7-Night a Poor Value?

[erikthewise]

I am in the process of booking our Dec 06 4-night cruise for our family of 4. Just out of curiosity I checked the 7-night price, and I was surprised at how high it was.

The actual prices (in cat 6) are $2620 and $4973, for per-night prices of $655 and $710 respectively. I seem to remember that in the past when I priced a 7-night cruise it had a lower per-night cost than the shorter cruises. In our case the 4-night was actually the best per-day "value".

Admittedly this was just one example, but it leads me to suspect that prices on 7-day cruises are rising faster than on the 3-night or 4-night. Perhaps because of higher demand for the 7-night? What do others think?

 

[staceymerrill]

your theory may be a valid one...However, I did not read which 7-night cruise you used for comparison...I tend to think that as the dates get closer to Christmas, the pricing gets higher...

you are correct..traditionally,.the 7-night cruises have offered the lowest per day cost...perhaps the fact that you are traveling in December vs another time of year may skew the results.....the demand for longer vacations is greater in December vs, for example, October, a time of year my family often takes cruises....

 

[erikthewise]

I guess I didn't need to be mysterious -- it is the Dec 3-7 06 Wonder cruise I am booking, and the Dec 2-9 06 Magic cruise I used for comparison.

 

[slindamood]

Interesting that you posted this question, because just a few minutes ago I was pricing cruises for December 06. DU has some special fares for the Magic December 2 departure, and a category 6 is about $2600 per couple which I think is pretty good. The december 9 Magic sailing is listed on the Disney page at about $3600 per couple in category 6. These are very ounded numbers and not at all precise, but I figure it is about $1000 savings if we could sail on Dec. 2.

That time of year is so influenced by holidays and school vacations that each sailing must be examined and generalizing is difficult.

 

[erikthewise]

That time of year is so influenced by holidays and school vacations that each sailing must be examined and generalizing is difficult.

In general I agree, but I think this pair of cruises is a good test case. There are (AFAIK) no holidays or vacations involved, both cruises have "low season" (i.e. minimum) pricing, and it is far enough out that the prices are not yet influenced by the number of bookings,

 

[SeaSpray]

I just checked on All Seasons Travel's web site www.allseastravel.com for those dates, and for a Category 6 cabin for 4 people, here's what I found:

Dec 3, 2006 4 nights, 4 people, cat. 6 $2521. ($630/night)

Dec 2, 2006 7 nights, 4 people, cat. 6 $4653. ($664/night)

So yes, you're right that for those specific dates, the 7 night cruise is more per night than the 4 night cruise. I just wanted to list the rates that I found because they are less than the rates you mentioned. (How old are your kids? The above rates are for 2 adults and 2 kids ages 3-12 at the time of sailing. If your kids are over 12, then you have to add on $200 more per child, to the total).

When we were booking our first Disney Cruise (we booked it in 2003 for a 2004 cruise), the prices per night were definitely lower for the 7 night cruise than it was for the 3 or 4 night cruises.

 

[kaykels]

I didn't break it down and compare a 4 night... BUT.... I just got off of the ship and I paid 1860.00 for 3 of us and it seemed like a darn good deal for 89.00 pp p/night. I rebooked for November 06 seven nights at a higher price of 2400.00 (approx) for 3 of us and it works out to 114.00 pp per day. That's a good deal. Of course I'm talking category 11's here.
Previously I did the Wonder 4 nights. I don't remember what I paid but THAT was a great deal too.
I just checked All Seasons rates and they are a little bit cheaper. They are 2571 for the 4 night and 4633 for the 7 night for 4 people cat. 6. You should check that against Dreams Unlimited and Costco before you book.
Good luck.

 

[crisi]

Its also possible you are running into "as the ship fills the pricing goes up." Perhaps there is a big group (or several) on the seven day cruise that is already putting that particular cruise beyond "early booking savings" while the four day during the same week still sits relatively empty. To compare apples to apples, you'd need to compare prices with two ships that both had the same booking level.

 

[slindamood]

Just checked Dreams Unlimited for Dec 2 Magic. They list cat 6, 4 people, total of $3912, or $558 per night.

 

[erikthewise]

I just checked on All Seasons Travel's web site www.allseastravel.com for those dates, and for a Category 6 cabin for 4 people, here's what I found:

Dec 3, 2006 4 nights, 4 people, cat. 6 $2521. ($630/night)

Dec 2, 2006 7 nights, 4 people, cat. 6 $4653. ($664/night)

So yes, you're right that for those specific dates, the 7 night cruise is more per night than the 4 night cruise. I just wanted to list the rates that I found because they are less than the rates you mentioned. (How old are your kids? The above rates are for 2 adults and 2 kids ages 3-12 at the time of sailing. If your kids are over 12, then you have to add on $200 more per child, to the total).

When we were booking our first Disney Cruise (we booked it in 2003 for a 2004 cruise), the prices per night were definitely lower for the 7 night cruise than it was for the 3 or 4 night cruises.

I don't intend to book through Disney, just using their site to investigate rates. Small World Vacations currently has a great offer of 5% off plus stateroom credit that I'll probably go with.

Actually our oldest is 13, and according to the DCL website, he pays $200 extra on the 7-night as you mention, but only $50 extra on the 4-night! Go figure. That accounts for some of the increased cost of the 7-night, but most of it is in the adult rates.

 

[SeaSpray]

I don't intend to book through Disney, just using their site to investigate rates. Small World Vacations currently has a great offer of 5% off plus stateroom credit that I'll probably go with.

Actually our oldest is 13, and according to the DCL website, he pays $200 extra on the 7-night as you mention, but only $50 extra on the 4-night! Go figure. That accounts for some of the increased cost of the 7-night, but most of it is in the adult rates.

Yeah, it's definitely strange then that the 7 night, for the same exact time period, is coming up as more per-night than the 4 night. At any rate, have a great cruise

 

[CarolAnnC]

Booking early will give you the best possible prices. Disney utilizes booking tiers so as they fill the ship, the prices will rise. Folks on the same cruise can pay varying rates for the same categories, depending upon when they actually booked their trips.

 

[slindamood]

Shop around! And book early.

Last night I got a fantastic quote from Dreams Unlimited for the December 9 2006 sailing. That sailing was not on the list of special rates (Dec 2 was on the list) - but I was quoted a similar low price - more than $1000 savings compared to the price Disney lists on its page.

Thanks DU - - We can go!!!! We have already booked!!! Not even 19 months to wait.