Question - priced cruise, and how do people afford to go on them

[NBFUN]

My family was planning on taking a cruise in 2006, and we just recently priced it. There would be nine of us going with my family of five (4 adults, 1 child) staying in a room. We were planning the 4 day cruise/Disney resort vacation. For the five of us in one room and staying at the AKL for the 3 night resort stay, we were quoted almost $11,000 and this was without airfare. I couldn't believe it. Is this normal? Thanks.

At this time we have decided to not take one for that price.

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

It really depends on when your going and the type of room you've priced. Summer will cost more. Fall will cost considerably less.

You probably priced a cat 4 for your family of 5. Try 2 cat 10 or cat 9s which are connecting. Many times that's less and you'll have more room.

How do we afford it? Plan early, book off season and save every extra penny.

 

[LuvTigger]

I would look into booking separate rooms. Also look into booking the WDW part separate from the cruise, and check with a variety of sources aside from Disney (maybe some travel agents, travel websites, etc.).

In 1999, I booked a 3-day Disney cruise for 6 people in two rooms in an oceanview stateroom (not with a verandah -- I want to say it was a level 8, but I'd need to double check). I have to look back in my records, but I remember it being pretty reasonable, I think less than $3000 for the two rooms.

We stayed at WDW for about a week and I booked the hotel rooms separately. Again, we booked 2-3 rooms (we had a number of people coming and going throughout this vacation, so it depended on the number of people we had at any one time). We also stayed at several different resorts to alleviate some of the cost (started at an AS, moved up to a mod, then ended at WL).

Don't give up yet, I think if you are willing to put some time and effort into this, you could come up with something a lot more reasonable.

 

[disneysailor]

Our first Disney cruise cost considerably less than the second because we were able to go in January instead of April. For the 1st trip we also booked the Disney resort portion on our own and stayed at one of the value resorts, which saved a ton of money. We also don't eat fancy meals before the cruise since we know we'll be getting plenty of great food once on board. For breakfast we even buy food ahead that we can have in our room. This saves $$ and also time when we're trying to get to the parks early. Don't forget, the cruise includes all food and entertainment with the exception of excursions, which are optional.

 

[skyhawk]

This is a once in a lifetime trip for us. Two years ago we set up a jar, and every day we put our spare change into it - leftover nickels and quarters, pennies and dimes. We are in the middle of counting all these coins now and we probably have about $1,200. Granted, this won't pay for the cruise, but it helps.

Also, skip your daily Hot Grande Vanilla Cafe Latte Frappachino. Take the three bucks you saved, put it in a jar, after 2 years, go get your extra $1,800.

I grant you, it's expensive - but I look at it this way - when the kids grow up and look back on this trip, it will bring back memories for them that are worth much more than the money we spent.

:thewave:

 

[ColeenD]

Go during the off season (kids are in school) if you can, book your hotel separately yourself (value to moderate) and do your airfare yourself. It's cheaper if you can either take the kids out of school for a few days or go during fall if the kids aren't school age. Law of supply and demand, when the kids are out of school, the price goes UP.

 

[tink5]

We booked a cat. 6 (w/verhanda) and a cat 11 across the hall, for our family of five. This way we still have at least one verhanda and we saved about $1200 compaired to the deluxe family stateroom.

Hope this helps.

 

[TheWog]

yeah, you need to know when you are going. If you are going in the summer or during school vacation or holiday times you will pay much more. Check around too. There are lots of TA's out there with all sorts of specials.

We went in January, paid the lowest prices, and got a Cat. 6 for out family of 3. Took my DS6 out of school for the experience of a lifetime. He loved it and so did we. We are planning our Western for Jan 2006 once they release the dates.

Go on off times and the prices are much better. Also, maybe scale down the land portion where you are staying and that can help.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by skyhawk
Hot Grande Vanilla Cafe Latte Frappachino

ROFL!

In all seriousness, those things are expensive and can you say FATTENING!!!

For the cost of two of them you can buy a nice commuter mug and make your own at home for pennies.

Anne

 

[mkbowlkw]

Like others, we planned early. We have a set budget that we set aside each year for travel. We usually take one nice trip for our anniversary and one nice trip with the boys and then we take a sepearate trip for the boys to see grandma (since it is a 5 hour drive we usually do that). This year we decided to kill 2 birds with one shot so we are taking the yearly kids trip and our anniversary trip together (7 day land/sea) deal. This way, we can use most of our yearly travel budget together and we all can/will enjoy it. The total was $7K (including trave from houston, hotel, disney admissions, ground xfers, etc.) Since this will be a memorable trip for the boys (ages 4 and 7), we decided to make it enjoyable. We don't want any worries. We just want to enjoy. We booked a cat 5 with verhanda. We booked a deluxe room at the Polynesian for the 3 days we are at WD. We figured you only live once and the kids grow up so fast so we want to enjoy them while we can.

 

[CAMICKEY]

We have plastic. Just joking although we do charge the cruise so we can get points for other cruises. We save , save and save and a nice vacation once a year is included in our budget. I wish they would lower their prices a little but because there is such a demand for DCL, they can pretty much set their prices at what they want. Hope you can finaggle one in the future as it truly is a magical experience. - Mike

 

[momto2dkids]

I think the price seems somewhat high.

