Booking a cruise and then regretting it because it's so expensive

[FireflyTrance]

So a while back I booked a 7 days cruise to Alaska on the Wonder for next June. At the time it was $7200 for my family of 4. Looking at the prices now that actually seems cheap compared to where the prices are at now. However now I am having some second thoughts. I do love Alaska, and love Disney Cruises, I just feel like the prices are really inflated. I'm debating if we should just switch to a different cruise line or take some alternative trip. Going to WDW ends up being cheaper for us because we utilize a lot of points and miles for the flights and hotels. My friends also invited us to Hawaii, which we could do instead and it would probably also be cheaper. That being said I would rather take a cruise, and the plane ride to Alaska would be shorter.

But anyway, anyone else ever feel this way? That they love Disney Cruises but find the prices hard to justify?

 

[BlondieinFL]

I do feel that way! But, we took an Alaskan cruise this past June and spent almost twice your price (not including airfare and hotels, etc.). So, yeah, every time I go to pay our cruise off, I feel some stress - it's just so much money (we are a family of 5) - but, we do love Disney cruising, so we keep doing it - even though there is so much else we could do with that money....

 

[FireflyTrance]

We got that price because it's a cheaper room category and also had the OBB. Also early June is cheaper than later June. So yeah, it feels like a "deal" compared to some of the prices I am seeing now, but still expensive compared to other cruise lines or some other vacations we could do.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

I've never regretted any of my trips, but I do think about it.

For Alaska we decided not to pay the DCL premium and go with HAL (last-minute deal). No regrets since the focus was the ports; the food and the service was very good. The entertainment was lacking, but we did enjoy the game room on HAL.

We have a Panama Canal cruise booked with DCL, and even with OBC and discount, it is still quite a bit of money. After booking, we have revisited our decision a few times; dissecting our purpose with this cruise and discussing if another cruise line would give us what we're looking for. We decided DCL is our best choice for this itinerary, especially with that many sea days.

That's not till March though, and in the meantime we wanted another cruise, just to get away for a few days. We didn't plan on it, so DCL is not within our budget. We browsed and decided to give Celebrity Infinity a try.

In short: there is a place and time for DCL in our lives, but being flexible and open to other companies/vacations lets us travel more.

 

[gotomu212]

There have been several cruises that I’ve booked on opening day because I’ve been on the “gotta lock in opening day” and “getting to book before the other cc levels” excitement. Then a few days (or months) later I come down to earth and I’ll think geez that’s just not worth the value and cancel. I’ve still gone on DCL, but I’ve become more selective and backed away from some of the higher priced cruises in favor of other trips or lines.

 

[Lisa F]

I think the specialty cruises on Disney are so expensive that you are not happy with the price you need to decide whether DCL is important to you or the itinerary is. I've read great things about Princess in alaska so you could definitely do Alaska cheaper. There are far less expensive itineraries if you really just want the disney ship. If you really want both then there is no way around the higher prices.

For me I think i'd explore other lines for the specialty cruises but I am doing a SWDAS cruise for the ship. Some of those itineraries are straight up out of my budget even inside.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I was just thinking this today, that it's getting really hard for me to justify a DCL cruise. We were vaguely thinking of Alaska, only because DCL leaves out of Vancouver, where we live, so would save on not having to fly, but for 5 of us it's $12K for a verandah room and $9,200 if we do two inside rooms - that's hard to swallow.

I've done other cruise lines and will in the future (have an NCL booked for Europe) but DCL has my heart in some ways and I'm super sad that it's looking unlikely for a third cruise. But I keep thinking about it (and other DCL itineraries) because I really have loved the two DCL cruises we have done. I love the service the most, the activities, everything really.

This probably is of no help whatsoever, but if it's in your budget, I'd give it a try. You may find it's a line you stick with

 

[Marypoppins14]

I sent DCL a lengthy email, expressing my general displeasure with the ever increasing, over-inflated prices and eroding value - this most recent removal of the OBC was my tipping point. I booked what may be my final DCL Cruise (14 total, 3 concierge). And I will forego all incidental purchases for my cruises with them. No beverage tastings, no extra Palo dinner or brunch, no Remy (anything), bring my own wine, so no beverages, bring my own Via coffee packets, so no Cove Cafe, no spa, no excisions booked through DCL. Just my bike on CC, the teen wild side adventure (also on CC), and gratuities. I’ll enjoy the stateroom, the fitness center, the ship, ports (on our own), and Serenity Bay on CC. My 14 y/o still prefers the Vibe, so we’re done, after he turns 18 (at the very latest). May check out the new ships, or pass. For the same money, we can luxuriate in spacious concierge cabins on RCCL, NCL, Celebrity, etc. And so we shall...

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The Alaska cruise is the only cruise where we bailed on DCL because of the price. We did the Celebrity Millennium; Seward, AK to Vancouver Canada. We loved the itinerary. No complaints with the meals or service but my wife and I thought it lacked in entertainment and while clean not a big fan of the ship itself (still recommend it). We do hope to cruise Alaska on DCL in 2021. We are on the Dream soon and plan on booking a placeholder and want to book the cruise as soon as the dates open up for 2021.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

We can only cruise during school breaks, so yes, I feel your pain. Yes, the cruises are overpriced. No, I'm not switching to another line, because DCL is currently the perfect fit for our cruising preferences.

We sailed DCL to Alaska and loved it, btw.

