Does this seem about right - estimating costs?

[LAMPSKIES]

We've sailed 4 times and NEVER get off cheaper than 300.00 per day (average) on each sailing. We are a group of 4. Our "tab" at the end of our last 7 nighter was 2200.00 and our 03 Eastern was within the same $$ amount. So get on DCLs site get an approximate cost of the trip and add 300 bucks per day.....oh ya, that didn't include and souvies on land........

 

[Jsme]

I think it is possible to go cheap. First of all what I posted earlier was the only vacation we had all year last year so the money was not as big of a concern. We normally go on several vacations a year, but my DH had to work in Florida for 3 1/2 months last year and we could only do one vacation, so yes we spend a lot of money. We went to WDW a few weeks ago and spend with room, food, rental, gas, and souvies around $4000 that was for 7 days. I would have much rather spend the money on a cruise even if it was only a 4 day crusie this summer. But that is what we like to do for vacation. You can book a cheapier room. You do not have to buy alot of drinks. You do not have to have a Spa treatment. You can take the same pictures as the photographers and not purchase pictures. I normally try to keep my pictures together at Shutters. However, they did remove a few on me last October. We spend about an hour trying to find them from the negatives and they gave us the pictures for free because of their mistake. At WDW I made my DK's spend their money on souvies. I had them save their money and they even had a yardsale, they also sold cookie and brownies to make money. I have already told them they will have to do the same for 2006 cruise. Of course they will have to give me their money because you have to purchase with your room card. Do not think DCL is out of your budget. Make us you research the TA you use. I spent 5 hours Sunday doing this and I saved about $350. If I compare the cost of the TA I used to the DCL website I saved over $500.

 

[kcashner]

Some thoughts on saving $.
1. Priceline hotel for the night before the cruise. Do stay at the 3* level or above. All 3* hotels include free transportation to and from the airport which you might need depending on how you plan to get to the port.

2. Consider alternative transportation to the port. Price a limo service and car rental. You can pick up a car at the airport and return it to Port Canaveral (no added charge for this with most companies). Usually, the break even point is 3 passengers, so this might save you some $.

Photos add up fast. THe DCL team will take a photo with your camera as well as the professional photographers using their's. If you have a digital camera, you can see what is on YOUR camera before deciding whether or not to buy the professional shots at $10 each (of more depending on size).

Excursions--you can usually book these on your own cheaper than they are available thru DCL, especially if you have a 10-12 year old (DCL counts them as adults, most places call them kids). It takes some internet legwork in advance, but can save $. So can bringing your own snorkel equipment.

Keep checking for air specials......you never know what might be out there. We hit a $59 each way deal for our last trip to FL.

Check out private trip insurance--usually cheaper than DCL.

My TA gives me 7% off the cruise fare if I book thru DCL then transfer the ressie to him. Don't know how you booked, but this might be a deal that would work for you. PM me if you want details.

We usually do it "on the cheap." I'd rather do 2 cruises than have a lot of souveniers from one. Put the kids on a budget if they are of an age to have charge privleges. It is amazing how the desire for a smoothie decreases when it costs THEM instead of YOU!

 

[mickeyfan1]

I would suggest one thing that no one else has. Look into other cruise lines. DCL is among the highest, if your kids are over 16 they may be bored with the limited activities for older teens. When you compare ships and staterooms, you may find RCCL to be a lot less expensive. Most all ships go to the smae ports, the biggest difference is the private island. If you watch for air fare sales, you can save there, too.

I have cruised 12 times. I have had bar tabs as high as 370 for 3 nights going solo. I have also done a 3 night cruise with DH for less than 1000 total on RCCL.

I know a lot of people will never sail other than DCL, but there are so many choices, to limit yourself to only one seems short sighted IMO.

 

[scrapperjill]

$4,102 - 7 night Western cruise - Oct. 2006 - tax included
$900 - Airfare for 4 from Salt Lake City to Orlando
$200 - Transfers to port
$400 - Passports x 4
$280 - Tipping at end of cruise
$250 - Excursions
$200 - Misc. expenses - souvenirs, photos
$100 - 1 night hotel before cruise
$300 - Trip insurance

$6,732 total cost - yikes

Am I overestimating anything or leaving anything out?

