** OPENING DAY PRICING 2017 Pt 2 May/September: Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy **

[Mdcantu]

Disney Fantasy
July 15, 2017 - 7-Night Eastern Caribbean
Cat #5C
2A, 2C (4, 6) $2677.50/$2677.50/$1487.81/$1487.81
Total: $9046.66
Yes OBB/Yes Transfers/No Ins/No Air

 

[AquaDame]

Why are the 11 nights so disproportionately priced compared to the 7? I don't understand. For me and my son on Norwegian Fjords/Iceland it was over $13k. I didn't book. 9-10k I'm ok with. but not 13!

I took another look... seems like 2A in a 5B was $11,722.82 w/ OBB so it'd be maybe $12,895.10 without (I just multiplied it by 1.1 for the 10% - its not exact esp since no one did a breakdown with tax it looks like on the 11-night).

($12,895.10/11)/2=$586pp per night.

Versus the quote I had from the 7 night in a 5B which was $6456.76... that includes tax which was only $100.76 oddly. Even if the cat changed the tax/fees were the same.... I've never paid attention to tax before so that seems odd to me. Anyway,

($6,456.76/7)/2=$461.20pp per night.

So its a difference of ~$125 per person per day to move to the 11-night. Could it be fuel? Are port fees higher in Iceland? I'm not sure. :/

 

[Ofinn]

I took another look... seems like 2A in a 5B was $11,722.82 w/ OBB so it'd be maybe $12,895.10 without (I just multiplied it by 1.1 for the 10% - its not exact esp since no one did a breakdown with tax it looks like on the 11-night).

($12,895.10/11)/2=$586pp per night.

Versus the quote I had from the 7 night in a 5B which was $6456.76... that includes tax which was only $100.76 oddly. Even if the cat changed the tax/fees were the same.... I've never paid attention to tax before so that seems odd to me. Anyway,

($6,456.76/7)/2=$461.20pp per night.

So its a difference of ~$125 per person per day to move to the 11-night. Could it be fuel? Are port fees higher in Iceland? I'm not sure. :/

I think the later you get into summ er the higher the price. The baltics in june is higher than the on in May.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I took another look... seems like 2A in a 5B was $11,722.82 w/ OBB so it'd be maybe $12,895.10 without (I just multiplied it by 1.1 for the 10% - its not exact esp since no one did a breakdown with tax it looks like on the 11-night).

($12,895.10/11)/2=$586pp per night.

Versus the quote I had from the 7 night in a 5B which was $6456.76... that includes tax which was only $100.76 oddly. Even if the cat changed the tax/fees were the same.... I've never paid attention to tax before so that seems odd to me. Anyway,

($6,456.76/7)/2=$461.20pp per night.

So its a difference of ~$125 per person per day to move to the 11-night. Could it be fuel? Are port fees higher in Iceland? I'm not sure. :/

$125 pp per day doesn't sound like such a bad difference.. Until you multiply it by 11.lol. And then figure in 4 nights land/flights/excursions. I love the itinerary.. But it's too much for me!
I've been looking into MSC seriously. And maybe DCL will offer a VGT later on that could fit in my budget

 

[Kimberly9701]

I also look at this- in June my son is in a summer camp..I pay regardless of if he is there or not. His camp ends beginning of August, and then has 2.5 week gap that I have to fill with a part time nanny going full time- if we are away those two weeks I would save hundreds of dollars on not needing that child care. Which is making MSC's prices seem even lower to me.

We also travel twice per year with several weekend/long weekend trips in between. If I paid the curent DCL price then that would be it for 2017. Nothing left in budget for additional trips. I just can't justify doing that for 1 vacation.

I know that some people have a budget that can absorb all of that, and I know that others think it's worth it to save for an additional year, or do a DCL or WDW as their only trip for the year.. And that's fine. I think that's what Disney is counting on for not all, but a lot of their travelers. We won't ever do that.

 

[kittylady1972]

As much as I really want to take advantage of the OBB discount and book something for next year, I just can't justify spending as much, if not more, on a 3 or 4 night cruise than I did for our family of 5 to cruise for 7 nights on the Fantasy back in October 2015. I was hoping I could plan a summer 2017 trip and invite some other friends but that's just not happening.

