A Thought On The New Summer 2021 Itineraries and Prices

[BadPinkTink]

Ive been thinking this for a while now. Is it possible that Disney is targetting the European first time and silver cruise with the The Magic summer season?

We can all agree that transatlantic airfare is a killer no matter which direction you travel.

The Magic summer season in Europe is particularly appealing to those of us who can either drive to Dover or fly to Barcelona or London very cheaply.

Many criticisms of the European routes centre around the cost for Americans, both the airfare and the pre and post cruise days, as well as all the port excursions.

Also Americans feel they have to justify the cost and distance with cramming in as much as possible, which makes for very long port days. I'm seeing many saying that for Europe they prefer other lines due to the long port days.

For Europeans, we are more interested in the Disney experience, than the ports. Also Europeans are more comfortable with doing the ports DIY and therefore don't have the cost of the DCL excursions.

Also for Europeans, the need for pre and post cruise days is not the same as Americans and many travel home on disembarkation day.

So I'm thinking that while Americans feel they are priced out of the European itineraries, the European first time and silver cruisers are finding DCL more affordable and attractive.

 

[smmco]

The European cruises I’ve been on have been about 80%American If Europeans weren’t sailing on Disney when prices were lower than why would the price going up make it more affordabe to Europeans?

 

[BadPinkTink]

The European cruises I’ve been on have been about 80%American If Europeans weren’t sailing on Disney when prices were lower than why would the price going up make it more affordabe to Europeans?

Awareness mainly. It was only when DCL came to my home city for the first time that I even knew about DCL being in Europe. As more new ports are added and DCL returns to ports, it increases awareness of the brand. A Disney ship visiting a European port is a big deal for the local economy. Plus the fact that travel in Europe is so affordable, that travel agents are starting to promote DCL more.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I'm sure DCL is targeting whomever they think will spend the $$$ to cruise! I will agree with PP, when we did a B2B on the Magic in Europe in 2015, there were far more Americans onboard than anyone else. I can only speak for our family, but at the time of travel, our DS was 7 and sailing on DCL made traveling to Europe much more palatable for him and flying to London from the east coat of the US is actually not much further than flying to LA the cost isn't much more if at all. I think DCL in Europe is incredibly appealing to many Americans who want the familiarity of a brand they know in a place that might feel quite unfamiliar. For us, it meant seeing ports in Europe during the day and allowing my DS7 to chill in the kids club at night. At that age, for him, it was much better than driving around Europe on our own.

 

[Intr3pid]

So I'm thinking that while Americans feel they are priced out of the European itineraries, the European first time and silver cruisers are finding DCL more affordable and attractive.

This would make sense if you dropped the adverb 'more'. The prices are going up for everyone.

 

[o&smom]

I know we have all discussed being priced out of Disney and their summer prices being crazy...our son wants a 7 day on the Fantasy for his graduation celebration next summer. Just a generic 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. The cheapest room on the ship for four of us is $1100 MORE than a 7 day in Europe and $1500 MORE than a 7 day in Alaska. This is CRAZY!

 

[KashasMom]

I know we have all discussed being priced out of Disney and their summer prices being crazy...our son wants a 7 day on the Fantasy for his graduation celebration next summer. Just a generic 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. The cheapest room on the ship for four of us is $1100 MORE than a 7 day in Europe and $1500 MORE than a 7 day in Alaska. This is CRAZY!

Fantasy summer cruises are out of control! The Sept (4th - think it's the 4th) is a steal though!

 

[MickeyD]

I got quotes for summer Alaska and Northern Europe. Alaska was DOUBLE the price of the NE! Ridiculous! Why would I pay $13k to go to an almost-adjoining state? Disney priced us out on that one! And that is for the lowest veranda cat.

 

[o&smom]

Fantasy summer cruises are out of control! The Sept (4th - think it's the 4th) is a steal though!

