Those choosing other cruise lines- what's your $ point?

I enjoy cruising other lines but it's not necessarily just a money thing. I find myself getting bored with the same things over and over. Same itineraries. Same menus. Same activities. Same shows. Same same same. I also cruise other lines because they're interesting. Yes, Disney has some cruises that do some interesting itinerary variations but those tend to fill up FAST with insane prices. I'd rather travel more than spend more to travel.
 
I am holding out hope that we can afford one of the new ships during inauguration year -- I'd love to see at least one of them. Having managed to sail on all four of their current ships, I don't see us being able to afford to sail on the next two ships to complete the group unless prices drop significantly

That's my fear as well. I can't wait to see what they come up with for the new ships, but I'm afraid the price will be through the roof. Also, I'm afraid that the new ships will end up taking over the Dream / Fantasy itineraries which we have already done (well, EC anyway for the Fantasy) and really have no desire to repeat. Time will tell.

While we love Disney, we have always taken more non Disney vacations than Disney ones anyway, but up until recently stuck with Disney for cruises. Our son is older now (19), so the whole Disney aspect is even less important to us these days. Last summer we let him choose the vacation as he was graduating from high school and he chose two weeks in Colorado. He'd rather go to the parks to get his Disney fix - so much so that he somehow managed to figure out how to take an English class last semester that required students to go to WDW for spring break (I'm not making this up). He's planning on taking the follow up next spring semester. :sad2:
 
I enjoy cruising other lines but it's not necessarily just a money thing. I find myself getting bored with the same things over and over. Same itineraries. Same menus. Same activities. Same shows. Same same same. I also cruise other lines because they're interesting. Yes, Disney has some cruises that do some interesting itinerary variations but those tend to fill up FAST with insane prices. I'd rather travel more than spend more to travel.

Well done, I think you have stated it beautifully! Every cruise line we have explored has offered us new shows, new decor, fun foods, etc. I love the different ambiance and decor on each ship and love to explore the new surroundings. I also enjoy the variation of rooms on other lines and the variety of bars and free food options. But your statement you'd "rather travel more than spend more to travel" should be made into plaques and bumperstickers :thumbsup2. That's a perfect explanation of how to get it done.
 
It depends on so many things. I am willing to pay more for a shorter DCL cruise because other cruise lines tend to use older, smaller ships.

For a 7 day Caribbean cruise I am feeling priced out. I was looking for next February. The Fantasy is going for $4K for 2 adults. The Oasis on RCL is $2200 for the same time period. Even knowing I will pay for upcharges on RCL by my own choice I would save over $1K. That is a lot of money for a very similar experience.
My DH somehow strongly prefers small ships, so I guess we're lucky there. Except frequently I want an itinerary that only has large ships.

It will be interesting when Disney releases their 2019 cruises. I've already booked us a 7-day Caribbean on RCL because it was the perfect itinerary and within our budget. Really curious to see what Disney will be for comparison. And none of us drink soda.
 


How old are your kids? my DD was 11 when we tried DCL- she loved it but equally did love all the stuff on RCL (rock wall, skating etc) but mainly missed pools on the Fantasy. Due to price, it looks like we will be one and done with DCL (I will start investigating them again in a few years when my 9 month old is bigger) as my DD said she'd love to try other ships when we cruise again (she's seen some of the ships with waterslides, ropes courses etc and thinks they look pretty cool)

The pool on Disney ships is a HUGE negative for us...more like people soup - ugh! We loved the pools - all THREE of them - on Allure! Our daughter just turned 8 and we find that the Oasis class ships have more of the things that she likes than Disney ships do. We're excited to be trying out the Harmony (with slides!) next year.
 
The pool on Disney ships is a HUGE negative for us...more like people soup - ugh! We loved the pools - all THREE of them - on Allure! Our daughter just turned 8 and we find that the Oasis class ships have more of the things that she likes than Disney ships do. We're excited to be trying out the Harmony (with slides!) next year.
I'm sailing Harmony with friends in October! Sooooo excited!!!!!
 
