The priced-out pity party thread.

[Ofinn]

Apparently lots of people are, supply and demand, as the demand for a product goes up, so goes the price. If DCL was not selling cabins, the prices would fall. That's why they keep raising the tickets prices for Park admission year after year, except during the recession a few years ago.

Yeah, but there are still lots of rooms available on their Summer cruises including Norway and Iceland. They are going to have to lower the prices to fill those rooms. I know what supply and demand is, and if the demand was there they wouldn't being offering all the last minute discounts. There is only one WDW, but there are lots of cruise lines to choose from.

 

[NeesieOnaBoat]

I enjoy hearing the comparisons from other lines. I've only done Carnival and frankly, I enjoyed that because it was my first experience. However, not I'm afraid I'm going to be 'ship picky', lol. So I'm looking at the lines that are considered Luxury lines and I'm finding the prices the same or less than DCL. I'm doing Alaska this summer with my parents and siblings on HAL and we are ages 43, 47,55,76 and 77, but it' not until August so sadly I have nothing to report about HAL yet. It's not a Luxury line, but I did get a verandah for 3 adults for 5,500. Which is less than I'm paying for one person on the June 13 2015 Magic out of Copenhagen! So I'll have to get my head around not expecting 'POSH' and focus on enjoying my family, the views and then excursions.

 

[MandJHuff]

Yeah, but there are still lots of rooms available on their Summer cruises including Norway and Iceland. They are going to have to lower the prices to fill those rooms. I know what supply and demand is, and if the demand was there they wouldn't being offering all the last minute discounts. There is only one WDW, but there are lots of cruise lines to choose from.

But it's not that simple. Just because there are rooms available, doesn't mean Disney has to drop prices to fill it. If you can sell 100 cabins at $5000, you only have to sell 50 of them at $10000 to make the same money, have less work and less supplies needed. I am sure Disney has done the math of how many cabins they are willing to let go unoccupied in order to maximize their profits. Just because a cabin is empty, doesn't mean you need to give it away. When you look at the profits Disney reports, the companies they own (ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Lucas, etc..) they seem to know what they are doing business wise.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Adventure is out there!

Word.

 

[Ofinn]

But it's not that simple. Just because there are rooms available, doesn't mean Disney has to drop prices to fill it. If you can sell 100 cabins at $5000, you only have to sell 50 of them at $10000 to make the same money, have less work and less supplies needed. I am sure Disney has done the math of how many cabins they are willing to let go unoccupied in order to maximize their profits. Just because a cabin is empty, doesn't mean you need to give it away. When you look at the profits Disney reports, the companies they own (ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Lucas, etc..) they seem to know what they are doing business wise.

I've been on 6 cruise in the last 18 months all booked with substantial discounts well below opening day prices. I can only speak from my personal experience. They will fill the cabins. They will offer them to TA's, military, airline employees, and cm's at really low prices. Cruise lines want the cabins filled,and disneys no different. Yes Disney offers all these discounts because I have booked them.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

FYI - Royal recently announced their 2016 AK sailings and opened more Europe cruises along with 50% off second guest, deposit, and second beverage package. I sailed AK and WCarib w/ them and for the value, I'd go back w/ what DCL has done.

 

[ALK$Disney]

This is not really surprising. These have been the standard peak season prices for European cruises on Disney. I wouldn't say we are priced out, but we would have to cut back on our frivolous spending for a couple of years to sail on the European cruises. DW wants sail concierge 12 night Med when DD is 12-13. DD will be 9 this year so we have a few years to save.

 

[Bree]

They aren't filling the ships and selling them out at regular prices. The GT rates have been offered on almost every sailing so far this year! DCL does not offer over the top service and amenities to justify the prices that are in line with true luxury cruise lines like Cunard & Regent. I enjoyed our Disney cruise and I'm looking forward to the one I have booked this fall, but I'm thinking I may venture elsewhere. I never experienced the over the top magical service that I see posted time and time again here. It was right in line with all the RCCL cruises I have taken.

 

[Danni75]

The thing is that nothing is guaranteed. Look at some of the threads on DIS and you have drunk people, chair hogging, some service problems (grant it very rare), food being hit-or-miss sometimes, childcare issues, etc. Is it less likely? Probably.

