Other/Cheaper Cruises...?

[mevelandry]

I have sailed on the Disney Magic for most of her 20 years, and one of the factors that draws me back to DCL is that the ship never feels old to me. And it was re-imagined (renovated) about 5 years ago to keep it current. Since then they updated one of the rotational restaurants. The Celebrity Edge has new and modern styling, and the floating deck that goes up and down the side of the ship. I still prefer the classic architecture of the Magic and Wonder. All of these are subjective factors.

As far as pricing for the Greek Isle itinerary, I was looking at a cruise fare for 2 people, as that is who is traveling on our DCL Greek Itinerary. The DCL stateroom is 268 sq ft, including veranda, the Celebrity was 244, including veranda. The difference was within US$1,000, using an OBB discount on DCL and with a US$200 stateroom credit. Granted Celebrity has an extra day. I do agree it’s not the best comparison feature for feature. I understand dining on Celebrity is quite good, but not comparable to DCL in terms of entertainment.

But, by definition DCL is not a mass market cruise line. They started as a family focused cruise line with limited itineraries and an outstanding entertainment experience, Disney themed. As they expanded they continue to be family focused, and have gotten much better at catering to empty nesters and adults, with expanded itineraries and the same Disney-themed entertainment, and dining experiences. A mass market cruise line markets to all market segments, with a wide variety of experiences designed to appeal to many different types of cruisers. Thus, the focus on (very profitable) casinos, more upcharge restaurants, bigger ships, etc. DCL’s focus is much more narrow, and expands primarily as Disney expands with links to Marvel, Star Wars, etc. When Virgin Cruises launches it will be speciality as well - in their case all-adult, etc.

I go back to my point that these factors are subjective. A price-to-price comparison is only as good as the what one values from their cruise experience. And, I will say that when we are dining in Palm or Remy, or, add on an embedded Adventure by Disney, it does feel like DCL is reaching to an upscale experience, of course for even more price.

One thing I can't disagree with is that DCL has definitely its own "niche". No other cruise lines focus on entertainment based on characters and a fantasy world.

But when you strip all the characters and type of entertainment, and focus on the quality of food, other entertainment, amenities, cabins... Are they really reaching to an upscale experience? I don't think so.

Carnival is textbook "mass market/popular", right?

I have stayed in a Cloud 9 Spa cabin on Carnival Vista and tried all the specialty dining experiences except Chef's Table --which would be an equivalent of Remy if it wasn't for the fact that on that the experience on Carnival also includes a visit of the galley -- which were all at least 50% less expensive than DCL specialty dining restaurants... And I have to say that while DCL might still have the edge when it comes to the decor of a cabin (remember that I did not stay in Havana, my opinion could have changed if I did), we thought that Carnival had overall better food, more choices of food and better choice of entertainment (I never got over how the thrill theater was fun) and other amenities (like the gym and the Spa) were definitely just as good as DCL. And I have said it many times, the service/staff on our DCL (3) and Carnival (4) cruises has always been very similar.

Which is why, in my opinion, despite his "luxury experience" pricing, DCL belongs in the "Mass Market" category.

 

[mevelandry]

Agreed that was a little out of line. Travel sites such as this should be about helping people plan the best vacation within their budget. Not about disparaging people who can’t afford 20k cruises. I know it’s a Disney cruise line board, but I think with the prices being what they are people are going to look for alternatives.
As someone who loves DCL I appreciate the reviews. I’ve also cruised other lines and have not been disappointed.

I know it was a simple a mention of what some people say and I don't think it was out of line to mention that it is among what has been said.

What breaks my heart is that some people actually say that and/or agree with that.

And the truth is I have read that type of comments regarding guests on non-DCL cruise lines A LOT...

As if the type of vacation one can afford had anything to do with the kind of person they are.

