Has the price of DCL chased you away?

[Dug720]

The point I was making.. I think some people get it and some people think I'm criticizing their life choices. I really don't care if anyone has kids or doesn't. Get's married, stays single...whatever I don't care. I DONT CARE anything about anyones life choices. The only thing I know about anybody on this board is that they like to cruise.
I do think the people that book Dcl cruises with two people, and say that the prices are comparable to other lines need to take a look at the price differences when booking for four or five to know where a lot of us are coming from. DCL does not give huge discounts for third and fourth passengers, there's no kids sail free or reduced prices for families. I'm taking a couple of DCL cruises that I booked just for two people, and I can say the price difference is huge compared to what I'm used to paying when I book for four. That's why I made the "joke" have a couple of kids and you might change your mind about the prices. I did not make the "joke" to diminish anyone's opinion. It's seems like most of price complaints on this board are coming from people with kids. Kids are expensive, and I certainly can't blame anyone for not wanting them.

Ok, fair enough.

BUT the bottom line is there ARE people who do not have kids and who cruise, and if someone is asking a general "are the prices too much for you" we will answer for us. There is no reason for me or couples without kids to make up kids just to compare because that is not our world. So we are answering a personal experience question from our personal experience.

If you want a price thread only for people with kids to compare, go for it. But this thread did not say "only answer if you have children".

 

[cruiser21]

Ok, fair enough.

BUT the bottom line is there ARE people who do not have kids and who cruise, and if someone is asking a general "are the prices too much for you" we will answer for us. There is no reason for me or couples without kids to make up kids just to compare because that is not our world. So we are answering a personal experience question from our personal experience.

If you want a price thread only for people with kids to compare, go for it. But this thread did not say "only answer if you have children".

Sometimes you just need to just let things go.

 

[AquaDame]

The point I was making.. I think some people get it and some people think I'm criticizing their life choices. I really don't care if anyone has kids or doesn't. Get's married, stays single...whatever I don't care. I DONT CARE anything about anyones life choices. The only thing I know about anybody on this board is that they like to cruise.
I do think the people that book Dcl cruises with two people, and say that the prices are comparable to other lines need to take a look at the price differences when booking for four or five to know where a lot of us are coming from. DCL does not give huge discounts for third and fourth passengers, there's no kids sail free or reduced prices for families. I'm taking a couple of DCL cruises that I booked just for two people, and I can say the price difference is huge compared to what I'm used to paying when I book for four. That's why I made the "joke" have a couple of kids and you might change your mind about the prices. I did not make the "joke" to diminish anyone's opinion. It's seems like most of price complaints on this board are coming from people with kids. Kids are expensive, and I certainly can't blame anyone for not wanting them.

Oh, even for two there can be a big difference..! I've never thought of it that way since cruising with RCCL in 2016 was about half as much as sailing the Wonder, 3rd and 4th passenger or not. We didn't enjoy it nearly as much though, so we are back to DCL for now (we did sail a second time on RCCL that summer since it was with family that doesn't enjoy Disney). Our 3rd & 4th this October are my parents but they aren't cruisers - they are Disney fans - so that one was a no-brainer. I think its the only way I have gotten my Mom to book a cruise at all!

 

[NancyIL]

The April 2018 Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder will be my 7th Disney cruise. I have also cruised with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, and Holland America - and I like all of them. Although I can afford any Disney cruise, especially since I pay only for myself when I share an inside cabin with a friend, I'm generally not willing to pay DCL's high prices for their more interesting itineraries.

I have had some really great land trips in recent years, so I plan to do more of those and cut back on cruising.

 

[mevelandry]

The point I was making.. I think some people get it and some people think I'm criticizing their life choices. I really don't care if anyone has kids or doesn't. Get's married, stays single...whatever I don't care. I DONT CARE anything about anyones life choices. The only thing I know about anybody on this board is that they like to cruise.
I do think the people that book Dcl cruises with two people, and say that the prices are comparable to other lines need to take a look at the price differences when booking for four or five to know where a lot of us are coming from. DCL does not give huge discounts for third and fourth passengers, there's no kids sail free or reduced prices for families. I'm taking a couple of DCL cruises that I booked just for two people, and I can say the price difference is huge compared to what I'm used to paying when I book for four. That's why I made the "joke" have a couple of kids and you might change your mind about the prices. I did not make the "joke" to diminish anyone's opinion. It's seems like most of price complaints on this board are coming from people with kids. Kids are expensive, and I certainly can't blame anyone for not wanting them.

I don't have kids and I was not offended... It's simple maths. Most of my friends are parents and raising children is expensive. When DCL raises their prices, everybody is impacted and the bill for a family of four can be substantial compared to the bill of a couple without children. The family will get priced out a long time before the couple will be.

