Is Disney smoking crack or what???

[JsMom2]

That's more than evident in the thread going on right now where DISers are posting what cruise they booked yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that we live in a country where people have enough money to take vacations anywhere/anyhow they want, but for me it was almost more of a matter of principle over price as I feel like DCL is taking advantage of such a loyal customer base. I guess those new ships have to be paid for someway...

ITA. Guess we haven't learned as much from the economic troubles as we should've. Yes DCL is great. But if people aren't willing to shop for lower priced alternatives, then the prices will continue to rise. I just don't understand why folks are so certain they won't enjoy another line just as much if not MORE!

 

[Muushka]

Yes, you would think that with the bad economic news DCL would have considered that into the pricing.

No, I will not pay any price to cruise DCL. Plus, Celebrity has treated us very well so I don't mind giving them our business in the least.

 

[msmayor]

ITA. Guess we haven't learned as much from the economic troubles as we should've. Yes DCL is great. But if people aren't willing to shop for lower priced alternatives, then the prices will continue to rise. I just don't understand why folks are so certain they won't enjoy another line just as much if not MORE!

What I find interesting is that folks pay such a premium to DCL for such a port-intensive trip. Information I've read about cruising Europe and the Med always talks about how much time is spent OFF this ships doing excursions, and how tired folks get in the evening which means they don't spend so much time enjoying the programs on board. I could never justify spending so much more for something I may not fully utilize.

Just for the heck of it, I priced out a 12-night on Princess to the Baltics. Not an identical itinerary in terms of ports, but close enough...and it was for July of 2009 as the 2010 pricing isn't out yet. For a mini-suite (382sf) for four people it came to about $12,000. A Cat 5 on DCL (which, I believe is a smaller square-footage) one year later is $3,700 more.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

for me it was almost more of a matter of principle over price as I feel like DCL is taking advantage of such a loyal customer base.

That is EXACTLY how I feel. I feel very....used? I guess that's the right word for it. Disney knows that there are people who would never consider going elsewhere and they jack the prices up accordingly.

My prediction...people booked in a frenzy yesterday and a large percentage will cancel when they have time to realize that the value just isn't there. There will be discounts going into 2010.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

That is EXACTLY how I feel. I feel very....used? I guess that's the right word for it. Disney knows that there are people who would never consider going elsewhere and they jack the prices up accordingly.

My prediction...people booked in a frenzy yesterday and a large percentage will cancel when they have time to realize that the value just isn't there. There will be discounts going into 2010.

I think you're right about that. I foresee discounts going into 2010 as well- didn't they have mega-bargains on the last med cruises they did closer to the dates? I think I'm remembering that right.

Anyway, you're right about the booking frenzy AND I was looking at exactly what the other person was talking about. The trans atlantic is a good price plus lots of sea days to enjoy the ship... the 10nt before that we're probably going to cancel because it's DOUBLE the cost, only 10nt instead of 14, and almost every day is a port day. It's gonna cost a fortune to do stuff at each port of call plus we'd never hardly be on the ship except to sleep! LOL

 

[taysmom]

After looking at the prices for the med/baltic we booked the repo. We were always going to book the repo, but I had a small glimmer of hope for the med. It faded fast. Now I am waiting for 2010 pricing to come out on RCCL for additional vacations. I feel that I did get a good deal on the repo and this is why. I did the WBPC and had a cat 10 with 5 stops over 15 days. I signed up for this WBTA cat 10 for $1k less. and it also has 5 stops over 14 days. While the wbpc went thru the panama canal...i'd done that before and been to all of those stops except castaway cay. On this cruise, all of the ports except castaway will be new to me. Cross some more places off my list! I am still jealous of all the med people as the new ports are very enticing. BUT, I will enjoy my repo and still get to go to DLP and back to barcelona. Maybe once those new ships come out, disney will start pricing closer to the other cruise lines. I can tell you this, when a ship comes to california, I won't be on dcl if I can save thousands for rccl or princess...not gonna happen!

