Cruising for dummies :)

[KelleyK75]

Hello! I have never taken any sort of cruise before, but reading the trip reports really make me want to book one. I don't have the first clue though about the world of cruises, and wanted to get some tips from the experts. After reading several reports, I think I'd be most interested in Alaska or one that stops off at Castaway Cay.

What is the best time to book? Which ones are best for small kids (6 & 4 right now). If you book as soon as rates come out, I assume prices are better? What is the best deck, and best room view? What tips would you give someone booking their first cruise?

I looked at pricing a couple of weeks ago, and they seemed within my budget. I believe I was looking on the day 2015 rates were released. I looked again a few days later, and didn't see any in the same price ranges. I assumed the ones that were cheaper were already booked?

Any tips are appreciated. Thank you!

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Opening day is usually the cheapest. Some sailings have discounted rates as the sailing gets closer to fill the rooms. I booked on opening day for Summer 2014. If you can get there quick and are flexible, a GTY booking (sale to fill the ship that guarantees you a room but doesn't assign the room #) might be good because of the lower price. I would keep looking and sign up for the daily DIS updates so that you know when the sales are (usually 30-60 days out). I like deck 2, inside deluxe on the Magic and Wonder. I am on deck 8 of the Fantasy this summer.

 

[KalamityJane]

I use cruisefish.net to track prices - depending on when you are able to go, that really can affect prices. What cruises were you interested in? How long? We might be able to narrow down low season for the specific type of cruise you were looking for. What's your general budget?

 

[KalamityJane]

There are ways of making it cheaper too, you can buy Disney gift cards with 4x fuel points or at Target (5% off), and then if you go through Costco, you can get a Cash Card back from Costco at the end of your trip - it can be a good amount, up to ~9%.

 

[KelleyK75]

Opening day is usually the cheapest. Some sailings have discounted rates as the sailing gets closer to fill the rooms. I booked on opening day for Summer 2014. If you can get there quick and are flexible, a GTY booking (sale to fill the ship that guarantees you a room but doesn't assign the room #) might be good because of the lower price. I would keep looking and sign up for the daily DIS updates so that you know when the sales are (usually 30-60 days out). I like deck 2, inside deluxe on the Magic and Wonder. I am on deck 8 of the Fantasy this summer.

Great, thank you!!

 

[KelleyK75]

I use cruisefish.net to track prices - depending on when you are able to go, that really can affect prices. What cruises were you interested in? How long? We might be able to narrow down low season for the specific type of cruise you were looking for. What's your general budget?

I will check that site, thank you!

I reports I have read on Alaska, Hawaii, and one that goes to Castaway Cay have all sounded amazing to me. I think Hawaii is out of my budget, but would love to try it some day in the future. I initially was looking at Dec. 2015 for a WDW trip for my birthday/Christmas, then started looking at cruises. This seems to be a more expensive time on the cruise lines as well (my bday is Dec 30). I also looked in summer 2015 any time in June/July/beginning of Aug would be ideal for the kids being out of school. I am not sure how long of a cruise. Whatever sounds best would be fine with me. We would have 3 adults/2 kids and I was looking for something around $4000. This might be a tight budget, but I saw some of the cruises come up around $3000-$3500 on that first day the 2015 prices were released. I can't remember though if that was for Alaska or Castaway Cay (I am thinking Castaway Cay) but when I saw those prices it made me think I could actually afford a cruise.

I assume there are times of the year cruises are cheaper? I wouldn't want to worry about hurricane season though, because I did that one year going to WDW in Sept and worried about it until the trip was happening.

Thank you for your help!

 

[KelleyK75]

There are ways of making it cheaper too, you can buy Disney gift cards with 4x fuel points or at Target (5% off), and then if you go through Costco, you can get a Cash Card back from Costco at the end of your trip - it can be a good amount, up to ~9%.

That is true and I hadn't thought about that. Thank you! I'm a member of Costco so I will check that out.

 

[KalamityJane]

Check out the week right after Thanksgiving. The Nov 28 7 day Fantasy cruise is really cheap still (it hasn't risen in price) and goes to Castaway Cay (plus, we will be on it!). I'm not sure if it will be 3000-3500 or not, as we have 5 people and it's more expensive for us. I think it's showing as 4700 for us, we are in a family oceanview but you could go in an inside room and it would be much cheaper. If you wanted a bit shorter, the Magic 5 day cruises out of Miami around that time would be cheaper as well and I believe they go to Castaway too. Pretty much that week right after Thanksgiving is the low season, from what it looks like with prices - OR September has some good prices as well.

