Help me understand justifying price please..

[An_Island_Girl]

We have a 20K budget for travel each year. Some years we spend less... others way more.
I feel that the memories our family makes on trips far exceeds the price of "things".

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

OP, are you talking about NYC cruises or just DCL in general? I think the NY cruises are super inflated because:
1. they know a lot of their guests can travel by car and not have the airfare costs.
2. salaries/cost of living in NY metro area is much higher than most of the country, esp down in the southern states. As tiny as NJ is, it's a huge difference between North Jersey & South Jersey in how much house you can buy for the same money.
The closer you get to NYC, the more everything costs. The #'s just blow me away and I'm about 20 mins from Phila.

My dad works for a construction company in North/Central Jersey. His area is kitchen design. He has clients that think nothing of $60K for custom cabinets. That's just the cabinets, not the whole kitchen job. It's not even a rare thing for him.
Not saying everyone there is rich, just saying there's plenty of people making lots of money that makes cruising very affordable for them. What we look at as the trip of a lifetime, it might be pocket change to some. Certainly enough that DCL can fill their ship all summer, easy peasy, even at high prices.

 

[collectoraholic]

I hear you. I've never sailed DCL b/c it's always been "too expensive" and hard for me to justify. We've been going to Disney every year for the past few (sometimes more than once per year) and I figured if our family loves it that much we have to try DCL. I think I can swallow the price of a land vacation easier b/c I get 2-3 trips out of an annual pass which I pay for separately from room, which is separate from meals, airfare etc. I pay for it piece by piece where you get the cruise balance all at once and it smacks you in the face

You can make payments any time you'd like so long as it is all paid in full by the final payment date. So if you wanted to pay a little each month, each week or every so many months to help soften the 'blow', that would be just like what you do for WDW, I'd think.

 

[newbydisney]

Well the answer is obvious to me - some folks have a lot more money for discretionary spending than others .

....and some of us are just afraid to try another cruise line....

 

[Cerberus9]

One thing that helps is to be flexible, and in the loop.

We talked about a Disney cruise for years, but couldn't justify the cost. The total estimated price was close to $9,000 (including airfare for four to Florida from BC, Canada, etc.), all told.

Then Disney decided to do cruises to Alaska from Vancouver. Then they had the "Kids Sail Free" promotion. At this point, the cost of a cruise went from $9000 to about $3000, so we went for it. (Then we got upgraded to veranda staterooms!). So by keeping informed, jumping on opportunities when they presented themselves, and plain old dumb luck, we essentially got a cruise for half price. We only go on one major vacation every two years, so the total cost worked out to be about $150 dollars a month (once you factor in spa and shore excursions).

 

[mnsweeps]

We have a 20K budget for travel each year. Some years we spend less... others way more.
I feel that the memories our family makes on trips far exceeds the price of "things".

Can I humbly ask how much is your household income ?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

One thing that helps is to be flexible, and in the loop.

We talked about a Disney cruise for years, but couldn't justify the cost. The total estimated price was close to $9,000 (including airfare for four to Florida from BC, Canada, etc.), all told.

Then Disney decided to do cruises to Alaska from Vancouver. Then they had the "Kids Sail Free" promotion. At this point, the cost of a cruise went from $9000 to about $3000, so we went for it. (Then we got upgraded to veranda staterooms!). So by keeping informed, jumping on opportunities when they presented themselves, and plain old dumb luck, we essentially got a cruise for half price. We only go on one major vacation every two years, so the total cost worked out to be about $150 dollars a month (once you factor in spa and shore excursions).

So now that you're "in the know" be sure to rebook onboard. Even if you don't have a date in mind, just book the cheapest cruise you can find (aka: a dummy date) that you can move as often as you like til you find the date you want. Booking onboard gets you 10% discount off your next cruise and $200 onboard credit for cruises 7 nts & longer, or $100 for cruises 3-6 nts.

That way when you see something you want, just move your dummy date to it and your discount is still valid. Just be sure to move to a later date before the final payment due date of your dummy cruise or you lose the deposit.

 

[KingRichard]

We just did 15 days at Disney with 3 nights on the dream for 5 of us and we will never forget the fun we had.

This is the first time we have taken more then 7 days anywhere and when the wife heard about 15 days on DCL to Hawaii she said DO IT!

Cost doesn't matter when you melt away the stress of everyday life.

We don't spend a lot everywhere, just on vacations.

Hoping to get a veranda tomorrow!

 

[ge0rgette2]

Can I humbly ask how much is your household income ?

Wow --- I can't believe this was just asked....

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wow --- I can't believe this was just asked....

It's all anonymous anyway. We're not coworkers, friends or relatives. I wouldn't ask but if people want to offer what they spend on vacays per year, what difference does it make? To me, it's all just numbers from strangers. My life won't change from it.

 

[ge0rgette2]

It's all anonymous anyway. We're not coworkers, friends or relatives. I wouldn't ask but if people want to offer what they spend on vacays per year, what difference does it make? To me, it's all just numbers from strangers. My life won't change from it.

So very true - plus since we are all strangers for the most part, the numbers could be made up...

 

[pearljammer]

OP, are you talking about NYC cruises or just DCL in general? I think the NY cruises are super inflated because:
1. they know a lot of their guests can travel by car and not have the airfare costs.
2. salaries/cost of living in NY metro area is much higher than most of the country, esp down in the southern states. As tiny as NJ is, it's a huge difference between North Jersey & South Jersey in how much house you can buy for the same money.
The closer you get to NYC, the more everything costs. The #'s just blow me away and I'm about 20 mins from Phila.

