Why are Disney cruises so expensive?

[tvguy]

Same reason why hotel rooms in Vegas are cheap... The casinos and alcohol subsidize the rooms.

You pay for your hotel room in Vegas? Don't let my mom see that, if the room isn't free, and doesn't include a food credit, and a cash bonus, she won't go to Vegas, Tahoe or Reno. She goes at least once a month.

 

[julielouhoo]

We have only sailed RCI and DCL. I will give you my most honest pros and cons of the differences. Disney is Disney, yes, that's true. The shows are far superior. Really magical and first class. The cabins are much larger and the split bathrooms are genius. I think the programming is more family oriented on Disney. Also, because of the expense, you don't get the college/spring break/boose cruise atomosphere that is present on other cruise lines. I have sailed the Magic and the Wonder and both are really beautiful ships.
Having said that, I have always had as wonderful service on RCCL. Spring break will be my first RCCL sailing with my children, so I don't have any personal experience with their kids clubs, but on our first Disney cruise, we met several people who said their older children (10+) were much happier with the children's programming on Royal Caribbean. I just came off the Wonder and one thing I really didn't like was that all teens, 13-17 are together. There is a huge difference in maturity and experience between a 13 year old and a 17 year old. My 13 year old daughter is 5 ft 5 and very pretty. She really was uncomfortable with how many 17 year olds continually hit on her. On RCCL, the 13 & 14 year olds are together and then the 15-17 year olds are together, which is much more appropriate.
At the end of this cruise, at the farewell party, a woman I met noticed I was by myself and asked where my children were. I told her they really weren't into the characters anymore, but I loved the fond farewell. She asked me why in the world I would pay to sail Disney, if my children weren't interested in the characters. I thought she must have missed out on a lot during the cruise because I find the Disney Cruise is so much more than characters.

 

[Babs417]

Just as the saying goes, Yor pay for what you get!

 

[Sully]

Quality. I think more things are included in the price than other cruise lines. Free soda. You do have to like Disney. To sum it up, DW's aunt took us on a 15 night Princess cruise rt trip from LA to Hawaii. On the comment card, we mentioned that everyone from the Captain on down needs to be trained by Disney.

 

[yndygo]

Ok....please don't freak out on me here people....I'm not that into Disney. Never have been & I don't know that I ever will be. I know LOTS of people are, my dh & I are just not some of them.

We haven't cruised with Disney before, but have with other lines. Why are we willing to pay the higher price to go with Disney when we go next spring? Because of two reasons; well, one reason with two subsets:

1) We are parents now.
a) Our dd is in love with Micky Mouse (& Cinderella, & Beauty & the Beast, etc) & I know she will be the happiest toddler on the face of the earth for 7 days.
b) They have such a fantastic kids program that I won't worry about keeping her entertained while on board.

Lastly on a selfish note, I really don't want to go to the parks. I know, I know....I guess I'm weird that way. I also know that in a few more years I will HAVE to take my dd (& likely a future child) to either Disneyland or WDW, so for now....the cruise is the best compromise. Disney for her, ports I want to go to.

And while it is more money (somewhat surprisingly so), I think the wonderment my dd will have on her face will be worth every penny. Scratch that...it will be priceless.

You know, I'm with you on the parks... but I'm a touch agoraphobic, and not really into most of the rides, to be honest.

The HUGE thing for us is the effect it has on my DD (4 1/2) - and the ships are a FABULOUS option for her age compared to the parks.
1 1/2 lines for the teacup ride vs. 5 min waits to meet any princess? Easy call.

I love Disney myself - but haven't been to a park since 1985 when my Brother used to work at WDW.
I know we'll have to go to them in a few years - for her sake - but for now, the ship is the BEST option.

