HOW MUCH more are you willing to pay for DCL?

NancyIL · Mar 27, 2015

Ofinn said:
Just checked Princess Ocean view and balcony's already sold out for 2016. The mini suite was 18k. Dcl's not looking so bad now.

The Ocean Princess is a small ship with only 680 passenger, so availability is limited and prices are higher: http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/op

Lisa Lisa · Mar 27, 2015

Coldflame said:
This is the third post I see about pricing. I'm glad. I really am. Supposedly there are DLC-connected people lurking in these forums and the more visibility these threads have the stronger the message.

I think the sentiment can be summarized as follows: we (fans of DLC) are willing to pay a premium for the DCL experience; however, there is a limit how much you can charge over the competition before your customers/fans will start abandoning your brand for something more affordable and equivalent. The amount you are charging for Alaska and European cruises is simply put excessive and w/o merit given that it's basically the same ships and mostly the same ports of call.

EXACTLY!!

aggiedog · Mar 27, 2015

I'm not sure what my upper limit would be, but at this point DCL is way above it, for the itineraries I'd do. It's not even a temptation to try to make it work. It's moved more towards the daydream of "oh, wouldn't it be nice to travel to the moon?" and then I go on with my regular life! We aren't big cruisers, per se, so this will probably just push us back into more land based vacations.

FWIW, the Dover to Barcelona 7 d in August has gone up $1700 for a 5b 2a/2k since yesterday am.

JTBE · Mar 27, 2015

I rather spend that amount of money doing a more thorough tour of Europe eating authentic local foods, visiting museums/castles, etc. A cruise around Europe doesn't interest me as much because I love and studoed history, would feel that the cruise would limit me and where I could go.

aprincessatlast · Mar 27, 2015

For our family about 10-20%. Right now quotes are about 40% more :scared:

for the Alaksa we priced up a couple of years ago. At that time they were about 15-20% more than the line we ended up taking. So yes there have been some changes for sure in the way they price things.

I will say though that perception of value is really wide on here. It is fun to read this section but it is obvious that people on here have massively different amounts of disposable income from one poster to the other, so that perceived value really does fluctuate. It is like when I go on the ABD section of the boards, it is like a foreign world. One I would love to live in :upsidedow

but just not reality of us.

momof2n2 · Mar 27, 2015

aprincessatlast said:
For our family about 10-20%. Right now quotes are about 40% more for the Alaksa we priced up a couple of years ago. At that time they were about 15-20% more than the line we ended up taking. So yes there have been some changes for sure in the way they price things.

I will say though that perception of value is really wide on here. It is fun to read this section but it is obvious that people on here have massively different amounts of disposable income from one poster to the other, so that perceived value really does fluctuate. It is like when I go on the ABD section of the boards, it is like a foreign world. One I would love to live in but just not reality of us.

What is ABD section?

aprincessatlast · Mar 27, 2015

momof2n2 said:
What is ABD section?

Adventures by Disney- They make the prices of DCL look like a bargain. Although with the recent price changes actually it looks like DCL is headed the way of ABD pricing module.

FJS961 · Mar 27, 2015

Agreed. I priced out the ABD add on to Med cruise for last year and it was just as, if not more, ridiculous.

bbn1122 · Mar 27, 2015

Wow, over a $4000 difference. That is a lot. I was looking at the prices of the 2016 cruises to get a feel for what to expect in 2018. That's when we will do our next big cruise. We are going to Aulani, Big Island and San Francisco in 2016. I cannot believe the prices. I have always wanted to go on a DCL cruise to Europe, now I'm thinking we may just have to go buy land and do country by country.

We did concierge on our last cruise and now we are hooked but those prices are unbelievable. I guess how much more would I pay for a Disney cruise, Maybe two grand or a little more. But when going to Europe there are so many excursions that the extra money would be great to have.

Maybe if DCL built more ships the prices might get better with more options. When I do look at other cruise lines the whole vibe of the ship is just not the same. I did cruise Carnival one time and of course there was no comparison. I love my DCL but like the cruise and where is determined by the price. Good luck with all your plans.

Coldflame · Mar 27, 2015

JTBE said:
I rather spend that amount of money doing a more thorough tour of Europe eating authentic local foods, visiting museums/castles, etc. A cruise around Europe doesn't interest me as much because I love and studoed history, would feel that the cruise would limit me and where I could go.

Yeap. As I said in a different thread, last year we priced the cheapest balacony option for one of the nordic itineraries and it was 2X as closest competitors, more expensive than me and my family of four to go trekking through Europe staying at 3-4 star hotels for three weeks, at our own pace. It's beyond "silly expensive" I think it's now at the "I'm a flamboyantly opulent oil lord" level.

BeccaG · Mar 27, 2015

LorraineBaines said:
We just booked our first cruise (ever) with DCL, and it will almost certainly be our last. Even if it turns out we absolutely love cruising, we will cruise another line next time (and it won't be for a few years). I am quite frugal by nature - this a once in a lifetime experience for our family, and at this point I'm willing to pay a premium for Disney because my kids are a great age for it (will be 10 and 7 at sailing), I know they will enjoy the kids' club, characters, activities, etc. DH and I love the idea of doing a Panama cruise at some point as a couple, but no way would we pay DCL prices for just the two of us.

This is me too! We are on our second cruise as a couple, first with the kiddos who will be almost 7 and 9 at sailing. I want to do Alaska as my 40th bday bash and I estimate I will pay the same price per day for that cruise _including_ airfare, gratuities excursions etc in a balcony room, as I am paying for a run of the mill Bahama cruise on Disney without any of that stuff added. As a comparison, a similar cruise on RC is 70% less!!!!

