Originally Posted by lewisc (Post 17928738)

Children don't gamble in the casino, don't buy adult beverages and don't buy items at the art auctions. They don't buy jewelry on board. Instead of charging less for kids cruise lines could probably justify charging more. A cruise ship can only sell a limited number of cabins with 3 or 4 passengers. The ship is at maximum capacity (over 100%) before all the cabins which can accommodate 3 or 4 passengers are booked for 3 or 4. A hotel in Orlando doesn't care if every room, with two beds, is occupied by a family of 4. Some hotels have a small additional charge if the 3 and 4 person is over 18. A hotel doesn't generally price the room rate below cost, knowing they'll be making extra $$$ per passenger. I don't know how much DCL charges for kids in the same cabin as their parents. I do know DCL charges more then other cruise lines. Cruise line will get your money one way or another. Sometimes a cruise line will offer reduced pricing for kids. Sometimes it will discount the price for everyone.

If you really want to consider a cruise, and get a rock bottom price, you need to look for flash promotions and be prepared to book immediately. Best deals are shortly after final payment is due. Start looking 90 days before embarkation date and expect to book 45-60 days before. You'll only have a few days to decide. Final payment will be do almost immediately.

We've already had this discussion about the Costa. All evidence suggests it was a result of human failure. All evidence suggests the cruise lines bookings haven't suffered. Probably no reason they'll have to offer anything, other then the normal flash promotions. Look at it this way. Only a moron would consider a cruise dangerous after the Costa disaster but then book a cruise as the result of a discount. People who think cruising is still safe won't change their plans and people who now think cruising is very dangerous shouldn't book, not matter how good the price.

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad (Post 17929540)

Have you thought of booking hotel and park tickets together as a package? I just had a look on the Disneyland Paris hotels website and they had plenty of availability for the dates you're looking at going with hotel, park tickets, breakfast and local taxes included, I've been to all the Disneyland parks bar Tokyo and found Disneyland Paris to be the costliest although to be fair that may just have been the exchange rate so booking everything as one may work out cheaper than booking everything separately

Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro (Post 17934772)

I looked at the packages and considered.. and broken down the individual hotels and isolated costs for non-Disney hotels.

There is one I would consider.. I think its Davey Crockett's Ranch IIRC. But I'm doing the full gamut scan.

Frankly, there are a some accomodations that are really low priced, and the pictures seemed acceptable..

Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro (Post 17934734)

We don't do the above adult activities neither..

Good tip about right after the final payment is due.. I'll keep an eye out.. We've never cruised before, so missing out on a cruise, we probably wouldn't notice.

Probably those who put down non refundable deposits won't back out.. Its the new customers' like myself who doesn't have to cruise, but may do so.. may get affected. I'm still in the market, but not like before.. they'll have to cut me a deal now to go..

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad (Post 17936175)

I'm on the Disneyland Paris website at the moment and they have additional special offers for people arriving in July at around the time you're aiming to go, also as exbayern said, kids under 7 currently get free hotel stay and free entry to the parks, which is valid with the July offer and the 30% off transport offer

Originally Posted by exbayern (Post 17935444)

Again, how do you plan to get from the Ranch to the parks? There is nothing around there, and no shuttle, and no train.

The place you posted earlier has some horrible reviews in French and in Dutch. There are many 'apartment hotels' which are very basic. Photos really mean nothing. Anything can be made to look nice in a photo.

They are low priced for a reason: very basic accommodation, little to no services (and often no 24 hour staffing), and not near public transportation. While we did suggest flat rental in certain places, I don't think that anyone suggested one where there is an issue with transportation. A flat rental makes sense in London. It doesn't in the suburbs somewhat near to Disneyland, if there is no public transport, and even then walking 2km and then taking a train and walking again to the parks doesn't make sense for your party.

