Why do disney cruises cost more than other cruise lines?

[krispykreme97]

I thought one reason to pay more for DCL is for the entertainment experience for families with children, especially for younger children. I understand that other cruiselines may do better with older children (rock wall, wave pool, etc) but I chose DCL primarily for my 4 year old son in the hopes that he would have a better time on DCL than on other lines. I'm talking about outside of the kids clubs. As an adult I would have a great time probably on most cruiselines but I thought overall we'd have a better experience as a family (family activities, etc) on DCL which to me is worth the higher price. Do people disagree? Are other lines just as good in providing a great family experience but for less money?

It's comparable but I'm sure your son will love seeing Mickey more than Carnival's funship freddy but to each it's on. You'll never know until you experienced the others and if Disney is your first to set the bar it will be very hard for anyone to top it.

 

[justmestace]

I thought one reason to pay more for DCL is for the entertainment experience for families with children, especially for younger children. I understand that other cruiselines may do better with older children (rock wall, wave pool, etc) but I chose DCL primarily for my 4 year old son in the hopes that he would have a better time on DCL than on other lines. I'm talking about outside of the kids clubs. As an adult I would have a great time probably on most cruiselines but I thought overall we'd have a better experience as a family (family activities, etc) on DCL which to me is worth the higher price. Do people disagree? Are other lines just as good in providing a great family experience but for less money?

This is true in most cases, DCL does have great shows for the kids...but we found when my kids were younger that they didn't stay awake for the shows.
If you have the early dinner, by the time the shows start, most 3, 4, 5 & 6 year olds should/would be in bed. Especially when they get up so early in the mornings. My son fell asleep at dinner, after a busy day of excursions and activities.

 

[KingRichard]

I hated the food in the main dining rooms on the Dream...just sayin'.


December 2012, Christmas cruise for a family of four, going to the Caribbean for one week....comparable size staterooms:
Allure.....$7400
Fantasy..$9400

So it isn't just $1200 difference...it's $2000!!

Wow a Disney cruise on Christmas is going to cost more? Who would have ever thought that would happen?

Feb. vacation 2013 Fantasy huge aft veranda room. $3700.

Allure, Reg veranda room(best they have that compares) $4300.

Notice I'm on the fantasy. That is without any extra discounts!

 

[ldo]

My kids have always loved RCCL kids club--stayed in it until we "forced" them to have family time--they even preferred RCCL kids club at 9 years old (on a Baltic cruise) to the DCL Dream kids club. However, the entertainment on DCL is far superior, IMHO. Also, this only happened 1X, but on a Easter cruise full of kids, there was a "pre-show" graphic Madonna video that was totally inappropriate for kids--I was shocked that they had shown that prior to the 8pm Gala show! What were they thinking?

 

[KingRichard]

2012 Christmas cruise.

Fantasy.

Size:
246 sq. ft. including verandah

2A 1c $5,716.00

Allure.

(182 sq. ft., balcony 47.7 sq. ft.)

$5,710.54

$6 more to take Disney!!

 

[flash828]

What it really comes down to is what has already been said.

DISNEY CAN CHARGE MORE BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL PAY IT.

People have honestly been brainwashed that they will have a better experience with anything Disney...so they'll pay. Heaven help anyone who tries to post a negative trip report on a Disney discussion board!!

 

[threewilmingtonwalls]

I wondered the same thing when I was planning our first Disney cruise. This is more of a question for the veteran cruisers and posters...I thought I read somewhere (Passporter, maybe?) that the Disney ships have the highest square foot to passenger ratio of any large cruise line. Is this true? I don't know the math, but for us that was a huge selling point. We were on a sold out sailing of the Magic last January and the ship hardly ever felt crowded, unlike our previous experience on a different line where we just felt like herded cattle the entire time.

 

[peachygreen]

So I was intrigued and thought I might do a little comparing to our currently booked cruise on the Fantasy for 2013

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Disney Fantasy Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (St. Thomas, San Juan, Castaway Cay and 3 sea days) booked with no OBB credit Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids. $4278.88

March 10, 2013 - March 14, 2013 RCCL Allure Western Carribean from Ft Lauderdale (Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico, and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom 2 Adults and 2 kids $5835.88

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Carnival Dream Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (Nassau - St. Thomas, St. Marting and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids $3977.96

Disney suddenly doesn't seem that expensive when I make this comparison.

