Yes, Disney cruises are expensive, but what hidden costs am I not factoring?

[hodad]

The extended family asked me, a cruising novice, to research a multi-generation cruise to Alaska sometime in the summer of 2018. I've narrowed it down to the following, all assuming an interior room for 2 adults and a 7yo, another interior room for 2 adults, and a balcony room for 2 seniors:

• Disney Wonder out of Vancouver - $19,000
• RCCL Explorer of the Seas out of Seattle - $8500 due to a sale
• NCL Pearl out of Seattle - $11,000
• Carnival Legend out of Seattle - $9600

EDIT: added Princess and HAL​

• Princess Ruby out of Seattle - $12,000
• Holland Niew Amsterdam out of Vancouver - $11,000

What does the extra $8000+ get us on the Disney Wonder, other than intangible Pixie Dust? Are more meals or activities covered up front?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The extended family asked me, a cruising novice, to research a multi-generation cruise to Alaska sometime in the summer of 2018. I've narrowed it down to the following, all assuming an interior room for 2 adults and a 7yo, another interior room for 2 adults, and a balcony room for 2 seniors:

• Disney Wonder out of Vancouver - $19,000
• RCCL Explorer of the Seas out of Seattle - $8500 due to a sale
• NCL Pearl out of Seattle - $11,000
• Carnival Legend out of Seattle - $9600

What does the extra $8000+ get us on the Disney Wonder, other than intangible Pixie Dust? Are more meals or activities covered up front?

Not a lot extra is covered - "free" soda station on the pool decks, so unlimited soda from there as well as at meals.

IMO, the production shows are better than other lines, so there's that.

Of course, Disney character activities/meet & greets.

 

[cruisehopeful]

What does the extra $8000+ get us on the Disney Wonder, other than intangible Pixie Dust? Are more meals or activities covered up front?

Characters, character party, free soda. I believe that is about it. I've sailed DCL to Alaska twice and recently tried a Princess cruise. I decided to use Princess for my next Alaska cruise. The pricing is better and the itinerary is better. I won't get free soda, but I don't drink soda. Room size and layout on Disney is generally better (but, I think Carnival may have largest rooms). It is not unusual for high time cruises to cost double for Disney than other lines.

EDIT TO ADD: If you do book Disney, book through a TA that will give you some on board credit or book from Costco if you shop at Costco. Costco will give you a gift card when you return from the cruise.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Just out of curiosity, why did you eliminate Princess and HAL from your choices? They have the best itineraries that include Glacier Bay.

As much as we love DCL, their Alaskan cruises way overpriced.

 

[hodad]

Just out of curiosity, why did you eliminate Princess and HAL from your choices? They have the best itineraries that include Glacier Bay.

As much as we love DCL, their Alaskan cruises way overpriced.

I'll go back and look at Princess and HAL. I initially priced out one-way northbound cruises for all the lines who offered them, but I doubt that my MIL can fly back from Alaska so we're limiting the search to round-trip itineraries. Thanks for the tip!

 

[apathetic]

Shocking, a thread about the cost of Disney. There is nothing concrete to justify the extra cost. Disney is expensive because enough people are willing to pay more to sail on them. These cruises are in summer, meaning school is out. A lot of people want to sail DCL with their kids and avoid things like casinos on other lines. They rather sail with character experiences you find on Disney. With only about 2,000 people on each Alaska cruise they don't need to appeal to the masses because enough people want to pay extra for the Disney experience. Other lines serve Alaska better, so pick one and brag about how much you saved.

 

[msmama]

My first cruise was NCL to Alaska out of Seattle (it was almost 15 years ago so I can't compare prices at all and I lived in Seattle at the time so there was no flying involved). For me, what I realized I like about Disney cruises is what they DON'T have that the others do.

Caveat that I only have 1 DCL cruise under my belt, second this summer and not Alaska - DCL doesn't have all the old people. Our Alaska honeymoon, we often felt like we were the youngest on the ship. There's no casino, no smokey musty smelling areas (where old people hang out) on DCL. I feel like the only activity they had on NCL was Bingo, so we did a lot of sitting on our balcony reading. DCL seems like a more active cruise line to me and since it's just a 9 year old and I that travel, it works for us.

(Note, I have nothing against old folks on cruises, and I expect it, but our Alaska cruise was like a geriatric ward on the sea. Like they were OLD old. It was weird. Like it sometimes felt like more people in wheelchairs that not. It could've just been an crazy anomaly, but it was weird).

All that said, I still don't know if I'd pay Disney prices to Alaska.

 

[jrabbit]

...why did you eliminate Princess and HAL from your choices? They have the best itineraries that include Glacier Bay.

The "Best": Cruise, Dining Rotation, Shore Excursions, Shows, Meals, etc. Highly subjective.
Soapbox Alert
always makes me chuckle when people ask for the "BEST OF EVERYTHING"... well because we are all different, and I am having a hard time with "everyone's" attitude "It's ALL About ME!!!" I want the best because ... well I'm ME and More Important than You.
Off The Soapbox Now

 

[tink1970]

Really nothing that substantiates the tangible difference in pricing. That said, I've cruised Alaska twice, the first time paying non opening day prices for two staterooms, the second time, last minute military discounted price. I have sailed other lines (won't say which to avoid those flames) and not liked them nearly as much as Disney, nor not felt as if I were "home." I can (and do) pay for a product for which I feel comfortable. But can I put a hard number value on it? Not at all! I'm sure if I'd never sailed DCL or really really wanted to see somewhere they didn't sail in AK I could have a great time on another line.

