We're starting to talk about taking the kids on a cruise in a year or two. Have heard amazing things about Disney Cruise Line and started looking into it. Yikes! Have to be rich to consider them. I assumed the higher cost meant you're getting free childcare and other perks not offered by the other lines that have kids programs. Their inclusives look identical to regular cruise lines.
As a cost comparison, it would run us $7,000 for a 7 day Caribbean cruise with Disney, with the kids in the same room as us (ugh ... very cozy in a little cruise ship room) and a little porthole window. That doesn't even include the $2,000 to get us out to Florida and back. With Norwegian, it would run around $4,000 and we'd get two cabins with a door between the rooms, both with balconies (our kids are older so not a problem). They also have a lot of kid activities and a departure point in Texas that would be a lot cheaper for flights. We've done two Norwegian cruises without kids and loved them.
I'm just trying to get a sense of why Disney is THAT much more expensive. Why are people willing to spend that much more for their cruises? Do they do custom meals for your picky eaters? Assign you a personal butler? I can't figure it out by looking at the website.
Thanks for any insights! Also, if Disney is that amazing, are there any ways to get discounts to make it even feasible to consider them? We aren't rich and will have to save for this trip. A $9,000 vacation is way out of the budget.
Thanks, everyone. I'm still not convinced we need to go Disney. Our kids are older (past the Princess/Cars phase), so the Disney name won't matter to them (I had assumed Disney offered more inclusives in its higher price, which is why people liked them). May be worth talking to a Disney agent when the time comes to get serious about booking, though, just to see if they can make a deal, so I appreciate the tip. Not too interested in traveling our coast, since we've taken the kids just about everywhere in California already.
We have to travel during school breaks. The only time I'd pull our kids from school is for a medical or family emergency. We know this means higher rates, but I wasn't prepared for the "need to get a home equity line" variety of Disney.
Because Disney knows how to do it. The past several years Disney is trying different ports to see if the interest is there. We took a 5 night cDisney cruise out of NY last Sept to Canada. Cost was $600 with a an on board credit of $150. Cruise was amazing. I know they were offering things like that out of Galveston. Call Disney and ask what ports they are leavi g out of. Truly Disney does an amazing cruise.
Disney has a BIT of a sliding scale.
Meaning... Most cruises... The price is the price. On special or not.
But Disney not only has specials, they ALSO have packages.
This is true both for parks and ships.
Ex) we booked a Disney trip (through Disney) which cost 3k total. If we'd bought all the same things on our own online? Over 10k.
What you do:
You call in and work with one of their agents... Who uses both their advertised specials, as well as policies (it was cheaper for us to stay 5 nights instead of 3, for example!!!) that they know but most people don't.
As of last year, they also had a "cheapest through us" policy. Meaning you CAN'T get a better deal anywhere else. Yet there are dozens (if not hundreds) of agencies booking Disney stuff. In general, according to some Disneyphiles I know, the most expensive is "off the rack / at the window". Cheaper is via an agent. Cheapest is through a Disney Agent.
So if you haven't worked with a Disney Agent... Call them.
I would contact a travel agent and ask them to cost compare exactly what is included in which cruise and what is not. Some of the companies that appear less expensive end up charging for coffee, sodas, child care, etc. I know on Disney, it is all included, except for alcohol, specialty coffee drinks, excursions and tips.Disney also has their own island with a buffet restaurant and several other amenities and every Disney cruise in the Caribbean makes one stop there for a full day.
I have to admit, we've done 3 Disney cruises and have never sailed on any other cruise line, so I can't compare - but I do know with service, entertainment, and making your kids happy, Disney goes above and beyond. We've never been disappointed and if you talk to many people who have done Disney and others, Disney wins hands down.
We've booked our Disney vacations through Dreams Unlimited. DisBoards on-line is really helpful too. Another little known fact is that you can bring your own alcohol on board if you want - it cannot be in checked luggage, you have to carry it on board yourself, but at least you are stuck paying their prices if you want a glass of wine. There are also Disney cruises that sail along the west coast, so maybe you could save money on airfare that way.
