Getting outpriced, am I the only one?

[bbak30]

It’s such a totally different vacation then WDW. It’s like trying to compare a visit to Washington DC with all the Smithsonian museums to a vacation at Yellowstone National Park. Sure they’re owned by the same company/government, but yet nothing alike. I hope sometime you will find a chance to take a Disney Cruise. Perhaps you’ll find a more fairly priced off-season (while the kids are in school) or a last minute deal during those same time periods. This many people, willing to pay this price, has to say something about the actual perceived value when you think about return customers. I really hope you get a chance to go you’re missing out on an off a lot.

Good point. I'm sure you are correct. One day.....

 

[mevelandry]

Yes I think it comes down to wether you can afford it or not. There's no shame in not being able to afford a 15k European cruise. Most Americans cannot. Obviously there's enough people that can because they keep selling them.

In our case, we still can... but... Thanks but no thanks!

And I agree with you:there is absolutely no shame in not being able to afford expensive cruises.

 

[mgpan]

I know pricing is supply and demand, but seeing such fluctuations for the same cruise, same itinerary, a month or less apart puts me off. All lines do this to some extent but when the pricing is equivalent on some lower demand times (due to school schedules, etc.) that we can't take, and then in higher demand times seeing DCL go so much higher makes me say no thanks and go with another line or a non-disney land vacation. For the same exact cruise to be $3300 one week and then $4800 the next makes it easy to say no. I don't pay 50% more for ice cream in the summer than i do in the winter, nor would i pay $2 more at Starbucks on a cold morning than I would on the 4th of July.

 

[Budzooka]

I know pricing is supply and demand, but seeing such fluctuations for the same cruise, same itinerary, a month or less apart puts me off. All lines do this to some extent but when the pricing is equivalent on some lower demand times (due to school schedules, etc.) that we can't take, and then in higher demand times seeing DCL go so much higher makes me say no thanks and go with another line or a non-disney land vacation. For the same exact cruise to be $3300 one week and then $4800 the next makes it easy to say no. I don't pay 50% more for ice cream in the summer than i do in the winter, nor would i pay $2 more at Starbucks on a cold morning than I would on the 4th of July.

Happens all the time in the travel industry. I have football season tickets for my alma mater and the same Marriott hotel that is $129 one weekend is $299 the next game weekend with a two night minimum. They wouldn't do it if people didn't pay it.

 

[Shanti]

For the same exact cruise to be $3300 one week and then $4800 the next makes it easy to say no. I don't pay 50% more for ice cream in the summer than i do in the winter, nor would i pay $2 more at Starbucks on a cold morning than I would on the 4th of July.

It's just supply and demand. Demand for Disney cruises is markedly higher during school holidays because they cater overwhelmingly to a family market, and that's when most families can take a week off for a cruise.

For me, it's not a matter of if I'm willing to pay more to cruise during school holidays. It's a matter of if I'm willing to pay DCL to cruise at all, because school holidays are the only time we can cruise, period. Those lower non-holiday prices are not even an option for us, so I just ignore them.

 

[ivanp91]

It is getting a bit nuts. My first ever Disney cruise was a 4-nighter on the Dream in late 2013. $1375 for a verandah stateroom. Sailed on a 3-nighter in 2017, had to resort to oceanview due to cost, and even then it was still $1650 (for comparison, both were booked around a year in advance).

DCL vacations are my absolute favorite, so it will take a lot to stop sailing with them - but it is already at the point that I have had to make sacrifices to be able to afford them. My first 3 cruises were all standard verandah rooms, #4 had a whitewall verandah, and #5, 6 and 7 have been/are oceanview. Also tending to book itineraries that will generally be the cheapest - eg. last year I did the very last Alaska cruise of the season, and am booked on the next TA (with hopefully a PC cruise next year) due to those cruises being much better value.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

We were thinking the same thing until we tried Carnival - Breeze (2 years ago) and then Norwegian last month! It is now crystal clear for us, Disney Cruises are worth every penny. We are done trying a cheaper line to see if Disney is REALLY worth it. For us, it is... Better service, better rooms, cleaner and WAY better food! Doing Disney again in January 2019 and we'll NEVER try another cruise line again!

I have to disagree with you there. On DCL in the rooms all you are getting extra is a double bathroom, our room on RCI was just as good, we even had a kettle and the we could have twin beds. Our mini suite on Princess is bigger than DCL staterooms (and a lot cheaper) and once again we can have twin beds. The service was just the same although i must admit we are not high maintenance people and don't cause any problems. The food on our cruise with RCI was for me better than DCL. I do miss the shows but then i am a big fan of Disney but RCI do have an Ice Rink and those shows are amazing.
I can't wait for our Princess cruise, apparently they serve free popcorn and cookies and milk while you watch films on deck.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

That far exceeds the rate of inflation so you would think that would have to slow down or halt soon. Maybe the new ships coming on line will stabilize the prices.

You would have thought so but i can't see that happening. Too many people are willing to pay DCL prices.

 

[Shanti]

You would have thought so but i can't see that happening. Too many people are willing to pay DCL prices.

