Magic back in the med for summer 13

[JoyB-UK]

Just booked our med cruise today but I've had to settle for the 4 nights in august as its the only thing in the budget. Would have loved Alaska but that will have to wait for 2014.

 

[princess jackson]

Joyb did you have to pay 20% deposit ?

 

[JoyB-UK]

Yes we paid 20% deposit. I did have a dummy booking which meant I could have saved 10% and only paid 10% deposit but I thought it would be better to save it for when I book a more expensive cruise for 2014. We have only booked a cat 11a so deposit (for 3) was about £330, not too bad.

 

[wayneg]

Yep, $10,000 for the 12 night Med in July, $6000 more than our April Caribbean on the fantasy. Think I'll be sticking to that...

$11,608.95 for the 3 of us in June with a verandah.
I don't think so. Good luck to them.

 

[wayneg]

Yes we paid 20% deposit. I did have a dummy booking which meant I could have saved 10% and only paid 10% deposit but I thought it would be better to save it for when I book a more expensive cruise for 2014. We have only booked a cat 11a so deposit (for 3) was about £330, not too bad.

Why not use your 10% for your 2013 cruise then get another 10% while onboard for your 2014 cruise?

 

[princess jackson]

What's the dummy booking thingamigga, if I could save 10% then it would ship ahoy

 

[wayneg]

What's the dummy booking thingamigga, if I could save 10% then it would ship ahoy

When you are onboard you can make another booking with 10% off, if you don't know when you want to sail you make a dummy booking to change later when you know when you want to cruise, the 10% discount is then transferred from the dummy booking to your new booking.
I decided not to bother last year, I couldn't see us cruising again for a few years with the higher costs.

 

[JoyB-UK]

Why not use your 10% for your 2013 cruise then get another 10% while onboard for your 2014 cruise?

As we won't be sailing again until August 2013 the 2014 cruises will already have been out for ages (probably 10 months for fantasy Caribbean and 6 months Alaska) so the prices will most likely have already gone up by 10% at that point. Far better to have a discount available on opening day.

What's the dummy booking thingamigga, if I could save 10% then it would ship ahoy

The dummy booking is when you book a cruise onboard they give you 10% off, but you can book it for any date then move it to one when you know exactly what you want. The discount and onboard spending credit moves with you to the new cruise date.

I just figured I would save more money by saving the discount for the more expensive cruise. I will still make another dummy booking on my next cruise but that will be for 2015+.
Joy.

 

[princess jackson]

Ok, I was hoping it's a discount I could use

 

[disneyholic family]

Just booked our med cruise today but I've had to settle for the 4 nights in august as its the only thing in the budget. Would have loved Alaska but that will have to wait for 2014.

i was also thinking about the 4 night, but even that is pretty expensive...
i might take one of the 3 night disney dream cruises to nassau/castaway cay in 2013....those won't break my bank...

as for Alaska, i highly recommend you look at the other cruise lines that cruise alaska - you can get a LOT more for your money with them, and they're very good....
in alaska, the itinerary is much more important than the ship....
another reason to look at the other cruise lines is you should consider doing a one way cruise in alaska, so that you can also do a land tour either before or after the cruise....if you're already getting all the over there it would be a shame to miss denali national park, the kenai fjords, the glass domed train etc etc. - all of which aren't in the area of alaska where the cruise ships go....(the cruises go down the alaska panhandle)...

DD and her husband are going to alaska this summer...
she's starting out on land - a week long trip through fairbanks, denali, anchorage, seward.
Then she boards RCCL's Radiance of the Seas for a 7 night southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver via the inside passage, with port stops in Skagway, Juneau, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan.

if you have any questions about Alaska, i'd be happy to help.
Also, i highly recommend the cruisecritic.com alaska forum....

Princess Cruise lines and Holland America also have many one way cruises that are worth looking into, but DD preferred the itinerary on RCCL so that's the one she picked..
oh and Celebrity cruise lines also has alaska cruises (the itinerary is very similar to RCCL).....

all the cruise lines also have round trip cruises, but as i said, i think it's a mistake to go round trip - you miss out on so much that alaska has to see and do...

it's easy to fly into alaska and then fly out of vancouver (or vice versa)...

whatever you do, it will be the trip of a lifetime....nothing compares with a tour/cruise of alaska...

 

[jns]

OK we changed our Dummy booking to the 7 night Med cruise in Aug
but still hope that they will discount the 12 nights

well I can always dream

 

[cornish pixie]

Hi had a fab weeks med cruise last year and had a placebooking that we were going to use for next years med but after working out prices plus flights etc just wasn't right for us. Anyway have this August on the dream to look forward too and will give 2013 a miss so we can save for 2014 trip
(saying that if they come up with a really good deal free kids etc never say never !!!! Anyway for everyone who has booked you will have a blast
cornish pixie

 

[tennisfan]

$11,608.95 for the 3 of us in June with a verandah.
I don't think so. Good luck to them.

That is a lot of money. My parents paid less then that for a 14 night med cruise with RCCL last year & they had a suite plus they didn't have to get flights to the port as it was from Southampton. I would like to do a Disney cruise but would RCCL come out much better value.

As you said good luck to Disney, I would be surprised if they sell out

 

[JoyB-UK]

I think that the 12 nighters will sell out especially with there only being 3 dates. The Americans really seem to be going for them, it looks like the concierge rooms have already gone then the cheapest rooms will be the next to go.

 

[heatherbelle]

Yes we paid 20% deposit. I did have a dummy booking which meant I could have saved 10% and only paid 10% deposit but I thought it would be better to save it for when I book a more expensive cruise for 2014. We have only booked a cat 11a so deposit (for 3) was about £330, not too bad.

On my first sailing, I made two dummy bookings, so that I always had a spare as I noticed they released cruises in batches. Just used my first one for 2013 and I will then use the spare one for 2014, as I will be like you, prices will be out when we're cruising and will have risen. When I'm on the 2013, I' ll then made another placeholder booking. It was a tip I picked up on here. Maybe worth a thought for your next cruise.