Feel like a trader.....

[BELLE16127]

Should I?????? I am actually looking at other cruise lines. We just got back from a 7 Night Eastern on Disney it was our 3rd Disney Cruise. And I have started looking at other lines because of the Cost of the Disney Line. We are DVC Members and even with our points I can see that it is just about impossible to do the cruises with our points. First cruise in 2000 just DH and I was a 4 night and 3 nights at Boardwalk all with points, second was a 7 night with DH, myself and 2 kids that was 300 pts plus $1600, third was Oct 2004 with DH, myself and 1 child, we have 12 pts left and added $1600 again and had ONE LESS PERSON!!!

We have gotten hooked on cruising and think that our only way to continue to do it is to look at other options. Really how many here do consider other lines for that reason???? How many have done others and will continue to do it??? Our youngest is soon to be 18 so probably will not travel with us much anymore, but it was mainly ME who is the DISNEY CRAZY so how totally dissapointed will I be if we have to look elsewhere????

Help just looking for some imput from others in the "same boat"

 

[disneygatorfan]

Perhaps you could just give it a try... I've cruised around and prefer DCL, being a Disney nutt, but I know I couldn't give up cruising totally, and if its a financial thing, maybe shop around some. Doesn't mean you can never go on a Disney Cruise again.

If its going to be just you and your husband I'd reccommend Celebrity, but if your 18 year old is going, maybe RCCL Voyager class might be nice for him.

Nothing beat Disney, at least in my opinion and I'm pretty biased , but doesn't mean you can't enjoy another cruise. There are some nice ships out there, that go to some interesting ports of call.

I loved my Alaskan cruise, was breath-taking. If you are feeling like a trader, maybe you could justify it by saying, well I really want to se this port, and Disney just doesn't sail there, so I had to go with another line

In all seriousness, I think an Alaskan cruise is something all cruising fans need to do at least once!

 

[jkovick]

We have cruised on both RCCL and Carnival and had nice trips. Just keep in mind that each line is different and each one has it's strengths and weaknesses. I love all things Disney but a little variety now and then is nice too!

 

[Timon]

We cruised RCCL last year for the same reasons, but we were sadly disappointed. We cruised on the Explorer of the Seas, the ship was beautiful but the people on the ship made the experience very harsh (it was filled with rude, obnoxious people)! But we sailed out of Miami, so maybe next time we will try the Mariner out of Port Canaveral and hopefully it will have more "Disney" people.

 

[TheWog]

We are trying the Enchantment in January. Looking forward to it to.

 

[CPM]

I also think if it's just you and your husband you should try Celebrity. I'm also a Disney nut but where cruising is concerned I think there are better cruises out there.
I like the new Carnival ships when cruising with kids.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

We will be on the Glory,January 29th.We would like to try Disney sometime but have always cruised with Carnival and we LOve them and never had a problem.The price of Disney is Very expensive compared to other lines.Please dont flame me.
You can get inside rooms on the Glory from like 499.00pp.We are in a balcony room and we got our cruise for 844.00pp.

 

[pvangordon]

There's nothing wrong with trying different lines for a variety of reasons. I myself am very brand loyal with many things (car maker, restaurants, foods I buy at the grocery store, etc.) and like the idea of being a repeat cruise line customer. But each cruise line serves up a different experience and it's nice to vary it once in awhile. DCL doesn't go to many destinations I want to visit, so that's a big part of my motivation to try other lines. I still have a DCL booking out there though.

Just do what you think is right for the needs of you and your family at this time.

 

[webray]

Like you, we are looking at other cruiselines as well. Disney is just getting way to expensive, and the itineraries are growing old.

 

[AnnMorin]

For quite a bit less than what a cat.6 was going to cost me I got a mini suite on princess (we are talking thousands less)

I love DCL next month will be our 5th seven day cruise in four years but they do not seem to want to recognize loyalty. Towels are nice and all but if I start going on princess I can get real rewards. We are DVC members too and actually put our points up for sale, I had medical bills that needed to be dealt with and it is unreasonable to cruise on points now, we are paying cash for our upcomming cruise.

Disney has the luxery of not having to worry about catering to people as with two ships there will always be a demand. But as loyal as I have been I am looking for a line that will be as loyal to me.

I have cruised on other lines and Disney does do things "magically" I have never had anything but top notch service, however the gap is widening so much that I forsee them loosing a market share- well at least mine.

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by AnnMorin

I have cruised on other lines and Disney does do things "magically" I have never had anything but top notch service, however the gap is widening so much that I forsee them loosing a market share- well at least mine.