 

[DMMarla07860]

yes the DCL prices are crazy, but I think other lines might be higher in 2010 then in 2009, I know people have said they could do it for less on another cruise line but I think it was all for 2009, if it was for 2010 sorry for being wrong and not reading it all. I just have a feeling a lot of people will be in for a shock, the other cruise line won't cost as much as DCL in 2010, but I think it will be closer then the 2009 prices. just my thought

 

[OurDogCisco]

I keep hearing about how port intensive these European Cruises are and that you won't have time to enjoy things on the ship. Frankly, I disagree with this statement. Yes... you are in port but you do have sea days and most ports you are home before dinner. Think about it you eat dinner at 6 pm and then, see the 8 pm show and you are back in your cabin by 9 pm. Most ports we arrived around 8 or 9 am. So, it isn't like you don't get enough sleep. I was never too tired to do a show and dinner after touring all day. There was only 2 ports that I can remember that we stayed through the night: Rome & Villefrenche. So, out of 12 night cruise we missed 2 nights of entertainment. Too me the nightly entertainment and children entertainment is important and Disney knows that.

Don't get me wrong this post definitely got me to thinking and comparing. In fact I found one cruise where I like the itinerary better on Celebrity. They spend over night in Denmark and St Petersburg. The cruise is 14 nights instead of 12 nights. Much cheaper than Disney. However, when I asked on the "other" board about children entertainment like what's on TV. One poster suggested that I bring my own DVD player. Another said that Celebrity has the worst TV programming ever even for adults. And, I'm not talking about watching TV all just right before you go to bed you like to watch a show (at least my kids do). Anyways.... one poster said that they have pay per view movies. I definitely wouldn't pay for that as I don't know if we'd watch the entire movie. I was thinking more along the lines of a 1/2 hour show to watch.

Look carefully at the port times and how long you are in ports. If you think, you will be disappointed then, don't do a cruise. Even on Celebrity you spend one day in Holland for 6 hours 8 am to 2 pm. Hardly enough time to do anything and then, you have to go back to the boring ship that doesn't have good TV programming. I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things but I think it is important at this point in our Travel life where we are traveling with 2 kids. I don't want my kids to be bored when we return to the ship... That is the most IMPORTANT criteria for me at this point in my life. Definitely, if I didn't have kids I would be looking at other lines.

 

[Happy99]

Look carefully at the port times and how long you are in ports. If you think, you will be disappointed then, don't do a cruise. Even on Celebrity you spend one day in Holland for 6 hours 8 am to 2 pm. Hardly enough time to do anything and then, you have to go back to the boring ship that doesn't have good TV programming. I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things but I think it is important at this point in our Travel life where we are traveling with 2 kids. I don't want my kids to be bored when we return to the ship... That is the most IMPORTANT criteria for me at this point in my life. Definitely, if I didn't have kids I would be looking at other lines.

I am going to preface this by saying I am in no way judging you or anyone else I am just using your quote as a reference

This is exactly why Disney is charging these prices because there will always be people willing to pay them, whatever their reason

 

[Tink rules]

I think alot have booked... I wonder how many will keep their ressies as the pay off date approaches...

 

[OurDogCisco]

I am going to preface this by saying I am in no way judging you or anyone else I am just using your quote as a reference

This is exactly why Disney is charging these prices because there will always be people willing to pay them, whatever their reason

''

You are exactly right. Disney is marketing me.

 

[DMMarla07860]

''

You are exactly right. Disney is marketing me.

they are marketing me also

now the airfares on the other hand are what gets us

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

I've been cruising DCL every summer since 2002. When the Magic is away we sail the Wonder.

The 2010 prices are the first time I've been in sticker shock. Even for the Wonder cruises. My jaw hit the floor when I saw the prices for the Wonder cruises, particularly the 5-night cruises.

We booked a traditional 4-night cruise. No way could we justify spending the extra $$$ just to go to either Key West or another day at CC.

We'll do a shorter cruise and spend an extra day at WDW.

Yes, its extremely bad timing that DCL releases the 2010 dates right when the global economy is tanking. I, too, think a lot of people are booking cruises now to get secure a spot and then will cancel later on.

So I think we'll see some of the same discounting that we saw in 2007 for the Med cruises. Probably not for the Wonder cruises as they sell out and stay sold out when the Magic is away.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I keep hearing about how port intensive these European Cruises are and that you won't have time to enjoy things on the ship. Frankly, I disagree with this statement. Yes... you are in port but you do have sea days and most ports you are home before dinner. Think about it you eat dinner at 6 pm and then, see the 8 pm show and you are back in your cabin by 9 pm. Most ports we arrived around 8 or 9 am. So, it isn't like you don't get enough sleep. I was never too tired to do a show and dinner after touring all day. There was only 2 ports that I can remember that we stayed through the night: Rome & Villefrenche. So, out of 12 night cruise we missed 2 nights of entertainment. Too me the nightly entertainment and children entertainment is important and Disney knows that.

