What did you all book for Summer 2023? - thoughts on prices?

[DCLMP]

That’s right, I remember about you having to stay in Cozumel. Glad everything turned out well. Our son has been a little nervous about aging out of the kids clubs. He met lots of friends who hung out around the ship. He is still in touch with some of them. He has lots of friends who are girls, so he would welcome a new friend. We were lucky enough to do two PC cruises...the best!

My 19 year old has no interest in cruising anymore. He’s just moved on to other things like college, job and saving to move out. I keep telling him adulting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I can’t wait to say “ I told you so”.

My 17 year-old who turns 18 in Sept still wants to travel over the next few years. I was brow beat into switching from Royal to Disney 11 day Northern Europe when they released the GT rates. It his last year in the vibe so I caved, but now I’m stuck in an inside room. He’s the opposite of his brother. He’s very upset about being labeled an adult in 4 months. He‘s also mad he lost out on two years in the Vibe.

The European cruises I’ve been on have had a very active 18- 20 group especially the TA in May. They had a group of 15-20 “kids”and they had contests in the adult pool area every day. Hopefully it’s like that for your son. I know my son has the same concerns about cruising as an adult as yours does.

Looking at your at your ticker I see we were on the 11 night Iceland together. I guess our kids were in the Edge back then. I can’t believe that was six years ago. The cruise you booked for next year looks great. It’s just more than I want to spend. You never know though maybe I’ll get lucky again with a restricted rate. It’s hard to say what demand will be like next year. Crazy times right now.

 

[KayKayJS]

We took our daughter on a 12 night Med and Greece cruise with Turkey on DCL when she was three. It was great! We did do some of the excursions without her and left her in the kids club. She had much more fun there. You will love it!

Thank you for sharing! It helps to hear others have done it and had a good time!!

 

[Cheburashka]

What number did you call? I'm ready to hang up on one of these phones and call back because I'm getting concerned that they are only answering the Castaway Club phone lines and not any of the other ones.

I was on the phone for less than 15 minutes and I called the main line and did not enter my CC number. This was right when the lines opened this morning.

 

[DisneYE]

I forgot to answer the original question. Well yes, I think the prices are high. When you compare them to other cruise lines they are absolutely ridiculous. So no I did not book anything. That's not to say I don't like DCL if things go as planned I'll have sailed DCL four times in the past year. I just don't like to overpay for things.
I have ventured away from DCL enough to feel comfortable with the other lines and to be frank other cruise lines have better itineraries. I'm currently considering a 12-night med cruise on Odyssey that visits the Greek Isles, Isreal, and Turkey, It's priced around 5,500 for a balcony. I still haven't decided yet.

Someone on this thread said prices are cheaper on a per night basis. And it's true for us.
As I mentioned on the opening post, for us it was about 12% cheaper.
Not sure why - whether it's because the Dream being a bigger ship with more rooms, or if it's because its the first booking window.

It would probably be one of our last times with DCL as our DD will be going to university in Sept 2023.
We've only done DCL because because of her.
We enjoy cruising but hate the premium DCL charges, of course.
We won't ever cruise DCL if our DD doesn't go. I'd rather explore other cheaper lines with better itineraries and more adult oriented. I really want to cruise to South America and Asia. But with our DD going to university we don't want to be far away from her, so not sure when we'll cruise again after summer 2023.

 

[Geomom]

We booked 7-night Norwegian Fjords in August on the Dream. Used our 20% off discount for missing a port in December. Sailing in a one bedroom - expensive, but with the discount it's about the same as some other cruises in Veranda cabin. The Fjords cruise seemed one of the less expensive European sailings in 2023.

That's the one I'm interested in. I'm hoping to just wait to book it until I get a placeholder on our June 18th cruise (would be nice if I could actually book onboard and then transfer it to my TA.). I'll keep an eye on the price until then.... hoping the later August date will have less demand. We'll see.

 

[disneylandlocal]

Haven’t booked yet bc I am silver. Planning to book with 2 other families. I’ve never done summer bc of the sticker shock. This year is no different. It will be about 30k total for all 3 families and I keep thinking we could use that money and have a totally incredible vacation somewhere else. We plan to book a 7 night fantasy.

 

[disneylandlocal]

We booked the 9-Day Alaska, thanks to the 50% off credit for the Wish cancellations. The pricing is ludicrous, but at least it's half as ludicrous. Plus we have a trust factor with Disney (safety, quality, experience).

You will love Sitka!

 

[bcwife76]

We booked the 7 night Norway first thing this morning, then changed our minds and booked the 11 night Northern Europe Copenhagen to Southhampton. I tried to modify online but the system kept timing out on me so my husband had to book the 11 night and unfortunately we are tying up a room on the 7 night (it's a deluxe inside so maybe not in high demand?) til the 3 day hold drops off on Friday night.....

