Have the DCL Prices gone up?

[Renee D]

I just came back from my first cruise, and I'm hyped and ready to go again. I just checked prices for next April, and they were a whole lot more expensive than what I paid for this cruise. I just wanted to know if the prices had gone up or would it be best for me to book at a later time. Where can I get the best prices? Or, are they all the same. Thanks for any help!

Renee

 

[staceymerrill]

Generally, the further out you book a DCL cruise, the better the pricing....A good discount TA will give you better pricing than DCL.....

 

[erikthewise]

Yes, of course they've gone up. They go up every year, or maybe every day. And people keep paying it.

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

If the dates you are looking at for next APril are near Easter or Spring Break the prices will be higher. Try another week.

 

[joksten2000]

I went to RCCL site the other day and priced acruise, at first it seemed very cheap but when I lloked at the cabin size it was 117sq ft. Thats a closet. When I checked a cabin equal to DCL the price was almost the same. I don't understand what everyone is complaining about!

 

[Renee D]

I'm not complaining but merely asking. I realize that prices go up, but it just seemed like a large increase to me.

 

[Sheetshouse]

I went to RCCL site the other day and priced acruise, at first it seemed very cheap but when I lloked at the cabin size it was 117sq ft. Thats a closet. When I checked a cabin equal to DCL the price was almost the same. I don't understand what everyone is complaining about!

I wonder what cruise you were looking at? We just did a RCCL cruise out of Port Canaveral on April 2nd. Before I booked RCCL I checked DCL.

DCL - Ocean view room $6000.00
RCCL - Balcony Room $4000.00

From what I am hearing on these boards people are getting tired of the high Disney prices and are looking elsewhere. I can tell you the RCCL was every bit as nice as DCL and the kids enjoyed it more. We are booked on the DCL Med cruise and the kids want to switch to RCCL.

 

[PatricenPete]

Disney prices are NOT comparable to RCL. Now, I am not knocking Disney here, but Disney is far more expensive than RCL.

As an example in November, I took a 3-day cruise with my mom, gram, and DS out of Port Canaveral on the Sovereign of the Seas. Even though DS is an infant, we paid full price for him. We had 2 seperate rooms. Total: $1182 for both rooms.

We just took a three day cruise in March out of Port Canaveral on the Wonder. It was myself, DH, and DS and only ONE room. DS was considered "free" excluding port fees. We paid $1782.00.

To me that's a HUGE difference, but as long as DCL keeps cruising at full capacity they have no reason to reduce their prices.

 

[OurDogCisco]

As an example in November, I took a 3-day cruise with my mom, gram, and DS out of Port Canaveral on the Sovereign of the Seas. Even though DS is an infant, we paid full price for him. We had 2 seperate rooms. Total: $1182 for both rooms.

Just curious which one you like better Disney or SOS?

 

[PatricenPete]

Honestly, I liked them both. The Disney Wonder is just such a magnificent ship, but there are some perks to cruising with RCCL.

For example - they have buffets for every meal, plus midnight buffets even on the 3 nights. The food was excellent and there was always a huge variety. I wasn't as thrilled with the food on DCL. In my humble opinion, RCCL's food was better. Also, if you are into it, RCCL has a casino, which is always fun late night. Throwing a couple bucks into a slot machine and coming out a winner - that's fun to me. Though I don't mind that the Disney cruise doesn't have a casino.

RCCL has its own island, Cocoa Cay, which is MAGNIFICENT. I can say that I think that it gives Castaway Cay a run for it's money. My only problem with it is that you have to be tendered in and with a toddler that wasn't too much fun, I was scared the entire time on the tender, so it is nice that Disney docks right up to Castaway Cay.

If you are traveling with a toddler, I'd say Disney is your best bet - there is more for them to do: Mickey's ear pool (they can't go in any pool on RCCL) and Flounders. There is really not much for kids under 3 to do on RCCL. For the most part, I had to make my own fun for my son which wasn't a problem, but there was no service like Flounders on RCCL if I wanted to take a trip to the casino or one of the clubs, whatever. For kids 3 and up, there were a ton of activities.

All in all, I will probably continue cruising with Disney, but love knowing that I can flip over to RCCL and still have a great time especially if Disney's pricing continues to go through the roof!

 

[JeannieH]

Its Horses for Courses: you get what you pay for, and expect less if you go "cheap".

That said, there are real bargains to be had: the "Princess" lines are pretty good: especially in Europe if you cant afford the Disney Med cruises.

Disney will always attract: whatever they charge, some people - somewhere -will pay the going rate. We thought WDW prices were pretty expensive for a family wanting to visit daily for a week: but......we paid it, and loved every minute. Disney provide good value for money - and long may it last.

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,

Yup, the prices going up every year is a industry trend and Disney always leads the industry. Not just with their DCL pricing, but also with their hotels and ticket pricing too. If you lived in the Tampa Bay/Orlando area it even makes the local news sometimes at the begining of the year that Disney has gone up and the other local theme parks will follow. DCL "is" more expensive than a compriable size ship in the RCCL or Carnival cruiselines, but it really is also worth it. It's just not always easy coming up with that kind of money. I know first hand as my family started cruising many years ago for our annual Christmas get togethers and with a CM discount DCL was always affordable. Then, when I retired from the company I had to find another cruiseline that we could more easily afford, so we started with Carnival (but, it wasn't for us) and then switched to RCCL. We have even done a suite on the Enchantment of the Seas for 5 days for less than it would cost us to do DCL. But, none of these other cruiselines are DCL and they never will be. We have scraped and saved and instead of doing our normal Oceanview or Balconies are doing insides just to be able sail DCL again. It really is worth it. And, because it's worth it and DCL knows it....they will continue to raise their prices.
My suggestion, book as far out as you can come up with the deposits. Then, as you can add any amount of money that you can to your reservation by going online to DCL's website and imputing your reservation number. You'll be surprised that how fast even adding $25 a week to your account will help pay off your balance. Hubby and I did this for our DCL cruise that we just got off in Feb. and we had that thing paid off in September vs the actual date it was needed which was Novemeber!

 

[NancyIL]

I went to RCCL site the other day and priced acruise, at first it seemed very cheap but when I lloked at the cabin size it was 117sq ft. Thats a closet. When I checked a cabin equal to DCL the price was almost the same. I don't understand what everyone is complaining about!

You were probably looking at either Sovereign of the Seas or Majesty of the Seas - both at 119 sq. ft. for their inside cabins. Sovereign is also the oldest ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet (1988). I sailed on Monarch of the Seas last month on a 4-day Baha Mexico cruise with my daughter. The Monarch is also an older ship, with very small cabins - but the price was right (less than $600 for 2 of us) and has a great itinerary. I LOVED that cruise, and I'd gladly sail on the Monarch again.