Disappointed With New York Sailings

[1ST08WRX]

I know Disney is generally more expensive in every situation when cruising but come on. When I saw that Disney was going to cruise out of New York again I got pretty excited since the times of year we like to cruise, their cost is just so much higher out of the Florida ports. Living in Pennsylvania we always need to figure a plain ticket into our budget and that just puts a Disney cruise into the stratosphere price wise.
We have been on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian cruises so we are not adverse to other companies and tend to prefer Royal Caribbean when we cruise.
We generally cruise in April or May when the weather is nicer and we either go out of New York or fly to the ports in Florida. But we always thought Disney was too expensive with a plain ticket to justify paying the price they were asking. Royal Caribbean for example is $500-$800 cheaper almost every time per person for a comparable cruise out of Florida.
We love going to the parks in Florida and try to go every few years. A Disney cruise is something on our bucket list of sorts, but every time we go to look at prices we just can't byte the bullet. We thought leaving out of New York was going to be that chance to try it out but the price for two people, 8 day sailing was almost $1800 per person for 2 people. So I looked at Royal Caribbean for an October cruise out of New York and on their new boat the Quantum of the Seas for 9 days is around $1200.
A $1000 savings is huge and could go to our next WDW vacation. I know everyone will say save the money, but it's Disney, Castaway Cay and so on. Every company has their own island too. I just feel that the quality and amenities on Royal Caribbean ships are very hard to beat, especially when it is $1000 cheaper for an extra day cruising and a boat that isn't almost 18 years old.
Is anyone else disappointed at what they are charging for these itineraries?

 

[Belle612]

Yes! I am disappointed as well. I MAY have been able to deal with those prices if they were during the summer or over holidays, but the timing of them simply won't work for us as my husband is a teacher and he can't take an entire week off of school. I hope others who are not teachers and can take time off when they like are able to enjoy the cruises, though!

 

[saraheli]

Agree with poster above. I would be willing to pay a premium for the convenience of sailing out of NYC since I would be saving on airfare, hotels and transfers. I am not willing to pull both of my kids out of school for a week though to go on a Disney cruise, especially when you can find cruises year round that will work with vacation schedules and school breaks. The only time I would justify pulling my kids out of school for a week would be to visit family abroad.

 

[abja09]

I agree! I was excited when I first saw the cruises out of NYC as we live in NJ and I though it would be great to do. But as others have mentioned I will not take my son out of school for a week. I think they "missed the boat" on the 11/5 one way cruise to San Juan which would be considered Jersey week in 2016.

 

[EnchantedRoses]

I do find the prices a bit high - but it is Disney! This has been on my Disney Bucket list - and I am so glad we will be able to cross it off our list...even better that it leaves from NYC. No airfare, not hotel, were minutes away from PORT. Plus we have more than a year to pay it off! I am taking my son out of school for the week. (I understand why some parents don't)

 

[mlayton14]

Not to be argumentative but if Disney can get more money for their cruises on the open market why shouldn't they charge more ?

 

[JimGA]

OP, book soon, I bet this prices will be double in a matter of months. If DCL was on my bucket list and it was only $1000.00 difference, I would make it happen. If you sit on the fence and wait, I bet it will be a $3,000 difference real soon.

 

[Robmom]

I was also excited when I first heard, but my son is not an A student, so I can't take him out of school for this. So our whole family is disappointed.

 

[CamColt]

I feel the same, not about the pricing but about the time of year. Seeing what we paid for our 8 nights in 2012, a 7 night, which I would be just as happy with, is actually less per night. However being during the school year, and with 1 in HS and 1 in college, there is no way we can do it. Very disappointing!

 

[Ginamarie]

I posted something like this yesterday when I got the pricing. It's WAY too high. In contrast, I can spend less money to do 9 nights on NCL in a concierge 2-bedroom suite from NYC during our spring break than DCL is charging me for 2 INSIDE cabins on a 7 night cruise. I love DCL, but the markup is too much for me.

 

[OhThePain]

I would be able to live with the price if it was a different time of year or would be able to live with that time of year but a whole lot less expensive. Based on the time of year, you are basically going to lose the first and last day unable to really sit outside comfortably (between the temps and the wind that time of year, it's not ideal). I could almost justify the price they are asking if the cruise were to leave in July.

We do a lot of cruising with RCCL out of CL. We are going on the Liberty during the 4th of July. Our larger of the balcony rooms (1 cat below a Jr. Suite) for a 9 night cruise on a holiday week costs less than an inside cabin 7 nights on the Magic October '16. RCCL also has a deal with DreamWorks which has been integrated with the ships nicely, Anthem is going to have a rotational dining option plus we have never had an issue with the food on RCCL (MDR food on cruise ships is all pretty much the same in quality and options) and we have personally never had bad service on RCCL (characters, dining and service being the 3 biggest selling points).

While we loved our cruise on the Fantasy this past September and we'd be happy to do it again, it's just getting harder to justify the premium for DCL.