 

[mevelandry]

I appreciate the fact that you broke down pricing on your second post however going to your first post, it looks like Celebrity and DCL were not, in fact, about the same price. I think it is always best to have a comparison so others can decide for themselves what is a true valid comment and what is maybe not so valid. I'm not saying anyone lied so please don't read that into it, I'm saying that for some having a booking within $1000 is considered about the same price. For others, such as myself, having a booking within $1000 is anything but about the same price. It also leaves me to question if Celebrity included anything else in their booking such as a drink package or OBC mentioned by another person above, which would make the value of the Celebrity go up even more. This stuff isn't going to matter to everyone but if offered it is still part of the package. The mention in the first post of one being a 10 day cruise and one being a 9 day would also have helped when seeing the big picture.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm picking on you, I'm not. I just find people tend to post that they are finding these remarkable deals with DCL 'and compared to XYZ line' its the same but they never post information about what they found and expect people will take their word on it. Some people do which is why I think full disclosure with these posts would be great to see. I'm sure someone could prove DCL is just as cheap somewhere but I've yet to see it in writing. Again, PLEASE don't take offense to this post. Its not meant to point a finger at one person. Your posts just happen to be close together and made a point.

Check out the DCL vs Carnival thread and the RCCL section. We compare (with details) a lot.

 

[cgolf]

I appreciate the fact that you broke down pricing on your second post however going to your first post, it looks like Celebrity and DCL were not, in fact, about the same price. I think it is always best to have a comparison so others can decide for themselves what is a true valid comment and what is maybe not so valid. I'm not saying anyone lied so please don't read that into it, I'm saying that for some having a booking within $1000 is considered about the same price. For others, such as myself, having a booking within $1000 is anything but about the same price. It also leaves me to question if Celebrity included anything else in their booking such as a drink package or OBC mentioned by another person above, which would make the value of the Celebrity go up even more. This stuff isn't going to matter to everyone but if offered it is still part of the package. The mention in the first post of one being a 10 day cruise and one being a 9 day would also have helped when seeing the big picture.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm picking on you, I'm not. I just find people tend to post that they are finding these remarkable deals with DCL 'and compared to XYZ line' its the same but they never post information about what they found and expect people will take their word on it. Some people do which is why I think full disclosure with these posts would be great to see. I'm sure someone could prove DCL is just as cheap somewhere but I've yet to see it in writing. Again, PLEASE don't take offense to this post. Its not meant to point a finger at one person. Your posts just happen to be close together and made a point.

The thing that really torques me is some compare the original RCCL, Celebrity, etc. price, not the sale price you would actually pay, because that makes DCL look better! Not all do it, but I have seen some that do. The RCCL marketing dept constantly runs sales to make people feel like they are getting a deal. What we found when we reshopped our RCCL cruises the end price changed by 10s of dollars, not 100s. The only difference we saw is once in awhile an OBC is included too. Their marketing team feels that the constant sales get more people interested instead of just setting the price at what the sales always take it too. We shop a fare bit at Kohl’s department stores and the running joke there is if you see something you like that is not on sale, wait a bit because it will go on sale. We find a lot of great deals there because it seems like they run sales all the time.

Disney’s business model is different but evolving. When we regularly cruised there were no adds on TV and very few deals. Since the prices started to rise, we have seen TV commercials and sales on social media. Will be interesting to see where the future takes them.

 

[VeronicaZS]

Is it fairer to compare a Disney Cruise to a Disney Parks vacation? Disney has a monopoly on Disney experiences and not on cruises. I just priced a Nov 4-8 cruise on the Dream for 5 of us and it came to around $4700. For those same dates at the cheapest deluxe (Beach Club Villas) with 4-day single park tickets and the mid-level dining plan it comes to about $5300. Even when you factor in transportation to Port Canaveral I come out ahead. This helped me justify the premium I am paying for a Disney cruise.

 

[tinkerone]

Is it fairer to compare a Disney Cruise to a Disney Parks vacation? Disney has a monopoly on Disney experiences and not on cruises. I just priced a Nov 4-8 cruise on the Dream for 5 of us and it came to around $4700. For those same dates at the cheapest deluxe (Beach Club Villas) with 4-day single park tickets and the mid-level dining plan it comes to about $5300. Even when you factor in transportation to Port Canaveral I come out ahead. This helped me justify the premium I am paying for a Disney cruise.

