I’ve been planning, researching and mostly getting excited for our 1st DCL cruise only a short 8 months and change away . Hopefully my incessant planning will help others with their trip. Some information I’ve found has been spread out so I really want to pay it forward and consolidate as much as I can!
At the time of cruising we will me: Mike 38, we also have Diane (41) my DW. My son Jack (10) and daughter Kate (8). My kids and I are huge Disney fans but since I’m here on Disboards you probably already know that . But I have the mickey tattoo to prove it if needed!
We live in southern California and are fortunate to enjoy many regular trips to Disneyland. We are annual passport holders a lot of the time but will let the passes lapse for periods when we don’t have anything planned. Sadly our passes are expiring this month but we just took a 5 day trip in Feb for my birthday so we got our last fill for the rest of the year. With the cruise booked we will probably not go back to DL until 2015.
Cruising history: Right before kids came along My wife and I went on a 3 day cruise many years ago on Carnival from Miami to the Bahamas, honestly the cruise was not that memorable – the best thing was the beach excursion to where they filmed the blue lagoon, absolutely beautiful. Next it was I think 2010 we went with the whole family including mother-in-law, aunt, sister-in-law and a friend on an NCL cruise in Hawaii. That was great. It was our 1st time in Hawaii and the kids loved the cruise and Hawaii itself was amazing. But the kids clubs were just ok, hours were very limited we found. Overall the cruise was very enjoyable though.
We have been wanting to do a Disney cruise for a long while now and everything fell into place after I started looking back in June or so. When I finally booked in July I was already excited but it was 17 months away!! I am soooo glad I booked that far ahead though. I looked again on occasion and saw how quickly the prices rose even just a few weeks later. As I am writing this PTR I realize 9 months have already gone by!
We are heading out on the Disney Fantasy December 6 from Port Canaveral on the Eastern Caribbean Itinerary C:
12/6 – Port Canaveral
12/7 – At sea
12/8 – At sea
12/9 – St. Maarten
12/10 – San Juan/Puerto Rico
12/11 – At sea
12/12 – Castaway Cay
12/13 – Port Canaveral
Booking
We booked a One Bedroom Concierge Suite, Category 00T. I feel like I got a heck of a good price for what I wanted, especially after continuing to look at prices for cruises in the same category months later. I haven’t seen that low of a price since we booked. I also did purchase travel insurance through Travel Guard which was $430.
I booked through Costco travel which gives me a $760 Costco cash card (oh yeah!) after we complete the cruise. I looked around and from what I read that seemed as good (or better) as other booking avenues.
Next up – Concierge considerations…
At the time of cruising we will me: Mike 38, we also have Diane (41) my DW. My son Jack (10) and daughter Kate (8). My kids and I are huge Disney fans but since I’m here on Disboards you probably already know that . But I have the mickey tattoo to prove it if needed!
Our best monster pose...
We live in southern California and are fortunate to enjoy many regular trips to Disneyland. We are annual passport holders a lot of the time but will let the passes lapse for periods when we don’t have anything planned. Sadly our passes are expiring this month but we just took a 5 day trip in Feb for my birthday so we got our last fill for the rest of the year. With the cruise booked we will probably not go back to DL until 2015.
Cruising history: Right before kids came along My wife and I went on a 3 day cruise many years ago on Carnival from Miami to the Bahamas, honestly the cruise was not that memorable – the best thing was the beach excursion to where they filmed the blue lagoon, absolutely beautiful. Next it was I think 2010 we went with the whole family including mother-in-law, aunt, sister-in-law and a friend on an NCL cruise in Hawaii. That was great. It was our 1st time in Hawaii and the kids loved the cruise and Hawaii itself was amazing. But the kids clubs were just ok, hours were very limited we found. Overall the cruise was very enjoyable though.
We have been wanting to do a Disney cruise for a long while now and everything fell into place after I started looking back in June or so. When I finally booked in July I was already excited but it was 17 months away!! I am soooo glad I booked that far ahead though. I looked again on occasion and saw how quickly the prices rose even just a few weeks later. As I am writing this PTR I realize 9 months have already gone by!
We are heading out on the Disney Fantasy December 6 from Port Canaveral on the Eastern Caribbean Itinerary C:
12/6 – Port Canaveral
12/7 – At sea
12/8 – At sea
12/9 – St. Maarten
12/10 – San Juan/Puerto Rico
12/11 – At sea
12/12 – Castaway Cay
12/13 – Port Canaveral
Booking
We booked a One Bedroom Concierge Suite, Category 00T. I feel like I got a heck of a good price for what I wanted, especially after continuing to look at prices for cruises in the same category months later. I haven’t seen that low of a price since we booked. I also did purchase travel insurance through Travel Guard which was $430.
I booked through Costco travel which gives me a $760 Costco cash card (oh yeah!) after we complete the cruise. I looked around and from what I read that seemed as good (or better) as other booking avenues.
Next up – Concierge considerations…