Fantasy ~ September 5, 2015 ~ Western Caribbean

[WDWChloe]

This is the longest I've had to wait for a cruise and it can't come fast enough!

I noticed this is one of the only cruises without a meet thread, so I had to start one

I'll be traveling with my DH (our last DCL was our honeymoon aboard the Dream. Excited to see the Fantasy!), our good friends and my parents. All staying in category 11C - excited to see our magical porthole!

Who else will be sailing?!
Let's count down together

 

[dodle]

We'll be there! We've got 14 of us total spread across 5 staterooms. That includes 2 under 3 and a six year old. There is me, DH, DS and his wife, DD and her husband and son, DS and his wife and daughter and son, DD, a cousin the same age as my youngest, and our closest friend that goes with us on all vacations. We usually book this far out to get our rooms together. We're in 11B, deck 6 all the way at the back. I can't wait!!

 

[WDWChloe]

We'll be there! We've got 14 of us total spread across 5 staterooms. That includes 2 under 3 and a six year old. There is me, DH, DS and his wife, DD and her husband and son, DS and his wife and daughter and son, DD, a cousin the same age as my youngest, and our closest friend that goes with us on all vacations. We usually book this far out to get our rooms together. We're in 11B, deck 6 all the way at the back. I can't wait!!

Yay! Welcome aboard!!

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise!

 

[cindy1098]

We just booked ours too!! This is the longest we have waited as well! It is our 6th Disney Cruise and first time on the Fantasy (we have been on the Dream once and the Magic 4 times). Can't wait!!!

 

[WDWChloe]

We just booked ours too!! This is the longest we have waited as well! It is our 6th Disney Cruise and first time on the Fantasy (we have been on the Dream once and the Magic 4 times). Can't wait!!!

Welcome aboard Cindy! Only 443 more days

 

[Windermere]

I guess there's only going to be a few of us on this cruise. Great!

It will be DH and I.

Also have a former co-worker and his wife going too. Gave him the the info about the boards. Hopefully he'll check in.

 

[dodle]

We had to change our cruise, so we won't be on this one. Hope you all have a great time!

 

[WDWChloe]

We had to change our cruise, so we won't be on this one. Hope you all have a great time!

Aw! Well have fun on your sailing! Same itinerary just different dates?

 

[WDWChloe]

I guess there's only going to be a few of us on this cruise. Great! It will be DH and I. Also have a former co-worker and his wife going too. Gave him the the info about the boards. Hopefully he'll check in.

Seems like a quiet time to cruise Welcome aboard!

 

[Windermere]

Maybe there's only a few cabins booked.

If only that were the case. Could you imagine the whole ship and only a minimal number of passengers. Like having our own private yacht.

And what a yacht it is!

 

[NJOGRE]

Just Switched to this cruise playing Russian Roulette with the kids school schedule but Oh well. Nothing happens the first week of school anyway right?

It's Me and My Wife. 3 kids age at time of sailing
Daughter 11 (almost 12) Daughter 8 Son 6

2 Rooms in the front of the ship Deck 8

 

[PrincessBs Mom]

Pretty sure this is the cruise we are going to book. So excited!!! 2nd time Dis cruisers and first time on the fantasy!

 

[scottrob]

Lucky Penny and I just booked this cruise along with the following Eastern. We had to cancel our Norwegian Fjords cruise due to work issues. Hopefully Disney will offer the cruise again in a couple of years when we are retired and do not have to worry about inflexible bosses...

We are trying out a Navigators stateroom this time (7022). It has been a long time since we have done a Caribbean cruise and the Fantasy is the only Disney ship we have not sailed on. We took our very first cruise about this time back in 2007 and it was awesome.

We are looking forward to meeting you all.

 

[Michellynn]

It will be DH and I, along with my parents.

Second cruise for DH and I. Our first cruise was a September cruise out of NY to Canada, on the Magic. First cruise for my parents.

What is sort of funny is the very opposite end of the spectrum we are at for this cruise compared to our first cruise.

First cruise we booked with just a little over a month out from the sail date (got a great deal). It was on Disney's very first cruise ship (the Magic)...and we went north to a cooler region.

This cruise we booked at exactly 400 days out from the sail date, on Disney's newest ship (the Fantasy), and we are sailing south to a warmer region.

Only similarity is that we booked mid-ship, verandah room, on deck 7 for both cruises.

It will almost seem strange to have a whole year to plan after my last experience (massive cramming of info in to my brain in a short period of time..LOL).

 

[scottrob]

As we approach retirement, I am looking for ways that will allow us to continue cruising from time to time. Assuming it is not one of those 'to die for' cruises and you are not particular about what stateroom category you get, is it worth it to wait until sometime after the final payment is due before booking? Are there savings to be had?

 

[Michellynn]

As we approach retirement, I am looking for ways that will allow us to continue cruising from time to time. Assuming it is not one of those 'to die for' cruises and you are not particular about what stateroom category you get, is it worth it to wait until sometime after the final payment is due before booking? Are there savings to be had?

I think it depends on the cruise destination and the time of year. I'm by no means an expert on this...but I sort of accidentally fell in to some of this information by the sheer fact that we booked or first cruise so close to the sail date. As I prepped for our cruise, I did massive amounts of reading and discovered that we were quite lucky to get the price we did.

We booked a cruise to Canada/New England out of NYC...and we booked roughly 6 weeks out from sail date. Cat 5A on the Magic, 5 days...for $2500. We had a room that was almost exactly mid ship on deck 7. It was a September cruise that would essentially fall within the first couple of weeks that most kids are back in school...so many families are not likely to book at that time. It was out of NYC, and I think they never did quite get a huge amount of bookings out of that port while they were there. And it was the cruise to Canada at a time where the weather was not exactly the warmest time to go. Soooo....all things combined, they had quite a few rooms still available when I booked...and for a good price.

However, if you are looking for a popular destination cruise, during a popular travel time....your best bet is to book the very day the "ledgers" open for booking. From there, the prices almost always go up...and from what I hear it can be a very dramatic increase over the year leading up to the sail date.

For quick comparison....just look at the different prices for different times for the same cruise itinerary. You will clearly see a difference in price the further out the sail date AND relative to the time of year (example. Sept/October cheaper than July/August).

Again, not an expert here...just my observations.

 

[PrincessBs Mom]

Just booked. Doing a crazy happy dance!!

 

[scottrob]

Welcome....

 

[scottrob]

I think it depends on the cruise destination and the time of year. I'm by no means an expert on this...but I sort of accidentally fell in to some of this information by the sheer fact that we booked or first cruise so close to the sail date. As I prepped for our cruise, I did massive amounts of reading and discovered that we were quite lucky to get the price we did.

For quick comparison....just look at the different prices for different times for the same cruise itinerary. You will clearly see a difference in price the further out the sail date AND relative to the time of year (example. Sept/October cheaper than July/August).

Again, not an expert here...just my observations.

Yea, I should do some sort of study and track prices from when we book to after the final payment date and see it there are any savings to be had. As you indicated, there are a lot of variables; especially the popularity of the cruise. The 11 night Norwegian Fjord we just cancelled was one of those cruises where Disney was raising the price quickly because the ship was filling up quickly. Right now it is fully booked. It will be interesting to see what happens when the final payment date approaches. It is an expensive cruise and I am sure there are more than a few folks trying to figure out how to pay for it.

Anyway, I get to spend two weeks with my bride being spoiled by Disney. I will take that any day.