Originally Posted By t1lersm0m Why are Disney cruises so much more expensive than non-Disney cruises? I know it's all about the Disney experience, but I was looking at a 7 night for next year (March 2007) and for an inside stateroom it would be $3000 plus taxes and fees for three of us (two adults and one child). Has anyone here cruised on Disney, and on other cruise lines? Is Disney really that much better?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Because it's Disney, Leigh. I have done cruises on (in order), Carnival (Carribbean), Disney Magic (7-night Eastern C.), Golden Princess (Southern C.), and Pride of America (Hawaii). The Magic was the nicest ship, but all of them were terrific. The PoA has very unique Americana theming that I loved but some would see as over the top. PoA also had the best food, by far. Disney was average at best, but Palo was incredible ... a California Grill all-you-can-eat at sea Disney cabins are larger than most, BUT the difference isn't huge. Disney's housekeeping in the cabins was quite average, much like their resorts. PoA was the worst though. Princess was far and away the best in terms of quality employees in housekeeping, front desk, casino, dining ... Two things set Disney apart from all the rest: entertainment that is second to none and Castaway Cay, which is like an island-sized natural water park. That said when I cruises on Disney, I went at 80% off and had a wonderful balacony cabin. DCL isn't worth the premium it charges. My family (three adults, not me sadly) recently did a 14-night Transatlantic sailing on RCL. For a suite, they paid LESS by a few hundred what you were quoted for inside 7-nights on Disney. That speaks volumes to me.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 And, BTW, that 14-day figure INCLUDED all taxes and fees for all three people. Miami to Barcelona with stops in Portugal, France, Monte Carlo.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m I personally just can't justify that kind of price jump from RCI or Princess to Disney. We only paid $2100 for our 10-night cruise on Dawn Princess last April. As you said, the woman taking care of our cabin was phenomenal. And she was so wonderful to Tyler. It's sad they get paid so little and have to rely on their tips to live. <<That said when I cruises on Disney, I went at 80% off and had a wonderful balacony cabin.>> How did you do that? By booking far in advance (probably not) or by some super-secret method?
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle I thought the DCL was *well* worth the price. I went for 3 nights and paid I think $450 (possibly a bit less) and had a really great time. I've never been on any other cruises though so I can't compare the experiences.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I personally just can't justify that kind of price jump from RCI or Princess to Disney. We only paid $2100 for our 10-night cruise on Dawn Princess last April. As you said, the woman taking care of our cabin was phenomenal. And she was so wonderful to Tyler. It's sad they get paid so little and have to rely on their tips to live. >> The service I received on the Golden Princess was truy heads and shoulders above Disney, Carnival or NCL. In all aspects. Disney wasn't bad. We had wonderful servers, for example. But much like the CMs at WDW, it was a hit or miss experience. Housekeeping made the cabin appear clean rather than actually clean. I don't give a damn about towel animals, I care about cleanliness. But the cabin steward we had on NCL's PoA was the worst by far. I don't think he cleaned the bathroom once in a week. Just took dirty towels out and put clean in. <<That said when I cruises on Disney, I went at 80% off and had a wonderful balacony cabin.>> <<How did you do that? By booking far in advance (probably not) or by some super-secret method? >> Neither. Let's just say I'm well-connected.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I thought the DCL was *well* worth the price. I went for 3 nights and paid I think $450 (possibly a bit less) and had a really great time. I've never been on any other cruises though so I can't compare the experiences.>> The thing is, you could have probably booked a much nicer cabin on another ship possibly with an extra 1-2 days for the same price. You could have also booked a 7-night cruise out of Florida on another line for that price (per person, naturally) albeit for an inside berth. I'm not dissing DCL, believe me. I loved my Disney Magic cruise. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but only at a significant (50% or more) discount. I'd really like to do one of their European cruises next year, but not at the prices they ask.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Do DCL cruises attract fewer obnoxious 20 somethings than the other cruise lines? I've always thought they probably would, and if so the extra cost is WELL worth it.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^Hard to say, Trippy. I didn't have a problem with obnoxious people on any of the cruises I've taken. May have been the time of year or just my luck. Heck, I didn't even mind the brats on the Magic. They have plenty of adults only areas, and they actually do enforce this.
