Are Disney cruises worth the premium price?

[mikeymars]

The entertainment is better.

 

You must not have any interest in live music. On DCL it is sparse and of lower quality overall than on every other mass market line I have been on. Disney is too cheap to even back it's main showroom productions with a live ensemble like most other lines do. The lido deck bands on Carnival and Princess blow away the small, boring groups that use recorded backing tracks that "perform" around the adult pools on DCL

[elcabezas]

It's all about the memories. A Disney cruise is not just a cruise. Is a world where you can be a kid again. Everytime I see my kids eyes glowing and smiling everytime they see a Disney charater I remind myself how it was worth every penny. In what other place you can be anything you want to be, where can all girls be princesses for 7 days and kids can be pirates. I have done RCL and Carnival and the Disney is worth every penny.

[sjn911]

You must not have any interest in live music. On DCL it is sparse and of lower quality overall than on every other mass market line I have been on. Disney is too cheap to even back it's main showroom productions with a live ensemble like most other lines do. The lido deck bands on Carnival and Princess blow away the small, boring groups that use recorded backing tracks that "perform" around the adult pools on DCL

 

If 2005 was your last cruise on Carnival..you will not find the same music..at all..and my folks Wonder cruise was tons nicer than my very ok Carnival cruise this year..4 day 2009 on Paradise was much better in music than 2012 cruise on Spirit..neither were great..i did enjoy the theater small orchestra, but it was small..and it would not trump all I heard about on Wonder from my folks...Sarah

[alaska_planner]

You must not have any interest in live music. On DCL it is sparse and of lower quality overall than on every other mass market line I have been on. Disney is too cheap to even back it's main showroom productions with a live ensemble like most other lines do. The lido deck bands on Carnival and Princess blow away the small, boring groups that use recorded backing tracks that "perform" around the adult pools on DCL

 

 

DD was on her first non-DCL cruise this summer - on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas in Alaska. She was blown away by the amount of live music (she's a professional singer/songwriter, so it's definitely something that she would notice)..

 

she never ever ever does karaoke, but on the Radiance the karaoke was with a live band - so she did it (and brought the house down - i've seen the video)... but she was just so excited to see karaoke with a live band...something you rarely see....

[elcabezas]

DD was on her first non-DCL cruise this summer - on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas in Alaska. She was blown away by the amount of live music (she's a professional singer/songwriter, so it's definitely something that she would notice)..

 

she never ever ever does karaoke, but on the Radiance the karaoke was with a live band - so she did it (and brought the house down - i've seen the video)... but she was just so excited to see karaoke with a live band...something you rarely see....

 

 

Karaoke with a live band? My wife will go crazy for that, she is big into karaoke and it was a big dissapointment on our last Disney Fantasy cruise. 30 min of family karaoke wasted on some disney songs. Don't get me wrong I'm all up for that but at least shuffle the adults that want to sing with the kids so we have more variety. My wife was waitlisted and never had a chance to sing while we spent like 20 mins listening to Disney background songs cause you could barely hear the kids singing. It was all fun until they said they were done at 30 mins, what a waste of time.

[alaska_planner]

Karaoke with a live band? My wife will go crazy for that, she is big into karaoke and it was a big dissapointment on our last Disney Fantasy cruise. 30 min of family karaoke wasted on some disney songs. Don't get me wrong I'm all up for that but at least shuffle the adults that want to sing with the kids so we have more variety. My wife was waitlisted and never had a chance to sing while we spent like 20 mins listening to Disney background songs cause you could barely hear the kids singing. It was all fun until they said they were done at 30 mins, what a waste of time.

 

a live band would scare me to death...you couldn't pay me to sing with them...but then again, i never do karaoke...too embarrassed to sing in front of people!! :eek:

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I think it all comes down to what is important to do. We've been on a number of cruises and will be on our fourth Disney cruise in January. I haven't found the premium to be all that much higher, granted we usually book an inside for what we could get a verandah for on another line. Once, Disney was actually less because of a kids sail free promotion.

 

When comparing Disney to other lines, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. For instance, entertainment is much better on Disney in my opinion, which justifies the extra charge. In addition, soda is included, which is a minor charge that can add up. I've also found Disney excursion to cost less than other lines, although I often book independent depending on the port.

 

The real answers is that it depends, but keep things like quality of entertainment, first run movies, and things like that in mind.

 

I see a lot of people saying this and it might have been true before the 2 new DCL ships came online but since then their prices have really shot up.

 

Either people are still remembering those old prices or just kidding themselves to justify the high prices.

 

I'm cruising on the NCL Dawn April 14, 2013 so choose that date.

