Another Platinum DCL sailor who jumped ship..

[phinz]

Keep in mind that some cruise lines include verandah space as square footage for their rooms, from what I've found over the past couple of years.

We love DCL. We have two more cruises scheduled in the next year. It doesn't change the fact that other lines would be significantly cheaper. That's why we are looking forward to this Princess cruise. If we like it we will be moving forward with trying other lines. I'm keen to cruise on the Oasis class, especially since it's going to be porting out of Cape Canaveral at that new, gorgeous terminal.

 

[NJTwinsdad]

I disagree about the availability of rooms for 4 on other lines. If you look at the new ships on most lines, the only way to sleep four if the parents want the big bed in the room is to have 2 kids sleep on a pull out sofa. Funny - but that's not really a popular idea with my boy/girl 13y/o twins. You either have to get two rooms or book a suite. BUT - because DCL prices are so sky high now, I was able to book a 400 sq/ft concierge suite on RCL for $7300, compared to $9600 for a 4A room on the Fantasy, same week in April. We've cruised DCL 11 times and loved it, but I can't justify that much money for a standard room.

 

[2boysmommy]

This whole thread makes me sad! We are taking our first DCL cruise Dec/Jan. I have been on Princess, RCL, Carnival, and HA from the age of 14 through adulthood. DH didn't enjoy the southern Caribbean HA cruise we took prior to having kids, with my large extended family - it wasn't (at the time) a particularly youthful cruise, but then that's why my grandparents chose it. I finally talked him into trying a cruise again, b/c I know our kids will love the experience of being on a cruise ship, and we do love Disney - so it was the only option he wasn't likely to argue against. I priced out our particular cruise vs other lines over the Christmas/New Year's break, and it was less than $1000 difference (2 adults, 2 kids; didn't research Carnival though) for the closest comparable itineraries that fit within our school break. Departing out of Galveston (was only an option on DCL) instead of FL means cheaper flights from the west coast, so that will be reduced more. I was fine with the added cost, b/c I've cruised all over the Caribbean but obviously never Castaway Cay - and that part will be a highlight for us. We are looking forward to this trip, but I suppose I should head into it with the mindset that this may be our one and only on DCL, which is kind of the opposite of what I thought would happen. It may be that those of you without date restrictions are just going to find better deals and price differences than those of us stuck with school breaks to work around, I don't know, or maybe I'm not clear on how high the prices have jumped and the jumps just didn't apply in this case. (Posting this nervously!!)

Don't be sad!! Disney knows kids and, to me, the price difference is worth it for that alone. Plus, as you said, many families are restricted on their timing and pricing isn't that drastically different during school breaks.
My husband and I cruise Princess and Celebrity without our kids and absolutely love both cruise lines. But as long as the kids go with us, we will stick with Disney. Yes, the price is higher than some, but the fact that they don't nickel and dime me at every single turn makes a huge difference to me. There are lines that, once you add in many of their hidden costs...they aren't always that much cheaper in the long run.

 

[Dixielady908]

I have only done 4 cruise's on Disney, and loved every one of them. Never had a complaint. So when some of my family members a couple of years back, said lets do a Hawaiian cruise together and lets to Royal Caribbean, I have to say I was excited and also nervous. I wanted to try Royal but I was nervous I would not like their "product".
We just returned from a wonderful 11 day cruise and I have to say, I really enjoyed Royal. I did do some comparison and Disney did beat Royal out on some aspects and Royal beat Disney out on some aspects. With that being said, I would cruise both again, even given the fact that Disney is priced higher. I still enjoy them and what they have to offer. So I am starting to plan another cruise for 2018 (yes I know a way's off) but this one will be on Disney, and already I can't wait. Now I just need to pick where I want to go.....

 

[bumbershoot]

I disagree about the availability of rooms for 4 on other lines. If you look at the new ships on most lines, the only way to sleep four if the parents want the big bed in the room is to have 2 kids sleep on a pull out sofa.

