last minute deals?

[talulabelle]

I have never taken a Disney Cruise (or any cruise actually). Our vacation plans for the beach have fallen through (friends place we were going to stay is no longer available). I was wondering if Disney gives any good discounts on their cruises if booked last minute? We can go anytime between July 29-August 7. We are a family of 7. Me, DH, DS19,DD17,DS15,DS11, and DS4. I know, thats alot of cabins. I am totally befuddled on the Disney site having never cruised before. Can anyone give me advice on booking, discounts, etc? A first place to start? Any info on how much this will cost me?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

http://www.disboards.com/threads/guarantee-status-vs-igt-ogt-vgt.2914256/page-10#post-53949563

See the above thread it gives you ideas of offers that 'may' be offered, reports are the ships are selling out very well.

Sign up with a TA they can monitor releases.

Its peak holiday season for school children in the USA and UK so the ships should be very full.

 

[aneshka]

I use the link below find out which sailings has the GT (last minute) deals. Compared to last year they are not offering last minute deals as much.

http://www.mousesavers.com/disney-c...sney-cruise-line-discounts-and-deals/#gtchart

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

Ditto the travel agent. Where do you want to sail out of? I think they were offering discounts on the European sailings, but not much else that I saw. If you want to go out of Port Canaveral, it will not work with your dates because the Fantasy sails Saturday to Saturday, but there is a 5 day to the Bahamas on the Dream that leaves 7/29 (although it looks like there are only verandah cabins left).

Good luck!

 

[aggiedog]

We are a family of 8. A TA might be a good choice because you can be creative in how you split up and possibly save money depending on the category of rooms you get. You can configure 2/5, 3/4, or even 2/2/3 since you have one adult teen.

We just signed up for the Christmas cruise. It was comparable to put 5 people in a Deluxe Family verandah (4b), and 3 people in an outside window only (9b), as it was to do 3 of the 9b rooms with 2-3 people each. We are on different decks but for our age kids that isn't an issue.

 

[aggiedog]

Because I'm killing time, I just looked at that July 29 sailing. The website lists inside, outside, and verandah cabins for 2 adults and 2 kids.

 

[talulabelle]

SO does that mean I would have to get to verandah cabins for 4 people each even though I have 7 people? I priced it out and it looks like it would run me about $10,000 for this trip, am I correct? What would a regular fare for this trip be? I was hoping last minute booking would be a greater discount (but it's Disney I know). Looks like this is going to be too much for my budget. Honestly, we are an upper middle class family, and I don't understand how anybody can ever afford these cruises. Even with the extra cash, I have a hard time justifying $2000 a day vacation for my family when we can rent a house at the beach for $2000 for a week. I know the cruise is wonderful, but you know, it's still over in 5 days. Hard for me to wrap my head around the cost.

 

[kstaack]

SO does that mean I would have to get to verandah cabins for 4 people each even though I have 7 people? I priced it out and it looks like it would run me about $10,000 for this trip, am I correct? What would a regular fare for this trip be? I was hoping last minute booking would be a greater discount (but it's Disney I know). Looks like this is going to be too much for my budget. Honestly, we are an upper middle class family, and I don't understand how anybody can ever afford these cruises. Even with the extra cash, I have a hard time justifying $2000 a day vacation for my family when we can rent a house at the beach for $2000 for a week. I know the cruise is wonderful, but you know, it's still over in 5 days. Hard for me to wrap my head around the cost.

You should look at Royal Caribbean....we were in the same situation last month...could have booked two balcony rooms on the Fantasy for 10,000....but we chose to instead book 2 balcony rooms on Oasis of the Seas for less than 5,000.

 

[Crystal O_o]

SO does that mean I would have to get to verandah cabins for 4 people each even though I have 7 people? I priced it out and it looks like it would run me about $10,000 for this trip, am I correct? What would a regular fare for this trip be? I was hoping last minute booking would be a greater discount (but it's Disney I know). Looks like this is going to be too much for my budget. Honestly, we are an upper middle class family, and I don't understand how anybody can ever afford these cruises. Even with the extra cash, I have a hard time justifying $2000 a day vacation for my family when we can rent a house at the beach for $2000 for a week. I know the cruise is wonderful, but you know, it's still over in 5 days. Hard for me to wrap my head around the cost.

I think the reason many of us can afford it is, 1) I try to book during low season 2) book early 3) book on the ship for onboard credits. 4) book earlier so we can pay it over time.

Disney isn't for everyone, price is a major factor. But to a lot of us, the price is worth it!

 

[talulabelle]

I think the reason many of us can afford it is, 1) I try to book during low season 2) book early 3) book on the ship for onboard credits. 4) book earlier so we can pay it over time.

Disney isn't for everyone, price is a major factor. But to a lot of us, the price is worth it!

 

[talulabelle]

Looking at your profile pic, you are a family of 4 with 2 small children. If my family was your size still, it would make more sense to do a cruise than to rent a beach house. A beach house is a set cost no matter how many people are going to stay there. You can probably cruise for cheaper than a beach house. Heck, anything for a family of 4 with child prices looks affordable to me. When those kids start being on adult prices and there are 5 of them....not so much.