Disney Cruise Prices

[mlayton14]

This one doesn’t have soda included - you would have to add on. I think you could get that for the < $300 difference. (They do serve Coke, but often from a Freestyle machine). Two more cruise days, but also 2 more days‘ gratuities.

Same embarkation city as Dream - and also a Western Caribbean.

I don’t know If I would be convinced to book this over the Dream, as I am a Disney > Royal experience fan. But it is a nice deal and has two extra ports. Lots of activities in the Oasis.

I only checked Royal so far. I sailed the Allure of the Seas, this one’s sister. Lots of people love these ships.

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Peoples big mistake comparing pricing don’t seem to realize Disney offers a different product than Royal and NCL. These are not commodities we are talking about here they are vacations. The clientele and overall mood/vibe of the experiences are very different IMO. Obviously different things appeal to different people. Royal and NCL seem to try to appeal to everyone because they have so so many cabins to fill- from retired people, to families, to boozing singles/couples in their 20s. They try to do too much for my tastes.

Imagine if Disney converted their cruise experience to more like Royal - loud top 40 pop music playing in most public areas. A shopping area that feels like a mall, people buying unlimited drink packages trying to get their moneys worth, reservations for shows, keeping track of your pool towels , occasional spring break vibes at the pool , and a six flags like water park built on top of a beautiful Bahamian island.

Of course they will never do these things because they are targeting to people with different expectations

DCL fans expect a cleaner vibe suited for a family atmosphere (including ALL ages) for lovers of the storytelling and nostalgia they grew up with or are growing with - from the classic film music in the hallways, to top production shows, to themed MDRs, activities designed that families can do together. Simple turnkey vacation with limited planning , reservations , upselling, or stress.

From the time you step on a DCL ship you are stepping into a show , the mass market lines will offer you a room and a ton of other different options depending on your likes.

For some of the previous posters the show isn’t worth the premium charged - for many of us it is - why is that so hard to understand?

Merry Christmas!

 

[Narcoossee11]

DCL has always be more expensive than ALL other cruise lines.
They charge more because they can .
The ships sell out so they Don't care what others cruise lines charge.
DCL has 5 ships where most other cruise line have 100's.

 

[jeffann6]

The problem with Disney and this is includes the Disney Cruise Line. They have taken away the magic over the years and continuously raise prices. We have been doing both WDW and Disney Cruise since 2002 and have notice the decline in the magic over the years.
As for the Wish we just cruised on her last Oct and I feel this ship is geared more towards people with money, they added more concierge rooms, made the adult area smaller I believe for that reason.
I get it though at the end of the day Disney is still a business and needs to show a profit but at what cost. Disney I feel has forgotten what made Disney Disney, the people that Love Disney.
Hopefully with Bob Igor back as CEO he may bring some of this back but for now unless there are some changes made and the value for the money spent comes back Disney will have to be a pass for for awhile.

 

[mlayton14]

The problem with Disney and this is includes the Disney Cruise Line. They have taken away the magic over the years and continuously raise prices. We have been doing both WDW and Disney Cruise since 2002 and have notice the decline in the magic over the years.
As for the Wish we just cruised on her last Oct and I feel this ship is geared more towards people with money, they added more concierge rooms, made the adult area smaller I believe for that reason.
I get it though at the end of the day Disney is still a business and needs to show a profit but at what cost. Disney I feel has forgotten what made Disney Disney, the people that Love Disney.
Hopefully with Bob Igor back as CEO he may bring some of this back but for now unless there are some changes made and the value for the money spent comes back Disney will have to be a pass for for awhile.

Even with my points above , I agree with your points. More so at the parks but on cruise line as well. Less for more

 

[Cheburashka]

I can book a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine in June with airfare for less than my upcoming New Year's cruise on the Fantasy will cost.

