So, I'm thinking maybe we'll take a cruise...

[Normangirls]

...and, of course, it will be a Disney cruise. Duh, right?

We've never cruised before, and the more I look, the more I like. I want to go to Castaway Cay so bad, I'd sell my car to book this cruise (I can walk to work -- need to lose weight for Disney anyway). I've found a four-day cruise on the day we normally would arrive at WDW (which is exactly what I would want).

After reading as much as I can on this board (and WOW you guys know your stuff), I still have a couple questions you may be able to help me with.

1. Food -- all inclusive mean all inclusive, right? So do we just eat at assigned times? Or can I suddenly decide at 3:30 in the afternoon I'm hungry and order room service? Or go to a restaurant/snack bar? I don't mean to sound like a pig (see comment above about needing to lose weight for Disney!) but what if we want a snack between meals? Or a drink (non-alcoholic) at the pool?

2. When I am booking at WDW, I book the room I want as soon as our plans are set. Then I watch for room/package discounts, or free dining, or hope hope hope hope for a PIN. I can usually apply any of those things to my already reserved room (although that is not guaranteed). So how does it work with DCL? I know deposits are higher ($200/person, right?), but still fully refundable up to around 45 days before we sail. Do people get PINs? Do discounts get offered? Is it hard to get them to apply a discount if you've already made a reservation? And how quickly do cruises book up?

Thank you everyone so much for any help you can offer.

[whamma]

We are big WDW people and are going on our second cruise in April. I'll give my brief answers to your questions--and I am sure there will be more.

1. Food is available at all times. There is no charge to order room service whenever you want. There is a place to get pizza. There is ice cream available all day long. There is a 24 hour beverage station--so you can get soda whenever you want. You will have assigned meal times in the dining rooms--but you don't have to eat there if you don't want to but you WILL want to .

2. Recently DCL had a "kids sail free" promotion for their Bahamaian cruises--which is why we're going on a DCL for part of spring break 2010. I don't know about PINs being applied later--someone else can answer that. Reservations are NOT $200 per person. Only $200 total --balance due 90 prior to sailing.

Others should be able to provide more info. You can always go to the DCL website and play around with dates and categories, just like you do with WDWs website.

Have fun!

[outahere]

The deposits and cancellation penalties vary depending on your cabin category. You can check out this link for the latest info:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruis...ce.htm#deposit

Any offers that DCL puts out are usually for new reservations only and usually can not be applied to existing reservations. However, if they do put out a special promotion, you can price the cruise using the promo to see if it is any cheaper. They don't usually put out any offers until close to sailing dates, so prices are higher by that point and you may not save by canceling and rebooking.

As whamma stated, food is available from somewhere 24 hours a day (up until around 10:00pm on the last night). Most items ordered from room service are no extra charge, however if you order soda from room service, or at any bar, there is a charge, plus gratuity.

[addicted_to_WDW]

Originally Posted by whamma

Reservations are NOT $200 per person. Only $200 total --balance due 90 prior to sailing. !

No, it's $200 a person for the 3-5 night cruises and up from there. You don't pay a deposit for the free kids on the kids sail free promotion. For a long time there was a 1/2 price deposit thing going on but that has ended.

[marshmellow86]

Originally Posted by Normangirls

1. Food -- all inclusive mean all inclusive, right? So do we just eat at assigned times? Or can I suddenly decide at 3:30 in the afternoon I'm hungry and order room service? Or go to a restaurant/snack bar? I don't mean to sound like a pig (see comment above about needing to lose weight for Disney!) but what if we want a snack between meals? Or a drink (non-alcoholic) at the pool?

Yes, all inclusive for food is basically all inclusive - there are a very few exceptions. There is 24 hour room service that is included for no additional charge, however there are some "snack items" that do have an additional charge through room service - candy and popcorn?? maybe and soda. Cookies, cake and milk however are not an additional charge. Additionally candy and canned soda outside the theater is an additional charge. However there is a 24 beverage station on the upper deck that is free. You can get soda from there and take it into the theater, if you want. All alcoholic drinks are additional charge. There are also several counter service food options on the upper deck by the pool - they have pizza, burgers, fries, chicken fingers, and such. Goofy's Galley is also up there. Fruit, salad and nice panni sandwiches also included. Also ice cream machine with chocolate syrup and carmel is included. All of these places are typically open until 11 pm or midnight. The buffet (Topsiders/Beach Blanket) are open during certain hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Go anytime during their open hours and it is included. Trust me, way more food than you can want. Enjoy!

[scrapycruiser]

[quote=outahere;34420808]The deposits and cancellation penalties vary depending on your cabin category. You can check out this link for the latest info:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruis...ce.htm#deposit

Any offers that DCL puts out are usually for new reservations only and usually can not be applied to existing reservations. However, if they do put out a special promotion, you can price the cruise using the promo to see if it is any cheaper. They don't usually put out any offers until close to sailing dates, so prices are higher by that point and you may not save by canceling and rebooking.

As whamma stated, food is available from somewhere 24 hours a day (up until around 10:00pm on the last night). Most items ordered from room service are no extra charge, however if you order soda from room service, or at any bar, there is a charge, plus gratuity.[/QUOTE

This week I noticed on DCL website there was a discount for military folks. My husband is retired and our cruise ( Eastern Carib, Feb 27,2010 ) was paid in full. But I said what the heck and I called DCL and was able to get $725 credited to my CC. Nice surprise !!

[outahere]

Originally Posted by scrapycruiser

This week I noticed on DCL website there was a discount for military folks. My husband is retired and our cruise ( Eastern Carib, Feb 27,2010 ) was paid in full. But I said what the heck and I called DCL and was able to get $725 credited to my CC. Nice surprise !!

Good for you!! I probably should have qualified the info in my first post to include that any military or Florida resident discounts can usually be applied to an existing reservation.

Have a Magical cruise!

[floridacruiser14]

In addition to all the food mentioned before, there is a late night buffet after the Pirates in the Carribbean Deck Party which includes several deserts and hot dishes including turkey legs. "You will never go hungry again"