mommb

My family eats pescaterian (vegetarian and finfish) and we have not had trouble finding food we like on our 12 Disney cruises. The main dining rooms have vegetarian entree options, usually more than one, each night. I am not picky, so I've liked almost everything. My husband has mentioned that the food in general is not as well-spiced as he'd prefer. On our Fantasy cruise in January, we discovered a few days into the cruise that Cabanas had a plant-based lunch special every day. It was made to order and required a small wait, but it was always tasty. I will mention that while Palo has limited vegetarian options (I usually order fish there) we have had 2 phenomenal dinners at Remy composed mostly of vegetarian items. We just stopped by at Remy after we boarded to make sure our dietary requirements were noted on our reservations, and the chef prepared meals just for us. Obviously, you would need to get your daughter dinner elsewhere if you go to Remy.

If you have booked Disney Cruise transportation to the port, then you are registered. You do need to book the transportation in advance -- simply staying at a Walt Disney World resort won't entitle you to take the bus.

As of now, Platinum Castaway Members need to select a Port Arrival Time and are asked not to enter the terminal before that time. An exception is guests taking Disney Cruise transportation from a Disney resort or from the Hyatt at the Orlando airport, who are able to enter the terminal when their bus arrives.

There is still a buffet for breakfast and lunch. However, the buffet area has not been open at dinnertime since the post-pandemic restart. Even before the shutdown, Cabanas wasn't a buffet at dinner -- it served from a limited menu. Food is available from some of the counter-service restaurants on the pool decks, and from room service, in addition to the main dining rooms and adult dining areas.

I don't remember the order, but here are the documents and information you will need for each passenger you are checking in: Scan/photo of passport or (for US citizens on closed-loop US cruises) birth certificate -- I'm not sure if a photo ID is also needed for adults if a birth certificate is used Photo (from the neck up, no obscuring elements such as hats, not the same as passport photos) Emergency contact name and phone number Payment information (such as credit card number) Travel information (such as airline flight number, arrival, and departure times) Once all of this information is entered, you will select a Port Arrival Time, which will also generate a Boarding Group number. If you have booked Disney transportation from a Walt Disney World resort or from the Hyatt at the Orlando airport, you will not need to select a PAT. You will have the ability to indicate whether the emergency contact, payment information, and travel information are the same for all (or some) passengers -- if so, you'll only need to enter the shared information once. You must upload clear copies of the identity document and photo in order to move to the next step. The site will say "approval pending," possibly for weeks, and if you need to re-load anything, you'll be notified. If you are in a hurry to get your PAT, you can indicate "cash" for the payment information and "driving" for the travel information, even if that's not accurate, and go back later to update the information.

Yes, there is a corkage fee of, currently, $26 per bottle if wine brought onboard is consumed in one of the dining rooms: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/prohibited-items/carrying-alcohol-onboard/#:~:text=port of call.-,These beverages must be packed in carry-on (not checked,fee of %2426.00 per bottle. If you drink the wine in your stateroom, there is no fee. I have read that stateroom hosts can supply corkscrews, but I have not tried asking for one.

At the first check-in date, you can book everything available for booking except for some character meets (for example, Princess Gathering, Royal Tea, and Olaf's Picnic). This includes shore excursions, adult dining, alcohol tastings, spa treatments, and nursery time. So Palo and Mixology are in this group. The online check-in date roughly a month before your cruise allows you to book the character events that weren't available earlier, as well as select a Port Arrival Time (which connects to your boarding group number).

There will be characters of both types. There will be several princesses onboard who can talk with guests, who appear both at the free-ticket-required Princess Gathering and at other times around the ship. I've seen Peter Pan frequently, and specialty cruises may have Marvel or Star Wars characters who chat with guests. There will also be characters including but not limited to Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Pixar characters, who are great at non-verbal communication.

If your grandson is almost 11 when he boards the cruise, it is possible, but not guaranteed, that he would be allowed into Edge. The decision is at the discretion of the castmembers and does depend in part on how many kids onboard are in the 11-14 age range. You can ask after you're onboard.

As mentioned above, as long as you don't book Concierge (or a restricted fare), you can get a full refund up until your final payment date, which is typically 90-120 days before the cruise. If you do book a Concierge room, the deposit will be non-refundable but can be transferred to another cruise up until the final payment date. (The deposit amount will stay non-refundable even if the stateroom on the new cruise is not Concierge.) I hope your wife is able to take the cruise. If you do decide to go without her, note that you could save money by moving one of your grandchildren into your room "on paper" since you will pay for 2 people in your room anyhow. It doesn't matter where everyone actually sleeps, but there are a few complications. If the two rooms have different muster stations, the child in your room would need to go to your muster station, and you would need to sign a paper allowing your daughter to take her child off the ship.

For 2 people, the Concierge Royal Suite on the 1 September 2024 cruise from Southampton is £27,392. (To find exact prices on the Disney Cruise site, you need to select a room as if you were booking a cruise.)

During Open Houses, anyone is welcome, so your daughter would certainly be able to visit the Club/Lab.

A cruise on any Disney ship will have 3 Broadway-style shows (barring unexpected changes). Longer cruises may feature other performers (perhaps musicians, jugglers, magicians) and/or movies. On a 4-night cruise, the "extra" night is typically a recently-released movie. So, a 3- or 4-night Dream cruise will typically have 3 shows in the Walt Disney Theatre.

As noted in the article Rothko1 posted, you probably do not need passports for a Caribbean cruise that leaves from and returns to the same US port, but it is a good idea to have them just in case you need to fly home. I just looked at cruise prices for June and August of 2023 and June and August of 2024. The June prices are consistently higher than the August prices. This could be because August is less desirable because it's hurricane season and the weather tends to be hot. It is also possible most students are out of school in mid-June than in mid-August, and Disney Cruise prices tend to be higher while more kids are out of school. Also, the 2024 5-night cruises are out of Fort Lauderdale and the 2023 5-night cruises are out of Miami, which may have caused a slight price increase. Disney Cruise prices do typically stay the same or increase as the ships fill up. They rarely if ever decrease, although special discounted non-refundable fares that require full payment when booked may be offered a few months before a sailing that's not yet sold out.

In January on the Fantasy, there were no health checks beyond asking guests to fill out the health form before boarding. Some guests and crew wore masks, and some did not.

The Oceaneer Club staff will send you a message via the Disney Cruise Line app. You do not need to purchase a wifi package to access this app -- just download it to your phone before your cruise, log in with your name, stateroom number, and birthdate while in the terminal or once onboard, and the app will work while you are on the ship. (Note that the app works differently before the cruise, when it is used for planning, and once onboard, when it provided real-time information about ship activities and allows text messages between passengers.) The Club has strict safety protocols regarding entrances and exits, so your kids can't wander out on their own or be picked up by anyone you haven't authorized and given a password. Adults (other than cast members) are not allowed into the secured space -- cast members will locate your children as needed. Cast members monitor all areas within the space, including standing outside the restrooms.

If you are planning to sail on the Dream or Fantasy from now through April, there is a deal for Disney+ subscribers in which the 3rd and 4th guests can sail free with 2 people booked at full fare: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/featured/disney-plus-offer/ This can be booked by a travel agent or through DCL directly. You do need to make sure that the email address on the reservation matches the email address of the subscriber.