Registering for Excursions and Dinner seating

Robyn50

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 22, 2017
Hello. Going on our first Disney Cruise (to Alaska) next year. Has anyone ever had trouble reserving the early seating and/or excursions on their first cruise (we are the last group to have access). Trying to determine if it is worth going Concierge to get early access to reservations.

Thank you.
 
Hello. Going on our first Disney Cruise (to Alaska) next year. Has anyone ever had trouble reserving the early seating and/or excursions on their first cruise (we are the last group to have access). Trying to determine if it is worth going Concierge to get early access to reservations.

Thank you.
You select your dinner seating at the time you make your reservation, not during your activity booking window.

We were able to book excursions with no issues on our first cruise at 75 days out.

Many people have no issues. Some people do, if they are looking for one of the more popular excursions.
 
We booked in February (non-concierge) for our upcoming October cruise - 2nd seating was all that was available and we are still on the waitlist for first seating.
When our 75 day booking window opened, I was online right at midnight EST and excursions were readily available, but Princess and Frozen meet & greets were already sold out. I was able to get us the character breakfast, BBB, and Royal Tea, but only on a Port day, not a Sea day. Our earliest option for PAT was 11:30. I hope this helps!
 
We booked in February (non-concierge) for our upcoming October cruise - 2nd seating was all that was available and we are still on the waitlist for first seating.
When our 75 day booking window opened, I was online right at midnight EST and excursions were readily available, but Princess and Frozen meet & greets were already sold out. I was able to get us the character breakfast, BBB, and Royal Tea, but only on a Port day, not a Sea day. Our earliest option for PAT was 11:30. I hope this helps!
I’ve read that guest services will have small amounts of extra tickets for the meet and greets, but they go quickly. So you may be able to get some.

I’ve never had the opportunity to check if that’s true (no kids), so someone else might have some better information on what guest services may have extra of.
 


We were not Able to get early seating for our January cruise, but we were put on the waiting list, and we already were bumped to the early seating. So don’t give up if you don’t get the seating you want initially!
 
I’ve read that guest services will have small amounts of extra tickets for the meet and greets, but they go quickly. So you may be able to get some.

We were not Able to get early seating for our January cruise, but we were put on the waiting list, and we already were bumped to the early seating. So don’t give up if you don’t get the seating you want initially!

We are just almost at 2 weeks to sailing, and still on waitlist for first seating, and still no openings for Princess Gathering or Frozen M&G. But I will be trying for these as soon as we board. I'll let you know how it goes!
 
I’ve read that guest services will have small amounts of extra tickets for the meet and greets, but they go quickly. So you may be able to get some.

I’ve never had the opportunity to check if that’s true (no kids), so someone else might have some better information on what guest services may have extra of.

The meet and greets are not reserved for families with kids. Any parties on board have the opportunity to reserve in advance or ask at guest services. Even all adult parties.
 


For early dining, it's not unusual to end up on a wait list if you book late--DCL tries to move families with young kids to early dining if possible (on one cruise, the head waiter asked us if we wanted to move several times, even though we actually prefer the later seating). But there are no guarantees--if late dining is a deal breaker, concierge would assure that this would happen.

Excursions in Alaska should not, IMO, be booked through DCL at all unless you enjoy paying more for a more crowded excursion. The only one I would regard as a break even proposition is the White Pass Railway in Skagway, and was able to book that well inside your window on two different trips.
 

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