Totally agree! I noticed that yesterday when disneycruiselineblog posted pricing. Since it is his graduation from HS cruise he should be attending college for the Sept cruise so I could not figure out how to make that work. We have been talking for a few years about how much better off season prices are. I guess we will be cruising in that time frame in the future. Just makes this cruise that much more special as it looks like it REALLY will be our last as a family of four for quite some years. Not like you can just take your kid out of college for a Disney Cruise! I also think we are going to have to switch to the 6 day right before it and save $2000!

 

[tutumomickey]

Disney prices have driven us away. We are platnum with over 150 sea days but, Our November cruise will probably be our last on Disney. We have been very happy with the service, staff, ship cleanliness and itineraries on HAL. It was hard to take that first cruise. We went in with very low expectations but were pleasantly surprised. We are huge Disney fans, born and raised in Orange County, annual passholders for both DL and WDW at one time and stock holders. Disney has just priced us out of the cruises and the parks. I don't think Walt intended to make us choose between doing Disney with our kids or sending them to college.

 

[Pens Fan]

Totally agree! I noticed that yesterday when disneycruiselineblog posted pricing. Since it is his graduation from HS cruise he should be attending college for the Sept cruise so I could not figure out how to make that work. We have been talking for a few years about how much better off season prices are. I guess we will be cruising in that time frame in the future. Just makes this cruise that much more special as it looks like it REALLY will be our last as a family of four for quite some years. Not like you can just take your kid out of college for a Disney Cruise! I also think we are going to have to switch to the 6 day right before it and save $2000!

One good thing we've discovered about having our son in college is it does open up some new windows for travelling. While our local schools always scheduled spring break around Easter, Penn State has theirs in early March. Up until his senior year, it was always the first week of March and while prices might be a little higher, they aren't Easter high then. We also have been able to take advantage of his (at least) three week Christmas break. Again, prices and crowds are higher, but not Christmas week high. Up until this year spring finals were the first week in May, so that opens up a nice little window before the summer bump.

So while the option of taking them out of school goes away once they hit college, all is not lost . On the flip side, wait until they tell you to not even plan anything over the summer with them as they have an internship, or are taking summer classes. Darn these kids and their ambitions !!!

 

[Anal Annie]

We sadly haven't cruised on DCL since we did a 7-n Med cruise out of Barcelona in 2011 - they've definitely priced us out and I doubt we'll ever cruise DCL again. Of course it's been 9 years but back then for a family of 3 we paid approx. $4,800 for a mid-ship Cat 6 verandah cabin!! We flew into Paris first and were able to tack on 3 nights there (DL and sightseeing the city) before going to Barcelona the day before the cruise. Then we stayed in Barcelona for 2 more nights after the cruise for more sightseeing. We spent approx. $10K for 2 weeks in Europe including air, hotels and sightseeing / excursions (which we did all on our own). It's definitely appalling to see how much everything has gone up. It was a trip to remember and I hope we can somehow get back to Europe again one day - I just don't see it ever being with Disney involved.

 

[AquaDame]

Ive been thinking this for a while now. Is it possible that Disney is targetting the European first time and silver cruise with the The Magic summer season?

We can all agree that transatlantic airfare is a killer no matter which direction you travel.

The Magic summer season in Europe is particularly appealing to those of us who can either drive to Dover or fly to Barcelona or London very cheaply.

Many criticisms of the European routes centre around the cost for Americans, both the airfare and the pre and post cruise days, as well as all the port excursions.

Also Americans feel they have to justify the cost and distance with cramming in as much as possible, which makes for very long port days. I'm seeing many saying that for Europe they prefer other lines due to the long port days.

For Europeans, we are more interested in the Disney experience, than the ports. Also Europeans are more comfortable with doing the ports DIY and therefore don't have the cost of the DCL excursions.

Also for Europeans, the need for pre and post cruise days is not the same as Americans and many travel home on disembarkation day.

So I'm thinking that while Americans feel they are priced out of the European itineraries, the European first time and silver cruisers are finding DCL more affordable and attractive.

At the end of the day, aren't the high fares still high for Europeans? I don't disagree with any of your points otherwise. I cruised ONCE on the Magic in Europe and we likely won't again since as you said the Disney portion is huge. We were so sad to return to the ship every night when the sun was up so late and we were having so much fun on land. Plus, we lamented not being able to have dinner ashore since it was waiting for us onboard.. I mean, we could have, but then it feels like wasted money. Given that we'd be nuts to do it again.

