auntlynne
Aunt Lynne
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
@Clarkson U Did you pose us a question? Or a topic for discussion?
Or are you a benign leader who is just enjoying us being us?
Or are you a benign leader who is just enjoying us being us?
Depends on if you do them. We've done 7 cruises with number 8 & 9 coming up in May. I think we've done 3 excursions, total and they've not been expensive.The one thing missing from your cost is excursions. I would consider them similar to needing park tickets staying at a Disney World resort..
Yes, it was to make the trip more affordable in our case, and also to stay in more spacious accommodations....To the DVC owners in the room - I don't think anyone is doubting the value in using your points as intended over cruising DCL. The whole point of your purchase was to make that trip more afforable!
@auntlynne a topic for discussion and I enjoy being me - which is the leader who is enjoying the boards being the boards as well.@Clarkson U Did you pose us a question? Or a topic for discussion?
Or are you a benign leader who is just enjoying us being us?
For all the costs - you are right - but there are additional costs at both the resorts and cruises in my mind. The dining plan will not be enough food for many in any one day and people will buy stuff at the parks as well as on cruises so to me that is a wash. Port adventures would be additional costs for sure as would buying park hopper tickets, mini golf or water park tickets at WDW - none of which I priced.The better value is whatever you want to do. A luxury theme park vacation or a luxury cruise. Only you can decide that.
I don't think your adding in all the cost on the cruise unless you plan on doing nothing at the ports and spending nothing onboard.
I personally would never spend that much on a Caribbean cruise. I'd probably go with WDW in that situation. If it's a cruise with a better itinerary than I'd pick the cruise.
Our maths is a little different because we're in the UK and need to add transatlantic flights for the US but can get cheap flights to Europe (also we say "maths" which I guess also makes it different ).
When we were planning our 2023 trips, we realised the cost of going back to WDW (based on the 9 night trip we took in 2022) could get us a 7 night DCL Med cruise out of Barcelona plus annual passes to Disneyland Paris!
Okay, so the multiple trips to Disneyland Paris that we then took to get the best value out of the passes then took us over the cost of a trip to WDW, but we don't count that...
As someone who hasn't been to Disneyland Paris yet, I am curious, how do you feel it stacks up to WDW? I am often surprised so many people come from the UK to WDW when they have another park so close.
As for the main topic here, yes, they are very different vacations, but comparing costs and experiences makes sense to me, given they are two options for people who like the overall vacation experience Disney offers. I will pick cruising over WDW 9 out of 10 times. Cruising always costs us more, simply because we don't usually do long vacations at the parks anymore, mostly due to Disney's various changes that make park trips feel more workish than a vacationish, and diminishing value for our money at the parks. We are at a place in life where a long weekend at WDW at our two favorite parks (Epcot and Animal Kingdom) or at Disneyland resort will usually be enough for us in any given year. In the end, cruising is more of what I am looking for in vacation than the current theme park experience and it seems like the cruise product is very close to what it was ten years ago, which I can't say for the parks.
They're definitely two very different trips. I think Paris is more like Anaheim before DCA had a makeover. One gorgeous castle park, one cheap second gate. They're in the middle of a massive overhaul of Walt Disney Studios Park so there's hope!
I love that I can get a cheap 90 minute flight and pop over for a weekend, and the lower wait times are a definite plus. But I grew up going to WDW, it will always be my favourite because nowhere else has Epcot. For people from the UK, Florida has the advantage of better weather and you can easily spend a couple of weeks there. DLP is great for a few days but it's more of a short break destination. Perfect for getting the parks fix that we didn't get on the cruise though.
Next year we've got the Treasure booked for our first PC cruise but flights aren't out yet, so I'm still in denial over the total cost for that trip This thread has helped me feel better about the cruise costing roughly the same as staying onsite once you add park tickets and food costs!
As someone who hasn't been to Disneyland Paris yet, I am curious, how do you feel it stacks up to WDW? I am often surprised so many people come from the UK to WDW when they have another park so close.
As for the main topic here, yes, they are very different vacations, but comparing costs and experiences makes sense to me, given they are two options for people who like the overall vacation experience Disney offers. I will pick cruising over WDW 9 out of 10 times. Cruising always costs us more, simply because we don't usually do long vacations at the parks anymore, mostly due to Disney's various changes that make park trips feel more workish than a vacationish, and diminishing value for our money at the parks. We are at a place in life where a long weekend at WDW at our two favorite parks (Epcot and Animal Kingdom) or at Disneyland resort will usually be enough for us in any given year. In the end, cruising is more of what I am looking for in vacation than the current theme park experience and it seems like the cruise product is very close to what it was ten years ago, which I can't say for the parks.
Maybe that's why I liked your comparison so much...we don't do much at ports and we don't spend extra on board. I think I've purchased two souveniers in 7 cruises. We've done a total 3 excursions at less than $100 per person and rented bikes at Castaway a few times.. We haven't done spectialty dining, drink tastings or spa anything. It's not that we're opposed, we just don't need them to enjoy ourselves.For all the costs - you are right - but there are additional costs at both the resorts and cruises in my mind. The dining plan will not be enough food for many in any one day and people will buy stuff at the parks as well as on cruises so to me that is a wash. Port adventures would be additional costs for sure as would buying park hopper tickets, mini golf or water park tickets at WDW - none of which I priced.
I still stand by the point that excursions aren't in the mix with these numbers. I understand the OP doesn't go on excursions but it is pretty rare not to spend any money at any of the ports. To me cruising without excursions is a lot like a Disney resort staycation where you don't visit the parks.
I am not staying there isn't value in a Disney cruise but comparing the summer rates with the discounted tickets and inflated cruise prices would tell a different story...
As the OP - I did not say I don’t go on excursions I was just comparing some basics costs.I still stand by the point that excursions aren't in the mix with these numbers. I understand the OP doesn't go on excursions but it is pretty rare not to spend any money at any of the ports. To me cruising without excursions is a lot like a Disney resort staycation where you don't visit the parks.
I am not staying there isn't value in a Disney cruise but comparing the summer rates with the discounted tickets and inflated cruise prices would tell a different story...