Booking my first cruise?

[Azza1987]

Hey all,

Not new to the dis but I am to this area, have booked an 8 night trip for DH and I for Sept next year and hoping to tag the 3 night Halloween Bahamas cruise on to the end as a little treat!

Neither of us have cruised before so figured this would be a good start?

Hoping you guys can help me with a couple of questions before I book?

1) Pricing - am I best to book now or wait? Sept 2020 is out and prices seem cheapest when compared against the same itinerary for the dates I am looking at? (It’s about £1360 for 2 adults in a cat 9D at the minute)

2) is it best to book direct with DCL or go through an agent?

3) The price difference between a ocean view and a veranda is quite a difference! Is it worth the cost for a veranda on a 3 night? I’m struggling to justify the increase of £150-200 for a 3 night cruise when I doubt we would use it?

I’m hoping this cruise will be a nice intro to cruising for us, and if for some reason we hate it - it’s only 3 days!

Thank you all so much in advance!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. Book now. DCL prices go up as the ship books.

2. Find an agent who provides Onboard Credit (OBC) or a rebate for booking with them. Works as an implicit discount.

3. For a 3 night, I'd not worry about a veranda.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hey all,

Not new to the dis but I am to this area, have booked an 8 night trip for DH and I for Sept next year and hoping to tag the 3 night Halloween Bahamas cruise on to the end as a little treat!

Neither of us have cruised before so figured this would be a good start?

Hoping you guys can help me with a couple of questions before I book?

1) Pricing - am I best to book now or wait? Sept 2020 is out and prices seem cheapest when compared against the same itinerary for the dates I am looking at? (It’s about £1360 for 2 adults in a cat 9D at the minute)

2) is it best to book direct with DCL or go through an agent?

3) The price difference between a ocean view and a veranda is quite a difference! Is it worth the cost for a veranda on a 3 night? I’m struggling to justify the increase of £150-200 for a 3 night cruise when I doubt we would use it?

I’m hoping this cruise will be a nice intro to cruising for us, and if for some reason we hate it - it’s only 3 days!

Thank you all so much in advance!

1) It's best to book as soon as you know what cruise you want. Prices only tend to rise as the space onboard fills.

2) Either way works. If you're a first time cruiser, a TA could be helpful.

3) Personally, I wouldn't do a verandah for a 3 night cruise. Chances are you aren't going to be in your room that much to make it worthwhile. But there are others who wouldn't book anything but a verandah.

 

[Azza1987]

1) It's best to book as soon as you know what cruise you want. Prices only tend to rise as the space onboard fills.

2) Either way works. If you're a first time cruiser, a TA could be helpful.

3) Personally, I wouldn't do a verandah for a 3 night cruise. Chances are you aren't going to be in your room that much to make it worthwhile. But there are others who wouldn't book anything but a verandah.

Thank you for your reply

Looks like I should just bite the bullet and book, the 2019 prices for the same cruise are a fair bit more so assume the 2020 will go in the same direction!

I’ll ask for a quote with dreams unlimited, do they quote along the same lines as DCL? X

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you for your reply

Looks like I should just bite the bullet and book, the 2019 prices for the same cruise are a fair bit more so assume the 2020 will go in the same direction!

I’ll ask for a quote with dreams unlimited, do they quote along the same lines as DCL? X

The actual cost of a cruise will remain the same, regardless of who you book with. But a TA could offer incentives for using them to book the cruise. Things like Onboard Credit, or free photo packages, bottle of wine.

 

[deliela999]

We considered our 3 night cruise our "trial cruise" and got the verandah to see if we liked it at a lower price. Our ultimate dream is an alaskan cruise, verandah's are a couple thousand extra. We actually found we liked the calm of sitting out there and just watching the water. I'm also an early riser and figured out I could get a plate from Cabanas and sit out there with my breakfast until my daughter and husband woke up. I especially enjoyed watching them get everything ready at Castaway Cay before passengers got off. We just booked a 4 night for Christmas 2020 and for a few hundred extra went ahead and got the bigger room with the verandah. I think part of what we enjoyed on our first cruise is that our room was comfortable and big enough that sometimes we wanted a little downtime and could go there and chill. The rooms without the verandah are also smaller.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The rooms without the verandah are also smaller.

An oceanview room without verandah and an oceanview room with verandah - the room itself is the same size. What makes the verandah room "larger" is the added square footage of the verandah.

