DCL advice please, struggling to get adult dining and activity reservations

We are first time cruisers with DCL (and have no kids), but have taken multiple cruises on Celebrity. Surprised to learn that DCL "virgins" cannot book dining and activities until 75 days out, which has resulted in all of the adult dining and all of the cabanas being sold out. Literally not one brunch or dinner reservation to be had. Does anyone know if there is any way around this? We tried booking into concierge but it was already sold out and are told no upgrades are available. Starting to think I'm a sucker for paying almost double what Celebrity charges, if this is any indication of the service we can expect!

50% of adult dining reservations are never placed on line--they are held for booking after embarkation. When you get you "Welcome Aboard" navigator in the terminal, it will list a location for "Dining Changes" and "Palo/Remy reservations." You can go to the location for adult dining reservations or to the restaurant at the appointed time and make your reservations. If they are full then, ask to be waitlisted. The concierge holds some reservations on day 1. If no concierge guests use them, they are available to the general population on day 2. Reservations are hardest to get on the Dream--same number of cabins, half the cruise nights of the Fantasy!

Activity reservations--not sure what you are trying to book, but almost every excursion that can be booked thru DCL can be booked privately at a lower cost! As to a cabana--keep checking on line. THey are quite expensive, and people do change their minds and drop it, so in that case it is a matter of being on line at the right time. Also, go to "Port Adventures" after boarding and let them know that you'd like a cabana if anyone wants to give up one. That way, if someone wants to drop one, they won't have to pay and you essentially "buy" it from them. Otherwise, they must cancel 3 days before embarkation or be charged.

A point to consider--I did somewhere in the double digits of trips to Castaway Cay before the cabanas were built. You can have a totally wonderful time without a cabana. There are plenty of beach chairs and hammocks in the shade of palm trees. Sure, you have to carry your own towels (there is a distribution station as you depart the ship), but there is no need for the lack of a cabana to spoil your day. Don't get me wrong--a cabana is an amazing luxury, almost on the level of your own private beach, but it is not necessary to have a great day..

In fairness, you aren't talking about the level of service here. You are talking about a perk that DCL gives to repeat cruisers for which you do not qualify. All the lines I've cruised have a set of perks that are given to repeaters. This one just made your life a little more difficult. They can't bump someone who earned the perk of earlier booking or push someone from a concierge cabin who booked their reservation before you did. I hope you enjoy the cruise and have great service on board. And, much as I've experienced on Celebrity and Princess, there are things that can be made to happen after boarding that can't happen in advance.

And, again in our experience, there are things that Celebrity does best, things that Princess does best, and things that DCL does best. Because of DCL's pricing structure, we are enjoying other lines these days...but I do miss certain things and people on DCL ships!

We are first time cruisers with DCL (and have no kids), but have taken multiple cruises on Celebrity. Surprised to learn that DCL "virgins" cannot book dining and activities until 75 days out, which has resulted in all of the adult dining and all of the cabanas being sold out. Literally not one brunch or dinner reservation to be had. Does anyone know if there is any way around this? We tried booking into concierge but it was already sold out and are told no upgrades are available. Starting to think I'm a sucker for paying almost double what Celebrity charges, if this is any indication of the service we can expect!

If it makes you feel any better, I am Platinum and I logged on at midnight of my first day of booking to see if I could snag a cabana and they were already sold out. It’s not bc of your status. It’s bc there are so few cabanas and so many repeat guests. And they’re repeat for a reason. DCL is a step above the rest in service and entertainment. Moki is right, you don’t need a cabana to have a good time on CC. The way I see it, I just saved $600 of money that can go towards onboard spending in the spa and adult dining, which I have always been able to get after embarkation. People’s plans change once they’re onboard and see the reality of all there is to do. I have no doubt you’ll get a seat for at least Palo. Have fun on your cruise!

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I'm also Platinum and when we logged in to book our stuff at opening, cabanas were gone. Most of the cabanas are actually booked by Concierge guests, who can get their requests into Shoreside Concierge staff before bookings even open, and tend to end up with most of the cabanas. They do open up throughout the booking window, tough, as people make other plans/decisions.

And Conceirge is so popular, it often sells out when the itineraries are released - concierge is expensive, but still tends to book up quickly! That said, we'e cruised 11 times on DCL in inside and outside staterooms, and never felt like we were missing out! We've never had a cabana (though this year I could see a benefit for our group to have one), and on our first cruise we didn't even bother with adult dining! Palo/Remy reservations can probably be made first thing onboard.

We've taken 2 Celebrity cruises since our last DCL cruise, and there will be things from X that I know I'll miss on DCL. There were also things about DCL that I missed on X (like pre-booked activities not being charged until the onboard account - but at least now X lets you use OBC!) but all in all we love the Celebrity itineraries and the ships and staff are on par with Disney in general. I wouldn't sweat these activities too much, as there's so much to experience on any cruise ship!

