Waiting until last minute- good deals?

[princesslondon]

Has anyone ever waited until a week or two before a cruise and called Disney to get a good rate? Is it even possible?

 

[outahere]

From everything I've read here on DIS and elsewhere, I don't think DCL does any "last minute" deals. Their prices are less, the further out you book.

If you're planning on traveling with children, you are definitely better off booking early, because they do have a cap on the number of children they allow in each age group.

 

[TnRobin]

So far, Disney has not offered "last minute" deals. I fyou wait until the last minute to book, you will probably pay full price. Whereas if you book early and you find out about a discount, DCL will reprice your cruise.

 

[sitchu2]

I have been keeping my eye open for discounts in case I am able to re price my cruise, and what I am seeing is DCL selling out the remaining staterooms to florida residents at 40% off, I also got word that they make the deals available to employees. From what I have been told they always sell out this way.

 

[mmouse37]

As the other have said...DCL does not need to "last minute discount" to fill the ship. They offer discounts to CM's and their families. They sail with about a 90% or higher occupancy rate.

One site you may check to see if there are any discounts would be www.vacationstogo.com

Sometimes DCL cruises will be a bit cheaper...but DCL pricing structure is really the further out you book, the cheaper.

MJ

 

[fireplug]

MOST of the time DCL does not offer discounts . However the Disney Visa bill came with an insert that offered Cat 11 rooms on 4 day Wonder in Sept. for $399 pp, with a $50 cabin credit and 6mo interest free if you charged it on the card.

We did!

Steve

 

[MO64RN]

On our first cruise we booked 3 weeks prior and got the fall fantasy plus rates that were offered at the time. We also got the last available stateroom on the cruise.

 

[goofydadeo]

We booked the Eastern cruise last November and got in for around $2100 for a family of 4 in a category 11. I kept watching Expedia for the prices to drop (they did to $599/adult). So - it is possible! Just be patient and wait until the slower months (Oct, Nov and Jan). Good luck!

 

[HLFDZN]

I think we got a pretty low price for a family of 8. We booked 2 category 11 rooms that sleep 4 each. The total price for the family was just under $4000. That is about $500 each ( which includes port charges and taxes. I expected Spring break prices to be a lot higher. I just wondered if the ship does not fill up, do they drop the price to fill it? and when do they generally do that? Thanks in advance for the answers...Melissa

 

[3MinnieMom]

My in-laws called my DH the other day to tell us they might join us on our Nov 8th cruise. They were also told of the "last minute deals" - 3 days before the cruise sails (but, according to my in-laws, you have to be physically in Florida to take advantage of these "deals"). Are they confusing this with deals for Disney CM's or FL residents? They will only join us if they are able to get "a bargain". Thanks for any add'l info!!

 

[dlelol]

It is possible to get last-minute good deals. I booked my 8/30/03 cruise in May for $899 per person in a cat 11. I just checked Travelocity and the price on the same cat has dropped to $649 per person for the same date.

 

[paulmc80]

Yes! I just noticed the $649 rates on the 8/30/03 cruise and was quite surprised. I usually check the rates on DCL cruises regularly and think to date this is the lowest price I've seen for a 7-night Western cruise.

 

[4nana]

I am signed up for several cruise email specials.

Rec'd Cruise.com 7 day eastern cruise special for Sept 6 $599 and
Cruise411.com 7 day eastern special for Sept 6 or 20 for$599.
Includes port! Probably a cat 11, sounds like a real bargin to me.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by sitchu2
what I am seeing is DCL selling out the remaining staterooms to florida residents at 40% off, I also got word that they make the deals available to employees. From what I have been told they always sell out this way.

This is the case but it doesn't necessarily happen on *every* cruise. As Florida Residents we've been able to secure really great deals on all three of our previous cruises and on our upcoming cruise next week.

These Florida Resident rates are not advertised for the most part and you just have to call DCL and ask if they have any Florida Resident rates for date X.

Although this helps to keep the ship sailing full, you also have to understand that only Category 10 and Category 11 are offered as Florida Resident Rates.

As far as the Cast Member “discounts” go, I’ve met several Disney employees over my past three cruises. They have all said that it’s more of a standard reduced rate rather than a special-time discount. Also, remember that The Walt Disney Company is quite expansive and this employee rate covers all areas. (Walt Disney World, ABC, Touchstone, Mirmax, Disneyland Resort, Disney Stores, etc.) I’ve met several employees from very different parts of the company!

 

[shoes99]

DCL online now has cat 11 GTY for $599 for the 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Sept 20th sailing. Wow, I am booked on a cat 7 (secret verandah) for that cruise and I paid a lot more than $599.
Good news for me: we were just moved from a secret verandah on deck 7 to a full verandah on deck 7. Whoopee.
Michele

 

[cjsmith]

"Although this helps to keep the ship sailing full, you also have to understand that only Category 10 and Category 11 are offered as Florida Resident Rates."

This isn't true, they do offer other categories at the FL resident rate. We've cruised the last 3 times under the FL rate, both 5 ights and the 7 night Western and have gotten 1 category 11 for our kids and a category 6 for my husband and I. Our friends had a category 9. They don't offer any categories above a 5. Not all categories are offered on every cruise either. We moved our July 19th cruise to June 7th this summer since they offered the discount then. They then offered the discount on the July 19th cruise, but not in a cateogry 6. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the discount comes out for the January 4th cruise that I booked the other day.
Carolyn