A couple of quick questions before I book

[mkbowlkw]

I am about to book (tomorrow) a 7-night land and sea (3 on land 4-day cruise) for my wife, myself and 2 boys (ages 4 and 7). My travel agent have room 7594, deluxe stateroom with Verandah, on hold.
1) Will this room sleep the 4 of us or will we need the deluxe family room with verandah? I ask the question because the brochure states that it comes with a queen-size or 2 twin beds and a single sofa. Does any of the delux staterooms with verandah have a pull down bed from the wall also?
2) Has anyone stayed in room 7594 and can give me more specifics about the sleeping arrangements?
3) The 6:30 dinners are showing a status of waitlisted so we booked the 8:30 dining. I'm thinking this may be took late for the 4-year-old since we will probably have some long, busy days. I know the 7-year-old can hang.
4) She has also booked us with a deluxe room at the Polynesian. Is this a nice hotel? Do they have suites or are they just regular rooms? Does anyone know when this hotel was built?
I'm sure this info is somewhere on the web, but I have been reading so much over the last 2 nights I'm seeing double.
Since I am about to pay almost $8000 for this trip I want to make sure I'm getting what I want or at least what I think I am getting.

Thanks again for any input!!!

 

[tkd lisa]

1 and 2) If this room won't hold 4 (i.e. if it doesn't have the pull down bunk), they won't be able to book it for you. I'm guessing that this room is probably already booked with the standard 3 days to place a deposit that DCL always does. So I'm pretty sure your room would hold all of you.
3) Early or Main dinner vs. late dinner. Main seating is at 6:00, late is at 8:30. Only you know your children. My kids were slightly older (8 and 10 when we first cruised), and I had originally asked for early seating too. But we LOVED late seating. You are so busy during the day, that having more time to get ready for dinner without missing a daytime activity was great. The late seating also has the early show (the show is at 6:30 for late seating, and 8:30 for early seating). Your child will be much more likely to fall asleep during the show, and they are so great that it's a shame for him to miss it. The kids program also offers dining for kids if they are in the club during dinner, so if the 4 year old can't wait til 8:30, you can put him in the club, so that they can eat around 6 or 6:30 (time the kids vary isn't always exactly the same, and I think the younger kids eat before the older ones). There is also a lot of food options available during the pre-dinner hour if your younger one is hungry early. You can get standard fast food burgers, dogs, and pizza on deck 9, and room service is included and offers sandwiches, cheese and crackers, cookies, etc. If you are coming from a timezone west of eastern, remember that the ship usually is on eastern time, so 6 might be too early.
4. I've never stayed at the Poly. Since you're on a Land and Sea package, the fact that you booked a verandah stateroom put you in a deluxe resort. The Poly is one of the original WDW hotels. You will probably be in a standard room, not a suite, but it is on the monorail line and has easy access to the Magic Kingdom. This hotel has recently undergone a renovation and is supposed to be very nice.

BTW, the price you stated seems awfully high to me. For our family of 4 to go on the 10 day Christmas cruise, we're only paying about $6000 (that's with a cat 10 stateroom, so it's a cheaper room), so I'd call DCL directly to price compare. If you're going during a peak time, and leaving soon (no early booking savings) that might be why the price is higher. For the price of a free phone call, it's worth it to double check directly with DCL. They can also verify that 7594 will sleep 4.

Good luck

 

[TheWog]

I have not stayed in the 7594, but did stay one deck down in 6088, same general area but on the port side. There was no pull down in our room, but that doesn't mean there isn't for you. If you can book for 4 you should all be able to fit, I think in the brochure there is a key that says which rooms come with pulldown bunks or your TA should definitely be able to find out.

I would waitlist for the early seating, you seem to usually get it. My DS7 was 6 when we went and a couple nights he was crashing before we finished, so you should try and get the early if you can. Others will disagree, but you know your children.

As for the Poly I stayed there as a kid almost 25 years ago. It is one of the original hotels, but I have heard great things about it. I am sure plenty of people will provide their thoughts on that from recent trips.

Good luck.

