First Timer and a Booking question

[LoriABil]

I have been cruising (heh heh, cheesy, right?) the DCL boards for a while. That is the only thing I have ever cruised! I have found tons of information, but it leads to more questions!

We are planning a surprise cruise for my son's birthday and have decided on May 19 Bahamas 3 day cruise on the Dream. Then we are thinking 4 days in WDW afterward. My question is, can I book the cruise and add the land package later through DCL? Would it be cheaper to book them both at the same time? What if free dining or something comes out? Does that have to be booked through WDW, and if so, can I somehow combine the two so we can still use DCL transfers?

Any advice and info is appreciated! I finally learned it is called a Land and Sea package, so it's back to Google to search the boards. Thanks again!

 

[Mommb]

There is no advantage to booking a Walt Disney World stay after the cruise through Disney Cruise Line. I think anything booked through DCL is at "rack" rates. If you book separately, you can use any discounts that come out, including free dining, and you can still buy transfers from the port to a WDW resort.

The only advantage I can think of to booking through DCL is that if you have a hotel stay before the cruise, you can check in at your resort and not need to check in again at the port -- your Key to the World card will work at both places. That won't help you if you're doing WDW after the cruise, though, so you might as well book separately through WDW.