Has the price of DCL chased you away?

[tinkerone]

I don't get your comparison. The ship is a resort. The amenities are the same no matter what type of room you have. Value resorts have no spa, gym, restaurants, H20 products or pool slides. There is a huge difference between staying at a value or a deluxe. The only difference between staying in an inside room or a verandah is the size of the room and the view. I booked an inside room on our next cruise, and I would never stay at a WDW value resort.

We differ because I look at the ship as I would WDW and not as a resort. A resort would not have all the shows that the ship offers. They would not have the type of things the kids clubs offer.
The amenities are not the same no matter what type of room you have, that's not right. You have a concierge lounge on the ship that you can't get with just any room. As to the H20 products they are limited compared to what you get in concierge, just as they would from one resort to another. Oddly enough, I prefer staying at the values but would never stay in an inside. We are all so different.
Long and short, as I said earlier, not everyone agrees however you can compare the cost of the ship to the cost of a stay at WDW but its all in the way you look at it.
We will agree to disagree.

 

[KashasMom]

I don't get your comparison. The ship is a resort. The amenities are the same no matter what type of room you have. Value resorts have no spa, gym, restaurants, H20 products or pool slides. There is a huge difference between staying at a value or a deluxe. The only difference between staying in an inside room or a verandah is the size of the room and the view. I booked an inside room on our next cruise, and I would never stay at a WDW value resort.

Like you, we love deluxe hotels in the center of the action. For us though it does depend on where we are vacationing and how much time we will spend in our room or how much we will use the amenities. Because we are always on the go we almost never even have enough time to use a pool though so spending $600 a night at the Contemporary or Grand Floridian, etc. doesn't make sense to me. (Maybe because we stayed at all of them when they were new and probably paid less than $200 a night!) We are never in our room let alone spending extra hours at the hotel. However on a ship, I love to sit on our balcony very early in the morning with a coffee watching the water. That's not to say we don't cruise in an inside - we definitely do. For a WDW trip, the hotel is truly just a place to sleep. As long as it's clean, I'm good. For our upcoming China trip (including Shanghai Disney) we're splurging because I want great hotels, great food, and great views...and they are all cheaper than WDW deluxe hotels. For us many factors go into deciding on a hotel or a room on a cruise.

 

[cruiser21]

We differ because I look at the ship as I would WDW and not as a resort. A resort would not have all the shows that the ship offers. They would not have the type of things the kids clubs offer.
The amenities are not the same no matter what type of room you have, that's not right. You have a concierge lounge on the ship that you can't get with just any room. As to the H20 products they are limited compared to what you get in concierge, just as they would from one resort to another. Oddly enough, I prefer staying at the values but would never stay in an inside. We are all so different.
Long and short, as I said earlier, not everyone agrees however you can compare the cost of the ship to the cost of a stay at WDW but its all in the way you look at it.
We will agree to disagree.

Now your talking about concierge which is different then even a verandah. I've had standard rooms at the poly, lagoon view and club level. In my opinion that is how I would compare an inside, verandah and concierge on a ship. I've stayed in all types of rooms on a ship except concierge it didn't change my experience at all. It's nice having a view in a hotel or at sea, but unless your staying concierge at either one the amnenities are the same.

 

[mevelandry]

I agree. I've heard this before and it doesn't make sense to me either. There are two levels of service/amenities on DCL--concierge and non-concierge. Non-concierge to me is still better than WDW deluxe imo. And I've stayed value and deluxe and value was fine but nothing like an inside cabin on dcl (I've stayed inside, outside, and verandah).

I agree with the levels of service... But I would add a little nuance about the Deluxe experience.

When you stay Deluxe concierge/club level gives you access to food and drinks in WDW (which we usually pay for) while on DCL, food is already included when you cruise non-concierge, so you might get drinks and pop corn... maybe sunscreen but what else?

I haven't tried DCL concierge but I have tried Club Level in WDW and "on paper", staying Club Level in WDW sounds like a much better value (and wayyyyy more affordable) than being concierge on DCL.

