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

[cedricandsophie]

I know we are very blessed to say this but price has nothing to do with our Disney cruise decision. We have been on other cruises as a couple because we like e itinerary or the ship. But for a family, we will never Do anything but Disney. We have an adult disabled daughter who still loves the ships and the characters, we always bring her best friend. As soon as they get onboard they are off and running, looking for characters, meeting all the staff. They are perfectly safe and happy and by the end if the second day most of the staff are saying hello and know their names. Also they love the shows, the dining experiences,etc.

We also have two grand children 15 and 20 who still love the Disney experience and as long as they want to come, we are grateful to have them along.

For us, the ports have little to do with our decision. This year we are going on the June 28 10 day cruise because we love the fantasy, we like the longer cruises, and there are a couple ports we have never been to. We have two cabins one an ocean view and another inside cabin and everyone is very excited. One of our other daughters is coming along too so we are taking seven people. It's an expensive trip. With airfare it's probably costing us around 25000 not including excursions, drinks on board, spa visits, etc. when we take the family, we pay for everything. And we are lucky to be able to do so.

 

[aggiedog]

Cut and pasted from a different thread so I don't have to type it all again:

How about 1/3 the cost? You can't quite compare apples to apples, as the dates and ports are a bit different. Also, the MSC concierge seems to have, IMHO, a bit more to offer. But, if you compare peak time 2018, 7 night med cruise (because comparing for 2017 would inflate the price of DCL I think) it breaks out like this for 1 adults, 2 kids per room which is how we travel with our 4 kids. The first two MSC prices are for this summer and is their "fantastica" experience which includes dining, free room service, beverage coupons, cooking and language classes for the kids along with the kids clubs, all shows, plus other stuff. The prices aren't exact since each sailing is a bit different in price. Most of their summer 2018 itinerary is not out yet, as far as I can tell, so I can't directly compare 2018 DCL to MSC.

Balcony DCL $7500, MSC $3000
Oceanview DCL $6000, MSC $2000
Concierge (not a suite) DCL $14,000, MSC Yacht Club $4,800

Yes, the DCL rooms are a bit larger, Yes, MSC has a casino. For that price difference, I can handle it. And since we really cruise for the ports, I am hoping we'll be happy to appreciate the difference to the two lines and enjoy our vacation.

For MSC, if you want to do interior rooms, or a slightly more basic package that is just dining, it's even cheaper, but I can't compare prices because they're basically all sold out.

It's not a specific price, but it really breaks down into how much travel can I do with my money? We loved our DCL Baltic cruise, but for the cost, this MSC Med cruise is a no-brainer. We're saving enough money to do a week in France before the cruise.

 

[darnheather]

No dollar amount as long as my children sail with me. They love DCL. They won't be young and traveling with me forever. I'd rather go on fewer cruises and make them happy then go more often and have them disappointed.

 

[cruiser21]

Its impossible to know if you kids would be disappointed if they are never exposed to anything else To each their own though. My kids are pretty aware of what things cost. They would rather travel more then always cruise on Disney.



Has the MSC website improved? The last time I tried using their website I was ready to pull my hair out. They do have some nice itinerarys. I would love to do the DCL 11 night Baltic., but 15k for a cruise is too much for me.

 

[GeneralTso]

We are a Disney family! Like so many on these boards.
Sure, we could sale another line at get Concierge for the price we pay for Verandah suites. They pale in comparison though with all the other perks of a Disney cruise.
We live in Seattle, where so many cruises depart, yet......here we go to Cape Canaveral!

 

[aggiedog]

Ha! No, their website sucks. I just call them when I need something.

My kids also are cognizant of cost comparisons. They'd rather travel more for the dollar.

One story that has stuck with me for years: An older friend's kids talked for years about the great trip they had as young kids to the Hershey Amusement Park. Best trip ever, etc, etc. When they were teens he broke down and told them they'd just stopped at the visitor center. Moral of the story - kids are frequently happy whatever you do, as long as you're making good memories.

 

[cruiser21]

Ha! No, their website sucks. I just call them when I need something.

My kids also are cognizant of cost comparisons. They'd rather travel more for the dollar.

One story that has stuck with me for years: An older friend's kids talked for years about the great trip they had as young kids to the Hershey Amusement Park. Best trip ever, etc, etc. When they were teens he broke down and told them they'd just stopped at the visitor center. Moral of the story - kids are frequently happy whatever you do, as long as you're making good memories.

