Anyway to cruise cheaply??

[momtofour]

Dear Budget Board Members,
Please help with any advice concerning the seven day cruise. We are a family of 6, Mom, Dad, children 15, 11, 9, and 6. We have always wanted to do this vacation. The only time we can really do this is the third week of March due to school schedules. (Christmas vacation is way too expensive) From what I gather, we would need two adjoining rooms, and therefore, must pay for four adults. When I price this out at a Category 10 or 11, I am in the neighborhood of $5500.00 or so. (Next year it is Easter week so the price jumps to over $9000.00!! That's out!!) Airfare from Chicago for the six of us is a minimum of $1200.00 and that's if I snag a really great deal. Once I add in trip insurance, tips, and a minimal amount for extras, that is at least another $1500.00. Plus, we've got a hotel stay at the Port plus transportation there. I am figuring at least $8500.00 and that seems conservative. It blows my mind that this works out to about $1200.00 a day!!! Does anyone have any suggestions? I am sure the trip is incredible but I am not sure I can justify this expense. Thanks for any advice!!!

[pjlla]

I too am looking for some budget cruise ideas. Any out there? Maybe this should be moved to the Cruise Board??..........P

[jxh1]

I personally have never taken a Disney cruise (well at least not yet, lol), but from what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be much you can do about getting around the cost. For a family of four it is going to be expensive, even if you get the cheapest cabin, get lucky on airfare and scrimp and penny-pinch as much as you can. You can get a little bit back by booking through Dreams Unlimited (check on this site for more information), but Disney cruises in general are a bit more costly than other cruises. Although I'm sure it would be an amazing vacation, just imagine what kind of vacation you could have at WDW with $8500 - it boggles the mind. I hope others give you some insight on this as well. Good luck with your decision!

[Sammy]

Don't know that I'm going to be much help, but I'm in the same boat as you. I am looking at the 7-day Western for Feb. 2005 for 8 people. So far, the cheapest rate I've gotten is $7,500...cruise only...through *************. We just spent 11 days at WDW this past September; stayed at the Dolphin, did lots, saw tons, and including airfare, didn't even spend $5,000. The extra cost for the cruise is depressing.

I've been searching all over the internet for deals, but I think the best deals occur within the 3-month window. Of course, then you are taking a chance on availability...especially with a school vacation week.

Good luck and let us know if you find any good deals out there!

Sammy

[maggiew]

I can't help much either. I am in the same boat as you (no pun intended!). I researched prices and it just seemed too much to spend. I did find out, though, that other cruise lines (non-Disney) are A LOT cheaper!!!! You may want to look into that. Check out Carnival or Royal Caribbean?? You could always do a 3 or 4 day cruise on Carnival and then go to DisneyWorld for 3 or 4 days to get your Disney fix. Just a thought.

Maggie

[mad4themouse]

The fact that you're looking to book during school holidays has everything to do with how expensive those cabins are.

We've done the Disney cruise twice. Once on the 4-night Wonder and once on the 7-night Magic. Both were done during what the cruiseline considers to be their "value" season.

You're right that the most economical way to go would be two adjoining cabins in Cat. 11 or 10. Keep in mind that the 15yo would be charged as the 3rd adult in your cabin anyway. Anyone over 12 pays as much as an adult. There are no "junior" rates on the cruise.

Booking early usually got us better rates than waiting until the last minute. Disney offers Early Booking discounts, so it can pay off to get your reservations made as soon as you know that you're going. A deposit of $200 per person will hold your ressie with a final payment due 60 days prior to sailing. You can get your deposit back anytime prior to those 60 days if you decide to cancel.

Decline the Disney transportation from MCO --> Port Canaveral & back. Make your own arrangements via towncar or van and save some money.

Get trip insurance from some source other than Disney.

Use a TA like DreamsUnlimitedTravel (http://dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/) . They can look for any deals and update your ressies if any better prices should become available. DU also offers a rebate for certain bookings. Try getting a free quote from them to see if they can get you a better price.

The Disney Cruise is awesome and well-worth the money we spent. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

[bearzabout]

I found that the best way of getting a good deal on cruises is to travel during off peak times and get a low rate from a discounter (like cruisemasters). Some cruise lines (I don't know about Disney) dump rooms for low rates to fill dates with few bookings.

