Cruising Advice

[toolsnspools]

I'm looking to book our first cruise next year. We are a family of 5, so we need to get a level 4 stateroom. Anything bigger would be out of our price range. It's going to be a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. So what do I need to know before booking the trip? I know this is a wide open question, but any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I'm looking to book our first cruise next year. We are a family of 5, so we need to get a level 4 stateroom. Anything bigger would be out of our price range. It's going to be a 4 night Bahamas cruise on the Disney Dream. So what do I need to know before booking the trip? I know this is a wide open question, but any advice would be appreciated.

You need to know that it's going to be awesome!:lol:

Also, Dream has some lower category staterooms that sleep 5, unlike Magic and Wonder. Just FYI.

You need to book as soon as possible. Dream is filling despite the economy and the prices are only going up.

We've got onboard credits at Kingdom Konsultants now, so let me know if you'd like help!

 

[toolsnspools]

Thanks. I didn't know there were lower level rooms that sleep 5.
I have this image in my head that a balcony is a requirement for cruising. Must be ingrained from too many years as a young kid watching "The Love Boat". :lol: I'm booking soon, and they still had rooms for our cruise a couple nights ago, so hopefully I'm not too late.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks. I didn't know there were lower level rooms that sleep 5.
I have this image in my head that a balcony is a requirement for cruising. Must be ingrained from too many years as a young kid watching "The Love Boat". :lol: I'm booking soon, and they still had rooms for our cruise a couple nights ago, so hopefully I'm not too late.

That's not a bad image!:lol:

You're right, they probably never showed inside rooms on The Love Boat!

 

[ackerleysanchez]

Cruising is perfect for the people.While booking cruise, you should make sure that maximum number of things and services are included in price you are paying. Comparison shopping can be useful here and can get you best of meals, rooms, entertain onboard.

 

[toolsnspools]

We will be using our DVC points for a portion of the costs so the Disney cruise line is our only option. They said the price is constant at the DVC rate, so we don't get a discount for booking early, like you might on RC, Carnival, or one of the other comapnies.

From the price perspective, it's actually a little more expensive, but I can balance the price with a few things. Disney Dream will be a brand new boat. We spent our Feb. '10 vacation at AKL VERY sick. The norwalk virus scares me. I'd hate to have 2 bad years in a row. Not that a new boat can't have a problem, but I would expect it to be less likely. I also know Disney quality, and their ability to entertain the kiddos. Both of those are important to me, and worth a little more $$.

 

[cemeb4dk]

Good luck with your decision making. We did a 4 night on the wonder last year. My First and only cruise. Its just not for me. For the money spent we could og had a much better time at Disney World or another place. A lot of people love it, but it just wasn't for us. We had a cat 4 with a balcony, it was 3 adults and a 3 year old and it was tight. I am not sure if the new boats have different layouts, but it was tight. Also from what I recall and my own personal experience, it was not worth it to me to cash in our DVC points for a cruise. I know its like anything people love and hate it, and I just happened to fall on the hated it side. But the evening shows are good, and the play areas for the kids was great. I think for me it more became the amount of money spent to what I felt I got out of it.

Either way I hope your reservations go smoothly and you get the deal you want and enjoy your trip.

 

[jbarteau]

Cruise

does anyone know how long i can put a cruise on a hold with out paying the security deposit?

 

[ncstate7991]

does anyone know how long i can put a cruise on a hold with out paying the security deposit?

One week unless the cruise is within final payment period. If final payment deadline has passed the hold period is usually 1-2 days.

 

[Phonedave]

Good luck with your decision making. We did a 4 night on the wonder last year. My First and only cruise. Its just not for me. For the money spent we could og had a much better time at Disney World or another place. A lot of people love it, but it just wasn't for us. We had a cat 4 with a balcony, it was 3 adults and a 3 year old and it was tight. I am not sure if the new boats have different layouts, but it was tight. Also from what I recall and my own personal experience, it was not worth it to me to cash in our DVC points for a cruise. I know its like anything people love and hate it, and I just happened to fall on the hated it side. But the evening shows are good, and the play areas for the kids was great. I think for me it more became the amount of money spent to what I felt I got out of it.

Either way I hope your reservations go smoothly and you get the deal you want and enjoy your trip.

DVC points are never a good idea for booking a cruise.

Sure, it's a once in a while thing, then go for it. But you are loosing money when you use DVC to book cruises. It is much better ot pay in cash.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Thanks. I didn't know there were lower level rooms that sleep 5.
I have this image in my head that a balcony is a requirement for cruising. Must be ingrained from too many years as a young kid watching "The Love Boat". :lol: I'm booking soon, and they still had rooms for our cruise a couple nights ago, so hopefully I'm not too late.

Of course it is going to be different for different people, but 2011 is our third cruise and this time we are NOT going with a balcony.

I found we rarely used it. Sure it was nice to be able to walk out there in the AM and smell the ocean, or somtimes at night watch the waves slip by. But most of the time to door was closed to keep the AC in. We also spent very little time in the cabin. Most of the time we were on deck or out and about. After looking at the prices, I decided that for the use we got out of the balcony, a 'window' view was much better for us.


-dave

 

[Phonedave]

We will be using our DVC points for a portion of the costs so the Disney cruise line is our only option. They said the price is constant at the DVC rate, so we don't get a discount for booking early, like you might on RC, Carnival, or one of the other comapnies.

