Preliminary Planning Suggestions

[disney junky]

My DW and I have taken a few cruises, but only one Disney Cruise, and that was a three day. I want to take the entire extended family on a cruise within the next couple years, so this is a wide open question.

The cast of characters. DW and I. DS and DIL and granddaughter and grandson, currently age 6 and 4. DD and SIL and two grandsons, currently ages 5 and 4.

The earliest would be 2020, and it would be during the summer. We'd be sailing from Port Canaveral.
Each family would have its own stateroom.

Cost matters.

How long? What suggestions would you make for our planning? Where should I book that might save a little money?

 

[Sytrace]

Summer will be expensive out of Port Canaveral on the Disney Dream for shorter sailings or Disney Fantasy for longer sailings.
6 Adults and 4 kids, you could get two Family staterooms with veranda and put 5 in each, or you could get 3 staterooms of Oceanview or Inside or veranda and put 2 adults and 2 kids in one, 2 adults and 2 kids in the other and 2 adults in the third stateroom. Either connecting or side by side if connecting is not available. Summer 2020 has not been released yet, so there is not really a way to price them out unless you want to ballpark it with Summer 2019 sailings.

If possible, it is always a bit less expensive to sail in late August, September and early October if you can arrange schedules accordingly.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Price is the same no matter where you shop. Opening day, historically, has been the best price. Some TAs will offer OBC for using their services. To save money, I purchase Disney gc when they are on sale and use the best cc to get more benefits. Check out the Budget Board and look for the Deals thread - https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-gift-card-deals.2941964/. I save from 6% to 17% on gc and pay down the costs of the cruise this way. Start at the last page (about 1817) and work your way back in time to understand how many people obtain and use gc.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Probably the very best way to save money is using Costco as your TA - this means you'll get a percentage back (7-8%) of your cruise fare after the cruise, to be spent at Costco. Obviously this only works well if you are Costco members and shop there regularly. Costco as a TA is fairly low key in that you do a lot of the legwork on your own; they become a middle man of sorts between you and DCL, but you still get to book activities etc on your own. Another key way to save money that I've seen posted here and elsewhere is to buy Disney gift cards when they are on sale at stores like BJ's or Target. People seem to be able to save nearly 8% on the value of those cards, and the gift cards can be consolidated then applied to your cruise balance.

Otherwise, no real price savings to be had. Earlier in June or later in August will be cheaper than the peak of summer. With young kids, you may find that if families would agree to cruising during school season, you'll save quite a bit (we had an August cruise booked, moved it to November and saved $2,000 - same itinerary).

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

Probably the very best way to save money is using Costco as your TA - this means you'll get a percentage back (7-8%) of your cruise fare after the cruise, to be spent at Costco. Obviously this only works well if you are Costco members and shop there regularly.

Some people have said here that they were able to redeem that Costco gift card for cash, which I wish I’d known before I booked our upcoming trip.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Some people have said here that they were able to redeem that Costco gift card for cash, which I wish I’d known before I booked our upcoming trip.

Very much a YMMV as I think it's up to the individual warehouse / state laws etc. I certainly wouldn't bank on this. But, we buy a ton of stuff from Costco - a TON.

 

[LNMom]

Y'all are going to have the BEST time!!

1) Use a travel agent (or Costco as recommended above). You will get OBC with a travel agent (as mentioned above). This can be a lot of money to spend on board (or to pay for tips)! Note, that I do not recommend AAA. My MIL used them for our first cruise, and the agent was not helpful (there was no OBC, no discussion of which side of the ship, deck, or dinner seating was preferable). I had her cancel and I booked with a travel agent I had worked with in the past.

2) Get three cabins. You can't double up families. Maybe a couple interior (for each of the families) and one verandah/oceanview (for the grandparents where everyone can hang out and little ones can sleep while moms/dads go out later) OR 3 oceanview together so that no one has to worry about the balcony on a verandah. Ask the parents of kids what they'd prefer-be sure mom and dad of each family chimes in. I had lots of opinions when we traveled with my MIL. She is gracious and listened to them all. I was grateful for that as a DIL.

3) Find out when the historical opening dates for your cruise have been (I feel like summer 2020 is coming up in the next month or two, but I can't recall). There's also a place on the boards (can't recall where, I stumble upon it every time) where you can see current and historical prices for cruises. Perhaps you can figure out which dates have been more reasonable in the past.

4) My youngest was 3 on our first cruise. We did a 4 night. It was perfect. I wasn't sure how the kids would do, and I wasn't sure how I'd feel spending that much together time with my in-laws/they with me. We loved it so much that we're doing a 7 night together soon.
Managing Costs: Also, the 4-night cruise was to Nassau, which none of us was jazzed about. We stayed on board to enjoy the ship. Not having an excursion(s) to pay for helped to keep us within our budget. I packed beach toys for CC so my kids would have them without me having to buy any at the last minute.

5) Talk about passports with your children. I feel strongly that everyone should have one, including the kids. You never know what could happen on the cruise or in port. And if you don't already travel internationally together, maybe this will spur the interest. The cost is not insignificant if everyone doesn't already have one, so it will need to be budgeted.

6) While on board, book a placeholder. You never know! 10% off a future cruise and OBCs can't be beat!

Happy Sailing!!!

 

[LNMom]

There’s some chatter about summer 2020 release dates on the 2020 watch?? Thread on this forum. See page 17 (on my phone it’s page 17 anyway, may be different in another device).

Happy sailing!

 

[Sunshine2U]

I'd use current prices on 2019 summer cruises to select cruise/duration/ship and cabin types, decks, etc. At least you'll get an idea of the price. Book as soon as the summer 2020 dates are released and put the deposit down. The opening day prices are usually the best, and it's the best (but not only) chance to get the stateroom locations you want. If it turns out you have the cancel the deposits will be refunded. FWIW, I've never found the price difference between inside and balcony staterooms to prevent me from choosing the balcony. Perhaps it's because we always cruise Disney in November or February. Both GS in regular school after this year so I guess we'll be leaving them behind or paying the premium fares.

No real way to book savings except as noted above.