Booking a Cruise

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

We are looking at going on a 4 or 5 night cruise to the Bahamas in September next year. It is our first cruise, so very excited.
My question is, when do you book the cruise? As soon as it becomes available, or after your flights are booked? I know we went to the US last year and we actually changed our departure date by 3 weeks because it was so much cheaper.
We are a family of 8 with 6 young kids (under 11) and my Mum is possibly coming as well, so we need 2 staterooms and hoping to get them connecting. So obviously I don't want to wait until the end, but just wondering what other people do. There is a cruise every week following this itinerary, so it doesn't matter which one I'm on.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[dabecs]

We are looking at going on a 4 or 5 night cruise to the Bahamas in September next year. It is our first cruise, so very excited. My question is, when do you book the cruise? As soon as it becomes available, or after your flights are booked? I know we went to the US last year and we actually changed our departure date by 3 weeks because it was so much cheaper. We are a family of 8 with 6 young kids (under 11) and my Mum is possibly coming as well, so we need 2 staterooms and hoping to get them connecting. So obviously I don't want to wait until the end, but just wondering what other people do. There is a cruise every week following this itinerary, so it doesn't matter which one I'm on. Thanks in advance for your replies.

We are doing our first cruise this October. We booked our cruise first (the prices do go up plus some categories can sell out. And we wanted main dining which is popular). I know what you mean about flights though, AirNZ had cheap flights but they didn't start till the day the cruise sailed so we couldn't take advantage of them.

Maybe check sale fares this year to see what dates they usually apply to and then book your cruise and cross your fingers? I think the fact you need 2 staterooms would make me more likely to book as soon as I could.

Sorry I'm not much help, I can recommend booking your cruise through http://www.mypersonaltravelplanner.com.au, I have found Ainsley a big help in planning our first cruise.

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

We are doing our first cruise this October. We booked our cruise first (the prices do go up plus some categories can sell out. And we wanted main dining which is popular). I know what you mean about flights though, AirNZ had cheap flights but they didn't start till the day the cruise sailed so we couldn't take advantage of them.

Maybe check sale fares this year to see what dates they usually apply to and then book your cruise and cross your fingers? I think the fact you need 2 staterooms would make me more likely to book as soon as I could.

Sorry I'm not much help, I can recommend booking your cruise through http://www.mypersonaltravelplanner.com.au, I have found Ainsley a big help in planning our first cruise.

Thanks dabecs. That's what I was thinking too. Just the cost of 8 maybe 9 flights can vary greatly in price. Thanks for the recommendation of Ainsley also.

 

[Travel Mum]

If you want interconnecting cabins, then book your cruise as soon as possible because interconnecting cabins book up fast. Ditto the recommendation for Ainsley -she's fantastic!

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

Thanks Travel Mum.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Definitely book early, but make sure you carefully check the agencies cancellation policy before you book. Booking directly with the cruiseline usually allows you to cancel and/or change your booking date quite easily up until a few months before the cruise. Some agents have the same relaxed penalty, others charge you a fee.

Futhermore, be aware that many agents will give you extra bonuses (e.g. onboard credit, free gratuities, discounts etc) if you book your cruise through them. There are quite a few good deals out there, so make sure you do some research.

If I could give one last piece of advice, it would be to consider a week long cruise instead of a 4 day one. You will fall in love with cruising and wish instantly that you had more time onboard. I normally hit complete cruise relaxation mode about day 3 and would hate to get off the next day. Out of curiosity, what cruiseline are you looking at?

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

Definitely book early, but make sure you carefully check the agencies cancellation policy before you book. Booking directly with the cruiseline usually allows you to cancel and/or change your booking date quite easily up until a few months before the cruise. Some agents have the same relaxed penalty, others charge you a fee.

Futhermore, be aware that many agents will give you extra bonuses (e.g. onboard credit, free gratuities, discounts etc) if you book your cruise through them. There are quite a few good deals out there, so make sure you do some research.

If I could give one last piece of advice, it would be to consider a week long cruise instead of a 4 day one. You will fall in love with cruising and wish instantly that you had more time onboard. I normally hit complete cruise relaxation mode about day 3 and would hate to get off the next day. Out of curiosity, what cruiseline are you looking at?

