6 grand for a one week cruise?

[FigmentSpark]

Still a Star Wars cruise. We are going in Feb 2017, so firmly off season, and the price doubled between when we booked on release day and when they announced we were included in the 2017 SWDAS dates.

DCL is not cheap but the difference between release day prices and several months later has been astounding.

Our March sailing for 4A has gone up $1200 from release day. I'm glad I booked ahead, because that was already expensive.

 

[China Expat]

Thinking about this thread...I am planning a dream cruise to the Antarctic. Depending on the line, it is nearly the same cost as a week in the Caribbean on Disney with expensive rate. Not worth it for our family anymore.

 

[Ofinn]

Thinking about this thread...I am planning a dream cruise to the Antarctic. Depending on the line, it is nearly the same cost as a week in the Caribbean on Disney with expensive rate. Not worth it for our family anymore.

My son wants to do this so baaad. I told him when he graduates from college I'll pay for it. For now he's going to have to settle for Iceland. If you do it please report back. It looks like such an interesting cruise.

 

[TestingH2O]

We've really becomes hooked on cruising as a vacation style. Now, when I have down time, I read cruising stuff. It's a mental break for me.

What I've seen leads me to believe that DCL is right for our family FOR NOW. When DD is 7/8/9/10 and no longer super interested in characters, I suspect we will reevaluate. By that point, I'll want to expose her to new places like Europe or Asia.

For now though, I'd love to check out NCL on an adult trip. Most of what I'm reading, especially about Escape, makes NCL seem very fun but older kid/adult focused.

Royal definitely seems like they want families and kids. Still, lots of their activities are not going to be for my little kid. Also, I don't find the prices hugely different. Definitely RCCL is less, but not enough less that I want to take the risk. For a suite and concierge, RCCL is the same or more than DCL!* Again, why risk it when, at this age, DD loves the Disney experience?

* There are a few more suite perks on RCCL, but most of them aren't necessarily of interest to us. (Private restaurant) To get the ones we'd be interested in, we'd have to jump to a Star level suite and that's much more expensive than DCL.

 

[lbus42]

In my eyes DCL stands apart from the other mainstream cruise lines. Their ships are absolutely clean and gorgeous. Someone earlier stated that DCL is not a luxury line and I agree it is not, BUT the ships look like they are. Lots of mahogany, maple, oak, and teak with gold trim. The look even carries over to the staterooms. IMO they are much nicer than the staterooms of the other lines, even some of their suites. I know that others will say they do not spend any time in their stateroom because they are on the go all the time, but I do spend time in the stateroom and its important to me that it is nice and comfortable. I suspect that many others feel as I do.

I feel that all of the CM's are fantastic. Everyone we came in contact with had a smile, or would say hello, or would ask how we were doing. I know that most of the crew members of other lines are also like this as well. But the level of service of the DCL CM's went way beyond this. If I was at the fast food area and I tried to return a plate to the clean up station, all of a sudden a CM would appear and take my plate. A couple of days I was taking plates of food from Cabanas to my stateroom. A CM saw me and offered to help me carry my plates to my room. The floor officer in charge of our staterooms, Maria, would always ask us how we were doing and if we needed anything. When we returned from excursions, she would ask us about our trip (the room stewards and our servers also did this).

What impressed me more than anything else though was the interaction between the CM's and my grand-daughters. Every CM fussed over them like they were the only passengers on the ship. Our head server, Fassil, had an autograph book and asked the five year old for her autograph on a couple of occasions. He made a big deal out of it like she was royalty. He even had her draw a picture for him on the first night and would show it to her again and tell her how much he loved it. Our servers, Wayan and Edil, also made a big fuss over the grand-daughters every night. The event which really made an impression on me was the princess gathering. I was exploring the ship on my own and happened to come into the atrium when this started. I was amazed by the princesses and how they interacted with the children.

These are the reasons why I think DCL is able to charge what they do. To me all of these things add value and makes it worth paying extra for DCL. This is why I have another cruise booked and why other people will keep returning to them. For me DCL is worth it. If these things are not that important to you, then of course you are going to look elsewhere at cheaper alternatives.

 

[21stamps]

In my eyes DCL stands apart from the other mainstream cruise lines. Their ships are absolutely clean and gorgeous. Someone earlier stated that DCL is not a luxury line and I agree it is not, BUT the ships look like they are. Lots of mahogany, maple, oak, and teak with gold trim. The look even carries over to the staterooms. IMO they are much nicer than the staterooms of the other lines, even some of their suites. I know that others will say they do not spend any time in their stateroom because they are on the go all the time, but I do spend time in the stateroom and its important to me that it is nice and comfortable. I suspect that many others feel as I do.