 

[crzy4magic]

Disney is a niche player in the cruise ship industry, as such they do not need - or desire - to give volume discounts to keep the ships full. They have a VERY sophisticated pricing model - anyone who has tried to book a highly desired cruise on the first day of availability has seen prices for the same cabin skyrocket as the ship fills up. This is identical the what the Disney resorts do - they have a price and that is what they charge. In high season, it aligns with the competion outside of DisneyWorld. Off Season - you can do much better at a variety of properties off site.

But - DCL is the one part of Disney that I don't feel is raping my wallet. I detest going to the theme parks - not just for the ticket price, but for how your wallet is gouged for things that are necessary, like food and drink. DCL has chosen a different course - except for Palo and movie snacks - all food is inclusive (try that on NCL or RCCL!), Soda is free if you are will to walk to Deck 9 (Tom McAlpin, President of DCL at a Q/A session on the Magic said that for DCL it is under a $10 million a year cost, for the other cruise lines with a dozen or two dozen ships it would be to big a revenue hit), the Disney ships have the best separation of kids/teens/adult only of any ship out there (DCL is actually trying to cater to travellers without children because, according to McAlpin, they have not been able to accept reservations for all cabins to families because they had exceeded the capacity of the kids clubs - that is why Ocean Quest was built on the Magic).

The other thing you get on DCL is that DCL treats the crew members better - crew members want to get to Disney. On our Panama Cruise our assistant server had been on Princess and Celebrity as a crew member - she loves Disney and doesn't want to leave. Our Cabin Stewart had sailed on Crystal and Princess - he wanted to be on Disney and intended to stay as long as he sailed. When you have crew that is treated well and wants to stay - they are happy and treat us - the passengers - better. And they do like the passengers - having twins we are an easier to remember family - I ran into servers and cabin stewarts from past cruises and they wanted to say hi - they came to our table to say hello and see how the boys had grown. That sense that we have on the Magic makes us want to go back again.

And yes - since I don't gamble - not having the casino is a major plus!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Disney is a niche player in the cruise ship industry, as such they do not need - or desire - to give volume discounts to keep the ships full. They have a VERY sophisticated pricing model - anyone who has tried to book a highly desired cruise on the first day of availability has seen prices for the same cabin skyrocket as the ship fills up. This is identical the what the Disney resorts do - they have a price and that is what they charge. In high season, it aligns with the competion outside of DisneyWorld. Off Season - you can do much better at a variety of properties off site.

But - DCL is the one part of Disney that I don't feel is raping my wallet. I detest going to the theme parks - not just for the ticket price, but for how your wallet is gouged for things that are necessary, like food and drink. DCL has chosen a different course - except for Palo and movie snacks - all food is inclusive (try that on NCL or RCCL!), Soda is free if you are will to walk to Deck 9 (Tom McAlpin, President of DCL at a Q/A session on the Magic said that for DCL it is under a $10 million a year cost, for the other cruise lines with a dozen or two dozen ships it would be to big a revenue hit), the Disney ships have the best separation of kids/teens/adult only of any ship out there (DCL is actually trying to cater to travellers without children because, according to McAlpin, they have not been able to accept reservations for all cabins to families because they had exceeded the capacity of the kids clubs - that is why Ocean Quest was built on the Magic).

The other thing you get on DCL is that DCL treats the crew members better - crew members want to get to Disney. On our Panama Cruise our assistant server had been on Princess and Celebrity as a crew member - she loves Disney and doesn't want to leave. Our Cabin Stewart had sailed on Crystal and Princess - he wanted to be on Disney and intended to stay as long as he sailed. When you have crew that is treated well and wants to stay - they are happy and treat us - the passengers - better. And they do like the passengers - having twins we are an easier to remember family - I ran into servers and cabin stewarts from past cruises and they wanted to say hi - they came to our table to say hello and see how the boys had grown. That sense that we have on the Magic makes us want to go back again.

And yes - since I don't gamble - not having the casino is a major plus!