Don't get me wrong this post definitely got me to thinking and comparing. In fact I found one cruise where I like the itinerary better on Celebrity. They spend over night in Denmark and St Petersburg. The cruise is 14 nights instead of 12 nights. Much cheaper than Disney. However, when I asked on the "other" board about children entertainment like what's on TV. One poster suggested that I bring my own DVD player. Another said that Celebrity has the worst TV programming ever even for adults. And, I'm not talking about watching TV all just right before you go to bed you like to watch a show (at least my kids do). Anyways.... one poster said that they have pay per view movies. I definitely wouldn't pay for that as I don't know if we'd watch the entire movie. I was thinking more along the lines of a 1/2 hour show to watch.

Look carefully at the port times and how long you are in ports. If you think, you will be disappointed then, don't do a cruise. Even on Celebrity you spend one day in Holland for 6 hours 8 am to 2 pm. Hardly enough time to do anything and then, you have to go back to the boring ship that doesn't have good TV programming. I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things but I think it is important at this point in our Travel life where we are traveling with 2 kids. I don't want my kids to be bored when we return to the ship... That is the most IMPORTANT criteria for me at this point in my life. Definitely, if I didn't have kids I would be looking at other lines.

I can see what you're saying (to a point- atleast on disney cruises we sure don't watch tv like EVER... but who knows if we would on other cruiselines LOL So that's not important to us at all- but I get the point you're trying to make).
But as for the port intensive cruises- we're thinkiing about still cancelling our 10nt med and just keeping the trans atlantic. The med is so expensive and it IS like sea day- tons of port days after port days after port days -then a sea day at the end. We're talking like 7 or 8 port days right in a row (I can't remember the exact amount right off hand). And most of them are like 6:30 or 8:30 leaving.
well A) not everyone has early dining time- we always have late
B) even going by your example all you'd be doing is eating dinner, seeing a show and going to bed by 9pm to be ready for the next busy day at port? Perhaps you don't understand that some people do not want to pay enormous hundreds and hundreds of dollars- per day per person- just to eat dinner and watch a show and go to bed. They'd rather do a lot more on the cruise, for that kind of money, than just eat dinner, see a show and sleep. If they wanted to do that they might be able to do the trip on their own (not via cruise or via another cruiseline if possible) for a lot cheaper if that's all they were using the ship for like an overnight hotel and dinner restaurant.

Anyway I see what you're saying and the point you're trying to get across- I really do. And I agree to a point because the point you're trying to get across is exactly why we've only cruised with DCL so far and all we've considered cruising so far. I think perhaps that it goes a bit further than that when it's a very expensive cruise that is also very port intensive where the ship isn't being used that much. I think a lot of people, ourselves included, feel that DCL is worth a premium (up to a point -everyone has a point... someone's point may be higher/$$ than another person) for the entertainment and service on board... but when it comes to paying really expesnive prices for a cruise you're barely ON the ship to really enjoy it- then you start thinking it's not worth the cost DCL is asking... you'd rather go on another cruise. For instance like we're still totally excited about the trans atlantic- which is not only cheaper but sea day after sea day. Now to me that's getting what you paid for. But hey everyone is different and no one is judging anyone else for what THEY want out of a cruise and why/etc.

 

[Im_A_Princess]

I wish we could do one of the 2 Trans Atlantics but they are really bad times for missing school.
The prices for those seem great!

 

[awatt]

I keep hearing about how port intensive these European Cruises are and that you won't have time to enjoy things on the ship. Frankly, I disagree with this statement. Yes... you are in port but you do have sea days and most ports you are home before dinner. Think about it you eat dinner at 6 pm and then, see the 8 pm show and you are back in your cabin by 9 pm. Most ports we arrived around 8 or 9 am. So, it isn't like you don't get enough sleep. I was never too tired to do a show and dinner after touring all day. There was only 2 ports that I can remember that we stayed through the night: Rome & Villefrenche. So, out of 12 night cruise we missed 2 nights of entertainment. Too me the nightly entertainment and children entertainment is important and Disney knows that.

