No "nickle and diming" on Disney?

I don't recall being asked to buy anything on my last Disney cruise in April. I wasn't hit up for drinks or drink packages. Two in our party bought a bottle of wine that they shared over two nights but they certainly weren't bullied into it.

The only money I spent outside of my fare was on an excursion, spa treatment, an extra wave phone, a few pictures and a few souvenirs.

They also do not charge a fee if you bring more than an allotted amount of wine on board with you. In fact, you can bring all the wine, soda, water, liquor (yes, any type of liquor) with you as long as it is in your carry-on. No limits to how much or what kind.

If you bring the wine to the dining room you will be charged corkage though--but not if you drink in your cabin.

As you can see by my signature I have had experience with a number of lines, including some large ships and some small, some mass market, some ninche, and some luxury, some family oriented and some where children are discouraged.

Here are my opinions...

Disney doesn't nickel and dime. You could sail on Disney and not spend anything extra. Yes, you will pay for items like photos, spa treatments, and Bingo--those items aren't included on any cruise of any type. You will also pay for shore excursions, transfers, alcohol, and specialty dining--some/all of those are only inclusive on some luxury ships and river cruises.

We never felt pressured to buy anything. Sure, they will come around and ask if you'd like a drink, frankly I'd be annoyed if they didn't ask. But they don't keep asking if you tell them you aren't interested. One thing DCL doesn't do that made me crazy on RCCL was the flea market in the lobby area selling gold by the inch, cheap sunglasses, and all other manner of junk typically found at a flea market. DCL maintains an upmarket atmosphere, no one is "hawking" stuff left and right. The one place that I think DCL totally drops the ball is with the popcorn outside the theater--it should be free.

Additionally on the private island they don't have a ton of vendors annoying you while you are trying to relax. The vendors are there, but set up in specific areas and you need to approach them, not vice versa--this is what we encountered on the Paul Gauguin as well.

I have the guest folios from all of my cruises and will breakdown the things we paid for on each line. This might help people make informed decisions.

Disney:

Photos

Alcohol (We paid corkage and BYOB'ed, but also bought a couple bottles of Champagne)

Specialty Dining

Spa

Shore excursions

Gift Shop items

Royal Caribbean:

Photos

Soda

Alcohol (BYOB not allowed)

Specialty Dining

Casual Dining (Johnny Rockets)

Spa

Shore Excursions

Gift Shop Items

There was some activity on board that we decided against as it had a fee--golf simulator maybe?

Windstar:

Alcohol (I was part of a group that had some wine included, we bought some Champagne and beer which weren't included in our package)

Spa

Photos

Shore Excursions (For those who wished to DIY, there was a port specialist who gave directions, advice, etc.--it was not her job to sell shore excursions, and we DIY'ed about half the time.)

Gift Shop Items

All on board activities (including Zumba, yoga, etc. and dining) except spa and casino were included in price, as were all non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water and specialty coffess.

Paul Gauguin

Spa

Photos

Shore Excursions

Gift Shop Items

Private Vow Renewal (A Public Group Renewal is free)

Most alcohol and all non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water and specialty coffees, and all on board activities--including Zumba, yoga, etc. and specialty dining but not including spa and casino--were included in price.

And I think it's cute that people are concerned about losing a $25 towel but not a wave phone where the charge is $250 if lost. :p

I never used the wave phone all week. Not really because of the charge, but rather because I didn't want to take the time to figure out how to use the thing (not to mention actually carry it around and keep up with it). I've had an iPhone for too long! :D

But the towel charge on other cruise lines really isn't an issue. Just don't lose the towel. I've never had a problem, but I know of a few people who have gotten the charge and were not happy about it.

I never used the wave phone all week. Not really because of the charge, but rather because I didn't want to take the time to figure out how to use the thing (not to mention actually carry it around and keep up with it). I've had an iPhone for too long! :D

 

 

 

But the towel charge on other cruise lines really isn't an issue. Just don't lose the towel. I've never had a problem, but I know of a few people who have gotten the charge and were not happy about it.

