Is Disney smoking crack or what???

[MississippiMom]

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami instead of the Holiday Inn. But the older Disney ships are no longer the "Hilton" of the cruise industry.

That's not saying that I won't do the NEW Dis ships in 2011 and 2012. But if I am paying top dollar, then I better be in a suite on a brand new ship with more ammenities.

Everyone's situation is different, as well as everyone's life experiences, but you couldn't have summed it up better for me. By complete coincidence, my DH's hotel brand of choice is Hilton. He stays at a Hilton brand hotel/motel when he travels for business, and we, typically, can cash in some of his earned reward points for personal trips. But, I still read the hotel/motel reviews before we book, and if the reviews aren't up to typical "Hilton standards," our family is staying somewhere else during vacation. (Why waste the reward points, if you aren't getting what you are paying for?)

I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel on Crystal cruise line, and at those escalated DCL prices for 2010, that is the level of service and opulence that I would expect to come across. Something tells me that I might find the outstanding service, but the ship isn't going to satisfy my expectations. How can it? I've read, repeatedly, that the wear-and-tear of age is starting to show on both Magic and Wonder, and common sense would tell me that is the truth. (I can look around my own five year old house and see the wear and tear.)

I think what will be interesting is to see is how many cruisers cancel their 2010 sailings when the itineraries open up for the new DCL ships. And whether or not DCL will then have to severely discount the fares on the Magic and Wonder.

 

[Rogillio]

I'd like to address the statements made about 'not being on the ship that much'. We did a Med cruise in 2007 and got off the ship in every port and toured around....but we ate every breakfast on the ship and we ate dinner on the ship every night except the day we went to Rome. We also had 4 sea days where we spent the entire day on the ship. You spend more time more time on the ship than off the ship.

One other point....in the form of a story. We pulled into port in Cozumel along side a Carnival cruise ship. We stood out on our balcony as we docked and watched people on the Carnival ship standing on their balconies watching us. You could actually hear people on the Carnival ship oohing and aahing and talking about the Disney ship and how cool it looked. And then they sounded the horn - 'when you wish upon a star' - and a thunderous round of applause and cheers came from the people on the Carnival ship. It was a very cool Disney-unique moment that we'll never forget.

~Mike

 

[CBJHockeyNut]

Sorry folks, but I guess I understand the nature of business and profitability. So I have to say this, and I will apologize before hand for saying it.........but......the more folks choose other cruises, the better chance I have of getting one.

Count us in on helping you out!! Just finalized our decision this morning that Baltics on DCL is out of our price range. We have our 9th DCL cruise planned for 2009 and are excited about it. What DCL did was excite me about cruising Northern Europe. Now I really want to do it in 2010 but am going to look at other lines to cruise in 2010. It is a very sad day for me but with watching the economy tank and being concerned about where I am going to be in 2010 I can no longer justify the premium that I know that I have been paying for DCL. Also, but 2010 my kids will be 15 and 12 and will have been on 9 Disney cruises--might be time to look elsewhere anyway and this might help break the DCL addiction.

 

[cruisinmama06]

One other point....in the form of a story. We pulled into port in Cozumel along side a Carnival cruise ship. We stood out on our balcony as we docked and watched people on the Carnival ship standing on their balconies watching us. You could actually hear people on the Carnival ship oohing and aahing and talking about the Disney ship and how cool it looked. And then they sounded the horn - 'when you wish upon a star' - and a thunderous round of applause and cheers came from the people on the Carnival ship. It was a very cool Disney-unique moment that we'll never forget.

~Mike

We had the same moment when we were on Wonder...parked next to Carnival...horn sounded...the kids loved it and even mentioned it yesterday to me.

But I wouldn't do Carnival anymore either. I did it twice and that was one time too many. Carnival is good for what it is. And it provides lots of people who wouldn't be able to cruise otherwise a chance to take their family on a ship.

But when comparing Disney to RCCL, Celebrity, HAL...the reasons to do an older Disney ship start to fade away.

 

[JoiseyMom]

BTW, I believe after 9/11 Disney DID have trouble filling those hotel rooms. They offered deep discounts, especially to FL residents that didn't need to fly.

They certainly did. DH had called a few months before Xmas that year for a Xmas week stay at the Poly doing the silver plan. It was very high. Well he called less then a week before we would have to leave and the trip was several thousands cheaper. DH booked, told me afterwards. I called for Cindy breakfast ressies and got them.

So yes, if people stop traveling, then Disney will offer very deep discounts.

