Welcome back, Rebecca! When you book a vacation with Disney Cruise Line, you put down a deposit, and then pay off your cruise however you'd like, monthly, weekly, or in a couple larger payments. Either way, as long as you have the cruise paid off by 75 days prior to departure, you're all set.
I like to purchase
Disney Gift Cards throughout the year to save and use to pay off our cruises. I simply call the agents at Disney Cruise Line, or my travel agent, to make a payment using either my credit card or a Disney Gift Card, whenever I'd like to pay.
All of your meals and activities onboard are
included in the cost of your sailing. Of course, Disney offers lots of fun extras too, like
Port Adventures,
Adult Exclusive Dining, alcoholic beverages and other treats onboard that require additional costs, but none of those are necessary. You could simply pay your cruise fare and gratuities with no other extras and have one fabulous cruise vacation!
Gratuities are traditionally paid to certain Cast Members onboard who serve your family in various ways each day. These can either be pre-paid before you set sail, or charged onto your stateroom account on the last day of your cruise.
Traditionally, the following gratuities are paid: (per person, including children, per night of the sailing):
Dining Server: $4
Assistant Dining Server: $3
Head Server: $1
Stateroom Host: $4
Multiply that per night of your cruise and per person (including children) and you'll have the gratuities.
Have fun as you continue planning your magical sailing, Rebecca!
Marcy