@motherdaughtercruisers has shared some great information. I’ll add the following comments from my recent cruises -
What you see on the
DCL website as possible port adventures may not necessarily be all that are offered for your sailing. And you won’t be able to see what is offered for your sailing until your book8ng window opens, it seems post-Covid that the DCL website list of port adventures has more than is actually available for Disney is able to offer. So be prepared with a second or third choice.
Even though some things will be sold out at your 75-day window, keep checking back as people do change their plans and have up until three days prior to sailing to do so. I’ve often been able to book “sold out” things that later opened up by checking back every couple of days. The DCL Navigator app makes it really easy to do this; if you don’t have the app, get it now as it will make things much easier while on the ship to see what is happening where and when.
If there is something you really want to do, for example swim with dolphins, and it is fully booked, you can always research third party optics or private tours to do on your own in port. I’ll caution to research them carefully as Disney will not wait for you if they don’t get you back to the ship in time for port departure.
The Royal Gathering (aka Princess meet & greet) has had a booking opening date at 30 days out, so everyone has an equal chance at getting a spot. The DCL app will show the booking opening date under Onboard Fun. This is where there will be three or four princesses in the atrium and you get a specific timeslot to meet them. Most other characters it is first come first served with various times and locations throughout the cruise. There may also be individual princess meets for those who don’t want or can’t get a Royal Gathering appointment.
If you can’t get the Palo or Remy Booking you hope for, check once you are onboard. There will be a specific location for dining changes, it will be found in the app, where you can check for availability or to be put on a wait list. I’ve heard they may hold a few spots for onboard booking since especially the brunches can book out very quickly before sailing.
One other point - your booking window will open at midnight eastern time, so midnight ET on January 1st. This is different from the 0800ET for a lot of WDW din8ng and tours, adjust for your time zone, ie for those on the west coast it would be 09:00pm on December 31 the day before. So if you’re not ringing in the new year, you can be checking for your port adventure availability
Have fun!