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad (Post 17936175)

i'm +1 on the transport thing, you don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere having to pay out money every day for buses/taxis (and that's just to a train station) when for a little more money you could have got a better hotel with a free shuttle to the actual park, when i took my daughter the first thing i made sure of when booking hotels was that we were within easy distance of a railway station (we only had to cross the road)

I'm on the Disneyland Paris website at the moment and they have additional special offers for people arriving in July at around the time you're aiming to go, also as exbayern said, kids under 7 currently get free hotel stay and free entry to the parks, which is valid with the July offer and the 30% off transport offer

Originally Posted by lewisc (Post 17936412)

Either I'm not doing a good job with the way I'm wording my posts or you're not doing a good job reading them.

The point is the cruise has a shot of selling you stuff. They have no way of knowing, in advance, how much extra you'll spend. They have no shot of selling a young child.

Nothing magical about a cruise itself, others will disagree. What's nice is the ability to see multiple cities without having to pack, move then unpack. You don't need to take a ships excursion. Some ports you can rent a car others you can book a private tour and some you can just walk off the boat and see the sights.

Most of us (in the US) are able to book a cruise with a fully refundable deposit. Regardless people who think a cruise is unsafe will be happy to forfeit a deposit and are unlikely to book a cruise no matter how great the discount. You keep talking about deep discounts as a result of the Costa disaster. There isn't a single poster who agrees with you. There are great last minute (30-60 day) deals. If you're right there will be greater availability of flash promotions. You already have your airfare. You're in a better position to book such a cruise then is a person who needs to find airfare.

http://vacationstogo.com/ lists last minute "flash promotions". You can get the same deal from many TAs. You just have to be prepared to book immediately. A cruise might offer a great deal for a 3 and 4 passenger in a cabin if most of the existing reservations are for double occupancy. A different cruise may be unwilling to book a third passenger in a cabin at any price.

Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro (Post 17942025)

Each of the accomodations from my understanding have free regular shuttle schedules to and from the park.. Are you saying the difficulty is in the transportation provided to and from the accomodations? or getting to the accomodation after disembarking the train?

Originally Posted by exbayern (Post 17943073)

I read the reviews.

Almost every single one I read in French said the transportation was horrible or non-existent. 'Free shuttle' may mean just a few times a day, not at your schedule, and many people said that there was no shuttle at all, or no room on the shuttle, so they had to find their own way.

Even the DLRP hotels, which use double busses, often in peak season have no space and one has to wait for another bus. Again, this is not WDW. There is not a bus running every few minutes from these places to the parks, or even perhaps every few hours.

Again, what is your specific budget? I'm not sure how this went from a rather high end luxury holiday to a super-budget one in the course of a few pages, and I think that impacts what we recommend. Nor do I understand why you would pay more to be offsite in a mediocre product in a poor location, rather than stay onsite, especially considering your family dynamic and your lack of travel experience.

You are planning a week in Manhattan, a week in Paris, a week at DLRP, a week in London during the Olympics, time in London in the run up to the Olympics, and a higher end cruise. Of course prices will be higher than in WDW or Hawaii; you are travelling to some of the most expensive cities in the world, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. We haven't even really had much of a discussion about food prices, especially in London (although someone recommended a flat for that reason)

There may be a few discounts, but don't expect to find prices to be similar to WDW where one can still book a brand name hotel for $39 near the parks, or a house for $350/week, and rent a car for $119 a week.

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad (Post 17967345)

I was just a little curious however why you'd look at a hotel that has no reviews relating to staying with young children, not to mention a lack of good reviews :/ Also why not take advantage of every offer? Tickets for DL Paris are what i was referring to when i found it not so cheap (i should have clarified i guess) The offers at the moment are pretty decent

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad (Post 17929540)

Have you thought of booking hotel and park tickets together as a package? I just had a look on the Disneyland Paris hotels website and they had plenty of availability for the dates you're looking at going with hotel, park tickets, breakfast and local taxes included, I've been to all the Disneyland parks bar Tokyo and found Disneyland Paris to be the costliest although to be fair that may just have been the exchange rate so booking everything as one may work out cheaper than booking everything separately

Originally Posted by exbayern (Post 17972479)

I still believe that based on your situation, and your lack of experience, the best option would be to stay on site, using the various discounts which Ginger and I listed for you on this thread. I don't understand why you would travel 2km plus a train trip plus the walk from the station for mediocre accommodation, but if that is what you think is best for your situation, then book it.