The Many Benefits of Disney Cruise Line Membership Levels

One of the perks of sailing with Disney Cruise Line is that upon a guest’s first sailing, they then become part of the Castaway Club. Join me as I take you through the different memberships and their different incentives.

Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club

Although it has been well over a year since Mickey and his friends stopped sailing out at sea, I thought it would be beneficial to write an article explaining the different membership levels of Disney Cruise Line.

Castaway Club benefits begin after a guest completes at least one Disney Cruise Line sailing. The 3 membership levels are based upon the total number of completed eligible cruises:

• Silver Castaway – 1 completed cruise
• Gold Castaway – 5 completed cruises
• Platinum Castaway – 10 completed cruises

The level of membership not only has its benefits while sailing aboard, but it also plays a significant role when new cruise itineraries are released. This was noted during the booking of the Inaugural Season for the Disney Wish in summer of 2022.

As you can see from the image above, there was quite an extensive tier system when new bookings became available.

Silver Castaway Club Level

I will first begin with the Silver Castaway Club level. Upon the first sailing, guests automatically become part of that level.

Silver Castaway Club includes 1-4 sailings that have already been completed.

With this membership the at home benefits include booking new itineraries 1 day earlier than the general public and cruise activities 90 days prior to sailing. There is also a dedicated Castaway Club phone number, periodic communications exclusives and early access to select port arrival times. This is temporarily paused due to the pandemic.

Upon embarkation at check-in while in the Silver Castaway Club, guests will receive their Silver lanyard. The onboard benefits include: a dedicated members-only line through the boarding process and a Welcome Back gift. One gift is provided per stateroom based on the highest Castaway Club tier in stateroom.

A couple weeks after sailing we received our Silver magnet. There have been different variations to the magnet over the years.

The Welcome Back aboard gift is one of my favorite perks of being in the Castaway Club! On our second cruise, when we walked into our cabin, we found our Welcome Back stateroom gift on the bed.

Included was a thank you note along with an embroidered tote bag. In the past, they have provided full size backpacks and sling backpacks.

Gold Castaway Club Level

The next level is the Gold Castaway Club membership.

Gold Castaway Club includes 5-9 sailings that have already been completed.

With this membership the at home benefits include booking new itineraries 2 days earlier than the general public and cruise activities 105 days prior to sailing, plus all the Silver membership benefits.

The two additional onboard benefits include a private reception on 8-night and longer voyages with special entertainment. Guests also receive special discounts onboard during sailing and will receive a Gold lanyard upon embarkation check-in.

Upon reaching Gold membership, Disney Cruise Line sends out a new magnet.

Platinum Castaway Club Level

The highest Castaway Club level is Platinum.

Platinum Castaway Club includes 10+ sailings that have already been completed.

With this membership the at home benefits include booking new itineraries 3 days earlier than the general public and cruise activities 120 days prior to sailing. Plus you have all the Silver and Gold benefits, and a Platinum lanyard upon embarkation check-in.

The one additional onboard benefit includes one complimentary dinner at Palo. It is available to Platinum members and guests staying in the member’s stateroom.

One complimentary gift, per stateroom, per sailing.

Palo is a a northern Italian-themed restaurant, a dining experience at an extra cost. It is aboard all four Disney ships. The restaurant is adult only and offers brunch and dinner reservations.

Dining at Palo is $40 per guest for both brunch and dinner. Therefore, as a Platinum member, this would be an $80 savings for two adults.

Prior to the pandemic, one other additional onboard benefit included an early check-in in the concierge are of the cruise terminal, thus providing priority boarding following Concierge guests.

This option has been retracted off the DCL website.

Upon reaching Platinum membership, Disney Cruise Line sends out a new magnet.

Questions Regarding Castaway Club Levels

One of the questions regarding membership is what happens if guests are at different Castaway Club levels who share the room.

For example, my husband at one point was at Silver while my daughters and I were Gold. Which membership benefited our room at the time? It benefits the guest with the highest membership level in the stateroom. Therefore, for us it was Gold.

Furthermore, all guests staying in the same stateroom are able to enjoy that member’s benefit level for the duration of the cruise. Guests traveling with you, but staying in a different stateroom, will enjoy the benefit level of whichever member has the highest membership level in their stateroom.

One important point to make is that there is no time limit or expiration for being part of each Castaway Club level.

It will be interesting to see with the addition of the three upcoming ships whether Disney Cruise Line will introduce a new level of membership. There are many dedicated cruisers and a demand of double Platinum sailors, as I heard of many people who booked the Inauguration Sailing with over 25 cruises under their belts!

I hope you have enjoyed learning about the three different levels of the Disney Cruise Line membership and its at home and onboard benefits.

I am eagerly anticipating our next cruise out at sea because I have missed sitting on my verandah in the morning and in the evenings enjoying my hot cup of coffee.

Now just to get to super Platinum in order to book the Inaugural Sailing for the two other ships that will join the Disney Cruise fleet in the next couple of years!

What level of membership do you have on Disney Cruise Line? What is your favorite perk of being part of the Castaway Club? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and in our Facebook group.