Costs vs. Level of Satisfaction

[Ofinn]

Just round trip airfare for her family of 5, could easily run $3,000 to $5,000. If going to give a review of the "price" though, she should make sure she breaks down the actual cruise price, as opposed to excursions and airfare.

It also could easily have been a cruise-only price. I just priced out the Disney Wonder for July 2016, for a family of 5... Balcony cabins in July run $13-14k.

That 5th person ends up requiring the larger cabins, and tacks on quite a bit to the overall price. So yeah.... actually looks believable that $14k would be cruise only, for a family of 5.

You are correct. July cruises for a family a five next year would cost around 14k. Crazy. I cant believe anyone woul pay that for a 7 night cruise in a basic verandah room. An alaska vacation on dcl next year could eaily run you 20k. If she didnt book opening day she probably did pay 14 k for just the cruise.

 

[MunFam]

I certainly hope you mentioned all of the above detail in your customer feedback form at the end of the cruise. From what I hear, Disney takes those forms very seriously. I would hope that after a few "incidents" of the above happening with that hostess (as surely, if she did that sort of thing to you, she has done it to others)...that she would be promptly let go.

I did, in detail. And then they called me and we talked on the phone for over an hour about a week after we got home. They definitely took it very seriously. They wanted pictures etc. which I was happy to provide. They offered us a 25% discount on a future cruise if we decide to take one (it has to be in the next 24 months).

 

[momof2n2]

And that makes me sad. I really like the whole "classic ship travel" thing.

I like formal, too.
I very much enjoyed dressing up on both my DCL and Princess cruises last year. OT I know. But wanted to plug in.

 

[havoc315]

You are correct. July cruises for a family a five next year would cost around 14k. Crazy. I cant believe anyone woul pay that for a 7 night cruise in a basic verandah room. An alaska vacation on dcl next year could eaily run you 20k. If she didnt book opening day she probably did pay 14 k for just the cruise.

For this August (in 2 weeks), with the 10% bounceback from our prior cruise... family of 4... with excursions, round trip airfare from NYC, a few nights in Vancouver... For all that combined, we are paying around 14k.. maybe it's closer to 16k. The cruise itself was "only" about $8k.

Looks like prices are significantly higher next year, PLUS the 5th person really adds to the cost, and reduces the options.
The probably could have done 2 interior cabins for under 10k.

Dang... just looking out of curiosity... prices have gone up quite a bit for 2016. Family of 4 balcony in 2016 is easily over 10k. On NCL, you can get a 2 bedroom family suite for that price. (And a regular balcony for about 3k-4k less than Disney)

I do find the "Disney premium" to be worth quite a bit... but I'm not sure it's worth quite that much.

 

[MunFam]

I thought the same thing about the travel agent paying that much???? Even if she added her airfare, doesn't she know any tricks for that either?

I am NOT sticking up for this "travel agent" by any means, but DCL does not offer travel agent discounts across the fleet. They put a select group of sailings on a heavy discount each year and they are usually last minute at off times. I have not seen anything beyond the Caribbean and maybe one Europe offered, although, I have not watched that closely. I am a travel agent and when we went on our Panama Canal Cruise, our best deal was to travel on my husband's MTO discount offer and use me as the travel agent so I could earn the small commission. The MTO rate with my commission worked out to be right around opening day pricing.

 

[momof2n2]

We paid $4500 for our family of 8 to have adjoining staterooms on 4-night Magic in SPH rooms last year. I can honestly say we did not feel like we overspent for the tremendous joy that cruise brought us. We didn't price any other lines. DCL was what we were after when I sat down in Feb 2013 to plan our 2014 vacation. (We also did 10 days in Kissimmee.)

This March, I did price around for next year's trip. I found I could do 7-night on NCL Getaway for just less than HALF of Fantasy the same week.
I had to ask myself if DCL Fantasy would be TWICE as wonderful as what NCL could offer us.
Now - I won't know for sure until after we go. NCL won't have characters or Animator's Palate or Castaway Cay. I will have to pay for our soda packages. But I think I will still come out about $5,000 ahead. (Which is enough for 8 nights in a rental house, five days of WDW tix, and a throwaway campsite at FW and money left over for excursions.)

I want to do DCL again. Badly. But to address the question of this thread - Cost vs. Level of Satisfaction. Can I be TWICE as satisfied?

 

[momof2n2]

For this August (in 2 weeks), with the 10% bounceback from our prior cruise... family of 4... with excursions, round trip airfare from NYC, a few nights in Vancouver... For all that combined, we are paying around 14k.. maybe it's closer to 16k. The cruise itself was "only" about $8k.

