What should a first-time DCL cruiser be prepared to book 75 days out on the Magic?

Just booked our family's first Disney cruise ever (yay! :)), we have been loyal Princess cruisers in the past but wanted to try something different with our 6-year-old daughter. The cruise is the 4-night roundtrip from Miami to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.

I have learned that as a first-timer I can't book excursions and most services until 75 days out. The only thing I was able to book was the digital photo package and I don't see anything else even in preview mode. What are the popular items to book? I know the cabanas in Castaway Cay will almost certainly already be sold out at that point and that in order to try to secure a spot in the Royal Court Tea I would need to act immediately 75 days out or go wait-list once on the ship. Apart from that, anything else to consider in advance to be ready to make the transaction once reservations open up?

We have already been to the Atlantis in Nassau in the past so we may just opt to stay on the ship there and will not be disappointed if those excursions have all sold out.

Free tickets for the Princess Gathering and Frozen character Meet and Greet. These are the only ones that need tickets--all other meet and greets are "first come, first in line."

Any excursions you want to book in Nassau (I'd recommend staying on the ship and enjoying life there without the masses.)

Anything you want on Castaway Cay--snorkel equipment? Floats? bikes? Stingray experience? Again, we don't do real excursions on Castaway; we just enjoy a beach day with a few of the alternatives above. They have bikes for all ages and sizes and they come with helmets. Technically you book for an hour, but they are on "island time," where no one cares if you kept it out for longer than that.

Adult dining? Spa? BippidyBoppidy Boutique? Adult tastings or mixology seminars? Again, these things can often be booked on board, but if you know you want them, better to grab them in advance. You can cancel anything you book up to three days before embarkation, and you'll be billed thru your onboard account. There is no payment due at the time of booking.

Great advice, thank you! I'm definitely interested in trying to grab a spot in the Princess Gathering and Frozen character Meet and Greet. We are not particularly interested in any of the excursions posted due to having visited the Bahamas many times before. If a Castaway Cay cabana happened to be available to book I would go for it but I'm operating from the assumption that those will be gone 75 days out. For now we plan to stay on the ship in Nassau and just explore Castaway Cay on our own and enjoy the BBQ for which no reservation is needed (I think).

Great advice, thank you! I'm definitely interested in trying to grab a spot in the Princess Gathering and Frozen character Meet and Greet. We are not particularly interested in any of the excursions posted due to having visited the Bahamas many times before. If a Castaway Cay cabana happened to be available to book I would go for it but I'm operating from the assumption that those will be gone 75 days out. For now we plan to stay on the ship in Nassau and just explore Castaway Cay on our own and enjoy the BBQ for which no reservation is needed (I think).

Correct--no reservations needed for BBQ on Castaway.

Reality, you are not likely to get a cabana. Second reality--there is lots of shade (umbrellas, hammocks, etc) without a hammock. I probably visited Castaway 10+ times before the cabanas were built. Sure, they are nice. But you can have a totally wonderful day without one. You should have no problem getting ticket to the Frozen characters. The Princess Gathering..be ready and get on your computer at 12:01 EST. It does fill up and there will only be one on your cruise. Longer cruises sometimes have it twice or even more times on specialty cruises.