Updated Disney Cruise Prices – 05-19-2017
Note: This post is out of date. To see the latest prices (that we update once a month) go to our homepage and find the latest pricing posts from there. Or subscribe to our email list and get updated delivered to your inbox at the beginning of each month!
Star Wars Cruise – Part 3, Boarding
After getting on board, we immediately headed up to the pool deck so the girls could ride the AquaDuck. They had worn their swim suits under their clothes, so they were ready to go. They jumped right on and didn’t have to wait at all. The AquaDuck actually loads in the rear funnel of the ship in a small one or two person raft and then takes you over the side and around the top deck. The girls really enjoy riding it. There is another slide as well on the ship that kids can use.
Star Wars Cruise – Part 2, Travel
January 13, 2017 finally arrived and it was time to head off for our Star Wars Cruise! Our plan was to pick the kids up from school, let them get changed, then head off to the airport. Once we had the house squared away, a friend drove us from our house to Reagan National Airport. We arrived at the airport really early (as we always do), around 5 PM. We dropped our bags off with American Airlines and headed through security. Our experience with TSA Security is usually fantastic thanks to having TSA PreCheck! Everyone has TSA PreCheck in our family except our youngest daughter (who now has Global Entry).
Star Wars Cruise – Part 1, Planning
Our 7 Night Eastern Caribbean Star Wars Day At Sea cruise on the Disney Fantasy didn’t start out as one of our normal cruises. As we discussed in our post about planning an off season cruise, we had originally planned to book our standard spring break cruise for 2017, but finances got in the way. We instead picked a different destination for spring break, and in October 2015 we booked what we thought would be a standard 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. In January 2016, Disney announced new Star Wars Day At Sea cruises for 7 night sailings on the Disney Fantasy — and in March 2016, we received notification that our cruise had been switched to the Star Wars theme. Interestingly, the price of the cruise almost immediately went up by 50%. We weren’t upset that it got changed, but I probably never would have booked it for that price, even with the Star Wars addition.
Disney Oceaneer Club
The Oceaneer Club is Disney Cruise Line’s club for kids ages 3 to 10. We didn’t start cruising until our older daughter was 11, so she didn’t spend much time in the club. Our youngest daughter, however, loved the clubs and had to be dragged out of them a few times.
Castaway Club
The Castaway Club is Disney Cruise Line’s loyalty program. You are automatically enrolled in the program once you have taken one Disney cruise. There are three different levels in the Club, each with a set of perks and bonuses. Disney has recently made changes to the program, which I have detailed below in bold.
Park Gear
Watching how different families tackle a Disney Park is entertaining. There are the families who walk in with only a park map. Other families sport waist packs and maybe carry a water bottle. I’ve seen military-looking dads with a full battle pack loaded to the gills. Then there are the families with strollers that are carrying bags, blankets, coolers, drinks, etc. — everything except for kids. Every family has their own reasons and needs for what they carry into the parks, but I thought I would share what we do.
Grocery Store Discounts
What does grocery shopping have to do with Disney vacation planning? It’s simple: the less you spend on groceries, the more you will have available for your vacation! There are many ways to maximize your discounts when shopping at the grocery store. I won’t go into the many ways of using coupons to lower your overall bill; although couponing is a great strategy to take advantage of, it’s not our area of expertise. I’m talking more about the methods of using credit cards or purchasing particular items to save money that you can later apply to a Disney trip.