It can also pay to book the less popular inside cabins on a sailing. Many ships will sell out their balcony rooms first leaving these undesirable rooms heavily discounted.

I typically have paid $100/day per person for a room with a balcony by booking from a discounter.

Remember that there are other expenses that can really drive up the overall price of a cruise. The worst culprit is shore excursions. Tipping and drink prices can also add up.

Hop on the newgroup for cruises or do a search for discount cruise companies. Sign up for their newsletters so you can follow the patterns for discounting on different cruise lines.

Do your homework on a discounter before booking. Make sure they are an honest company.

My guess is even Disney has a few unpopular sailings that they must discount in order to sell. I've seen good discounts right before Christmas, in early January and September.

[pjlla]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
The fact that you're looking to book during school holidays has everything to do with how expensive those cabins are.

We've done the Disney cruise twice. Once on the 4-night Wonder and once on the 7-night Magic. Both were done during what the cruiseline considers to be their "value" season.

You're right that the most economical way to go would be two adjoining cabins in Cat. 11 or 10. Keep in mind that the 15yo would be charged as the 3rd adult in your cabin anyway. Anyone over 12 pays as much as an adult. There are no "junior" rates on the cruise.

Booking early usually got us better rates than waiting until the last minute. Disney offers Early Booking discounts, so it can pay off to get your reservations made as soon as you know that you're going. A deposit of $200 per person will hold your ressie with a final payment due 60 days prior to sailing. You can get your deposit back anytime prior to those 60 days if you decide to cancel.

Decline the Disney transportation from MCO --> Port Canaveral & back. Make your own arrangements via towncar or van and save some money.

Get trip insurance from some source other than Disney.

Use a TA like DreamsUnlimitedTravel (http://dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/) . They can look for any deals and update your ressies if any better prices should become available. DU also offers a rebate for certain bookings. Try getting a free quote from them to see if they can get you a better price.

The Disney Cruise is awesome and well-worth the money we spent. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I was glad to hear what you had to say about the deposit being refundable!! We are thinking of cruising in approximately March of 2006. We understand that you can book this approximately one year in advance and the further in advance you book, the better the price (most of the time)..... but we were concerned about booking at that time due to DH's vacation schedule. They put in their requests for the year in January. What if it was Jan 2006 and he suddenly couldn't get the week we planned on cruising?? YIKES! Not likely of course, as he has lots of senority and gets to choose among the first, but still..... you never know...................P

[dunningdisney]

Have you ever considered joining DVC (Disney Vacation Club)?

We did last year and we are so glad we did. We are hoping to go on the Disney cruise next april using our DVC points. This is the only way we can afford it. We had priced it out for our family (also 2 rooms) and it was around $8000 w/air $5000 w/o. I would much rather "invest" this money in DVC and use it for 50 years as well as to be able to use it to cruise.

[mad4themouse]

Originally posted by dunningdisney
Have you ever considered joining DVC (Disney Vacation Club)?

We did last year and we are so glad we did. We are hoping to go on the Disney cruise next april using our DVC points. This is the only way we can afford it. We had priced it out for our family (also 2 rooms) and it was around $8000 w/air $5000 w/o. I would much rather "invest" this money in DVC and use it for 50 years as well as to be able to use it to cruise.

DVC owners that I spoken with seem to feel that using your points on a Disney Cruise is not a prudent use of the points. It would make better sense to rent those points out and apply the money you get towards the cruise.

[AspiringCindy]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
DVC owners that I spoken with seem to feel that using your points on a Disney Cruise is not a prudent use of the points. It would make better sense to rent those points out and apply the money you get towards the cruise.
You are correct! It is not a good way to use your points! First of all, DCL does not follow the guidelines that DVC does-as far as consistent and steady prices! I noticed the points for cruises rises each year! Secondly, unless you buy into DVC at a minimum of 300 points, then bank 2-3 years worth, only then would you have enough points to cover the cruise!
Do what others have suggested! Price shop amongst cruise wholesalers, book early and travel during off-season. Another option is to book with another cruise line...like Carnival! They are much more affordable. I have traveled on atleast 8 cruises, and DCL seems to be about the highest!...but truthfully, they are the best for kids! With cruising, "You get what you pay for"!