Don't get me wrong this post definitely got me to thinking and comparing. In fact I found one cruise where I like the itinerary better on Celebrity. They spend over night in Denmark and St Petersburg. The cruise is 14 nights instead of 12 nights. Much cheaper than Disney. However, when I asked on the "other" board about children entertainment like what's on TV. One poster suggested that I bring my own DVD player. Another said that Celebrity has the worst TV programming ever even for adults. And, I'm not talking about watching TV all just right before you go to bed you like to watch a show (at least my kids do). Anyways.... one poster said that they have pay per view movies. I definitely wouldn't pay for that as I don't know if we'd watch the entire movie. I was thinking more along the lines of a 1/2 hour show to watch.

Look carefully at the port times and how long you are in ports. If you think, you will be disappointed then, don't do a cruise. Even on Celebrity you spend one day in Holland for 6 hours 8 am to 2 pm. Hardly enough time to do anything and then, you have to go back to the boring ship that doesn't have good TV programming. I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things but I think it is important at this point in our Travel life where we are traveling with 2 kids. I don't want my kids to be bored when we return to the ship... That is the most IMPORTANT criteria for me at this point in my life. Definitely, if I didn't have kids I would be looking at other lines.

Our kids loved Celebrity, sailed with them twice. They had a ball in the kids club- got to do unusual things like an impromptu trip to the bridge one day to talk to the captain, another day went backstage with the show performers and tried on their costumes including the big headpieces. And they had alot of fun on board as well. They still laugh about mommy in the pool games, it's a long story. We all really liked Cirque d' Soleil onboard. It is different from DCL, but is an excellent experience for all ages. Hardly boring.

 

[justhat]

I keep hearing about how port intensive these European Cruises are and that you won't have time to enjoy things on the ship. Frankly, I disagree with this statement. Yes... you are in port but you do have sea days and most ports you are home before dinner. Think about it you eat dinner at 6 pm and then, see the 8 pm show and you are back in your cabin by 9 pm. Most ports we arrived around 8 or 9 am. So, it isn't like you don't get enough sleep. I was never too tired to do a show and dinner after touring all day. There was only 2 ports that I can remember that we stayed through the night: Rome & Villefrenche. So, out of 12 night cruise we missed 2 nights of entertainment. Too me the nightly entertainment and children entertainment is important and Disney knows that.

Don't get me wrong this post definitely got me to thinking and comparing. In fact I found one cruise where I like the itinerary better on Celebrity. They spend over night in Denmark and St Petersburg. The cruise is 14 nights instead of 12 nights. Much cheaper than Disney. However, when I asked on the "other" board about children entertainment like what's on TV. One poster suggested that I bring my own DVD player. Another said that Celebrity has the worst TV programming ever even for adults. And, I'm not talking about watching TV all just right before you go to bed you like to watch a show (at least my kids do). Anyways.... one poster said that they have pay per view movies. I definitely wouldn't pay for that as I don't know if we'd watch the entire movie. I was thinking more along the lines of a 1/2 hour show to watch.

Look carefully at the port times and how long you are in ports. If you think, you will be disappointed then, don't do a cruise. Even on Celebrity you spend one day in Holland for 6 hours 8 am to 2 pm. Hardly enough time to do anything and then, you have to go back to the boring ship that doesn't have good TV programming. I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things but I think it is important at this point in our Travel life where we are traveling with 2 kids. I don't want my kids to be bored when we return to the ship... That is the most IMPORTANT criteria for me at this point in my life. Definitely, if I didn't have kids I would be looking at other lines.

I couldn't agree with your more. Having 2 young kids means we will be on DCL, no matter what the price is. We've cruised on Celebrity, RCCL, and Princess so DCL isn't the only line we've tried. And not the best either, we loved Celebrity, more even than DCL. But with kids, we haven't seen clubs compare to DCL. For starters, no other line has programming for babies. So that means no adult meal, no taking my older one to see a movie alone (or whatever), no seeing the night shows (like the comedy/karaoke stuff), etc. Also, other lines charge for babysitting even the 3yo+ after 10pm, so that's a pain.

My kids also love eating Mickey pasta, Mickey bars for dessert, the kids menus keep them occupied, and I love the free soda. It's also great to have characters floating around the ship, at the gangways, etc. Makes my kids happy and keeps them amused, not just like it's a mommy/daddy vacation that they are tagging along on.

