Is There A Trick?

[lovetocruise75]

To booking an AFFORDABLE Disney cruise? And spare the "Disney is the best" replies. Would love to take our daughter on a Disney cruise but prices are ridiculous. No matter the time of year. $5000 for a balcony. $4000 for an OV. (3 of us) Crazy!

Is there a trick??

[StaceySteveDMB]

We booked a three day with four of us in one room and the price was $2,500.00 for a balcony. It was a lot to swallow for a three day but we will at least be able to say we did Disney once and bring our own beer/liquor. We did not want to book it but my mother in law and brother in law kinda forced us into it. We sail May 1st. I have looked at longer cruises and there is zero chance we would book one. We usually sail Carnival and put the kids in a separate room.

[lovetocruise75]

We booked a three day with four of us in one room and the price was $2,500.00 for a balcony. It was a lot to swallow for a three day but we will at least be able to say we did Disney once and bring our own beer/liquor. We did not want to book it but my mother in law and brother in law kinda forced us into it. We sail May 1st. I have looked at longer cruises and there is zero chance we would book one. We usually sail Carnival and put the kids in a separate room.

 

That's very pricey.

[moki'smommy]

There are two "tricks" that I know of. The best one is to book as soon as the dates come out. Per FB, this will be next week. DCL raises rates as the ship fills, so the lowest rates are the earliest in the booking season. These are "normal" bookings where you pay a 20% deposit up front and can cancel for any reason and receive a full refund PROVIDED that you cancel prior to the "penalty date."

 

The other "trick" is to book a *GT special rate. These rates are offered on cruises that are not filling as well as DCL would like. They are typically availabl 60-75 days before the cruise and DO have restrictions associated with them. For instance, you supposedly cannot change categories (inside, oceanview, balcony) although people have been allowed to spend more money and do exactly this. You cannot change names on the reservation, etc. Please read the fine print before doing this sort of booking. It's not a bad thing, just know what you are buying and be sure that it works for you. These rates typically approximate day 1 release rates--we've seen the a little higher most of the time, but rarely a bit lower! You can currently book a 7 night cruise on the Magic for April 12, 19, or 26 for 3 people for $2800 in an inside cabin. Some of these dates also have oceanview and balcony rates available.

 

These rates are available on various cruises of varying lengths, currently posted from March thru June 2015. Check with the DCL web site or a good travel agent who knows what they are doing with DCL!

[BullDawg91]

When are you sailing and how far out did you book? Where are you going and for how long? All of those things matter.

[flhokie]

Some on here have said booking as soon as sailings are available gives good pricing. I've also read that sailings that aren't sold enough close in to sailing are put out on guarantee or Florida Resident promotions. I know FL Resident doesn't help you, but the guarantee discounts might. The thing that stinks is that a lot of these are close to sailing time. Persistence seems to be the key.

 

We got a great FL Resident Rate 2 months out which is why we sailed. I had been watching rates for months and jumped when these popped up.

 

While we really enjoyed our Disney Cruise, and we would sail them again if we found a great rate, we would not pay their premium rates either (higher, yes, but not drastically higher). Yes, Disney had some very nice special touches, some things that we liked better than other lines and some aspects that do justify higher prices (sodas included, can bring alcohol onboard, overall less nickle & diming, etc), but not extremely high prices.

 

We've sailed many different lines and will continue to sail them, even after Disney.

 

Keep checking rates and good luck! The time and effort is worth it once you find an acceptable price & sail.

[ellian1]

I was told that the new schedules are available to long time DCL cruisers before the general public. By a couple of days. Does this mean that some of you may be able to give the rest of us a heads up? Even though we aren't able to book until the general offering, we would at least know what was coming so we could be ready to leap.

[moki'smommy]

I was told that the new schedules are available to long time DCL cruisers before the general public. By a couple of days. Does this mean that some of you may be able to give the rest of us a heads up? Even though we aren't able to book until the general offering, we would at least know what was coming so we could be ready to leap.

 

You are correct--most of the time, the big travel agents who book a lot of DCL have them 24-48 hours before booking opens. Then there is often 1 day of booking available to Platinum/Gold Castaway Club members, then to the general public. I'm sure you'll be seeing things on this site as soon as anyone has anything official. Currently the only info released is "next week" if you have "liked" DCL on Facebook.

[chictravel227]

Itinerary, this makes a big difference. Time of year, you will find cheaper cruises in the off-season. Longer, repositioning cruises also offer a discount. Ship, the classics (Magic & Wonder) tend to be a bit cheaper than the new (Dream and Fantasy) ships.

 

As others have said, book early. Also, if/when you do go, then book your next cruise on-board.

