Melrosgirl said:
I'm a huge Disney fan, but these prices are taking advantage of other huge Disney fans. I booked a 7 night instead for the same week (at roughly the same price as the 4 night). A few towels, a few pins, a duffle bag here and there and mystery guests who may or may not be on board really aren't worth the extra money to US. Plus the fact that there are the cancellation fees (which I understand are part of booking a cruise through
DVC). It's just not for our family. (and I'll probably get a call to book early b/c I did sign up for the raffle.) Plus, the fact that the 2006 cruise apparently wasn't as good as the previous cruises worries me. Again, not for OUR family. No need for those booking to get upset about my opinion. (Be happy that I won't use the early booking option. I know they'll call me. It's Murphy's Law!)
Having sailed on both SSMC05 & SSMC06, I have to say, personally, the cost for the first one was a great "value" to me compared to the cost that I paid for SSMC06, which IMO, was a rip off. The two cruises are so different from each other. I would have paid even more for SSMC05 if I had known how fantastic it was going to be ahead of time. And, I wouldn't have gone on SSMC06 if I had known what a letdown it was going to be.
I think for those considering SSMC07, if you are willing to take what DVC has to offer and attend everything they schedule, you may have a good time and feel it's worth your $$'s. To us, it's not. The dropped the ball so much on SSMC06, that at this time, we will most likely never look to book another member cruise . It's not worth it. We too have booked a 7 day for almost the same money as what we paid for SSMC06. We'll sail for longer, probably have just as much fun with our friends and come out feeling happier and more content with our decisions.
And, unless DVC changes things, you won't know exactly who the guest speakers are until very close to your sailing date. Trying to get any information from them prior to sailing was like pulling teeth. In fact, some people had their excursions cancelled on them because we didn't get into Castaway Caye until 10:30 on our first day there --- however, they didn't find that out until very shortly before we sailed, because DVC didn't mention it to us. Also, it wasn't until we were heading to Castaway Caye the second day that they mentioned they would give us a break in cost if we decided to rent items for our 2 days instead of just one. For example, renting bikes the two days would offer a discount on the second day. I've heard on other double Castaway Caye cruises, these things were worked out before hand, yet back when we were booking excursions, in July, DVC wouldn't answer these types of questions for us, and the option to book at a discount for the two days was not available.
I sincerely hope that anyone who decides SSMC07 is for them has an absolutely FANTASTIC time. I hope DVC is reading (and I suspect they are) and learning from their mistakes and shortcomings and putting that bar of expectation back up to where it was for SSMC05.