Originally Posted By AladdinAZ No casinoes on board Disney, so they have to rob you before you board, instead of robbing you on board.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<No casinoes on board Disney>> Uh oh... So what do you DO all day?? LOL
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I didn't have a problem with obnoxious people on any of the cruises I've taken. May have been the time of year or just my luck.>> I've never been on a cruise so I have no personal experience. But two of my brother-in-laws and their wives have taken cruises on Carnival, and both came back saying they were non-stop party boats... although fun at first it got to be a little much by the end of the cruise.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Carnival is the white-trash line of the seas, Trippy. You might as well rent a boat and party with the Minnesota Vikings ;-)
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m RoadTrip, I've heard that Celebrity is really nice for the relaxed, not high energy crowd. Ok, that sounds bad. Not necessarily older people per se, but you know what I mean. I'd like to take a Celebrity Cruise at least once. I've heard the food is better than RCL or Princess. And it's not a non-stop party like Carnival. Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean, but it's a step up from Royal Caribbean. And from what I've read, it doesn't attract many families with young children, or teens/early twenties. So while there will be children on board, they won't be predominant.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ t1lersm0m, did you just input your dates online or did you shop for your cruise? That quote is far more than what I've been seeing. As for someone saying the food was mediocre on Disney, my question is WHAT!? My parents cruise extensively, and they thought the food was great compared to most cruise lines. The only one that equaled it (in their opinion) was Princess. As far as taking kids, especially young ones, there's no comparing other cruise lines to Disney. These ships are MADE for families. Other cruise lines don't do nearly the job Disney does. They are designed for adults with an "oh yeah, people might have kids along" mentality.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I booked but had to unfortunately cancel a DCL cruise for this coming September for 3 adults, 1 14 year old and 1 6 year old, 2 rooms - 1 navigator veranda and the other full veranda on the 7 day cruise the total was $5000. Something ain't right t1lersm0m. I used Small World vacations.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m I looked on expedia.com. I didn't really shop around. I'm just toying with the idea. A friend at work went on a 3 or 4 night DCL cruise and loved it, and that made me look into it. But now that everyone is talking about Freedom of the Seas (RCL) we're looking into doing that. She called a friend who is a travel agent, and for Dave, Tyler and I to fly down to Miami, out of Philly, and do a 7 night FOTS cruise with all taxes and fees included it would be $4100. I'll have to search around for better prices on DCL.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m Maybe March is an expensive month to go, but here are the rates listed on Disney's own website for March 2007. As you can see, the lowest price for two adults and one child is $3500: Departure Date Itinerary Stateroom Category Price 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 04 : Deluxe Family Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 5,936.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 05 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 5,180.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 06 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 4,970.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 07 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Navigators Verandah $ 4,760.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 08 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 4,260.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 09 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 3,846.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 10 : Deluxe Inside Stateroom $ 3,636.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 11 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 3,552.60 03/03/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 12 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 3,828.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 04 : Deluxe Family Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 7,490.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 05 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 6,524.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 06 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 6,314.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 07 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Navigators Verandah $ 6,104.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 08 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 5,102.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 09 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 4,792.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 10 : Deluxe Inside Stateroom $ 4,416.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 11 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 4,330.60 03/17/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 12 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 4,228.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 04 : Deluxe Family Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 8,904.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 05 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 7,854.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 06 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Verandah $ 7,644.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 07 : Deluxe Stateroom w/ Navigators Verandah $ 7,434.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 08 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 5,906.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 09 : Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom $ 5,596.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 10 : Deluxe Inside Stateroom $ 5,386.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 11 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 5,154.60 03/31/2007 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Category 12 : Standard Inside Stateroom $ 5,112.60
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I wouldn't book through them, I'd go through an agency, as they give rebates and credits that lower the cost. Also, did you click all the insurance and stuff? I didn't take it from Disney they are expensive. Yes, the month matters in terms of cost. On the website, you can plug in different time periods for a comparison.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ March is typically one of the most expensive months. It's Spring Break! Also, if you included airfare, Disney's is outrageous. We saved over $200 per person by booking it ourselves.
