2017 pricing made me do it! RCL i'm coming your way!

[Joel0917]

well that's it. I've seen the price go up and up. This years Cat 7a is more than i paid for Concierge on a 2014 cruise. Looking at Easter 2017 it was over $8000 for Cat 7a and i can't do it..i just can't.

so i booked RCL today on the new ship Harmony of the Seas. $5000 for a balcony room overlooking the ocean for 2A,2C. plus they did a half off deposit today, so i only had to put $500 down and received 2 of 5 free stateroom gifts..i took bottle of white wine and cheese/fruit tray.

I'm struggling a bit after 5 DCL cruises...but these prices....$3000 just doesn't make any sense to pay more.

 

[Shea&Van]

I think a lot of people are feeling your same frustration. I didn't know RCCL had 1/2 off deposits today. That is a really good incentive! The Harmony looks awesome. Have an amazing cruise!

 

[tinkerone]

yes, lots of people are feeling your pain. we can certainly afford it but do i want to? not really, not anymore. pushed to far. i booked with rcl for the first time a couple months ago and am looking forward to it.

fyi, i think this is becoming a touchy subject for some. i have read a couple other threads and some of the comments are, in essence, if were going then go but shut up about it. lol.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

yes, lots of people are feeling your pain. we can certainly afford it but do i want to? not really, not anymore. pushed to far. i booked with rcl for the first time a couple months ago and am looking forward to it.

fyi, i think this is becoming a touchy subject for some. i have read a couple other threads and some of the comments are, in essence, if were going then go but shut up about it. lol.

Yep. Don't say anything bad. Good only. LOL!

 

[Joel0917]

yeah i read that ..rinse and repeat...new prices...etc. I too can afford it. But do i want to or really need to spend the extra $3000. That's a big difference than just a few hundred dollars.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

yeah i read that ..rinse and repeat...new prices...etc. I too can afford it. But do i want to or really need to spend the extra $3000. That's a big difference than just a few hundred dollars.

It's your prerogative how you want to spend your money. Bottom line. I could do all sorts of things if I wanted to but I don't because I don't want to. That $3k you saved, that's how much DH & I spent for our Getaway cruise + excursions + upcharge additions + travel expenses. That's a whole 'nother trip! That's what I look at. What more could I do with that $$?

 

[tinkerone]

It's your prerogative how you want to spend your money. Bottom line. I could do all sorts of things if I wanted to but I don't because I don't want to. That $3k you saved, that's how much DH & I spent for our Getaway cruise + excursions + upcharge additions + travel expenses. That's a whole 'nother trip! That's what I look at. What more could I do with that $$?

Very Well Said!

 

[rosaciri]

We are thinking the same - a cruise with RC might be an option to look at for me. My family is from Melbourne Australia and last year we travelled to Orlando and did the Western Carribean cruise on The Fantasy and I was awaiting for early 2017 to be released to rebook and was nearly in tears at the prices for 2017. Looking at the same details apart from the cruise being Eastern Carribean. The dollar isn't so great for us at the moment when I convert the rate from AU to USD but I thought as we have frequent flyer points to fly the whole family from Melb to Orlando via LA I would spend a little more on the cruise. We so luv Disney might might also be good to have a look at other cruise lines.

 

[squirk]

fyi, i think this is becoming a touchy subject for some. i have read a couple other threads and some of the comments are, in essence, if were going then go but shut up about it. lol

I just ignore sycophants like that. Most, if not all, of us are here because we love DCL. If some of us feel that the pricing has got so out of hand that we super-fans are looking at other lines, that's a perfectly valid point of discussion.

This is a "discussion" board, right? Not a "cheerleading" board?

 

[dsnydaddy]

Yep. Count me as a super fan that is really limiting the Disney stuff that we are doing. Just getting too expensive. This October may be the last cruise we go on and our WDW vacations are going to every other year now.

 

[squirk]

Yep. Count me as a super fan that is really limiting the Disney stuff that we are doing. Just getting too expensive. This October may be the last cruise we go on and our WDW vacations are going to every other year now.

I think Disney has a stronger leg to stand on with the parks. To be sure, they are expensive. However, it's not like Universal is cheap, either; both companies' ticket prices seem to stay in lock-step with each other. So although Universal has made great strides in the past few years, I still think that, with ticket prices being roughly equal, Disney is still the better value.

But cruises? It sounds like RCL and NCL approach (if not exceed) the quality, features and service found on DCL, but at 60% of DCL's prices. That's hard to ignore.

 

[two-foxes]

I was just talking to DH about this....I live and breathe Disney, but am really looking at switching to RCCL. I am pretty much disgusted with the increase in cruise fare for the same exact week in May / same itinerary as we did in 2014. Sailed concierge in a V on the Fantasy for a bit over $5000 (I will thank Hurricane Sandy for that as we got a 25% discount after that crazy as all heck cruise, should have cost us $7500 or so...). Now, a Fantasy 4b for 2017 is $7000 with an OBC discount. RCCL is offering an owners suite for just a tad over $8000 for a Western in May of 2016. It really leaves some food for thought....paying more and getting less as the years go on w DCL....I just reached Platinum status and now thinking of bailing on DCL. I am definitely going to shop around on what may be best for our family, when before it was a no brainer to go with DCL.

