Even after nearly 40 Disney cruises, Chris Vorobek still gets nervous before a sailing. If you’ve ever watched a small pre-cruise issue turn into a much bigger problem in your head, you’re definitely not alone.
- Chris Gets the Pre-Cruise Panic Because He Lives It
- Pending Check-In Usually Isn’t a Reason to Panic
- A Later Port Arrival Time Might Be Better Than You Think
- Second Dining Isn’t as Scary as It Sounds
- Sold Out Doesn’t Always Mean You’re Out of Luck
- Figure Out Your Motion Sickness Plan Before You Sail
- You Probably Won’t Do Everything, and That’s Okay
This week, Chris sat down with Elaine Edwards and Jill Caltagirone to talk about some of the things Disney cruisers tend to worry about most. What happens when your online check-in documents are still pending? Is a later port arrival time going to ruin embarkation day? What if you’re stuck with second dining, can’t get a Palo reservation, or those luggage tags never arrive?
Some things really do deserve your attention before a Disney cruise. Others have a way of working themselves out once you know what to expect.
Chris Gets the Pre-Cruise Panic Because He Lives It
With nearly 40 Disney cruises under his belt and a job helping other people plan their vacations, you might assume Chris has reached the point where nothing about an upcoming cruise makes him nervous. Not quite. He still considers himself a nervous traveler, which should make the rest of us feel a little better about our own pre-cruise worrying.
A Disney cruise is a big vacation and, for most families, a significant expense. You may have been planning it for months or even years. It doesn’t take much for one little detail to suddenly feel as though it could derail the entire trip.
Chris compared that feeling to Anxiety taking over in Inside Out 2, with a little Chernabog from Fantasia thrown in for good measure. Suddenly, that “pending” message during online check-in has you wondering whether Disney is even going to let you inside the cruise terminal.
Elaine used to want every detail settled before she sailed, but she’s become much more relaxed about it over the years. Jill tends to do most of her worrying during the planning stage. Once she reaches the port, she knows there isn’t much left to do except go with it.
Pending Check-In Usually Isn’t a Reason to Panic
One thing Elaine makes very clear in the online check-in instructions she gives her clients is that documents can remain pending until surprisingly close to embarkation day. She has seen approvals come through during the week of the cruise and sometimes just a couple of days before sailing.
Disney Cruise Line reviews the travel documents you submitted during online check-in, and that process can take some time. Elaine said she often sees her own approval come through about 48 hours before departure.
If Disney finds a problem with something you submitted, you should receive instructions about what needs to be corrected. Elaine once ran into an issue because the last name on her birth certificate didn’t match the name on her driver’s license after getting married. She provided documentation connecting the two names and was able to get everything sorted out.
Even a rejected security photo doesn’t necessarily mean you have a major problem. Chris recommends submitting a simple headshot with a plain background and not overthinking it. If Disney can’t use the photo, another one can be taken at the port.
Of course, you still need to make sure you have the proper identification and travel documents required for your particular itinerary. That’s something you absolutely should take seriously. But seeing “pending” during online check-in doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong.
A Later Port Arrival Time Might Be Better Than You Think
There’s something exciting about getting to the cruise terminal early and knowing an entire vacation is waiting on the other side of those doors. Jill usually likes boarding early herself, but she also pointed out that an early port arrival time doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll immediately walk onto the ship.
On one sailing, Jill had an 11:15 a.m. arrival time but didn’t board until around 1:15 p.m. That experience changed the way she looks at those later arrival times. Showing up at 1:00 or 1:30 doesn’t mean you’ve lost embarkation day.
Elaine actually prefers arriving later. She likes getting to the terminal around 2:00 or 2:30, when much of the initial rush has passed. Security can be quieter, boarding may move quickly, and there’s a good chance your stateroom will already be available.
That can be particularly helpful for anyone who struggles with large crowds, lots of noise, or mobility issues. Instead of navigating a packed terminal and then waiting for staterooms to open, you may be able to board and head straight to your room for a few minutes before exploring the ship.
And if you selected an earlier port arrival time but something delays you, you can arrive later. The important time to watch is the final all-aboard time listed for your sailing. Give yourself plenty of room to get to the port before that deadline.
Second Dining Isn’t as Scary as It Sounds
Chris remembers seeing an 8:15 p.m. dining time when his son was young and wondering how in the world that was going to work. Parents with little ones may have the same reaction, especially if dinner at home normally happens several hours earlier.
If you’re hoping for main dining and don’t get it, Jill recommends joining the waitlist before the cruise. She’s careful not to promise clients that Disney will be able to make the change, but you can also ask the dining team about availability once you’re onboard.
