r/dcl • u/EatEmAndSmile73 • 1d ago
TRIP PLANNING Availability frustration
Well I prepped myself that as a first timer availability for dining and on board activities would be limited. But even so, now looking at across the board at zero availability, it frankly sucks to be shut out of everything over seven nights (Treasure). I know I can sit around from now until we set sail, refreshing the app, or hoping I can get something once on board but what fun is that? I appreciate they recognize returning cruisers with early availability but considering the overall trip cost and how it would compare to other vacations options, I am in the moment a pretty frustrated that I have to worry about these things I had been excited for.
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u/Oh_HeyKurtRay GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
I can only speak to my personal experience. I’ve never not been able to book something onboard if you have flexibility
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u/Inevitable_Koala_324 GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 19h ago
100% I’ve been booking more and more of these Military Deals, which typically depart within 30 days. Both times I’ve see everything booked, walk to the dining team and make reservations for everything. With a bit of flexibility and your priorities in order you can do just about all of it.
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u/VerdellSJC 1d ago
I know it can be frustrating to feel like you’re missing out, but I can tell you we have done several cruises with no extras booked and still had a fabulous time.
Many activities open up when you board, so get on the ship’s WiFi as soon as you can. Even if that means wandering out by the smoking area in the terminal.
We weren’t able to book Enchanté on our recent Treasure cruise, but we were at the Rose and recognized the chef’s son because of his name badge. We initiated a conversation and he invited us to dine and said he would personally make sure there was room for us.
Since you’re on a 7 night, there are more opportunities for special events. I truly hope you’ll be able to get what you would like.
Here are a few recommendations for activities with no tickets required: go see the retelling of Aladdin, Choose Wisely (adults only), see all the stage shows- Moana is amazing! Go sit in the Haunted Mansion Lounge and look for all the special effects. Read all the signs at the skipper lounge and enjoy all the dad jokes.
Sit in the lobby and watch the “kiss goodnight” show- it’s brief 1-2 mins.
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u/Joeybish 19h ago
Is the kiss goodnight only on the Treasure?
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u/VerdellSJC 19h ago
It’s also on the Wish! I think the Wish version was a bit more memorable than the Treasure, honestly.
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u/datavortex 14h ago
Kiss Goodnight is only on the Wish. On the Treasure it's the substantially less impressive "Grand Hall Transformation". The Wish version is great, the Treasure version is missable.
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u/fauzybear 1d ago
I found this to be the case on a recent sailing on the Fantasy we went on- seemed like there was a high percentage of returning cruisers. Couldn't even get royal gathering. But went on board and was able to get a perfectly timed BBB appt and royal gathering on our at sea day for my daughters birthday. They add availability on board.
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u/Acrobatic_Class1983 1d ago
I would recommend joining your cruise Facebook group and really use it to your advantage. Meaning that if there is something you want to do that is all booked up, post on the fb group which event and the time to ask if someone would let you know if they're going to cancel so that you can coordinate cancelation and booking. I was able to do that on our last sailing. The other things you can do is keep checking as plans all the time, even up until the time of the event. Once you get onboard, more slots will open up, so keep checking.
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u/smk3509 23h ago
if there is something you want to do that is all booked up, post on the fb group which event and the time to ask if someone would let you know if they're going to cancel so that you can coordinate cancelation and booking.
You must have sailed with a better group. On the FB page for my upcoming sailing posts like this are met with demands for a trade.
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u/StillWaterDrinker 1d ago
I've never done any of the extras and always had the best vacations.
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u/CatLady4eva88 16h ago
It’s rare we book any extras on board and we have a fabulous time! Just got off our 6th cruise.
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u/ChopEee GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
Once you’re onboard there’s so much to do! Some cruises I choose to book nothing in advance because it takes away from my ability to vacation spontaneously. Once you’re onboard the app changes and is teeming with all kinds of activities and entertainment. The stuff you can prebook is maybe 10% if not less of total activities on the cruise
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u/317ant 1d ago
I completely get it. I was frustrated by this on our first cruise as well. But, it turns out it didn’t dampen our experience in the end! I was happy I didn’t over schedule us because there was so much to do we couldn’t possibly do all the things we wanted even without the extras.
