how to afford a Disney cruise

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I got Noro Virus at work. They didn't charge me, either lol Noro outbreaks are found anywhere there are a lot of people. Not just cruises. And definitely not just one cruise line.

This is true my issue with NCL is that they did not inform passengers boarding the ship that over 10% of the guests were sick and they were not handing out towels into the buffet like they do on DCL. People were allowed to help themself to food , touching it and put it back. On DCL they move to servers giving it to you. I admit these things happen but they could have taken steps to clean up the public bathrooms, encourage hand washing and stop people touching food. There were not even enough serving cutlery. It was very poor.

 

[Hundredacre]

That is a fair comment but the difference was NCL knew of the virus when we got on and did not clean the ship as they should have done. We were told that good practice after 3 weeks of the virus being onboard should have made them dry dock and decomtaminent the ship. Nobody went to the restaurants at night, folks throwing up on the decks. You had to see it to believe it. It was pure negligence. You should have seen the state of the bathrooms. They should have warned passengers on getting on. I have a comprimised immune system and nearly died.

What ship was this on?

 

[mort1331]

I like the jar idea, been around for a while, and in Canada where our $1 and$2 are coin it adds up. But what we do is everyday we take our lunch to work, we put $5 aside. It adds up. So for someone who stops for coffee everyday, do the same and have coffee at home and in a togo mug.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

What ship was this on?

It was The Jade on a Gran Canary cruise. We had used NCL before Pride of America to do the Hawaiin islands and it was top notch really enjoyed it. Oh no this one was nothing like the one before. Thinking well maybe a one off we then did a mini cruise same ship The Jade. Same result ... Frightful ...

 

[Hundredacre]

It was The Jade on a Gran Canary cruise. We had used NCL before Pride of America to do the Hawaiin islands and it was top notch really enjoyed it. Oh no this one was nothing like the one before. Thinking well maybe a one off we then did a mini cruise same ship The Jade. Same result ... Frightful ...

That's too bad. That ship looks kind of cool in a funky way.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

That's too bad. That ship looks kind of cool in a funky way.

The ship was lovely. The spa one of the best I've ever been in. Shame indeed!

 

[DCLDVC1]

We like to sail in the off season so we get more bang for our buck. Also, having an above average income doesn't hurt.

 

[Cwusinbunny]

So my DH thinks I am insane - I do online surveys and product testings to get our vacation money. I've been doing it now for 8 years - and yea it took me 5 to get the money for our first DCL cruise in 2013 - then we did a NCL in 2015 and now I have enough for another DCL over February vacation. I am as cheap as they come - I will price out the cruise on as many sites as I can find - I got lucky and found a agency that actually does discount the cruise. The other thing - we have the disney visa - the upgraded one that gives you 2% in disney dollars for gas, groceries, restaurants. We pay for EVERYTHING with that card - in 2 years, we have 1000.....we also do the change thing and I work real hard not to spend money during the week, so at then end I wind up usually putting about 100 a week in the vacation kitty. We have little to none discretionary income, so if I want to cruise, this is the way we do it.

 

[RedSox68]

So my DH thinks I am insane - I do online surveys and product testings to get our vacation money. I've been doing it now for 8 years - and yea it took me 5 to get the money for our first DCL cruise in 2013 - then we did a NCL in 2015 and now I have enough for another DCL over February vacation. I am as cheap as they come - I will price out the cruise on as many sites as I can find - I got lucky and found a agency that actually does discount the cruise. The other thing - we have the disney visa - the upgraded one that gives you 2% in disney dollars for gas, groceries, restaurants. We pay for EVERYTHING with that card - in 2 years, we have 1000.....we also do the change thing and I work real hard not to spend money during the week, so at then end I wind up usually putting about 100 a week in the vacation kitty. We have little to none discretionary income, so if I want to cruise, this is the way we do it.

Can you PM me with information about the site?

