How much?

[mkandk]

I'm very interested in taking our family on a cruise (DH, me, 8yo, 7yo).

I've been reading this board for about a week now, but still don't feel confident on a lot of points. Like, how much should I expect to pay, total? I'm leaning towards either a 7 day cruise or a 3 day land/4 day sea package. How far in advance should I book? Will we be comfortable in a cheaper room? (All of us are small-sized, so I think we could do a smaller room) Is there anything that is a must, like having a window, or a verandah?

I initially was thinking of going for spring break, is it too late to get a reasonable price for that time?

I'm sorry to hit you with so many questions at once! This would be our first cruise.

 

[gottaluvdisney]

There are soooo many items that factor into the cost of the cruise, it is really hard to compare from one person to another.

You have to think of including airfare, insurance, transfers. Then choose a category. There is a pretty big differnce between inside and outside cost wize. For comfort, inside staterooms are nice - it is all in the preference. I am sure most people would prefer a verandah (if they could afford it) I do go with a verandah on 7nt cruises because that feature is important to me. I could probably go with a window or inside on a shorter cruise and cruise more often.

Anyway - for pricing you may want to check out the Disney site at www.disneycruise.com

Barb and Tony are the King and Queen of cruising on this board and they are a very informative website with pictures of staterooms, inside, outside, secret porthole, navigators verandah, etc. I think their site is www.disneycruiser.com

 

[zurgswife]

I also recommend checking out the DCL site listed above...You can get pricing to base other quotes on...I used Dreams Unlimited from these boards for my ressies...the price with similar to other quotes plus they offer a small rebate...but all savings help.

I did not get travel insurance as I am waiting to get close to the date that our final payment is due and purchase it through another company...I found it is much cheaper per person this way and I have 6 people traveling...

I also did not need transfers from Disney to get to port...

So, go surf the disney site and get a feel of what you want

 

[Mom of 4 Princesses]

Timing is also a big factor in price. Spring break, 2003 was THOUSANDS of dollars more for my family of six than the price for the week after Thanksgiving. Luckily, my kids are ok to take out of school. We would not be able to go otherwise. My quote was for $10,000 for spring break in two connecting inside Cat 10 staterooms.

 

[Irishmom23]

Also, if you are pricing the land and sea, try pricing it separately. We went through Dreams for our land/sea this past June, and they put together a nice package but it was priced separately which save me a TON of money for the five of us.

 

[Padre Disney]

Our family of six is taking a spring break 2003 trip. We booked February 2002 for our March 15 2003 7 day cruise trip. We have 2 connecting cat 10 rooms on deck 7. Our cruise cost for both rooms after rebates is only a little over $5000. Air fare is terrible for a family of six not to mention that non of us like it. We will be driving down so we can use the extra money saved from air fare towards a day at Epcot before the cruise. We used Dreams.

 

[zurgswife]

I have booked a 4day for the first week of March 2003 (our spring break) family of 6 2 catagory 10 connecting and our price is $3700 with out insurance...I thought about the 7day but it was to high for us right now and i wanted to be sure we liked cruising before we did 7 days....Yet we haven't even done our cruise and I want to plan a 7 day....

 

[Padre Disney]

I guess I should say that our price does not include insurance or transfers since we are driving. We plan on adding insurance through a different company closer to cruise time.
We did the the 7 day land/sea last December. We loved the ship and booked the 7 day as soon as we got home.
After researching evey possible week for the 2003 year. We found that the March 15th cruise (our spring break) would not cost us much more than going when we would have had to take the kids out school. No way could we afford summer rates.
We were shocked when after we booked the rate for our spring break week was lowered for a short time and Dreams adjusted our rate.
After taking the kids out of school in 2001 for a week in mid December they asked us not to take them out again during school because they had a hard time making up missed work.
We can't wait for the 7 day.
I'm trying to talk my DH into having just the 2 of us take a short 3 day next October for our 20th anniversary but no such luck yet. I keep reminding him that the longer he waits the more it is going to cost him. He thinks we should try another cruise line. I say Disney only.

