Cruise Help...Pricing, etc.

[tjkraz]

Total cruise newbie, here. Please be gentle.

I'm considering taking the family on a cruise sometime in the next couple of years. I've gone through a few pages of threads and can't find answers to a few questions.

1. How do the discounts work when booking a cruise? Specifically, it seems like there are frequently discounts for off-peak times like January or September. If I book now for January '06 with no "specials" offered, can I get a lower rate later?

2. Any comments on traveling with a 4 yo (soon to be 5) and 2 year old? I'm assuming our 4yo DS will be old enough for some of the children's activities. What about 2yo DD?

3. Will the 4 of us be comfortable in a lower-class room? (I know that's a loaded question, but do your best.) We're DVC members, so we're used to staying in style at WDW. But I'd really like to start out very moderately on the cruise. My fear is that if our WDW pattern holds true, as soon as we splurge on something better, we'll never want to go back!!! I think I can handle living in a box for 4 days if necessary.

If anything, we'd do a 3 or 4 day cruise. It sounds like there isn't much time spent in the room on either one of these, correct?

4. Can anyone point me toward info about these "excursions" that I've seen discussed? My assumption is that they are activities / tours offered at the different ports-of-call. My initial reaction is that I'm not too crazy about lugging the entire family (little ones) around a strange country. Without going into extraneous detail, what sort of options are available and, to be blunt, are we obligated to leave the ship? If not, does everyone choose to leave the ship, or do many remain behind just to relax?

5. Money question again. What sorts of things can we expect to spend money on after the price of the cruise? I've read info on tipping, parking charges if we drive, spa services and other recreation options that may cost extra. DW and I aren't big drinkers, so if alcohol isn't included, it won't cost us much. Any other obvious items I'm forgetting?

6. What is the weather like in January / February?

Thanks in advance for any replies!!!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I'll give these a shot:

1) With DCL, as with most cruise lines, the conventional wisdom is to book well in advance. I believe that this is more so with Disney since they have only two ships, and don't tend to have the capacity issues that other lines see. The peak times are during June, July and August, and over holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The off-peak times are Sept. through December (excluding the aforementioned holidays) and January through April (exlcluding Easter week and usually the week following, too).

Disney prices their rooms with what I've seen referred to as "tiers." When a certain number of rooms in a given category are booked, a new tier is reached, and the price increases, so the further out you can book, the lower the rate you're likely to get. Some travel agents will keep an eye on your booking and if a discount is offered later, they can contact DCL and have it applied to your reservation. You can do this yourself, too, but the travel agents tend to have a knack for this. I think it's likely that if you book now for next January, you'll get the best rate possible and the price is most likely to go up rather than down.

2) We've not cruised with our almost two year-old son yet, so my knowledge of this is second-hand, but my understanding is that your 4 year-old will be eligible for the kids club activities, while the 2 year-old will not. DCL does have a nursery which provides baby-sitting services for children under 3. Again, I don't have any first-hand experience with either of these things.

3) On a four-day cruise, you're really not in your room all that often, since three of the four days are port days. You're basically there to bathe, change and sleep. However, the rooms are significantly smaller than a standard hotel room on land. Many families of four manage just fine in an inside stateroom. One piece of advice I would give would be to book a category 10 room. This is a bit higher category, but has the split bathroom which I'm told is really great for families (one room has shower/tub and sink, the other has toilet and sink). It makes getting ready for dinner or the shows a little easier.

4) The DCL website has excursion information here. Just click on the link for the individual ports and those pages have excursion information, including pricing. We usually just go it alone when in port, taking a cab to the beach or wandering downtown. You're not obligated to purchase an excursion nor even to leave the ship. In Nassau especially, I know many people opt to remain onboard and treat the day as a day at sea. I think most do get off the ship for at least part of the day, though. I like to wander around Nassau (or any seedy Caribbean port, for that matter), myself.

5) You've covered most of the extraneous charges. Other things such as gifts/souveniers, and photos taken by the ships' photographers can cost extra. In addition, the adults-only restaurant, Palo, charges a per-person surcharge. The baby-sitting service, Flounder's Reef, also charges a per-hour fee.

6) January and February are usually pretty nice in the Bahamas, but there is the off-chance that you'll hit a "cold" front at this time of the year (highs probably in the 60s). This could make it feel a bit chilly when swimming or hanging out on the beach. In the Caribbean, it's plenty warm, usually into the 80s at least. I remember on December in St. Maarten when the water was so warm, I was tired before I got cold, even on a rainy day.

Hope this helps....

 

[tjkraz]

That was wonderful! Thanks so much for the detailed response.