1st DCL cruise. How far in advance should we book for connecting inside staterooms?

[mamaprincess]

We are planning on doing the holiday cruise on the Dream (Dec. 22, 2011) and wondering if we have time to wait to book the inside staterooms or if they will be gone before a year out for this particular cruise. Anyone have any thoughts. Financially, it would be better if we could wait for a couple of months, but I'm assuming this one is going to be popular.

 

[nenner1]

Especially with the Dream you should book as soon as you can. It has a lower percentage of the inside rooms and those really are very popular.

Also being right at Christmas like that I'd think it would be even more popular.

Good luck!

 

[mmouse09]

I would definitely say book NOW. There are very few inside staterooms to begin with and if you need connecting ones, there will be even fewer. We booked a May cruise about 3 weeks ago and there was only 1 inside stateroom left. Now there are none for the entire month of May....

 

[mamaprincess]

Thanks for the heads up. I will talk to DH about booking now. Can we book two rooms with one adult in each and then add the kids later? That would help us with doing it now.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Usually the further out you are, the cheaper the rooms. Sometimes you can catch a deal and if the rates change dramatically, it is worth it to pay the change fee and book the cheaper fare if it comes up.

PP's are correct, the inside cabins (cheaper) will go first. It will be interesting to see, over time, if the prices will even out a little. If they have tons of outside cabins not filling up because of the price, if they will make them a little more affordable.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Thanks for the heads up. I will talk to DH about booking now. Can we book two rooms with one adult in each and then add the kids later? That would help us with doing it now.

I'd check with a Disney cruise expert Travel Agent. Many have no fees if you decide to cancel, so you can get a full refund.

It's my understanding that you can add others later, but you do risk the ship filling up all available people in certain rooms. Due to location and life boat locations, if all of the rooms around you have 4 people, your room may be limited to 2 or 3 people. That should be fine for you if you need connecting rooms for 5, but you do risk not being able to add a third person in that particular room location or category. I think they also limit the # of kids in each age group, but it's a fairly high limit.

 

[DisneyAnytime]

I booked our July 15, 2011 cruise in May 2010 and there were no inside connecting rooms available. My TA found us rooms relatively close together, though. Also, we had originally wanted to cruise the end of June but ALL inside rooms for that sailing were booked.

Double check your rates because there is a supplement attached to a single room, so you might come out better going ahead and adding the kiddos now.

Happy Sailing!!

 

[CADisneyMom]

I would say book now for a number of reasons.
1) Fewer inside staterooms that are connecting.
2) Lifeboat stations can fill up.
3) Kids age groups can fill up by the time you're ready to add them.
4) Rate may go up in the meantime.

I book as soon as I can to give me more time to make the payments at lower amounts each month then waiting for later and having to make higher payments each month.

 

[jilljill]

The cruise has been on sale for just about 10 months now, it's possible connecting insides are sold out now.
Actually on the Dream there are more inside connecting cabins than the Magic/Wonder, but with the virtual portholes the insides are booking quickly. Many sailings are sold out for the inside cabins.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

I'd check with a Disney cruise expert Travel Agent. Many have no fees if you decide to cancel, so you can get a full refund.

Actually it is pretty standard (not 100%) to have until 75 days prior to get a full refund, I think this is cruise line mandated, not TA. We've booked 3 different ways, including through a TA, Costco and another TA, and it was the same.

Your insurance will not be refunded though.

 

[winotracy]

Thanks for the heads up. I will talk to DH about booking now. Can we book two rooms with one adult in each and then add the kids later? That would help us with doing it now.

You can do this but when you add the rest of them, they will be paying the current price at the time you add them to the reservation. The pricing could go up and the space could be limited. You don't have to worry only about number of berths in your room, but also other ship limits (space in the kids clubs, dining rooms, lifeboat stations). You may find you cannot add them later.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

You can do this but when you add the rest of them, they will be paying the current price at the time you add them to the reservation. The pricing could go up and the space could be limited. You don't have to worry only about number of berths in your room, but also other ship limits (space in the kids clubs, dining rooms, lifeboat stations). You may find you cannot add them later.

Tracy,

Long time no chat. Have you seen KCashner around? I PM'd her, and haven't seen any posts. I've been DISigning on the graphics board and haven't been around much.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Tracy,

Long time no chat. Have you seen KCashner around? I PM'd her, and haven't seen any posts. I've been DISigning on the graphics board and haven't been around much.

She's on the WBTA right now, and had done a last minute Med cruise a few weeks before. Saw just a couple of posts last week, but not many.

.

 

[winotracy]

Tracy,

Long time no chat. Have you seen KCashner around? I PM'd her, and haven't seen any posts. I've been DISigning on the graphics board and haven't been around much.

I haven't had much time, but that is changing.

 

[ibouncetoo]

If you are looking at a Cat 11 A-C, there were are some available, if you are looking for a Cat 10, I only saw ONE PAIR of connection cabins offered up. Now the site doesn't always show all cabins, but usually gives a selection of about 8 when the ship is 'open'. Only six showed up for the Cat 10 and only one pair was connection.

.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

She's on the WBTA right now, and had done a last minute Med cruise a few weeks before. Saw just a couple of posts last week, but not many.

.

Ah...that explains it. It's not like her to be weighing in...

 

[mamaprincess]

Thanks for all the great responses. I'm looking at 11-c and we will likely be adding the kids each month up to December so I'm hoping we can do it. I did talk with an agent at DCL and he seems to think that as long as it a year out or more we should be fine. We'll see.