Cheaper to book land and sea separate?

[wldmtnflr]

I am looking into options for our honeymoon and was wondering if anyone has booked a 3-4 day stay at WDW and then the cruise. Wondering if it is cheaper to stick with the package that is available? Any thoughts?

Lisa

 

[two-foxes]

I have heard it is cheaper to book them seperately, but we booked the 3 night land/4 sea package (then seperately added on 3 nights to the land package on our own.) We were very happy that we booked the package for a few reasons....
-we were first time cruisers and wanted the least amount of "wish we would have know that" kind of situations with the check in etc.
-all the details are taken care of....the check in for the cruise at the resort (no waiting in lines at the terminal), the transportation, etc.
-our baggage was taken care of the morning of the cruise, as we headed off to AK to enjoy a morning there before getting on the DCL busses.
-Plus, we booked a Cat 6 stateroom, which automatically put us in a deluxe resort for the land. If we booked seperately, I am not sure we would have shelled out to stay in a deluxe, so it was an added bonus!

You may want to go to the Disney web site and get some ideas of what you may be looking at for ballpark prices for both situations, then get a quote from DU. We figure the few dollars we paid more for booking the package saved us a headache or two and lots of extra work booking transportation and such!

Excellent choice for a Honeymoon, may I add! It's what we did for ours!!!

 

[disney3144]

Yes, it is much cheaper to book separately. We always book our own air, hotel, and even the park tickets separately. Disney air is usually at least double the price that you can get on your own, and this way you can pick your own times. You can also get thpark hopper passes at your local Disney store. I think they are a better deal because if you get them through the "package" then you are actualy paying for the last day when you would be leaving to get to the ship. To me thats a wasted day.
I know alot of people say its less hassle for them just to let Disney do it all for them. IMHO I don't think its any hassle at all to do it on your own. I to be able to have control over my reservations for everything. Thats just me though.
I hope this helps.
Jennifer

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Oh yeah! We do it separately every time! Especially airfare. You'd be amazed at the money you save.

 

[Hygiene99]

would have to Agree with other posters.....
peter

 

[two-foxes]

Oh, yes, airfare through Disney is a no-no....we flew in the night before our package (the added 3 nights) actually started, stayed at ASMu for about $75, so we were ready to start our first FULL day right at WDW. (We did have to take a cab to the AKL that morning to get our KKTW card, however, but Disney took our luggage for us, so we headed right to the parks, and came back to check into our room later.)
I do still do think booking the land/sea package is easy and stress free, which is pretty important for a HM!

 

[wldmtnflr]

Thanks for the insight from all you seasoned cruisers.! This would be our first cruise and I want to make it as stress free as I can for the groom-to-be to plan We usually book our WDW trips separately and thought it would be cheaper for the land/sea package also. After reading around the list and looking into it a bit more, I think that booking the package and having transportation, baggage, etc. taken care of may be worth the extra money we spend just so we don't have to think about anything.

Thanks again.

Lisa

 

[maps]

i just booked a land/sea pkg with DU for mar 04 and it was cheaper than trying to book it seperately. i booked my own air (cheaper) and booked a rental car (cheaper than transfers).

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by maps
i just booked a land/sea pkg with DU for mar 04 and it was cheaper than trying to book it seperately. i booked my own air (cheaper) and booked a rental car (cheaper than transfers).

Interesting. What Category stateroom & Resort did you choose?

 

[NCRedding]

When we booked our land/sea in 10/01, it was much cheaper than to book it separately. I would have had to gotten the room at the Poly for less than $100 per night in order for it to have been cheaper to book separately. I didn't book airfares thru Disney. Don't just automatically assume that it will be more expensive--get a quote.

 

[wldmtnflr]

Maps,

I'm interessted in knowing what you booked also. I am planning on going in May `04.

Lisa

 

[kmc33]

Although it sounds like most of the time it is cheaper to book separately, I think it depends on the dates you are looking at.

I started out planning to book the 4 day cruise and then book our hotel and park passes separately. However, I requested prices for a 4 day cruise only and the 3 day land/ 4 day cruise as a package. Believe it or not, it was only $100 more for the package instead of the 4 day cruise. And the package included 3 nights hotel and the park hopper passes. So for us it was a no brainer to book the package, even though it then limited our resort choice to CBR or PO.

If you are looking for convenience then book the package. If you are looking for the best price, I suggest requesting a quote for cruise only and land/sea instead of assuming the package will be more expensive.

I agree that you are usually going to better booking your own air. And then you can pick your flights too.

 

[skylynx]

We booked separately for the last two cruises to save $$ but also for another reason...we like "wrapping" the cruise between parks visits. For both our 4 day Wonder cruises we flew down from Chicagoland to Orlando on some obscenely early (read: cheap) flight Saturday morning, picked up a cheap rental car, then checked in at wherever we could find a good rate. We hit a park, then the Comedy club and Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island. In the morning we had a leisurely breakfast and a drive to Port Canaveral. The first time we took the bus, but the second time we turned in the rental at the Radisson and picked up another there when we returned from the Bahamas. Drove back to Orlando early Thursday and had the most of that day and all of the next at a park resort (AKL and WL) before returning to Chicago on Saturday. For us, it was great to have had our theme park "fix" before the cruise started, and we really needed the two nights and nearly two full days doing the parks again when we got off the cruise to detox from all the nautical pixie dust. I was very grateful we didn't have to cope with getting off the ship and flying back to the frigid Midwest the same day--too disturbing. So if you have the choice, and the seven days, you might consider the "Cruise Wrap". It made it somehow seem like three parts instead of two...what fun.

 

[maps]

my land/sea is for 2/29/04 - 3/7/04. nothing fancy--cat 11 CBR.
we're doing 4 days on land and 3 on sea. i tried booking justing the cruise and then looking at the all the different resorts and because it is so far out, all i had available were rack rates for resort only rooms. if i had just booked the cruise only and waited to book the resort later i would miss out on the early booking savings and DU's $75 rebate. i think it really just depends on the time of year as well.