Waited too long to book... :(

[angromarsi]

First time cruiser, going with my immediate family, my sister's family, and my mother. I meant to book 2 months ago but was a little scared, needing to research travel insurance as we're going during hurricane season and now all the Oceanview rooms are gone for the sailing we wanted. The Verandah rooms are at least 1K more...

 

I'm wondering now if we should stay with DCL or look at other cruise lines during the week we're looking for. 7K is a lot of money compared to other cruise lines.

 

I know if you're here you must be a Disney fan...help convince me (or my sister!)

 

Kids are going to be 23 months, 4 and 6 when we sail. Taking Grandma with us as it's been her dream to go on a cruise and she never had--it's a belated birthday present from us. When we first started planning, she insisted on Disney since we have the little guy and she thought it would be better for the kids.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I have had this similar experience all week to book friends of ours. Rooms show up, rooms sell out. The way the economy is, I think there are more cancellations. If you have time available, keep checking. CHECK EVERY DAY. I'm not kidding. I see differences in rooms sometimes from morning to night or a few days!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Also, if you planned on going on a 7 day, look at a 4 day that week with a few disney park days? If you planned on going on the Dream, take a look at the Magic for right around that time etc. 7k is a lot. We never pay any where near that. Trust me, you don't need a 7 day cruise with Disney, they are amazing! I was blown away by my 3 day and now we have a 4 day booked with a few park days planned.

 

The only other one I would consider would be a Freedom or Oasis class of RCI and they aren't cheap. I wouldn't consider another cruise line for families besides these two.

 

CCL YAGH awful waste of money...

[MCC retired]

Since Grandma , who never has been on any cruise , is insisting on DCL , OP should be the decision maker here.

Explain that available $$ means you must chose a more affordable cruise line this time.

The Mass market lines all have wonderful kids programs .

Other than that , search for a more affordable sailing date (shorter, schools in ,farther out, ect.) .

[Scrapnana]

Are you using a travel agent? If not, find one of the on-line companies that specialize in all things Disney. They can check for you and maybe even perform some Disney magic and find you just what you want. On top of that, most give onboard credit. Don't give up. Grandma's right - the kids will adore Disney!

[MTVanc]

you haven't told us the date or location. I am assuming its a Caribbean cruise sometime between July onwards as you mention hurricane season. You do not mention what date, but DCL cruises drop in price from the last week of August onwards (when the kids are back in school). If your flexible on dates and pick one of the dates when the kids are in school the prices will be much lower than a July / August sailing

DCL is more expensive than the other cruise lines and you may want to look for GTY. For GTY bookings you need to be flexible and there are a lot of restrictions, ie: pay in full at time of booking, no refunds, no cabin assignment until a few weeks before sailing etc. etc. But price is good.

[angromarsi]

Thanks for your thoughts, all. Yes, it is in late August and I don't want to take my first grader out of a full week of school. We start after Labor Day. I've been looking at alternate dates, but the weeks he has off are even worse for pricing (unless we look into 2015 when those dates are released).

 

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on things (and see what my sister wants to do). I appreciate the comments!

[Nirrakel]

Personally I tried P&O cruises with my 2 year old and 4 year old boys and felt so uncomfortable that it's a Disney cruise or no cruise from here on out. I'm prepared to pay a premium to know the kids will be happy. On P&O every time my boys were less than angelic they'd get tuts and looks and nasty comments. Only place I felt they were welcome was shut away in the kids club, not my idea of a fun family holiday and I couldn't wait to get home!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

you haven't told us the date or location. I am assuming its a Caribbean cruise sometime between July onwards as you mention hurricane season. You do not mention what date, but DCL cruises drop in price from the last week of August onwards (when the kids are back in school). If your flexible on dates and pick one of the dates when the kids are in school the prices will be much lower than a July / August sailing

DCL is more expensive than the other cruise lines and you may want to look for GTY. For GTY bookings you need to be flexible and there are a lot of restrictions, ie: pay in full at time of booking, no refunds, no cabin assignment until a few weeks before sailing etc. etc. But price is good.

 

I think they mean *GT rates. Means a guarantee interior, ocean view or veranda (IGT/OGT/VGT) as a sales rate. (GTY isn't a price difference, just no specific room assigned, was what I understood.)

 

Our cruise was a VGT and we LOVED it.

 

7 days is pricey on DCL. What about a 5 day etc Wonder out of Miami? Wonder is a cheaper cruise and so is Miami...

[moki'smommy]

Don't give up yet. Can you be at all flexible on dates or are some members of your group pretty much "stuck" with a particular week? If you can be flexible, hang loose for now and wait a long while--as in till 75 days before the cruise. By then you will be able to see whether there are any specials available (wouldn't a Kids Sail free be great?) Just keep watching the rates for the weeks around when you'd like to cruise.