That argument has been made before. I, myself, just don't see the staterooms to be the equivalent of a room at a deluxe resort. At best I would compare them to a mod. That alone would change your numbers up. Now, if your talking about one of the suites then I see the point but just for a stateroom, not to me. What category are you pricing?
For me they still don't seem equal. Even less equal than comparing another cruise line because at least with a cruise line your pricing like to like. JMO, and not meant to say you or anyone else is wrong. Were all right because we are different. Its what is best for our personal tastes and that is really all that matters.

 

[mevelandry]

Is it fairer to compare a Disney Cruise to a Disney Parks vacation? Disney has a monopoly on Disney experiences and not on cruises. I just priced a Nov 4-8 cruise on the Dream for 5 of us and it came to around $4700. For those same dates at the cheapest deluxe (Beach Club Villas) with 4-day single park tickets and the mid-level dining plan it comes to about $5300. Even when you factor in transportation to Port Canaveral I come out ahead. This helped me justify the premium I am paying for a Disney cruise.

IMO, it's an interesting comparison if you are looking for a "Disney vacation".

When looking for a cruise, it's better to compare with cruise lines.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DCL isn't a luxury experience. It's not meant to be. I'm not sure how the people who say it is luxury define luxury, but when looking at how the travel industry would define it, it just isn't. Even concierge is pretty debatable.

 

[VeronicaZS]

That argument has been made before. I, myself, just don't see the staterooms to be the equivalent of a room at a deluxe resort. At best I would compare them to a mod. That alone would change your numbers up. Now, if your talking about one of the suites then I see the point but just for a stateroom, not to me. What category are you pricing?
For me they still don't seem equal. Even less equal than comparing another cruise line because at least with a cruise line your pricing like to like. JMO, and not meant to say you or anyone else is wrong. Were all right because we are different. Its what is best for our personal tastes and that is really all that matters.

I will caveat this by saying I haven’t sailed DCL yet but I think the comparison should be made on more then just the room. Square footage wise maybe a moderate is a better comparison but I see the room as just a part of it, it gives me access to all the amenities of the resort/ship. Regardless, pricing Port Orleans brings my “trip” down to $4300. Still in the ballpark to make me feel like I am getting a reasonable price for a Disney experience.

I agree that if I were looking for primarily a cruise experience I probably wouldn’t pay for the Disney premium.

Finally, as a family of 5 I am pricing a Deluxe Family Oceanview Verandah on a mid-level deck.

 

[Madani]

We have been on 2 DCL cruises with number 3 coming up next month. We are a family of 2 adults and 1 child. Last week I booked a lower deck, ocean view room on a 7 night Eastern on Celebrity Edge for $4400 (including gratuities and the promotional drink package for adults, and factoring in beverage money for kid) for March 2020. That same day I could have booked a deck 2 ocean view on Fantasy for $6400 (including gratuities) departing the next day.

Now, assuming the price doesn’t go up I could book the Fantasy onboard next month, and with the 10% discount, and using the 5% discount gift card angle from Target, and OB credit from Disney and travel agency, I could probably get the price down on the Fantasy to closer to $5000.

We have LOVED our Disney trips and yes I”m nervous about trying another line, especially with a 7 night. But I think of all the lines, Celebrity will suit us best - I’m not interested in the mega ships, I have severe reactions to cigarette smoke, and we just don’t do a lot of bar/nightlife activities. When I listened to Tracy describe the ship in the recent Dreams Unlimited podcast I thought it would be worth giving it a try. I like that it is a smaller ship, that it is easy to see the ocean, and the casino is non-smoking. I will miss Castaway Key and some of the other unique features of DCL but we are going in with open minds. Even if we don’t ‘love’ it, I don’t think we will have a terrible time.

I will still get a placeholder when we are on board next month, and if we don’t like Celebrity as much we can return to Disney in 2021.

 

[cadien]

I know it was a simple a mention of what some people say and I don't think it was out of line to mention that it is among what has been said.

What breaks my heart is that some people actually say that and/or agree with that.

And the truth is I have read that type of comments regarding guests on non-DCL cruise lines A LOT...

As if the type of vacation one can afford had anything to do with the kind of person they are.

