Any rumor when 2014 dates come out?

[NancyIL]

2011 Med cruise bookings opened in September of 2009 too.

Thanks!

 

[RedSox68]

But choosing not to drive and having to purchase the very expensive airfare isn't Disney's fault. That's the vacationers choice. That's all I'm saying. We all choose and work for what we want and need.

For many it is not a "choice" not to drive -- it is logic. If you live more than 600-800 miles from the port, driving may not be an option. Besides the extra vacation days one would need, which many of us don't have, you still have to consider the wear and tear on the family.

I'm not advocating anything about Disney's prices being based on rising airfare, I just think this argument to drive doesn't make sense for a good 70% or more of Dissers.

 

[tajz90]

For many it is not a "choice" not to drive -- it is logic. If you live more than 600-800 miles from the port, driving may not be an option. Besides the extra vacation days one would need, which many of us don't have, you still have to consider the wear and tear on the family.

I'm not advocating anything about Disney's prices being based on rising airfare, I just think this argument to drive doesn't make sense for a good 70% or more of Dissers.

I live 900 miles from PC. We have driven once and are driving again for an upcoming cruise.

905.4 from the estimate on map quest. I was suggesting options for those that feel Disney is too expensive when combined with airfare. If it's not an option for your family, than its just not an option.

 

[peterpan47]

I live 900 miles from PC. We have driven once and are driving again for an upcoming cruise.

It's great that you have the time flexibility in your schedule to be able to do that. It will probably save you a lot of money.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Obviously I wasn't speaking of the Med cruises. and I just purchased airfare for the Med.

Yes, people can drive. You don't have to live in Florida to drive. We drove from Texas to Cali, Pennsylvania and other such places so it is possible to drive. You can save the air and enjoy Disney. We are doing that within the next couple of months. Driving 15 to enjoy the Fantasy. It all depends on what you want.

That depends upon your family situation. When my kids were little, there is no way I could have done 15 or 16 hours in one shot on a road trip. So that makes it a two day driving event, with a hotel, meals, etc. Plus not sure about where you live, but could not find gas on Wednesday here in Chicagoland for under $3.65 per gallon....and it has been higher than that this summer, too.

But choosing not to drive and having to purchase the very expensive airfare isn't Disney's fault. That's the vacationers choice. That's all I'm saying. We all choose and work for what we want and need.

I think folks who live on the west coast are just pleading for cruises out of that area from DCL and since they now have 4 ships, it is not unreasonable to ask for.

After all, DCL has done the transatlantic and European cruise thing many times, so why not plan more for the U.S. departures from the west coast?

 

[Niebz]

Ugh, I wish I could drive. I live in Western Canada so it is not an option, especially with multiple young children. We drove to Disneyland once which is closer to us than Florida - it was a miserable 30 hour drive not including breaks and stops, and we'll never be making that mistake again. No choice but to fly for us at $500+ per person round trip.

Back on topic, is anyone else a bit happy they haven't released the dates yet? As excited as I am to book I'm not looking forward to coughing up the much larger deposit when I switch my dummy date. Still would be nice to get it squared away.

 

[livingis2me]

Back on topic, is anyone else a bit happy they haven't released the dates yet? As excited as I am to book I'm not looking forward to coughing up the much larger deposit when I switch my dummy date. Still would be nice to get it squared away.

Me!
Back in the beginning of October I was ready and prepared to spend the $... But now, with the holidays right around the corner, I'm not prepared to add a few hundred dollars to my current deposit. So now I'm hoping that they wait for the new year, otherwise I'll miss out on opening day prices and at that point I'd most likely have to push our next DCL til 2015.

Ron

 

[mom2aredhead]

Maybe airlines should lower prices, I'd fly to CA, but it's expensive so I stick with cruising out of Florida, because even though still expensive cheaper to fly to Orlando

Unless you are flying from the NY metro area around school holidays. We've gone to CA twice instead of FL because the airfare was significantly cheaper.

 

[mom2aredhead]

Lets be honest. There aren't as many cruises leaving from CA or the west coast because there are significantly less ports for them to go to. Its not discrimination...its geography. Leaving from LA or San Diego, in 8 days you can pretty much only go up/down the Coast of California or Mexico.

 

[peterpan47]

Lets be honest. There aren't as many cruises leaving from CA or the west coast because there are significantly less ports for them to go to. Its not discrimination...its geography. Leaving from LA or San Diego, in 8 days you can pretty much only go up/down the Coast of California or Mexico.