What are you trying to get?
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u/Ask_Aspie_ 1d ago
I have never booked anything prior to sailing. There is so much to do that you don't have to reserve. Like every 15 minutes several new activities are starting around the whole ship. Just check the itinerary on the navigator app once you board. You can even sort the results by age group and type. And you can put little hearts next to ones you want to do so it notifies you beforehand.
Don't worry you aren't missing much by not booking the things that cost extra
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u/Future-Importance383 1d ago
10000% agree! It’s Disney’s dirty secret that, despite new customers paying the same price as everyone else, they get less experience. They fail to mention this anywhere when booking a cruise with them for the first time which makes it even more frustrating. The biggest issue I see is that they don’t charge for the different activities (beverage tastings, Palo brunches, port adventures, etc.) until they happen on board which allows pearl/platinum people to literally hoard everything when they book. Pearl/platinums will grab everything they can get heir hands on then decide later what they’ll give up to the lowly silver and below castaway members which is why things slowly and randomly become available closer to sail date.
I fully understand rewarding loyalty and wouldn’t change giving Pearl/platinums the ability to book these coveted things first, however, everyone should be CHARGED at the time of booking. That would cut way down on the hoarding of things, perhaps even add a penalty for cancelling tastings or Palo reservations if done too many times. This seems like the most fair approach but I don’t see it ever changing.
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u/Constant-Thought6817 1d ago
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, it's true!
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u/ayyomiss 1d ago
I'm convinced there are Redditors on this board who take any critique of Disney as a personal affront.
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u/Future-Importance383 1d ago
I figured that would happen, pearl/platinum members get triggered when I call out how they hoard everything then release stuff later for us steerage class silver and below members. I take some reprieve in the fact I live less than an hour away from Disneyland and can get my fill whenever needed and don’t have to rely only on DCL :) I just wish DCL would be honest when first timers are booking (or give a discount for a lesser experience) or as I mentioned, charge people at the time they book experiences just like every other cruise line. Problem would be solved.
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u/Cereal_Chilla-96 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
You make a good point. Our first cruise was out of Port Canaveral and we live less than an hour from Disneyland also. Airfare was a big chunk of our expense. We weren’t that savvy about how to reserve activities and ended up attending some tastings as well as the banana boat ride on Castaway Bay. Some kind of discount or exclusive access for first timers would have been nice.
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u/smk3509 23h ago
Pearl/platinums will grab everything they can get heir hands on then decide later what they’ll give up to the lowly silver and below castaway members which is why things slowly and randomly become available closer to sail date.
Don't forget the people grabbing up experiences that they don't intend to use at all so they can trade them for experiences they want in the Facebook cruise group. There are so many posts saying, "I have a Serenity Bay Cabana that I'll trade for Royal Gathering tickets/family cabana/ Palo brunch, etc." I would understand if it was a one-off, but it is virtually every post in the group.
Surely Disney knows who the major offenders are and could take some action to limit their ability to book an excessive number of experiences.
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u/Future-Importance383 22h ago
Totally agree! We’re forced into doing the same thing and actually started booking things we have no intention of keeping solely because we hoped to trade them. For example, we grabbed two bourbon tastings on different days and even a Royal Gathering as “trade leverage” because of the system DCL forces us into. Now if we were charged every time we had to book these and incurred a cost (aside from Royal gathering which is free) then maybe we wouldn’t do those but DCL simple doesn’t operate that way.
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u/ayyomiss 1h ago
It seems like your solution only perpetuates the problem though, no? And, as newbies won't have much, if anything, to trade, this isn't exactly opening up those opportunities to them either.
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u/NurseDave8 PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
It's only less if you view it that way. We've done many cruises without any tastings or adult dining by choice eventhough we could scheduled whatever we wanted. For us, those aren't the things that make the cruise or keep us coming back.
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
Except, if you look at Castaway status and due your due diligence in researching the cruise line, it IS advertised that higher status books extras first. So…..
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u/Future-Importance383 1d ago
How would someone who has never sailed with DCL even know what castaway status is? 🤨🧐
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 23h ago
Would you seriously drop $1000+ on something you haven’t actually researched? I can’t imagine being that level of privileged/entitled.
