Help me understand justifying price please..

[darrengs]

After we received our quote, I did the math and I can go on a 7 day cruise on another line and a 8 day vacation to Disney for the price of the 8 day cruise out of NYC. Pretty much a no brainer for me.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I agree with your philosophy, and that's why I have had some great trips the past few years - with more planned for the future. I do what I can to make each trip affordable so that I can travel more frequently. Rather than save for the suite on a cruise ship, I'd rather stay in the least expensive cabin and cruise twice as often.

or 3-4 times!

Uh, ok, how do I get the little nametags to be next to each other instead of on top of each other?

Try to paste one after the other with just a space in between instead of hitting the enter key which brings it to the next line.

no problem ... I thrive on "crazy"

its a sick world and I'm a happy guy

I have seen enough tragedy and life cut short and we had our own cancer scare recently that we believe you can't take it with you and I rather enjoy today while I can. I started with next to nothing and worked really hard to get where I am ... damn if I am going to put it all away and have spoiled kids fight over it when I'm gone.
I'd rather enjoy it now while I am healthy than wish I had later on

just my warped philosophy

peace

It's not warped at all! I see things working in a hosp/trauma center every day that just are just beyond sad. Also my BFF lost her mom at age 6 then her dad at 16. She barely remembers them now. Cancer runs rampant in my family incl most of my immediate family.
My grandfather & uncle worked like dogs all their lives, saying they'll do so much after retirement, only to die suddenly within 6 mos of retiring.

My grandmother always tells us to do it while we can. Why put off joyful moments for some "better" time that might never come? If I can afford to do it without going into debt, I will. Making happy memories with my family means more to me than any material thing/gift, etc.

I guess we all have a mental note of what amount a vacation 'should' cost and once you exceed that # it doesn't sit right with you, no matter how great the vacation is. This is why we don't do a Med cruise as much as I'd love to. Once I add it all up, it's at least $10K. This makes dh's head spin and though I guess I could stop doing any trips for a few years to save that much, it would be hard to go that long without one, for me anyway.

I tell my parents too to spend it now. Don't stop having fun just to save it all for us.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

DCL cruises are expensive compared to some others. We have our first one booked for next year. We probably will not take another one for a few years because other cruise lines have more interesting ports of call and prices that are easier for us to digest. However, that being said, we'll still go to Disney World three times a year in addition to our annual cruise. We're not rich by any means. We have a house payment, a car payment, and other bills. We just really budget our money according to our priorities. Eating out is a huge budget buster. Going to the movies is a huge budget buster. We know we can't eat out and go to the movies and still go on the vacations we like. My husband also works a lot of overtime. I work part time as a travel agent from home in addition to my regular job. I clip coupons. My friends and family and I share our hand-me-downs, especially baby clothes and toys.

None of that really answers how to justify the prices, though. I guess it is the same thing as grocery brand preference. I will drink the local discount grocery store's milk at $2.99 a gallon while some people have to have name brand milk from Wal*Mart for $4.25 a gallon. My husband will pay more for a particular name brand of OJ because that's important to him. DS only wears Huggies because I think that's what is best for his sensitive skin. All of it, grocery brands, diapers, OJ, cruise lines - simple preference. I guess the justification is preference.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

After we received our quote, I did the math and I can go on a 7 day cruise on another line and a 8 day vacation to Disney for the price of the 8 day cruise out of NYC. Pretty much a no brainer for me.

I believe you but again, we're back to preferences. I'd rather just go to work than cruise on another line. jmho. I'm ok with getting "less" vacation for my $.
Same principle that guests who stay in suites are ok with getting 1 cruise while us cat 8 & 9 guests can do 3-4 for same $.

 

[Anal Annie]

HI all,

Okay, so I've been seeing the prices of the new itineraries that have come out. I'm seeing price ranges in the 5 to 10K range. So this is where I'm getting lost. I know peoples income range but speaking from a middle class family, how do you justify paying this for a cruise??? That's a LOT of money. I must be missing something. How are people affording this? I know you save but I don't understand even feeling good spending that kind of money for a cruise. I guess I'm interested in the mindset. Granted, I realize for a lot of people this may not seem like a lot of money. But for me.....wow! Any insight would be appreciated.

Not EVERYBODY can afford it. While there are a high number of cruisers on this board that go several times a year there are some of us who can only cruise about once every 3 years or so and we take a long time to save & plan for it. And IMO sometimes it's NOT worth the price they're charging. Some of these new itineraries are absurdly pricey. DCL is worth paying a little more but not 2x more IMO. We really only vacation in the summer because of school (and holidays and spring break time are WAAAY out of our price range). If you can go at off-peak times that will save you a good chunk too. Some folks just have a higher disposable income but if you're like us and live paycheck to paycheck nothing beats long term saving & planning. There really is no way to "justify" blowing $10K on a vacation unless you're wealthy and don't need the money to pay the mortgage. We just plan & plan & plan... We use our DVC membership to its fullest and in a sense we can't "justfy" owning a timeshare either...but we DO use it so at least it's not like a gym membership that never gets used.

