Hi there, Ashley! Welcome to planDisney!
What a fun group cruise you have planned on the
Disney Magic! One of the best parts of sailing with a group is all the fun activities on board together, including meal times. I would love to share some suggestions so that you can join your group during their
Rotational Dining, as well as some suggestions for alternative dining options.
First, Ashley, you should know that Disney Cruise Line will always do their best to keep groups together. In fact, I just sailed on a Disney cruise where a group in our party also reserved their cruise at the very last minute, after our dining time was assigned. By doing the following things, they were able to join our dining time:
If you haven’t already, the very first thing you should do is
put in a waitlist request for earlier dining if you have been assigned to the second seating. Then,
link all of your group reservations together on the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App. This lets Disney Cruise Line know that your party should be seated together at dinner, if possible.
As you get closer to your sailing date, if you have not been moved to the earlier dining time, I suggest calling Disney Cruise Line and asking about the status of your waitlist request. If you find that you have reached embarkation day and have still not been moved with your group, you can put in an in-person request once you board the ship. Once you're on board and you’ve logged in to the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App using the ship's Wi-Fi and can see the Daily Plans for that day, you will find an activity called “Dining Reservation Changes”. This is where guests can make any dining changes. While never guaranteed, my sailing parties and I have been successful using some or all of these methods to change our dining time.
While I don’t foresee Disney Cruise Line not moving your dining time with your party, as they really do try to keep groups together, again, there are never any guarantees. So, just in case, I’ll also share that there are alternative dining options available during dinner times. There are a variety of delicious Quick-Service options on the Pool Deck.
Room Service can also be ordered to your stateroom 24-hours a day! Both the Quick-Service and Room Service options are included with your cruise fare. Palo, which is an
adult-exclusive restaurant, is also available during dinner for an additional cost. However, because it’s so popular (rightfully so, as it’s absolutely delicious!), you may only reserve Palo dinner once during your cruise, unless you’re also reserving it on the first evening, in which case you are able to reserve it twice.
Cabanas buffet, on the other hand, is only available for breakfast and lunch.
Ashley, I hope that I offered help with moving your dining time and plenty of other dining options, just in case you’re unable to. I wish you wonderful and delicious memories on your cruise! Please sail back to planDisney if you have any other questions.
You’ve Got a Friend in Me,
Rana