Ahoy, Pamela! Thanks for bringing your Disney Cruise Line questions to planDisney. It looks like you will be setting sail this summer and want to make sure that all of your vacation details are in shipshape condition.
Disney Cruise Line recognizes repeat guests with membership in the Castaway Club and offers exclusive benefits based on the number of completed sailings. There are four different tiers of membership:
- Silver Member: After completing 1 sailing
- Gold Member: After completing 5 sailings
- Platinum Member: After completing 10 sailings
- Pearl Member: After completing 25 sailings
Guest membership levels are calculated based on the number of sailings that they have already completed and their benefits will apply accordingly. However, in order to remain active in the program, Disney Cruise Line does require that Castaway Club Members book or sail on at least one eligible cruise within 5 years of their last Disney voyage.
One of the biggest perks of being in the Castaway Club is that members get early access to book new itineraries, to make advanced reservations for certain activities onboard, and to complete the online check-in process. When sailing with Disney Cruise Line, the Castaway Club Membership levels are considered stateroom specific and only apply to the guests sharing a stateroom with the member. So, if one of the members of your sailing party is a Castaway Club member, then their benefits will only apply to the stateroom that they are assigned to and will not apply to any other staterooms even if you have linked the reservations.
First-time guests can begin the online check-in process 30 days prior to embarkation, but Castaway Club members get earlier access with the exact number of days being determined by their specific membership level. To find out what date your online check-in opens, go to the main Disney Cruise Line website, login to your account, and click on the tab at the top labeled “Already Booked.” That will open up a drop-down menu where you can select “My Reservations.” Your upcoming cruise page will open and there will be a section labeled “Cruise Details” on the left. Under that is another section labeled “Online Check-In,” which will list the exact date. If you already linked the other reservations, then you should be able to see all of them under “My Reservations” and will be able to see the specific date assigned to each stateroom.
Finally, remember that online check-in opens when the clock strikes midnight Eastern Time (EST), so don’t forget to account for the controlling time zone when you add the event to your calendar.
If you have any other questions before you set sail this summer, then feel free to reach back out to us here at planDisney. Happy sailing!
Catherine