What's wrong with cruising the Pacific Coast? I would love to see some 4 day RT trips out of LA with a day in San Francisco. The east coast people go back and forth to Nassau every 3 or 4 days. Going to San Francisco wouldn't be any more repetitive than bopping off to Nassau every 3 days. People who make those 3 and 4 day trips to the Bahamas all the time can't possibly all be going because they love Nassau so much. It has to be the cruise experience that keeps them coming back. I know I would enjoy several days in SF (over several short trips) a lot more than I would enjoy going back to Nassau again and again. It just seems like they could offer something to the west coast people besides 7 day trips to Alaska.

 

[luv2sleep]

I would love to see some 4 day RT trips out of LA with a day in San Francisco. The east coast people go back and forth to Nassau every 3 or 4 days. Going to San Francisco wouldn't be any more repetitive than bopping off to Nassau every 3 days. People who make those 3 and 4 day trips to the Bahamas all the time can't possibly all be going because they love Nassau so much. It has to be the cruise experience that keeps them coming back. I know I would enjoy several days in SF (over several short trips) a lot more than I would enjoy going back to Nassau again and again. It just seems like they could offer something to the west coast people besides 7 day trips to Alaska.

Trips to Catalina would be nice too.

 

[pillow]

I live 900 miles from PC. We have driven once and are driving again for an upcoming cruise.

905.4 from the estimate on map quest. I was suggesting options for those that feel Disney is too expensive when combined with airfare. If it's not an option for your family, than its just not an option.

Someone should start a "driving vs flying" thread. We are about 12 hours away from the port. We leave after work (try to get about 7 hours in), spend the night on the road and drive the rest on the 2nd day. Its not so bad when you break it up like that. We typically drive the full 12 hours home in 1 day, and I must say it is no fun! I can see where people with really young children would hate that drive. I'm not sure I could stomach it if it was much longer. I've run the numbers about a million times, and with the flight price + transportation to/from port, I just can't justify the price. Even with the gas + port parking + hotel on way down, its significantly cheaper to drive for us. Would rather spend those $$$ on the cruise (or on some other vacation).

And even with the higher cruise prices, there are ways to save (although it takes quite a bit of effort). You can do the Target and/or Kroger fuel points gift card thing to save anywhere from 5-15% on the cruise price. Then, transferring the res to Costco will save another 8-10%. Really helps to get that price down for those of us on tight budgets.

Jodie

 

[CarolAnnC]

Lets be honest. There aren't as many cruises leaving from CA or the west coast because there are significantly less ports for them to go to. Its not discrimination...its geography. Leaving from LA or San Diego, in 8 days you can pretty much only go up/down the Coast of California or Mexico.

A quick scan did show many cruise lines on the west coast to choose from. A few ports mention were: 7 Days - Starting in Vancouver with stops in Victoria, Seattle, Astoria, Cruising the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Pedro; as well as the popular Wine Country one week cruises. Then of course, there are the Alaska itineraries.

Here is a 16 night itinerary out of San Diego: Ports of Call: San Diego, California, Us | Day at Sea | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Huatulco, Mexico | Huatulco, Mexico | Puerto Chiapas, Mexico | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Fuerte Amador, Panama | Fuerte Amador, Panama | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru | Callao (Lima), Peru | Callao (Lima), Peru.

So with West Coast cruises you could have: Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Pacific Northwest, Wine Country, Cruise to Nowhere, and South America, Panama Canal, repositioning, and more to start with.

I think there is enough choice to offer a DCL ship for at least a season of the year...

 

[mom2aredhead]

What's wrong with cruising the Pacific Coast? I would love to see some 4 day RT trips out of LA with a day in San Francisco. The east coast people go back and forth to Nassau every 3 or 4 days. Going to San Francisco wouldn't be any more repetitive than bopping off to Nassau every 3 days. People who make those 3 and 4 day trips to the Bahamas all the time can't possibly all be going because they love Nassau so much. It has to be the cruise experience that keeps them coming back. I know I would enjoy several days in SF (over several short trips) a lot more than I would enjoy going back to Nassau again and again. It just seems like they could offer something to the west coast people besides 7 day trips to Alaska.

There's nothing wrong with it! I would definitely do it...as part of a California/west coast trip. Not by itself.
But from a corporate perspective, (and this is nothing but a guess on my part) cruise lines are probably going to "set up shop" long term somewhere where they have more options port-wise, and that's the Caribbean. From FL you can get to more places.

