The priced-out pity party thread.

[debsters41]

I am joining this party, too! I am booked on the Dover - Barcelona Repo, but for 1000 less I can get a 7 night on Royal to Spain or to Norway including Premium drink package. I am booked on the Disney cruise and 2 Royal cruises, and I will decide later which to keep.... but I think I know where I am going

 

[twopeasonepod]

I didn't read all posts, because I'm on RCI right now and the wifi SUCKS. But I will say that I am definitely willing to pay DCL prices for DCL service. This has been the worst cruise ever, and we are in the Royal Suite! I think much of it has to do with the rudeness of the fellow passengers (3,000 Chinese, 400 non-Chinese). But also horrible incidents with crew (e.g., the manager of Chops - their Palo - yelling and pointing his finger at me when I was upset that they ignored me for 20 minutes - not even a drink!, and a chef yelling at his cook on the buffet line in front of the guests - I asked him to stop because it makes us guests uncomfortable; he told me it was none of my business and then dared me to make a complaint, etc.) I could go on and on. We won't be back. At least not in China.

I booked the 12 nt. Greek Isles for way too much money. I think it's a ridiculous price, but I just wanted to book on opening day and decide later. My thought is that I'll get what I pay for. It's the itinerary I want on the company I want. I couldn't even use my OBB, but that was okay since I'd rather pay full price for a trip I want to take instead of 90% on a trip I kinda sorta want to take. We cancelled a B2B DCL cruise to be on this one right now. I wish I hadn't!

 

[fitnessmouse]

European viewpoint here. In a couple of weeks my family of four is flying to Hawaii. To HAWAII. A week on the pride of America and a week at Aulani. For half the price. We could do that again and still spend less than a 2016 12n-european cruise. And we don't even need the expensive flights

 

[NYIceQueen]

Oh I'll join....

We're reasonably well off. I work from home and make lousy money, but we have the luxury where that income is basically "for fun" - vacations, holidays, etc. I can barely justify the prices for the August DCL we're taking, where between cruise, hotel, airfare, etc, I'll be spending close to what I make in an entire YEAR....let alone spending five figures just on the base cruise and then adding airfare, etc. We could. But that's not the point. My DD is in college in less than 5 years. We have one car. At some point people wake up out of the pixie dust induced stupor and say "hold it! HOW much?"

I've been going to cruise critic and the like getting reviews on other lines. Pleasantly surprised at the number of Carnival positive reviews; flabbergasted at the number of NCL complaints. Royal seems to be the most lateral move quality wise, though they have their share of problems.

We're not Disney "fans". We just want a good time with our family and to get the most bang for our buck. We understand that Disney is high quality, but this would be like saying no one can stay in a non-Disney hotel and like the quality once they've stayed at Disney. That's not true. Your vacation is what you make of it.

Now I will have a great time in August on DCL, savor it, make some great memories, and hopefully by then I'll also have another cruise booked with an itinerary I want, maybe even departing from NYC.

Until then...even though it's 6:00 A.M., someone pass me a drink.

 

[Danni75]

At some point unfortunately the money cannot be ignored, independently of your financial situation.

I love the Disney experience on cruise, especially the total immersion in a magical world. I like the fact that when I open the television I only see cartoons and that for a few days I can actually be away from constant influx of horrible news. I love the fact that most passengers are extremelly well behaved. Of course you need to be realistic and not act like an austrich or put your head in sand, but for a few days I think it does contribute to my mental health !

If I had the certainty of being able to achieve that with an other line I would probably try it. Any suggestions welcome !

 

[NYIceQueen]

At some point unfortunately the money cannot be ignored, independently of your financial situation.

I love the Disney experience on cruise, especially the total immersion in a magical world. I like the fact that when I open the television I only see cartoons and that for a few days I can actually be away from constant influx of horrible news. I love the fact that most passengers are extremelly well behaved. Of course you need to be realistic and not act like an austrich or put your head in sand, but for a few days I think it does contribute to my mental health !