I suppose that with Disney having 4 ships, and the other lines having many, many more ships, you're more likely to hear of problems on the other lines just because of the probability being higher by a higher passenger count. Disney, of course, is a leader in service-related things - that's why they charge what they do and why they have that reputation. You walk into a Disney ship expecting to be well taken care of and that things will be done right or get fixed right away if possible. That's great and all, but you have to think that other lines wouldn't be able to maintain customer loyalty at all if they were indeed THAT bad.

Magical worlds are fantastic for little ones. We're just about out of that need, and more into the "we want to have fun!" active lifestyle, so perhaps for us we don't have that pressing need. I'm sure at the right price/sale we *might* go DCL in the future, but for now, I don't see it. Heck, $30,000-$40,000 would pay for nearly all 4 years of college that my DD wants to go to. I could really set her up with a great future with no student loans weighing her down.

Unfortunately, families have to think like that. And I think that's something Disney is forgetting. If you look at the Destination America special, it talks about how Walt Disney wanted to make a place where all families could come and enjoy the place as a family, enjoy something special and magical as a family. They are starting to miss the part where it was supposed to be "all" families, not just the wealthy.

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. It is very difficult since, as you indeed mentionned, it is dependant on your current need, and in our case, we want the Disney experience. We do actually very little Disney breaks, but this one we were looking for... tough call.

 

[lbgraves]

I've been meaning to ask old-timers if the same thing happened last year. I guess it did?

Yup! Our previous spring break cruise the week before Easter on the Fantasy went up from around 6k to 7800. I will find the thread later at home and post it here. I used to appreciate being able to cruise every year on DCL. We started in 2003 and could get a porthole for 3200-3600 for many years. There is no way we could justify doing that at today's pricing.

 

[pcannizzaro76]

The Norway-Iceland cruise this summer will be our 6th Disney cruise, and we have enjoyed all of them. However this pricing is way out of control, and I do not see us doing another one anytime soon. The price difference for my family of four for an inside stateroom booked on opening day last year to this year is $2,000. Unfortunately, my wife works in the school system, so the only time we can travel is during peak times. It will be hard to justify a Disney Cruise versus another luxury brand for half of the price. Hopefully, competition from other luxury brands such as the new Virgin Cruise Line will help drive the price down.

 

[lucas]

I'm sure they will fill the ships at these prices. But, who are these people spending this kind of money? The same people booking the deluxe WDW hotels, I guess. It is just dh and myself, no kids. And, while we "could" stay at the Grand Floridian - I refuse to pay those prices, too. For what they charge for a hotel room (not including food) for a couple of nights, we could go on a cruise for a week and food is included.

We love Disney as much as anyone, and we have also cruised on many lines. Believe me, other cruise lines have been sailing way before Disney and do a fine job at it. Get our there and try something new. It is exciting to go on a different line, and experience something new.

Here are our past cruises (copied from my Cruise Critic signature). We've had many fabulous cruises on many different lines:

Past cruises: Bermuda Star, Majestic, Oceanic (x2), Noordam, Constitution, Vera Cruz, Nieuw Amsterdam, Rotterdam (x2), Westerdam, Veendam, Rotterdam VI, Maasdam, Grand Princess (x3), Ocean Princess, Explorer of the Seas, Golden Princess, Disney Magic (x2), Voyager of the Seas, Disney Wonder (x3), Emerald Princess, Disney Dream (x2), Oasis of the Seas, Disney Fantasy, Zuiderdam, Allure of the Seas, Eurodam, Ruby Princess, Regal Princess, Caribbean Princess

 

[DisneySisters]

Pulling up my stump and joining the wienie roast. I booked the BI, but felt a big sting when I plunked down the deposit, with the thought that we'll most likely cancel. We booked a 5 day on the Wonder March 2016, probably just be happy with that. With the money we would spend on BI, we seriously are looking at a two bedroom ocean view condo in North Carolina for 180,000.00. By the time I pay for the cruise, airfare, shore excursions and hotels, I figure that will cover about 1/4 of the condo.