They are not necessarily the same thing. People of any income level can decide they want a booze cruise and adult entertainment. And often do. Look at Vegas. Just like Carnival, for decades they marketed themselves as the place to go cut loose and behave badly. Then they decided to rebrand, but the reputation is going to last. Saying you want to avoid people who insist on unlimited drink packages and wet t-shirt contests is not the same thing at all as saying you want to avoid people with less money.

IMO, it's an interesting comparison if you are looking for a "Disney vacation".

When looking for a cruise, it's better to compare with cruise lines.

The comparison does work for the people who have younger kids and go to Disney for character meals and resort days. Not for people who go for the rides.

 

[cyclenut]

I'm a little late to the party on this thread, but will wade on in anyway.

What I've found is that if you really shop around on DCL and are willing to sail less popular or off season, you can find reasonable prices. We have done so a number of times. I don't expect DCL to be the same price, but I don't expect it to be thousands more for a party of two adults either.

I've mentioned on other threads that I recently booked Harmony of the Seas for almost half the price. This is for a shoulder season late August Eastern Caribbean. Some are already back in school by that point, but for some, it's September. The Fantasy travels exactly the same dates and to the same ports, so it really is a fair comparison. It was a few years back, but we sailed the Fantasy to these ports previously, so really thought trying another line to the same ports would be a good idea.

I have the Harmony booked and I recently reserved a beach cabana for about $430 that will seat 8. That price includes an upgraded lunch buffet which is more comparable to what Disney serves on Castaway Cay.

We are also looking to purchase the all you can drink package, which is $56 per person per day for all adults in the stateroom. That's not cheap, but it does include unlimited drinks on Coco Cay. Plus, there are three sea days to enjoy, so we'll be getting our value from this. Disney just doesn't offer anything similar, so there is no price comparison.

Harmony also has many different entertainment options. A water show, an ice show and they are currently doing a full Broadway production of Grease, which includes a live orchestra (something Disney has never done on their ships). We don't feel we'll be suffering from lack of entertainment options at all.

With respect to the original comments about Carnival. We have had a similar experience on Carnival, but we've also had a very different experience. We stay away from the comedy clubs on Carnival because they are too adult for us as well and the main stage shows are really cheap Las Vegas acts (in my view). It's funny though. We went to the show and then when at dinner our tablemates were raving about it. My wife and I had commented about how sub par it was before arriving, so we just bit our tongues. Our silence was telling as they eventually drug it out of us. When we shared the issues we observed, they all agreed that we were not seeing things, the difference was, they didn't much care. Those things went right past them and they enjoyed the show. That's a really important thing to remember when booking ANY vacation. You may not be delighted with everything, but let it go and move on. We were much happier when we got home and tallied up the total cost, realizing we had saved a couple of thousand dollars, all in.

 

[smmco]

I'm a little late to the party on this thread, but will wade on in anyway.

What I've found is that if you really shop around on DCL and are willing to sail less popular or off season, you can find reasonable prices. We have done so a number of times. I don't expect DCL to be the same price, but I don't expect it to be thousands more for a party of two adults either.

I've mentioned on other threads that I recently booked Harmony of the Seas for almost half the price. This is for a shoulder season late August Eastern Caribbean. Some are already back in school by that point, but for some, it's September. The Fantasy travels exactly the same dates and to the same ports, so it really is a fair comparison. It was a few years back, but we sailed the Fantasy to these ports previously, so really thought trying another line to the same ports would be a good idea.

I have the Harmony booked and I recently reserved a beach cabana for about $430 that will seat 8. That price includes an upgraded lunch buffet which is more comparable to what Disney serves on Castaway Cay.

We are also looking to purchase the all you can drink package, which is $56 per person per day for all adults in the stateroom. That's not cheap, but it does include unlimited drinks on Coco Cay. Plus, there are three sea days to enjoy, so we'll be getting our value from this. Disney just doesn't offer anything similar, so there is no price comparison.

Harmony also has many different entertainment options. A water show, an ice show and they are currently doing a full Broadway production of Grease, which includes a live orchestra (something Disney has never done on their ships). We don't feel we'll be suffering from lack of entertainment options at all.

