Hi there, Meaghan!
Many years ago, my family of six wanted to vacation in Alaska. Since we have long been Disney Parks fans, we thought we'd enjoy traveling to Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder. Before our sailing, we expected it would be our only cruise ever. But after experiencing all that the Disney Cruise Line has to offer, we became lifelong Disney Cruise Line fans. Fourteen Disney cruises later and counting, it's now one of our favorite ways to vacation.
But developing our love of cruising nearly didn't happen. I admit I was confused by how booking accommodations for our large family in hotel rooms on land differed from booking staterooms on cruise ships. After some careful research, I discovered it was easy to fall in love with Where Magic Meets the Sea.
The easiest way to book your large-party Disney cruise vacation is to reach out to the Disney Cruise Line Contact Center. The Cast Members on the phone will help guide you through the available options to make it as simple as possible. Or you are welcome to reserve your cruise vacation using the Find a Cruise tool on the Disney Cruise Line Website. The key piece of information you may need is that most staterooms on a cruise ship will accommodate about four passengers. So when you search for a stateroom that fits your entire party of six people, it may seem that there are very few, if any, options. The options that are available, mostly concierge-level suites, tend to either be beyond my family's budget or so popular that they are already sold out. So I understand it may be confusing or even frustrating to find something that works.
What works for my family is usually to reserve two staterooms. We typically have one adult and two children in each room. Unlike hotel rooms on land, this multiple-stateroom approach is almost always more cost-effective than booking concierge suites on a cruise ship. I was pleased to learn that booking multiple staterooms opens up amazing possibilities. For example, on our first cruise to Alaska, we booked one stateroom on the port side of the ship and another stateroom on the starboard side of the ship. That way, we would always be sure to have a stateroom facing the most interesting scenery during our journey through the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska. On other cruises, we have booked connecting staterooms, almost like building our own large suite to fit everyone comfortably. On some cruises, an economical approach we have used is to book one Oceanview stateroom and one inside stateroom immediately across the hall.
Tony's Tip: For my family, the best thing of all about booking two staterooms for our Disney cruises has to do with the Disney Cruise Line's innovative split bathroom design available in many stateroom categories. By booking two rooms, we get double the bathrooms. With the split bathroom layout, it's almost like having four bathrooms total between our staterooms. I'm sure you understand better than most the great benefit that would be for a large family!
As you continue to prepare for your journey to "see the line where the sky meets the sea," I hope we hear from you again here at planDisney should you have any more cruise planning questions.
Happy sailing, Meaghan!
~Tony