$2000 more for same cruise next year?

[Jestocost]

Went to Beaches (Sandals family resort) in Negril one Christmas and were quoted more than double the price the next year for the same dates even after all relevant rebooking discounts. So any company with a perceived leverage point will price accordingly, IME.

 

[Hundredacre]

Not sure even about the supply and demand argument. The wonder cruise we just got off was empty. EMPTY. No exagguration. Asked some of the crew members about it-- they said yes, very few passengers. We were on the Wonder before christmas as well, so we had a comparison. It was packed at christmas.

 

[canyoncam]

DCL and WDW prices are both skyrocketing. I can see and do expect increasing. At this rate though I think my run of Disney has come to end right after my last booked trip of next May.

 

[tinkerone]

I've certainly noticed that there seems to be more florida and military rates offered lately so that tells me bookings must be down a bit.
I have mentioned that I booked our first rcl cruise this October. what I have yet to mention is that we took an all inclusive vacation to jamacia at a riu hotel a month ago, a vacation that in the past would have been a dcl cruise. we have also booked a b2b on the oasis for 2017 even though we have yet to sail on her. they are cruises that would normally have been booked on dcl. there will be more vacations booked between now and then however I don't see dcl in those either.
as a Canadian, we have not only to deal with the high prices but with the exchange rate as well. for us, for a while anyways, its bye bye Disney. will they miss us? probably not. will we miss them? so far we haven't.

 

[BruinEd03]

It's simple, Disney keeps raising prices because it increases their profits. If, at some point, they make less profits from a price increase, they will halt it. As for people talking about prices 5-7 years ago. Keep in mind, back then, the U.S. was just coming off the Great Recession. Also, DCL was not nearly as popular as it is now. Also, not every calculation is perfect. Some sailings, they may have miscalculated the pricing and have to run specials (e.g., guaranteed rates, etc.) If people aren't thinking of leaving Disney, then that tells Disney they are not increasing the price enough.

 

[tidefan]

Could it be because Easter is in mid to late April next year?

I know that for DVC points (at the resorts) the highest season moved from March this year to April next year. I think that a lot of schools have their break around Easter.

 

[tvguy]

It's simple, Disney keeps raising prices because it increases their profits. If, at some point, they make less profits from a price increase, they will halt it. As for people talking about prices 5-7 years ago. Keep in mind, back then, the U.S. was just coming off the Great Recession. Also, DCL was not nearly as popular as it is now. Also, not every calculation is perfect. Some sailings, they may have miscalculated the pricing and have to run specials (e.g., guaranteed rates, etc.) If people aren't thinking of leaving Disney, then that tells Disney they are not increasing the price enough.

This could have been posted a dozen years ago when we cruised Disney. And at least a dozen price hikes later, the customers are still booking. They complain, and then they write the check. And a dozen years ago, there were no ships with concierge, just one extra cost restaurant, unlike the newest ships. Wonder what additional extra extra cost features will be built into the ship that are being built? Until Disney cruisers stop writing the checks....it will continue. But it appears they are move than willing to write bigger and bigger checks.

 

[CesD]

It's just like the housing bubble.People were in bidding wars for ugly fixer uppers. Why? Why did prices skyrocket-- cuz buyers allowed it to. When buyers collectively say it's too much and can no longer afford it, prices will come down.

When rooms are being booked opening day and people are waiting on the 90th day or 30th day or whatever to willingly fork over $ for excursions and reservations, then of course Disney will raise it's prices cuz people are WILLING to pay.

 

[jpeppers]

I loved my 3 cruises with DCL but they priced me out. My daughter and I are sailing on the Oasis of the Seas in July and paying $3100 and the Fantasy was going for $5700 the last time I checked for an equivalent room.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

My advice: Buy Disney stock. Travel elsewhere. Then price hikes and all the people who still buy into it are still a happy thing for you because you're laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[sunryzez]

I just find it sad. I am not really complaining because I do understand it is a business. My family just loves Disney but we cannot justify them for all of our vacations anymore. The past two spring breaks we have had wonderful cruises on MSC for about 1/4 of a disney cruise and this upcoming Spring break ( 2017) we just booked an 8 night princess for 2700. Disney's price was 7000 for a 7 night( same week/same room category). It is their company so they can charge what they want but it is just sad being that Walt created his whole company with working families in mind and it is just so not about that anymore...

 

[Ofinn]

Glad to see that others share my reaction. I think DCL offers a premium product, and I understand (and am willing to pay) a premium price for it. But when Mickey tells me that I've gotta pay 33% more for the same thing next year, I kinda think he's trying to screw me. Even assuming that I'm willing to pay the bloated 2017 price, the optics are terrible when I paid $2K less for the same darn thing just a year earlier.

I understand inflation, but a 33% annual increase is not an inflationary adjustment. It's screwing customers and price gouging, and I don't think I'm gonna play.

I used to compare the Fantasy prices to the Oasis and allure prices. The price differences used to be in the hundreds. I could justify paying 500 or even a thousand more for DCL because of the alcohol policy, free sodas, and the fact that I "perceive" DCL to be superior.

