Disney Cruise vs Celebrity Cruise pricing

[RAD]

To those who have sailed in a suite of celebrity, how crowded was the private sun deck area? That area alone is making us want to try a suite on celebrity!

I'm hoping with the amount of space they dedicate to the suite guests, and the folks in the Edge or Icon suites basically having their own private area, it won't be too bad. Looks like there is a bunch of space,

When compared to Disney with the Dream and Fantasy concierge area this looks much nice. On DCL it looks like they wall off their outside area so no-one can see in, but you can't also see out and watch the ocean go by.

 

[Sykes]

To those who have sailed in a suite of celebrity, how crowded was the private sun deck area? That area alone is making us want to try a suite on celebrity!

On both of our sailings on the Edge the suites were fully booked but The Retreat never felt busy at all. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there because the rest of the ship was so amazing (and pretty empty), but it was a lovely and quiet escape when we wanted it. (And I know that we were kind of an anomaly--a lot of the other suite guests we talked to seemed to spend a whole lot more time there.)

I enjoy the specialty dinning on Royal, so much to choose from, and I would imagine it would be similar on Celebrity.

I don't think that anyone really does specialty dining quite like RCI does (especially on the Oasis class ships), but the specialty dining on Celebrity is also very good. On our sailings, Eden especially was a home run. Having said that, I'm don't think specialty dining is quite as popular as it is with RCI. With 4 MDRs on the Edge class ships, there's a lot of variety available to start with and the baseline food is excellent. And for suite guests, Luminae tends to make even standard dining pretty special.

 

[jujubiee4]

We book Celebrity for special cruises, like around the horn of South America, and we have a Med cruise that hopefully will go to Israel next October. We have gone to Hawaii on RCCL twice.

However, we always will have some DCL cruises in our planning book. Senior citizen here who ALWAYS has smiled more on our DCL cruises.

Ohhhhhh that sounds really nice. Sounds like Celebrity has some interesting destinations.

 

[Intr3pid]

To those who have sailed in a suite of celebrity, how crowded was the private sun deck area? That area alone is making us want to try a suite on celebrity!

Never really crowded. Full maybe - but very manageable. Depends on the ports and the weather too.

Most of their ships also have a solarium. It's normally adults-only but hosts daily family hours on the holiday sailings.

Does anyone know if you can book Celebrity in Canadian funds? You can't with DCL, which is a negative right there, but you can with Royal.

Yes, you can - but understand all Canadian fares quotes by RCL/Celebrity carry a built-in foreign exchange fee. The farther away your sailing, the higher the built-in fee.

No such fee if using a Canadian Disney gift card to pay for your DCL cruise.

 

[KashasMom]

Due to their smaller sizes, a limited number of cabins accommodate more than 3 people. A family of four or five has to book two rooms. That family of four will pay 4x the full beverage package price even with two kids. And same issue with solo cruisers, who have to pay 2x.

DCL cruisers can afford most other cruise lines, one might counter. But, I'm also referring to the crowd on board. Eventually it will start to skew towards couples or small families (who are looking to justify paying the cost of those included beverage packages). On our 14-night holiday cruise on the Millennium in December 2019, for example, there were about 350 kids on board The sailing before ours had just 50. With about 2,000 adults.

That's not a bad thing for everyone. My daughter had a bad experience in the Disney club once and never wanted to go back. She's now 12 and how many kids are onboard really doesn't matter to us. And certainly if my husband and I were cruising without her, Disney wouldn't even be an option.

 

[KashasMom]

We are pretty much feeling the same. Being Platinum, most of the food, entertainment, itineraries are just same ole, same ole. We seldom get off for more than a stretch of the legs on CC. As you mentioned, the BBQ food is just okay, kind of on the blah side. Pretty standard picnic stuff. With everything DCL has taken away, and continues to take away, they have lost that bang for the buck. We have one more cruise booked with DCL and I'm not sure we will ever be back. Not saying never but it would take a 'please, please, please' from our grandchild. Don't see that happening.

We switched to Royal but have been looking at Celebrity for a bit and just may give it a go. The thing we really like about other lines is the wi-fi and drink packages. It's great to get off the ship and not have a massive bill. And really, the cost of wi-fi on DCL is nuts! They could do better, much better.

