Has the price of DCL chased you away?

[pennymike]

After 16 great cruises with DCL, we have for the 1st time cancelled a future cruise because of the price of the cruises. We unfortunately can only cruise during peak time since me wife is a teacher and as everyone knows.............Peak time = $$$$$$. For the 1st time in 10 years we are considering other cruise lines. Anyone in the same "boat" as us?

 

[lbus42]

no

 

[Amunet]

I think many are in the same situation. I think the fact that Disney waits so long to release dates are also an issue since competing lines allow for more planning and budgeting by releasing their itineraries earlier.

If you've never been on another cruise line, I highly suggest doing so because it will enable you to compare the amenities.
Other lines offer far better perks for their loyal cruisers, but those other lines also can have so many hidden fees or "nickel and diming". It really depends on what you and your family enjoy.

I agree, Disney cruise pricing is getting ridiculous considering they are just upping pricing and not adding much.

 

[Disneyteachers]

Well, we've only done one DCL cruise which we loved and we have one in 2018 booked. We are both teachers so the peak time price is an issue. This summer we are trying Celebrity. We are on the east coast so out of NJ we won't have airfare or hotel costs. We like good service and good food so we'll see. We thought the food outside of the adult restaurants on the wonder to be unmemorable/average and the service all around was great. So, we will see how another line looks. It came down to 4N versus 7N for the same price plus flights/hotels to FL. So, it hasn't chased us away, but can't be our exclusive line.

 

[Dug720]

No.

I am fine with an ocean view or even an inside cabin. I cruise solo.

The bottom line is I trust DCL and I like DCL. I will consider RCCL (Radiance Class or smaller only - no Behemoth of the Seas for me), but bottom line is I would rather cruise less often and go with DCL than multiple times a year with the less expensive lines because their "freestyle" and "fun ship" schtick doesn't work for me. If it does for you, great. We all have choices!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

This thread has been around the last few days, https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-prices-sky-high.3592114/
Will give you more info.

 

[keaster]

We have done one RCL cruise so far because we wanted to try a way different itinerary (we sailed on the Splendour of the Seas January 2015 out of Dubai for 7 nights). It was just my husband and I, and we had a wonderful time exploring an interesting part of the world. They had an amazing rate with a balcony stateroom for just over $2000 Canadian. The ship was the oldest in the RCCL fleet, but it was well kept up with small areas of wear and tear.

We have the 7 night Northern Europe booked on the Disney Magic for August 2018. Tomorrow I can check the same itinerary on RCCL's Serenade of the Seas, it will be interesting to see the price comparison.

 

[BrdWalker]

No

We have sailed DCL, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity and Louis; we always look for DCL first and only sail others if DCL does not have the itinerary.

 

[godde8ss]

No because we don't sail peak season with DCL

 

[tinkerone]

Yes.
While we can certainly afford DCL and had always sailed DCL we decided to try another cruise line just to compare. Tried one week on the Oasis last November and have rebooked for a b2b on the Oasis for October and have booked a b2b on RCCL's new ship 'Symphony' for next November. There will be holidays in between that would have gone to DCL as well however finding that change is good, I don't think we will be back to them until at least the new ships sail. Then maybe we will be back.......probably be back. Just to see what they come up with.

Change is good!

ETA- Don't let the thought of 'nickel and diming' scare you off. I did not find any more of that on the Oasis then I did with DCL. You want specialty dining, you pay for specialty dining. You want to purchase candy, you pay to purchase candy. You want a keep sake, you pay for the keep sake. Same as on DCL except the specialty dining offers are more plentiful so you have great choices. Yes, we paid for our pop package however the $150 we paid for that was offset by the nearly $2000 we saved. You might be surprised at what you can get beyond DCL.

 

[Shanti]

After 16 great cruises with DCL, we have for the 1st time cancelled a future cruise because of the price of the cruises. We unfortunately can only cruise during peak time since me wife is a teacher and as everyone knows.............Peak time = $$$$$$. For the 1st time in 10 years we are considering other cruise lines. Anyone in the same "boat" as us?

