Welcome aboard, Tracy! It sounds like you are just beginning to plan a magical Disney cruise for your family! Well, the best place to start is with Disney Cruise Line's website. Let me tell you a bit about how it all works!
Check out the
Find A Cruise page of the website first. There you can play around with the different options that are available. If you know you want to sail on a certain itinerary, say the Bahamas, choose that option. It will then narrow down which ships and which months are available for that. Or, if you know what month you want to sail but you don't know where or which ship, choose your month first. Honestly, that's the way I always do it. We know when we can sail, so we then play around with the options in that month to find the cruise itinerary that best fits our budget. No matter which ship you decide on, you'll have an amazing time!
Of course, the cruise length is a factor too. The sailings out of Port Canaveral are normally three or four nights on the Dream to the Bahamas, and seven nights on the Fantasy to either the Eastern or Western Caribbean. Now, the Magic and Wonder sail out of a few different ports throughout the year for a variety of cruise lengths, from ports including Port Canaveral, Miami, San Juan, and Galveston. Usually in the summer, the Magic is in Europe and the Wonder is in Alaska. There are some additional special itineraries like a Hawaiian itinerary on the Wonder, the Panama Canal sailings on the Wonder, a few West Coast sailings on the Wonder, and the Transatlantic crossings on the Magic. But, once you choose your month, you'll see exactly which itineraries are available to you!
So, have fun as you begin to browse all of the exciting options available, Tracy. As you continue to plan, be sure to stop back here if you have any other questions or want some additional tips. We're happy to help! Happy planning!