Is Disney smoking crack or what???

[misseulalie]

I think DCL knows exactly what they are doing. If they are so off mark with the prices, why are the TA's already so cheap? A cat 11 is $999 per person and 3rd and 4th are $99. That's only $2,200 for 4 people!!! That only $200 more than what I paid for the TA in 2007.

We are propably going to do the eastbound TA again, hoping DH can take off work that early.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Okay... so far the only reasons I have gotten for not taking a DCL is the cost and room wear and tear.

Does anyone have better reasons? And, no I don't want to hear from anyone who travels with kids 12 and older. I'm looking to do the cruise with kids 12 and younger. We did the Mediterranean cruise in 2007 with DCL and it was AWESOME.

Remember we'll be spending 4 sea days on the ship.... I've also sailed RCCL and Norweign Sea. I will never sail Norweign again in my life. I'm not sure about the other cruiselines. I liked RCCL but the kids' clubs weren't open long hours. Is that different for Europe? On our last European Cruise I left my youngest in the club for a 12 hour day while we went sight seeing. Would I feel comfortable on RCCL as well. When I cruise with them last they did not serve meals to kids' club and you had to check them out and back in for meals.

 

[Joan1]

The breakdown of my Disney estimated included fuel fees but not taxes since I didn't know what it would be. So, I went to other sites to see what they were and it isn't consistent.

If you look carefully the taxes were different from RCCL to HAL... HAL was charging about $1200 in cruise Taxes and fees. While RCCL is only charging $300. I was curious why there is a HUGE difference.

Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples

I do know with HAL it automatically adds in the highest priced insurance unless you choose otherwise. It also automatically adds in transfers. RCCL doesn't automatically add these two items to the price.

The July 4 2009 RCCL cruise taxes and fuel supplement is $220.88 per person in an ocean view room.

HAL July 6 2009 cruise taxes and fuel supplement is $373.96 per person in an ocean view room

The difference between these two dates is that HAL has 8 ports it visits and RCCL 7. Not counting arrival and departure ports.

 

[NancyIL]

The breakdown of my Disney estimated included fuel fees but not taxes since I didn't know what it would be. So, I went to other sites to see what they were and it isn't consistent.

If you look carefully the taxes were different from RCCL to HAL... HAL was charging about $1200 in cruise Taxes and fees. While RCCL is only charging $300. I was curious why there is a HUGE difference.

If you were pricing the July 6, 2009 Rotterdam Baltic cruise - HAL's site automatically adds $117/pp for "pre/post transfers and packages" in the fare details section. The taxes on that cruise are $265.96/pp vs. $100.88/pp on the July 4 Jewel of the Seas. I don't know why the taxes are that much higher on HAL, but maybe it has something to do with where the ship home ports.

 

[Joan1]

I think DCL knows exactly what they are doing. If they are so off mark with the prices, why are the TA's already so cheap? A cat 11 is $999 per person and 3rd and 4th are $99. That's only $2,200 for 4 people!!! That only $200 more than what I paid for the TA in 2007.

We are propably going to do the eastbound TA again, hoping DH can take off work that early.

That $99 per person 3rd and 4th is a mistake, as I was told by DCL directly. It is being removed from the website. The prices you listed also do not include port charges, government taxes and fees and fuel supplement

 

[Mickey_loves_Minnie]

OK, you win. But I read somewhere, "Special trip with your little one ~~ PRICELESS!"




We took a 7 day Hawaiin cruise this summer on NCL and while we loved the ports, the cruise was nothing to brag about. I think we've been spoiled by Disney. Talking about the difference in cruise prices is kinda like comparing hotel prices. You can say as a 'decent' hotel for $100 a night or you can stay at a 'way cool' hotel for $200 a night.

~Mike

NCL America's Hawaiian cruises are a completely different animal than the rest of the line. They've pulled all but one of their US-flagged ships out of that market because they've gotten such poor reviews--mostly due to poor service from the American crew. I haven't cruised NCL, but I've heard good things about them--outside of the Hawaiian cruises. There are good and bad things about every cruise line. And honestly, if I can cruise Celebrity for far less money and take the same itinerary, I would.

