We did it again--sorry, DCL

[moki'smommy]

As of this morning, I was holding 2 cruises and had a list of pro and con for each. Sorry, DCL. I really do love the Magic, but I got a concierge suite on another line for 1/2 the price of a balcony cabin (cat 6) on DCL. The other thing that made the difference is that DCL has no "big" beds that divide. I am well aware that most families prefer the single large bed, but there are some "groups" for whom that just doesn't work...I really wish DCL had designated a few cabins with beds that could separate.

 

Sorry, guys. There are still some reasons that I would have preferred DCL....but in the end we had to choose.

Guess we'll see Rapunzel another time.

[DCLCrazy]

As of this morning' date=' I was holding 2 cruises and had a list of pro and con for each. Sorry, DCL. I really do love the Magic, but I got a concierge suite on another line for 1/2 the price of a balcony cabin (cat 6) on DCL. The other thing that made the difference is that DCL has no "big" beds that divide. I am well aware that most families prefer the single large bed, but there are some "groups" for whom that just doesn't work...I really wish DCL had designated a few cabins with beds that could separate.

 

 

 

Sorry, guys. There are still some reasons that I would have preferred DCL....but in the end we had to choose.

 

Guess we'll see Rapunzel another time.[/quote']

 

 

 

I don’t blame you one bit. Have a great time! Where are you going?

 

 

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[carterd2002]

Don’t blame you either - doing 3 DCL cruises this year but doing a 7 night in March 2019 on RCCL, a balcony cabin for much much less than a DCL inside cabin.

[moki'smommy]

Panama Canal on Princess. The combination of the suite on Princess and the bed issues on DCL did it for us. I'd love to see the post-dry dock Magic, but that will have to wait.

 

I actually looked at adding a 4 night on the Magic before our Princess cruise, but 4 nights in an inside cabin on the Magic was only $700 less than our 10 nights in a suite on Princess. I KNOW we got the deal of the century on this cruise, but DCL has to get real.

[Taswira]

moki'smommy - - I agree about the beds. The lack of split beds is probably the #1 reason for my decreasing number of DCL cruises. My husband is really not into cruising, but it's very uncomfortable asking a friend to share when one of us will take the sofa bed. Even if one may pay less to compensate, it's awkward because it's not an equal experience for both. Combine this with DCL's ever-increasing cruise prices and they are rapidly losing their appeal for me. Note: Adults only but lifelong Disney addict.

[1025cruise]

The only reason I took my first DCL cruise was because I got a great deal (it was when they were sailing out of Galveston and had a hard time filling ships). Had a great time, but can't justify the price.

[fla gang]

I have done one Princess cruise and it was on the Caribbean Princess. The ship, the service, the food all were fantastic. That being said I am a big fan of the big RCCL ships. Did a 7 day on the Harmony for the same price as a 3 day on the Dream. Taking all of the adult kids and grand kids with me on the Dream to celebrate my retirement. Hope they enjoy it. Papa can't afford to do this again

[SF]

We are seasoned cruisers and have sailed on almost all the other major cruise lines. We just returned from our first Disney Cruise. Totally agree the prices for a Disney Cruise are a lot higher and the bed not being able to separate is a huge negative for us. Definitely won't be taking a family vacation on that line as I cannot see our kids who are adults sharing a cabin like they do on other lines. On those lines they each get their own bed. On a DCL Cruise one of them would have to either sleep on the small sleeper sofa or on the upper bunk and I don't think someone who's 6'1" would appreciate that, especially after having to pay the higher prices. I'm kind of surprised since Disney usually thinks of everything that they didn't think to have cabins where the beds could be separated.

[moki'smommy]

Originally all the beds separated. There were lots of complaints about them being uncomfortable which I never understood UNTIL I was in a cabin where the host had put the beds together wrong. It was very uncomfortable. When it was time to change the beds, DCL listened to the complaints and put in all big beds that could not divide. That keeps most families happy, but is a real downer for a smaller number of us! If they'd been smart, they would have kept beds that could divide in at least some cabins. And this is especially true in the HA cabins where medical issues might make a bed to oneself especially desirable.

[Loonbeam]

Coral or Island? Partial or Full Transit? (NM - 10 nights is partial) - If you are considering private tours in Cartagena, contact Lee Miles (Mr. Emerald) - the guide he set us up with was amazing.

 

 

 

Panama Canal on Princess. The combination of the suite on Princess and the bed issues on DCL did it for us. I'd love to see the post-dry dock Magic' date=' but that will have to wait.

 

I actually looked at adding a 4 night on the Magic before our Princess cruise, but 4 nights in an inside cabin on the Magic was only $700 less than our 10 nights in a suite on Princess. I KNOW we got the deal of the century on this cruise, but DCL has to get real.[/quote']

[moki'smommy]

Coral or Island? Partial or Full Transit? (NM - 10 nights is partial) - If you are considering private tours in Cartagena, contact Lee Miles (Mr. Emerald) - the guide he set us up with was amazing.

THanks for the hint. Partial, Caribbean Princess, which we've been on before.

[alaska_planner]

well that was an offer you really couldn't refuse could you!!!

you do what you have to do....a nice cruise on a nice ship on a nice itinerary for a bargain rate is something you can't ignore....

no reason to apologize to anyone!! or to defend your actions....it makes perfect sense!!

[Keith1010]

Have a great time.