 

[AquaDame]

Yeah, but there are still lots of rooms available on their Summer cruises including Norway and Iceland. They are going to have to lower the prices to fill those rooms. I know what supply and demand is, and if the demand was there they wouldn't being offering all the last minute discounts. There is only one WDW, but there are lots of cruise lines to choose from.

Some will argue that the ship is what makes it of course, which is why these special cruise prices don't bug me too much. We're doing a land version of the British Isles this summer since that is the draw for us - the COUNTRY. I won't sail a Disney ship to Norway then I guess!

I've been on 6 cruise in the last 18 months all booked with substantial discounts well below opening day prices. I can only speak from my personal experience. They will fill the cabins. They will offer them to TA's, military, airline employees, and cm's at really low prices. Cruise lines want the cabins filled,and disneys no different. Yes Disney offers all these discounts because I have booked them.

OK, the vast majority of us can't book your special deals though. This is one of the things that aggravates me about DCL - why do they offer actual deals to so few? Like you said - they need to fill the ship, and I would like to give them my money at a good rate too. Your 'personal experience' sounds very much off the mark for 90% of us - we don't all fall into one of these categories that you obviously do, so why brag? I prefer general discounts personally... no 'Florida rates' no 'PIN codes'. Why create an artificial "cool club" and then not keep it on the down low?

 

[JimGA]

Yeah, but there are still lots of rooms available on their Summer cruises including Norway and Iceland. They are going to have to lower the prices to fill those rooms. I know what supply and demand is, and if the demand was there they wouldn't being offering all the last minute discounts. There is only one WDW, but there are lots of cruise lines to choose from.

Well there is your answer. Just book last minute for the good deals.

 

[KashasMom]

Yeah, but there are still lots of rooms available on their Summer cruises including Norway and Iceland. They are going to have to lower the prices to fill those rooms. I know what supply and demand is, and if the demand was there they wouldn't being offering all the last minute discounts. There is only one WDW, but there are lots of cruise lines to choose from.

But...even the GTY rates now would be more than what the pricing was last year. For instance, we booked the Iceland cruise 2nd day of booking at $7,000. The category had sold out and now it's available again for just over $11,000!!! So even a GTY is going to make Disney money because they're not lowering the price by $4,000!!

 

[Ofinn]

But...even the GTY rates now would be more than what the pricing was last year. For instance, we booked the Iceland cruise 2nd day of booking at $7,000. The category had sold out and now it's available again for just over $11,000!!! So even a GTY is going to make Disney money because they're not lowering the price by $4,000!!

I was just curious what category did you book. I'm looking at 9500 for 2a 2k cat 9c. That is with an OBB. What category did you get for 7k and how many people. I didn't realize it had gone up that much. I really didn't look at it last year.

 

[Ofinn]

Well there is your answer. Just book last minute for the good deals.

That's what I've been doing. It's easy going to Florida last minute. I'm not so sure about Europe though. I like spontaneity, but Europe may require a little more thought and planning.

 

[Happy100]

Wow the Summer 2016 are way too high! I am so glad we booked April 2016 spring break cruise this past January. The cost for 2A,1K for Magic 5B was 4200 with OBB discount. We are lucky because we are in WA state and have one of the last Spring Breaks in the US so typically the cost is lower then March spring breaks. I will be looking for Spring Break 2017 it looks like and hopping we get lucky again!

 

[Ofinn]

OK, the vast majority of us can't book your special deals though. This is one of the things that aggravates me about DCL - why do they offer actual deals to so few? Like you said - they need to fill the ship, and I would like to give them my money at a good rate too. Your 'personal experience' sounds very much off the mark for 90% of us - we don't all fall into one of these categories that you obviously do, so why brag? I prefer general discounts personally... no 'Florida rates' no 'PIN codes'. Why create an artificial "cool club" and then not keep it on the down low?[/QUOTE]

No 7 of my cruises have been with GT rates. I have only taken 2 cruises with special rates. GT rates are open to everyone. I was not bragging I was just pointing out what cruise lines do to fill their ships. Some people on here seem to think they fill their ships because everyone pays full price and there is such a high demand. I would much rather book a cruise ahead of time at a fair price than wait on a GT rate, but I like to vacation more than once a year and since I'm not rich it's pretty much the only way I can afford to cruise so often.