Ahoy, Rebecca!
Welcome aboard planDisney! First, please allow me to extend a heartfelt thank you to your husband for his service—and to your entire crew for the sacrifices military families make every day. As a fellow service member, I completely understand wanting to stretch those vacation dollars like Elastigirl so you can splurge on fun extras—maybe a Port Adventure at
Castaway Cay or an adorable Captain Mickey plush for the kids!
When it comes to the
special military rates, they’re based on Disney’s availability and are typically released about two to six months before sailing. And while these deals can be a great value, staterooms that sleep five Guests are extremely popular and don’t appear as often under the special offer. But don’t let that sink your hopes—there is some flexibility for larger immediate families.
Now, here’s the part I always make sure to explain because it can be confusing: the military offer is limited to one stateroom per household. That means if a military member and their spouse are traveling together, they do not each get to book their own separate stateroom under the military rate. Currently, the only time Disney allows more than one stateroom at the discounted rate is when you have a larger immediate family that won’t
fit into a single stateroom (like your family!) or if there are multiple military members traveling. In that case, Disney may allow a second room to be booked under the offer, but you’ll need to assign at least one adult to each room, and connecting staterooms (if available) are a great option to keep everyone close. While booking online is an option, I recommend
giving Disney Cruise Line a call so they can make sure everything is smooth sailing.
It’s also worth noting that a military spouse traveling without the military member can absolutely still book a Disney cruise under the military rate. But when the military member and spouse are traveling together, it’s still one stateroom per household unless the larger family exception applies.
Finally, when checking in at the terminal, your husband will need to
show his retired military ID as proof of eligibility, so keep that handy. And since these offers can go quickly, I recommend keeping an eye on
the Special Offers page—you never know when new deals will pop up, so it’s worth checking weekly.
I hope this helps as you plan your family’s magical getaway! You’re about to make memories that will shine brighter than Rapunzel’s lanterns on the water, and that’s a kind of magic no discount can measure.
Sea ya real soon with a July full of fireworks at sea and memories that sparkle like pixie dust,
Dustin