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Old 27 Aug 11, 07:28 PM  
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READY TO BOOK?

At this point in time, much better deals are generally to be had by booking direct with DCL or a reputable US travel agent (TA) than any British TA. You will also find booking this way will give you a very generous full refund policy up to a certain date (usually 75 -120 days before the actual sailing date, but this does vary with the higher Cat cabins).

Judy gives the reasons why she books with a US TA:
What UK travel agent will let you amend your cruise, change the date, change the year, change the itinery, change your ship ... or even cancel altogether with NO administration charges (with very few special exceptions on special cabin types & special cruises)?
... I also quite like booking in dollars, as if you book well in advance it gives you some scope for making your cruise a bit cheaper if & when when the exchange rates are more favourable (ie paying off your cruise then)... not guarenteed I know but this benefit has paid off for me in the past numerous times.
...by using a US T/A, you can also benefit from the generous rebooking on board discounts, if you opt for a second cruise whilst on your first cruise (again no penalty if you change your mind once off the ship).
...finally if your cruise price goes down before your final payment date, in most cases you can get the lower rate applied by your US T/A (a good one will notice her/himself and apply it for you). If paying by credit card you are still afforded the same level of protection that you enjoy for UK credit card purchases.

Not only look at the price you are offered when getting quotations for your cruise, but for any gifts or perks, particularly 'on board credits', or OBCs as they are usually referred to. These can often go a long way towards paying for your tips on board. OBC offers also tend to be better the earlier you book.
It USED to be best to book direct with DCL and transfer to a US TA to keep any perks DCL has given you plus receive some OBC from the US TA. But now the US TA will just automatically add in the DCL OBC as well as their own. Please double check this when requesting a quote from them though.

Booking via a reputable/recommended TA normally means they are still holding your deposit direct with DCL from day one (always check on their policy) which means all their terms including their refund policy, and access to your DCL booking on line from the DCL website, will be the same as booking direct with DCL.

Always make sure you are comparing like for like on quotations! This often leads to confusion in comparing quotes, especially whether insurance and transfers are included (note: its often cheaper to arrange your own transfers and insurance, rather than use those provided by DCL, or the agent).

BOOKING ONBOARD!
If you are considering doing another cruise, then it's wise to look at DCL's "rebooking onboard" offers (normally 10% off plus enhanced OBC depending on the length of cruise). Since DCL do not permit deep discounting you will be very unlikely to better this deal unless rates have already been out for quite some time (you can get them to reprice an existing cruise too). This is especially useful if your proposed cruise date has not yet been released. You can book a placeholder date and the terms & conditions can be applied to that cruise .. once you find the right date, you can transfer your reservation. Please note that your future cruise must start within 24 months of when you booked it or you will lose the benefits.

Deposit for a placeholder cruise is 10% of the actual cruise cost on most cruises. It's worth re-booking, even if you are unsure if you want to cruise again as the deposits are fully refundable* (although subject to currency fluctuations). IF you do re-book whilst on board and intend to use a US TA, then do specify the TA whilst rebooking and this way you will get both the full OBC from DCL and the full OBC from your TA. If you transfer your booking after leaving the ship you are likely to get a reduced OBC from your TA unless you can negotiate otherwise. You can name your TA up to 30 days after the intitial booking is made.

*Note: Deposits are not refundable if booking Concierge/Suites or certain specialist cruises such as Maiden Voyages. In some cases, your reseveration can be changed to another date though.

Each household may book up to 2 staterooms for a single future sailing and get the 10% discount, onboard credit and reduced deposit. If you book more than 2 staterooms or multiple sail dates onboard, you’ll get the onboard credit, but not the 10% discount or reduced deposit on anything over 2 staterooms/1 sailing.

Your OBC from DCL will be $100 for cruises of 6 nights or less and $200 for 7 nights or longer.

I would say that most regular DCL cruisers, use a US TA for their bookings. Incidentally, they don't just do DCL, they can book ANY cruise line and also hotels in Orlando and around the US. They get great deals and offers so always ask!
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Edited at 02:41 PM.
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Old 27 Aug 11, 07:29 PM  
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FISH EXTENDERS, DOOR MAGNETS & OTHER NICE THINGS

What is a Fish Extender?

