DCL out of NY worth it????>$$$$$$

[Disneydreamer5]

Ok so when I heard the Magic is coming to NY I was beyond excited. I mean there are truly no words to express how happy I was and how much I was looking forward to the day the opened booking.
I have been to Disneyland many, many times and Disney World has been our families choice vacation. We all have be waiting for the chance to sail on DCL. I have heard so many wonderful things and read great trip reports. I know you get what you pay for and that Disneys service is second to none espeically if you love all things Disney the way we do.
Then the pricing became available.
I mean don't get me wrong I was expecting it to be a lot more then say CCL or RCCL. As mentioned before you get what you pay for.
I have researched every page for discounted prices that you can think of and everywhere I go the prices are pretty much the same.
I have factor in the fact that I will have over a year to pay for this trip and also the money we save on airfare.
We normally stay at Disney for around $4700, once in values paying for DDP and the other about the same amount with FDDP at a moderate resort. Factor in airfare we are looking at $5200. Average.
Well I priced out 2 interior cabins for 7 people out of NY and the cheapest rate I have gotten is $9,026, that breaks down to $1290 per person, and $161 per person per day. Someone once told me who was pretty sharp with cruising info that if your cruise averages under $100 a day per person on Disney you are getting a great price.
With all that said, when its broken down and you factor in the 1 day park hopppers that are included, it don't seem so bad but when I tell my husband how much of his hard earned money is being spent, how do I justify this cost?
We could easly do CCL for about $4,000 less for the same itinary and same time of year.
For people like myself who love Disney and who have cruised with them as well as other lines, can you tell me, is the cost worth it?
I know its a personal choice but I am just curious, if this was your family would you spend this amount?
BTW, We are myself 40,DH 39,DD's 22,21,17 & 14 and DS 19.
We love the beach, eating a great meal, sight seeing, swimming, laying the sun, playing fun games, rides, water parks nd ofcourse DISNEY!!!.
If you feel this cruise is not for us, who then would you recommend? which line and what ship and why?
Thanks everyone!

 

[rsbelote]

Disney does cost more that other cruise lines but they also do not charge you for soft drinks like most cruise lines do. I have been on both different cruise lines but after i went on a disney cruise i dout that i ever go back to another cruise line. The whole experiance of a Disney Cruise is mile above every other cruise company. Because there really is nothing better that the disney experiance. I hope that this helps.

 

[MartDM]

I agree with the previous poster. We don't drink soft drinks so that wasn't a factor for us, but we've cruised other lines and the level of service you get from DCL is far superior to the other lines.

Don't get me wrong, the other lines are just fine and are very nice. But, with DCL you get that extra little something extra in terms of service, attentiveness, options that the other lines simply don't offer.

We definitely thought we got our money's worth on all our cruises and always got what we paid for. You just have to decide what exactly you want

 

[Capt. Minnie]

I am so excited DCL is out of NYC. I asked the same question when i saw the price and everyone i talked to seems to say the same thing, "You get what you pay for". So I'm booked and ready to go.

 

[edk35]

Ok so when I heard the Magic is coming to NY I was beyond excited. I mean there are truly no words to express how happy I was and how much I was looking forward to the day the opened booking.
I have been to Disneyland many, many times and Disney World has been our families choice vacation. We all have be waiting for the chance to sail on DCL. I have heard so many wonderful things and read great trip reports. I know you get what you pay for and that Disneys service is second to none espeically if you love all things Disney the way we do.
Then the pricing became available.
I mean don't get me wrong I was expecting it to be a lot more then say CCL or RCCL. As mentioned before you get what you pay for.
I have researched every page for discounted prices that you can think of and everywhere I go the prices are pretty much the same.
I have factor in the fact that I will have over a year to pay for this trip and also the money we save on airfare.
We normally stay at Disney for around $4700, once in values paying for DDP and the other about the same amount with FDDP at a moderate resort. Factor in airfare we are looking at $5200. Average.
Well I priced out 2 interior cabins for 7 people out of NY and the cheapest rate I have gotten is $9,026, that breaks down to $1290 per person, and $161 per person per day. Someone once told me who was pretty sharp with cruising info that if your cruise averages under $100 a day per person on Disney you are getting a great price.
With all that said, when its broken down and you factor in the 1 day park hopppers that are included, it don't seem so bad but when I tell my husband how much of his hard earned money is being spent, how do I justify this cost?
We could easly do CCL for about $4,000 less for the same itinary and same time of year.
For people like myself who love Disney and who have cruised with them as well as other lines, can you tell me, is the cost worth it?
I know its a personal choice but I am just curious, if this was your family would you spend this amount?
BTW, We are myself 40,DH 39,DD's 22,21,17 & 14 and DS 19.
We love the beach, eating a great meal, sight seeing, swimming, laying the sun, playing fun games, rides, water parks nd ofcourse DISNEY!!!.
If you feel this cruise is not for us, who then would you recommend? which line and what ship and why?
Thanks everyone!

