Disney Cruise

[DizneyNutz]

The DH and I are DVC Members and are doing a Disney Cruise in 2007. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, don't know what to expect, and have a lots of questions....we aren't using points, we're paying cash. My questions are, is it better to book your cruise through WDW reservations, contact Member Services (even if we're paying for our cruise and not using points) or look for a travel agent? Is there a shuttle service between Orlando Intl' that will take you to the ship and back to the airport and has anyone ever taken a Disney Cruise in December and if so, how "Christmasy" is it? We personally LOVE Christmas, so the more the merrier! Thanks!!!!!

 

[Plutofan]

You should book your crusie as early as possible. You get the better rates the earlier you book. You should buy your crusie through a travel agent that specializes in Disney reservations that offer a cash rebate when you complete the cruise. We booked our July 2007 cruise back in December and got a much better deal than going through Disney directly.

 

[Anjelica]

that deep discounts once given by the TA's are no longer there due to some notification sent out by DCL - now they try and get folks (the TA's) to use them instead of directly through DCL via stateroom credits.

I looked at both AAA and DCL and AAA was actually 5.00 more. So I booked through DCL for September 2007 cruise.

Do a search on the DCL forums on the DIS boards and there should be some more information regarding this subject.

 

[Plutofan]

You would probably still do better going through a travel agent that offers the cash rebate after you complete the trip. There sre several including one of the board sponsor.

 

[MCO bound]

The DH and I are DVC Members and are doing a Disney Cruise in 2007. Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, don't know what to expect, and have a lots of questions....we aren't using points, we're paying cash. My questions are, is it better to book your cruise through WDW reservations, contact Member Services (even if we're paying for our cruise and not using points) or look for a travel agent? Is there a shuttle service between Orlando Intl' that will take you to the ship and back to the airport and has anyone ever taken a Disney Cruise in December and if so, how "Christmasy" is it? We personally LOVE Christmas, so the more the merrier! Thanks!!!!!

I took a Disney Cruise in December previously. It's very "Christmasy" and in fact Mickey, Minnie, and friends will even dress for the occasion as well. It'll be very fun for you.

As for booking through Member Services, I too am looking to book a cruise but we are going to pay with cash and use some points too. Does anyone know what is the best way to do this? Should I book through MS using points and would they be able to take care of the cash portion of the trip as well or do I have to call DCL and then MS for the points portion? What if I made a ressie through DCL to make a booking and then added the points portion of the trip later? I would appreciate some advice as well. Thanks.

 

[mcorbo]

You would probably still do better going through a travel agent that offers the cash rebate after you complete the trip. There sre several including one of the board sponsor.

Check with all the Disney specialist TA's that are out there. A lot of them have group rates on certain sailings. If you can find an agency that has a group rate for the cruise you are interesting in, you may save hundreds over the going rate that you'll get from other agencies.

 

[skibum]

Go to the DCL website for great info, pricing, ports...

Go to the DCL Forum on the DIS to get any questions answered.

You can book with DCL direct, get your questions answered by their experts, and then move them to a TA for a rebate.

The boats look great at Christmas!

 

[pjadtl]

I took a Disney Cruise in December previously. It's very "Christmasy" and in fact Mickey, Minnie, and friends will even dress for the occasion as well. It'll be very fun for you.

As for booking through Member Services, I too am looking to book a cruise but we are going to pay with cash and use some points too. Does anyone know what is the best way to do this? Should I book through MS using points and would they be able to take care of the cash portion of the trip as well or do I have to call DCL and then MS for the points portion? What if I made a ressie through DCL to make a booking and then added the points portion of the trip later? I would appreciate some advice as well. Thanks.

I would appreciate this info too. We are thinking about combinging cash and points too if that's even possible?? Any ideas on how that works would be great!

 

[disneybride96]

We booked all 4 of our DCL cruised through Dreams Unlimited who sponsor the DIS Cruise Board. Twice we got a nice $$ of onboard credit and the other times we got a great rate. We also got a nice gift from them on our first cruise. Dreams also did a great job with helping us with ressies and room assignments.

 

[LoveMyDisneyCats]

We've done several DCL and always booked through Disney. We called TAs but by the time we got the early booking discount from Disney, it worked out to be the same. We booked our Feb2007 cruise through Dreams Unlimited (got name from this site). The price of the cruise was about the same, but with the cash rebate, it's $100-$150 total savings....which we will now blow on board I'm sure (and enjoy every minute of it). If not comfortable with a TA, call DCL direct or go through the WHOLE booking process online. The final price doesn't show up until the end and so their discounts don't show up until then. No matter how much it is-it's definatley worth it!

Christmastime is done up on the ship. The main atrium is done up with a tree and garlands. Pretty much like they do all of the resorts up. They also made a huge Gingerbread house following the tradition of having a gingerbread house in every WDW resort. Santa Goofy was there and of course the rest of the gang was decked out in red & green. They also had Mrs. Santa do a Night Before X-mas reading (it wasn't the night before Christmas, they probably do it on several cruises in Dec?)