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Brought to you by...
John and Donna Gross "The Full Mickey - At a Discount!" The Wall Street Journal
DISNEY CRUISE LINE CHANGE IN POLICY Beth, our travel agent, writes: "We saw this coming! Over the last 18 months or so several cruise lines (most notably, Royal Caribbean and Carnival) have announced that they will no longer allow travel agents to pay off a cruise for anything less than the full amount due. Previously, if a client owed, say, $2500 on their cruise, but the commission was $300, the agent could call in a payment of $2450 and the cruise would be considered paid in full. In this way, the agent was basically rebating part of the commission back to the client - usually to get the sale away from another agency. The cruise lines argued that agencies which have become huge by rebating practically ALL of their commission in order to get business (and thus profiting by sheer volume) were de-valuing the cruises by, in effect, selling the cruises at greatly reduced rates. Both lines mentioned above have taken it a step further and added that agents can't even throw in gifts with cash value. In other words, I can't put the $2500 charge through and then send you a gift card for $50 - or any other gift, for that matter. Well, Disney has followed suit - sort of. Effective April 1, 2006, Disney Cruise Line® is modifying its credit card payment policy. Travel Agents will no longer be able to charge a Client’s credit card at final payment for less than the full amount of the cruise purchased. If a client wants to send us a check or have us process their payment internally (for a fee) we can then remit an agency check for the net amount due, though. They also don't prohibit gifting at this point. As with the other cruise lines, it is still OK to offer lower rates when you've got a group contract or are running some sort of 'authorized' promotion in cooperation with the line. We will continue to run our quarterly promotions with Disney which offer onboard credits when you book. We will also be offering promotions which will reward cruisers in other ways as well - Disney Cruise Line or others! So fear not; Affordable Disney will continue to find ways to bring you great deals on cruising!" |
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Repeat Disney Cruisers are entitled to the benefits of Disney's Castaway
Club:
What Disney offered on the 2006 Holiday Cruises "A magical tree lighting ceremony with Disney characters, festive holiday décor, carolers, gingerbread house building and even 'snow' that magically falls, await all those who board a Disney Cruise during the month of December. Just in time for the holiday season, both Disney ships - Disney Magic and Disney Wonder - are decked with boughs of holly and filled with holiday themed entertainment and activities for the entire family.
It all starts at Disney’s private cruise terminal at Port Canaveral,
Fla., where holiday decorations and Disney characters dressed in their
season’s best await all who board a Magical Holidays sailing. Onboard,
guests find highlights including:
A ship-wide party to ring in 2006 and a New Year’s Day tailgate party The last stop for all Disney Cruises is the line’s private island - Castaway Cay - where guests are treated to a 'Magical Wonderland,' a themed décor package that has transformed the sandy Bahamian island into a 'snowy' holiday hideaway. In addition to 'snow' flurries, guests enjoy seeing Christmas trees, Mr. and Mrs. Snowman (with shell noses and tropical shirts), carolers and a sleigh full of presents in the middle of the Bahamas. Even the island's tram that transports guests across the 1,000-acre island has been decorated to resemble a reindeer, complete with antlers and tail. At the beach, families learn the art of sand sculpting, while kids try their hand at holiday themed children’s activities including making candy cane reindeers, paper plate angels and snowflake-mobiles. Whether aboard or ashore, Disney Cruise Line guests will find the first class cruise experience that Disney is known for - now with a touch of the holidays - for every member of the family." (Source: Disney Cruise Lines, 12/01/05) To book a 2007 holiday cruise, Affordable Disney Members should contact Beth, our travel agent. If you are not a member, click here to join our Disney family.
What documents do I need for the Disney Cruise Line? A valid United States passport or, if born in the USA, an original, state-certified birth certificate with government-issued photo ID. (Source: Disney Cruise Line, 05/03/05)
"Disney Cruise Line Land & Sea Vacation Packages commencing on or after Jan. 1, will include a 7-Day Magic Your Way Ticket with the Park Hopper Option regardless of the number of nights spent at the Disney resorts." The 7-Day Magic Your Way Ticket will expire 14 days from the date of first use and can be used before and after your cruise! Plus, if you purchase the No Expiration option, you can save any unused days until your next trip. You can book shore excursions "up to 90 days in advance for Categories 1-3 or 75 days in advance for Categories 4-12." (Source: Disney Cruise Line)
Bettyann writes: "We just booked a Disney Cruise for May 2005.....We plan on staying at the Polynesian Resort before the cruise and were wondering if there is any way to store golf clubs (my son- in-law will be playing during the land part of the trip), extra luggage (not needed on the cruise) and our extra stroller (needed for the 4 yr old in the park, but not on the ship)...who would we call about this question.....there will be 3 adults and 2 children (4 & 11mos) in a family suite and we are not sure about what to do if you have to bring all of this on the ship...thanks for your help." I understand that your stateroom host/hostess will store your excess luggage on the ship for you until you're ready to repack your bags for departure. You can send an email to the Disney Cruise Line here.
"The [Disney] company intends to add a third ship to its fleet, but construction plans are on hold because of an unfavorable exchange rate between the dollar and euro, Weiss said, noting that all four of the shipyards that build cruise ships are in Europe." (Source: Orlando Sentinel) Beth, our travel agent, just got back from her Disney cruise to benefit cancer research and she writes: "LOTS of talk aboard about the "new ship." It's definitely on the drawing board and is rumored to be much larger than the two they have now. They are exploring a variety of possible itineraries, including the Med and Alaska. Can't wait to see what they come up with!"