Keith

[Pens fan]

I understand completely. We are in the same situation. We enjoy Disney and have loved every DCL cruise we've taken. But now that our son is almost 20, I just can't justify the extra cost. Like you, I've found that we can sail in suites with all of their wonderful perks for less money that what we would spend on a regular balcony cabin with Disney. Having the characters around just isn't enough to balance that out for me. I keep looking at their cruises, though and maybe someday we will be back on one of their ships. But it will have to be a really, really good deal.

 

Our next two cruises are both with NCL in Aft Penthouse Suites and I'm very excited about both of them (and the price that we paid).

 

And the bed thing is just baffling to me. While we prefer the beds be together, I cannot understand Disney's choice to just eliminate the option of two separate beds completely. Lots of people cruise with friends, older children, etc. where having one bed would just be awkward. And most adults would prefer an actual bed to a pullout sofa or a bed coming out of the ceiling. As you suggested having some rooms with the single bed and some that can be split just makes good business sense. Sometimes I think Disney doesn't think they have to make those kind of accommodations to their customers (company wide). They just assume people will flock to see Mickey regardless, and for the most part they are correct. There is just an arrogance lately in a lot of my dealings with them (working on a WDW trip this Christmas) that is rubbing me the wrong way.

(Sorry for the rant!)

 

Enjoy your Princess cruise!!

[moki'smommy]

We enjoy Disney. We are DVC members; we like the cruise and we like the parks. We've been well treated by Disney. On one trip where they totally screwed up our reservation (daughter needs a walk in shower in an HA room, which was what we specified; they gave us a "roll in bathroom" which had a tub in it!), they moved us to a 2 bathroom suite in another hotel as that's all they had available that met our needs...no extra cost. So, I have nothing against Disney or DCL. They just need to meet the needs of ALL their guests. To not put split beds in at least some rooms on the ship doesn't make sense. And for us, that became the deciding factor in booking another cruise line this time.

[STHCruising]

We hope you will take future DCL cruises as your posts are always insightful.

 

We strongly prefer DCL after taking a Princess Cruise a few years ago. We were the youngest people on this ship (in early 60’s) and the ship (Caribbean Princess) was not immaculately clean at that time. The biggest difference to us is the DCL crew is just great. And we like DCL entertainment. In fact, we are getting on the Wonder in a few hours to sail the Southern Caribbean and then back to Port Canaveral. The good news this morning is that Natalie will be our Cruise Director and we really like her. She was Brent’s understudy on a Transatlantic we took a few years ago.

 

And yet we do look at other cruise options. Viking, RCCL, Crystal and Princess from time-to-time. We just don’t want to make the break from DCL. When we do, it will be for an itinerary we like. The Princess Cruise we took was the Canada and New England cruise in the fall, and the ports are outstanding. Now, DCL is doing a version of that itinerary.

 

We are also trying a river cruise, through Adventures by Disney on AmaWaterways. We have heard good things about Ama and wanted to give river cruising a try.

 

Enjoy your future cruising!

 

 

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[lyndenfa]

As of this morning' date=' I was holding 2 cruises and had a list of pro and con for each. Sorry, DCL. I really do love the Magic, but I got a concierge suite on another line for 1/2 the price of a balcony cabin (cat 6) on DCL. The other thing that made the difference is that DCL has no "big" beds that divide. I am well aware that most families prefer the single large bed, but there are some "groups" for whom that just doesn't work...I really wish DCL had designated a few cabins with beds that could separate.

 

Sorry, guys. There are still some reasons that I would have preferred DCL....but in the end we had to choose.

Guess we'll see Rapunzel another time.[/quote']

 

 

We *eight of us/3 staterooms, three generations) will be on the Magic for it's first sailing post redo. It will likely be the last for us (gram+gramp) due to cost and doubtful the kids will ever spend this kind of money. Granddaughter took her first last year on Dream, this year she is six. Magic was the first we took our grandson's on many years ago. Wonderful memories, five DCL cruises.

 

Now, we will stay with Celebrity as it is more our style (beds separate:)) and we have enjoyed lower prices for concierge level suites. We have been Oceania and Seaborn guests, so are open to new experiences. Without the young children our needs are different.

Nevertheless we have had hundreds of happy hours on DCL and look forward to sailing on her "new" /"old" ship.

[moki'smommy]

Thanks for the two above posts. I don't see this as a permanent "goodbye to DCL," but rather a "there were options that suited our needs better this time." DCL will definitely work better when there are only 2 of us going. We've cruised a few other lines, and fully agree that there is just something about DCL that isn't there on other lines. But it just isn't going to work for this vacation.

 

STH, we LOVE Natalie too--enjoy!

[coldflame]

As of this morning' date=' I was holding 2 cruises and had a list of pro and con for each. Sorry, DCL. I really do love the Magic, but I got a concierge suite on another line for 1/2 the price of a balcony cabin (cat 6) on DCL. The other thing that made the difference is that DCL has no "big" beds that divide. I am well aware that most families prefer the single large bed, but there are some "groups" for whom that just doesn't work...I really wish DCL had designated a few cabins with beds that could separate.

 

Sorry, guys. There are still some reasons that I would have preferred DCL....but in the end we had to choose.

Guess we'll see Rapunzel another time.[/quote']

 

How's this a bad thing to be sorry about? You owe them nothing. You find a better deal for your family and you take it. We've done it and very glad we have. I've been saying this for the last ~2 years: they have been out-pricing themselves out of the market, even out of their fans' reach. While I understand their desire to charge a premium for the experience, it's simply stopped being a premium and become a show-stopper for most families.