Welcome aboard, Lori! Can you believe how much fun it is to plan your very first Disney Cruise? Then, of course, once you set foot on that ship for the very first time, you're in for one very magical vacation!
Disney Cruise Line has a photo system that is similar to PhotoPass in the Disney Parks, however there are a few differences. The two systems are not attached, so if you plan to visit the Walt Disney World Resort before or after your cruise, you will not be able to combine the photo packages.
On the ships, each guest will have a Key to the World Card, which serves as their stateroom key, charge card onboard, ticket to get on and off the ship (along with a photo id or passport), and also is used by photographers to assign any photos taken onboard to that guest's photo account. If you have a photo taken, the photographer will swipe your card to connect it with your name. Guests can go to
Shutters, the onboard photo shop, anytime throughout the cruise to view prints of their pictures or browse through their digital images at one of the photo kiosks. There are a variety of photo packages available, including individual print prices and digital packages of 10, 20 or all of your cruise photos on a cd.
Unlike PhotoPass in the parks, guests with Disney Cruise Line will not be able to view their photos online after the cruise, so be sure to decide on and purchase any pictures or cd packages you'd like before you disembark. With so many photo opportunities for families, with characters and other spots around the ship and on Castaway Cay, you're sure to end up with quite a few pictures from which to choose, Lori!
I hope that helps as you continue to plan your very first sailing with Disney! Please let me know if I can help with any other questions before you head out to sea with Captain Mickey!