The reason I thought a 4 or 5 night cruise was because of the time (I know, 2 days isn't long, but it has to come from somewhere); the cost - having 8 means 2 staterooms; we've never cruised before, and whilst I think we will love it, I thought we could go on a longer one when the youngest is a bit older. When we go, we will have DS12, DS10, DD8, DD7, DS5 and DS1. I also suffer from motion sickness. We will go on a Disney Cruise.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

The reason I thought a 4 or 5 night cruise was because of the time (I know, 2 days isn't long, but it has to come from somewhere); the cost - having 8 means 2 staterooms; we've never cruised before, and whilst I think we will love it, I thought we could go on a longer one when the youngest is a bit older. When we go, we will have DS12, DS10, DD8, DD7, DS5 and DS1. I also suffer from motion sickness. We will go on a Disney Cruise.

Fair enough

You and your family will love your Disney cruise. I did the Fantasy last year and it was an amazing experience. My favourite cruise to date in terms of the ship itself. My whole family agreed that it was our favourite part of our 3 1/2 week trip. The Dream is supposed to be very similar, so I'm sure you'll have a blast.

If you are worried about sea sickness aim for a cabin mid-ship, on a lower level.

 

[LisaAJ]

The reason I thought a 4 or 5 night cruise was because of the time (I know, 2 days isn't long, but it has to come from somewhere); the cost - having 8 means 2 staterooms; we've never cruised before, and whilst I think we will love it, I thought we could go on a longer one when the youngest is a bit older. When we go, we will have DS12, DS10, DD8, DD7, DS5 and DS1. I also suffer from motion sickness. We will go on a Disney Cruise.

We had the same issue. As much as we wanted to do a longer cruise, we wanted to do other things more. It would have meant cutting down on WDW or Universal time. We are doing a 4 night on the Dream.

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

WanderlustNZ - You have got me thinking! I don't think we can swing it, but I have been looking at the 7 day cruise. Did you do the eastern or western Caribbean cruise? I don't think it will happen, because it's not just the extra cost of the cruise, but also the port excursions. And my DS4 who's 1, wouldn't be able to do a lot of them. But never say never.

LisaAJ - Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll probably stick with the 4 night on the Dream. Which I and the kids are pretty excited about. I'm sure we'll all still have an awesome time. Are you participating in the Fish Extender group on the cruise?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

WanderlustNZ - You have got me thinking! I don't think we can swing it, but I have been looking at the 7 day cruise. Did you do the eastern or western Caribbean cruise? I don't think it will happen, because it's not just the extra cost of the cruise, but also the port excursions. And my DS4 who's 1, wouldn't be able to do a lot of them. But never say never. LisaAJ - Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll probably stick with the 4 night on the Dream. Which I and the kids are pretty excited about. I'm sure we'll all still have an awesome time. Are you participating in the Fish Extender group on the cruise?

I did the Eastern and it was amazing. In St Martin we did a Bernard's Tour which was actually quite cheap and very very good (see my blog). At Castaway Cay we just did the tube rental. At St Thomas/St John we did the Champagne Catamaran which was expensive, but I wouldn't recommend it. There were a lot of cheaper tours that I probably would have preferred.

Compared to the costly price of some of the tours I have seen in the Bahamas, I think the combined cost of a Bernard's tour in St Maartin and a cheaper St Thomas tour wouldn't come to that much more.

Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to sell you on the Fantasy, as at the end of the day, only you can decide what is right for your family. But if there is a way of extending your cruise to 7 nights, I'm confident you won't regret it. Not only is the cruise longer, but Disney learnt from their mistakes on the Dream and made improvements to the Fantasy which are really quite wonderful. The adults only pool areas are great, the extra show in Animator's Palate is excellent (one of my most memorable dining experiences to date), and I loved Europa.

Anyway, good luck with your decision. In that part of the world you are certainly spoilt for choice.

 

[Tashinwdw]

The reason I thought a 4 or 5 night cruise was because of the time (I know, 2 days isn't long, but it has to come from somewhere); the cost - having 8 means 2 staterooms; we've never cruised before, and whilst I think we will love it, I thought we could go on a longer one when the youngest is a bit older. When we go, we will have DS12, DS10, DD8, DD7, DS5 and DS1. I also suffer from motion sickness. We will go on a Disney Cruise.

I can totally relate, we booked 4 nights Bahamas for this September, its our first cruise and even though I think 4 nights is not going to be long enough - when I told Dh he said "why didn't you book a longer one" but I get really bad motion sickness and I though if I do get sick then 4 nights will definitely be long enough
I have my fingers crossed because I am really looking forward to it that I do not get sick, as I already have a whole list of further cruises I want to do

 

[LisaAJ]

I'm still not sure. Id love to but I worry about being able to transport the gifts either way! There is only a few people in our group so far, so I'll wait and see How about you? Are you planning to?

Ugh no idea what my quotes are going crazy!!

