Ahoy, Courtney! Welcome to planDisney and thanks for bringing us your Disney Cruise Line question. It sounds like you have already booked your upcoming cruise and are ready to set sail for adventure, but some other potential members of your sailing party are not quite as on top of everything.
If members of your sailing party are booking at different times, then there is a way to eventually link the reservations all together. Once your in-laws book their stateroom, you will need their booking confirmation number and the last name and date of birth for the primary guest staying in their stateroom to link their reservation to yours. Start by going to the
main Disney Cruise Line website and clicking on the tab at the top right labeled “Already Booked,” you can then click on the option labeled “My Reservations” under “My Disney Cruise.” That will open up a page that should show your upcoming cruise and a drop-down box on the right hand side that lists your reservation number. If you click on the reservation number, it should open up any other reservations that you currently have with Disney Cruise Line and a blue link that says “Add and Link Reservations.” Click on that link, which will open up a new page where you can add your in-laws’ reservation information. Keep in mind that connecting reservations does share all of the details, including balance and payment information, if that is a concern at all.
Once you have connected the reservations, then you need to make sure that you have the same dining time to ensure seating together for
rotational dining. By using the same “My Reservations” tab on the website, you will be able to open each reservation separately and can scroll down to find the assigned dining time in the white box labeled “Dining.” If both reservations have the same time, then you should be good to go. However, if one has early seating and one has late seating, then you will need to switch to the same dining time to guarantee seating together. Unfortunately, if the early seating time is full, then it will only allow you to switch both reservations to the late seating or select the option to be added to the waiting list for the early dining time. If you run into this problem, then I recommend calling Disney Cruise Line directly, so that they can make a note in your reservation that your entire party is trying to be assigned together for rotational dining and they can put the necessary reservation on the waitlist.
Disney Cruise Line will do their best to put your entire party together for rotational dining, but the earlier your in-laws make their booking, the easier that process will be. If your in-laws want to sail with you, then they should book sooner rather than later, so that all of the planning can be done together. Remember that you can also use connected reservations to book port adventures and other activities with an
advance booking window.
I wish you smooth sailing ahead as you try to get everyone on the same page for your trip. If you have any other questions about your upcoming sailing, then we are always willing to help at planDisney. Happy sailing!
Catherine