Looks like prices are significantly higher next year, PLUS the 5th person really adds to the cost, and reduces the options.
The probably could have done 2 interior cabins for under 10k.

Dang... just looking out of curiosity... prices have gone up quite a bit for 2016. Family of 4 balcony in 2016 is easily over 10k. On NCL, you can get a 2 bedroom family suite for that price. (And a regular balcony for about 3k-4k less than Disney)

I do find the "Disney premium" to be worth quite a bit... but I'm not sure it's worth quite that much.

We paid $4500 for our family of 8 to have adjoining staterooms on 4-night Magic in SPH rooms last year. I can honestly say we did not feel like we overspent for the tremendous joy that cruise brought us. We didn't price any other lines. DCL was what we were after when I sat down in Feb 2013 to plan our 2014 vacation. (We also did 10 days in Kissimmee.)

This March, I did price around for next year's trip. I found I could do 7-night on NCL Getaway for just less than HALF of Fantasy the same week.
I had to ask myself if DCL Fantasy would be TWICE as wonderful as what NCL could offer us.
Now - I won't know for sure until after we go. NCL won't have characters or Animator's Palate or Castaway Cay. I will have to pay for our soda packages. But I think I will still come out about $5,000 ahead. (Which is enough for 8 nights in a rental house, five days of WDW tix, and a throwaway campsite at FW and money left over for excursions.)

I want to do DCL again. Badly. But to address the question of this thread - Cost vs. Level of Satisfaction. Can I be TWICE as satisfied?

 

[Ofinn]

For this August (in 2 weeks), with the 10% bounceback from our prior cruise... family of 4... with excursions, round trip airfare from NYC, a few nights in Vancouver... For all that combined, we are paying around 14k.. maybe it's closer to 16k. The cruise itself was "only" about $8k.

Looks like prices are significantly higher next year, PLUS the 5th person really adds to the cost, and reduces the options.
The probably could have done 2 interior cabins for under 10k.

Dang... just looking out of curiosity... prices have gone up quite a bit for 2016. Family of 4 balcony in 2016 is easily over 10k. On NCL, you can get a 2 bedroom family suite for that price. (And a regular balcony for about 3k-4k less than Disney)

I do find the "Disney premium" to be worth quite a bit... but I'm not sure it's worth quite that much.

I have an alaska cruise booked next May in an oceanview around 5k. Nothing that I cant afford, but its still considerably higher than other lines at that time of year. Price is very important to me. My goal is to take as many vacations a year as I can for the least amount of money. Im not one to spend my whole vacation budget on one cruise. Last year we were able to cruise 4 times on dcl thanks to the Gt rates, but Alaska may be a destination where im going to have to look at other options. I have yet to see a Gt rate on an Alaska cruise. These cruises sell despite the price. Now next year the prices are so high it will be interesting to see if people are willing to pay the premium. The same goes for the European cruises. The price hikes for Summer 2015 to 2016 were substantial.. Im really curious to see how the Alaska and European cruises sell next year.

 

[havoc315]

I have an alaska cruise booked next May in an oceanview around 5k. Nothing that I cant afford, but its still considerably higher than other lines at that time of year. Price is very important to me. My goal is to take as many vacations a year as I can for the least amount of money. Im not one to spend my whole vacation budget on one cruise. Last year we were able to cruise 4 times on dcl thanks to the Gt rates, but Alaska may be a destination where im going to have to look at other options. I have yet to see a Gt rate on an Alaska cruise. These cruises sell despite the price. Now next year the prices are so high it will be interesting to see if people are willing to pay the premium. The same goes for the European cruises. The price hikes for Summer 2015 to 2016 were substantial.. Im really curious to see how the Alaska and European cruises sell next year.

The test will be whether to start to see fairly large discounts by late winter/early spring.... And whether the 2017 prices are even higher or fall back to earth.

I don't see myself booking another cruise on any cruise line, for a while. But if I was.... I have cruised NCL and Disney in recent years. I do find DCL to be worth a lot more than NCL. I have limited vacation time, and I'm willing to spend more to make the most of my vacation time. If, for example, NCL was $5,000 and DCL was $6,000 for an equivalent cabin, I'd take DCL in a heartbeat.
But when it's $6,000 for a 200sf cabin on NCL... $10,000 for a 200sf cabin on DCL, and $10,000 for a 500sf+butler+concierge+VIP cabin on NCL.... Not as easy of a choice.

 

[momof2n2]

The test will be whether to start to see fairly large discounts by late winter/early spring.... And whether the 2017 prices are even higher or fall back to earth.