 

[peterpan47]

Someone should start a "driving vs flying" thread. We are about 12 hours away from the port. We leave after work (try to get about 7 hours in), spend the night on the road and drive the rest on the 2nd day.

Jodie

We do that when we go to Disneyland for 3-4 days. Off work at 5, stop in Needles to sleep for a few hours, and then on in to DL for entrance before lunch. Like you, we also make the trip home in one day. We would love to be able to do that regularly for short cruises too.

 

[mom2aredhead]

A quick scan did show many cruise lines on the west coast to choose from. A few ports mention were: 7 Days - Starting in Vancouver with stops in Victoria, Seattle, Astoria, Cruising the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Pedro; as well as the popular Wine Country one week cruises. Then of course, there are the Alaska itineraries.

Here is a 16 night itinerary out of San Diego: Ports of Call: San Diego, California, Us | Day at Sea | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Huatulco, Mexico | Huatulco, Mexico | Puerto Chiapas, Mexico | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Fuerte Amador, Panama | Fuerte Amador, Panama | Day at Sea | Day at Sea | Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru | Callao (Lima), Peru | Callao (Lima), Peru.

So with West Coast cruises you could have: Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Pacific Northwest, Wine Country, Cruise to Nowhere, and South America, Panama Canal, repositioning, and more to start with.

I think there is enough choice to offer a DCL ship for at least a season of the year...

That kind of agrees with what I had said. Starting in California, in 7 nights, you can essentially go to California or Mexico. Unless you start in Vancouver and go to Alaska, anything else will take longer than 7 nights and becomes cost prohibitive for a lot of people.
I happen to love California, have gone there several times for vacation, and will very likely do it again. And I live on the East Coast. I would never disagree with the merits of visiting California. I just don't see myself doing it via cruise ship.

 

[CarolAnnC]

That kind of agrees with what I had said. Starting in California, in 7 nights, you can essentially go to California or Mexico. Unless you start in Vancouver and go to Alaska, anything else will take longer than 7 nights and becomes cost prohibitive for a lot of people.
I happen to love California, have gone there several times for vacation, and will very likely do it again. And I live on the East Coast. I would never disagree with the merits of visiting California. I just don't see myself doing it via cruise ship.

Right, I think the West Coast folks are just lobbying for a ship porting there for at least part of the year, with 4 ships now in their fleet I think it is doable but we shall see. Since we are all still waiting for 2014 itinerary info...

BTW Paul Tsongas was one of my late husband's favorite people... I've always loved the quote.

 

[peterpan47]

That kind of agrees with what I had said. Starting in California, in 7 nights, you can essentially go to California or Mexico. Unless you start in Vancouver and go to Alaska, anything else will take longer than 7 nights and becomes cost prohibitive for a lot of people.
I happen to love California, have gone there several times for vacation, and will very likely do it again. And I live on the East Coast. I would never disagree with the merits of visiting California. I just don't see myself doing it via cruise ship.

This discussion could need its own thread, though it probably won't last too long On the other hand, since we have exhausted all the possibilities for what the 2014 situation might be, we need something else to talk about until Disney gets off the stick and give us a schedule

It just seems to me that, like someone else said, one season with one ship with varied itineraries could show them what could work. 3-4 days to Ensenada and Catalina, or San Diego, 4-5 days to San Francisco, 7 days up the coast. There are numerous variations on RT Pacific Coast cruises out of LA that they could combine into a regular 4 to 6 week schedule to accommodate the schedules of all prospective cruisers in the area. Again, the east coast has one huge ship devoted entirely to 3-4 day cruises back and forth to Nassau. Something on the west coast that isn't nearly as boring as the same trip over and over again could at least be a consideration.

 

[NancyIL]

Before RCI's Monarch of the Seas moved to Port Canaveral to do Bahamas cruises, it used to sail out of San Pedro year 'round. The ship did a 4-night (M-F) cruise that went to San Diego, Catalina Island, and Ensenada (I was on that cruise), and a 3-night (F-Sun) that cruised just to Ensenada. Had DCL alternated the 7-night Mexican Riviera cruises with 3 and 4-night cruises, they might've had enough business to keep a ship on the west coast in 2013.

 

[keishashadow]

i'm in shock over the cash prices. They're usually more, but seems way more expensive this time.

Was so excited to see one would be offered during one of our upcoming vacation weeks until i checked the point charts.

Over $1,000 pp for an 11c and $1,505 pp for a 5a