 

[austraveler]

we LOVED being part if the fish extender. The boys said they felt like Santa when we did the deliveries, and it was so fun to find treats in the pockets when we went back to our room. We ran with an Australian hat and a caramello koala with a paper Micky hat glued over the ears

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

I'm pretty sure we will do the fish extender. I think my kids would love it. I'm glad that your kids enjoyed it austraveler. Not sure what we'll do yet though.

 

[WearegoingtoAmerica]

WanderlustNZ - I think you may have helped change my mind. At this point we have decided to do the 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy. But who know what can happen.

I've been doing a lot of reading on staterooms, deck plans etc and I've narrowed it down to where I want to be on the ship. If you are booking with a Disney TA to get the OBC, how do you get the rooms you want or in the same area? If you ask them for a quote, then they get back to you, then you confirm, doesn't this all take time and the rooms you want have possibly gone. Is there an easier way to do it? The dates should be released next month, so just trying to get my head around it. I hope that ramble makes sense & somebody can advise me.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

WanderlustNZ - I think you may have helped change my mind. At this point we have decided to do the 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy. But who know what can happen. I've been doing a lot of reading on staterooms, deck plans etc and I've narrowed it down to where I want to be on the ship. If you are booking with a Disney TA to get the OBC, how do you get the rooms you want or in the same area? If you ask them for a quote, then they get back to you, then you confirm, doesn't this all take time and the rooms you want have possibly gone. Is there an easier way to do it? The dates should be released next month, so just trying to get my head around it. I hope that ramble makes sense & somebody can advise me.

Woohoo! You won't regret it. The Fantasy is a very special ship. There is a reason it has won all those categories over on Cruise Critic.

As for your question, yes going through an agent can mean bookings don't happen the minute (or even hour or day) you want them to. This unfortunately is one of the downsides to not having control over your own booking.

My advice is to weigh up what is more important to you - the OBC, or having the control over your own booking - and then be prepared for the pros and cons that come with either decision.

I enquired with an overseas agent and after a few vague and slow emails I knew that the OBC was not worth the frustration I knew I was going to experience (I'm a bit of a control freak). I loved that I could jump on highs in the NZ dollar and pay bits of my cruise without worrying about going through a middle man. The same applied when it came to booking excursions etc.

The best advice I can give is to make a few enquiries with the agent now. Tell them your concerns and see if you like their responses and how quickly they get back to you. You can get a pretty good feeling about the agent through their first few emails.

By the way, don't book on your own and then pass the booking across to an agent. Disney have made this process quite a bit harder, and the agent will only be able to offer you a much reduced OBC.

 

[Royal Consort]

By the way, don't book on your own and then pass the booking across to an agent. Disney have made this process quite a bit harder, and the agent will only be able to offer you a much reduced OBC.

I think on the fantasy you will be fine but when the Norway bookings came out and everyone lost their mind and booked up the travel agents weren't able to keep up. I was debating going through a TA or book myself and eventually booked staight through Disney as I thought the cruise price may go up by the time they got back to me. I am glad I did because several days later the cabin was already up 1K.

I then transferred to a TA and got 50% of the full onboard credit but it's free money and I look at it as saving $1000 not waiting those couple of days for someone to get me a quote as the cost continued to rise.

For the itineraries on the fantasy and dream I would be less concerned about waiting for a TA to give me a quote. As previously mentioned its about control over your booking but the OBC for us is enough to cover tips. We like that idea.

 

[Royal Consort]

WanderlustNZ - I think you may have helped change my mind. At this point we have decided to do the 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy. But who know what can happen.

I've been doing a lot of reading on staterooms, deck plans etc and I've narrowed it down to where I want to be on the ship. If you are booking with a Disney TA to get the OBC, how do you get the rooms you want or in the same area? If you ask them for a quote, then they get back to you, then you confirm, doesn't this all take time and the rooms you want have possibly gone. Is there an easier way to do it? The dates should be released next month, so just trying to get my head around it. I hope that ramble makes sense & somebody can advise me.

When they give you a quote they put a temporary hold on the stateroom for you. This will automatically return to Disney if you let it lapse.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

When they give you a quote they put a temporary hold on the stateroom for you. This will automatically return to Disney if you let it lapse.

From my experience with cruise bookings, some agents do this and others don't. I think the OP is making the point though that because the dates haven't yet been released, no hold can be put on anything. As soon as dates are released, they want to beat others to get the exact room they want.

I think it depends a bit how desirable the room is. If it is an obscure, yet popular room, like the one I had on the Fantasy, it may get snapped up as soon as bookings open. If not, you should be fine waiting maybe half a day or so until the agent gets around to making the booking.