My dad works for a construction company in North/Central Jersey. His area is kitchen design. He has clients that think nothing of $60K for custom cabinets. That's just the cabinets, not the whole kitchen job. It's not even a rare thing for him.
Not saying everyone there is rich, just saying there's plenty of people making lots of money that makes cruising very affordable for them. What we look at as the trip of a lifetime, it might be pocket change to some. Certainly enough that DCL can fill their ship all summer, easy peasy, even at high prices.

Hi there, yeah, I was actually referring to the new cruises/iteneraries. I noticed the Hawaii and the 8 night seemed really high. I noticed how excited people were and seemed fine paying those fees thus it merely got me curious is all. I understand priorities and saving as I personally live for my vacations. Thus just thought I'd throw the answer out there and responses have been intriguing. I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all to spend it if you can or if you want, it's just me personally would have a hard time justifying it to myself is all. Obviously I agree with others on why to go as we have two scheduled ourselves. And I also agree, a lot of people find it worthy as the ships seem full.

 

[HowdyHeidi]

I'm sure this isn't the case all around, but I know two families that live in smaller houses than most in their income level would JUST so they can travel a lot.

One travels for pleasure and one travels internationally to visit family. I agree that it often is priorities.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Honestly, we are very upper middle class when it comes to our income. However, within our neighborhood everyone spends their money differently. My neighbor down the street is very much into a new car every 2 years, totally redecorated house at least every 5 years, everything in their house is remodeled, eating out at least 3 times a week, etc... you get my point. So as you can even within the middle class some people are going to spend money differently. Also, everyone is at a different point in their lives. We are mid to upper 40s so, we've owned our home over 15 years. So, our expenses are way less. My daughter's friend lives in the neighborhood and their parents cannot afford a vacation but they bought 5 years ago when the prices were at all time high. So, many factors go into why people can afford to cruise Disney or vacation every year.

Have you tried other vacations? Our family likes to camp and that's got to be the cheapest vacation ever. But that's us. Family vacation time is HUGE for us so we made it a priority over other things.

 

[NancyIL]

We just did 15 days at Disney with 3 nights on the dream for 5 of us and we will never forget the fun we had.

This is the first time we have taken more then 7 days anywhere and when the wife heard about 15 days on DCL to Hawaii she said DO IT!

Cost doesn't matter when you melt away the stress of everyday life.

We don't spend a lot everywhere, just on vacations.

Hoping to get a veranda tomorrow!

It does matter to a lot of people - including me.

 

[lmhall2000]

It does matter to a lot of people - including me.

Cost matters when I can't afford it! My husband works two jobs to pay off ridiculous debt from having 2 mortgages for 31 months..we would never consider bankruptcy, but when I see us paying off xx dollars of debt each month and we spend less than 10% of that a year on vacation...I would MUCH rather take the vacation!! But, if I can take x vacation for 1/3 of y vacation...I'll take the x everytime!

I never worry about what others spend, it's all subjective..but I do tell my hubby, if we could win a windfall..I'd book that Hawaii trip in a minute, and actually if we were out of debt, we could!

But debt needs to go ASAP!!

 

[ibouncetoo]

Ummm, I never said I had a $30K car nor did I mention a $300K house, house cleaner once a week, eating out several times a week and I don't even drink coffee. Did I touch a nerve here? Perhaps my idea of middle class differs from yours. Sheesh.

I don't think that poster meant YOU personally, but was speaking generally....

 

[kthomas618]

My husband and I don't have any kids so we might have a bit more to spend. But we only cruise once a year sometimes two years. We don't mind spending the higher rates for the "Disney" experience or for a verandah stateroom. We splurged last year and did the WBTA. But that was a special trip for us. It's all about what you can afford and what like. You can cruise cheaper, but we prefer Disney. I can't imagine 3 or 4 cruises a year. Maybe if we won the lottery. Everybody's different and I think there are a few travel agents on the boards. They might get an industry/promotional rate. That can be very helpful.

 

[newbydisney]

I agree with the other posters that mention priorities. But for DH and I it is the best option for our situation. DH has a physical disability so he is unable to help me with things like packing, taking care of luggage, driving, etc. A cruise vacation allows us to visit multiple destinations in one trip so the travel burden is much less. Cruising is the perfect vacation for us. Why DCL in particular? Well, it was the first line we ever tried and they have not given us a reason to shop around. The service has been outstanding most of the time, the shows/entertainment are great and the food is good. Of course not everything is perfect, but we have always thoroughly enjoyed our cruises. DH and I have made memories all over the place that will last a lifetime but would not have been possible without DCL.

I second this..although we have no disablilty other than bad backs..it's just the easiest way to go.

 

[kthomas618]

Oh, also, we don't go into debt to cruise either. We book early and pay it off monthly. I like to do specialty cruises, but I book them opening day where the price was the lowest and have gotten lucky twice (out of ten) with FL resident rates. DH and I did the EBTA and first Med last year, but booked a last minute Cat 11C room and paid a little over $3000 for the two of us for 25 days. So if you know the system, things can work out well for you.

$3000?! Wow! I wondered how people were doing those 25 day trips! I'm going to try to book last minute for the September 2011 crossing. I'm going to come live in Tampa with you when I make my reservation