Least expensive time to cruise Disney

[iluvcruises]

I'm very familiar with cruising, been on many cruises but not on Disney. Would like to try one of their cruises as we hear nothing but great things about this cruise line. We are pretty flexible with our travel times and looking for the best deals (or least expensive time for Disney). Do they ever run specials or is there a time of year we wold get the best pricing? Thanks for any info!!

[TrolleyGirl]

Right after Thanksgiving prices take a dip. We have sailed the first week of December a couple of times and love it. Prices are good and the ship is decked out in all it's holiday finest.

 

Early September rates are generally resonable too, but the weather can be a bit iffy, as it is peak of hurricane season. It can be rainy or very humid.

[tinybiny]

From what I've seen opening day pricing has been the best. Shoulder season is less expensive and repo cruises usually run less than a normal loop cruise.

 

They run specials for military and Florida residents. They used have kids sail free, but I haven't seen that in a few years. I think plenty of people are willing to pay the full fare, so the specials are pretty rare.

 

A lot of people will only sail on the GTY rates. Those are published a couple months before the cruise. I've never seen any as low as opening day pricing, but others have said they have.

[moki'smommy]

Lowest rates--September, early December, January to early February.

 

*GT rates have not looked good lately. In the past there were some that were lower than opening day rates. For instance, we had an opening day rate on a September cruise that we knew was not filling (every category still showing open). We decided to toss the dice and cancel, and for once, we "won." We were able to book a VGT for $1000 less than our oceanview room. BUT that was several years ago. Recently, *GTs have been too high for my taste.

 

Still, if you don't have an opening day rate with a booking on board discount to apply, look at the *GT rates. They are certainly better than the available rates near time of cruising.

 

Even FL res rates have not been good recently.

[Friend100]

If you can wat look for Panama Canal IGT or OGT. I find in last few years when offered the best value.

[tapemann]

The lower time is when Kids are in School. Your not going to Save Hundreds.

You might save $35-$75/pp. Go when it's a good time for you. Disney is higher cost than other lines. But it's Disney. If your Kids are young just go!

[moki'smommy]

The lower time is when Kids are in School. Your not going to Save Hundreds.

You might save $35-$75/pp. Go when it's a good time for you. Disney is higher cost than other lines. But it's Disney. If your Kids are young just go!

 

WHAT???

 

Just for comparison, I looked up a 7 night Fantasy cruise, cat 7A for 2 people. In June it is $5500. In September it is $3100. That's not hundreds, it is thousands!

[JupiterTwo]

My wife and I recently completed a 7-night cruise to the Bahamas on the Wonder from Galveston. Sailing was on December 11 for $3,850 for a 5B verandah stateroom. That amounts to a rate of $1.03 per person per sq. ft. per night.

 

I just booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas out of Miami for February 1 in a junior suite (which is smaller on the smaller Majesty). It's essentially the same itinerary without the sea days (and Coco Cay in place of Castaway Cay). The cost is $2,012, which is $1.15 per person per sq. ft. per night.

 

So sailing on the Wonder in December was definitely a deal!

 

Steve

[Ex techie]

My wife and I recently completed a 7-night cruise to the Bahamas on the Wonder from Galveston. Sailing was on December 11 for $3,850 for a 5B verandah stateroom. That amounts to a rate of $1.03 per person per sq. ft. per night.

 

I just booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas out of Miami for February 1 in a junior suite (which is smaller on the smaller Majesty). It's essentially the same itinerary without the sea days (and Coco Cay in place of Castaway Cay). The cost is $2,012, which is $1.15 per person per sq. ft. per night.

 

So sailing on the Wonder in December was definitely a deal!

 

Steve

 

Historically DCL has had a rough time cruising out of Galveston and filling the ship there.

Personally I feel it had been poor marketing on their part to announce it to people in the state, but also possibly there isn't as big of a draw of Guests willing to pay top dollar to cruise from there.

 

Galveston doesn't the best track record for cruise ships making it out or in to port on time what with the fog.

 

The also had a broken contract with the port of Galveston for a number of cruises that I *think* they may have had to fulfil at some point.

 

They have been advertizing their cruises a lot more than in years gone by.

Here are some commercials.

 

Maybe that explains your lower fare per sq foot on the Wonder over the MotS?

 

ex techie

[JupiterTwo]

 

Maybe that explains your lower fare per sq foot on the Wonder over the MotS?

 

ex techie

 

I'm sure it does. I feel fortunate for it.

 

I've read all your posts on the history of DCL and Galveston. The point is that a deal can be had if sailing from Galveston. The Wonder will be back in Galveston in November 2016. I can't say that the deals will be the same, but I still feel that I got a great DCL experience, even if not on the signature ship.

 

Steve

[Ex techie]

I'm sure it does. I feel fortunate for it.

 

I've read all your posts on the history of DCL and Galveston. The point is that a deal can be had if sailing from Galveston. The Wonder will be back in Galveston in November 2016. I can't say that the deals will be the same, but I still feel that I got a great DCL experience, even if not on the signature ship.

 

Steve

 

And thats great Steve!

 

I'm glad you had a great time and hope you get more deals on DCL and enjoy sailing on their ships of out Galveston!

 

ex techie

[GatorMomInNC]

September and early December have always been good for us. If you are flexible, avoid cruising when "traditional" schools are out, holidays , and weekend cruises (like on the Dream). On a per night basis, the Fantasy and the Dream tend to be more expensive.

