Just watched Disney Cruise Line Special on TV

[PunkyCruiser]

WOW!

 

That is all I can say. I have never been on a cruise, but I booked a cruise on Carnival for February because it was something I could afford. However, tonight my daughter and I were watching tv and we just saw the special about the Disney Dream!

 

I am in utter shock! I know that when my daughter goes on the other cruise, it will not be anything like what we just witnessed on tv for the DCL! I just wish that I could afford to take my family on a Disney Cruise.

 

We have been to Disney once a year for the past two years in a row. We just couldn't do it this year.

 

My question to all of you Disney cruisers would be, aside from the regular charges between the fare and the taxes, what all is included? Is there need for a lot of extra money on board? Does DCL do tips as a daily rate, or is the regular tipping expected at each meal?

 

I'm trying to see if there is ANY way I could try to plan that for our vacation next year.

 

Thank you so much, in advance!! :)

[GatorMomInNC]

WOW!

 

That is all I can say. I have never been on a cruise, but I booked a cruise on Carnival for February because it was something I could afford. However, tonight my daughter and I were watching tv and we just saw the special about the Disney Dream!

 

I am in utter shock! I know that when my daughter goes on the other cruise, it will not be anything like what we just witnessed on tv for the DCL! I just wish that I could afford to take my family on a Disney Cruise.

 

We have been to Disney once a year for the past two years in a row. We just couldn't do it this year.

 

My question to all of you Disney cruisers would be, aside from the regular charges between the fare and the taxes, what all is included? Food, entertainment, soft drinks, kids clubs

 

Is there need for a lot of extra money on board? Along with tips -- If you want to buy souvenirs, alcohol or specialty coffee dinks, smoothies or sodas at a bar, and go on excursions, you will need to pay for those.

 

Does DCL do tips as a daily rate, or is the regular tipping expected at each meal? You tip, if i recall correctly, $12 per person per day. You also have 15% gratuity added to anything you eat or drink that you have to pay for and order from a server--alcohol, specialty drinks, snacks at the movies.

 

I'm trying to see if there is ANY way I could try to plan that for our vacation next year.

 

Thank you so much, in advance!! :)

 

keep in mind, You can bring your own alcohol on board as long as you carry it on. Then you can mix it with stuff you get free from room service like milk or go to the drink station to get sodas. Bottom line if you are really on a budget the only thing you really need to spend your money on is tips ad you can still have a great cruise. s

[PunkyCruiser]

keep in mind, You can bring your own alcohol on board as long as you carry it on. Then you can mix it with stuff you get free from room service like milk or go to the drink station to get sodas. Bottom line if you are really on a budget the only thing you really need to spend your money on is tips ad you can still have a great cruise. s

 

Thank you so much!! I am going to start planning and saving right now!! That show was like an hour long advertisement! It surely sold my daughter and I! It was showcasing the Dream, and it was just amazing. I couldn't believe that they had "Turtle Talk" in the dining room, and how the inside rooms even had projections of the outside in them!

 

Now I see why there is such a big price difference between all the other lines, and Disney.

 

Castaway Key was also beautiful! What an amazing little retreat! :)

[ppiew]

After two years we have just come back from a DREAM cruise and let me tell you the ship is meticulous! Gorgeous in every way. you will never regret it!

[moki'smommy]

OK, first let me say that the ships are amazing. But somehow, they are never as incredibly perfect at the commercials on TV. Not sure what special you saw. Don't get me wrong--the technology, the beauty, the characters are all there. What you don't see is the "hassle" factor. It is minimal, but there. You'll stand in line for most characters 10-15 minutes. Yes, there are those magical moments when you are chilling on the pool deck and Chip appears....but they are the once or twice during the cruise moments. Lugging carry on bags is a pain. Castaway Cay is clean and amazing, but Nassau isn't. You get the picture. That said, I'd take one DCL cruise rather than 2 Carnival any day.

 

The cruise fare includes EVERYTHING you need except tips of $12 per guest per night of cruise. So for a 4 night cruise, the tips would be $48 for each guest in your cabin. Beyond that, you can spend THOUSANDS or you can have a great, amazing cruise and spend next to nothing.

 

Where you can drop money--alcohol (bring your own in your carry on ), smoothies, specialty coffee (regular and decaf are no charge), photos (bring your own camera; the character attendants will take photos with your equipment), gift shop, excursions (you don't need them to have a super day), spa (your choice), adult dining (your choice).

 

Honestly, I've gotten off the ship with over $1000 on my on board account, but I've also gotten off with less than $100. Also, if you use a travel agent who gives an on board credit as a "thanks for booking" perk, you can start off with $25-hundreds on you account (depends on length of cruise and category). Do not hesitate to book an inside cabin. The virtual portholes are fun and you'll save money.

[SurelyUcantBeSerious]

I think the Disney experience is worth every penny.

We plan on taking many more - even without children.

 

I think the TV commercials and specials don't do it justice. We were more overwhelmed when we actually boarded.

 

I'm surprised at that anyone would think standing in a line 10 - 15 minutes is a hassle. In everyday life a lot of us spend more time in that in a line...and when we're done we're not hugging Mickey or Minnie. :D

 

and the hassle of "lugging your carry on bags"? seriously? I thought all cruise lines had you carry your own day bags yourself.

