How to Start Planning Your Disney Cruise
Our family has been on three Disney Cruises so far, and we've sailed on three of the four Disney ships. I am pretty vocal about my love for Disney Cruises, and also about my obsession with research and planning. As a result, I get a lot of questions from friends when they are ready to start planning their trips. In fact, I have had four people message me this week, so I thought I'd do a new blog post with some basic tips on where to start the planning process. I also have a handful of posts with planning tips
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here.
Step #1
The first thing that you need to do is decide when you want to sail. I now try to select times when our kids won't have to miss a lot of school, but when they were younger, I had no problem pulling them out for a week. Now that my son is in 8th grade, it is harder for him to miss, so I minimize days off as much as I can. One thing to know, is that sailing during common vacation times, also means higher prices. I've seen the same cruise itinerary vary by $4,000+ depending on the dates. You'll definitely pay a premium at spring break, summer, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Step #2
How many nights do you want to sail? We've done a six night, and two seven night cruises. I would never personally choose anything less (unless dates/itinerary were very appealing), but that's just my preference. We don't live near any of the ports, so for us to make the trip worth while, we will always pick a longer itinerary. Plus, we have yet to be able to do everything we'd want to do, even on a six or seven night cruise, so I know I'd feel like I didn't have enough time to enjoy everything on a shorter trip. Knowing how long you want to sail, will also narrow down what ships you can choose from. Typically, the Dream only does three or four night itineraries which is why the Dream is the only ship we haven't been on so far. The Magic, Wonder, and Fantasy typically do 5-7+ night itineraries. The Magic and the Wonder are the smaller ships, and the Dream and Fantasy are the larger ships. We've been on the Magic, Wonder, and Fantasy and I loved each of them. I do love the smaller ships, and really love the Magic. They are all incredible though!
Step #3
Decide where you want to go and what port you'd like to leave out of. We've sailed out of Port Canaveral (which is probably the most common) twice, and it is definitely my favorite port. We sailed out of Galveston once, and it got the job done, but wasn't my favorite. There are a handful of regular destinations, and then Disney will offer some special spots throughout the year too. We've done the Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries. I absolutely loved the Eastern, and that was where were supposed to go again last month, but the hurricane destroyed a lot of those ports. Once they are rebuilt, I'd highly recommend an Eastern Caribbean trip.
Step #4
You'll also need to decide what type of stateroom you'd like to have. There are Inside, Oceanview, Verandah, and Concierge. There is a small variety of categories within those, with Inside being the least expensive and Concierge being the most. We've sailed in Inside staterooms twice, and have no problem doing that again. We don't spend much time in our room anyway, so the extra cost for a window or a verandah isn't worth it to us. I did find a great deal on a Navigators Verandah (means it could be smaller, partially obstructed, or have a white wall rail instead of clear) on the Disney Fantasy that I'd book again in a heartbeat. Those rooms are typically less expensive than a regular Verandah room, and for our most recent trip, we loved our little verandah. The kids could have totally done without, but my husband and I enjoyed having it.
Step #5
Book your Disney Cruise! I've mentioned this before
here, but I'll say it again because I believe so strongly in it. Book through an Authorized Disney Travel Agent. It is FREE, and it gives me great peace of mind knowing that I have someone to answer my questions and to look out for me. These trips aren't cheap, and I like to know that I am doing everything I need to do. I have used
Carrie Johnson with Small World Vacations for four of our Disney trips (3 cruises and 1 Disney World Trip), and I can't say enough good things about her. She is an absolute delight to work with. She has extensive knowledge about rooms, ships, itineraries, etc. To book a cruise, the deposit is typically 20% of the final cost. They do run deposit promotions occasionally, but this is the standard that I always assume I'll be paying. Once you book, they'll give you a Paid in Full (PIF) date, that average between 75-120 days before your sailing date. This varies depending on the type of cruise you're taking, and you can cancel and receive your deposit back before that PIF date.
Step #6
Make your travel arrangements. You can book flights and ground transfers through Disney Cruise Line, but I have never found this to be a good option for our family. I've always been able to book flights and shuttles/rental cars much cheaper on my own. One really important thing to note, is that you really should always fly in the day before the cruise. I know people who fly in the morning of, but there is no way my anxiety could handle that. If you have any flight delays, etc. you risk the ship leaving without you. We always fly in a day or so prior, stay at a hotel, and then go to the port the morning of the cruise. We've done transportation to the port a couple of ways. We have done a package deal with a hotel that includes transfer from the airport, the hotel stay, and transfer to the port. We've also rented a car one way, returned it at the port, rented a car one way afterwards and returned it at the airport. You can take shuttles, book a Disney Magical Express transfer, or a private car, but they are all pretty pricey (upwards of $70/person each way). On our last trip we rented a car at the airport and at the port and it was a fraction of what the shuttles would have cost us. I'm a bargain hunter, so I keep an eye out for good deals on flights and car rental for a long time, and continue to check prices after I've booked so I can switch if I need to.
Step #7
Once you are all booked, head over to my other blog posts to help you get ready for your amazing vacation!! We love these trips so much, and we'll sail Disney till the end of time. :)
*These tips are all based on my opinions. I do not receive any compensation for recommendations, etc.
