DCL Summer 2017 Megathread - Itineraries are out!

[krisinparis]

Anyone not getting an email confirmation after booking? I booked an hour and a half ago.

Sometimes it's taken a day or 2 to for me to get the email confirmation.

 

[jk and ek]

just got off the phone but i forgot to write down our totals to contribute to this thread!

we're doing the july 9th 5 day double dip cruise on the dream.

we booked 3 staterooms on deck 8 (2 adjoining verandah and an inside directly across the hall) with 6 adults and one child (who will be 4 at the time of the cruise) with on board credit/vouchers or deposits came to
$663 (2A1C- verandah), $464(2A- verandah), $380 (2A- inside).

i called with our choice of rooms (cross-referenced online before calling) with several back-up options and it took less than 10 minutes. the hold time was was over 90 minutes though. yikes.

i'm a bit nervous because we are strictly "off season" disney people, but our schedules are now restricted by one of our group working as a school nurse so we have to do cruises during more typical/busy times of year.

 

[4newtocruise]

seems many of us are disappointed in the prices for the cruises this year...guess they need to pay for the 2 new ships they are building.....IMO there is no need to have the prices expand as much as they have this year....I can afford the cruises but really makes me think twice about where I could use all that $$$$ for a one week cruise....I love DCL but may just start using my cash on a different line....my boys are 19 and 22 and love DCL as well....but I bet if i said instead of the cruise here is $2,000+ for your pocket...what do you think they would say lol.....we are Gold next cruise Platinum and DVC members so Disney is in our blood....but UGH!

We are in the same boat. We will be gold too after this cruise. I talked to my 17 year old and she still wanted Disney!!!

 

[Blended Disney]

I keep getting a busy signal on the main customer service number and Castaway Club number. Is this to be expected or should I at least be being placed on hold?

 

[lilroo442]

I keep checking my email every 2 minutes in hopes of an email from my TA. I already know I want to change one of the room types of requested. Waiting is a struggle!!

 

[soniam]

I keep getting a busy signal on the main customer service number and Castaway Club number. Is this to be expected or should I at least be being placed on hold?

I am seeing the same thing, and the websites not working right. I think they are just overloaded.

 

[tink1970]

Probably the website wants a vacation (or overtime at least!).

And for those disappointed in the pricing...my DD only wanted NYC for her sweet 16th. Our hotel room for 3 nights is more than either of the quotes we got for 7 night cruises in Europe!!!!

(Why was she born around Thanksgiving???...and yes I actually know I had a choice of hotels but she wanted a very specific experience, just as we do when we cruise)

 

[closetmickey]

Just fyi for those booking today...after a quick search, it appears the cabins for my categories (5c and 11b) have NOT gone up yet since yesterday am for the 11 night Iceland/Norway.
My 2 night to Ensenada did though - by around 10% it appears

 

[soniam]

Probably the website wants a vacation (or overtime at least!).

And for those disappointed in the pricing...my DD only wanted NYC for her sweet 16th. Our hotel room for 3 nights is more than either of the quotes we got for 7 night cruises in Europe!!!!

(Why was she born around Thanksgiving???...and yes I actually know I had a choice of hotels but she wanted a very specific experience, just as we do when we cruise)

Ooooh, are you doing the Macy's parade? I have been thinking about doing that in the next few years.

 

[tink1970]

(forgive me for being OT) but YES! We have a parade route room at the JW Marriott Essex House on Central Park South! She is very excited. I paid for it so am not quite as...

Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming...

 

[Ofinn]

Probably the website wants a vacation (or overtime at least!).

And for those disappointed in the pricing...my DD only wanted NYC for her sweet 16th. Our hotel room for 3 nights is more than either of the quotes we got for 7 night cruises in Europe!!!!

(Why was she born around Thanksgiving???...and yes I actually know I had a choice of hotels but she wanted a very specific experience, just as we do when we cruise)

What hotel are staying at that cost 10k for three nights?

 

[soniam]

What hotel are staying at that cost 10k for three nights?

See post above yours.

 

[tink1970]

Actually, it's "only" I think $7700 ( but still less than my nav verandah rooms on both cruises I priced). JW Marriott Essex---on Central Park South.
Parade Route View or something titled as such. You'd be amazed how quickly hotels on the route sold out...when I was looking in Jan as I was discussing the (of course) cheaper option with DD, it literally disappeared.