Looking back over your list...and reading what you posted...It sounds as if the cruise may be put off due to costs...Well...IMO you could get by with the amout you have...but rearange some numbers....like the trip insurance ($300)I KNOW you can find it for less (check out insuremytrip.com and price diffrent companies)...$250 for excursions...you can do it on that...or even less depending on what you and your family are wanting to do....(we are only doing/booking one excursion at Grand Cayman...and the other stops we'll be touring on our own...so our extimated cost is close to $80-100..for a family of 4)...Transfers ($200)...I think if you shopped around you could get by cheeper...for sure if you just rented a car and drove to the port..I checked Southern elgance limo and they have round trip transfers in a town car for $175...of couse that's not including tips...but it gives you an idea of towncar prices. $4102 for the cruise itself...I'm not sure what cat room you are pricing...but I think you could find a lower cat room cheeper...and after all your really not in the room very long at all....mostly to sleep and change..at least that's how it was for us.

I wouldn't give up...if your really wanting to cruise...if there's a will theres a way.

Good luck.

 

[westjones]

We rent a car from Budget and drive to port and drop it off, and then do the return thing. It is cheaper and more flexible (you pay for a rental for 1 whole day, so we rent the day we fly in and then stay at a WDW resort and drive to port from there the next day).

Also, we stay in either Cat. 11 or 10 rooms and they work just fine. You really don't spend a lot of time in your room and there are so many place on the ship to go and relax (we love deck 4).

I would also recommend finding ways to cut cost, but still do the trip. Believe me, those of us in the Cat. 11 rooms enjoy the food and the shows as much as those in the higher cat. cabins.

Just run some numbers and see if you can find a way to make it work.
DJ

 

[Liz]

Thanks for all the great replies and advice! We'd scratched the cruise off the list of consideration but now I guess its back on!

The price I listed ($4,152.72) was for a cat. 9. Originally (before I realized how all the additional expenses added up) I thought we could afford that level of room. I just checked and we could downgrade to a cat 12 for $3,012.72 - a significant difference. What's a cat 12 like? FYI a cat 11 would be $3,872.72 and a 10 would be $3,952.72.

None of us drink alcohol so that wouldn't add to the cost of our cruise. Are soft drinks extra because we do like those?

I really like the idea of renting a car and spending one night at WDW then driving to the port the next day. Then for sure I know what kind of accomodations we'd be getting and we'd happily stay at Pop again for one night.

Gotta run to a doctor's appt. but will post more about excursions when I get back. Thanks for everything!

 

[lindakmonty]

The cat. 12 is fine if you don't have too many people. I have cruised 4 times on DCL. and have gone with a cat 12 two of them... my son was only 18 months the first time and we werent in the room much. I would rather have a cheaper room and go more often!!! Yes, the sodas are included. you just have to go to the drink station on deck 9 by the mickey pool. but i have to admit, now that my son is 4 the next cruise we'll have the verandah for sure !!! time to splurge!! the cat. 9 was nice with the split bath as well.

 

[westjones]

Thanks for all the great replies and advice! We'd scratched the cruise off the list of consideration but now I guess its back on!

The price I listed ($4,152.72) was for a cat. 9. Originally (before I realized how all the additional expenses added up) I thought we could afford that level of room. I just checked and we could downgrade to a cat 12 for $3,012.72 - a significant difference. What's a cat 12 like? FYI a cat 11 would be $3,872.72 and a 10 would be $3,952.72.

I think all of the rooms are nice. We have stayed with 4 of us in the Cat. 11 which are just like the Cat. 12 rooms (but I think the Cat. 12 only sleep 3).

None of us drink alcohol so that wouldn't add to the cost of our cruise. Are soft drinks extra because we do like those?

There is a soft drink station on Deck 9 where you can get free sodas. If you order them from room service or the bars they cost extra. In the dining rooms, sodas are free also. When we ordered room service, the kids ran up and got sodas for us and we just ordered food (which is free, we just give a tip).

I really like the idea of renting a car and spending one night at WDW then driving to the port the next day. Then for sure I know what kind of accomodations we'd be getting and we'd happily stay at Pop again for one night.

