Holy Greece....

[Canadian Girl]

I just cancelled my 2020 Greek cruise. I had an obb credit with the 200. Really sad losing that but my daughters decided they didn’t want to go anymore. Prices next summer will probably be too much however.

 

[FightingIrishman]

If you have 5 people in your family, the price for an 11 day Iceland or Mediterranean Disney cruise is currently above 30k for one stateroom. If you get two Oceanview rooms you can save 5k.

 

[lorimay]

I just cancelled my 2020 Greek cruise. I had an obb credit with the 200. Really sad losing that but my daughters decided they didn’t want to go anymore. Prices next summer will probably be too much however.

When is the PIF date for the 2020 Greece cruises you were on?

 

[Budzooka]

.

 

[Trera]

Guess not everyone is laughing at the prices of the Greece itinerary. Just got a note from my TA that the entire ship is sold out for the 11 night.

yikes

 

[Trera]

Guess not everyone is laughing at the prices of the Greece itinerary. Just got a note from my TA that the entire ship is sold out for the 11 night.

I just checked and there is still openings in all categories.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

Guess not everyone is laughing at the prices of the Greece itinerary. Just got a note from my TA that the entire ship is sold out for the 11 night.

False. I mean, there are still cabins available for the 2020 12 night Greece cruise. 2021 is still wide open as well -- all categories available.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

I love Disney. I really wanted to book the 11 night Iceland/Norway cruise. But, for the same price as two ocean view cabins (I'm a family of 5, so that's cheaper then 1 balcony), I could book the same cruise with two balconies on Royal Caribbean AND have enough money to spare to book a Disney Caribbean cruise. Oh well. I simply can't justify that. It's not about whether I can afford it, but rather about whether it's the best use of the money I have and ultimately, I have to conclude no.

 

[Budzooka]

Guess not everyone is laughing at the prices of the Greece itinerary. Just got a note from my TA that the entire ship is sold out for the 11 night.

Sorry....false alarm. I just got an update from my TA that said there must have been a glitch on the DCL website (never!). Continue on.....

 

[carolinainmymind]

I planned it on my own after doing a TON of research. We were actually going to book through ABD, but when I started reading up on Greece, I realized there was so much more to see, so I just did it on my own. There are so many amazing, very professional Greek tour companies not only on the mainland, but on the islands as well. Once I figured out who to hire for the touring portions, it was quite easy to put the hotels and internal flights/ferries together (the ferries, especially, were a lot of fun). Greece has tourism down to a science and all tour guides at the archaeological sites have to be credentialed so they really, really know their stuff. Doing it ourselves also gave us the freedom to go off the beaten track and we met amazing people and found incredible restaurants. I would go back in a heartbeat, explore more of the mainland and do some more island hopping. It is a truly, magical place.

THIS IS FANTASTIC! We were booked for the Disney Greek Isles this summer and had to cancel due to work schedules. We planning to rebook for 2021 tomorrow, but as I look at timing and pricing I'm thinking a customized trip might be the better option for us as well (we'll have 2 middle school boys so Disney appeals but isn't a must). Would you be willing to share via PM some of the tour companies you recommend?

 

[aggiedog]

I thought I posted yesterday, but it disappeared.

I love DCL but can't justify their prices for the Med. We did a 7 night MSC in concierge for less than half of a non-concierge DCL cruise a few years ago. We saved enough money to do a wonderful week in France before the cruise.

It's crazy that there are enough people that will spend that kind of money, but to each his own. As long as there are, DCL will continue to price accordingly. Similarly, ABD opened a new trip to Japan last year, for $11-13K/person. All dates sold out almost immediately. We found a family trip thru Nat Geo (G Adventures, their less luxe subsidiary) that is $5,400/person, 1 day longer, with a full time, dedicated tour guide for just our family of 8, instead of the 40 people on the ABD trip. Crazy, I say!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I miss the good old days when the economy sucked. Our first cruise in 2010 was a 10 day Med and it was $999 per person for my husband and I and only a couple hundred for each of our kids. So glad we did not pass that up, but it started the addiction that will soon make us platinum. Our Alask Cruise in 2011 was only $4200 or $4800 with the Fantasy the following April being the other one of those prices for our family of four. We even got upgraded to a Veranda for free on the Fantasy from Oceanview!

My wife and I say the same thing about the parks too! We miss those days a lot.

 

[o&smom]

My wife and I say the same thing about the parks too! We miss those days a lot.

I do not want to get too political, but I do not hear anything getting better with Chapek in charge. Hoping not true.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I do not want to get too political, but I do not hear anything getting better with Chapek in charge. Hoping not true.

Yeah, I heard the same thing.

 

[lilsonicfan]

If you have 5 people in your family, the price for an 11 day Iceland or Mediterranean Disney cruise is currently above 30k for one stateroom. If you get two Oceanview rooms you can save 5k.