 

[cruiser21]

Like you, we love deluxe hotels in the center of the action. For us though it does depend on where we are vacationing and how much time we will spend in our room or how much we will use the amenities. Because we are always on the go we almost never even have enough time to use a pool though so spending $600 a night at the Contemporary or Grand Floridian, etc. doesn't make sense to me. (Maybe because we stayed at all of them when they were new and probably paid less than $200 a night!) We are never in our room let alone spending extra hours at the hotel. However on a ship, I love to sit on our balcony very early in the morning with a coffee watching the water. That's not to say we don't cruise in an inside - we definitely do. For a WDW trip, the hotel is truly just a place to sleep. As long as it's clean, I'm good. For our upcoming China trip (including Shanghai Disney) we're splurging because I want great hotels, great food, and great views...and they are all cheaper than WDW deluxe hotels. For us many factors go into deciding on a hotel or a room on a cruise.

I booked my rooms through third party sites. I'm under 300.00 a night for AKL and Beach club. It's definitely a challenge getting good room rates at WDW. I can rember paying 300.00 a night for club level. I considered getting annual passes, but with the cost of the rooms and food these days not going to do it. We do spend a lot of time at the resorts at WDW. I'm not a theme park lover. I do it for the kids. I would much rather be doing a European cruise even if I'm in an inside room.

 

[KashasMom]

I booked my rooms through third party sites. I'm under 300.00 a night for AKL and Beach club. It's definitely a challenge getting good room rates at WDW. I can rember paying 300.00 a night for club level. I considered getting annual passes, but with the cost of the rooms and food these days not going to do it. We do spend a lot of time at the resorts at WDW. I'm not a theme park lover. I do it for the kids. I would much rather be doing a European cruise even if I'm in an inside room.

Under $300 is very good. Cheapest I saw was $372 for AK standard room (in Nov.) on hotels.com. I'm still undecided about doing a 3 night on the Dream with a day at WDW (which I think may be kind of rushed) or spending the whole time at WDW. Such a problem, I know.

 

[Vijoge]

The price of Disney cruises is what made me never consider Disney as an option for our cruises. Case in point-we have a southern Caribbean cruise booked in January on RCI. We paid $680 pp. Disney wants $6200 for essentially the same cruise. (I paid $1800 pp for a 14 night Hawaiian cruise on Princess, and we had a veranda.) Nah, I can live without characters lol

 

[cruiser21]

I agree with the levels of service... But I would add a little nuance about the Deluxe experience.

When you stay Deluxe concierge/club level gives you access to food and drinks in WDW (which we usually pay for) while on DCL, food is already included when you cruise non-concierge, so you might get drinks and pop corn... maybe sunscreen but what else?

I haven't tried DCL concierge but I have tried Club Level in WDW and "on paper", staying Club Level in WDW sounds like a much better value (and wayyyyy more affordable) than being concierge on DCL.

I guess a lot of it depends on how you view the ship. I view it as a floating resort thats taking me to different destinations. One posterrs views the ship as WDW. It's hard for me compare a ship to a theme park.

Under $300 is very good. Cheapest I saw was $372 for AK standard room (in Nov.) on hotels.com. I'm still undecided about doing a 3 night on the Dream with a day at WDW (which I think may be kind of rushed) or spending the whole time at WDW. Such a problem, I know.

CheapTickets and Orbitz offere 15% off of Disneys 25 % with their promo codes. So basically 40% off. You have to wait for WDW to release discounts in Nov. I learned this tip on the discount section of the resorts board. After you book you will have to call Orbitz to get your WDW resort confirmation number. Most of the agents have no idea what your talking about. You have to tell them to call the wholesale dept in Disney to get the number. What the usually do is call the resort. The resort connects them to right dept, and they'll come back with your number that you can link to MDE. Also Undercover tourist has better rates then the Disney site. They send your confirmation number right away. They do not have cancellation fees. Orbitz and cheaptickets have a 25.00 cancellation fee.

 

[mevelandry]

I guess a lot of it depends on how you view the ship. I view it as a floating resort thats taking me to different destinations. One posterrs views the ship as WDW. It's hard for me compare a ship to a theme park.

