Category: Disney Cruise Lines

Disney Cruise Line Fall 2024 Itineraries Announced

Disney Cruise Line has announced the sailing itineraries for Fall 2024 (it actually includes Oct 2024 – Feb 2025). There are some amazing rare ones to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific!

Bookings begin on different days next week, starting Monday, June 19, 2023, for different levels of Castaway Cay members and other Disney affinity groups. General members (those who have never sailed on a Disney cruise) can book on Monday, June 26, 2023.

  • June 19 – Pearl Castaway Club
  • June 20 – Platinum Castaway Club & Golden Oak Club
  • June 21 – Gold Castaway Club
  • June 22 – Silver Castaway Club
  • June 22 – Disney Vacation Club & Adventure Insiders
  • June 26 – General Public

Celebrate the holiday season with Halloween on the High Seas sailings or Very Merrytime cruises. Check out Lighthouse Point, a new Disney Cruise Line island retreat celebrating the breathtaking beauty and vibrant culture of The Bahamas. Join in rare sailings exploring Hawaii and the South Pacific!

Costs are generally the lowest when you book during this initial release, and some of the more popular itineraries can sell out FAST, particularly the Hawaii and South Pacific sailings. It is expected that there will be long waits on the phone with DCL. If you don’t need to apply a placeholder or credit to your new booking, it’s definitely going to be faster to book on the DCL website starting at 8am ET, or have a travel agent (like me!) do it for you.

For more details, visit the Disney Cruise Line Fall Itineraries page:

If you would like me to help with your bookings, feel free to contact me ASAP. We love sailing DCL, so let me know if you want to chat about them. I have some recaps of our past sailings in the Trip Recap section of this site if you want to see what they’re like.

Pic ©DisneyCruiseLine

Disney Castaway Club Level Changes

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line just introduced two big changes to its Castaway Club levels, the sailing loyalty club. The check-in day is now staggered for each level and the new Pearl level benefits have started. You will reach Pearl level after you complete your 25th cruise.

You are automatically a member of the Castaway Club after you complete your 1st Disney cruise. You don’t have to manually join anything. Then, you are considered a member of the corresponding level as you book anything for the cruise number indicated below in parenthesis. The different levels grant you different benefits for bookings and more.

New Check-in Days:

Pearl (26th+ cruise) – 40 days
Platinum (11th-25th cruise) – 38 days
Gold (6th-10th cruise) – 35 days
Silver (2nd-5th cruise) – 33 days
1st Disney Cruise – 30 days

Before this change, everyone started checking in for their cruise 30 days before sailing, so that often bogged down their site and many folks were left frustrated, especially if they stayed up til midnight ET to do it. Now, each level starts on a different day, so hopefully, spreading it out will help improve the process.

If you have a sailing coming up in the next 30-40 days, check your reservation to see if it reflects your new check-in date yet. You want to check in as soon as you can, once your window opens at midnight ET of that day, so you can pick an early port arrival time. The more time on the ship, the better!

Activity Booking Days:

The check-in day is different from the day when you can book your excursions and onboard activities. That is already staggered by Castaway Club level.

Pearl (26th+ cruise) – 123 days
Platinum (11th-25th cruise) – 120 days
Gold (6th-10th cruise) – 105 days
Silver (2nd-5th cruise) – 90 days
1st Disney Cruise – 75 days

You have to be paid in full by that day to book anything. Some of the most popular onboard activities like alcohol testings, adult specialty restaurants, and port excursions can fill up quickly, so make your bookings as soon as your window opens.

For details on how the DCL check-in process works, visit my Online Check-in page.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you want to chat about booking a cruise.

Bon voyage!

Disney Cruise Line Summer 2024 Itineraries Announced

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line has announced the sailing itineraries for Summer 2024 (late May – late Sept). Bookings begin on different days next week, starting Monday, March 27, 2023, for different levels of Castaway Cay members and other Disney affinity groups. General members (those who have never sailed on a Disney cruise) can book on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

  • March 27 – Platinum Castaway Club & Golden Oak Club
  • March 28 – Gold Castaway Club
  • March 29 – Silver Castaway Club
  • March 29 – Disney Vacation Club & Adventure Insiders
  • March 30 – General Public

Be among the first to drop anchor at Lighthouse Point, a new Disney Cruise Line island retreat celebrating the breathtaking beauty and vibrant culture of The Bahamas. Or set sail on a glorious adventure exploring the majesty of Europe, the wilderness of Alaska or the tropical islands of the Caribbean.

Costs are generally the lowest when you book during this initial release, and some of the more popular itineraries can sell out fast, particularly the initial Lighthouse Point sailings. It is expected that there will be long waits on the phone with DCL. If you don’t need to apply a placeholder or credit to your new booking, it’s definitely going to be faster to book on the DCL website starting at 8am ET.

For complete details, visit the Disney Cruise Line Summer Itineraries page:

If you would like me to help with your bookings, feel free to contact me ASAP. We love sailing DCL, so let me know if you want to chat about them. I have some recaps of our past sailings in the Trip Recap section of this site if you want to see what they’re like.

©DisneyCruiseLine

Disney Cruise Line Silver Anniversary Sailings

DCL Silver Anniversary

Disney Cruise Line is celebrating it’s Silver Anniversary at Sea this summer!

