San Diego Mattress Man Blog

Disney Wonder Cruise ship returns to LA port for a Mexican Riveria Cruise.

October 1, 2010 on 11:00 pm | In In and around San Diego | No Comments

Starting in January 2011 you can now board the Disney Wonder and cruise the Mexican Rivera.  With stops in Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas this sail is packed with fun.  Disney is geared towards kids and teens but this ship also caters to the adults.    Disney is creating a vacation for the entire family.  The kids can go and do supervised planned activities while the adults can enjoy a day at the spa being pampered.  Not every family can afford a Disney cruise vacation.  Prices on Disney are higher than its 2 other counterparts offering the same cruise itinerary.

Cruise goers also have their choice of sailing with Carnival Cruise Lines, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  They all make the same stops and also all have programs for kids and adults.  What you will find with Disney is lots of Characters running around the ship.  Everybody loves Tiger right?  Well most small kids and adults but some toddlers may run in the other direction.  Its hard for some of them to see them in person.

A quick comparison on prices for a cruise for 2 at the time of this posting revealed a slight price difference.  For a 7 day identical cruise on these ships varied slightly.

• Disney Wonder was $1538.00
• Carnival Cruise was $970.00
• Royal Caribbean was $1416.00

Which one is the right cruise ship for me?

• Disney is your choice if you have children 4 to 10 and have some extra money to spend for being on a “Disney” cruise.
• Carnival is a good choice for the children 8 to 14.  This ship tends to have lots of kids and also younger adults aboard these ships.
• Royal is good for children 4 to 18 and tends to caters for to the more mature parents.

All three ships will have lots of kids and many programs to keep the young ones busy from dawn to dusk.  If your childless and between 20 to 40 then Carnival is your ship.  If your over 30 and have no kids you may be interested in a more quiet ship like the Royal.  There are many other cruise lines if you want less interaction with the little ones.  Isn’t a vacation a time away to relax?  Well fro some and also a time for many to spend time together as a family and kids are our family.

So you have your bags packed and ready to make a purchase.  You have checked all the sites and found the best price.  You even know the cruise itinerary and what level you want to have your room on.  Did you know that most cruise lines sell at the same price at all the travel websites?  There is one way to save some money and that is by with on-board credits.  This is a dollar amount that put in your name for when you board the ship.  Its like a charge account with a credit balance.   Once you get aboard the ship you can charge your purchases and drinks and shore excursions with this card.

Since all travel brokers sell the tickets at the same price but there are no restrictions on how much money they can put in your account to get your business.  This on board ranges from $50 to over $300 depending on how much money you spend on your cruise.  A third party site I have used on 3 occasions has offered me the best on board credits.  You enter your cruise line of choice and the actual cruise date and ship.  Within hours you will get several travel agents bidding for your business.   There will be at least 6 offers within 12 hours.  Some will be similar and some will be a little better.  You don’t need to accept any offers but its a good idea not do submit a request if you have no intention of buying as there is a human on the other end.  This site is called Cruise Complete.  Keep in mind cruise prices go up near spring break and as it get closer to spring break they keep going up.  I have never seen the prices go down within 3 months of sailing.  In fact the prices will rise as the ship fills up.

One last final suggestion is to do lots of research before you cruise.  Buying your shore excursions from the cruise line is more expensive but less risky.  Many reputable business’s in ports have websites and you can do reviews about excursions.  I have always purchased my excursions before we set sail and purchased direct.  The savings can be 30.00 to 100.00 per person depending upon the activity.  The Cruise excursions can be like a cattle call.  One example is 30 people pay 50.00 for a bus tour around the city that lasts 3 hours.  Another cruiser purchases direct for $30 and they have a personal tour of the island for 5 hours with 8 people on the air condition van.  Is their risks?   There are risks in everyday life choices.  Do your research and reviews and you common sense.  I have never had a bad experience yet.  Always buy insurance when you rent jet skis or any motor vehicle when your traveling abroad.

Please feel free to ask or post any suggestions.  San Diego Mattress Man suggest getting a suite or the best room in the house as they will have the most comfortable mattress’s aboard.  Do you think that the ship crew will be sleeping on a memory foam mattress or will just the Caption of the ship?  In fact the mattress’s in the cheaper rooms have always been nice and comfy!