I feel that all of the CM's are fantastic. Everyone we came in contact with had a smile, or would say hello, or would ask how we were doing. I know that most of the crew members of other lines are also like this as well. But the level of service of the DCL CM's went way beyond this. If I was at the fast food area and I tried to return a plate to the clean up station, all of a sudden a CM would appear and take my plate. A couple of days I was taking plates of food from Cabanas to my stateroom. A CM saw me and offered to help me carry my plates to my room. The floor officer in charge of our staterooms, Maria, would always ask us how we were doing and if we needed anything. When we returned from excursions, she would ask us about our trip (the room stewards and our servers also did this).

What impressed me more than anything else though was the interaction between the CM's and my grand-daughters. Every CM fussed over them like they were the only passengers on the ship. Our head server, Fassil, had an autograph book and asked the five year old for her autograph on a couple of occasions. He made a big deal out of it like she was royalty. He even had her draw a picture for him on the first night and would show it to her again and tell her how much he loved it. Our servers, Wayan and Edil, also made a big fuss over the grand-daughters every night. The event which really made an impression on me was the princess gathering. I was exploring the ship on my own and happened to come into the atrium when this started. I was amazed by the princesses and how they interacted with the children.

These are the reasons why I think DCL is able to charge what they do. To me all of these things add value and makes it worth paying extra for DCL. This is why I have another cruise booked and why other people will keep returning to them. For me DCL is worth it. If these things are not that important to you, then of course you are going to look elsewhere at cheaper alternatives.

I can only speak for myself, but when I made the decision to do MSC for an 11 night Northern Europe - DCL was my first choice. But once the pricing was released I just can't imagine that in such a port intensive tour, that a $7k difference could be justified.

At what point do you draw the line?

I don't think their 7 night cruises, or their transatlantic, or even the Panama Canal are priced out of "justification" if someone wants to go Disney.
But the other longer cruises- I think many people will have an issue with that kind of pricing, and I don't think the ships will sail even close to full...without offering discounts later on.

 

[tinkerone]

In my eyes DCL stands apart from the other mainstream cruise lines. Their ships are absolutely clean and gorgeous. Someone earlier stated that DCL is not a luxury line and I agree it is not, BUT the ships look like they are. Lots of mahogany, maple, oak, and teak with gold trim. The look even carries over to the staterooms. IMO they are much nicer than the staterooms of the other lines, even some of their suites. I know that others will say they do not spend any time in their stateroom because they are on the go all the time, but I do spend time in the stateroom and its important to me that it is nice and comfortable. I suspect that many others feel as I do.

I feel that all of the CM's are fantastic. Everyone we came in contact with had a smile, or would say hello, or would ask how we were doing. I know that most of the crew members of other lines are also like this as well. But the level of service of the DCL CM's went way beyond this. If I was at the fast food area and I tried to return a plate to the clean up station, all of a sudden a CM would appear and take my plate. A couple of days I was taking plates of food from Cabanas to my stateroom. A CM saw me and offered to help me carry my plates to my room. The floor officer in charge of our staterooms, Maria, would always ask us how we were doing and if we needed anything. When we returned from excursions, she would ask us about our trip (the room stewards and our servers also did this).

What impressed me more than anything else though was the interaction between the CM's and my grand-daughters. Every CM fussed over them like they were the only passengers on the ship. Our head server, Fassil, had an autograph book and asked the five year old for her autograph on a couple of occasions. He made a big deal out of it like she was royalty. He even had her draw a picture for him on the first night and would show it to her again and tell her how much he loved it. Our servers, Wayan and Edil, also made a big fuss over the grand-daughters every night. The event which really made an impression on me was the princess gathering. I was exploring the ship on my own and happened to come into the atrium when this started. I was amazed by the princesses and how they interacted with the children.

These are the reasons why I think DCL is able to charge what they do. To me all of these things add value and makes it worth paying extra for DCL. This is why I have another cruise booked and why other people will keep returning to them. For me DCL is worth it. If these things are not that important to you, then of course you are going to look elsewhere at cheaper alternatives.

I understand what your saying and agree to most of it. My question is, at what point does the value go away? If you have done it once and are looking at doing it again is it worth an extra $3000, $4000, $5000? At what point do you find it unexceptable? Would you pay an extra $7000 as the above poster was mentioning?