 

[Liltx]

I have finally come to realize that no matter how many explanations I read I cannot justify the price for my family. We LOVE RCI and can get a suite for a week for less than the 5 day inside prices on the Dream. BUT I really want my kiddos to experience a disney cruise. My solution: Let grandma and grandpa take them. My parents are very willing to take the girls on a 7 night in a balcony room. They do fall in the range of wealthy with plenty of (maybe too much) disposable income. I am just happy to read up and give them tips so that they all can enjoy making memories together. I will save our middle class money to take our 2 midrange vacations a year and my one completely selfish luxury my housekeeper. BTW I am not even sure what middle class is anymore?

 

[orlandothebeagle]

DisneyCruiser83

Do you mind if I ask what you paid to fly home from Europe after the EBTA and how you found the ticket? We were thinking of doing EBTA last minute, but the cost of a one-way ticket back from Europe is absolutely ridiculous.

TRY AIR LINGUS, THEY WERE VERY GOOD AND REASONABLE.
sorry bout caps

 

[turtlesmom822]

vayama.com had 699 to dc from barcelona on swissair

 

[Anal Annie]

I have finally come to realize that no matter how many explanations I read I cannot justify the price for my family. We LOVE RCI and can get a suite for a week for less than the 5 day inside prices on the Dream. BUT I really want my kiddos to experience a disney cruise. My solution: Let grandma and grandpa take them. My parents are very willing to take the girls on a 7 night in a balcony room. They do fall in the range of wealthy with plenty of (maybe too much) disposable income. I am just happy to read up and give them tips so that they all can enjoy making memories together. I will save our middle class money to take our 2 midrange vacations a year and my one completely selfish luxury my housekeeper. BTW I am not even sure what middle class is anymore?

I'm not sure what middle class is these days either but you're one up on us by having a housekeeper!

 

[ALK$Disney]

We have a vacation budget of about 5k-7k a year. Since out DD was born we have not taken any major vacations. Now that she is 4 years old we can start taking big vacations. So for the past 4 years I have saved almost all my vacation budget. We live in So. Cal so a couple of trips a year to Disneyland aren't a bit hit on the budget. This year we are going to Disney World which will run about 6k total, and the 15 day Hawaii cruise next year 13K and an additional 3k for onboard spending and offshore activities. So we are going to spend about 22k-23k with about 5 years of saving, thats not too bad. The next cruise I am look to do is the Med, and since Disney doesn't have any dates in the near future, I can save my yearly budget till that comes around.

 

[Dec6]

There's nothing like the memories of a family vacation and the looks on your children's faces when they experience the Disney Cruise. Everyone has different income brackets and I understand for some, it's pricey. Some people save up for a couple of years for a cruise where some cruise every year. From our first Disney Cruise, my husband and I vowed to do it every year. My daughter is now 11 and still looks forward to it...I think it's money well spent. Especially when a year or two goes by and you look at the pictures or video of your vacation...priceless. Another good investment for some is a Disney Vacation Club...Im thinking about looking into one on my next cruise.

My only advice to many is NOT to go into debt for a vacation (loans or credit cards)...if I couldn't pay it off by the time we left, I wouldn't do it. The only thing I want to bring back is pictures and souvenirs...(not bills)...

 

[pixiedust525]

My husband and I are 65 and 60 respectively and will be married 35 years this year. When we were raising our children it was hard for us to go on expensive vacations. We tried a different cruise line twice before starting to sail on DCL in 2000. A tremendous difference....we found the quality of DCL to exceed our expectations. Nice vacations to us are a priority....we don't give each other expensive gifts for birthdays, anniversarys or Christmas anymore, but rather put our money together to cruise. This is what we enjoy....we don't put ourselves in debt.....usually take a category 11 inside cabin and are happy with it.

Each of us is in a different life situation, and we all have priorities. Over the past ten years we have sailed with DCL 14 times, and we are going to Alaska and Hawaii and are really thrilled about it.

 

[AmandaRG]

For us, it is a touchy subject to ask how we "justify" it. Because we have made different choices than some of our family members, we hear it from them and it comes across as negative. I get more of where you are coming from, but again, it is where you want to put your priorities. We have a small home, paid for cars, and have been working hard to pay off debt. Our family has doubled in size, and we still have the same house. Most of our friends have houses that are triple the size of ours and have nice amenities. Right now, these family memories are our priority. In a few years, changing our housing will be the priority.

