First time Disney cruiser questions

[Sarah Fallon]

So sorry for the repetitive questions, we have cruised before but this will be our first time on a Disney cruise. I had a couple questions I haven't been able to find the answer to
We will be doing a 5 day Bahamas cruise on the Magic.

I know they have the rotational dining, does that mean we will end up at 2 of the 3 restaurants twice? Or do you only rotate through the 3 restaurants once and then do buffets or paid restaurants the other 2 nights?

For the character meet and greets, I know some you can get reservations to online before cruising. Do these cost extra? Since we are a first timer we can only do it 75 days before sailing, so are the reservations all typically gone by this time? Does the Princess Gathering cost extra?

Once we book even though we cant add reservations until 75 days prior, will we still have the opportunity to see the reservations and things to add?

Thank you!

 

[xQuizx]

Hi for rotational dining on a 5 night you will end up going to 2 of the restaurants twice and the 3rd one once.

The ticketed meet and greets are free and can be booked before the cruise. If you can't book tickets at the 75 day mark, keep checking because spots may open up. On our previous cruise I booked less then 75 days out and were able to secure tickets one week before the cruise left. Note the Royal Court Tea costs money to do, but it is more then just a meet and greet and includes a tea party, singing, a picture and a doll.

Excursions and other reservations can be booked when your booking window opens, which is 75 days for first time cruises. If you can't book dining reservations online, you can try again once you board the ship on embarkation day.

Cheers!

 

[Geomom]

Also note that while you dine in the restaurants multiple times you only get that restaurant's menu once. The other 2 nights will be 'theme' nights, one of those will likely be the Pirates menu, not sure what the other one would be on a 5 night (but probably 'Til we meet again).

Check out Scott's blog: www.disneycruiselineblog.com He has menus, personal navigators from similar cruises, etc. Tons of info there!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Even outside of 75 days, on a full-booked spring break cruise I can still get times for Frozen Gathering and Princess Gathering. Maybe not at ideal times, but I can get them.

Some excursions are sold through, and so's Royal Court Tea.

 

[Shanti]

So sorry for the repetitive questions, we have cruised before but this will be our first time on a Disney cruise. I had a couple questions I haven't been able to find the answer to
We will be doing a 5 day Bahamas cruise on the Magic.

I know they have the rotational dining, does that mean we will end up at 2 of the 3 restaurants twice? Or do you only rotate through the 3 restaurants once and then do buffets or paid restaurants the other 2 nights?

For the character meet and greets, I know some you can get reservations to online before cruising. Do these cost extra? Since we are a first timer we can only do it 75 days before sailing, so are the reservations all typically gone by this time? Does the Princess Gathering cost extra?

Once we book even though we cant add reservations until 75 days prior, will we still have the opportunity to see the reservations and things to add?

Thank you!

You will have the opportuninty to have dinner in an MDR (main dining room) at no extra charge every night of any DCL cruise you will ever take, no matter how many days. Daily breakfast and lunch are also available in one of the MDRs. Or you can have breakfast and/or lunch at the buffet restaurant, Cabanas, if you choose. In the evening, you can have a full service (not buffet) dinner at Cabanas if you wish. For lunch or dinner or just to snack, you are also able to grab counter service food from the pool deck. There is also a self-service beverage station and soft-serve ice cream machine on the pool deck. All of those dining options are already prepaid when you purchase your cruise, so no, you won't be charged extra for them. One of the joys of cruising is getting to eat what you want without worrying about paying for it.

That said, you can spend extra money for an adult-only restaurant (reservations required), for specialty coffee at the Cafe, or for sweets or firm ice cream at the sweet shop on the Dream class ships. Popcorn, candy & canned drinks outside the ship's theatre cost extra. And, of course, alcoholic drinks always cost extra. But those are all totally optional, and you can have a cruise filled with great meals, desserts & snacks without paying an extra dime.

Even room service food is mostly free, but they don't deliver full meals, and you should tip the person who delivers the food.

Character meet & greets are free, even the princess ones that require reservations. We booked our Dream cruise only about 45 days in advance (a month after your activities booking window will open), and there was still plenty of availability for the Frozen meet & greet. The princess meet & greet was booked. However, there was a non-reservation princess meet & greet on the sailing, too. 7+ night cruises offer a character breakfast (mostly Disney Junior characters, plus Mickey), reservation required, and those breakfasts are free, too.

 

[Sarah Fallon]

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the insight.