ETA: The time of year you are traveling matters too - school vacation weeks tend to be the most expensive, vs. a week in May or September. Sometimes they have "Kids Sail Free" deals as well - they might also have a special going on right now for cruises booked November and Decemeber, up to Christmas.
I absolutely LOVED the Disney cruise, but we only went for 3 days and we live in Florida. We went last minute and got a better deal by just calling them directly.
Honestly I'd be inclined toward the NCL experience you described. It sounds like a better fit for you guys, and NO, I would NOT be willing to share a cabin on my vacation. We were able to get connecting cabins on Disney, but like I said we had different circumstances.
My husband and I were skeptical about the Disney cruise (thought it would be filled with lots of screaming little kids) but it was absolutely amazing. They have great service, cleanliness, and things for kids of most ages to do (the babies/toddlers need in-room sitting probably). Our kids were older when we went. Also, there is no gambling on the Disney cruise (as far as I know).
All that being said, I would think NCL would be great too, especially if it works better logistically and financially. And you don't have the Disney fanatic kids.
Good luck!
They charge that much because they can and people are willing to pay it. You won't get the Disney brand characters and activities on other cruises. If you really want a Disney cruise, you have to pay for it. Just a thought - I've never heard of a Disney cruise ship sinking, or catching fire, or having hundreds of passengers living on the deck for days with garbage cans to pee in. Surely that's got to be worth something.
I've been a Disney fan since before I first visited Disneyland in 1957.
Disney cruise lines operates on the Law of Supply and Demand. If Disney sailed with empty cabins they would lower the price until they filled their cabins. They fill their cabin and up their prices until the price affects the number of cabins they sell.
I really like Disneyland and Disney World and have been to each several times. I would like to take a Disney cruise. But I'm not willing to pay twice as much for a Disney Cruise than I am for a NON-Disney cruise. YES, TWICE as much. I'm a careful shopper. My wife and I took a huge discount with Princess Cruise lines, received a very nice on-board credit and sailed for 15 days through the Panama Canal for less than we would have spent on a 7-day Disney cruise. For twice the price I can see Disney some other time.
If you look at the price Disney charges for entrance to their parks, its the same thing. The law of supply and demand. Disney raises the price on admission tickets to limit the number of visitors to their parks. So if you make enough money, you can afford their prices and you go because Disney is FUN! Whether it be a Disney Cruise, Disneyland, Disney World or any other Disney park, the higher the price of admission, the fewer people go and the more fun those people can have when they do get in and the more money they spend. And the more profit Disney makes.
The more profit Disney makes, the higher the stock goes and the more money Disney executives make. In the months after 911, Disney stock fell to $16 per share. It is now $64 per share.
If you want to know why things happen, follow the money.
Good luck to you and yours.
Consider Royal Caribbean. My daughter loved the camp so much (free). Babysitting after hours is $6 per hour. Food is great and so is the entertainment. I highly recommend it.
We looked into it for our family of 5, two adults, a 5 year old and two 2 year olds. In November of 2014, for a 5 day cruise out of Miami it's $3100, and for a 7 day cruise out of Port Canaveral, it's $4100. We found out of the DC area it's cheaper to fly into Miami than Orlando.
Since we are going in November, I will pull my daughter out of Kindergarten. I know some parents aren't willing to pull kids out of school for a vacation. I will no matter how old they are.
Disney is definitely expensive compared to most of the other brands. We sailed on the Fantasy last fall - their newest ship and, along with the Dream, one of the bigger ones. While all cruise lines have Kids Clubs, Disney's is definitely a step above the rest. It's much bigger, with more activities, character appearances, and planned events. They also have a nursery for babies under 3 years old, which, to my knowledge doesn't exist on any other cruise line. They also offer strollers that you can borrow for your whole cruise at no cost (other than a refundable security deposit).