When my family of 5 (3 adults-myself, DH, DM and 2-children) went Halloween 2002, 4 land/3 sea, we stayed at the Grand Floridian and a Cat. 3 Suite on the ship. The total was just over $9000, but this price also included airfare, insurance, two rooms overnight stay at the Hyatt MCO because we used the arriving night before option and all Disney transfers for us.

Next April, we (again 5ppl, but with 2 adults and 3 children, one 18 months)are doing the 7 night cruise only. We are staying in a Cat. 4, doing our own air, insurance and transportation. We got several quotes a couple of weeks ago, ranging from $4900 to $6400. To have Disney do airfare, insurance and transfer would have added an additional $3000 to the total.

Needless to say, we booked the lowest quote and have been pricing our own airfare, which looks to be approximately $270 per person right now. Much, much cheaper.

I would say, don't give up!!! Look at different TA's to see about getting different quotes. Also try cruisecompete.com. They can give you several quotes from different agencies.

Best of luck!

 

[dclwdwlover]

We do a lot of what's already been mentioned - especially off-season travel, booking early & taking a certain amount of $$ out of the paycheck each week -right off the top- & put it into a 'vacation fund'. Actually, we have a few funds - travel expenses, food, purchases, etc. We give to them diligently.

Also, we have driven - from upstate NY - the majority of times, which saves a lot of $$ in airfare, but most importantly, allows us to bring bags of food & coolers, which saves us a TON of money in the parks, hotels, & on the road before & after the trip. We bring things like fruit, cereal, granola bars, bagels, cookies, raisins, etc., etc. This really cuts down on the food budget, which can get quite costly, especially when there's a large no. of people. Also, having the coolers to bring into the hotel, we can get milk for cereal or bring food back with us from a restaurant visit & keep it on ice for a few days & use it for a meal.

We budget way ahead of time for big meals out while on vacation, and know that all meals are included on the ship, which is great!

Planning ahead of time for everything is really the key.

 

[ekelly4200]

Originally posted by NBFUN
My family was planning on taking a cruise in 2006, and we just recently priced it. There would be nine of us going with my family of five (4 adults, 1 child) staying in a room. We were planning the 4 day cruise/Disney resort vacation. For the five of us in one room and staying at the AKL for the 3 night resort stay, we were quoted almost $11,000 and this was without airfare. I couldn't believe it. Is this normal? Thanks.

At this time we have decided to not take one for that price.

Only way we are going....Tax refund!!!!! I was able to put the $800 down from some money I just came into. The rest will be paid off with next years tax return. Thats why we have to wait till May to cruise so I can have the money by March to make final payment.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Book EARLY and book in the off season.

Once you've taken a cruise, take DCL up on their offer to sign up for another cruise with discounts.

We're paying DCL about $2800 for a family of three to take a 7 day cruise in 09/04 in cabin with verandah.

 

[crisi]

Book early, book off season, save, prioritize vacations over lattes or nice cars.....BUT

Also keep in mind that people have different levels of income...

I still remember a post - I think it was over on the resort board. Someone asking how people afforded all these trips and someone said "my mother in law pays - my husband's family is very wealthy."

And different levels of expenses....

A family with a middle class income but no mortgage or car payments has more to spend on luxuries like vacations.

I'm guessing that few people that cruise - even once in a lifetime crusies - have household annual incomes in the less than $30k range. And that people who cruise frequently are probably in the top 20% of household incomes in the US (for 2003 thats about $85k a year). (The three year median household income in the US is around $43k).

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by crisi
Book early, book off season, save, prioritize vacations over lattes or nice cars.....BUT

Also keep in mind that people have different levels of income...

I still remember a post - I think it was over on the resort board. Someone asking how people afforded all these trips and someone said "my mother in law pays - my husband's family is very wealthy."

And different levels of expenses....

A family with a middle class income but no mortgage or car payments has more to spend on luxuries like vacations.

I'm guessing that few people that cruise - even once in a lifetime crusies - have household annual incomes in the less than $30k range. And that people who cruise frequently are probably in the top 20% of household incomes in the US (for 2003 thats about $85k a year). (The three year median household income in the US is around $43k).

Now that makes ME feel better.....
Hey, Cash, we're not poor, after all.....

 

[Mr. Bill]

We borrow money to purchase a car - sometimes even when it is not totally necessary to "upgrade" to a new one. We are lucky if it last until the final payment is made.

Money spent on a trip - especially a Disney Cruise - will create memories that will last a lifetime.

A tip to Acapulco Mexico 15 years ago with my beloved (late) wife can still be brought to mind as if it was yesterday.

Bill

 

[OnTheRocks]

Save for three years for a few days on DCL. I know this sounds crazy but it is Wonderfully Magical. We're trying for the 7 day next year and will probably need to save for another year.
It's all worth it!

 

[CheapMom]

Don't freak out about the "ballpark" quote you got- I say ballpark because prices aren't available for summer of 06 when you want to go. (At least I don't think they are)
If you want to cruise during the on-season, have a verandah, go to wdw and stay in a deluxe- then yes it is going to be pricey. Stay off-site or at a value resort at wdw, travel off season, get a porthole instead of a verandah, definately book your own airfare, rent a car or service instead of transfers... it adds up (or down)
Good luck...