You’ve booked your Disney Cruise Line vacation. The countdown is on and you are ready to set sail. You’ve downloaded Disney Cruise Line’s Navigator app. But, what does it do? What’s it all about? Let’s answer those questions and more.

The Disney Navigator App is a mobile information and navigation application for IOS and Android Devices. Provided by Disney Cruise Line, it is designed to fully assist guests in navigating their vacation. Features include; communication, ship wide bookings, ship navigation and planning.

There are lots of great and fun features within the app so take a closer look.

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All information accurate as of August 2020

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Now all you need to do is download the app. To get started, go to your favourite App Store and type in “Disney Navigator App”. Or just follow the links below.

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Features

You now have access and believe me there are loads of options as well as handy, helpful features to choose from. I’m going to take you through each one.

Top Bar

This is the section at the top in blue that is visable all the time.

Onboard Chat

Disney wants its guests to cut off from the real world and relax. This is apparent when you look at the on-board internet package costs. To help with this, and to save you money, they provide a chat system that is free of charge; allowing you to communicate with anyone aboard the ship.

There are also some handy features within the chat system that are not only timesavers but give you peace of mind.

• Location; The upper right hand side of there app.
• My Chat ID; Your personal onboard chat identification number. 
• Social; Friends, family and anyone else with your chat ID can contact you through the system. Obviously, a fantastic way to arrange, amongst many other things, meet ups and plan activities.
• Informational Hub; Departments, such as the youth activities team, can keep in touch. For example; if your child wants to be picked up, you can get a notification in chat.
• Laundry; You pay for your washer or dryer through your “Key To The World Card” (Stateroom Key), which is linked to your room and therefore the navigator app. When your loads finish, or the machine door is opened, you get a notification in chat. This is awesome…i need this at home…and a robot that cleans the house…and goes to the gym for me…ok enough about my healthy lifestyle…don’t make this awkward… moving on…

Deck Plans

These are extremely useful for finding your way around the ship. You don’t have to waste time finding a map, it’s all at your fingertips. 

• Location; The upper left hand side of there app.
• Features; The maps allow you to zoom in with incredible definition as well as see and move between entire floors. A handy tip to remember is that each Disney Cruise Ship has a different amount of levels. For example; what is in one place on the Disney Dream may not be in the same place on the Wonder.

Drop Down Triangle

Brings you back to the main screen

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Homescreen

If you press the round blue Disney logo at the bottom-centre of the app it will take you to the homescreen.

This is your “go to” area. If in doubt, head to this area of the app and you can navigate your way around it. Lets have a look at what you will find here.

Dining Schedule

DCL operates a rotating dining schedule allowing you to experience different restaurants onboard. On opening this feature you can see not only your dining times but their location. Here is what you will see:

• Dining Schedule; Tells you whether you are on 1st or 2nd sitting (early or later) for dinner.
• Attire; Display’s the evening’s dress code for your specific restaurant.
• Location; Where you are dining on a specific evening.
• Date and Time; When you are dining on a specific evening. 
• Table; Your table number
• Main Menu; The full adult menu for each restaurant is accessible via the view dinner menu button at the bottom of each days reservation. Helpful hint: don’t be afraid to order multiple items. You can order what you want. There’s a hospital onboard!
• Kids Menu; The full dinner menu button also gives you access to the full kids menu. This as a parent is very useful. If your wee one can be a little fussy with there food then you can let your server know and you can arrange for something special to be served. So instead of caviar they can get chicken nuggets…we don’t start out posh you know!
• Server; a great example of Disney Cruise Line going above and beyond is that your server goes with you from restaurant to restaurant. This is great as they get to know you and what you like. A personal experience 2nd to none.

Cruise Itinerary

This feature is specific to your current day. Each day you are able to view the below information:

• Weather; informs you if it’s going to be sunny, rainy or maybe partly cloudy. Basically you will know whether it’s going to be good weather. I’m not sure whether I just confused myself.
• Temperature; Displays the “Lows” and “highs”. Perfect for deciding what you want to wear.
• Sunrise and Sunset; Displays what time the sun rises and what time it sets.
• Disney Cruise Fun Facts; This can be different every day but it’s a fun section where you can learn loads of ship facts such as its weight, stats and important dates etc… It’s more fun than i just made it sound.