 

Use a TA that offers on-board credit. I think lots of ppl use Costco as they offer rewards back to spend at Costco. We don't have a Costco in my town, so we don't partake in this.

 

Also, be sure when comparing to other lines that you are comparing apples to apples. We are taking the EBPC this October and found that we are getting a stellar deal on our room as compared to other cruise lines. I.e., the typically less expensive cruise lines cost just as much as Disney, therefore, I think it is a stellar deal. We are at less than 3k a person for a verandah and it is a 14 night cruise. Similar cabins on Princess and Holland were about 4k per person.

 

If you have flexibility in when you can go and how much notice you need with your work schedules, then the GT rates are wonderful. FYI, in case you are wondering, the GT rates are guaranteed rates for that cabin category. So you purchase the guaranteed rate and are simply guaranteed a room in that category, inside, ocean, or verandah. Not sure there are any concierge GT rates, lol! There are some spectacularly good last minute deals. On a whim, I was looking at cruises in April/May and they had some Verandah GT (VGT, OGT = oceanview, hope you get the picture on the many acronyms) where the VGT rates were cheaper than an inside cabin at normal rates. We went on the med a number of years ago, and actually scored a second cabin for around $500 more than what we were paying because it was last minute and had not sold out. This allowed 3 adults to have 2 rooms instead of 1. It was pretty last minute, and there were still rooms available.

 

We enjoy the verandah rooms, BUT we have also sailed inside and oceanview and we have still enjoyed the rooms! Basically, we were on the ship on vacation, so really, we were more than ok. On many cruises, you don't spend a ton of time in your room, so it is a nominal consideration, except for cruises such as Alaska and PC, where you will have a comfier viewing experience, imho.

 

I know you said not to, but you really do have to consider some of the "magic" that is a part of the Disney cruises. You should almost think of it as a trip to WDW. In fact, I found the cruise cheaper than WDW. The characters you get to meet in a mostly good time frame, as in you will probably not wait in any line to see any character for much more than 30 minutes. The sheer volume that you will meet as opposed to our WDW experience. The random encounters, etc. The service really is better.

 

With all this being said, if you do not want to shell out your hard earned money for a Disney cruise, that is up to you, it is your money!

 

I choose to because of other issues, like smoking, many of the "bargain" lines do not have smoking policies that line up with my health needs. The other lines that do, tend to be as much, if not pricier than Disney, so to me, it is well worth it if I want to cruise.

[slightlysilly]

I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but I was waiting to see if the price of the cruse went below $175.00 per person per day, and I wanted to go in February. So I waited and the rate dropped considerably after the Ebola "crisis" came to light. Apparently a nurse or someone who cared for the ebola patient who died, got on a cruise ship and made national headlines by doing so. The next day, cruise fares plummeted across the board. Now, I only expected to go on one Disney cruise just to see what it was like, and my husband liked it so much, that we ended up booking another cruise for next year on the cruise that we were on which was also a savings.

 

The three day is short, but there is time to meet the characters and see the shows. Especially if you are docked in Nassau which unless you are doing an excursion (which we did) you might as well stay on the boat. That's like a sea day I guess.

[c-cruise]

I've found you just have to be a little bit flexible in when you want to go. We are going on the Magic next month and have two connecting balcony cabins. The cabin with 3 people was $4600 total which I though was a pretty reasonable price for Disney. Pretty much in line with the other options we were looking at that week. The RCI ship out of Port Canaveral was more expensive the same week for a comparable cabin. We were originally looking to go over our kids mid-winter break in Feb, but it was 2k more to go that week so we moved back to spring break week. We are going to Alaska on Princess this summer and it was more expensive than Disney to the Caribbean.

[delirious9876]

To booking an AFFORDABLE Disney cruise? And spare the "Disney is the best" replies. Would love to take our daughter on a Disney cruise but prices are ridiculous. No matter the time of year. $5000 for a balcony. $4000 for an OV. (3 of us) Crazy!

Is there a trick??

Try a transatlantic.

 

We only paid $749 per person and $360 for the one way flight. The cruise is 12 nights !

 

Bargain !!

[perditax]

To booking an AFFORDABLE Disney cruise? And spare the "Disney is the best" replies. Would love to take our daughter on a Disney cruise but prices are ridiculous. No matter the time of year. $5000 for a balcony. $4000 for an OV. (3 of us) Crazy!

 

Is there a trick??

 

 

Would you be willing to post the dates/itinerary you're looking at, and then a comparable cruise on another line that you find non-ridiculous, for comparisons' sake?

 

I see this a lot but then when I go to the allegedly superior line's site and look at similar cruises with similar square footage in the cabins, when you start adding in all the extra costs (soda packages, so very many up charge/a la carte food items, NCL's new double-dip speciality restaurant 18% auto gratuity, big price hike for RCCL drinks, on and on ...) the alleged giant price gap seems less giant.

