Cancelled Our Cruise -Going To Universal

[Lollipop's Mom]

Kinda sad - cancelled our 5 night cruise, but was having so much trouble justifying spending nearly $4500 (canadian) for 5 nights -cruise was $3650 cdn for 2 of us. Then Miami hotel - 300 cdn, tips - 155cdn, plus an excursion maybe, plus drinks (not big drinkers but would spend some), plus Palo, plus car rent to drive to Orlando afterwards, etc.... Before I knew it I was burning through about $4500 for FIVE DAYS! Also it will cost me about $250 more to fly into Miami than Orlando.

I love Disney - my heart is with Disney. We have sailed NCL, RCCL, Carnival and Princess and NO - nothing compares to a Disney Cruise, but I just can't justify it when other cruise lines are half or less than half.

We have never been to Universal and I managed to book 5 nights with park to park tix in the new Aventura hotel for $1350! Then we will head over for free dining at WDW for the week after.

I also noticed our sailing (which final payment due next week) is really empty. We have like 3 people in our dismeet group and soooooooo many cabins available. I forsee some GT rates come up. Who knows, if it lowers enough, maybe i will rebook, but for now -Universal is getting my money that week!

Anyone else feeling DCL is getting out of control with pricing?

 

[gotomu212]

On a side note- we LOVE universal. If you haven’t gone over to the Universal subforum here, it’s full of super nice and helpful people that would love to share tips for your trip there.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, but no. Yes Disney pricing is well above the competition. But no, these boards with people booking multiple cruises a year are kind of the best evidence that for enough people, prices are not out of control.
When and if demand drops. then Disney will have to look at their pricing.

 

[lorimay]

There are some incredible deals at that new hotel in Universal!
Have fun!!!
If you want a really good meal inside a theme park, try Mythos(IOA), its delicious!

 

[Bethany10]

We're looking at a Universal trip next year and I've been alllll over the Uni side of these boards. Come on over there is an active community there.

 

[Shanti]

I also noticed our sailing (which final payment due next week) is really empty. We have like 3 people in our dismeet group and soooooooo many cabins available. I forsee some GT rates come up...

Anyone else feeling DCL is getting out of control with pricing?

Yes, DCL rates are crazy, particularly over school holidays, which is when we cruise. I have opted out of more than one potential cruise due to pricing, but I'm definitely not stopping cruising with DCL. I just look at each specific cruise and analyze if it's an experience worth the cost for us.

I don't compare the cost of DCL to the cost of cruising with other lines, as we're not interested in other lines at this time. But I do compare DCL's cost to the cost of other potential vacations. I swapped a planned Merrytime Dream cruise for this December with a trip to Carlsbad Caverns & White Sands to save money this winter. But I also scheduled a Merrytime Dream cruise for December of 2019. The Castaway cruise experience holds a lot of value for us.

Dis Meet groups are often quite empty and inactive these days, unfortunately. Most activity has migrated to Facebook. So that isn't a good barometer for how popular/well-booked a specific cruise is.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I loved our trip to Universal. Last year was our epic trip year - we did a week in Orlando/WDW, then a 7 night DCL Fantasy cruise, then 4 days at Universal in Portofino Bay. I seriously loved the Universal part. I am a huge Harry Potter fan and the theming and rides in the HP areas are AHHHHHMAZING.

DCL is definitely $$$$ and during the summer season I do agree it is higher than most. We are booked on the EBTA next year and one of the reasons I chose this itinerary is b/c on a per night price, it's still lower than many of the other cruises including their caribbean ones. But DH said that after the EBTA he's not sure he will want to cruise DCL again, and I can understand it. It takes a lot of savings for us to make these sorts of trips (last year's trip was our first big vacation in 5 years).

Anyway if you're in Orlando anyway, what about a 4 night Dream - then you're not having to fly to Miami. Might be worth keeping an eye on it?

 

[MomOTwins]

I don't think the pricing is too bad -- it is a deluxe vacation with a nice stateroom compared to other lines, included child care, entertainment, and fine dining 24/7. If I price out a disney world trip for 5 days at a deluxe resort with table service meals, park tickets, and a couple of trips to the paid kids' clubs, I would easily spend more than the cruise. Yes they are not exactly the same thing--but it just depends on what you like on vacation and what you are willing to pay for, and the cruise ticks off a lot of boxes for me.

 

[Sytrace]

Kinda sad - cancelled our 5 night cruise, but was having so much trouble justifying spending nearly $4500 (canadian) for 5 nights -cruise was $3650 cdn for 2 of us. Then Miami hotel - 300 cdn, tips - 155cdn, plus an excursion maybe, plus drinks (not big drinkers but would spend some), plus Palo, plus car rent to drive to Orlando afterwards, etc.... Before I knew it I was burning through about $4500 for FIVE DAYS! Also it will cost me about $250 more to fly into Miami than Orlando.