 

[JenLynn]

And a bit more about the cabin's sleeping arrangements .... The queen bed holds 2, then the sofa folds down and converts to a bed to hold one of you children. Then, miraculously out of the ceiling another bunk appears (mysteriously set-up for you while you are at dinner .... those cabin stewards are tricky beasts!) It is a nice set-up with plenty of room (considering you are on a cruise ship).

HTH
Jen

 

[Zandy595]

mkbowlkw ~ Have you thought about staying in a category 6 cabin (on deck 6), instead of cat. 5 ? Cat. 5 and cat. 6 are identical cabins, but cat. 6 is less expensive.

Check out DCL deck plans.

 

[webray]

I was going to say..that price sounded high to me also.

I would shop around a little bit.

 

[mkbowlkw]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I thought this was a bit high also. I checked 3 travel agents and they gave me the same price. I went online to the disney websit and mapped it myself and got the same price ($7985.20). Do you all have any other ideas of places I can check for a better price. My main TA said that since I am booking a cat. 5 and I am booking on somewhat of a short notice and I am going at a populat time of the year and I am getting a deluxe hotel (Polynesian), that is why it is a little more expensive. I will try the cat. 6 and see what that does to the price.

Thanks again and keep the comments coming, because I want to book it tomorrow so that I can have that off of my back.

 

[tkd lisa]

If the DCL site had that price, that's probably about as good as you're going to get. Some people here have used discount travel agents (Costco springs to mind) and gotten lower rates than quoted by DCL. You could post a specific question about this and see if you get responses.

If you are within a very short time period of your trip, and it's a popular week, that's why the price is high. If you have a brochure, you'll see that the actual range is very wide.

 

[big jack 2002]

Could you see if you could book seperately? You could stay at one of the moderate hotels (POFQ is great!) and still have the same room on the ship for a lower price.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

We have stayed at the Polynesian three times in the past four years. It is our first choice in resorts, whether we are cruising or not. One of the best things about the Polynesian is that it is one of the three monorail resorts. You can be at the Magic Kingdom within minutes. That is a big plus with small children. The other advantage is that you are within walking distance to the Transportation & Ticket Center which will take you ANYWHERE you need to go - the monorail to Epcot, buses to other parks, including the water parks.

If that isn't enough, even though the Polynesian was built in 1972, some of it has been refurbished. The resort is gorgeous! We love it! Great volcano pool too!

Every room we have stayed in at the Polynesian has slept 5, but not sure if all of them do. There were two queens and a day bed. I asked my family if they would like to try another hotel. They said no. Going back to the Polynesian is like going home *sniff sniff*

I know opinions differ, but I would wait for early seating with the little guys.

Have a magical time!

Tink

 

[kcashner]

The above post was my first thought also....the Poly is nice, but not worth the $ in my opinion. Of course, my TA laughs that I don't like to pay for "property rental." You may save big $ booking your land and sea portions separately, especially if you won't use all the features of the "combined" package.

For instance, the land/sea includes "unlimited park hopper" passes that get you into water parks, pleasure island, etc. Will you use all these features? If yes, then get them. If not, you can purchase Park Hopper Plus passes at the Disney store or online cheaper. The UPH passes also run from the day you check in and include the day you leave on your cruise. Will you go to a park the day you leave for the cruise? (We did a hotel based character breakfast!) If you don't go to the park that day, you've paid for a day of park admission that you didn't use. At cat.6 is the same as a 5 (different ship location), but cheaper price. DO you want to stay at the Poly (a nice hotel, but nothing special), or would a moderate hotel (Carribean Beach, Port Orleans) suit you as well? If it would, staying at the less expensive hotel could save big $.

Of course, to stay at the cheaper hotel and use Park Hopper Plus passes, you'd have to book the land portion separate from the sea. You can still book DCL transfers if you'd like, OR you can book a private limo service. The break even point on that is 3 passengers. The advantage is that it will run on YOUR time schedule, not Disney's schedule.

There are also various discount travel agents available--Dreams Unlimited, All Seas, cruise outlet, etc. You can usually save at least 5% with these!

 

[magic cruiser]

We've been to WDW too many times to count and our favorite hotel is the Polynesian !!! I don't even have to think about it.We are now DVC members and usually stay at the BCV, our home resort, but oh how I miss the " Poly" ! You can't beat being on the monorail, the renovations are beautiful incl the new fabulous pool, there's the character bkf, and our favorite family resturant...O' Hana's.Also, you can see the fireworks from the MK and sit on the grass and watch the Electical Water Parade It's just a beautiful hotel and having the convenience of the monorail, I'd never pass that up !

