r/dcl • • 21h ago

DISCUSSION First DCL cruise with questions. Preboard hotel? Excursions for 2yr old? Any tips?

0 Upvotes

Hello! I'm super excited we just booked our first DCL cruise, the 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral on Disney Treasure departing Saturday, December 26 from Port Canaveral, FL with stops in Cozumel, Mexico, George Town, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Jamaica and Disney Castaway Cay. We have 2 kids a 2 yr and a 7 yr old as well as an elder that is not super mobile (this is the main reason we booked a cruise vs trying to tackle the parks at this time of year). I have two main questions so far...

  1. Where should we stay the night before? We're thinking of flying in the morning before, Friday Dec 25th and staying at a hotel super close to make things less stressful and also for mobility reasons. Is there a place that handles your luggage too (this parts not necessary but helpful I'd imagine with 2 kids and another liability elder)? Our TA suggested one of the Disney hotels but it's almost 5k for one room for the single night and we'd need 2 rooms. We're thinking of something like the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront or even closer like the Homewood Suites by Hilton Cape Canaveral-Cocoa Beach which are $300-400 each room. We're easy.

  2. What are the excursions to book with a 2 yr and 7 yr old? I was the last booking phase and the bippity boppity boutique was long gone. I booked the sub thing and a KUZU trip I think it was. The KUZU was listed as 3+ and the 2yr olds name was greyed out but im going to try bringing him anyways and he'll just sit with the elder by the pool. The sub thing was the only thing that explicitly listed 0-3 yr age. Everything else was 3+ and the kids name was greyed out when I tried to book it. I didn't realize Disney would have so many things 3+! What are some great things for the 2yr old to go on with us? we all roll together so if he can't go we don't go.

Anything else you guys think would be helpful for a first time DCL'er to know? Thanks so much for taking the time to read all this and replying.


r/dcl • • 15h ago

TRIP PLANNING Frontier just changed our return flight

0 Upvotes

As the title says Frontier moved our return flight from 2:30 pm from MCO to 1PM. Should I call the airline or is this new time still ok?


r/dcl • • 18h ago

DISCUSSION Is the website always this terrible?

0 Upvotes

Been trying to book the Believe for over an hour and the website keeps crashing on my phone and laptop. I ended up calling and have been on hold for an hour now.

This happened when we went to do the online check in for our first sailing a few weeks ago. Lots of folks in the Facebook group said they had the same issue. I ended up missing all of the reservations we wanted because we couldn’t get on.

The Disney Parks site has improved so much I’m surprised the cruise site is so terrible. Is that normal?


r/dcl • • 8h ago

DISCUSSION What's next?

0 Upvotes

Disney Wonder

Disney Dream

Disney Fantasy

Disney Wish

Disney Treasure

Disney Destiny

Disney Adventure

Disney Believe

Disney Imagination

???? Disney ________________


r/dcl • • 19h ago

CASTAWAY CLUB Silver Believe Early Booking

0 Upvotes

Was anyone else able to book prior to the 8am early access?


r/dcl • • 12h ago

FOOD Palo Changes, What?

23 Upvotes

Ok, I’ve already read about the à la carte vs prix fixe which doesn’t bother me.

But what is this in the email I just got?

“With this change, Members and their Guests staying in the same stateroom can continue to use their $55.00 USD per person credit toward a broad range of à la carte dinner menu offerings. This exclusive benefit is limited to dinner only. As a reminder, brunch is not included in this offer. “

I’m sorry, brunch what?


r/dcl • • 8h ago

TRIP PLANNING Any have a GTY room on a sold out cruise? How did it go?

3 Upvotes

We were able to book a GTY deluxe family OV verandah (not the one that gives a discount) on the Believe Maiden Voyage (super excited) but I’ve never done a GTY room before. Since the cruise is likely going to sell out, I am curious is anyone else has done a GTY room (any kind) on a sold out cruise and how it went!

When did you get your room number? What kind of room did you get? Were you happy?

Thanks!! I am excited but nervous to get our room number!


r/dcl • • 7h ago

DISCUSSION Before Palo Removes the Prix Fixe Menu…

0 Upvotes

Does anybody have a photo of the current menus? I’d love to be able to compare items once they update!


r/dcl • • 6h ago

DISCUSSION So this is a story time about the incredi course

0 Upvotes

ok so me and my dad went on the course and the only thing i struggled on was the little black coil things i think my dad did to but i got to the end turned around my dad was not their keep in mind i was like 10 and the cast members like keep moving so i walk around the side without my dad and i was still looking and i walked around the side and my dad snuck up behind me and scared the crap out of me apparently he got stuck in the coils could not get out intill he did and then like ran and got a rash on his knee so that was fun i guess


r/dcl • • 12h ago

DISCUSSION Disney vs. Others

0 Upvotes

We are a family that frequents Disney parks. And to be quite honest, the sheer volume of ppl in the parks and the ratio that are just obnoxiously rude, has made me pivot back to cruising.
I have 2 adult special needs loves of my life - that love Disney and love cruising.

My question-
What makes DCL better than others? I’d like to hear some specifics!
We are near the Galveston port so it would be the Magic. At least to begin!
TIA


r/dcl • • 20h ago

TRIP PLANNING Help! Disney Adventure Embarkation Day Itinerary

0 Upvotes

Magical day everyone!
I just wanted to pick your brain regarding what the best things to do are on embarkation day on the Disney Adventure.

We’re called in at 1230 PM, and we’re overwhelmed as what to do first BEFORE the muster drill.

Some things we really want to do are
-Iron Cycle Test Run
-Dining in Navigator’s
-Sail Away Party
-Spa Open House
-Request for Special Dining Arrangements via Guest Services

What would be a realistic timeline given our preference?

