If you think Disney is too expensive...

[CC Help Jenn]

This REALLY concerns me! :(

We are Princess (and sometimes Celebrity) cruisers who are thinking of taking a cruise with all of our children and grandchildren on Disney.

One of the reasons is that one grand daughter has Celiac's and an egg allergy and my daughter did some research and felt Disney might accommodate her food needs the best. However, she might need the medical center ( she reacts to even cross-contamination of foods) and I know that Princess medical personnel have a reputation of being fabulous and caring. In our 40 years of sailing with Princess I've never once heard anything that sounds like what you report. :(

 

My son had a dairy allergy that he has since grown out of. Staff on the Dream and Fantasy went to great lengths making sure that none of his food had dairy - made him special foods and desserts each day so that he would not feel left out compared to the rest of the family.

 

On the Dream we did have to visit the medical center - unrelated to the allergy. I recall being treated very well - my son had a nasty double ear infection that he probably started with while in WDW the week prior. They made sure to give him the proper meds so that he would clear up before flying home in 2 days. They even called later to check on him. The bill was not that high and included the visit, 2 medications and ear drops. With travel insurance we only ended up paying around $100 of it (deductible)

 

Perhaps the medical staff do not treat the crew well - but of that I would have no idea since we were paying pax.

 

I would have no hesitation trusting DCL staff with either the food allergies or the medical staff with a general illness or injury

[chamima]

My son had a dairy allergy that he has since grown out of. Staff on the Dream and Fantasy went to great lengths making sure that none of his food had dairy - made him special foods and desserts each day so that he would not feel left out compared to the rest of the family.

 

On the Dream we did have to visit the medical center - unrelated to the allergy. I recall being treated very well - my son had a nasty double ear infection that he probably started with while in WDW the week prior. They made sure to give him the proper meds so that he would clear up before flying home in 2 days. They even called later to check on him. The bill was not that high and included the visit, 2 medications and ear drops. With travel insurance we only ended up paying around $100 of it (deductible)

 

Perhaps the medical staff do not treat the crew well - but of that I would have no idea since we were paying pax.

 

I would have no hesitation trusting DCL staff with either the food allergies or the medical staff with a general illness or injury

 

 

 

Thank you for your reassurances.

[holula]

Love DCL - we've done three cruises and had an incredible time on each one. But.....I'm also ready to try another cruise line for a different experience and lower prices. I'm seriously considering Princess for our next cruise.

 

 

This sums up our thoughts right now. My husband and I love Disney, and DCL, but I'm ready to see some new places and try some new ships. In January we are sailing Royal and hopefully NCL, and we also plan to try Carnival. Disney IS probably worth the money if you have kids, however.

 

 

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[BullDawg91]

Thank you for your reassurances.

 

Chamima, excellent point in the thread you replied to: get travel insurance since the likelihood of needing medical care is higher than average. You won't be sorry!

[kngtrtn]

Here is our story -

 

We have done 4 - 7 night DCL cruises with our kids over a period of years they experienced the tween club and the teen club and then experienced the "ackward group" over 18 under 21 age.

 

We had awesome times with them and my 2 kids actually kinda of took over running the "ackward group" with help of one DCL CM. That group made thier own fun and had an incredible trip.

 

This past January DW and I grabbed a last minute VGT for a 4 night on the Dream and had a really fun time - just the 2 of us - something different for us.

 

While onboard we decided to take the kids and thier significant others on a June 2015 cruise so we booked 2 future staterooms - 1 for me 1 for DW.

 

When DCL released 2015 I went to book on opening day and a 7 night eastern in June with the OBB discount was over $11,500 for 2 oceanview rooms for the 6 of us. (not gonna happen)

 

So I looked at Alaska for that time frame and same stateroom category was over $8,500 which I thought was better so I booked it. But I got to thinking I had comprimised because i wanted the Caribbean with the kids.

 

Going back to Nov 2012 I was lucky enough to sail on RCCL FoS for a conference and really enjoyed it so thought I'd give them a look.

 

Well for the June Eastern same itinerary as DCL with a Verandah room for DW and I and 2 inside for the 4 "kids" (all mid-twenties) it was under $6,800 - I'm sorry DCL but you cannot tell me I'm getting over $5,000 more value for only 2 staterooms!

 

Then RCCL came with the BOGOHO offer and applied this to our reservations and we are now under $5,800 for the same cruise DCL wanted over $11,500 with an OBB discount.

 

I still love DCL and I'm sure I'll sail them again in the off season when they price closer to other lines. But for now we are excited for the RCCL cruise.

[alinnj]

Let us ALL not forget the free soda included in the price :D

[MizDaisy]

Let us ALL not forget the free soda included in the price :D

 

:p:D:p

 

One of my all-time favorite reasons to pay more!

[cruiserninja1]

Let us ALL not forget the free soda included in the price :D

 

 

Mmmm Shirley Temples in the MDR !

Edited July 24, 2014 by cruiserninja1

[Winston Wolf]

Let us ALL not forget the free soda included in the price :D

 

 

Wait. What? This changes everything!

[karin5]

Disney cruises are expensive, but we just booked our second cruise, due to our 6 year old son. We think it will be more enjoyable for him, so it will be more enjoyable for us. But here is an interesting comparison.

 

Last June we did a 7 night Alaska cruise on the wonder. We had a balcony room. My cost for the cruise was $2,142 (base cost for me, not including my husband and son). In March of 2014, I did a Western Caribbean cruise with my sister with Princess. We had a balcony room. My stateroom cost was $699. While this is a different location, the difference in cost is huge.

 

I will say the food on Princess was much better than Disney, and I found the Princess cruise very enjoyable. I can't see my family doing many Disney cruises due to the cost.

[mitchmed]

For my situation Disney provides the best value. We have 4 kids (13, 10, 7 and 4) and for me a vacation is when my kids are all happy and safe. We recently tried Norwegian (because of cost) and were disappointed with the kid's activities. In fact, the two older kids ended up just hanging around the ship as they didn't like the kid's club. Disney really does a great job of entertaining kids and for that, I would pay a premium.

[caribsun]

We flew into Orlando did 2 whole days at WDW and then went on a Carnival 7 night cruise. So we go our Mickey fix and a CCL cruise for less then a 5 night cruise on DCL. :D