As others have said, there is generally not a problem getting Palo reservations (and I guess Remy, but as someone who is gluten-free and doesn't eat fish AT ALL the menu is way too intimidating for me) once on board. Just go to where dining changes are being handled (it'll be listed in the Navigator you'll receive when you check in at the port) when you board (or it opens). You can also keep checking back to see if there are cancellations.

I also second all those who say that you can have a spectacular day at Castaway Cay without a cabana. ESPECIALLY since you're adults with no kids. Serenity Bay is amazing and I have never seen an issue getting chairs and loungers with umbrellas. I did snag one last February as a lowly Silver cruiser and was going to let it go, but my dad learned he was going to have to have hip replacement surgery a couple of weeks after the cruise, so I kept it ONLY for the fact that the golf cart transportation to and from the cabana and the food/restroom area would save him a lot of walking and therefore potential pain. My parents and I both agreed that it was nice, but nothing we needed to do. (And FWIW, at Serenity Bay, they are behind the chairs on the beach, so it's NOT "like having a private beach". The ones with their own beach are the ones available to families, so there would be kids all around.) Serenity Bay is awesome all by itself.

This may be partially off-topic but I was wondering if Disney also holds reservations for the Adult Beverage tastings? I was online at midnight the first day I was allowed to schedule activities but every single one was already sold out. Thanks!

This may be partially off-topic but I was wondering if Disney also holds reservations for the Adult Beverage tastings? I was online at midnight the first day I was allowed to schedule activities but every single one was already sold out. Thanks!

Not sure if they were held back or cancelled once on board, but I was able to schedule the martini tasting while onboard a couple years ago. But it may have been before they took reservations online.

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This may be partially off-topic but I was wondering if Disney also holds reservations for the Adult Beverage tastings? I was online at midnight the first day I was allowed to schedule activities but every single one was already sold out. Thanks!

I don't know whether they hold back any of these bookings, but they have been known to add additional time slots after boarding if all the pre-planned ones are full. And people do cancel both before and after embarkation. If you cancel fewer than 3 days before embarkation, you will be charged UNLESS DCL can "resell" your reservation to someone else. They are very helpful about booking you into a slot that someone else wanted to cancel.

I find that cabanas are easier to obtain at the 120 day mark on Serenity Bay than the Family Beach. When we tried for this past cruise, all Family Beach cabanas were gone, but there were still two cabanas on SB available and we snagged one. There were a lot of families on our cruise due to school breaks in some states. So Serenity Bay was not crowded at all and you could easily find chairs with plenty of shade. So I agree with the previous posters. You can still have a great time without a cabana.

I've never had a problem finding chairs or a hammock with an umbrella or palm tree for shade. The beaches were expanded when the bigger ships were added, making it even easier if you are on one of the classic ships. If you get off the ship a little "late," (as in , not one of the first off after docking), the beach may look full. Just keep walking--many people take the first spot they find, and the farther you walk, the more "empty" the beach appears.

in august, we got off the ship at castaway cay at about 11:30 - just so we could take a bike ride around the island and eat lunch at serenity bay.

serenity bay was pretty empty - lots and lots and lots of chairs available...

i've never seen serenity bay full in our various visits to CC.

we did rent a cabana on our cruise in 2012 - i did that only because my mom and sister cannot be in the sun at all (my sister in constant treatment for cancer).

it is the only reason i would ever rent a cabana. While it was great for them, i prefer to ride a bike, have lunch and hang out on the beach a bit, before heading back to the ship..

but if you really want a cabana, keep checking online and when you get on the ship, let them know that you're interested (guest services?), as people sometimes cancel even on board.

Port Adventures desk usually handles the cabana rentals if any are available. They are trying to lighten the load at GS.

Port Adventures desk usually handles the cabana rentals if any are available. They are trying to lighten the load at GS.

that makes sense!

GS had a long line most of the cruise.

We are first time cruisers with DCL (and have no kids), but have taken multiple cruises on Celebrity. Surprised to learn that DCL "virgins" cannot book dining and activities until 75 days out, which has resulted in all of the adult dining and all of the cabanas being sold out. Literally not one brunch or dinner reservation to be had. Does anyone know if there is any way around this? We tried booking into concierge but it was already sold out and are told no upgrades are available. Starting to think I'm a sucker for paying almost double what Celebrity charges, if this is any indication of the service we can expect!

In my experience, the adult cabanas were easy to get. Perhaps they are still. If you are adults only you don't want to be on the crowded beach anyway (I sure didn't) . The adult beach is awesome

Serenity Bay is awesome with or without a cabana!