We are taking the 5 day out of NYC to Canada. We have two staterooms on deck 2 portholes, we have 4 adults and one child and we are paying 5446.95
We were booked on the Fantasy for June of 2012 and decided to wait and book the Fantasy when the rates are first released to get a much better deal than we had booking 4 months after the dates/prices were released. So we are saving about 4500 going out of NYC. We would have paid almost 10,000 for the Fantasy..of course we had two verandah rooms booked and it is a new ship. Plus we would have paid for airfare and transfers

For us this is a better way to experience our first cruise.

 

[mattmommy]

We paid about $3,800 for an interior out of NY for 3 of us.

We're saving a ton on airfare. Have you check fares from NJ? CRAZY prices now.

Also think of the quality of meals. Maybe breakfasts and lunches will be simple foods, but dinners are always great. You can eat seafood until you sprout gills.

Also, if you're doing the caribbean one it's 8 nights and not 7.

We prices out going on a 7 out of PC and airfare and found the 8 nights (and closer to home) was better for us.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Well I priced out 2 interior cabins for 7 people out of NY and the cheapest rate I have gotten is $9,026, that breaks down to $1290 per person, and $161 per person per day. Someone once told me who was pretty sharp with cruising info that if your cruise averages under $100 a day per person on Disney you are getting a great price.
With all that said, when its broken down and you factor in the 1 day park hopppers that are included, it don't seem so bad but when I tell my husband how much of his hard earned money is being spent, how do I justify this cost?
We could easly do CCL for about $4,000 less for the same itinary and same time of year.
For people like myself who love Disney and who have cruised with them as well as other lines, can you tell me, is the cost worth it?
I know its a personal choice but I am just curious, if this was your family would you spend this amount?
BTW, We are myself 40,DH 39,DD's 22,21,17 & 14 and DS 19.
We love the beach, eating a great meal, sight seeing, swimming, laying the sun, playing fun games, rides, water parks nd ofcourse DISNEY!!!.
If you feel this cruise is not for us, who then would you recommend? which line and what ship and why?
Thanks everyone!

Only you can decide what line is best for you and you'll get lots of opinions on that. I cannot recommend another cruise line as I haven't been on one yet. My wife has, but she did not enjoy it nearly as much as Disney. There would have to be a substantial price difference for us to switch to another cruise line. The $89 per person per night on Carnival you quoted would be tempting, but we want a Caribbean itinerary and not a Bahamas itinerary. BTW - What category staterooms are those?

As far as Disney's price is concerned, $161 per person per day is really not that high right now for Disney. The new ships have seemed to have increased demand more than the increase in supply, thus, Disney can and does charge more. Recently, anything below $200 pp per day is getting rare, especially during peak times like summer.

It's would be very very difficult to get a price below $100 per person per day on Disney anymore. (Your best chance of breaking the $100 per person per day price barrier on Disney would be the transatlantic cruises in an 11C. And then you have airfare for 7 to Europe to pay for!)

We booked the very first day that the 2012 summer cruises from PC were announced last October. We are paying about $157 per person per day. From Florida, that is less expensive than the Carnival Dream and Royal Caribbean Oasis for identical room types on a nearly identical itinerary leaving on the same day. Since we booked, the price per person on Disney has increased by nearly $600, or $86 per person per night to nearly $243 per person per night! I think that if you try to book a room today for summer 2012 on a Disney ship from Port Canaveral that you'd pay at least $200 per person per night for it.

 

[lmhall2000]

Are you tied into school schedules?? If you are able to travel on an 'off' week (first of September, last of April, first of May) there are probably more opp's for deals....we have ONLY sailed when Disney has offered kids sail free...with your set up, it could save you some on those under 18...

But, another option to consider, (if your vacation time is flexible) is to consider IGT and other 'new' discounted programs Disney is offering. On ships that are not fully booked, about the 60 day mark out, they start offering rooms for 25-40% or more off standard rates...the catch is you have NO say on which room number, just minimum category...Disney can move you wherever (so trying to get 2 rooms together may be tough in this situation...although it being your first cruise, I do believe Disney tries to offer as many perks to try and get you hooked)....but the savings are there...

They have (in my opinion) priced their sailings too high with these new ports. I know many may disagree, but the probability of Disney being able to fill 13,000 spots on these ships each week is slim - very slim. Not so bad this year, b/c the Dream is new and you have a lot of Disney fans who will pay for the experience of a new ship...once you've lost that 'edge'....how do you market to keep the rooms filled? Worse yet, how do you market in an economy that is essentially in a depression and likely will not recover for 10+ years....you offer deals...so just try to be as flexible as you can in your planning and take advantage of them when they come.

