Which is cheaper? Land/Sea package or book separately?

[DisneyD]

We have already booked the cruise portion, cat. 6, balcony room, and we're getting ready to book the land portion. We don't need a deluxe resort, moderate is more than fine. Can you book a land/sea with a cat. 6 room but moderate or lower on land (w/dining)?

 

[Jestocost]

Well, your question gets to one of the problems with booking a land/sea package with Disney vs. booking separately. With a Cat. 6 cabin you are paired with a Deluxe resort for the land portion if you book a land/sea package with Disney, which obviously costs more. If you book separately, you can book a mod or a value or whatever.

 

[frdeb1999]

It's cheaper to book seperately. And you have many more options available to you. We do just the opposite of what your planning and go with the deluxe resort....but then with 2 cat 9 cabins. Price them out both ways, but I'm sure you'll find that it's cheaper just to do them seperately.

 

[itutorfortravel]

although i never actually booked the package, i did price out a land/sea with a cat 7 cabin and a deluxe resort stay (at the poly)...these were both what we wanted - cabin type and deluxe resort. in my case, the quote was WAY cheaper to do the land / sea than to break them out separately. but that may have had something to do with the time of year we wanted to go as well.

 

[winotracy]

although i never actually booked the package, i did price out a land/sea with a cat 7 cabin and a deluxe resort stay (at the poly)...these were both what we wanted - cabin type and deluxe resort. in my case, the quote was WAY cheaper to do the land / sea than to break them out separately. but that may have had something to do with the time of year we wanted to go as well.

I was just going to post this. It does make a big difference when you are going so I would definitely price it out separately. Even if you want a moderate instead of a deluxe for the purpose of saving money. You might find it is cheaper to take the deluxe instead of the moderate. The time of year really matters on this.

 

[Chunkah]

Don't forget to factor in, that when you book a Land/Sea vaca, park hopper tix for the land portion of your stay are included in the price.

 

[mrsg00fy]

You would have to price out the components separately to determine this because depending on the season, occupancy levels, etc.....it could be cheaper either way. Flexibility is reduced however, with the package plan.

For our upcoming Land/ Sea trip, it was far cheaper to book it as a package. I paid $1,520. for the package for early November. (cat 12 gtee) At the time, pricing it separately was as follows:

cabin $820.
tkts $279 each x 2 = $558
4 nights room (POFQ rack rate) = $740.

Total price of separate components @ $2,118.

If I had priced it separately, I could have had more flexibility in hotels, maybe could have taken advantage of other discounts, etc. However, the $1,520 at the time I booked was a terrific price and I went with it. BTW....I booked two rooms/ packages and it was cheaper than our family of 4 than staying in 1 cabin on the ship and 1 room on land! I know that I'm taking a risk with cabin location....but that is fine with me.

Hope that helps.

 

[DisneyD]

We're trapped into going in early June, so we're on the June 14th 4-night sailing. Actually, the very next week is when the cruise prices go up significantly. Our school makes it very difficult to pull kids out for vacation, so we have to go in the summertime. So we tried to plan it as early as we could to try to avoid some of the crowds and prices.

I did a land/sea before, about 5 years ago, and it was cheaper to book separately. But, I just wondered with Disney's Land/Sea package if there was any way to get a moderate resort on land but a more deluxe room on the ship. If there isn't, I think Disney has missed the boat on this one. People like choices.

I booked the sea portion with Small World Vacations (which gave me a rebate for booking early) and I'm booking the land with AAA because Small World can't discount land packages. Totally confusing and I hate to do it this way. That's why I put the post out there to see if I'm doing the right thing.

 

[richsilver]

I got 7days/6nights at POFQ w/dining 5 of the days for less than the land/sea combo w/o dining.Just got back so went in Sept.11 days against 7.Way better seperate for us.


rich

 

[mmouse37]

We're trapped into going in early June, so we're on the June 14th 4-night sailing. Actually, the very next week is when the cruise prices go up significantly. Our school makes it very difficult to pull kids out for vacation, so we have to go in the summertime. So we tried to plan it as early as we could to try to avoid some of the crowds and prices.

I did a land/sea before, about 5 years ago, and it was cheaper to book separately. But, I just wondered with Disney's Land/Sea package if there was any way to get a moderate resort on land but a more deluxe room on the ship. If there isn't, I think Disney has missed the boat on this one. People like choices.

I booked the sea portion with Small World Vacations (which gave me a rebate for booking early) and I'm booking the land with AAA because Small World can't discount land packages. Totally confusing and I hate to do it this way. That's why I put the post out there to see if I'm doing the right thing.

No, in answer to your actual question....you can't pair a moderate resort at WDW with a Cat 6 on the ship on the package.....I agree people like choices but the package is set up to pair comparable accommodations for WDW and the ship.

 

[jnadelman]

I'm not sure on this, so you may want to ask around. But, since the cruise includes food, there is a chance that the price for the land see package also includes the dinning plan. Don't forget to factor that in.

 

[outlander]

I'm not sure on this, so you may want to ask around. But, since the cruise includes food, there is a chance that the price for the land see package also includes the dinning plan. Don't forget to factor that in.

The dining plan in NOT included in the land portion but it can now be added separately at the current rate.