 

[IrenicMom]

Feb. vacation 2013 Fantasy huge aft veranda room. $3700.

Allure, Reg veranda room(best they have that compares) $4300.

Notice I'm on the fantasy. That is without any extra discounts!

2012 Christmas cruise.

Fantasy.

Size:
246 sq. ft. including verandah

2A 1c $5,716.00

Allure.

(182 sq. ft., balcony 47.7 sq. ft.)

$5,710.54

$6 more to take Disney!!

So I was intrigued and thought I might do a little comparing to our currently booked cruise on the Fantasy for 2013

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Disney Fantasy Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (St. Thomas, San Juan, Castaway Cay and 3 sea days) booked with no OBB credit Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids. $4278.88

March 10, 2013 - March 14, 2013 RCCL Allure Western Carribean from Ft Lauderdale (Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico, and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom 2 Adults and 2 kids $5835.88

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Carnival Dream Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (Nassau - St. Thomas, St. Marting and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids $3977.96

Disney suddenly doesn't seem that expensive when I make this comparison.

Just wanted to thank you two for doing the legwork on this. There are some posters on this thread (NOT the OP, but a few follow ups) that just seem to want to trash DCL, and can't seem to grasp the concept of differing opinions.

So now, maybe with some cold hard facts, they'll chill a little bit.

There are expensive times to cruise DCL, and there are some less expensive times to do so.

Yet again, I find myself wondering why it is people feel so compelled to argue about how an individual chooses to spend his or her own money. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, folks.

(And to those who really truly despise DCL as much as you say you do? Maybe Cruise Critic or other general cruising boards might be a better fit for you. This is a Disney based board, and as such, tends to be a tad overpopulated with Disney-philes. So yes, you're going to meet some resistance to the bad mouthing. It's one thing to say "we did it once, didn't see the value, and won't be going back", and the continual negativity, and the claims that people who DO enjoy it are "brainwashed".)

 

[padawans]

So I was intrigued and thought I might do a little comparing to our currently booked cruise on the Fantasy for 2013

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Disney Fantasy Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (St. Thomas, San Juan, Castaway Cay and 3 sea days) booked with no OBB credit Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids. $4278.88

March 10, 2013 - March 14, 2013 RCCL Allure Western Carribean from Ft Lauderdale (Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico, and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom 2 Adults and 2 kids $5835.88

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Carnival Dream Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (Nassau - St. Thomas, St. Marting and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids $3977.96

Disney suddenly doesn't seem that expensive when I make this comparison.

The cheapest verandah room now is a a 5a at around 5000. Disney gives you good prices if you book 2 years out, but is that realistic for most people. My dh just got his vacations dates for 2012. He has 2 weeks off in May, but the cost of the fantasy is over 6,300 for a verandah room a thousand less in October. There is no way I could book for 2013 to get a good price. I have no ideal what weeks he will get off.

 

[NancyIL]

So I was intrigued and thought I might do a little comparing to our currently booked cruise on the Fantasy for 2013

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Disney Fantasy Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (St. Thomas, San Juan, Castaway Cay and 3 sea days) booked with no OBB credit Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids. $4278.88

March 10, 2013 - March 14, 2013 RCCL Allure Western Carribean from Ft Lauderdale (Labadee Haiti, Falmouth Jamaica, Cozumel Mexico, and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom 2 Adults and 2 kids $5835.88

March 9, 2013 - March 13, 2013 Carnival Dream Eastern Carribean from Port Canaveral (Nassau - St. Thomas, St. Marting and 3 sea days) Oceanview Balcony Stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 kids $3977.96

Disney suddenly doesn't seem that expensive when I make this comparison.

Thanks for giving us some prices, but these are 7-night cruises and not 4-night. In other words - you need to edit the dates!

For what it's worth - I consider the Disney Fantasy and the Carnival Dream to be comparable cruises that depart from the same port. The Allure departs from Ft. Lauderdale, is a western Caribbean cruise, and there are less expensive balcony cabins than the superior oceanview you quoted.

**I don't know where you got your price for the Allure of the Seas cruise, but the price of the superior oceanview cabin (cat. D1) on Allure of the Seas for March 10-17, 2013 is $4855.88 for 2 adults/2children.

***One more! The March 9-16, 2013 Disney Fantasy cruise in the least expensive balcony cabin available (5A) for 2 adults and 2 children (I used ages 7 and 8) is $4891.88.