From the price perspective, it's actually a little more expensive, but I can balance the price with a few things. Disney Dream will be a brand new boat. We spent our Feb. '10 vacation at AKL VERY sick. The norwalk virus scares me. I'd hate to have 2 bad years in a row. Not that a new boat can't have a problem, but I would expect it to be less likely. I also know Disney quality, and their ability to entertain the kiddos. Both of those are important to me, and worth a little more $$.

I hate to scare you, but cruise ships are notorious for having epidemics of things like the norwalk virus. Everyone is in a contained environment. Illness spreads like wildfire. That is why when you board you sign documentation stating that you have not had any GI dieseases or distress in the last week ( I think its a week)

However, Disney does do a yeomans job of handing out wipes and gel, wiping down all the surfaces, and reminding everyone to wash their hands


-dave

 

[gettingsmaller]

1) If you're sure you're going, go ahead and get passports.
2) choose the right time of year. The Bahamas are not THAT far from Miami. Cool/cold fronts that blow down through the continental US can also blow through the Bahamas (I know this from experience).

 

[gettingsmaller]

From everything I've seen, DVC points really are not an efficient way to pay for a DCL cruise.
Have you thought about selling the points you were going to use for the cruise? You might get more for the points than you would get as a partial payment for the cruise... Of course, I don't know what your pricing is for the cruise and how that would work out.

FYI, I've been looking hard at a 4-night Dream cruise in Sept 2011 (risking the hurricanes). I am also a family of 5, and you have a couple of options you might not have thought of (or maybe you don't want to):
1) family oceanview stateroom
2) TWO inside cabins.

My kids actually want inside cabins because of the virtual portholes. Either of those options are within about $200 of each other--in the $2400 to $2600 range. One good thing about having two insides: two bathrooms.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

1) If you're sure you're going, go ahead and get passports.
2) choose the right time of year. The Bahamas are not THAT far from Miami. Cool/cold fronts that blow down through the continental US can also blow through the Bahamas (I know this from experience).

You currently don't have to have passports for closed loop cruises that start and end in the same US city, but they are never a bad thing to have.

Disney has been annoucing all sorts of things about Dream lately. The splash zone, goofy golf, new adult only French restaurant, etc. It's going to be incredible!

We've done one cruise on points, and payed cash for the rest of our cruises. We did a 5 night on points in an Oceanview cabin for 320 points for 4 of us. If we paid cash it would have been about $3100, so the points worked out great for us that time.

 

[gettingsmaller]

You currently don't have to have passports for closed loop cruises that start and end in the same US city, but they are never a bad thing to have.

I suppose that's true. I feel better with a passport in hand--and even the DCL website recommends passports so that you're prepared for any rule change the gov't might make...

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I suppose that's true. I feel better with a passport in hand--and even the DCL website recommends passports so that you're prepared for any rule change the gov't might make...

I agree, it's definitely never a bad idea to have them.

 

[Tinkermommy]

Of course it is going to be different for different people, but 2011 is our third cruise and this time we are NOT going with a balcony.

I found we rarely used it. Sure it was nice to be able to walk out there in the AM and smell the ocean, or somtimes at night watch the waves slip by. But most of the time to door was closed to keep the AC in. We also spent very little time in the cabin. Most of the time we were on deck or out and about. After looking at the prices, I decided that for the use we got out of the balcony, a 'window' view was much better for us.


-dave

I agree with Dave. We did a 5 night cruise on the Wonder for our 10th anniversary and I thought I had to have a balcony. Sure it was pretty, but here's the thing. People who smoke go out onto their balconies to smoke. So unless you are a smoker, you may have the misfortune of being near one and you will be swamped with smoke if you try to go outside!!! Also, it was pretty darn hot, so we did not sit out there as much as we thought we would.

Don't let the smoke issue deter you from the cruise though. We LOVED the cruise and are sailing on the Dream in March 2011. Can't wait! This time though, we just got a room with a nice big porthole. However, here's another thing to consider. The inside rooms have a really cool virtual porthole that is a live video feed of the outside. Plus, they have cartoon characters like the starfish from Nemo occasionally pop up on the porthole. How cool is that?! We were actually sort of regreting not booking one of the inside rooms solely because our DD (3) and DS(5) would have loved that feature!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

However, here's another thing to consider. The inside rooms have a really cool virtual porthole that is a live video feed of the outside. Plus, they have cartoon characters like the starfish from Nemo occasionally pop up on the porthole. How cool is that?! We were actually sort of regreting not booking one of the inside rooms solely because our DD (3) and DS(5) would have loved that feature!

I've always avoided inside rooms like the plague, but those virtual portholes have got me. I can't wait to try one. My biggest fear of inside rooms is losing sense of time. Sleeping until noon and missing everything, not knowing if it was raining, where we are, etc. With the virtual portholes it's no longer a problem!

 

[toolsnspools]

Wow! Spend the day at work and look at all the advice I get. :ROFLOL:

This is all good stuff. I figured out the cost/point and you're right, it's not a great deal. Just shy of 300 pts saves us about $2,900 on the cruise, and the same amount of pts got a week at AKL that would have retailed for $6,400. We probably won't get the chance to go down twice in the same year though, and DW really wants to ride the boat. :shrug: I suppose I could rent out the points and use the $$ to pay for the cruise. I'll have to look into it.

As for a passport, Disney highly recommended getting them. You can use a certified copy of your birth certificate, but if you get sick and need to fly back, it is almost impossible to do.