Is Disney worth the extra money?

[UKLloyd]

I would like to thank you all for help and responses. I wanted to wain until prices were released before responding. I think I can say it will not be worth experiencing just on pure cost alone.

 

Those prices released here today shocked me. I can do a land based trip to disney for close to that price. If these are the normal prices for disney, then it will probably not be for us, mainly because paying those prices I would be expecting alot from the cruise. Which would not be fair of me.

 

Thank you all so much. Happy cruising.

[moki'smommy]

I would like to thank you all for help and responses. I wanted to wain until prices were released before responding. I think I can say it will not be worth experiencing just on pure cost alone.

 

Those prices released here today shocked me. I can do a land based trip to disney for close to that price. If these are the normal prices for disney, then it will probably not be for us, mainly because paying those prices I would be expecting alot from the cruise. Which would not be fair of me.

 

Thank you all so much. Happy cruising.

 

These are the highest prices I've seen in a long time on the "normal" cruises. New ports always tend to run high the first and sometimes second time. But yeah, DCL is getting too pricey for even many of the regulars now. Hope you find something you like.

[Klstaack]

I agree it is getting more and more expensive....I have a feeling once the Oasis of the Seas home port is Port Canaveral that might become our ship of choice.

[cyclenut]

Disney is worth a "little" more for us, but not a LOT more. We have and will sail DCL again and will also sail other lines. There is a lot to like on Disney but there are also things that we like better on RCCL and we'll also consider Carnival again (even though we do feel it is a step down).

 

The most important thing is what experience you are after and what are you willing to pay for that. As many have already stated, only YOU can answer that for your situation.

 

We are looking a Christmas trip to WDW for 8 people. That is 3 hotel rooms on land and 3 cabins on DCL (not because of sheer numbers, but because of the makeup of the group). It is going to cost us about $15k for this vacation, including meals, airfare, etc. Booking a Disney cruise instead would be even more, when you consider onboard expenses, shore excursions, etc. Booking a cruise on another line would come in under that cost. Looking at price alone, we should skip WDW and do a cruise. Not going to happen. We're going to WDW!

 

What I am really saying is that the way Disney has set up their cruise experience, it is about the overall entertainment value. They don't compare themselves with other cruise lines. They compare themselves with other vacation experiences. Simply comparing Disney on price alone, without first deciding what you want out of your vacation, is going to miss the point entirely.

[surrealrain]

While I don't have much experience with cruising, I will say this...our Carnival cruise was just as much fun as our Disney cruise. Both were a total blast.

 

What we loved about our Disney cruise:

~It's Disney and we are HUGE fans

~Character meet and greets- even in the parks we love meeting characters

~The ship was beautiful

~Rainforest room was heaven

~Kids club was amazing and our 6 year old never wanted to leave

~Movie theater

 

Things Carnival does better:

~Room layout, the Disney has a split bathroom which we didn't care for. Plus the way the room was layed out it was very narrow from the door to the beds and we were constantly in each others way.

 

~Dining- I much prefer Carnivals anytime dining. With Disney you get the same servers every night, which was nice, but I'd much rather have flexibility rather than the same servers. Plus Carnivals food was better overall.

 

~Trivia- Hubbie and I are trivia nuts and Carnival definitely wins hands down.

 

 

There were a few things about our Disney cruise that left me puzzled. We went early December and was lucky enough to have Santa fly all the way to our ship for a visit :eek:, unfortunately Santa only made two appearances, one during the middle of a port day when most people were not on board and once during the first seating of dinner forcing parents to decide between Santa or dinner. Santa isn't the only one, other character meet and greets were strangely timed as well.

 

Disney didn't have many food options outside of meal times. Their lunch hours were way too short, and if you miss it you're only option is basically burgers, fries, pizza or a limited room service menu. We're just not much on junk food like that and it became tiresome after a few days.

