DCL vs Princess vs RCCL vs Carnival

[Laura61]

We(myself, DH and DD9) have never done a Disney Cruise but have sailed with all of the other 3 mentioned above and are currently booked on RCCL's LOS for August '08. Friends of ours want us to join them on DCL's Wonder in August '09. It seems that the price for a 4 night cruise on the Wonder is priced the same as our 7 night LOS cruise for similar cabin categories. Why is DCL so expensive and is it worth it?

 

Our last 3 cruises have been w/ Princess(OP,Golden and Grand) and LOS will be our first Voyager class cruise.

 

I am going to post this on the other message boards as well so - sorry if you see this post several times!

 

Thanks for your feedback!

[FunCruiser56]

Our family loves Disney- Disney World that is...LOL. We did sail on the Wonder and had a great cruise- the ship is beautiful, crew very good. But we felt not much for adults, my DH missed the Casino. Our younger son loved the kids programs. Their prices are just too high for us to do a return trip so we spend our disney money in the parks.

 

We took a cruise on the Liberty of the Seas in October and had a really good cruise, there is plenty to do on the ship and plenty of out of the way places to just relax. The crew was wonderful and we don't really have anything negative to say at all about this ship and we would sail on it again anytime.

The kids areas are plentyful, especially with the big H20 zone, but also great adult places too.

 

I would keep your reservation for the LOS 7 days vs 4 days for the same price, sorry DCL is not worth it. Why just visit the Bahamas when you can go to several islands in the Caribbean?

 

Now if DCL was closer in price to the other cruise lines then we would return for another try on the 7 day, were hoping when the 2 new ships come out they might spread a little love and lower their prices....:rolleyes:

 

Bev

[karatemom2]

We took our first two cruises with DCL and we loved them. They do have that special Disney touch but with that comes a premium price. Since we have branched out and cruised other lines we have discovered that DCL probably does not offer us the best value for our vacation dollar. The service, entertainment and dining on our other cruises has been comparable and sometimes superior to DCL. My kids have fun in the kids program no matter what ship we are on, but my daughter actually likes Princess the best, even more than DCL. My DH definitely likes having a Casino onboard and my son loves to be on a ship with better pools. The pools on DCL are extremely small.

 

If I need a Disney fix I can go to Disneyland, but as far as cruising goes, I just can't see paying the exorbidant prices when you can get an equal or superior experience with other lines for less money.

[kitty9]

They're more expensive because they're Disney. I'm not trying to sound trite, but that's the bottom line. Disney charges what the market will hold, and since Disney isn't cheap to begin with, that's why their cruises are expensive. Is it worth it? Only you can decide. They do have better food than the other lines and the kid's entertainment can't be beat, but only you know whether the prices are worth it for your family. But they must be doing something right, despite the charges, because their cruise ships are pretty much sold out.

[Cruzman]

They're more expensive because they're Disney. I'm not trying to sound trite, but that's the bottom line. Disney charges what the market will hold, and since Disney isn't cheap to begin with, that's why their cruises are expensive. Is it worth it? Only you can decide. They do have better food than the other lines and the kid's entertainment can't be beat, but only you know whether the prices are worth it for your family. But they must be doing something right, despite the charges, because their cruise ships are pretty much sold out.

 

And people buy bottled (tap) water too! Go figure!