Baltic Prices

[stingmom]

we to cruise DCL, but even with the booking on board discount, it costs waaay to much $$$. When we finally decide to cruise Europe, too bad it won't be with Disney. Not to mention the expense of airfare on top of that. We could book another line and pay for flights and still come out paying less than the Disney cruise. I hope they make some changes!!

 

[JsMom2]

Truly, what others choose to do or who they choose to sail with has no bearing on my life or my experiences. I didn't see this thread as way to convince others to abandon Disney. IMO, I felt Jsmom started it as a discussion of other options out there for those who may be on the fence and/or uncomfortable with the DCL rates but still may want the opportunity to cruise Europe.

Exactly!

I think it's important for folks to make an informed decision. Right now from what I've read, it seems that the only folks willing to pay these exorbitant prices are those who have never tried another line.

Also, I know that for some people this will be their first time cruising Europe. Europe cruises are in a different category than Caribbean cruises. When we cruise the Caribbean we really don't care if we get off the ship or not. But in Europe you'll shortchange yourself if you don't take advantage of the fascinating historical sites. The days ashore can be long and exhausting, as you want to see as much as possible. The ship really becomes more of a floating hotel. When we did the Disney 11-nt Med we only made it to the dining room 4 times for Early Seating! Other lines offer more flexible dining times in addition to the traditional dining. The Anytime Dining allows you to make a reservation for the time YOU want to eat. What I especially love is that I can book a table for 2 for just DD and me when we want to just get in, eat, and get out.

We've all seen the posts by people who've made sacrifices to take their family on a Disney cruise because they wanted a "perfect vacation". And then they are bitterly disappointed when something goes wrong (illness, missed port, kids didn't like the counselors in the club, too many kids running around, rude people in the dining room). In Europe you can add train and bus strikes too! We all know that travel is an adventure, and anything can happen - especially when traveling with kids! It'd just break my heart to hear of someone paying these exorbitant prices because they want to "guarantee" a good time, only to have something unforeseen happen. It just doesn't seem logical to me to pay this much when you could book the Baltics on another line, and pay for a Disney cruise later in the year for the same price. So I just think that folks who are paying so much money should be aware that there ARE other options.

 

[kaseyC]

Below are when the some of the other cruiselines are expected to release their 2010 European Itineraries. I found this from browsing Cruise Critic.

Celebrity - 3/10/09
RCCL - 3/12/2009
Princess - March/April 09

 

[gydell]

Exactly!

I think it's important for folks to make an informed decision. Right now from what I've read, it seems that the only folks willing to pay these exorbitant prices are those who have never tried another line.

Also, I know that for some people this will be their first time cruising Europe. Europe cruises are in a different category than Caribbean cruises. When we cruise the Caribbean we really don't care if we get off the ship or not. But in Europe you'll shortchange yourself if you don't take advantage of the fascinating historical sites. The days ashore can be long and exhausting, as you want to see as much as possible. The ship really becomes more of a floating hotel. When we did the Disney 11-nt Med we only made it to the dining room 4 times for Early Seating! Other lines offer more flexible dining times in addition to the traditional dining. The Anytime Dining allows you to make a reservation for the time YOU want to eat. What I especially love is that I can book a table for 2 for just DD and me when we want to just get in, eat, and get out.

We've all seen the posts by people who've made sacrifices to take their family on a Disney cruise because they wanted a "perfect vacation". And then they are bitterly disappointed when something goes wrong (illness, missed port, kids didn't like the counselors in the club, too many kids running around, rude people in the dining room). In Europe you can add train and bus strikes too! We all know that travel is an adventure, and anything can happen - especially when traveling with kids! It'd just break my heart to hear of someone paying these exorbitant prices because they want to "guarantee" a good time, only to have something unforeseen happen. It just doesn't seem logical to me to pay this much when you could book the Baltics on another line, and pay for a Disney cruise later in the year for the same price. So I just think that folks who are paying so much money should be aware that there ARE other options.

I have cruised RCCL, Ncl and Carnival before. They all have good points about them and if we were not taking an 8yo with us then we would not be doing DCL to the Baltics. That being said the other cruise lines have shows that I would not let my child see and with the gambling there has always seemed to be more of the drinking and smoking going on. Dcl has a family feel to it that other cruise lines don't have IMO. RCL will be cruised in a couple of years agin because I know that the rock climbing and the other extras will be attractive to a kid, but it will be a Carribean cruise. I am not chancing a once in a lifetime cruise to a maybe so we will go with what we know is good for our family. Everyone has to do what is right for them and if we have to do without a couple of other trips to make this happen then so be it. I hope everyone that does a Baltic cruise, no matter what cruise line, has a great time!

