Welcome aboard, Rebecca! I love any Disney vacation, but a
Land and Sea trip with a Disney cruise and playtime in the Disney Parks is my favorite way to escape!
If you're sailing on a closed-loop, round-trip cruise out of Port Canaveral and returning to Port Canaveral, like the Dream's three and four night Bahamian cruises or the Fantasy's seven night Caribbean sailings, you have a few options for travel documents. A passport is what I'd suggest, but not necessary. Guests can actually travel with their government issued I.D. (like a driver's license) if they're 16 and up, along with their state-issued (not hospital-issued) birth certificate. The birth certificate is all kids under 16 will need when traveling with their parents. Again, that is only applicable to round-trip sailings from the U.S. on certain itineraries. Please read the details about this on the
Passports and Travel Documents page of Disney Cruise Line's website to be sure you have the most up-to-date information for your exact itinerary.
That being said, I do recommend a passport or passport card because it adds extra security. I like resting assured that in the unlikely event of an emergency in a foreign port of call, I can more easily fly home. So, since you have plenty of time before your cruise, I do hope you'll get passports.
You asked how to link your reservations. Just give Disney Cruise Line a call and they can link your resort and cruise reservations and offer you the option to purchase
Disney's cruise ground transfers which make it super easy to transition from land to sea and back again, taking you straight to your Disney resort.
Have fun planning, Rebecca!
Marcy