I want to take a Disney cruise, but they are so expensive. Anyone have tips for how to get the best price for a Disney Cruise? Is AAA the way to go or other agent? I'll take any tips for saving money on this grand adventure!!!!
From my experience, AAA is good for customer service, if you need it; but since I started booking directly with the cruise line, I've made it a point to compare prices, and AAA is always several hundred dollars higher than what I pay booking direct.
And Disney is notoriously high anyway; I doubt if you are going to find any "good deals" on Disney.
By the way Champ, hello and welcome to cruise-chat.
Disney Cruise Line is a totally different experience. You are paying for that. They get the high prices because they are "Disney". Don't wait for any last minute sails or specials, book as far in advance as possible.
Disney is one of the cruiselines that gives no rate breaks to any agency regardless of their volume. Everyone plays on the same field with identical pricing. With that said there are some agencies that buy block space and are able to sell that group inventory as individual bookings. Very few agencies choose block space with Disney though because unlike the rest of the cruise industry Disney requires that space be paid in full up front by the agency. Since agencies that buy such block space buy several thousand cabins on hundreds of sailings each year that is a major outlay and risk for them. If they can't sell all the inventory they buy they have to eat the loss. There is one major player in the industry that does, despite the risks involved buy massive block from Disney. Due to rules of the forum I can't disclose which one and they certainly don't buy space on every sailing so you have to shop for the dates they purchased to find the best rates. Sometimes the savings can be substantial, sometimes small. Overall Disney is among the best in the industry at proving a great family vacation. Whether or not that great time is a great value is an individual decision. With very small children it probably is. Once your children reach pre-teen and teen years there are probably better choices for the money. For approx the same cost of a Disney Wonder 3 or 4 night Bahama sailing you can often book a 7 night discounted sailing on RCI or Carnival (also very family friendly) and occasionally even on ships like the Voyager Class with RCI, a pre-teen/teenager's dream.
Good luck with your decision and whatever you decide you'll all have a great time. One more thing, if you're going to need a cabin for more than double occupancy book VERY early. The rates for triple and quad cabins are better early and they fill very fast for peak season. Those who wait to make a decision often can't get cabins on the best ships and if they do find some late in the game they pay too much and have limited cabin choices even at the higher rates.
When Disney announced their European cruises I thought great will be able to try them with out the transaltanic flight so that would make up for the difference in price..... Well was I ever WRONG gosh at first I thought they had a printing error but NO that was the price!!!! So guess who is NOT cruising Disney.......
If a cruise is worth twice the cost of other lines to have Micky and Snow White onboard go for it. In my opinion it's Goofy but some swear by them at any price.
As I mentioned earlier going on the Disney cruise is an "Experience". I believe you can safely say that Disney provides quality in everything they do. Disney is name brand recognition. We all know that Disney is in the entertainment business and they certainly don't let you down in that area on the cruise. Their shows are all Disney oriented and they have fabulous productions. Even their rotation dining is unique and entertaining. Disney has added fireworks to their entertainment on board. They are the only cruise line authorized to do so. The fireworks are one more thing to add memories to your cruise vacation. I think many would agree that like the theme parks, you just have a "happy" feeling on the ships. What is the price you put on feeling happy? What is the price you put on seeing wide eyes and smiles, and hearing shrieks of joy from your children when they see Minnie, Mickey, Chip or Dale? Two weeks ago on my Alaska cruise I watched many people spend $85 each for a zipline adventure. Some would think that's way to expensive, while others think it is worth it for the "experience". A Disney cruise is an "experience."
If you are going for your children then DISNEY is the one to go on.... MICKEY and all the characters are ROCK STARS. I think this is somethin my 5 year old granddaughter will never forget. It was well worth the price difference. Cleanest ship I have ever been on.
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