2015 sail dates?

[Tink2312]

We didn't get one then either! They must not like us.

Me either. Then again, we already had our 2nd cruise booked when we did our 1st

 

[sweetlovin']

My plan is to get a United card for both myself and my husband. We both have about 15,000 miles already and can each get 50,000 for signing up with the new card. That *should* get us 2 of our tickets, then we just have to buy the kiddo's. We'll see how that plays out though. United is pretty stingy with frequent flyer tickets...

I got the card for myself and used the miles. You have to book the airfare as soon as it comes out. So, I booked Sept 2012 for mid June 2013..and I had to pick a different country than the original one because it was sold out for 4 people. We were trying to go to Manila but ended up in Singapore first and then taking an inexpensive flight to Manila later that week. Singapore was awesome, so I am not complaining. More like, agreeing with you. In order to get the country you want (with the lowest miles) you have to book early.

 

[kaseyC]

My plan is to get a United card for both myself and my husband. We both have about 15,000 miles already and can each get 50,000 for signing up with the new card. That *should* get us 2 of our tickets, then we just have to buy the kiddo's. We'll see how that plays out though. United is pretty stingy with frequent flyer tickets...

Interesting, that hasn't been our experience. We have used United miles the past 3 summers for our European airfare. Have had no issues getting Saver Awards in Economy and/or Business class. Booked using miles again for my DH's flight to Venice from Chicago and the 5 of us from Munich to Chicago for this summer.

 

[sweetlovin']

Interesting, that hasn't been our experience. We have used United miles the past 3 summers for our European airfare. Have had no issues getting Saver Awards in Economy and/or Business class. Booked using miles again for my DH's flight to Venice from Chicago and the 5 of us from Munich to Chicago for this summer.

Delta is by far the worst one! They are always 25k higher for required miles than United.

American requires the least amount miles usually. It's 75k miles to Australia or Africa where United is 85k..

 

[kaseyC]

I am interested in this question as well. Did you sail Celebrity with children? Europe is so port intensive and I am not one who would leave them in the kids club while off the ship, so it isn't like we need as much kid centered stuff on the boat. Some would be nice though, and I would like them to feel welcomed.

We sailed Celebrity Silhouette Greek Isles and Eastern Med cruise in 2012 with our 3 DDs who were ages 16, 11 and 9 at the time. We felt very welcomed and my two youngest preferred the kid's clubs even more than Disney because they were less crowded and had more personal interactions with youth staff and other children.

I also have to add that they did not spend too much time in the clubs because the itinerary was so port intensive that literally sometimes we were off the ship all day, back for dinner, back in our cabins resting up and preparing for the next port day. Way too tired for anything else.

 

[kaseyC]

Delta is by far the worst one! They are always 25k higher for required miles than United.

American requires the least amount miles usually. It's 75k miles to Australia or Africa where United is 85k..

So true. Did you see that United raised their saver award and standard award miles for Star Alliance partners? Seems to mainly apply to Business and First but I believe the Asia awards jumped up for all 3 classes.

 

[sweetlovin']

So true. Did you see that United raised their saver award and standard award miles for Star Alliance partners? Seems to mainly apply to Business and First but I believe the Asia awards jumped up for all 3 classes.

OH NO!! I am so glad you said something I need to go check. That is my ticket to Shanghai Disney 2016

 

[sweetlovin']

It was 65k now it is 70k per person. For a family of 4, it 20k miles more. UGH!! I have two roundtrip tickets at the 70k price, but I need 140k more. Good thing I booked all my cruises through them. They give up to 30k miles per cruise.. That should give me enough for the last two tickets…

But, I am going to try to fly home from Tokyo, because the Tokyo routes fly through Germany. The Shanghai routes fly through Houston. If I get a free stop over, I'd rather stop in Europe than Texas.

 

[jenf22]

Interesting, that hasn't been our experience. We have used United miles the past 3 summers for our European airfare. Have had no issues getting Saver Awards in Economy and/or Business class. Booked using miles again for my DH's flight to Venice from Chicago and the 5 of us from Munich to Chicago for this summer.

We've only ever used United miles to Hawaii and it worked out ok then. I had a heck of a time trying to get my parents from FLL to DEN. I'm hoping as long as we book way in the future, it'll be fine. Actually, on the drive home I decided we need to open the first card now instead of waiting on Disney. Flights for June 2015 will be available in July, right? Need to get spending!

 

[woody73]

Oh I did not know that it was basically the same but "upscale"... hmm. We'd been thinking of giving RCCL a shot for awhile now, but I'm not seeing the same options on them. Would Celebrity be TOO old, do you think? Which do you think a couple in their early 30s & used to DCL would enjoy more?

Edited to add: we don't HAVE children, but don't mind them either!

I did not say Celebrity and RCI were "basically the same but 'upscale.'"

I said "Celebrity is an upscale sister cruise line to RCI." RCI, Celebrity and Azamara are separate cruise lines owned by the same parent company. Similarly, Carnival, Princess, HAL and several others are owned by another separate parent company.

I think you would be pleased on either Celebrity or RCI. It really depends on your interests. If you like activities such as ice skating, a rock climbing wall, a Flow Rider or zip line, then choose RCI.