KashasMom · Mar 27, 2015

cwdefouw said:
Another thing that Disney is doing to make people think that maybe their price may not be so bad is this. They generally release their future cruises much later than other cruise lines. Once people look at the Disney price and then decide to shop, the cheapest prices on other cruise lines are already gone because the other lines released their cruises much earlier. Case in point...

Had a balcony been available, I am sure they would found it to be much cheaper, but because Disney release their cruises so much later, the cheaper, more equivalent, balcony cabins on Princess are gone. So now they are comparing apples to oranges, but the price is about the same. It is much easier to accept an orange instead of an apple when the price is about the same.

When you find something you are happy with, you should book it then! If you like the Disney better, cancel and book with Disney.

FJS961 · Mar 27, 2015

The frustrating thing is that we are fans of DCL ... however, when you critically evaluate the value of it looking at the big picture, it's hard or impossible to justify

AAAG · Mar 27, 2015

We just booked what I thought was an insane price for Alaska in 2016 - $8158. We were planning on doing another 7 night caribbean in feb 2017. if those prices are insane when released, then we're done. We won't do another cruise line. We'll just go back to land vacations instead.

drb116 · Mar 27, 2015

Having been on 7 Disney Cruises, I can say that the Disney experience is worth something more the first time, but each time after, it goes down. My family and I loved Disney, but a lot that we loved got old. Disney boats are all very similar and the shows are repeated on the boats. Yes, the show are great, but I would rather see a show on Royal Caribbean than see Dreams for the 4th time. Same for the kids clubs. Our kids loved them the first couple of times and the Marvel Academy is great change of pace, but they are now bored of them and prefer other cruise lines.

At this point, we are not willing to spend much more for a Disney cruise until they come out with something different. The Oasis class on Royal tend to run 30% to 50% cheaper and we have really enjoyed those cruises.

Coldflame · Mar 27, 2015

FJS961 said:
The frustrating thing is that we are fans of DCL ... however, when you critically evaluate the value of it looking at the big picture, it's hard or impossible to justify

Exactly. Just to give you a fresh comparison, we just priced a RCCL 7-night to WC sailing the exact same dates as DCL Fantasy, price difference is $2000 (no exaggeration) right off the bat and better rooms at RCCL. It's like they're not even trying to compete anymore. I'll admit we are very fortunate to make good income, but I can't justify extra $2000 for the same cruise just because DCL brand -- which will be used for all sorts of upgrades and premium dining experiences at the RCCL. It used to be a "judgement" call to cruise with DCL vs. RCCL, now it's a factual and economical one.

Ofinn · Mar 27, 2015

cwdefouw said:
Another thing that Disney is doing to make people think that maybe their price may not be so bad is this. They generally release their future cruises much later than other cruise lines. Once people look at the Disney price and then decide to shop, the cheapest prices on other cruise lines are already gone because the other lines released their cruises much earlier. Case in point...

Had a balcony been available, I am sure they would found it to be much cheaper, but because Disney release their cruises so much later, the cheaper, more equivalent, balcony cabins on Princess are gone. So now they are comparing apples to oranges, but the price is about the same. It is much easier to accept an orange instead of an apple when the price is about the same.

This is probably true. I don't think I would have even thought to check princess months ago. I have never taken a cruise that I didn't book less than 60 days out. Planning a year ahead is foreign territory for me. I think I know what cruise I want to do, and then I change my mind. Well actually I know what cruise I want it's just out of my budget. I may be better suited to do a land vacation in Europe, and do my cruises to the Caribbean when I get a deal. I thought I was set on the Med in Sept. The Med prices are good, but I really want Iceland/ Norway ugh.

jenf22 · Mar 27, 2015

Ofinn said:
The Med prices are good, but I really want Iceland/ Norway ugh.

There are still balcony rooms and suites available on the NCL Star June 5th of this year. We're flying through Iceland after the cruise and spending a couple of days there. They're doing either free dining or free beverage packages (or OBC) and kids sail free. Just a thought....

jenf22 · Mar 27, 2015

BeccaG said:
This is me too! We are on our second cruise as a couple, first with the kiddos who will be almost 7 and 9 at sailing. I want to do Alaska as my 40th bday bash and I estimate I will pay the same price per day for that cruise _including_ airfare, gratuities excursions etc in a balcony room, as I am paying for a run of the mill Bahama cruise on Disney without any of that stuff added. As a comparison, a similar cruise on RC is 70% less!!!!

We've not done one, but we looked at RCL's Alaska cruises with land add-on packages and they look amazing! We were either doing that or Norway for my 40th this year and ended up picking Norway. But you might want to take a look, I think they call them "cruisetours".

Ofinn · Mar 27, 2015

jenf22 said:
There are still balcony rooms and suites available on the NCL Star June 5th of this year. We're flying through Iceland after the cruise and spending a couple of days there. They're doing either free dining or free beverage packages (or OBC) and kids sail free. Just a thought....

I wish. We just cruised on the Magic 4 weeks ago. I don't think my vacation savings account has recovered enough for something like that. I would also have to take 3 weeks off. I can't do that right now either. I was thinking about something similar to what your doing. The Norway cruise may 29 is 4500 less the 12 night Iceland/Norway cruise. I was thinking maybe we could fly to Iceland for a couple of nights after the cruise. Where are you staying in Iceland?

HOW MUCH more are you willing to pay for DCL?

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

Mouseketeer

Mouseketeer

DCL Platinum

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DCL Platinum

Share this page

GET UP TO A $1000 SHIPBOARD CREDIT AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT!