can you tell me if a disney cruise is worth the extra $$ over a standard cruise line?

[Shanti]

I would love to see you actually post the Fantasy against any other mega ship and show us how they even come close in price. For my family of four the Fantasy is almost always double for a comparable room. If your math was correct we wouldn't see these threads pop over and over again. I think the debate is over wether DCl is worth the extra money not if it's more expensive. We all know DCl costs way more.

I think he means a comparable room in terms of size. DCL cabins run bigger than cabins on other lines, so an inside on many other lines is not equivalent to an inside on DCL, for example.

 

[truck1]

I think he means a comparable room in terms of size. DCL cabins run bigger than cabins on other lines, so an inside on many other lines is not equivalent to an inside on DCL, for example.

That's correct. I took a standard 300 square foot cabin with a balcony, from DCL and compared it to a 300 square foot cabin on a different line. Same itinerary as close as I could get as the other line doesnt go to CC. Same day or with in a day. Only other dofference was 1 was PC the other FtL. The pricing before any discount was with in 200 and before any add one like a soda package upscale dining etc.

The Dream class cabins are industry average, where the Magic class is 10% larger for ships in her class at that time.

 

[truck1]

This may be true for some specific off season cruises. But for the cruises we do, it is double or triple. Like $3200 verses $8500 and $6000 verses $13000. And the $3200 and $6000 are balconies with superior itineraries, verses DCL's inside cabins. And the great irony is the kids had just as good of a time. We thought we were doing the Disney cruises for the kids but they didn't miss it at all. Lol.

Was this before or after any discount another line offers? That's where the differences are, both in price and business model. Disney is all up.front because they cant recoup loss of revenue in passenger numbers by pushing a casino. Other lines can. There was a show on tv that talked about it. The host went thru what a normal crew member went thru during the average cruise from hustling luggage to serving drinks. This line (and most likely others )basically have a monetary quota to hit from cruise to cruise. They wouldnt talk about what that number was, but they did say they met or exceeded that quota 99% of the time. When I looked, and I'll try and do this on my phone as my laptop is acting up, the base price for a family of 5, was comparable in price. Once I factored in the discount RCL was running at the time, they beat DCL hands down by similar numbers that you posted. It was a bout a 2 or 3000 difference. But again that was with the buy 1 get 1 50% off discount. When I added in the soda,alcohol and specialty dining, it came up by several hundred dollars. A lot also depends on what special they are running as they vary from line to line. But with out any discounts, or specials or promos that any line offers, the numbers are fairly close industry wide. It's the specials, and promos that make a difference.

 

[truck1]

I would love to see you actually post the Fantasy against any other mega ship and show us how they even come close in price. For my family of four the Fantasy is almost always double for a comparable room. If your math was correct we wouldn't see these threads pop over and over again. I think the debate is over wether DCl is worth the extra money not if it's more expensive. We all know DCl costs way more.

Here's a comparison between the Magic and the Enchantment of the Sea. Similar sized ships, same age.group, almost the same itinerary, almost the same dates. Main difference is.cabin size. Magic is about 30 square ft bigger. Notice RCCL price prior to any discount, 2312. Disney Magic 2430. It's not until RCCLS current discount kicks in that we see a difference.

1 other thing. Be carefull on what you compare. To be truly comparable, as much as possible needs to be close to the same. For example, there's no real comparison between the Allure of the Sea and the Magic as an example.


RCCL


4 NIGHT BAHAMAS CRUISE
Leaving from: Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Aboard: Enchantment of the Seas

MONAPR 152019
FRIAPR 192019
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
$2,312.00
2 Guests
Deck 7 Room 7606
BOGO50
-$578.00
$100.00 Free Onboard Spending Credit
FREE
Subtotal:
$1,734.00
Taxes & Fees
$160.80
Total
$1,894.80

Disney Magic

268 sq ft Including Verandah
Price Summary
Adult 1
1100
$1,100.00
Adult 2
1100
$1,100.00
Taxes, Fees &
Port Expenses

230.48
$230.48
Stateroom 1 2430.48
$2,430.48

 

[cruiser21]

Here's a comparison between the Magic and the Enchantment of the Sea. Similar sized ships, same age.group, almost the same itinerary, almost the same dates. Main difference is.cabin size. Magic is about 30 square ft bigger. Notice RCCL price prior to any discount, 2312. Disney Magic 2430. It's not until RCCLS current discount kicks in that we see a difference.


