Cruise once with Disney or three times with royal?

[ucf_knight]

We’ve priced out a cruise on the Disney wish 4 night in august inside stateroom family of 4 and it’s roughly $6300 vs a cruise with royal for $1900 for the same number of nights on freedom (this $1900 figure is what we are doing this coming week with two connecting inside staterooms). The wish looks incredible but is disney cruise line worth spending less vacation time on the high seas when I could get two more cruises in with royal for less money? We don’t drink sodas and get 4 free alcoholic drinks per day with royal as diamond members. We also never do speciality dining on royal so essentially our cruise fare covers pretty much what we would do on the ship.

 

[hrhdhd]

From a fellow UCF grad, take more cruises.

 

[Micca]

Wow, that's a big gap in price! We are die-hard Disney people more than die-hard cruisers, so we'd choose Disney or not cruise at all. But think of the trip you could do with $6300! Couldn't you do Hawaii or Europe for that?

Sidebar: I feel similarly about the dynamic pricing for Bruce Springsteen tickets. When you're getting into 4 figures a pop for tickets you gotta ask yourself if there isn't a more fun way to spend that much other than standing in an arena for several hours.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Do you have any flexibility with dates? You should be able to get a four night on DCL for a LOT less than $6,300.

 

[Cheburashka]

We’ve priced out a cruise on the Disney wish 4 night in august inside stateroom family of 4 and it’s roughly $6300 vs a cruise with royal for $1900 for the same number of nights on freedom (this $1900 figure is what we are doing this coming week with two connecting inside staterooms). The wish looks incredible but is disney cruise line worth spending less vacation time on the high seas when I could get two more cruises in with royal for less money? We don’t drink sodas and get 4 free alcoholic drinks per day with royal as diamond members. We also never do speciality dining on royal so essentially our cruise fare covers pretty much what we would do on the ship.

The Wish is brand new and thus DCL's most expensive ship. If you want to try DCL for less money, sail a different ship. (The others are better anyway, imo.) DCL is also a lot cheaper when school is in session for most children. August on the WIsh is about as overpriced as DCL gets, but there are bargains to be had with other DCL ships. Sometimes you can get a much cheaper GT rate a few months before the cruise, even for some cruises that are during school holidays.

 

[ucf_knight]

Do you have any flexibility with dates? You should be able to get a four night on DCL for a LOT less than $6,300.

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Unfortunately we don’t with the kids school

 

[Cheburashka]

Unfortunately we don’t with the kids school

Sail a different ship. The Dream & Fantasy actually have better features than the Wish, such as the Aqua Duck and Midship Detective Agency.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Unfortunately we don’t with the kids school

Does it have to be the Wish?

Yes, it's true that DCL is more expensive than the mass-market carriers. But you're choosing a uniquely expensive itinerary as your point of comparison.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

No, DCL isn't worth the price difference during the summer months if you know you enjoy sailing with Royal as well. Cruise more often with Royal or cruise a more interesting itinerary.

 

[ucf_knight]

Does it have to be the Wish?

Yes, it's true that DCL is more expensive than the mass-market carriers. But you're choosing a uniquely expensive itinerary as your point of comparison.

Looking at the same dates, for the same number of nights with similar stops and similar sized ships. Could do the magic for around $3k buts it’s half the boat of freedom basically so that’s why I looked at the wish. I don’t mind spending the money but I’m trying to see if it’s worth it to cruise once or three times as we typically cruise 2-3 times a year with royal.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Looking at the same dates, for the same number of nights with similar stops and similar sized ships. Could do the magic for around $3k buts it’s half the boat of freedom basically so that’s why I looked at the wish. I don’t mind spending the money but I’m trying to see if it’s worth it to cruise once or three times as we typically cruise 2-3 times a year with royal.

"Half the boat of freedom," wow.

You know mega-ships don't exist for the guests' benefit, right? They're about maximizing revenue per ton of fuel, i.e. cramming as many bodies onboard as possible. If you've already concluded that "bigger is better," then I would recommend sticking with Royal even if there weren't a big price difference. Saving a bunch of money will be a bonus.

I would only ever sail DCL or Viking but no, I would never spend $6,000 for four nights in an inside stateroom.

 

[Intr3pid]

If you have little flexibility with dates, how will you sail three times with RCL?

 

[Cheburashka]

Could do the magic for around $3k buts it’s half the boat of freedom basically so that’s why I looked at the wish.