With Celebrity being upscale, there's more emphasis on things like food quality. For example, RCI's ships have soft serve ice cream. Celebrity has 8 flavors of gelato that's handmade daily. (The 9th flavor is sugar free vanilla, which is pre made.) Most activities are geared for adults. On our last Celebrity cruise, to Hawaii, there were three lecturers onboard -- a university professor, a marine biologist, and an astronomer. They were excellent.

We choose our cruises based on the itinerary. We are not partial to any one cruise line, especially in Europe where the itineraries are often so port intensive.

Woody

 

[woody73]

I am interested in this question as well. Did you sail Celebrity with children? Europe is so port intensive and I am not one who would leave them in the kids club while off the ship, so it isn't like we need as much kid centered stuff on the boat. Some would be nice though, and I would like them to feel welcomed.

We don't sail with kids, not that we mind them.

I don't believe that kids would feel unwelcomed on Celebrity. Or on HAL, for that matter. If fact, we sailed on HAL with a family with two kids, and the kids loved it because of all the personalized attention they received.

You're right -- Europe is so port intensive. Our last DCL cruise was the May 2013 EBTA. Upon disembarking in Barcelona, we stayed 3 nights, then sailed on a NCL cruise from Barcelona to Venice. Through our DIS cruise meet thread, we met two families, with kids, who were doing the same thing.

The NCL cruise was port intensive: 12-nights with just 2 sea days. My DW and my typical routine was to wake up early, have a quick breakfast, enjoy a full day of sightseeing, get back onboard, have dinner, maybe see the theatre show (I skipped it most nights), go back to the cabin and read up on the next day's port. There wasn't much time for anything else.

In talking with the two families, sailing on NCL worked very well for them -- especially the Freestyle dining (no set traditional dining time). Guests could come back onboard and eat when they wanted.

HTH

Woody

 

[woody73]

We sailed Celebrity Silhouette Greek Isles and Eastern Med cruise in 2012 . . .

I also have to add that they did not spend too much time in the clubs because the itinerary was so port intensive that literally sometimes we were off the ship all day, back for dinner, back in our cabins resting up and preparing for the next port day. Way too tired for anything else.

That describes our experience exactly!

Woody

 

[wallawallakids]

We don't sail with kids, not that we mind them.

I don't believe that kids would feel unwelcomed on Celebrity. Or on HAL, for that matter. If fact, we sailed on HAL with a family with two kids, and the kids loved it because of all the personalized attention they received.

You're right -- Europe is so port intensive. Our last DCL cruise was the May 2013 EBTA. Upon disembarking in Barcelona, we stayed 3 nights, then sailed on a NCL cruise from Barcelona to Venice. Through our DIS cruise meet thread, we met two families, with kids, who were doing the same thing.

The NCL cruise was port intensive: 12-nights with just 2 sea days. My DW and my typical routine was to wake up early, have a quick breakfast, enjoy a full day of sightseeing, get back onboard, have dinner, maybe see the theatre show (I skipped it most nights), go back to the cabin and read up on the next day's port. There wasn't much time for anything else.

In talking with the two families, sailing on NCL worked very well for them -- especially the Freestyle dining (no set traditional dining time). Guests could come back onboard and eat when they wanted.

HTH

Woody

This is great to know and very helpful. Thank you.

 

[Calfan]

Hopefully we are able to get the first choice. Then we will be cruising quite a few cruises together. Thanksgiving Dream, Iceland and then Baltic.

That would be awesome!!

 

[DahliaRW]

Thanks for everyone who put the dates together. Right now (if I can convince dh) I'm looking at the EBTA (if it does end in Copenhagen) or the June 6 Norway (I think the 9 night one will probably just be too expensive). I'm REALLY hoping that the Norway cruises will have Frozen tie ins, that would make them perfect for DD and justify the extra cost...

 

[disneynme]

DH agreed to the extra days and I didn't even need a Power Point!

So, we are looking at flying into London 5/23 to tour and then on to Copenhagen 5/27 to catch the 5/30 Baltic cruise. I just hope I don't pass out when I see how much this is all going to cost.

 

[Silstone]

LOL! Check early and often. I've gotten airfare as low as $650 roundtrip to Paris and $600 to London. (I took the $700 because I prefer the time, but $600 was an option) Airfare can be crazy in the summer, but if you watch the rates and book early usually, you can find decent rates.

That's my fear. Quoting 1300-1600 pp on airfare. Times 3-that's another cruise.

Decisions decisions.

 

[kaseyC]

We've only ever used United miles to Hawaii and it worked out ok then. I had a heck of a time trying to get my parents from FLL to DEN. I'm hoping as long as we book way in the future, it'll be fine. Actually, on the drive home I decided we need to open the first card now instead of waiting on Disney. Flights for June 2015 will be available in July, right? Need to get spending!

I always try to book as soon as awards are released. July is about right for June 2015.

 

[jenf22]

I always try to book as soon as awards are released. July is about right for June 2015.

Do you know if award travel is refundable (you get the points back) on United like it is on Southwest?

 

[AquaDame]

I did not say Celebrity and RCI were "basically the same but 'upscale.'"

I said "Celebrity is an upscale sister cruise line to RCI." RCI, Celebrity and Azamara are separate cruise lines owned by the same parent company. Similarly, Carnival, Princess, HAL and several others are owned by another separate parent company.

Woody

I apologize Woody - I used a pretty crappy analogy in my head and did not mean to sound as if that was your wording. Thank you for clarifying for everyone!