About a month ago I priced out the Fantasy for Dec 3. One of the slowest travel weeks of the year. An Oceanview room on the Fantasy was around 5,500 for 2 adults and 2 kids. I priced out the Harmony of the seas(new ship) on the Costco site. A central park verandah with free gratuities and OBB was 3,100. A ocean view room on the Carnival Vista(new ship 8 day cruise) which is the same room size as DCL and has the split bathroom was 3,200. The price differences are starting to get huge, and this is offseason. These ships are all comparable to the Fantasy in size and the activities offered on board. There are a lot of restaurants and things that cost extra on the other cruiselines, but these are all optional. The Vistas Imax theatre will show first run movies. It will cost extra, but paying for few movies still doesn't add up to the 2,400 dollar cost difference.

Another one of my beefs with DCL is lack of new itinerary's in the Caribbean. Even if I was willing to pay their prices I really couldn't justify spending that kind of money to see the same ports again and again.

 

[cyclenut]

Disney in general is very expensive. We had our family together (adult children) for Christmas at DisneyWorld and it was crazy to think how much we paid. We got incredible discounts on the package too and still paid a fortune. We even drove there but had to fly the kids in.

We found a pretty good deal on the Wonder out of Galveston for January 2017 and booked it, but I've been talking about the price difference on Disney vs. Royal for years now. My wife and I had booked the Fantasy for our anniversary cruise a few years back (first year of sailing) and cancelled it in favor of the Freedom (comparable ship) and were not at all disappointed. We later sailed the Fantasy and I was able to compare. The Disney experience was definitely great, but I did not regret changing to the Freedom back then. Different experiences, both great in their own way.

Yes, I am willing to pay the Disney premium on occasion. We are big fans of Disney and used to live just 15 minutes away from Disneyland. My daughter is in the CP at WDW until May of this year and we know several CMs in various positions throughout Disney. We will vacation Disney again but we have never been and will never be exclusive to Disney. That's one of the big reasons we couldn't buy into DVC. My suggestion for anyone looking to book a vacation is to shop around for the best vacation experience you can afford and it isn't always going to be Disney. Increasingly, it may not be.

 

[Jaybear]

I totally get capitalism: it's a beautiful thing. Charge what the market is willing to pay.

But the problem is that when you have been a loyal customer (we will be gold after this next cruise), these 33%-40% annual price increases make you feel like you are now overpaying (at best) or being screwed (at worst). It makes other options, even those at Disney's new bloated pricing, certainly seem a lot more attractive.

 

[Jennifer777]

I have no problem paying more for luxury, superior service and a more inclusive experience. I think DCL still offers that but while DCL seems to be offering less and less each year, others are starting to offer more. The superiority gap between NCL, RCCL and DCL is not as wide as it used to be and the cost between the two is getting harder to justify IMO. I'm not sure they are filling ships like some seem to think. I know our last one wasn't full, in spite of deep discounts for weeks leading up to the sail date. I'm hoping this will translate into a market correction and the prices will come down a bit. Otherwise we may just have to try another cruise line or stick to the last minute discounted rates like others are doing.

 

[kaseyC]

And a dozen years ago, there were no ships with concierge,

That's not true. Disney has always had Concierge suites with concierge services. The lounge and sundeck was introduced on the Dream class ships but the suites and concierge services have always been there.

 

[kaseyC]

We will vacation Disney again but we have never been and will never be exclusive to Disney.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[mevelandry]

We are cruising one last time with them next year because we want my husband's parents to experiment "the Disney magic" with us once.

After that, we'll try other cruiselines. We have a credit with Carnival that we are going to use... And to be honest, we'll need a little change after 3 Disney cruises.

 

[tvguy]

That's not true. Disney has always had Concierge suites with concierge services. The lounge and sundeck was introduced on the Dream class ships but the suites and concierge services have always been there.

The Magic and Wonder did not have concierge when we cruised 2003-2004.

 

[JimGA]

I've been lurking on the DIS boards for a while but I created an account specifically to respond to this thread !

I think my price narrative will be very interesting -

We booked February 2017 on the Fantasy on release day in October. My brother's inside cabin was $1288pp including taxes and fees. I warned everybody to book ASAP because prices would go up. Well, not everyone listened to me, and a couple people booked around Christmas time - for $1528pp. By end of January it was up another $150. The cabin next door is now going for $1822 per person, since they announced that it was a Star Wars cruise. So overall a 40% increase in just 5 months, which is INSANE.

So it's not so much that the best fare for the cruise has spiked, I would say it's more that the demand is so high the prices can keep going up and up and people are still booking cabins (I am on a FB group and am constantly seeing "I just booked for February 2017!!"), esp with SWDAS being added. I think booking on release date is becoming more and more important for the best prices.

Exactly, we booked our SWDAS, actually changed a sail date to one of these before they were announced in Jan of last year we paid the base price for April 2 cruise. By March, just 2 months later , I checked prices, if we had waited it would have cost us 3000 more, that's US dollars!! amazing !!!