Priced out

[phinz]

what are we getting for the other 15%?

Disney Shanghai.

 

[RedSox68]

Disney Shanghai.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I don't think we will be able to afford a Disney cruise during July-August, over Christmas or March break. However.. if you can cruise during "off times" when school is generally in session DCL isn't too bad. For example, we booked a 7night on the Fantasy this October and the price for verandah was $150 more than verandah stateroom on the Allure (or Oasis can't remember) of the Seas with a similar itinerary. For that difference I feel like I want to sail with DCL at least while kids are under 10. I feel like this will be one of our last Disney cruises though as we want to start cruising in the summer or during holidays. We will be priced out then for sure!

 

[RedSox68]

I don't think we will be able to afford a Disney cruise during July-August, over Christmas or March break. However.. if you can cruise during "off times" when school is generally in session DCL isn't too bad. For example, we booked a 7night on the Fantasy this October and the price for verandah was $150 more than verandah stateroom on the Allure (or Oasis can't remember) of the Seas with a similar itinerary. For that difference I feel like I want to sail with DCL at least while kids are under 10. I feel like this will be one of our last Disney cruises though as we want to start cruising in the summer or during holidays. We will be priced out then for sure!

That is a good deal. Congrats. We used to take our daughter out of school in October and November for trips to WDW and cruises because of the better prices.

 

[cgolf]

I don't think we will be able to afford a Disney cruise during July-August, over Christmas or March break. However.. if you can cruise during "off times" when school is generally in session DCL isn't too bad. For example, we booked a 7night on the Fantasy this October and the price for verandah was $150 more than verandah stateroom on the Allure (or Oasis can't remember) of the Seas with a similar itinerary. For that difference I feel like I want to sail with DCL at least while kids are under 10. I feel like this will be one of our last Disney cruises though as we want to start cruising in the summer or during holidays. We will be priced out then for sure!

We also booked a Freedom of the Seas off season and to get on the Fantasy in an inside room was more than double the inside price on the Freedom. We could have gotten it closer on one of the classics but would have still been paying more. This for us was an opportunity to finally try a new line and use our DCL placeholder in 2018, that is unless the prices go even higher. This way in the future we will have 2 lines to compare and contrast, it will be interesting to see what color the grass is on another line

 

[NTOFD]

In 2009 we sailed a 7 night for $799 each (person 1 and 2) on the Magic with a special stop at Tortola. Those were the days!

We did a B2B in 2009 with a special stop at St Croix, one was $799 per person oceanview, the other $839. At the end of each cruise we got a voucher offering a 3 day cruise for $99 each....those were the days!

 

[tinkerone]

I don't think we will be able to afford a Disney cruise during July-August, over Christmas or March break. However.. if you can cruise during "off times" when school is generally in session DCL isn't too bad. For example, we booked a 7night on the Fantasy this October and the price for verandah was $150 more than verandah stateroom on the Allure (or Oasis can't remember) of the Seas with a similar itinerary. For that difference I feel like I want to sail with DCL at least while kids are under 10. I feel like this will be one of our last Disney cruises though as we want to start cruising in the summer or during holidays. We will be priced out then for sure!

That's interesting as we almost always cruise in October and I had priced out the Fantasy and the Oasis for this October. The difference in cabins (veranda) was just over $2000. We are doing November instead and the difference is just under $2000.
I have not seen a difference for $150, if I did we would be sailing DCL for sure. As it is, I'm glad the difference is not $150, it made the decision to cruise another line so much easier.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

That's interesting as we almost always cruise in October and I had priced out the Fantasy and the Oasis for this October. The difference in cabins (veranda) was just over $2000. We are doing November instead and the difference is just under $2000.
I have not seen a difference for $150, if I did we would be sailing DCL for sure. As it is, I'm glad the difference is not $150, it made the decision to cruise another line so much easier.