Same here. I absolutely see the ship like a resort more than a theme park (since there are no rides on it). The only difference would be the shows... although some resorts like Fort Wilderness has a musical review Hoop-Dee-Doo and Polynesian Village has the Aloha Dinner have shows too.

 

[tinkerone]

I guess a lot of it depends on how you view the ship. I view it as a floating resort thats taking me to different destinations. One posterrs views the ship as WDW. It's hard for me compare a ship to a theme park.

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough. I did not compare the ship to a theme park. Yes, I did say I look at the ship as I would WDW and not as a resort. Lets keep in mind, there is much much more to WDW than a theme park just as there is more to the ship then rooms. It is a bazillion times smaller than WDW but it has the same premise in my eyes.
Again, we don't have to agree however this is how I see it. This thread is about the price of DCL and the only reason I have posted my comments was because someone mentioned the prices between WDW and DCL. I don't really want to take it further off topic.

 

[cruiser21]

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough. I did not compare the ship to a theme park. Yes, I did say I look at the ship as I would WDW and not as a resort. Lets keep in mind, there is much much more to WDW than a theme park just as there is more to the ship then rooms. It is a bazillion times smaller than WDW but it has the same premise in my eyes.
Again, we don't have to agree however this is how I see it. This thread is about the price of DCL and the only reason I have posted my comments was because someone mentioned the prices between WDW and DCL. I don't really want to take it further off topic.

No I didn't mean to take it off topic. Hopefully my Orbitz post will help someone looking for a pre/post cruise resort stay.

I could upgrade my inside to verandah for a couple hundred dollars. The price difference is pretty small on the Dream class. It seems to be larger on the classics. I do see the ship as a floating hotel. That is why I don't mind cruising other cruiselines. Mickey Mouse and friends are cute, but meh.. I don't need that. I'm more interested in where the ship is taking me. Its why we're cutting back on DCL. They can't always take me where I want to go for what I consider a reasonable price.

 

[Mrspeaks]

It will once our girls are a little older. My husband and I cruised many lines before dcl and loved our experiences. Once we had children the appeal of Disney was that we could continue to do the vacation we liked and it be acceptable and common to have little kids with you. We love dcl though.

 

[Shanti]

I agree. I've heard this before and it doesn't make sense to me either. There are two levels of service/amenities on DCL--concierge and non-concierge. Non-concierge to me is still better than WDW deluxe imo. And I've stayed value and deluxe and value was fine but nothing like an inside cabin on dcl (I've stayed inside, outside, and verandah).

Agreed. We've sailed in inside cabins on DCL, and the experience rivals staying at a deluxe WDW resort. We stayed at a value WDW resort once and really disliked the motel feel- nothing like the luxury of cruising at all. The inside cabins on DCL are cozy, not large, but still very attractive & comfortable, unlike value resort rooms.

 

[lmhall2000]

Oh geez, I remember it well...$139 for Animal Kingdom Lodge, $200 for Polynesian, $189 for Contemporary, $4000 with $1600 on board credit for a 10 night Mediterranean (SEVEN people), Kids sail free twice on two other cruises with Disney, I called today because all three of my kids will be in college this fall and summer is our only option...$11,000 for 5 of us to sail a 7 night anywhere on Disney between May-August. Holy MOLY!!
Now, I either sail another cruise line (never have) or find the best $9 fare I can find on Spirit Air and rent an AirBnB in Puerto Rico or Costa Rica..(we have miles we can use for most our airfare)...We 'could' book a January sailing that is a 5 night for $4400...but our 25th anniversary is this August...we just moved across four states to a new city, our family NEEDS a vacation this summer!