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

I feel the same way as gydell in the last post. We will be traveling with our 7 and 9 year old boys to Europe with DCL. My husband and I have traveled on several of the other cruiselines along with DCL so we have the ability to compare. We feel DCL is the best choice for "our family" for this particular trip. Everyone has different requirements when vacationing along with budget and we are all lucky to have so many choices when picking out a cruise vacation. I am very much looking forward to cruising with DCL to Europe, and of course I wish it was less money and secretly hope the price may be adjusted in the future - wishful thinking, but we are very happy with our decision.

 

[gydell]

I feel the same way as gydell in the last post. We will be traveling with our 7 and 9 year old boys to Europe with DCL. My husband and I have traveled on several of the other cruiselines along with DCL so we have the ability to compare. We feel DCL is the best choice for "our family" for this particular trip. Everyone has different requirements when vacationing along with budget and we are all lucky to have so many choices when picking out a cruise vacation. I am very much looking forward to cruising with DCL to Europe, and of course I wish it was less money and secretly hope the price may be adjusted in the future - wishful thinking, but we are very happy with our decision.

Which cruise are you doing?

 

[slg]

Its tempting to try another cruise line for a cheaper price, but with my family of 3 boys, we love DCL for its shows and its kids clubs. Yes, the baltic is cruise intensive, but it does have 4 days at sea, and some of the ports have sail a way times of 4:30 or 5:30. So I feel there will be plenty of time to be on board enjoying the boat. And while I am enjoying the boat with my family, I appreciate the family atmosphere, clean entertainment, fabulous kids clubs and wonderful service. And for our family, its worth paying the premium to be on a boat that doesn't have gambling on it. I realize that the gambling is usually far away from kid's clubs etc, but however you look at it, it will still be there.

And DCL pretty much guarantees that there will be lots of families with kids on board, something we really, really want. A friend of mine went on a Princess Cruise last year to Alaska and she said there were about 20 kids on board. That is not what we want. All of our kids have made great friends, and part of the experience is going on shore excursions with lots of 40 somethings with lots of kids.

When our children are older we will consider going on other lines, but for the time being, DCL fits us just perfectly and we think the extra cost is worth it for us.

That being said, we are not doing any DCL pre/post stays as they are ridiculous! For a family of 5, the cost for one night was about $1600! We booked our own hotel at about $200 a night and are doing our own transfers. Plus we are going to stay in London for a week after and stay in B&B's. So we're going to do the other stuff on the cheap so we can afford the Baltic cost.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

Gydell we have actually booked the 11 night Mediterranean for August 7, 2010. Even though we have tentatively booked the airfare and pre-night through DCL, I plan on trying to book those myself to get a better deal. I was shocked at the cost of the air and hotel for a family of 4. Both this site and others have given me a lot of great tips to try and make the trip more cost effective. I have also already looked into private tours and will see who wants to join in! I am working hard to save the money for the trip so we can enjoy every minute and not stress about how much $$ is being spent.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I am booked with DCL also. I realize that other cruiselines have cheaper prices and the only one that I would consider is RCL. I went to Hawaii on Celebrity over Christmas with my DS and DD. DS had a great time but DD did not have chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese for two weeks. It is a small thing, but over a long period of time, she got tired of steak and ice cream, which is what she ate most of the time. She is a picky eater.

 

[LisaWalkerC21]

I have picky eaters too...so I absolutely understand! With DCL you know that there will be plenty of activities, food and entertainment geared towards younger children...when the kids are happy...the parents are happy I understand that Europe will be pretty intense for young children so I want to do the best I can to balance the trip so it is fun for all. Having cruised with DCL twice before, I am confident that my kids will be happy. I felt that RCL activities would not suit my age children at this time, though we will look into it when my boys are older for sure.

 

[Skallywag]

We are booked on the Disney 12 night Baltic in 2010 particularly as this leaves such a short distance from our home. Saying that other lines to also and if they are cheaper and equal quality which I believe they are will have no hesitation in cancelling with Disney.

Our last cruise with them was in december 2008 and even our adult daughters said the food standard was not as good as they had received previously and we have to agree.

 

[NancyIL]

I just put NCL Jewel's 12-night Baltic cruise for June/July 2010 on hold. I asked my oldest daughter (24) if she was interested in DCL's eastbound Transatlantic. She was interested, but not excited about 6 sea days in a row. Then I showed her the itinerary on NCL Jewel, and she liked that a lot better.

Here is Cruise Critic's review of NCL Jewel: http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review_page2.cfm?ShipID=350

ITINERARY

Day Port Arrive Depart
Mon London (Dover) - 4:00 PM
Tue At Sea - -
Wed Copenhagen 9:00 AM 6:00 PM
Thu Berlin (Warnemuende) 7:30 AM 10:00 PM
Fri At Sea - -
Sat Tallinn 9:00 AM 5:30 PM
Sun St. Petersburg 8:00 AM Overnight
Mon - 7:00 PM
Tue Helsinki 8:00 AM 5:30 PM
Wed Stockholm (Nynashamn) 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Thu At Sea - -
Fri At Sea - -
Sat London (Dover) 5:00 AM -

 

[tammymacb]

Though I'm not booking the Baltics, I thought I'd add my research to the pot.

