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Planning a magical Disney cruise doesn’t have to cost your family a fortune. Here are some cost-effective ways to save money on your next trip.
Ahoy, maties! If you ever wanted to sail on a magical Disney cruise, but worried you’d break the bank, I’m here to tell you you can travel on a budget—even with Disney.
Taking a Disney cruise has been on my bucket list since my husband and I went on our honeymoon (a.k.a. Disneymoon) to Disney World. This spring, I’ll be finally crossing that item off my list. And through planning my trip, I’ve discovered many ways to stretch your cruise budget without making any Disney-sized sacrifices. So, before my family sets sail, let me share what I’ve learned about saving on your first—or next—Disney cruise.
The great thing about cruises is that you can enjoy meals, live entertainment and recreational activities as part of your package. It’s no different with a Disney cruise.
Disney operates six cruise ships: Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Magic, Disney Wish, Disney Wonder and Disney Treasure (the last of which will first set sail in December 2024). Each liner has a minimum of three pool areas with waterslides, as well as a fitness centre overlooking the ocean, youth clubs and adult-only areas. During the cruisetour, guests can interact with Disney characters and enjoy first-run showings of movies and Broadway-style performances at night.
But these fun-filled vacation packages don’t come cheap. Families of four can expect to pay upwards of $4,000—and as much as $11,500 during peak holiday season—for a five-to-six-night Caribbean cruise. A five-night Alaskan cruise in July is currently going for around $18,000, if you want a spacious room with a private verandah.
With so many packages to choose from, it can be hard to figure out which option gives the most bang for the buck. So, I spoke with travel experts to get their insider travel budgeting tips on how you can get the best deal when booking your Disney cruise.
Keep an eye out for discounts and promotions on available sailings through the Disney Cruise Line website, suggests Barry Choi, money and travel expert at Money We Have. “Disney often has Canadian exclusive discounts where you can save up to 25% on select sailings. This is an obvious way to save and worth waiting for if you’re flexible with your dates.”
Consider booking your vacation with a Disney travel agent. It doesn’t cost you anything, because the agents usually work on commission (paid by Disney). Even though you may be able to find discounts on your own, Disney agents apply all available discounts and promotions, even some not yet publicly announced.
Another reason to go through a Disney travel agency: In exchange for booking, some agencies will offer you on-board credit, explains Deborah Goldberg, a travel agent with ClickTheMouse Travel. This credit can be used toward almost anything on your trip, including port adventures, show-time snacks and souvenirs.
My family’s one-way cruise (also known as a repositioning cruise) will begin in Galveston, Texas, and end in San Juan, Puerto Rico. By booking through a Disney travel agent, we were able to take a six-night cruise for the same price as some of the four- and five-night cruisetours also available at the time of booking.
The sooner you book, the better. Generally, a year in advance is a good guideline, as holiday cruises can sell out quickly. Not only will the prices be lower, but there are more options to choose from when you book your stateroom (cabin). That gives you a better shot at getting an interior stateroom, which is generally more affordable than booking a room with an ocean view.
If you’re good at planning ahead, you may want to take advantage of onboard booking options and reserve a spot on a future cruise. You can save up to 10% on your next sailing by paying a USD$250 deposit, suggests Goldberg. You have two years from the time of booking to redeem, and if you ultimately don’t end up booking, your deposit is automatically refunded, she says.
Disney’s Christmas and Halloween cruises are typically the most expensive of what’s offered. If you’re looking for the best value and willing to forego a holiday cruise, Goldberg says the end of summer, early fall, first weeks of January, and first week of February are generally cheaper.
If you’re sailing out of one of the Florida ports, booking for mid-August to mid-October comes with the risk of travelling during peak hurricane season. However, those sailings tend to be cheaper. If you decide to take that risk, consider getting travel insurance, in case Mother Nature isn’t on your side.
