dani24
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2013
Our first DCL cruise is in May, so I haven't experienced it first hand. We've sailed 4 times with Princess (just DH and I -- the DCL will be DD's first cruise). We've looked at DCL in the past, but always immediately noped-out because the cost was more than we felt comfortable spending. It's not that we can't afford it, it's just that we prioritize our vacation dollars differently. Some of the prices I've seen quoted on here, or when looking at other itineraries on the DCL site give me heartburn!
What changed this time is that our daughter is about to turn 5 and start Kindergarten. We wanted to do something extra special for her while we still had flexibility (we are not believers in pulling kids out of school for vacation). We found a 5 day repo on DCL for $3000 in a cat 9C for the three of us. We still experienced sticker shock, but it also looked like a bargain compared to the pricing on other DCL sailings. Especially considering we could have done a 6 day on Princess with a similar itinerary in the same category also this Spring, for about $1800 total. Even comparing what we spend on extras, DCL looks like it's going to cost us way more than on Princess (and we tend to do a lot of special experiences on Princess -- Chef's Dinner, spa days, Bingo, specialty dining, balcony dining, casino, etc.) But our daughter only turns 5 and starts Kindergarten once, right?
We love Princess, and there are a lot of things that I've seen DCL doesn't have that Princess does that I'm bummed about. But I also realize DCL has many other unique things that we can't get elsewhere, and we're looking forward to enjoying that at least once. It's not a direct apples to apples comparison, and we are swallowing the premium pricing for the novelty of DCL.
That said... DCL will really have to blow us out of the water compared to Princess for us to justify cruising them again in the future. From everything I've read so far, I expect to have a great time, but not great enough to justify a significantly higher cost. We love Disney, but have generally felt we'd rather pay the premium to go to Disneyland (over other amusement parks) than a Disney cruise (over another cruise line), because we aren't convinced the value comparison is the same.
What changed this time is that our daughter is about to turn 5 and start Kindergarten. We wanted to do something extra special for her while we still had flexibility (we are not believers in pulling kids out of school for vacation). We found a 5 day repo on DCL for $3000 in a cat 9C for the three of us. We still experienced sticker shock, but it also looked like a bargain compared to the pricing on other DCL sailings. Especially considering we could have done a 6 day on Princess with a similar itinerary in the same category also this Spring, for about $1800 total. Even comparing what we spend on extras, DCL looks like it's going to cost us way more than on Princess (and we tend to do a lot of special experiences on Princess -- Chef's Dinner, spa days, Bingo, specialty dining, balcony dining, casino, etc.) But our daughter only turns 5 and starts Kindergarten once, right?
We love Princess, and there are a lot of things that I've seen DCL doesn't have that Princess does that I'm bummed about. But I also realize DCL has many other unique things that we can't get elsewhere, and we're looking forward to enjoying that at least once. It's not a direct apples to apples comparison, and we are swallowing the premium pricing for the novelty of DCL.
That said... DCL will really have to blow us out of the water compared to Princess for us to justify cruising them again in the future. From everything I've read so far, I expect to have a great time, but not great enough to justify a significantly higher cost. We love Disney, but have generally felt we'd rather pay the premium to go to Disneyland (over other amusement parks) than a Disney cruise (over another cruise line), because we aren't convinced the value comparison is the same.