Release date for itineraries

I want to book a January 2020 Disney cruise. When is the usual release date for itineraries for that far out? Is there any kind of existing automated email notification or something I can sign up for to be notified when they become available?

I want to book a January 2020 Disney cruise. When is the usual release date for itineraries for that far out? Is there any kind of existing automated email notification or something I can sign up for to be notified when they become available?

Itineraries are GENERALLY released 15-18 months out. Most of the time. Typically a January cruise itinerary will be released somewhere around September. That would be Sep, 2018 for Jan, 2020.

But, only DCL knows for sure when they will release them.

If you use a TA, one of the things they can do for you is watch for releases. Also, there's a Disney Cruise-specific board on the internet that seems to know a few days ahead of when itineraries are going to show up. Sorry, can't post a link to them.

TAs who specialize in DCL are informed a day or two ahead of the start of booking. As soon as any TA gets the word, it seems to get posted here as well as on the other sites. January is usually pretty straight forward and not delayed in release. The hardest thing for DCL to prepare seems to be the summer cruises; they don't release stuff till the port contracts are signed. They have been known to release the summer Dream and Fantasy schedules before the Magic and Wonder; I don't ever remember that happening with winter releases.

As Shmoo said, likely September 2018 for Jan 2020 cruises.

I believe, as a first time Disney cruiser, you'll have a week between itinerary announcement and being able to book. Return cruisers can book before first timers. You can find detailed descriptions of the release procedures on other sites.

A week? I thought it was more like 3 days. In fairness, I'm platinum, so don't really pay attention to when others can book. The very first time they used this system it was a full week...but I really thought that window had decreased.

Sorry, I assumed you were a first time DCL cruiser. I think it was something like Thursday release, platinum can book Mon or Tues, and first timers towards the end of that week.