6 grand for a one week cruise?

[lbus42]

I can't believe the number of posts that I am seeing that state that "I love their brand and want to be loyal" or that I have my head in the sand or that Disney has suckered me in. If anyone has bothered to read my posts they would see that I am not paying that much of a difference. Therefore I choose to stay with Disney because they are a known product to me and I see enough added value to stay with them as long as the price difference is within my stated limits.

I have even stated that I can understand why people would choose to go elsewhere. But some of these people are not happy simply doing that. They seem to have an overwhelming need to have people like me jump ship with them.

 

[Rabb it]

About double, sounds about right

 

[longboard55]

we aren't really interested in other cruise lines. We did not really like cruising till we tried Disney. Everyone has their preferences.

 

[Ofinn]

I can't believe the number of posts that I am seeing that state that "I love their brand and want to be loyal" or that I have my head in the sand or that Disney has suckered me in. If anyone has bothered to read my posts they would see that I am not paying that much of a difference. Therefore I choose to stay with Disney because they are a known product to me and I see enough added value to stay with them as long as the price difference is within my stated limits.

I have even stated that I can understand why people would choose to go elsewhere. But some of these people are not happy simply doing that. They seem to have an overwhelming need to have people like me jump ship with them.

I have no desire for you to jump ship. I dont think anyone else does either. I found issue with your statement that dcl has no competion, can afford to lose customers, and they sell out every ship at the high prices. I disagree with all those statements. I like Dcl and I will stick with dcl when I get a price Im comfortable with, but Im not in denial about their prices nor do I try to defend them, and I cant in good conscious recommend them to anybody.
I think everyone on these boards would choose dcl if they find a cruise that they feel is a good value. I will stand by my statement that a lot of these 2017 cruises will not sell at full price.

 

[Ofinn]

Sometimes during the off season you may find prices a bit closer but in prime weeks the difference can be insane.

We booked RCI's new Harmony of the Seas for Spring Break 2017. We concierge cruisers so I booked one of the Crown Loft suites on the Harmony (a one bedroom 2 level suite) for under $9K for 4. A one bedroom Cat. T for the exact same week on the Fantasy for 4 is about $26K. This is a 7 night caribbean cruise, nothing exotic or new. IMO, there is nothing on DCL that makes it worth about $17K more than RCI for a standard caribbean itinerary. Even the concierge perks are better on Royal. To be fair, I booked under one of RCI's wow sales but even now with the same cabin being around $11K on RCI, it's still much less than DCL.

I was looking at Fall cruises about 3 months ago. I found the Fantasy to be double or more the cost of other lines newer ships including the Vista.

 

[21stamps]

I can't believe the number of posts that I am seeing that state that "I love their brand and want to be loyal" or that I have my head in the sand or that Disney has suckered me in. If anyone has bothered to read my posts they would see that I am not paying that much of a difference. Therefore I choose to stay with Disney because they are a known product to me and I see enough added value to stay with them as long as the price difference is within my stated limits.

I have even stated that I can understand why people would choose to go elsewhere. But some of these people are not happy simply doing that. They seem to have an overwhelming need to have people like me jump ship with them.

I actually defend a lot of Disney pricing. I'm all for the 'After Hours' event...and hope that it gets offered again, I'm fine with the dinner packages that include priority seating for a show- they are well worth it to me. I'm fine with the desert parties, and I'm fine with MVMCP and MNSSH etc.

But with DCL, and as a total 'outsider' given I have not yet sailed on their ships-
What I've been wondering since the 2017 summer price release is this- (I'm talking about the longer Europe and Southern Caribbean ones here)

How many people can and/or will actually pay 13-50k for cruise fare only?
DCL is not a luxury line, and at those prices a lot of well traveled people would rather choose a luxury experience, or are unwilling on a port intensive cruise to justify the difference between other cruise lines. AND- for a Southern Caribbean there are newer arguably 'better' ships at less cost. Those who would choose DCL are probably just doing that for a young child. So to me- there is not enough of a market there for DCL to be able to retain enough repeat travelers who will continue paying 13-50k.

That's what is so shocking to me about their pricing on those itineraries.

 

[TestingH2O]

Sometimes during the off season you may find prices a bit closer but in prime weeks the difference can be insane.