[momtofour]

Thanks everyone for your kind help. I just bought into the DVC. From the extensive research I've done, it doesn't make sense for me to use points for the cruise. I believe I need about 170 or so for the seven night cruise in a category 11 room. I should be able to rent the 170 points for $1700.00. Also, there is a $75.00 fee to book the cruise. So now we are approaching almost $1800.00 for one passenger!! If anything, I will rent my points and apply the money to pay for the cruise! Thanks to all that helped!

[tinaluis]

Priceline sometimes has discounted Disney cruises but usually only on a "last minute" basis. They also have cruises on the other cruise lines very heavily discounted on a "last minute" basis. However, if you're going at a peak time, discounts on any line will probably be few and far between. Good luck!

[KaitlinsMom]

You may want to post this on the Cruise board as well - That is where I usually post - There are a lot of great people over there and I know someone has been in your shoes more than once -

Off season is the best - Can save you a ton of money - booking with Dreams Unlimited is also a good bet -

[Mic]

We've cruised with Disney twice: the 4-day and the 3-day. We also have 4 kids, who were 8,11, 13, and our son turned 10 on the last cruise. For us, cruising in October and getting 2 cat. 11 rooms next to each other was the way to go. We thought the weather was perfect: not too hot(in the low 90-degree range), and no storms or hurricanes. We could have saved a little more money had we cruised in Sept., but the kids would have missed too much school. I may use my DVC points for one cabin, and pay cash for another in the future, but that would mean I would have to stop taking so many darn trips to WDW to save the points! I agree that most DVC members find cruising on points a waste of points, but we used a year's worth of borrowed points 3 years ago to cruise for the first time, and I do not regret it. The point requirement has gone up so much that I may not ever cruise on points again, but I do need to start pricing it out...oldest daughter will be 16 in June, and I would like to squeeze in one more cruise(the 7-day) before she goes to college. Of course, we need to buy her a car first(according to her!) I wish you luck.

[princessmomma]

I found the need to reply to this thread. We just finished a 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise last week. To give you some history, we have been to WDW 4 times and did the 4 day Disney Wonder cruise as well. My kids are 5 and 7.

To rank these vacations, we would put the Disney cruise last, we sailed in October 2001 and paid about $2000 (my 3 year old was free.

Next was the Royal Caribbean cruise, (paid $4400 for two connecting balcony rooms, LOVED the extra space). It was fun, but we won't be back cruising anytime soon. Because of the $$ factor, it just wasn't worth it.

The top of the list were all of our Disney World vacations. I don't know what it is, but the magic is just so much more powerful at WDW than on a ship.

The other thing to consider is the EXTRA costs. The gratuities at the end are costly. It works out to about an additional $10 per person per day. Also, the shore excursions are very costly, easily one can spend between $150-400 per island. Alcohol can really add up as well, not for us, but we saw some bar tabs that were out of this world!

Anyway, good luck with your decision!

[pjlla]

Thanks for the comments from the previous poster (Princessmoma). We have been considering a combined WDW/DCL vacation sometime maybe early 2006. Mostly because I am the Disney fan and I always feel bad that I run my husband ragged during our WDW vacations and I thought that might give him a few days to relax after our "commando" runs around the"World". But the prices are looking a bit daunting!! And everytime we try to talk about it as a family and discuss what we would be willing to "give up" at WDW in order to fit a cruise into an 8 day vacation, no one wants to give up any park time (which includes SeaWorld, which my DD just loves). We are slowly becoming a "WDW Family of Fans" I am happy to report!! But anyhow, back on topic. Maybe rather than give up any park time, we will just plan one or two days at the beach at the end of nice long week at the "World". That way Daddy could at least get a little relaxing!! Thanks for your insight......................P:wave2:

[crisi]

If you want what you want (season, seven day, DCL) you aren't going to find any way to cut costs significantly. Some of the travel agencies may give you a couple hundred bucks off your cruise, but its still going to be a lot of money.

If you are willing, three and four day cruises are much cheaper, September is much cheaper, other cruise lines are much cheaper.

