For you, what justifies DCL?

[E&Cmom]

Our cruise to Alaska in May was our first Disney Cruise. What justified going was the Kids Sail free promo and that we didn't have to fly. At my kids ages, I would definitely do another Disney Cruise. I regret not booking another one onboard. . The kids loved the club, we loved the activities and the Disney feel. Also the service was exceptional. It was the perfect balance of family and adult time. I am hoping that we can do another Disney Cruise in 2013 hopefully to the Carribean or the Bahamas since I really want to see Castaway Cay. Once the girls are older, I think we will try other lines like RCL. Dh and I did cruise on Princess over 10 years ago and had a great time but for some reason this cruise seemed more magical. Maybe it was seeing through the eyes of our girls.

 

[Disney 24/7]

1) The kids club are great...my daughter never wants to leave.

2) The fireworks at sea. Only Disney does this.

3) I can take as many pictures with all my favorite characters

 

[Tolson70]

1. My father took our whole family, spouses, and grandkids on our first DCL cruise as his final farewell to us all while he was battling terminal colon/live cancer. The memories we cherish and the service and attention the DCL staff gave us will forever endear DCL to me and my wife and two boys.

2. Service, service, service.

3. The magic in my boys eyes when we mention DCL and tell them we are going again.

4. Their excitement the morning we leave.

5. Onboard activities for the kids and the kids in my wife and I.

6. NO CASINO!!

7. Relaxed feeling of a resort at sea.

 

[Henlady]

DH and I don't feel we need to "justify" anything. It's what we like to do, so we do it. It can be more expensive than other cruiselines, but we wouldn't be happy with most of them. I've priced out Royal Caribbean and found that comperable size rooms are not that much different in price, so for not much difference in cost, we know that we are getting exactly what we want.

 

[pacomom]

Before kids, my husband and I took a Disney cruise and loved it. We also cruised with Royal Caribbean and Carnival and had a blast on those too. We know we will cruise with those ships again because the price is so much lower. However, we currently have two young kids and all four of us are into the "magic" that the Disney line provides. It's just a special wonderful awesome feeling the whole trip. Of course, great service and Castaway Cay are also hugely important.
And, as a parent with small kids, the kids clubs are amazing. Not only do my children have a wonderful time, but it gives my husband and I quality time together on our trip which we cherish. We don't have to leave the kids at home and be missing them and worried and feel guilty-yet we still get time to ourselves while knowing our children are safe, closeby and having a blast. It's so worth it to us. Maybe won't always be worth the money as the kids get older, but right now for us it is.

 

[jenifred]

Casaway Cay is clean, safe and free.
Better entertainment.
Better food.
Better service.
Better cabins.
Better boat.
Plus the magic of Disney.

 

[Rogillio]

Atmosphere.

Agressive hospitality.

Familiarity.

The music (in the shows, the dinning rooms, etc) are from beloved movies and bring back fond memories.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thanks everyone for the opinions.

The room we've booked is a balcony (Cat 5C I think) and it's about $3,500 if I remember correctly (I could be $100-200 off though) for the six night cruise. For a seven night cruise on Carnival, it's about $2,000 for a balcony room. I'm just not sure if there is enough about DCL to justify (for us) the very substantial price difference. Already the DCL cruise I chose is the cheapest of the DCL cruises, probably b/c it's a repositioning. The comparable Mexico 7 night cruise with DCL is at least $600 more for the same category of room. If the price difference were less than $500 between DCL and Carnival I'd have no hesitation in going with DCL, but we only get one vacation a year if that and I worry that I'm not stretching the dollar far enough.. I definitely would love a balcony room though, we had oceanview on our last cruise and thought it would have been nice to get some fresh air especially while confined to our room for the LO's nap

 

[dapod423]

On what other cruise line do you have a stateroom attendant who calls you by name before you have ever set foot in your stateroom??? DISNEY CRUISE LINE!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Disney is not the only line we sail, but it is the one we sail the most (though that is beginning to change). First off, I will say that we often find deals on Disney that are as good as the prices on other lines which we consider of equal quality (Celebrity, Princess, etc)

That said, what really makes DIsney stand out to me are:

1. Service in general. Only celebrity matches this of the lines we sail. The entire crew seem happy and professional and are very engaging and friendly.

