Sometimes I book way ahead and sometimes I book last minute. As long as I'm happy with the price I'm paying for the cruise then it's all good. I've been on over 20 cruises and I think that's the best way to approach cruising.Often they do it even closer - many times not until you would be past your pay in full date though. There is the rub..
Yes this is how they do it, they have 3 releases a year. The remaining 2018 dates should be out in May, although this last round was 'earlier' than usual so you might see them earlier than May. Then in October they will release the first few months for 2019.
More than anything I just want to know what the itinerary will be. The WBPC in 2018 isn't great, pretty much just Mexico which isn't worth the cost or hassle. I'm hoping the EB will have some Caribbean ports or maybe even CC.
I just dropped 3 nights off our 10 day WDW stay and booked the 4 night Dream. I used the an OBB. The price has gone up a little since opening day. They may offer restricted rates, and I may have wasted on OBB. I'm happy with the price I'm paying and I'm not going to worry about it. I rarely know what I want to do a year or more in advance nor do I like biting my nails waiting for price drops. If a cruise is within my price "comfort level" I'll just book it and not worry about if I got the best deal or not. I do plan on booking a European while on board. I know some people would book now and then rebook on board and cancel. I'm not going to go through all that. I can't see booking now being better than the 10% off. 200.00 OBC and Costco cash card that I'll get by waiting 2 months.No EBPC yet either.
I wish this was on PST. Disney is a West Coast company... why do the phone lines always open on EST? I get that the call centers are all out there, I just wish they'd keep the business on West Coast time. I hate getting up at
I agree. I personally enjoy the peace of mind of knowing I have the cruise I want, at a price I'm ok with. DH is a CM, so we sometimes have the option of booking at the Cast rates, but if I have my heart set on a particular itinerary I don't want to risk not getting it... especially once vacation times are approved by both our jobs. I usually book so far out that the sticker shock isn't that bad, and I have over a year to pay it off slowly.
Disney has never had a particularly impressive Panama Canal itinerary. However, I booked the April 2018 westbound cruise because I wanted to sail on the re-imagined Wonder, and the longer repositioning cruises are DCL's best values. I also like the sea days on DCL's longer cruises. If I wanted a port-intensive PC cruise, it wouldn't be on Disney. I only wish it departed later, as April 8 is so early.No EBPC yet either.
Since we've done so many cruises the ports have become the most important factor. I'd rather be in an inside room with great ports then concierge or the Haven with ports I've done before. We're doing a Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Vista this Fall with all new ports Grand turk, Aruba, Curacao and Dominican Republic. I did book the Dream in May, but only because were going to WDW. The Dream and WDW kind of go together like peanut butter and chocolate IMHO. NCL has a really great Panama itinerary on their new ship BLiss next November. If you have kids though.... I don't know is it going to be a retirement 65+ cruise? I'm hesitant to book long off season cruises on anything other than DCL because I think my son might be the only teen on the ship. I'm getting antsy to book the WBTA next year, but I guess I still have a couple of months. My biggest fear is I won't like the itinerary then I'll have to figure out what to do next year.I was really hoping they'd have Castaway Cay on the eastbound too. If I can't get an interesting foreign port, at least I can enjoy CC!
Yeah, the ports for me aren't a deal breaker... we only cruise every other year, and do other travel in between, so for us it's all about maximizing time on the ship. But if I'm picking between two itineraries I'll go with one that has a new port if it's an option.
I haven't built up the courage to try another cruise line besides Disney. Despite not having kids, Disney fits our lifestyle.
I always remind myself that every person who doesn't understand why we cruise Disney without kids, is one more person that isn't taking up my space at Satellite Falls.
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