$14,000+ for family of 5 for Alaska 2018!?

[Winston Wolf]

The title of the post says it all. Disney cannot be freaking serious on the quote I just received from its website. There are so many other things I could do with that obscene amount of money.

Am I doing something wrong when trying to book through the website?

Yep, DCL asks absurd $$ for Alaska. We're looking at NCL for 2019.

 

[richkaryn]

Thank you so much for your response! We are excited but it's so far away. I'm traveling with my parents who will be turning 60, my brother and sister-in-law in 3 inside rooms (side by side.) I've only had verandah rooms on DCL so that will be an adjustment too so we're hoping they have ample deck space to hang out! Looking forward to visiting somewhere besides the Bahamas...although I'll miss CC. If DCL had the Glacier Bay itinerary, we probably would have done DCL even with the increase in price!

We got a verandah room for Alaska last summer and paid that extra $2000......then spent a whopping 45 mins on the verandah the whole trip. The only time we were in our room was to sleep/shower/get ready for dinner. There was plenty of room on deck...we never felt like we had to fight for a spot....I wish we'd saved the money we spent on a balcony and used it for the glacier dogsled excursion that cost appx the same for the 3 of us as that balcony. My husband said we had to "stop the bleeding" somewhere, and the dogsled excursion is where he decided he had to draw that line

 

[KayKayJS]

With Alaska you really gotta work the dates and decide whether that Verandah is really worth it.

We are 2A in an oceanview room (big porthole) booked for the first Alaskan Cruise this year and it was about $3200 after OBB. We'll also get the $200 credit. So to me, it was $3k for 2A which isn't bad at all. It was thousands more for Verandah if I remember correctly and we decided to use that money on dog sledding, whale watching, and 3 days at the Hyatt in Vancouver before the cruise.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Exactly why we're cruising with Princess to Alaska. I cannot justify spending over twice as much with Disney. I love Disney, I will always love Disney, but I just can't.

 

[sukhakuli]

None of the guest rooms are underwater and you're just as "trapped" in a room with a verandah. Sure, you can go out on the verandah, but I'm not sure you would want to sleep out there. Also, in the middle of the night during an anxiety attack, it's a long way down from the verandah.

MUN

I don't think you understand the phobia. It's not an anxiety attack, it's the perception of being trapped. I can't even swim underwater, and I can barely fly. There's no sense to it because it's not about reality but perception.

 

[MUN]

I don't think you understand the phobia. It's not an anxiety attack, it's the perception of being trapped. I can't even swim underwater, and I can barely fly. There's no sense to it because it's not about reality but perception.

I'm sure I don't. I don't like to swim underwater either. In fact, I don't like getting my head wet in the water. I have minor anxiety issues at times. On our 5 cruises we have booked oceanview rooms for the first 4 and interior rooms most recently. I thought I would have anxiety issues in the interior room, but I didn't. I slept like a baby at night. Go figure.

MUN

 

[tink1970]

don't think you understand the phobia. It's not an anxiety attack, it's the perception of being trapped. I can't even swim underwater, and I can barely fly. There's no sense to it because it's not about reality but perception.

I feel your pain...I made the mistake of an interior room once for a 7 day cruise. Now, I know there are lots of people who are fans of interior rooms but I always say "I'm claustrophobic and it doesn't work for me." A verandah is nice for those who don't mind small spaces- you can watch the scenery, have a cup of coffee, etc. But for someone who has to know that there is a way out it's more of a necessity. Hopefully you'll find something that works for your budget, whether that's a different time of the season or cruise line.

 

[sukhakuli]

This is my first cruise (husband has cruised with the US Navy, but that hardly counts as a pleasure cruise), and just the thought of those interior rooms was setting me off. Once we do it and I know what I'm getting in to I might feel differently, but this first time I'm going to need the balcony.

 

[sukhakuli]

I feel your pain...I made the mistake of an interior room once for a 7 day cruise. Now, I know there are lots of people who are fans of interior rooms but I always say "I'm claustrophobic and it doesn't work for me." A verandah is nice for those who don't mind small spaces- you can watch the scenery, have a cup of coffee, etc. But for someone who has to know that there is a way out it's more of a necessity. Hopefully you'll find something that works for your budget, whether that's a different time of the season or cruise line.

