Our cruise is in about 5 months (or less) and I just got the "planning kit" from DCL today. I am curious who has reserved things head of time online and did it work out good? Like reservations, excursions, ect. I always get nervous not talking to a person and reserving things on the computer. Good or bad stories? What seemed to sell out? What must be do for sure (onboard or at port)? My first trip I was with my 5 year old and 1 year old, now I have a 9 year old, 5 year old and 3 years old. Is the kids' programs accessible online too? I am on the 3 day cruise November 16th.

I am also a repeat cruiser so my 90 days out is August 18th. THX!

I think I remember reading that you can register for the Oceaneers Club online. Any "kid-geared" programs tend to sell out first (beach parties, swimming with Dolphins, submarines, etc).

One thing to note is that I believe that while you can do things online within 90 days from your trip, there is also a cut off time before the trip when the online reservation system closes for the trip. We found this out by accident when we forgot to sign up online for certain things. We still got to do them but we did not have a very good choice of times.

We always book our excursions and Palo reservations online at the 90 day mark. If you want a cabana massage at Castaway Cay or a massage on a sea day, those should be booked asap online, as they fill up quickly.

As for checking the kids in, there isn't really any major benefit to doing so in advance. We checked my niece in online for our last cruise, and the process once we got onboard didn't seem to be any different from having done so.

However, if your 3yo is going to Flounders (instead of the club) because of potty training, etc., then you may want to book those times online as well.

We just booked our stuff for the 11-night southern carribean last week!

Shawna, the only way to book excursions now is online. If you call, the CM will direct you do doing it in that manner, as well. They are really trying to use the web as a planning tool.

one little tip I do if you're concerned about an excursion selling out, is to try going online around 3 or 4 in the morning. The systems go down around midnight for back-up, and come up in the wee hours. Sometimes it will be around 3, or 4, sometimes not until 7 or 8, and there's no rhythm to it that I've been able to discover yet.

I like booking my kids in advance. I'm a bit AR about paperwork, and like to have it all done. I love that you can now download almost all the paperwork and have it done in advance.

Also make some time for a spa excursion! LOL! Those are a must-do! LOLOLL!

Shawna, the only way to book excursions now is online. If you call, the CM will direct you do doing it in that manner, as well. They are really trying to use the web as a planning tool.When we booked the shore excursions for the 11-night cruise, there was a glitch in the Web site and one of the most popular excursions was not available at all. We had to wait until the next morning and call DCL for assistance. It made for a *very* short night - up 'til midnight West Coast time to book the excursions in the first place, then back up at 0-Dark-Hundred to call DCL when they opened on the East Coast to try to get that final excursion booked.

AVP

Isn't that the worst? I feel wicked bad for the west-coasters with all the Disney 'must book' stuff like trying to book an Illuminations cruise, or CRT (a little better now) or especially the cruise excursions. And if you do wait until a more hospitable hour, that ever popular excursion could be sold out by the time you get there. Arrggghhh!

Shawna, don't let this scare you - all excursions don't sell out at the opening.

OH! forgot to add that they do hold back limited availability for onboard, too. If you are blocked out at the 90th day, try again at the 75th (opens for cruise virgins) and onboard as you embark.

Thank you ;)