Elaine brought up another important point: You aren’t going to go hungry on a Disney cruise.
If the kids can’t make it until second seating, there are plenty of opportunities to get them something to eat earlier in the evening. They can have food from the pool deck and still join everyone at the rotational dining restaurant later, even if all they want by then is dessert.
Depending on the sailing and onboard programming, families may also find options designed to help children finish dinner earlier and move on to youth activities while the adults remain at the restaurant.
When Chris’s son was six, they found a routine that worked for them. They’d have a later lunch with something like pizza or chicken fingers, see the earlier stage show, and then let their dining team know they didn’t want dinner to drag on too long. At times, they were even able to plan ahead so his son’s meal could come out quickly.
Second dining can also be a nice fit on itineraries with long port days. Elaine particularly likes it in Alaska, where an excursion or a full day ashore can make an early dinner feel rushed.
Your schedule on a cruise doesn’t have to look anything like your schedule at home. That applies to dinner, bedtime, and pretty much everything else.
Sold Out Doesn’t Always Mean You’re Out of Luck
Seeing no availability for Palo, Remy, or Enchanté is disappointing, especially if one of those restaurants was high on your cruise wish list. Jill’s advice is to keep checking.
People change their plans all the time. Jill once boarded without a Palo brunch reservation, asked to be placed on the waitlist as soon as she got onboard, and received a call a couple of hours later offering her a time.
The same approach can work with port adventures. Elaine knows how frustrating it is when an excursion you really wanted is already unavailable, particularly when that excursion played a role in choosing the itinerary in the first place. Castaway Club booking windows and other advance booking opportunities mean some activities can fill before newer Disney cruisers get their chance.
Elaine recommends checking again as the cruise gets closer, especially within the last few weeks. Guests start changing plans, reviewing what they’ve booked, and canceling activities. Excursions, dining reservations, and even highly sought-after cabanas can sometimes pop back into availability.
Independent excursions are another possibility in some ports, but Elaine recommends doing your homework before booking one. Read reviews, understand the cancellation policies, and leave plenty of time to return to the ship. One important difference is that Disney knows where guests are when they’re participating in a Disney Cruise Line Port Adventure. If you’re exploring independently, getting back to the ship on time is your responsibility.
And those Disney Cruise Line luggage tags that never arrived? Don’t let that ruin your week. Chris has actually had luggage tags show up after he returned home from a cruise. If yours don’t arrive before you leave, tags can be provided at the port.
Figure Out Your Motion Sickness Plan Before You Sail
If you’re worried about motion sickness, this is one area where a little preparation before vacation can make a big difference.
Elaine learned that lesson on her first cruise when she took two motion sickness pills from the onboard infirmary. They worked a little too well. By the time she reached Castaway Cay, she was so drowsy that she was practically falling asleep in the water.
She eventually figured out what works better for her. Elaine takes Dramamine before dinner so that if it makes her sleepy, she’s heading toward bedtime anyway. Her suggestion is to find out how an unfamiliar medication affects you before you’re standing on a cruise ship in the middle of your vacation.
Jill uses a prescription patch behind her ear. Other cruisers use over-the-counter medications, ginger, wristbands, or other methods. If you already know that motion sickness is a problem for you, it’s worth talking with your doctor before the trip about the best option for you.
It’s also worth remembering that being on a cruise ship doesn’t mean you’ll spend the entire vacation feeling it move beneath you. Chris said that across nearly 40 Disney cruises, he has only encountered truly rough conditions a handful of times. He remembered one Norway sailing when the North Sea was particularly bouncy in one direction, only for the return trip to be completely different.
Conditions can change quickly, and every sailing is different.
You Probably Won’t Do Everything, and That’s Okay
That may be the bigger lesson behind most of these pre-cruise worries. You can plan like crazy, but once you’re onboard, things change.
Weather could interfere with Castaway Cay. The afternoon you planned to spend running between activities might turn into a much-needed nap. Trivia, character appearances, movies, stage shows, dinner, and everything else you want to experience will inevitably start competing for the same chunks of time.
Jill marks the activities she’s interested in on the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app and then accepts that she probably won’t get to all of them. That’s a much better problem to have than spending your vacation rushing from one thing to another because you’re determined to complete the schedule you made months ago.
There are certainly things worth double-checking before you leave home, particularly passports and any other travel documents required for your sailing. But a pending check-in, a later port arrival time, second dining, missing luggage tags, or a sold-out reservation doesn’t have to send the whole vacation into a tailspin.
As Elaine put it, “Everything is fixable unless you forget your passport.”
And that one? Yeah, go ahead and check for it one more time before you leave the house.
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