newbie questions

[zoemurr]

This is my first day planning and my first trip to this board, so if these questions have all been asked a thousand times I apologize in advance. I just realized I can actually talk DH into this..

Anyway, we're looking for 4 nights the end of August. I realize I probably should have done this a year ago. Is it worth still trying to put together? I'm not sure next year will work as well.

I was playing around on the website.

4 nights, Bahamas, Dream, Aug 25, Itin. A. When I put in that there are 2 of us (did it once by accident) an inside stateroom comes up available for $1614. Then, if I back-up and put in the kids in (12&14), not changing anything else, the cheapest room I can get is Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah for $3150. Why can't I get all of us in the inside room? It says it sleeps 4.

Are these prices terrible? Should I wait? Is there a AAA discount?

Thanks.. off to read all the other posts.

 

[KBT35]

The rate is so high for a few reasons. It's just before many schools go back into session form summer break and the timeframe is not too far off. If you can stand to push it out a bit like book now for spring break or just before school lets out for summer you will find a way better price. Play around with different dates and see what you get.
The reason you are not able to book all 4 of you in the inside cabin is likely because there aren't life boats available now in that section. Inside cabin for relatively 4 adults would be SUPER cramped! There is only the bed and the couch I believe. It would be different if they were toddlers but still tight for a party of 4.
I don't believe AAA offers any discounting but they may offer OBC (onboard credit). I don't really know for certain. I don't believe that are any "discounts" aside from OBC's available.

Goodluck!

 

[kcashner]

Many of the inside rooms sleep only 3. I suspect the comment you saw was that it sleeps "up to 4." That means there are some rooms that sleep 4. It is possible that they are all booked up at this point. People will cancel as the "paid in full" date nears.

IF there are no openings later on for a 4 person room, I'd book 2 cabins each with 2 people--more room, more showers, more closets.

No AAA discounts.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This is my first day planning and my first trip to this board, so if these questions have all been asked a thousand times I apologize in advance. I just realized I can actually talk DH into this..

Anyway, we're looking for 4 nights the end of August. I realize I probably should have done this a year ago. Is it worth still trying to put together? I'm not sure next year will work as well.

I was playing around on the website.

4 nights, Bahamas, Dream, Aug 25, Itin. A. When I put in that there are 2 of us (did it once by accident) an inside stateroom comes up available for $1614. Then, if I back-up and put in the kids in (12&14), not changing anything else, the cheapest room I can get is Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah for $3150. Why can't I get all of us in the inside room? It says it sleeps 4.

Are these prices terrible? Should I wait? Is there a AAA discount?

Thanks.. off to read all the other posts.

Chances are the lifeboat capacity for that room has been filled. To see if that's it, try putting 4 adults in the inside room and see if they will let you.

No AAA discount. Sometimes AAA (if you book through them) will offer perks (free photos, or such).

 

[Postal68]

This is my first day planning and my first trip to this board, so if these questions have all been asked a thousand times I apologize in advance. I just realized I can actually talk DH into this..

Anyway, we're looking for 4 nights the end of August. I realize I probably should have done this a year ago. Is it worth still trying to put together? I'm not sure next year will work as well.

I was playing around on the website.

4 nights, Bahamas, Dream, Aug 25, Itin. A. When I put in that there are 2 of us (did it once by accident) an inside stateroom comes up available for $1614. Then, if I back-up and put in the kids in (12&14), not changing anything else, the cheapest room I can get is Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah for $3150. Why can't I get all of us in the inside room? It says it sleeps 4.

Are these prices terrible? Should I wait? Is there a AAA discount?

Thanks.. off to read all the other posts.

We are actually on that cruise and I found the rates ( 2 Adults & 2 children-12&16) were actually some of the cheapest of the summer when our kids are on break. They were basically the same price as the April and May cruises. We went in April of 2012 just because it was the cheapest Disney cruise I could find. We stayed in the larger verandah family stateroom and took the same this time, CAT 4A.

 

[zoemurr]

The rate is so high for a few reasons. It's just before many schools go back into session form summer break and the timeframe is not too far off. If you can stand to push it out a bit like book now for spring break or just before school lets out for summer you will find a way better price. Play around with different dates and see what you get.
The reason you are not able to book all 4 of you in the inside cabin is likely because there aren't life boats available now in that section. Inside cabin for relatively 4 adults would be SUPER cramped! There is only the bed and the couch I believe. It would be different if they were toddlers but still tight for a party of 4.
I don't believe AAA offers any discounting but they may offer OBC (onboard credit). I don't really know for certain. I don't believe that are any "discounts" aside from OBC's available.

Goodluck!

Thanks. I looked at booking for the same week in 2014 and it is $400 cheaper. Not sure that savings is worth it for us. That is the cheapest week in the summer that we can go.

School breaks are tough.. kids often have a lot of homework.

 

[zoemurr]

We are actually on that cruise and I found the rates ( 2 Adults & 2 children-12&16) were actually some of the cheapest of the summer when our kids are on break. They were basically the same price as the April and May cruises. We went in April of 2012 just because it was the cheapest Disney cruise I could find. We stayed in the larger verandah family stateroom and took the same this time, CAT 4A.

book a long time ago and get a much better rate? After looking at the price savings for an inside room I'm not sure that would really be worth it anyway.