If I had the certainty of being able to achieve that with an other line I would probably try it. Any suggestions welcome !

The thing is that nothing is guaranteed. Look at some of the threads on DIS and you have drunk people, chair hogging, some service problems (grant it very rare), food being hit-or-miss sometimes, childcare issues, etc. Is it less likely? Probably.

I suppose that with Disney having 4 ships, and the other lines having many, many more ships, you're more likely to hear of problems on the other lines just because of the probability being higher by a higher passenger count. Disney, of course, is a leader in service-related things - that's why they charge what they do and why they have that reputation. You walk into a Disney ship expecting to be well taken care of and that things will be done right or get fixed right away if possible. That's great and all, but you have to think that other lines wouldn't be able to maintain customer loyalty at all if they were indeed THAT bad.

Magical worlds are fantastic for little ones. We're just about out of that need, and more into the "we want to have fun!" active lifestyle, so perhaps for us we don't have that pressing need. I'm sure at the right price/sale we *might* go DCL in the future, but for now, I don't see it. Heck, $30,000-$40,000 would pay for nearly all 4 years of college that my DD wants to go to. I could really set her up with a great future with no student loans weighing her down.

Unfortunately, families have to think like that. And I think that's something Disney is forgetting. If you look at the Destination America special, it talks about how Walt Disney wanted to make a place where all families could come and enjoy the place as a family, enjoy something special and magical as a family. They are starting to miss the part where it was supposed to be "all" families, not just the wealthy.

 

[gert]

I was so looking forward to the British Isles cruise. We, too, are reasonably comfortable financially (and I count my blessings for that), but I just can't justify spending that much. Our plan now is to do one of the Alaskan cruises and follow it up with a 3-4 night stay in Aulani (using DVC points for Aulani). With airfare it'll still be about the cost of the British Isles cruise without the airfare added in.

 

[momof2n2]

Maybe because I've booked on another line for next May I don't feel the pity-party piece of it. But I do have the "price out" piece of it.

For the week of May 14th next year I could do FANTASY Western Caribbean. For my family of 8 in two deluxe inside staterooms (10A) the cost is a staggering $11,341.32. And verandah 6B would be $11,845.32.
For that same week, we are booked on NCL Getaway. For my family of 8 in connecting verandah rooms (one family verandah & one family mini-suite) the cost is $5500.

I am willing to admit DCL might be better. But is it TWICE as good? I can't believe that. Yes, we will miss the Disney stage shows and the Buena Vista Theater. But we will get to try ropes course, rock wall, bungee trampoline, mini-golf, and 5 waterslides.

And - we will have enough left over for a 8 nights in a rental house in Kissimmee and five-day MYW tix. And money left over for another 1-week vacation in OBX in the fall.

So - yeah - priced out. But not sad.

 

[braysmommy]

Another family pulling up the beach chairs and joining the party! We are already booked on a Southern Caribbean cruise for January and this will most likely be our last DCL cruise unless we can find a great *GT rate. What they want for the transatlatic cruise is mind blowing and I don't even like the itinerary! We have sailed on 2 previous EBTA cruises and combined they were less! I refuse to pay $200-300 per person a night.
The only reason we are keeping the one in January is because DCL had a price glitch on opening day and we booked 2A/1C for 2200.00 (a 1400.00 savings).

 

[sweetpee_1993]

If you don't mind, sweetpee, what was the price breakdown for your 5/21 sailing in cat 5E?

That's why I didn't post on the price thread. I don't know. My TA just sent me final numbers because I don't need breakdowns. I'm sorry.

 

[Bree]

I just peeked at the eastern fantasy cruise I was interested in.