The Magic is not "half the boat" of the Wish. She's a very special ship. Do your kids like thrills? If so, they might like the Magic's Aqua Dunk waterslide that has a drop down box. The Magic has a Broadway quality "Tangled" theater show, and a very special Animation Magic event at dinner in Animator's Palate. The Magic is very beautiful, and unlike on many mega cruise ships, you're very aware of being at sea, with huge porthole windows in the hallways on deck 3, and a wraparound promenade on deck 4 that you can use for walking, jogging, lounging or shuffleboard. There's a sports' deck, too, and spacious and well-enforced adults-only areas, including a real adults-only pool that you can actually swim in (unlike on the Wish). It has two hot tubs at the adult pool and two hot tubs at the family pool. By contrast, the Wish only has one single hot tub for complimentary use. The staterooms on DCL are bigger than those of corresponding categories on Royal, and they have 2 bathrooms. All Disney ships have the characters onboard, fireworks on Pirate Night and can stop at Castaway Cay, which is a peaceful private island that most DCL fans love.

It sounds like Royal might be for you if you're really only attracted to the bells and whistles of the Wish. The Wish is more like the new Royal ships than it is like DCL's other ships in certain aspects of her design. If that's all that appeals to you, then you should sail RCCL for less money.

 

[ucf_knight]

If you have little flexibility with dates, how will you sail three times with RCL?

Summer break, spring break, winter break and fall break

 

[ucf_knight]

The Magic is not "half the boat" of the Wish. It's a very special ship. Do your kids like thrills? If so, they might like the Magic's Aqua Dunk waterslide that has a drop down box. The Magic has a Broadway quality "Tangled" theater show, and a very special Animation Magic event at dinner in Animator's Palate. The Magic is very beautiful, and unlike on many mega cruise ships, you're very aware of being at sea, with huge porthole windows in the hallways on deck 3, and a wraparound promenade on deck 4 that you can use for walking, jogging, lounging or shuffleboard. There's a sports' deck, too, and spacious and well-enforced adults-only areas, including a real adults-only pool that you can actually swim in (unlike on the Wish). It has two hot tubs at the adult pool and two hot tubs at the family pool. By contrast, the Wish only has one single hot tub for complimentary use. The staterooms on DCL are bigger than those of corresponding categories on Royal, and they have 2 bathrooms. All Disney ships have the characters onboard, fireworks on Pirate Night and can stop at Castaway Cay, which is a peaceful private island that most DCL fans love.

It sounds like Royal might be for you if you're really only attracted to the bells and whistles of the Wish. The Wish is more like the new Royal ships than it is like DCL's other ships in certain aspects of its design. If that's all that appeals to you, then you should sail RCCL for less money.

We really want to do Disney. It’s just a tough decision. The fireworks, characters and kids club is something royal can’t compete on.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We really want to do Disney. It’s just a tough decision. The fireworks, characters and kids club is something royal can’t compete on.

IMO rotational dining is the secret sauce of DCL more than those things.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

"Half the boat of freedom," wow.

You know mega-ships don't exist for the guests' benefit, right? They're about maximizing revenue per ton of fuel, i.e. cramming as many bodies onboard as possible. If you've already concluded that "bigger is better," then I would recommend sticking with Royal even if there weren't a big price difference. Saving a bunch of money will be a bonus.

I would only ever sail DCL or Viking but no, I would never spend $6,000 for four nights in an inside stateroom.

The mega ships offer more options for entertainment, dining, retail, etc. How is that not a guest benefit?

Everyone has their own preferences and there are positives and negatives to each ship.

 

[racingfandj]

We really want to do Disney. It’s just a tough decision. The fireworks, characters and kids club is something royal can’t compete on.

This is exactly the reason to go Disney! When my girls were younger, my DH had to travel for work one spring break. I decided a last minute vacation would be fun and found a deal on RCCL. We had been on 1 or 2 DCL at that time. Both my girls (now 15 and 24), will still never cruise with anyone other than DCL (just completed #17).

 

[sethschroeder]

Could do the magic for around $3k buts it’s half the boat of freedom basically so that’s why I looked at the wish.

As someone going back and forth I would rate it as:

1a - Oasis
1b - Quantum
2 - Disney Dream (Wish included)
3 - Disney Magic
4 - Freedom

Disney can get a bump in to 1a/b based on it being Disney so you have a very specific theme to the ship and entertainment.

Size of ship can be important but it can also be wasted space or missing things.

I also would never spend $6k on the wish for a 4 night cruise. I would go elsewhere or skip it all together.

 

[sethschroeder]

The mega ships offer more options for entertainment, dining, retail, etc. How is that not a guest benefit?

Everyone has their own preferences and there are positives and negatives to each ship.

Freedom is not a mega ship though its a Fantasy sized ship. Now if you were talking about Oasis class ships then its not really a comparison in the volume of options.