Lowest price for a 7 or 8 night inside two adults?

[ang2383]

hi everyone!

i've been a long time member of this forum, but i never really posted. i'm usually over in the cruise critic forum.

i haven't been on a disney cruise since 2001 and that was a 3 night cruise to the bahamas on the wonder out of port canaveral.

anyway, i live in NYC and i am so excited the magic is leaving out of nyc may to sept 2012!

i have an 8 night booked 6/2/12 to the bahamas on the magic, leaving out of nyc, for approx $2450 ish and change. the price has increased in a matter of days to $2750 ish and change. this is for a category 11B for two adults inside room.

this comes out to be $165 a night. this is a bit steep for me since i normally cruise on rccl so i am trying to get some positive feedback that i made the right choice. (i know we can't compare disney to other cruise lines since disney is well you know, disney. we normally pay about $60 a night for an inside on rccl.)

i am a huge disney fan and i told myself the minute disney leave out of nyc, i'm going on it.

does everyone think what i paid is a good price? or have you seen 8 nights to the bahamas for cheaper (this could be inclusive of discounts whether it's resident, military, travel agent etc.) what is the average price for an 8 night bahamas cruise anyway for two adults inside?

i know these a hard questions to answer, but thanks in advance to everyone!

also, the cruise will also be a cruise for my 9th anniversary and the bf knows i'm a huge disney fan so i'm also using that to justify the high cost. if not, we may have to change the cruise to the 9/7/12 magic canada 5 night cruise for approx $1650 ish and change (about $157 a night).

thanks my fellow disney cruising fans

 

[Disney Dreams]

Welcome to the DISBoards! Hope you choose to stay around here for a while. Our of sheer curiosity, could no one on the other message board answer your question? Just interesting to me....

I think if you find yourself having to "justify" the cost, you are already putting yourself in a tough position. To us, it's about an entirely different type of cruise. We are two adults, no kids, love Disney (well, I LOVE, DH enjoys), and find the DCL cruises to be carefree, relaxed, and wonderful.

As for the price, the thing about DCL is they raise their prices as the ship becomes more sold out, so the sooner you book - the better. You can find a "sticky" at the top of the Cruise section that has pricing for the various ships over a period of time if that's something you want to look at.

Going back to the "justify" issue:

Here's how we view the world, maybe it will help you. You paid $2450 for two adults for an eight night cruise.

$1225/person > $153/person/night

For $153/night you are getting:
- a 4-5 star hotel
- first rate entertainment nightly
- all of your food
- unlimited non-alcoholic beverages
- transportation
- sightseeing while at sea
- Disney

If you can find something comparable to that in NYC or a Disney property, I'd be amazed. (Remember, 4-5 star accommodations and for the most part, all-inclusive.)

To us, it's hard to justify vacationing any other way when you really break it down. Now, compared to other cruiselines, well, I think that's just a question of what you enjoy. To us, RCCL just isn't DCL. It's that simple. (And I think the staterooms are bigger.) With Disney, there is just something different. Dare I say, it's the magic?

HTH,
Dreams

 

[KristiMc]

We are also on the June 2, 2012 cruise. Feel free to come over to our cruise meet thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2703982.

Also don't forget that with the 8-night out of NYC that a park hopper and transportation from port/wdw/port is included in the fare.

 

[Christy323]

I know everyone says to book early, but I think that rule is dependent on exactly when you're cruising. I know you said you'd like to sail in June of next year, which is peak season, so yes, it would have been best to book as far out as possible.

However, if you consider cruising in September instead, you might have some more flexibility/options in terms of cost, since most kids have already gone back to school. I'm cruising in 3 weeks woohoo on a 7-night MR cruise. I only booked the cruise in mid-July (spur of the moment decision while I was studying for the CA Bar Exam), so only 2 months prior to sail date. For two adults, no children, in a Cat. 11B stateroom, we paid $1661 (including taxes). Works out to $118 per person per night.

Hope that helps!

 

[ang2383]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

I am still toying with the idea of changing it to a 5 night canada disney cruise instead.

do you know if disney offers price adjustments?

christy - what's an MR cruise? is that a mexican riviera cruise? on which boat? congrats on taking the bar! i am in law school myself!

i actually prefer to cruise in may or sept/oct months because it's cheaper, but there are no bahama cruises in sept - all sold out. the may cruises are still more money than june.

i am indecisive because this is a big purchase for me since i am not used to paying this much for a cruise. haha trying to convince myself it's ok.

 

[castawaycayfans]

You could do the LA to Vancouver Repo next May for $1710. We did this cruise in May and loved it. The earlier you book, the better price you get.

 

[ang2383]

You could do the LA to Vancouver Repo next May for $1710. We did this cruise in May and loved it. The earlier you book, the better price you get.

i wish i could, but than i would have to factor in the cost of airplane tickets. i just looked at some prices for the wonder and their 7 night prices are much more attractive than the nyc prices. i wish the magic left nyc during the winter/fall months instead of the summer.

anyway, i decided i will leave my reservation. no turning back now! (i hope).