I was dying to do the Med and was online the day that the cruises were released. I thought the prices were ridiculous. So ridiculous I didn't even hold one. I'd wanted a decent room since we'd be sailing for 11 nights ( DH, myself and DD 13) When I saw the prices, I decided that a Cat 11 would be all I'd spring for.

Price for cat 11- 11 night Aug sailing = 8700 no transfers or airfare.

Priced the Norwegian Gem ( NCLs newest ship ) booking back to back 7 night cruises. Cruise 1 going to the Mediterranean islands, cruise 2 doing Greece and Turkey. Mini Suite cabin.

Prices for 2 cruises = 5200 minus 400 shipboard credit. ( 14 nights folks ) Guess which one I picked?

 

[mishoe01]

I must say that I jumped ship for this itinerary - I'm doing the Jewel this year - the 1st one of the season.

I had booked the 1st DCL one but even w/ a roommate I wouldn't have been able to swing the $. I'm paying just about $2000 less than my 1/2 of a cat 11. That translates to another trip for me. I would love to stay w/ DCL as I have friends on that cruise, and who knows if great deals come out I may do it again but especially for this port intensive itinerary I'm ok w/ not being on the Magic (I'll be there in Sept anyways)

 

[Rogillio]

We are currently booked on the maiden Baltic cruise and I read this thread with total unbelief! I couldn't believe that other cruise lines were actually THAT much cheaper.

So I did my own comparison with NCL and compared for our family of 4 in the Cat 4 room we have booked on DCL with a Penthouse Suite on NCL. Same cruise length and almost the same ports. The difference is NCL is $5,500 cheaper and we'd get an additional 224 sqft on NCL.

We have said 5 times on DCL and one time on NCL so we know something of the two cruise lines albeit more about DCL.

CONCLUSION

I've studied the numbers and I've compared NCL and DCL prices and rooms and, while it doesn't seem to make sense, we are gonna stay with DCL!! Call it gut instinct or call it 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!'. We sailed on NCL and we did not like NCL. We've enjoyed every one of our DCL cruises!

Why are we gonna stay with DCL? Let me try to explain:

1. I like the Disney experience and love the Disney quality. Everything on DCL is top shelf.

2. NCL's Fee-style dinning. I really hated the hodge-podge dinning and never getting to know our servers on NCL. I like getting to know our servers on DCL and our servers getting to know us. There was none of this on NCL as we had different servers every night - and this is a 12 night cruise. I also didn't like having to wait 45 minutes + just to get seated for dinner! And I did not like having to pay extra to eat at 1/2 of the restaurants on NCL.

3. I like the family atmosphere on DCL and I like the demographics of the cruisers. i.e. families

4. To me it comes down to about $5k difference and a little bit smaller room. I can tolerate the smaller room because I like the rest of the ship.

5. The DCL does a much better job of ship maintenance. Everything is clean and looks new. We did NOT see this on NCL.

6. We've cruised DCL enough now that coming back to the ship feels like 'coming home'.

7. We felt 'nickled and dimed' to death on NCL. We had to pay for every Coke! Even had to pay for spin class at the gym. The tips were automatically added to our bills on NCL and you didn't know who you were tipping since you never had the same sever.

8. Disney's Magic is just a very cool looking ship!

I read a quote once, "I'd rather regret something I did than something I didn't do." I can see us on our first sea day on NCL thinking "Dang, I wish we had stayed with Disney!" But I just can't see us sailing with Disney and thinking "Gee, this room is too small, I wish we'd of sailed with NCL."

~Mike

 

[NancyIL]

We are currently booked on the maiden Baltic cruise and I read this thread with total unbelief! I couldn't believe that other cruise lines were actually THAT much cheaper.

So I did my own comparison with NCL and compared for our family of 4 in the Cat 4 room we have booked on DCL with a Penthouse Suite on NCL. Same cruise length and almost the same ports. The difference is NCL is $5,500 cheaper and we'd get an additional 224 sqft on NCL.

We have said 5 times on DCL and one time on NCL so we know something of the two cruise lines albeit more about DCL.

CONCLUSION

I've studied the numbers and I've compared NCL and DCL prices and rooms and, while it doesn't seem to make sense, we are gonna stay with DCL!! Call it gut instinct or call it 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!'. We sailed on NCL and we did not like NCL. We've enjoyed every one of our DCL cruises!