I think Disney's prices are going to get worse with the new ships, not better. They'll take over the itineraries of the Magic and Wonder, so the prices will go up for those cruises (new ships usually are more expensive), and then the older ships will do new itineraries that the Disney diehards will pay through the nose for. It's too bad, too. I really enjoyed my Wonder cruise, but I found it a bit too expensive and don't plan to return. I suppose when I have a kid, that will change. It is fun sailing with Mickey.

 

[TiszBear]

I also was excited about the destinations for 2010 but then I looked at the prices. Too much for this family. So my plans for 2010 will stay as they are, Disneyland in March and WDW in May.

 

[NancyIL]

The difference between these two dates is that HAL has 8 ports it visits and RCCL 7. Not counting arrival and departure ports.

HAL goes to 7 ports plus the two home ports. Jewel goes to 6 ports plus one home port. Both spend 2 days in St. Petersburg.

 

[Joan1]

Okay... so far the only reasons I have gotten for not taking a DCL is the cost and room wear and tear.

Does anyone have better reasons? And, no I don't want to hear from anyone who travels with kids 12 and older. I'm looking to do the cruise with kids 12 and younger. We did the Mediterranean cruise in 2007 with DCL and it was AWESOME.

Remember we'll be spending 4 sea days on the ship.... I've also sailed RCCL and Norweign Sea. I will never sail Norweign again in my life. I'm not sure about the other cruiselines. I liked RCCL but the kids' clubs weren't open long hours. Is that different for Europe? On our last European Cruise I left my youngest in the club for a 12 hour day while we went sight seeing. Would I feel comfortable on RCCL as well. When I cruise with them last they did not serve meals to kids' club and you had to check them out and back in for meals.

I don't think that anyone is trying to talk you out of DCL and if you are comfortable paying the prices then go and have a great time.

To be honest NCL Sea is such an old ship that it can in no way compare fairly as a deciding factor for that line, but I understand where you are coming from having a bad experience

As to leaving the kids onboard I do have one that is under 12 that we have cruised with since he was 2 but in no way would we leave him on the ship at anytime we would just choose excursions that would be good for the whole family, but that is just us. Everyone is different. I am sure someone who has experience with other cruise lines and leaving the kids onboard will chime in with their take on it

Personally with port intensive itineraries we don't spend much time on the ship, we do have standards we won't compromise on, but comparing comparable cruise lines we will go with the one that offers us the best price for the same itinerary

 

[Joan1]

HAL goes to 7 ports plus the two home ports. Jewel goes to 6 ports plus one home port. Both spend 2 days in St. Petersburg.

Thanks Nancy for correcting me, I counted Russia as two ports by mistake
Still RCCL has one less port then HAL

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Don't flame me, but we all created this monster...now we have to learn to live with it. Everyone has been posting for months about how hot and heavy they were for the 2010 intineraries; once the announcement date was publicized, everyone was already getting their strategy lined up on what time to start calling and book. Disney would be crazy to *not* take advantage of such a willing group of fans.

Please don't take this the wrong way -- I'm just as guilty as everyone else and was really excited at the thought of crusing in Europe w/DCL, but now I'm extremely disappointed (and bitter!). If you honestly feel the prices are way too high then let your wallet do the talking and book with another cruiseline or make alternate plans. If those ships set sail and aren't filled to capacity -- DCL will get the message.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I don't think that anyone is trying to talk you out of DCL and if you are comfortable paying the prices then go and have a great time.

To be honest NCL Sea is such an old ship that it can in no way compare fairly as a deciding factor for that line, but I understand where you are coming from having a bad experience

As to leaving the kids onboard I do have one that is under 12 that we have cruised with since he was 2 but in no way would we leave him on the ship at anytime we would just choose excursions that would be good for the whole family, but that is just us. Everyone is different. I am sure someone who has experience with other cruise lines and leaving the kids onboard will chime in with their take on it

Personally with port intensive itineraries we don't spend much time on the ship, we do have standards we won't compromise on, but comparing comparable cruise lines we will go with the one that offers us the best price for the same itinerary

Well...when we went on the Disney cruise we had one day where our 6 year old just wasn't going to make it on a tour that day. These cruises are VERY port intensive and while you have good intentions for your child to make it through all the tours it might not work out that way. I'm glad we left her on the ship for the day. She had so much fun and it was day she'll remember. We actually only took a 5 hour tour that day but when we return to the ship she didn't want to leave the club. She stayed the entire 12 hours. She saw all the main ports like Rome, Pisa, etc... We were in one of the French ports.