I paid about $4800 for the five of us (2A and 3C ages 11, 13 and 15) to do the 7 night EC cruise on the Fantasy in October 2015. It was a GREAT trip and one the kids would love to do again I'm sure. I was thinking I'd be okay with a 4 or 5 night in summer 2017 but pricing the 4 nights for us was about $5000 for the cheapest one in late August 2017. I just can't bring myself to do that.

We have friends doing their very first Disney Cruise in August of this year. It is 3 nights on the Dream. They wanted us to join them. I think when I priced it out it was also around $4000 for the 5 of us. I just can't do that for only 3 nights so we had to pass. I hope they have a great time though.

We are lucky to be able to say we have been on all four ships and I guess at this point we may have to wait until the next two ships are out and try those. However by that time I'll have a kid getting ready to go to college most likely, so it probably won't be happening then either.

I did price out several other cruise lines last night. That's probably what we will end up doing for our next cruise if we decide we really want to do another cruise. I think since my kids aren't really that into the kids clubs anyway, they would love a ship with more BIG kid activities like the rock wall, flo rider, etc found on the RC ships!

 

[Kimberly9701]

As much as I really want to take advantage of the OBB discount and book something for next year, I just can't justify spending as much, if not more, on a 3 or 4 night cruise than I did for our family of 5 to cruise for 7 nights on the Fantasy back in October 2015. I was hoping I could plan a summer 2017 trip and invite some other friends but that's just not happening.

I paid about $4800 for the five of us (2A and 3C ages 11, 13 and 15) to do the 7 night EC cruise on the Fantasy in October 2015. It was a GREAT trip and one the kids would love to do again I'm sure. I was thinking I'd be okay with a 4 or 5 night in summer 2017 but pricing the 4 nights for us was about $5000 for the cheapest one in late August 2017. I just can't bring myself to do that.

We have friends doing their very first Disney Cruise in August of this year. It is 3 nights on the Dream. They wanted us to join them. I think when I priced it out it was also around $4000 for the 5 of us. I just can't do that for only 3 nights so we had to pass. I hope they have a great time though.

We are lucky to be able to say we have been on all four ships and I guess at this point we may have to wait until the next two ships are out and try those. However by that time I'll have a kid getting ready to go to college most likely, so it probably won't be happening then either.

I did price out several other cruise lines last night. That's probably what we will end up doing for our next cruise if we decide we really want to do another cruise. I think since my kids aren't really that into the kids clubs anyway, they would love a ship with more BIG kid activities like the rock wall, flo rider, etc found on the RC ships!

I think DCL's 2 new ships will have at least a few similar activities to what Royal is offering on their Oasis and Quantum class. My son will be 7 in 2017..and if we were considering the Caribbean for that year- I would not at all hesitate to book on either of RCCL's newer class ships over what DCL would have to offer my son.

Let's see what happens at Thanksgiving..maybe I'll fall in love with DCL..lol But for an adventurous little boy the newer ships seem to have more to do when comparing in the future.

 

[Flossbolna]

Versus the quote I had from the 7 night in a 5B which was $6456.76... that includes tax which was only $100.76 oddly. Even if the cat changed the tax/fees were the same.... I've never paid attention to tax before so that seems odd to me.

No, for our 7-night Norway cruise in 2015, we only paid 62$ in fees and tax. I guess those Norwegian ports are just very cheap - most likely funded nicely by the government through the oil fund.

 

[soniam]

I think DCL's 2 new ships will have at least a few similar activities to what Royal is offering on their Oasis and Quantum class. My son will be 7 in 2017..and if we were considering the Caribbean for that year- I would not at all hesitate to book on either of RCCL's newer class ships over what DCL would have to offer my son.

Let's see what happens at Thanksgiving..maybe I'll fall in love with DCL..lol But for an adventurous little boy the newer ships seem to have more to do when comparing in the future.

