Cruise Newbie!!

[Briarmom]

I am thinking of booking my family on a Disney cruise. We would like to do the 7 day. Which 7 day do you like? Also, where did you book to get the best rate? I realize that the rates are going up, so I want to get on it!!
I think we'd do best going over Thanksgiving (I know, I should have planned earlier...) since my ds gets a whole week off. That way we could take him out of school for a few days before, do WDW, and then the cruise.
Thanks so much!
Jess
PS Did any of you use the Passporter book? And what is a repo cruise?

 

[ivanova]

a repo cruise is a "repositioning cruise" where the ship is moved/repositioned from one port (i.e. port canaveral) to another (i.e. los angeles).

several cruise lines do repo cruises on a regular basis - this year is a first for Disney.

As for booking, I'd recommend booking with DCL now to get the category and room(s) that you want. Then research travel agents, and if you find one that can give you the service you want at the price you want, have the reservation transferred from Disney to them.

 

[wildernessfamily]

Book your cruise. Your family will love it. It will occupy lots of your time, planning excursions, planning what to take...You will gain great knowledge from this forum. If you have questions someone knows the answers...good luck and have fun.

 

[mommasita]

and welcome... I would look into Dreams Unlimited (click on top, they sponser the board) They are fantastic, you can email them...I recently booked for September, and they do have specials now, which include some shipboard credit...

dcltribute.com is a great website, that helps you learn a lot about the boat...Rooms, decks. Etc....Find out what type of room may work best for your family. We prefer to save $$, and take the cheapest room, and have more to spend on the boat.. That is what works for us....

So, stick around, the people here are amazing..

 

[Briarmom]

Wow! Thanks so much for the fast replies. It appears that the only cruise that would fit those 7 days is the Western. Any thoughts good or bad? I am so excited! These boards are going to get me in (financial) trouble. First I plan a trip to DL for just my son and I and then I decide to go on a cruise, too!!! Although, in my defense, we were planning on taking a trip to WDW around January, so I guess this is just moving it up a bit, adding on a ton, and taking ds out of school A LOT less!!

 

[kaykels]

Personally I would NOT suggest booking a Thanksgiving cruise for many reasons.
1. Price is at least double
2. It's a full ship (and NO, most cruises are NOT full unless you travel in the summer
or over holidays.
3. The parks will be jammed packed with no discount codes available, so you're paying premium rates
4. Airfare is at the highest rates and the flights will be full

If you are planning on pulling your kids from school for a few days anyway, why not cruise the week before? It will be so much cheaper for EVERYTHING (air, hotel, cruise) and you could pay for NEXT years vacation with the savings.

unless money is no object.... in that case, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!

 

[kaykels]

I looked up the rates on All Seasons. For a cat. 8 family of 4 (for example) it is over $2200.00 more for the same exact cruise the week of Thanksgiving vs. the week before/after.

 

[mommasita]

I would echo Rachel about not going that week... We pull our kids out for a couple of days. Teachers are well aware, and we do the week before going...The price is just TOO much..

As for the Western though. I like it, just enjoy Eastern ports more, and the extra sea day. If the western fit with my schedule I would take it....Depends on your family, and its likes/dislikes...If you look at allseasonstravel.com and dreamsunlimited.com, you see a difference in pricing, week to week.

I hear you about the $$$$$$$$$$$ too. But once you have cruised once, you will be addicted, and find it well worth it...

HTH

 

[Briarmom]

I will take a look at those sites. Thanks! I know the parks are jammed the week of Thanksgiving, but we would be on the ship from the Sat before to the Sat after (I know airfare AND air travel is going to be a pain). The only reason I was thinking that week of Thanksgiving is because my ds will have the week off, AND we could just pull him out of school for 4 days, do WDW, and then cruise. If we didn't do it that week, we'd have to take him out of school for a whole week and we wouldn't get to go to WDW at all.
Hope that makes sense...

 

[tvguy]

I would ask friends about a good local travel agent. I have booked trips online (never a cruise though, just Disneyland) but prefer the service I get from a local agent who handles everything from the flights, transfers, hotels and cruise. And the prices is always competative.

We went New Year's week, and yes we paid a higher price. And while both my kids are in private school and we "could" have tryed to take them out of school, we would never do that. Taking kids out of PUBLIC school in California for vacations is considered truancy now, and it is a felony with the possibility of a $10,000 fine and jail time.

I respectfully disagree with KAYKELS......while Disney does not release occupany rates, I had a CLIA rep on my show and she was not aware of any Disney cruise sailing at less than 98% occupancy........in hard numbers that would be a variance of 50 passengers out of 2500....if KAYKEL can notice that there are 50 fewer passengers, he or she is better than I am. My mom frequently cruises on other lines in the "off season"......and has done re-po cruises......including an 11 day around Hawaii then on to Vancouver, the Honolulu to Vancouver portion was at 30% capacity, and YES then you tell a difference. They actually closed dining rooms on that part of the trip.