Well hello here Catherine, I'd like to wish you a very warm welcome aboard planDisney!
It's fantastic being able to embark on your first cruise journey and I hope that the convenience of sailing out of
Southampton definitely will be a nice experience for your family next summer! During my years living and working at sea, I was in the Entertainment department and worked in the youth spaces on board and am happy to help you with your question about onboard activities!
On your
4-Night France Cruise from Southampton that departs on the arrival date you indicated, you'll have two Days At Sea when the vast majority of Youth Programming will take place across
Disney's Oceaneer Club,
Disney's Oceaneer Lab,
Edge and
Vibe; you'll be happy to hear that the vast majority of activities available on board in these spaces don't require advance booking. The major exceptions may be special Character Greetings like the
Royal Gathering (which some folks may still refer to as the Princess Gathering), a special transformation at the
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or attending the
Royal Court Royal Tea which are separately ticketed experiences.
Now you're absolutely right that as a
First-Time Guest, you'll have a shorter booking window compared to fellow seafarers who've already completed several sailings. However in my experience, these tend to have slightly better availability when sailing out of international ports like Southampton due to a different demographic mix and perhaps even less children on board compared to what you'd find on cruises departing from Florida. This could be due to anything from
special offers and promotions targeted to local residents, school term schedules or even the relative cost for a family to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
If you do encounter a lack of availability online prior to your voyage, I always highly recommend checking once again while you are on board - while you might have more luck on longer itineraries where they have a bit more flexibility and wiggle room with booked activities, it's still worth asking to see about any last-minute spots as they open up. If there's anything that I always encourage First-Time cruisers to do, it's to take advantage of the Open House hours at each of the spaces on board; often folks don't realize that they are free to explore some of the best-themed spaces full of Disney details during these set periods to speak with the Youth Activities Team about can't-miss activities in store - and you just might encounter characters that you wouldn't have been able to meet otherwise!
Do come back to planDisney again
for more nautical knowledge ahead of your voyage Catherine; here's to successfully earning your sea legs for the first time!
Prince