[sm3ds]

Sept- Feb and end of April and May excluding holiday weeks will have the best rates. If your looking for last minute discounts GT, MTO, FLR or interline mid Oct- mid to mid Nov, and the first 2 weeks of Dec are almost always a guarantee. The rest of the year is random.

Cruises out of Galveston, San Juan and repo cruises don't sell I would always wait to the last minute for those.

I think we'll see some discounts in Europe this Summer.

[sm3ds]

I'm sure it does. I feel fortunate for it.

 

I've read all your posts on the history of DCL and Galveston. The point is that a deal can be had if sailing from Galveston. The Wonder will be back in Galveston in November 2016. I can't say that the deals will be the same, but I still feel that I got a great DCL experience, even if not on the signature ship.

 

Steve

 

I've sailed all four ships. The Magic and Wonder are my favorites. I loved sailing out of Galveston. We'll be on the Wonder to Alaska this Summer, and we have another cruise this Spring out of Miami. Hotels prices in Miami are shocking to say the least I'd rather be sailing out of Galveston again.

 

I think the deals will be the same this year especially on the cruises that don't stop at CC that's a deal breaker for some people. I like the fact that some of the Galveston cruises will be heading down South I prefer that. We sailed for around 3k in an Ocean view 2 adults and 2 kids. We got similar deals on the Fantasy in 2014, but I don't expect to see that again for a while.

Edited January 13, 2016 by sm3ds

[JupiterTwo]

My wife just started looking at the cruise on the Wonder in early December that goes to Jamaica and Mexico. It looks nice.

[Winston Wolf]

The lower time is when Kids are in School. Your not going to Save Hundreds.

You might save $35-$75/pp. Go when it's a good time for you. Disney is higher cost than other lines. But it's Disney. If your Kids are young just go!

 

You're correct. You won't save hundreds. You'll save THOUSANDS going off-peak times.

[sm3ds]

You're correct. You won't save hundreds. You'll save THOUSANDS going off-peak times.

 

I think pp poster needs to price out a July cruise on the Fantasy vs a Sept cruise. For my family it would be a 3k difference. The Wonder or Magic in Dec would be a 4k difference.

[LuCruise]

Great thread. If course you have to balance cost with weather. I've read of some rocky waters on some fall cruising.

 

Sent from my ONE E1005 using Tapatalk

[moki'smommy]

I think pp poster needs to price out a July cruise on the Fantasy vs a Sept cruise. For my family it would be a 3k difference. The Wonder or Magic in Dec would be a 4k difference.

 

See post number 7. June and September rates quoted.

[Holldoll777]

I just booked on the Magic the first week of March for $185/night. That's the cheapest I've seen them. I booked it through priceline.com

[sm3ds]

See post number 7. June and September rates quoted.

 

Yeah I saw that. I was pointing out the price difference for my family. :confused:

[moki'smommy]

Yeah I saw that. I was pointing out the price difference for my family. :confused:

 

Sorry. I was responding to your comment that the poster needed to compare July vs. September prices. Obviously, it will be different for each family based on the exact dates selected and the number of people, but we both gave them a good idea of the difference....and it is several thousand dollars for most of us.

[100th Meridian]

I've been researching, and looks like the Galveston and San Juan (as well as repo) are cheaper then Port Canaveral. Unfortunately, they aren't as frequent as cruises out of Port Canaveral, so if you are looking for a specific date, you may be out of luck. Noticed that a 7 day cruise out of San Juan departing 1/23/2015 was priced a few weeks ago for only $3,000 for family of 4, for an inside stateroom.

 

Generally, if you are flexible and can hold off from booking until a few weeks out, you should have no problem getting a last "minute" deal on staterooms not selling well.

Edited January 16, 2016 by 100th Meridian

[cgolf1]

Just want to add that January no longer seems to be a good deal. We priced out a B2B on the Magic in 2017-2 3 night cruises for an inside room that has the same itinerary minus 1 port as the 4 and 5 night that we just got off of last Friday. We were stunned that the 6 night combo in 2017 was more than our 9 night combo this year. In researching 2017 cruises DCL was not competitive in the January/February timeframe, where in years past they were with the likes of RCCL, Princess, NCL, and Celebrity.

[moki'smommy]

Just want to add that January no longer seems to be a good deal. We priced out a B2B on the Magic in 2017-2 3 night cruises for an inside room that has the same itinerary minus 1 port as the 4 and 5 night that we just got off of last Friday. We were stunned that the 6 night combo in 2017 was more than our 9 night combo this year. In researching 2017 cruises DCL was not competitive in the January/February timeframe, where in years past they were with the likes of RCCL, Princess, NCL, and Celebrity.

 

Yeah, this is becoming a big problem. We've found that in general we can get a balcony cabin on other lines for the price of an inside on DCL. Note that on many other lines the cabin is smaller than on DCL. In some cases, we've found a balcony on other lines for HALF the cost of an inside on DCL!

 

If you want to cruise Disney, there are times of year that are less costly than other times. But if you want to compare DCL to other lines, DCL is almost always more expensive. At some point they will realize that they are alienating their customer base with their increasing costs and decreasing services. But until they are no longer filling the ships on most cruises, they will continue to push the price point and increase profits.

 

Sorry to be a downer here. We've just found that as two adults, there is nothing to justify the Disney premium cost. In other words, if you don't want pictures with fluff or princesses, you can find as nice or nicer a cruise on other lines. I'm willing to sacrifice the beauty of the DCL ships for the better pricing. DCL does have the best looking ships on the seas. They also have very limited ports, etc.

Edited January 19, 2016 by moki'smommy