 

[Numtini]

My experience is that, unless you really shouldn't be doing this at all, once it's gone, you don't regret or worry about it. The 52 or 55" tv? You won't be thinking about that a year later either way. Spring for an extra grand for the satnav? You won't care either way. Same for a vacation. OTOH if you are depriving your kids of Christmas or eating ramen, then yeah, you can't afford this. Don't do it.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

So a while back I booked a 7 days cruise to Alaska on the Wonder for next June. At the time it was $7200 for my family of 4. Looking at the prices now that actually seems cheap compared to where the prices are at now. However now I am having some second thoughts. I do love Alaska, and love Disney Cruises, I just feel like the prices are really inflated. I'm debating if we should just switch to a different cruise line or take some alternative trip. Going to WDW ends up being cheaper for us because we utilize a lot of points and miles for the flights and hotels. My friends also invited us to Hawaii, which we could do instead and it would probably also be cheaper. That being said I would rather take a cruise, and the plane ride to Alaska would be shorter.

But anyway, anyone else ever feel this way? That they love Disney Cruises but find the prices hard to justify?

We feel the same way. We tried Carnival back in 2016, when the Vista was brand new. We only paid $4000 for an 8 night Mediterranean cruise for 4 people in 2 inside cabins. Since then we’ve been on Vista 3 more times and have loved every cruise. We still do DCL, but are no longer afraid to try other lines. We have NCL Escape booked for 2021, Northern Europe and Russia, 9 nights for $7000, once again, 4 people in 2 insides.

We did Alaska on the Wonder in 2018 and it was great, if we had it to do over, I’d definitely do NCL Bliss or a Celebrity ship instead.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I feel that way right up to the morning I'm getting on the ship. Then, I start feeling that way about my next cruise about the time I get off the ship. But while I'm there.... it's all good.

If what you will enjoy most is being on the ship, and you can afford it, stop guessing about where you'll get the most value for your money. Just enjoy the cruise. This is what you've chosen and what you really want to be doing.

 

[YawningDodo]

Honestly...yeah, a bit. I loved my Disney cruise and I'd love to go again, but when I crunched the numbers and realized I could do a 7 night stay at WDW for less than I was going to pay for a 5 night cruise (even after factoring in the discount and OBC from my placeholder) I immediately discovered where my priorities lay. I'd still like to do another Disney cruise eventually, but I honestly have no idea when that will be.

 

[ryankski]

You won't care either way. Same for a vacation. OTOH if you are depriving your kids of Christmas or eating ramen, then yeah, you can't afford this. Don't do it.

I'd add that if your not saving a decent amount (not just a few percentage s for the 401k match) for retirement then you probably can't afford it either.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

If you want to do Alaska later on DCL, it will never be cheaper than what you have right now. " A bird in the hand...". Plenty of time to start saving.

 

[miss0033]

So a while back I booked a 7 days cruise to Alaska on the Wonder for next June. At the time it was $7200 for my family of 4. Looking at the prices now that actually seems cheap compared to where the prices are at now. However now I am having some second thoughts. I do love Alaska, and love Disney Cruises, I just feel like the prices are really inflated. I'm debating if we should just switch to a different cruise line or take some alternative trip. Going to WDW ends up being cheaper for us because we utilize a lot of points and miles for the flights and hotels. My friends also invited us to Hawaii, which we could do instead and it would probably also be cheaper. That being said I would rather take a cruise, and the plane ride to Alaska would be shorter.

But anyway, anyone else ever feel this way? That they love Disney Cruises but find the prices hard to justify?

We did our Honeymoon in Alaska for 11 days, spent $4,500 (in 2012 dollars) all-in and saw way more than we ever could've hoped to on a cruise. Kenai Fjords national park, Girdwood, Talkeetna, Denali. It was incredible. We went fishing, took the train, took a bush flight. If you want to do Alaska, there are other ways.

 

[Shanon1217]

We paid that much for a 7 night Alaska cruise on Celebrity, for 2 adults. We loved Alaska, but were very unimpressed with Celebrity.

 

[ILovePixieDust]

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I was just thinking this today, that it's getting really hard for me to justify a DCL cruise. We were vaguely thinking of Alaska, only because DCL leaves out of Vancouver, where we live, so would save on not having to fly, but for 5 of us it's $12K for a verandah room and $9,200 if we do two inside rooms - that's hard to swallow.

You’d think living at the port of where the cruise leaves would make it more affordable! But because Disney Alaska cruises have gotten sooooo crazy it can actually be cheaper to fly from Vancouver to Port Canaveral to cruise, especially with the Canadian resident discounts too, because you can get better deals on the Fantasy itineraries. It is crazy that the cost of flying to Florida and sailing from there would be cheaper than sailing from our home port. I miss when the Alaska cruises were like half the price they are now!

If you sail the Wonder from California that’s even cheaper, because flights are cheaper too. Cheaper being relative to other Disney cruises of course )

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

So a while back I booked a 7 days cruise to Alaska on the Wonder for next June. At the time it was $7200 for my family of 4. Looking at the prices now that actually seems cheap compared to where the prices are at now. However now I am having some second thoughts. I do love Alaska, and love Disney Cruises, I just feel like the prices are really inflated. I'm debating if we should just switch to a different cruise line or take some alternative trip. Going to WDW ends up being cheaper for us because we utilize a lot of points and miles for the flights and hotels. My friends also invited us to Hawaii, which we could do instead and it would probably also be cheaper. That being said I would rather take a cruise, and the plane ride to Alaska would be shorter.

But anyway, anyone else ever feel this way? That they love Disney Cruises but find the prices hard to justify?

Switch lines. You won’t regret it. You can still go back to dcl later, but we find we can do two, sometimes three equally impressive cruises or vacations for the price of one dcl cruise. No sacrifices either.