DCL prices vs Princess

[tecdavidt]

Thought I'd share with everyone what I found out today from our TA. We had a Wonder 3 day/4day pkg booked for New Year's Eve for this year. I didn't like the fact that DCL changed the day at sea to be first verses the last day on the 4 day. We had our TA check out 7 day Princess cruises since the Magic doesn't have any rooms left with verandahs. We love our verandah.

The Golden Princess has the same itinerary as the Magic. It leaves Port Everglades instead of Port Canaveral and the private island is SE of Miami instead of E of Miami. We can get a room equal to a Cat. 3 for $9,700!!! That includes air, pre-night hotel, insurance, port charges taxes etc. Remember this is a holiday cruise. The cat. 3 on the Magic for us is a little over $11,000. This is a huge price difference. We are still deciding on which one to book, we also have a mini-suite that is about like a cat. 4 for $7,413 or just hubby and I on the Dawn out of San Juan for, get this, $5,508!!! Remember this includes all the extra fees, air and a staying in the hotel the night before! All three are 7 day cruises and all three are rooms with verandahs.

The Wonder pkg. was costing us $6,689 and that started on day one of the 3/4 pkg. Plus we would need to add on our food for the first 3 and it is only a 4 day cruise.

RCCL was a lot higher according to our TA. So we didn't consider that line. I just am surprised I always thought Princess was a pricey line. I guess Disney is the pricey line. Can any one out there tell me what they thought of the child's program on Princess? Our daughter is 10. She hated Carnival and loves DCL. Would we be better going alone or taking her on Princess?
Thanks Kathy

 

[peagreenid]

Although I haven't sailed on Princess, I have booked many of my clients on them. I've never heard a complaint from anyone. Those that love Princess tend to stick with them. One of my favorite clients always books a balcony or a mini-suite. She sent me pictures of their last mini-suite. They are quite a bit more plush than the cat 4 I saw on DCL which is really the same as a Cat 9-5 as far as floor plan goes with the exception of the extra space for the murphy bed. The mini-suite had a round bar and they trim the rooms in a lot of wood. Depending on which deck you are on the balconies can be rather large as well. Princess also offers many upgrades, if you let your travel agent know that you would like an upgrade if it were available. Over half of my clients booking with Princess have been offered some sort of upgrade. I don't think that you are going wrong, just let us all know how you like it when you get back. My DH wants to do alaska next year, princess is the one we have decided to go with.

smiles Patty

 

[my3kids]

We went on Princess years ago and we had a great time. One thing that sticks in my mind was the food.....a much larger selection than on DCL, which was just fine-no complaints. I don't know if this is still the case with Princess or not, but we would arrive and be given a menu for appetisers, then a menu for salads, then soups, then entrees, then desserts, and probably another after that! There were so many choices for each course. The wait staff was wonderful! My husband said the cabin attendant took our dirty laundry away and brought it back clean by the end of the day....but I don't remember that. That sounds too good to be true and I think I'd remember it!! Again, it has been years and I think the cruise industry has changed a lot as cruising has become a much more common vacation. I would not worry about having a wonderful time on Princess.

 

[Melrosgirl]

the kids' program on Princess is wonderful. I was on the Golden Princess last September. My dd loved the kid's program (she was 4 at the time). As a matter of fact, she cried the last day of the cruise because she was going to miss her teachers whom she knew by name. (On Disney, she loved the program also, but didn't know any of the teachers' names due to the size of the program I guess. She didn't cry either when we left last month, lol.)

Side note: I booked my cruise last month literally 5 days beforehand. I booked the 4 night Wonder and it cost $2800 for a category 5. My TA also checked into another Princess SEVEN night cruise for the same time period. 7 nights was going to be $2700, lol. I still chose Disney as I needed a Disney fix at the time. She thought I was nuts which I kind of am.

Disney can beat all other lines with just one thing really: embarkation and disembarkation. Princess was a nice line but a little stuffy. Disney was more fun (but not tacky fun like Carnival). Princess is up there with RCCL actually.

Have fun either way!

 

[PRaffen]

Have to admit after reading this thread, I'm having second thoughts about going with Disney. Sounds like I could book a much longer cruise, nicer accommodations for less money.

Melrosgirl, what specifically was your deciding factor to spend the extra $$$ for Disney?

 

[tecdavidt]

Thanks for all the responses. We love taking our daughter on Disney. She has been on the Magic 5 times and feels comfortable on the ship. We are also have another Spring Break cruise booked for March '04. So we do feel the Disney price is worth it when we bring our daughter. I just didn't like the fact on the 4 day they switched our day at sea. I prefer that day at the end of the 4 day cruise because a 4 day cruise is so rushed to begin with.

Last night we decided to do the New Year's Eve cruise without her. We have been on Celebrity twice and loved it. It is a posh cruiseline. We just decided to try another line. RCCL, owners of Celebrity, was higher in price than Princess and as I wrote above, I always though Princess was the pricey cruiseline.

I was glad to read the children's program was good. Our decision isn't set in stone yet. We have until Friday to make our decisions. I'll post to let everyone know what we decide on.
Thanks again Kathy

 

[Melrosgirl]

Originally posted by PRaffen


Melrosgirl, what specifically was your deciding factor to spend the extra $$$ for Disney?

Well, my TA asked me that too, lol. I'm a Disney addict, obviously, and I have always wanted to try a Disney cruise. Plus we only had a week for the vacation and by taking the 4 night cruise, we could stay at WDW for "free" since we are Disney Vacation Club members. That's how I justified it. It was worth the money and it went very smooth once we got there.

hth

 

[pc_in_CO]

One thing about the kids club on Princess is that it is only open certain hours a day. Also, you have to pay for the clubs after 10pm....at least that's the way it was on the Grand Princess a year ago.

 

[tecdavidt]

That part is true on after 10:00 pm. Disney I believe is the only line that does not charge extra after this time. I also think Disney is the only line that does not close the program during meal times. That is a plus for the Mouse line, if the child wants to eat with their new friends, they can!

Still pondering which cruise to take. I want the large room on the Golden, Hubby prefers the itinerary on the Dawn. Princess internet rates are high, no flat charge like DCL. It is $7.50 per 15 min. Ouch. Hubby keeps track of our company via the internet when we cruise so he is online a lot. Kathy

 

[donnier]

tecdavidt,

We have done 4 cruises on Princess. The kids programs are great. Our 5 year old had a blast last year when we did the Eastern on the Golden Princess.

Princess is not pricey, but is also not "Carnival".

You can not go wrong if you book on Princess. We had a verandah cabin on our last cruise and loved it. You will find the Princess cabins a little smaller, but not beyond tolerance.

We are doing our 1st Disney cruise in July, our schedule would not allow for a full week this year, and Carnival is not for us, so we decided to pay the premium for Disney. When I say premium, I mean it. I am paying more for a Navigators verandah cabin for 3 days for 3 people on Disney than I paid for a mid-ship verandah cabin for the same 3 people for a week on Princess. If our schedule had allowed for a full week, I probably would have booked another on Princess.

Of course, all of this (except price info) is just my opinion.

Donnie