We never used the phones either. To be honest I think that some of the other lines went to that system as too many were either stealing them as souvenirs or leaving them at places like Señor Frogs as they did a drunken pier crawl back to the ship. The fact that they had to institute such a policy says a lot about...

The thing is....I've taken cruises on other lines where I never paid for anything other than the same things I would have paid for on DCL....photos, spa, excursions.......so you don't HAVE TO BUY ANYTHING you don't want to.

We've been asked to purchase wine packages and water on all of our Disney cruises.

They have the same gold by the yard, flea market type of thing, just not in the lobby....they do it up by the shops.

I'd say that I'm just as likely to lose (or not lose) one of Disney's free towels as I am one that I'd have to pay for. I take along large diaper pins to put on our towels, so we know they're ours and are more identifiable. But we've never lost one yet....on any line.

The only other private island I've been to is with Princess, and they have their sections fenced off, so no vendors can get in. If you want to, you can leave the fenced area (and we did) to look through the booths that locals have set up outside the fenced area.

I guess what it boils down to is that I feel you can only be "Nickel and Dimed" if you let yourself.

I've been in two DCL cruises and never saw any gold by the inch or straw bags or cheap knockoff sunglasses or any other flea market type stuff. Definitely don't exist in Paul Gauguin or Windstar.

I've been on three private islands (CocoCay, Castaway and Half Moon) and have NEVER been approached by a vendor selling anything. They are always set up in a specific area and you go to them. The roving waiters selling drinks were only an issue on Castaway. When the drinks fell to half price, they didn't irritate me so much. ;)

I was nickel and dimed on DCL just as much as I was on every other cruise line I've been on. The only one that springs to mind that wasn't bad was Celebrity. YMMV.

I've been in two DCL cruises and never saw any gold by the inch or straw bags or cheap knockoff sunglasses or any other flea market type stuff. Definitely don't exist in Paul Gauguin or Windstar.

DCL has the same $10 stuff as every other cruise line (I know, I saw a brown tropical bag on one of my Carnival cruises and didn't get it, saw it again on a Disney cruise and my dad went down to the gift shop to get it for me because I rarely buy anything for myself).

DCL charging for Popcorn for the shows , a bit of nickle diming that I didn't expect to see .

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I've been on three private islands (CocoCay, Castaway and Half Moon) and have NEVER been approached by a vendor selling anything. They are always set up in a specific area and you go to them. The roving waiters selling drinks were only an issue on Castaway. When the drinks fell to half price, they didn't irritate me so much. ;)

 

 

 

I was nickel and dimed on DCL just as much as I was on every other cruise line I've been on. The only one that springs to mind that wasn't bad was Celebrity. YMMV.

They approached us in Labadee.

We were approached once on Castaway, my husband bought a bucket of beer, and the waiter never came back after delivering it.

I've been in two DCL cruises and never saw any gold by the inch or straw bags or cheap knockoff sunglasses or any other flea market type stuff. Definitely don't exist in Paul Gauguin or Windstar.

I've been on 13 Disney cruises, and I can guarantee you that they DO have the gold by the inch, touristy stuff related to the ports, straw bags, etc.

They just don't do it in the lobby like they do on other lines. It's all up by the theater lobby and inside of the shops.

I've been on 13 Disney cruises, and I can guarantee you that they DO have the gold by the inch, touristy stuff related to the ports, straw bags, etc.

 

 

 

They just don't do it in the lobby like they do on other lines. It's all up by the theater lobby and inside of the shops.

Perhaps that's a more recent addition. It definitely wasn't done when we were on the Magic, and I don't recall it on the Dream.

Perhaps that's a more recent addition. It definitely wasn't done when we were on the Magic, and I don't recall it on the Dream.

First cruise in 2002.....last one on the Dream 2 years ago, I think it was. So it's an ongoing thing. You must have just missed it.

Disney nickle and diming? One word:

B-I-N-G-O

We just completed a 15 night Panama Canal repositioning cruise and the daily announcements for BINGO were really irritating.

And the wave phones don't require a deposit, just a charge if lost.

Yes, free soda in the dining rooms and on the 9th deck (Wonder),

but it is a pain to go all the way up there for free soda.

Entertainment: yes, it is good, but for us, once you've seen it, you're all set.