 

[KBT35]

Thanks. I looked at booking for the same week in 2014 and it is $400 cheaper. Not sure that savings is worth it for us. That is the cheapest week in the summer that we can go.

School breaks are tough.. kids often have a lot of homework.

Yea school breaks are hard that's why I just pull him out of school just before it lets out for the summer but after standardized testing. Those last 2 weeks when they are just killing time!

 

[zoemurr]

Yea school breaks are hard that's why I just pull him out of school just before it lets out for the summer but after standardized testing. Those last 2 weeks when they are just killing time!

get out 'till the very end of June when most of the country is out anyway, so that wouldn't help. I did pull them when they were younger for DW but I can't do that for my HS kid now.

So would anyone else consider this for $3150 or am I way overspending?

 

[loribee]

We got a on-board credit by booking through AAA.

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

get out 'till the very end of June when most of the country is out anyway, so that wouldn't help. I did pull them when they were younger for DW but I can't do that for my HS kid now.

So would anyone else consider this for $3150 or am I way overspending?

The question is, is it worth it to you? What I like to do is break the price down to what it is per person / per day. For the cruise you are describing, that is $196.87. For me, that is too high even for a verandah room, but going in the summer with not much time before the 90 day mark changes things. If no other dates work for you, I would still go and see if you enjoy it. If so, book a second cruise while on board to lock in a 10% discount and some on board credit. Good luck!

 

[zoemurr]

The question is, is it worth it to you? What I like to do is break the price down to what it is per person / per day. For the cruise you are describing, that is $196.87. For me, that is too high even for a verandah room, but going in the summer with not much time before the 90 day mark changes things. If no other dates work for you, I would still go and see if you enjoy it. If so, book a second cruise while on board to lock in a 10% discount and some on board credit. Good luck!

I guess what I was wondering is what do "seasoned" cruisers expect to pay for a cruise like this? Unfortunately it looks like if we want to go in the summer, even booking for next year this is the cheapest week and about what we would need to spend. I'm a bit surprised 'cause when we go to Disney this week there are often large discounts.

On the last day what time do you need to be off the boat?

 

[Cisco0214]

Are you huge disney fans? Have you cruised any other lines ? Taking into consideration your kids ages ....I would look at other cruise lines Disney is good but so are many other cruise lines.

 

[zoemurr]

Are you huge disney fans? Have you cruised any other lines ? Taking into consideration your kids ages ....I would look at other cruise lines Disney is good but so are many other cruise lines.

I think it's more about the "Disney" than the cruise.. they have been to DW 4 times and DL once.

I'm afraid if I look at other cruises I'm going to really hate this price. DH and I did Carnival 16 years ago, but that's all.

 

[cruisecrasher]

I think it's more about the "Disney" than the cruise.. they have been to DW 4 times and DL once.

I'm afraid if I look at other cruises I'm going to really hate this price. DH and I did Carnival 16 years ago, but that's all.

Unlike WDW, seasoned cruisers either book the day dates release (for example, December 2012 for summer 2014) but before the prices jump or at the last second (under 75 days, waiting for GTY or guarantee rates, which can be quite affordable if they come available as cheaply as 2A 4 nights under $800). We also book on board for the 10% off. We cruise mostly during school, pulling our kids.
I've done 4 in a 10A, and would do it again. If you're flexible about ships, you can often find a cheaper sailing. Have you checked any of the DCL sailings on the classics?

 

[zoemurr]

Unlike WDW, seasoned cruisers either book the day dates release (for example, December 2012 for summer 2014) but before the prices jump or at the last second (under 75 days, waiting for GTY or guarantee rates, which can be quite affordable if they come available as cheaply as 2A 4 nights under $800). We also book on board for the 10% off. We cruise mostly during school, pulling our kids.
I've done 4 in a 10A, and would do it again. If you're flexible about ships, you can often find a cheaper sailing. Have you checked any of the DCL sailings on the classics?

we're flexible on everything except going in summer. Even booking for next summer about 3k was the cheapest I could find.

what are GTY and guarantee rates?

 

[lanejudy]

we're flexible on everything except going in summer. Even booking for next summer about 3k was the cheapest I could find.

what are GTY and guarantee rates?

GTY as a category means you cannot select a specific stateroom but you will be assigned at least that category room (11GTY would be at least an inside stateroom, possibly higher level). This usually means the category is getting full and DCL isn't committing specific room assignments for that category anymore.

*GT rates are special, highly-discounted, restricted fares. They tend to come out after the 75-day PIF date (75 days prior to sale date) when DCL is trying to fill the ship. They can be a fantastic deal if you can make travel plans on short notice and are willing to accepted the restrictions (DCL will assign a room at or above the category book - inside, oceanview or verandah), payment must be made in full, no changes or cancellations allowed, etc.

If you are really locked into late August, and you feel the $3100 fare is too high, you might wait a few weeks to see if any *GT rates are released. Since your option then would be to not book a cruise for this summer anyway, it would be a bonus if you find a great rate and do so in a few weeks. I personally would not spend that much on a 4-night cruise, plus my family would have airfare on top of that so it's just out of my price-range; others may feel differently.

The summer cruises do tend to be higher priced because, like you, that's when most families can go during school vacation. Supply and demand. The way to get lower fares is to book as far in advance as possible (currently DCL has itineraries released through spring 2014 on the classic ships and summer 2014 on the newer ships) or wait for more last-minute booking of a special rate.

Good luck!