Also, check around on categories, we booked 5 of us in a cat 8 b/c it was cheaper than getting 2 cat 11's... sometimes 2 cat 9's may be less than 2 cat 11's..just play with the rooms....

HTH!
Tara

 

[edk35]

Only you can decide what line is best for you and you'll get lots of opinions on that. I cannot recommend another cruise line as I haven't been on one yet. My wife has, but she did not enjoy it nearly as much as Disney. There would have to be a substantial price difference for us to switch to another cruise line. The $89 per person per night on Carnival you quoted would be tempting, but we want a Caribbean itinerary and not a Bahamas itinerary. BTW - What category staterooms are those?

As far as Disney's price is concerned, $161 per person per day is really not that high right now for Disney. The new ships have seemed to have increased demand more than the increase in supply, thus, Disney can and does charge more. Recently, anything below $200 pp per day is getting rare, especially during peak times like summer.

It's would be very very difficult to get a price below $100 per person per day on Disney anymore. (Your best chance of breaking the $100 per person per day price barrier on Disney would be the transatlantic cruises in an 11C. And then you have airfare for 7 to Europe to pay for!)

We booked the very first day that the 2012 summer cruises from PC were announced last October. We are paying about $157 per person per day. From Florida, that is less expensive than the Carnival Dream and Royal Caribbean Oasis for identical room types on a nearly identical itinerary leaving on the same day. Since we booked, the price per person on Disney has increased by nearly $600, or $86 per person per night to nearly $243 per person per night! I think that if you try to book a room today for summer 2012 on a Disney ship from Port Canaveral that you'd pay at least $200 per person per night for it.

Curious...when in Oct. were the Fantasy dates released? We booked the end of Feb. early March and just decided last week to switch to the NYC Canada cruise for several reasons. The main one being....that we were paying so much more for that June 16th cruise on the Fantasy booking 4 months after the dates were released. It just kept eating away at me. Then the NYC was released and so we switched and booked within a week of those dates being released. I want to book the Fantasy for 2013 right when the dates are released.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

In addition to what others say, I feel that anyone who needs 2 cabins is paying a much higher price regardless of which port. We are a family of 4 and can sail off peak in a cat 9 porhole, deck 2 for around $500/nt, or $3500 for a 7 nt cruise. Friends who sailed with us in Oct 2009 are a family of 5, got 2 inside cabins, cat 11 so not even connecting, and paid $4800.
Unfortunately, when you book 2 cabins 2 kids pay full adult price same as the parents which my kids never do.
This has always been an issue on the Magic/Wonder which is why when they designed the Dream, they converted the navigator's verandah cabins to porthole cabins that sleep 5.

Stop comparing a DCL vacation to a WDW vacation. It's apples to oranges.
jmho but I don't compare DCL to other cruise lines. DCL is unique and priced accordingly.

 

[edk35]

In addition to what others say, I feel that anyone who needs 2 cabins is paying a much higher price regardless of which port. We are a family of 4 and can sail off peak in a cat 9 porhole, deck 2 for around $500/nt, or $3500 for a 7 nt cruise. Friends who sailed with us in Oct 2009 are a family of 5, got 2 inside cabins, cat 11 so not even connecting, and paid $4800.
Unfortunately, when you book 2 cabins 2 kids pay full adult price same as the parents which my kids never do.
This has always been an issue on the Magic/Wonder which is why when they designed the Dream, they converted the navigator's verandah cabins to porthole cabins that sleep 5.

Stop comparing a DCL vacation to a WDW vacation. It's apples to oranges.
jmho but I don't compare DCL to other cruise lines. DCL is unique and priced accordingly.

We are a family of 5 but we did not choose to BOOK into ONE family stateroom when we were booked on the Fantasy. Our kids are OLDER...two are adults. Our dd will be 21 and our son 18 when we cruise. Our youngest son will be 13 so we WANT/NEED space. I can see why people with families of 5 that have small kids would love having a family stateroom though. However still.... my kids would have to be pretty young to book that.

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

I have to say, it seems like you are true disney people, and if you can't afford the DCL cruise, go to WDW - I think you will be disappointed on another cruiseline -I know we were!

 

[Amanda132]

For us, once you factored in airfare, transfers, and a one night hotel stay pre-cruise, an 4-night on the Dream was only about $500 less than the first 8-night NYC Bahamas cruise. Granted we are only two adults in an inside stateroom in May, which isn't peak season, but for us, NYC was definitely worth it. I'd pay $500 extra for four extra nights (plus a WDW park hopper!) any day.

