Member cruise questions

[cobbler]

For those of you that have been on a Member cruise, I am hoping you can enlighten me with a bit more info.

I have been reading the 2006 Live from the DVC member cruise thread and the great reports make me really want to go.

I have never been on a cruise before so I am not sure what is all involved. I assume the cost of the cruise includes the cruise (ha ha) and your meals is that correct??

What about excursions? I have been reading that some members have gone on excursions, are these extra?

Obviously you have to pay for souvinears.

Are member cruises good for kids? We have two boys who will be 6 and 11 next year and will more than likely bring them with us, is it boring for them? Do lots of kids go? Fun things to do?

So if anyone can give me a run down of basically what is included, what isn't and what you personally budget for (with extras) this will help a lot!!

Thanks

 

[cobbler]

Oh PS.

Hubby and I drive down to FL from MI (some of us just aren't fans of flying). Are there places to park our vehicle near the port? Anyone have any information on that.

Also if we decided to do a stay either before or after the cruise on property, how far is the drive from the port to WDW??

Thanks again

 

[jcl]

the port is about 90 minutes from WDW. plenty of safe parking. We have taken the bus the last couple of years so I do not know the current parking price but it was comparable to airport parking.

 

[mikayla73]

For those of you that have been on a Member cruise, I am hoping you can enlighten me with a bit more info.

I have been reading the 2006 Live from the DVC member cruise thread and the great reports make me really want to go.

I have never been on a cruise before so I am not sure what is all involved. I assume the cost of the cruise includes the cruise (ha ha) and your meals is that correct??

What about excursions? I have been reading that some members have gone on excursions, are these extra?

Obviously you have to pay for souvinears.

Are member cruises good for kids? We have two boys who will be 6 and 11 next year and will more than likely bring them with us, is it boring for them? Do lots of kids go? Fun things to do?

So if anyone can give me a run down of basically what is included, what isn't and what you personally budget for (with extras) this will help a lot!!

Thanks

I have not been on a DCL cruise, but have been on a cruise before. For the specifics of a DL cruise, I would check the DCL web site or the crusie portion of the DIS. But here is what I know in general about cruises.

Generally it is the cost of your cruise and food that is included. That doesn't include any "adult beverages" or soda, those are extra (you do get coffee tea and juice with your meals though). On some cruise lines, the price also includes tips, some it does not. It also includes a lot of the "entertainment", but not everything. Like wine tasting classes were offered on our cruise, and those were extra.

Excursions are extra. There is usually a "fee" even if you are only going to the beach. There can also an extra charge for using beach chairs/umbrellas. I am not sure how that works on Castaway Cay though, other destinations are generally like that, unless you can find a public beach, but then there's tranportation. You can set up and do your own excursions, it is generally cheaper that way. However, if you are doing those on your own and loose track of time, welllll .... the ship doesn't wait for anyone ...

From what I have researched about Disney cruises there are tons of stuff for kids of all ages to do. Like almost an entire deck devoted to just kids. There are adult only areas too. I am sure all of that stuff would be available on the members cruise to.

When we went on our cruise we left from PC too, there was plenty of covered parking, so our car sat in the covered garage all week. I don't remember the actual cost, but jcl is right, I believe it was similar to airport parking.

Aside from the cost of the cruise (we were on a Carnival Cruise BTW), I think we ended up spending approx an additional $300 on excursions and $300 on drinks and souvies. This was for a 7 day cruise with excursions in 3 ports. This was for DH and myself, no kids.

 

[cobbler]

Is there anyone else that can share some info and tips?

 

[Ed T]

Parking is very safe. I believe we paid $ 84 for the 7 day cruise.

Lot's of good hotels in the area of the port that you can get shuttle service from hotel to ports.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

For CC, there is no charge for the beach or chairs. There is for things like snorkel gear and some equipment. The excursions are extra.

Included in DCL are all meals, non-alcoholic beverages at meals ONLY. Alcohol and soda etc not with a meal is extra.

They have kids centers for each age group with a ton of activities. Check out the Cruise Line info on www.wdwinfo.com. There is ALOT of information on there. Also, on www.disneycruise.com they have FAQ's with a bunch of info. You can also check out activities for the kids on there by age.

Another great site is www.castawayclub.com.

Can you tell I am taking my first cruise in January?? I have been researching.

I don't know how much different the member cruise is, but someone else on here will. Or the cruisers from this year will let you know.

 

[Muushka]

I don't mean to be a hair splitter, but they don't charge for soda anywhere on the ship now, except for room service.

I am a bit jaded on DVC cruises because they charge (in my opinion) quite a bit more than regualr cruises AND they are usually during hurricane season. They do give the cruisers lots of goodies, but I would rather pay less and pick out my own goodies! Happy planning!

 

[rkdahl]

I have never been on a cruise before so I am not sure what is all involved. I assume the cost of the cruise includes the cruise (ha ha) and your meals is that correct??

Yes, your cabin type determines your base cost. Balconies cost more than outside which cost more than inside cabins. Food is included. Table service at all restaurants except some speciality ones such as Palo where there is a minimal service charge $10/person for example) All drinks are included on Disney except alcoholic beverages. Gratuities are not included. Note that different cruise lines have very differerent policies on many of these items.

What about excursions? I have been reading that some members have gone on excursions, are these extra?

Excursions and equipment rentals are always extra

Obviously you have to pay for souvinears.

Yes, except for special DVC member cruises which shower you with fun gifts!

Are member cruises good for kids? We have two boys who will be 6 and 11 next year and will more than likely bring them with us, is it boring for them? Do lots of kids go? Fun things to do?

Yes, there are many children activities. On this last cruise there were many younger kids and very few teen age kids due to school I'm sure. But the kids had all kinds of special activities all week long.

So if anyone can give me a run down of basically what is included, what isn't and what you personally budget for (with extras) this will help a lot!!

You need to cover for gratuities, alcoholic drinks, any shopping or purchases of gifts, etc, internet access cost if you use it, spa or massage type stuff, speciality restaurant cover charges, shore excursions.

For an example, we just got off the DVC member cruise and we are 2 adults (sometimes). We used DVC points for the cabin and our bill after the 4 day cruise was $240 total for stuff we bought, wine, tips and things we did.

Hope that helps!

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

I don't mean to be a hair splitter, but they don't charge for soda anywhere on the ship now, except for room service.

Yay, I budgeted soda money!! So more money to buy other stuff for me!!!! YIPEE!!!

 

[cobbler]

Thanks rkdahl. $240 doesn't sound to bad. I probably will double that though for my family.

Hoping for a member cruise next year