I'm just not sure you're seeing the same things other people are. And I don't think it's truly sleeping on the pullout, because at least in our recent experience, the sofabed could be pulled out one way to have space for one kid, but it can ALSO be pulled out another way to make TWO sleeping surfaces which are then made up separately. It LOOKS like it's one bed, but because it can also be made up as a single bed, it has to be two sleeping surfaces.

And there are plenty of rooms that have a bed that pulls down too. (though it pulls down over the main bed's occupant's heads...then again, how different is that than the one from the ceiling being right over a child on the sofabed? but I think if we ever got one of those rooms we would turn the sleeping space on the big bed around, so he would fall on our feet and not our faces, LOL)

 

[NJTwinsdad]

Thanks Bumbershoot. When I called RCL, they didn't make that clear. Good to know for the future, but for now, looking forward to see what a suite/concierge is like on RCL compared to DCL, which was always great.

 

[Ofinn]

This whole thread makes me sad! We are taking our first DCL cruise Dec/Jan. I have been on Princess, RCL, Carnival, and HA from the age of 14 through adulthood. DH didn't enjoy the southern Caribbean HA cruise we took prior to having kids, with my large extended family - it wasn't (at the time) a particularly youthful cruise, but then that's why my grandparents chose it. I finally talked him into trying a cruise again, b/c I know our kids will love the experience of being on a cruise ship, and we do love Disney - so it was the only option he wasn't likely to argue against. I priced out our particular cruise vs other lines over the Christmas/New Year's break, and it was less than $1000 difference (2 adults, 2 kids; didn't research Carnival though) for the closest comparable itineraries that fit within our school break. Departing out of Galveston (was only an option on DCL) instead of FL means cheaper flights from the west coast, so that will be reduced more. I was fine with the added cost, b/c I've cruised all over the Caribbean but obviously never Castaway Cay - and that part will be a highlight for us. We are looking forward to this trip, but I suppose I should head into it with the mindset that this may be our one and only on DCL, which is kind of the opposite of what I thought would happen. It may be that those of you without date restrictions are just going to find better deals and price differences than those of us stuck with school breaks to work around, I don't know, or maybe I'm not clear on how high the prices have jumped and the jumps just didn't apply in this case. (Posting this nervously!!)

You may want to look at the Carnival Breeze. The ships only 4 years old and when I've priced it out vs the Wonder the second week of Dec. It was 3k less for a family of 4 in a verandah.

 

[jahber]

Well then, since I obviously didn't do a good comparison, can someone post what the comparible rooms are for Princess/Carnival/Norwegian/RCL to a cat 4A? What I found when I found the larger rooms was that the price was up there, too, so I am maybe looking in all the wrong places. What should I be looking for on those other lines? Thx.

On the Freedom of the Seas, the ones that sleep 5 are called family staterooms, like they are on DCL. There aren't many, unfortunately, but when we looked at one for our Sept 2016 cruise, it was $3500 for 5 people in an oceanview (he balconies were sold out). I don't know how much it would be on DCL, because none are available at this time, but it would have been a heck of a lot more than that! We ended up getting two rooms for $4500 less than two similar rooms on DCL.
But as the PP said, you're going to have to look ship by ship. It's not ideal, not by a long shot, but that's how it is when you're researching a vacation.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks Bumbershoot. When I called RCL, they didn't make that clear. Good to know for the future, but for now, looking forward to see what a suite/concierge is like on RCL compared to DCL, which was always great.

Alas, just like with DCL, the reps on the phones don't really have access to what things in each individual room are like.

So it's off to the internet to research. I put in the ship and the room number to google, and look at links and images. I try to see if they are talking about "my" ship and "my" room number, or if it came up for another reason. Like I just posted a clearly "labeled" thread on the Royal board here of Freedom stateroom 1864, so that hopefully someday a google search might find it. Because right now you'll get discussion of all sorts of rooms that aren't 1864, when you search. Gotta be careful!

And sometimes the specific room doesn't come up at all.

I actually thought 1864 was for 3 only b/c of the way the sofa came out, but I saw here and on cruisecritic (possibly the same person...I don't always notice usernames! and some of us use different names there and here) that it was pulled out for 2 in a way I wouldn't have thought possible.