RCCL


4 NIGHT BAHAMAS CRUISE
Leaving from: Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Aboard: Enchantment of the Seas

MONAPR 152019
FRIAPR 192019
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
$2,312.00
2 Guests
Deck 7 Room 7606
BOGO50
-$578.00
$100.00 Free Onboard Spending Credit
FREE
Subtotal:
$1,734.00
Taxes & Fees
$160.80
Total
$1,894.80

Disney Magic

268 sq ft Including Verandah
Price Summary
Adult 1
1100
$1,100.00
Adult 2
1100
$1,100.00
Taxes, Fees &
Port Expenses

230.48
$230.48
Stateroom 1 2430.48
$2,430.48

Carnival Vista 8 day cruise April 21 2 adults to kids verandah room 3033. Fantasy same week Eastern verandah 6,832.Comparable ships. Vista is actually newer. I rest my case.

 

[cruisingtwins]

We prefer Royal mostly because the pools are usable and all the things to do they offer.

 

[kaseyC]

I think he means a comparable room in terms of size. DCL cabins run bigger than cabins on other lines, so an inside on many other lines is not equivalent to an inside on DCL, for example.

That was certainly true with the Magic and the Wonder but the Dream class ships' cabins are more in line with industry standards. Even a few other cruise lines offer the split bath in certain categories. In terms of concierge suites DCL took a step backwards with the Dream class by getting rid of the the 2 bedroom (7 person capacity) Cat. S and reducing the Cat. R capacity to 5 from 7.

 

[xlxo]

I was wondering if it's worth it?

Depends on where you trying to cruise to..... ie Alaska.... there is significant savings by skipping the pixie dust.

 

[truck1]

Carnival Vista 8 day cruise April 21 2 adults to kids verandah room 3033. Fantasy same week Eastern verandah 6,832.Comparable ships. Vista is actually newer. I rest my case.

Your kind of comparing Apple's to oranges. Your booked on a 8 day trip compared to a 7. 2 completly different itineraries. And if I'm not mistaken, your booked under Carnivals early saver booking. ( I looked to see how they were priced, if they had the base price before the discount . They dont. Other then to say they gty the lowest price available.) To be truly comparable, you need to look at the base price, before any discount, from both ships, and the ships and rooms need to be close in age, size etc. I'll give you the age difference between the Fantasy and the Vista.

With a discount any line will beat DCL hands down. Which I'm not arguing. Just pointing out that pre discount, most if not all lines in a comparable room, ship and age are pretty close to the same.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Was this before or after any discount another line offers? That's where the differences are, both in price and business model. Disney is all up.front because they cant recoup loss of revenue in passenger numbers by pushing a casino. Other lines can. There was a show on tv that talked about it. The host went thru what a normal crew member went thru during the average cruise from hustling luggage to serving drinks. This line (and most likely others )basically have a monetary quota to hit from cruise to cruise. They wouldnt talk about what that number was, but they did say they met or exceeded that quota 99% of the time. When I looked, and I'll try and do this on my phone as my laptop is acting up, the base price for a family of 5, was comparable in price. Once I factored in the discount RCL was running at the time, they beat DCL hands down by similar numbers that you posted. It was a bout a 2 or 3000 difference. But again that was with the buy 1 get 1 50% off discount. When I added in the soda,alcohol and specialty dining, it came up by several hundred dollars. A lot also depends on what special they are running as they vary from line to line. But with out any discounts, or specials or promos that any line offers, the numbers are fairly close industry wide. It's the specials, and promos that make a difference.

We do not spend more than $200/room on DCL or on other cruise lines. We do not drink and barely drink soft drinks. So yes that was all in. The price differences were shocking for us too. Our next cruise at spring break is about $3300 for two window cabins. Same on DCL would have been around $13000 for 2 inside. Just not worth it

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If you have small kids it's worth the extra money.

If I wasn't traveling with a preschooler I'd never consider a Disney cruise over another line

We've never traveled with small children, and DCL is our line of choice.

Of course, some other cruise lines have better (more) itineraries, so we sail them, also.

 

[robinb]

I’ve never been on a Disney cruise but I have cruised on 3 other cruise lines. I just can’t bring myself to spend 2-3 times more for a Disney cruise.

 

[cruiser21]

Your kind of comparing Apple's to oranges. Your booked on a 8 day trip compared to a 7. 2 completly different itineraries. And if I'm not mistaken, your booked under Carnivals early saver booking. ( I looked to see how they were priced, if they had the base price before the discount . They dont. Other then to say they gty the lowest price available.) To be truly comparable, you need to look at the base price, before any discount, from both ships, and the ships and rooms need to be close in age, size etc. I'll give you the age difference between the Fantasy and the Vista.

