Priced out

[deanimal]

The magic of Disney really is hard to replace, especially at that age, but I agree the prices are just too much. We recently tried NCL with slightly older kids (6 and 7) and were pleasantly surprised, even though we missed the characters and great shows. However, I bet for the same amount of money or less you could get a quick trip to Disney World followed by a really great, non Disney cruise. It could be a good compromise.

 

[DnA2010]

We just did Oasis of the Seas and my daughter loved the kids pools/splash area, carousel, Madagascar characters/breakfast - and even the shows were good (ice show and aqua show) but it's a big ship and there are a lot of crowds. She didn't go to the kid's club on RCI. We've also sailed NCL with her - she did enjoy the kid's club and the splash area. Shows on NCL are not age appropriate for your children. I wouldn't recommend any other cruise line - just not great for kids.

How old us your daughter? Younger I'm thinking? On our Oasis cruise the kids all loved the clubs.

 

[DnA2010]

So it looks like we might be priced out of our 2nd Disney cruise by the looks of things

we are looking to cruise again in August 2017 4 night on the dream, me, DH, DD, DS

my little ones are 4 and 2,

my little ones love all things Disney and they can't wait to go back to "nemos reef and the mickey slide" however if pricing is as outrageous as everyone is saying I don't think that's gonna happen.

Any other cruise lines that great for families?

My niece was 2 on our cruise on the Oasis- she loved it! The splash area, ice show, dicing show, 100 trips on the carousel (or so it felt like) character breakfast, parade. Lots of stuff for the littles

 

[gismo1554]

I'm having an internal arguement about this pricing. Mine is twice the price of 2015 and I just don't know if its worth it. Have booked for now but really not sure I can justify it

 

[Hundredacre]

I'm having an internal arguement about this pricing. Mine is twice the price of 2015 and I just don't know if its worth it. Have booked for now but really not sure I can justify it

Just think of what that extra money would be in 20 years if you invested it. That's how I think about it.

 

[jenf22]

Just think of what that extra money would be in 20 years if you invested it. That's how I think about it.

That's a great way to look at it. Or you could look what that extra money would get you. The money we saved by cruising NCL over DCL got us a week in Disney World.

It makes me sad to read some posts on here where people have to save for multiple years to take a Disney cruise. If you were to ask your kids if they'd rather have 1 week on a ship where you might see characters or 2 separate vacations without characters, I think you may find the kids will choose more vacation time. Our kiddo wasn't ever that into the characters but man does he love to travel! For us it's about being together as a family since we both work full time. It does make me sad that we'll probably never step foot on a Disney ship again. But I can't justify the cost anymore.

 

[Donna3271]

We did 7 night Wonder Alaska summer 2013, Cat 4B - 2/A 3/C for $6800! Those were the days! LOL!

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

I doubt we will ever sail DCL again. Here is the perfect example of why...this summer, we are going on a 30 day (personal, not rental) RV roadtrip. We are going to Grand Canyon NP, Mesa Verde NP, Durango Silverton Train ride, Pagosa Hot Springs, Colorado Springs, Rocky Mountain NP, Black Hills: Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Badlands and surrounding areas, Calgary for the Stampede, Banff, Jasper, Glacier NP, Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, Redwood NP and Napa. Our full hook up campground costs are just under $1000. Our fuel cost is just over $1000 and our activities are right around $1000. So with a $500 buffer, we are going on a 30 day vacation for $3500. Or...I can sail in an inside room for 3 nights...if I am lucky, and I have to add airfare to that cost. I just cannot bring myself to spend that kind of money.

Next year we are cruising to Alaska and then spending an extra week in the Kenai and Denali areas of Alaska. Predicted cost with airfare is about $3000.

We did the WBPC cruise last year and it was amazing. It was worth the $4200 for 3 people in an oceanview room. It worked out to be $100 per person per day. That was not too bad for all the Disney magic. I am a corporate travel agent and I see what hotels and cruise lines are willing to discount for large groups, so it usually makes me ill to think of ever paying full retail for travel.

Edit to add: The specific reason I will not do personal travel is because I just cannot plan a trip for someone knowing that they are not getting the best deal/price...but commission is a percentage of the price, so if I get them the best deal...I make no money.

This is an apples to steak comparison. And you forgot to include the cost of the RV... Does your RV have unlimited food with waiters and chefs preparing all your meals? Or a kids club, shows, entertainment, etc.... Of course, whether one is a better use of money is completely subjective and both have valid arguments. But they are hardly comparable experiences...

