Dear Disney, Spring Break in Texas in 2013 is March 9, not March 15

[peachygreen]

Sorry I misspoke. My memory isn't what it used to be I guess. I could have sworn I remembered reading that they changed so that the spring breaks had to align but it must be that it was the start of the school year that had to align it is is just a coincidence that every school district I've checked had the same break period.

Either way I would be much happier if they did spread Spring Breaks out just a bit as it does make traveling or even staying at home inconvient during that period.

I had to travel last year for business on the last day of school before spring break. I was very glad I was A-List and skipped a very, very long security line.

I would much rather do the 8 night then the 6 night but if the 6 night is all that is offered it better be a lot less expensive then the Fantasy I have booked. It doesn't look like that is the case. I would have liked to sail out of Galveston but . . .

I'll still call first thing tomorrow to see what I can come up with.

 

[peachygreen]

Wow! If that 9A price is right there is no way I am in on this cruise out of Galveston for Spring Break.

I just did the math and my Fantasy Cruise I have for the same week for the first two passengers including taxes in a 5E is $2990 - $4278.88 for all 4. 1A1K in a 9A is $3642. Yikes! Even with airfare it will be much more economical to fly to Orlando, plus we get an extra night on the ship and get to try out the new ship.

 

[MandyGirl]

Yep - it can also be a challenge for teachers who live in one district but teach in a nearby district. A few years ago, a colleague lived in the bordering district, which was where her children attended school. She and her husband both taught in my school district. Their children's Spring Break was the week AFTER our Spring Break, so the family could not take vacation together. In fact, in my district, there was a rule that the days before/after a holiday can not be taken as a personal day, so she was not even able to take Thursday/Friday off to try to have a couple days to wrap around the weekend of when the two Spring Breaks overlapped. Even when I got married over Spring Break on a cruise, and asked to take the Friday off to leave for Florida sooner, I could not.

 

[ekatiel]

I'm sure they know when Spring Break is, they just couldn't do anything about it with their schedule stuck alternating 6 and 8 day cruises. We actually lucked out for our spring break cruise on RCCL this year-- they actually DIDN'T know when spring break was, so we got off season pricing when we booked (they had the high prices listed for the week after Spring break!). Anyone who's cruised out of Galveston before knows that Spring Break week pricing is almost TWICE the price of off season weeks. Even the Carnival week long cruise for Next March during spring break is priced at over 1K pp. Their usual price is about $600 pp. From the prices people have quoted, it looks like Disney is well aware of Spring Break week. --Katie

 

[fatfish]

There is no way DCL can predict Spring Break weeks for 2014

Sure they can! I can tell you right now when it will be. (aside from a few renegade districts like Canton and whatever the other one was.) And while there is no law, essentially all of Texas has Spring Break the same week in March. There will be a few renegades here and there, but 95% of the state has Spring Break the same week.

 

[NoodlesMom]

Wow! If that 9A price is right there is no way I am in on this cruise out of Galveston for Spring Break.

I just did the math and my Fantasy Cruise I have for the same week for the first two passengers including taxes in a 5E is $2990 - $4278.88 for all 4. 1A1K in a 9A is $3642. Yikes! Even with airfare it will be much more economical to fly to Orlando, plus we get an extra night on the ship and get to try out the new ship.

Im thinking the same thing. It looks like I'll just stick with my Fanasy cruise. Its cheaper an has an extra day. I've also been to both ports numerous times but never to the eastern carribean. I guess there will still be a big Texas presence on the Fantasy.

 

[mkmommy]

Im thinking the same thing. It looks like I'll just stick with my Fanasy cruise. Its cheaper an has an extra day. I've also been to both ports numerous times but never to the eastern carribean. I guess there will still be a big Texas presence on the Fantasy.

We always go this week in March, and the ship is pretty much 50/50 split with Texans and those of us from Ontario. Looking toward to March 2013 on the Fantasty.

2014 Spring Break in Ontario is the same week, so expect high prices then too.

 

[kimgg]

Glad to see so many Texans will be in Florida for the Fantasy SB 2013 cruise w/ us - but since we've never flown for spring break before you guys are scaring me about the crowds at the airport!!

