Most Cost Effective Time to Sail Disney

[KyleAfterAWhile]

We have never taken a Disney cruise, but we are chomping at the bit to book one. I need some advice from you experts.

When is the most cost effective time to sail with Disney? My gut tells me January and February, like most cruise lines, but Disney is not the norm for anything.

Does Disney get more expensive as you get closer to the dates you want or can you find deals for unoccupied rooms?

Is May typically more expensive? My (uneducated) guess is that May - August & November - December are the most costly.

How does the food and entertainment on DCL compare to something like Carnival and Royal? Given the cost difference, I would expect it to be better, but I zero experience that department. I have only sailed Carnival.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Disney cruises are most expensive when kids are out of school. So President's Day in February will be high, as will spring break, the summer months, and the Christmas holidays.

Sometimes you can find "deals" close to sailing, but on the most popular cruises, the sooner you book, the better.

I prefer the food on Royal, but that's subjective. Entertainment on DCL has musical theatre Disney style (of course) and is superior to other cruise lines. overall.

 

[hanscarlet]

Jan and Feb and Sept are the cheapest months. May is hit or miss depending on proximity to spring break for schools and June. June, July and August and uber expensive.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

For us booking GT (restricted rates) has been by far the cheapest way to do a Disney cruise. These rates can be released at any time, but there is no formal announcement from Disney. You will find them while searching for a cruise.
These are typically released around 75-60 days before most Caribbean sailings and often longer if they are trying to fill an unsold Mediterranean sailing.
A few times now we paid about 25% below opening day prices cruising to the Caribbean by booking VGT.

December, January are actually one of the cheapest times other than Christmas and NY weeks. Especially Bahama cruises... it can be down right cool in Florida and Bahamas then.
Followed by September because of hurricane season and I found October picks up with pricing.

Now for some of the more popular sailings, such as Alaska, Castaway Cay double dip, you will not these GT rates too often.
I also tend to see them more on the 7 night Caribbean sailings than shorter 3 and 4 night cruises.
This is just what I have found.

As to how it compares... well you will find a lot of threads on that here...
We have cruised with Royal as well (once) on one of their top of the line ships Anthem and here is how I feel about it... I would not pay double for Disney over Royal. It’s a very comparable family friendly cruise line in terms of quality.
Disney entertainment will be Disney, can’t really compare that... but we found a lot more options for everything on Royal. Both included and paid...service overall was better on Disney but it was very good to excellent on Royal.
I would say that many kids older than 8 will enjoy the newer Royal ships more unless they are really into Disney.
Although my ds is really into Disney and now prefers Royal (well Anthem) and he’s begging to go on Harmony.
He prefers to get his Disney fix in the parks.
Having said that, we will continue to cruise Disney but are also totally open and even excited to cruise the other lines
Also I want to say that paying the premium for a Disney cruise is worth at least once... beyond that it’s only for Disney fanatics such as myself

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

For us booking GT (restricted rates) has been by far the cheapest way to do a Disney cruise. These rates can be released at any time, but there is no formal announcement from Disney. You will find them while searching for a cruise.
These are typically released around 75-60 days before most Caribbean sailings and often longer if they are trying to fill an unsold Mediterranean sailing.
A few times now we paid about 25% below opening day prices cruising to the Caribbean by booking VGT.

December, January are actually one of the cheapest times other than Christmas and NY weeks. Especially Bahama cruises... it can be down right cool in Florida and Bahamas then.
Followed by September because of hurricane season and I found October picks up with pricing.

Now for some of the more popular sailings, such as Alaska, Castaway Cay double dip, you will not these GT rates too often.
I also tend to see them more on the 7 night Caribbean sailings than shorter 3 and 4 night cruises.
This is just what I have found.

As to how it compares... well you will find a lot of threads on that here...
We have cruised with Royal as well (once) on one of their top of the line ships Anthem and here is how I feel about it... I would not pay double for Disney over Royal. It’s a very comparable family friendly cruise line in terms of quality.
Disney entertainment will be Disney, can’t really compare that... but we found a lot more options for everything on Royal. Both included and paid...service overall was better on Disney but it was very good to excellent on Royal.
I would say that many kids older than 8 will enjoy the newer Royal ships more unless they are really into Disney.
Although my ds is really into Disney and now prefers Royal (well Anthem) and he’s begging to go on Harmony.
He prefers to get his Disney fix in the parks.
Having said that, we will continue to cruise Disney but are also totally open and even excited to cruise the other lines
Also I want to say that paying the premium for a Disney cruise is worth at least once... beyond that it’s only for Disney fanatics such as myself

I am sorry, but I am not following the abbreviations? GT? VGT?

All of this has been very helpful.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I am sorry, but I am not following the abbreviations? GT? VGT?

All of this has been very helpful.

GT- guarantee
VGT- verandah guarantee
OGT- Oceanview Guarantee
IGT- inside guarantee

They are sometimes actually a deal, other times just less obnoxious than normal pricing, but still obnoxious. ha!

There are 2 similar rates...you want to look for the ones that are "restricted rates." Those are discounted off the prevailing rate and you don't choose your room..it is assigned closer to sailing. Sometimes these are confused with another guarantee rate where you don't get to choose your stateroom but it is not discounted. The key to the "discount" is that there are no changes or cancellations allowed. You normally see these pop up at random within a month or 2 from the sail date.

ETA: Here is a great thread explaining further...https://www.disboards.com/threads/guarantee-status-vs-igt-ogt-vgt.2914256/

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

GT- guarantee
VGT- verandah guarantee
OGT- Oceanview Guarantee
IGT- inside guarantee

They are sometimes actually a deal, other times just less obnoxious than normal pricing, but still obnoxious. ha!

There are 2 similar rates...you want to look for the ones that are "restricted rates." Those are discounted off the prevailing rate and you don't choose your room..it is assigned closer to sailing. Sometimes these are confused with another guarantee rate where you don't get to choose your stateroom but it is not discounted. The key to the "discount" is that there are no changes or cancellations allowed. You normally see these pop up at random within a month or 2 from the sail date.

ETA: Here is a great thread explaining further...https://www.disboards.com/threads/guarantee-status-vs-igt-ogt-vgt.2914256/

Thanks! I was just going to link that thread

 

[undertheradar]

Too many variables involved to provide a simple answer. Where are you sailing from? How many in your sailing party and the ages? How many days are you looking to sail? Where are you hoping to sail to? What type of stateroom are you looking at? While September through early March would be lower priced, minus the holiday weeks, there is a possibility of cooler weather, increased storm activity.

Prices are regularly lowest when new sailings are released. That is not always the case, but is more the norm than the exception. With listed discount rates, there are restrictions that do not allow changes and some of these require payment in full when booking the rate.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am sorry, but I am not following the abbreviations? GT? VGT?

All of this has been very helpful.

There's a sticky thread discribing the diffence, but basically:

GTY= guarantee room. This option is offered when a certain percentage of room within a specific category have been booked. You can still book that category, you just can't select a room. DCL will assign a room to you at a later date. There's no price reduction for not selecting your room.

*GT = last minute guarantee rooms. DCL offers these, typically after the paid in full date to fill empty rooms. Like GTY, DCL will assign a room at a later date. There is a price reduction, but you must pay in full on booking, with no changes, and no refunds.

 

[disneycruise100]

Have you ever looked at June/July sailing prices and compare them to January/February prices? It's almost painful.

I booked a 3 night in July and for a little over $500 could've booked a 7 night in February.

 

[cruiser21]

Jan and Feb and Sept are the cheapest months. May is hit or miss depending on proximity to spring break for schools and June. June, July and August and uber expensive.

Yep. I would include the last two weeks of October, first two weeks of November, the week after Thanksgiving and the first week of December. I rarely book more then a couple months out. We travel too much for me to have money tied up in stuff that's years out. I watch the prices though and I've been doing this a while. I know when I'm getting a good rate and when I'm not. I just booked the TA with an IGT rate for the same as opening day.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Too many variables involved to provide a simple answer. Where are you sailing from? How many in your sailing party and the ages? How many days are you looking to sail? Where are you hoping to sail to? What type of stateroom are you looking at? While September through early March would be lower priced, minus the holiday weeks, there is a possibility of cooler weather, increased storm activity.

Prices are regularly lowest when new sailings are released. That is not always the case, but is more the norm than the exception. With listed discount rates, there are restrictions that do not allow changes and some of these require payment in full when booking the rate.

I’m guessing the person that wrote is not from a state that holds it DCL port. But while we’re on the subject, is there any other state in Florida that gets a discount? I’m from Wisconsin and if I can find affordable airfare I’m not fussy about what port. (Not seeing a Wisconsin discount for Disney cruise at our Milwaukee port.
Although we would welcome any of the ships with open arms!)We
But it’s good to know the best deals to see how you can make them work for you,... or not since I’m non-FL and non-Military.
As to where I would sail? Anywhere but into a hurricane. But if I were looking for an Alaska cruise I’d get that the very moment that they became available to my Castaway Cay membership level. Hundreds of dollars can be lost in those first days.

About a room preference, window or veranda would be nice. I’ve never had a veranda because those cost more. Sure would be nice to have one but certainly inside cabin is cheaper than anyway that you can get sunlight. And if you get it early enough who knows you could be bumped up.

 

[cruiser21]

We have never taken a Disney cruise, but we are chomping at the bit to book one. I need some advice from you experts.

When is the most cost effective time to sail with Disney? My gut tells me January and February, like most cruise lines, but Disney is not the norm for anything.

Does Disney get more expensive as you get closer to the dates you want or can you find deals for unoccupied rooms?

Is May typically more expensive? My (uneducated) guess is that May - August & November - December are the most costly.

How does the food and entertainment on DCL compare to something like Carnival and Royal? Given the cost difference, I would expect it to be better, but I zero experience that department. I have only sailed Carnival.

I think I answered some of your questions in a previous post. Like most cruiselines Hurricane season Sept through November you'll find the lowest rates.

Food is not better so lower your expectations there. The pool side food is no where near the caliber of Carnival. Your going to be disappointed if you've sailed on Carnivals ships with Blue Iguana, Guys Burgers and the awesome wood fired Pizza. DCL doesn't come close. In my opinion it's not's edible, but some people like it.

Buffet- more options on DCL. I think food quality is about the same. DCL's buffet is crowded because the pool food is so bad. It also closes around 230 whereas Carnivals is open all day and night.

MDR-Dcl is pretty good. It's more French/ Continental with heavy sauces. Carnival is more American type cooking. I like both, but both lines could offer more variety.

Entertainment- DCL has broadway type shows and they are very good. I don't care for DCL's magicians or comedy shows...boring. I don't remember Carnivals shows, but I'm not really a show person.

Look at DCL's prices this Fall they haven't gone up a whole lot since opening day. A lot of these will have discounts especially the one's out of NYC.

Is it worth triple over Carnival. It's hard to say. If you love Carnival I would say no,

I should clarify Bahamas will be cheaper in Jan and Feb because it's cold. The Fantasy will not because of Star Wars days at sea. Your best prices on the Fantasy will be in the Fall.

 

[cgolf]

I guess the only question I would have for the OP are they just looking for a more reasonable time to sail on DCL, or are they looking for DCL prices to be more in line with say RCCL? While January and February are cheaper times of the year to sail on DCL, we have seen the price gap grow between DCL and other lines over the last 4 years and especially the last 2 when we price out our next cruise adventures.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

I guess the only question I would have for the OP are they just looking for a more reasonable time to sail on DCL, or are they looking for DCL prices to be more in line with say RCCL? While January and February are cheaper times of the year to sail on DCL, we have seen the price gap grow between DCL and other lines over the last 4 years and especially the last 2 when we price out our next cruise adventures.

Just more reasonable. We know that Disney is expensive, without a doubt.

 

[Trera]

We find the cruises during hurricane season and after the new year to be the cheapest.

 

[cruiser21]

Just more reasonable. We know that Disney is expensive, without a doubt.

How many are in your party? The price gap becomes larger the larger your party is.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

How many are in your party? The price gap becomes larger the larger your party is.

It will be 4 rooms.
3 adults
2 adults
2 adults
2 adults and 2 juniors

 

[cruiser21]

It will be 4 rooms.
3 adults
2 adults
2 adults
2 adults and 2 juniors

That's going to be a lot of money on Disney.

 

[Snowwhyt]

It will be 4 rooms.
3 adults
2 adults
2 adults
2 adults and 2 juniors

Of course 4 rooms does bring up the price. But if you are people who believe that the room is for sleeping in changing your clothes, inside cabins should be fine for everyone. Have one person that’s willing to share a veranda with the group, be sort of the head party place. Have inside rooms just across the hall from the veranda.