DCL cruisers tried Royal...

[TeamRiley]

Not better. Just smarter and without delusion.

"Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king."

Same goes for having to declare you are smarter than others.

 

[Mango7100]

How is it that people don't get this? Besides, as many people have said, the premium is worth it to some people.

It’s not a question of whether or not the premium is worth it. It’s that some people pretend the premium doesn’t exist at all. Or that if you don’t want to pay the premium you are going on some inferior product that can never be as good. Or that the premium can be explained by getting free soda.

Sometimes I pay the premium, sometimes I don’t. But I know it’s there and it’s not cheap.

 

[starvenger]

Well that certainly is some gymnastics (and I understand that you are just illustrating the matter and not advocating.) But I seriously doubt anyone budgets based on percentages - budgets are mostly based on how much you have to spend.

Percentage was necessary to understand how one could potentially get to a 30% number. And yes, one should not base a budget on percentage alone. Didn't mean to give that impression.

Value is completely different and I am sure that everyone here understands that some people believe that DCL has value. My all in budget for our 2023 Italy trip was $9,200 (2 people x 18 days). I just priced out DCL Fantasy for an early December run of the mill seven day eastern Caribbean. Fare for two plus tax is $5,800. Add in tips, travel etc and that is a $7,800 trip if we are careful. Pardon me if I don't see the value.

I think I need to hear about this Italy trip.

 

[Mango7100]

You more or less get it. The cost does not change. But the perception of value does. The poster had previously mentioned that travel costs quite a bit for them, so to me it makes sense to look at the overall cost of the vacation, because with high travel costs, the price of the cruise has less impact on the overall value.

Let's add another scenario, where the travel costs $5000 for the group:
- Disney = $12,000
- MSC = $8500 = 0.708x DCL
- Royal = $9000 = 0.75x DCL

We are getting into some significant costs, and the question of budget is not much of a factor anymore. That $3000 gap doesn't feel as significant now.

I don't know if I'm helping or not with the numbers here. Please let me know.

I totally get what you are saying. And examples with numbers are always helpful. The key word is perception of value. For some the perception of value is there and for others it isn’t. And for some people one vacation on DCL may have the perceived value to make it worth it, but another time it doesn’t.

 

[MonaMN]

I totally get what you are saying. And examples with numbers are always helpful. The key word is perception of value. For some the perception of value is there and for others it isn’t. And for some people one vacation on DCL may have the perceived value to make it worth it, but another time it doesn’t.

Value is key. I've priced out and booked a few Alaska cruises but haven't yet taken one. But when I price it out, while it's cheaper on the other lines, there are some Disney specifics that provide value beyond the dollars. Is that worth the extra $? Not sure... but I do know that I booked on Princess, watched some videos and just didn't feel excited about getting on that ship. (Turns out we had to cancel it anyway...)

It's hard to compare apples to apples based on ships and staterooms too. For example, to get a similar stateroom with Princess for Alaska, we had to book an upgraded stateroom (thinking it was like a junior suite or something) so that my teenager wouldn't have to sleep on a loft above us in a tiny room. And with the other lines having many more ships, some of them get good reviews and many do not... the ones that are newer tend to not have as big of a price difference all in as DCL, so then it becomes a question of whether it's really worth it to take the risk on a cruise line you're not sure about.

In other words... it's complicated and the calculation is not as simple as the pure math suggests.

 

[auntlynne]

@ray3127 You must be good at parties because you have started quite the extended conversation!

Did you watch the old Saturday Night Live skit - woman’s talk show - where the host (in our scenario) would say, “Disney cruiser tries Royal; talk amongst yourselves.”

 

[auntlynne]

We have moved into the “Worth it to You” versus “Total cost” scenario in response to cruise review (that actually had pros and cons)?

As long as we aren’t throwing chairs on stage and everyone is having fun… This reminds me of dinner with engineers and they start drawing on napkins.

 

[LAS2AMS]

It's because we all have our own way of looking at numbers and assessing value. I don't think there's a right or wrong. Just perception and what makes sense to you and your family.

LOL, I can hear the conversation now:
“Honey, I like Disney too but it’s almost 3x the price.”
“But if we stay in a suite at the Four Seasons WDW the night before, it’s only 30% more considering our total trip cost!”

 

[DCLMP]

Well that certainly is some gymnastics (and I understand that you are just illustrating the matter and not advocating.) But I seriously doubt anyone budgets based on percentages - budgets are mostly based on how much you have to spend.

Value is completely different and I am sure that everyone here understands that some people believe that DCL has value. My all in budget for our 2023 Italy trip was $9,200 (2 people x 18 days). I just priced out DCL Fantasy for an early December run of the mill seven day eastern Caribbean. Fare for two plus tax is $5,800. Add in tips, travel etc and that is a $7,800 trip if we are careful. Pardon me if I don't see the value.

If it makes people sleep better by believing that DCL is only 35% more then good for them. It is fruitless to argue over something so illogical. No one has to justify how they spend their time or money, but don't blow sunshine up . . .

We did a 12 day Greek Isles cruise on Odyssey of the seas last year for 3500 in a balcony. Disney was 11k with the VGT rate. It's totally doable to do Italy for 9200.