 

[dh chrisva]

One other point....in the form of a story. We pulled into port in Cozumel along side a Carnival cruise ship. We stood out on our balcony as we docked and watched people on the Carnival ship standing on their balconies watching us. You could actually hear people on the Carnival ship oohing and aahing and talking about the Disney ship and how cool it looked. And then they sounded the horn - 'when you wish upon a star' - and a thunderous round of applause and cheers came from the people on the Carnival ship. It was a very cool Disney-unique moment that we'll never forget.

~Mike

We had the same moment when we were on Wonder...parked next to Carnival...horn sounded...the kids loved it and even mentioned it yesterday to me.

Have another one for this... While in Cosat Maya were were next to the Sun Princess....That Afternoon the Magic started to play Cinderella on the Dumbo-Tron..You should have seen all the deck chairs on the Sun Princess all of a sudden move to the rail to watch the movie....

 

[TonytheWop]

We had the same moment when we were on Wonder...parked next to Carnival...horn sounded...the kids loved it and even mentioned it yesterday to me.

But when comparing Disney to RCCL, Celebrity, HAL...the reasons to do an older Disney ship start to fade away.

I have been reading this thread and IMHO we are comparing apples to oranges. If we only look at $$$ , or quality of food or ,quality of the beds or quality of the service; then Disney makes no sense at the prices they charge.

I have never been on a Disney cruise ( first one coming up next year ) but, I have been to MK many times including on my honeymoon.
If we all made our decisions based on $$ very few would go to MK or stay at a Disney resort. There are plenty of great amusement parks who charge less than half that of MK; who don't charge $3.00 for a bottle of water or $8.00 for a lunch that doesn't satisfy a 5 year-old.

Why do we go and spend the extra ??

Because it is the DISNEY MAGIC When I walk down Main Street and look up at Cinderella's Castle; or take the Disney shuttle bus; or stare in awe at the fireworks; or watch their parades and look at the eyes of the children ( and adults too ) that is why we spend the $$$.
Sorry no disrespect to Six Flags but my kids do not react the same way !

We were on the NCL Gem this past March..new ship..nice weather..Atlantis..but it is not DISNEY.

In the end, we can go on a different cruise line and save $$$ but, we decided as a family, that the extra $1300 was worth it
for a chance to cruise with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto , Pooh......

 

[Happy99]

In the end, we can go on a different cruise line and save $$$ but, we decided as a family, that the extra $1300 was worth it
for a chance to cruise with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto , Pooh......

For $1300 more I would totally agree - for my family of 4 we are looking at $4500 more on DCL vs other comparable cruise lines, that would cover extra days that we plan on spending in England

The difference in cost will vary by each family depending on how many people are traveling

We also look at what the cruise is costing us on a per day basis, taking the total and dividing by the amount of nights. For our 15nt Panama Canal cruise in a cat 6 for 4 of us the daily cost came to $650. I thought was well worth it. This price was just for the cruise including taxes not including transfers, insurance, shore excursions, etc

For the Northern European cruise in a cat 6, this is hoping to get in on the first tier pricing and hoping that the lowest price on the website is what we get which I doubt since we are looking at a July sailing, the daily cost would be $1100. If the price for our date is higher we are probably looking at $1300-$1600 per day cost. Basically twice as much as what we paid for the 15nt sailing. Even if we move down to a category 9 the cost will still be around the $1000 per day mark

 

[Rogillio]

People keep talking about the DCL ships getting old....I thought they were going in for refurb? Did that happen? We've not sailed since 2007 on the Magic and at that time we thought the ship was in great shape.

Oh, I should mention this though....we did see a mouse running down the hall! Seriously! A mouse! Yeah, he was about 4' tall and walking around like he owned the place! (my fav DCL joke)

~Mike

 

[Joan1]

People keep talking about the DCL ships getting old....I thought they were going in for refurb? Did that happen? We've not sailed since 2007 on the Magic and at that time we thought the ship was in great shape.

~Mike

The Magic just came out of drydock but from what I have read not much was done during the drydock

 

[TonytheWop]

For $1300 more I would totally agree - for my family of 4 we are looking at $4500 more on DCL vs other comparable cruise lines, that would cover extra days that we plan on spending in England

The difference in cost will vary by each family depending on how many people are traveling

We also look at what the cruise is costing us on a per day basis, taking the total and dividing by the amount of nights. For our 15nt Panama Canal cruise in a cat 6 for 4 of us the daily cost came to $650. I thought was well worth it. This price was just for the cruise including taxes not including transfers, insurance, shore excursions, etc