I don't see myself booking another cruise on any cruise line, for a while. But if I was.... I have cruised NCL and Disney in recent years. I do find DCL to be worth a lot more than NCL. I have limited vacation time, and I'm willing to spend more to make the most of my vacation time. If, for example, NCL was $5,000 and DCL was $6,000 for an equivalent cabin, I'd take DCL in a heartbeat.
But when it's $6,000 for a 200sf cabin on NCL... $10,000 for a 200sf cabin on DCL, and $10,000 for a 500sf+butler+concierge+VIP cabin on NCL.... Not as easy of a choice.

Oh. That one sounds easy to me...

 

[kiford]

Let's face it, there are better values in the cruise industry. But value is not what Disney is selling,. What you are buying with Disney is the feel, the magic, the "pixie dust".

Sorry - have to disagree with you. Value is in the eye of the beholder; it's not something that can applied across the board to everyone based on one person's opinion. For us, Disney does have a good value or we wouldn't cruise with them. What we are buying with Disney, which includes the feel, the magic and the pixie dust, has value to us. Value is a complex set of criteria that isn't just hard facts, cost versus absolute return, but includes a lot of different things, some of which are intangible and some of which are unquantifiable.

 

[Alabama GiGi]

After I read the article I noticed links to other articles at the bottom of the page. The author of the article was unhappy with the cruise before boarding! The tone for the entire review had a negative vibe.

 

[squirk]

Sorry - have to disagree with you. Value is in the eye of the beholder; it's not something that can applied across the board to everyone based on one person's opinion. For us, Disney does have a good value or we wouldn't cruise with them. What we are buying with Disney, which includes the feel, the magic and the pixie dust, has value to us. Value is a complex set of criteria that isn't just hard facts, cost versus absolute return, but includes a lot of different things, some of which are intangible and some of which are unquantifiable.

I'll second that notion. Just because DCL is expensive does not mean they are not selling value. I mean, they have to sell value in order to justify the pricing, right? Nobody would book a Disney cruise if they did not think they were getting sufficient value for their money. For some folks, the intangibles, the "vibe" is the value.

Some people will buy a $50k Lexus vs. a $25k Nissan because they find an additional $25k of value in what Lexus offers, be it the prestige, the fit and finish of the interior, the technology package, the Toyota reliability (OK, maybe a bad example nowadays), etc.

Some people will pay $2.65 for a large coffee at Starbucks vs. a $1.35 large coffee elsewhere because the find an additional $1.30 worth of value in what Starbucks offers, be it the friendliness of the servers, the consistent quality and freshness of the coffee, the convenience of location, the cleanliness of the stores, etc.

I'm not at all saying that RCCL or NCL is not competitive with Disney, but if someone finds additional value in the Disney brand, the consistent quality and service it is known for, the aesthetics of the ship (again, those RCCL ships look more like fancy shopping malls to me), the amount and variety of kids' activities, etc., then I don't see anything "wrong" or "frivolous" in paying for that value.

 

[TXDCLfan]

I don't remember the drunk parties and fights on RCCL, but it has happened a number of times on Carnival.......you can see the videos on U tube.

AKK

I have seen the same number of drunks on DCL as CCl with all the cruises that we have done.

 

[Ofinn]

I'll second that notion. Just because DCL is expensive does not mean they are not selling value. I mean, they have to sell value in order to justify the pricing, right? Nobody would book a Disney cruise if they did not think they were getting sufficient value for their money. For some folks, the intangibles, the "vibe" is the value.

Some people will buy a $50k Lexus vs. a $25k Nissan because they find an additional $25k of value in what Lexus offers, be it the prestige, the fit and finish of the interior, the technology package, the Toyota reliability (OK, maybe a bad example nowadays), etc.

Some people will pay $2.65 for a large coffee at Starbucks vs. a $1.35 large coffee elsewhere because the find an additional $1.30 worth of value in what Starbucks offers, be it the friendliness of the servers, the consistent quality and freshness of the coffee, the convenience of location, the cleanliness of the stores, etc.

I'm not at all saying that RCCL or NCL is not competitive with Disney, but if someone finds additional value in the Disney brand, the consistent quality and service it is known for, the aesthetics of the ship (again, those RCCL ships look more like fancy shopping malls to me), the amount and variety of kids' activities, etc., then I don't see anything "wrong" or "frivolous" in paying for that value.

I agree with you to a point, but not everyone can afford a Lexus they have to buy the Nissan. I also agree with value being subjective. When my kids were 5-9 years old IMHO the perfect age for Disney. I didn't blink at eye at buying Annual passes and staying club level deluxe on every trip with maybe a short cruise mixed in. We took some pretty extravagant WDW vacations. At that time in our lives I saw value in it, and could afford it. I don't regret the money at all. It was a awesome two years. Would I fork out that kind of money for WDW again. No way. My kids aren't enamored with WDW anymore.