But then again, it's gotta be better than the bumper to bumper Houston to Galveston traffic on I-45 to get to the beach/port for SB (I remember from my school years, lol) - glad to skip that!!

 

[tidefan]

At least you have varying options for this week. Look at the next week. Every ship is either in the Bahamas or Western Caribbean at the same time

Dream: Bahamas (Did that in 2011)
Wonder: Cozumel out of Miami
Fantasy: 7 night Western Caribbean
Magic: 8 night Western out of Galveston

So, basically, if you want to go around the week of the 16th of March in 2013, you'd better like the Western Caribbean, because all of the ships will be either there or in the Bahamas...

 

[MandyGirl]

Sure they can! I can tell you right now when it will be. (aside from a few renegade districts like Canton and whatever the other one was.) And while there is no law, essentially all of Texas has Spring Break the same week in March. There will be a few renegades here and there, but 95% of the state has Spring Break the same week.

Cruiselines can make an educated guess based on data, but I was trying to state that there is not a set week in Texas for the entire state to have Spring Break, and that neighboring districts can vary from one another.

Dallas ISD was the other "renegade" district I had shared previously (a rather large district with 159,000+ students). Their Spring Break is actually the week of March 15 in both 2012 and 2013. March 11-15, 2013.

Disney, you messed up! Spring Break is an excellent time for an 8 night cruise. But you scheduled the 6 night cruise out of Galveston for Texas' Spring Break, and the 8 night cruise for the following week. Maybe you thought Texas' Spring Break was March 15?

Out of curiousity, I checked a few others based on student population to see their calendars (linked):

Houston ISD with 200,000+ students is also another renegade district with Spring Break March 11-15, 2013.

Cy-Fair, the third largest district in Texas with 92,000+: March 11-15, 2013

Northside ISD, fourth largest with 82,000+, March 11-15, 2013

Austin ISD, fifth largest with 82,000+, March 11-15, 2013

Two other schools that are the week of March 15 (2013) are Texas A&M and University of Texas at Austin, but of course those aren't K-12.


Could it be possible that DCL looked at the five largest K-12 school districts in Texas and the two largest universities in Texas (A&M and UT), saw that those institutions all have Spring Break 2013 as the week of March 11-15, and made a data-driven decision? That's ~550,000 K-12 students just from those five districts plus 100,000+ college students from those two universities. Or maybe it just came down to port space.

Some districts are already working on their 2013-2014 calendars. Austin ISD tries to align with UT Austin (March 17-21, 2014).

Examples for varying 2012 Spring Breaks of two districts in Texas:
Dallas ISD Spring Break March 12 - 16
Canton ISD Spring Break April 2 - 6

These two district's boundaries are less than 100 miles from each other.

Disney can make a great educated guess, especially with the K-12 public school assessment calendar having STARR dates out in future years, and especially with the college calendars. Spring Break varies from district to district, from college to college, and state to state. Due to the testing calendar of public K-12 schools in Texas, Spring Break has certain weeks it will not exist. This year, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th graders have STARR the last week of March, along with some high school courses, so no district would likely have Spring Break that week.


I'm sorry, but when I read this thread's title and first post, especially the sentence "Maybe you thought Texas' Spring Break was March 15?", I took it to mean that Texas had a set Spring Break for the state of K-12 schools. Then reading about the law from a different poster, my curiosity got the best of me to double-check that since I hadn't heard it. Just looking at only the top five districts with 550,000 students having Spring Break the week of March 15 in 2013, and less than 4.5 million K-12 public school students in Texas, I think that's a pretty good percentage of students IMHO that may have played a part in Disney placing an 8-nt cruise with holiday pricing the week of March 15. Over 10% of the state's K-12 students just from five districts have Spring Break the week of March 15, 2013 - without even looking at the ten other Texas districts with 50,000+ students each. I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers, just share some data that might shed insight to a possible reason for the 8-night cruise the week of March 15 and that Texas doesn't have a set Spring Break date.

