Anchors aweigh, Kevin! Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney.
How exciting that you're planning a family cruise. With so much to see and do onboard
Disney Cruise Line, this is
the perfect getaway for a large family. Just two months ago my family and I sailed on the Disney Dream and my father-in-law joined us in a separate stateroom. It was a quick and easy process to plan for our whole group and I hope I can help you come up with a plan.
First, as you're planning, the booking process may depend on the method of payment for the four staterooms. With 8 adults, if each stateroom will be paid for independently, you may want to consider having each stateroom couple or group book their cruise and then
link all of your reservations together later for planning. On the Disney Cruise Line website, visit the tab labeled, "Plan a Cruise" and then click on, "Find a Cruise." You can filter by number of nights, departure port, and more.
Now, if you or another member of your traveling party is taking care of the payment for the whole group, that one person can book all staterooms together for the trip online. To do this, the steps are the same as above, but when you add the number of guests, you'll need to add them by stateroom. To do this, select the number of people in one stateroom, and then below that, you'll see the option to click on "add another stateroom." You can do this until you have four staterooms with the correct configurations for your group. Then, you can follow the prompts and select stateroom locations from open inventory from the ship's layout. When my father-in-law traveled with us, we had
staterooms of differing categories (inside versus verandah) but strategically booked them on the same floor, across the hall from each other.
Now, Kevin, if you prefer, you can
call Disney Cruise Line directly and speak to a Crew Member about booking. However, I would encourage you to view some of the available dates for the 3-night cruise from Port Canaveral first. At this time, guests can book through May 2025. It might also be helpful to know that you can secure your sailing with a deposit and then pay over time, up until 90 days before you depart for 3-night sailings.
I hope this helps as you are thinking about visiting the Bahamas and not only soaking up the sun but some quality family time as well. If you have any other questions just grab your compass and point it in the direction of planDisney. Like Moana, the sea calls us... to help others!
Wishing you a Magical voyage,
Lauren