Disney vacations are charged in U.S. dollars, making them costlier for Canadians, after factoring in the exchange rate. When using a Canadian credit card, you may also have to pay foreign transaction (forex) fees—which typically cost an extra 2.5% of the purchase price—unless you have a no foreign transaction fee credit card.
If getting a new credit card isn’t an option for you, Goldberg suggests to purchase Disney gift cards to save on forex fees. Gift cards are available at major retail stores, such as Costco, Walmart, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart (or Pharmaprix, if you live in Quebec). And you can use those GCs to book your trip and make purchases on the ship. By buying gift cards in Canadian dollars, you’ll still have to pay the U.S. exchange rate, but you’ll save on forex fees.
Choi agrees with this strategy. He says getting the gift cards from a grocery store also allows you to earn some loyalty points. The American Express Cobalt, for example, gives you five Amex Membership Rewards (MR) points per $1 spent at grocery stores.
So, using the Amex Cobalt, you can get five-times more Membership Rewards points by buying your gift cards at the grocery store versus booking directly with Disney. “Those extra points can then be used to offset some of your other travel expenses,” Choi says. Just make sure you don’t accidentally buy gift cards for the Disney+ streaming service.
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite Card
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
MBNA True Line Mastercard credit card
Disney cruises are all-inclusive, including food and 24-hour room service. If you want to save a bit of cash, don’t opt in for premium experiences that cost extra, such as the Royal Tea party or adult-only fine dining. There’s a variety of options in the breakfast and lunch buffets. And for dinner, your group and the same wait staff rotate between three different restaurants. Soft drinks, coffee and tea are always included—but not alcoholic beverages.
If you prefer to have boozy beverages (and you’re willing to pay extra), there are beer and wine packages available—they may be worth it, depending on how much you anticipate drinking. Keep in mind there’s also a discounted “drink of the day.” But the best way to save on alcohol? You can bring two bottles of wine or champagne (up to 750 millilitres each) or six beers (12 ounces or less each) on board per stateroom, on embarkation day and at every port of call. So, be sure to stock up before you board and at every stop.
If you book a Bahamian cruise, you get the additional perk of visiting Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Guests can enjoy the balmy beaches, snorkel in the blue lagoon or indulge in some BBQ.
To save on excursion costs, stick with visiting local shops or lounging on a public beach during port stops. Adventures and activities that involve interacting with marine life are among the most pricey, according to Goldberg. That can cost anywhere from USD$44 to USD$309. “Some guests prefer to stay aboard and take advantage of the quiet ship when most guests get off to explore,” she says.
Did you know you can receive a call from Mickey and friends before you even pack your bags? To book a complimentary call, simply log into your Disney account on a desktop. We did this to surprise our son, and now he’s looking forward to seeing Mickey in real life.
The fun continues out at sea: If you’re on one of Disney’s Bahamian, Caribbean or Bermudan cruises, you’ll get to attend a pirate-themed night as part of your package. The fun is complimentary—the costumes are not. To save money on your outfit, visit your local thrift store ahead of your trip or check out online marketplaces for secondhand options. And since you planned a year ahead, you can reuse your costumes for halloween, too.
Online communities of Disney fans can be a great source of Disney travel and savings tips. For example, there are many Facebook groups you can join to ask questions or hear about others’ travel experiences. Some of these groups cater to specific interests, such as families with young children or Canadian residents. Just search and join.
Since this will be our first “big trip” as a family, I joined groups made up of parents who are travelling with little ones: Disney Cruise Line with Kids, Toddlers & Babies! Tips & Tricks and Smart Moms Planning Disney from Canada. No matter your situation, you’ll likely find an online Disney community willing to share amazing travel hacks and ways to stretch your dollar.
With these savings tips in mind, I hope you’re ready to start planning your own budget-friendly Disney cruise. These trips offer a lot, so don’t be afraid to make it your own. For example, you might prefer to splurge at the spa, and then shave some costs by strategically choosing where you shop for souvenirs. No matter what, you’ll get to create many memorable experiences with your loved ones. Bon voyage!
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