Disney getting too expensive for families

[tmann4]

I have taken 3 DCL cruises. They were all fantastic. Ships are beautiful. However, pricing is just put it out of our range. I can do a veranda on RCCL for $3200 and for Disney I can hardly get an inside stateroom. I would love to go on the new dream, but that is all it will be is a dream. Guess it is RCCL for me again. Thoughts?

[yvrnavigator]

Disney does have some good deals in certain months. For example Mexican Riviera in October, Alaska in May, Transatlantic in September but I do agree that the Dream is priced quite high when you compare it to other cruise lines but obviously it isn't to expensive for families as they don't seem to have problems filling their ships. I just checked a 5 day cruise in July and it was $ 4,500.00 for 2 for the 5 days in a Veranda stateroom. Personally, I would rather spend the same amount on a luxury vacation in Hawaii for 7 - 10 days but in the end it is all about what kind of experience the family is looking for.

[California4Me4Ever]

I have been looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary on the new Disney ship since it was announced several years ago. Now that I've seen the prices I'm reconsidering.

 

Hopefully the higher than expected prices will come down somewhat over time just as the prices did with the original ships. I don't mind paying more for the Disney experience and have been SO pleased with our past Disney cruises, but there is a limit to what I can justify spending for a cruise. But Disney is so wonderful. What am I willing to pay for the "magic" of Castaway Cay? or fireworks at sea? or no casino? or fun "alone time" for me and DH? or first rate entertainment? superb food?

 

Okay, I just talked myself back into the Disney cruise. It's just money....

[Friend100]

I guess that's one of the reasons why DCL sent their newest and grandest ship to cruise the 3-4 nights Bahamian itinerary (I mean who else did that?). On a per diem basis it is $$$$ but for the total price it can still be relatively reasonable (depends on the timing) when comparing to a 7-nights Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy :eek:. Cruisers, however, will have to make their choice (I mean sacrifice ) for length of cruise or cabin category. As always, all the inside cabins are sold out first and left with all the category 4s.

Yes, it is only money if you want more of .

 

From this board here we should get a fairly good idea of what the Dream will or won't offer. Only you can decide if the price is worth it or not as it means differently to different people.

 

By the way, for that 5-nights double dip on the Dream this July, for $120 less per person, you can get the highest balcony cabin category on Allure of the Seas, and for 2 more nights there.

Edited May 10, 2011 by vivapataca

[negc]

Just read a review of Disney Dream in a travel trade publication in which the reviewer mentioned dining in Remy, a specialty restaurant on the ship, where a party of two paid $381 for a "special" six course meal which included a "cheese plate that made us feel as if we were sampling the finest of caviars":rolleyes:

Have never heard of such an expensive meal on any cruise ship and while I know it is not typical of what most people would pay on Disney or most any other cruiseline, I thought it was a bit over the top.:)

[gatorfan2010]

Life in general is getting too expensive for families! I am still shocked at the prices to visit Theme Parks (not just Disney), food, accomodations, etc. A nice 7 day vacation for a family of 4 can easily hit $10,000 these days. Thats a lot of money

[GTO-Girl]

We are about to embark on our 2nd Disney cruise to take our granddaughters, but due to the prices they already know it will be our last.

 

Disney makes a wonderful product and for that I am willing to pay the higher price to make sure they have the "magical" experience, but I could never afford to sail Disney on a regular basis.....it's just too expensive.

 

But we look forward to sailing on the 22nd and plan to have a trip of a lifetime. I do envy those of you who get to sail Disney regularly....you really do need to thank your lucky stars!!!

 

Happy Sailing Everybody!!!

[DISNEY FANTASY]

DCL is expensive,

 

But do note it includes more than other lines, Top Quality Entertainment, Top quality food, Free Soda, (worth a lot against RCCL soda packages), Can bring booze on board. The characters, only ship to have fireworks on it, Castaway Cay.

 

But they do not have casinos to subsidise the cost. Other lines have lots of catch pennies.

 

But to reduce costs.

 

Book on the day of release, when DCL has a new sales period open up, and book through a DCL TA.

 

Prices tend to go up and up, so book early, you can aways change your mind get your deposit back, or move to another DCL cruise.

 

Many DCL TAs give a stateroom on board credit, so help with costs.