 

[Marypoppins14]

I would love to know this too. I priced the NCL Haven for four this Fall. It was anywhere between 6500-9000 depending on the room. Dcl started at 9500 and went up to 27k. I have seen concierge rooms on DCL as high as 50k which really blows my mind. Unless I see actual numbers I will never believe NCL or Royal are anywhere close to DCL in price.

I'd love to see concierge pricing within a few hundred dollars. I have sailed DCL 9x; 3x concierge. February 2017 was my last. I'm very saddened by the drastic price jumps. I love love LOVE DCL. But they finally outpriced me. Their current cruise prices are 100% to 200% higher than just a few short years ago. So I will sadly leave them. The value is just not there any longer for me. I'm not part of a larger conspiracy to "get people to leave" with some crazy idea that DCL will suddenly perform a market correction. I read these messages to get some validation for my decision to leave a cruise line that I have really developed a fondness and loyalty towards. To each his/her/their own.

I've research NCL Haven prices for winter break 2018, and the price difference is astounding. I can sail for 7 nights in a one bedroom suite for less than an OOV for 4 nights. Crazy beans.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

On ncl we got 3rd and 4th passengers free and on carnival and princess 3rd and 4th are heavily reduced. Just checked our upcoming carnival cruise and the 3rd is less than half of 1st and 2nd passenger and 4th is 20% of the 1st and 2nd passengers. The 1st and 2nd passengers are cheaper than dcl, but the dramatic savings comes when you add more passengers to the room. The discount dcl gives for 3rd and 4th passengers is unimpressive compared to other lines. That's where it becomes difficult to justify. If I am travelling with my husband we may save a thousand or two going non dcl. Traveling with our kids it can be five to seven thousand in difference. This is not an exaggeration. And this is going from insides to balconies.

 

[cgolf]

I am curious why people feel the need to defend DCL and what they want to charge? As Dug and others have said somewhere in these recent threads, we all have our value systems and will either choose to stick with DCL, leave them completely, or sail them when we find a trip that meets our needs. When people hit their tipping point is different for everyone. DCL is a company, they don't need everybody to defend them, they will succeed or fail regardless of what is posted on this site.

Nobody is trying to push people to the other lines, but yeh I want to vent a little after spending 83 nights on DCL, I think I have earned a little bit of leeway. If some of these posts help others either decide to stick with DCL or feel better about trying another line, then that is wonderful.

It just amazes me how personnel these threads get.

 

[cruiser21]

Oh, even for two there can be a big difference..! I've never thought of it that way since cruising with RCCL in 2016 was about half as much as sailing the Wonder, 3rd and 4th passenger or not. We didn't enjoy it nearly as much though, so we are back to DCL for now (we did sail a second time on RCCL that summer since it was with family that doesn't enjoy Disney). Our 3rd & 4th this October are my parents but they aren't cruisers - they are Disney fans - so that one was a no-brainer. I think its the only way I have gotten my Mom to book a cruise at all!

I plan on booking the British Isles or wbta on the Dream next month. Im not going to even compare it to other cruise lines I think it's a good price. I also didnt think the Iceland cruise in August was too bad. I guess because I've been to the Caribbean so many times I even have a hard even justifying lCarnivals prices. I like to cruise though so I continue to go.

 

[cruiser21]

I don't have kids and I was not offended... It's simple maths. Most of my friends are parents and raising children is expensive. When DCL raises their prices, everybody is impacted and the bill for a family of four can be substantial compared to the bill of a couple without children. The family will get priced out a long time before the couple will be.

This is a big reason why we cruise. Going out to eat is ridiculous. We hardly ever do it now that they don't eat off the kids menu. Many of my friends and family stopped at one. I also have friends that have 5 or 6. God bless them. I don't know how they do it.

 

[keaster]

Okay so I've been officially scared away by the pricing LOL. Did more research today into RCCL's European dates released today and those on NCL. We went for the 9-night Scandinavia/Russia on NCL Breakaway in August 2018 (same itinerary as the Magic with one more port stop in Berlin).

Price for the three of us in a large balcony room was total $7,375 Canadian, including the specialty dining and ultimate beverage package for the first two guests.

As mentioned in a previous post, our 5A on the Magic for 7-nights was $10,317 US or $13,753 at current exchange rate. So for just over $6,300 less we are getting two extra nights/specialty dining/alcohol included.

Trust me, it makes me sad but from now on I'll just keep an eye out for *GT rates to see when we can sail the mouse again

 

[bumbershoot]

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.

Dug pays the single supplement though! Not fun imo.

