Almost Ready to Book

[RweTHEREyet]

We have decided to take the 2008 5-day Bahamian cruise, giving me lots of time to worry and plan. Travelers include me, DH, son and DGF. We travel well together.

I originally had thought that going with one cabin, cat. 6 for the 4 of us was the way to go, assuming that two cabins would cost a lot more. After further investigation, it looks like we could get a Cat 6 for me and DH and a Cat 9 for DS that has an ocean-view for about $300 more. I am thinking that two cabins is the better way to go.

My last cruise was in 2001, so I am a little rusty in dealing with this. Anyone have any suggestions or tips for me on the advantages or disadvantages, other than price in doing this.

Any other cruising hints would also be helpful, including some of the websites that are good cruising references.

[wdw1972]

You mean the 4-night cruise?? Keep in mind you don't really have 5 days. The last (5th) day you're off the ship by 8-9am, so to me that doesn't count. The first day you might board at noon, and you'll sail at 5. Depending on when you arrive, that's a half day or so. Then you have 3 full days....1 of which will be cruising, and 2 will be docked at Nassau (yuck) or Castaway Cay (nice).

If you can swing the 2 cabins, definitely do that. $300 isn't much of a difference at all, but decide whether $300 is worth it to not have to share the bathroom with the whole family, and to have privacy for you & the spouse :lovestruc Somehow sharing a cabin with a couple of kids kills the romance of cruising in my opinion!

Can't think of any disadvantages, unless the kids are too young or too untrustworthy to be left in their own cabin. It's worked very well for many of my friends who always book separate rooms/cabins for the kiddos.....just set the ground rules up front & feel free to check on them to make sure they're complying.

[RweTHEREyet]

No, actually, in September 2008 there is one 5-night sailing that leaves on Monday and comes back the following Saturday with two stops in Castaway Cay and one day in Nassau. I meant to say 5-night sailing in my original post, my mistake. I guess if we were smart and got to the port really early, we would have most of the day on Monday, making it a 4 1/2 day cruise. :hahahaha:

The kids for the other cabin will be 25 and 24 and I am thinking more and more that two cabins is the best way to go. Too much togetherness for the week could cause some nerves to get frayed. :Pokepoke: The only reason I was originally planning on one cabin is that I just thought two would be almost double the money, and I am so glad I was wrong on that.

[parrisk]

I've seen you lurking lately on the Dis cruise lines board. :howudoin: I've been there a lot lately myself. We are doing a 3-night in October following 6 nights at OKW. I definitely think two cabins would be the way to go since the $ difference is so small. Do you know if the Disney Visa $50 booking credit is per stateroom? If so, add that to the $25 online booking credit and you could save a little $. I didn't find out about the $50 credit until I had already booked and your code has to be entered at the time of booking. I have never been on a cruise before and the anticipation is thrilling. We are already planning on booking a 7-night for next October while onboard. Keep us posted!

[RweTHEREyet]

I have been told that the on-board credits apply to each cabin.

Did you book directly yourself or go thru a TA?

Yes, I have been lurking around on that Cruise Board. Not too much to offer at this point, but I sure am gathering a lot of information.

Parrisk, do you have any other cruise websites that you frequent?

[Stimpy]

Congrats Rwe! I would go with the 2 staterooms, especially considering the ages of you DS & DGF. For $300 it would be worth the privacy!

I use "the other board" & http://www.castawayclub.com/ the most. cruisecritic is supposed to be good too and since it handles all the cruise lines, it's not so Disney biased.

[parrisk]

I have been told that the on-board credits apply to each cabin.

Did you book directly yourself or go thru a TA?

Yes, I have been lurking around on that Cruise Board. Not too much to offer at this point, but I sure am gathering a lot of information.

Parrisk, do you have any other cruise websites that you frequent?


I have also been to castawayclub.com I bought Birnbaum's Disney Cruise Line book, but it was basically just a repeat of what I had already gathered from the internet. Also, Disney has sent me several packages of planning materials since we booked. I ordered the cruise DVD and watched it last weekend. It was very long and detailed. I went to allearsnet.com and printed off their Disney Cruise information (It was 88 pages long). This will be our first cruise and I am glad we decided to go with Disney. We booked the cheapest stateroom because I don't plan on being in the room except to sleep. The photos of the rooms have me a bit worried. They are so small. When we book for next October's 7-night I will probably book a better category depending on how crowded the category 12 is.

I booked online myself, because we already had OKW ressies and we drive from Alabama, so I just didn't see the need for a travel agent. I also have a control issue and the thoughts of using a travel agent makes my stomach ache. I have never used one. I just prefer doing it all myself, by looking for the best deal at the time and putting together my own package. To me, that's part of the fun - the planning. Depending on where you are traveling, I just don't think travel agents are as important as they used to be. I can usually research a destination online, book air, motel, and rental car, pre-buy attraction passes, and get all needed directions. It just takes time. I have more time than money, so I search for the best deal.

It is very easy to book online. It only took a couple of minutes once we decided which cruise to take. Let me know how things go.

[RweTHEREyet]

The only thing I can add to that is that each quote, with the exception of one that I have gotten, has been less than the ones I have found on-line at DCL. I didn't expect that, but has been true so far. And, because the TA's reserve blocks of rooms, they can sometimes offer better locations than the on-line Disney site.

I book everything else myself, too, but I am going to be using a TA for this trip. To me, this isn't like going to WDW and staying at DVC like I have done so many times in the past, this trip will be in unchartered waters, matey :Pirate:

[mprewitt]

I would recommend the PassPorter's Field Guide to DCL (5th ed). It's much better than the Birnbaum guide. I used it to plan my DCL cruise next year.

I also didn't use a TA, but booked directly on the DCL web site.

[wdw1972]

Have a great time on your cruise! I did the member cruise one year and we had 2 stops at Castaway Cay, which was nice. I wish we could have subbed the yucky Nassau stop for a day of cruising, but I always enjoy the ship when everyone else has gone ashore!