We booked RCI's new Harmony of the Seas for Spring Break 2017. We concierge cruisers so I booked one of the Crown Loft suites on the Harmony (a one bedroom 2 level suite) for under $9K for 4. A one bedroom Cat. T for the exact same week on the Fantasy for 4 is about $26K. This is a 7 night caribbean cruise, nothing exotic or new. IMO, there is nothing on DCL that makes it worth about $17K more than RCI for a standard caribbean itinerary. Even the concierge perks are better on Royal. To be fair, I booked under one of RCI's wow sales but even now with the same cabin being around $11K on RCI, it's still much less than DCL.

I agree with this. It is pretty easy to find suites on other lines for the same price as regular rooms on DCL. Now, I have found that RCCL Star level suites are pretty outrageous!

 

[longboard55]

we did a dcl 7 night Caribbean with a balcony for $2400 last year (late booking) , so timing does make a big difference it would seem. We went in october

 

[tinkerone]

I have no desire for you to jump ship. I dont think anyone else does either. I found issue with your statement that dcl has no competion, can afford to lose customers, and they sell out every ship at the high prices. I disagree with all those statements. I like Dcl and I will stick with dcl when I get a price Im comfortable with, but Im not in denial about their prices nor do I try to defend them, and I cant in good conscious recommend them to anybody.
I think everyone on these boards would choose dcl if they find a cruise that they feel is a good value. I will stand by my statement that a lot of these 2017 cruises will not sell at full price.

Ditto and very well said. My comments were certainly not meant to call out one person but to show the price difference really is there. Any one who is sailing at those prices on DCL is a person who is not sailing on the ships I'm now going to try which will keep my prices down. Win Win.

Ibus42, I think your taking this all to personally. I'm sorry you feel that way however no one is trying to tell you what to do. We are saying that we disagree with some of your points, that's all. Your giving your side, we are giving ours. Its all good. If DCL fits you than you don't need to give your reasons, just sail and enjoy. No one has the right to tell you its wrong for you. We do have the right to say its wrong for us. Again though, sorry if you feel any of this is directed at you. Its not.

 

[Floridatinaherb]

How many people can and/or will actually pay 13-50k for cruise fare only?

I booked a 2017 Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy and I am still getting over the price shock. DH and I did a 7-day w/o the kids and we have been doing the 3-4 day Dream itineraries. Adding the kids and concierge level onto the booking definitely upped the price point from what we paid when it was just the two of us. I don't know that we would spend this kind of money on a cruise again, but next year's cruise is my Air Force retirement celebration so we are splurging a bit. Unless I become extremely wealthy I don't see us doing this again LOL

 

[kaseyC]

I agree with this. It is pretty easy to find suites on other lines for the same price as regular rooms on DCL. Now, I have found that RCCL Star level suites are pretty outrageous!

The Star class suite prices are crazy. DCL suite perks are closer to the Sky class and no where near the Star level.

 

[Quellman]

I agree with you, but I don't know where you find a modest increase over the competition anymore. The Caribbean cruises on DCL are a lot times more than the European cruises.

Whole heartedly agree with where to find the modest increases. I looked about the same week on the Fantasy as the Oasis of the seas sailing from Port Canaveral. It is only $600 more for the Disney ship for my immediate family. Royal Caribbean is running a special right now which was60% off second passenger and then an addtional 30% off the rate, plus $100 OBC. Sure it cannot be easy to compare the two ships at all, but there it is.

 

[MammaMoe48]

If you're comparing cruise line to cruise line, I guess it's all relative depending on the individual. We love Disney cruises and prefer to go on those. We took a Nickelodeon Cruise on NCL and while it was about $2,000 less, I thought we didn't get as much for the cost. The only restaurants included in the price were the two buffet style restaurants, if you wanted to have a sit down dinner with waiters it cost extra and if you wanted unlimited refills on beverages you had to buy the special cup, otherwise you had to pay for the beverages that didn't come with a meal (on Disney all our food and non-alcoholic beverages were included). I also felt the character meet and greets weren't as fun as Disney. Each day there were certain times when the characters were scheduled and everyone waited on line to get a picture and then on to the next kid. There was not a lot of interaction with them and you never saw the characters walking around the ship outside of M&G hours like they do on Disney. There was one opening day show and one closing night show but nothing else on other days and there were no movies being shown, either in a theater or on a Jumbo-tron by the pool. They had a big "Pajama Dance Party Breakfast" where the characters all came out and danced with the kids but that was extra too. There also was no "Formal Night" where you could meet the crew and have unlimited cocktails.