 

[DCLMP]

"Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king."

Same goes for having to declare you are smarter than others.

I do not think that is what he was saying.

 

[DCLMP]

LOL, I can hear the conversation now:
“Honey, I like Disney too but it’s almost 3x the price.”
“But if we stay in a suite at the Four Seasons WDW the night before, it’s only 30% more considering our total trip cost!”

Why do people even try to justify it. If you love DCL and are OKay with the price than just own.

I always feel like people on here have to justify it by bashing other cruise lines or bringing up ridiculous things like soda costs or extra costs for things that DCL doesn't even have.

I've never once regretted my 30 Disney cruises or my cruises on Royal and Carnival. I do what fits the budget with the best itinerary and never look back. I've never regretted a single cruise.

 

[starvenger]

We have moved into the “Worth it to You” versus “Total cost” scenario in response to cruise review (that actually had pros and cons)?

It is a complete sidebar. But I do find it to be interesting for some reason.

 

[MomOTwins]

Value is key. I've priced out and booked a few Alaska cruises but haven't yet taken one. But when I price it out, while it's cheaper on the other lines, there are some Disney specifics that provide value beyond the dollars. Is that worth the extra $? Not sure... but I do know that I booked on Princess, watched some videos and just didn't feel excited about getting on that ship. (Turns out we had to cancel it anyway...)

It's hard to compare apples to apples based on ships and staterooms too. For example, to get a similar stateroom with Princess for Alaska, we had to book an upgraded stateroom (thinking it was like a junior suite or something) so that my teenager wouldn't have to sleep on a loft above us in a tiny room. And with the other lines having many more ships, some of them get good reviews and many do not... the ones that are newer tend to not have as big of a price difference all in as DCL, so then it becomes a question of whether it's really worth it to take the risk on a cruise line you're not sure about.

In other words... it's complicated and the calculation is not as simple as the pure math suggests.

This is our problem too. Family of 5 and I keep pricing out Royal cruises and it always comes out not really any less than disney because the room categories that sleep 5 are pricier on Royal, or I have to book 2 rooms. I know that two rooms or a suite/jr suite is more space than a disney family room, but when you don't need/want that extra space (my kids are still little, so the disney room is very comfortable us), it's not adding value for us. And once you add in a soda package (shirley temples at dinner are my one of my kids' favorite things on a cruise, and I'm a diet coke addict), plus other upcharges (for example, my oldest kid orders a steak literally every night of the cruise--we all laugh about him being a dinosaur, but on disney it is included), plus private island cost (yes, I know disney's private island doesn't have a water park, but the fact that royal does and my kids will see it and be heartbroken if I tell them "no you can't go on the awesome slides because it costs to much" means I have to buy tickets or have miserable kids, and who wants the latter on a vacation), mean at the end of the day we'd probably be paying more and perhaps significantly more for Royal.

So at bottom, I always read these posts to see if there is someone who says "I would prefer Royal over Disney even if Royal were more expensive" and why, and instead what I keep seeing is that the biggest (only?) advantage Royal has is price, and that just doesn't shake out for us.

 

[tinkerone]

So at bottom, I always read these posts to see if there is someone who says "I would prefer Royal over Disney even if Royal were more expensive" and why, and instead what I keep seeing is that the biggest (only?) advantage Royal has is price, and that just doesn't shake out for us.

I can help here, we would prefer Royal over Disney even if Royal were more expensive. Reasons? The adult only area kicks DCLs butt, they offer a drinks package that can be anything from a plain soda package to a deluxe drink package, they offer a casino (not everyones thing), they have more dining choices, they offer a dinner buffet, the aqua show is amazing, Central Park is a place I love to just sit in, they have more cabin options (Central Park being our favorite), Coco Cay has a pool (we are not ocean people but I love a pool), getting a cabana is so much easier with several different choices of location, the ship itself offers more and bigger pools, and many many other reasons.
I still enjoy DCL, we sailed Fantasy twice last year and have Treasure booked for next Feb, but we prefer RCCL. Having RCCL come in less expensive is a bonus. We like to do B2Bs and we can often do 14 days on RCCL for about the cost of 7 on DCL.
Full disclosure, we have only sailed Oasis class on RCCL and only do Caribbean cruises. Our enjoyment is based on that criteria and it certainly are reasons not everyone would agree with. The beauty of freewill. We are all different.
But yes, we prefer Royal.

 

[Sykes]

So at bottom, I always read these posts to see if there is someone who says "I would prefer Royal over Disney even if Royal were more expensive" and why, and instead what I keep seeing is that the biggest (only?) advantage Royal has is price, and that just doesn't shake out for us.

IMO, Disney and Royal Caribbean are pretty different cruising experiences. Sometimes I have a strong preference for Royal Caribbean (regardless of cost), and sometimes I have a strong preference for DCL. It just depends on the itinerary, the ship, and what I'm looking for on that specific vacation. One thing that I will say for sure is that now that I've experienced a multitude of cruise lines the shine of DCL has worn off to a significant degree. There's a lot that they do very well--the characters, the shows, the "classic cruise" experience, the "magic"--but there's also a lot where they're way behind, like food offerings, ambient entertainment, adults-only areas, concierge/suite offerings, variety of itineraries, etc.

