Why is DCL worth the extra cost?

[Ofinn]

Every now and again this very thread reappears, is DCL more expensive - Yes. If what others choose to pay bothers people so much next time you board a major air carrier tell the people sitting in first class they can take 4 trips on Sun Country or Jet Blue for what they are paying. Stop next time you pass a Hyatt or Hilton tell their guests they can spend 3 nights at a Holiday Inn Express or AmericInn for what they are paying for 1 night. People choose for their own reasons.

Before anyone chooses to convince me the other lines are the same or better than DCL, I do not begrudge you of that opinion. We have sailed Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Louis, Holland and Norwegian,our choice is DCL and know what it costs.

There's an obvious difference between coach and first class(Ive flown both), holiday inn vs Ritz Carlton(Ive stayed at both) etc. The differences between RCI and DCl are pretty subjective. Throw in the fact that you can stay concierge on most cruise lines for the price of an inside room on Dcl I can see why people are questioning Disneys prices.

 

[cgolf]

Every now and again this very thread reappears, is DCL more expensive - Yes. If what others choose to pay bothers people so much next time you board a major air carrier tell the people sitting in first class they can take 4 trips on Sun Country or Jet Blue for what they are paying. Stop next time you pass a Hyatt or Hilton tell their guests they can spend 3 nights at a Holiday Inn Express or AmericInn for what they are paying for 1 night. People choose for their own reasons.

Before anyone chooses to convince me the other lines are the same or better than DCL, I do not begrudge you of that opinion. We have sailed Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Louis, Holland and Norwegian,our choice is DCL and know what it costs.

Doesn't bother me at all what other people pay, and yes I understand that DCL by having only 4 ships doesn't need to offer as many incentives to sail full or at the capacity number they are happy with. This also means they can charge more to a point and continue to sail full.

What we and many others are finding is that in previous years DCL was competitive with like lines, Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, and NCL, but in 2017 DCL was the highest priced of that group on average for our chosen vacation timeframe. What that tells me is DCL is raising their prices faster than the other lines are. We were very surprised by this, since we had not seen this in the previous 7 or so years we were planning our trips, in fact in many cases DCL's prices were cheaper than the other lines.

Our goal is to cruise once or twice a year, so we need to watch costs some, but will never hit the ultra cheap lines to make this goal.

 

[NancyIL]

When I go on a Disney cruise, it's because I want to go on a Disney cruise! I don't look at all the other cruises that go to the same destination at the same time and compare features and prices, because I already know that 95% of the time - DCL will cost more. Instead, I choose Disney cruises that offer a lot of bang for the buck - like their Transatlantic cruises. Their Panama Canal cruises are also a good value, although I wish they went to a few more ports.

I booked a placeholder cruise while onboard the May 2015 Magic Transatlantic that has to be booked by the end of May 2017. I tentatively planned to move it to the spring 2017 Panama Canal cruise. In the meantime, I booked a Royal Caribbean Honolulu to Vancouver cruise followed by a HAL Alaska cruise for May 2017. So...it's unlikely that I'll use my DCL onboard booking this time.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Hi Nancy IL,

What Rccl ship would you suggest Vancouver to Honolulu?.. in the fall 2017. It will be our 40th and I am hoping to do a surprize Hawaii cruise and then a week at Aulani(we are DCL)??

 

[NancyIL]

Hi Nancy IL,

What Rccl ship would you suggest Vancouver to Honolulu?.. in the fall 2017. It will be our 40th and I am hoping to do a surprize Hawaii cruise and then a week at Aulani(we are DCL)??

There is only one RCI ship that repositions from Vancouver to Hawaii (and then to Australia), and that is Radiance of the Seas. Celebrity Solstice will also cruise that route in September 2017: http://www.celebritycruises.com/cru...y Solstice&sailDate=1170922&cabincls=INTERIOR The Hawaii repo cruises can vary from 9-12 days, so I'd choose the longer one for more time at the Hawaiian ports.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

There is only one RCI ship that repositions from Vancouver to Hawaii (and then to Australia), and that is Radiance of the Seas. Celebrity Solstice will also cruise that route in September 2017: http://www.celebritycruises.com/cruises/cruise-package-SL10H017?packageid=SL10H017&dest=HAWAI&shipCode=SL&shipName=Celebrity Solstice&sailDate=1170922&cabincls=INTERIOR The Hawaii repo cruises can vary from 9-12 days, so I'd choose the longer one for more time at the Hawaiian ports.