Anyways... I'm still interested to hear what other cruises have to offer in a way for activities for the kids. So, far nobody has told me???

Norweign Sea might be an old ship and I don't really care how old the ship is. What I do care about is customer service. They treated my kids HORRIBLY on the cruise. It was very evident they did not welcome them. I will never give them a second chance. I understand when someone is having a off day but when the entire cruise was like that. Never again for us.

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks Nancy for correcting me, I counted Russia as two ports by mistake
Still RCCL has one less port then HAL

It doesn't seem like 1 extra visited port plus one more home port would make a $165 difference in taxes with HAL - but who knows. Maybe HAL has to pay more because it visits Rotterdam and Copenhagen less frequently, vs. Jewel of the Seas leaving from Harwich every 12 days all summer.

 

[Rogillio]

Reasons not to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. Cost

Reason to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. You know the quality of food and service is known
2. You know the layout of the ship
3. You know the names of all the restaurants
4. You feel safe on the ship
5. Family oriented shipboard activities
6. Frozen Mickeys from room service
7. Castaway Club gift when you get on board
8. The split bathrooms when your getting ready for dinner in the evenings
9. New release Disney movies
10. Mickey

~Mike

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I was so excited about the Magic going back to the Med but when I saw the prices yesterday I just about choked. Maybe its me but for me and my boys to do the 11 day med is about $7,000 then airfare figure about $4000 not including shore excursions and that is all with a cat 11 cabin on a ship that is not really up to par and is not going into drydock before Europe. I started pricing other lines (yes I know I am having a hard time getting away from the disney experience) but I can do a back to back on other lines in a window cabin for the 3 of us for less money than disney is charging for 1 week.

I think they have finally priced themselves right out of the water in my opinion.

Plus with the economy the way it is.

Good luck to all those that can afford this. I would rather do 4 or 5 vacations for the price of 1 disney cruise for 11 days.

Hi Carol, I agree with you whole heartedly. I am all about Disney but there comes a point in time where more vacations come vs. Disney come into play!

 

[Happy99]

Reasons not to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. Cost

Reason to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. You know the quality of food and service is known
2. You know the layout of the ship
3. You know the names of all the restaurants
4. You feel safe on the ship
5. Family oriented shipboard activities
6. Frozen Mickeys from room service
7. Castaway Club gift when you get on board
8. The split bathrooms when your getting ready for dinner in the evenings
9. New release Disney movies
10. Mickey

~Mike

Very good reasons for you - we still haven't decided what we are doing but here is my take on your list

Food - while very good on the Panama Canal cruise on DCL - food just as good or better on HAL, Princess, and God forbid just as good as on Carnival. Better food on Celebrity. I won't even compare Crystal or Oceania as they are on a different playing field then the mainstream lines

Number 2, 3, 6 - really come on now - those are lame reasons, for me anyway

Number 4 - I have never not felt safe on any ship

Number 5 - yes Disney has more family friendly activities and we partake in many of them when cruise DCL but in the Med or Baltic we aren't on the ship enough to really take advantage of anything but breakfast, dinner (sometimes if we aren't in port late) We are usually so tired from touring we don't even make the show.

Number 7 - they can keep the gift - we have many of the same gift, we cruise often on DCL. Other cruise line give you gifts, onboard credits, free drinks, etc based on the number of cruises you have sailed with them so your gift is always different. Example. with RCCL if you sail more then 10 times you automatically get access to their concierge lounges on the ship

Number 8 - split bathrooms are nice but not a necessity
Number 9 - only if there is one during your sailing

Number 10 - well that is a given since he isn't on any other cruise line but not worth thousands more in the scheme of things

If you (you is meant in general and not to the person quoted) have never been on a port intensive cruise you will be suprised at how many things you do NOT do because you spend most of the time off the ship.

 

[Happy99]

It doesn't seem like 1 extra visited port plus one more home port would make a $165 difference in taxes with HAL - but who knows. Maybe HAL has to pay more because it visits Rotterdam and Copenhagen less frequently, vs. Jewel of the Seas leaving from Harwich every 12 days all summer.