 

[MomOTwins]

I can help here, we would prefer Royal over Disney even if Royal were more expensive. Reasons? The adult only area kicks DCLs butt, they offer a drinks package that can be anything from a plain soda package to a deluxe drink package, they offer a casino (not everyones thing), they have more dining choices, they offer a dinner buffet, the aqua show is amazing, Central Park is a place I love to just sit in, they have more cabin options (Central Park being our favorite), Coco Cay has a pool (we are not ocean people but I love a pool), getting a cabana is so much easier with several different choices of location, the ship itself offers more and bigger pools, and many many other reasons.
I still enjoy DCL, we sailed Fantasy twice last year and have Treasure booked for next Feb, but we prefer RCCL. Having RCCL come in less expensive is a bonus. We like to do B2Bs and we can often do 14 days on RCCL for about the cost of 7 on DCL.
Full disclosure, we have only sailed Oasis class on RCCL and only do Caribbean cruises. Our enjoyment is based on that criteria and it certainly are reasons not everyone would agree with. The beauty of freewill. We are all different.
But yes, we prefer Royal.

This is actually super helpful. We are also “pool people” so that could be a benefit, especially in winter months when the ocean is cold. Disney’s pools are always packed.

 

[Erica1016]

Why do people even try to justify it. If you love DCL and are OKay with the price than just own.

I agree! We did sail on Royal twice, it was fine. We prefer Disney. We know it costs more and we're okay with it. No justifying here, we like it better and where we are currently choosing to spend our money.

I also don't regret any of our cruises DCL or Royal. I hope I get to 30 DCL trips!

 

[Nabas]

A late to the party comparison --

A and C price point almost identical but EXPERIENCE vastly different

B and C price point of 1/2 the DCL price

A - 5/19/2025 - 4 day - WISH reg Verandah $3,575 @ 243 sq/ft with Verandah deck 7, 8, 9 aft or 7, 9 forward

B - 5/19/2025 - 4 day - WISH Concierge $7,511 @ 296sq/ft with Verandah

C - 5/18/2025 - 4 day - MSC Seashore Yacht Club $3,600 @ 355sq/ft with Verandah NOTE - YC is Concierge Level above DCL Concierge

DCL Concierge prices are insane, and yet they seem to always sell out quickly.

 

[Nabas]

It's fun with numbers, based on how you are planning your trip. Here are a couple of very basic scenarios

Scenario 1: You live in Florida or you separate your travel budget from the cruise budget, and so you just look at the cruise price when doing your comparisons.

In this scenario, using one of the previous example ranges, you have the following costs:
- DCL costs $7000
- MSC costs $3500, or 0.5x DCL
- Royal costs $4000, or 0.57x DCL

Scenario 2:
Some people prefer to look at the overall cost of the vacation. So say your flights + night-before hotel costs $2000 to the same port at the same time (just pulling this number out of a hat).
Your overall costs:
- DCL costs $9000 including travel
- MSC costs $5500 including travel, , or 00.61x DCL
- Royal costs $6000 including travel, or 0.67x DCL

Basically, when you look all in, the overall cost of a MSC or Royal cruise would get closer, percentage-wise, to that of a DCL cruise.

Note: I am not advocating for either scenario. Just illustrating that people budget differently, and thus numbers and value will differ.

Thanks for that.

To be honest, I find pricing out the other cruise lines really confusing. Drink package this, excursion discount that, etc. It's really overwhelming for someone who hasn't been on those cruise lines before. Some won't even show me the final price until I enter my personal information. Plus, I read about all the upcharges once I'm on those ships.

What I appreciate about DCL is that it's really easy to get the final price. IMO, the DCL website makes picking your cruise easier than every other cruise line.

 

[peder]

This is our problem too. Family of 5 and I keep pricing out Royal cruises and it always comes out not really any less than disney because the room categories that sleep 5 are pricier on Royal, or I have to book 2 rooms.

Sailing with a family of 5 is orders of magnitude more difficult than with 4, but I think there are a few cabin types that sometimes offer good value, such as the Oasis-class GT Grand Suite (Two Bedroom) cabins or the NCL Haven 2 Bedroom Family Villas. They can be cheaper than booking two non-suite balcony cabins, and the layouts of these rooms tends to work better IMO than two side-by-side cabins, because they have a separate, large living space.

There are also some suite categories that only sleep 4, but *really* you can fit another kid in the room (i.e. there's a 2nd couch, and you just need to throw some bedding down), and if you are traveling with others, you can just tack your 3rd kid on their cabin, but you still have all your kids staying with you. It's just 4+3 on paper, but for sleeping arrangements you do 5+2. An example of this might be the Sun Princess Owner's Suite, which has 2 couches, and even though the 2nd couch isn't a pullout couch, it probably works just fine for a younger kid. So if you can put your 3rd child on someone else's booking (assuming they were already going to be traveling anyway), it's an economical way to get a suite.