Having been on 10 Disney cruises (and counting), there are a minimum of two issues I do know for certain to be true: Disney Cruise Line is a tremendously enjoyable and satisfying trip, and it can be pricier than another family-friendly cruise traces.
While we discover a Disney cruise to provide strong general worth contemplating the value contains lodging, meals and top-notch leisure, it nonetheless helps to discover ways to deliver down the general value a bit.
With that in thoughts, this is how to save money on a Disney cruise — and the way to discover the most cost effective Disney cruises, which have a tendency to begin round $500 to $700 per individual for all the expertise, relying on if you need to sail from the U.S. or should you occur to end up abroad.
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Pick your dates rigorously
An common Disney cruise prices a couple of on, say, Carnival or Royal Caribbean, however that does not imply it is unattainably costly. It merely does not have to be should you’re versatile with once you sail.
The peak faculty break weeks are expensive, however with many three- and four-night sailings, you’ll be able to select a lengthy weekend at completely different occasions of the yr and keep away from these pricey weeks if you need to.
For instance, two individuals can sail on Disney Dream for 3 nights from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas from Friday, Jan. 23, to Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, for $1,660.
Sure, you could possibly most likely guide a lodge in Fort Lauderdale or the Bahamas for 3 nights for lower than $1,660, however there are additionally many lodges in these areas that might value extra — and keep in mind, in a common lodge, that worth would not embody your meals or Broadway-style leisure the best way it does on a Disney cruise.
Adding two children to that very same itinerary to make a journey for 4 individuals would elevate the beginning worth to $2,889. That breaks down to about $240 per individual, per day, which, once more, is not low cost. But once you examine it to the price of a journey to Walt Disney World (the place base-level tickets alone can value anyplace from $150 to nearly $200 per day), it is not fairly as unhealthy as it might appear at first look.
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On the flip facet, should you took that very same journey in the course of the winter faculty break, the beginning worth could be greater than $5,000.
So, once you sail issues tremendously on the price facet of the equation, and should you could be versatile on dates, you’ll be able to save tons of, and even hundreds, of {dollars}.
Related: 7 ways Disney Wish stunned me throughout a crusing
Let Disney select your cabin
Another great way to save money on a Disney cruise is to let the cruise line select your cabin in trade for a discounted fare. These are known as assured charges.
In doing so, you decide the room kind (inside, verandah, and so forth.) and are then assured to be in that class, however the line selects precisely which room inside that class you get.
These fares include extra restrictions round funds and modifications, however you’ll be able to typically save up to 35% off commonplace charges. I’ve had nice success with these discounted fares up to now. As lengthy as you are not too choosy about the place your room is on the ship, this technique could be a good way to save on your Disney cruise.
Book through a journey agent who provides you onboard credit score
You can log onto the Disney Cruise Line web site and guide the cruise your self, however chances are you’ll not need to when you already know a journey agent can do the be just right for you — and even rating you some onboard credit within the course of.
The quantity varies, however I’ve gotten up to $750 as a assertion credit score once I booked a pricier Disney cruise on the concierge stage. With extra reasonably priced cruises and cabins, count on the credit score to be extra within the $75 to $200 vary.
While the quantity will differ, you’ll be able to usually get someplace between 5% and 10% of the value of your cruise again within the type of a reward card or shipboard spending credit score via a journey agent and even through Costco Travel.
If you are not certain the place to begin, you will get provides from brokers who need to guide your cruise, typically with additional perks and credit, through CruiseCompete.
Pay with discounted Disney reward playing cards
At wholesale golf equipment, corresponding to Sam’s Club, you’ll be able to reliably buy Disney reward playing cards at a low cost. Sometimes, these reductions get even deeper round gross sales occasions corresponding to Black Friday, even at locations like Best Buy, the place I’ve seen them obtainable for 10% off. But on an ongoing foundation, you’ll be able to often get a $500 Disney reward card at Sam’s Club for about $485.
That’s not a big low cost, however should you paid in your $3,000 Disney cruise with playing cards bought at these charges, it will save you $90, which is greater than sufficient to take your self to the adults-only, high-end Palo restaurant obtainable on most Disney ships.