I'm just curious. With all honesty, where is the point where you would say no? Is there that point? Again, no shaming here, just looking for an honest answer as I am wondering what the limits for other people are. I know my limit wasn't monetary, it was quality/value, and when that went and I saw what else was out there, that's when I decided to move on. That was my limit. What would be yours?

 

[mort1331]

Can all these same arguments be used to justify not staying onsite at WDW. You can stay cheaper outside with just as nice rooms. I think for those who go, its because of the feeling they get being immersed in Disney.

 

[lbus42]

I belong to the 7 day or less cruising camp, and I book as close to release day as possible. I also do not compare straight across categories as others do. For instance, I do not compare the price of a verandah stateroom on DCL to say a balcony cabin on Carnival. To me DCL's verandah room is more like a Carnival or RCCL junior suite in size and quality. Once i make that comparison, I will probably never see enough of a price difference that would make me choose another line. I have a Fantasy cruise booked for Sep 2017. My price for a Family Verandah $3430 with $300 OBC. I just priced a junior suite on Carnival during the same time for $2454, or a premium balcony for $2124. I would rather pay the extra money for DCL with that kind of price difference.

Others would have to decide what the tipping point would be for them to take their business somewhere else. I think some people would go to another line for $1 less, some have other amounts.

 

[21stamps]

Can all these same arguments be used to justify not staying onsite at WDW. You can stay cheaper outside with just as nice rooms. I think for those who go, its because of the feeling they get being immersed in Disney.

I'm my eyes- No.
We stayed in a theme park view room at Poly last time, and are booked in a theme park view at the Contemporary on our upcoming trip.
These are not 5 star hotels, but I'll pay their ridiculous prices bc I want the view and convenience.

With the itinerary that I mentioned in my previous post- what am I really loosing in a port intense 11 night cruise? I'm not losing convenience, and I'm not losing the ports, (MSC is slightly different itininerary besides Iceland, but at my son's age I am happy for the UK stops, I'm fine with either choice of itinerary there), and I'm not losing the views.

At WDW I can justify a huge price difference to stay at the monorail resorts with watching Wishes from our room. On a cruise? $7k more just can't be justified in my mind.

 

[tinkerone]

Can all these same arguments be used to justify not staying onsite at WDW. You can stay cheaper outside with just as nice rooms. I think for those who go, its because of the feeling they get being immersed in Disney.

Agreed (kind of) however when does the cost of being immersed in Disney become enough? That is the question and the answer is so different for everyone. We love Disney, go to WDW often several times a year. We are Canadian so its a long way to go. Have never done anything but Disney in 20 years. This October when we go we are only staying 4 days and then moving over to Cabana Bay for Universal. That has never even crossed our minds but we have finally said enough is enough. Lets see what else is out there.
We are lucky enough to be able to do what ever we like but I prefer value for my dollars. Its not showing up as much anymore. That's when the cost of Disney immersion is to much 'for us'.
Its interesting to hear what everyone else has to say. Where everyone else draws the line in the sand or even if they do.

 

[lbus42]

I understand what your saying and agree to most of it. My question is, at what point does the value go away? If you have done it once and are looking at doing it again is it worth an extra $3000, $4000, $5000? At what point do you find it unexceptable? Would you pay an extra $7000 as the above poster was mentioning?

I'm just curious. With all honesty, where is the point where you would say no? Is there that point? Again, no shaming here, just looking for an honest answer as I am wondering what the limits for other people are. I know my limit wasn't monetary, it was quality/value, and when that went and I saw what else was out there, that's when I decided to move on. That was my limit. What would be yours?

I would probably pay up to $2000 difference on a 7 day or longer, to stay with DCL. But as I show on another post, I will probably never see even that much of a difference. I book at or near release date and I do not book during school vacation time.

 

[tinkerone]

I would probably pay up to $2000 difference on a 7 day or longer, to stay with DCL. But as I show on another post, I will probably never see even that much of a difference. I book at or near release date and I do not book during school vacation time.

I'm pretty sure you would still be paying at least that much of a difference. While you book last minute on DCL don't forget that the other cruise lines have a last minute rate as well. For example I just looked at June 4th on Fantasy and on the Oasis for two adults. The Fantasy is $6063 U.S. while the Oasis is $2655. That's a difference of $2810. That's a whole second week of sailing. If there are more than two adults in the room I'm sure the difference is even more.

I'm not trying to change anyones minds. If DCL is for you and you see the value then its worth every penny. Obviously people do. I just wonder how many are struck by the word 'Disney' and look no further or don't investigate and see what the other lines have to offer. We like to do b2bs, its our favorite, so I'm excited to be able to cruise two weeks for the cost of one week on DCL.

