Disney Cruises - worth the price?

[Sunshine101]

Hi all!

 

DH and I have sailed many times with RCL, and the kids went on their first one last October, and our next one is in May. The girls loved Adventure Ocean and everything RCL had to offer. That being said, I can't help having my curiosity peaked by Disney. We've priced them out for fun a few times and they seem so much more expensive than other cruise lines. For those who have done Disney, would you say its worth paying the extra for the Disney experience? Sometimes I think I would prefer cruising twice with RCL for the price of one Disney cruise, but then I think, perhaps the kids would just adore the Disney one....

 

Thoughts?

[gerif]

For what it's worth, DS took his family on Disney for their first cruise - their next cruise was RCI and they enjoyed it much more. Unless you are a huge fan of the mouse and the other characters, I'm thinking it's not worth the price.

[Friend100]

For us it is worth it if the cost is at most 10-15% more than what we consider as comparable ships, at a per person, per night level. Anything more than that not really worth it IMO unless there are other factors to be considered. To find "value" for DCL it is important to find sailings that they are having bigger price-break comparing to other lines and/or other DCL ships. I can find you a Disney cruise right now that cost less than $85 per person per day, but I can also find you one the per person price starts at $280/day for an inside!

 

This topic has been discussed numerous times. Do a search in the Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival boards and you will find a lot more information of different perspectives there.

[cb at sea]

DCL will have larger cabins that RCI...and the food will be a bit better....

 

If you've enjoyed RCI in the past and the price is right...stick with it!

[crusinmama06]

The "larger cabin" argument never flies with me because if I am doing a 3 Bedroom suite on NCL and a Grand Suite on RCI (with all of the suite benefits) for less than the price of what my Cat 6 standard balcony cabin on Disney Magic was in off season with no suite perks - then what does it matter if a DCL inside is bigger than an RCL inside??? ;)

 

So, to answer your question, I believe in doing things at least ONCE - especially while the kids are young and can appreciate it. We paid the Disney premium. The kids were happy because we were on a cruise. Do they name Disney Wonder as their favorite ship (the most recent Disney ship we have done) - nope - they never mention it.

 

So try it if you find a good price off season. But I wouldn't pay top dollar for it.

[Friend100]

So try it if you find a good price off season. But I wouldn't pay top dollar for it.

 

Agreed.

 

We cruised DCL twice. Both we paid what I think fair price (we took advantage of their kids sail free deal). Is it rock bottom bargain price? No. But it is comparable to RCI ships at that time of the year. And a split bathroom is a big plus in our case (actually more so for my DW's). Although Disney Dream and Fantasy look like a larger version of the Disney Magic or Wonder, we had very different experience on the Dream and it was the best cruise we have had so far overall. Disney Wonder, on the other hand, I like it but not my children's most favourite. Castaway Cay though, is our favourite.

 

DCL is more about the magical experience for us. I won't describe my RCI or HAL cruise experience being "magical" though. But I agree too that I wouldn't pay top dollar for it. Look for kids sail free deal, or lately they have a lot of non-refundable gauranteed price offering.

[Marie51]

I have cruise Disney with my grandchildren but honestly they had a better time on Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

So is it worth it to pay more for a Disney cruise....not for us.

[Friend100]

I have cruise Disney with my grandchildren but honestly they had a better time on Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

So is it worth it to pay more for a Disney cruise....not for us.

 

It is funny because in my family's case, although we all like DCL, my DS' "dream" cruise is Oasis/Allure of the Seas. He is the "bigger-the-better" type. As for my DD, she likes DCL too but after our recent HAL cruise she likes the overall elegance and low-profile atmosphere because she likes to just relax and read a book. Her only complaint is that it was too short, and she wanted the cruise to hit more ports! So I think she actually will be fine on any ship but she is an itinerary person and she'll like a Panama Canal cruise or something like that. It is my DW who love DCL the most .... the amenities, the stylishness, things seems to be more polished and refined, nice little touch here and there, the firework, the characters, the "magic" factor, everything just a little bit perceivably better. :)

[Warm Breezes]

I think it depends on the age of your children and how much they get into Disney. Our first 2 cruises were on DCL. The first was a 3 Night on with Wonder with 4 Nights at WDW (DD was 4 and DS was 7). We asked the kids for the next one if they wanted to do WDW or a 7 Night cruise. They wanted the 7 Night Disney Magic (DD was 7 and DS was 10). My kids got a lot out of the Disney experience on-board and I am glad we paid the premium at an age where they would enjoyed it. I would not pay for the Disney experience now with my kids being teenagers. They just wouldn't get as much out of it....I can patiently wait until I have grandkids to spoil:D.