I don't feel very confident that DCL will add more physical activities like RCCL ships, especially the newer ones. Maybe they will, but they "seem" to have enough customers to not need to add anything. I guess we will see how this summer goes. Our DS10 is more "cerebral", ie likes video games, so the physical activities haven't been an issue. I want to do an Alaskan cruise in 2018, but I think it will be RCCL due to pricing and itineraries. I can't recommend RCCL enough, and it has nothing to do with my stock ownership

 

[Iowamomof4]

I don't feel very confident that DCL will add more physical activities like RCCL ships, especially the newer ones. Maybe they will, but they "seem" to have enough customers to not need to add anything. I guess we will see how this summer goes. Our DS10 is more "cerebral", ie likes video games, so the physical activities haven't been an issue. I want to do an Alaskan cruise in 2018, but I think it will be RCCL due to pricing and itineraries. I can't recommend RCCL enough, and it has nothing to do with my stock ownership

Maybe you can answer a question I asked elsewhere then. How much do you have to put down in order to book on RCCL? Disney requires 20%, what does RC require? Thanks!

 

[soniam]

Maybe you can answer a question I asked elsewhere then. How much do you have to put down in order to book on RCCL? Disney requires 20%, what does RC require? Thanks!

Unfortunately, I can't remember. I am sure it says on their website. It's been a while since we did RCCL. We don't do cruises every year. The house of mouse, WDW, and Universal have sucked us in lately.

EDIT: I had the site up. Here's a link.

1-5 nights = $200/stateroom
6-9 nights = $500/stateroom
10+ nights = $900/stateroom

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custo...&faqSubjectName=Group+Reservations&faqId=4836

 

[Iowamomof4]

Unfortunately, I can't remember. I am sure it says on their website. It's been a while since we did RCCL. We don't do cruises every year. The house of mouse, WDW, and Universal have sucked us in lately.

EDIT: I had the site up. Here's a link.

1-5 nights = $200/stateroom
6-9 nights = $500/stateroom
10+ nights = $900/stateroom

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/custo...&faqSubjectName=Group+Reservations&faqId=4836

Yeah, I found that for group reservations but I wasn't sure if singles were different. It's fine. I'll find out later when I go to book it. Thanks!

 

[soniam]

Yeah, I found that for group reservations but I wasn't sure if singles were different. It's fine. I'll find out later when I go to book it. Thanks!

Doh! You're right. I hate how these sights, including DCL, make it difficult to find out anything related to money

 

[soniam]

Yeah, I found that for group reservations but I wasn't sure if singles were different. It's fine. I'll find out later when I go to book it. Thanks!

I think for 6-9 night cruises in non-suite rooms, it's $250/person. That's kind of high, especially for less expensive rooms. However, I know they have deals all the time where they reduce the deposit by half.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I think for 6-9 night cruises in non-suite rooms, it's $250/person. That's kind of high, especially for less expensive rooms. However, I know they have deals all the time where they reduce the deposit by half.

I finally got smart and began the process of going through the motions to book a cruise for 2A 1C and it was telling me $750 minimum payment would be due today. We have a family of 6, so I'll have to call or use my travel agent when I do the actual booking. I'll anticipate it being higher than $750 when the time comes then. Thanks for your help!

 

[jillbean78]

Booked yesterday, 4/14/2016

Disney Magic
May 7, 2017 - 6 day Eastern Caribbean
Cat 7A (Room 7120 - secret verandah)
2A/1C - $3523.92
No OBB/no transfers/no insurance/no air

 

[AquaDame]

$125 pp per day doesn't sound like such a bad difference.. Until you multiply it by 11.lol. And then figure in 4 nights land/flights/excursions. I love the itinerary.. But it's too much for me!
I've been looking into MSC seriously. And maybe DCL will offer a VGT later on that could fit in my budget

Oh, I do think an extra $125pp per day is a lot, but that is just me..! At home I even hem and haw about going out for a $30 dinner vs cooking at home! Although, that is so I have more travel money....

 

[lorimay]

Booked yesterday, 4/14/2016

Disney Magic
May 7, 2017 - 6 day Eastern Caribbean
Cat 7A (Room 7120 - secret verandah)
2A/1C - $3523.92
No OBB/no transfers/no insurance/no air

Good score on the secret verandah.
We have one of the 2 secret verandah's on deck 6 for this cruise and the one right before.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Good score on the secret verandah.
We have one of the 2 secret verandah's on deck 6 for this cruise and the one right before.

What is a "secret verandah" room?

 

[lorimay]

What is a "secret verandah" room?

Its a category 7A which is the white wall Navigators verandah, BUT it has plexiglass instead of the white wall. It has a small obstruction on one of the corners, so Disney made it a lower category than a regular verandah room. The cost difference of this cabin and a regular verandah room on my cruise was $1,000.