Booking Cruise and Land Portion Seperatley

[kimisabella]

Has anyone booked, say a four night cruise, then arranged their own "land' portion either before or after the cruise? Do you think there are any advantages to this or do you think that the pre-arranged land/sea package is a better deal?

 

[Mickeyhugger]

There are experienced land/sea travelers on here who agree you will save $$ if you book separately. I'm sure some will post here. I've read that when one books the land/sea through Disney, the DCL buses (arriving from the Disney resorts) are among the last, and that some people are not able to secure Palo and massage ressies. But I've never done a land/sea package, so I don't know how often that occurs.

 

[E&BMom]

We did that for a four-day cruise last year for a couple of reasons. The main thing was that we wanted to do a Saturday-Saturday trip and the pre-packaged four-day sea/three-day land trips are all Thursday-Thursday. In addition, we didn't find any price advantage to booking the land/sea package vs. doing the land portion ourselves. The biggest problem there is that you are limited in the ship cabin/Disney resort combinations with the land/sea packages and can't work out more flexible arrangements to keep the price in check. That's what worked best for us, but I'd definitely price it out both ways and check into what schedules work best for you.

Whatever you do, however, make sure you look at booking your air travel (if necessary) separately. I have yet to figure out an advantage to booking your air through DCL (except for any extra considerations you might get if a flight delay causes you to be late for the cruise, but that risk can be mitigated if you come in the night before the cruise).

 

[videogal1]

Has anyone booked, say a four night cruise, then arranged their own "land' portion either before or after the cruise? Do you think there are any advantages to this or do you think that the pre-arranged land/sea package is a better deal?

I always mix and match my own land/sea because I want to have the flexibility of staying at the resort of my choice and not necessarily one determined by the stateroom category I book. There could be savings, especially if you are a Florida resident or have an Annual Pass or get a special reduced rate code. There are some advantages to staying at a WDW resort at times of the year that a cruise may not have exceptionally good weather, as well. I often mix a week at an off-site condo, a few days at a WDW resort, then take a 4-day cruise, then spend a few days at WDW after the cruise.

 

[BethC1952]

By booking separately on our trip this past December, we were able move up to a Cat. 7 from our usual Cat. 11 without adding any additional cost to our usual trip by staying at Pop Century before the cruise instead of at a moderate resort. We added Disney transfers to the port and back to the resort after the cruise. It's not important to us that we arrive early since we don't go to the spa (so we don't need reservations), still haven't been to Palo (we enjoy the main dining rooms too much) and don't have kids to register for the clubs.

The only thing that you don't get by booking separately is the convenience of a single check-in that you get with the land/sea package. You have to check in at the port for the cruise, and that line was pretty long. We were returning cruisers, however, and got in the Castaway Club line (for returning cruisers). There was no one ahead of us on that line!

Everything worked out great on this trip. We will be booking separately from now on, mainly to give us the flexibility in our hotel choice.

Beth

 

[Hygiene99]

If you buy your passes at the resort you stay at you are allowed to take off the first day and the last day.. for example flight arrive late and kids are tired.. enjoy resort pool go to bed ..
The day of the cruise You have park passes ??
time to go to a park and then to the Ship some yes if you have cruised before and do not want to get some stuff done on the ship..

Transportation DCl charges about $65.00 per person for your entire transportation needs from airport to resort to port and back to airport..
Depending on size of your family you may be able to Rent a vehicle.. for less than you would pay if you look at this site www.dcltribute.com
you will find a list of rental Co. that you would be able to do a drop off of the vehicle near the ship and they will take you to the ship..

As others have mentioned if you depending on discounts and were you stay at the park can be alot less for example if you stay at Pop Century
for about $70.00 per night check this site for room discounts www.mousesavers.com
That may allow you to spend more on the room you may want on the ship
for example also if you have never cruised before ..

Here is a little known Secret.. lol Try deck 5 cat 10
Disney sells 6 rooms on that deck as inside stateroom but you will get a porthole to see pictures look at the site mentioned above ..
AKA secret porthole rooms this would save you about $300.00 bucks
off the price of actually booking a porthole room..

And lastly Shop around for the price of the cruise... you will find prices lower than the Disney site all over the place We use the board sponsor Dreams Unlimited Travel, See there website ...

But also to help with the planning here is another site that list out the prices and dates per person Makes it simple.. www.allseastravel.com


If You do not want do a little work just go with the package ....
Some do because they do not or have not been to the area and feel comfortable with letting Disney take care of them..for there vacaton needs.. I Would..

either way it is all good..

 

[ADisneygirl]

We don't do a package because we want the flexibility to choose our own resort and also to go to WDW AFTER the cruise. I like the buffer between the cruise and the trip home to be the trip to WDW. On our first cruise we went home directly from port. It was depressing to leave the ship itself since we had such a fabulous time on our first cruise ever. On our second cruise we left port and headed over to AKL. Even though we still were a little depressed to be leaving the ship, the letdown was greatly reduced due to the fact that we had our land portion of the trip still ahead of us! It seemed much easier to go home from AKL than to go home from the port. Guess that shows you how much fun a Disney cruise is, because we all know here how much fun a trip to WDW is!

 

[Hygiene99]

We don't do a package because we want the flexibility to choose our own resort and also to go to WDW AFTER the cruise. I like the buffer between the cruise and the trip home to be the trip to WDW. On our first cruise we went home directly from port. It was depressing to leave the ship itself since we had such a fabulous time on our first cruise ever. On our second cruise we left port and headed over to AKL. Even though we still were a little depressed to be leaving the ship, the letdown was greatly reduced due to the fact that we had our land portion of the trip still ahead of us! It seemed much easier to go home from AKL than to go home from the port. Guess that shows you how much fun a Disney cruise is, because we all know here how much fun a trip to WDW is!

Very good point, it is very depressing to leave the ship and we always try to lessen the depression.. usaully a stay at the Boardwalk and dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe will help... Ask For Anderson the Bartender He is Very good at helping you ...

Peter

 

[lillygator]

Last May we did a 4 night stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a three night cruise. We were able to pick what we wanted and yes the DCL busses were the last to leave. Luckily we live in FL so we drove and left our car at the port.
It was much cheaper than booking together.

 

[kimisabella]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I have checked out all seasons and it is the lowest price I have gotten. I also know that we will probably be renting a car since dh doesn't like to go on the buses schedules. I also like the fact that I can get a secret porthole room on the ship, and go to the AKL and don't have to pay the higher price for the land/sea package.

 

[Hygiene99]

If You have not Been, AKL is an awesome resort..
The only thing we can say about it is that we felt that Getting there and Back . Was a pain .. but I think this is due to Disney transportation (BUSES)
and not anything to do with the resort.. you will get this from All of them
IMO transportation is not what it use to be.. with high cost of fuel
buses seem to be few and far between.. allow for this...
BIL and wife just returned and this is how they felt.. Also
45 minutes from Mgm to Resort.. Recently ..

Peter