Ahoy there, Linda!
Welcome to planDisney! A Disney cruise to
The Bahamas sounds like the perfect recipe for a family vacation. One of the reasons why I keep sailing with Disney Cruise Line is the DREAMy destinations. And tops on this list is Disney's private island,
Castaway Cay. I hope that’s your reasoning too!
Here’s where I recommend that you begin: start with the Disney Cruise Line website to narrow your search of itineraries that might work for your crew. It does help if you narrow the scope somewhat and possibly select a few cruises that are preferable. There isn’t a separate contact line for groups, so you can either
call a Disney Cruise Line Vacation Planning Specialist or a Travel Agent to make reservations for multiple staterooms for 14 total. If it’s easier, each couple/family could also be in charge of their own reservations using these same contacts.
The main goal is that whoever coordinates all these reservations, they should
link all the individual stateroom reservations together so you all will be seated close together during your
rotation dining! With a group of 14 people, there’s not a single table that will work, but Captain Mickey can seat you all in the same area with all the tables grouped together.
As you are considering
stateroom categories, you may also want to select specific stateroom locations so that you are all close together. In fact, you could also choose connecting staterooms so you can leave the door open between rooms to feel more connected. Using the
Deck Plans and choosing your particular ship, you can scope out which staterooms are connected.
For a large group traveling together, I would especially recommend the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. It both provides showtimes, dinner menus, activities and their times and locations as well as offers a chat feature, enabling everyone to stay connected throughout the day. This is very useful in tracking the kids while they are onboard and in the
Youth Clubs.
You can begin the booking process as soon as you like, but be mindful that itineraries are currently available through May 2023. Beyond that date, you will have to wait for the newest batch of voyages to be released. The general rule of thumb is that the farther out that you book your sailing, the better the overall pricing (subject to certain exceptions like holidays and peak times). I also recommend that you check to see if any
Special Offers might work for your timetable.
Linda, the Fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto) can’t wait to meet your Fab 14 on your adventure at sea! Please reach back out to planDisney anytime if you'd like more planning advice.
SEA ya real soon!
Sherry