I'm new to the boards and to cruises and I need help!

[PrincessRose]

Hi everyone, I'm Rachel.

I have been to Disney a number of times, I'm a former CP (college program) CM. I am a great big Disney junkie, and I'm trying to plan my honeymoon!

We want to go on a Disney Cruise - 3NLand, 4NSea, sailing 9/5/2004, hopefully (we'd arrive in Orlando on 9/2, our wedding is 8/29).

Here's the problem:

I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON A CRUISE. I have never even had to book my own vacation - let alone one that will probably cost a LOT of money if I don't do the research. Now I found a quote on Disney.com, but I've heard that it might not be the best quote, etc etc. and it's only valid through Sunday, to boot. So now I'm all sorts of confused and stressed, and my Future Mother In Law has been mocking us for wanting to go to Disney World on our honeymoon and blah blah blah.

Is it evident that I need help?

Hope I didn't scare you all TOO much. ;-)
Rachel

 

[Gina]

Hi Rachel! Congratulations on your wedding!!

First off, paying the prices DCL quotes is like paying the room rate shown on the back of your hotel door... you just don't do it. There are several travel agencies which many people have gotten great DCL rates through:

All Seas Travel, at www.allseastravel.com
Dreams Unlimited Travel at www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com
And your local AAA office might have some great rates too, as well as a couple perks.

It is almost always cheaper to piece your land/sea package together yourself... it takes more work and research, but you could save a *lot* of money, and you will have way more flexibility.

You've come to the right place, that's for sure -- these are the smartest people in the world when it comes to Disney stuff.

And your MIL is just jealous... I can't think of a place I'd rather have a honeymoon than WDW and on the cruise.

-gina-

 

[denise5374]

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!! You will have alot of fun on DCL(regardless of what your MIL says LOL)

Also, welcome to the DIS. You have come to the right place for information. Ask away and we will all help anyway we can.

My Dh caught the flu on our honeymoon and spent 3 days in bed!! Fortunately we were in the Poconos (not far from home) so it wasn't too much of a bummer. But I keep reminding him that he owes me a REAL honeymoon!!!!

You're getting married on my DS birthday(and the day we fly home from our DCL cruise)!!

Denise

 

[Princess49]

Welcom to the boards... & more importantly, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!

My future Mother-in-law thinks we're nuts for going to WDW 2x a year so you could imagine how excited she was to hear that we were doing something new this time around... going on a cruise! I wish I could have taken a picture of her face when we told her it was a DISNEY cruise!!! But hey, it's not HER honey moon, it's YOURS!!!
We just booked our first cruise a few weeks ago, we actually used DCL, I never use Disney as they are usually very expensive, but this time they had the best price. I saw it listed as a special on their website & I watched it climb about $20 a week before I called & made a no obligation reservation to hold my price! I think they give you a week or 2 to put down your deposit. In the meantime I looked everywhere else, expedia, travelocity, AAA, Dreams Unlimited, costco... you get the picture. Well all the prices were the same, I think Costco would have saved us $60, but I waited on hold for over 45 min!! not worth it to have to go through that to make any changes. & Dreams Unlimited would have saved a total of $30, again not worth the hassel of changing our reservations. So, I left our ressie with DCL & put our deposit down. Just today(only a week & a half later) I checked DCL's web site & the price has gone up almost $600 total!! glad I grabbed that deal when I did!!! & by the way, as I'm sure you've noticed it's an entirely different world than WDW- if you ask me anyting about WDW I know it like the back of my hand, the cruise line is a different story, so I reccomend buying the Passporter book!
Well, good luck & conratulations again!

 

[jrabbit]

First, Welcome
Second, Congrats on the wedding
Third, WDW is one of the TOP honeymoon destinations
Fourth, the Cruise is the BEST!!

Saving money - now that's a good thing.
Have never done the land/sea package, but here is one of the tips: With the package you are paying to go to the parks on the first day of your cruise. You will spend a maximum of 2 hours there before you have to catch the bus to leave. Savings 1 day @$55/person = $110.

If you create your own "package" you can stay at one of WDW value or moderate resorts (if you like) and save some money there (or you could even stay off site and save more)

The down side to doing your own package is that you will have to check in at the hotel and at the ship (not a big deal). You will have to arrange your own transportation from the airport to wdw to the port and then back to the airport (think rental car).

Have fun, good luck, ask us questions.

 

[hsteacher]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!! We also spent our honeymoon (over 22 years ago!) at WDW but there wasn't really a "world" yet -- just the MK!! As for the cruise -- last year on our cruise there was a honeymoon couple -- so cute and they had a wonderful time. From dinner at Palo to massages at CC -- we talked to them a bit and they just loved their DCL honeymoon. I'd say go for it and do what YOU want -- I doubt you will regret it. We have used Dreams Unlimited travel (through these boards) and have been very pleased with them. Good luck and congrats again!

 

[trishy]

We spent our honeymoon at WDW before our cruise and had a wonderful time. That was over 15 years ago. You'll have a blast (I agree with Gina, your Future mother-in-law is probably just jealous ). You're already doing the right thing by starting here. Go from forum to forum reading tips/advice - getting budget ideas. Post threads asking for specific information to start with. Always include specifics such as dates you are considering. Get lots of quotes to compare. Places such as AAA and Costco also offer packages involving WDW/DCL. Ask, ask, and ask again. Then you'll still find there are more things to ask about when it comes time to pack and all the way up to the night before you leave.

Welcome to the Dis.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

When you get to Disney World, get the bride and groom Mickey and Minnie hats and wear them to the parks. People will congratulate you and usually CMs will seat you at the front at shows. This isn't a guarantee but they are sweet to acknowledge newlyweds! Congrats and you've found the BEST site in the world for information.

A honeymoon at Disney will be fantastic! Welcome to the Disboards!!!

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Congrats on the upcoming wedding!

As stated, you're definitely in the right place for info about DCL.
One suggestion, make your cruise reservations first. Since you're looking at this coming Sept., prices will continue to rise as we get closer to the fall. Once you know the cruise is out of the way, you can concentrate on booking everything else.

Good luck!!

 

[clh2]

Double post - sorry

 

[clh2]

Hi Rachel,
Welcome to the DIS! I would also recommend planning the land/sea portions of your trip separately. That way you'll have exactly the accomodations you want for each segment of the trip. If you book them together, you are somewhat limited by the categories on the ship, vs. the accomodations on land.

When we did our vacation, we stayed at the Dolphin, and had a category 10 cabin on the ship. We tried very hard to keep our costs down as much as possible.

Relax, have a great time planning your wedding and the trip. There is excellent advice given on this board for people in every budget situation, just pick and choose what works best for you!

I'm sure your future MIL is a great person, don't let her take the fun out of planning your honeymoon, just because she isn't a Disney fan.

There are many fun things to do on the ship, both family oriented and non. If I were on my honeymoon - Palo would be a must. I'm not a spa kind of girl - so honeymoon or not - I personally wouldn't waste my money there. If wine tasting was offered on my cruise - it is a "must do" IMHO.

 

[lillygator]

We just booked a 3 night cruise for May with Disney direct and they quoted me the exact same price as DU, AAA and one other travel agent.....while they might not always have the best price, this time they were right on.

 

[tinkgrl]

Rachel,

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!!!! Disney is great for a honeymoon esepecially the cruise!!!! I just booked a week ago for May 2005. Got a good price through DCL. I'd say book as early as you can for price & so you don't have to worry about it. Don't worry about your MIL, it's NOT her honeymoon its YOURS!! Keep saying that to yourself!!!! Have fun!

Allison