Hi, Bethany!
Welcome to Disney Cruise Line! If you are a fan of Walt Disney World, then you are going to really love all that Captains Mickey and Minnie have planned for you on a magical Disney Cruise. You will use your same Disney login, so you are already set to go with booking your cruise!
I think you are going to find that planning a Disney Cruise is a very simple process, especially compared to all the steps you are used to with planning a trip to Walt Disney World. To get started, head to the
Disney Cruise website and start like you would with your Disney World planning by selecting your travel dates (you just need to choose your month(s) to start then you will choose exact dates in a later step!) Add on departure port(s) and number of guests to see your sailing options. The more filters you select, the more your choices will narrow down making your selection a bit easier.
Once you find a sailing that you like you will then select your stateroom. Think of it as choosing your "preferred vs standard" room selection when booking at Disney World, except now you get to choose if you would like a window, balcony, or inside room. You then get to choose your exact stateroom. This is different than Disney World since they assign the room, here you get to pick! I like rooms by elevators, where others might prefer a location that is midship. Guests (me included!) spend a lot of time choosing a room location when really you can't go wrong wherever your room might be.
Here is where you will find the process super easy compared to planning a Disney World vacation: Instead of booking your dining reservations for each day of your vacation, on a Disney Cruise you select your dining time, and you are done! When boarding the ship, you will be given your
dining rotation and all you have to do is show up - how great is that!
Cruises itineraries are currently available through August 2027. Start checking later this summer for extended sailing dates. Hopefully you plan to sail soon, but either way, start browsing the website for sailings and go through the process of stateroom selection just to get a feel for your options. Your biggest decision will be selecting your specific sailing then it is all just filling in the details.
Once you are booked, you can sit back for a bit until you get closer to your sail date when you will pay your balance, and start booking
Port Adventures and complete your check-in. This will all be easy for you since you are a seasoned Disney planner. Many of the steps will look very similar to you so it will be smooth sailing transitioning to booking a Disney Cruise!
Feel free to stop back if you are deciding between different ships in the
Disney Cruise Line Fleet or specific sailings. Our crew here at planDisney has a lot of cruising experience so we are always happy to give suggestions or lead you in the right direction with your planning. I am attaching a video on First Time Cruisers that I think you will find helpful so make sure to watch that!
I have every confidence you will sailing like a pro and will have no trouble booking the perfect Disney Cruise - see you real soon!
Cathy