Beyond the Checked Bag

Tag: First Time experience

  • How to do online check in for Disney cruise

    When is check-in?

    Online check in for first time cruiser start 30 days before your sail date and you can find your date easily in your Navigator App. Depending on your Castaway Club level, you may be eligible to check in earlier. As an example, we are silver members which allows us to check in 33 days prior to sailing. Remember the check in time starts at midnight eastern time of that day. I typically would set an alarm at 11:55 pm to wake up and get signed into the app and website (you know just in case you forgot your password and need time to reset).

    First thing to do is book Royal Gathering if you are interested in attending!!! Keep in mind that this is only available 30 days prior to sailing and Castaway Club member does not get early access to the booking. So you may have to do it on another day if your check in date is earlier than 30 days. Some people think they have to do the check in first before booking this activity but you don’t need to. By the time you are done with all the steps of check in, royal gathering could be all booked up. So be sure to snatch it while you can.

    What to prepare before the check in date

    I have all those below saved on my computer and also on my phone so I can easily access each option. If you haven’t heard, sometimes the navigator app can crash or freeze (although it has gotten much better this year).

    1. Take a photo of everyone’s passport, make sure the photo does not show any glare where the information might not be clearly readable and entire page is visible. Highly recommend using passport, although alternative photo ID and birth certificate can be utilized, but do not recommend those
    2. Take a head shot for everyone, similar to passport style photo. However, this photo cannot be the same photo as the one on the passport
    3. Decide who you want to designate as emergency contact and get phone number ready.  This has to be someone that is not traveling with you.
    4. Have your payment method ready, you don’t want to be digging for your card to get the card number during the check in process. Or you can choose cash option and go back to change it later after getting port arrival time. You can also choose who is authorized to charge to the account, for example, if you want to give kids option to buy things and charge to the account, you can set that up in this step.
    5. Information regarding your flight such as flight number, time and airline etc. This information is helpful for Disney Cruise to help figuring out disembarkation process. Also for embarkation date, if you are staying the night before in the port city, then you don’t need to include the flight information for pre-cruise.

    Select Port Arrival Time

    You will not be able to select the time until you have completed all the steps. So try to get thru those steps as fast as you can so you can get an early time slot. You will not be able to enter the port terminal until it is your time or after. After you review and sign the cruise contract, then you will get your port arrival form.

    Print a copy of the Port Arrival Form

    On top of saving a copy on your computer, email to yourself and others in the party, adding to digital wallet. I always recommend print a copy just in case your phone doesn’t work that day or is out of battery. Now time to get packing!!!!

  • First time with Southwest Airline? How was the experience?

    First time with Southwest Airline? How was the experience?

    Despite it being one of the most popular airlines in the United States, somehow we just never flown with them before. Our most recent trip to Fort Lauderdale was our first time taking Southwest airline. Quite frankly, Southwest doesn’t always come to mind because we don’t live in a hub city and they didn’t use to show details on Google Flights. Sometimes I simply just forget to check out their options. Southwest airline now shows up on Google Flight, which made it much easier to compare time and pricing. When we were looking for flights for our most recent cruise, Southwest had flight time that fits our schedule very well. It’s a great opportunity to try it out. The icing on the cake was that I was able to save extra money by buying discounted Southwest Gift card at Costco. You pay 450 dollars for 500 dollars’ worth of gift card.

    Booking and Rebooking

    We booked about 3 to 4 months out, I always feel better to have things booked even if it may change later. What was nice with Southwest is no change or cancellation fee, which made it a no brainer. The price was originally higher and it did drop during those few months until about one month before the travel date. Prior to travel day, we did rebook the flights 4 times to save money. Hot Tip: with Southwest airline, they allow you to rebook the same flight if the price has dropped and you will get a flight credit for the difference. The credit can be used for future flights. In total, we got 120 dollars in flight credit for each of us.  

    Early Bird Check in

    We didn’t buy early bird check in for departing flight and we did for the returning flight. The reason we bought it was mainly because we knew we are going to be on cruise without internet access and wanted to ensure we get a good boarding group. Based on our experience this time, using the early bird check in didn’t make a big difference in boarding group. We still got boarding B on one of the flights and got group A on another flight. Plus we already will be getting family boarding. So I probably will NOT buy early bird check in again for future flights. 

    Family boarding and Open Seating

    Southwest allows family boarding for family traveling with kids 6 year-old and under. You will get to board the flight after group A and prior to Group B. Southwest airline had open seating policy, so there is no assigned seat just boarding group. You get to pick whichever seat you want once onboard. It was a nice to do family boarding without having to upgrade boarding group. Although I was really surprised when we boarded, it was already quite difficult to find an empty row for 4 of us. Most airlines have family pre boarding to allow more time for families with young children to get settled in. So Southwest feature isn’t unique. But most airlines have assigned seats and we don’t typically have carry-on bags so boarding early vs later doesn’t matter as much to us. I am not a fan of open seating policy, it was a bit tricky for family traveling with young kids. We didn’t know what seats might be open so when we boarded, we have to make a decision fast how we are going to sit. We originally wanted to sit on one row with one parent and one kid on each side of the plane. Out of a total of 4 flights we took, that only happened once. It was not because there was no open row but more due to the rush and excitement of our kiddos. Once they picked the seats and other passengers started filling in so we didn’t get to change our mind. Well oh well, we were all fine, no issue really.

    Checked bags

    Well we can’t finish this post without talking about the checked bags!! At the time we booked our flights, Southwest offered 2 free checked bags per person. It was one of the top reasons many people pick the airline over others. It was a sweet deal but unfortunately that feature has gone away at the end of May. I know this has been a hot topic in the travel news lately and I personally am really disappointed too.

    Flight experience

    Overall all of my flights were great, their seats are reasonably comfortable and onboard service was good. They are very efficient and staff are friendly. We were on time for the most parts. I do have to mention free snack and drinks are a nice plus. Most budget airlines don’t offer anything these days. As a mom of two, I always appreciate some free snacks and drinks for kiddos, even though we always pack plenty ourselves. Just something to distract them and keep them happy during the flight.

    Will we take Southwest again?

    Absolutely!!! However with a big caveat. We would compare pricing, schedule etc. with all other airlines before deciding. Free Checked bags were a great competitive advantage, but since now that has gone away, it is no longer a factor. To me, Southwest is comparable with United, Delta etc. on all other aspects.

    Note: There have been quite a few of recent changes published by Southwest and some have been announced and will go in effect soon. This post was based on our recent experience in June 2025.