 

[cgolf]

Just think of what that extra money would be in 20 years if you invested it. That's how I think about it.

The problem is if I did that I wouldn't take any vacations at all lol

 

[jahber]

This is an apples to steak comparison. And you forgot to include the cost of the RV... Does your RV have unlimited food with waiters and chefs preparing all your meals? Or a kids club, shows, entertainment, etc.... Of course, whether one is a better use of money is completely subjective and both have valid arguments. But they are hardly comparable experiences...

If those are the two vacations you are contemplating, then it's the only comparison you CAN make. And I think it's fine to compare two different style vacations in terms of how flexible an RV vacation can be vs. DCL. On DCL you pay for kids clubs, soda, the AquaDuck (or Dunk...or Mickey Slide), theaters, etc, whether you use them or not. And you pay a lot. So, obviously, this is someone who has cruised Disney frequently and who is not tempted by almost the exact same vacation AGAIN for the price of a one-month adventure. When I look at it that way, I kinda want to stow away on the trip...

 

[kaseyC]

Ditto, this is us to a T.
I didn't bother calling today but I watched the threads and it amazes me what the prices were coming out at.

Ps. I came here to see the opening day prices just for entertainment factor, too. its morbid curiosity. Ya just gotta look.

That's me too. I expected the rates to be high. We have one more DCL cruise planned, only because I have one more non-refundable concierge deposit. Once we sail that cruise next April, we will probably be done with DCL. For us it's not so much the pricing, we are concierge cruisers and IMO, the concierge experience, perks and service is much better on other lines.

 

[Jess_S]

If those are the two vacations you are contemplating, then it's the only comparison you CAN make. And I think it's fine to compare two different style vacations in terms of how flexible an RV vacation can be vs. DCL. On DCL you pay for kids clubs, soda, the AquaDuck (or Dunk...or Mickey Slide), theaters, etc, whether you use them or not. And you pay a lot. So, obviously, this is someone who has cruised Disney frequently and who is not tempted by almost the exact same vacation AGAIN for the price of a one-month adventure. When I look at it that way, I kinda want to stow away on the trip...

I agree with your vacation comparison methodology -- mostly because it enabled me to justify our 2017 cruise. I was considering 2 options for our vacation. When I priced the DCL itinerary I liked against staying at a Beaches resort (cheapest room available), DCL (ocean view) was $2000 cheaper for the week. I think what I learned is that the key to justifying your DCL vacation is to price it against something else that's ridiculously expensive so that you can come away feeling like you got a bargain.

 

[mrsp1030]

We compare vacations often and so after looking at the 5 night double dip cruise and comparing it to 5 nights at Beaches Turks and Caicos, we decided the cruise for our kids ages was worth it and actually cheaper!

 

[DnA2010]

I'm having an internal arguement about this pricing. Mine is twice the price of 2015 and I just don't know if its worth it. Have booked for now but really not sure I can justify it

Your Disney cruise is twice the price? I'm still getting over the fact that our DCL cruise was almost twice the price of our RCL cruise, but given the opportunity I'd rather take a longer vacation (ie another cruise line and a week at WDW) over paying double any day. No way I'd pay anywhere close to double, and we got a good VGT rate

 

[Ofinn]

Some of the people who are being "priced out" have a history of going for the higher-cost Disney options, then being disillusioned when the high-end becomes harder for them to afford. I saw one poster bitterly complain about being "priced out" of DCL a while back, but her posts a few years ago were all about cruising concierge. So what exactly was she priced out of? The cruise line itself, or an elite experience on the cruise line? I suspect it was the latter.

The same goes for DVC, which is very expensive to join, but many members clearly like the exclusive Disney-club feel it provides. That's fine, but you don't need any of that to enjoy WDW. Disney magic can still be had on a budget.

If I was used to sailing concierge I wouldn't want to give that up just to sail on DCL I would go to another cruiseline. Technically she was priced out from the way she likes to vacation. We used to go to WDW and stay at the deluxes. I find the prices too high so we don't go anymore. I have no interest in going to WDW and staying at a value or mod. I can understand why some people don't want to downgrade their vacation experience. Being cramped into a small inside room on a DCL ship is not for everyone.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We are officially priced out

Liberty of the Seas around the same time to the Caribbean is nearly $4k less. I just can't justify it.