I am sure you are wondering! It's a very strange name for a very lovely idea. If you think of a 'Secret Santa', then you are along the right ideas.

Near each cabin door there is a fish, (or sometimes a seahorse). This Fish is used by the crew to leave you messages. It has become a tradition on Disney cruises for some people to use these Fish to leave each other little presents.
However, as the Fish isn't very large, it needs to be 'extended', hence the term 'Fish Extender', which is basically any sort of container which can be hung from the Fish. They tend to be a fabric strip with a number of pockets on, but we saw a couple of different items being used and they all worked fine.

In order to join in, you need to join a group for your specific cruise, this is normally on FB. They will have someone organising the FE lists and other exchanges such as ornaments, sweets etc.
I would recommend avoiding the FB group that is titled Disney Cruise Line Fish Extenders (the admin is someone called Ali) - I recommend avoiding it as it gives out incorrect information and gives wrong expectations to newbies.

Once you have a group, then you need to think of something to give as your gift. We gave out British things like Jelly babies, Cadbury's, crisps, Twiglets etc. Other's give piratey things, or things from their local area. It doesn't really matter what you choose, the fun is in wondering what you might find each time you return to your cabin. Give what you would like to receive and you won't go far wrong.

You will get a list of participants and cabin numbers, so at some point on the cruise, you head out with your bag of goodies and leave little parcels in everyone's fish extender. I thought this would be a 'chore', but actually we really enjoyed it. It was great fun to see everyone's decorated doors (more on that later), and their Fish Extenders, and we got to see many areas of the ship that we would have otherwise missed.

If you can find a group for your cruise, then I would recommend getting involved as it's a lot of fun.


BevS97's Fish Extender


Gifts received



Door Magnets

As you walk around the ships, you will spot many decorated doors. By no means is every door decorated, so please don't feel any obligation to participate, but there are quite a few with decorations and it really adds to the festive feeling on board.

The doors are metal, and you are requested not to use bluetack or tape, hence the magnets are used.

You can very easily make your own door magnets. Just print on regular paper, laminate then attach magnets to the back.

As for the images, there are 100s of images on photobucket and 4shared, and you can customise them using Photoshop, Powerpoint or even Word depending on what software you are most comfortable with.



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Edited at 02:51 PM.
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Old 27 Aug 11, 07:29 PM  
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Deck Plans

The Dream and Fantasy
PDF link for deck plans for the Fantasy and Dream

The Magic and Wonder
PDF link for deck plans for the Magic and Wonder
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Edited at 02:58 PM.
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Old 27 Aug 11, 07:29 PM  
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DESTINATIONS

CASTAWAY CAY
Castaway Cay is Disney's private island in the Bahamas. It is, as you can imagine, idyllic and the perfect place to unwind after the hard work of being on holiday!

All 3, 4 and 5 night cruises on the Dream out of Port Canaveral pay a visit there, some of the 5 nights go there twice (called a double dip).
The 7 night cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean on the Fantasy also stop there for the day.
Some of the cruises our of Galveston and Miami will go there, but if you're in the Med or over on the west coast, you're out of luck

CC has everything you need ... towels, food, drinks, sandy beach, umbrellas, hammocks, shops .. and did I mention the childrens clubs move off of the ship onto CC for the day too!
Teens have their own beach, adults have their own beach, plus there's also a family beach .. plenty of choise for all.
You can buy a soft sided cooler full of water bottles as soon as you get off of the ship, but don't buy them there or you'll have to carry them .. get them down at the beach instead.

You can rent bikes, snorkel gear, big swim ring things and pedaloes on CC .. we've done none I'm afraid but they also seem very popular! Personally, if you're looking to save money, buy your own snorkel stuff from Walmart and throw it away at the end of the day .. much cheaper! Disney have been very imaginative (surprise surprise) and you can hunt for hidden Mickeys UNDER the water!

For those of you who like the odd cocktail .. between 2-4pm, they normally have 2for1 on CC!

Castaway Cay from the ship


The Magic in Stavanger, Norway from a heli
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Edited at 03:03 PM.
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