Thank you for "getting" it. We're going to pony up the cash for the Sept 24th cruise on the Wonder, but it hurts a bit. We could get 2 or 3 vacations out of what we are spending for this one week. It better be amazing. Our last WDW trip kind of sucked, so I'm crossing fingers for this one.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I've only cruised with DCL but we are jumping ship for Alaska 2018 and doing the Golden ship on Princess. We were able to get 3 inside staterooms on Princess for much less than 2 inside staterooms on DCL plus Princess goes to Glacier Bay (my dad's one request) so itinerary plus cost has pushed us to try something else. Hoping our choice is okay!

I really enjoyed Princess. I've also heard they do Alaska really well. If they have Movie Under The Stars (MUTS) definitely try to go and go the first few days because you'll probably want to go again! It's awesome IMHO. I think DCL could learn from them on this one.

 

[RedSox68]

The title of the post says it all. Disney cannot be freaking serious on the quote I just received from its website. There are so many other things I could do with that obscene amount of money.

Am I doing something wrong when trying to book through the website?

Sorry, but that has become the norm for Disney pricing for Alaska and European cruises. We sailed on HAL for Alaska in 2012 and saved thousands of dollars over what Disney wanted for a 7-night. We actually ended up extending our trip to a 20 day cruisetour (7 night cruise and 13 night land tour up into the Yukon that included all hotels and transportation and some excursions) in a verandah room, and it was almost the same price as what Disney wanted for just the 7-night! Just insane.

 

[aggiedog]

I get it about the inside room, and I was in the Navy and was shipboard for 2 yrs. But my stateroom was just a few feet away to an emergency outside passageway, and I pretty much lived in that room for 2 yrs. For some reason, that felt cozy. The thought of an inside room on a cruise gives me the heebie jeebies.

We did a Baltic cruise 2 yrs ago, and elected to pull the kids out of school for HS finals, since it was 40% cheaper than the same cruise 2 weeks later, after school got out.

We are doing a Med cruise this summer with MSC, concierge level, which has way more perks than DCL concierge. It is 50% less than a regular DCL stateroom and some crazy huge percentage less than if we'd done concierge with DCL (which would never have even been an option for my 6 member family.) We're saving enough money to do a week in France before the cruise.

I understand why some people feel it is worth their money. I'd just rather spread my money out on more travel.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I get it about the inside room, and I was in the Navy and was shipboard for 2 yrs. But my stateroom was just a few feet away to an emergency outside passageway, and I pretty much lived in that room for 2 yrs. For some reason, that felt cozy. The thought of an inside room on a cruise gives me the heebie jeebies.

We did a Baltic cruise 2 yrs ago, and elected to pull the kids out of school for HS finals, since it was 40% cheaper than the same cruise 2 weeks later, after school got out.

We are doing a Med cruise this summer with MSC, concierge level, which has way more perks than DCL concierge. It is 50% less than a regular DCL stateroom and some crazy huge percentage less than if we'd done concierge with DCL (which would never have even been an option for my 6 member family.) We're saving enough money to do a week in France before the cruise.

I understand why some people feel it is worth their money. I'd just rather spread my money out on more travel.

Two questions... how was the school about your kids doing their finals at a different time? Also, were they good students, so you felt it would work out?

Also, I've looked at MSC. How are they with kids (teens), if you know?

 

[aggiedog]

School was pretty much ok with it. The jr high was not an issue. The older two were sophomores at the time. They are good students (one will most likely be valedictorian), well behaved, teachers like them. They were able to exempt most exams. One had to take one test when she got back, the other (thru a mistake by her teacher) got to take the final before they left. It helps that dh plays golf with the principal (small town!)

I don't know about the teen clubs. We have no sea days, which was what we wanted, so they won't need to be entertained during the day. My older two didn't love Vibe to begin with (they are some to lots introverted, not into social media, and love to talk world politics, etc, so not your usual teens.) My younger teen liked Edge only for gaga ball and beating everyone else at video games. Youngest ds, age 10, did not love his club either. I'm hoping he likes MSC's for evening activities on some nights.

I'll post a good trip report when we get back. The cost difference was astounding, and we will be sailing in their Yacht Club, with a butler, private dining room, lounge, and pool area. If we'd gone the non-concierge route, it would have been dirt cheap compared to DCL, like maybe 1/10th the cost.

