Castaway Club

Castaway Club

What is it? How do you join it? Why would you want to be a member?

Once you have been on your first Disney Cruise you are a member of the Castaway Club. It is free to join and automatic for all members of your party.

There are 3 levels of Castaway Club members. Silver Members are on their 2^nd to 5^th cruises. Gold Members are on their 6^th to 10^th cruise. Platinum Members have sailed 11 or more times on Disney ships.

Castaway Club members have special privileges based on the number of cruises they have taken. Your privileges start at home with access to a club member section of the Disney Cruise website. All Castaway members get to book cruises earlier than non members. How far in advance you can book depends on what level you are. At the terminal there is a special line for Castaway members to check in.

            On the Castaway Club section of the DCL website there is the Compass Newsletter and some fun downloads such as a couple of recipes and coloring pages. This section can also keep track of all your past and booked cruise information. You can go to this section to book Port and Shipboard Adventures once your cruise is booked. I will be honest and say DCL does not do a good job keeping the Compass Newsletter updated. It has been almost a year since the last issue. The recipes and coloring pages are the same ones that they had there when I first became a member in 2005. They have never been changed. They have taken some things away such as computer wallpaper and digital post cards to send via email to friends. Still this is a great section to have access to.

            Your Castaway Club Member number is a good thing to keep track of. DCL no longer issue membership cards. Instead they just give you a number. Once you have it add it to your DCL profile and if you forget it you can always find it there. DCL can also find it if you tell them the dates of your last cruise. While on the cruise ships your Castaway Club information is linked to your reservation number and stateroom key.

            When you check in at the terminal besides having a Castaway Club line you are given a lanyard that indicates what level of Castaway Member you are. When you finally get to your cabin you will find a wonderful gift! For our second cruise we received a Castaway Club backpack with a welcome home note, 2 Rice Crispi treats shaped like flip flops, 2 Castaway Club sipper cups and a Castaway Club key chain. How many of each item you receive depends on how many people are in your cabin. Everyone in your stateroom gets something.

            If you take someone along in your cabin that has not been on a cruise they will receive the same Castaway Club privileges as the highest level club member in the cabin.

            The higher the level the more perks you receive. There is a special area on the ships for Platinum members and they also get a gathering with the officers of the ship on the longer cruises.