Frankly my son would like it made up as the wider bed, but as one sleeping space, because he's a tall kid with broad shoulders and he likes to sprawl. Maybe next time we'll ask.

 

[cmph]

You may want to look at the Carnival Breeze. The ships only 4 years old and when I've priced it out vs the Wonder the second week of Dec. It was 3k less for a family of 4 in a verandah.

I have no doubt that better deals are available. But we're stuck with the school breaks, which means Dec 24 is the earliest we could have sailed out w/o missing school. The oldest will be in middle school next school year, so we really can't take vacations during the school year at all (not that we did it that much before, aside from funerals and weddings!). I was only cost-comparing other Christmas-New Year's-ish sailing dates, which severely limits our options. Much of what else I found sailed out of Miami, which would cost us more to fly to, as well, and that reduced any cost savings; plus ports i've already been to, and no Castaway Cay. It totally sucks to look at non-school break pricing when you have no choice but to book the expensive dates! I'm at peace with my choice, really, b/c the Wonder will be fresh and new by the time we sail, and we'll (hopefully) have a great first Castaway Cay experience since we're on a smaller ship. It's future sailings that this thread is going to have me worrying over!

 

[fauntleroy1953]

DH and I are in our 60's. I've been cruising since the late 70's,hubby,since the late 90's. To say that we've seen changes in cruising would be an understatement. On the pro side,cabins have definitely gotten bigger and passenger opinions are taken more seriously now. On the con side,obviously prices have risen.
There are many more cruise lines to choose from now and more exotic itineraries, so it's on the prospective passengers to shop around and make the best decision they can at the time. Each family has it's list of priorities and there's a cruise to fit each one,thank goodness. There's fun and adventure in trying something new once in awhile. It's the only way of knowing which line you like more.
We'll be platinum next week on our 11th and 12th DCL cruises. We've had amazing memories on our DCL cruises and it is our preferred line,BUT, it's time to look at some new experiences. We're checking out European River cruises, maybe a Steamboat river cruise here in the U.S. Our neighbors love Crystal Cruises and we might go on one with them in the near future. At first,we couldn't imagine not cruising DCL,we felt like traitors. But it's not as if we can never go back, and so true,their prices are bordering on obscene at this point. It's totally understandable why some people are saying enough is enough. But I would certainly encourage newbies to try a DCL cruise just once.
With that said,we are going whole hog into our retirement account for the trip of a lifetime next August on DCL. We are taking our 4 children,their spouses and our 10 grandchildren on a Fantasy cruise next year. None of them have ever been on a cruise, so we chose DCL for their first time. The ages span across the board and with DCL, we can feel confident that everyone will have a great time. We could have done the trip for ALOT less on any other cruise line, but for the first time,there's nothing like the Fantasy. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when our Paid In Full date creeps up on us!

 

[cmph]

DH and I are in our 60's. I've been cruising since the late 70's,hubby,since the late 90's. To say that we've seen changes in cruising would be an understatement. On the pro side,cabins have definitely gotten bigger and passenger opinions are taken more seriously now. On the con side,obviously prices have risen.
There are many more cruise lines to choose from now and more exotic itineraries, so it's on the prospective passengers to shop around and make the best decision they can at the time. Each family has it's list of priorities and there's a cruise to fit each one,thank goodness. There's fun and adventure in trying something new once in awhile. It's the only way of knowing which line you like more.
We'll be platinum next week on our 11th and 12th DCL cruises. We've had amazing memories on our DCL cruises and it is our preferred line,BUT, it's time to look at some new experiences. We're checking out European River cruises, maybe a Steamboat river cruise here in the U.S. Our neighbors love Crystal Cruises and we might go on one with them in the near future. At first,we couldn't imagine not cruising DCL,we felt like traitors. But it's not as if we can never go back, and so true,their prices are bordering on obscene at this point. It's totally understandable why some people are saying enough is enough. But I would certainly encourage newbies to try a DCL cruise just once.
With that said,we are going whole hog into our retirement account for the trip of a lifetime next August on DCL. We are taking our 4 children,their spouses and our 10 grandchildren on a Fantasy cruise next year. None of them have ever been on a cruise, so we chose DCL for their first time. The ages span across the board and with DCL, we can feel confident that everyone will have a great time. We could have done the trip for ALOT less on any other cruise line, but for the first time,there's nothing like the Fantasy. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when our Paid In Full date creeps up on us!