I completely agree with everything you said Ann.
Even when staying at thier resorts you get nothing for the loyalty. Not even guaranteed room requests or certain upgrades for repeat customers like other hotel chains. It gets old.
My next DIsney cruise will likely be my last for a long time.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

We were some of those few that had cruised many times on many different lines before cruising DCL. We had a nice trip, the ship was beautiful, but to say that it's the best out there is absolutely not what we had found. For the high price, it was just not something we will ever do again. We will, of course cruise many times.....we definitely are cruise addicts.....but for the price of one inside cabin Disney cruise, we can get a balcony and/or suite on other lines that offer the same or better itineraries/ships/food/entertainment.

Like I said...it was fine, but don't worry about it being, "THE BEST and there is NO COMPARISON". Like one of the above posters said, every line is different, yet most of them are comparable. You may be surprised as to how much you like another line (and who wouldn't want to cruise more??) Like any other vacation, just go with the flow, embrace the differences, and enjoy yourselves.

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[izzinmac]

Understand your concern, but you never said what you planned on trading!!

 

[Laura24]

as much as I would like to try other cruise lines, I would not want them to be in the same ports as DCL only because.......I would not be able to bear seeing either of the Disney ships docked along side with *ME* on another ship and hearing that Mickey whistle. I just might be tempted to jump over board. Out of sight, out of mind....maybe.

 

[Mjasp]

Originally posted by luvindisneyworld
We will be on the Glory,January 29th.We would like to try Disney sometime but have always cruised with Carnival and we LOve them and never had a problem.The price of Disney is Very expensive compared to other lines.Please dont flame me.
You can get inside rooms on the Glory from like 499.00pp.We are in a balcony room and we got our cruise for 844.00pp.

Can you please tell me, does the Carnival Glory have a movie theater?

Thanks
Joanna

 

[lookingforward]

Please don't feel bad about doing what is right (fiscally) for your family. Quite honestly, having cruised on RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, Costa and Disney I KNOW there are great cruises available on different lines. My favorite is Celebrity because the food is absolutely tops and they truly cater to their customers. They recognize frequent guests and the staff offers refined service. I sailed on the Millenium in March and we had a very noisy room. It was right under the jogging track. I went to the Concierge manager (it was a concierge level room) and he and the hotel director came to the room to listen. They were absolutely wonderful and tried to find a better situation for my family. They decided to upgrade us to the royal suite and gave me a free massage in the spa so I could "relax and forget the difficulty". I know this does not happen every time someone complains but they were truly concerned and wanted to make us comfortable. I feel that this is a good example of their customer service. When I sailed on the Wonder I discovered my mattress was wet when we boarded. They switched out one side of the mattress and it was new so the bed was lopsided. The cruise was only three n ights and the bed situation never did get fixed. I sent an email when I got off the ship and was promised a letter within three weeks. I never did get that letter.

I guess my point is that there are other wonderful cruise lines out there. I don't think that leaving out of the Port Canaveral port will mean that the people will be friendlier than those out of Miami, though. DCL has a very family oriented crowd which is great and other cruise lines have different demographics. But each line has it's niche, DCL-Families, RCCL-Sports/Activities, NCL-Free style dining (hate it!), Celebrity-Gourmet food/refined upscale, etc.

I hope to sail on DCL again, but this April we are going on the Celebrity Century in a sky suite (butler, large balcony, in room dining, tea and cakes at 4 p.m served in the room, pre-boarding, priority service, etc) for the price of a Cat 9 on DCL.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Are you guys getting these prices from an agent? Where do I look? Thanks!

 

[minmom]

Try another line!!!! I bet you will be pleasantly surprised. Everyone on these boards raves about Disney but we just got back and after 14 cruises it was my least favorite. Too crowded, not enough individual attention to the kids, worst food of any line, CM's good but not any better than any other line. We love Celebrity and RCCL.

 

[Mjasp]

Minmom...Thanks for the honest view. We are hoping to try another line in 2005. When I look at the prices it is unbelievable, that our family of 4 can travel in a balcony stateroom for $3,000 in August.

 

[staylor]

I've cruised on DCL, Celebrity, RCCL, and Costa. Celebrity is by far the best of the bunch. The food is amazing. Now, we did not have our children with us so I have no clue about their children's programs. Also their customer service was outstanding. We've departed out of PC, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, and Ft. Lauderdale. All of the ports (check in) are easy to get to and easy to navigate. Though I have to admit, DCL has the best port (check in).
Try other cruises, you might like them.
Staci