Hiya Kelly!
Welcome aboard! Your first cruise is a very exciting thing, I'm so glad you sent your question to us. Let's get you ready to set sail!
You are very smart to plan extra time to get to the port. I highly recommend flying in a day before your cruise and staying in a hotel near the port so that embarkation day is a breeze! I try to choose a flight where if we get delayed or bumped we still have other options, so we often fly early in the day. If flights and hotels are open for booking at the time you book your cruise then I would totally do it all at the same time! Sometimes the cruises we are booking are too far in the future to book flights and hotels, but I always try to get those things settled as soon as I can. We choose airlines and hotels with flexible cancelation policies and use
travel insurance to cover us if things change.
Disney Cruise Line offers options for helping you book both flights and hotel rooms for pre and post-cruise stays. You can find details about the
airline program and the
hotel stays on the website, or you're also welcome to
call and they'll help you book everything. You can also request some great
digital tools to help you plan your cruise! I know booking all those things at once can be a bit overwhelming. If there's a cruise you have your eye on then I'd get that scheduled first because spaces on the ships can fill quickly. Then I would find a good hotel option, and then choose a flight that works for you. It's a lot, but if you just work through one step at a time you'll be there before you know it!
When you do have everything booked you should download the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App to access the countdown clock! It's an adorable way to watch the seconds, minutes, hours, and days tick away until embarkation day.
Happy planning, Kelly! Be sure to sail back over if you have other questions, my panelist friends and I would love to help.
Keep moving forward!
Amanda