Jul 30, 2016 opening day prices for 1st two passengers
10A $2261
08D $2401
08C $2415

Aug 01, 2015 opening day for 1st two passengers
10A $2191 --> price drop to $2023 on 4/23/2014
08D $2331 --> price drop to $2163 on 4/23/2014
08C $2359 --> price drop to $2191 on 4/23/2014

If they couldn't sell the 2015 cruise at the original pricing I don't understand even higher rates for this year. I think DCL backed themselves into a corner. They are stuck in this cycle of high rates every release because if they publish lower rates for the following year many people may jump on them and dump their current bookings.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

$8200 for a family of 5 on May 21 eastern Caribbean? That will be $10k before it is all said and done. No way! I guess it is *GT rates or no cruise at all for us from now on.

 

[NYIceQueen]

^^^ This. Like I said in another thread, the only way I think we'd be able to do DCL again is just to save up throughout the year, get Southwest tickets (no change fees) for around the time we want to cruise, and then jump on some *GT rates at the last second. I like planning, though, and that would drive me nuts.

 

[jenf22]

Just checked the Fantasy Western for June 2016 - $7398 for 2A, 1C in a 5A. We are already booked on NCL Getaway for the same time for $2874 in a family mini-suite with included ultimate beverage package. It does make me sad that we'll probably never be on another Disney ship. But I am also excited to try new ships!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

^^^ This. Like I said in another thread, the only way I think we'd be able to do DCL again is just to save up throughout the year, get Southwest tickets (no change fees) for around the time we want to cruise, and then jump on some *GT rates at the last second. I like planning, though, and that would drive me nuts.

Yes, my estimate of nearly $10k all in was taking into account free flights on SWA as well. No way I am spending that for an itinerary we have already sailed. DD15 will be going into her junior year next year and we are now stuck with school breaks only. She can't miss a week of AP and Honors classes like she has in the past. I thought for sure May 21 (right after school lets out) would be reasonable. Oh well.

 

[Annabell]

I love the Disney experience on cruise, especially the total immersion in a magical world. I like the fact that when I open the television I only see cartoons and that for a few days I can actually be away from constant influx of horrible news. I love the fact that most passengers are extremelly well behaved. Of course you need to be realistic and not act like an austrich or put your head in sand, but for a few days I think it does contribute to my mental health !

If I had the certainty of being able to achieve that with an other line I would probably try it. Any suggestions welcome !

I am joining this party too. Even we can afford it, we just don't want to spend such crazy prices on 1 cruise. I would rather do few more cruises on another line
with the same money.

Having said that, IMO, there is no equal comparison with another cruiseline because if you want to have the magical experience (cruising with Mickey Mouse)
then the ONLY option is to cruise with DCL. No other cruiselines will provide that ! So it is a matter whether you are willing to pay such a premium to cruise with
the mouse.

Luckily our kids are a bit older now and we do enjoy other lines like NCL. It's different but we enjoyed our NCL cruise and we had a great time.
Just be realistic and don't expect to have the same experience as DCL (not paid the DCL prices either so can't expect to have the same)

 

[perditax]

I just got my first actual look at the site (non CC member). All the insides for the BI cruise are gone (for now, anyway). And pricing out a cruise identical to the one I have in Sept 2015, but for Sept 2016 instead, the 2016 day one (okay, day two) prices are already higher for the exact same room than they are NOW for the 2015 cruise.

I'm new to cruising so I was all exited about the magical day one pricing, heh.

(Anyone feel like doing the math on what Disney is grossing on that BI cruise?)

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

 

[Annabell]

I just peeked at the eastern fantasy cruise I was interested in.

They are stuck in this cycle of high rates every release because if they publish lower rates for the following year many people may jump on them and dump their current bookings.

Exactly, that's why prices have to be high ! But as far as I can see, there are still lots of categories available for all of the 2015 Europe sailings so wondering how DCL is going to
boost the sale on these sailings in the coming few months.

 

[Mrs Green]

I have been reading about the prices being so much higher this year so had really been resigning myself to not getting to do my first dcl again this year. Well I was pleasantly surprised to see the price for Alaska 8/8 to be less per person than last year. Might be a fluke so I jumped all over it.