lol. i was hanging out for the 8a mini suites ourselves (specifically wanted the 2 windows and no split bath) but alas they are all booked out *you lucky one, you!!!*
we are therefore looking at either going up a category (7a, navigators verandah) or down a category (8b, 1 window with seating). dreams unlimited do give an OBC and combine it with the disney OBC. for our 8b staterooms (bearing in mind we have booked 2 rooms due to sleeping configurations) + port transfers + pre-night at mco hyatt regency = in the $6-7k range which gives us $300 obc + $25 obc from disney per stateroom for a total of $350. which will essentially cover our cruise tips: $84 x 4 = $336.00
the link to the OBC calculator with Dreams Unlimited is here:
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/specials.htm
as long as your cruise is not fully paid, you can transfer it over to Dreams Unlimited and still take advantage of the OBC offer. also, my understanding is that Dreams Unlimited are still offering free gift bags in all cabins for all bookings made through them for 7 night caribbean sailings out of port canaveral. the gift bags are tote bags with the Dreams Unlimited logo. contents differ depending on your family's makeup (ie 2 adults + 2 kids will get different gifts than 2 adults alone etc) but usually include highlighters, antibacterial gel, those to-go drink cups that are moulded plastic and keep hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold, water bottles, sunscreen etc. basically lots of little extras that you might need during your vacation
My TA is Dan Fronckowiak who has been so patient and kind and understanding with us through all of our questions, changing options, cancelling our 2012 cruise etc. I can definitely recommend him
my family (yes, we are 4 adults this trip. still no kids just yet) are essentially calling this the lazy trip. they want 'moments and memories, not to be rushed around' according to their comments when i ran various options past them. they love the idea of wdw, but since they found out that mk and epcot etc are at least a 20 min bus ride away from the hotel (AoA) at wdw, versus across the street at
disneyland, they unanimously voted for disneyland only. hence pushing the dates back to coincide with halloween time at disneyland and the first halloween party there... we will miss the friday 13th celebrations this way but they are happy, so i guess that's the way it will be...
i did run a comparison quote including wdw, but we would have to drop to a 3 or 4 night bahamas cruise, and i really would prefer the eastern or western caribbean to the bahamas itinerary...
so it looks like our plans are pretty solid now