The difference was about $150 in Canadian dollars when I compared the 2. I took the price of the Disney cruise (in Cad. $) and compared it to Allure of the Seas, also in Cad $. Also - I should have mentioned this and I'm sorry.. the rate on the Fantasy is a VGT therefore a last minute restricted fare and with the Oasis we had a choice of balcony staterooms still. This was just booked recently.
I'm assuming that if we tried to price this cruise out when they first came out, Fantasy would be around $2000 more for a comparable cabin. Right now the cheapest verandah on the Fantasy is $1500 more than our VGT rate. The VGT rate we got is really good for Disney. I think it's probably less than opening day price.
What I was trying to say that if you can cruise off season, and you are ok with a GT type of rate - Disney will not be much more than what I consider to be their competition. For me Disney Fantasy would maybe compete with Oasis class ships . When we priced out Freedom of the Seas or other ships including Norwegian, those were much cheaper than Disney Fantasy. But we wanted to either cruise on the Fantasy or Oasis class ships with Royal.
Like I said though, I'm pretty sure that we will be trying Royal next regardless. Especially since we are considering a Med cruise during the summer, etc.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The difference was about $150 in Canadian dollars when I compared the 2. I took the price of the Disney cruise (in Cad. $) and compared it to Allure of the Seas, also in Cad $. Also - I should have mentioned this and I'm sorry.. the rate on the Fantasy is a VGT therefore a last minute restricted fare and with the Oasis we had a choice of balcony staterooms still. This was just booked recently.
I'm assuming that if we tried to price this cruise out when they first came out, Fantasy would be around $2000 more for a comparable cabin. Right now the cheapest verandah on the Fantasy is $1500 more than our VGT rate. The VGT rate we got is really good for Disney. I think it's probably less than opening day price.
What I was trying to say that if you can cruise off season, and you are ok with a GT type of rate - Disney will not be much more than what I consider to be their competition. For me Disney Fantasy would maybe compete with Oasis class ships . When we priced out Freedom of the Seas or other ships including Norwegian, those were much cheaper than Disney Fantasy. But we wanted to either cruise on the Fantasy or Oasis class ships with Royal.
Like I said though, I'm pretty sure that we will be trying Royal next regardless. Especially since we are considering a Med cruise during the summer, etc.

I'm sorry everyone I lied.. I just realized we intially looked at IGT on the fantasy v. Superior balcony view on the allure. That was $150 difference. Sorry husband just reminded me
It was probably a $600 usd difference because we booked VGT not IGT. Sorry.
I still feel like we got a great deal, but yes allure is cheaper for sure.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'm sorry everyone I lied.. I just realized we intially looked at IGT on the fantasy v. Superior balcony view on the allure. That was $150 difference. Sorry husband just reminded me
It was probably a $600 usd difference because we booked VGT not IGT. Sorry.
I still feel like we got a great deal, but yes allure is cheaper for sure.

I would still do it at the $600 difference. I wish I was able to find these deals. We are booked on Liberty of the Seas for October 2017, western Caribbean, total cost for 4 of us in 2 Promenade view rooms, including insurance and gratuity is $3200. The same week on the Fantasy for 2 standard insides, which are actually smaller square feet, is $7054. I just can't justify that kind of difference, especially with teenagers.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I would still do it at the $600 difference. I wish I was able to find these deals. We are booked on Liberty of the Seas for October 2017, western Caribbean, total cost for 4 of us in 2 Promenade view rooms, including insurance and gratuity is $3200. The same week on the Fantasy for 2 standard insides, which are actually smaller square feet, is $7054. I just can't justify that kind of difference, especially with teenagers.

For sure, I couldn't justify it either. Especially when you need 2 rooms. I'm finding that DCL is still somewhat acceptable in price to us while we are still a family of 3... If we were a bigger family it I'm not sure that we would be sailing with them every year.
You can find these deals but you have to be willing to book your cruise about 2 months out. And of course it's not guaranteed that GT rates will come out for any given sailing.

 

[Ofinn]

For sure, I couldn't justify it either. Especially when you need 2 rooms. I'm finding that DCL is still somewhat acceptable in price to us while we are still a family of 3... If we were a bigger family it I'm not sure that we would be sailing with them every year.
You can find these deals but you have to be willing to book your cruise about 2 months out. And of course it's not guaranteed that GT rates will come out for any given sailing.

