Princess Tea Party over $250! Is it worth it?

[Sunshinenva]

I noticed the tea party was filled before I even had a chance to register but then noticed the cost for my daughter and I was over $250...pending there are available tickets once on board, is it worth it?

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

My honest opinion is no, but others may think it is. It is more expensive for children because I think they get a doll, but don't quote me on that.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My honest opinion is no, but others may think it is. It is more expensive for children because I think they get a doll, but don't quote me on that.

I agree with this. I'd never do it, even if I had kids in the "correct" age group. But there are others who think it's the greatest thing that DCL's done.

 

[Cwusinbunny]

I truly can't imagine how - sometimes I think these things are more the parents then the kids...but folks spend their money anyway they like..I save for years to go on a disney cruise doing online surveys and product testings...I would prefer just being on the aquaduck with the kids ....

 

[Laundress]

I couldn't find it in my heart to validate the expense. Our DN will be 3 and we thought that was to young to appreciate the experience.
My DD is now 15 but as a 5 or 6 year old she would have throughly enjoyed it. I probably would have sprung for it.

 

[Trera]

Has someone done it yet and can describe the entire experience including what the children receive?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Has someone done it yet and can describe the entire experience including what the children receive?

This is a bit old, but I believe it's still fairly accurate:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/royal-high-tea-on-the-fantasy.3133836/

 

[Trera]

This is a bit old, but I believe it's still fairly accurate:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/royal-high-tea-on-the-fantasy.3133836/

Thank you

 

[mktt]

I think that if you're asking if it is worth it then it's not worth it for you.
If you read about it and think omg my daughter will love this then it's a great deal.
We were in the latter category and feel like it was money well spent (once). We're not planning on doing it next time.

 

[MaizeRage25]

We did it on the Fantasy a few years ago and I would say it is absolutely NOT worth it.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

We did it on the Fantasy a few years ago and I would say it is absolutely NOT worth it.

Would you mind sharing some of the reasons why? Thank you!

 

[rwhistler92]

It was worth it for us. It happened to fall on DD 7th Birthday. She loved every moment and felt extra special.
It was a joy to watch her light up with every princess.
We wouldn't do it again, but we are glad we were able to do it once.

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

My son (5 years old) did not do it on the Fantasy but we did do it on the Dream a few weeks ago. While I did think it was cute and a good "one time" experience, I would not do it again.

Here is a brief description of the tea party. Bare with me because I am really bad a describing things.

First, each little prince or princess is announced by Lady Chamomile - Prince or Princess "so & so" of the Disney Dream. Lady Chamomile is the lady holding the tea. Then each little princess is crowned with a tiara and each prince gets knighted and handed a sword.

You are then escorted to your table that is set up with all the tea trimmings. All of the girls had a Cinderella doll waiting for them in their chairs and a jewelry box with a bracelet sitting on their plates and autograph books and pens sitting next to them. The boys had a shield in their chairs, a Duffy Bear dressed like a sea captain with a bag to carry him in, and an autograph book with pen.

Lady Chamomile and Chef Brule sing and do a little skits and announce a special princess guest. After each princess was announced that princess would walk around to each table and greet the children. They would sign the autograph books and take pictures with the kids. Footmen would pass out special gifts to each of the children that the princesses would bring them. The girls got a charm for her bracelet and the boys got a trading pin. The princess that were there were Belle, Snow White, & Cinderella. At the end of the tea party every child got a picture with all three princess together and before the cruise was over it was delivered to your stateroom in a frame. There was a lot of interaction with each princess.

Lady Chamomile and Chef Brule were hilarious and even the adults were laughing.

I hope all of this made sense!

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

Wow, my punctuation and grammar were really bad in that post.

 

[o&smom]

I noticed the tea party was filled before I even had a chance to register but then noticed the cost for my daughter and I was over $250...pending there are available tickets once on board, is it worth it?

Which cruise are you on? You can keep checking prior to your cruise. Sometimes people cancel before sailing. Also check with Guest Services once on the ship and if it is still full ask to be put on a waitlist.

