felixdacat
Give Me Liberty!
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2004
14 months ago, long before I found these boards, I booked a Land/Sea vacation for April 04.
My wife and I just figured that there would be conveniences in doing it all together. The only convenience is for Disney, not the guest. So far, the only positives have been my ability to get the cabins I wanted, and a small 'early booking' savings.
There have been numerous posts in this forum saying that you would save money by doing them separately. But its much more than that.
You probably could save some money by just booking the land portion and the cruise by themselves. You can save even more by not being stuck with the level of resort that Disney decides you need for your cabin category.
My first hint that there were any problems was when I wanted to confirm a room at the Polynesian. They will not assign rooms to Land/Sea clients. You can only put in a room request with your reservation, and then fax them another request a week before checking in. What I understand is that they prefer to put all the Land/Sea guests in the same building (only garden view available) so that its easier to collect the luggage for the transfer to the ship. However, I'm driving down, so there is no need for me to have these transfers.
If I had booked the 3 day stay at the Poly separately, I could have chosen lagoon view rooms.
The next problem is the Park Hopper passes. The Land/Sea guests get a type of pass that is not upgradeable. If you book the hotel separately, you can upgrade to a park pass that allows you reserved seating at the park shows.
Yesterday was the final straw. I went to my TA to pick up my documents. While there I wanted to add transfers to one of the bookings (I booked this vacation for 6 adults and 4 children). I also wanted to add the Romantic Escape at Sea package ($299) to my reservation. Disney refused to do it.
They said that because I purchased a Land/Sea vacation, the only option was for me to purchase the more expensive Romantic package ($599). Now, both last years brochure and their new one say that Land/Sea vacations can add on the REAS. They claimed it was a typo (two years in a row?). My TA went to a supervisor, and then a higher level manager, but they all refused to do it.
The good news is that she then contacted their Disney rep and they were able to add it to my vacation (although this will not be confirmed till Monday.
I can see no clear advantages for booking a Land/Sea vacation the way Disney wants you to. There have been numerous problems.
Take my advice, book them separately.
My wife and I just figured that there would be conveniences in doing it all together. The only convenience is for Disney, not the guest. So far, the only positives have been my ability to get the cabins I wanted, and a small 'early booking' savings.
There have been numerous posts in this forum saying that you would save money by doing them separately. But its much more than that.
You probably could save some money by just booking the land portion and the cruise by themselves. You can save even more by not being stuck with the level of resort that Disney decides you need for your cabin category.
My first hint that there were any problems was when I wanted to confirm a room at the Polynesian. They will not assign rooms to Land/Sea clients. You can only put in a room request with your reservation, and then fax them another request a week before checking in. What I understand is that they prefer to put all the Land/Sea guests in the same building (only garden view available) so that its easier to collect the luggage for the transfer to the ship. However, I'm driving down, so there is no need for me to have these transfers.
If I had booked the 3 day stay at the Poly separately, I could have chosen lagoon view rooms.
The next problem is the Park Hopper passes. The Land/Sea guests get a type of pass that is not upgradeable. If you book the hotel separately, you can upgrade to a park pass that allows you reserved seating at the park shows.
Yesterday was the final straw. I went to my TA to pick up my documents. While there I wanted to add transfers to one of the bookings (I booked this vacation for 6 adults and 4 children). I also wanted to add the Romantic Escape at Sea package ($299) to my reservation. Disney refused to do it.
They said that because I purchased a Land/Sea vacation, the only option was for me to purchase the more expensive Romantic package ($599). Now, both last years brochure and their new one say that Land/Sea vacations can add on the REAS. They claimed it was a typo (two years in a row?). My TA went to a supervisor, and then a higher level manager, but they all refused to do it.
The good news is that she then contacted their Disney rep and they were able to add it to my vacation (although this will not be confirmed till Monday.
I can see no clear advantages for booking a Land/Sea vacation the way Disney wants you to. There have been numerous problems.
Take my advice, book them separately.