 

[DCLMP]

Someone on this thread said prices are cheaper on a per night basis. And it's true for us.
As I mentioned on the opening post, for us it was about 12% cheaper.
Not sure why - whether it's because the Dream being a bigger ship with more rooms, or if it's because its the first booking window.

It would probably be one of our last times with DCL as our DD will be going to university in Sept 2023.
We've only done DCL because because of her.
We enjoy cruising but hate the premium DCL charges, of course.
We won't ever cruise DCL if our DD doesn't go. I'd rather explore other cheaper lines with better itineraries and more adult oriented. I really want to cruise to South America and Asia. But with our DD going to university we don't want to be far away from her, so not sure when we'll cruise again after summer 2023.

They are so much higher than anyone else they certainly have room to lower the prices. I don't know if we'd cruise Disney again without our son. I know a lot of adults do, but I just don't know. It's kind of sad because we've cruised DCL 25 times. It's sad to think it's coming to an end, but we've done most of their itineraries and whenever they come up with a new one the price is sky-high.

There are some really great itineraries on other cruise lines. I would love to cruise in South America. I really want to go on a cruise to Isreal and Turkey, but you roll the dice when you book a vacation in that neck of the woods. The last time a booked a cruised with stops in Turkey the ports got canceled.

 

[o&smom]

Why didn't you go to this year's WBPC? - Might have been the last one according to rumors in the ship itself
Met lots of ppl this year's that were 'carryovers' from 2020, many were seasoned PC folks too.

We had had too many cruises that ended up not going. Did not know at the time that it was the “last“ one. When I thought about it, it already sold out. Will be ready to jump if they do it for a dry dock or something. I’m glad so many people got to have a more normal cruise with actual ports. Glad the rumor about the Dream going to Europe is coming true. The Dream is the only ship we have not sailed on. Will be hitting the grand slam next year with the Dream and rescheduling one of our cancelled Wish cruises.

Are you going to start a cruise meet thread?

 

[dittybop]

We booked the 8 night Greek Isle cruise from Rome (Civitavecchia). This is our 4th try at this cruise. First 2 canceled by DCL due to covid. This year canceled by us as we did not feel comfortable traveling all that way to be tested at the port and not able to board-or get home for that matter (they really need to change the testing rules for arrival by plane in the US). Anyway, I ended up booking a verandah room for less than the ocean view I had booked for this year. So I am pretty pleased. Hoping things are more stabile next year as we attempt this trip. I am not getting any younger and this trip is looking more and more like a one and done as we have other trips and places we want to see.

We booked same cruise! Used our 50% off Wish credit.. 2 OV connecting rooms. Still want to do the wish but wanted to get most bang for half off! Now just hope they change the testing rules by then...

 

[Marthasor]

We booked the 11-night Northern European cruise with our 50% off Wish discount. SO excited!

 

[o&smom]

My 19 year old has no interest in cruising anymore. He’s just moved on to other things like college, job and saving to move out. I keep telling him adulting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I can’t wait to say “ I told you so”.

My 17 year-old who turns 18 in Sept still wants to travel over the next few years. I was brow beat into switching from Royal to Disney 11 day Northern Europe when they released the GT rates. It his last year in the vibe so I caved, but now I’m stuck in an inside room. He’s the opposite of his brother. He’s very upset about being labeled an adult in 4 months. He‘s also mad he lost out on two years in the Vibe.

The European cruises I’ve been on have had a very active 18- 20 group especially the TA in May. They had a group of 15-20 “kids”and they had contests in the adult pool area every day. Hopefully it’s like that for your son. I know my son has the same concerns about cruising as an adult as yours does.

Looking at your at your ticker I see we were on the 11 night Iceland together. I guess our kids were in the Edge back then. I can’t believe that was six years ago. The cruise you booked for next year looks great. It’s just more than I want to spend. You never know though maybe I’ll get lucky again with a restricted rate. It’s hard to say what demand will be like next year. Crazy times right now.

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, so many feeling about cruising for our son. His graduation present was supposed to be a pregraduation cruise on the Fantasy (his favorite) last April. He really wanted one more cruise as a “kid”. Then we moved it to a cruise after he graduated for last October. It got changed by Disney to shorter than the 7 days. We had booked the 12 night Med for this year, and wer planning on spending time before and after in Europe. He freaked out about being gone a month, and was not going to go with us. He says he wants to do the cruise next summer, and then fly home after, and we can spend more time. I feel a little better about that because he will be almost 20. I was happy that he wants to do the cruise part. I think that would be harder for me without him. We have known that there would come a day when we just cruise with our daughter, since they are almost 7 years apart, but hard to imagine. He pretty much had his last two years of school hijacked because of how our state restricted in person learning.

