy,
as most information is pre-loaded on the reservation such as passport numbers,
birthdays, etc. I recall having to enter
that info for our first cruise, though.
In addition to reserving shore excursions, I also make sure the boy is
registered for the kids club on-board.
The registration will ask for a secret word to use when dropping him off
and picking him up at the club for security purposes—this is in addition to the
electronic bracelet given to kids at their initial check-in at the club. I am also able to denote any important information
on the on-line form such as fears, allergies, etc.
For this trip, deciding on shore excursions are the
difficult decisions—if any decisions regarding a Disney cruise could actually
be classified as difficult!
Our itinerary includes two stops at Castaway Cay, Disney
Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas . Ah, paradise!
We decided that we would like to rent floats and bicycles while at
Castaway Cay. We’ve done both
before. There is a way to reserve these
rentals as a part of the shore excursion reservations and deals can be found by
bundling the rental for both days.
Savings!
No parasailing this time—click here to read more—or Castaway
Cay Stingray Adventure—click here to read more.
Just fun and relaxation on a pristine island paradise.
The itinerary also includes a stop in Nassau .
We’ve been to Nassau
twice before and I thought we had this figured out already and were going back
to Blue Lagoon for a day at the beach.
But now, we’re wavering.
We have lots of choices, too many maybe. One option is to stay on the ship. This would give us the illusion of another “at
sea” day and we could do whatever we wanted on the ship. The boy could have more time in the club with
the interactive play floor and everything else, as this is his last cruise that
he can be in the Oceaneers Club.
Another option is to go to Blue Lagoon for the beach
day. The boy wants to return to the
floating, inflatable slides and trampolines.
Click here to read about our time at Blue Lagoon.
And, yet another option is to go to Atlantis and the water
park; a wish list item for the boy. This
is a pricey option, very pricey.
I’m going to get out my PassPorter’s
Disney Cruise Line Guide and do some more research. Thankfully, we have some time before we
decide. But it was great to receive the
e-mail letting me know exactly how much more time.
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