Christmas week / New Year's cruises are the most expensive cruises (for their itineraries) on DCL by far, and cost twice as much as the same type of cruise just a couple of weeks prior or after. So that is not a fair comparison.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Peoples big mistake comparing pricing don’t seem to realize Disney offers a different product than Royal and NCL. These are not commodities we are talking about here they are vacations. The clientele and overall mood/vibe of the experiences are very different IMO. Obviously different things appeal to different people. Royal and NCL seem to try to appeal to everyone because they have so so many cabins to fill- from retired people, to families, to boozing singles/couples in their 20s. They try to do too much for my tastes.

Imagine if Disney converted their cruise experience to more like Royal - loud top 40 pop music playing in most public areas. A shopping area that feels like a mall, people buying unlimited drink packages trying to get their moneys worth, reservations for shows, keeping track of your pool towels , occasional spring break vibes at the pool , and a six flags like water park built on top of a beautiful Bahamian island.

Of course they will never do these things because they are targeting to people with different expectations

DCL fans expect a cleaner vibe suited for a family atmosphere (including ALL ages) for lovers of the storytelling and nostalgia they grew up with or are growing with - from the classic film music in the hallways, to top production shows, to themed MDRs, activities designed that families can do together. Simple turnkey vacation with limited planning , reservations , upselling, or stress.

From the time you step on a DCL ship you are stepping into a show , the mass market lines will offer you a room and a ton of other different options depending on your likes.

For some of the previous posters the show isn’t worth the premium charged - for many of us it is - why is that so hard to understand?

Merry Christmas!

Well Disney just bought the Mega of all Mega ships. You think they wont’t expand their market to a cruise audience beyond their boutique clientele they market to now? Think again.

 

[Sykes]

A family balcony on NCL for a party of four sailing July 30, 2023 for 7 nights is $5,847.88 after the "2nd guest free" promo has been applied. In which case, the original fare is $9,993.88 for the most accurate comparison to Disney.

No one pays the original base fare for a cruise on NCL. The base fare only exists so that they can run promos and claim that you're getting x% off. But in reality, the promos are always available and are always the real price. (In other words, they, for example, increase the cost 40% so that they can then discount it by 40%.) This is true across all of the major players in the industry. In your example, the $5,847.88 is definitely the appropriate fare to use for comparison.

They'll frequently change the structure of the promos up so they have new things to market--second guest free or 50% off for everyone or $x off--but even when they change up the promos the price for two people in a cabin will almost always remain remarkably consistent because after-promo price is the real price. (The different structure of the promos CAN lead to material differences for solo travelers or when they vary inclusions like drinks and wifi though.)

 

[BWV Dreamin]

No one pays the original base fare for a cruise on NCL. The base fare only exists so that they can run promos and claim that you're getting x% off. But in reality, the promos are always available and are always the real price. (In other words, they, for example, increase the cost 40% so that they can then discount it by 40%.) This is true across all of the major players in the industry. In your example, the $5,847.88 is definitely the appropriate fare to use for comparison.

Yes my price comparison was AFTER the discounts with NCL, still saved just under $4000 vs DCL. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

[Aimeedyan]

People are really passionate about Disney cruises

I will pay the upcharge to cruise Disney while my child is young. He's into Disney characters, it works for us. For the record, the fireworks, soda (I had no idea that was such a selling point! We don't drink it), adult section of Castaway, and adult areas on the ship are not a draw for us. We didn't participate in any of it on our last cruise and didn't miss it. The shows on deck and in the lobby were so uncomfortably crowded that they were hard to enjoy. The Halloween decorations were fine, I guess? But we loved the character interactions, nursery, and the staff were wonderful. We saw one show and it was excellent.

I cruised Disney pre-children and was bored out of my mind. We would never cruise it again without a small child; just not how we want to spend our vacation, and definitely not worth the upcharge.

We have cruised other lines (pre-children) and thought the food and private islands were better than Disney. Disney does other things better, especially for the toddler set. It works for our stage in life but I can't imagine it always being the best option for us.

(Also: worst behavior I ever encountered on a cruise was on a Disney cruise - fellow cruisers were not somehow more refined because it was Disney and $$$).