 

Unless you're talking an older Carnival ship or something.

 

(I've never cruised before, so if you come back with specifics on what you're comparing, it'd be helpful to me personally as I continue to educate myself.)

Edited March 22, 2015 by perditax

[moki'smommy]

Repositioning cruises are typically a great value. Even adding in the airfare, they can be a great thing!

[perditax]

My spidey sense suggests we don't hear back from OP.

[TowerOrchard]

so very many up charge/a la carte food items, NCL's new double-dip speciality restaurant 18% auto gratuity, big price hike for RCCL drinks, on and on ...) the alleged giant price gap seems less giant.

I know you said you haven't cruised before so maybe you aren't aware of this, but Disney also has up charge items and specialty restaurants that cost extra - just like the other cruise lines you mentioned.

 

I see this on these boards occasionally, but I don't find this to be an accurate comparison. If you are adding on optional extras to the bottom line on Cruise Line Y, then you have to add the same optional extras to Disney as well for it to be an apples to apples comparison. People seem to do it to justify the additional cost of Disney, but it is misleading, because of course, when you are actually comparing the same thing, Disney is still significantly more expensive. You have to pay extra for a cappuccino or a more upscale dinner on EVERY mass market line, Disney included. The only real difference is that Disney includes sodas, but it doesn't cost that much to buy a soda package on other lines - no where near enough to make up the price gap.

 

The bottom line? Disney charges a premium because they have a small fleet and they are the only cruise line that is pretty much entirely devoted to kids/families. If that is appealing to you, you pay more for it (as I am in a few weeks!). If not, don't. But don't fall for the notion that there really isn't a significant difference in price once you add in all the Disney extras. That is wrong.

[perditax]

I know you said you haven't cruised before so maybe you aren't aware of this, but Disney also has up charge items and specialty restaurants that cost extra - just like the other cruise lines you mentioned.

 

I see this on these boards occasionally, but I don't find this to be an accurate comparison. If you are adding on optional extras to the bottom line on Cruise Line Y, then you have to add the same optional extras to Disney as well for it to be an apples to apples comparison. People seem to do it to justify the additional cost of Disney, but it is misleading, because of course, when you are actually comparing the same thing, Disney is still significantly more expensive. You have to pay extra for a cappuccino or a more upscale dinner on EVERY mass market line, Disney included. The only real difference is that Disney includes sodas, but it doesn't cost that much to buy a soda package on other lines - no where near enough to make up the price gap.

 

The bottom line? Disney charges a premium because they have a small fleet and they are the only cruise line that is pretty much entirely devoted to kids/families. If that is appealing to you, you pay more for it (as I am in a few weeks!). If not, don't. But don't fall for the notion that there really isn't a significant difference in price once you add in all the Disney extras. That is wrong.

 

I'm aware of all of this, although I disagree that there is nearly as much upcharge content as on some other similarly-marketed lines, based on what I've read here on CC. For example, the DCL ships only have 1-2 upcharge restaurants, and you don't, for example, get charged a double gratuity on them (as per recent NCL news). All of which is why I was wonder what specific sailings the OP was comparing. Whenever I try to find the "costs two to three times as much" comparison points, the products offered don't really seem to be comparable.

[Friend100]

Is there a trick??

 

Timing .... for the cruise and timing of when you book it.

 

DCL Bahamas and Caribbean off season sailings offer better price. January to mid February, late April, September after Labour Day to mid November, the late November after US Thanksgiving to mid December. Check either Disney Magic or Wonder 5 night Western Caribbean out of Miami in mid/late January.

 

As for time to book ... do it as early as possible.

 

Another trick if you want longer cruise ... Panama Canal ... best kept secret :)

[TowerOrchard]

For example, the DCL ships only have 1-2 upcharge restaurants, and you don't, for example, get charged a double gratuity on them (as per recent NCL news).

The number of upcharge restaurants available and the amount of gratuity they charge are completely irrelevant to the argument, though. If you want to do an accurate comparison, you would figure out how many upcharge dining experiences you wanted on a cruise, and add the appropriate charges (including any gratuities) to BOTH lines. To add them to bottom line of one cruise line, but not to Disney and then try to claim that the price differences are not so great is a false comparison. On both lines you can opt to skip upcharge dining, so that doesn't close the price gap at all.

 

Again, this is not to dis Disney. DCL has a lot of great things going for it that other cruise lines don't. But it DOES cost a good bit more - to try to pretend otherwise is foolish.

Edited March 22, 2015 by TowerOrchard

[lovetocruise75]

My spidey sense suggests we don't hear back from OP.