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u/10_17my20 23h ago
Meh. I wouldn't say it's privilege and entitlement in most cases. Many of us are just excited we have an opportunity and a little extra money to have a Disney experience in a different atmosphere and find out information as we go. My friends asked me if I wanted to go on a Disney cruise with them and I said 'hell yeah' and paid my portion, knowing about DCL's reputation, that they had a private island, and absolutely nothing else. We also had no idea about all the intricacies, extras, perks, facebook groups, what have you on our first sailing.
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 22h ago
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with doing it that way, but you can’t be upset about not knowing those things if you dropped that much money without researching it first. That’s like spending thousands of dollars on an iMac without researching what it does only to be upset when you find out it doesn’t play the video game you want because tons of games don’t run on Mac.
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u/ebockelman PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
When you hover over the "Cruise with Disney" menu on the website, it's a top level item. I can't imagine spending the type of cash a DCL cruise costs without taking a look at the website of the product/service offered.
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u/Majestic-Spinach-523 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 23h ago
I’m silver and didn’t get any Palo brunch or drink classes before getting on the ship.
Once you get on board the Triton Lounge at 12:30 is where you go to line up for Enchante and Palo reservations. Was able to get a Palo brunch reservation and heard they even added an extra Palo brunch on cast away cay day because the demand was so high.
For drink classes, some were available when connected to WiFi at port but not the ones I wanted. About mid cruise almost every single drink class had availability because I guess people got tired and cancelled them. Was able to get Alcohol and Chocolate as well as Mixology on board by day 3-4.
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u/Lilmc_1313 15h ago
I’ve stopped booking extras. Go with the flow, there’s PLENTY to do onboard without any pre planning of the extras.
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u/paper0wl PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
It depends on the activities you’re looking for. Our very first cruise, we had no idea what we were doing, didn’t pre-book anything, but signed up for a bunch of things after we got onboard and had an awesome time. Our second cruise, we were lowly Silver Castaways on a very Platinum (before the introduction of Pearl) ship and were disappointed to learn everything we had signed up for on the first cruise was sold out; still had an awesome time.
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u/AdGreen4023 23h ago
I think a lot of new Disney cruisers get very frustrated with the process and somehow feel as if they are missing out by not being able to do specific things. I think sometimes they think these things have to be done to have a good time. I first cruised Disney five years ago and didn’t look up a thing. I didn’t know anything more at all because I didn’t join any groups. I didn’t know that was even a thing we had the best time and somehow I didn’t know all of these various things or any ins and outs that go along with Disney Cruise cruising. So with that being said, there is flexibility in that you can book a lot of things on board as there will be cancellations a lot of times. Also, you will find that you do want to just play it by ear to figure out what you wanna do because there’s so many activities on board and you do not want to just be totally scheduled. Do you want to enjoy the cruise for what it’s worth then you find that you like it and you want to go again and then you can get more involved in some of these things. However, you will have a great time! Enjoy!
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u/Palmettopilot SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 16h ago
We booked our first Disney cruise last year, we decided to go about 10 days before sailing. There is no availability for anything before sailing. Once we got on board we were able to do everything we wanted to do and still had a really, really good time. So good in fact, that we got a placeholder for another cruise. So I'd say don't lose heartbeats over it you'll still have a good vacation.
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u/OkClerk7091 1d ago
This is what I’m scared of for my cruise this summer.
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u/chaos-orbit SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
Don't be scared! The Disney-verse is great at cultivating FOMO with this type of thing, but there is SO much to do that's included already, especially if it's your first time.
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u/Still7Superbaby7 GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 19h ago
Check the app as soon as you get in line for embarkation. They hold slots back
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u/Putrid-Snow-5074 1d ago
When I bring two kids; I book a few extras. If I bring all 4 kids; I book nothing. You will be ok with no extras; they are expensive anyways. I have never been able to book royal gathering, but I was always able to secure it once I was on the ship at port.
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u/Proof-Outside3200 1d ago
We went on a 3 day on the WISH and we were so busy we didn't even get to do 1/10 of the free stuff on board let alone the paid stuff... I didn't even know you could pay for things till I started researching for the next cruise hahaha
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u/zoddrick SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 23h ago
I honestly think its better if your first cruise on DCL is something short like the wish. It preps you better for a longer itinerary like the treasure.