BTW, Don't forget to factor in tips. For six of you on a seven day cruise, your going to have another $450 in tips that are pretty much required. Other than tips, you CAN get off the ship without spending a cent - but realistically, you may want a few drinks, a couple photos, some souvieniers, and some excursions.

(We enjoyed our cruise as much, but differently, than our Disney trips. We also spent about the same per day - but we do WDW with sit down meals in a two bedroom at the BW. I figure our last WDW vacation was $240 per person per day - our DCL was $256 per person per day. Thats hotel (or cruise), airfare, food and drink and souvieniers divided per person per day)

[mareed]

I know I'm getting off topic, but I just had to respond to the previous poster about averaging $240 per day per person at WDW. I've tracked expenses for 5 trips over the last 2 years, and it's averaged anywhere from $67 per person when it was my family of 4 (me, DH, DS4, DS7) and we all flew free on rapid rewards tickets to a high of $118 per day when it was just DH & me and we had to pay for our plane tickets that time.

I've always used $100/person/day as a rough estimate. These expenses cover absolutely everything, but we've definitely learned from this budget board. We stay off-site at a condo, use AP's multiple times per year. I feel like we're doing pretty good with our budget!

To get this back on topic, I've also thought that it would be fun to try a Disney cruise, but I just can't see spending the extra money. I think the price of our vacation would double or triple! I think I'll just stick with the parks, since I'm not convinced I'd actually enjoy a cruise anyway.

[crisi]

You are definately doing good with your budget - we don't budget our Disney trips or try to do them cheap. I wasn't saying that it will cost everyone $250 a day, but that's what it costs us on our last "no holds barred" trip. When you compare a cruise to a inclusive package at Disney (which is what a cruise is - a relatively inclusive package), they are competitively priced. Keep in mind on the cruise you can have three sit down meals each day, if you desire (several mornings we ate breakfast twice). Room service is included. Kids clubs are included. There is no "off site stay" option. If you ate three sit down meals a day in nice restaurants - dinner in four courses every night - stayed on site - put your kids in the Neverland Club a few evenings - it wouldn't be hard to spend as much at WDW as on the cruise.

When you go to WDW, you can stay off site. Your kids can never see the inside of a kid's club (and you won't pay for it). You can elect not to pay for four course meals at California Grill. You can elect to not use a day on your hopper (or use enough days to make an AP a good deal!) You may have no idea if the hotel even offers room service (just hide the menu - its really expensive). Never rent a mouse boat or go horseback riding. Some of these things are anagolous to excursions - if you won't do them at Disney, you probably won't pay to snorkle on the cruise either - and you will have a choice. But some aren't.

I have relatives who live in Sarasota. As they pay FL Resident's rates, don't need a hotel at all, pack food when they go and drive - their cost per day is down in the $20 range. Its part what you choose to spend, and part what you need to spend. I live in Minnesota - land of 10,000 lakes and high airfares to Orlando - and don't fly often enough for FF miles, go for seven days every other year - so use some form of hoppers - so at least some of my expenses appear to be fixed higher than yours. Others I choose (and am fortunate to be able to afford to choose) - DVC with my kids in their own room over offsite. Very nice meals. Alcohol with those meals. Cirque tickets. Kids clubs. Golf.

[DianeV]

You are just not going to find good deals in peak season thats true. My advice is to take them out of school for a few days or check into the 4 day cruse. At least that way you can do the cruise and its alot less costly.

Mousesavers has a list of Magical Rates that have come out and that is where found our $379 3 night one we took in October.

[PatriciaH]

It is true that holiday/school vacation weeks are SO much more expensive! I am a travel agent and I feel bad for families that can't take the kids out of school or are teachers themselves. It can be $2,000 more + on a school vacation week for a 7 night vacation! That is another trip as far as I am concerned.

