Disney Cruise...dvc cash rate and other questions???

[bradpga]

Never been on a disney cruise. Father wanting to take the WHOLE family. 6 adults and 4 children. I am the only DVC owner and can not come close to booking with points. IS THERE A CASH DISCOUNT RATE FOR MEMBERS?
We are looking at a 4 day cruise in October. SEVERAL QUESTIONS...
1- What's the weather like in October? Beaches too cold?
2- Nassau excursions (price included or a la carte?) what activities do you recommend?
3- ALL meals included? Limited? Extra fee at upscale restaurants? Reservations?
4- Ship arrives back to port at 7:30am. Seems early! Do you "check out" at this time or do you have extra time on the ship?
We will probably stay at bwv on the thursday night that we return from sail. Fly home friday.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Inkmahm]

Never been on a disney cruise. Father wanting to take the WHOLE family. 6 adults and 4 children. I am the only DVC owner and can not come close to booking with points. IS THERE A CASH DISCOUNT RATE FOR MEMBERS?
We are looking at a 4 day cruise in October. SEVERAL QUESTIONS...
1- What's the weather like in October? Beaches too cold?
2- Nassau excursions (price included or a la carte?) what activities do you recommend?
3- ALL meals included? Limited? Extra fee at upscale restaurants? Reservations?
4- Ship arrives back to port at 7:30am. Seems early! Do you "check out" at this time or do you have extra time on the ship?
We will probably stay at bwv on the thursday night that we return from sail. Fly home friday.

Any advice is appreciated!

No DVC cash discount for cruises. Book early and use a travel agent, you can sometimes get onboard credits or better rates if they have a special on a certain cruise.

I don't know but assume weather in October is fine. I've only ever gone early December and it's fine.

Nassau excursions aren't included. I recommend swimming with the dolphins.

Meals are included except if you want to eat at Palos and kids aren't allowed there. It's an extra $20 charge for Palos but it's worth it.

You will be out of your cabin early early early. Breakfast is something like 6 am on the last morning. You can get off the ship before 7:30, too. Why not get off quickly and head back to one of the parks? You can be there by park opening. There is no place to stay on the ship that last day, you have to get off so that they can clean and get ready for the next group getting on starting at noon.

 

[Anal Annie]

You are trying to take a LOT of people so the point requirement would be really high regardless of the timing or the room category. There's no cash discount, but you CAN use a mix of points and cash. For example, maybe you have enough points to cover 5 of the 10 people. You can book the first 5 on points and pay cash for the remaining 5 people. Younger = cheaper both on points and with cash - so explore your options with MS.

Excursions and alcoholic drinks are not included in the price of the cruise. Nor is the spa, Shutters Photography or dining at Palo (adults only restaurant with a $15 pp fee). Gratuities are also not included and are paid per person (including children) for 5 staff positions. There are recommended tipping guidelines on the DCL website as to how much to tip ea. position according to the number of days your cruise is. I think it basically adds up to something like $11 per person per day so you'd be looking at about $110 / day x 4 n. = $440 in tips. (I'm sure someone will chime in & correct me if I'm wrong about that amount!)

Your disembarkation breakfast time depends on your diner seating time. Early dining = early disembarkation breakfast. Likewise, a late diner seating = a later breakfast. I believe the goal is to have everyone off the ship by about 9:30 or so. You still have to clear customs and they have to clean the entire ship and prepare it (restock, scrub down etc.) for the next sailing which begins in just a few hours after you leave. That's why so early.

Oct. is still hurricane season - that would be your only weather threat I think. That's a 50/50 chance any time from June - Nov. tho!