Is a Disney cruise worth $5-$6 grand?

[NancyIL]

My mistake - I just assumed it was 2 cabins, as the OP had a party of 6, which I thought you can only do in 2 cabins, right? Otherwise, the comparison is meaningless. My wife and I can do 7 day cruises with a verandah for less than that, but that means nothing as it is comparing apples (2 people in 1 cabin) to oranges (6 people in 2 cabins).

Right. A valid comparison is the per-person per-day cost in the same category cabin.

 

[daveottawa]

We (DW, DS6, DS4,DD3) are planning on our first cruise, actually our first real vacation. Because we are 5 to a room we are having the same problem. After alot of online research it has come down to 2 trips. Jan 26th eastern 7 day cruise. Same departure port and time, just no castaway cay

Disney room with verandah about $6200, or the Carnival Dream room with window for about $2700. For the disney trip to stay under budget we will have to drive down instead of fly. With Carnival we could fly and still save $2500.

While we love everything Disney has to offer its hard to justify the almost $4000 difference in price. The rooms for both cruises are limited in number for our situation so we are planning on making our desision this weekend.

Is there anyone who has younger children who has done both cruise lines and do you think the disney feel is enough to make up for the price difference? Not having done anything like this we really dont know what to expect, just that we want to have alot of family fun.

 

[jodifla]

My mistake - I just assumed it was 2 cabins, as the OP had a party of 6, which I thought you can only do in 2 cabins, right? Otherwise, the comparison is meaningless. My wife and I can do 7 day cruises with a verandah for less than that, but that means nothing as it is comparing apples (2 people in 1 cabin) to oranges (6 people in 2 cabins).

sorry I didn't say....we had 3 people. But our our weekend cruise, even if you doubled it, it would be 2 grand for two cabins, not 6 grand.

 

[ilovetexas]

We (DW, DS6, DS4,DD3) are planning on our first cruise, actually our first real vacation. Because we are 5 to a room we are having the same problem. After alot of online research it has come down to 2 trips. Jan 26th eastern 7 day cruise. Same departure port and time, just no castaway cay

Disney room with verandah about $6200, or the Carnival Dream room with window for about $2700. For the disney trip to stay under budget we will have to drive down instead of fly. With Carnival we could fly and still save $2500.

While we love everything Disney has to offer its hard to justify the almost $4000 difference in price. The rooms for both cruises are limited in number for our situation so we are planning on making our desision this weekend.

Is there anyone who has younger children who has done both cruise lines and do you think the disney feel is enough to make up for the price difference? Not having done anything like this we really dont know what to expect, just that we want to have alot of family fun.

We've done both and the kids enjoy both; they weren't quite that young when we started cruising, the youngest was 7. If you could fly as opposed to drive and STILL save $2500, which will pay for your tips, shore excursions, onboard pictures, and then some, I say go with Carnival. We sailed Carnival for our first cruise and loved it. Since then, we've done more Carnival, DCL, Celebrity and RCI. Love them all. Well....the jury is still out on RCI.

However, if your kids are Disney fans, save your money and plan a DCL cruise while your kids are still young. But I really don't think that it's worth a $4,000 premium for your first cruise.

 

[Smayco]

We just paid about $7500 (for 2 cabins; 2 adults and 3 teens) for our 4-night cruise, but that includes *everything* (bar bill, flights, tips, souvenirs, etc). For my last trip to WDW, in 2010, I spent about $4000 for 4 nights (for just myself and my 2 kids). So for me, the daily, per person cost seems to be about the same.

I compared Disney's cost to other cruise lines too, but once I read up on the teen activities and their safety record (that is unmatched by other cruise lines), it seemed to be worth the difference.

 

[Gr00vyChc]

Going on a Disney cruise is definitely a luxury in life. If it's worth it to you, then, by all means....

We're going on our 2nd one in July. We opt not to take our daughter out of school either- she goes to a private school and with the tuition we pay $$$ she better stay in!

$5-$6k for a family of 6 vacation sounds about right- we are paying$4,500 for our family of 3, 5nights in a Verandah room.

Think of other places to vacation with that amount of money and then talk it over with your kids and spouse.?? A vacation should be not such a burden... as long as you're together and enjoying yourselves, that's what matters. Good luck and happy planning!

 

[MND]

I REALLY want to take my family on a cruise. After looking around a bit, I think that Disney is about the only offering for the huge age difference in my kids. My teenage girls love all things Disney so I know they would be thrilled to go on a Disney cruise. And my boys are completely into the characters, shows,etc. so I know they would have a great time as well.

The hard part is the HUGE price tag for us to take a cruise! Because we're a family of 6, we need to get 2 rooms. And I can't pull my girls out of school, so we have to go during more expensive times.

I REALLY want to do this...but I'm having a hard time justifying the fact that this will cost us over $1,000 a day! And that's before tips, excursions, souveniers,etc.