 

[buffyj]

So my DH thinks I am insane - I do online surveys and product testings to get our vacation money. I've been doing it now for 8 years - and yea it took me 5 to get the money for our first DCL cruise in 2013 - then we did a NCL in 2015 and now I have enough for another DCL over February vacation. I am as cheap as they come - I will price out the cruise on as many sites as I can find - I got lucky and found a agency that actually does discount the cruise. The other thing - we have the disney visa - the upgraded one that gives you 2% in disney dollars for gas, groceries, restaurants. We pay for EVERYTHING with that card - in 2 years, we have 1000.....we also do the change thing and I work real hard not to spend money during the week, so at then end I wind up usually putting about 100 a week in the vacation kitty. We have little to none discretionary income, so if I want to cruise, this is the way we do it.

I do this, as well as, participate in as many research studies, focus groups and/or product testing (for $) for which I qualify. The extra money really helps!

 

[KalamityJane]

I do online moneymakers too! There are a few saving for Disney groups on FB that are great about finding new ways to earn money and maximize your savings. Honestly, I have saved/made SO much money this way, I average a couple hundred a month not doing much.

 

[CabreraFamily1318]

We will be sailing on our first DCL trip in August 2017. We paid the deposit and then we both pay $100/wk (thankfully my husband and I get paid weekly), so we get to pay our costs down little by little so it doesn't hurt the pockets as much

 

[mom+3girls]

I usually try to book for a September cruise and book out as far as I can. I know what the amount is and I count up how many paychecks that will be and divide the amount of the cruise by checks and see how much it is per check and I pay that each payday just like I'm paying the power bill. When my children have cruised with me I have driven to the port from VA and when traveling alone I flew into Orlando and had a friend pick me up and take me to the port, she was going with me on the cruise and she lives in FL.

I have just recently leaned about purchasing gift cards from Target and Sam's and that just makes it look so much better.

Going on a cruise can be just as affordable as a land vacation. One way I look at it is if it is 1800 for 2 people for a 4 nt cruise that's 900 per person that's actually 225 per person per day for hotel,all the food you can eat, entertainment including 1st run movies, broadway type shows etc. So not too bad when you break it down. We went out to eat at a fast food restaurant the other day and got chicken sandwiches and drinks and it was 23.00 and that was only one meal and it was fast food. To eat at Applebees, Outback or other restaurants like that it can be 40-60 for 2 people, so when looking at the food cost for a land vacation, add in hotel, add in entertainment like cost of amusing parks, miniature golf, movies or just shopping, DCL doesn't look that expensive.

 

[mom+3girls]

I do online moneymakers too! There are a few saving for Disney groups on FB that are great about finding new ways to earn money and maximize your savings. Honestly, I have saved/made SO much money this way, I average a couple hundred a month not doing much.

What is this online moneymaker thing?

 

[mom+3girls]

So my DH thinks I am insane - I do online surveys and product testings to get our vacation money. I've been doing it now for 8 years - and yea it took me 5 to get the money for our first DCL cruise in 2013 - then we did a NCL in 2015 and now I have enough for another DCL over February vacation. I am as cheap as they come - I will price out the cruise on as many sites as I can find - I got lucky and found a agency that actually does discount the cruise. The other thing - we have the disney visa - the upgraded one that gives you 2% in disney dollars for gas, groceries, restaurants. We pay for EVERYTHING with that card - in 2 years, we have 1000.....we also do the change thing and I work real hard not to spend money during the week, so at then end I wind up usually putting about 100 a week in the vacation kitty. We have little to none discretionary income, so if I want to cruise, this is the way we do it.

Can you PM me with the info for online surveys and product testing? thanks

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Hey guys!

I was just wondering, how do y'all afford a Disney cruise?
compared to other cruises, it seems super expensive.
I have mastered going to the parks for cheap but it seems like you can't cut corners when it comes to the cruises.
any advice would be great

We take advantage of the Disney Visa perk...6 months interest free for the deposit then 6 months for final payment. We also use Disney Gift cards to pay for Cabana and Palo brunch.

 

[timrousbeastie]

Regarding getting paid for surveys, I attend academic conferences in the US where these perceptual studies are a very important component. I don't know what participants are paid, but all the studies, I have seen, are conducted by the same big US company that anyone can sign up for. The questions are typically of the form "does picture A look more like picture B or like picture C?". And the results are very important for the high quality, government funded research that is presented at the conferences.