 

Travel off peak season if you can, or book last minute on non holiday season dates.

 

Get TA to keep an eye out for you on offers, my guess is the older ships will get discounts, particularly after the novelty wears off of Galveston for locals, repeating the Fantasy West Caribbean trip on an older ship, should bring discounts.

 

So get a good quality TA to look for you for offers, and see what you can get.

 

When you cruise always rebook onboard, to get a discount on yuor next cruise, even if its a dummy date and you move on.

[williamson_ja]

We are priced out right now. Our first two cruises were on DCL. They were wonderful!! However, we got killer deals on those and haven't been able to find killer deals since. Our last cruise was DCL on the Mexican Riviera with kids sail free offer. I just booked 2 inside staterooms on Carnival for the same price that we paid for 1 inside stateroom WITH the kids sail free on DCL. Is Carnival the same as DCL? Probably not... but we're a large family and I can't afford DCL prices right now. If they came out with another kids sail free cruise, I'd probably be back. As for now, we'll see if we can get our cruising fix with another company. :)

[chipmaster]

The mouse has its premium, I agree. They do offer an experience and ambience unlike any other line without the mouse and as such charge enough to fill the ship, supply / demand at its best.

 

YOu can be sure they watch price, booking, and competition carefully and price as high as they can while still sailing full. For that matter every leisure business does that.

 

I personally decide with every cruise if DCL is in the cards, for us at least it has less to do with cost than they don't sail where we happen to want to go. So it matters little whether they cost a lot or a little I'm not going just for the cruise.

 

Just like the choice for a vacation, Disney or some other thing. You know when you go Disney, get the hotel, do the food there its far more expensive than many other choices.

 

 

I have taken 3 DCL cruises. They were all fantastic. Ships are beautiful. However, pricing is just put it out of our range. I can do a veranda on RCCL for $3200 and for Disney I can hardly get an inside stateroom. I would love to go on the new dream, but that is all it will be is a dream. Guess it is RCCL for me again. Thoughts?

[will773]

Many of your arguments are biased, and subject to your own opinions.

 

DCL is expensive,

 

But do note it includes more than other lines, Top Quality Entertainment, Depends on what you like, I understand that Disney does great shows, but Royal Caribbean's Oasis class can't be beat for variety. Top quality food again, subjective, Free Soda, (worth a lot against RCCL soda packages) the soda packages are only $4 per day for kids, that's hardly a vacation ruiner, Can bring booze on board, can't argue that one. The characters Royal ships have dreamworks, although not as prevalent, only ship to have fireworks on it that is pretty cool, Castaway Cay, pretty much every other cruise line has a private island, and I see nothing "special" about this one.

 

My post is also subjective, but just shows how some people can't justify the extra cost to sail Disney. Oh and I could also mention the HORRENDOUS itinerary that Disney has on the Dream. I mean really, a 5 Night cruise that goes to their own destination TWICE!!??? :eek: Talk about stealing your money... :rolleyes: And also, traveling off-peak doesn't exactly work for families either, so they are forced to pay the sky high rates.

 

Just my opinion.

Edited May 12, 2011 by will773

[josumello]

Quaterly earnings came out today and Disney missed their earnings estimates. The cruise division was a big cause of the miss.

Seems like a lot of people agree that Disney is just roo expensive no matter how good the product is. Intersting.........

[Friend100]

Many of your arguments are biased, and subject to your own opinions.

 

My post is also subjective, but just shows how some people can't justify the extra cost to sail Disney. Oh and I could also mention the HORRENDOUS itinerary that Disney has on the Dream. I mean really, a 5 Night cruise that goes to their own destination TWICE!!??? :eek: Talk about stealing your money... :rolleyes: And also, traveling off-peak doesn't exactly work for families either, so they are forced to pay the sky high rates.

 

Just my opinion.

 

And I think poster DISNEY FANTASY was also posting his/her opinion.

 

How much is the extra cost? What are you comparing against? Is it $$ or $$$$$$$$$$$$ comparing to your "baseline" cruise, whatever that is.

 

As for the HORRENDOUS comment, again it is subjective. Some people think HORRENDOUS, some people think is WONDERFUL, just like my DD loved the Oceaneer Club on the Dream, but my DS hated it.