 

[FigmentSpark]

For your first cruise, find someone (a TA) that can help you navigate your booking. If you can get someone that gives an on board credit or a cash back, that's a bonus. I think the best would be to work with someone who is a Disney specialist at the very least. For your second cruise, you can do it all yourself.

It seems you're British? Does anyone know if Dreams Unlimited (our board sponsor here) works with overseas clients? If they do, you might want to look at using them.

Second, if you're coming all the way over the pond, why only a 3 day? A 4 day at least will give you a better taste for sailing. As for the verandah, my DH won't cruise without one, but that's because he spends a lot of time hanging out in the room and he wants to enjoy the privacy of his balcony. I, on the other hand, wander around the ship quite a lot, so while I enjoy the balcony, it's not a deal-breaker for me.

Yes, book as soon as you know when you want to go and on what sailing. Also, book all the people who might want to go with you. If they aren't sure, they can cancel, but sometimes you can't add them in easily at a later date. At the very least, the price might go up while they are deciding.

 

[NZMUM]

Does anyone know if Dreams Unlimited (our board sponsor here) works with overseas clients? If they do, you might want to look at using them.

Yes they do work with overseas clients. Contact is through email so no problems with time differences.

 

[Azza1987]

1. Book now. DCL prices go up as the ship books.

2. Find an agent who provides Onboard Credit (OBC) or a rebate for booking with them. Works as an implicit discount.

3. For a 3 night, I'd not worry about a veranda.

Sorry I completely missed your reply I blame being late at night and unable to use the boards on my phone as well as my laptop, thank you

Seems like the overall conclusion is to book now rather than wait.

We considered our 3 night cruise our "trial cruise" and got the verandah to see if we liked it at a lower price. Our ultimate dream is an alaskan cruise, verandah's are a couple thousand extra. We actually found we liked the calm of sitting out there and just watching the water. I'm also an early riser and figured out I could get a plate from Cabanas and sit out there with my breakfast until my daughter and husband woke up. I especially enjoyed watching them get everything ready at Castaway Cay before passengers got off. We just booked a 4 night for Christmas 2020 and for a few hundred extra went ahead and got the bigger room with the verandah. I think part of what we enjoyed on our first cruise is that our room was comfortable and big enough that sometimes we wanted a little downtime and could go there and chill. The rooms without the verandah are also smaller.

Thank you, I would love to go to Alaska - not sure if we would cruise but it’s on my bucket list. Looks so beautiful - hope you get your Alaskan cruise!

Good to think about a veranda from that point of view, but I know husband would just prefer to lounge in bed

An oceanview room without verandah and an oceanview room with verandah - the room itself is the same size. What makes the verandah room "larger" is the added square footage of the verandah.

Noted! I thought they might be the same size but I suppose those with a veranda give the feeling of being bigger?

For your first cruise, find someone (a TA) that can help you navigate your booking. If you can get someone that gives an on board credit or a cash back, that's a bonus. I think the best would be to work with someone who is a Disney specialist at the very least. For your second cruise, you can do it all yourself.

It seems you're British? Does anyone know if Dreams Unlimited (our board sponsor here) works with overseas clients? If they do, you might want to look at using them.

Second, if you're coming all the way over the pond, why only a 3 day? A 4 day at least will give you a better taste for sailing. As for the verandah, my DH won't cruise without one, but that's because he spends a lot of time hanging out in the room and he wants to enjoy the privacy of his balcony. I, on the other hand, wander around the ship quite a lot, so while I enjoy the balcony, it's not a deal-breaker for me.

Yes, book as soon as you know when you want to go and on what sailing. Also, book all the people who might want to go with you. If they aren't sure, they can cancel, but sometimes you can't add them in easily at a later date. At the very least, the price might go up while they are deciding.

Thank you for your reply! Luckily just us 2 so no one else to worry about adding on which makes life easier.

A 3 days worked the best for our dates, and having never cruised before figured it would be a good introduction for us - we already over 8 days before hand at POFQ, 3 nights cruising (hopefully!) and then 2 nights at universal before we fly home so I just couldn’t stretch to a 4 day one - that and the worry ‘what if we hate it’. I am pretty confident we won’t but you never know!

I feel like I would utilise the ship most too rather then a private veranda.

Yes they do work with overseas clients. Contact is through email so no problems with time differences.

Perfect - I’ll give them an email for a quote - I didn’t realise they would for UK guests so that’s good to know!

Thank you all so much for your help so far - this has been really helpful!

 

[FigmentSpark]

One more thing... when you are on the cruise, don't forget to buy a placeholder for another one. Do it even if you're not sure you'll use it. It's good for 2 years (to the day) and is fully refundable, but the perks are worth it.