This is how we have booked all of our cruises. About half were interline rates and half were GT. Interline rates are always great, but I got some really really good GT rates. You have to really flexible and be able to sail whenever you get that magical price. I have never been limited to a certain week. I think I could still get the occasional good deal on DCL, but the itinerary's are getting stale.

 

[jahber]

Disney Shanghai.

#thanksShanghai

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

This is how we have booked all of our cruises. About half were interline rates and half were GT. Interline rates are always great, but I got some really really good GT rates. You have to really flexible and be able to sail whenever you get that magical price. I have never been limited to a certain week. I think I could still get the occasional good deal on DCL, but the itinerary's are getting stale.

Totally agree. This will be DCL # 4 for us and while we still want to try the Wonder and we love Disney - I feel like we can only do so much of the same itineraries. It will be interesting to see what the new ships will bring - but we want to try Royal Caribbean in the near future.

 

[Hundredacre]

I wasn't going to reply as this is off topic but since a couple of posters raised it and it got my goat despite me trying hard not to rise to it - yes Europeans do travel with kids but I guess not in your narrow definition. I would say beaches, camping, boating and holiday parks are more popular than city breaks, although I have done the latter once with my daughter and the hotels in Germany were great quality. My kids are 9 & 5 and have been to 6 European countries plus Egypt. I wouldn't say we were particularly unusual, maybe not so many countries but going on a foreign holiday is within most holiday budgets these days (in fact sometimes its cheaper than staying in the UK especially if you book late).

There are some good European chains that deliver what I think you are looking for on a reasonable budget but you have to do your research as you probably won't have heard of them, and at peak times will get booked way in advance, particularly family rooms. Also there is more of a focus on boutique and independent hotels which again take a little more research. Junior suites are often better value than two interconnecting rooms if your children are under 10 and can share a sofa bed. It can be done in reasonable style/comfort and not just by the "elite".

In terms of the original thread topic - we went on DCL for the first time this year and it was roughly £1.5k more than our holiday 2 years ago to a nice all inclusive resort on a Greek island (alcohol included). This is still worth it for me and that is my benchmark because these are the alternative holidays I would take, and DCL offers so much more than those types of holidays. It may be more expensive than other cruise lines but that isn't why I booked a DL cruise. I booked it because it was Disney and I knew my children would have a fantastic experience. I saw it as a once in a lifetime rather than a regular occurrence, although we have booked for next year because we like the itinerary but I think it will be us done after that.

i too was joking when I said that Europeans do not have kids, but the statistics are quite clear that most European countries are not replacing themselves. It is not off topic because it does affect travelling conditions. One of the reasons why Disneyland Paris was such a fail for Disney is because they assumed that European families travel like American families. Disney found out quickly that overall they do not. European families just do not budget for travel like American families. As you said they do not travel in the same way. The book Disney War touches on this topic. If you are from England, I agree it is the one country in Europe that spends most like the US.

 

[jahber]

i too was joking when I said that Europeans do not have kids, but the statistics are quite clear that most European countries are not replacing themselves. It is not off topic because it does affect travelling conditions. One of the reasons why Disneyland Paris was such a fail for Disney is because they assumed that European families travel like American families. Disney found out quickly that overall they do not. European families just do not budget for travel like American families. As you said they do not travel in the same way. The book Disney War touches on this topic. If you are from England, I agree it is the one country in Europe that spends most like the US.

So true. My family actually visited EuroDisney in the 90s when we visited Paris from the US. My sister and I insisted, even though we were from Orlando. If nothing else, it speaks to the difference between holidays in the US and in Europe. As I've traveled Europe, I've seen very few amusement parks of any kind. In America, most states have a big one and/or a water park or two (or more). It's not a thing in Europe like it is here.
But interestingly, EuroDisney is the only theme park my family has ever visited on vacation. Ever. And that was only because we were dumb American kids in Europe who had never been exposed to the concept of museums and history as a vacation. We would never dream of a whole vacation at a theme park (we live in Orlando. Been there, done that)--we prefer visiting historical landmarks...and cruises!
That said, when we visited France when I was young, we house-swapped with family friends. Hotels that would fit us all in the heart of Paris were...expensive. We ended up paying for the water bill for the apartment that month, though. We Americans do like our showers. EVERY day!