I enjoy the specialty dinning on Royal, so much to choose from, and I would imagine it would be similar on Celebrity.
Does anyone know if you can book Celebrity in Canadian funds? You can't with DCL, which is a negative right there, but you can with Royal. We have a B2B booked on Symphony of the Seas next October. With both dinning package and drink/wi-fi package, it is less than one week on DCL when you take into account the exchange rate. It would be nice to do that on Celebrity.

Anyways, you can't go wrong with stretching your wings a bit and trying other lines. Took us years to do because of all the naysayers who warned us we would be nickel and dimed. Service would be subpar. We would surly regret it. None of that happened.

We loved the specialty dining options on Oasis class. My daughter and I cruised alone on Allure and I LOVED that she was able to come with me (unlike on Disney). I find that many of the naysayers are people who haven't even cruised another line or maybe did many years ago. I never got the whole nickel and dime thing. You pay for what you want - same as you would on Disney. Oh, except soda is free on Disney. That's their mantra. Hoping we get to cruise Symphony but we're eyeing the Odyssey or the Wonder (of the Seas) too.

 

[tinkerone]

Yes, you can - but understand all Canadian fares quotes by RCL/Celebrity carry a built-in foreign exchange fee. The farther away your sailing, the higher the built-in fee.

No such fee if using a Canadian Disney gift card to pay for your DCL cruise.

Of course they carry an exchange rate but it's locked in at day of booking. Canadian Disney gift cards have an exchange rate of the day it is used. That can be a deterrent.

I have booked with RCCL, not that many years ago, where the exchange rate at time of booking was valued at 10%. I was even able to book cruise credit at that rate even when the exchange went to above 30%. That was a bonus cruise for sure. If they change the exchange rate and the cost of the booking in Canadian goes down, I can get them to give me the new cost. I have saved many hundreds of dollars with that bonus as well. I understand that they lock their exchange rate in for a period of six months.

Now, with Disney gift cards, I can buy them but get the rate for the day they are used. That fluctuates so unless your going to pay off your cruise at the same time you book it then your not going to know if your exchange rate is 10% or 50%. It's not locked in for the entirety of the booking.

I hope that all makes sense. It's why I prefer to book in Canadian dollars and not have to wonder what the exchange will be going forward.

 

[Intr3pid]

Of course they carry an exchange rate but it's locked in at day of booking. Canadian Disney gift cards have an exchange rate of the day it is used. That can be a deterrent.

Yes, you can book a cruise - even a dummy one - and use your gift card balance immediately. Your FX rate is locked in, and you can always move funds between cruises when you want. With the gift cards, the rate used is the one from the previous day, so you can benefit from a day of hindsight.

In general, if you lock in a rate today, there is no real way of predicting which way it will go. (The only free hedge against any currency is having it in the first place.) That said, I agree that if you actively monitor the rates with RCL, you can benefit earlier in the game. Less so with Disney since the underlying USD fares rarely go down until maybe becoming *GT.

 

[Intr3pid]

That's not a bad thing for everyone. My daughter had a bad experience in the Disney club once and never wanted to go back. She's now 12 and how many kids are onboard really doesn't matter to us. And certainly if my husband and I were cruising without her, Disney wouldn't even be an option.

Are you saying that kids clubs don't matter to your kids? If so, that's great. With 50 kids, expect very limited - if any - club hours, counsellors, friend making run-ins, or family activities on board. Our kids would be bored crazy on a cruise without a club or other kids to hang out with.

You can counter some of this with a travel-intensive itinerary where your family can enjoy time together in the ports. And, let's do one better, If you pick a holiday cruise, you can have both - a nice itinerary for you and friends to hang out with for your kids.

 

[tinkerone]

Yes, you can book a cruise - even a dummy one - and use your gift card balance immediately. Your FX rate is locked in, and you can always move funds between cruises when you want. With the gift cards, the rate used is the one from the previous day, so you can benefit from a day of hindsight.

In general, if you lock in a rate today, there is no real way of predicting which way it will go. (The only free hedge against any currency is having it in the first place.) That said, I agree that if you actively monitor the rates with RCL, you can benefit earlier in the game. Less so with Disney since the underlying USD fares rarely go down until maybe becoming *GT.

Maybe you didn't read my whole thread? I never said you couldn't book a cruise using a gift card balance immediately. I said, and I'll quote it, with Disney gift cards, I can buy them but get the rate for the day they are used. That fluctuates so unless your going to pay off your cruise at the same time you book it then your not going to know if your exchange rate is 10% or 50%. It's not locked in for the entirety of the booking.

