We are looking at taking our very first cruise. Not sure which one we would pick yet. We are on a tight budget and like to pay cash for our vacations. So what I need to know is what is covered with the initial cost of the cruise- room, food, drinks, activities?
What things are extra? If my children attended one of the kids clubs what is the cost?
Where do you find a list of all the extra activities you can book? And when do you need to reserve your spot?
I'm sure this is not complete (other DIS'ers can add)
What is not included:
Airfare
Cruise transfers
Cruise insurance (yes, particularly if you're from Canada, you need it. US medical expenses cost big $$$$$$$$). Check the insurance thread before you decide which insurance to buy.
Gratuities
Shore Excursions
Child care for children who are not toilet trained or under 3. The kids clubs do have set times, but are included in your cruise fare.
Palo and Remy's
Spa Treatments
Alcohol
Fancy Coffee Drinks
Smoothies and Mocktails
Canned sodas, movie snacks, and some drinks and snacks from room service, but most food is free from room service(although it requires an additional gratuity).
Non-alcoholic drinks ordered through the bars (non-alcoholic drinks--except as noted above--are free in the restaurants and from the drink station)
Laundry
Tuxedo Rentals
General information on reservation times/ways to save money:
Insurance:
I do not recommend DCL insurance. There are those who feel that the ability to get a credit for your cruise fare towards a future cruise if your claim is denied is worth the risk of a failure to cover pre-existing conditions; I do not. It is unlikely that your Canadian medical insurance will cover you in the United States or on the trip--although it's worth checking. My recommendation is to purchase your cruise insurance within 14 days of your initial deposit, so you can choose from the largest number of travel insurance policies which will cover pre-existing conditions. You will probably spend less, and will almost certainly get better coverage, than with Disney. Try
http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/ ,
http://www.insuremytrip.com , or
http://www.squaremouth.com/ I know Travel Insured policies will cover children for free--that's worth checking out. I believe another poster mentioned that Access America does as well. Check to see which policies will cover Canadian residents.
Shore Excursions:
The
Disney Cruise Line website has a list of the types and prices of shore excursions, and will tell you about some of the spa treatments/adult dining options you can book for your cruise. When we went to Alaska on a
Disney cruise, we booked all of our own excursions, and not only paid less, we did not have last priority for booking. (Disney allows you to book by
Castaway Club status--new cruisers have last priority.) Some of the differences between Disney's excursions and self-book options are really egregious, particularly if you have any children between the ages of 10-12--Disney books them as adults, and most independent tours book them as children. When we rode the White Pass Yukon Route train, we booked it ourselves, and paid $50 less as a family ($10 each) than we would have through Disney. The difference? We boarded at the "engine end" of the train, which was at the station, and had to check in at the station, and the Disney passengers boarded at the "caboose end" of the train, which was the dock. It was the exact same train! Passengers with 10-12 year old kids saved a lot more $$$ than we did.
When you can book the other activities depends upon what your status is--you will have last priority as a new cruiser, so you will want to book at your first opportunity, particularly for really popular stuff like Palo and Remy.
If you have 3 or more people, chances are you are better off purchasing your own transportation to the port rather than Disney's--but this is something you should double-check. Also pre-cruise hotels. Don't be afraid to use those hotel points--they can be very good for a pre-cruise or post-cruise stay.
Also, it's sometimes good to check out more than one potential airport--for example, if you're heading to Alaska, it might be a better value to fly into Vancouver, BC and take the QuickShuttle down to Seattle.
Whether or not airfare is cheaper from Disney or on your own seems to vary, and deserves some consideration. It seems, from other posters (please correct me if I'm wrong) that you can cancel airfare from Disney if you do so by a certain time, so it may be worth it to book the airfare through Disney, and then cancel it if you find a better rate on your own.
We really loved our Disney Cruise--in fact, so much that our "once in a lifetime cruise" is being repeated this year
I hope you get to go on one soon with your family, and that you have just as much fun as we did.