Cruising is certainly not built for families of 5.
$30,000 USD ($42,000 CAD) for an 11 night cruise for 5 people works out to a $545 per person, per night amount. Wowza.
Another cruise line has 11 night Med cruises, with 5 people in one room (oceanview, I admit) for a third of the price. Yeah, it isn't DCL, but think how much I could do with a $20,000 savings

 

[FightingIrishman]

Cruising is certainly not built for families of 5.
$30,000 USD ($42,000 CAD) for an 11 night cruise for 5 people works out to a $545 per person, per night amount. Wowza.
Another cruise line has 11 night Med cruises, with 5 people in one room (oceanview, I admit) for a third of the price. Yeah, it isn't DCL, but think how much I could do with a $20,000 savings

I hear you loud and clear, but if you are referring to RCCL, those 5 person rooms book early, there is a portion of your deposit that is non-refundable if you don't get vacation time to match the cruise you book far in advance, and that specific RCCL ship doesn't have much for my kids (who I have to keep happy to get to the destinations I've always wanted to see).

 

[lilsonicfan]

I hear you loud and clear, but if you are referring to RCCL, those 5 person rooms book early, there is a portion of your deposit that is non-refundable if you don't get vacation time to match the cruise you book far in advance, and that specific RCCL ship doesn't have much for my kids (who I have to keep happy to get to the destinations I've always wanted to see).

NCL actually! This year and next, NCL's Getaway (admittedly, a pretty big ship) is sailing the Med for 10 and 11 night cruises. We had an 11 night cruise booked with them for Aug 2020 before my kids and I decided we would rather to go to WDW. Anyway I scored an amazing deal (sad I gave it up) - for 5 of us in one oceanview it was about $4,900 USD. I figured the Getaway had a lot of kid friendly activities (more than DCL Magic, IMO).

PS: the non-refundable part does make me hesitant to book with RCCL who we have never tried. NCL does refundable deposits and they are low, which is nice. My deposit was only $200 CAD.

 

[FightingIrishman]

NCL actually! This year and next, NCL's Getaway (admittedly, a pretty big ship) is sailing the Med for 10 and 11 night cruises. We had an 11 night cruise booked with them for Aug 2020 before my kids and I decided we would rather to go to WDW. Anyway I scored an amazing deal (sad I gave it up) - for 5 of us in one oceanview it was about $4,900 USD. I figured the Getaway had a lot of kid friendly activities (more than DCL Magic, IMO).

PS: the non-refundable part does make me hesitant to book with RCCL who we have never tried. NCL does refundable deposits and they are low, which is nice. My deposit was only $200 CAD.

Thanks, I'll take a good look. Saving 5 figures can never be a bad thing.

 

[orion2185]

We really want to do a DCL Europe cruise. However, we have done a number of non Disney Europe cruises for fractions of the cost. Mostly due to traveling with family who don't care what cruise they do (price is their only consideration).

While the service on other lines is not Disney standard...they are still enjoyable and there's nothing wrong with them. Can't really fault the other non Disney cruise we have done.
We are ones that totally justify the DCL cost and constantly defend them with friends and family.
As 2 adults with no children, we often get challenged on why we even cruise with Disney.

Really starting to think we are in the camp that Europe cruises are so port heavy, you are not spending much time on the ship to justify the premium cost for DCL.

Since your not really taking advantage of the DCL ship or service that much. Port days are often 10 hours or so and very much go, go, go. You get back on the ship and you are ready to sleep. We also find that the ashore times are very early (around 7am) for most of them.

We personally feel the DCL price is worth it...when you can take advantage of the ship and everything on offer.

For the cost savings do your Europe cruises with any other cruise company and save your money. (not that we have done a DCL Europe cruise to compare).
However, the cost savings certain override any of the Disney service or Disney difference.

We were 100% ready to book the 2021 9 night Greek Isle Cruise on DCL....until we saw the prices being posted.

We are now doing 2 back to back 7 night cruises on the Fantasy for around the same money (if not less) than the 1 9night Greek Isle cruise. For us we feel the 14 total cruise nights...it's better than one 9 night Greek Isle cruise.

 

[jennypenny]

NCL actually! This year and next, NCL's Getaway (admittedly, a pretty big ship) is sailing the Med for 10 and 11 night cruises. We had an 11 night cruise booked with them for Aug 2020 before my kids and I decided we would rather to go to WDW. Anyway I scored an amazing deal (sad I gave it up) - for 5 of us in one oceanview it was about $4,900 USD. I figured the Getaway had a lot of kid friendly activities (more than DCL Magic, IMO).

We loved the Breakaway which is similar. It's a BIG ship (read: slow to get on and off), and some people complain that it's smokey (we didn't mind), but I really liked it.