We did the 12 night Med with Greece and Turkey in 2013. Have wanted to do another long Med cruise. Our 50% discount from one of our cancelled Wish cruises makes it cost about the same as it did, but a nicer room.

The Iceland cruise was amazing! My son’s name is Owen, and I know he has stayed in touch off and on with a few of the kids from that cruise. I think one boy lives in Canada.

We are having the same conversations about the rush to move out. I took advantage of every vacation with my family...and all we did was go camping! He is really excited to cruise with his friends, just a little reticent on cruising with us. I think part of it is the unknown of the 18 to 20 Society. If he cruises with friends, he knows he will have someone to hang out with.

 

[o&smom]

Thank you for sharing! It helps to hear others have done it and had a good time!!

There is a nice (rocky) beach right in the heart of where you get dropped off by the shuttle. We were unaware of this on our last cruise, and my husband and kids just went in swimming in their clothes on the way back to the ship. It was too good to pass up. We bought towels at the little shop at the end of the beach so that we would not get the seats on the shuttle bus wet. Also a fun souvenir. We are taking our suits with us this time! One of our favorite memories!

 

[Intr3pid]

While this year's 11-nighter to Iceland on Magic is our most eagerly awaited - cue two years of cancellations - we couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend 11 nights on Dream!

So, two different plans booked for next year depending on where the world is in summer 2023.

1. An active Peru/Bolivia trip in early July followed by relaxing 10 nights on Fantasy in Southern Caribbeans.

2. An Arctic Circle cruise in late July followed by 11 nights on Dream in Northern Europe.

 

[DCLMP]

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, so many feeling about cruising for our son. His graduation present was supposed to be a pregraduation cruise on the Fantasy (his favorite) last April. He really wanted one more cruise as a “kid”. Then we moved it to a cruise after he graduated for last October. It got changed by Disney to shorter than the 7 days. We had booked the 12 night Med for this year, and wer planning on spending time before and after in Europe. He freaked out about being gone a month, and was not going to go with us. He says he wants to do the cruise next summer, and then fly home after, and we can spend more time. I feel a little better about that because he will be almost 20. I was happy that he wants to do the cruise part. I think that would be harder for me without him. We have known that there would come a day when we just cruise with our daughter, since they are almost 7 years apart, but hard to imagine. He pretty much had his last two years of school hijacked because of how our state restricted in person learning.

We did the 12 night Med with Greece and Turkey in 2013. Have wanted to do another long Med cruise. Our 50% discount from one of our cancelled Wish cruises makes it cost about the same as it did, but a nicer room.

The Iceland cruise was amazing! My son’s name is Owen, and I know he has stayed in touch off and on with a few of the kids from that cruise. I think one boy lives in Canada.

We are having the same conversations about the rush to move out. I took advantage of every vacation with my family...and all we did was go camping! He is really excited to cruise with his friends, just a little reticent on cruising with us. I think part of it is the unknown of the 18 to 20 Society. If he cruises with friends, he knows he will have someone to hang out with.

I'm glad my son wants to launch. It's just such a rough time to enter adulthood, independence with inflation soaring out of control and so much uncertainty. My youngest is very content. He knows how good he has it, and I think he'll milk it as long as we'll put up with him. Congrats on the 50% discount. It sounds like the Wish being delayed was a good thing for a lot of people.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I booked b2b2b for the Dream next year: 5nCar/3nBahamas/13n TA

 

[kucanhead]

Another 11 night Mediterranean cruise here, also with a 50% off Wish coupon and 10% OBB. It's nice that they let you stack the discounts! My friend was booked on the 12 night one for this year and tried to get us to go, but when we looked, all that was available was a 1BR concierge for the low, low price of $70k. HAH! I'm very happy to get a verandah room on next year's cruise for under $10K.

 

[kappaman14]

You will love Sitka!

Yes! I've been reading through some past trip reports, and this looks like a great stop. The eagle/bear sanctuary looks amazing; any other reccos?

 

[DisneYE]

We had had too many cruises that ended up not going. Did not know at the time that it was the “last“ one. When I thought about it, it already sold out. Will be ready to jump if they do it for a dry dock or something. I’m glad so many people got to have a more normal cruise with actual ports. Glad the rumor about the Dream going to Europe is coming true. The Dream is the only ship we have not sailed on. Will be hitting the grand slam next year with the Dream and rescheduling one of our cancelled Wish cruises.

Are you going to start a cruise meet thread?

You mean here or on the facepad thing?
Surprisingly, there isn't one on facepad yet..I dread to see who the admin will be once someone does start one... it's usually either a control freak, power trip type that will kick you out if you don't post your exact stateroom and complete names (why do they ask for this? it's creepy as hell) or show yourself for a week and will say "no comments!!, no speculation!" every few posts...or the careless type who barely posts and the group has no activity... you should start one!