Booking Experts Please!!

[mommymommy]

Holy Cow!! I have just read a post that said $2000 for 2 adults, 1 child, for the 3 night cruise is about right (Cat 6), and someone else said they thought they paid around $2000 for a 7-day!

We have been quoted $3383 (Cat 6, Deck 6) for the 4 night, from AAA. Now this seems awfully high... please help. Are we looking in the wrong place to book our cruise????

I am totally lost here...I don't want to get "taken" for being green on booking! Please help!

 

[Kaa]

Prices will vary depending on the time of year you are cruising. If you are cruising when the children are normally out of school (holidays, Spring Break or summer) the pricing will be much higher than if you are cruising during non-peak times (like the Fall).

 

[nuke]

I just priced Nov 2003 for a Catagory 6. On the 7 day western the total for 2 adults 1 child (5yrs) is $3216.00 cruise only. No air, transfers or insurance.

 

[my3kids]

We are a family of 5 in 2 cabins, so 2 A/1C in one and 2A in the other. Total for the 7 night is $3800 for category 10 rooms.

 

[taswira]

As Kaa said, it depends on the date you choose to cruise and whether it is a school break time. It also depends on how far ahead you book. You did not state when you are looking to sail, but the further ahead you book, generally the less it will cost. DCL does run specials occasionally, but recently the ships have been pretty full so they will keep the prices up whenever possible. Anything with a verandah (Cat 7 and up) is normally very much in demand and it's hard to get much of a discount. Disney cruises <I>are</I> more expensive than some other lines, for example Carnival. AAA often has good pricing. You might also try DU for a comparison.

 

[mommymommy]

The $3383 is for FEb 16, 2003. I know prices are higher during vacation times etc, but looking at the other prices quoted here, the difference is just astounding! I was quoted $2643 for cat 10, and someone else got 2 cabins in 10 at $3800 for a seven day!!
I have a quote request in at DU also, but it may be 2 days before I get an answer.


I feel like I am going to spend so much time comparing prices, that by the time I have all the info it will be too late! The staterooms seem to be disappearing as I write! If I make a deposit so that at least one room can be held, and then want to switch, will there be problem?

You are all very patient with my lack of knowledge about these things...thank you so much!

 

[taswira]

If you want to make a deposit to hold a room, but you are not sure which TA you want to go with, then book directly with DCL. That way you can always transfer your reservation to DU or AAA if you wish, and they will usually adjust pricing for you if it goes down. But if you make your reservation with AAA now, you will not be able to transfer that to DU. You would have to cancel and start over.

 

[luv2tvl]

I am a travel agent with AAA, and I just called to price the sailing that you are talking about. The total I came up with with transfers and all taxes was 3480.55. Cabin 6596 was available. Your total you gave before probably didn't have the transfers included. (I'm guessing here about the transfers not being in the other price.)
I believe what you got quoted from another AAA is very accurate. It all depends on the time of year, and Feb is a big month with spring break around the corner.
Have them hold something while you think about it, or call DCL direct and do the same!
Good luck!!

 

[MFan]

Originally posted by my3kids
We are a family of 5 in 2 cabins, so 2 A/1C in one and 2A in the other. Total for the 7 night is $3800 for category 10 rooms.

This is a very good rate! When are you traveling, and is it Eastern or Western? We are a family of 5 as well and have reserved two connecting cat 10 cabins for 5/10/03. I booked them this past June. My price is around $4,300 for cruise only (no transfer, no insurance).

If I had booked with Costco, I could have gotten a 10% discount. However, I had to use up some expiring credits with my TA.

 

[my3kids]

mfan: It is booked with Costco for the November 2 Eastern cruise. (No, we're not from NJ, but aparently everyone else on the boat is!) We booked last year, so the price has gone WAY up since we secured the rooms. When I checked a few weeks ago, I think the price had gone up over $1400! That week seems to be pricing a little higher now than other fall weeks....something about a teacher's conference in NJ so all the NJ children have a week off from school.

When we booked, they only offered Eastern trips. When the announcement came out about the Western I called to see which trip we had, and it had remained Eastern.