[Miniefan]

The Truth is Carnival Cruise is cheaper but the rooms aren't as good and no mouse on board, no Castaway cay. My suggestion is to do some very early planning and let the kids miss the days, the rates are much cheaper in the off peak seasons and also maybe try to do the 3 or 4 night cruise instead. Take it from me, vacation sounds great when you first start talking about it, but by the time you research and get loads of advice, and tell yourself all the definitely must do's the trip has become astronomical and now you can't afford to go at all. We just got back from Disney, March 25-30, and we did well as far as budget but we too wanted the Disney Cruise, so We will go in Sept. We will leave on a Sat and Spend Sat-Thurs in Orlando divivding half our time in each WDW and UO, IOA, Getting our tickets through AAA, for 192.50,adult Seasonal passWDW, 97.95 adult seasonal pass, UO,IOA. We are also staying offsite this time, which I HATE but am peace with, at the Hampton Inn, and will take the 3 night Bahmian Cruise Thurs-Sun. I am so Psyched, The total budget for 4 people is under 2,700 not including the food, transportation , but we are driving so we will not need any airfare or transfers. Being a vacation lover and a Disney Nut Believe me if there is any way to cut costs or downsize I can rework, refigure and make our trips happen. If there is anything I can help you with let me know don't give up on your vacation hopes just yet!! Keep an open mind
Hope this helped some
Kim

[blanq]

I really don't have much to add, as you have already received some great advice! One thing I will comment on is airfare. Certainly $200 per person sounds like fairly decent airfare from Chicago. I have heard that you can get some great rates flying ATA, out of Midway, instead of Ohare. So, in case you haven't heard that tip before, I thought I'd throw that out as a possibility to look at to maybe reduce your airfare costs even further.

[momtofour]

Thanks to all who took time to reply to my thread. Everyone offered some wonderful ideas, and gave me some tips to think about. Unfortunately, my days of being able to take my children out of school just don't exist anymore. I have a daughter who is in high school with a very demanding curriculum and a son who is a struggling learner. Two other average learners in the middle. They will just miss too much. I guess it's time for me to evaluate if this wonderful cruise is really worth $1200.00 per day!! For that much money, I don't even know if I could enjoy myself!! For someone who is somewhat frugal, or at least tries to be, I think it will be difficult to spend that much money in one week!! Thanks again to all!!

[DianeV]

You could do the cruise that leaves on Thursday until Sunday and they would only miss 2 days of school...you wouldnt be able to add on any extra days in Disney though but you would get a nice cruise and it would be less expensive.

[ksumom]

One thing to add that nobody has said is book through Sam's Club or from what I hear Costco. I got a quote through DCL, which was the same as AAA, and then got a quote from Sam's Club Travel and it was over $300 cheaper for 3 rooms, saved $110 on one room, $120 and $95 on the third. We are also going during the off season, decided to take the kids out of school, and we're planning for Sept. 2005! Good Luck with all of the planning! The pricing is a bit overwhelming!

:bounce:

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by momtofour
Thanks to all who took time to reply to my thread. Everyone offered some wonderful ideas, and gave me some tips to think about. Unfortunately, my days of being able to take my children out of school just don't exist anymore. I have a daughter who is in high school with a very demanding curriculum and a son who is a struggling learner. Two other average learners in the middle. They will just miss too much. I guess it's time for me to evaluate if this wonderful cruise is really worth $1200.00 per day!! For that much money, I don't even know if I could enjoy myself!! For someone who is somewhat frugal, or at least tries to be, I think it will be difficult to spend that much money in one week!! Thanks again to all!!

I know how you feel. There's no way I can pull my son out of school for a vacation. He'd miss a huge amount of work and rack up zeros. Were stuck with traveling during traditional school vacations.

[D,L and K's Mom]

We did a 3 day Disney Cruise a few years ago and we loved it. We loveDisney World but the cruise was so much more relaxing. Since Hubby and I are both teachers we went in July. I have to admit I did not check prices for any other times as we could only go in July due to graduate classes. Is summer any cheaper than school vacations? ALso just a tip. We did do the cruise and a few days in Disney but we DID NOT book as a package. We foudn it much cheaper to do the "sea" and the "land" seperate. As I said this was a few years ago so things may have changed. Good luck and I hope you are able to go somehow.

[mad4themouse]

Originally posted by momtofour
Thanks to all who took time to reply to my thread. Everyone offered some wonderful ideas, and gave me some tips to think about. Unfortunately, my days of being able to take my children out of school just don't exist anymore. I have a daughter who is in high school with a very demanding curriculum and a son who is a struggling learner. Two other average learners in the middle. They will just miss too much. I guess it's time for me to evaluate if this wonderful cruise is really worth $1200.00 per day!! For that much money, I don't even know if I could enjoy myself!! For someone who is somewhat frugal, or at least tries to be, I think it will be difficult to spend that much money in one week!! Thanks again to all!!