They would rather cruise, and cruising is all about making friends. They are close to being teens now, and I really don't think they're going to care what cruise line they are on as long as it has a cool teen club. Our income hasn't changed, but College is just around the corner, kids get more expensive, and I'm in my 40's so I have to start thinking more about retirement. What I am willing to spend on vacations and what I consider a good value has definitely changed in the last six years. I would love to keep cruising DCL when I get a good deal.

I always hear people say they can afford a DCL cruise, but aren't willing to pay their prices. I'll be honest there are a lot of DCL cruises I flat out can't afford value or not, and I can't afford a Lexus either BTW.

You also have to consider the price increases for people that have done a lot of cruises it's hard to keep paying more and more for the same cruise.

 

[squirk]

I see your point, but just because someone can't afford the Lexus does not mean they don't find value in it.

I guess my point is that "value" doesn't necessarily mean "inexpensive". "Value" is when you feel like you got what you paid for.

 

[Ofinn]

I see your point, but just because someone can't afford the Lexus does not mean they don't find value in it.

I guess my point is that "value" doesn't necessarily mean "inexpensive". "Value" is when you feel like you got what you paid for.

I never said Value had to be cheap. Value is what you can comfortably afford and you feel is worth the money you paid. I think the car analogy is a bad one .There is a clear difference between a BMW and Honda. Cruises, and hotels are more subjective. I spent one night at Pop century, and I still wish I had that 105 dollars back. It was the worst 105 dollars I ever spent. Some people love that resort and feel it's totally worth it.

 

[cgolf]

Wow that review was over the top, but does mirror some of the popcorn threads I have seen on the boards in the past. I just thank my lucky stars that other people's behavior doesn't impact our vacation, we have a good time regardless, and try to laugh off others bad behavior. Many people let others behavior impact their life, for me vacations are to short to let this happen.

As for Alaska, I hate it and never want to go back, but if my wife blind folded me and put me on the ship I would probably enjoy it.

As to the thread title, I have never gotten off the ship and had buyers remorse even after the 2 concierge trips we did which was a bit of a stretch for our budget.

 

[squirk]

I never said Value had to be cheap. Value is what you can comfortably afford and you feel is worth the money you paid. I think the car analogy is a bad one .There is a clear difference between a BMW and Honda. Cruises, and hotels are more subjective. I spent one night at Pop century, and I still wish I had that 105 dollars back. It was the worst 105 dollars I ever spent. Some people love that resort and feel it's totally worth it.

Hmmm. Again, I see your point, but I'm not sure I agree that "value" necessarily means "affordable", either. Just because I can't afford a Tesla doesn't mean I don't think they are worth every penny.

And I also can't agree that everyone would find a "clear difference" between a BMW and a Honda, or at least differences that matter to them. There's subjectivity there, too. Some people neither need nor want heated seats, a heads-up display projected on your windshield, autonomous parking, a 50gb HDD for your music, etc. I would bet there are a lot of people who won't buy the BMW because it costs $25k more for "a bunch of crap I don't need and will never use."

I love Pop, BTW. For a quick and/or solo trip where I will be using the room pretty much just to sleep and shower, I find to be a great value.

 

[Ofinn]

Hmmm. Again, I see your point, but I'm not sure I agree that "value" necessarily means "affordable", either. Just because I can't afford a Tesla doesn't mean I don't think they are worth every penny.

And I also can't agree that everyone would find a "clear difference" between a BMW and a Honda, or at least differences that matter to them. There's subjectivity there, too. Some people neither need nor want heated seats, a heads-up display projected on your windshield, autonomous parking, a 50gb HDD for your music, etc. I would bet there are a lot of people who won't buy the BMW because it costs $25k more for "a bunch of crap I don't need and will never use."

I love Pop, BTW. For a quick and/or solo trip where I will be using the room pretty much just to sleep and shower, I find to be a great value.

I guess we can agree to disagree on this matter. As far as Pops concerned I could stay in a 2 bedroom suite offsite somewhere and get a free breakfast and cocktails for the same price. Pop is a very expensive motel 6 IMO. I don't travel solo, but for a family of four...not my cup of tea. There are very tangible differences between a BMW and a Honda as you noted. The difference between DCL and RCI or NCL are very subjective. Service, food, activities all a matter of opinion. If you can stay in a 2 bedroom suite on NCL or an 185 foot inside room on DCL for the same price ... Now that's a tangible difference.