We love POP! If you have a late flight for the way home, what we did was rent the car at port and drove over to Downtown Disney and spent several hours (ate at the Rainforest Cafe and saw two other families from our cruise!).

So renting the car works well. We use Budget, but there is another rental car place that people also use that seems to work well (we have the Fastbreak plan with budget, so we just get off the plane and walk over and get our car--we love Fastbreak!).

Glad you are finding a way to work it out so you can still go. The Disney cruise is great, no matter what room you are in!

DJ

 

[goofymama]

The price I listed ($4,152.72) was for a cat. 9. Originally (before I realized how all the additional expenses added up) I thought we could afford that level of room. I just checked and we could downgrade to a cat 12 for $3,012.72 - a significant difference. What's a cat 12 like? FYI a cat 11 would be $3,872.72 and a 10 would be $3,952.72.

That is very odd that there would be that much of a price difference between Cat 12 and Cat 11. It is the exact same room except Cat. 11 has a bunk that pulls down out of the ceiling to accomodate a 4th guest. Keep checking around with different travel agents to see if you kind find a better deal for a Cat 11.

Also, the only difference between a Cat. 11 and a Cat. 10 is that there is a split bath in a Cat. 10. If you click on the Staterooms link at the top of this board it will show you the different categories. Good Luck.

 

[Liz]

Well we're booked! I booked a cat. 12 guaranteed room directly with DCL. The price for the 7 nights is $3,112.72. I tried booking with DU but their reservation page said we had too many people for a cat 12. Is there a way I can transfer my DCL ressie to them and still get the $100 back they offer?

How's the price we got? Does it seem okay? If we get an awful room location does that really affect how much you enjoy the cruise?

I'm excited and need to go look at excursions and figure out how much that will cost. Also go back and re-adjust our other figures based on the opinions offered here.

Thanks so much!

 

[TheWog]

Congratulations. Now look at excursions you can book on your own and save some money there. Good luck.

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/

http://www.shoretrips.com/?source=overture

and don't forget to get separate insurance as well. You can compare prices and coverages here.

www.insuremytrip.com

 

[crisi]

Soda is free, alcohol costs. But also smoothies and non-alcoholic drinks cost as well. They may or may not be easy to pass up.

(Personally, it isn't a cruise until you get a drink with an umbrella in it - whether it has rum in it or not).

 

[scrapperjill]

Also...keep in mind when looking into things to do on shore days...you don't have to spend alot of money doing excrusions...theres plenty to do and see for free...like beach days....or shopping/browsing (that may not be free...but could be cheeper than an excrusion).

Yes you can transfer your reservations...and I've heard your able to keep your discounts/deals...I'd ask your TA before you transfer. Also now that your booked...you can still call aound for better prices or deal then just transfer......the way i figure it is...if you call around and are able to find a better deal by over $100...your still ahead even if you can't keep the $100 discount from DCL.... Maybe try calling DU and getting a quote on the cat 12...like someone else mentioned they do only sleep 3 so if you are able to book it ( and I know at times groups of 4 can...because we did) you'll have to book GTY (like you did)...but you will automaticaly be upgraded to atleast a cat 11 (that is if you have 4 people in your room)...DCL will not/can not place a group in a room that is not set up for the corect number of people...including infants. Like I mentioned we (famly of 4) booked a cat 12 gty last Sept...of coures when we booked we had NO idea it wouldn't hold the four of us...it wasn't until about a month before our cruise date that I realized we would at least be upgraded to a cat 11...but low and behold we were upgraded to a cat 8 ....

And like a wise someone else mentioned....it's better to book the cheeper rooms and go more offten...than not

 

[Liz]

Thanks for the idea that you can still have fun without doing a lot of excursions. Wow, looking at the prices I had no idea they were so expensive!

 

[Liz]

Since everyone was so helpful in helping me estimate my costs I just thought I'd add that I transferred my ressie to Costco and the cost of my cruise went from $3,112.72 to $2,878.72! Wahoo!!! I had to join Costco ($45) to get this savings but I'm sure I'll benefit from that membership throughout the year!

I checked around other Disney TA's mentioned on this board and no one could beat Costco's price.

Thanks again for all the comments and help! Now back to the insurance decision . . .