On a port day you will have slightly more detail such as:

• Port Arrival; Displays the time you’re arriving at port.
• Port Departure; Displays the time you’re leaving port.
• All Aboard Time; Let you know the very latest time you can get back on the ship.

Debarkation Information

Here you can get most, if not all the information you will need for your disembarkation from the ship. It goes through the following:

• Sea Ya Real Soon
• Transportation
• Shutters
• Settling Your Onboard Account
• Luggage
• Lost and Found
• Express Walk Off
• U.S. Customs Allowance

This is a great reference; giving you a checklist so you hopefully won’t forget anything. Remember once you get off you can’t get back on…well unless you own a really good sailors costume…enough of my personal life.

Ship Tips

This is a very handy section as it gives you useful information that will help you “find your way” while on the ship. Here is an example of current info:

• Rotational Dining
• Safety Reminders
• Dinner
• Guests With Disabilities
• Corridor Etiquette
• Environmental Message
• No Reserved Seats Policy
• Smoking
• Walt Disney Theatre

Save on Next Cruise

• Disney Vacation Desk; Where you can talk to someone directly about booking a new cruise from the ship.
• Location; Where the Disney Vacation Desk is on ship.
• Hours of Operation; What time the Vacation desk is open and more importantly manned by a Disney representative.
• Discounts; Displays the amount you can save by booking a new cruise before disembarkation. 
• Travel Agents; When you book before the end of your current cruise your travel agent will get credit for the new booking. This is great as they can then help you with any new details and preparations. 

Connect@Sea

• Learn More; Opens up a new page in your internet browser. Here there are internet packages to choose from to get access to the ships Wi-Fi system.
• Select a Package; There are 4 packages to choose from:

Pay-as-you-go	Per 1 MB	$0.25
Small	100 MB	$19
Medium	300 MB	$39
Large	1000 MB	$89

My Plans

• View All My Plans; Where all your reservations and planned itineraries are located. 

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Daily Information

When you login to the app this is the first page you will see and it has all your personal daily information as well as times and locations. Let’s go through it.

Daily Activities

This is where you can see all ship wide activities for your current day in one place. You can find out times, locations and how long each activity takes. You also have the added option of pressing the little notification heart at the right hand side of each activity to add it to your favourites. This will set a notification that will alert you 20 to 30 minutes before the activity starts. 

The only drawback with this specific section is that it can be a bit chaotic as all the activities are mixed up together. But there is good news! Disney Cruise Line created the app to make life onboard just that little bit easier. They try to assist you in finding information for specific activities and don’t want you to be confused or overwhelmed. Scroll to the right and it breaks down the information for easier viewing. 

Let’s look at each section:

Character Greetings

For those guests who want to get photos or signatures from their favourite characters. This section will tell you where they will “meet and greet” and at what time.

Dining & Lounge’s

If you’re looking to get some grub then this is your first stop. See what’s open as well as specific venue locations.

Spa & Salon

Looking to get pampered? Maybe want to burn off a bit of the previous night’s food? Use this section to find out whether “Senses Spa” is open and if you need to make an appointment.

Youth Clubs

All your kids club information such as venue age requirements, opening times and locations.

Pools

A list of all the pools on board; where they are and their opening times.

Sports & Recreation

This put the spa, salon, youth clubs and pools together. This can be handy for planning your itineraries.

Shopping

Takes you through all the shopping locations on board. Tells you where they are, if you need an appointment or opening times.

Live Shows & Movies

My favourite section! Here you can see the ship wide schedules for all the theater’s and big screens such as the Buena Vista Theater, the Walt Disney Theater or Funnel Vision. Get show times and locations as well as an overview of what is playing for the remainder of the cruise.

For a little more information on entertainment here is a wikipedia link to the Disney magic. Check out the “Entertainment” Section.

Guest Services

Displays what times different informational services are open as well as where and what they are.

Activites “Drop Down”

Top center of the daily activities section of the app. If you drop this down you can move between days and see activities and information for your entire itinerary. A great planning tool!

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Conclusion

The navigator app is essentially like having your own personal Disney Cruise Line Guru with you 24/7. As well as having tips and the ability to plan in advance, it doubles as a great communication system. 

The app is a huge upgrade to the old physical navigator supplied on the ship. It is of course much more flexible and saves a ton of time. 

It’s easy to use and clear to understand.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Don’t forget to check out more below.

See you real soon