Not really. I think this is more of an issue for people who have done a lot of DCL cruises when they were cheaper. Having to pay higher prices seems weird to them, and they're often burned out from the same itineraries.

In our case, we aren't used to lower prices of years past, so that's a non-issue. I'm also very selective about which cruises we'll take, only choosing itineraries/ships that are new or appealing to us. We don't plan to repeat the same cruise over and over, like some enjoy doing. We also aren't interested in cruising several times a year, as some like to do.

I think DCL's ships and service are great, and they have some great, unique itineraries to offer. I think even a short Castaway Cay getaway is a special experience. My son also still loves the characters and theming. It's worth it to us right now.

 

[thebwit]

Not chased us away, rather shifted our timing. For instance last year we sailed during spring break and we paid $680/per night (4 people total) or $170/person/night. This year we are paying $756/per night. 2018's sailings on day one of able to book the cheapest we found was $1100/night. So we shifted to a January cruise instead to pay what we feel is within our range.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We tried another line and were disappointed. For cruises we will stick with Disney.

 

[squirk]

I think it must be an unspoken rule that we cannot have any less than three concurrent active threads on this topic in any given week.

That having been said, the pricing has made me start exploring other options, particularly for "high season" cruises.

We live in Louisiana, so we get a week off of school for Mardi Gras, which is usually in low(er) season. We in the South also get out of school a week or two earlier than the rest of the country (third week of May), so we are able to cruise just before summer "high season" pricing hits. So while DCL is still more expensive than, say, RCCL, the price differential is a lot more palatable than in full-on spring break or summer seasons.

But if I was looking to cruise during spring break/summer/Thanksgiving/Christmas? Yeah, I'd have to look elsewhere.

I think @Dug720 hits it on the head when she says:

The bottom line is I trust DCL and I like DCL.

Vacations can be precious - not just in terms of what they cost, but in terms of the quality of the time spent. For some people, the cruise might be their one chance of the year to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. For some families, this might be a prime opportunity to reconnect after a year's worth of disparate obligations among work, school, sports, extracurriculars, etc. I would rather pay $10k on a DCL cruise and know all five of us will have a fantastic time vs. spending $7k on another line where one or more of us might be let down.

That's not to say that RCCL or NCL or whoever can't offer great experiences that can go toe-to-toe with DCL. I guess it just depends on how precious your vacation time is, and if you are willing to take a gamble to save some money vs. paying a premium for a "sure thing".

I can't begrudge people who want to save money, but I also can't begrudge people who want to spend a little extra money to cruise with a brand they know and trust to ensure that their cruise vacation sticks the landing.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

We are taking our first Disney cruise this May, so we have nothing to compare the price to. My husband and I did a Celebrity cruise of New Zealand/Australia back in 2009 and had a fabulous time, but now we have an (almost) four-year-old, so our priorities have shifted.

We live seven miles from Disneyland and are there just about weekly, so my daughter has grown up with Disney in a unique way. We didn't even look at any other cruises; the idea of a "Disney cruise" was just too perfect in terms of knowing that she's going to have a great time. We're people who want to cruise for new destinations and NOT just to cruise (this time, we're going to Northern Europe), so I think that once she's older, we'll end up branching out to find new itineraries since Disney is limited.

 

[xlxo]

Giving up my pixie dust addiction....

• other cruise lines means opportunities to explore other ports
• other cruise lines means more cruises for my dollar
• on the others I have explored.... I like Princess for families and I like HAL now approaching my senior years.

 

[bumbershoot]

When I check prices of cruises we've done compared to a similar one currently I become ill. So yeah, pretty much, I'm priced out. I would rather take a 7 night cruise and half another 7 night on Royal for the cost of a 4 nighter on Disney. Characters aren't important to us, we don't drink soda, and I like to get into a pool every so often on a ship (but will NOT go in one on DCL...way too small). And many other reasons.