For the Northern European cruise in a cat 6, this is hoping to get in on the first tier pricing and hoping that the lowest price on the website is what we get which I doubt since we are looking at a July sailing, the daily cost would be $1100. If the price for our date is higher we are probably looking at $1300-$1600 per day cost. Basically twice as much as what we paid for the 15nt sailing. Even if we move down to a category 9 the cost will still be around the $1000 per day mark

Personally we are Italian and family of 5 and, I have been to Europe ( without kids ) and I wouldn't do Europe with kids under 13 at any price..almost..free ???
Why ? Europe is port intensive and requires tons of walking which is not feasible with young kids. Not only that, the beauty of Europe is in their history, the art, the monuments, the architecture. Not exactly buzz words for kids who want to be entertained. ( " I need to go to the bathroom...I'm bored...I'm tired...I'm hungry ..Don't touch that statue "...GET THE PICTURE !! )

IMHO even if you can do a European cruise for thousands less on a different cruiseline, you would be still spending $$$$ of dollars to not FULLY enjoy the beauty and history that is Europe.

And, please before all of you who have done Europe with your young kids flame me, unless you have also done it without kids you cannot possibly compare the enjoyment and/ or fullfillment of both. By the way, we always go on vacation with the kids and until they are older we will not be taking them to Europe even if I have family there.

 

[Joan1]

Personally we are Italian and family of 5 and, I have been to Europe ( without kids ) and I wouldn't do Europe with kids under 13 at any price..almost..free ???
Why ? Europe is port intensive and requires tons of walking which is not feasible with young kids. Not only that, the beauty of Europe is in their history, the art, the monuments, the architecture. Not exactly buzz words for kids who want to be entertained. ( " I need to go to the bathroom...I'm bored...I'm tired...I'm hungry ..Don't touch that statue "...GET THE PICTURE !! )

IMHO even if you can do a European cruise for thousands less on a different cruiseline, you would be still spending $$$$ of dollars to not FULLY enjoy the beauty and history that is Europe.

And, please before all of you who have done Europe with your young kids flame me, unless you have also done it without kids you cannot possibly compare the enjoyment and/ or fullfillment of both. By the way, we always go on vacation with the kids and until they are older we will not be taking them to Europe even if I have family there.

I beg to differ - I have been to Europe when I was single, when I got married, and also with kids. We are also an Italian family and I lived in Italy for 7 years. We take into consideration what our kids can handle and cannot handle. We have been to Europe with them 3 times on land vacations and once on a cruise. They started from the time they were 4 and now are teens. They love traveling in Europe and keep asking when the next time we are visiting is.

Granted I do not like to cruise Europe because you don't get the beauty, the feel, etc of the cities / countries you visit and why we opted out of the DCL Med cruise in 2007. When it comes to England, France or Italy I really don't like the feel of just spending a few hours in port because I know what I would be missing

We are considering the Northern Europe / Baltic cruise, whether DCL or another cruise line. This is part of the world we have always wanted to see but not necessarily spend a week or two in any of the countries the ship is visiting, except England, and we thought this would be a great way to get a feel of the area that may change our mind and we would want to go back and stay a while.

 

[Happy99]

I beg to differ - I have been to Europe when I was single, when I got married, and also with kids. We are also an Italian family and I lived in Italy for 7 years. We take into consideration what our kids can handle and cannot handle. We have been to Europe with them 3 times on land vacations and once on a cruise. They started from the time they were 4 and now are teens. They love traveling in Europe and keep asking when the next time we are visiting is.

Granted I do not like to cruise Europe because you don't get the beauty, the feel, etc of the cities / countries you visit and why we opted out of the DCL Med cruise in 2007. When it comes to England, France or Italy I really don't like the feel of just spending a few hours in port because I know what I would be missing

We are considering the Northern Europe / Baltic cruise, whether DCL or another cruise line. This is part of the world we have always wanted to see but not necessarily spend a week or two in any of the countries the ship is visiting, except England, and we thought this would be a great way to get a feel of the area that may change our mind and we would want to go back and stay a while.

I totally agree with this post - We may have never lived in Italy but have experienced the rest in much the same way

Tony, without knowing a person you should never assume you know where they have been, who they have been there with and how they have experienced it

 

[Happy99]

Personally we are Italian and family of 5 and, I have been to Europe ( without kids ) and I wouldn't do Europe with kids under 13 at any price..almost..free ???

Oh and my kids will older then 13 in 2010

 

[pinkpixey]

Perhaps....but there is only one Disney. I can't really put my finger on it but we just love Disney. Our kids will be 17 and 19 and we've grown up with Disney over the years so there is a sentimental factor too with sailing on DCL. We like the family atmosphere, we love the fun characters who come by your table while your eating, we love the Disney movies and shows and we love the Disney quality.

