Online check-in at Walt Disney World and online check-in for your Disney Cruise are
two very different things. At Disney
World, some people elect not to use online check-in at all. In fact, Richard recently wrote a blog
for online check-in at Disney World which should help you decide if online
check-in at Disney World is right for you.
Online check-in for your Disney Cruise however, is definitely for
you. Obviously, Disney can’t force
everyone to do it, since even in this day and age there are still those who
avoid the internet like the plague. I’m
looking at you, Grandmom. But lets face
it, if Grandmom is avoiding learning how to use a computer, she’s certainly not
reading blogs. Even mine. So the vast majority of people will do it,
and indeed, should do it. Among other
things, it gives you a chance to make sure your names are spelled correctly, and
to double check your birthdates and other travel details.
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| Remy Anyone? |
Most importantly for you
though, if you are not on Disney transfers, at the end of online check-in, you
will pick a time you would like to arrive at the port. If you’re like me and want to be there as early
as humanly possible, you’ll want to choose your arrival time as early as
possible and as quickly as possible. Getting
onboard early allows you to maximize your time on the ship, snag any restaurant
reservations for Palo
and Remy
that you weren’t able to get before you boarded, enjoy empty pools, and
more. You’re not the only person who
wants to do all those things, so the earliest arrival times always go
quickly. Here are some tips to
streamline the process.
1. Create a Disney Cruise
Account and Check It – Long before your check-in day, you will want to create
an account on DisneyCruise.com. Once you have, you will be able to log in and
see your reservation at any point. On
the main page, Disney gives you a nice little countdown to your cruise and lets
you view details like your stateroom number and balance due. You can also set up a time to have Mickey
call you about your cruise! Wouldn’t
your kids love that? Wouldn’t anyone
love that? After you’ve created an
account, click on the “Planning
Center
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| Senses Spa & Salon on the Disney Fantasy |
2. Book Excursions and Palo Reservations
Beforehand – You can book excursions a few hours before you can check-in
online. If you have never sailed Disney
before, your booking window opens 75 days before your cruise. If you’ve sailed Disney at least once, but
less than 5 times, it opens up 90 days before.
If you’ve sailed Disney at least five times but less than 10, your
window opens 105 days before, and if you have sailed more than 10 times, or are
concierge, your booking window opens up 120 days before you sail. As long as you are paid in full, you can book
excursions, Palo and Remy reservations, nursery reservations, and spa
reservations at midnight when your booking window opens. The easiest way to do this is to let your Kingdom Konsultant agent do it for
you, but if you would like to do it yourself, you certainly can. Palo and Remy reservations, as well as a few
very popular excursions go very fast, so you will want to book these as soon as
you can (but all is not lost if you are unable to get Palo or Remy reservations
in advance—it’s a topic for another blog, but you almost always can get
reservations the day you board, assuming you get onboard early enough!).
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| Maybe you'd like to book a Getaway Package on Castaway Cay that includes bikes? |
4. Have Some Information
Ready – You will complete several short pages of information during the online
check-in process. The first page asks
you to confirm the address for all of the passengers in your stateroom. It will also ask for the name and phone
number for an emergency contact who is not sailing with you. All guests can share the same contact. Next, Disney is going to ask you to confirm
the official identification each passenger will be using. Have those ready so you can enter passport
numbers or other information. Disney
will then ask for your pre- and post-cruise plans. If you are flying, you’ll want to have your
flight information ready. It will also
ask for a credit card number for your onboard account. You can choose cash if you would prefer. Finally, the entire reason you are up at this
awful hour – you can pick your port arrival time. If you’re not sure, pick the earliest time
available to give yourself the most flexibility.
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| This is your ultimate goal. Your Gateway to Fun. |
5. You Can Edit Later – If
you are trying to get the earliest arrival time available, the most important
thing to remember is that you can edit. All
information you enter for on-line check in can be updated! If you’re going through the process and for
some reason it won’t accept your flight information, enter whatever it will accept
and go back and play with it later.
Can’t remember your emergency contacts phone number? Make up one and go back and fix it
later. The goal is to get everything
completed as quickly as possible so you can pick a good arrival time. After you’ve got that, then you can go back
and correct as needed.
That’s it! Is it worth getting up early to do it? Sometimes.
If you’re in the last group of people to be able to book, and your
cruise is already full, this is about your only chance of getting the first
arrival time. If you’ve sailed Disney
several times before, odds are good that early time will still be there at 6 in
the morning because so many people won’t get up early to do it. Or, so many people thought they would get up
early but turned off the alarm the second it started beeping. If you want to be sure to have the most
options available to you, do it. Get up
crazy early. If you’re more flexible or
less obsessive compulsive than me about being onboard first, then just wait
until you wake up the next morning.
There will still be times available.
Maybe not the times you want, but I can guarantee there WILL be times
available.
Do you have any tips to help
online check-in go faster? Did you
encounter any problems that slowed you down?
Tammy
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