"[Your travel agent] Beth is now on my list of officially amazing people - she worked tirelessly for us in securing the category we wanted on the 14-day repositioning cruise for May 2005. As you know, the phone lines went insane on 05/05/04 when DCL opened up the "Go West" cruises. She persisted, she hung in there and thanks to her, we got a very hard-to-get Category -- she is that rare person that "goes the extra mile" for sure! Kudos to you for recognizing that and having her as your agent... I would never have found her if it hadn't been for Affordable Disney!" C. W., Glenelg, MD
Vanessa sent us a Disney cruise report: "Our trip took place on March 4-7 04. My mother and my aunt accompanied me. We are all equal Disney fans. We started our tradition of yearly trips to Disney in 1996. We pick a different resort to stay at each time. Being a FL resident makes this much easier. So going on a Disney cruise was sorta the icing on our cake. This was my mother's and my second cruise, my aunt's first. We arrived around noon. The check in process took all of 5 minutes. We boarded the ship shortly after. We had lunch at The Beach Blanket buffet (very good). We then explored the ship. And made our way down to Wave Bands (club) to change our late dinner seating to the early seating. We also requested our server Richard from Chile, our server from our first cruise. He was the funniest person I have ever met. Without going into every detail I will give a quick overview of it all. Dinner at Parrot Cay, Tritons and Animators Palate were all excellent. I highly recommend all of them. All of the shows Hercules, Disney Dreams and The Golden Mickeys are great. My personal opinion if you want to skip one skip Hercules. The second day of the cruise is spent in Nassau, Bahamas. My first cruise I did a shore excursion through Disney. We did the discover Atlantis tour. You board a ferry type boat (not run by Disney) this takes you over to the Atlantis hotel. We were broken down into smaller groups and we toured Atlantis' aquarium. The tour groups kept running in to each other and we felt a little claustrophobic so we ditched the group and explored on our own. We walked all over the hotel grounds, pools, casino etc. What a beautiful place... we took a taxi cab around $4.00 a person one way. Much to our dismay most of the hotel grounds could only be accessed if you were staying at the hotel. So we came back to the downtown area. My mom and aunt walked around Nassau. I decided to come back and sit by the pool. If you are a big shopper, then this would be the place to go, but it can be very crowded. with up to six boats in port you can only imagine the amount of people pouring into town. You set sail at 11:00 PM and arrive at Disney's Island Castaway Cay (key) at around 8:00 AM. Now on our first cruise the currents were so strong the captain could not dock the ship so we spent the day at sea. On this trip it was like looking out your window at a postcard. this island is absolutely beautiful. We got off the boat by 8:30, one of the first groups of people to get off the boat. We explored. and picked a spot with hammocks, umbrellas and lawn chairs. We didn't do the shore excursions, but we still had a great time. The island offers WaveRunner rentals, parasailing, banana boat rides, snorkeling etc. These are all additional fees. The island offers a barbecue at Cookies barbecue. They have hot-dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, chips, cookies, salad and much more. All very good. After a day at paradise we set sail at 4:30. The cruise director said it was the best weather they had all year. That night we realized that the cruise was coming to end (very sad). Disney cruises are a cashless cruise which means that your room key is used a a credit card. you can't use cash at all on the ship. But you can go to guest services and make a cash payment on your credit card bill. Disney also provided you with envelopes to hand deliver your tips to your servers and room host or you can charge them to your room key. I prefer giving the tips to the servers in person just to make sure they get them. Disney recommends how much to give each of them, but considering the service you get a little extra tip wouldn't hurt. Your ship arrives in port very early the next day. We were in by 5:00 AM. We had breakfast at 6:45 and were off the boat, had our luggage, through customs and in our car by 8:00. One word for the entire cruise experience FLAWLESS. Well, two words MAGICAL!!!!! I highly recommend Disney cruise line even if you are not a big Disney fan or don't have children. You will become hooked. I promise." Kim writes: "John, First let me say how wonderful your book and the updates are. I know we've saved tons of money so far, and have recommended your info site to lots of friends. I do have a question, which you may or may not know the answer to. We're doing the Disney Cruise in Feb. We just bought a digital camera and we take LOTS of Pictures. I really don't want to bring a laptop to download pictures, and I suppose I could buy an extra memory card, but I was wondering if Disney had anything on board for downloading pictures to the internet. I hate to spend money on another card, but I don't want to be caught short" Disney provides Internet access on both ships. Five minutes are free, but then you pay 75 cents per minute after that! Unlimited access is available at $40 on the 3-day cruise and $90 for the 7-day cruise. However, I don't know if you can download photos while you're there. You may want to call the Disney cruise line and ask if it's possible. Thanks for your kind comments.
Lisa writes: My in-laws are treating our entire family to a 7-day Disney Cruise in June of 2003. I got the tip about the ... $50 Cruise vouchers on your site. I also got the tip about the additional add on days at the [Disney Deluxe resort] for $149 per night. I called the Travel agent my in-laws used to plan the trip and told her about these deals. She checked it out and let me know that - they were going to give $50 vouchers to all 4 cabins in our party ... and that the [Deluxe resort] major discounts were supposed to continue into 2003... She was as excited as I was. So, without even going yet, I am up over $750 dollars... Thanks so much! Thanks, Lisa, for the great feedback!
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