Hope you can help us! Thank you!


r/dcl • • 9h ago

FOOD Fantasy - 5N Very Merrytime Western Caribbean Menu?

0 Upvotes

Greetings all, quick question, does anyone know if the menus change for this sailing or if it's standard rotational dining? Thanks!


r/dcl • • 14h ago

TRIP PLANNING How long will a refund to gift card take BEFORE sailing?

0 Upvotes

For those of you who have cancelled a sailing or changed to a less expensive one after paying in full with gift cards, how long did it take until you saw the refund processed back to the GC? I changed sailings to a cheaper one and I'm debating whether I should ask them to process the refund or just leave the overpayment on my reservation.


r/dcl • • 20h ago

DISCUSSION Believe Florida Discount?

0 Upvotes

My wife wants to book a trip today when Believe reservations open to us. The price is a lot higher than we usually spend because we have always used the Florida resident discount. I’m ok with the price but obviously would prefer to spend less. I was wondering if there’s any data/precedent for how long the other new ships took to start offering the FL resident discount.


r/dcl • • 13h ago

TRIP PLANNING Tours de viaje en crucero de Disney

1 Upvotes

La vara es que planeo ir con mi familia el otro año a un crucero de 7 días de Disney que pasa por Cozumel, Gran Caiman y Jamaica y me gustaría saber si alguno aquí ha hecho ese viaje y ha tomado alguno de los tours que ofrecen en el crucero, si los tomaron, ¿como les fue y que hicieron?. Si no tomaron tours, entonces, que hicieron al llegar a cada estación?


r/dcl • • 12h ago

TRIP PLANNING Cruising to the Bahamas with a foreign exchange student

1 Upvotes

We’re planning a Bahamas cruise with our 17-year-old foreign exchange student from Poland! We’ve cruised before with our elementary-aged daughter, but this will be our first time traveling with an international student, who’s not our own.

Has anyone done something similar? I’m especially curious about what documentation we’ll need beyond her passport, and anything else we should be aware of to avoid unfortunate surprises at the port or when returning to the U.S.

Also, we’d love recommendations for activities or excursions your teens enjoyed, both on and off the ship! We want to make sure she has a great time.

Thanks for your advice!


r/dcl • • 6h ago

ONBOARD ACTIVITIES Aye aye!

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8 Upvotes

r/dcl • • 11h ago

TRIP PLANNING First time at Pt Everglades for Destiny - boarding as chaotic as PC?

0 Upvotes

Not doing Disney transport, not concierge, and at silver status, not anticipating getting some incredibly early PAT/boarding group, but at PC I'm always struck by how nuts the terminal seems with long lines and waits. Are we finding it to be similar at Everglades?


r/dcl • • 14h ago

TRIP PLANNING Yay!

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22 Upvotes

Finally used our placeholder we got in May! This will be number 2 for us after we loved the Destiny!


r/dcl • • 17h ago

TRIP PLANNING Where to purchase a Disney GC with a Visa GC in 2026?

0 Upvotes

Was gifted some Visa GCs and want to use them for a DCL cruise.

I understand that you can’t do it at Target but anywhere else that you can do this?

TIA.


r/dcl • • 17h ago

DISCUSSION Wish ship "scent?"

0 Upvotes

We finished our first Disney cruise a few weeks ago on the Wish. I regret not getting the ships scent from the gift shop now. Does anyone know if I can get it online somewhere or what the combo of essential oils are so I can try and replicate it? Thank you!


r/dcl • • 13h ago

SEASONAL EVENTS Christmas cruise questions

4 Upvotes

Hi, so I am semi new to dcl, I’ve only gone on one cruise, the Disney Treasure August 22-29 of this year. I am booking a last minute cruise with my grandma on the Disney Treasure for Dec. 5-12 2026.
My grandma has never been on a Disney Cruise before and since we both love Disney though and wanted to do something fun, we thought this would be nice. However, I was wondering what type of events will be going on for Christmas and what we should bring. I know about Pirate night but wasn’t sure if there would be a holiday themed night. And how it would change the cruise. I want to make sure she has a really nice time and we don’t miss anything.
Any information would be greatly appreciated since we both have so little information.


r/dcl • • 15h ago

DISCUSSION DCL ships set to remove prix-fixe menus from Palo restaurants

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70 Upvotes

Per Scott Gustin: “Beginning Oct. 22, Disney Cruise Line’s Palo restaurants will begin phasing out the prix-fixe dinner menu and move to à la carte menu. The changes will roll out across the ship fleet on the following dates:

Oct. 22: Wonder

Oct. 23: Fantasy, Dream, Wish

Oct. 24: Magic, Treasure, Destiny

Oct. 26: Adventure

Platinum and Pearl Castaway Club members, along with guests staying in the same stateroom, can continue to use a $55 per-person credit toward à la carte dinner items.”

I’m curious if Scott misspoke about that final note. It’s been my understanding that Pearl and Platinum cruisers can provide dining credit to just one additional guest each, not the entire room.


r/dcl • • 9h ago

TRIP PLANNING Wish 10/26-10/30.

2 Upvotes

We are sailing in a couple weeks for Halloween on high seas. We go to castaway cay on Tuesday and Lookout Wednesday.

Does anyone know which night will be pirate? And which will be the Halloween?

We are 5:45 dinner. For the Halloween night how does the trick or treating and mouse querade show work? Are both before each dinner time? We are hoping to be able to do pirate night, Halloween night, and Aladdin show without any of those interfering with each other…

Any insider help would be greatly appreciated.


r/dcl • • 6h ago

PHOTO / VIDEO Saying goodbye to Castaway Cay. Taken from the Dream on 9/28.

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108 Upvotes