In your opinion...do you feel it's worth $1,000 a day? Or would you vacation elsewhere? We're AP holders and go to WDW 3-4 times a year. So I'm looking for something different.

TIA for any insight you can give me!

As a Disney shareholder, I can say it is definitely worth it. Remember, it's just money, you'll make more.

We took our first Disney cruise last week, 5 days on the Dream, and it was fantastic. All in, including flights, hotels, rental cars etc, it cost us around $900 per day for the 5 of us. We never ever considered a cruise until we booked this cruise last February. Now we have 2 others planned on DCL. Also, I would love to cruise on another line to compare the experience to DCL.

Mike

 

[FJS961]

As a Disney shareholder, I can say it is definitely worth it. Remember, it's just money, you'll make more.

Then you'll love the fact that we have taken 5 DCL cruises and have 2 more booked, all in suites.

I am looking forward to experiencing other lines, we have one booked on Celebrity next year. I have loved our DCL cruises but I have a problem with repeating the same old itinerary over and over at premium prices. My kids aren't all that crazy about the kids clubs anyway - they have gone reluctantly just during our Remy dinner / Palo brunch for our most recent sailings.

 

[Hayloburger]

We have been on over 10 cruises. NCL (1), RCCL (1), Princess (2), Carnival (4) and DCL(3). We always have a good time. I have no complaints. But, DCL is by far the best. It doesn't compare. But, that said, I can book a Carnival Balcony (high season) all day long for half the price of DCL.

So, I try to balance it. One year, two Carnivals. Next year, one DCL. With a little research and price shopping (I am subscribed to most cruising websites), you can get a good price on DCL. Be patient. I have been price hunting the DREAM and FANTASY, since they posted the rates a few years ago! I finally booked June 16th Fantasy a few days ago (guarateed balcony, it will be my first experience with a guarantee). All the stars aligned (kids schedules, work, etc) and I am thrilled with the price.

When booking other cruiselines I go for the more exotic ports (that DCL) does visit. I do get tired of the same old ports on DCL, but then again, it allows me to stay onboard and enjoy the ship without the temptation of visiting the islands.

My kids love to cruise and love any cruiseline.
Back to your orginal question: DISNEY is worth EVERY PENNY. We just can't afford it EVERY year. So, we enjoy other cruiselines, while waiting for our next DCL.!!

 

[lostatdisney]

We have been on over 10 cruises. NCL (1), RCCL (1), Princess (2), Carnival (4) and DCL(3). We always have a good time. I have no complaints. But, DCL is by far the best. It doesn't compare. But, that said, I can book a Carnival Balcony (high season) all day long for half the price of DCL.

So, I try to balance it. One year, two Carnivals. Next year, one DCL. With a little research and price shopping (I am subscribed to most cruising websites), you can get a good price on DCL. Be patient. I have been price hunting the DREAM and FANTASY, since they posted the rates a few years ago! I finally booked June 16th Fantasy a few days ago (guarateed balcony, it will be my first experience with a guarantee). All the stars aligned (kids schedules, work, etc) and I am thrilled with the price.

When booking other cruiselines I go for the more exotic ports (that DCL) does visit. I do get tired of the same old ports on DCL, but then again, it allows me to stay onboard and enjoy the ship without the temptation of visiting the islands.

My kids love to cruise and love any cruiseline.
Back to your orginal question: DISNEY is worth EVERY PENNY. We just can't afford it EVERY year. So, we enjoy other cruiselines, while waiting for our next DCL.!!

Great suggestions!!!

 

[natt]

You should definitely take an hour to listen to this past week's PODCAST. The crew did a report from their recent experience on RC. It gives both pros and cons to both, but when it came to discussing the dining, Disney won their vote and also explains why cost seems much less on other ships, but they still nickle and dime throughout. It's really worth the listen!

 

[cyclenut]

Unless I misread the post, the OP has chosen the DCL route. Now that this is done, my advice is ... Don't secnd guess the choice and continue to do price and comparison shopping. Now that you have decided, it is time to set that stuff aside and plan your most excellent adventure!

We are also a family of 6 and I totally get your cabin issues. Same problem for most hotel rooms as they tend to look at maximum occupancy of 5. You can fudge that by not telling them of the 6th person, but as they reach teen years, that is nearly impossible. The whole 6 person issue really cuts into the value proposition for a number of vacation options.

So glad you have decided what you are doing and I am certain you and your family will have a very memorable experience.

 

[Mom24Princesses]

We have 4 DDs and we booked at Spring Break - cheaper than summer. We got two inside cabins (NO WINDOW!) for 7 nights for about $7000 in 06 and $8000 in 08. Worth every dollar! SB is cheaper as long as it doesn't include Easter weekend. I hope to do this again way out in 2015! (but I usually book 15-18 months out (as soon as they let me)) so that won't be too far off.