$1000 per night

[avalovesminnie]

When pricing out DCL it is pretty much $1000 per night for our family of 5. All three kids are under 7. Does this sound typical? Anything I'm missing on how to make it more affordable? TIA

 

[cedricandsophie]

Actually I'm impressed it's only 1000 a night. We just did the jan 10 southern carribbean with five people, all adults and we had two cabins but it was over 2000 a person in ocean view cabins. I think the cheapest we ever done with 4 in an ocean view cabin is probably 7000 or 8000. Of course these were at least seven day cruises. For less than 7 days I think the per day rate is higher even though overall total might be lower.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It depends on how far out you are booking, the length of the cruise and what type of stateroom(s) you are booking.

 

[MUN]

Does this sound typical? Anything I'm missing on how to make it more affordable? TIA

Cruise when the kids are in school and in the least expensive cabins. Also, reposititioning cruises tend to be less expenisve than roundtrips. On a per night basis, a transatlantic cruise is a great deal!

MUN

 

[cruisehopeful]

When pricing out DCL it is pretty much $1000 per night for our family of 5. All three kids are under 7. Does this sound typical? Anything I'm missing on how to make it more affordable? TIA

It sounds like a lot, but if you consider the cost of staying in a nice hotel, eating out for all your meals and snacks and paying for all your entertainment, cruises are actually a bargain. <- at least for us.

Booking the first day that cruises are announced normally has the best rates. If you don't buy then, there are often reductions close to sail dates to fill the rooms. Those prices are still usually higher than opening day pricing.

There are ways to save a little more here and there. If you have a Target red card, you can buy Disney gift cards for 5% off. I think Sam's club has discounted gift cards, too. You can set up a Disney vacation account where you save your money for a Disney vacation. I don't know if that saves anything, but I think people get some type of credit towards their cruise. I have a Mastercard that has Disney gift cards as rewards. So, when I am planning a cruise, I'll use that card to pay for stuff and get a free Disney gift card. There's lot of other things like that.

 

[vvv]

Actually I'm impressed it's only 1000 a night. We just did the jan 10 southern carribbean with five people, all adults and we had two cabins but it was over 2000 a person in ocean view cabins. I think the cheapest we ever done with 4 in an ocean view cabin is probably 7000 or 8000. Of course these were at least seven day cruises. For less than 7 days I think the per day rate is higher even though overall total might be lower.

We were on the Jan. 24 Southern Caribbean and we had 4 people in an ocean view cabin. Our rate was $2950 which comes out to an average of $738 per person for the entire week. So a little over $100 per person per day isn't too bad of a deal. We did book our cruise waaaay back in October 2014 on the first day that the cruise was available for booking. I did look about 3-4 weeks before our cruise date and there were still some cabins in our category and those rooms were about $3600 for the same number of people.

 

[lanejudy]

OP, we cruise on fares considerably less than you've quoted, half that or even less. But as others have pointed out, there are several variables that might impact the pricing. We don't get a verandah; we don't cruise spring-break, summer or holidays; we usually book well in advance. Each of those items can have a considerable impact on costs, in the right combination (or wrong, depending how you look at it) is how you'll find some of the highest fares out there.

One thing that might help you -- since you have a party of 5 there are limited options for a single stateroom, so I suggest you look into connecting staterooms in a lower category. You will ultimately get more space and might save considerably on the overall cost even though 2 of the kids will be full fare.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[steamboatinwithwillie]

I have a Mastercard that has Disney gift cards as rewards. So, when I am planning a cruise, I'll use that card to pay for stuff and get a free Disney gift card. There's lot of other things like that.[/QUOTE]
cruisehopeful: Which type of MasterCard is that, please? Thanks!

 

[CaterFamily]

We were on the Jan. 24 Southern Caribbean and we had 4 people in an ocean view cabin. Our rate was $2950 which comes out to an average of $738 per person for the entire week. So a little over $100 per person per day isn't too bad of a deal. We did book our cruise waaaay back in October 2014 on the first day that the cruise was available for booking. I did look about 3-4 weeks before our cruise date and there were still some cabins in our category and those rooms were about $3600 for the same number of people.

