Ahoy there, matey!
Aye! You've come to the right place. I'd be glad to share with you how I plan Disney cruises for my large crew. As a family of six, we've charted a course through many Disney Cruise Line vacations to accommodate all of us quite nicely.
You've probably found that sailing the high seas with a large party is a bit different than traveling on land. Typical cruise ship staterooms usually accommodate three or four passengers, sometimes as many as five. Some ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet may have concierge-level suites that can accommodate larger parties like yours. There are a few two-bedroom suites that sleep up to seven passengers on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. And the Wish-class ships (Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny) have a luxurious funnel suite that sleeps up to eight passengers, with a theme unique to each ship. To book a party larger than five passengers in one of these amazing suites, you may call the Disney Cruise Line directly.
While sailing on the Disney Magic, I once toured its Walter E. Disney Suite and found it stunning! And, though I admit a cruise in a funnel suite would be a dream come true, our family has found that we are very happy with our typical way of sailing together: by booking two deluxe staterooms. You can use the Find a Cruise online tool to book a large party in multiple staterooms. When you are selecting the number of Guests for your situation, you would indicate one adult for the first stateroom and probably two or three children with them. Then click "Add Another Stateroom" and select one adult and the remaining children for the second stateroom. Under the "Leaving" filter, you can select the month you wish to sail. You can choose other filters such as desired destination, departure port, and even specific ships. Once you have your filters in place, click the "View Dates" button to look for matching itineraries.
When you find an itinerary that works for you, click "Continue" to look for available staterooms. At this point, you'll be prompted to confirm the number of Guests in each stateroom. This is also where you are given the option to search only for connecting rooms. I like how the stateroom finder shows a visual representation of where the available staterooms are located on the ship's deck plan. When you choose a pair of staterooms, you can proceed to checkout, where you will enter names and other details about each Guest to complete your reservation.
I mentioned that my family usually books deluxe staterooms. Besides being the most common stateroom type on the Disney Cruise Line ships, they also feature an innovative split bathroom design. When traveling with a large family, we appreciate having lots of places to accommodate changing and getting ready for the day or our evening dinner. When we book two deluxe staterooms, it's almost as if we have four bathrooms at our disposal. That amazing feature combined with the convenience of connecting staterooms and the impeccable service of the Disney Cruise Line crew members make it seem like we are sailing in a luxurious multi-room suite. I think you'll agree it works very well for large families.
I hope you have a magical cruise, friend. Please let us know if there is anything else we can help with as you get ready to sail where Magic Meets the Sea!
Boy voyage!
~Tony