 

[mindy327]

We personally, found it to be wonderful to book them together as a DCL package. We stayed at the POR and we love it there. The landscaping is amazing! I like to book them together, for the fact that you get checked in at the kiosk located inside the hotel for the cruise. All our questions were taken care of if we had one AT THE RESORT. If you book seperate, you are so to speak a WDW resort guest not a DCL guest. Just seems more fun as a DCL package to me, so we have always gone that route. Even with pricing it seperately, I was always brought back with the pros to going as a package. Everyone is different, if you want to save a few dollars and upgrade a room at WDW then sure, book seperate, but if you want all the DCL help, book together. Hope this helps.

 

[kcashner]

The big advantage to booking the package is convenience--mostly for your TA, but a little for you.

The advantage to booking separately is flexibility and can be price. Flexibility--you purchase exactly what you want. In the package, you are tied to the resort type (deluxe, moderate) that correlates with your cabin. You cannot take advantage of any specials like free dining (if available during your dates).

Price--there is no way to predict which will work out better, you have to price it out. The cat 12 gty is a great "special." You won't usually beat that booking separately. However, if you want a cat 6, you can frequently do better....or if you are a DVC member, have annual park passes, etc......you'll want to book separately.

Example--you want a cat 6 on the ship but are happy in a moderate or value resort in the parks. You can't do this on the package, and it will save $. Yes, you can stay in a value resort and still go to the ship--you just need to be transported to where you will catch the bus OR do private transportation. Another example--you're going in September and can qualify for the free dining--no brainer, book separately. Depending on the number of people involved, it may be cheaper to rent a car or use a towncar rather than DCL bus to get from WDW to port--and this gives you the flexibility of being on YOUR schedule.

Remember that if you book trip insurance thru DCL, it will cover ONLY what you book thru DCL (air booked separately is not insured). However, you can buy private travel insurance that will cover the all aspects of the trip based on the dates and dollar amount you select, and is usually cheaper than the insurance thru DCL.

 

[ga9497]

I booked the sea portion with Small World Vacations (which gave me a rebate for booking early) and I'm booking the land with AAA because Small World can't discount land packages. Totally confusing and I hate to do it this way. That's why I put the post out there to see if I'm doing the right thing.

It isn't that they cannot discount land packages, it is that if you want a package that includes the dining plan, room and park tickets and the aaa discount on the room you have to book through AAA. That is a contractual agreement that AAA has with Disney. It has nothing to do with other travel agencies. All travel agencies can book a room only with the AAA discount, with or without park tickets included, it just cannot have the dining plan included.

All travel agencies can book regular price packages that include park tickets, dining plan and your room. Travel agencies that specialize in Disney, like Small World, will keep looking for discounts on the package for you. With AAA you need to make sure you either have an agent that is Disney savy or you need to keep on top of the discounts that may be offered for your dates and be ready to let them know about it so that they can add it to your package. Most AAA agents do not do this automatically like agencies that specialize in Disney do so be aware of that

 

[ga9497]

We have already booked the cruise portion, cat. 6, balcony room, and we're getting ready to book the land portion. We don't need a deluxe resort, moderate is more than fine. Can you book a land/sea with a cat. 6 room but moderate or lower on land (w/dining)?

You can but you would still be paying the deluxe hotel price, not worth it. If you want a moderate resort on the land portion and a cat 6 on the ship it is best to book the two separately.

 

[winotracy]

Another example--you're going in September and can qualify for the free dining--no brainer, book separately. Depending on the number of people involved, it may be cheaper to rent a car or use a towncar rather than DCL bus to get from WDW to port--and this gives you the flexibility of being on YOUR schedule.

I wouldn't agree with this. I priced out a number of land and sea packages in September with dining included versus pricing it separately and in every case the package was a lower price even when the client could get free dining if booked separately.

I think the best bet is to price each separately and together and see which is better.

 

[ga9497]

I wouldn't agree with this. I priced out a number of land and sea packages in September with dining included versus pricing it separately and in every case the package was a lower price even when the client could get free dining if booked separately.

I think the best bet is to price each separately and together and see which is better.

Totally agree - I had priced a few out separately this year when free dining was announced and it was cheaper or the same price to book a land/sea package. As Tracy said you have to look at all possibilities

 

[NMMickeymom]

We just booked our cruise through AAA and found it better to do our WDW stay and Cruise separately. A few factors that pushed our decision.
1- With the land and sea we were told that you can only book the land first and then the sea portion. We are tied to a spring break week so we cruise from Sunday to Thursday then stay at WDW for 3 nights. There is no way to do a 4 day cruise (which seems to usually leave on Sundays?) and add a WDW stay before hand and stay within our Spring Break. Seems kind of goofy that you cannot book the land portion after the cruise but that is what we were told. (I would not be surprised if the information I was given is incorrect)
2 - We also ran into the difference in categories between the cruise and our resort stay. We are booked in a Category 8 on the cruise but are staying at the Polynesian. The upgrade charge was obnoxious and was almost more than us paying for a higher cruise Category. Additionally, we are traveling with friends who are in a different Cabin Category than us which made it more tricky.
3 - Other miscelaneous things like us prefering our own transportation and wanting to stay at port the night before (not part of a land and sea), not really being fans of the dining plans on WDW property, and wanting more flexibility in general.

I now have confirmation numbers coming out of my ears from booking everything separately, but I think it will be worth it.