Very well written and informative post.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Another thing I forgot--other cruise ships have casino's that supplement your bill. They can charge less b/c they have an extra profit source. Now you may or may not gamble...but without that revenue, Disney has always had to charge a bit more just for the lack of a casino.

 

[misseulalie]

You pay for your hotel room in Vegas? Don't let my mom see that, if the room isn't free, and doesn't include a food credit, and a cash bonus, she won't go to Vegas, Tahoe or Reno. She goes at least once a month.

She sounds like my uncle with the Casinos on the Indian reservations in MN. Free hotels, all you can eat prime rib, free shows...

He thinks they give it to him for free, he doesn't realize he had to gamble/lose hundreds of dollars (maybe thousands?) to get his "free" stuff.

 

[NancyIL]

I cruise primarily for the destination rather than the ship or cruiseline, and I book by price. For whatever reasons DCL charges more than the competition, price is the main reason DCL hasn't been my cruiseline of choice for the Caribbean cruises I have booked. I've been on Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Princess, and enjoyed them all. I'll be on my first Disney cruise in January with my mom - and that's because she lives 15 minutes from Port Canaveral, wants to go on another cruise, and can no longer go alone. This time the cruise is definitely not for the destination, but for the ship. I booked a date when Dreams Unlimited had group pricing, so the price wasn't too hard to swallow.

I have 3 other cruises booked for 2008, in addition to the 4-day DCL cruise in January, and price was definitely a factor in making my choices. I'm going to the southern Caribbean in March on RCI Adventure of the Seas with 2 of my kids, to Alaska in July on HAL Veendam with a friend, and to Italy and Croatia in October on RCI Legend of the Seas with my husband. The southern Caribbean cruise was truly a steal at the time I booked it in May, especially since the cruise ends on Easter Sunday. (The price has since doubled for the inside cabin I booked.) Even Alaska is reasonable for a cruise in peak season - comparable in price to a 7-day DCL Caribbean cruise during value season.

I briefly booked both Disney Panama Canal cruises and the Mediterranean, but cancelled due to other plans. Instead we went on a Baltic cruise in 2005 (RCI), to Alaska in 2007 (Princess), and my son's high school graduation will be right after the westbound Panama Canal cruise ends in 2008 - so I need to be home then. One of these days I hope to go on a Disney cruise for a great destination, as well as for the ship. However, I have NO plans to abandon other cruiselines.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Short, sweet, and true.

Why does a Chevy Tahoe have a list price of $34,995 and a Cadillac Escalade have a list price of $55,640? It's the same truck. You get a bit more equiment with the Cadillac, but you get the Cadillac name. And there is nobody in the world that can tell it me it costs GM $20,700 more to build the Escalade even though it has more equipment on it. You do get some more value, but you get a great big chunk of "perceived value" that folks are willing to pay more for, same with a Disney cruise.

Thanks TV guy, thats an analogy I can use on DH that he would understand.

 

[thomprod]

The quality of the children's programming has already been mentioned. I believe this is a large part of the value we receive when we book a Disney cruise. There are two parts to this: First, providing parents with some adult time while their children are being entertained and engaged in a safe and fun environment which is much more than just free babysitting. Second, there are many activities that the whole family can enjoy together, including recreation, movies, shows and dinner entertainment. Providing all these benefits would cost quite a bit of money at home. It would be a logistical nightmare to schedule so many activities in such a short time, but this value is included in the price of your cruise.

 

[Ted C]

Most of these increases have to do with fuel costs. It has severely affected everybody in the entertainment industry. I'm in the restaurant business on a major scale and I can tell you the price of food in the last couple of years has skyrocketed in every area. We are paying $1.50 more a pound for cheeses, $2.50 more a pound for certain beef, $1.50 more a pound for chicken, etc. I've never seen anything like it. We've had to raise prices three times in the last couple of years to try to stay up. Before that we hadn't raised prices for nearly three years. Folks, this fuel cost is getting everybody. You won't see it as clearly being a normal consumer but when you start buying thousands of pounds of product it becomes very apparent...