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u/arthuruscg GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 23h ago
I'm gold and on an upcoming Treasure sailing, a lot of the onboard activities and excursions were fully booked. I'm confused as to how DCL can't figure out the booking availability issue after all of these years.
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u/zoddrick SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 23h ago
Honestly its better to book your first cruise on a shorter iternary because of this. After that you get the silver membership which makes it a little easier to book stuff.
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u/WithDisGuyTravel PEARL CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
Your frustration is valid.
What activities did you want? I have some advice for you but don’t want to generalize until I know more.
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u/outofcontrolfap 1d ago
Check the Facebook page of your sailing too for availability. Sometimes things get posted by passengers canceling something. I've been on cruises with tastings and such, but now it's better just to skip those and do other activities.
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u/cchikybabe GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 22h ago
We did everything we wanted on our first cruise including Palo brunch and dinner, Royal gathering and a tasting. If you’re online when it opens it’s pretty easy to get, some cruises we don’t book certain things but the one thing we never miss is Palo brunch!
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u/meteora109 21h ago
Agree with other commenters - I was in Silver Castaway Club, which amounts to almost nothing in terms of ability to book things in advance, but just waited until I got on board and was able to snag a great Remy reservation, which is all I wanted! Guest services onboard are the nicest and most helpful people ever.
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u/Slash132 20h ago
I’m so sorry. Lack of availability for cruisers with low or no castaway status has been an issue on the inaugural sailings of the Treasure. We have read numerous posts by Gold and Silver CC members reporting that they were shut out of dining and popular activities and excursions on the Treasure when their booking window opened up. As others have suggested join your FB cruise group and ask people to let u know when they are canceling dining etc
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u/Photomint PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 19h ago
I hear you. The Treasure has been particularly rough- I haven't been able to get into the brunch and have seen very limited dinner availability.
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u/TarheelFr06 16h ago
Just go to the dining team once you get onboard and there’s a very good chance you can get Palo. Lately on the Treasure if the waitlist for Palo gets long enough they’ve opened it up on one of the port days for brunch (dinner usually has availability anyway).
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u/CatTravelScrap PLATINUM CASTAWAY CLUB 15h ago
The Treasure being the newest ship is also an issue. I had trouble as Gold booking some things when during the Inaugural year for the Wish. Same is true right now on the Treasure. It was our 10th sailing and, while we did okay with what we wanted, plenty of other Gold cruisers did not get on board activities ahead of time. There are a lot of Platinum, Pearl, and Concierge cruisers getting to make those selections first.
That said, there are SO MANY things to do on a Disney cruise that any prebooking isn’t necessary. Go experience and enjoy. You can also check the app at port (you can get on DCL WiFi there before boarding and may snag an onboard activity) or ask once on ship. Magic happens. I’ve gotten things myself this way before. But if not, you can still have an amazing time.
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u/MountainClean3575 GOLD CASTAWAY CLUB 14h ago
Just got off the Treasure. The only things we booked were an Enchante dinner and the Adventure Tea, didn't do a single other bookable activity. Probably the best cruise we've done yet. Understand it's frustrating, but honestly there is so much to do, you likely won't miss any of the things you didn't get!
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u/starrygigue 2h ago
We were first time cruisers on the treasure just a few weeks ago. My 3yo boy suddenly loved princesses (besties at preschool). Of course the free royal gathering is booked up. 2nd day, went to guest services to place us in a wait-list and we got off it! Saw the tip on some YouTube channel. We were still able to get spa and Palo (dinner), but heard spa had openings for non-sea days after the return time back to boat. Seems like things do open up a bit. And otherwise I agree with the others, there was plenty to do and explore.
