Help with Booking please

[Carol_G]

Hi

Cant believe i have just found this thread.

As much as i love all things Disney i really know nothing about cruising so hence why i need help.

Id love to surprise my mum and dad to a Disney cruise, now some questions:


Do you need to book through Disney ? Is that the cheapest option ?

Where so they sail from and is it best to book into a hotel for a night before or after ?

What type of cabin is best.


I probably have loads more quesions but dont want to bombard you with them all at once.

[Guest]

I havent actually sailed with them yet but have a cruise booked for Jan 08, I found by far the cheapest option was booking with DCL direct, then switching the reservation to Dreams travel unlimited to get the onboard credit, this is a VERY easy process once your deposit with DCL is paid, dreams do the whole lot for you and you still have access to all your details on the DCL web site

The cruise we are going on sails out of Port Caneveral, about an hour and a half or so from Orlando, I honestly dont know if they have cruisees sailing from Miami or some other such place.

If your parents are staying in WDW before hand they can get a shuttle from their WDW resort hotel to take them to the port, if they are driving they can park at the treminal. If they are flying into Orlando just for the cruise then you have a number of different options transport wise to get you from the airport to the port.

Not sure on what rooms are best, I suppose its what you can afford, we have gone for a room with a balcony as I get a bit paniky in confined spaces and it will be great to sit and sip a cocktail overlooking the ocean when the kids are tucked up in bed

By the way - welcome to the new dibb cruise forum and what a lovely thing to do for your parents!

[jdybnsn]

Its best to shop around for prices... sometimes it is cheaper to book with DCL direct and sometimes cheaper with specialist ( & reputable) US cruise websites; such as Dreamsunlimited (there quite a few more to be recommended).

IMO it is almost never cheaper to book through a British operator - though obviously some people feel safer dealing with them.


They sail from Port Canaveral - that's about an hours drive from Orlando, so no need to book a hotel close to the port ... unless you want to take advantage of the free parking that many of them offer.
DCL also offer secure parking but its a payable extra.

The type of cabin depends on your budget, and preference for views/ daylight etc. The categories from 12 (lowest) to 5 are all pretty similar in size ..after cat 4 they start to get alot bigger & a lot more expensive !
Which cabin may depend on how long your cruise is for - you won't be in your room much on a 3-4 night cruise...and also time of year may have a bearing - there's not as much daylight to take advantage of in the winter months.
Your party size may also have a bearing 12 - 5 cats only sleep 4 people max.
If you have more than 4 in your party you might consider booking 2 lower grade cabins that connect or are opposite each other (or one moderate and one low grade) rather than the expensive cabins that sleep 5+

Hope this is of some help

[Carol_G]

Thanks you have both been great.

Will have a look on the DCL web page and Dreams unlimited. I have a cousin who is a Travel Agent you see who specalise in cruising and i was going to ask her but even with her discount im not sure she would be cheaper than booking with a US agent, especailly with the dollar to the pound just now.

i want to treat mum and dad but its also a sneaky way for me to get another Disney fix because i will tag along lol.

Im going out in Nov with DHs family but my parents are Disney daft unlike DHs. I was originally going to do a 3 or 4 night with them but i dont think they would appreciate it. I dont mean that in a bad way, they just dont get the whole Disney thing. If it wasnt for my Neice and nephew aged 4 and 2, going we wouldnt be travelling with them (thats sounds bad doesnt it)

So Dh has told me this will be the last WDW holiday for a few years or so he thinks Im thinking now about 7 days cruise only and taking my parents along. We had discussed doing something nice for them, possibly New York and Vegas but i think they would love this more.

Thanks for the help. Now i have to decide, which ship and which initnery. Do all the ships offer the same experince, sorry for asking all these questions

[ANGEL]

Hi there and welcome!

There is some general info on cruising that I've put as 'sticky' threads on this forum so that may help too Disney cruises sail from Port Canaveral, just an hour or so from Orlando...a very straightforward run.

Depending on whether you are staying at WDW too you could stay at a hotel in PC before you board, or overnight at the airport at the Hilton, or indeed in Orlando, thats up to you! There is a car aprk at the Port so you could leave your hire car there for a fee, or get a limo or town car to drop you in style

The type of cabins depend on what sort of space you require, as has been said. We have stayed in a cat 11 and a cat 5 & 6. We prefer the cat 6 as we like our balcony but thats a personal thing. Cat 6 rooms are around 268 sq ft as opposed to 184 in a cat 11, or 214 in a cat 10... you can get more info on the Disneycruise site too

Like others we often book through DCL then transfer to Dreams, although we have also booked directly through Dreams. They will always give you a no-obligation quote We've not used a UK TA before.

Any more help just fire away!

[ANGEL]

Carol, as I've said , take a look at the General info in the 'stickies' which may help answer some questions, but basically...

The Magic does the 7 day cruises, one week to the Eastern Carib (St Thomas, St Maarten and Castaway Cay) and the next week to the Western carib (Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and castaway Cay). They are Saturday to Saturday.

The Wonder does a 4 day and then 3 day, to Nassau and CC. Sunday to Thurs, and Thursday to Sunday.

Not much to choose between the 2 ships once you're aboard, just some different names for restaurants and bars, and Tritons on the Wonder (Ariel etc theming) becomes lumieres on the Magic (beauty & Beast theme)

[Carol_G]

Thanks for all the help guys

must have reads loads on this yesterday lol but im loving it.

Off to day to start getting quotes, thanks again

[jdybnsn]

Originally Posted by _tinkerbell_

Thanks for all the help guys

must have reads loads on this yesterday lol but im loving it.

Off to day to start getting quotes, thanks again

See more...

Lets hope that you will soon be added to our list of cruisers

[HiddenMickey35]

Originally Posted by _tinkerbell_

Thanks for all the help guys

must have reads loads on this yesterday lol but im loving it.

Off to day to start getting quotes, thanks again

See more...

Last year I booked with dreams unlimited for two connecting room and giving a surprise xmas present to mother in law.

She was bursting tears when she opened it as she never thought about Cruise as she know that we went to florida for 2 weeks and i give her DCL for 3 days for xmas present!

It would be nice if you treat your mum and dad disney cruise and I know they will enjoy it. As my mil loved it very much.

Contact dreams unlimited for quotes and I am sure they will help you.

Good Luck

Scottishwee35

[DIBBadmin]

This thread has been automatically closed as it has not been posted on in 365 days.