 

[Ofinn]

There are some cruises that came down in price...the 7 day Med cruises. They are actually down quite a bit from 2016 especially the Sept cruises. They are actually not a bad price at least by DCL standards.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Exactly. People like to imply the DCL service is so much better than other lines. That's not my experience. I've sailed Royal and NCL. Everyone I came in contact with was fantastic. We thought the service was great. I actually find service on DCL sometimes a bit much to the point of feeling like they're trying too hard. It can come off patronizing. I've also had really terrible service on DCL before. It's not consistently the end-all be-all.

Other cruise lines do some things better, actually. I thought food quality on NCL Getaway last September was a little better while the selection and sheer number of options was off the chain. I loved it!

Cruise lines all have their pros and cons. Disney does the family entertainment and brand saturation well. If you have little kids it's definitely a good fit. I've sailed adults-only on Disney and had a great time but that was because of the company, not necessarily the ship. Sailed adult-only on NCL and honestly had an even better time.

Our boys are both aged-out of Disney's youth programs. They've done the character meets and all the Disney things. We have those memories. There's just nothing Disney offers them that can trump the more adventurous offerings on other lines. My TA friend sent me the heads-up about the new itinerary release in time to send her requests for opening morning but I didn't give booking any thought whatsoever. First, not really interested. Second, I don't sail in the summer. Third, I knew the interesting itineraries would be beyond obscene in price.

It's okay to move on. Other lines offer fantastic experiences, too.

Our first DCL experience will be on the Fantasy this year. I have been waiting for the Norwegian Fjords/Iceland to be released for 2017. Got my quote- almost $14k for me and my 6 year old. Not booking.

People absolutely rave about DCL and claim any other cruise line is a "step down/not as good quality/etc etc" I have been on RCCL before my son and loved it. I think Disney's new ships will probably have comparable amenities to the Oasis class..maybe even the Quantum, but I doubt it. As of right now, they don't offer half as much that would be interesting to a (then 7 year old) as Royal.
Although I know my son will love our Disney cruise, I think at his age next year, that a Quantum or Oasis would be great for him. But for a Europe cruise I was only considering Disney.

To those of you who have done both- is there really that much of a difference..as in terms of quality?

It's not a matter of 'not being able to be afford' something. It's taking a realistic look at what the price difference allows you to do- i.e. second vacation...2 week land/sea etc.

Here's how I'm looking at it-
I stayed at the Poly in a tpv for 8 nights at a ridic price..I felt the value was there bc of convenience and theme. I don't see the value in the prices released today. For the same money we can do 2 amazing vacations in 2017. With plenty of weekend/3 night trips in between.

Am I missing something? People are booking so apparently some people can justify it.

 

[mcd2745]

The magic of Disney really is hard to replace, especially at that age, but I agree the prices are just too much. We recently tried NCL with slightly older kids (6 and 7) and were pleasantly surprised, even though we missed the characters and great shows. However, I bet for the same amount of money or less you could get a quick trip to Disney World followed by a really great, non Disney cruise. It could be a good compromise.

That's exactly what we did last year. We originally had a 7-night on the Fantasy booked. For the same total cost as that Fantasy cruise alone, we instead did 6 nights at WDW - in a deluxe resort (Beach Club), no less - immediately followed by a 7-night on Freedom of the Seas (same itinerary as Fantasy cruise except for swapping private islands).

We're also in the camp of not necessarily priced out, but seriously questioning the value of DCL cruises versus other cruise lines.

 

[Hundredacre]

That's a great way to look at it. Or you could look what that extra money would get you. The money we saved by cruising NCL over DCL got us a week in Disney World.

It makes me sad to read some posts on here where people have to save for multiple years to take a Disney cruise. If you were to ask your kids if they'd rather have 1 week on a ship where you might see characters or 2 separate vacations without characters, I think you may find the kids will choose more vacation time. Our kiddo wasn't ever that into the characters but man does he love to travel! For us it's about being together as a family since we both work full time. It does make me sad that we'll probably never step foot on a Disney ship again. But I can't justify the cost anymore.

I think you are right that what kids want more than anything is to have a family vacation experience and I think you can do that camping or on a cruise line or whatever. I think that when parents say my kid wants Disney, I am doing it for the kids, etc, I think those parents are lying to themselves. I think they project things onto their kids. Your kids will ultimately get excited about anything you are excited about. Look at all the adults who cruise disney without kids!! I think dcl markets to adults more than anyone. But they are slick. They make you think it's for the kids.