It is good that some people know their limits. Others go into debt to make the memories, and for us that would cause stress that negates the fun. I think it is one thing that I like about the cruises, before we go it is paid for, and we had the $$ in savings to pay for tips, etc. on board. Of course, now we are much more disciplined than we were in our younger days and do that for all of our trips!

 

[Dec6]

Excellent post!!

You said it all @ AmandaRG above... Everyone's budget is not the same...some can do it where some can't...there is no wrong or right answer. Some people drive a Honda, some drive Mercedes...it doesn't mean the person with the Honda can't afford a Mercedes...sometimes it's preference. Then again, it's what people can afford. I live here in NY and there is a saying when you shop at certain boutiques..."if u have to ask how much something is, more than likely you can't afford it"...for some, money is not an issue, for others it is. It depends on your situation.

 

[BlackFrank]

It seems there's a bit of a conundrum with respect to "justifying" going on a Disney Cruise. Disney provides a service at a specified price. If you're willing (and able) to pay that price, you've "justified" your cruise.

The conundrum is that until you actually experience it, there's no real way to know whether or not the price is "worth" it. We hemmed and hawed for years over justifying a Disney cruise. What convinced us was the almost unanimous assertions from veteran cruisers (on this board!) that it was indeed worth the cost. (or at least the fact that it was worth it to risk trying it once).

 

[FJS961]

It seems there's a bit of a conundrum with respect to "justifying" going on a Disney Cruise. Disney provides a service at a specified price. If you're willing (and able) to pay that price, you've "justified" your cruise.

The conundrum is that until you actually experience it, there's no real way to know whether or not the price is "worth" it. We hemmed and hawed for years over justifying a Disney cruise. What convinced us was the almost unanimous assertions from veteran cruisers (on this board!) that it was indeed worth the cost. (or at least the fact that it was worth it to risk trying it once).

I'm glad that you are going to try it.

We were supposed to try our first cruise 12/2001, had 1 child at the time 2 yrs old and were going with my folks, getting 2 connecting rooms on the Wonder. Sept 11 happened and everyone chickened out so we cancelled. 8 years and 2 kids later we tried again and LOVED it.

 

[kjd469]

My husband's favorite saying - "There's no prize for being the richest man in the graveyard!"...in other words, he works hard, makes a good living, and we are going to enjoy life by spending our money on what makes us happy and creates fabulous memories for our family - while we still have the ability. My father died at the age of 45 and I cherish the memories he made with us as kids while we were travelling. It's all in what your priorities are, and for us, every penny spent on DCL is absolutely worth it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My husband's favorite saying - "There's no prize for being the richest man in the graveyard!"...in other words, he works hard, makes a good living, and we are going to enjoy life by spending our money on what makes us happy and creates fabulous memories for our family - while we still have the ability. My father died at the age of 45 and I cherish the memories he made with us as kids while we were travelling. It's all in what your priorities are, and for us, every penny spent on DCL is absolutely worth it.

I love this saying and totally agree.
My dh always says the difference between a really great vacation and a mediocre one is usually a few hundred $.

Cutting back so much in certain areas that it affects the quality or fun of your vacation usually isn't worth it. I'd rather find some other way to make it happen so that if we're going to do it at all, we'll do it the best way we possibly can. If we have to cut corners due to budget constraints, it will be in areas that we don't mind cutting, such as settling for the porthole when a verandah would be $800 more, not switching to another line so that we can sail with a verandah or in a suite.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

HI all,

Okay, so I've been seeing the prices of the new itineraries that have come out. I'm seeing price ranges in the 5 to 10K range. So this is where I'm getting lost. I know peoples income range but speaking from a middle class family, how do you justify paying this for a cruise??? We have a blast! That's a LOT of money. I must be missing something. How are people affording this? We put money aside every pay check, when we have enough we book I know you save but I don't understand even feeling good spending that kind of money for a cruise. I guess I'm interested in the mindset. We have a blast and wonderful DCL memories Granted, I realize for a lot of people this may not seem like a lot of money. It is a lot of money but WE HAVE A BLAST But for me.....wow! Any insight would be appreciated.

If the cost scares you find another option for your vacations. Nothing wrong with that. For us it is worth every penny. We have another cruise booked. We did it while we were on the Wonder's Panama Canal cruise.

 

[edk35]

It is funny that someone posted this because just this weekend I started having BOOKING REMORSE. I started thinking ..Do we really want to drop almost 10,000 for our 7 night Fantasy Cruise next summer?? That does not even include our airfare, nights we will stay at Disney/park tickets. Then the new itineraries came out for NYC and it got me thinking even more. We could realistically take two 5 night cruises one out of FL and one out of NYC and spend LESS than next summer on the Fantasy. We would get to enjoy two different DCL ships too. I have to say....... the wheels are spinning.