What is it with cruiselines websites. Royal drives me to insanity too. NCL is OK. Carnival gets bashed a lot on these boards, but I find their website the most user friendly. DCL's is not bad, but of course they only have 4 ships. I liked DCL's old website better.

I agree with you on kids. It's interesting what they remember on trips. It's not always what you think they should remember. Sometimes I'm surprised by the simple things that stick out in their minds. Kids under the age of 12 are pretty easy to please. They can find fun in just about anything. Teens can be more difficult, but certainly not when it comes to cruise ships. They all have pretty good teen clubs.

 

[KashasMom]

Ha! No, their website sucks. I just call them when I need something.

My kids also are cognizant of cost comparisons. They'd rather travel more for the dollar.

One story that has stuck with me for years: An older friend's kids talked for years about the great trip they had as young kids to the Hershey Amusement Park. Best trip ever, etc, etc. When they were teens he broke down and told them they'd just stopped at the visitor center. Moral of the story - kids are frequently happy whatever you do, as long as you're making good memories.

This made me laugh. My 8 year old has traveled extensively, almost all internationally. When I recently asked her where she wanted to go...she said Hershey Park! Guess I can save a few thousand and take her to Hershey!

 

[Pens Fan]

Ha! No, their website sucks. I just call them when I need something.

My kids also are cognizant of cost comparisons. They'd rather travel more for the dollar.

One story that has stuck with me for years: An older friend's kids talked for years about the great trip they had as young kids to the Hershey Amusement Park. Best trip ever, etc, etc. When they were teens he broke down and told them they'd just stopped at the visitor center. Moral of the story - kids are frequently happy whatever you do, as long as you're making good memories.

This made me smile. I remember when our son was young (like 8 and under). We basically made our hotel decisions based on the quality of the pool. My husband and I would crack up that we have driven/flown all this way to (enter exciting destination of your choice!) and all our kid cared about was the pool. That did change as he got older, but even then it was more about the activities and the experience than where we stayed. Our favorite DCL cruise was Norway/Iceland. It was amazing, but as much as I have heard my son talk about that trip, I don't recall him even once mentioning the fact that we were on a Disney cruise. All he talks about was super jeeping in Iceland and the 3 days we spent in Copenhagen ahead of time. That is what resonated with him.

 

[Pens Fan]

This made me laugh. My 8 year old has traveled extensively, almost all internationally. When I recently asked her where she wanted to go...she said Hershey Park! Guess I can save a few thousand and take her to Hershey!

This also made me smile. Our school district always gets the 2nd Friday in October off and until marching band obligations prevented it, we often would head to the Hershey/Lancaster area for a long weekend. We all look back on those trips with great fondness. They didn't cost much, but we sure made some terrific memories together.

I'd really hate to think I had to spend a ton of money or stick with a specific brand to make my child (well, no longer a child in our case), happy on vacation. Make no mistake, we've taken some amazing (and expensive) trips. But we've also taken trips and spent next to nothing and had just as much fun.

 

[Happy100]

Quality over quantity is our driving factor for choosing DCl. I work at finding a DCL cruise at a price point we are comfortable with. For my family of three that is 5000. We can't take several cheap cruises a year so on the one we take i want to absolutely love it and so far DCL is the only cruise line that wows us.

 

[cruiser21]

Quality over quantity is our driving factor for choosing DCl. I work at finding a DCL cruise at a price point we are comfortable with. For my family of three that is 5000. We can't take several cheap cruises a year so on the one we take i want to absolutely love it and so far DCL is the only cruise line that wows us.

Quality is subjective. In your mind quality is better on DCL, but is that really true? For some people it's not.

I can understand your point though if I only had one or two weeks vacation a year I'd probably want to stick with something I know rather then take a chance on something I don't. If you ever want to try something beside the Caribbean on Disney that 5k won't take you very far.

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

It's funny, as my husband, kids, and I were discussing almost this exact question last night over dinner and we all agreed that DCL would have to be significantly less expensive than the other cruise lines to lure us back--and we all agree that while DCL may not be for our family, that is not going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

To be fair, we moved away from DCL because after several cruises we got bored with the same itineraries, shows, menus, etc., and did not move away because of price, but now that we've tried Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Princess, I just can't imagine going back. The good news is there are plenty of people who want our spot on DCL, so everybody ends up better off in the end.