To recap, unless you are going to pay off the cruise at the time of booking, you could end up getting tons of different exchange rates using gift cards, it's not locked into one rate. You might get 25% at booking for your down payment using gift cards and 35% to pay off the cruise using gift cards. On the other hand, you might get a rate of 20% at time of paying off the cruise. You don't know. I like knowing what that cruise will end up costing me. I can only know that if it is booked in Canadian funds as that is what my countries dollar is. Canadian.

I also don't agree with you saying that if I actively monitor the rates with RCL I could get a benefit earlier in the game. That could happen anytime, not just early in the game. If the cost of the cruise goes down before PIF they credit back my credit card. If the cost of the cruise goes down after PIF they give me an OBC. It is not time sensitive. The cost goes down more often than you would think.

I haven't had DCL go down if cost in quite some years. Maybe 15? They just keep going up.

 

[Intr3pid]

Maybe you didn't read my whole thread? I never said you couldn't book a cruise using a gift card balance immediately. I said, and I'll quote it, with Disney gift cards, I can buy them but get the rate for the day they are used. That fluctuates so unless your going to pay off your cruise at the same time you book it then your not going to know if your exchange rate is 10% or 50%. It's not locked in for the entirety of the booking.

To recap, unless you are going to pay off the cruise at the time of booking, you could end up getting tons of different exchange rates using gift cards, it's not locked into one rate. You might get 25% at booking for your down payment using gift cards and 35% to pay off the cruise using gift cards. On the other hand, you might get a rate of 20% at time of paying off the cruise. You don't know. I like knowing what that cruise will end up costing me. I can only know that if it is booked in Canadian funds as that is what my countries dollar is. Canadian.

I also don't agree with you saying that if I actively monitor the rates with RCL I could get a benefit earlier in the game. That could happen anytime, not just early in the game. If the cost of the cruise goes down before PIF they credit back my credit card. If the cost of the cruise goes down after PIF they give me an OBC. It is not time sensitive. The cost goes down more often than you would think.

I haven't had DCL go down if cost in quite some years. Maybe 15? They just keep going up.

The re-pricing over the term of your booking due to cheaper fares can happen with any cruise line and has nothing to do with FX. (This can happen with Disney too.) With RCL, the FX benefits of repricing take place earlier since you are paying as much as a 3% higher fare quoted in a foreign currency with your cruise a year or more out. Over that ensuing year and before the PIF date, that premium gradually goes away. If someone books six months out, they aren't going to see much, if any, premium.

If your key target is to lock in a rate early, then, absolutely, a 3% fee may very well be worthwhile. (Using currency futures, you can bring this down to less than 0.25%.) Your prior post indicated, however, you wanted to take advantage of the fluctuations - which IMO is difficult to pull off consistently. Instead, the cruise lines (RCL included) sometimes lodge their own deals,. Disney, for example, would bring out Canadian and EU resident fares for some sailings if the currency rates climbed too much.

 

[tinkerone]

The re-pricing over the term of your booking due to cheaper fares can happen with any cruise line and has nothing to do with FX. (This can happen with Disney too.) With RCL, the FX benefits of repricing take place earlier since you are paying as much as a 3% higher fare quoted in a foreign currency with your cruise a year or more out. Over that ensuing year and before the PIF date, that premium gradually goes away. If someone books six months out, they aren't going to see much, if any, premium.

If your key target is to lock in a rate early, then, absolutely, a 3% fee may very well be worthwhile. (Using currency futures, you can bring this down to less than 0.25%.) Your prior post indicated, however, you wanted to take advantage of the fluctuations - which IMO is difficult to pull off consistently. Instead, the cruise lines (RCL included) sometimes lodge their own deals,. Disney, for example, would bring out Canadian and EU resident fares for some sailings if the currency rates climbed too much.

My goodness, we just keep talking around each other.

You can't say 'The re-pricing over the term of your booking due to cheaper fares can happen with any cruise line and has nothing to do with FX'. It can, and in most cases most certainly does, have to do with the FX. Where your getting your 3% higher fare quoted in a foreign currency from is beyond me. How could you possible tell. Are you suggesting that because some banks and CC companies charge this then RCL must as well? As to your comment about someone booking six months out, they aren't going to see much, if any, premium, I don't get what you mean. As I have stated, if the price goes down, as your suggesting with this comment, then I get a price adjustment anyways. So where do I lose on that deal?