 

As to taking a first grader out of school....would May work better when she'd be a kindergartener? I wouldn't hesitate to take a good student out of school, but that's a personal decision.

 

I'd get a GOOD travel agent who specializes in DCL and who will keep you aware of specials. There are some nice ones out there now. Yes, they are a little "short notice" if you regard 60-75 days as short notice, but that's plenty of time to get ready.

 

I've gotten great specials on 7 night cruises in May, and frequently in September. Just hang loose for now......

[MTVanc]

I think they mean *GT rates. Means a guarantee interior, ocean view or veranda (IGT/OGT/VGT) as a sales rate. (GTY isn't a price difference, just no specific room assigned, was what I understood.)

 

Our cruise was a VGT and we LOVED it.

 

7 days is pricey on DCL. What about a 5 day etc Wonder out of Miami? Wonder is a cheaper cruise and so is Miami...

 

 

Yes your right. I was thinking of the guarantees for OP, and it should have been VGT not GTY

[MTVanc]

Thanks for your thoughts, all. Yes, it is in late August and I don't want to take my first grader out of a full week of school. We start after Labor Day. I've been looking at alternate dates, but the weeks he has off are even worse for pricing (unless we look into 2015 when those dates are released).

 

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on things (and see what my sister wants to do). I appreciate the comments!

 

 

Your absolutely correct. The weeks the kids are off during July and August are the most expensive. Isn't this why Disney stock price just keeps going up.

As others have mentioned you should look for the guarantee sailings. We got a VGT on the Fantasy Eastern Carib cruise last year for just under $5K for four. It was for the last week of August which is the same time your looking at. I understand a lot of schools in Florida and other parts of the US go back in mid to last week of August so the room bookings are down. The VGT special showed up in May so about three months prior.

[MTVanc]

angro,

I just saw the following thread about DCL guarantee pricing

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1919545

[awilliams4]

Assuming you are referring to the 8/23/14 Cruise we are in the same boat in that our son's school starts the day after labor day as well and we cannot/will not take him out of school. Too miserable!

 

If it helps, I have been hammering Disney's site daily for months looking for a Category 4E on that cruise. We got room 7090 reserved for 8/23/14 while we were on the Fantasy on 8/10 through 8/17.. For 4 people, Category 4C, incluidng the 10% discount and all port fees/taxes, our cruise is $5,200. The prices went up substantially around the 1st week of September for this cruise. Availability for 4 or more in a stateroom is also almost non-existent. I would expect this to change once the 2015 cruise schedules come out.

 

I have also been doing all the research in finding more affordable Disney cruises for us where we will not take our son out of school and school ends in mid-late June and starts the day after Labor Day.

 

Trust me, there isn't any. Easter break is through the roof. June, July, always has skyrocketing prices.

 

2015 is our year because Labor Day is on 9/7 so that will be your best chance to get more reasonable rates because you can get the last week of Aug to the 1st week of Sep in 2015 without taking your child/children out of school. Shoot for 2015!

 

Oh, and for those that suggest a 4 day is great....well, it is kinda, but you will be wanting a 7 day once you step off the 4 day. The 4 day doesn't really do much. Even on the Sea Day on our 4 day, we just sat in the middle of the ocean not going anywhere.

 

We LOVED the 7 day and it was no comparison against the 4 Day (on the Dream) We have no interest in a 4 day anymore so I would stick with the 7 and worse case, just shoot for 2015 instead.

 

We may forego 2014 and do Disney's Hilton Head for a week during the last week of August instead. Already got reasonable Cash DVC discounted rates for a 2 bedroom reserved.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

It is my dream to sail the Fantasy next, but we had some family who aren't keen AT ALL to cruise and so getting them on a 4 day is a miracle in itself. We are going to add 3-4 WDW park days and we will have our 7 day trip. 4 day is still great as far as ship experiences go. I'm excited to have a sea day on Disney.

 

ANY DCL is better than no DCL!

[RTurnaround]

I have had this similar experience all week to book friends of ours. Rooms show up, rooms sell out. The way the economy is, I think there are more cancellations. If you have time available, keep checking. CHECK EVERY DAY. I'm not kidding. I see differences in rooms sometimes from morning to night or a few days!

 

 

I agree! There is always room for things to change, rooms to open up, etc.

Other people have mentioned trying going with an agent. I know I would definitely consider that because they'll take a lot of the research out of it for you!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I agree! There is always room for things to change, rooms to open up, etc.

Other people have mentioned trying going with an agent. I know I would definitely consider that because they'll take a lot of the research out of it for you!

 

I suppose. Me? I'm just obsessed. I guess I could be a part time TA! I check air fares first thing and through out the day looking for nuggets of good timing. (it worked! We got ours round trip for 242 incl tax!) and also to check ship fares through out the day. I have data on my phone...