So for those reasons, we're sticking with DCL for the time being. When our kids are significantly older then we'll branch out.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I can see what you're saying (to a point- atleast on disney cruises we sure don't watch tv like EVER... but who knows if we would on other cruiselines LOL So that's not important to us at all- but I get the point you're trying to make).
But as for the port intensive cruises- we're thinkiing about still cancelling our 10nt med and just keeping the trans atlantic. The med is so expensive and it IS like sea day- tons of port days after port days after port days -then a sea day at the end. We're talking like 7 or 8 port days right in a row (I can't remember the exact amount right off hand). And most of them are like 6:30 or 8:30 leaving.
well A) not everyone has early dining time- we always have late
B) even going by your example all you'd be doing is eating dinner, seeing a show and going to bed by 9pm to be ready for the next busy day at port? Perhaps you don't understand that some people do not want to pay enormous hundreds and hundreds of dollars- per day per person- just to eat dinner and watch a show and go to bed. They'd rather do a lot more on the cruise, for that kind of money, than just eat dinner, see a show and sleep. If they wanted to do that they might be able to do the trip on their own (not via cruise or via another cruiseline if possible) for a lot cheaper if that's all they were using the ship for like an overnight hotel and dinner restaurant.

Anyway I see what you're saying and the point you're trying to get across- I really do. And I agree to a point because the point you're trying to get across is exactly why we've only cruised with DCL so far and all we've considered cruising so far. I think perhaps that it goes a bit further than that when it's a very expensive cruise that is also very port intensive where the ship isn't being used that much. I think a lot of people, ourselves included, feel that DCL is worth a premium (up to a point -everyone has a point... someone's point may be higher/$$ than another person) for the entertainment and service on board... but when it comes to paying really expesnive prices for a cruise you're barely ON the ship to really enjoy it- then you start thinking it's not worth the cost DCL is asking... you'd rather go on another cruise. For instance like we're still totally excited about the trans atlantic- which is not only cheaper but sea day after sea day. Now to me that's getting what you paid for. But hey everyone is different and no one is judging anyone else for what THEY want out of a cruise and why/etc.

Okay... I see your point but honestly if you want to see more of the port I definitely think you should do a land based tour. I don't think you'll be happy.

Also, in case you weren't aware... DCL was not strict on the dining times. So, if you stayed late in port and arrived to the dining room hungry they found you a table to sit at. It might not have been with your server or table mates but you did get to eat. Also, they were not strict on the dress code either.

Also, on the days the ship was in port longer into the evenings they did not show the main headerliners shows. Mostly they did movies if I remember correctly. Most of the headliner shows were done on days we were definitely back in port and everyone could see the shows.

This was my experience on the Med. cruise. Disney was VERY accomadating when we were in port late. The servers would practically beg you to come back and dine after an excursion. In fact on some days, we just ate at Plutos and swam in the pool before going to the show.

 

[pillow]

Yes. OK, well not really. If they can sell these out then they made a great business decision.

I would love to do the Baltic or the Med, but no way. We just did the not-so-cheap Panama Canal cruise and I certainly don't regret it. However, we won't be heading to Europe. Could we afford it? Maybe, if we planned ahead, but I just looked at a Cat 9 for a Baltic. Price for a Cat 9 alone was = to what we spent for our ENTIRE PC cruise trip (stateroom, 2 one-way plane tickets for 4 people, 2 rental cars, DL tickets, 2 nights in Anahiem, 4 excursions for 4 people, souvenirs, 15 bottles of wine, 2 massages & many drinks of the day!)

Plus, I really think that unless we were doing the Repo, it really isn't worth the 'premium' price for DCL in Europe. From what I can gather from the itineraries, we would barely be on the ship. I think if we do the Med (always been a dream) it will be on a less expensive line and we will spend our money on excursions. And wine.

There is a great smilie for your title on another board...but it would probably get me banned.

15 bottles of wine?? Can we vacation with you guys?

What did you think of the Everest Challenge? We did it as well. We had fun at the race, but our favorite thing was being able to wander around Epcot without children the day after (left them home with grandma), eating all that international food and listening to great bands! Oh, and the frozen mojitos at the Bacardi stand were to DIE for!!

Jodie

 

[pillow]

So I think we'll see some of the same discounting that we saw in 2007 for the Med cruises. Probably not for the Wonder cruises as they sell out and stay sold out when the Magic is away.

I totally agree. We did the June 16th Med trip last summer. A couple months before our cruise, a cat 12 discount rate appeared. We switched to that category and paid $4,100 for a family of 4 for 11 nights - a great deal! We got lucky and were upgraded to a cat 9. I think that there will definitely be some of these prices for the 2010 trips, given the economy.

Jodie