 

[hydster]

You didn't say when you were thinking of going so I estimated.

I did a quick search for cruises on the 4 day Wonder in November of 2004. Priced out staying at the Poly for 3 nts or 4 nts and also staying at POR for 3 nts or 4 nts

Estimated the Ultimate Park Hopper Passes for the 4 of you for 4 nights use and using the DCL transfers.

Here is what I figured out:

Staying from Nov 24-28 at the Poly for a family of 4 would be
$1333.60
Staying from Nov 25-28 at the Poly for a family of 4 would be
$1000.20

Ultimate Park Hopper Passes for 4 nights would be
$259.00 X 2 for you and wife and $208 x 2 for kids total $934.00

Using DCL transfers from hotel to cruise and back to airport I think they are $79.00 per person or $316.00

The cruise I figured out through cruise.com in a Cat 6 stateroom
Leaving on Nov 28th for 4 days with 2 adults and 2 kids
Total cost including Port Charges would be $2447.00

So.....

Poly for 4 nights and the rest of it would be
1333.60
934.00
316.00
2447.00
------------
$5030.60

Poly for 3 nights and the rest would be
1000.20
934.00
316.00
2447.00
-----------
4697.20

POR for 4 nights and the rest would be

660.08
934.00
316.00
2447.00
---=------
4357.08

POR for 3 nights and the rest would be

444.90
934.00
316.00
2447.00
-----------
4141.90


These prices don't include airfare, gratuities or insurance but they are way lower than the $8000.00 you were quoted and the hotels were figured out using Disney's website.

I think I'd check around a little bit! We stayed at the poly with our 3 kids 3,7 and 8 and found that we didn't even use the monorail except the one day we went to MK! For us it was a nice hotel but definitely not worth the extra cash. We loved POR even though it is on the bus line it was easy to get around.

Heidi

 

[Zandy595]

Try checking All Seasons Travel . I booked with them, as did a lot of other people here.

I don't know when you're planning on going, but I looked at June 3, 2004 - 3 Night Land/ 4 Night Sea - Disney Wonder. They have a category 6 for 4 people - $5807.

 

[Goofy4Pluto]

Originally posted by Zandy595
Try checking All Seasons Travel . I booked with them, as did a lot of other people here.

I don't know when you're planning on going, but I looked at June 3, 2004 - 3 Night Land/ 4 Night Sea - Disney Wonder. They have a category 6 for 4 people - $5807.

I used the same company...
I used Sandie the DCL specialist...
she had MANY answers to alot of my questions
and the best rate I found. Her quotes also
include port charges and taxes that other quotes
I got DID NOT include!

Good Luck!

 

[mkbowlkw]

Thanks to all for your time and great info!!! It has been very helpful. I left a message for All Season Travel to give me a call tomorrow (they have closed for the day). There prices does not include airfare, but I just put a 24-hour hold with Continental out of Houston for $928 for the 4 tickets ($232 each). That is not bad. If I can book through All Season Travel I can save about $1700. I also found out through further research, that Disney is charging us $1500 just for airfare from Houston to Orlando. Even if I book the land/sea package through them without air and get the ground transfers, and then book the $928 flight I can still save about $600.
We are planning to go July 29 - Aug 5. We wanted to be there for our 12th anniversary on Aug 1. We both are 37 years old with boys (4 and 7).

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tvguy]

We were in 7604. Nice easy location to get to the restaurants, the pools, the beverage station. You room should have the queen size bed, the couch and the pull down, and the verandah is almost like another room with 2 chairs on it..

 

[mkbowlkw]

Thanks for the feedback tvguy.
I also noticed that the All season prices do not include transfers. Thats about another $200+ for the 4 of us.

 

[greytlady]

It looks as if cat 6 is no longer available for your dates. Either they have run out of "quads" or have reached the limit of kids in that catagory.

 

[tkd lisa]

Don't panic. If you have a hold on it, your room is still available. It just won't show up as available to anyone new.