I love Disney - my heart is with Disney. We have sailed NCL, RCCL, Carnival and Princess and NO - nothing compares to a Disney Cruise, but I just can't justify it when other cruise lines are half or less than half.

We have never been to Universal and I managed to book 5 nights with park to park tix in the new Aventura hotel for $1350! Then we will head over for free dining at WDW for the week after.

I also noticed our sailing (which final payment due next week) is really empty. We have like 3 people in our dismeet group and soooooooo many cabins available. I forsee some GT rates come up. Who knows, if it lowers enough, maybe i will rebook, but for now -Universal is getting my money that week!

Anyone else feeling DCL is getting out of control with pricing?

Ironically enough, in April we cancelled our Universal studios staycation (we live local) to take a Disney Cruise on the Fantasy. Four nights at Sapphire Falls with hopper tickets and early admission was about $2800.00 range for the 4 of us. Food was not included in that price and that adds up a lot especially with 2 teens who eat adult meals.
But the Disney Cruise we took was $4500 for 7 nights in a veranda cabin with food included. I felt like it was a good deal and my kids were not that impressed with Universal anyway so it worked out for us.
I don't think DCL has priced us out yet....except for Alaska. Definitely hesitant to sail DCL to Alaska when there are so many other lines that can go there for less money. And who sail from Seattle as opposed to Vancouver which saves on airfare for us.

Have fun at Universal...there are some awesome roller coasters there that are exciting and some great food options as well at City Walk and the surrounding I Drive area.

 

[ktate82]

We really enjoyed Universal. The HP theming is awesome and loved the hotels! We have been spoiled by the unlimited express passes from the three deluxe resorts though, and I don't know if we could go and not stay there lol. Have fun!

 

[DCL_Wonder]

Anyone else feeling DCL is getting out of control with pricing?

I don't. They price to the market, which is what all companies should do. Universal Studios are great, you'll have a wonderful time! We visited a few years ago and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was awesome!

 

[darnheather]

Universal is a great park and I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time. My children don't ride many theme park rides so for us cruises just make sense. They are still young enough that I feel like it's worth it to indulge in Disney especially due to the larger inside cabins.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Universal is next on my list too, hoping to do a mommy/son weekend trip with my older DS as we are currently on book 5 of the HP series. Maybe will try for Fall/Winter of 2019, especially if the hotel rates at WDW are just too insane with the opening of SW:GE and we decide against a trip there.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

For me, the price on Disney cruises is above what I am willing to spend. I'd love to do another Disney cruise, but I won't without some kind of great deal. I price them from time to time and quickly close the web browser. I would have to have come across a very good VGT rate on a week we could go to justify it. Like any product, Disney will continue to raise rates as high as they can, and when if it gets to a point when the market no longer supports the rate, they will bring it back down or offer "sale" prices to fill the cabins. In the meantime, I will continue to put other vacation options above a Disney Cruise. Which is OK, because Universal is my happy place. Have a great trip!

 

[darnheather]

Universal is next on my list too, hoping to do a mommy/son weekend trip with my older DS as we are currently on book 5 of the HP series. Maybe will try for Fall/Winter of 2019, especially if the hotel rates at WDW are just too insane with the opening of SW:GE and we decide against a trip there.

Depending on when you go two days for HP is plenty even with hitting other rides as well. We went during a random week in February and while the HP stuff was always crowded the lines were short. The rest of the park was nearly empty except the newer rides.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We still cruise DCL but not like we used to. We’ve realized we can have just as wonderful of a time on Carnival and RCCL, and do more cruises on them. I’ve also come to realize there are different types of cruisers, those who love cruising in general and those who love Disney cruising. We just love to be on a ship and that’s our favorite type of vacation, so I’m no longer willing to pay the difference for a vacation that we can enjoy just as much.

 

[buzzrelly]

Haha! Last April we cancelled Universal and went on DCL instead because the cruise wasn't going to cost much more and it included all of our food.

 

[All about me]

Universal is amazing! Unlike Disney, you can use the amenities of other on-property hotels and I strongly recommend you check out the pools and lazy river at Cabana Bay.

Anyone else feeling DCL is getting out of control with pricing?

Our Disney cruise is double what the same cruise would be with a different cruise line so... yeah.

 

[RedSox68]

We LOVE Universal -- all of it, and their hotels are awesome. You'll have a great time. And yes, I completely understand not being able to justify those prices. We cancelled our last two bookings -- just couldn't pay that much when I can get cheaper cruises with the same itinerary on other lines. I have been platinum since 2014, but can't afford to sail again to use our benefits

 

[darnheather]

I'll be the vote for staying off property. I found their hotel rates to be very high without having any themeing (which I like). We stayed off site for around $70 a night and used Lyft to go back forth (parking is very expensive).