[allie3490]

No way would I spend all that money on a disney cruise.

 

If I want disney I go to WDW, stay onsite, get the dining plan, do the 4 parks and see all the fireworks and characters I want. When I asked my boys this year if they want to do Disney again or a cruise it was unanimous - CRUISE! All my research pointed to the Freedom of the Seas as an awesome ship for families and my boys' ages. I'm sure we will not miss Mickey in the least! ;)

[cmp03]

I have priced Disney Fantasy against the Allure/Oasis for around the same time of year and same itinerary (Eastern Caribbean) and they are very close in price for Ocean view room for 3. I booked my Disney cruise while on board another cruise so I do get 10% off and a $200 OBC. Add in that Soda is free (~$100 savings for the 3 of us), we live closer to PC then FLL so less drive time (money on gas), Disney makes a stop at Castaway Cay versus Allure/Oasis stop at Nassau (Castaway Cays ranks MUCH higher in my book, lol), etc - for us - Disney is worth it.

 

The Carnival Dream is about $1000 cheaper then Disney but I figure my daughter will only like Disney for a few more years so we will take at least one more cruise on that line.

 

She loves seeing the characters and other Disney stuff (which is surprising since we have annual passes to Disney and go there all the time already, lol).

 

I know that certain times of the year, Disney is significantly more then other cruise lines but we try to book well in advance and end up spending close to (if not the same) as what we would spend on another line.

[flhokie]

I've cruised pre-child on various lines, including Disney (even got married at sea on Princess) and I don't ever see us taking our young daughter on a Disney Cruise. We'd much rather do RCCL with her (booked on Allure next year for her 1st cruise).

 

Yes, we live close to Walt Disney World so we might be a bit spoiled that we can go to the parks when we want, but even if that weren't the case I would not spend the rates they want for a Disney Cruise.

 

My experience with Disney Cruise Line--while the children's activities/entertainment (observations from the outside as I didn't have a child with me), the ship and the adult dining restaurant were good, the food was some of the worst I've had on a cruise (I've heard they've improved it since, but it was the 1st time I left a ship hungry) and the evenings were downright boring (repeat entertainment for adults and no casino).

[luvmy2redheads]

I have 3 sons (ages 13,10 and6) and a daughter (18months) and last feb we went on the Disney Dream it was our first Disney cruise but we have done Carnival several times and Rccl a few times so I was expecting alot out of my Disney cruise.

So my verdict...It was ok...I could have went on 2 cruises for what I paid for the 1 cruise and it was sooo crowded! And my kids had to fight grown adults to do kid stuff! The boat was full of grownups who acted like 6 yr olds! If there was something going on it was full of the grownups the kids wouldn't even get a chance to do it. We stood in line to meet Cinderella and I counted the people in front of us and there were 2 little girls and 18 grownups and they took the princess away 2 people before us;( it was like that all week. And the pools are so small for that many people. We went to Disney World after our cruise for 4 days and my kids had a better "Disney experience" there and they all decided that they love Disney World for Disney fun but love other cruiselines for cruises and I agree. I'm glad we went and tried it because now I know and I have always wondered and dreamed. So for us we will go to Disney World for our Disney fix and keep Disney out of our cruise :) I do have to say tho the boat was beautiful and the food was wonderful! Most every worker we came into contact with was so nice and helpful we loved our dining team. The boat was only a month old when we went so it was still sparkly new. Hope that helps...

P.S we are doing the Carnival Magic this November and Disney World next April :)

[chipmaster]

What is "worth" is a personal set of values for vacation.

 

If "twice" means you really are trading two cruise vacations for one, I'd say no. If it means take two disney and not put that planned money into your kids college 529 or your 401 so you meet your other goals, NO WAY either.

 

But for me, I'd pay twice if the vacation aligned with what I wanted. Even though my kids are older, vacations are special times and these days I don't skimp if they don't impact other things. I'm a fan of the mouse experience, but sadly they have so few boats sailing the places and times I want when I do choose to cruise, which isn't often enough :mad:

 

Hi all!

 

DH and I have sailed many times with RCL, and the kids went on their first one last October, and our next one is in May. The girls loved Adventure Ocean and everything RCL had to offer. That being said, I can't help having my curiosity peaked by Disney. We've priced them out for fun a few times and they seem so much more expensive than other cruise lines. For those who have done Disney, would you say its worth paying the extra for the Disney experience? Sometimes I think I would prefer cruising twice with RCL for the price of one Disney cruise, but then I think, perhaps the kids would just adore the Disney one....

 

Thoughts?