Member Cruise cheaper than regular Cruise

[Mazz519]

Well after waiting on the phone for over 50 mins this morning, I am happy to say that we are booked for the member cruise this coming August… I have to say the price difference from the regular 4nt cruise the week before and this member cruise was not that big a difference in price. We booked a Category 4A suite and it was actually 155.00 LESS than Cat 4A the prior wk. All I heard was how expensive these cruises were….Very Happy right now.cant wait !!!!!!

 

[disneynutz]

I have never read that the member cruise was less expensive than a regular cruise. Are they having trouble selling the member cruise?

Bill

 

[Eeyore Girl]

I have never read that the member cruise was less expensive than a regular cruise. Are they having trouble selling the member cruise?

Bill

I highly doubt that since when I called to book at 11:00am (2 hours into being able to book) almost everything was sold out already!!

 

[Mazz519]

I have never read that the member cruise was less expensive than a regular cruise. Are they having trouble selling the member cruise?

Bill

Doubt they had trouble selling. Today was first day and all Categories are sold out except Cat 4 and the 1 brims.. Didn't understand it myself but I did the numbers before I called and then MS broke it down for me while I was on the phone with them

 

[kendzee94]

realistically, once you get the gratuities paid for, it helps make it really close in comparison!

 

[maburke]

I have never read that the member cruise was less expensive than a regular cruise. Are they having trouble selling the member cruise?

Bill

I believe that last year the member cruise drew much less interest than in past years. I think the word went around that it had gone downhill, the gifts were not that great, and it wasn't worth the premium. So I think they decided this year to move it to a week that more families could do (if the kids are not in school yet, though ours are ) and make the pricing closer.

I guess they succeeded in bringing interest back up.

All this is just speculation, though; I've never done the member cruise.

 

[maburke]

realistically, once you get the gratuities paid for, it helps make it really close in comparison!

I believe the member cruise includes gratuities?

 

[DenLo]

I believe the member cruise includes gratuities?

Yes.

 

[DenLo]

Well after waiting on the phone for over 50 mins this morning, I am happy to say that we are booked for the member cruise this coming August… I have to say the price difference from the regular 4nt cruise the week before and this member cruise was not that big a difference in price. We booked a Category 4A suite and it was actually 155.00 LESS than Cat 4A the prior wk. All I heard was how expensive these cruises were….Very Happy right now.cant wait !!!!!!

Was that before or after you added gratuities to the regular cruise?

 

[Mazz519]

Was that before or after you added gratuities to the regular cruise?

No I didn't add the gratuities in, thats just the price and taxes

 

[Anal Annie]

I always heard they were a lot more expensive than regular cruises. Nice thought to hear it was moved to August - but since it's the last week of the month it's still the week our school starts back up so it's a no-go for us. That's a shame but I'm sure it will help some whose schools don't go back until after Labor Day. We currently have a dummy re-booking date on the Aug. 17th cruise but we'll likely postpone it again if we can get into Aulani instead.

 

[tjkraz]

Cash rates for DCL cabins will fluctuate greatly depending upon the booking status of each individual cruise.

On a point basis, the member cruise is quite a bit more expensive than other comparable sailings. According to the points chart, the August 17, 2014 4-night cruise is between 166-203 points per person for Category 4. Category 4A on the member cruise is 237 points per adult. So the member cruise is at least 17% higher.

If you got the member cruise for less cash than the 8/17 sailing, consider yourself lucky! It's not an across-the-board discount. Most people will find they're paying more for the exclusive member sailing.

 

[Mazz519]

Cash rates for DCL cabins will fluctuate greatly depending upon the booking status of each individual cruise.

On a point basis, the member cruise is quite a bit more expensive than other comparable sailings. According to the points chart, the August 17, 2014 4-night cruise is between 166-203 points per person for Category 4. Category 4A on the member cruise is 237 points per adult. So the member cruise is at least 17% higher.

If you got the member cruise for less cash than the 8/17 sailing, consider yourself lucky! It's not an across-the-board discount. Most people will find they're paying more for the exclusive member sailing.

Yes I paid cash for the entire cruise, I don't think that the points are a good way to go when cruising

 

[brkgnews]

Last part of August typically drops into the "high regular" season rather than "peak" season for the cruise industry. That may be where some of the "savings" you saw come in.

 

[ldo]

MC is higher than opening day prices of Dream for 8/24:
ex. 8/24/2014 Disney Dream 4-Night Bahamian Cruise 2A/3C $3149.10 (assuming this is cat 8). We paid $4599 for MC for cat 8C 2A/3C.
I think the difference is that the prices rose as time went on--these cruises have been open for 9+ months.
We are happy to pay $4599, b/c now other Aug. cruises are now sold out for Family OV for 5 persons.

 

[DizDaD7]

The only Really bad draw back for this cruise at this time, is that it's Right smack in the heart of Hurricane Season...

 

[Starr W.]

The only Really bad draw back for this cruise at this time, is that it's Right smack in the heart of Hurricane Season...

As having missed Hurricane Irene by 2 weeks for my Canada/NE cruise a couple of years ago, I would suggest shopping around for a good trip insurance policy for the Member Cruise.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our '05 MC had the return port changed due to hurricane Ophelia. Disney took care of transportation back to either MCO or WDW resort.

Yes, buy travel insurance! We always do for cruises, you just don't know. On our Fantasy cruise this past summer, there was a transfer from the ship to a boat in Nassau, someone on the cruise needed medical attention ASAP. Nassau wasn't one of our stops, but it was the nearest port, so that's where the family landed up.

 

[Mazz519]

Hurricane season runs for 5 months out of the year these days…..I nwent on the fantasy first wk of aug this year and the weather was great, was also told thats during hurricane season..

 

[DizDaD7]

Hurricane season is usually june through October. Obviously it isn't always consistent from week to week, but the last time was here in NJ, both during Halloween, which is near the end of Hurricane season.