Between those two, I would probably choose the Solstice -larger ship, and better onboard amenities.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We were on the Radiance this past September, Vancouver to Honolulu. We enjoyed the cruise. There was lots of right/ left rolling. Was told it was the currents in the deep Pacific.

We went on RCCL because our 2 sets of friends were not willing to pay DCL's price. We were turned off a bit as well, so we went with the flow. There is one thing that we liked above all others was the solarium pool! We would get up early, the pool would be "ours" alone at 6 AM!

 

[mreasier]

Not only are the DCL cruises more expensive than comparative cruise lines, their ship's tours also seem to be considerably more expensive. We Just booked the Cozumel Secret River & Playa Del Carmen tour on Princess for Feb 1, 2016 for $99.50 per person. If we had booked the same tour on our Disney cruise for Jan 25, the cost would have been $135 per person. That's 35% more for the exact same tour - same length, same sites, same activities.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Thanks everyone for the Rccl and Celebrity information for Hawaii. She has always wanted to do a Hawaii trip, so this will be her chance. I have been there only once and we pumped off the cargo from a off shore buoy.

AKK

 

[cgolf]

Thanks everyone for the Rccl and Celebrity information for Hawaii. She has always wanted to do a Hawaii trip, so this will be her chance. I have been there only once and we pumped off the cargo from a off shore buoy.

AKK

Hawaii is awesome, you will love it. A cruise was the best way to do the initial trip since Hawaii is so expensive for land based stuff and flights in. We now know which islands we want to spend more time on and which we can skip, essentially the cruise was a scouting trip

 

[cruisehopeful]

Hawaii is awesome, you will love it. A cruise was the best way to do the initial trip since Hawaii is so expensive for land based stuff and flights in. We now know which islands we want to spend more time on and which we can skip, essentially the cruise was a scouting trip

Which islands did you like best? I've only done one island at a time visits. I have been looking at cruises, but in my case, with timeshares, it is less expensive to still just do one island at a time.

 

[JJsmama]

We don't have kids and have sailed on Celebrity and Princess. We didn't like either of our experiences and wouldn't sail those lines again. Both were too adult for us even though we are in our mid 30s. We don't care about shows on any ship so the movies on DCL are a plus as is the adult areas. DCL just does a much better job of keeping these adult. We also prefer the dress policy on DCL. These are all minor things but they add up to what makes a comfortable vacation for us.

Did all the kids on DCL get on your nerves? We have kids but are sailing without them this time (Magic Eastern.) i booked it bc i know DCL and I don't know the others, and didnt have a lot of time to research, but i sometimes think it is crazy to take a Disney cruise while leaving my own kids at home. I do not want to be on a booze cruise, which is how i picture Carnival. Then again, in our early 40s, we dont want anything tooo boring... I do appreciate good service. I am not even sure which other lines to truly consider. Who else do you all recommend who does the caribbean from Florida?

 

[tinkerone]

Did all the kids on DCL get on your nerves? We have kids but are sailing without them this time (Magic Eastern.) i booked it bc i know DCL and I don't know the others, and didnt have a lot of time to research, but i sometimes think it is crazy to take a Disney cruise while leaving my own kids at home. I do not want to be on a booze cruise, which is how i picture Carnival. Then again, in our early 40s, we dont want anything tooo boring... I do appreciate good service. I am not even sure which other lines to truly consider. Who else do you all recommend who does the caribbean from Florida?

we just booked our first non dcl cruise with rcl (oasis). our children are all grown and have only sailed with us once on dcl so all but one sailing has been child free. we decided to try something else because of the growing costs and we did not want a booze cruise either. dh does not drink at all and i only have the occasional glass of wine. didn't want a party boat but didn't want to be bored either. rcl seemed the way to go, at least for us, and the cost savings sealed the deal. on our last two dcl cruises we didn't bother with any of the shows, been there a hundred times/done that, so we are looking forward to some new shows and exploring spaces we have never seen.
no matter what you decide on i hope you have a great time. enjoy!