 

[21stamps]

I would probably pay up to $2000 difference on a 7 day or longer, to stay with DCL. But as I show on another post, I will probably never see even that much of a difference. I book at or near release date and I do not book during school vacation time.

Unfortunately for me that $13,400 price was release date.lol. It took a moment for me to get over the shock, but I knew immediately that I wouldn't pay that for 2 people. I don't know if they've gone up since then, I haven't checked. I do hope that anyone who chose to book has a wonderful time, and if it's worth it to them then that's all that matters!

I think the main thing is- if your budget can absorb that kind of difference- great, book away!
But if you have to give up other things, or even worse skip a vacation year (which I've seen people say they were willing to do), then it may benefit you to look at other options instead. For me this applies to WDW as well. I LOVE the Poly, but I wouldn't skip a vacation in 2016 to be able to afford to stay there in 2017. At that point it wouldn't be worth it, and I wonder when reading people's posts who do that, if it truly was "worth" it to them.

 

[lbus42]

I'm pretty sure you would still be paying at least that much of a difference. While you book last minute on DCL don't forget that the other cruise lines have a last minute rate as well. For example I just looked at June 4th on Fantasy and on the Oasis for two adults. The Fantasy is $6063 U.S. while the Oasis is $2655. That's a difference of $2810. That's a whole second week of sailing. If there are more than two adults in the room I'm sure the difference is even more.

I'm not trying to change anyones minds. If DCL is for you and you see the value then its worth every penny. Obviously people do. I just wonder how many are struck by the word 'Disney' and look no further or don't investigate and see what the other lines have to offer. We like to do b2bs, its our favorite, so I'm excited to be able to cruise two weeks for the cost of one week on DCL.

But I don't book last minute. So your scenario does not apply to me. Because of he way I book and the time of the year I book there is not enough of a price difference to make me want to switch cruise lines.

 

[lbus42]

Unfortunately for me that $13,400 price was release date.lol. It took a moment for me to get over the shock, but I knew immediately that I wouldn't pay that for 2 people. I don't know if they've gone up since then, I haven't checked. I do hope that anyone who chose to book has a wonderful time, and if it's worth it to them then that's all that matters!

I think the main thing is- if your budget can absorb that kind of difference- great, book away!
But if you have to give up other things, or even worse skip a vacation year (which I've seen people say they were willing to do), then it may benefit you to look at other options instead.

Wow!! What kind of cruise cost $13,400? Is that a Concierge price? No, I could not pay that for a cruise either.

 

[21stamps]

Wow!! What kind of cruise cost $13,400? Is that a Concierge price? No, I could not pay that for a cruise either.

No!!! Not concierge! Cat 5a.. That's the regular verandah room right? Same one I booked for our Fantasy very Merrytime cruise. Just a regular verandah room..not even the 'deluxe family' one.

 

[21stamps]

Wow!! What kind of cruise cost $13,400? Is that a Concierge price? No, I could not pay that for a cruise either.

Lol well deck 7 is highest left, so someone is booking. I don't know the Magic stateroom plans, but I thought originally there was higher options.

 

[tinkerone]

But I don't book last minute. So your scenario does not apply to me. Because of he way I book and the time of the year I book there is not enough of a price difference to make me want to switch cruise lines.

I'm going to apologize. I read your post wrong. I'm sorry.

Its hard for me to compare since opening day prices are long gone however I can say that when the DCL release came out for November 2016 I did a comparison on the cruise I wanted to RCCL, which is why I ended up booking with RCCL. The opening day rate for the fantasy was almost $2000 more than the Oasis was and the Oasis was 8 nights compared to the Fantasys 7 nights. I don't have a history of checking the different rates as I always just booked DCL and never shopped around. I'm waiting for October 2017 to come out for the Fantasy. Royal has had these dates out for some time and even have some 2018 out. Right now we are booked on the Oasis for a b2b at a cost of $5650 Canadain, about $4248 U.S.. I can't imagine I will even get one week on the Fantasy for that but I will wait and see. One never knows.

Again, sorry for misunderstanding your post. I need to put my glasses on I guess.

 

[lbus42]

No!!! Not concierge! Cat 5a.. That's the regular verandah room right? Same one I booked for our Fantasy very Merrytime cruise. Just a regular verandah room..not even the 'deluxe family' one.

That's funny because I am looking at the DCL site (several weeks after release date, I should add). A Cat 5A room for that sailing is $6596.76 right now. That price is for two people.