2. Cruise Staff team and the activities they run. The cruise staffs on Disney are hands down the most energetic group on any ships. They run such great parties and crafts and things with a serious amount of energy and originality. We love all those little things all day (and night) long and really miss that full schedule of FUN things to do all day, every day when we are on other lines.

DCL is as close to a no smoking line as you can get.

Actually, this is an area where Celebrity beats DCL. We ONLY book balconies on Celebrity since there is no smoking allowed on them and then we know we will not have a neighbor smoking on theirs

 

[aidtrismommy]

Not being asked to order a cocktail 25 times in one day starting at 9:00am, DCL is super clean, no casino, no cigarette smoke (that I have ever encountered although I know it is allowed in certain areas), CASTAWAY CAY, the service is outstanding, not a booze cruise atmosphere, safety, kids clubs.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Thanks everyone for the opinions.

The room we've booked is a balcony (Cat 5C I think) and it's about $3,500 if I remember correctly (I could be $100-200 off though) for the six night cruise. For a seven night cruise on Carnival, it's about $2,000 for a balcony room. I'm just not sure if there is enough about DCL to justify (for us) the very substantial price difference. Already the DCL cruise I chose is the cheapest of the DCL cruises, probably b/c it's a repositioning. The comparable Mexico 7 night cruise with DCL is at least $600 more for the same category of room. If the price difference were less than $500 between DCL and Carnival I'd have no hesitation in going with DCL, but we only get one vacation a year if that and I worry that I'm not stretching the dollar far enough.. I definitely would love a balcony room though, we had oceanview on our last cruise and thought it would have been nice to get some fresh air especially while confined to our room for the LO's nap

For the $1500 price difference, you could take a couple of week-end getaways during the year (a couple of mini vacations). For me, I'd go with Carnival and enjoy the extra money on something else. It's quite a substantial savings; and cruising from the West coast I think you lose some of what's most special about DCL - Castaway Cay - their private island.

Maybe you should go over to cruise critic to see about the Carnival ship that you're thinking off? See what ammenities it offers and why other people like to sail it.

Personally, I didn't find much difference in service between the two lines - they were both wonderful.

If you're interested in cruising, Carnival offers a very good product at a very reasonable price; if however, you're interested in Disney and cruising, then only DCL can offer that product.

On what other cruise line do you have a stateroom attendant who calls you by name before you have ever set foot in your stateroom??? DISNEY CRUISE LINE!

Carnival. My room steward knocked on my door about 10 mins after I arrived and said, "Miss Patricia? Welcome aboard. My name is Arif and I am your cabin attendant for this week...." and then proceeded to tell me how I could reach him if I needed anything (call him, leave him a note or flag him down in the hall). I did not have this experience on my DCL cruise. I have no idea what my stewards name was and he never spoke with us. When we saw him in the halls he only nodded his head. On Carnival, everytime he saw me in the hallways it was, "Hello Miss Patricia - Do you have plans today? Are you going on an excursion? Is Miss Jenna still sleeping?" He was very personable and very good at his job (our cabin was spotless).

For me what justifies the DCL price when I'm travelling with my parents is the set up of the accessible cabins (sleep 3) and that they dock at their private island so my mom can get off the ship easily.

Looking at the prices for next year though - I'm not sure that it's enough....

 

[NancyIL]

DCL is as close to a no smoking line as you can get.

Actually, this is an area where Celebrity beats DCL. We ONLY book balconies on Celebrity since there is no smoking allowed on them and then we know we will not have a neighbor smoking on theirs

Princess will no longer allow smoking in cabins or on balconies beginning with cruises departing after Jan. 15, 2012: http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp#Smoking_Policy

Two of my three Disney Bahamas cruises (1 each on the Wonder and Dream) were with Disney fan groups, and I'll be on the Dec. 2012 DIS Podcast cruise on the Fantasy. Those cruises were reasonably priced, and the group activities were a bonus. I am looking forward to seeing what DCL has planned for 2013 - especially if the Magic returns to Europe.