 

Basically I could go on and on, while I love Disney, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way or pay too much more for a Disney cruise. We booked another one while onboard, but only because it was a surprise for my MIL who's always wanted to go on a cruise, so we decided to "go all out" and take her on a Disney one.

 

If you're not a Disney fan and care about the character aspect, then it's just not worth the extra.

[sassy~one]

not to me.

[Ex techie]

not to me.

 

Why so?

 

ex techie

[brookeq]

We went on the Carnival Dream a year ago. Then this past December we finally did a Disney Cruise. We all enjoyed both cruises.

 

The kids would give the edge to Disney but still had a blast on Carnival.

 

I would not a pay a lot more to sail Disney again and I love everything Disney.

 

If prices and itinerary were the similar I would choose disney. But I don't see that very often.

 

We are sailing Carnival again next year with our extended family and the kdis are excited and know that we aren't doing Disney. And yes Disney was almost double the price for a cruise in January. And they didn't have as good as an itinerary either.

[BullDawg91]

 

 

 

Disney didn't have many food options outside of meal times. Their lunch hours were way too short, and if you miss it you're only option is basically burgers, fries, pizza or a limited room service menu. We're just not much on junk food like that and it became tiresome after a few days.

 

 

There are cold sandwiches, wraps and salads as well as fruit plates around the corner from the "junk food". The room service was quite good as well.

[drmomto3kids]

We just returned home today after our 7th cruise. This one was RCI's Oasis of the Seas and it's the second time we've sailed on it. BUT the last cruise we took was on DCL's Fantasy.

We've taken one Carnival Cruise, 3 Disney Cruises, and 3 RCI Cruises and have one more booked for October this year.

 

We came home with every intention of changing our October RCI transatlantic cruise to DCL's September transatlantic because we just found ourselves comparing RCI to DCL so much this time... longing for DCL.

 

The things we really wanted...

#1 DCL kids club is FAR superior to any other line, There's just nothing even close. This is a major consideration for us.

#2 DCL's rotational dining is more interesting than same dining room every night. The food is better too. DCL also has better placed places to grab snacks...like by the pools.

#3 We liked the fixed show times and the fact that all the shows are family entertainment. Honestly Oasis was close with quality of shoes, but not fixed times.

#4 DCL has more family friendly activities going on during sea days. We actually got bored on RCI this time.

#5 We actually the opportunity to see movies in a theater on the cruise. DCL always has current movies and plenty of them. I realize others may think watching movies on a cruise is a waste of time, but for us it's a great place to duck into with a baby or toddler who's about to nap...and we always seem to have one or two of those. Oasis' only movie screen is in the same theater as their major production which limits it's use. The one time we tried to see a show we were looking forward to, they actually played the wrong show!

 

Unfortunately we cannot get connecting rooms on the DCL transatlantic. We may just cancel RCI. Not sure yet.

My husband who previously didn't want to go on DCL's "little ships" anymore completely changed his mind. The Disney quality and service and especially kids clubs have him only wanting to sail DCL now.

[LuCruise]

It really depends on the person and family. Many people here will say that it is worth the magic, and that if it wasn't the ships wouldn't fill at such high rates.

 

 

 

 

 

For me, the answer is that it was not worth it. We had a fantastic cruise on Disney Fantasy in October 2014. It was a great time and we have some very special memories. We loved many of the unique features that Disney has like the Acquaduck waterslide and the family events. Remy was incredible. Maybe the bext meal I've had in my life! But overall, I didn't think it was worth the cost.

 

 

 

 

 

When I go to Disneyland I feel that it is a magical place. It is much better than other theme parks we visit. I know that a trip to Disnleyland is expensive but I've always felt it was a special experience and worth the money. The Disney fantasy was nicer than the Carnival and RCL ships we went on, but not magical to us and not worth the 2 or 3 time higher price (in my estimation.)

 

 

 

Totally agree with your statement (but substitute with Disney World and Disney Magic). The ship was fun, but not that OMG Magical feeling. Disney World was magical and although $$$, worth every penny.