 

[LilTish]

I was in the same boat as you. 2 ppl, inside stateroom, cruising 7 nights, only mine is Eastern Caribbean and we looked at July vs September. Ultimately we went with September. July was several hundred dollars higher than September. We got it for $1873 total, and I know July was between 2500-2700. On the same boat for the same excursions. 1873 / 7 nights / 2 people averaged out to be $134 pp/pn. Totall worth it in my opinion. I would look at September if possible. Especially since you don't have school kids to worry about. Good luck. Overall I think your price was still good and still worth it, but if you can save a couple hundred dollars by pushing it a few months, I say go for it.

 

[NancyIL]

I responded to the OP on Cruise Critic. The question of what's a good price differs for each Disney cruiser. Many thought DCL's prices for the 2010 Baltic cruises were a good value, whereas I thought they were outrageously priced! How else could you use ~$1250 pp to travel if you chose a different trip option? The fact that you are in NYC and don't need to buy a plane ticket is a big reason to stick with DCL out of New York.

Personally - I have no interest in going to WDW or cruising to the Bahamas/Caribbean in the summer when it's hot, so the 8-night Bahamas cruise in June doesn't interest me. Even though I'd prefer a longer cruise to Canada than what DCL offers, that Sept. cruise would be my preference of the two - both for better weather and less money spent on the cruise.

 

[ang2383]

I was in the same boat as you. 2 ppl, inside stateroom, cruising 7 nights, only mine is Eastern Caribbean and we looked at July vs September. Ultimately we went with September. July was several hundred dollars higher than September. We got it for $1873 total, and I know July was between 2500-2700. On the same boat for the same excursions. 1873 / 7 nights / 2 people averaged out to be $134 pp/pn. Totall worth it in my opinion. I would look at September if possible. Especially since you don't have school kids to worry about. Good luck. Overall I think your price was still good and still worth it, but if you can save a couple hundred dollars by pushing it a few months, I say go for it.

ahhh yea we are in the same boat. for me it is either 6/2012 or 9/2012. my sept price would be approx $1650 ish and change so about the same as yours. it's just that the sept one is 5 nights. the sept bahamas cruise sold out already... i'm thinking probably because it was cheap(er).

I responded to the OP on Cruise Critic. The question of what's a good price differs for each Disney cruiser. Many thought DCL's prices for the 2010 Baltic cruises were a good value, whereas I thought they were outrageously priced! How else could you use ~$1250 pp to travel if you chose a different trip option? The fact that you are in NYC and don't need to buy a plane ticket is a big reason to stick with DCL out of New York.

Personally - I have no interest in going to WDW or cruising to the Bahamas/Caribbean in the summer when it's hot, so the 8-night Bahamas cruise in June doesn't interest me. Even though I'd prefer a longer cruise to Canada than what DCL offers, that Sept. cruise would be my preference of the two - both for better weather and less money spent on the cruise.

hi nancy! i saw your post in cruise critic too!!! haha i know we can't compare disney to rccl, but that $1250 could buy me two rccl 9 night cruises during the cold(er) months. like you, i would actually prefer the canada cruise bc of the kids and heat mainly. 5 nights is just too short for me. if only the canada cruise was 7 or 8 nights.

 

[NancyIL]

hi nancy! i saw your post in cruise critic too!!! haha i know we can't compare disney to rccl, but that $1250 could buy me two rccl 9 night cruises during the cold(er) months. like you, i would actually prefer the canada cruise bc of the kids and heat mainly. 5 nights is just too short for me. if only the canada cruise was 7 or 8 nights.

I sailed on Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne to Canada in 2008 (9 nights), and I think RCI compares quite well to DCL. Nope, it wasn't Disney, but I wanted to see Canada. Princess also sails out of NY to Canada in the fall, and I think their ships are as lovely as DCL's. However, if it's a Disney cruise you want out of NY - then you have the two choices. It sounds like you have decided to go with the longer Bahamas cruise, and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

 

[Christy323]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

christy - what's an MR cruise? is that a mexican riviera cruise? on which boat? congrats on taking the bar! i am in law school myself!

...

i am indecisive because this is a big purchase for me since i am not used to paying this much for a cruise. haha trying to convince myself it's ok.

Haha yay for law school! Yes, MR is Mexican Riviera. I'll be sailing on the Wonder in 19 days!

This was the most I've ever paid upfront for a vacation, so I felt uneasy about it as well. I've never cruised, so I don't have anything to compare it to, only land vacations. I specifically chose the MR itinerary because it sails out of LA & my airfare to/from LAX is only $88 total (thank you Virgin America).

When do you graduate from law school? Maybe this can be your post-bar vacation, & you can take out a little bit more of a bar loan to cover it?