 

Travelling off-peak doesn't exactly work for families - that's right. So maybe this is another reason the Dream is doing the shorter 3-4 nights cruise? I saw a lot of families and non-families (sorry for a lack of a better term) on my last cruise on the Dream.

 

You said you see nothing special on Castaway Cay. That's ok. Castaway Cay is a beautiful place IMO. Have you been there recently?

 

BTW, I am looking forward to my next non-DCL cruise. :)

[Host Mick]

Many of your arguments are biased, and subject to your own opinions.

 

 

 

My post is also subjective, but just shows how some people can't justify the extra cost to sail Disney. Oh and I could also mention the HORRENDOUS itinerary that Disney has on the Dream. I mean really, a 5 Night cruise that goes to their own destination TWICE!!??? :eek: Talk about stealing your money... :rolleyes: And also, traveling off-peak doesn't exactly work for families either, so they are forced to pay the sky high rates.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Nobody is forcing you to pay sky high rates.

Disney, like every other cruise line prices their cruises as high as they can to make as much money as they can. They are not a charity, it's what the owners of the company are in business to do. It's just that Disney is able to charge more because they have more demand.

[Mrs. Chernabog]

DCL is out of our range for next year at least. It will cost $6200 for the five of us on the Magic next spring break.

[uziel5000]

Man, these threads are pretty common. What is it? Like once a week? Maybe two? It's common question because it is valid though. They are more expensive.

 

Hopefully if the earnings are down, as one poster said, it will make DCL revise their pricing strategy. (I hope... :D)

 

Having said, as long as people pay those prices, it is not going to change. You can clearly see it in these boards: for every negative review about DCL, there is a bunch of really good ones. People in general feel they are getting their money's worth, even at current prices. The problem is that the average middle-class american family has seen the length of their dollars go way down recently, so the latest price increases might be pricing this cruise line out most of our reach. But until DCL actually reduces their prices, this will be just a theory.

 

Many people so far have had no problem paying the extra money. The question is: Can this people now afford to pay the extra money? Using myself as an example, I am taking the Fantasy in 2012 but the only way I can do it is by: 1) Booking a year and a half in advance 2) Book the week after thanksgiving. The cheapest I could find. 3) Pay the deposit and use the extra time my early booking gives me to pay it off.

 

If those three things did not happen. I would still be dreaming about a DCL cruise.

[uziel5000]

Many of your arguments are biased, and subject to your own opinions.

 

 

 

My post is also subjective, but just shows how some people can't justify the extra cost to sail Disney. Oh and I could also mention the HORRENDOUS itinerary that Disney has on the Dream. I mean really, a 5 Night cruise that goes to their own destination TWICE!!??? :eek: Talk about stealing your money... :rolleyes: And also, traveling off-peak doesn't exactly work for families either, so they are forced to pay the sky high rates.

 

Just my opinion.

 

I have to disagree with you on the Castaway Cay issue. I don't think they are stealing your money on that one. The fact is that DCL does that double dip because people have requested it. I haven't been to CC so I can't explain why they do but the fact is that they do. Furthermore, having two stops there is actually less profitable for DCL. When they stop at any other port, you are on your own. When you are at CC, its like being inside the ship. The food is included so they HAVE to feed you. As opposed to say Nassau, where a percentage of the guests will have lunch or dinner somewhere else.

[Friend100]

Man, these threads are pretty common. What is it? Like once a week? Maybe two? It's common question because it is valid though. They are more expensive.

 

There is a thread titled "RCI Priced at a Premium" in the Royal Caribbean thread, just so we all know. What gives? :p

[Host Mick]

Man, these threads are pretty common. What is it? Like once a week? Maybe two? It's common question because it is valid though. They are more expensive.

 

Hopefully if the earnings are down, as one poster said, it will make DCL revise their pricing strategy. (I hope... :D)

 

Having said, as long as people pay those prices, it is not going to change. You can clearly see it in these boards: for every negative review about DCL, there is a bunch of really good ones. People in general feel they are getting their money's worth, even at current prices. The problem is that the average middle-class american family has seen the length of their dollars go way down recently, so the latest price increases might be pricing this cruise line out most of our reach. But until DCL actually reduces their prices, this will be just a theory.