I found this thread interesting, so I just looked up comparable itineraries for the same week in April 2018. Eastern Caribbean, 7 nights. DCL was $6000 for 2 adults, 2 kids, while RCL was $2600. That is insane. While we loved our Disney cruise, I'm not willing to spend that much more for the experience.
 


You gotta go with what you're happy with! That's not a bad price for Disney in Alaska! Enjoy.
It's an inside room and only 2 people, and the last cruise of the year. Actually it's still at opening day prices. Not a big seller I guess. I keep thinking I should have waited to see if GT rates were offered instead of wasting my OBB.

I don't come here and bash other cruiselines I haven't sailed on or make people feel bad for not being able to afford DCL. Disney is a great cruiseline, but I don't think it's necessarily better then the others. I'm priced out of many DCL cruises I'd like to take, but can still find a few in my comfort zone. I booked the WBTA next year 3340 for 2 in a Cat 9b. Not a bad price, but it's getting harder and harder to find those DCL cruises in my comfort zone.
 
I really struggled with this question before ultimately booking my 1st DCL. We are usually very frugal with travel. Self driving/touring, staying in hostels. Even on Safari we opted for tents over lodges or hotels. Ultimately I paid double to be on DCL over a comparable itinerary on Carnival (4 night Bahamas in Sept). It was ultimately because my DD will likely not be out of swim diapers (a month shy of 2YO at time of cruise), and DCL was the only one with an appropriate water area for her. My wife isn't coming, so it was important to have the cruise be as relaxed as possible and it seemed like DCL would be the best match for this scenario.

I'm very curious if I'll get hooked on DCL. My only other cruise was a RCCL on my honeymoon 7 years ago.
 
Honestly, we feel like dcl is no longer a superior product after our last few cruises on the wonder, dream, and fantasy. At one time dcl was superior. Now for us, dcl would have to be flat out less expensive. We do not find the service (wait staff, room attendants, none of it) or experience to be better on dcl, so we would not choose them over another cruise line all things equal. We used to think the kids club was superior, but we realized on our last cruise that they are pretty much just occupying the majority of kids with ipads. We spend a lot on vacations every year-- it is just what we spend our money on- and we have reached a point where we have a lot of vacation time, so we could easily add dcl in and still do other cruise lines. But we have booked through early 2019 elsewhere at this point and any dcl we had booked we have cancelled. Dcl just seems :crazy2: to us.
 
How old are your kids? my DD was 11 when we tried DCL- she loved it but equally did love all the stuff on RCL

DD will be 12 at the time of the trip, DS will be 9. We're looking at a 3 day Bahamas trip in late May, and don't intend to get off the ship in Nassau so it'll be pretty ship intensive for us. That's one of the reasons I'm nervous. Then again, we're starting our trip with 2 days at Universal (I'm angling for 3 if we can get an early flight) so I'm also hoping they'll be so worn out from our time at the parks they'll just want to chill on the ship.
 
I am holding out hope that we can afford one of the new ships during inauguration year -- I'd love to see at least one of them. Having managed to sail on all four of their current ships, I don't see us being able to afford to sail on the next two ships to complete the group unless prices drop significantly
Our grandson will turn 5 that year and we have already committed to taking the family. I hope I don't regret this, lol. We took each of our children and our other grandchild to Disney for their first time when they reached 5 so in our family its the magic number. Grandsons parents think that as busy as WDW is now it may be a bit much for him at WDW so DCL was the compromise. The savings has already begun.
 
DD will be 12 at the time of the trip, DS will be 9. We're looking at a 3 day Bahamas trip in late May, and don't intend to get off the ship in Nassau so it'll be pretty ship intensive for us. That's one of the reasons I'm nervous. Then again, we're starting our trip with 2 days at Universal (I'm angling for 3 if we can get an early flight) so I'm also hoping they'll be so worn out from our time at the parks they'll just want to chill on the ship.

3 Day cruises are actually one thing that I would recommend DCL over others. They have one of their newer ships doing the 3 day cruises and it's true that most other lines use their older ships with less bells and whistles.
 