I think this is awesome. My first cruise was to Alaska, with my grandparents, parents and sister (I was 14). We had such fun, made so many great memories. It was such a good time that my grandparents took the entire family (their 3 children/spouses and the 5 of us grandkids) on a cruise for their 50th anniversary. Everyone enjoyed THAT so much that my grandparents hunted for a reason to do it again, and that ended up being in honor of my parents' 25th anniversary a few years later, with the addition of a couple grandkids' spouses. We will always remember those trips, and they're more special now that my grandparents have passed. I'd rather have the memories of those trips than money! I hope years from now I'll be able to do the same thing.

 

[Ofinn]

I have no doubt that better deals are available. But we're stuck with the school breaks, which means Dec 24 is the earliest we could have sailed out w/o missing school. The oldest will be in middle school next school year, so we really can't take vacations during the school year at all (not that we did it that much before, aside from funerals and weddings!). I was only cost-comparing other Christmas-New Year's-ish sailing dates, which severely limits our options. Much of what else I found sailed out of Miami, which would cost us more to fly to, as well, and that reduced any cost savings; plus ports i've already been to, and no Castaway Cay. It totally sucks to look at non-school break pricing when you have no choice but to book the expensive dates! I'm at peace with my choice, really, b/c the Wonder will be fresh and new by the time we sail, and we'll (hopefully) have a great first Castaway Cay experience since we're on a smaller ship. It's future sailings that this thread is going to have me worrying over!

The Breeze sails out of Galveston. I can assure you any week on a Carnival ship is going to be half the cost of Dcl. It sounds like your good with your descision. Enjoy your ctuise on DCl, hopefully its not your last. There are lots of nice new ships coming on line on different cruiselines. I wouldnt stress about the future.

 

[Skiton]

We have done two cruises on the Fantasy and have another booked over New Years, but in between those we cruised on with RCCL on the Independence. We did not like it as well as DCL. We missed DCL. Had a lovely time, but still missed it. However, we were in a Grand Suite with concierge service, access to the lounge, etc., and I think it cost us around $6K for a family of four. We can't book a family stateroom at any time of year on the Fantasy for that much, with the new pricing. DH and I have decided that our upcoming cruise will be our last with DCL until the new ships come out. I know I'll beyond excited to cruise on one of them and hopefully at that point it won't cost us $15K to do it, but in the meantime, even though we "can" afford it, it's getting sort of stupid. We can take a RCCL cruise and STILL swing a 5 day trip to Disneyland for the money we'd spend on one DCCL cruise. I know that it's a business and it's in Disney's best interest to raise prices as long as people are willing to pay them, but from my perspective, I'm starting to feel like I'm being had. So no more for me after this next one, not for a while at least.

 

[tinkerone]

With that said,we are going whole hog into our retirement account for the trip of a lifetime next August on DCL. We are taking our 4 children,their spouses and our 10 grandchildren on a Fantasy cruise next year. None of them have ever been on a cruise, so we chose DCL for their first time. The ages span across the board and with DCL, we can feel confident that everyone will have a great time. We could have done the trip for ALOT less on any other cruise line, but for the first time,there's nothing like the Fantasy. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when our Paid In Full date creeps up on us!

We did that a year and a half ago. It was amazing to be able to see their enjoyment. Our usual family vacations are to WDW so it was nice to switch it up. Also, with the children being adults, its nice that they still wish to take vacations with us. I suppose it helps that we pay, lol.
Enjoy the cruise, they are special times.