 

[cruiser21]

Oh geez, I remember it well...$139 for Animal Kingdom Lodge, $200 for Polynesian, $189 for Contemporary, $4000 with $1600 on board credit for a 10 night Mediterranean (SEVEN people), Kids sail free twice on two other cruises with Disney, I called today because all three of my kids will be in college this fall and summer is our only option...$11,000 for 5 of us to sail a 7 night anywhere on Disney between May-August. Holy MOLY!!
Now, I either sail another cruise line (never have) or find the best $9 fare I can find on Spirit Air and rent an AirBnB in Puerto Rico or Costa Rica..(we have miles we can use for most our airfare)...We 'could' book a January sailing that is a 5 night for $4400...but our 25th anniversary is this August...we just moved across four states to a new city, our family NEEDS a vacation this summer!

I would just try another cruiseline. There are some really nice new ships sailing out of Florida. Harmony RCL, Vista CCL, Escape NCL come to mind. You probably won't even spend half what it cost to cruise on DCL. Think of all the great excursions, spa treatments, specialty dining, 5 star hotel before cruise and all the other things you can do with the money you save. You won't be disappointed if you try any of these cruiselines. They are different then Disney, but excellent in their own way.

 

[FigmentSpark]

What's chasing me away isn't the price of the cruise, but the addition of air fare. We paid CAD$3000 for 4 of us to fly to Orlando. Even if we'd gone out of Buffalo, it wouldn't have been cheap. So that's a huge part of the price of any cruise we take, in addition to the rooms (teens and we like space, so there's that, too).

Now, if DH would drive to Orlando, we could do it for half that, but that's 2+ days in a van each way. When the kids we smaller (and we were younger), that wasn't so bad, but now one DS is 6' and the other is catching up to him. Long legs in the back of a van for 2 days make grumpy teens.

 

[mevelandry]

What's chasing me away isn't the price of the cruise, but the addition of air fare. We paid CAD$3000 for 4 of us to fly to Orlando. Even if we'd gone out of Buffalo, it wouldn't have been cheap. So that's a huge part of the price of any cruise we take, in addition to the rooms (teens and we like space, so there's that, too).

Where do you fly from? We paid a little less than CAD 1300$ for 4 adults when I booked for our upcoming trip... Montreal (YUL) to Orlando (MCO). Air Canada Rouge.

 

[Lita]

I honestly don't price DCL by other cruise lines though. I don't view it as the same experience. I price DCL based on what I would pay for a similar experience at WDW. I know I'm probably missing deals for WDW, but I wouldn't get any frequent visitor points because we live too far away. Without deal hunting, when I priced WDW on their website, I was only within $500 more for DCL. That's without any special show tickets which I could of arguably added. There are some non comparable aspects of that pricing. There is more to do at WDW, but on the ship you are still immersed in Disney activities, characters, and events. I was looking at Art of Animation which is a budget hotel and that could be considered a step down from the staterooms on the ship. Stuff like that.

That is exactly what we do. We compare a DCL to a WDW stay (we stay deluxe at WDW). We had never cruised other lines prior to DCL so we didn't do any comparisons to other lines. We recently cruised on the Oasis and are going back to sticking with a DCL since we haven't felt "priced out" yet.

 

[cruiser21]

That is exactly what we do. We compare a DCL to a WDW stay (we stay deluxe at WDW). We had never cruised other lines prior to DCL so we didn't do any comparisons to other lines. We recently cruised on the Oasis and are going back to sticking with a DCL since we haven't felt "priced out" yet.

We haven't cruised DCL out PC in a few years. Maybe that's why WDW never crosses my mind when I get on a ship. We've cruised out of San Juan, Miami, Vancouver, Barcelona, Copenhagen, and Galveston over the last few years. This will be my first cruise out of PC in a while.

 

[mktt]

Yes. We've moved on.
We have a Jan 2018 Fantasy trip booked 2A 2K. We downsized to a 5C and it's $5700 USD. We\re really excited for that trip.

We just booked Jan 2019 7nt Freedom of the Seas for $3000 USD.

Both balconies (5C on Disney and D1 now called 1B on RCL) and Freedom doesn't leave from Florida (we vacation in Jan/Feb) and has a far better itinerary which is a huge plus.

We're super excited for our 2018 Disney cruise and know we will have an awesome time but the cost and itinerary factors inherent to Disney have reached a point where they almost cancel out the unique Disney factors.