 

[cgolf]

Which islands did you like best? I've only done one island at a time visits. I have been looking at cruises, but in my case, with timeshares, it is less expensive to still just do one island at a time.

I personally liked the feel of the big island and how untamed it felt, and not super touristy feeling. My wife really enjoined Kauai, which was also pretty relaxed. We didn't like Oahu because it kind of felt like any city on the mainland once you lost sight of the ocean.

 

[HookedOnDCL1]

So, I haven't read through this whole thread but am I the only one that is getting HIGHER prices for comparable cruises with Royal? Maybe it's the dates or rooms that I am selecting?
I recently put on hold a Western Carribean cruise on Disney Fantasy for first week in March 2017, for 2A 1K, coming in at $4606 for a balcony room (taxes in).
Just priced out Royal - The Western Carribean one week later, oceanview balcony room with sofabed for 2A 1K comes in at $5813 with taxes and fees. The Eastern Carribean same week as Disney comes in at $5134, still more expensive than Disney.

When we did the Panama Canal Cruise back in May, I also priced Royal for the same cruise and it was coming in at $500 more!

 

[JJsmama]

we just booked our first non dcl cruise with rcl (oasis). our children are all grown and have only sailed with us once on dcl so all but one sailing has been child free. we decided to try something else because of the growing costs and we did not want a booze cruise either. dh does not drink at all and i only have the occasional glass of wine. didn't want a party boat but didn't want to be bored either. rcl seemed the way to go, at least for us, and the cost savings sealed the deal. on our last two dcl cruises we didn't bother with any of the shows, been there a hundred times/done that, so we are looking forward to some new shows and exploring spaces we have never seen.
no matter what you decide on i hope you have a great time. enjoy!

When do you go? Let us know how it was when you get back. I am also looking into non- cruise resorts, but I want something with lots of dinner options that we donT have to drive to.

 

[cruisehopeful]

So, I haven't read through this whole thread but am I the only one that is getting HIGHER prices for comparable cruises with Royal? Maybe it's the dates or rooms that I am selecting?

It does have to do with room types and dates. I am constantly comparing cruises and I have yet to find anything comparable on other lines that are a significant savings over DCL. I see what people post here and on other forums and their savings is impressive, but those are cruises/dates that I am not interested in.

 

[NancyIL]

So, I haven't read through this whole thread but am I the only one that is getting HIGHER prices for comparable cruises with Royal? Maybe it's the dates or rooms that I am selecting?
I recently put on hold a Western Carribean cruise on Disney Fantasy for first week in March 2017, for 2A 1K, coming in at $4606 for a balcony room (taxes in).
Just priced out Royal - The Western Carribean one week later, oceanview balcony room with sofabed for 2A 1K comes in at $5813 with taxes and fees. The Eastern Carribean same week as Disney comes in at $5134, still more expensive than Disney.

When we did the Panama Canal Cruise back in May, I also priced Royal for the same cruise and it was coming in at $500 more!

One week does make a difference on the RCI western Caribbean cruise, because you're one week closer to Easter. Which RCI ship were you comparing?

 

[xlxo]

Which islands did you like best? I've only done one island at a time visits. I have been looking at cruises, but in my case, with timeshares, it is less expensive to still just do one island at a time.

Big Island is my fav for the volcanos and cooler climate. But the city boy likes Oahu 2nd for amenities.

http://www.bluehawaiian.com/bigisland/video/Big_Island_Intro

 

[HookedOnDCL1]

I figured it out! Royal prices are in Canadian Dollars and Disney is in USD!! So the Disney Cruise is actually $6398 CAD - $580 CAD more. I get it now - LOL! Wish Disney would price in CAD.