Also, while Disney does come out with Canadian deals, they are still in US funds and as such will fluctuate with the Canadian to US exchange rate. You will not know what your actual cost is until you pay the entire cruise off. So, you could be paying a lot more as the exchange rate could very easily increase substantially.

Either I'm not explaining myself well, which is a possibility, or your not wanting to understand what I am saying, which is also a possibility. Either way, lets call it a day and be done.

 

[Sykes]

With RCL, the FX benefits of repricing take place earlier since you are paying as much as a 3% higher fare quoted in a foreign currency with your cruise a year or more out. Over that ensuing year and before the PIF date, that premium gradually goes away. If someone books six months out, they aren't going to see much, if any, premium.

This is a bit of thread drift, but for cruise fares Royal Caribben's CAD pricing usually within about 1% of the converted USD pricing. (Last I checked they update the exchange rate they use for fares relatively irregularly, though, so there's some variance.) They do hit you for 3% if you want onboard charges processed in CAD, but it's not nearly that high for cruise fares.

IMO, it's absolutely worth the 1% if you're buying reasonably far out. If the exchange rate becomes less favorable during that period then you're locked in with CAD so you're set. If it becomes more favorable, then as long as you're ahead of your PIF date you get to reprice the cruise at the new rate without penalty.

 

[KashasMom]

Are you saying that kids clubs don't matter to your kids? If so, that's great. With 50 kids, expect very limited - if any - club hours, counsellors, friend making run-ins, or family activities on board. Our kids would be bored crazy on a cruise without a club or other kids to hang out with.

You can counter some of this with a travel-intensive itinerary where your family can enjoy time together in the ports. And, let's do one better, If you pick a holiday cruise, you can have both - a nice itinerary for you and friends to hang out with for your kids.

Yes, that's what I'm saying. She doesn't need clubs or other kids to enjoy her cruise. She's quite happy doing whatever she enjoys - and doesn't get bored. We don't cruise as a family to get away from each other.

I'm sure not every Celebrity cruise has only 50 kids and I'm sure that there are Celebrity ships that have kids clubs, family activities, etc.

And since we've gone way off-topic, I'll just say - if you feel that only DCL fills your cruising needs, then Happy Cruising with them. There are enough options to keep us all happy.

 

[RAD]

And since we've gone way off-topic, I'll just say - if you feel that only DCL fills your cruising needs, then Happy Cruising with them. There are enough options to keep us all happy.

That's basically what I was trying to do when I started this thread. I had been so long in the mind set of when it's time to cruise just call Disney. But I finally decided that it was time to check again what's out there if you don't need your mouse fix and would like to get more band for your vacation dollars.

 

[Intr3pid]

Where your getting your 3% higher fare quoted in a foreign currency from is beyond me. How could you possible tell. Are you suggesting that because some banks and CC companies charge this then RCL must as well? As to your comment about someone booking six months out, they aren't going to see much, if any, premium, I don't get what you mean. As I have stated, if the price goes down, as your suggesting with this comment, then I get a price adjustment anyways. So where do I lose on that deal?

Also, while Disney does come out with Canadian deals, they are still in US funds and as such will fluctuate with the Canadian to US exchange rate. You will not know what your actual cost is until you pay the entire cruise off. So, you could be paying a lot more as the exchange rate could very easily increase substantially.

This is a bit of thread drift, but for cruise fares Royal Caribben's CAD pricing usually within about 1% of the converted USD pricing. (Last I checked they update the exchange rate they use for fares relatively irregularly, though, so there's some variance.) They do hit you for 3% if you want onboard charges processed in CAD, but it's not nearly that high for cruise fares.

IMO, it's absolutely worth the 1% if you're buying reasonably far out. If the exchange rate becomes less favorable during that period then you're locked in with CAD so you're set. If it becomes more favorable, then as long as you're ahead of your PIF date you get to reprice the cruise at the new rate without penalty.

Just do a bit of research. Here are a couple of RCL examples from next summer. Let's pick the same cheapest category quoted on each of US and Canadian websites.

Oasis of the Seas, Jul 29, 2022: 783 USD per person vs 1015 CAD per person. That's a built-in conversion rate of 1.296.