As far as service and quality, I'd say both cruises were pretty equal in that the crew were all nice and eager to help in any way, the rooms were clean and very pretty, the food was very good and the spa was first rate but it just didn't have that extra "something" that the DCL has. (in my opinion, others may disagree with me and I am not questioning or judging).

The wonderful thing is that there are so many options and we aren't limited. I would love it if Disney lowered their prices but that's not likely so we will wait and save for a couple of years to go again.

 

[JimGA]

I priced one for my family, if you take away all of the promotional discounts, the price on Allure came out to be $530o, which is not a big difference, but when you subtract their promotions and savings, it was almost 1500 savings.

 

[Ofinn]

Whole heartedly agree with where to find the modest increases. I looked about the same week on the Fantasy as the Oasis of the seas sailing from Port Canaveral. It is only $600 more for the Disney ship for my immediate family. Royal Caribbean is running a special right now which was60% off second passenger and then an addtional 30% off the rate, plus $100 OBC. Sure it cannot be easy to compare the two ships at all, but there it is.

What was the cost of the two cruises, and what type of rooms?

 

[Ofinn]

I priced one for my family, if you take away all of the promotional discounts, the price on Allure came out to be $530o, which is not a big difference, but when you subtract their promotions and savings, it was almost 1500 savings.

I should check out the sales over at RCI. I really dont dont like the itenerarys on the Oasis class ships or the Fantasy. Carnival is the only one I've found that goes to ports I havent been too. The Breeze sails to Belize and Honduras, and the Vista sails to Turk, Aruba, Dominican Republic, and Caicos. The Breeze is around 2200 for a verandah. I think the Vista is probably well over 4k. The Vista didnt start out that high its just close to being sold out on that sailing and thats the first week of Dec. That ship is selling really well.

 

[tinkerone]

Whole heartedly agree with where to find the modest increases. I looked about the same week on the Fantasy as the Oasis of the seas sailing from Port Canaveral. It is only $600 more for the Disney ship for my immediate family. Royal Caribbean is running a special right now which was60% off second passenger and then an addtional 30% off the rate, plus $100 OBC. Sure it cannot be easy to compare the two ships at all, but there it is.

When is this sailing? I would for sure go with dcl if it was only a $600 difference but I have yet to find it. This is good information.

 

[21stamps]

I should check out the sales over at RCI. I really dont dont like the itenerarys on the Oasis class ships or the Fantasy. Carnival is the only one I've found that goes to ports I havent been too. The Breeze sails to Belize and Honduras, and the Vista sails to Turk, Aruba, Dominican Republic, and Caicos. The Breeze is around 2200 for a verandah. I think the Vista is probably well over 4k. The Vista didnt start out that high its just close to being sold out on that sailing and thats the first week of Dec. That ship is selling really well.

I receive a "complimentary" 8 night or less cruise on Carnival every 6 months from my casino "perks".. Right now I have 2 offers, one of which I am using. The other I will let expire since we are doing DCL, and I can't take time off for 3 cruise ships this year lol. I was hoping to get the Vista but it is not included in our comps.

 

[Quellman]

What was the cost of the two cruises, and what type of rooms?

When is this sailing? I would for sure go with dcl if it was only a $600 difference but I have yet to find it. This is good information.

Remember, the $600 difference was before all of the Royal Caribbean sale discounts. Taking advantage of the discounts you come out way ahead on the Oasis. A PM has been sent to each of you.

 

[jahber]

If the $600 was the difference before available discounts, then what is the point of even mentioning that number? Just curious. I don't care what the "full price" for a cruise is--I want to know the cheapest available price. I've actually had someone argue with me that it's not valid to compared the actual price I am paying for my Royal cruise (with discounts) to a full-price DCL cruise (which doesn't currently have any discounts available). She insisted that we have to compare full price to full price to judge value. But why? Who would insist on paying full price for a cruise when a discount is available? Can you even DO that, if the full price fare isn't even listed? Sometimes the defense of DCL prices gets a little convoluted.