Getting to Europe these days is comparitively cheap and easy though... I'm constantly seeing deals from the US for $400-500 round trip and I'm on the west coast. Just got one this morning for LAX to Barcelona for $330.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We sadly haven't cruised on DCL since we did a 7-n Med cruise out of Barcelona in 2011 - they've definitely priced us out and I doubt we'll ever cruise DCL again. Of course it's been 9 years but back then for a family of 3 we paid approx. $4,800 for a mid-ship Cat 6 verandah cabin!! We flew into Paris first and were able to tack on 3 nights there (DL and sightseeing the city) before going to Barcelona the day before the cruise. Then we stayed in Barcelona for 2 more nights after the cruise for more sightseeing. We spent approx. $10K for 2 weeks in Europe including air, hotels and sightseeing / excursions (which we did all on our own). It's definitely appalling to see how much everything has gone up. It was a trip to remember and I hope we can somehow get back to Europe again one day - I just don't see it ever being with Disney involved.

We did that same cruise! We sailed end of August 2011 though. I think that’s when we met talkin about that cruise!! We got a steal for that cruise...$950/pp special GT. Ended up with a verandah. Will never forget that cruise.

 

[KashasMom]

Getting to Europe these days is comparitively cheap and easy though... I'm constantly seeing deals from the US for $400-500 round trip and I'm on the west coast. Just got one this morning for LAX to Barcelona for $330.

I get those "deals" as well. However, I haven't seen any that are peak times, such as summer vacation time for us. The key for them is flexibility, which unfortunately for us working around a school schedule doesn't work. Maybe one day!

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

Ive been thinking this for a while now. Is it possible that Disney is targetting the European first time and silver cruise with the The Magic summer season?

We can all agree that transatlantic airfare is a killer no matter which direction you travel.

The Magic summer season in Europe is particularly appealing to those of us who can either drive to Dover or fly to Barcelona or London very cheaply.

Many criticisms of the European routes centre around the cost for Americans, both the airfare and the pre and post cruise days, as well as all the port excursions.

Also Americans feel they have to justify the cost and distance with cramming in as much as possible, which makes for very long port days. I'm seeing many saying that for Europe they prefer other lines due to the long port days.

For Europeans, we are more interested in the Disney experience, than the ports. Also Europeans are more comfortable with doing the ports DIY and therefore don't have the cost of the DCL excursions.

Also for Europeans, the need for pre and post cruise days is not the same as Americans and many travel home on disembarkation day.

So I'm thinking that while Americans feel they are priced out of the European itineraries, the European first time and silver cruisers are finding DCL more affordable and attractive.

We tried the DCL Western med cruise last year in early June. We were initially planning to go on the Western Caribbean, but realized that we could spend a little more and go to Europe. It is more about the destination that the ship to us. Next, we want to a cruise around a few Greek islands. Looking at summer prices, I can do one with Norwegian which visits 6 ports for half the price as Disney's cruise options. As we may not be up for the shows and the other entertainment that the ship offers as we get very tired after long port days, we have decided to cruise with Norwegian.

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

I get those "deals" as well. However, I haven't seen any that are peak times, such as summer vacation time for us. The key for them is flexibility, which unfortunately for us working around a school schedule doesn't work. Maybe one day!

Keep looking. I would say anything under $500 is almost impossible during peak summer time. Based on my analysis, it tends to be cheaper to fly into Paris and then you could find a flight within Europe for cheap. Always nice to start or end your vacation in beautiful Paris for a few days.

 

[GoofyNewfie]

I can see @BadPinkTink's point. Could be. But overall it certainly feels like they've been playing that early computer video game "lemonade stand" (possibly it exists outside video games too ) where they just keep raising prices and they have not yet hit that limit. When I saw the prices of summer 2021, that's what was going through my head. And someone at Disney is incredulous that they're still selling so well. The EBTA is close to twice what I paid not that long ago and the route seems about the same.