 

[lklgoodman]

The problem with Disney and this is includes the Disney Cruise Line. They have taken away the magic over the years and continuously raise prices. We have been doing both WDW and Disney Cruise since 2002 and have notice the decline in the magic over the years.
As for the Wish we just cruised on her last Oct and I feel this ship is geared more towards people with money, they added more concierge rooms, made the adult area smaller I believe for that reason.
I get it though at the end of the day Disney is still a business and needs to show a profit but at what cost. Disney I feel has forgotten what made Disney Disney, the people that Love Disney.
Hopefully with Bob Igor back as CEO he may bring some of this back but for now unless there are some changes made and the value for the money spent comes back Disney will have to be a pass for for awhile.

We did our first DCL cruise in 2001. Years later we did our second cruise with our dd who was 6 yrs old at the time. Back then the princess tea was free. Now it's around $200 I think. I was glad my dd had outgrown the princesses when I heard how much it was.(I probably would have paid it if she was young and hadn't ever done it) They didn't get the dolls, jewelry boxes, or other bling back then, but she already had all that stuff, so she wouldn't have needed it. Back then the princesses came to the tables to visit as everyone had the treats, then had the kids come and do dances with princesses. We then got pics with each princess. It's too bad they don't still offer a free version without all the gifts. If anyone has 3 or 4 kids, it's really expensive to do the tea now.

 

[mlayton14]

Well Disney just bought the Mega of all Mega ships. You think they wont’t expand their market to a cruise audience beyond their boutique clientele they market to now? Think again.

I would doubt they are going to become more like Royal and Carnival , aren’t they sinking like $1b into this ship and then sending it to Asia? Never said Disney doesn’t tolerate crowds - look at the parks! I would bet whatever it ends up being it won’t have hairiest chest and belly flop contests at the pool.

 

[lklgoodman]

People are really passionate about Disney cruises

I will pay the upcharge to cruise Disney while my child is young. He's into Disney characters, it works for us. For the record, the fireworks, soda (I had no idea that was such a selling point! We don't drink it), adult section of Castaway, and adult areas on the ship are not a draw for us. We didn't participate in any of it on our last cruise and didn't miss it. The shows on deck and in the lobby were so uncomfortably crowded that they were hard to enjoy. The Halloween decorations were fine, I guess? But we loved the character interactions, nursery, and the staff were wonderful. We saw one show and it was excellent.

I cruised Disney pre-children and was bored out of my mind. We would never cruise it again without a small child; just not how we want to spend our vacation, and definitely not worth the upcharge.

We have cruised other lines (pre-children) and thought the food and private islands were better than Disney. Disney does other things better, especially for the toddler set. It works for our stage in life but I can't imagine it always being the best option for us.

(Also: worst behavior I ever encountered on a cruise was on a Disney cruise - fellow cruisers were not somehow more refined because it was Disney and $$$).

This was exactly us when my dd was young. She loved all the characters and Oceaneer's club. She was so excited when she was old enough to go to Edge. Unfortunately the first cruise we did when she could go to Edge was disappointing. She'd go every day for specific activities that were posted and they would be canceled. She wouldn't be the only one wanting to do the activity, so it wasn't canceled because of lack of interest. The cms didn't interact with the kids at all. They'd tell them to play a video game while they stood around talking to each other. The cms in the OC had always been terrific on all of our previous cruises, so it was a big let down. She never went back to Edge on later cruises. She was old enough for Vibe on our last cruise and did a few things at it. We never care about hanging out at the pools all day. The midship detective game, mini golf, and trivia games are fun, but when we do cruises that are 7 nights or longer, we quickly run out of things to do. We love the Disney shows but we've seen them all so many times. We're doing our first non Disney cruise next summer on NCL's Encore. I'm sure it will feel odd to not see Mickey and friends, but we're excited for something new.

 

[DCLMP]

OK. I compared cruises that go to the Caribbean. Disney was only slightly more expensive, but the room was substantially larger, the theming and service are better, the WiFi is cheaper, and overall the booking experience is just so much better. I'll take that tradeoff.

So maybe Disney is too expensive for Alaska. That doesn't mean that they're universally "by far the most expensive".