 

[KelleyK75]

Check out the week right after Thanksgiving. The Nov 28 7 day Fantasy cruise is really cheap still (it hasn't risen in price) and goes to Castaway Cay (plus, we will be on it!). I'm not sure if it will be 3000-3500 or not, as we have 5 people and it's more expensive for us. I think it's showing as 4700 for us, we are in a family oceanview but you could go in an inside room and it would be much cheaper. If you wanted a bit shorter, the Magic 5 day cruises out of Miami around that time would be cheaper as well and I believe they go to Castaway too. Pretty much that week right after Thanksgiving is the low season, from what it looks like with prices - OR September has some good prices as well.

Thank you!! I don't think we'll be able to go this year, as we just had a WDW trip in March, but will check out everything for next year. Maybe I'll check the week after Thanksgiving next year.

 

[KalamityJane]

Oh that is when I meant, nov 28 2015

 

[mdvlprof]

Cruises during school year are cheapest. Holidays and summer are pricey.

I know I'll get flamed... but your kids are young enough that you can take them out of school without missing too much. [assuming your school isn't a pain... .]

 

[KelleyK75]

Oh that is when I meant, nov 28 2015

Gotcha, I will check that time. Thank you!

 

[KelleyK75]

Cruises during school year are cheapest. Holidays and summer are pricey.

I know I'll get flamed... but your kids are young enough that you can take them out of school without missing too much. [assuming your school isn't a pain... .]

Thank you!

No flaming here...I totally know what you mean. I've thought about that, too. It just seems easier to not have to worry about missing school. But if prices are much cheaper, that may be the route to go.

 

[lilchief27]

Cruises during school year are cheapest. Holidays and summer are pricey.

I know I'll get flamed... but your kids are young enough that you can take them out of school without missing too much. [assuming your school isn't a pain... .]

I am not going to flame you. My DH was a school teacher (now a principal) and we did it a couple of times while the kids were in elem. school. October at WDW is fabulous & it looks like our DCL cruise will be the same way. Wish we could have done it in early May. I'd tell anyone to take advantage of it while you can. Middle & High school years are too hard to do it.

To OP, check into the Disney Visa, you can earn Disney reward $$ to pay on your cruise or WDW trips. We put everything on it & pay off our credit card every month. For a family of 4, our 4 night fall break is about $2500 (w/ 2 stops @ Castaway Cay!) & 1/3 of it will be paid using Disney rewards. If we hadn't of gone to WDW this past fall (& used Disney rewards to buy tix) we would have had enough reward dollars to pay almost all of it.

Good Luck trip planning.

 

[KelleyK75]

I am not going to flame you. My DH was a school teacher (now a principal) and we did it a couple of times while the kids were in elem. school. October at WDW is fabulous & it looks like our DCL cruise will be the same way. Wish we could have done it in early May. I'd tell anyone to take advantage of it while you can. Middle & High school years are too hard to do it.

To OP, check into the Disney Visa, you can earn Disney reward $$ to pay on your cruise or WDW trips. We put everything on it & pay off our credit card every month. For a family of 4, our 4 night fall break is about $2500 (w/ 2 stops @ Castaway Cay!) & 1/3 of it will be paid using Disney rewards. If we hadn't of gone to WDW this past fall (& used Disney rewards to buy tix) we would have had enough reward dollars to pay almost all of it.

Good Luck trip planning.

I did just get a Disney Visa earlier this year so I've been collecting some rewards points already. I haven't went to putting everything on the card yet and then paying it off each month, but I heard that's a good idea. That's a good price for a family of 4. I bet I was just looking in the wrong months when I was seeing the higher prices. Thanks for the info.

 

[PurdueMouse]

We just booked our cruise thru Costco. It was the same price as going thru Disney however we got a Costco cash card. We were able to pay for it using the Disney Visa card so we also got the perks that come with using the visa.

 

[KelleyK75]

We just booked our cruise thru Costco. It was the same price as going thru Disney however we got a Costco cash card. We were able to pay for it using the Disney Visa card so we also got the perks that come with using the visa.

That's awesome! I will definitely check out Costco when I go to book since I am a member already. Thanks!