Now the Ritz on Central Park down the street for the 3 days (which btw is the minimum at the Marriott and pretty sure at the R-C) would probably be twice what I'm paying. Sort of puts concierge pricing in perspective (at least they give you snacks!).

Okay again sorry OT. Swear it's the last time! Pinky promise!

 

[pillow]

No I don't think it's necessary, but if it came down to DCL in a inside or another cruise line with a balcony. I would choose the other cruise line. I'm ok with an inside or ocean view on any cruise. It's just that on some ships the insides are just too small for 2 adults and 2 teens. Two insides can be more expensive than a balcony. Some cruise lines hardly charge anything for the 3rd and 4th passengers in a room.

I agree with you on this. We upgraded to a balcony at the port last summer for our DCL Alaska cruise (very lucky!). We LIVED on that balcony! It made a huge difference to us, but its always an individual thing. We spent less time doing the typical cruise stuff (skipped shows, etc) because we just could not tear ourselves away from the scenery. Fabulous cruise!

 

[pillow]

We are in the same boat. We will be gold too after this cruise. I talked to my 17 year old and she still wanted Disney!!!

An idea - why don't you give her a budget and let her figure it out. If she really wants Disney, perhaps she could pay the difference (yard sales, bake sales, etc). You might find she is thrilled to sail a cheaper line when her own cash is on the line - lol.

 

[pillow]

Actually, it's "only" I think $7700 ( but still less than my nav verandah rooms on both cruises I priced). JW Marriott Essex---on Central Park South.
Parade Route View or something titled as such. You'd be amazed how quickly hotels on the route sold out...when I was looking in Jan as I was discussing the (of course) cheaper option with DD, it literally disappeared.

Now the Ritz on Central Park down the street for the 3 days (which btw is the minimum at the Marriott and pretty sure at the R-C) would probably be twice what I'm paying. Sort of puts concierge pricing in perspective (at least they give you snacks!).

Okay again sorry OT. Swear it's the last time! Pinky promise!

We've been to NYC twice for the parade and stayed at the Novotel (many years ago when the kids were little). They have/had a balcony for parade viewing, but you kinda had to look over as the parade was below. Not sure if any rooms have a parade view, but it might be worth checking. I love the location of that hotel. I always had better luck calling directly vs booking online.

 

[tink1970]

Thanks-that's great information!

 

[RedSox68]

Keep an open mind to what I'm about to post.......Check out the new Carnival Vista. We booked her for an 8 night Southern Caribbean 6/3/17, only $5200 for 4 of us in 2 connecting insides, price includes gratuity and trip insurance. The ship is amazing. We're also sailing her in the Mediterranean 6/3/16 in the same rooms, that cruise is only costing us $4000.

Wow, those are great prices!

 

[RedM94]

I booked June 12 Alaska Cat 9A, deck 7, with insurance and after 20% off $5866.09. I hope I did that right.

The 20% off was a voucher from our Jan 28th Fantasy cruise. Mechanical problems prevented us from stopping at CC. The vouchers were issued to all passengers fro the inconvenience.

Let's just say that if not for the voucher, I would not be doing this cruise. The prices have gotten insane!!! However, DCL is the only cruise line we feel comfortable sailing with my son's life threatening allergies.

 

[RedSox68]

I have cruised to Alaska 4 times and never had a balcony. Yes, they are nice, but I'm not willing to pay a lot more for one. I'll be on b2b Alaska cruises on Radiance of the Seas in May 2017 in an inside (1st cruise) and an oceanview (2nd cruise). When it comes to cabin size on RCI - I'd rather have two inside or oceanview cabins for 4 people than one balcony cabin.

As far as RCI in Alaska - I don't think much of Explorer of the Seas' Alaska itinerary. It goes to only two Alaskan ports - Juneau and Skagway, plus Tracy Arm and a day in Victoria. It also sails from Seattle, which is less scenic than out of Vancouver. Based only on itinerary and not price - DCL has the better itinerary of the two.

When we did Alaska for the first time - we wanted to make sure if we were going to travel across the country for that cruise, it included Glacier Bay. Plus we wanted to add a land package, neither of which Disney offers. For the price of Disney, we booked a verandah room for 3 adults (we love having a verandah) on HAL and it was still way less than an oceanview on Disney PLUS we got the land package.

I'm sorry, I know a lot of people want to do everything with Disney -- but for the prices that are now evident, you could book three cruises for the price of one on Disney. We're looking at Princess for Europe cruises and HAL for a return to Alaska.