And there are plenty who have kids who still stick with Disney.

And plenty of people who had the number of kids they could support in the custom to which they wanted, so will still be able to stay with Disney.

I personally believe that the purpose of threads like this are to try and convince others to leave DCL in the hope that if enough cruisers leave, then Disney will have to drop their prices. Posters will regale their stories of how they have been priced out by Disney or how great their experience was on another cruise line. And some of them will dismiss or even attack anyone who disagrees with their opinion and their hopes of Disney lowering their pricing.

You don't really believe that, do you?

Complaining about DCL pricing on this message board in an attempt to "scare people away", lower demand, and thus force DCL to decrease fares (as @lbus42 mentioned) is a plan that would require a LOT of time and patience.

And would result in a LOT of frustration.

 

[GeneMachine]

I guess we will find out in July, if we leave our cruise with an OBB. The prices go up every year, and even though our family can shell out for an expensive vacation, we are quickly approaching our "no way" limit.

Just out of curiosity, I compared the price of our 2011 10-night Med cruise with the price of a same cabin 2017 10-night Med cruise. In 2011, we paid ~$10,000 for the four of us in one room (cat 5B); a similar cabin (which is now unavailable because they are sold out, I guess), started at ~$18,000. THat's almost double. Even factoring inflation, the price rise is nuts.

BUT, those verandahs? SOLD OUT. So even if we don't cruise, there are hundreds of others who will. Until the ships don't fill, this is the trajectory.

 

[cruiser21]

Dug pays the single supplement though! Not fun imo.

And there are plenty who have kids who still stick with Disney.

And plenty of people who had the number of kids they could support in the custom to which they wanted, so will still be able to stay with Disney.



You don't really believe that, do you?




And would result in a LOT of frustration.

I'm aware of that. I have kids and I still cruise on DCL. I'm aware of what a single supplement is too. That's pretty standard in the cruise industry.

 

[marx]

When my oldest daughter entered 3rd grade 5 years ago we stopped cruising DCL as we shifted our vacations to peak times only. Prior to that, we cruised in early December twice and an August Transatlantic (I wish DCL still repositioned in August).

 

[petrola]

We are a family of 4 and our first 7 night DCL cruise in 2011 was less than 2,000 (KSF) and our cruise this summer is 11,000. We still love DCL but now I book opening day w/obb, use military discounts or *GT rates.

We've had a similar experience. We've only taken two Disney cruises - one in 2012 and one in 2013. Granted it was only the 3 of us at the time (my DS was not not born yet) but the costs for a 4 night cruise in 2012 was $2800 and the cost for the 2013 7 night cruise was $5,129. (I may be a geek, because I saved the confirmation from the travel agency! ) both of these rooms were cat V and since my DD was only 3 and 4 at the time, pulling her out of preschool for a September cruise was not an issue. (September and December are the slowest times at work - so it's easiest for us to go during those months).

My DD LOVES Disney - and has repeatedly asked to go on another cruise - but we have held off because I felt the price increases since 2013 were very aggressive. Fast forward to 2017 - my two best friends and their families want to go on another Disney cruise. Our kids are in school now - so we priced out a summer cruise in the same cat V. Maybe we were a little late to the game this time in terms of booking - but the cost would have been $18k+ for a family of 4 during the summer. We wound up booking the Fantasy for the first week in December 2017 - and the cost for the week is $10,007 - similar to what one would pay for a September sailing (give or take $500-$1000). My point is that's a pretty big increase since 2013 for the same number of nights and stateroom category. To be fair though, I have no idea what the price increases have been for that same time frame for other cruise lines - or the cruise line industry in general.

So why are we doing it? Well, for one I'm sure it will be a fun trip; my little guy (who will be 3 by then) has never been on a Disney cruise and he wants to go on "Mickey boat, Mamma!!" (we saw the Magic I think in Key West) and my two best friends and their families are going. Yes I am pulling my daughter out of school that week, but it will be a week of half days because of conferences. (I"m trying to make it sound better in my mind). It will probably be a while if/when we do another Disney cruise after this one though. It's not on my husband's list of favorite things - we have a sailboat and he much prefers spending his vacation time sailing. The idea of being on a big cruise ship makes him crazy - but he goes anyway because it makes the kids happy. I love that man! (which is why I book the cat V - to give him some quiet spaces).

 

[DLgal]

The DCL prices have always been scary. We sailed in August 2012 in a category 4D (there are four of us) on a 5 night Dream double dip. We used military discount and booked super last minute, less than 3 weeks before sail date. Our cruise fare came to $3000. That was our first DCL cruise. That same cruise is $7000 this summer.