But that goes for other cruise lines also.

I bought a gold-by-the-inch necklace on my very first cruise - on HAL in 2004. I bought a Hawaiian shirt on sale on the Magic's May 2014 Transatlantic. The racks of sale clothing were outside the stores - by the Walt Disney Theater. My most recent cruise was on Celebrity Solctice in January. They had a few hours devoted to selling "cheap crap" in one of the lounges, and I bought a $10 t-shirt! :D

I actually spend more money on my Disney cruises than on other cruise lines. I rarely eat in specialty restaurants on other cruise lines, but I always eat at least one meal at Palo on DCL. I'm also a sucker for Disney merchandise on the ship. ;)

Thinking about the original topic - I will say that while Disney gives you (other than a casino) plenty of ways to part with your money on board, I do think they SELL a bit less aggressively than some of the other lines do. Of course, they operate on a much higher price point so they don't have to.

 

That's not the same thing as Nickle and Diming, but the harder sell can lead to the perception of that quite easily.

This was exactly our feeling as well after doing our first Disney cruise last year. Certainly no shortage of opportunities to spend money onboard, but we didn't feel they were nearly as pushy or aggressive in selling things as other lines we have been on.

Perhaps that's a more recent addition. It definitely wasn't done when we were on the Magic, and I don't recall it on the Dream.

Nothing like that on the Fantasy last January. Just went and double checked the navigators to make sure I didn't miss it. It did not happen.

I bought a gold-by-the-inch necklace on my very first cruise - on HAL in 2004. I bought a Hawaiian shirt on sale on the Magic's May 2014 Transatlantic....

Make that the May 2013 Transatlantic! :D

Nothing like that on the Fantasy last January. Just went and double checked the navigators to make sure I didn't miss it. It did not happen.

I looked through a few cruises worth of navigators, before I realized I was wasting my time trying to prove something I KNOW I've seen, and didn't see it listed.....but that doesn't mean I was imagining things.

I looked through a few cruises worth of navigators, before I realized I was wasting my time trying to prove something I KNOW I've seen, and didn't see it listed.....but that doesn't mean I was imagining things.

I believe you. Not every activity gets posted in the Navigator.

I've only cruised DCL since 2012 an have never seen the gold by the inch or anything set up to sell outside the gift shops.

As far as keeping up with towels (which was a moot point on DCL), someone took several of our towels. It wasn't a matter of us keeping up with them. I would have been hacked if I had to pay for towels someone else took or stress over keeping watch over them.

I do think the popcorn should be free. It seems cheap to charge for it when the movie is free.

They set up a table inside Whitecaps/Treasure Ketch.....just steps inside the door, same place they'll often set up a table for when the Captain signs books....for the gold by the inch.

When they have a sale, they'll set merchandise on racks and tables outside the shops, in the waiting area outside the Walt Disney theater.

They don't do it every day, but there would be one day, on a longer cruise, that they'd do the gold by the inch.

Either way, that's my last word on it. I'm not a liar, but if others want to say so, then fine.

I've been in two DCL cruises and never saw any gold by the inch or straw bags or cheap knockoff sunglasses or any other flea market type stuff. Definitely don't exist in Paul Gauguin or Windstar.

I did not see any cheap stuff on our disney cruises either.

On our last Disney cruise:

 

We were asked no less than 5 times on embarkation day about buying a water package.

 

Our servers came around and tried to sell us light up cups at dinner on Pirate night.

 

Our servers tried to get us to order a wine package at our first 2 nights of dinner.

 

Before every movie was 4-5 Disney ads - adventures by disney, BBB / Piratees league ad, book another cruise, etc

 

The evening hypnotist spent a good 10-15 minutes during his show hawking his CD / package about how to use hypnotism to improve your life.

 

When we did the Palo brunch, we were asked by 3 people (the person who seated us, our server and the manager) if we wanted them to make dinner reservations for Palo for us.

 

When in the theatre for the evening show, we were asked 2-3 times before each performance by a server if we wanted to order a drink.

 

In the adult area by Sateillite falls, there seemed to be 2 or 3 bar servers always there asking if you wanted a drink.

Interesting. I have never had any problems.