A lot of people say that the service on Disney is so much better than any other line. I have also sailed on Celebrity, which is somewhat more upscale, and felt that the food and service were better on Celebrity. I have absolutely no complaints at all about Disney's service, but it didn't wow me like Celebrity's. The food on Disney is ok, but not special, in my opinion.
I did think that my room on Disney was nicer than on Celebrity. My favorite feature is the split bathrooms - one with a sink and shower, the other with a sink and toilet. It's SO nice to have them separated. They also offered more closet space and under the bed storage on Disney.
If you get a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom, the porthole on Disney actually has a 5 foot diameter with a built in window seat, so it's pretty big and nice.
The Fantasy had some other fun features - the aquaduck water ride is really fun for kids and adults. They have a detective game that sends you all over the ship looking for clues to solve a mystery, using animated paintings (really LCD screens) to watch the clues.
Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, is also REALLY nice. It's definitely worth a stop!
Anyway, is the price justified? Probably not. But we had a truly amazing vacation last year and planned another one for next summer.
Wow, I went to yahoo travel and found it for less than your quote but since I don't know what time of year you're planning it could be that...
One thing is the time of year you are planning to travel. If you go at the peak of the season then the prices will be the highest that year. For instance if you go during spring break you may pay double than the week before would have cost. If you go at the peak of hurricane season it might cost half or even less.
So take that into consideration. Also take into consideration that Disney is "supposed" to be the most popular cruise line. They can rest assured they can have the smallest rooms of all the cruise lines and they can offer less amenities and less free stuff and people will still flock to them each and every cruise.
If you already know how to do cruises then some of this information is obvious to you. I think that I would only take the kiddos on a Disney cruise because of all the shows and other things they can do all day. I think they'd enjoy that more than hiking through the straw market on Nassau. So consider your options and see if it is really something that is needed. Does it have to be Disney? Or could you use a different line and still have a good time.
I know what you mean. I looked into a Disney cruise a few years ago because we love Disneyworld so much, and yikes! Double yikes since we have to travel during peak summer season. We ended up choosing Royal Carribbean, at a much lower cost. We cruised for 7 nights, and if we chose Disney, we could have only gotten 3 or 4 nights for the same price. Our kids were 12 and 10 at the time, and they loved Royal Caribbean. I have also heard amazing things about Disney cruises, but they ARE significantly more expensive, so I would have to have a really good incentive to choose Disney over another cruise line.
I wish I knew. We took our kids on a Carnival cruise last January and it was AMAZING. We looked at Disney also, but the price of the cruise only is what we spent on our entire trip with Carnival.
Carnival had GREAT childcare, the kids spent all of their time on board at Camp Carnival. We only had dinner with the kids twice! The kids also went to all of the night parties, which they loved and it gave my husband and I some time past 10pm without little ones. The food was amazing, the stops were great, the service was top notch. It would have been great to have the characters, but it wasn't worth and extra $3k to me, plus they didn't offer the great ports we went to.
I am hoping to get on a short Disney cruise next January, but we'll see!
We just booked an Alaska Cruise and its going to run waaaaay more then a Disney cruise. I would contact a travel agent and see what specials or deals they have going. As far as the actual Disney cruise we went on one when my son was 4 and it was really fun! They have characters that walk around. And lots of on board activities for both kids and parents.
My BIL, major corp attorney took his 2 children and wife on Disney that was all inclusive and at the end of the trip, his bill was over $2000.
We are not cruise fans.... just not our thing.... but rest assured any cruise is not all inclusive so don't get caught off guard.
There are a lot of loopholes with all of them.
Our good friends just got back from a Disney cruise and LOVED it. Like us, vacation is fun, we do it first class and with no debt. It's planned we'll in advance.
Our neighbors are currently on an Akaskan cruise for 2 weeks. No idea of costs but they don't hold back on vacations either.
We booked a disney cruise line and we loved it.It has a great daycare for are daughter and has a graduation at the end,it drops you off in Mexico etc.It does a lot of things that would be expensive,