If you’ve got a Target bank card, you can too save 5% on Disney reward playing cards at Target. On that very same $3,000 Disney Cruise, you’d save $150 by going that route.
Remember that you could usually earn bonus factors with sure bank cards when searching for Disney reward playing cards, relying on the place you buy them. Office provide shops, grocery shops and even wholesale golf equipment could be good bonus classes for various rewards bank cards, permitting you to earn 3, 4 or 5 factors per greenback spent together with your card whilst you purchase your reward playing cards.
Use your bank card factors or miles
Not all bank card factors and miles can simply translate to a “free” Disney cruise, however some can.
The simplest way to do that is to pay for some (or all) of the cruise with a bank card that allows you to use your factors or miles at a fastened worth to erase a journey cost. This manner, you could possibly guide with a journey agent to get that onboard credit score after which use your factors or miles to cowl your deposit or last fee.
For instance, should you put the cost on your Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you’ll earn 2 miles per greenback after which might use the miles at 1 cent every in worth to cowl a part of the price. Just to give a straightforward instance: If you wished to cowl $1,000 of your journey value, you could possibly redeem 100,000 Capital One miles towards the acquisition.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles (value $750 in journey) after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, plus a $250 Capital One Travel credit score to use in your first cardholder yr.
Upgrade on the port for much less
This tip is not precisely about saving money general, however it’s a manner to get a higher room for lower than the unique checklist worth.
If the cruise is not bought out, you’ll be able to go to a particular desk on the port earlier than you board and ask about any space-available discounted upgrades. At Port Canaveral close to Orlando, the place all of the Disney check-in desks are on the left facet of the terminal constructing, the improve desk is the rightmost desk.
The value to improve might be associated to the room kind you’ve got booked and the one you want to improve to. The supervisor will use a preprinted chart to discover that value differential. It will value lower than should you had booked a higher room initially, typically by about half, although that quantity varies.
On a Disney Dream cruise a few years in the past, I used to be ready to improve to a bigger and extra deluxe cabin for less than $34. Get to the terminal as quickly as you’ll be able to if you’re hoping for a suite or concierge-level improve as a result of these are very restricted and go shortly.
While I have not finished it, I’ve additionally heard that even cheaper costs turn into obtainable on board as soon as the ship units sail.
Related: Is Disney Cruise concierge-level value it? We examined it to discover out
Save 10% by placing a deposit down in your subsequent cruise whilst you’re on board
The simplest way to save 10% on a Disney cruise does not work in your first cruise, however it could actually work for all subsequent ones.
When you’re on a Disney Cruise Line ship, you’ll be able to put a $250 placeholder deposit down on a future Disney cruise to be used inside two years. This could be finished in your Disney Cruise Line Navigator app whereas on board.
You do not have to decide which cruise you need to do at that second, however by placing that $250 in as a placeholder, you can’t solely apply that $250 once you finally decide your subsequent Disney cruise but additionally save 10% off the speed (legitimate on most dates and room sorts) within the course of.
That one step can save you tons of of {dollars} on your trip. Worst-case state of affairs: That $250 is refunded to you should you do not guide one other cruise within the subsequent two years. That occurred to us in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, and the money got here again robotically and with out a drawback as soon as the 24 months had been up.
Related: 15 ways that cruising newbies waste money on their first cruise
BYOB and skip the extras
If you’re looking to trim prices on your Disney cruise, deliver issues from dwelling that you’d in any other case possible buy.
For instance, you’ll be able to deliver up to six cans of beer or two bottles of wine per individual age 21 and up. Instead of paying cruise costs for these drinks, you’ll be able to deliver what you need from dwelling at common land-based costs up to these most limits.
You may also deliver unopened water and factory-sealed snacks on board. These come in useful for shore excursions or once you want to hydrate by the pool. (Better but, pack a refillable water bottle.)
Since a Disney cruise already contains meals, room service, snacks, smooth serve ice cream, fountain drinks and loads of leisure, you do not want to spend something extra on board if you don’t need to. This is very true on a new-to-you ship and on these shorter three- and four-night cruises the place there may be greater than sufficient to do and discover already.