We KNOW Disney so there is very little risk. If we went with another cruise line, we would spend the next 20 months wondering if the cruise line is gonna live up to our expectations. Disney set the bar pretty high for us.

The thought of a Baltic cruise never entered my mind until I got the email from DCL about their webcast. If HAL or Celebrity sent us an email about thier Baltic cruise, it would have gone into the spam folder. It's not just about seeing the northern capitols....it's about cruising with Disney again and seeing the northern capitols. I just can't explain it any better than that.

I agree with what Legen posted, the more people who don't cruise with DCL on this cruise, the better the chances are that we can get the cabin we want.

~Mike

Thank you ! I feel the same as you, well said.

 

[Belle2667]

So yes, if people stop traveling, then DH will offer very deep discounts.

Exactly WHO is your DH and can he get me very deep discounts at WDW??

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Personally we are Italian and family of 5 and, I have been to Europe ( without kids ) and I wouldn't do Europe with kids under 13 at any price..almost..free ???
Why ? Europe is port intensive and requires tons of walking which is not feasible with young kids. Not only that, the beauty of Europe is in their history, the art, the monuments, the architecture. Not exactly buzz words for kids who want to be entertained. ( " I need to go to the bathroom...I'm bored...I'm tired...I'm hungry ..Don't touch that statue "...GET THE PICTURE !! )

IMHO even if you can do a European cruise for thousands less on a different cruiseline, you would be still spending $$$$ of dollars to not FULLY enjoy the beauty and history that is Europe.

And, please before all of you who have done Europe with your young kids flame me, unless you have also done it without kids you cannot possibly compare the enjoyment and/ or fullfillment of both. By the way, we always go on vacation with the kids and until they are older we will not be taking them to Europe even if I have family there.

I agree with Tony here. My kids are great travelers when we go someplace they want to be or can get meaning from. I'm not dragging my kids around with them telling me their feet hurt and they're tired and it's hot and they're bored, etc. ( if you've ever taken a little kid into a museum you know that your time there is quick - missing much of what's shown) When my kids can appreciate, or express a desire to visit, Europe, that's when we'll go. So, we won't be clogging up the phone lines on the 14th.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Does anyone think or is it just me that most other ships look so much like a CASINO. I see it a little in Disney too but some of them just have that ugly Casino carpet. I've been looking at other cruiselines but I'm not seeing the Magic as Rogillio describes. Nobody described a specatular trip they had on another line. I haven't heard anything like that.

I think... another way to compare is to compare current DCL Carribean prices to Northern Europe. I just looked at booking next summer for a family of 4 in a Category 4 room (7 night cruise). My total without transportation or insurance came to 10,279.60. So, my cost per day is $1468 per day. YIKES that's a lot. Now, I'm sure if I booked when they opened I could have probably gotten to go for $1100 a day to see the Carribean.

However, on the Northern Europe tour it would be $14,196 plus let's estimate $1200 more for taxes & fuel so, for a total of 15,396 divided by 12 nights comes to $1,183.

So pricewise it is similar and only the Baltics you get 4 Sea Days so, you can't say you won't use the facilities onboard. In fact, all ports are in by 5 pm or so except in St. Peterburg or Berlin. So, basically of the 12 night cruise 3 nights will be in port so, you have the ship to enjoy for the other 9 nights.

Personally, I feel the opposite in that I don't want to pay premium dollars to see the Carribean. There is nothing there that I'm interested in. I've seen it and I've had enough of it.

 

[Seahunt]

Sorry a little OT, but another poster mentioned DCL pricing was what the market would bear and I wondered if this is a perfect example of that on NCL & RCI. Has anyone else seen some of the unbelievable Trans Atlantic prices NCL & RCI has come out with for this November/December? I mean, I've seen $399pp for a 15 day Trans Atlantic sailing out of Barcelona in an inside cabin on the RCI Voyager of the Seas 11/29 and $349pp for a 13 day Trans Atlantic sailing from Barcelona for an inside cabin on NCL's Gem 11/16/08! Yikes!

I have never seen prices so low and wonder if this is the economy now talking? Or is it just that no one wants to sail on these particular dates, these particular itineraries, these particular ships?

It will be interesting to see how DCL responds if there is a big booking slow down due to the worldwide economic conditions.

 

[Rogillio]

Personally, I feel the opposite in that I don't want to pay premium dollars to see the Carribean. There is nothing there that I'm interested in. I've seen it and I've had enough of it.

x2!! Been there, done that, bought the tee-shirt. Time for something else.

~Mike