Since you're from the frozen, northern mid-west, I assume that the children do not head back to school until around Labor Day. Disney cruise prices begin to drop dramatically around the 2nd week of August with the week before Labor Day being very cheap by Disney standards. If the children are not involved in band camp, football camp or cheerleading camp, this could be a more affordable option for you.

I just checked the Disney.com website and two Cat. 11 staterooms with 3 people each (2 adults and 1 child) would run you about $2500 for the 4-night cruise 8/28-9/1/05. That's closer to $625 per day for 6 people! The rate includes a discount for early booking and I "declined" the ground transfers and trip insurance. Your airfare and tips would also add to the bottom line.

Our last cruise was the 7-night Magic in mid-August of 2002. The rates were so much lower that week than the prior sailings! Like you, my children have reached an age where taking them out of school for a vacation is no longer an option we can excerise. It was a little hectic trying to prepare for back-to-school after such a relaxing trip but I think the lower price was well-worth it.

[momtofour]

Thanks for everyone's latest suggestions! Unfortunately, school starts for us August 24th! (It does every year around this date!)
We then go until about June 4th or so!! Just doesn't seem like this is going to work for us!

[CheapMom]

1 quick note- I have priced out several Disney Cruises this year and the best rates come from DU, ************* and the cheapest rate evry time came from Costco.

[MrsPete]

I'll reiterate what some others have said:

Timing is everything. You're looking at one of the most expensive times of year; it's also a time when the ship is likely to be filled to capacity.

How many days do your kids get off at Thanksgiving? Mine get three, so if we were to cruise that week, we could miss only two days of school -- and those two days are usually not very um, academically strenuous. Ditto for fall break week. How about January? When do you go back to school? If you have a few days in there, it could work out. While I am against pulling kids out of school for a full week (and I saw that you have some concerns about this), I really think timing is your best way to save money. If you could find an "odd week" in your school's calendar, it could possibly work out for you.

Still on the subject of timing, make your reservations far in advance. You'll find that the cruise prices RISE as the cruise draws nearer.

Do you have a Disney VISA card? If you make your downpayment with one of these, you can often receive $50 in on-board credit. It's not much, but it would help.

Would you likely buy those overpriced $35/person refill soda mugs? Book through AAA and you'll receive them for free as a "gift" from your travel agent.

Finally, before you write off the cruise as more expensive than WDW parks, consider that EVERYTHING is included in that high price. Your family will enjoy very nice meals -- without bills at the end. You can easily have a great time onboard and on shore without paying for any additional excursions.

I'd suggest that you read the cruise board (on this message forum). The posters there are a wealth of information!

[MrsPete]

One more note: You mentioned paying for a hotel for the night before the cruise. This is an absolutely "must do". With four children, you need to know that you're not going to be late! When we drove down for our cruise last fall, we were delayed for a good two hours by an incredible wreck involving two tractor trailer trucks that burned to cinders. We kept saying to each other, "Thank goodness we're only driving down to a one-night hotel." and "What if we had to be on the ship an hour from now?"

We stayed at the Days Inn in Titusville, and it turned out to be a great choice. With our AAA discount, it was only $45/night (slept four people) and included a fairly decent breakfast the next day. It was nothing fancy, but it was clean and decent. You can find it right off the interstate, and it's close to fast food, a steak house, and a Walmart (which came in handy when I realized that my husband had no socks). The next morning we had only a 20 minute drive to the port. I'd definitely stay there again!

I suggest that you pack a "first night bag" with just some PJs and everyone's embarkation clothes. That way you won't have to take the suitcase of the car for the one-night stay.

[CheapMom]

I did priceline for my night before cruise hotel and got Holiday Inn Oceanfront for a bid of $40. If you could find an "odd week" in your school's calendar, it could possibly work out for you.
In November the kids had of election day (Tuesday) and then had a half day that Friday. That is a 3 and 1/2 day school week- something like that might work.