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Royal Caribbean - Independence of the Seas - Our REVIEW

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We recently set sail on a 3-day Bahamian cruise aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Independence of the Seas departing from Port Canaveral, Florida.  Our review is for this specific cruise only. Our boarding time was scheduled for 11:00am on embarkation day so we decided to head down to Florida a day early to avoid missing our cruise.  We stayed at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Titusville, Florida which is about 20-30min from Port Canaveral.  It made for an easy commute to Port Canaveral. Fun Fact: Embarkation is the process of loading a passenger ship    On the morning of our cruise, we left our hotel at 10:00am which turned out to be the perfect time to get us to the boarding station at 11:00am.  As we crossed the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway, our excitement level went through the roof at seeing the various cruise ships in port.      Our terminal was Terminal 1, which is Royal's main terminal at Port Canaveral.  The signage at the port was good at getting us to the right
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NEW Walt Disney World Ticket Pricing

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On October 16, 2018, Disney announced a new pricing structure for the theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort.  Since it is a dramatic shift from the old system, we thought we would help explain.

Pricing

The days of knowing what a ticket cost, off the top of your head, are gone.  Disney has introduced a "Date Based" pricing structure.  In any given month on any given day, the price of a ticket will be different.  For instance, the price of a 1-day ticket on Sunday, October 20, 2019 ($125) is different from the price of a 1-day ticket on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 ($121).  So in order to know the price of a park ticket on any given day, you or your travel agent will have to look it up on the new pricing calendar.

Bang For The Buck

Similar to the old pricing structure, 1-4 day tickets bare the brunt of the ticket price meaning you don't realize any "real" savings until you get to the 5-10 days tickets.  At the 5-day mark, the per day price drops to an average of $91 as compared to a 4-day ticket with an average of $111.  It goes down from there with a 10-day ticket having an average price of $51.

Park Hopper (PH)

The Park Hopper pricing structure didn't change much.  PHs are still an add-on to tickets and the prices are in addition to the ticket price.  PHs for 1-day are $60, 2-3 days are $70, and 4-10 days are $80.  And as usual, the PH option allows you to visit all four parks in a single day.

Park Hopper Plus (PHP)

The Park Hopper Plus pricing structure also didn't change much.  PHPs are still an add-on to tickets and the prices are in addition to the ticket price.  PHPs for 1-day are $80, 2-3 days are $90, and 4-10 days are $100.  And as usual, the PHP option allows you to visit all four parks in a single day plus the water parks, for the number of days of your ticket, and also includes visits to the ESPN complex, Oak Trail golf course, and both miniature golf courses.

Ticket Expiration

This is a major change to the old system.  Every ticket, 1-10 days, requires you select a start date, hence the "Date Based" pricing mentioned above.  And from that start date, Disney gives you a set number of days in which to use your ticket ranging from 1-14 days.  Here are the numbers:

          Number of ticket days              Number of days to use your ticket
                         1                                                           1
                         2                                                           4
                         3                                                           5
                         4                                                           7
                         5                                                           8
                         6                                                           9
                         7                                                          10
                         8                                                          12
                         9                                                          13
                        10                                                         14

For example...if you purchase a 4-day ticket with a start date of October 20, 2018, you have until October 26, 2018 to use your 4-day ticket.  So anytime within that 7 day period, your ticket is valid.  And if you purchase the PHP option, you will receive an extra day to use your tickets.  In the example above, your 4-day ticket would expire on October 27, 2018 if you also purchase the PHP add-on.

"I don't like this new expiration thing"

If this is you, Disney has also added a "Flexible Date" ticket option.  This is an add-on cost to your ticket and ranges from $0 - $83 depending on the number of days and your original ticket start date.  But with this ticket add-on, you essentially turn your "Date Based" ticket back into what you're currently use to...a Magic Your Way ticket...a ticket you can use anytime before or on December 31of the current year and an expiration of 14-days after first use.

"What if I don't use my 'Date Based' ticket before it expires?"

If you purchase a "Date Based" ticket, and for whatever reason you don't use it and it expires, Disney will allow you to apply the cost of that ticket to a future ticket of equal or greater value.  However, if you use one or more days of your ticket and let the other ticket days expire...you're out of luck.

"What if my plans change?"

If your dates change and your "Date Based" ticket no longer fits your plans, you can modify your tickets with no change fees.  You simply pay the difference in ticket price.  But if your new dates are cheaper, Disney will not give you a refund.

The Purpose

You could speculate as to the actual reasoning behind this new approach to ticketing, but the official word from Disney is they want to encourage people to visit during the slower periods of the year in order to spread park attendance out in hopes of reducing crowds during the busy parts of the year.  Essentially they make it more expensive to visit during the summer and holidays, and less expensive during the other times of the year.  While I applaud their effort to make people's experience more enjoyable, only time will tell if this method will truly deliver those results and if people are still receiving enough bang for their buck.

Where to Purchase

Obviously...we want you to purchase all of your Disney parks tickets through us.  There is no additional cost for us to order your tickets, meaning you'll pay the same price as you would on your own, but we have the knowledge to navigate through the new Walt Disney World ticket pricing structure and we offer ticket discounts on select tickets and options.  Use our quote request form to request your ticket quote.
Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL 32830, USA

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