 

[Dug720]

The "Best": Cruise, Dining Rotation, Shore Excursions, Shows, Meals, etc. Highly subjective.
Soapbox Alert
always makes me chuckle when people ask for the "BEST OF EVERYTHING"... well because we are all different, and I am having a hard time with "everyone's" attitude "It's ALL About ME!!!" I want the best because ... well I'm ME and More Important than You.
Off The Soapbox Now

Agreed. I did cruise on HAL to Alaska and was pretty "meh" about Glacier Bay. Granted it was kind of foggy and overcast when we were there, but i just didn't get the big deal about it. I personally thought walking up near Mendenhal had more of a "wow" factor. Minus the balcony smoking on HAL which was a huge drawback. I have heard they might have finally joined the 21st century and stopped allowing it, but even so... Meh.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• I agree Princess and possibly HAL should be considered in your research/comparison.
• Love Glacier Bay.
• Vancouver is a much better Canadian experience than Victoria. Plan for extra days in Vancouver.
• Are you looking at the July 9, 2018 sailing???? That is a special 9 day sailing that includes Icy Straight and a visit to Hubbard. It's the only time the Wonder will visit Hubbard in the cruise season.
• when comparing Alaskan cruise prices.... make sure you are comparing the same sailing week. July is the warmest and still dry.... thus commands the highest prices along with children on school holidays.
• in addition to inside cabins.... also check out the Deck 2 Oceanviews. It's like a climate controlled balcony.

 

[gotomu212]

Soda and characters...the kids club on Disney is our favorite, but RCCL and NCL also have good club reviews (the hours can be a bit more restrictive though).

We had good friends use RCCL for Alaska-they are HUGE DCL fans but it was extended family trip and they couldn't justify the price- they said hey loved it and it was definitely a family friendly cruise.

 

[Quellman]

I'd personally take the savings from NOT doing Disney in Alaska and use it instead on excursions or other events. This is one of the trips, that for me (who may only ever sail Alaska one other time), the ship is the transportation NOT the destination. In the caribbean, the opposite is true, the ship is the destination and I stay on board until we get to Castaway Cay.

 

[cruiser21]

8000 gets you the Disney experience. I hate when people bring up the soda that is such a non factor when your talking about thousands of dollars. For me sometimes the Disney experience is worth the extra. In this case that would be too big a price difference for me to justify it. Only you know of it's worth it to you. I'm guessing since your asking other people if it's worth you are having doubts or have already made up you mind that it's not.

 

[hodad]

I'm guessing since your asking other people if it's worth you are having doubts or have already made up you mind that it's not.

Yeah, I asked for concrete reasons for such an upcharge, and it sounds like there aren't really. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Pixie Dust, but when I go to WDW I stay off-site because c'mon. Thanks, everyone, for your opinions and guidance!

 

[cruiser21]

Yeah, I asked for concrete reasons for such an upcharge, and it sounds like there aren't really. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Pixie Dust, but when I go to WDW I stay off-site because c'mon. Thanks, everyone, for your opinions and guidance!

Come back and let us know what you picked. I've taken 14 DCL cruises. I have my own personal price that I'm willing to pay. If I even have to ask myself if a certain cruise is worth the price then I know it's out of my comfort zone. Ive had great cruises on other cruiselines. Enjoy whatever you decide.

 

[hodad]

Come back and let us know what you picked. I've taken 14 DCL cruises. I have my own personal price that I'm willing to pay. If I even have to ask myself if a certain cruise is worth the price then I know it's out of my comfort zone. Ive had great cruises on other cruiselines. Enjoy whatever you decide.

I will let you know what the group decides. I came here for advice because when I give them the digest of choices, they will inevitably ask why the Disney cruise is so much more expensive, and it sounds like all I can do is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Well, does the 7 year old have a favourite princess or a love of Mickey or Minnie? She'll only get that on a DCL cruise. Then again, for $8000, her parents can take her to WDW, as well.

Another point is that your breakdown includes 3 staterooms paid for individually, right? So each family is not saving $8000. You are each saving only a portion of that versus the other lines. It might be prudent to present each family with what they will pay on each, versus the total, as that is a shocking number, but misleading unless one person is picking up the whole tab.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The "Best": Cruise, Dining Rotation, Shore Excursions, Shows, Meals, etc. Highly subjective.
Soapbox Alert
always makes me chuckle when people ask for the "BEST OF EVERYTHING"... well because we are all different, and I am having a hard time with "everyone's" attitude "It's ALL About ME!!!" I want the best because ... well I'm ME and More Important than You.
Off The Soapbox Now

Where did you get the impression I think I'm more important than you?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I hope no one drinks $8000 in soda because that sounds really unhealthy.