Our grandson will turn 5 that year and we have already committed to taking the family. I hope I don't regret this, lol. We took each of our children and our other grandchild to Disney for their first time when they reached 5 so in our family its the magic number. Grandsons parents think that as busy as WDW is now it may be a bit much for him at WDW so DCL was the compromise. The savings has already begun.

Lovely plan and what great memories. Any interest in taking them to Universal -- it's a little less hectic and lots of fun kid stuff there, too. But, of course, the cruise would be the best choice all around -- no park crowds or waiting in lines and lots of characters to see. Have a great time!
 
Lovely plan and what great memories. Any interest in taking them to Universal -- it's a little less hectic and lots of fun kid stuff there, too. But, of course, the cruise would be the best choice all around -- no park crowds or waiting in lines and lots of characters to see. Have a great time!
Funny you should ask that! We are taking the granddaughter and her father to Universal in August. That's the only time her mother will allow her to travel this year. We will have four days in WDW and three at Universal. DH and I bought Annual passes for Universal last year when we split our stay for the first time. We enjoyed the parks and the resort stay so much that we had to take her to see it. The Harry Potter stuff is going to make her holiday.
But yes, I think for a full on family vacation with DGS a cruise will be the best. It will allow Nanny and Poppy to enjoy them all and still have some 'us' time.
 
I work really hard in a very stressful job. When I go on vacation I want to be catered to and waited on hand and foot. I don't want to stress and I want to relax. We did a RCCL cruise because it was closer to home and we could save money by driving to the port. It was an older ship and lacked the amenities of the newer ships, but I also felt the level of the customer service was not even close. The beds were uncomfortable and multiple pillow changes made no difference. I ended that cruise with neck pain.

So, not what I was looking for from my vacation. I've looked at different cruise lines including newer RCCL ships, but to get the service I need to truly relax is the same as regular prices on DCL.

We're doing the same Fantasy EC cruise again next year. I do agree with prior posters that it does get to be boring after a time, but I do relax on those trips.

Also, my youngest child who is my biggest swimmer hated the saltwater pools on RCCL so much she wouldn't go into the pool.
 
I work really hard in a very stressful job. When I go on vacation I want to be catered to and waited on hand and foot. I don't want to stress and I want to relax. We did a RCCL cruise because it was closer to home and we could save money by driving to the port. It was an older ship and lacked the amenities of the newer ships, but I also felt the level of the customer service was not even close. The beds were uncomfortable and multiple pillow changes made no difference. I ended that cruise with neck pain.

So, not what I was looking for from my vacation. I've looked at different cruise lines including newer RCCL ships, but to get the service I need to truly relax is the same as regular prices on DCL.

We're doing the same Fantasy EC cruise again next year. I do agree with prior posters that it does get to be boring after a time, but I do relax on those trips.

Also, my youngest child who is my biggest swimmer hated the saltwater pools on RCCL so much she wouldn't go into the pool.

I wouldn't recommend the older ships. The newer ships have that we've been on had at least 2 of 4 pools that were chlorinated, not salt-water. We didn't check 1 of them. I believe the Solarium pool is chlorinated as well. Pools are HUGE for my daughter (we literally spent 3 hours straight in the pool on the Allure in Feb.). We find the pools on Disney to be the worst we've ever experienced - 1 pool that's people soup (and the toddler pool). And now that they've started making everyone get out every 15 minutes...they're even worse.
 
I wouldn't recommend the older ships. The newer ships have that we've been on had at least 2 of 4 pools that were chlorinated, not salt-water. We didn't check 1 of them. I believe the Solarium pool is chlorinated as well. Pools are HUGE for my daughter (we literally spent 3 hours straight in the pool on the Allure in Feb.). We find the pools on Disney to be the worst we've ever experienced - 1 pool that's people soup (and the toddler pool). And now that they've started making everyone get out every 15 minutes...they're even worse.

Why are they clearing the pools every 15 minutes? That seems annoying.
 
Why are they clearing the pools every 15 minutes? That seems annoying.

It's supposed to be so the kids use the restroom. Unfortunately they get out of the pool and have a drink and/or an ice cream, which kind of defeats the purpose. This was on the Magic in November. Will see how it goes on the Fantasy in August.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts



Top