First Disney Cruise ?'s

[disdazed]

We are planning our first Disney Cruise for 12/2005 and have a few questions.

1. How far out should we book? If we book now and a lower rate becomes available can we get the new rate?

2. Do most people book directly with DCL, a TA or use expedia or orbitz?

3. When you book through DCL can you pick your cabin at the time of booking or do cabins get assigned later?

4. Finally is it better to book the land/sea portions separately or together? (We just returned from a stay at AKL and want to stay there again; more specifically we want a Savannah view room like we had this time. I'm not sure if a Savannah View Room is an option for Land/Sea Package. We also used the town car service and it was great and would be willing to use that service again. Or is the bus transportation a better option?)

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

[alex19951]

I tried booking on my own but found I saved a bunch by using my TA. She is wonderful. I gave her the details of what we wanted and she took it from there. She sent me several options to look at and when we were ready to book we went with her. If want her name let me know and I'll send you a private message.

GOOD LUCK


We go on our 1st Disney Land/Sea vacation in 2 weeks.....

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I've always booked through DCL.

Should a deal come along and a lower rate become available, you can get the new rate. But you have to ask for it (Disney isn't going to take the lead on this one for you).

This can be one of the benifits of using a TA, because some will watch for discounts that come along for you.

If you have the money for the down payment, go ahead and book as soon as possible... for a couple of reasons.

1. The earlier you book the bigger the Early Booking Savings is. Of course the EBS is not based on the TIME you book your trip, but rather based on the percentage of the ship that is booked at the time you have booked. I don't have a clue what the exact figures work out to be, but I do know that the EBS is tierd (and that there are at least 4 tiers). It works something like this...
The max EBS (tier 4) is given to the first 50 cabins that are booked. Perhaps tier 4 is a 20% discount on full rates. Once 50 cabins have been booked, the EBS moves to tier 3, where perhaps a 15% discount is given. Once 200 cabins have been booked, the EBS moves to tier 2 and the discount falls to 10%. etc. Again, I don't know exactly what triggers the change from one tier to the next, nor do I know how much of a discount the EBS is, but this should give you the idea.

2. The earlier you book, the better you're odds are of getting the cabin you want (assuming you attempt to get a specific cabin rather than the cabin level garuntee). Some examples would include the fact that you want two ajoining cabins. I can tell you that right now, all ajoining cabins in Catagory 6 for the Sept 25, 2004 cruise are booked.
Another example is that before changing our booking to Sept 25, we had booked for October of 2005. We wanted to get one of the Cat 6 cabins on Deck 5 Starboard. All were already taken. (This is an extream example because we didn't have a problem getting one of these cabins on the Sept 25 cruise).

 

[makaylee]

The others answered most of your questions already, but i will add that most people say booking the land and sea seperate yourself is cheaper.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, booking your own air is much cheaper than going through Disney.
I always use a TA, and when we booked Disney through her, as with Holland America, RCCL and NCL, we always get our cabin assignment the day we book. Now with Disney, we got a call a week before we left telling us we had been upgraded, so it did change at the last minute

 

[kristen821]

I would look into booking land and sea seperately. That is how I did it and I saved a lot of money. When you book seperately you can get a package.

 

[TheWog]

I suggest using a TA as she told us in April last year to wait for May. May was Disney month and you got some bonus features, such as a $100.00 shipboard credit and other gifts. We always use a TA.

Have fun!

 

[felixdacat]

AKL is not available as part of the Land/Sea package. Book Separately.
If you do a search on my user name, you will find a thread about some of the hassles I experienced booking the Land/Sea together.
The Passporter book also suggestes booking separately.

 

[SRichard]

The hotel choices for the Land/Sea package is based on your room category. We are in a Cat 6 and AKL was an option. I booked through DCL and asked about the room at AKL and they said that all Land/Sea rooms booked through DCL will have a savannah view. We are going in May for our first Disney Cruise, and first stay at AKL.

 

[disdazed]

Thanks for all of your assistance. I appreciate all of the tips and advice.

 

[felixdacat]

Disdazed,

It appears that I am guilty of giving out false information.
I just checked the DCL website and Disney has added AKL to the deluxe resorts. Previously, I had never seen AKL offered for class 6 or above, in any Disney materials, and I have seen numerous threads that have mentioned that it was unavailable. This change in policy must be very recent.
If they are also adding Savannah view to the package, that is a great deal! I am in a class 6 cabin for the Land/Sea package and I chose the Poly as my resort. They will not guarantee Lagoon view, even if I offered more money.
I would still encouarge you to look into booking separately unless you want to book this during the peak season in December 05. During peak, there is no savings by booking separately.
Sorry about the mis-information.

 

[disdazed]

Felix:

Not a problem. I think that the AKL must be a new resort offering for the land/sea packages. When I look on the DCL site the resort offerings for Category 4-6 (what I am looking for) are AKL, Swan and Dolphin, Polynesian and Beach Club. I am thrilled that the rooms will be a savannah view room. I will definitely price out the portions of the trip separately and together. Thank you for the information that you did provide though.