I stayed up late Sunday night sure did pay for it on
Monday. Why? You might ask. Well, Monday was the 90 day mark prior to our
cruise and as Silver Castaway Club Members we could register for our cruise and
any excursions on Monday. But, the on-line
registration opens at midnight Eastern, so at 11:00 pm Central it was open to
us.
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| Log In Screen |
Logging on was easy.
Just needed a member name or email address, password, birthday, and
reservation number of the cruise. Since
we have logged in before on Disney Cruise Line’s web-site, the information,
other than the reservation number, was the same. If you are logging in for the first time, you
will be able to create an account with an email and password.
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| On-line Check-in Menu |
After logging in, a menu page appeared. I was able to work my way through the menu
pages and complete the on-line registration process including adding
activities. While it says that we have
no activities on our second day at Castaway Cay, we really do. One option is to reserve two days’ of
float/tube rental and bicycle rental at a savings, of course. The two day rental only shows up on the
activities list on the first day at Castaway Cay.
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| On-board activities reserved listed by day |
As a part of the on-line registration, Passport information
is also entered. Having sailed with Disney
before, all of our Passport numbers and expiration dates were already in the
system and just appeared for confirmation.
It was great to be able to check the expiration dates. We have had to change the boy’s Passport
number and expiration date as he is on his second Passport since children’s
only last 5 years and they cannot renew, but have to get a new one.
Emergency contact information for each guest is also
included in the on-line registration. We
have a different emergency contact for each of us just in case one person isn’t
available. The information we had
entered for previous cruises was pre-populated but we had a chance to change or
update.
Another part of the on-line registration is to determine the
type of payment that will be used for the on-board account. A credit card can be entered at this
time. We selected cash and will be
depositing cash into our on-board account.
You also get to determine who has privileges to make purchases or
charges to the on board account. The boy
did not get those privileges.
Guests also enter pre/post cruise information. Dates and times of flights are entered as a
part of the reservation along with any post cruise information. We were able to select “cruise to resort” as
our choice using Disney transfers. I
actually had to go back and change the flight information as our flights had
changed after I had entered the information.
What has changed in the on-line registration is that only
one page is required for printing and signing—it used to be that the whole
contract/agreement had to be printed and signed. AND, if you are unable to print, just let a
Cast Member know upon check-in and they can print the document that requires
signatures from all in the traveling party.
I was able to register the boy for the Kids’ club as
well. His basic information—name,
birthday, etc. displayed when I came to that section. I got to add a nickname if needed, a password
for checking in and out of the club, designate who was authorized to pick him
up from the club, and agree that I would return the electronic wrist band the
last night of the cruise or be charged.
While this means he is registered, it doesn’t mean we are done with the
process. When we arrive at the port we
will head to the kids’ club check-in on the far right side of the port
terminal. Here he will receive his
electronic wrist band that includes information about his emergency assembly
station. The wrist band stays on for the
entire cruise. If the bracelet wears
out, we just get another one from the kids’ club location being sure to keep
the electronic portion secure.
It is at this point that parents of children 8-10 determine
if their child will have the privilege of checking themselves in and out of the
club. The last cruise, we thought yes,
but said no once we got to this point.
The ship was new to him. This
time, we are thinking yes and preparing for a yes once we arrive. Once he hits 11 we don’t have a choice
anymore so we might as well give it a try.
(I already have a magnetic marker board to put inside our stateroom door
for messages as to where people are and there are the Wave phones.)
Scheduling Character phone calls is also part of the on-line
registration. We have one
scheduled! Guests may schedule up to two
free calls.
Then there’s more information available: driving directions, printable packing lists,
and other information. I also registered
my cell phone to receive updates via text message. A message came right away. I wish it had a text message countdown. Wouldn’t it be great to receive a message
like “83 more days until your magical Disney Cruise Line vacation Williams
Family”? DCL, are you listening?
A first time Disney cruiser would be able to login 75 days
prior to their paid in full cruise. As
we are Silver Castaway Club Members, our registration window opens at 90 days
prior. Gold Level Members get to
register at 105 days prior to their paid in full cruise and Platinum Level at
120 days.
We are all registered for our next and 5th Disney
cruise vacation—our last one as Silver Castaway Club Members. When we get to cruise #6 we will be at the
Gold Level. And, of course, the husband
is reaching for the ever elusive Platinum!
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