With a discount any line will beat DCL hands down. Which I'm not arguing. Just pointing out that pre discount, most if not all lines in a comparable room, ship and age are pretty close to the same.

The early saver rates are only a couple hundred dollars less then the regular rate. 8 day vs 7 and the 8 day was less with a better itinerary. Can't imagine what a 8 day Fantasy cruise would cost. If I book a regular rate the price is around 3300 hundred still 3300 less the DCL.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Didn't read all the responses yet - but yes it is. Once. Beyond that... well probably not in terms of value.
We took a Bermuda cruise with Royal and overall loved it. Would never pay double for same cruise with Disney over and over again.
However can't recreate that Disney magic feeling that many have to have.
I'm glad I took a non-Disney cruise because I'm now excited to try other ships.
Having said that we are booked with Disney again because it was within $400 of Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas sailing from Puerto Rico.
After this I really want to go on the Harmony.

 

[cruiser21]

T

 

[cruiser21]

Im not going to say DCl cruises aren't worth it that would be hypocritical of me considering the number of cruises I've been on. I also don't try to fool myself into thinking I'm not paying a considerable amount more to take a Disney cruise. I also don't try to fool myself into thinking they offer s better product. I do it because it's a good fit for our family, but mostly because I like Disney. If the price isn't something I'm comfortable with I'm not opposed to other cruiselines. I've never had a bad cruise on any cruiseline.

 

[cgolf]

First to answer the OP if you love Disney and all the charecters you should do at least one DCL cruise if it fits in your budget. It is all Disney all the time and we saw more charecters than we did at Disney world. If you are just looking to do a lot of cruises in the future and are not huge Disney fans there might be other options that are cheaper.

I don't buy into DCLs pixie dust means their service is better across the board. Granted we have one cruise outside of DCL, the service was very similar for us. In our twelve cruises on DCL we have had service encounters ranging from excellent to forgettable. Why say this knowing I will get flamed? I don't feel that we should overhype the service so that a first time cruiser goes on and gets average service, and their enjoyment of the trip is diminished. I am guessing that overall the service level across brands is pretty good, and we should set people's levels to a reasonable level.

Here's something else to consider. I was doing some online research not long ago, doing a room to room and add on comparison. When you take a given room from any DCL ship, and compare it to a similar room on another line, they are pretty close to being the same. Pricing is also fairly close. Usually within a hundred dollars or so. So wheres the difference? Most other lines if not all have casinos and other adult or specialty entertainment that is extra. There goal is to get a body on the ship and make up the difference onboard. So theyll offer deep discounts to get you onboard. Plus the add on soda package, add on specialty dining,..... and Before you know it in most cases your back to paying full or close to full fare.( did the math for my family ) DCL on the other hand, doesn't have much to add on. Remys and Palo, brunches and a drink add on. Thats about it.

Here's a comparison between the Magic and the Enchantment of the Sea. Similar sized ships, same age.group, almost the same itinerary, almost the same dates. Main difference is.cabin size. Magic is about 30 square ft bigger. Notice RCCL price prior to any discount, 2312. Disney Magic 2430. It's not until RCCLS current discount kicks in that we see a difference.

1 other thing. Be carefull on what you compare. To be truly comparable, as much as possible needs to be close to the same. For example, there's no real comparison between the Allure of the Sea and the Magic as an example.


RCCL


4 NIGHT BAHAMAS CRUISE
Leaving from: Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Aboard: Enchantment of the Seas

MONAPR 152019
FRIAPR 192019
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
$2,312.00
2 Guests
Deck 7 Room 7606
BOGO50
-$578.00
$100.00 Free Onboard Spending Credit
FREE
Subtotal:
$1,734.00
Taxes & Fees
$160.80
Total
$1,894.80

Disney Magic

268 sq ft Including Verandah
Price Summary
Adult 1
1100
$1,100.00
Adult 2
1100
$1,100.00
Taxes, Fees &
Port Expenses

230.48
$230.48
Stateroom 1 2430.48
$2,430.48

Now this. I answered someone's riddle regarding RCCLs pricing policy recently. I am guessing almost no one pays what you are showing as the original price. They use the sales as a marketing tool to get people to book. What we have found is that the price differs in the tens of dollars with each sale. RCCL lets our TA rebook the same room at the new lower price if that occurs, but it only did once for us with the difference being under 100 bucks. What I see in the prices you show is the RCCL cruise is about 60 bucks per person per night cheaper. I pay the sale price not the original price.