With respect to the original comments about Carnival. We have had a similar experience on Carnival, but we've also had a very different experience. We stay away from the comedy clubs on Carnival because they are too adult for us as well and the main stage shows are really cheap Las Vegas acts (in my view). It's funny though. We went to the show and then when at dinner our tablemates were raving about it. My wife and I had commented about how sub par it was before arriving, so we just bit our tongues. Our silence was telling as they eventually drug it out of us. When we shared the issues we observed, they all agreed that we were not seeing things, the difference was, they didn't much care. Those things went right past them and they enjoyed the show. That's a really important thing to remember when booking ANY vacation. You may not be delighted with everything, but let it go and move on. We were much happier when we got home and tallied up the total cost, realizing we had saved a couple of thousand dollars, all in.

I would agree with you're first point. You can find reasonably priced cruises mostly during the Fall season, but they're still going to be hundred if not thousands more then other cruise cruise lines. Last Fall we shopped around for a last minute cruise. Disney had some nice discounted cruises that were within budget, but every cruise line was discounting cruises and they came in well below DCL's prices. We settled on Harmony. Even though DCL wasn't out of reach in terms of our budget Harmony was still 2000 less. We needed two rooms. We are on the Transatlantic this Fall which I consider a good price for DCL.

The Summer European cruises are way above what we can comfortably afford. Which is funny because we sailed DCL in Europe four years ago and it was nowhere near the prices I'm seeing now.

 

[mevelandry]

They are not necessarily the same thing. People of any income level can decide they want a booze cruise and adult entertainment. And often do. Look at Vegas. Just like Carnival, for decades they marketed themselves as the place to go cut loose and behave badly. Then they decided to rebrand, but the reputation is going to last. Saying you want to avoid people who insist on unlimited drink packages and wet t-shirt contests is not the same thing at all as saying you want to avoid people with less money.




The comparison does work for the people who have younger kids and go to Disney for character meals and resort days. Not for people who go for the rides.

Wet t-shirt contests? There are no wet t-shirt contests on Carnival... Where did you get that information?

Also their drink packages are limited. (RCCL & NCL are unlimited, Carnival limit is 15 drinks/day).

EDIT: By the way, drink packages also include specialty coffee, milkshakes, soft drinks, smoothies and Evian water. DH and I try to stick to what is included... but they are a good value.

I really believe that they will redress their reputation... As long as people stop sharing fake news. :/

 

[smmco]

They are not necessarily the same thing. People of any income level can decide they want a booze cruise and adult entertainment. And often do. Look at Vegas. Just like Carnival, for decades they marketed themselves as the place to go cut loose and behave badly. Then they decided to rebrand, but the reputation is going to last. Saying you want to avoid people who insist on unlimited drink packages and wet t-shirt contests is not the same thing at all as saying you want to avoid people with less money.




The comparison does work for the people who have younger kids and go to Disney for character meals and resort days. Not for people who go for the rides.

I'm platinum on DCL and Royal. I happen to also love Vegas. I guess I'm an anomaly in your world. People like drink packages for the same reason they like the dining plans at WDW for the all inclusive vacation. Honestly I see just as much alcohol being consumed on DCL as I do on Royal. I also see just as many drunk people. In fact on my last DCL cruise a women at the bar was so drunk she spilled her drink all over me.

I'm cruising Carnival in Europe next year and very much looking forward to it. Funny I've never heard of wet t-shirt contests mentioned on the Carnival boards on cruise critic. I have found the people that post on the Carnival boards are just as diverse as they are here. It's not just a cruise line for people to behave badly. Of course I'm not sure what behaving badly means since that is very subjective.

 

[tidefan]

Do you have young ( age 5-10) children? I’m interested in princess, but not sure of the age range on their ships. Thank you

So, just got home earlier this evening after a 12.5 hour drive back from FLL. I hope to do a full review of our cruise on Regal Princess.

Bottom line. We had a blast. We are sailing this ship again over Thanksgiving (an Eastern, next time) and we are all much more excited to go back on the ship than we were for this one. However, I’ll post my thoughts about what Princess is and what it isn’t, and maybe it would help.