 

Disney Fantasy- 7 day western Caribbean $1323pp for an inside

 

Carnival Dream - 7 day western Caribbean - $479pp for an inside

 

NCL Dawn (Tampa) - 7 day western Caribbean - $494pp for an inside

 

RCI Freedom of the Sea - 7 day western Caribbean - $749pp for an inside

 

That seems like a pretty big premium to me.

 

You can pay for a cruise for 2 pax on CCL or NCL and still have a few hundred left for spending money and you'd only have to add $177 to the price of 1 pax on DCL to pay for 2 on RCI.

 

Bill

[jkrislc]

Bill, it may just be the time I'm cruising. However, when I priced the Wonder against RCI Navigator of the Seas, the Wonder was actually cheaper. And even with my next cruise in January, the Fantasy is in the ballpark of the other lines' newer ships primarily because of the onboard booking discount. However, I'll admit this isn't always the case, which is why we ended up on HAL over Disney and save about $2,000 based on comparable cabins.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

You may wish to look at my blog on the RCL Independance of the Seas Vs DCL.

 

http://rciindependenceoftheseasaugust2011.blogspot.co.uk/

 

It gives you a comparrision as we cruised and thoughts which is better.

 

Shows, Kids clubs, food, service is better on DCL with fireworks and free soda and less catch pennies.DCL has Aquaduck and Castaway cay.

 

RCL is hit and miss on food, and shows, but far better on the style and layout of the ships, though the Fantasy is far better and nearly matches, the pools on RCL are generally better.

 

RCL concerge service is very good, better than magic and wonder but Fantasy does beat it.

[parrotthead]

she never ever ever does karaoke, but on the Radiance the karaoke was with a live band - so she did it (and brought the house down - i've seen the video)... but she was just so excited to see karaoke with a live band...something you rarely see....

Carnival does Live Band Karaoke too..

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

It takes a lot of free soda to make up the difference in price when cruising DCL. RCCL is rolling out new menus on their ships. Although you can bring your own alcohol on DCL it still doesn't make up for the higher cost. My DH is a Disney lover, but was bored on our cruise.

[ANC876]

We just went on our first cruise ever on the Disney Wonder with DS2. Although we have never sailed on another line, it's worth it to us to experience the Disney magic... at a reasonable price. We sailed VGT for 30% less than rack rate, and I looked up military rates for the Magic cruises out of Galveston - $1300 for the 3 of us for 7 nights in a verandah! When I can find deals like that, I don't know why I'd pick any other line.

[alaska_planner]

I think it all comes down to what is important to do. We've been on a number of cruises and will be on our fourth Disney cruise in January. I haven't found the premium to be all that much higher, granted we usually book an inside for what we could get a verandah for on another line. Once, Disney was actually less because of a kids sail free promotion.

 

When comparing Disney to other lines, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. For instance, entertainment is much better on Disney in my opinion, which justifies the extra charge. In addition, soda is included, which is a minor charge that can add up. I've also found Disney excursion to cost less than other lines, although I often book independent depending on the port.

 

The real answers is that it depends, but keep things like quality of entertainment, first run movies, and things like that in mind.

 

DD said she much preferred the soda package on RCCL - with the soda package, she was able to order her diet coke in every bar, at any time she wanted...

she said she was ordering her diet coke all the time everywhere, instead of having to run up on deck to the dispenser...

she felt that having to run up on deck to the soda station isn't nearly as nice as sitting in a bar or in the theater and being served a free drink...

 

Carnival does Live Band Karaoke too..

i'll tell DD! they really had a super great time on RCCL - they loved all the games and activities...so it's very possible they'd have a good time on carnival too...

[ducklite]

It takes a lot of free soda to make up the difference in price when cruising DCL. RCCL is rolling out new menus on their ships. Although you can bring your own alcohol on DCL it still doesn't make up for the higher cost. My DH is a Disney lover, but was bored on our cruise.

 

I disagree that it doesn't make up the cost. We collect wine and being able to bring an aged $125 bottle out of our cellar for dinner every night with a $20 corkage sure beat paying $400 on the ship for a far too young to be truly enjoyable equivalent due to their markup.

 

RCCL nickel and dimed us for everything from soda to Johnny Rockets (blech!) and we found the food to be so bad in the MDR that we spent the extra to eat in the alternate restaurants three nights out of seven.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I disagree that it doesn't make up the cost. We collect wine and being able to bring an aged $125 bottle out of our cellar for dinner every night with a $20 corkage sure beat paying $400 on the ship for a far too young to be truly enjoyable equivalent due to their markup.