[Irene7]

Thanks for your thoughts, all. Yes, it is in late August and I don't want to take my first grader out of a full week of school. We start after Labor Day. I've been looking at alternate dates, but the weeks he has off are even worse for pricing (unless we look into 2015 when those dates are released).

 

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on things (and see what my sister wants to do). I appreciate the comments!

 

I agree with the other posters, I would wait it out and keep checking for cancellations. Since you are not going until August 2014, you have plenty of time to book another line. Another thing you can consider is, as a back up, put a deposit on an other line and if the stateroom you want on Disney opens up, you can always cancel the other line before the deadline and get a full refund.

[ducklite]

I would wait another year. The youngest will then be old enough to go into the pools and possibly use the clubs.

[vacation_junkie]

 

CCL YAGH awful waste of money...

 

Waste of money?

 

To each their own.

 

We have sailed 5 different cruise lines....many times.

Carnival is our Fav. cruise line.

 

Our 13 yr old is a platinum cruiser on CCL.

He's never complained once on a CCL Cruise.

 

We sail in Grand Suites on Carnival and pay a premium price for our Carnival vacation. So it's not that we only like CCL because Carnival can be a "cheaper" cruise line!

 

CCL has treated us well.

[Irene7]

Waste of money?

 

To each their own.

 

We have sailed 5 different cruise lines....many times.

Carnival is our Fav. cruise line.

 

Our 13 yr old is a platinum cruiser on CCL.

He's never complained once on a CCL Cruise.

 

We sail in Grand Suites on Carnival and pay a premium price for our Carnival vacation. So it's not that we only like CCL because Carnival can be a "cheaper" cruise line!

 

CCL has treated us well.

 

Not trying to be rude, but a grand suite on a Carni ship costs about the same as a standard balcony or oceanview stateroom on other lines. I have made the comparisons.

[Irene7]

Also, if you planned on going on a 7 day, look at a 4 day that week with a few disney park days? If you planned on going on the Dream, take a look at the Magic for right around that time etc. 7k is a lot. We never pay any where near that. Trust me, you don't need a 7 day cruise with Disney, they are amazing! I was blown away by my 3 day and now we have a 4 day booked with a few park days planned.

 

The only other one I would consider would be a Freedom or Oasis class of RCI and they aren't cheap. I wouldn't consider another cruise line for families besides these two.

 

CCL YAGH awful waste of money...

 

I agree and especially about CCL. Although cheap, it is still a waste of money.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I agree and especially about CCL. Although cheap, it is still a waste of money.

 

Yup. Definitely agreed.

 

To the PP, well despite having Gold status and enjoying my first several CCLs, they certainly haven't been good to us. We couldn't even get waters filled in the MDR. The week we took with them cost us a big part of our vacation time (so we can't visit family as much this year), cost us dog sitters, cost us over $1500 if you add tips and incidentals, and that doesn't even include the islands but the islands were all great. But the cruise was a big waste for us this year. By early March, we had already eaten into a big part of our time off and a big part of our financial fun for the year. All I wanted to do was go back home once I got off the ship, so it was a big waste for me. Only saving grace were the islands and the WDW days my honey tacked on to the trip (but that wasn't CCL). For that, I could have loaded up my dogs and driven on 1.5 tanks of gas to run my dogs on the beach and stay in my parent's condo.

 

CCL is a waste of money that could be put towards Disney cruising. As it was, we were only able to join our family for their 3 day Disney Cruise because of Chase financing, because CCL had already sucked up our funds.

 

Why cruise CCL when you can take that $1500 and put it towards Disney. Yagh. CCL is a waste of money.

 

In any case, I don't want to deviate from the topic. If the OP wants to get on their cruise, they can camp out and check the reservations every day if that's what it takes. I have seen interior cheaper rooms come up on our cruise, come and go, every few days.

 

Wish the best for the OP!

[vacation_junkie]

Not trying to be rude, but a grand suite on a Carni ship costs about the same as a standard balcony or oceanview stateroom on other lines. I have made the comparisons.

 

Our Verandah room on our upcoming Dis cruise is half of what we paid for our last GS on the Breeze.

 

I am licensed to sell travel , I am extremely aware of what it costs to sail on different lines.

 

I also know what I've paid on my 20+ cruises.

Carnival has not been the cheapest line.

[BlancaNoir]

Have you considered an inside room? Nomally I wouldn't but I would on Disney. Those magic portholes are cool and it sounds like the inside rooms can be comfortable for a family of 4. IMHO oceanview rooms are the worst type of room. They make me feel claustrophobic. Inside rooms feel sort of like a cocoon and they can be very dark at night which is great if you need to catch up on sleep. Yeah, suites are the best (I assume!) and I love verandahs! Love love love them. But if cost is the issue I would choose an inside disney room in a heartbeat.