Per person we're well over the $100 per night rate, but we were looking at a similar price even for WDW.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Curious...when in Oct. were the Fantasy dates released? We booked the end of Feb. early March and just decided last week to switch to the NYC Canada cruise for several reasons. The main one being....that we were paying so much more for that June 16th cruise on the Fantasy booking 4 months after the dates were released. It just kept eating away at me. Then the NYC was released and so we switched and booked within a week of those dates being released. I want to book the Fantasy for 2013 right when the dates are released.

I think it was around October 17th or 18th. It seems to change every year, so just start watching these boards carefully starting in early September.

 

[Viva Pataca]

Since we did the Dream in January, I have moved my OBB dummy ressie a few times ... Aug2012 Dream double dip, Jan2012 Magic 7-nights, Dec2012 Fantasy 7-nights and then Oct2012 Wonder Pacific Coast. With the exception of the Dream double dip, the rest of my "preferences" were off seasons. The price of the cruise is reasonable and I am able to plan for a quad verandah and double inside. But whenever I factor into airfare, I was like .

So I book the Aug25 2012 sailing out of New York for now. We have never been to WDW so that one-day pass do provide value to us. Factor into the premium of summer cruising, the fact that I still have over a year to save and plan, and also knowing that I don't have to fly and the uncertainty of flying, I do think this one is a go for us ... for now.

 

[sorul82?]

Since I have cruised both Carnival and Disney in the past six months, I can say that I was disappointed with the Disney service. So many claim that the Disney service is so much better and worth the extra $$. Not in my opinion. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have a good time. I found the dining staff interaction to be lacking and the food was better on Carnival. Again, my opinion. If I dare say, Premiere did a better job with the Disney service than DCL did.

You mentioned games, I found the games on DCL to be quite lacking compared to Carnival.

The drink cards on Carnival aren't very much. $5.50 per day maybe? And you can get a drink at any bar, not just two or three stations.

Our Dream cabins were far superior to those on Carnival.

 

[mickeyluv]

I need some opinions. I know that this is a personal preference and financial question as well but I'm going to ask and see what you all think.

We rebooked while on the Dream. We're doing the 8 night Bahama cruise out of NY in August. We have booked at the moment an inside stateroom on Deck 6 but can switch to a category 7A for around $1300.00 more. We are a family of 3 (2 adults, 1-15 yo at time of sailing). We are verandah people and have never sailed in an inside stateroom before. Actually we have been very fortunate to have always sailed in a verandah stateroom and my gut is telling me to switch to the 7A. Isn't the 7A a navigator's verandah? Is the 7A worth $1300.00 more for a 8 night? What would you do? TIA

 

[Viva Pataca]

I need some opinions. I know that this is a personal preference and financial question as well but I'm going to ask and see what you all think.

We rebooked while on the Dream. We're doing the 8 night Bahama cruise out of NY in August. We have booked at the moment an inside stateroom on Deck 6 but can switch to a category 7A for around $1300.00 more. We are a family of 3 (2 adults, 1-15 yo at time of sailing). We are verandah people and have never sailed in an inside stateroom before. Actually we have been very fortunate to have always sailed in a verandah stateroom and my gut is telling me to switch to the 7A. Isn't the 7A a navigator's verandah? Is the 7A worth $1300.00 more for a 8 night? What would you do? TIA

Good question, as I was facing the same dilemma too. We also loved our verandah, which is always our preference, but not a must have. Cruising out of New York remove the airfare hassle for me but that means I am paying a premium for the cruise (which basically is the entire portion of my vacation $. $1300 for 8 night so it is roughly $163 per day. Only you will know if it is worth it or not. For me, if I am only doing it for 3 people I probably will switch to (never had one and it seems to be cool). But since I am paying for 6 people, I can either do 5-nights New York to Canada and can get two 7As, or do the 8-nights New York to Bahamas for two insides. We choose the 8 nights and will be looking forward for our first inside experience ... and that means I hope we'll be spending more time outside the cabin.

JMHO

 

[sorul82?]

$1300 means different things to different parts of the country. I'd make the change for $300 but not $1300.

 

[ThePedersonFamily]

To the OP...as a family we just couldn't justify the price of the NYC cruise. I had a 9c cabin price quoted and it was just over $7,000. We just came back from a MR cruise and our cost in a 9a cabin was just under $2500. It was booked under the Kids Sail Free promotion so that was a factor in the low pricing. We have, up until this cruise, been huge advocates for Disney over any other cruise line...but even without having to pay for airfare we can't bring ourselves to pay that price! We have since priced a 7 night stay at WDW in a moderate resort with 7 day hopper passes and the mid range dining plan for $3,200...even with airfare we aren't even close to the price of the cruise...so it looks like we are headed to Disney instead!! Looks like no matter which way you look at it the mouse is getting our money!! LOL You just have to take all the factors into consideration and decide what is best for your family!!