In July of 1998, the Disney Magic embarked on its maiden voyage, introducing the world to a new kind of cruise vacation where families are immersed in Disney storytelling, dazzling entertainment and unparalleled hospitality at sea.

To commemorate the 25 years, DCL will be bringing special entertainment, foods, merchandise, and celebratory experiences to select summer sailings.

DCL was the first cruise line to have a fireworks show at sea. To commemorate the anniversary, they will have a new fireworks show on these sailings. It will be set to a score of iconic Disney music and feature a brand new song created for the anniversary.

The fireworks show will be held on anniversary sailings in the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. They can’t do fireworks on the Alaskan sailings for the sake of the wildlife there.

Fireworks on the ship

There will also be a Captain’s Reception one evening of each sailing to toast this special occasion.

Mickey and Minnie will be dressed in their new anniversary outfits for this fancy event, as seen in the photo above.

In addition, all Castaway Cay members will receive a limited-edition framed art print in their stateroom to commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

Visit the Silver Anniversary at Sea sailings page for a list of these sailings on each Disney Cruise Line ship.

As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about Disney cruises. We love them so much and hope to do one of these. Can’t wait!

All 5 Disney ships

©Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line Purchased a Ship

Disney ship

Exciting news!
Disney Cruise Line announced today that they have bought a ship that is already three quarters completed and will be able to launch in 2025!

Its previous owner declared bankruptcy and DCL was able to buy it in order to expand its cruise services.

This ship is slated to port outside the United States. The rumor is that it’ll be based in Asia, so that could be really neat, especially if it ports near the Disney parks there.

They will still apply the iconic Disney ship colors and red funnels on the exterior, but no word yet on details for the interior. Can’t wait to hear more! I’ll keep you posted.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about Disney cruises. We love them! I still have to catch up and post about our last cruise in October. Any guesses where we went? My pic above is from that sailing.

Tropical Storm Nicole

Storm forecast

Update 11/11/2022: As of today, all attractions have reopened, Florida airports have reopened, though will likely take some time for all flights to go back to normal schedules, and cruise ports are reopening, though today’s sailings will still have some impacts. Check with your travel sources for the latest information before going.

Unfortunately, Florida is in the path of another tropical storm, which is expected to turn into a hurricane as it makes landfall on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov 9-10, 2023.

Orlando International Airport has announced that it is stopping commercial operations at 4pm ET on Wednesday Nov 8, 2022. Palm Beach International Airport will close at 9am ET on Wednesday also. No information on any reopenings.

Other Florida airports have not announced closures yet but I suspect flights will still be impacted, so check your flight status if you have any travel booked thru any Florida airports this week.

Disney World has already announced phased park closures between 5-7pm ET on Wednesday night, and staying closed on Thursday. Dining reservations will end early as well. All nighttime shows are cancelled.

Fort Wilderness and other resorts that are more exposed to the elements are closing as well. If you had a reservation, you should be contacted by Disney. All other resorts will remain open.

Water parks and mini-golf at Disney World and Universal Orlando will be closing early on Wednesday and staying closed on Thursday also.

Universal Orlando has announced the Universal Orlando Resort parks and CityWalk, will close early on Wednesday, Nov 9th at 5 pm ET. The Universal hotels will remain operational.

Disney Cruise Line has announced itinerary changes for this week’s sailings in the Bahamas and Caribbean. In addition, due to the storm’s effect on the ports, arrival and departures may be changed. If you have a cruise this week, keep a close eye on your emails for updates.

I’ll update here as I hear of other attraction closures, but I think it’s safe to assume that most will do the same, and that anything on Wednesday evening and all day Thursday will have some impact. Check the locations’ websites and social media channels for the latest information.

I will also have updates on my Instagram, ADVENTURES_BY_ANNE, so follow me there as well.

Here are some weather update pages:

If you will be impacted by this, start preparing and stay safe.

Pic ©The Weather Channel

Disney Cruise Line Testing Change

Disney Cruise Line just sent this announcement that testing is no longer required before cruises.

Beginning November 14, 2022, for sailings departing from the United States, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests (regardless of vaccination status) to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing. Disney Cruise Line continues to highly recommend that all Guests be fully vaccinated and encourages unvaccinated Guests to take a COVID-19 test two days prior to sailing.

For sailings departing from International destinations, Disney Cruise Line adheres to the local laws, regulations and protocols in place, including those related to health and safety. Guests on these will be notified of any specific requirements closer to their sail date. In addition, we recommend that Guests review and stay up to date with any cruise-specific requirements, restrictions or recommendations that may be in place for travel to destinations outside of the United States. 

As our health and safety protocols and operational guidelines are subject to change, please visit the Know Before You Go section of our website for the latest information and answers to many frequently asked questions.

Guests booked on sailings departing from the U.S. on or after February 1, 2023, may modify or cancel their sailing by November 17, 2022 without any Disney-imposed cancellation fees. Please contact your travel agent for details on how to cancel or modify your booking. Please note that change fees and cancellation fees imposed by third-party suppliers, such as airlines and hotels, as well as travel insurance, are not refundable. Refunds will be processed back to the original form of payment. Standard cancellation policies and terms and conditions apply for any cancellation or modification requests received on or after November 18, 2022.

©Disney Cruise Line