 

[Ofinn]

We did that a year and a half ago. It was amazing to be able to see their enjoyment. Our usual family vacations are to WDW so it was nice to switch it up. Also, with the children being adults, its nice that they still wish to take vacations with us. I suppose it helps that we pay, lol.
Enjoy the cruise, they are special times.

My parents used to take me places in my 20's. They even paid for some family vacations for me and my brother when we were in our 30's, and our kids were babies. Now we are in our 40's, our kids are young teens, my dad passed away, my mom can't travel anymore, but I really appreciate those vacations with them as an adult. I hope I can do the same for my kids.

 

[RedSox68]

My parents used to take me places in my 20's. They even paid for some family vacations for me and my brother when we were in our 30's, and our kids were babies. Now we are in our 40's, our kids are young teens, my dad passed away, my mom can't travel anymore, but I really appreciate those vacations with them as an adult. I hope I can do the same for my kids.

What a lovely sentiment. We have been very lucky that our daughter, who will be 30, still likes to travel with us and enjoys the way we plan the trips. Those are memories she will always treasure.

 

[RedSox68]

DH and I are in our 60's. I've been cruising since the late 70's,hubby,since the late 90's. To say that we've seen changes in cruising would be an understatement. On the pro side,cabins have definitely gotten bigger and passenger opinions are taken more seriously now. On the con side,obviously prices have risen.
There are many more cruise lines to choose from now and more exotic itineraries, so it's on the prospective passengers to shop around and make the best decision they can at the time. Each family has it's list of priorities and there's a cruise to fit each one,thank goodness. There's fun and adventure in trying something new once in awhile. It's the only way of knowing which line you like more.
We'll be platinum next week on our 11th and 12th DCL cruises. We've had amazing memories on our DCL cruises and it is our preferred line,BUT, it's time to look at some new experiences. We're checking out European River cruises, maybe a Steamboat river cruise here in the U.S. Our neighbors love Crystal Cruises and we might go on one with them in the near future. At first,we couldn't imagine not cruising DCL,we felt like traitors. But it's not as if we can never go back, and so true,their prices are bordering on obscene at this point. It's totally understandable why some people are saying enough is enough. But I would certainly encourage newbies to try a DCL cruise just once.
With that said,we are going whole hog into our retirement account for the trip of a lifetime next August on DCL. We are taking our 4 children,their spouses and our 10 grandchildren on a Fantasy cruise next year. None of them have ever been on a cruise, so we chose DCL for their first time. The ages span across the board and with DCL, we can feel confident that everyone will have a great time. We could have done the trip for ALOT less on any other cruise line, but for the first time,there's nothing like the Fantasy. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when our Paid In Full date creeps up on us!

This is such an incredible opportunity for you and your family! This will be so awesome for everyone and your decision to make their first cruise be a Disney one is perfect -- especially with grandchildren. In a case like this, the money will be well spent. I hope you all have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures

 

[Birdie dog]

For those with kids, I know Princess has teamed up with Discovery and have programs created by them. It looks like a great option. I won't have any kids to try it until my grandson is a little older.

 

[fauntleroy1953]

So many of you are really making me cry. I thought when I wrote that we were taking our family on a Disney cruise,I thought,for sure, I'd be getting lots of comments about how crazy I was, spending all that money on a one week vacation. Instead,I read beautiful stories about people's similar trips and wonderful memories. I waited to do this until all the grandchildren were old enough to be able to retain,hopefully, most of the memories. The youngest will be seven by then,the oldest,14. It also is how DH and I want to spend our anniversary- share the occasion with the " young- un's". It's been two weeks since we told them about this and the texts,calls,e mails have not stopped. They all just assumed that they would never be able to afford a cruise. They are also so concerned about our ability to pull this off. None of them want us to place ourselves in a bad economic position just for them. I'm pretty sure I've finally convinced them not to worry,we're just fine. My 8 year old grandson has been on the internet non stop,researching everything he could about the Fantasy and it's August destinations. I'm hoping his brain doesn't blow up while waiting a year for the cruise.
Thank- you,everyone, for re- in forcing my belief that it's the best thing we can do with our money.