****The $5855.88 price you quoted for Allure of the Seas is for a family oceanview stateroom with balcony @ 372.4 total sq. ft. - including the 81.8 sq. ft. balcony! The Cat. 5A on DCL has 246 sq. ft. including the balcony. It helps to specify the category you are quoting.

 

[luv2sleep]

The cheapest verandah room now is a a 5a at around 5000. Disney gives you good prices if you book 2 years out, but is that realistic for most people. My dh just got his vacations dates for 2012. He has 2 weeks off in May, but the cost of the fantasy is over 6,300 for a verandah room a thousand less in October. There is no way I could book for 2013 to get a good price. I have no ideal what weeks he will get off.

Definitely harder to plan when you are not given the dates way ahead or cannot choose the dates you want to vacation on. At my job I can choose when I want to go ahead of time and as long as I am the first person to choose my dates when the vacation scheduling window opens (6 mos prior to travel), I can get those dates off. So, for me, booking way ahead should be ok.

So, how do other comparable cruiselines compare for the times you are able to go? Much cheaper?

 

[KingRichard]

The cheapest verandah room now is a a 5a at around 5000. Disney gives you good prices if you book 2 years out, but is that realistic for most people. My dh just got his vacations dates for 2012. He has 2 weeks off in May, but the cost of the fantasy is over 6,300 for a verandah room a thousand less in October. There is no way I could book for 2013 to get a good price. I have no ideal what weeks he will get off.

Sure you could?

Just put a 20% deposit on every week in May and then cancel all that are not needed and the cruise is paid for.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Just wanted to thank you two for doing the legwork on this. There are some posters on this thread (NOT the OP, but a few follow ups) that just seem to want to trash DCL, and can't seem to grasp the concept of differing opinions.

So now, maybe with some cold hard facts, they'll chill a little bit.

There are expensive times to cruise DCL, and there are some less expensive times to do so.

Yet again, I find myself wondering why it is people feel so compelled to argue about how an individual chooses to spend his or her own money. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, folks.

(And to those who really truly despise DCL as much as you say you do? Maybe Cruise Critic or other general cruising boards might be a better fit for you. This is a Disney based board, and as such, tends to be a tad overpopulated with Disney-philes. So yes, you're going to meet some resistance to the bad mouthing. It's one thing to say "we did it once, didn't see the value, and won't be going back", and the continual negativity, and the claims that people who DO enjoy it are "brainwashed".)

I find this uncalled for.

The OP asked for opinions about other cruise lines - that includes good and bad about both DCL and other lines. Sorry that my experiences with DCL (October 30th to November 3rd) weren't all sunshine and roses.

Based on the numbers I've run - even with a 10% onboard discount AND $400 OBC, Carnival and Celebrity come out to HALF of what I'm paying for DCL next October.

And I've had great service on other cruise lines (better than DCL), great cabins, great bedding, great adult only areas and great all ages activities and a great teen club.

DCL was good but I can't honestly say it was better than cruises which cost me half the price.

I may keep my October 2013 DCL cruise to give the Fantasy a try but between then and now, I will be sailing on other lines that give a better value and a great product.

 

[padawans]

Just wanted to thank you two for doing the legwork on this. There are some posters on this thread (NOT the OP, but a few follow ups) that just seem to want to trash DCL, and can't seem to grasp the concept of differing opinions.

So now, maybe with some cold hard facts, they'll chill a little bit.

There are expensive times to cruise DCL, and there are some less expensive times to do so.

Yet again, I find myself wondering why it is people feel so compelled to argue about how an individual chooses to spend his or her own money. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, folks.

(And to those who really truly despise DCL as much as you say you do? Maybe Cruise Critic or other general cruising boards might be a better fit for you. This is a Disney based board, and as such, tends to be a tad overpopulated with Disney-philes. So yes, you're going to meet some resistance to the bad mouthing. It's one thing to say "we did it once, didn't see the value, and won't be going back", and the continual negativity, and the claims that people who DO enjoy it are "brainwashed".)

