Adrift With Disney: All About Passports

When preparing for a Disney Cruise, it is recommended that you apply for your passport at least 4 months in advance. This allows time for processing and receiving your passport, as it usually takes 6-8 weeks to receive it once the paperwork has been completed. Disney Cruise Line asks for all expected guests to supply their passport numbers at least 75 days in advance.

Being a person who always does everything early, I will be gathering the pertinent documentation very soon so that we can schedule a time for all 4 of us to go together to our local County office to apply.

There are a couple of options when applying for passports: the Passport Book and the Passport Card. There are some very important differences between these two passports.

The Passport Book is the traditional passport as pictured above. It is the best form of proof of citizenship. It can be used for re-entry to the U.S. from all points of entry, including international flights. The cost is $110 + $25 fee.

The Passport Card looks very similar to, and is the same size as, a regular driver’s license. It may be used for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry. Can be used if the cruise is departing and returning to the same port, as the one we will be taking from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas and back. The cost is much cheaper at only $30 + $25 fee.

If all my family was going on the vacation, I might opt for the passport card as that would save me $80 per person, or a total of $320.00. However, getting into the Bahamas and back on the ship and then back into port in Florida are not my only concerns. If something should happen back home that would necessitate my having to fly home right away, I would not be able to get back into the U.S. on an international flight without having the passport book. So, we will pay the extra money to insure that we are covered all the way around.

Each person applying for a passport, even infants, must go in person to apply. Specific instructions on how to apply can be found on the U.S. Department of State website at http://www.travel.state.gov/passport. Be sure to note that there are special requirements for children under 16 years of age.

I am very excited about my first Disney cruise. I hope you will check into taking one very soon as well!

Want help planning your Disney vacation? Find out how the FREE services of a Disney World travel agent can make it all simple…and save you time and money too!

Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.

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Wordless Wednesday: My Mother’s Day Dream

No I’m not going on a Disney cruise for a Mother’s Day gift…but a girl can “Dream” can’t she? 🙂 This photo is actually of the Disney Magic as she is docked at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. My heavens this is a lovely place and if you ever, EVER have the opportunity to go on a Disney cruise…even just a short one….do it, just for the chance to spend some time at this beautiful island. I didn’t want to leave….and you won’t either.

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Adrift with Disney: A Plethora of Activities, Part II: In Port

In Tuesday’s post, I talked about some of the awesome activities offered onboard the Disney Dream while the ship is at sea. But, what about when the ship is in port? My family and I will be visiting Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay during our cruise vacation, so I checked into the offerings at those two locations. Trying to decide what to do when there are so many options takes a little time.

The first question you need to ask yourself is whether you wish to stay on the ship, or disembark the Dream at the ports of call. Some people choose to stay onboard at Nassau, Bahamas in order to save some money for excursions at Castaway Cay. The choice is certainly yours.

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Adrift with Disney: A Plethora of Activities, Part I: At Sea

Disney Dream Inaugural Cruise 149photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraandi/5425301419/

Once you have chosen the date for your Disney Cruise, researched the cost of your trip, and then chosen your state room, it is time to start delving into the fun stuff. I spent a good amount of time this week finding out about all the activities offered on the Disney Dream. I also discovered the plethora of excursions offered when you are visiting Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay. Once you familiarize yourself with all the choices all you will need to do is decide on the best options for you and your family.

Disney provides many varied activities both “in port” and “at sea,” so I wanted to share some helpful information with you. Today I will be sharing an overview of many of the options onboard the Dream; and Thursday I will be talking about the choices of activities in the ports of Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay. You can bet there is something for every type of personality and vacation plan on a Disney Cruise.
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Adrift with Disney: Choosing the Perfect Stateroom

photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraandi/5425751383/in/photostream/

As you may have read last week, my family and I are planning a brand new adventure – a Disney cruise. We have never been on a Disney cruise, nor booked one, so I am finding out new information all the time. I have already had to call and change our cabin choice after doing a little research.

When choosing our cabin, there were three things to keep in mind once we chose the category and price: the room accommodations, the location of the cabin, and which side of the ship.

Room Accommodations
Since the Disney Dream will be our home for 4 days, we want to be as comfortable as possible but  assume we will not be in the room much, if it is anything like being at Walt Disney World.  Because there are 4 of us, and allowing for the ages my children will be at the time of the cruise (DD, 21 and DS, 18), I wanted to make sure we had an adequate number of beds. I chose the Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Veranda as the description said:

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