Theming and service is subjective. DCL is by far substantially more expense on any itinerary for a family of four.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes my price comparison was AFTER the discounts with NCL, still saved just under $4000 vs DCL. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I’m saving 7k on Royal vs DCL. DCL’s Greek Isles cruises dont look like they are selling well so the price gap may shrink when DCL starts discounting them. They did end up discounting most of their European cruises this year 30%.

 

[nancipants]

I cruised Disney pre-children and was bored out of my mind. We would never cruise it again without a small child; just not how we want to spend our vacation, and definitely not worth the upcharge.

We have cruised other lines (pre-children) and thought the food and private islands were better than Disney. Disney does other things better, especially for the toddler set. It works for our stage in life but I can't imagine it always being the best option for us.

We cruised DCL before we had a baby many times and loved it. It was relaxing and there were plenty of activities to keep our interest. Most of the activities we enjoy are Disney related, so we would miss that in other cruise lines. Whatever floats everyone’s boat.

 

[DCLMP]

It's only "comparable" because NCL runs sales all the time.

The non-sale price for that room would be in the $14,000 range.

Who would pay the non sale price?

 

[DCLMP]

Oh, please. The "free" stuff isn't free. They charge absolutely absurd "gratuities" for the "free" open bar and "free" specialty dining. Other specialty dining costs extra, just like on DCL. The laundry isn't self service, so that costs more. The WiFi costs more. If you don't get the "free" open bar, then soft drinks aren't free. Many of the excursions cost more. Access to the adults-only sundeck isn't free. And that's just NCL! At least they don't charge for towels like some other lines do...

Gratuities for drinks on both cruiselines are the same? Wi-Fi cost more? Excursions cost more? I haven’t cruised NCL, but on Royal the overall cost is so much less. I can add a lot to my cruise and still spend less. Laundry does cost more, but you dont spend 3 hours doing it yourself and battling for a washer and dryer.

I love DCL, but I’m not in denial that I’m paying more. You can try to spin it a million ways, but at the end of the day DCL cost more. Wether it’s worth more is all subjective. For myself it just depends on the itinerary and the price difference. 7k pays for a lot of drinks,Wi-Fi excursions and laundry…actually it also pays for an off-season cruise on DCL.

 

[holula]

I’m saving 7k on Royal vs DCL. DCL’s Greek Isles cruises dont look like they are selling well so the price gap may shrink when DCL starts discounting them. They did end up discounting most of their European cruises this year 30%.

DCL’s Europe cruises in general for 2023 were eye watering as they are sending the Dream over. The same week and IMO a worse itinerary was about 50% more than what I paid this year.

 

[toontoy]

honestly the free soda thing is laughable on dcl. it's only on the top deck and in restaraunts. the soda packages on rcl and princess are so much better. you can get soda at bars, theatres, and almost everywhere on the ship. I know I was lazy on my last dcl trip but I paid extra for soda before the show. had to have something to drink while I waited 30 min for the show to start.

 

[Cheburashka]

A while back, another poster had tried Royal and mostly disliked it, and posted back some very specific criticisms of the food, service and entertainment, comparing it to DCL. People chided him, with multiple posters saying, what did he expect, it's less expensive. But after all of the threads on here saying they're the same quality for less money, he ought to have the same high expectations. That's an example of how if you base your opinions on what others say, you can't win either way, as opinions differ.

So I take all comments with a grain of salt. Some cruise quality metrics (especially food quality and service) are highly subjective and also subject to variation on each cruise, depending on which servers/chef you got and if they were at top form that week or not. Others are matters of preference: favorite type of ship design, favorite type of private island, favorite type of entertainment. Some are objective (overall cleanliness, stateroom size, ship maintenance, itinerary offerings, smoking restrictions, etc.) But even the objective ones are more important to some people than others. For example, if creative itineraries are your top priority, you're not sailing DCL. Whereas if you love Disney entertainment and cruise mainly to relax and have fun, a DCL cruise is perfect for you.

There is no one size fits all in cruising. People who pay more to sail DCL are not deluded. They know what they want and pay for it. People who sail other lines are not missing out. They know what they want and pay for it. Different strokes, different folks.