 

RCCL nickel and dimed us for everything from soda to Johnny Rockets (blech!) and we found the food to be so bad in the MDR that we spent the extra to eat in the alternate restaurants three nights out of seven.

 

In your case you'd probably be right but how many people bring (7) $125 bottles of wine from their wine cellars?

 

How many people even have wine cellars?

 

Bill

[ducklite]

In your case you'd probably be right but how many people bring (7) $125 bottles of wine from their wine cellars?

 

How many people even have wine cellars?

 

Bill

 

More than you'd think. Based on the number of people who have bought or licensed software to manage their collection, it's estimated that there are over a million people in the United States with a wine collection. (And I'm not talking about a few bottles stuffed into a kitchen cabinet, I'm talking about people with an actual investment in wine.) It's a measurable number.

[Host Mick]

In your case you'd probably be right but how many people bring (7) $125 bottles of wine from their wine cellars?

 

How many people even have wine cellars?

 

Bill

 

You don't need a cellar in your home to have a wine cellar. There's wine warehousing businesses all over. Here's one near me: http://www.winebank.com/

[ducklite]

You don't need a cellar in your home to have a wine cellar. There's wine warehousing businesses all over. Here's one near me: http://www.winebank.com/

 

This is true. I've only got about 2/3 of my wine in my home. The rest is either in professional storage or in space borrowed in friends cellars from WA to CA to FL to NY and anyplace in between.

[ducklite]

You don't need a cellar in your home to have a wine cellar. There's wine warehousing businesses all over. Here's one near me: http://www.winebank.com/

 

Mick, if you enjoy wines, the tasting they are doing this Saturday will be a great one!

[bsddsc]

Hello everybody. We've been looking at cruises for a while. For previous cruises, we've picked them mostly on price (and fortunately we've had great experience). In fact, I love cruising.

 

So I'm wondering: Why a Disney cruise? What are the extras that you get in a disney cruise that you don't get elsewhere? Being price sensitive (we like to maximize our travel dollars), is it worth it to pay a premium for a disney experience versus, say a Celebrity cruise?

 

Thx for the input everyone.

 

In a word YES. And we do not have children and are Disney Platinum Cruisers. The basic difference is the whole environment seems like much more FUN. RCL or Carnival just were not fun.

 

Take Dinners for example. At Disney, you rotate rooms, not in the same formal dining room every night. Disney's servers are friendly, fun, we watch servers do magic tricks, the dining experience is made to make you laugh and enjoy yourself. Sort of like a show every night. Other cruise lines are simply boring meals.

 

Disney's staff is there to make your experience fun, magical time, they entertain you in so many ways. Other cruises, you have a pleasant time. That's it for us. We would only go on other lines if there was some special reason to do so.

 

If you can, look for deals like the Florida Resident Specials. Or try to book close to the last minute if you can. After final payments are due from people who booked months in advance, the ships then have incentive to fill up the rest of a cruise.

 

We just booked 2 days ago for the Nov 3, 2012 cruise. A month ago, we couldn't afford that cruise, then the prices dropped. And we are fortunate to live just 60 miles from Port Canaveral so we don't need air fare. And we have many friends who are Disney cast members and we sail on their family and friends rates. However, that wasn't the case this time.

 

All in all, if this cruise didn't come up, we would have stayed home rather than book another line. That's my two cents....

[seavoyager6]

Nope...

 

You can get bored out of your mind for a lot less money at any of their hideous overpriced theme parks.

 

Although watching obese folks eat toxic fried turkey legs can sometimes provide a laugh or three

 

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

Just back from the Dream and will spill my thoughts in a trip report later but I think it was worth every pretty penny we paid, my husband agrees and he thinks the Disney corporate machine is the devil incarnate!!!

[alaska_planner]

Just back from the Dream and will spill my thoughts in a trip report later but I think it was worth every pretty penny we paid, my husband agrees and he thinks the Disney corporate machine is the devil incarnate!!!

 

has he see the south park episode on disney? brilliant!!!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Bill, it may just be the time I'm cruising. However, when I priced the Wonder against RCI Navigator of the Seas, the Wonder was actually cheaper. And even with my next cruise in January, the Fantasy is in the ballpark of the other lines' newer ships primarily because of the onboard booking discount. However, I'll admit this isn't always the case, which is why we ended up on HAL over Disney and save about $2,000 based on comparable cabins.

 

I just wanted to thank you for posting. I checked the first couple of weeks for a DCL cruise but couldn't pay those high prices so we did the next best thing and booked a week at DisneyWorld at the new Art of Animation.:)

 

Bill

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

has he see the south park episode on disney? brilliant!!!

 

I don't think so but I will have to dig it out for him.:D