First time booking DCL-a few ??

[ZachnElli]

I realize you guys are all pros at this and these are boring questions, but please bare with me. I was just reading the thread about booking flights through DCL and gathered it's not always a great deal. Problem is, we just moved here and I don't know what good rates are here (anyone from Idaho?). Also, is travel insurance worth it? My first reaction was no, but then I read it and it includes medical, that made me think differently. I decided to do the transfers, since we are new at this and don't want to worry about LA traffic. We are looking at taking our first cruise ever, the West Coast cruise next June, family of 4 (2 kids 9, 5), category 6 stateroom. I feel the need to book quickly because I'm afraid it will sell out. I haven't convinced dh yet either. Thanks for any help!

Dana

 

[vikingfans]

Welcome to the boards!

About Flights. Do some searching on the search engines, orbitz, travelocity, cheapticket and also search the airlines themselves. Occasionally you can get a better deal than from the engines. I would also call a Travel Agent (TA) and see if they can get you a deal too. Sometimes TA's have better deals than the engines.

Travel Insurance: The insurance is a personal preference. Personally I take it. You are covered if you are hurt or your trip is cancelled. To me, it's better safe than sorry. You've paid this much for the cruise, the insurance is not that much more.

DCL is the best cruise line out there! You will have such a magical time!! Planning is important, but you can get lots of info from these boards, just keep searching and talking with your DH.

Have fun and keep asking questions! That's the only way you can learn!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

When you book the cruise, get a per-person quote for airfare as well for just the transfers. Then do a search on Travelocity or Expedia for airfaire between Utah and LAX. That should give you a good idea of what it would cost to book air on your own. If you add the cost of the transfers to the cost of booking your own air (the air package includes the transfers), you can get a pretty good idea of what each would cost.

In my experience, there is no difference between booking your own air and buying transfers and having DCL book your air from a service point of view. The only difference is that you book the air...

 

[vossjemi]

I've heard (though not yet verified by me) that you can buy travel insurance cheaper through insuremytrip with a dot com at the end. If you buy ins now when booking your cruise, and you cancel, i don't think the premium is refundable. But, you do have to buy ins within 14 days of paying your deposit on the cruise if you want preexisting conditions covered. If that is not a concern, then you can buy the insurance at any time.

I booked my trip through DU, which was the cheapest of the quotes I rqstd. you can get quotes from allseastravel. com, cruisecompete.com, dreamsunlimitedtravel.com, bestpricecruises.com, mouseearsvacations.com, dcl of course, etc... Go with whomever gives you the best deal and is most responsive to any concerns you may have.

We plan to book our air and transport separately. I've heard budget generally has the cheapest car rentals. WE plan to go a day early, drive at our leisure to the cape, check in to a hotel, stop and pick up anything we want to bring on ship (bottled water, etc...), drop car off at budget who will then shuttle us to pier. Budget shuttles are at the pier for pick up when done w/cruise so we'll rent a car on the way back too. Easy, cheap, and on your own schedule!

Happy planning!

 

[DCLADDICT]

I HAVE PRICED THROUGH DISNEY EVERYTIME WE HAVE CRUISED AND THEY ARE ALWAYS 25-35% HIGHER THAN BOOKING AIR ON MY OWN. WE HAVE GONE IN THE MONTHS OF MAY AND FEBRUARY, AND FOUND IT MUCH CHEAPER TO BOOK OUR OWN FLIGHTS. IT WILL DEPEND WHERE YOU LIVE THOUGH. IN MY AREA, IT IS CHEAPER TO TAKE A 45 MINUTE DRIVE AND SAVE! YOU MIGHT LOOK AT THAT AS WELL. WE HAVE USED DELTA AND AIR TRAN, AND ON ONE OCCASION, IT WAS CHEAPER TO DRIVE 2 HOURS TO NEW ORLEANS, AND SPEND THE NIGHT AT A NICE HOTEL AND LEAVE THE CAR IN THE AIRPORT PARKING LOT, THAN FLY OUT OF OUR CITIES AIRPORT ON THE SAME AIRLINE. SO DO SEARCH OUT THE BOARDS FOR ADVICE, AND THE TRAVEL SITES FOR DEALS. YOU WILL LOVE YOUR CRUISE AND YOUR KIDS WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO BE DRAGGED FROM THE KIDS CLUBS!! EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT!!:thewave:

 

[kcashner]

You can usually beat the price of doing air thru DCL. Go to their web site and price the trip with and without air. That will allow you to calculate how much they are charging you. Then go to an online site and see how much air costs (of course, there is always the possibility of a special, but not too likely in summer.)