If your crusing goes to Disney Cruise Line’s non-public island locations, corresponding to Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay, seashore chairs, umbrellas, the ocean waterslide, the splashpad and lunch on the island are additionally included at no additional cost.
Seek out spa reductions
If you are targeted on saving money, you will need to skip the spa completely whereas on your cruise. But if nothing says trip like a therapeutic massage, you’ll find a low cost on onboard spa providers on a Disney cruise.
I’ve obtained a port-day low cost of about 20% as a result of most individuals guide their therapies on sea days slightly than when the ship is docked (and subsequently much less busy since most individuals are ashore).
I’ve additionally obtained $50 off a second service whereas trying out for my first. It’s pretty frequent for cruise ship spas to provide reductions once you guide a number of therapies. I additionally extremely suggest going to the spa raffle that always occurs on the very first afternoon, as there are typically supervisor specials that provide substantial reductions over the posted costs that you could solely guide at the moment.
If you do not see a low cost marketed, simply ask on the spa desk. That’s how I bought attached with spa offers on earlier Disney cruises.
Use Disney Visa onboard cruise reductions
In addition to a 20% low cost for choose spa therapies, Disney Visa bank card holders additionally get 10% off a Castaway Cay bundle that features snorkel gear, a bike rental and an interior tube.
If you want time to unfold out funds, these with a Disney® Premier Visa® Card (see charges and costs) may also get a 0% annual proportion charge on their Disney trip for six months (after that a variable APR of 18.24% to 27.24% will apply). Right now, the cardboard has a welcome bonus of $400 in assertion credit after spending $1,000 on the cardboard within the first three months of account opening.
Related: The finest bank cards for reserving cruises
Book early and go throughout off-peak dates
This is a no-brainer tip to avid cruisers, however if you’re newer to cruising, know that reserving early and crusing on off-peak dates are nice ways to save money on a Disney cruise.
I booked our Alaska cruise for the summer time of 2023 the day the reserving calendar opened, over a yr prematurely, as a result of the value usually will increase because the crusing date nears. You can typically discover last-minute specials, however more often than not, cruise costs solely go one course — up.
With Disney, you will usually put 20% down once you first guide after which have till a lot nearer to crusing to repay the remaining 80%.
As talked about earlier, date flexibility can even assist you save money on a Disney cruise. The identical itinerary that prices $2,000 in September might be up to thrice costlier if you need to sail over winter break.
If you’ll be able to’t discover any reasonably priced costs, I like to recommend scrolling the cruise checklist by worth as a substitute of beginning with the proper date or itinerary. A crusing chances are you’ll not have initially thought of could prove to be the proper trip choice.
Sail from Singapore on Disney’s largest-ever ship
OK, sure, this one is a stretch.
However, if you end up in Singapore (or use your airline miles to get there), you’ll be able to sail on what is usually the most cost effective Disney Cruise Line crusing on what might be Disney’s largest ship.
Three-night sailings on Disney Adventure out of Singapore have beginning costs at simply over $1,000 for double occupancy, making them at the moment the least costly of Disney’s sailings. As an added perk, if you need to go to Tokyo Disney Resort if you are in Asia to make it a full globe-trotting Disney journey, your pockets might be in for a deal with there, as park tickets and meals are a fraction of what they value on the U.S. Disney parks.
So, earlier than you robotically rule this feature out, do the maths and worth it out … odds are you will discover it is extra reasonably priced, particularly should you use your airline miles to get there.
If Asia is not your most popular cruise vacation spot, think about Australia and New Zealand as a substitute. You can usually discover a number of the lowest costs of the yr should you sail out of those locales.
Bottom line
Believe it or not, a Disney cruise could be cheaper than a journey to the Disney theme parks. A cruise is usually a lot much less aggravating, too.
If you stack a few of these suggestions collectively to save money on your Disney cruise, you could possibly cumulatively knock anyplace from 10% to 25% off the checklist worth. Remember, too, to attempt to strategically decide a crusing on the extra reasonably priced finish of the spectrum for much more financial savings.
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