Magical Cruise Company Limited, more commonly known as Disney Cruise Line, is a family-oriented cruise line owned by, as one would suspect, The Walt Disney Company. The world’s largest (in terms of revenue) media conglomerate decided, for whatever reason, to start operating a cruise line to go along with the vast amount of entertainment and other services it already provided. And since they operate a cruise line, it is only natural for people to be interested in Disney Cruise Specials; that is, the various deals or discounts that exist for cheap Disney cruises, or at least cheaper Disney cruises. Below we explore these Disney Cruise Specials: what kinds of specials are available, and where do you find them?
Disney Cruise Specials are, to an extent, fluid for the simple reason that new cruises are always coming and going. However, there are a couple of deals that are relatively stable. For instance, members of the U.S. military can generally expect to find some discounted cruises. At the moment, there is a two-week cruise to Panama that service members can capitalize on, and there will likely be additional offers in the future. Florida residents can also get a discounted booking for a select number of cruises this year. However, most deals seem to just pop up from time to time, open to anyone looking to take a Disney cruise, and can’t be counted on to consistently exist.
These deals are attached to a shifting array of different vacation options. Sometimes Disney directly offers these specials – they are currently offering special rates for a few cruises from their new departure port in Miami, for instance – but they are probably more frequently found on third-party cruise deal sites like CruiseDirect and Priceline. (It should come as no surprise, though, that if you want to stay in the loop about future specials offered directly by Disney, you can register with the cruise line to get email updates about upcoming deals). Priceline, for instance, is advertising a particularly nice deal (a “Priceline Bonus”) that offers up to five free nights in a hotel to be used before and after your sailing. These are the deals you have to search around for if you know you want to take a Disney cruise, but are still hoping to get one for cheaper than usual. You might have to search a few sites, but you should be able to find at least some deal. However, the trick is to be flexible with your vacation dates, as the specials are generally restricted to a select few sailings.
As is the case with most major cruise lines, it seems that you can almost always find some sort of cruise deal. However, these deals might be prohibitively restrictive – they might require you to belong to a particular group (e.g., Florida residents), or the specials might be for cruises you have no interest in taking. Just the same, they are out there, so take advantage of them if you can. And if you are in such a position, here is how to book a Disney Cruise Line special.