 

[MUN]

School was pretty much ok with it. The jr high was not an issue. The older two were sophomores at the time. They are good students (one will most likely be valedictorian), well behaved, teachers like them. They were able to exempt most exams. One had to take one test when she got back, the other (thru a mistake by her teacher) got to take the final before they left. It helps that dh plays golf with the principal (small town!)

I don't know about the teen clubs. We have no sea days, which was what we wanted, so they won't need to be entertained during the day. My older two didn't love Vibe to begin with (they are some to lots introverted, not into social media, and love to talk world politics, etc, so not your usual teens.) My younger teen liked Edge only for gaga ball and beating everyone else at video games. Youngest ds, age 10, did not love his club either. I'm hoping he likes MSC's for evening activities on some nights.

I'll post a good trip report when we get back. The cost difference was astounding, and we will be sailing in their Yacht Club, with a butler, private dining room, lounge, and pool area. If we'd gone the non-concierge route, it would have been dirt cheap compared to DCL, like maybe 1/10th the cost.

I don't believe you. No, not the kid bragging part , but the 1/10 the cost part. I don't believe MSC is 10% the cost of DCL for comparable rooms, cruises, dates.

MUN

 

[hanscarlet]

yea... it was $12k for us for family of 4 and I almost shat my pants... to think I could have gone a few years back when it was an "affordable" $10k... oh well we'll enjoy another cruise to the Carribean for 2018... I'm not paying that money until my kids really appreciate the significance of Alaska, views and nature

 

[WildEyed]

We are doing a Med cruise this summer with MSC, concierge level, which has way more perks than DCL concierge. It is 50% less than a regular DCL stateroom and some crazy huge percentage less than if we'd done concierge with DCL (which would never have even been an option for my 6 member family.) We're saving enough money to do a week in France before the cruise.

I've never heard of MSC before this but based on your post I've been trying out different scenarios on their website and holy cow, the prices are an eye-opener compared to DCL!

I'll post a good trip report when we get back. The cost difference was astounding, and we will be sailing in their Yacht Club, with a butler, private dining room, lounge, and pool area.

I'll be watching for your trip report so that I can maybe plan for next summer's vacation! We are a family of 5 and it seems like that third kid turned out to make all our vacations so much more expensive.

 

[aggiedog]

OK, so a bit of an exaggeration, how about 1/3 the cost? You can't quite compare apples to apples, as the dates and ports are a bit different. Also, the MSC concierge seems to have, IMHO, a bit more to offer. But, if you compare peak time 2018, 7 night med cruise (because comparing for 2017 would inflate the price of DCL I think) it breaks out like this for 1 adults, 2 kids per room which is how we travel with our 4 kids. The MSC is for this summer and is their "fantastica" experience which includes dining, free room service, beverage coupons, cooking and language classes for the kids along with the kids clubs, all shows, plus other stuff. The prices aren't exact since each sailing is a bit different in price. Most of their summer 2018 itinerary is not out yet, as far as I can tell.

Balcony DCL $7500, MSC $3000
Oceanview DCL $6000, MSC $2000
Concierge (not a suite) DCL $14,000, MSC $4,800

Yes, the DCL rooms are a bit larger, Yes, MSC has a casino. For that price difference, I can handle it. And since we really cruise for the ports, I am hoping we'll be happy to appreciate the difference to the two lines and enjoy our vacation.

For MSC, if you want to do interior rooms, or a slightly more basic package that is just dining, it's even cheaper, but I can't compare prices because they're basically all sold out.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yeah, I was surprised at their prices, too. I asked a TA about it and she said some people love MSC, others don't like that it's so multi-lingual. I think for a port intensive cruise, where you're not on the ship all the time anyway, it might be quite nice.

 

[aggiedog]

I hoping I like it, but I"m pretty sure we will. We'll have no issue with multilingual. I've traveled extensively and have no issue with things being not "American" enough. After living in Japan for 2 years, being in Europe where I can even begin to parse the language is an improvement! I know some French, dd is pretty good with Spanish and bits of Italian. I'm kind of hoping my teens will like the clubs more than DCL because of the draw of meeting kids from all over Europe.

I was talking to an friend about our Baltic cruise. He said he could never do that "all those different languages, how would you do that??" He and his wife are doctors, they're not slackers. He does travel with ABD every year, but he and his family prefer to be hand held and have a buffer between them and the other culture. I don't think he'd like MSC, from what I've read about it, so maybe it's an acquired taste for some?