 

[mkandk]

Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate those who included dollar figures...it's none of my business, but I'm more at ease...when so much money is involved, it's harder to figure value. ( You know what I mean? I mean, I know when a loaf of bread is a good deal, but I wasn't sure if a 4-day cruise should be $2000 or $6000 or whatever.)

I'm finding this site helpful...wdwig.com/cruise/cruise.shtml.

I have found one other thing confusing...when they describe the Oceaneer's Club/Lab, they say that the Oceaner's Club is for ages 3-8, and the Lab for 9-12... but when they discuss age groupings, they go 3-4, 5-7, 8-9, and 10-12. How can the 8yo, be grouped with 9yos if he's in the Oceaneer's Club?

Thanks again

 

[outahere]

I'm not sure exactly when they changed it, but the ages for the Lab are now 8 - 12. When we were on the Wonder, our DS8 was in the 8 - 9 group in the Lab. I do remember reading that the Club used to be through age 8, so they have changed it.

 

[ncligs]

We booked a catagory 6(with full verandah) for 2 adults, on the 4 day Wonder in Feb 2004, and the total was $1720. This is our 1st cruise also, thats why we are doing 4 day first, to see if we like it.
That price doesn't include any transfers or insurance either.

 

[CSX2]

We originally tried to book a 7 Day last week for the second week of April 2003 in a CAT 10 -- $4500!!! By moving to the first week in May we got a CAT 6 for more than $1000 less! Could have gotten a CAT 10 for $2000 less but decided to splurge after two cruises in inside cabins. This does not include airfare/transfers/ins. The DCL rep said that in order to get good rates for holidays or other busy times (like spring break) you need to book a year or more in advance!

 

[4nana]

I agree, it really depends on what season you are thinking about for price. Spring, Summer, Holidays are going to cost top $. We saved and planned our grp trip and booked 2 yrs in advance deciding on Dec as it the week before Xmas and still considered value season.
The least expensive rooms are going to be inside catg 12 and 11 @184 sq ft w/single bath, the next step up are catg 10, 9, 8 w/bath and half @214' sq ft.
Catg 8 n 9 have porthole windows. Higher the catg number, more options, more expensive.
We are doing the 7 day and as we could not afford the verandah, we chose catg 9 cabins with the large porthole window. With so much to do you are really not in your room very much if you decide to go with inside cabins. We compared a dozen quotes and our best was $875p adult/$400 p child, port and tax included. We also will have a $50 credit as first time Dis cruisers.
Our most reasonable quote for transpo fr MCO to port was
'Yourride'. We also found travel ins. more reasonable than Disney charges. Being fr Md and traveling nr Xmas our airfare was on the high end, but luckily it is good times and non-stop.
I wish you luck. I remember how we were when we first started planning. This board has been a God Send w/so much valuable info. Have fun, planning is a big part of the excitement!

 

[westjones]

You will find people on this list have various budgets, so what seems like a good price to one might seem expensive to others.

We are a one income family, so we look for the least expensive way to travel that will still allow us to fully enjoy the experience.

For us, September has been the best / most economical month to travel. We have a 7 day Western Cruise booked for September 2003 (2 adults and 2 children age 9) in a Cat. 11 for $2700. If we were to go in the summer or spring break the price goes up a LOT (not quite doubles, but there is a big difference).

We found that we do not spend a lot of time in our rooms. When we want to enjoy sitting and relaxing, we go to deck 4 and find a couple nice lounge chairs. So you can still have a great time in a Cat. 11 room! We have sailed in a Cat. 11 for a 3, a 4 and a 7 day cruise and each one was SUPER!

Debra

 

[prymsu]

last January, we got a seven day cruise - eastern, in a cat four for two adults and one child for 2600.

 

[GeorgiaVol]

We have made a 4 and a 7 day in a Cat 10 and have been fine with it (DS, 10), with friends having DS's at 9 & 11 having no problem as well.

For us, it seemed that we were only in our room to change or sleep. Why spend the big bucks when you don't need to?