Odyssey of the Seas, Jul 31, 2022: 1143 USD per person vs 1484 CAD per person. That's a built-in conversion rate of 1.298.

The VISA credit card conversion rate without any fees as of the last business day - Nov 5, 2021 - was 1.247.
https://usa.visa.com/support/consum...05/2021&fromCurr=CAD&toCurr=USD&submitButton=
So, you are paying - in these examples - a 'fee' of more than 5% indirectly. Long-term average hovers around 3%. If someone quotes you a locked-in rate with just a 1% conversion, you should jump on that offer immediately.

In these example, for you to lock in an FX rate with RCL and benefit from it, the combination of cabin fare and FX rate would have to drop by more than 5%. If the FX rate drops but the cabin fare goes up or vice versa - or both go up - the strategy won't work. It can work, of course - but if it doesn't, you will have paid a 5% premium.

Like I said, people will pay to lock in a rate and that's totally understandable. Whether that will save them money on FX every time is what's debatable.

 

[Sykes]

If someone quotes you a locked-in rate with just a 1% conversion, you should jump on that offer immediately.

It happens all the time. It may not be the case with the current lead-in rates that you're seeing on the website (probably at least partially owing to the fact that the exchange rate has changed more than 3% in the last two months and RCI only updates their exchange rates for cruise fares a few times per year), but it's far more common than you seem to be willing to believe. Do you buy a lot of RCI cruise fares in Canadian Dollars?

 

[Intr3pid]

It happens all the time. It may not be the case with the current lead-in rates that you're seeing on the website (probably at least partially owing to the fact that the exchange rate has changed more than 3% in the last two months and RCI only updates their exchange rates for cruise fares a few times per year), but it's far more common than you seem to be willing to believe. Do you buy a lot of RCI cruise fares in Canadian Dollars?

Not a matter of 'beliefs' here. I'm quoting you actual numbers. The 5% differential is a function of current volatility in FX rates. When the rates remain relatively stable, the differential will still be up to 3%. Take Celebrity's December 2023 sailings (which are a long way out) and you will see that long-term differential.

And, no, RCL updates their FX fares at least weekly. 'A few times a year' is an eternity. As an international business, you will be a sitting duck if you close your eyes to the FX rates for a few months.

Part of our broader traveling party is Canadian, and we travel together. All our booked Celebrity fares are re-checked roughly every two weeks. Just the sheer number of ever-changing promotions!

Yes, that's what I'm saying. She doesn't need clubs or other kids to enjoy her cruise. She's quite happy doing whatever she enjoys - and doesn't get bored. We don't cruise as a family to get away from each other.

I'm sure not every Celebrity cruise has only 50 kids and I'm sure that there are Celebrity ships that have kids clubs, family activities, etc.

And since we've gone way off-topic, I'll just say - if you feel that only DCL fills your cruising needs, then Happy Cruising with them. There are enough options to keep us all happy.

That's basically what I was trying to do when I started this thread. I had been so long in the mind set of when it's time to cruise just call Disney. But I finally decided that it was time to check again what's out there if you don't need your mouse fix and would like to get more band for your vacation dollars.

What's fascinating is, those knocking Disney in this thread in preference to Celebrity are mostly yet to sail on Celebrity. Frankly, this is one of the reasons why we continue to be RCL shareholders today.

For my - dare say - objective comparison of the two, read post #11. There is no need to cherry pick a comment and paint an entire opinion with it.

 

[Sykes]

Meanwhile, a Jan 7 2023 sailing for a 7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise (Serenade of the Seas) on RCI is US$1,208.30 or CA$1,518.00 for the same stateroom, same promos, etc. Shockingly, within 1% of the Visa conversion rate you quoted above. And there are tons more like it (although this was the first one I pulled up--I didn't have to go searching). But, you know, it basically never happens.

 

[Intr3pid]

Meanwhile, a Jan 7 2023 sailing for a 7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise (Serenade of the Seas) on RCI is US$1,208.30 or CA$1,518.00 for the same stateroom, same promos, etc. Shockingly, within 1% of the Visa conversion rate you quoted above. And there are tons more like it (although this was the first one I pulled up--I didn't have to go searching). But, you know, it basically never happens.

Indeed. Here are the two screenshots. The first sailing is showing a conversion rate of 1.3, and the others ~1.27. I'm sure you can find a specific cabin category to show a difference of 1% somewhere on some ship.



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