 

[cruiser21]

It's funny, as my husband, kids, and I were discussing almost this exact question last night over dinner and we all agreed that DCL would have to be significantly less expensive than the other cruise lines to lure us back--and we all agree that while DCL may not be for our family, that is not going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

To be fair, we moved away from DCL because after several cruises we got bored with the same itineraries, shows, menus, etc., and did not move away because of price, but now that we've tried Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Princess, I just can't imagine going back. The good news is there are plenty of people who want our spot on DCL, so everybody ends up better off in the end.

How old are your kids? How were the activities for kids? I haven't tried Royal or princess yet.

 

[LSUfan4444]

So with all the debate regarding DCL being x amount more expensive, and others not finding it that bad, DH and I were just discussing what the price difference would have to be for us to sail DCL again- for my DH it is 1000, for me it's 500-1000 as I figure 500-1000 can go a long way towards excursions, or towards some time at WDW, that sort of thing...so- what's your $ point?

I take each trip and compare accordingly...the example I gave last week is a cruise I just booked for May 2018.




Last month we sailed The Dream (4 night to Bahamas) and for 3 of us the total was $2800 for an inside stateroom. Next May (same week as this year) on the Allure we booked 7 nights to St Maarten, Labadee and San Juan with an ocean balcony and the cost was $3200. If I sail that same week in 2018 on the Dream a 4 night cruise for a verandah is $1000 more (for 3 less nights)


Allure

Dream

Now, if I book a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean (westerm, not eastern) the same week I have RCl booked a ocean view balcony room with DCL is $3000 more.

Same week, same type of room, similar (Caribbean itinerary), same guests and DCL is $3k more for a family of 3.

 

[ludari]

I don't have a fixed dollar amount either and it's more about the how many days the cruise is and the destinations. Last year I tried RCL for the first time and although the price and the number of days was better than anything than DCL was offering RCL fell short when it came to my two important factors which are service and entertainment. My preference is still DCL and will always look at booking them first before any other cruise line.

 

[tgarre06]

I don't have a fixed dollar amount either and it's more about the how many days the cruise is and the destinations. Last year I tried RCL for the first time and although the price and the number of days was better than anything than DCL was offering RCL fell short when it came to my two important factors which are service and entertainment. My preference is still DCL and will always look at booking them first before any other cruise line.

Which RCL ship did you try?

 

[LSUfan4444]

I don't have a fixed dollar amount either and it's more about the how many days the cruise is and the destinations. Last year I tried RCL for the first time and although the price and the number of days was better than anything than DCL was offering RCL fell short when it came to my two important factors which are service and entertainment. My preference is still DCL and will always look at booking them first before any other cruise line.

I'll admit that the service on DCL trumps RCI for me as well. So do the kid areas for our 7 year old. To me, I found the dining and food to be a wash. Some things I like better on RCI some things i like better on DCL. Obviously you've got to find what each ship/line offers and how much you value it. The fitness centers (for example) on RCI are a huge bonus for me. I also like the pool deck better, the flowrider, ice skating rink, etc so while I don't like a reduction in service It's a trade off and knowing I'm saving $3000 is a nice perk too. lol

I booked a placeholder on our DCL cruise last month and there is one week (Mardi Gras week 2019) over the next two years we will consider sailing with them (if the prices and itinerary are right) simply because of how high their cost is. In the meantime we're going to a family all inclusive in Punta Cana, 9 days in WDW in january, a RCI cruise next May and for all of those I considered DCL to some degree but just couldn't justify the cost.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

We just got back from our first Alaskan cruise and because of the high price of the Disney Alaskan Cruise, we went with Princess this time. We saved over $3,000. As soon as I saw that difference, I wouldn't even consider DCL for Alaska. And after cruising Princess, I don't know if I'll ever go back to DCL. We all liked Princess more and even looking at Caribbean cruise prices between DCL and Princess, DCL is over $2,000 more. The tough decision for me is cruise or WDW...

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

How old are your kids? How were the activities for kids? I haven't tried Royal or princess yet.

We have a teenage daughter, a younger teenage son, and a tween son. They've never been big kid-club goers, on any of the cruise lines, but we all prefer the pools and dining options on both lines. We particularly like being able to dine as a family at the premium restaurants. We also like the entertainment, not because it's better quality (I think the quality on DCL is probably better quality) but because it is more varied and less syrupy sweet. More than anything, however, I think we just got tired of DCL. It's a great cruise line, but we wanted to try new ports of call, new things, and not feel quite so much like each trip was deja vu.