What should I be paying for a 3 night cruise??

[GrimGhost]

Two adults two children 4,6. Cheapest staterooms are fine. My brother priced it himself, his family is basically the same and he said the DCL quote came back at about $3,000. This can't be right, can it?????

 

[Sarangel]

Cruise pricing is very tricky it depends on a lot of factors. The pricing for a cruise in June (if you bought it recently) would be different than the pricing for the same cruise a year later (if you buy it a year in advance). To illustrate, we booked our Cat 6 July 9 West Coast (verandah) cruise 14 months in advance and were charged around $4000 (for 2 adults and 1 under 3 DD). A couple of months ago, I started to wonder if we could save a couple of bucks by downgrading to a Cat 10, if it was available. The quote came back higher than the price we had locked in for the Cat 6 (needless to say we decided to keep our current reservation).

You don't say whether your hoping to cruise soon or later or what time of year you want to go (September is the most cost effective), but I can tell you that for a family of four you need Cat 11 or higher since I don't believe that the Cat 12's hold 4 people. This also affects pricing.

 

[kevlois]

We booked our cruise 14 months in advance. 3 day,Cat 10, family of four, DCL transfers, insurance, flight, room at Hyatt MCO, souveniors, drinks, excursions, everything about $3500. It is a lifetime experience. Yea pricey for three days but worth every penny. Would I do it again?? Where do I sign up. I say shop around. We could of got by a little cheaper if I would of done more homework and saved I'm guessing $150-200.

 

[bicker]

It is worth underscoring what Sarangel said about time-of-year: September will be substantially less expensive than, say, April, just due to the threat of hurricanes and how that could disrupt your plans and the ship's itinerary.

 

[GrimGhost]

Sarangel, I can't believe I left that out. We are going in June and then to WDW on points -- we are DVC.

 

[erikthewise]

If you don't specificallly reject them, the quote will be greatly inflated by transfers and insurance. For a family of four these will run you about $450-$500. So subtract those (if necessary) to get the actual price of the cruise.

 

[Jsme]

You can do your own insurance for about half the price and if you rent a car the cost is about $55 verses the $59 pp. This would reduce your cost factor.

 

[GrimGhost]

Thanks to all for help!

 

[Sarangel]

Sarangel, I can't believe I left that out. We are going in June and then to WDW on points -- we are DVC.

June 2005 or June 2006? If you're talking about this month, $3000 isn't really surprising. The only East Coast ship is the Wonder, school is out, I'm sure the demand is high and I'm pretty sure that most sailings will be sold out or nearly so.

For next June, $3000 seems a bit high for a 3 day cruise in cat 11. I would guess that $2000 or lower would be a more reasonable amount.

Sarangel