As to travel insurance...it is a personal choice. Private companies are frequently cheaper than DCL. The big thing is to check your medical insurance coverage. IF it covers you outside of the US AND covers a helicopter evacuation, theoretically the most you could be out is the cost of the trip. Then you decide whether the cost of the trip is worth the cost of the insurance. IF your medical insurance doesn't cover you fully while on the trip, you probably need to add the insurance thru some company.

 

[BriarRosie]

The only benefit IMHO of booking airfare with the cruise line is that you're less likely to get bumped off the flight on a same-day trip.

If a plane is delayed, and they know a group of passengers is expected, some cruise lines will delay leaving port.
(This actually happened on one of my cruises. A huge group of people were delayed, and the cruise ship waited for them.)

Many people avoid the worries of getting to the port on time by flying in the day before the cruise, but the extra expense of a hotel might eat a huge chunk of savings you might have by booking it yourself.

Or you can fly same day and take your chances.

 

[AnnMorin]

We rarely get travel insurance, I think out of ten cruises (four were DCL six other lines) we got it twice. Now we have excellent excellent health insurance that will cover out of the country medical expenses (although we did have to charge them on our CC and be reimbursed) and medical evacuation. We avoid a lot of the hassles/worries about getting there in time by flying in a least a day early and staying near the port.
We have only booked our airfare once via a cruiseline and prefer to do it solo now, you have total control on how much you pay, when you fly etc.. that said we DO always allow 24 hours of travel time to actually make it to the ship..... As for transfers, we used them once and found renting a car is so much more convient and cheaper, what we saved by doing this paid for the hotel for the night before.

 

[TootyJane]

Dana,

My brother lives in Boise so I know that Horizon has direct flights to LAX. The sooner you make your reservations the better and usually the fares are cheaper. You should check out other airlines as well. Is travel insurance worth it? IMHO -- yes. You may be healthy but you never know what could happen before or even during your cruise. We were on the Magic last week and on our way to Castaway Cay when a gentleman had to be taken off the ship by the Coast Guard. Rumor was that he had appendicitis. HTH

 

[Michelle2]

Hello! I am right next to you in Boise. I even have an Eagle 939 phone number! (we are right off of Eagle road before it gets to Eagle.) It is a small world, glad to see a fellow Idahoan on the Dis.
WIth my experience, we have gone to DL many times. Sometimes we have flown, and sometimes we have driven...I have family in Las Vegas, kinda breaks the trip up.
TootyJane is exactly right. There are Horizon flights that go from Boise to LAX nonstop, and we have done this before. Very nice. It was at a time when it was a kids fly free promotion, and that is the only way I would go through Disney for air...(They booked us with Horizon non-stop flights, FYI) But honestly, just like the other posters, it would be cheaper booking the flights on your own. We will be going on an East Coast trip, the Eastern cruise, and we will be booking our own flights...We did with our first WDW trip last October. Just remember, that you can still do the Disney transfers from the LAX airport, even though you booked your own flights.
Try pricing some out at Horizon's website, and see what you come up with. And please, if you have any questions, pm me! Those West Coast cruises look so fun! Good luck!
Michelle

 

[TheWog]

No boring questions and just our personal experiences.....

Yes, I would agree to book flights on your own. Almost always can get a much better deal. If you fly down the day prior it is perfect. If you go the same day as your cruise, booking with DCL will ensure that your ship doesn't sail without you.

Insurance is a risk tolerance thing. Can you risk losing the money paid for a cruise if you can not make it... for any reason. Can you afford to cover medical costs on the trip. If you fall and hurt your ankle on an excursion or, god forbid, have anything much more serious happen. The likelihood it wouldn't happen is slim, but just in case, you have the insurance.