 

[Azza1987]

One more thing... when you are on the cruise, don't forget to buy a placeholder for another one. Do it even if you're not sure you'll use it. It's good for 2 years (to the day) and is fully refundable, but the perks are worth it.

Oh not heard of this? Whats a placeholder?

 

[FigmentSpark]

When you are on the ship, they allow you to book either your next cruise or a placeholder, which costs $250 (USD). This gives you a 10% discount on your next booking and some OBC for that sailing. It varies with the length of the sailing. So, within the next two years, if you decide you want to go on another DCL cruise, it will be cheaper. And you can either have it assigned to whatever TA you're using or have that TA taken off the placeholder so you are free to book on your own or use someone else.

 

[Azza1987]

When you are on the ship, they allow you to book either your next cruise or a placeholder, which costs $250 (USD). This gives you a 10% discount on your next booking and some OBC for that sailing. It varies with the length of the sailing. So, within the next two years, if you decide you want to go on another DCL cruise, it will be cheaper. And you can either have it assigned to whatever TA you're using or have that TA taken off the placeholder so you are free to book on your own or use someone else.

Oh i didn't realise that at all, thanks so much for that - good to know and bear in mind as I am sure we will love the cruise.

Dreamsunlimited did quote me, but in dollars and whilst slightly cheaper now on the exchange rate - I am worried if book in $ and it dips its going to cost significantly more and with Brexit currently looming and the uncertainty I think I'll book direct with DCL in £'s to be safe.

Now just the choice of a forward oceanview cabin on deck 8 (with slanted walls? without) or a veranda on the 9th deck with an undersized or obstructed view veranda (definitely dont see the point in stretching to a Cat 5 veranda for another £100!)

 

[MomOTwins]

Oh i didn't realise that at all, thanks so much for that - good to know and bear in mind as I am sure we will love the cruise.

Dreamsunlimited did quote me, but in dollars and whilst slightly cheaper now on the exchange rate - I am worried if book in $ and it dips its going to cost significantly more and with Brexit currently looming and the uncertainty I think I'll book direct with DCL in £'s to be safe.

Now just the choice of a forward oceanview cabin on deck 8 (with slanted walls? without) or a veranda on the 9th deck with an undersized or obstructed view veranda (definitely dont see the point in stretching to a Cat 5 veranda for another £100!)

Not all obstructed view verandah's have the same view so it might help if you give room numbers as folks can steer you to the better options among the obstructed view rooms (it can be just anything from just corner of the view cut off on one side, or a little open porthole that you have to lean out of to see anything--so it can be a big difference). Without knowing what specific rooms you are looking at, I'd be inclined to go with the verandah because: (1) the far forward rooms can be quite bad for those with seasickness (they tend to be bumpier), and since this is your first cruise you might not know how it would affect you until you are on board; (2) my husband got sick on our first cruise and was miserable being trapped in a room, and has insisted on verandahs ever since--granted that is preparing for the worst--but regardless, the fresh air is a nice thing to have (it also helps ease seasickness); and (3) we find being all the way forward is a very far walk from most of the things you have to do on a daily basis so did not care for that location much.

 

[Azza1987]

Not all obstructed view verandah's have the same view so it might help if you give room numbers as folks can steer you to the better options among the obstructed view rooms (it can be just anything from just corner of the view cut off on one side, or a little open porthole that you have to lean out of to see anything--so it can be a big difference). Without knowing what specific rooms you are looking at, I'd be inclined to go with the verandah because: (1) the far forward rooms can be quite bad for those with seasickness (they tend to be bumpier), and since this is your first cruise you might not know how it would affect you until you are on board; (2) my husband got sick on our first cruise and was miserable being trapped in a room, and has insisted on verandahs ever since--granted that is preparing for the worst--but regardless, the fresh air is a nice thing to have (it also helps ease seasickness); and (3) we find being all the way forward is a very far walk from most of the things you have to do on a daily basis so did not care for that location much.

Oh I hadn’t even thought what if one of us got sea sick! A veranda might be a good option just in case, you never know do you?

So the rooms that were available ocean view were all forward, deck 8 rooms, 8002, 8502 or 8504? (CAT 9D and 9C) these come too £1328 for 2 adults (including all taxes)


Those with verandas in cat 7A I think are 9652 or 9664? Either of these are £1437 for 2 adults.

So it’s about £100 extra? This is the Dream sailing on 18th Sept 2020 if it helps!