This is exactly what we did. Booked far enough in advance for lowest price possible! Ended up being ~$850/pp, family of 4, with ground transfers.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I have a Mastercard that has Disney gift cards as rewards. So, when I am planning a cruise, I'll use that card to pay for stuff and get a free Disney gift card. There's lot of other things like that.

cruisehopeful: Which type of MasterCard is that, please? Thanks![/QUOTE]
PayPal Mastercard by Synchrony bank

 

[Ofinn]

Actually I'm impressed it's only 1000 a night. We just did the jan 10 southern carribbean with five people, all adults and we had two cabins but it was over 2000 a person in ocean view cabins. I think the cheapest we ever done with 4 in an ocean view cabin is probably 7000 or 8000. Of course these were at least seven day cruises. For less than 7 days I think the per day rate is higher even though overall total might be lower.

The most Ive paid for an oceanview cabin for the 7 day for the four of us was 3300. What months do yo cruise? Im guessing the Summer.We paid around 4k for a veranda on SC last september.I personally would not pay 1k per day for a cruise.

 

[Hundredacre]

When pricing out DCL it is pretty much $1000 per night for our family of 5. All three kids are under 7. Does this sound typical? Anything I'm missing on how to make it more affordable? TIA

Unfortunately this is a reasonable deal for dcl. We also have a large family and book inside cabins. Unless you want to travel in off season (kids in school) its basically outrageous. You can get a slightly better deal doing some of the things mentioned, but prices are so high, $1000/ night is pretty good. Other cruise lines are a lot cheaper. And apparently, as just seen with royal Caribbean and their weather incident, other cruise lines value their customers' vacation time and money and reimburse them properly when things go wrong.

 

[SgtTibbs]

For comparison, Our family is 6 is doing WDW, staying at AK and tossing in two days at Universal Studios at around $1,600/Night.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Ours comes to about $1,070/night, for our family of five, including ground transfers.

We sail on 4/25/16.

We have a deluxe family oceanview room with verandah.

 

[Happy100]

Ours is 600/night for our family of 3 in a Verandah room. We booked over a year ago on board so got an OBB.

This is for our 4/3/16 Spring Break Cruise.

The earlier you book the better.

 

[CaterFamily]

Now that I think of it were paying ~$15k for a 3 night cruise and 5 days at WDW. Plus 2 days plane time (10 total days) for a total of $1500/day.

Must be the price for pixie dust!!

 

[oam]

This is exactly what we did. Booked far enough in advance for lowest price possible! Ended up being ~$850/pp, family of 4, with ground transfers.

Delux ocean view veranda cat 05c $790.50 a person.Leaving this Friday for a 5 night on the Wonder,we booked last April it certainly is worth booking early.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Having 5 people likely increases your fare just because it limits the rooms you can book. Also, if you are booking later than opening day can impact the cost.
While booking on opening day is certainly nice, there are many who cannot do this (like my family) and we have to decide if the cost is ok. Twice we have cruised DCL on sold out cruises - the only two we've ever gone on - and neither one was booked on opening day (or even close to that). They fit our schedule and were what we wanted to do, so we paid the cost (Once veranda, once inside, no discounts, not even OBB). Anyway, just like any other purchase, only you can decide if what you may get for your money is worth the cost to you and your family. Have fun spending your vacations dollars on whatever you choose!

 

[palenskec]

Although I haven't been on a cruise YET (Spring Break 2017!), I did price it out...and compare it to a trip to WDW or DL and it wasn't *that* much more, especially when you factor in the basically all inclusive price of meals, room service, and non-alcoholic beverages.

I am a teacher, and I SO wish I could take advantage of some of the off peak time cruises, or the repo cruises. My 2 personal days per year doesn't quite make that work. But, Yes, I am fully aware that I get the entire summer off! haha

 

[avalovesminnie]

Thank you all! When my kids are bigger and eat more I could see that it's what you could spend esp for eating lots of seafood. I was just wondering if I was missing some way to find a better deal. Also I realize the extras, travel can add up. On the DCL site as a party of 5 it only shows veranda rooms, I guess I'd have to talk to a travel agent to price out 2 rooms?. I can justify 4k on a vacation, 7k, yikes, not so much. So maybe we will have to just do a 3 or 4 day. When do they release/start selling? 18 mo before? Booking early isn't a problem, going during school is OK too.