I don't think people are trying to trash Dcl. People just get overly defensive about disney whether its the cruise line or the resorts. I have never understood this. If people don't like disney or have a bad experience why do you get offended? This is suppossed to be a place for people to give their opinions, and write reviews good and bad. People get jumped on if they say anything remotely negative about disney. I like disney, but I have always felt they are overpriced. I manage to always get a good discount on their resorts so I can justify it. I booked the Dream in Feb 2011 for Oct 2011 I paid 2700 for a cat 4a. The price in Oct 2012 is almost 1,000 more. I don't think I can justify paying that much for a 4 day cruise anymore. I give the cruise 10/10 for 2700 but it would only get a 6/10 if I had paid 3700. I think they really need to improve the food to get away with charging that much. The pool area is also way to small. If I want to go in Oct 2013 I can get a really great price, but how the heck am I suppossed to know what I am doing 2 years from now. I have been researching cruises for 2 days now. I can tell you for May or October 2012 Disney is way more expensive.

 

[padawans]

Sure you could?

Just put a 20% deposit on every week in May and then cancel all that are not needed and the cruise is paid for.

Seriously. I would have to put down about 4000 dollars for a vacation 18 months out. Who in there right mind would do something like that. I need to pay for my 2012 vacations first. I guess I am just not a person with unlimited funds like some people.

 

[Niebz]

Just wanted to thank you two for doing the legwork on this. There are some posters on this thread (NOT the OP, but a few follow ups) that just seem to want to trash DCL, and can't seem to grasp the concept of differing opinions.

So now, maybe with some cold hard facts, they'll chill a little bit.

There are expensive times to cruise DCL, and there are some less expensive times to do so.

Yet again, I find myself wondering why it is people feel so compelled to argue about how an individual chooses to spend his or her own money. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, folks.

(And to those who really truly despise DCL as much as you say you do? Maybe Cruise Critic or other general cruising boards might be a better fit for you. This is a Disney based board, and as such, tends to be a tad overpopulated with Disney-philes. So yes, you're going to meet some resistance to the bad mouthing. It's one thing to say "we did it once, didn't see the value, and won't be going back", and the continual negativity, and the claims that people who DO enjoy it are "brainwashed".)

Yes this. Like many others on this board, we love Disney and will pay more for it because it's Disney. We like the characters (Shrek and Donkey can not compete with Princesses and Mickey and the gang imo), the Disney shows and all the Disney touches throughout the ship. The ship itself is so inviting and beautiful . We don't care as much about the ports of call as we do about the ship itself. We don't gamble, drink heavily or have much interest in the other entertainment options offered by other cruise lines. Disney is the total package for us, not because we're "brainwashed" but because it appeals to us.

 

[KsSteve]

Great thing about Disney for us is that we don't have to pay for sodas. On RCL, I had to buy a Soda card in 2004.

Also, shows were far superior on DCL than RCL.

As others have mentioned, RCL makes money with more stores on board, and gambling.

 

[RedSox68]

We just finished researching other cruise lines and sure Disney costs more but our #1 thing as non-smokers is Disney has the strickest smoking policy of any other cruise line. On none of the Disney ships have they ever allowed smoking in the cabins. Other lines either no longer allow (which means they were allowed at some point and that the rooms may still have an odor) or they still allow smoking in the cabins.

With my wife having asthma it's worth more knowing that there are very few places she cannot go on the Disney ships compared to other cruise lines which allow it in all lounges but ONE. The casinos are also smoking areas except for ONE night. Not that that would help.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean everyone obeys. We have twice went to check into our stateroom (once on Wonder and once on Magic) and discovered previous tenants had smoked IN room and they had to deep clean it. The smell was awful and the room steward found cigarette butts in cups and plates.

Now, however, they have installed a strict penalty fee if caught smoking inside a stateroom. On the Dream you could smell the smoke coming from an inside stateroom. Next thing we knew the deck manager was pounding on their door. We were leaving the room, so not sure what happened.

 

[mickey2000]

Great thing about Disney for us is that we don't have to pay for sodas. On RCL, I had to buy a Soda card in 2004.

Also, shows were far superior on DCL than RCL.

As others have mentioned, RCL makes money with more stores on board, and gambling.

LOL LOL

As for the soda with Disney you pay up front in your cruise package want it or not. It would be frrom one figure about $150 per paerson!
NO its NOT free!
As for shows on the Pricess & Celebrity ships they are great ! Just not Disney themed.

Gabbeling is also a joke. I don't gamble however on Disney that is also included in your higher price with NO CHANCE TO WIN !

None of this is stated with Disney however thay are a business and must have YOU absorb thier costs even though not stated in the package price.


Look at the parks where you will soon be able to drink more ! LOL !
JMO