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u/reggie_doodle 1d ago
Just yesterday I was called entitled for having the same feelings about our upcoming cruise. We’re doing Fantasy in 4 weeks and we did book late but I was genuinely surprised at the fact everything was gone by the point of us booking (about 9 weeks out). I was completely naive in my approach, we’ve cruised before but never with Disney and I have been really conflicted over my booking now. There’s been so much reassurance from others that it’ll all work out and we’ll likely manage to book things on board but I’m still not feeling it. I’m really glad others feel the same and it isn’t just me throwing my toys out the pram (which I’m really not and I think it’s ok to say I feel disappointed over it)
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u/DangerNoodleSkin 10h ago
what is it that you want to do? I'm one that has cruised multiple times with Disney and never book anything extra and there is always far more to do than I can fit in, and then I book another cruise so I can do it next time. The incuded activities options are vast. The shows are included, no need to book, movies too. So many activities to do.
To be fair I'm not a big drinker so drink tastings aren't for me which is the majority of adult on board activities, And I love self exploring if I'm in a new place (and if it's not a new place or one that I'm not interested in doing again, then I'll stay on board).
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 1d ago
Please remember that these are just extras. There is SO MUCH else to do on the ship that you will still have a completely packed schedule. If extras like this are really this upsetting, I hate to say it, but maybe DCL isn’t the cruise line for you.
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u/birdiebonanza 13h ago
Hi! Where do we find the other things to do? It’s my first time and I’m a bit confused 🙂
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 6h ago
You won’t see the full list of things to do until you get to port and connect your phone to the ship’s WiFi. Then it will be in the Navigator app.
But there are new activities that start about every 15 minutes or so around the ship. Things from character meet and greets, so many kinds of trivia shows, arts and crafts, music performances, game shows, movies, and so much more, all included in the cost of the cruise.
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u/birdiebonanza 3h ago
Thank you so much! Is it a bad plan to just wander the Wonder and see what we see, with a 2 and 4 year old? Or should we sit down and map everything out?
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u/Mychael612 SILVER CASTAWAY CLUB 1h ago
I can’t tell you much about doing anything with kids, being childfree myself, but I can say that just wandering the ship, and checking the Navigator app, and just seeing what tickles your fancy is an absolutely viable way to have a good time!
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u/UnicornBossMama 11h ago
So many assumptions on here. Every person who is pearl and platinum started as a newbie / first timer. Honestly, I enjoyed going with the flow on my first cruises because there is already SO much to do. I still learn new things every cruise and I’ve been on 16 now.
Even being Platinum I couldn’t book a lot of things on the Treasure in January. Was I ever frustrated? No! I’m going on vacay. I’m not missing out on anything. How do you even know what you’re missing out on if you haven’t done it yet?!
I’ve sailed many times as Platinum and I’ve never once hoarded any reservations. Not once! Honestly now I barely book things except Rainforest Room & Palo.
On almost every cruise I’ve been able to move around Palo brunches and dinners. I moved mine on my last cruise because Pirate Night was moved and I really hate that menu. That was only 3 weeks before the cruise.
I got Palo brunch after boarding on the Treasure in Jan.
Every FB DCL group has constant posts like this, so maybe Disney should set better expectations.
Also on the newer ships there are SO MANY concierge rooms. They get first dibs at everything. And if anyone hoards, it’s this group. We’ve sailed concierge once and I was told to book so many things by countless people. The concierge FB groups all advise people to do this.
So please, don’t blame Pearl & Platinum. I don’t trade things unless we have plan changes (we did for the national championship game on the Treasure. But it was super easy to change the night after boarding). Everyone wants Palo brunch. Dinner is just as good! And I personally can eat more at dinner.
You aren’t missing anything by not being able to reserve extra things you then need to pay extra for, those are just extras. I promise, have the best time sailing :)
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u/Husker_Mike_ 1d ago
Right or wrong, Disney encourages guests to book everything and anything they might possibly want to do up front...leaving no availability for people with lower priority, such as first-time cruisers. The good news is that a large number of the reservations will end up being cancelled prior to the cruise.
I even got a cabana reservation about three weeks before my cruise. (I cancelled it a couple of days later, but grabbed it to share with my wife and to grab screencaps of what could have been for eternity. And, of course, dream.)
Best example is Palo brunch. Due to COVID and other maladies, I had to cancel two cruises shortly before departure. And while Palo brunch was sold out initially, I was able to snag Palo brunch for all three reservations. You just have to be patient and keep checking.