How to get the best price for Disney Cruise?

[christianweecare]

To all of you Disney Cruise Line experts--How do you go about getting the best pricing for a Disney Cruise? Am I missing something? I have checked several different travel web sites on the net and do not see any huge differences in any of them. Is there something I do not know about, or does Disney have the pricing pretty much nailed down no matter how you book?

Is the Disney Cruise Line similar to the WDW resorts as to pricing--meaning that rates are pretty much set in stone? Will someone please enlighten me?

Also, I have spoken to Josephine with Small World Vacations and the price she quoted was the exact same thing as the Disney quote. Can I do better--and how?

 

[ericamanda01]

If you haven't tried already contact www.allseastravel.com. I went throught them after search throught what felt like a million sites and they had the best deal by far.
Not only did they have the best price, but they have a fantastic crew working there.

 

[confal1]

You can also go to Travelocity and click on Disney Cruise Line and when it says check pricing and availability you can scroll down to see the list of cruises and prices. Some sail dates are less expensive than others. Good Luck.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Try to go in the "off season," book as early as possible and shop around. I've booked through Dreams Unlimited before and this time I'm booking through Costco Travel. I compared the previously mentioned with DCL directly, allseas, and Southwest Airlines who are new to booking cruises but very competitive for my dates. Try to be flexible with your dates and you can save a lot of money. Good luck!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

book early. we booked 15 months early and the price has since gone up $900+ so booking early is a good thing or booking a DCL special room (cat 11?). thanks

 

[christianweecare]

We are looking to book a cruise for Sept. 2005, but I have looked at the same dates for Sept. 2004 and don't see any savings on the DCL web site over one year than the other??? Help! I'm clueless!!!

 

[mmouse37]

Depending on how far out you book could determine what price you pay.

When sail dates are released for bookings....pretty much every TA, online website and Disney itself will price out about the same. Some TA offer rebates or take cuts on their commission to lower the price a bit.

The savings are evident as time goes by....as the poster mentioned above...her cruise went up $900 since she booked. A TA may have the original price locked in by investing in purchasing many cabins on a particular sailing......but Disney keeps raising the prices. So in the beginning it looks like everyone's prices are roughly the same, but later on when you price.. one place may have it for significantly less because they have those prices locked in where DCL has raised theirs.

This theory obviously is not set in stone and some places offer specials on some sailing, or DCL may lower the price for some reason...it happens. I know this sounds so confusing and I hope I explained it somewhat.

Your best bet is still to shop around the keep an eye on the rates. Once you book with someone keep checking periodically to see if rates have gone down...if they have...call where you booked and most will adjust a credit for the difference in price. If the price goes up...you are locked in at the lower rate.

MJ

 

[christianweecare]

Oh, I get it now, MJ! Thanks so much for explaining all of that!

So if I go ahead and book with a TA now for Sept. 2005, I can continue to shop and watch for better pricing??? Is that correct?

Any other wise advise for a cruise newbie will be greatly appreciated!

 

[happyrebster]

I agree with the other posts here: book far in advance and be flexible on dates. Specials will "magically" appear. DCL does advertise good specials in the Disney magazine from time to time (that is where we found our last bargain).

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

Originally posted by mmouse37
her cruise went up $900 since she booked.MJ

no offense but im a man not a woman LOL it even says "john" in my signature LOL

 

[mmouse37]

Sorry John.....I didn't look at the signature....I apologize!!!

MJ

 

[christianweecare]

Now that we have that cleared up----!

 

[makaylee]

I would also check out cruisetraveloutlet.com. They saved me over 9% on the cruise I had previously booked directly through DCL. I had booked the cruise about 4 months before I switched so it had already gone up $300 with DCL, but I have heard they save you 7% on the current price all the time. I hope this wasnt to confusing, I think I confused myself.

 

[disney queen]

we booked our october 05 cruise through allseastravel. we have a category 6, deck 6, 2 adults and the cost was less then 3K for the 2 of us!! way less than 3K! this was a great price. everyone else was at the very least 200$ more. usually they are like 500$ more. good luck. and i agree--book now for best selection of staterooms. we were able to get the same room we had last year and our friends travelling w/us are right next to us!