Disney Cruise Pricing

[Dailymeel]

Hi,

I’ve only been on one cruise (Disney Wonder from Vancouver to Alaska in June 2013) and had a great time. Would love to cruise again. Looking to leave from Dover, England and found these itineraries available (see Screenshots below)

Does anyone know how the pricing works on cruises? I’m just wondering why a 7-night cruise around UK is more expensive than a 7-Night cruise to Norway. And why a 12-night transatlantic cruise is only £563 more than the Norway cruise.

these screenshots are priced for 2 adults and 1 child and I believe they’re all for inside cabins.

Anyway just trying to figure out how these cruises are priced so I can find one where I’m getting my money’s worth

thanks for any info anyone can share x

 

[Intr3pid]

Dates. The 7-nighters are during or around the summer holidays and are priced higher. The 12-nighter is in the low season and a necessity for Disney to re-position the ship between Europe and North America.

Just like it would be for flights and hotels. More expensive in the holidays.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi,

I’ve only been on one cruise (Disney Wonder from Vancouver to Alaska in June 2013) and had a great time. Would love to cruise again. Looking to leave from Dover, England and found these itineraries available (see Screenshots below)

Does anyone know how the pricing works on cruises? I’m just wondering why a 7-night cruise around UK is more expensive than a 7-Night cruise to Norway. And why a 12-night transatlantic cruise is only £563 more than the Norway cruise.

these screenshots are priced for 2 adults and 1 child and I believe they’re all for inside cabins.

Anyway just trying to figure out how these cruises are priced so I can find one where I’m getting my money’s worth

thanks for any info anyone can share x

View attachment 623904View attachment 623905View attachment 623906

Disney is a family cruise line, which means that children's school schedules are very closely linked to pricing. School holiday cruises (summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years, spring break) are a lot more expensive than cruises that take place when most children are in school. DCL has this down to a science and you can see the prices rise sharply by the week (sometimes doubling in price), based on when certain percentages of American children are on holiday from school.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even though many families will take their kids out of school to cruise, it's harder to do that for longer cruises. A 12 night Transatlantic cruise that takes place in fall when most children are in school is not nearly as easy for DCL to fill as a summer European cruise. Hence the reason why the 12 night is a lot cheaper on a per night basis. Supply and demand.

 

[Dailymeel]

Dates. The 7-nighters are during or around the summer holidays and are priced higher. The 12-nighter is in the low season and a necessity for Disney to re-position the ship between Europe and North America.

Just like it would be for flights and hotels. More expensive in the holidays.

thanks so much! This makes more sense to me now!

 

[Dailymeel]

Disney is a family cruise line, which means that children's school schedules is very closely linked to pricing. School holiday cruises (summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years, spring break) are a lot more expensive than cruises that take place when most children are in school. DCL has this down to a science and you can see the prices rise sharply by the week (sometimes doubling in price), based on when certain percentages of American children are on holiday from school.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even though many families will take their kids out of school to cruise, it's harder to do that for longer cruises. A 12 night Transatlantic cruise that takes place in fall when most children are in school is not nearly as easy for DCL to fill as a summer European cruise. Hence the reason why the 12 night is a lot cheaper on a per night basis. Supply and demand.

thank you, this has been very insightful! I think it will be better for us to find different dates as we have a baby and no need to follow school schedules

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

thank you, this has been very insightful! I think it will be better for us to find different dates as we have a baby and no need to follow school schedules

Ahh, enjoy it while you can!

 

[MomOTwins]

School schedules are a big one, but a couple more elements at play: (1) the transatlantic is a lot of sea days—not many ports (which some people like, but a lot of people care more about destinations) (2) the 12-night is one way so you have to book an international one-way flight—not cheap and a deterrent to some, and (3) you in the UK will likely laugh, since you have a more healthy attitude toward work than us Americans, but I have literally never has more than a week off from work since I graduated law school—we don’t get much paid time off and certainly not for a vacation at sea where we can’t work remotely.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

School schedules are a big one, but a couple more elements at play: (1) the transatlantic is a lot of sea days—not many ports (which some people like, but a lot of people care more about destinations) (2) the 12-night is one way so you have to book an international one-way flight—not cheap and a deterrent to some, and (3) you in the UK will likely laugh, since you have a more healthy attitude toward work than us Americans, but I have literally never has more than a week off from work since I graduated law school—we don’t get much paid time off and certainly not for a vacation at sea where we can’t work remotely.

I remember someone posting a few years ago that it was cheaper to book their TA flight as a RT than a one way. Others said it was the only time they bought flights through DCL.

 

[Dailymeel]

School schedules are a big one, but a couple more elements at play: (1) the transatlantic is a lot of sea days—not many ports (which some people like, but a lot of people care more about destinations) (2) the 12-night is one way so you have to book an international one-way flight—not cheap and a deterrent to some, and (3) you in the UK will likely laugh, since you have a more healthy attitude toward work than us Americans, but I have literally never has more than a week off from work since I graduated law school—we don’t get much paid time off and certainly not for a vacation at sea where we can’t work remotely.

I wish I could get away from responsibilities and cruise for 12 nights - I have worked with colleagues who moved to the UK from America and shared their work burn out stories. It is rough! Makes me appreciate the holidays we do get. And I definitely appreciated my maternity leave as well!

 

[Dailymeel]

I remember someone posting a few years ago that it was cheaper to book their TA flight as a RT than a one way. Others said it was the only time they bought flights through DCL.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll have a look into flying-in option as well