The next year we did a 3 night Dream cruise... Category 8B...$2900. No discounts.

Both were fun cruises, but neither one blew me away. Frankly, on the 5 night, we were bored on the sea days. We spent a lot of time in the cabin watching movies. The activities were super hokey and not our thing. Same with the shows. Our wait staff was acceptable but not amazing. Same with our cabin steward. We didn't get any super special treatment like everyone races about and the kid club was a disastrous experience for us. The ship is pretty, the food was good, and Castaway Cay was amazing.

However, after two cruises with DCL, I've decided that we will only sail again if the price is under $250pp/night. I will not pay more than that. BUT, with that said, we can only sail summer or school breaks. And when I price RCCL in a similar sized cabin (would be a junior suite), the price is VERY close to DCL in a cat 4. Because our kids have some developmental delays, we won't do connecting cabins just yet...We need them in our room, but we also need more space due to that, so we need category 4 or 8 on DCL and Junior Suite on Royal.

So we just haven't cruised since 2013. I can't justify DCLs pricing OR RCLs at this time. So it seems like the pricing during summer in has pushed us away from cruising in general for now.

 

[cruiser21]

The DCL prices have always been scary. We sailed in August 2012 in a category 4D (there are four of us) on a 5 night Dream double dip. We used military discount and booked super last minute, less than 3 weeks before sail date. Our cruise fare came to $3000. That was our first DCL cruise. That same cruise is $7000 this summer.

The next year we did a 3 night Dream cruise... Category 8B...$2900. No discounts.

Both were fun cruises, but neither one blew me away. Frankly, on the 5 night, we were bored on the sea days. We spent a lot of time in the cabin watching movies. The activities were super hokey and not our thing. Same with the shows. Our wait staff was acceptable but not amazing. Same with our cabin steward. We didn't get any super special treatment like everyone races about and the kid club was a disastrous experience for us. The ship is pretty, the food was good, and Castaway Cay was amazing.

However, after two cruises with DCL, I've decided that we will only sail again if the price is under $250pp/night. I will not pay more than that. BUT, with that said, we can only sail summer or school breaks. And when I price RCCL in a similar sized cabin (would be a junior suite), the price is VERY close to DCL in a cat 4. Because our kids have some developmental delays, we won't do connecting cabins just yet...We need them in our room, but we also need more space due to that, so we need category 4 or 8 on DCL and Junior Suite on Royal.

So we just haven't cruised since 2013. I can't justify DCLs pricing OR RCLs at this time. So it seems like the pricing during summer in has pushed us away from cruising in general for now.

We've cruised in a regular size cabin with the four us. Do you need a Jr Suite? Have you checked out NCL or Carnival? Carnival has suites for a pretty good price. NCL has been running 3rd and 4th passenger free sales.

 

[DLgal]

We've cruised in a regular size cabin with the four us. Do you need a Jr Suite? Have you checked out NCL or Carnival? Carnival has suites for a pretty good price. NCL has been running 3rd and 4th passenger free sales.

We need a pretty large cabin. Also need separate beds for the boys (they can't sleep when they share). They are 12 and 11 and if we try to cram into one room, it better be pretty big! We are almost to a point where we can trust them in their own room if it connects. But we can't do insides...One of our kids gets very claustrophobic. When you move to 2 cabins, though, it gets more expensive because you lose the 3rd/4th passenger discount. Two connecting outside cabins on DCL is more expensive than one category 8.

And don't get me started on trying to find connecting cabins on Royal. Their site is abysmal for that.

At this point we are waiting until they are old enough to be in the cabin next door WITHOUT them being connected so we can have more options. Probably in a couple more years we will be there.

I won't do Carnival anymore. Done them twice and it's just not for us. NCL is a possibility.

 

[cgolf]

We need a pretty large cabin. Also need separate beds for the boys (they can't sleep when they share). They are 12 and 11 and if we try to cram into one room, it better be pretty big! We are almost to a point where we can trust them in their own room if it connects. But we can't do insides...One of our kids gets very claustrophobic. When you move to 2 cabins, though, it gets more expensive because you lose the 3rd/4th passenger discount. Two connecting outside cabins on DCL is more expensive than one category 8.

And don't get me started on trying to find connecting cabins on Royal. Their site is abysmal for that.

At this point we are waiting until they are old enough to be in the cabin next door WITHOUT them being connected so we can have more options. Probably in a couple more years we will be there.

I won't do Carnival anymore. Done them twice and it's just not for us. NCL is a possibility.

For RCCL you could use a TA to find you the connecting rooms. We have used a Dreams TA and with how many sales RCCL runs, she also checks all her clients reservations to see if the latest sale is a better deal and will apply it if it is.