Don't let the thought of 'nickel and diming' scare you off. I did not find any more of that on the Oasis then I did with DCL. You want specialty dining, you pay for specialty dining. You want to purchase candy, you pay to purchase candy. You want a keep sake, you pay for the keep sake. Same as on DCL except the specialty dining offers are more plentiful so you have great choices. Yes, we paid for our pop package however the $150 we paid for that was offset by the nearly $2000 we saved.

Ayep. Except we don't get the soda package. We've gotten the non-alcohol package to get spring water and coffees, and we buy those things on DCL too (except that I believe DCL's water package is Dasani now, and I don't drink Dasani, so now we would have to bring our own spring water on UGH).

And I prefer the aesthetics of Royal's ships. We'll check out Celebrity, too, because they have a casino (bonus for DH) but it's non-smoking (woo!). Probably Princess as well as people I trust have really liked their Princess cruises.

 

[cruiser21]

No.

I am fine with an ocean view or even an inside cabin. I cruise solo.

The bottom line is I trust DCL and I like DCL. I will consider RCCL (Radiance Class or smaller only - no Behemoth of the Seas for me), but bottom line is I would rather cruise less often and go with DCL than multiple times a year with the less expensive lines because their "freestyle" and "fun ship" schtick doesn't work for me. If it does for you, great. We all have choices!

You cruise solo. It's a lot different for families with 2 or 3 kids. You can trust DCL all you want, but have a couple of kids and I'll guarantee you'll be singing a different tune.

 

[cruiser21]

I think it must be an unspoken rule that we cannot have any less than three concurrent active threads on this topic in any given week.

That having been said, the pricing has made me start exploring other options, particularly for "high season" cruises.

We live in Louisiana, so we get a week off of school for Mardi Gras, which is usually in low(er) season. We in the South also get out of school a week or two earlier than the rest of the country (third week of May), so we are able to cruise just before summer "high season" pricing hits. So while DCL is still more expensive than, say, RCCL, the price differential is a lot more palatable than in full-on spring break or summer seasons.

But if I was looking to cruise during spring break/summer/Thanksgiving/Christmas? Yeah, I'd have to look elsewhere.

I think @Dug720 hits it on the head when she says:


Vacations can be precious - not just in terms of what they cost, but in terms of the quality of the time spent. For some people, the cruise might be their one chance of the year to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. For some families, this might be a prime opportunity to reconnect after a year's worth of disparate obligations among work, school, sports, extracurriculars, etc. I would rather pay $10k on a DCL cruise and know all five of us will have a fantastic time vs. spending $7k on another line where one or more of us might be let down.

That's not to say that RCCL or NCL or whoever can't offer great experiences that can go toe-to-toe with DCL. I guess it just depends on how precious your vacation time is, and if you are willing to take a gamble to save some money vs. paying a premium for a "sure thing".

I can't begrudge people who want to save money, but I also can't begrudge people who want to spend a little extra money to cruise with a brand they know and trust to ensure that their cruise vacation sticks the landing.

I've never paid 10k for a DCL cruise or 7k for a cruise on another line. Are you cruising concierge? You know cruising on another line doesn't mean the vacation won't stick the landing...so to speak. Trust me I know. You just have to get over your fear of trying new things. You miss out on a lot in life if you don't take chances. You might find you're pleasantly surprised. BTW I've had DCL cruises that haven't stuck the landing. They are not always a perfect 10.
Choosing another cruise line is not always about saving money. It can be about variety and not doing the same old thing over and over and over and over,........You shouldn't assume people that choose other options can't afford DCL.

 

[OSUZorba]

Basically yup. I can do a Jr Suite on RCL for less than a whitewall balcony on DCL, or a balcony room for half the price. I like DCL service and entertainment more, but I personally like RCL ships better. So overall I'd say if DCL was a 10, RCL, for me, is a 8.5, just not worth the extra money most of the time.