 

Nassau....for some people it will be their first time. You can get out and experience it, or not. You might not go back everytime you're there, but we all have to try things for the first time to see if it's "our cup of tea" :)

[scrappinannie]

Oh, we're ready to book, too! We spent a week at Disney World this past October and had many wonderful moments as a family. I've been itching to take the kids on a cruise (they've never been, are only 4 & 7 yrs old) but we want to wait at least another year so the kids are a bit older and will be tall enough/big enough to enjoy the water features, kids areas, and take onshore to excursions with a bit more ease (aka: no stroller or baby seats). But the price!:eek: I checked on disney.com and a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise would run our family of 4 $6000 on the low end and that doesn't even get us to the port or include any spending money. I understand that disney.com will have the highest price and we can most likely get that down quite a bit, but WHOA! How are you all affording it?? I'm trying to plan for 2015, so we do have some time to save but still.

[Lily429]

I took my family on the Dream right after her inauguration, for Memorial Day weekend. It was a 5 night double Castaway Cay cruise! It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every cent. The difference between DCL and Carnival or Norwegian (the others we have done) is the magic of it all. The ship is stunning, cabins are extremely well designed and provisions are nice. The entertainment is top notch, amazing shows and nice movie theaters. We saw characters at every corner, maybe because it was a brand new ship but we saw them everywhere. My opinion is the up front cost is a lot, but they don't gouge you on the other areas like other cruise lines. The cost for pictures was minimal and you can bring your own alcohol on board to save on bar costs. Castaway Cay is very nice, you do not need a cabana, there are plenty of chairs, nice ones! We are Florida residents so we try to cash in on resident discount rates when we can, it makes it much more affordable. As for Nassau, everyone has a different opinion. We have two stops we make every trip, the Humane Society to drop off donations and the Fish Fry to have lunch. The rest of the day is enjoyed on the ship. I highly recommend doing it at least once….and really in the end, what you get in return is a complete vacation 'disney' style. If you plan ahead you can save for a while and do one of the shorter 3 or 4 night itineraries for a minimal price.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Hi OP! I felt the same way you did when we had our 3 day Dream this year. It was my shortest and favorite cruise from someone who had decided I was over cruising 5 weeks before after my disappointing third annual CCL. We looked into their Chase cards and saw that we could put the cruise on six months no interest and that allowed us to surprise our parents for their anniversary cruise with all their kids.

 

We liked the cruise so much, we started putting the majority of our monthly charges on it and when we got a 10% off coupon a few months later, we only had to put down $22 pp deposit thanks to our rewards! I decided to open up the premier acct in my own name to establish credit history and got a $200 gift card for opening it and get 2% or double on most purchases. My paid in full for my upcoming cruise is next month and I will be over $600 in rewards and incentives due to my Disney chase accts! That is half of our cruise fare (tips and fees, everything) for our 4 night Magic just for using their credit cards instead of the ridiculously ineffective Capital One venture card we paid off and closed. $300 per person to cruise Disney!

I will say a big mistake to make is thinking that you need to cruise 7 days for it to be worth it. If you can only do 3 or 4, than do it!! Its wonderful! We tacked on one park day before the cruise this year and shocked our parents while we watched Wishes fireworks under the Castle and the next day, we were all on the cruise together. Its perfect!

 

We did the sea lions at Nassau Blue Lagoon and loved it so much that we are going back to the island in May. Castaway is the best port value of anywhere we have gone and is so inclusive. We only bought a bottle of water to take to the volleyball court! Everything else was included.

 

It is the most inclusive of any cruise and the least sell sell sell of any cruise I have been on. Yes DCL takes all your money up front basically but then they truly do treasure your family. We had no kids with us and we loved the family no casino atmosphere, the incredible shows and different dining rooms, tons of activities and lots of incredible interactive technology. Honestly I don't really think the TV shows did justice for our cruise. We had very high expectations and they were met and exceeded on most accts. I now have a DCL obsession whereas I almost gave up on cruising altogether with CCL. I wished I hadn't wasted the $1200 with CCL that I could have put towards the DCL. Some vacations just aren't worth the money. I was so disappointed that we couldn't even get water coffee served in the MDRs. I was over it! I would have a very very very hard time cruising CCL again, and I'm gold status. I feel like they have let themselves down from 5-10 yrs ago and the cut backs and rude service are making my trip unpleasant.

 

So bottom line, if you want to cruise DC, look for a good deal on a 3/4/5 day, cruise off peak out of school season, book really early (our room has gone up $300-400 since we booked!) Or look for a GT guarantee short notice sale. (We had a VGT veranda guarantee sale with amazing staterooms with double deluxe bathrooms, privacy curtain and gorgeous veranda.) My 3 day veranda cost the same as my 7 day spa interior CCL (and you can tell which I preferred!) And my 4 day interior Magic is base rate the same as my 7 Day CCL (all within a few tens of dollars) and less and less with each of my grocery carts and each yikes!! power bills adding to my rewards.

 

If you are creative, you can get good prices on DCL as long as your timing is flexible and you may try a shorter one to see if it is for you. I left my 3 day excited and still.didn't think it was too short. Although it was super busy! I wrote a trip journal of the one park hopping blitz and 3 day Dream and it filled 20 fully typed pages!

 

Before you waste another valuable dime with CCl, I'd look at a DC first and see if there is any way you can take that money and put it towards a DCL. FEB I think has GT sales rates right now. Why not tack on a 3 day DCL to your CCL this year and see? (If you are cruising this Feb, I mean.) That would be one sure way to compare, that's for sure!

 

Whatever you decide, happy sails!

 

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Edited January 20, 2014 by TwinPrincessMermaids