 

[MandyGirl]

Denton ISD Spring Break is March 19-23 this year. The week after the "rest" of Texas. It worked out great for us though as rates for condos in Port Aransas are a lot cheaper since it's not the traditional Spring Break. Much easier to get time off at work too.

Oh wow - I just noticed your post. So you guys will have students coming back after a week off to take STARR.

Mar 26 (Mon)
English I Writing
English III Writing††

Mar 27 (Tues)
Grade 4 Writing (English and Spanish) Day 1
Grade 7 Writing Day 1
Grade 5 Mathematics (English∆ and Spanish)
Grade 8 Mathematics∆
English I Reading
English III Reading††

Mar 28 (Wed)
Grade 4 Writing (English and Spanish) Day 2
Grade 7 Writing Day 2
Grade 5 Reading (English and Spanish)
Grade 8 Reading
English II Writing

 

[Bookwood]

Our spring break (this school district only) is the first week of April come heck or high water. The rumor is that the superintendant had a time share that week so it always had to be that week (of course that was 2 supers ago). Since DH has been working in Texas/NM off and on since school started I'm thinking of taking my Spring Break to go to Texas I guess I'm glad to hear most of you will be back in school by then.

 

[NoodlesMom]

I caved. Booked an 11b for 2a/2k for $3683. with OBB With the savings in gas and in price (7a on fantasy) I can keep my 3 night dream cruise in november that I booked ages ago. Im happy with the decision. After the Magic leaves Galveston, it may never come back and I would have regret for sure.

 

[MandyGirl]

Our spring break (this school district only) is the first week of April come heck or high water. The rumor is that the superintendant had a time share that week so it always had to be that week (of course that was 2 supers ago). Since DH has been working in Texas/NM off and on since school started I'm thinking of taking my Spring Break to go to Texas I guess I'm glad to hear most of you will be back in school by then.

If it is a week that has state testing, public schools should be in session.

State assessment calendar from TEA (Texas Education Agency):
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/calendars/

This is also a good site to see which weeks have lots of colleges with Spring Breaks:
http://www.tripsmarter.com/travelinfo/panama-city-beach/spring-break-college-university-dates

 

[ksloane]

Oh wow - I just noticed your post. So you guys will have students coming back after a week off to take STARR.

Mar 26 (Mon)
English I Writing
English III Writing††

Mar 27 (Tues)
Grade 4 Writing (English and Spanish) Day 1
Grade 7 Writing Day 1
Grade 5 Mathematics (English∆ and Spanish)
Grade 8 Mathematics∆
English I Reading
English III Reading††

Mar 28 (Wed)
Grade 4 Writing (English and Spanish) Day 2
Grade 7 Writing Day 2
Grade 5 Reading (English and Spanish)
Grade 8 Reading
English II Writing

I'm an English I teacher so would have kids taking the test that first day. I'd be very nervous about that.

 

[ksloane]

I caved. Booked an 11b for 2a/2k for $3683. with OBB With the savings in gas and in price (7a on fantasy) I can keep my 3 night dream cruise in november that I booked ages ago. Im happy with the decision. After the Magic leaves Galveston, it may never come back and I would have regret for sure.

I almost caved, but I'm not overly excited about cost or ports so we're going to pass.

 

[peachygreen]

Ultimately didn't even put a hold on a cabin. The pricing today made my decision a lot easier as I can actually fly to Florida, pay for the cruise and get 1 more night on the Fantasy for essentially the same price as the 6 night on the Magic. It was a no brainer decision for me. I can't believe it was $1100 more expensive to sail for 6 nights out of Galveston then 7 nights out of PC.

I was hoping to sail out of Galveston and might have done so if the 8 night was spring break week or the price was right. The price was definately not right. And if I wanted to transfer my OBB discount to this cruise I would lose out on OBC since it is a 6 night and not a 7 night.

I was also disapointed in the port times at Cozumel and GC. So we are definately passing on this cruise. Maybe if she stays in Galveston we will sail on her someday without having to drive but not this time around.