I have no problem with Disney charging more due to the circumstances AS LONG as the quality, quantity, and level of service remains the same. The other lines will have to cut costs somewhere and if it's not in increased costs to us then it will be in quality of food and quantity/quality of service provided. However, that being said, no doubt the people who drop all their money at the casinos will certainly help subsidize the issue. Of course when it's all said and done they paid more than a Disney cruise, in most cases, once you add up toal monies spent.

Point being, we're in a whole other world now that gas is $3.00 per gallon plus. It will have devastating effects on the whole economy if it stays here for too long. We had better get used to paying more for everything because it's probably not going to change, except for the worse, for quite a while. I would bet DCL is making no more profit than they were 2-years a go. I know we're not in our business.


Side note:
I'm praying for the hurricane victims of Hondurus and for the off shore wells in Mexico. If Felix does his thing then many lives will be lost and our gas will go to $5.00 plus a gallon for sure.

 

[tvguy]

She sounds like my uncle with the Casinos on the Indian reservations in MN. Free hotels, all you can eat prime rib, free shows...

He thinks they give it to him for free, he doesn't realize he had to gamble/lose hundreds of dollars (maybe thousands?) to get his "free" stuff.

Even though mom only takes $40, I suspect they still make a little money on her every trip even with the $10 cash back, hotel room, and a couple of meals.

 

[101DalmFan]

...snip...

However, that being said, no doubt the people who drop all their money at the casinos will certainly help subsidize the issue. Of course when it's all said and done they paid more than a Disney cruise, in most cases, once you add up toal monies spent.

...snip...

Hit the nail on the head there! The price for the cruise itself is just part of the cost of vacation. I remember several years back when my BIL commented, upon returning from a Med cruise with his family (wife and three teenagers), how high his bill was for just soda pop! And he never even mentioned how much he and his DW dropped in the casino, but I'm sure they dropped quite a bit.

You know, I can't complain about the price of a Disney cruise, I really can't. Our upcoming 7-night cruise, which I booked while onboard last year (Cat 9), is costing us just over $300/night. If I go to an all-inclusive resort with comparable dining and entertainment options, I know realistically I'm going to drop likely about $275/night, and even all-inclusive doesn't usually mean the wide variety of food options -- like free ice cream, free burgers by the pool, etc -- available on DCL. And I won't get free soda pop, I won't get a casino-free environment, I likely won't get an adults-only pool area and coffee lounge. I also likely won't get a mostly smoke-free environment. I won't get a bar environment where you're not made to feel guilty if you're not downing alcoholic beverages (DH and I do drink, but rarely since I started on meds where I shouldn't really be imbibing). I won't get free movies. I won't get to sleep in the same bed each night and yet still travel from country to country. I won't get a split bathroom so that if someone is having a shower before dinner I can still brush my teeth etc. If I need to keep milk or juice cold I likely won't have any kind of fridge in my room. And I sure won't get the fun interaction of the Disney characters -- which, for me, is a HUGE part of the enjoyment of the cruise.

On my cruise last year -- my first ever -- I travelled with a girlfriend who has been on at least a dozen cruises, but this was her first DCL adventure. She was very impressed -- with the size of the cabins and the storage space offered, with the dining rotation system, with the "bar fridge" in the room, with the split bathrooms, with the adults-only areas, with the whole Castaway Cay experience. She said to me afterwards that she has no interest in a Caribbean cruise again, she's been so many times, but still she would jump at the chance for another DCL cruise even back to the Caribbean

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

One thing DCL are having to reconsider is using Port Canaveral, as this now adds costs, mainly fuel costs to the Caribbean cruises.

Most cruise lines use Miami or Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, and therefore they have to travel far less to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

DCL wanted PC, as its only an hours drive away from WDW, but changing to a port lower down the coast would save the Magic and Wonder considerable running costs.