DCL is counting on a lot of people feeling as you do about the intangible "magic" of a Disney cruise! Some people want a luxury experience when they vacation. Others prefer to travel more often so they book less expensive trips. In the current economy - that's the only way some people can go anywhere. I cruise mainly to go somewhere, and I try to get the best value for my money. If I just want "the Disney cruise experience" - I'll do it on a cheaper Disney cruise that's closer to home. I did that in January 2008 on the 4-day Wonder. While it was a nice cruise, the experience wasn't significantly better than my previous non-Disney cruises to justify paying a much higher price. Fact is - when you pay a lot, you expect a lot. If we cruise with NCL - they can nickel and dime me all they want and it still won't add up to the price of a Disney Baltic cruise.

I should add that cruising with NCL isn't a done deal. I want to see what other cruise lines will offer in Europe before making a final decision. In the meantime - I have a fully cancellable reservation on NCL Jewel. The only thing I know for sure is that I won't be doing the Baltic cruise on Disney unless they offer a killer deal down the road.

 

[sbell111]

DCL is counting on a lot of people feeling as you do about the intangible "magic" of a Disney cruise! ... The only thing I know for sure is that I won't be doing the Baltic cruise on Disney unless they offer a killer deal down the road.

You've posted the very same thing something like fifteen times in the last week or so. I'm pretty sure that we all understand your poition by now. DCL ios bad, NCL is good. There is no need for you to keep telling us that you've sailed on DCL once and forever more will go a cheaper route.

Perhaps this forum would be a better fit for you.

 

[mishoe01]

You've posted the very same thing something like fifteen times in the last week or so. I'm pretty sure that we all understand your poition by now. DCL ios bad, NCL is good. There is no need for you to keep telling us that you've sailed on DCL once and forever more will go a cheaper route.

Perhaps this forum would be a better fit for you.

I don't know about otherss, but I didn't get that "DCL is bad, NCL is good" from what the previous posting said.

I personally LOVE DCL - have sailed 4 times on them so far (including the Westbound Panama Canal cruise last year), and plan to continue sailing w/ DCL (have a 7nt booked for Sept) however the cost for the Baltic cruise is crazy IMO (and that is why I am doing NCL for these ports). Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If DCL was even w/in $1000.00 of the NCL rate I would have considered paying more but $2000 for me is too much of a difference.

This itinerary for me is all about the ports - I knew I wanted to do the Baltics even before DCL decided to go there (so I had already started looking at other cruise lines & was already understanding that I wasn't going to get everything (including the Magic) on anyone else). I can tell you that if I did go w/ the original DCL res I had for the Baltics, I would have had to cancel my 7nt for this year (where I'm sailing w/ about 20 friends). I would much rather be able to do both (and still save $).

I am 1 of the people that love to travel - I try to do 1 nice trip per year, and while I'm not going to go camping or stay in hostels (not that there is anything wrong w/ them--just not for me) I do try to make my trips as economical as possible. If that means that I broaden my experiences by trying other cruiselines then that's fine w/ me but I do research to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.

 

[Rogillio]

I wonder how comparable the two cruise lines are.

I loved the DCL med cruise that we took a few years ago, so I am comfident that we will love the DCL capitals cruise. I have no experience with NCL, so I did a google search and turned up some pretty horrid complaints. If there is any truth to these, I simply can't afford to risk NCL, even with the cost savings.
<edited to add that I just spoke to my wife on the phone and she agreed that the savings aren't worth the risk.>

I went back and read all the pros/cons in this thread and I think this best sums up how I feel. To me, it's just not worth the risk of going with another cruise line. Yeah, I can probably save easily $5k or $6K with another cruise line but it's a gamble...and I don't want to gamble our family vacation. We booked 20 months out and have been and will continue to dream about this vacation. It's gonna be hard for even DCL to live up to our dream expectations...and all but impossible for NCL to meet our dreams.

~Mike

 

[NancyIL]

You've posted the very same thing something like fifteen times in the last week or so. I'm pretty sure that we all understand your poition by now. DCL ios bad, NCL is good. There is no need for you to keep telling us that you've sailed on DCL once and forever more will go a cheaper route.

Perhaps this forum would be a better fit for you.

Get used to it, Steve, because I'm not going away! I have NEVER said that "DCL is bad, NCL is good." I have said that I think DCL does a good job, and I can see why families with young kids love it so much. But as an adult who doesn't cruise with children - I don't think DCL is significantly superior to the other cruise lines I've been on to justify a much higher pricetag. I haven't cruised with NCL, but the prices for their Baltic cruise are what might get me to give them a try.

I would like to cruise with DCL again, but it won't be to Europe. There are plenty of loyal DCL fans who also won't pay what Disney is charging for its Europe 2010 cruises, so I am hardly the only person not willing spend that much money.