Need some advice... 1st time DCL cruiser!

[hygienejean]

Hi all,

We (me, DH, DS 4 and DD 2)are planning on cruising for our 10 year anniversary in May 2005. We would like to do a land/sea package but I have a couple of questions

Can I add a day to the package? If I just book the package and then book an extra day myself will the DCL bus pick us up or will I need to get my own transportation to the hotel a day early? I guess I am asking if the bus only comes on the cruise departure days or the beginning days of the land /sea package which would be Thursdays and Sundays I think. If not then what would you suggest.

Which travel agency do you recommend? I just got a quote from the sponser here and it was $300 MORE then what I got thru the Disney line. Am I missing something? I thought it would be more expensive thru DCL! Any ideas?

Do you usually get the whole package or get the components separately for less? Is that a hassel?

Thank you!!!!

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,

I am not sure if I am understanding you correctly, but here's my suggestion. If you book the Land/Sea cruise package through DCL directly or through a T/A your transportation from WDW to and from the ship is included with the package. So, if you want to add another (non-planned night) on your own you certainly can. Personally, I would add it at the beginning before you start the Laand/Sea cruise package. You would just then need to arrange your own transportation from the airport to WDW (Mears or a taxi) and then book a room on your own as well. All that can be done by calling 1-407-w-disney (which is a sep. number from the DCL department) and they will help you book your non-plan night. Then, call DCL and book your Land/Sea package and they will try and keep you in the same hotel room if you stay at the same resort , but their are no guarentees on that. DCL will then provide you transportation from your WDW resort to the cruiseship and then to the airport when your cruise is over.
Hope that helps as far as a T/A to use...no clue cause' I usually act as my own T/A and book directly with Disney.

Mmketeer

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We've actually found it less expensive to book the land and sea portions separately. For Disney room rates there are all kinds of great discounts out there (AAA, Annual Pass, Disney Visa, Floridian, etc.). And with the Land Sea packages you get the Ultimate Park Hopper tickets but you may not use all of the extras on them like Typhoon Lagoon, Disney Quest, etc. Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus tickets may be a better deal for you and your family.

Check out www.mousesavers.com for some great ideas on how to save money.

 

[hygienejean]

Wow thanks for the ideas. I usually book any WDW trip a la carte to save money but this one just has me puzzled. It seems that there are so many transfers etc that it might just be easier to suck it up and pay the extra $ for their package as much as I hate to do it! My last thought is to rent a car....ever done that and then went on your cruise? If it were no for all of the transportation issues it would surely be a no brainer! BTW, I just LOVE mousesavers too!

Mmketeer,
If I do go ahead and book the extra day and arrange for my own transportation to the hotel.....do I need to alert the DCL that we will not be there the next day when the package really begins? Do they have a list of people that are coming in? Just wondering...

 

[clh2]

My advice would be to take a town car service. There are many in the orlando/Port Canveral area to choose from. They will meet you at the airport and take you wherever you are staying, if you are using them for roundtrip transportation, they will do a 30 minute stop at a grocery store.

We used FL Tours - who help to sponsor the DIS boards - because we had read so many good things about them on the transportation section of the DIS. They were fabulous!

We also had done a land/sea package - so our round trip had 3-different parts to it.

The Disney bus didn't interest me at all - as we had to get up at 4:30 am to get to the airport. The hour ride in the limo was quiet and peaceful. Not sure we would have had that on the bus.

Renting a car didn't make sense to us. We were only going to be at DisneyWorld for 3 days after the cruise. So we weren't planning on going offsite for anything.

 

[mousebrat]

We will be adding a day before our upcoming land/sea package. For two adults, DCL transfers are cheaper than a town car. For more people, the town car is usually cheaper. With DCL transfers, our understanding is that we will get a voucher to use with Mears when we arrive the day before.

From my perspective, not having to drive for 9 days is part of the value of a Disney vacation...

 

[Empire Day]

We used our transfer with Mears the day befor with no trouble!
The DCL busses are fine and a nice ride if you are not worried about the resie rush
The land and sea package can be cheaper depending on when your booking both what time of year and how early. over a year in advance is like getting 3 nights for free at a deluxe with a cat. 6 at least it has been for us

 

[hygienejean]

Do I need to request a mears transfer or is that what is automatically sent? thanks!

 

[crisi]

Its less of a stumper than you think.

You'll probably do the land part first. Book your WDW trip however you usually do. You can rent a car, or book a towncar.

Here is the tricky part, if you book your towncar you'll just have three legs to the trip...

MCO to WDW.
WDW to the terminal
Terminal to MCO.

MCO to WDW will be whenever you land.

Have the towncar pick you up at your WDW hotel around 9:30 to get to the terminal. You'll have lots of time to hang in the terminal before the ship opens.

Have the towncar pick you up again about 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning (depending on if you have first or second dinner seating and/or what time your plane leaves) to go to MCO.

Book the first plane home leaving after noon.

I think most of the towncar companies (certainly Tiffany) have done this often enough so that if you call them, they will tell you when you'll need to get picked up where.

 

[Empire Day]

DCL/DW transfers are accepted by mears the only draw back is the DCL busses are very nice Mears may just have you in a van but its still taking you to see Mickey

 

[Hygiene99]

HI .. To another Pro...

would look into booking it not as a package...
may save u a couple of bucks ....


Also what type of Room are u intrested in ????

would recomend that u get at least a porthole ...

and im going to Share a very well known Disney secret

CATagory 10 on deck 5 is what the call a secret porthole Room

u get a porthole But only pay for an inside stateroom 5020

is the best room but Here is a web site that u can look at actual pictures from other cruisers of the stateroom

just click this link and look under staterooms
www.Castawayclub.com TONS OF USEFUL INFO AT THIS SITE.....

Aslo would Recommend that u use a private towncar service
for transportation.... Not Disney Transportationm via MEARS..
I know that it will be more MONEY.... u can find a towncar service at that site also...

Stayying at Disney we Like to Do Disney Before the cruise.......

and the just go home after the cruise....

I have Also sent u a Personal Message......

 

[rsjj]

will you by flying? booking own flight will be cheaper! we booked through travelocity, with 2 DSs (2 & 4), and picked times that were good for us. non stop, direct, etc. just a thought...

 

[gizfish]

We did exactly what you are talking about. Three days on land is just not enough, and a three day cruise certainly isn't long enough either. We booked through a travel agent and they booked the added on day as part of a total package consisting of the extra day, the normal land/sea package plus the transfers. Be aware that you will be required to pay for ultimate park hopper passes for the additional day as that is WDW policy when you already have a package and are adding to it. We are staying at AKL and for a late April stay, the price for the additional day at AKL for two people, plus the additional passes for two people was $455.00. Our docs reflect the additional day and tell how to use the transfers from airport to resort, resort to pier and pier to airport. We are to go to the Mear's counter for the first leg of the transfers as regular Disney buses do not operate on that day.