Hi Samantha!
How thrilling that your countdown is now just a few months until your high seas adventure! I am so excited for you to sail with Captain Mickey.
I'm happy clapping when I hear you have
Port Adventures you'd like to do! These are definitely what I consider to be the secret sauce of a Disney cruise because they have allowed me to experience a culture and a destination I've never been before and a totally new-to-me activity like parasailing or swimming with dolphins.
Sounds like you've stumbled upon one of the Port Adventures that has age restrictions. In my experience, age limits are there for a reason. But rest assured, your 7-year-old can enjoy the
Oceaneer Club and
Oceaneer Lab while you experience an excursion in one of the ports. In fact, many times I have returned to retrieve my kids from the Youth Clubs and they weren't ready to leave they were having so much fun! I would share your plans with the youth counselors at check-in so they know you will be off the ship.
You will reserve Port Adventures online once you have paid in full and your Advance Booking Window opens. The number of days in advance is determined by your
Castaway Club level: 75 days for first time cruisers; 90 days for Silver level Guests who have sailed 1-5 cruises; 105 days for Gold level in Castaway Club (completed 5th cruise); and 120 days for Platinum Guests (completed 10 cruises). You have up until three days prior to your sailing to cancel any excursions.
As far as payment, Port Adventures will be put on your
stateroom account, usually on the day of the adventure. The reason why these excursions aren't charged upfront is in case they are cancelled due to weather, then Disney Cruise Line doesn't have to issue refunds. So while you can't prepay for the excursions, they will show up as a charge on your stateroom account at the end of your voyage. This amount will typically be charged to the credit or debit card you placed on file at Check-In.
You can always use Disney gift cards to apply to your stateroom balance, so if you would rather accumulate those as you look forward to your cruise, it might help keep that final balance lower than anticipated! Make sure you stop by
Guest Services to get those gift cards applied to your stateroom folio in advance for smooth sailing at disembarkation.
Cruise back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel if you have more questions. Wishing you a magical voyage!
Happy Sailing!
Sherry