 

[fatfish]

Out of curiousity, I checked a few others based on student population to see their calendars (linked):

Houston ISD with 200,000+ students is also another renegade district with Spring Break March 11-15, 2013.

Cy-Fair, the third largest district in Texas with 92,000+: March 11-15, 2013

Northside ISD, fourth largest with 82,000+, March 11-15, 2013

Austin ISD, fifth largest with 82,000+, March 11-15, 2013


Could it be possible that DCL looked at the five saw that those institutions all have Spring Break 2013 as the week of March 11-15, and made a data-driven decision? That's ~550,000 K-12 students just from those five districts plus 100,000+ college students from those two universities.

Thank you for proving my point.

March 9 is a Saturday. March 11 is the following Monday. So a Spring Break starting on Sat, March 9 or Monday, March 11 are the same week. It just depends on whether you consider the holiday starting on Saturday, as I do, or the following Monday, which is the first day there would actually be no school. Either way, the students are off March 9 - March 17. And as you stated, that includes the top 5 largest districts in Texas, and many, many others. So yes, essentially all of Texas is off the same week for Spring Break.

And now that Disney knows this, I bet they check before scheduling the 2014 cruises. FYI Disney, its looking like March 8 - March 16 for Spring Break 2014.

 

[MandyGirl]

Thank you for proving my point.

March 9 is a Saturday. March 11 is the following Monday. So a Spring Break starting on Sat, March 9 or Monday, March 11 are the same week. It just depends on whether you consider the holiday starting on Saturday, as I do, or the following Monday, which is the first day there would actually be no school. Either way, the students are off March 9 - March 17. And as you stated, that includes the top 5 largest districts in Texas, and many, many others. So yes, essentially all of Texas is off the same week for Spring Break.

And now that Disney knows this, I bet they check before scheduling the 2014 cruises. FYI Disney, its looking like March 8 - March 16 for Spring Break 2014.

Yep! That week of March 11-15 is heavily inundated with Spring Break, especially for having no set Spring Break for the state. For something that took me all of ten minutes to Google the top five districts, you would think the professionals at Disney would have considered it as well when choosing a 6-day versus 8-day. Even with an embarkation date of Friday, March 15 for the following week, that is going to hurt DCL as well IMHO because it is probably "the last school day before Spring Break" for those taking that cruise, and they are still having to pull kiddos out of school. Heck, my little district we live in has yet to even announce the 2012-2013 calendar, so we have no clue still.

A sidenote with the EBTA embarking in Galveston, it completely hits high school finals with no stops in the Caribbean except CC (our WBTA had two additional ports), so it is really interesting what Disney has been thinking with their schedule planning...

With something so obvious for the largest districts in the state being off the same week, and it literally took 10 minutes to see by googling, Disney must have had some other very interesting rationale for continuing the 6-8-6-8 rotation versus trying to do March with 7-night cruises. Or as others have said, it must have boiled down to port space at the different ports and embarkation terminals.

I can definitely see how busy that week of March 11-15 will be for travel purposes now!

For anyone writing a letter to Disney to share concerns, the above data and links to school calendars along with the link showing largest school districts in the nation may be of help to Disney in the future when planning Spring Break 2014. Maybe we can charge a consulting fee!!

 

[ITGirl50]

I agree, I thought that one of the reasons for sailing out of Galveston was to market Texas. March 9th is the start of spring break for all Texas public schools. I would have much rather had the option of an 8 night then vs a 6 night.

It is marginally better than the 7 night "Eastern Carribean" (their words not mine on the Carnival Magic for Spring Break week though (Since when is Key West, Nassau and Freeport an Eastern Carribean itenary)

Unless the prices is really right I think I will definately keep my 7-night spring break on the Fantasy and fly to PC vs a nice easy drive to Galveston. Very disappointing.

I absolutely agree!! It was so disappointing to see a 6-night during spring break. PLUS the cost is actually higher than the 7-night Eastern from PC. We are already booked on the Fantasy for that week and I will keep it.

I really, really want to sail from Galveston, but they aren't helping with what they are offering.

I'm sooooo disappointed!