 

[Ofinn]

It's your prerogative how you want to spend your money. Bottom line. I could do all sorts of things if I wanted to but I don't because I don't want to. That $3k you saved, that's how much DH & I spent for our Getaway cruise + excursions + upcharge additions + travel expenses. That's a whole 'nother trip! That's what I look at. What more could I do with that $$?

That's what I was thinking. 3k is what I paid for our upcoming cruise out of Galveston for the four of us. I sure hope DCL stays in Galveston since the cruises don't sell well and they're forced to offer discounts. I doubt that will happen I'm sure they'll pull out of there as soon as their contracts up.

 

[Manders77]

Never cruised on Disney but always wanted to since we had the kids. DH and I loved Princess (2 cruises with them), and been on 1 RCCL cruise prior to kids. Now that we are financially stable once again, we are planning my 40th birthday cruise and I so wanted Disney. But back in June RCCL had a great deal on Harmony, I booked us for spring break 2017 and my Junior Suite is cheaper than an inside on Disney. So definitely not considering trying DCL this time around. We do not cruise often (last cruise was in 2009), but if the prices on DCL keep rising, I don't think I ever will unless I win one.

 

[holula]

I think Disney has a stronger leg to stand on with the parks. To be sure, they are expensive. However, it's not like Universal is cheap, either; both companies' ticket prices seem to stay in lock-step with each other. So although Universal has made great strides in the past few years, I still think that, with ticket prices being roughly equal, Disney is still the better value.

But cruises? It sounds like RCL and NCL approach (if not exceed) the quality, features and service found on DCL, but at 60% of DCL's prices. That's hard to ignore.

I completely agree with this. Other than Universal there isn't a comparable immersive theme park experience. There are SO many other cruise lines out there and most are more similar to DCL than most people think. I've sailed four lines now and they have more in common than they do differently.

 

[CesD]

I was onboard the magic last week when the prices were released... Ummm... Crazy. I put down for the $200 placeholder but at the 2017 prices, I could take 2 really nice vacations for the price of one cruise.

 

[twopeasonepod]

DCL needs new itineraries. Yawn on the Caribbean and Bahamas. We sail RCI for the awesome experiences in different ports. Cruised Japan in March and will be in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand this Xmas/NY. The price is right and I can't keep doing Europe/TA, West Coast, and Panama Canal. Plus the timing is all off. During school breaks, DCL is always in the same places.

 

[ICEMANPAD]

2015 pricing affected our decision for Christmas week this year. We originally booked a cat 7 on the fantasy for $8500. As the pif date approached, we looked at other cruises. The Oasis was offering an ocean view balcony guarantee for $3500 for the same week. We could not justify paying $5000 more for the same week. As a result, we cancelled our DCL reservation and booked with RCCL.

 

[squirk]

DCL needs new itineraries. Yawn on the Caribbean and Bahamas. We sail RCI for the awesome experiences in different ports. Cruised Japan in March and will be in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand this Xmas/NY. The price is right and I can't keep doing Europe/TA, West Coast, and Panama Canal. Plus the timing is all off. During school breaks, DCL is always in the same places.

I think that's indicative of who DCL is going after. It isn't the seasoned repeat cruiser. It's the new cruisers - the young families - who haven't yet had a chance to become bored with the Bahamas and Caribbean.

If you take that as a given, then the pricing starts to make sense, too. The experienced cruiser knows how fares have changed over the last several years and what perks have been removed or modified; they've gotten their dose of the DCL "magic" many times over and know that, objectively, a better deal might be had elsewhere. The new cruiser has no first-hand frame of reference like that.

Yes, they can do research to see what fares were like in the past, but we all know that 99% of new cruisers aren't going to do that. After all, why should they? Today's DCL fares are what they are. If you want to reserve a cruise today, this is what you are going to pay today, regardless of what fares may have been last year or the year before that.

 

[twopeasonepod]

I think that's indicative of who DCL is going after. It isn't the seasoned repeat cruiser. It's the new cruisers - the young families - who haven't yet had a chance to become bored with the Bahamas and Caribbean.

If you take that as a given, then the pricing starts to make sense, too. The experienced cruiser knows how fares have changed over the last several years and what perks have been removed or modified; they've gotten their dose of the DCL "magic" many times over and know that, objectively, a better deal might be had elsewhere. The new cruiser has no first-hand frame of reference like that.

Yes, they can do research to see what fares were like in the past, but we all know that 99% of new cruisers aren't going to do that. After all, why should they? Today's DCL fares are what they are. If you want to reserve a cruise today, this is what you are going to pay today, regardless of what fares may have been last year or the year before that.

All this makes a lot of sense. I understand that it's a business and they are out to make money. Just a bummer since we love DCL and I would love to see some different itineraries that don't cost, you know, more than some people make in a year. I'm sure our Greek Isles cruise next year is out of reach for many. It's just sad that it's either the same ole', same ole', or sailings like the British Isles or Greece that are just downright ridiculous in price. But I'm one of the people that allows that to happen, so I'm part of the problem!