I did it on the Fantasy a couple of years ago with my DD 4. We thought this was a one time experience as it is quite expensive, but we are doing it one more time on our upcoming cruise on the Wonder. She still brings it up and talks about it quite often, so it made quite the impression on her. I am pretty sure that this WILL be the last time. She will be just a couple of weeks shy of turning 7 when we go.

 

[Sunshinenva]

Thank you everyone for the great feedback! You have been very helpful.

 

[rwhistler92]

My son (5 years old) did not do it on the Fantasy but we did do it on the Dream a few weeks ago. While I did think it was cute and a good "one time" experience, I would not do it again.

Here is a brief description of the tea party. Bare with me because I am really bad a describing things.

First, each little prince or princess is announced by Lady Chamomile - Prince or Princess "so & so" of the Disney Dream. Lady Chamomile is the lady holding the tea. Then each little princess is crowned with a tiara and each prince gets knighted and handed a sword.

You are then escorted to your table that is set up with all the tea trimmings. All of the girls had a Cinderella doll waiting for them in their chairs and a jewelry box with a bracelet sitting on their plates and autograph books and pens sitting next to them. The boys had a shield in their chairs, a Duffy Bear dressed like a sea captain with a bag to carry him in, and an autograph book with pen.

Lady Chamomile and Chef Brule sing and do a little skits and announce a special princess guest. After each princess was announced that princess would walk around to each table and greet the children. They would sign the autograph books and take pictures with the kids. Footmen would pass out special gifts to each of the children that the princesses would bring them. The girls got a charm for her bracelet and the boys got a trading pin. The princess that were there were Belle, Snow White, & Cinderella. At the end of the tea party every child got a picture with all three princess together and before the cruise was over it was delivered to your stateroom in a frame. There was a lot of interaction with each princess.

Lady Chamomile and Chef Brule were hilarious and even the adults were laughing.

I hope all of this made sense!

Yep, this sounds just like our experience on the Wonder (Christmas 2016)
Our princesses were Cinderella, Belle and Ariel
Each child got to select which character they wanted on their special cupcake before hand.
We went to the gift shop and bought more charms for the bracelet and necklace later that day.

 

[tlprice]

We did it on the Fantasy 11/16. My daughter was 9. I wasn't sure at her age it would be something she'd want to do, but I thought I'd ask her since soon she will be too old to do it. She LOVED it and would like to do it again. Our princesses were Belle, Cinderella, and Tiana. If you have the extra money and think your child would enjoy it then I say it is worth it. If you don't have the extra money, I wouldn't even mention it to my child and they will never know what they are missing. There are so many other things to do on the ship that they certainly won't be disappointed. There are so few people at the tea party, it's not like your child will see a huge group of people doing this and wonder what it is and why they aren't doing it.

 

[timrousbeastie]

If you have any doubt about the cost, I wouldn't do it. On the other hand, I justify the cost of my own Disney cruises as an investment in my family. I would not continue to pay for them unless I felt the memories, we brought home, were very special. Each family is different, but we plan our trips to strike a balance between pure relaxation and special events that everyone will remember, especially if they also are great photo ops. Fortunately, a lot of those opportunities are included in the price of the cruise, especially if you make the effort to get tickets for those that are in high demand. However, we like to splurge on, for example, a Remy dinner, port adventures, a nice restaurant in WDW pre- or post-cruise, or just other nice "special" things that work well for our family. We all have a budget for that kind of stuff and it is impossible to say if one particular event is worth the cost for someone else, but the tea party sure does sound like an amazing opportunity to take home both lifelong memories and wonderful photos. My best advice would be to try to prioritize it against other services, you have to pay for, and come up with an overall plan for the cruise that you are happy with.

To me, it would be a mistake to exclude an event that you think would be particularly special to your family and that you could very comfortably afford, whatever the price might be, assuming that you don't pack your cruise so full of events that there is not enough down time just to be together and relax.

 

[mevelandry]

The value of an experience is so personal and different for everybody.

For a long time I thought a cabana was not worth the money spent. After two cruises, I realized that we spent only half a day at CC because the sun was too rough (we have sensitive skin) And then my FIL and MIL are coming with us on our next trip... Suddenly, the cabana sounds like a great value. I decided to book when I have found one that was available.

So, about Tea Time... If you can afford it and you think your daughter will appreciate it, why not?