 

Many people so far have had no problem paying the extra money. The question is: Can this people now afford to pay the extra money? Using myself as an example, I am taking the Fantasy in 2012 but the only way I can do it is by: 1) Booking a year and a half in advance 2) Book the week after thanksgiving. The cheapest I could find. 3) Pay the deposit and use the extra time my early booking gives me to pay it off.

 

If those three things did not happen. I would still be dreaming about a DCL cruise.

 

Their pricing won't change based on the company's earnings. Their pricing strategy has been and always will be to price the cruises to make the most money. Only DCL can see the bookings and "test bookings" so only they know how many people are considering a cruise. They'll adjust their fares or offer discounts like "kids sail free" to maximize revenues from bookings.

Cruises are getting expensive because costs are going up. The Treasury monetarizing debt has driven the dollar down so the cost of anything imported, like oil is going up.

I'm hoping that when they add the Disney fantasy to the fleet and the initial rush dies down that cruise fares will drop or at least not rise as fast.

But still, cruises overall are still a good vacation value when you consider food, lodging and entertainment costs. That's why the demand overall is high and lines are still building and filling mega ships.

[negc]

Just curious, but has anyone on a Disney cruise, paid anything like $381 for a dinner for two in Remy? If so, what was so special that made it worth the expense? Was it the "cheese plate" that made the reviewer in Travel Weekly compare it to eating the finest caviar? or the wine pairings with the six courses of the meal.?:)

[Mrs. Chernabog]

Quoted from the 2nd Qtr earnings report posted on the DISboards:

 

"Asked about the revenue from the Disney Dream, Rasulo refused to break out the revenue individually. He did say they were very pleased with bookings and that marketing and launch costs for the Dream were between $15 and $20 million. Guests expecting cruise discounts in the near future will be disappointed to learn that, currently, the three DCL ships are over 95% booked for the current (3rd) quarter, 86% booked for the fourth quarter (which ends in early October) and 60% booked for the first quarter of 2012 (the last three months of 2011)."

[LittleMissMagic]

Prices are exactly why we stopped doing Disney cruises as a family. We love Disney and visit the World multiple times a year. But we just can't justify the prices of a Disney cruise, when we can get more days and different locations for less.

 

I am the diehard Disney fan of the family, so I definitely foresee taking Disney cruises in the future. Might take a lot of budgeting...

 

But for right now, my father is still paying for me to vacation with him, so I'm definitely not complaining!!! :D

[Donna_In_India]

I haven't cruised Disney in many years. For me there is only one reason to book a Disney cruise and that is the characters. Not the food, not the "free" soda, not the bathroom, etc., etc. We're booked on the Magic out of NYC for my daughter's 3rd birthday. It will likely be my last Disney Cruise no matter how wonderful it is. I can cruise another line AND have a theme park vacation in Orlando for less than this cruise. It's really a no-brainer. And sorry, but I enjoy the casino!

[ducklite]

Two comments.

 

First, until DCL has trouble booking cabins, they have no incentive to offer lower pricing. While they might not be affordable for OP, they obviously are affordable for many others.

 

Second, people choose different lines for different reasons. We are cruising DCL this fall as they offer a cabin configuration that many others don't--that is a 1BR suite with the bedroom actually separated by a door as opposed to a curtain. To get this on most other lines you double or even triple the cost. Also, DCL has the most liberal policy on bringing alcohol aboard of pretty much every cruise line sailing from US ports. We will fully take this opportunity to bring along fine wines from our cellar (paying corkage of course) rather than paying steep mark ups on what is for the most part a pedestrian or even poor wine selection.

[mdepsmom]

I've cruised many times on RCI and Carnival; always wanted to take a Disney cruise but just couldn't justify the higher cost. Today I found -- for the very first time -- a Disney cruise that I consider to be very affordable, and during my son's spring break next year. I am thrilled to have finally found a Disney cruise I can afford (and one we can drive to -- no expensive airline tickets!). Yes I could save $200/person by taking a cruise on one of the other lines but this time I am willing to pay the extra $ for the Disney experience. In the past I've found that Disney has cost way more than $200/person over the other lines. Maybe they are lowering prices on their older ships b/c of the new ship? Whatever the reason, I am happy for it :)