Also wanted to add that at least on RCCL, we never felt we needed to specialty dining or pay extra to get any food upgrades or do any pay activities. To be fair the most we ever did on DCL was Palo brunch. On the 4 night cruise the soda package for two should be under 100 bucks. The only extras we would buy is alcoholic drinks and we had to pay for those on both. Maybe we are unique in how we spend money onboard, but we have yet to feel the need to spend extra on a cruise when we can get another option for free.

 

[cruiser21]

I think he means a comparable room in terms of size. DCL cabins run bigger than cabins on other lines, so an inside on many other lines is not equivalent to an inside on DCL, for example.

The Carnival Vista's cabins are the same size or larger. I will agree with you on DCL's insides, but I wasn't pricing out an inside I was comparing Verandah's. The Vista's Oceanviews are larger then DCL's.

 

[cruiser21]

First to answer the OP if you love Disney and all the charecters you should do at least one DCL cruise if it fits in your budget. It is all Disney all the time and we saw more charecters than we did at Disney world. If you are just looking to do a lot of cruises in the future and are not huge Disney fans there might be other options that are cheaper.

I don't buy into DCLs pixie dust means their service is better across the board. Granted we have one cruise outside of DCL, the service was very similar for us. In our twelve cruises on DCL we have had service encounters ranging from excellent to forgettable. Why say this knowing I will get flamed? I don't feel that we should overhype the service so that a first time cruiser goes on and gets average service, and their enjoyment of the trip is diminished. I am guessing that overall the service level across brands is pretty good, and we should set people's levels to a reasonable level.





Now this. I answered someone's riddle regarding RCCLs pricing policy recently. I am guessing almost no one pays what you are showing as the original price. They use the sales as a marketing tool to get people to book. What we have found is that the price differs in the tens of dollars with each sale. RCCL lets our TA rebook the same room at the new lower price if that occurs, but it only did once for us with the difference being under 100 bucks. What I see in the prices you show is the RCCL cruise is about 60 bucks per person per night cheaper. I pay the sale price not the original price.

Also wanted to add that at least on RCCL, we never felt we needed to specialty dining or pay extra to get any food upgrades or do any pay activities. To be fair the most we ever did on DCL was Palo brunch. On the 4 night cruise the soda package for two should be under 100 bucks. The only extras we would buy is alcoholic drinks and we had to pay for those on both. Maybe we are unique in how we spend money onboard, but we have yet to feel the need to spend extra on a cruise when we can get another option for free.

I don't know about RCCL prices, but I've followed the Vista and Horizon because I want to cruise on one of those ships. The price regularly goes up. They offer sales, but the prices keep going up. Like you said not really a sale, but more of a marketing tool. If you don't follow the prices you may think you are getting some kind of bargain. If you want to cruise on one of these ships book early. They are popular.

 

[robinb]

Here's a comparison between the Magic and the Enchantment of the Sea. Similar sized ships, same age.group, almost the same itinerary, almost the same dates. Main difference is.cabin size. Magic is about 30 square ft bigger. Notice RCCL price prior to any discount, 2312. Disney Magic 2430. It's not until RCCLS current discount kicks in that we see a difference.

1 other thing. Be carefull on what you compare. To be truly comparable, as much as possible needs to be close to the same. For example, there's no real comparison between the Allure of the Sea and the Magic as an example.


RCCL


4 NIGHT BAHAMAS CRUISE
Leaving from: Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Aboard: Enchantment of the Seas

MONAPR 152019
FRIAPR 192019
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
$2,312.00
2 Guests
Deck 7 Room 7606
BOGO50
-$578.00
$100.00 Free Onboard Spending Credit
FREE
Subtotal:
$1,734.00
Taxes & Fees
$160.80
Total
$1,894.80

Disney Magic

268 sq ft Including Verandah
Price Summary
Adult 1
1100
$1,100.00
Adult 2
1100
$1,100.00
Taxes, Fees &
Port Expenses

230.48
$230.48
Stateroom 1 2430.48
$2,430.48

RCCL *always* has a sale so you really can't compare their "rack rate" with DCL. The other thing you did in your comparison is that you chose an OBSTRUCTED VIEW verandah for your Disney cruise to make it cheaper. An unobstructed verandah on that cruise is actually $2910.48 today and the RCCL balcony is $1744. A ginormous $1,166 dollar difference over 4 days .