They're willing to pay them as is, but I don't see prices continuing to climb at the current rate for the next 10 years. There will be a slowdown & stabilization when the new ships show up & outclass/outprice the others. There simply won't be enough people willing to pay $10,000 for 2 people to sail in an inside stateroom for a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas on a classic ship, which is what it would eventually come to if prices never stop rising at their current rate of increase. The law of diminishing returns would come into effect for their profit margin.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I just wonder if there is enough 'luxury' to justify the price tbh, And if cruising is for me. I wish four seasons had a cruise line

 

[AdamEfimoff]

They're willing to pay them as is, but I don't see prices continuing to climb at the current rate for the next 10 years. There will be a slowdown & stabilization when the new ships show up & outclass/outprice the others. There simply won't be enough people willing to pay $10,000 for 2 people to sail in an inside stateroom for a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas on a classic ship, which is what it would eventually come to if prices never stop rising at their current rate of increase. The law of diminishing returns will come into effect for their profit margin.

I would personally not be surprised if people could afford that.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I would personally not be surprised if people could afford that.

I was at the 'cheapest' 1500 dollar room in a luxury Hotel Paris per a night (nice mum) And the hotel was fully booked. There were people paying 6000 -10000 a night!!! even more. Nothing shocks me any more

 

[DisneyNurse19]

I would personally not be surprised if people could afford that.

Just wait for the new itineraries to come out and people will be in an uproar about the increase in price. Then wait for the same people to book those cruises There will always be people that can afford DCL prices.

 

[owensjro]

Do you have a review of that? I'd love to hear about MSC's concierge experience... I have heard mixed reviews but I don't think we can afford the mediterranean with DCL so looking at other options.

Last summer we did the Med on the Celebrity Reflection and loved it. With so many ports the ship becomes more of a floating hotel so when we booked it we were thinking in those terms. We were quite pleased to find the level of service on Celebrity was very near to what we had grown accustomed to on DCL. We did pay for a specialty dining package (on sale) as we felt the choices in the MDR were not as good. And the premium beverage package was great as well All in all, it was a great trip and we now consider Celebrity as well as DCL when we're planning future trips.

I should note this was our 2nd Celebrity cruise vs. 12 DCL cruises and we are a family of 3 with a 15yo daughter.

Jim

 

[suedon70]

Maybe this was mentioned before, but I think some of it has to do with the fact that there are only 4 DCL ships, so the inventory of cabins is very small compared to RCCL (27 ships) and Carnival (26 ships) so the demand for the DCL product will always be there for the relatively limited supply of cabins, therefore they can ask for whatever price the market allows.

We live only 2 hours from PC so it's very easy for us to take our 3 night DCL cruises, and we love them a lot, but for cruises of 7 nights we have looked elsewhere due to the price difference.

 

[cruiser21]

I would personally not be surprised if people could afford that.

Salaries would need to go up then.

 

[jujubiee4]

Salaries would need to go up then.

Also i wonder how many truly can "afford" it ...meaning they are paying it in full with disposable income.

I saw a recent article about how many american are carrying big credit card debt..or any credit card debt
and the amount was staggering.

I made the decision long ago if i can't pay the bill immediately or in full with no interest. We don't go!
I have seen people struggle with credit card debt and its not pretty.

Disney cruises are wonderful but not enough to sink under.

 

[keaster]

We are now basically just keeping an eye on the *GT rates to get on DCL (and the occasional CAN rates). We did a 4-night in December booking a VGT and found the rate to be quite reasonable. Otherwise, with the bad Canadian/US exchange rate the prices are pretty out of reach for us right now.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Both our cruises with Disney so far have been during the low season in the Bahamas/Caribbean (no kids, so we're more flexible with schedules). We have no problems with Disney's low season prices. When we wanted to cruise the Caribbean last summer, we went with Carnival (with different expectations and had a great time) due to price; Disney's price was at least double that what we paid during the low season for the same cruise.

The following I am writing as I am doing research:

This summer, we're looking into the Mediterranean since it looks like we have to go to Europe for 'other' reasons, and we are surprised to find the following when looking for a 7-night round trip from Barcelona or Rome (visiting Italy without going to Greece [for personal reasons]) the first two weeks of June (regular inside stateroom for 2, including taxes and fees):
Disney: $3,769
Celebrity: Doesn't have a cruise available. (They do have an interesting British Isles cruise during that time frame: but costs about the same $3,664 AND it's cold there [for my standards])
Princess: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Cunard: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Carnival: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Royal Caribbean: Doesn't have a cruise available.
MSC Fantasia: $2,138 for an Ocean View (inside fully booked).
Did I forget a cruise line?

So, Disney seems to have an itinerary that I'm looking for and most other cruise lines do not offer during the time I can cruise. Considering what I'm looking for, and it being during the summer, I'm not out priced by this. However, MSC is definitely cheaper... unfortunately, I don't know a lot about MSC (need more research) and I'm worried about inside smoking. I'll be traveling with my mother (her first cruise) and, for her health, being able to comfortably/easily avoid smoking areas is a must. Anyone experience with MSC as an adults only cruise?

 

[wanderlust7]

Disney: $3,769
Celebrity: Doesn't have a cruise available. (They do have an interesting British Isles cruise during that time frame: but costs about the same $3,664 AND it's cold there [for my standards])
Princess: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Cunard: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Carnival: Doesn't have a cruise available.
Royal Caribbean: Doesn't have a cruise available.
MSC Fantasia: $2,138 for an Ocean View (inside fully booked).
Did I forget a cruise line?

Royal Caribbean has the Symphony and Norwegian has the Epic, both round-trip out of Barcelona or Rome.