 

Your "spidey" sense? LOL. OK Guess you need to "re-tune" that sense of yours.

 

Thanks everyone. I've looked at all 7 day, Caribbean /Bahamas. I have tried many months in advance all different seasons. Still very expensive compared to the line we usually sail. Guess I'll continue to look.

 

Thanks!

[StaceySteveDMB]

Your "spidey" sense? LOL. OK Guess you need to "re-tune" that sense of yours.

 

 

 

Thanks everyone. I've looked at all 7 day, Caribbean /Bahamas. I have tried many months in advance all different seasons. Still very expensive compared to the line we usually sail. Guess I'll continue to look.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Truth is that there is no real secret. If you want to do it you just have to go for it and not second guess yourself. I would just book a shorter duration cruise to save some money. Disney is crazy expensive because it's Disney no other explanation needed. When I get back in May from our three day I'll let you know if it was worth it.

[perditax]

Your "spidey" sense? LOL. OK Guess you need to "re-tune" that sense of yours.

 

Thanks everyone. I've looked at all 7 day, Caribbean /Bahamas. I have tried many months in advance all different seasons. Still very expensive compared to the line we usually sail. Guess I'll continue to look.

 

Thanks!

 

Fair enough. But will you tell me the line you 'usually' sail? As I said I'm a new cruiser, and this 'Disney is stupid expensive' thing is something that comes up a lot, and I'm trying to figure out "...expensive compared to what".

[c-cruise]

Your "spidey" sense? LOL. OK Guess you need to "re-tune" that sense of yours.

 

Thanks everyone. I've looked at all 7 day, Caribbean /Bahamas. I have tried many months in advance all different seasons. Still very expensive compared to the line we usually sail. Guess I'll continue to look.

 

Thanks!

 

I was just looking at next April for our 2016 cruise and I can do the Disney Magic for essentially the same price as the Freedom OTS for a comparable cabin (Deluxe Family w/ Verandah vs. junior suite).

 

Now of course that is just one week and one cabin comparison, and in general Disney is going to cost more. That's just the way it is. Your paying for a unique premium experience that is in high demand with significantly less cabin inventory than other lines.

 

It's just a matter of looking around and finding a sailing when the price difference isn't a deal breaker. For us Disney is well worth about a 20% premium over what we would pay on another line. More than and I would really have to question if it was worth it.

[lovetocruise75]

Fair enough. But will you tell me the line you 'usually' sail? As I said I'm a new cruiser, and this 'Disney is stupid expensive' thing is something that comes up a lot, and I'm trying to figure out "...expensive compared to what".

 

We've always sailed Royal Caribbean or Celebrity

[moki'smommy]

We've always sailed Royal Caribbean or Celebrity

 

My most recent experience with venturing out to another line was on the Celebrity Infinity. Same dates, same ports. When I started looking, Disney Wonder was listing their cat 11 cabin at $1299 per person, double occupancy +$48 "port charges and government fees." Celebrity listed $799 for the lowest cabin on the ship. My first bit of sticker shock was when I went to book on line and found that Celebrity added almost $300 per person as "port charges and fees." So right off the bat, we were at $1350 compared to $1100. And then, I knew I would have to add the soda package for my daughter...so we are at $1150. When I called my TA, he said that this cruise was due to be reduced on Tuesday, and he got us down to $699 base fee, $1050 to get on the ship and keep daughter happy with soda.

 

SO, $1050 vs. $1350pp was a savings, but not nearly as big a savings as I'd first anticipated. And our cabin was significantly smaller than the smallest cabin on the Wonder. No, we don't normally go with the cheapest cabin on the ship, but I knew this was primarily an "outdoor" cruise and I wanted to save money so I could use it on excursions. Celebrity was good in many ways--better food than DCL was a big point. Also better Guest Services. But DCL had better entertainment and that undefinable "better atmosphere." I'd cruise Celebrity again--no question. But I wouldn't delude myself that it would be half the cost of Disney.

 

And I never have figured out why Celebrity had so much higher "fees" than DCL.

 

And yes, DCL has one or two "adult only" upcharge restaurants per ship. That's very different than a ship with 18 restaurants, but only 5 are included with the cruise fare (per RCCL's recent ads). And DCL's upcharge restaurants are not such that they appeal to or are open to kids. Example from another line--Johnny Rocket's carried an upcharge AND the upcharge did not include a milkshake or ice cream item. So you have now upcharged lunch for the kids + the parent(s) who must accompany them + the specialty item. That adds up fast. Obviously, a guest could refuse to take the kids there...but there is a difference between gearing upcharge items to adults vs. tempting the kids with them.

Edited March 22, 2015 by moki'smommy