Discounts for Cruises

[swclark]

We are looking into a vacation this summer on the 7 day cruise for all of our siblings and their families (12 adults, 8 kids - 5 staterooms). Does anyone know of any way to get any discounts on the cruise prices? We have been told 8 staterooms is the where the discounts come into play.

Are there codes for cruises like there are for WDW? Are there certain travel agents that offer deeper discounts than others?

Any help you can offer would be great!

 

[bennett]

My biggest suggestion is to make sure you check around with alot of companies-I checked with 11 when we first went two years ago--plus-make sure you are comparing apples to apples-does the price include insurance,ground transfers, port charges and taxes.-found the cheapest then went back to the agent I spoke with that I liked the most and she matched the price. She knows we are going again this summer also and calls me when she sees specials-(not on Disney)--she was great to work with. My suggestion also would be to check in to your own ground transportation since alot of the times its much cheaper to do your own-had a van pick us up (10 of us) for $180-we did our own air also--some prefer to do that others don't--have fun planning

 

[MelissaE1]

Well, I am not a travel agent, but I am the Bargain Queen, lol. Here's what I've gathered. First, Disney does not routinely offer discounts like other cruise lines. They don't really have to as they have a limited amount of space to fill and they tend to fill up rather well. The two "standard" discounts are early booking (the earlier the better) and Florida resident, which requires that one of the people in the cabin be a resident of FL.

The way I understand the "8 cabins" thing is that they give you one free cruise fare and you can divide it up between everyone for a lower fare.

If you have flexible dates the fall is by far the cheapest time to sail, and if you do summer (twice the cost of the fall for our family of four) try for the last week of May or the first of September depending on when the kids are out of school.

As far as travel agency pricing, some travel agencies do buy up some staterooms at the early booking rate and offer it later, when Disney's pricing has gone up. A lot of travel agencies will have at least a few dates like this. Dreams Unlimited has a great reputation and you should definitely let them quote your cruise. AllSeasTravel buys up tons of staterooms and can sometimes offer deeply discounted staterooms that no one else has.

Also, apparently Disney just raised the price on verandah staterooms ($400 for a 7-day cruise for a family of four). Some agencies are still offering the old pricing for a limited time. You can search my other posts for additional info on this.

Good luck and have fun cruise shopping!