Shocked and disappointed at DCL rate increase...

[Dodie]

Okay. Like so many others in the snowy northern half of the country, DH and I have "had it" with this winter.

As a "spur of the moment" thing, I checked rates through DU (WONDERFUL group - no complaints here - have used them MANY times) for a 3 night May Wonder cruise.

The cost was actually MORE THAN WE PAID FOR OUR 7-NIGHT APRIL EASTERN CRUISE LAST YEAR!!!!

I understand that I had a "Springtime Magic" rate last year and that I wasn't booking very far in advance, but, WOW! It was truly shocking.

Guess we won't be doing THAT...

 

[MFan]

Sorry to hear about the sticker shock... I booked our May trip last summer, and I'm still in a daze (final payment is due in 12 day)...

I guess this is a perfect example of a law of economics, price is determined by the intersection of the supply & demand curves. When demand is high and the supply limited, the price will be high...

It's especially frustrating when all other cruise lines are offering incredible deals in comparison. I'd guess the high prices are here to stay until Disney builds that 3rd ship...

 

[Hans Solo]

We made our reservation in January 2002 for our 7 night Eastern for April 2003. I just went to the DCL site and plugged in the same date and Cat level and came up with a price increase nearly $2000 higher! I realize that part of the price difference is due early booking savings but what a shock. I'm sure glad we booked as early as we could.

 

[sandee]

why don't you try another cruise line? I was on Royal Caribbean recently and except for DD getting ill I had a great time. Her illness had nothing to do with the ship. Granted, the room was small, but food was better then DCL and although I didn't have a child in their kids club, the kids we spoke with at dinner loved it. They had their own little booklet of activities left in their room each night and they loved the crafts they did. We were on for 5 nights and went to Cozumel, Key West and Casta Maya. Our room was something like $329 each. A lot of the activitues aboard ship were exactly the same as DCL and I even won $900 in their casino.
I love DCL - sailing again with Disney in 2 wks., but the prices being offer elsewhere are too good to pass up. Will be on RCCL again this summer for cruise to St. Thomas and St Martin for less then 1/2 $$ of DCL's price. What ever you decide have a great time.

 

[Dodie]

Originally posted by MFan
It's especially frustrating when all other cruise lines are offering incredible deals in comparison.

Yep. I checked out an RCCL 3-night Bahamas cruise and the price was less than half of that for the DCL cruise. My only problem is that, since our only cruise experience has been on the Disney Magic (last spring), I'm afraid we might be disappointed.

However, for the savings, I might be willing to be a little disappointed.

 

[Melrosgirl]

LOL we just experienced this yesterday. Booked a 4 day cruise on Wonder and it cost just $20 less than our 7 day cruise will cost in January 2004. We decided to just go for it anyway. (I'm looking at it this way: what a great deal we're getting in January, lol.)

4 days left!

 

[tecdavidt]

Disney isn't like the other lines. There will be no last minute booking discounts to fill the ship. The closer you book to the sail date the more you will pay. The farther out (early booking discount) you book you will receive the lowest rate. Also time of year dictates Disney's cruise rates. From reading this board, Sept. Oct. and Nov. offer good deals if you can go at that time of the year. But once again, book early, no deals for last minute bookings.

To give you an idea of other cruiselines last minute deals. We did a 3 day Carnival in their cat. 12 (the largest stateroom on the ship) with airfare, tips, port charges and taxes it came to just under $1800. Normal price for the same cruise $4000!!!(We fly from Des Moines so air fare is about 359 per person for either trip) They wanted to fill the ship. Disney doesn't have the problem of filling ships unless it is Sept., Oct., or Nov. Kathy

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

This thread made me curious so I just popped over to the DCL res site and plugged in our upcoming cruise. Price was up over $2000 from when we booked and that did not include transfers (couldn't find the option on the site) nor the slight upcharge for flying in the day before as it wasn't an option I could select on line. So I'm estimating we saved $2500 by booking early.

Can I use that as rationale to spend more onboard? LOL!

Deb

 

[padisneyfan]

Check All Seasons Travel Site, they have been running a promotion on Disney cruise line. www.allseastravel.com

I have used them twice and find them to be a very good TA.

You will find that their prices are better than anyone elses, due to the fact that they buy blocks of rooms at the low prices.

Nancy

 

[joyebean]

I was about to suggest All Seasons Travel too--they've still got great prices on May cruises. We booked a March 13 3-night Wonder cruise with them and so far I have only great things to say about them.

All Seasons Travel

Good luck!
Joye

 

[padisneyfan]

I get their email newsletter and in the most recent one they stated they had a 400% increase in bookings and they are the top producers, Nationally, for this great line!

I was very pleased with them.

Nancy

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Does anyone know how early is the "early booking rate"? Six months, a year?

 

[sandee]

Joyebean, I think it's great you're going on 3/13 Wonder with 3 generations. When you guys get off the ship on the 16th, I'll be in line with my mom, daughter and granddtr. to board ship for our trip - 4 generations. It'll be mom's 1st cruise and she is sooo excited - she's like a little kid. The 3 of us are excited about seeing our favorite Disney ship with a 1st timer. Hope you have a great time and make lots of wonderful memories.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

It seems to depend somewhat on the cruise, time of year, etc. I know we booked about 11 months out and at that time the ship was over 70% full. As I posted earlier when I saw this thread I checked out of curiousity and it didn't tell me the date was full but the price had increased substantially.

Deb

 

[Melrosgirl]

All Seasons does have good prices, but my TA can even beat those. (I check - especially on this last minute deal. Sure enough, she beat all the well known cruise sites.)

Last minute with Disney though is expensive - no way around that!

www.kimskruises.com

 

[joyebean]

Wow Sandee! That is so cool! Three generations is all we can scrape together at the moment...LOL! My mom is really excited too...I'm so happy to be able to share her first cruise.

Have a great time!

Joye

 

[WHITEHC]

I could not believe the price increase as well. I thought I was going to have to change my week in May to a different week due to the school system changing End Of Grade testing to the week we are scheduled to be gone. So, last week I had my TA check prices for March, April, May and June and found that I would have to pay between $1,000 - $2,000 more if I switched weeks. She also said port fees have increased.
I planned our trip around end of grade tests, but we have missed sooo many days due to bad weather that the schedule has changed. Good news is the principal worked it out where my son can be tested privately when school lets out for the summer. I was terrified there for awhile because one teacher told me I would have to go before the Board of Education to have him excused. The principal said to go and have a great time and that is exactly what I plan on doing!!!

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Usually in those situations school district personnel are pretty understanding about plans made well in advance and how unusual situations such as this can mess with them.

Glad it is working out for you.

Deb

 

[bill kellum]

I'vebeen on the wonder four times and hope to once again sail on her,but my last cruise was on royal caribbean's voyager of the seas because of disney's rate increase.why cruise for four days when you can cruise for seven at similar prices.and the voyager is as nice with more activities.