I looked up the two ships / dates that have been discussed and it seems that HAL is in port longer on a few of the ports then RCCL. Could that be the reason

 

[tickledtink33]

Don't flame me, but we all created this monster...now we have to learn to live with it. Everyone has been posting for months about how hot and heavy they were for the 2010 intineraries; once the announcement date was publicized, everyone was already getting their strategy lined up on what time to start calling and book. Disney would be crazy to *not* take advantage of such a willing group of fans.

Please don't take this the wrong way -- I'm just as guilty as everyone else and was really excited at the thought of crusing in Europe w/DCL, but now I'm extremely disappointed (and bitter!). If you honestly feel the prices are way too high then let your wallet do the talking and book with another cruiseline or make alternate plans. If those ships set sail and aren't filled to capacity -- DCL will get the message.

WELL SAID!

That is exactly what I am doing. I had planned to transfer my 2009 Disney cruise which I booked onboard the Magic last year to the Baltic itinerary. I had my heart set on doing Northern Europe in 2010. Well I am still going on a Northern Europe cruise in 2010, but I will be going with another cruiseline. I enjoyed my Disney cruise very much, but I also enjoyed my recent Royal Caribbean cruise just as much. I love everything Disney but feel a bit taken advantage of with these prices.

 

[Happy99]

Well...when we went on the Disney cruise we had one day where our 6 year old just wasn't going to make it on a tour that day. These cruises are VERY port intensive and while you have good intentions for your child to make it through all the tours it might not work out that way. I'm glad we left her on the ship for the day. She had so much fun and it was day she'll remember. We actually only took a 5 hour tour that day but when we return to the ship she didn't want to leave the club. She stayed the entire 12 hours. She saw all the main ports like Rome, Pisa, etc... We were in one of the French ports.

Anyways... I'm still interested to hear what other cruises have to offer in a way for activities for the kids. So, far nobody has told me???

Norweign Sea might be an old ship and I don't really care how old the ship is. What I do care about is customer service. They treated my kids HORRIBLY on the cruise. It was very evident they did not welcome them. I will never give them a second chance. I understand when someone is having a off day but when the entire cruise was like that. Never again for us.

I think you will get more responses to your question if you go on cruise critics.com

For our son, he was 8 when we cruised RCCL, he loved the rock climbing, inline skating, ice skating, miniature golf. On the Radiance class ships he loved playing pool. I really can't answer you about the kids clubs because our kids have never really been into them either on DCL or any other cruise line. They normally look at the activities offered and decide if they want to join in on a particular one. Both DS and DD13 thought the options for the kids clubs on DCL during our Panama Canal cruise were lame and really didn't utilize them much at all

Personally we do not book any shore excursions we don't feel the kids can handle either as we are experiencing this as a family. You know your child best and it worked out for you

If the kids clubs are a big deciding factor for you then don't choose HAL they aren't known for their kids clubs. They are fine just not as extensive as DCL

 

[101DalmFan]

Reasons not to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. Cost

Reason to sail with DCL in the Baltic

1. You know the quality of food and service is known
2. You know the layout of the ship
3. You know the names of all the restaurants
4. You feel safe on the ship
5. Family oriented shipboard activities
6. Frozen Mickeys from room service
7. Castaway Club gift when you get on board
8. The split bathrooms when your getting ready for dinner in the evenings
9. New release Disney movies
10. Mickey

~Mike

Yup, I'd sail with DCL over another cruise line anytime.

Please remember, those who are fortunate to afford any cruise, that there are many, many folks out there who cannot contemplate fitting any cruise into their budget, let alone be blessed with the opportunity to make a decision about which cruise to take.

Not everyone can afford these cruises, it's true. But there are many of us who do want to take them and feel lucky that they are in 2010, leaving plenty of time to rework the family budget -- I'm actually worried that by the time we get onboard at the end of this month, what I want will be sold out.

DCL is in business to make money. This is hard to do if you try to please everyone. That's just not possible. The bottom line is profit. So, if these cruises are as popular as I think they'll be, this summertime lineup will have been a very sound business decision. If they prove to be unpopular, then it will have been a bad decision. These cruises do let them appeal to many European customers who will not have to pay for transatlantic airfares to come to the U.S.A. for a Florida-based cruise, so even though lots of Americans may take a pass on this, I suspect lots of Europeans will be able to take their first DCL adventure