We don’t have kids in that range, but we have a 15 yr old DD. Princess is her favorite line after DCL. There are a number of reasons for this that I’ll get into, however, for the Caribbean, with Princess, I think the biggest thing to consider is the date of the sailing. Princess Cruises out of Fort Lauderdale and what you need to consider (and, BTW, I think this is more endemic to Port Everglades, not just Princess) is that a number of ships get filled with senior cruisers that bus in from all over South Florida. However, these tend to be “off season” cruises as during high times, the ships fill so you don’t see as much of the bus groups.

I talked to someone on our cruise that had stayed in from the week before. He said that it was “amazing” that it seemed as though the average age on the ship dropped about 20-30 years from one cruise to the next. I should note that our cruise was the first of the Spring Break season, so we had a good mix of ages that I do not think they had the cruise prior to us... ours, however, seemed normal to me.

Also, I have a number of Princess Cruises, and always thought that the ships were pretty interchangeable as they were consistent. I will now say that I really enjoyed the Regal (a Royal class ship) better than the old Grand class ships in a way that I didn’t necessarily expect.

I’ll go into more detail in its own thread so as not to detail this one...

 

[tinkerone]

Been trying to think of something DCL does better for several weeks now, its been in the back of my mind almost since this thread started. EUREKA! DCL offers a laundry room. RCL does not. Not sure about the rest of the lines but I don't think so. Now this would not be important to us at all except for the fact we prefer to do B2B's so 14 days worth of clothes are hard to pack. RCCL does offer a laundry service mid week as a special, I believe it was $35 for all you could put in their bag. You'd be amazed how much you can get in a bag if you fold the items neatly.
There's good and bad to a laundry room vs no laundry room. If I don't have one I don't have to waste MY time doing laundry on vacation. If I do have one I can do the laundry as I need it and not have to wait for a special.
While this is probably an advantage for DCL its still not worth the hundreds/thousands extra for their cruise but worth a note.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

Been trying to think of something DCL does better for several weeks now, its been in the back of my mind almost since this thread started. EUREKA! DCL offers a laundry room. RCL does not. Not sure about the rest of the lines but I don't think so. Now this would not be important to us at all except for the fact we prefer to do B2B's so 14 days worth of clothes are hard to pack. RCCL does offer a laundry service mid week as a special, I believe it was $35 for all you could put in their bag. You'd be amazed how much you can get in a bag if you fold the items neatly.
There's good and bad to a laundry room vs no laundry room. If I don't have one I don't have to waste MY time doing laundry on vacation. If I do have one I can do the laundry as I need it and not have to wait for a special.
While this is probably an advantage for DCL its still not worth the hundreds/thousands extra for their cruise but worth a note.

Carnival and Princess also offer self-laundry facilities. I love it when we are on a long cruise or plan to have more vacation time after the cruise.

 

[tinkerone]

Carnival and Princess also offer self-laundry facilities. I love it when we are on a long cruise or plan to have more vacation time after the cruise.

Good information and it blows my thought to bits. Now I need to think on about whether or not DCL does in fact offer anything unique, lol.

 

[Pens Fan]

I was a bit worried about the laundry situation on our last NCL cruise as it was for 12 days and we were were spending 2 nights in Quebec City before hand. It turns out, I had no need to worry. They also offered a "fill the bag" special for only $19.99. They actually offered it twice during our cruise, and reading on Cruise Critic it seems to be a weekly thing. And, yes, you can cram a ton of clothes in that bag if you need to. They promised a two day turnaround, but we received ours back the same day - neatly folded in a wicker basket. That beats the heck out of schlepping clothes to the laundry room on vacation in my book!

We are taking a 14 nighter in October and will definitely make use the laundry service a couple of times. $40 well spent!! Especially when you consider our booking came with $300 OBC anyway. We honestly have trouble finding ways to spend our OBC on NCL because so much is paid ahead of time (we always prepay gratuities) or included in our booking perks.

Edited to Add: Here's a tip I read on CC. Most of the laundry bags they hand out for the Fill the Bag special are paper and can tear. Bring trash bags from home and line the bag with them. You can then cram even more stuff in there! The bags we received were a reinforced plastic, so I didn't have to do that. We were in a suite, so I don't know if that had anything to do with getting a better bag or not. I'm still going to throw a couple of trash bags in my suitcase for our next cruise, just in case.