When do cruises open?

[Carrie]

Jamie, Tyler, and I want to take a cruise. That's the closest to Disney World I'll be able to get Jamie. I'd like to book the cruise as soon as it goes on sale as that looks like my cheapest rate. I'd like to book May of 2008, that'll give me 2 years to save up for it and Tyler will be 4, so he'll be old enough to enjoy the kid's club.

When should I anticipate May opening? It looks like you can book through Dec 2007 right now. Also, do you need the entire balance when you book it or just a deposit? When is payment in full due? Also, is it economical to let DCL book the airfare and transfers or should I do that on my own? I know nothing about cruising but I intend to learn quick.

[Timon]

Jamie, Tyler, and I want to take a cruise. That's the closest to Disney World I'll be able to get Jamie. I'd like to book the cruise as soon as it goes on sale as that looks like my cheapest rate. I'd like to book May of 2008, that'll give me 2 years to save up for it and Tyler will be 4, so he'll be old enough to enjoy the kid's club.

When should I anticipate May opening? It looks like you can book through Dec 2007 right now. Also, do you need the entire balance when you book it or just a deposit? When is payment in full due? Also, is it economical to let DCL book the airfare and transfers or should I do that on my own? I know nothing about cruising but I intend to learn quick.

Carrie,

Your booking question is best answered by one of the fine ladies at YMJ. I can tell you we booked our cruise for this Aug on 12/10/04 and got one of the cat. 10 rooms with a window. BTW the cost for the 3 of us booking that early is $1927.89 + $167.00 for trip insurance. I have no idea how prices may have changed since then. The deposit was supposed to be $600.00, but for some reason DCL charged my card $800.00. That was no big deal since I had it and it just left a smaller balance to pay off. I could be mistaken here, but I believe the balance is due 1 month prior to your departure. I'm not going to wait that long however, since you can't book excursions until your balance is paid. I'll have our trip paid off by the 16th of next month.

I can't help you with the air since we're using credit card points for our air. We pay for almost everything with our credit card and pay it off each month so we get a lot of points in a hurry. My thought is that you can do better getting the air yourself than what a DCL package would cost, but I'm not an expert.

[nicholaspaige]

HI Carrie-

I can answer some of your questions for you....

For the deposit it depends on which cruise you book. We are going on the 7 day on May 13th:coolDance: and we booked in March of 2005. Since there are 4 of us we had to put down $1000. I believe though that for the 3-4 day the deposit is only $200pp.

I do want to stress the earlier you book the better. Like I said we booked last March for a Cat 12 guaranteed and ended up getting a free upgrade to a CAT 10!!:coolDance: And for the 4 of us booking Cat 12(2 adults,2 kids(10,6)) it was $2652.

We didn't do the transfers or air thru them. I am a BIG fan of Southwest and DING and was able to get us direct from Albany,NY to Orlando for $49pp each way!!! :mickey: Also I was able to get a great deal(using codes and coupons) on a mid-size SUV from Alamo w/2 drivers for 8 days for $106!!! :coolDance: Even when you add in the cost of parking for 7 days at the port for $70 we are still way ahead of the $59pp for the transportation. And we are on our own schedule and aren't stuck waiting for the bus to be filled.

Some like the convenience of having Disney do it all......cruise, air,transfers,not worrying about directions, etc, but I like the "saving myself tons of $$$$" part better and again being on my own schedule.

Oh...and I believe payment is due in full 60 days out(although I could be wrong), I do know that you can't book any excursions, spa, Palo, reg the kids for the kids club,etc. until it is paid in full which as a first timer you can do 75 days out(unless you are doing concierge then its 105).

Happy Planning!!! You will LOVE it!! This is our second Disney cruise in 5 months!!!

[BetsyAnn]

Looks like the questions were answered. I think you all will have a great time on a Disney ship!

[krdisneybound]

If you are paid in full, CC members can book 90 days out

Any balance has to be paid 90 days out - BUT I just upgraded on our 9/17 cruise and they gave me another 2 weeks grace period to pay it off


Also, even if you book thru a TA, you can always call DCL and ask the dates that pertain to your question

this might help also:


The chart below outlines the current cancellation policy for DCL: If you cancel within this period:The cancellation fee is: Categories 4 - 12:
75 + Days prior to sai
Full Refund
Categories 1 - 3:
90 + Days prior to sail
Full Refund thru 2006 (with exceptions*)
Loss of Deposit for 2007 and for the
*9/7/06 and 9/17/06 Wonder Cruises
Categories 4 - 12:
74 - 45 Days prior to sail
Categories 1 - 3:
89 -45 Days prior to sail
Loss of deposit and cost of insurance if purchasedAll Categories:
44 - 8 Days prior to sail
50% of your total and cost of insurance if purchased All Categories:
7 days or less before sailing
No refund

[WDWDen]

Alright Krdisneybound, I just read your siggy. HOW did you get to blow the Mickey hory and what the heck is the Tokyo Experience??? Please tell.:D

[krdisneybound]

well - about the horn, I was on the Magaic twice last year and they knew I blew it then and I got a note in my Stateroom that I could blow it again - of course, I said "yes". It was so much fun

Also got to meet the 2nd Captain, a female, Mary - she was awesome - some day to be Captain of one of the new ships - in the future. I asked her if one is in the plans and what the name might be and she said

"Disney Rumor"

of course, she was kidding, as everyone keeps asking :lol: :lol:

The Tokyo Experience Trip was back in, I think, 2003. There were 28 of us from WDW and CA with two CM's from DL and one CM from WDW and we went to Tokyo for 10 days. 31 of us total went.

It WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. They catered to us like Kings and Queens. Had interperters for us everywhere we went and we stayed in 5* hotels. Went to Kyoto by Bullet Train. Downtown Tokyo was the most awesome place to be. I actually met a friend over there and she took me to many beautiful places. We did have some free time on our own also.

If they did the trip again, I would go in a heart beat.

[Ursulinda]

Just for the record, I'd rather book own airfare and car - but even when I rebook on board, the reservation transfers to YMJ - Jean :-) You could always email your favorite and have yer let you know when your choice is available for booking.