Would you pay these prices? Help!

[MomOTwins]

So I get that Disney uses flexible pricing to fill ships, but the pricing is SO flexible, I can't tell if I'm seeing a fair price given the time of year or a total ripoff. We sailed our first 3-night cruise at in April, booked last-minute, for $3,200 for a family of 5. As we are 5, we can only book the "family sized" rooms, so I recognize that means we pay more, and I thought the amount we paid was fair.

Now, though, I now really want a "do-over" cruise (my husband got sick the first night and was quarantined pretty much the whole time, so this would essentially be his first cruise, plus we cancelled a lot of plans because of it). But now that it is summer season, I am having trouble finding anything at anywhere near that price point--everything is around $5,000 or more. Since I see similar prices for summer next year, can I assume that the prices just are not going to go down closer to the date and I should book now and suck it up, or is it worth holding out to see if there is any last minute reduction? We are not eligible for OGT/VGT rates because of our family size, but are happy to do GTY if there are savings.

 

[mevelandry]

So... You paid 213$/night per person in April.

Now, it is 333$/night per person or more.

(Didn't you get a partial refund because your husband was quarantined?)


Now, by comparison:

I checked very fast with Carnival --which is one of the most affordable cruise line--, for a 3 nights right after 4th of July and gives me two cabins for about 2600$, or a suite for about 3700$ (which means 173$/night per person or 246$/night per person).


I have a feeling that it's not going to be any better than that for DCL.

 

[lklgoodman]

Can you sail during the cheaper months? We try to sail Jan-March(before Spring Break gets going). The same 7 night trip would cost us well over $1000 more if we did it in the summer. Fall can also be cheaper, but then you have to deal with the possibility of hurricanes. Over all it seems prices have been increasing each year. You could wait and see if a good deal comes up, there's really no way to know ahead of time. We booked our next cruise for Jan. 2019 on opening day, it's already gone up over $800 for just my dh and I, don't know why dd's fare hasn't increased.

 

[clten]

Pretty much this close in, the only savings DCL has been offering have been *GT rates - and those are generally offered after the penalty period starts for the cruise. Since you can't utilize that, I would say you aren't going to see rates get any better. (DCL isn't like other cruise lines, they don't give a discount for general "guarantee" bookings.) If you really want to do a "re-do" cruise this summer, the prices you are currently seeing are probably the best you are going to get.

I'm assuming you didn't do an onboard booking? It is possible that you might get an offer for 10% off a cruise (I haven't heard about these much but in the past they were only sent out to first time cruisers who didn't book onboard.) But depending on when you are looking to cruise (if you aren't within penalty period), it's possible to book now and if you do happen to get this offer, cancel and rebook if it saves you money.

DCL prices aren't cheap during the summer so you are paying an extra premium by booking this close in - which is why next summer's prices are still closer to what you paid in April. By this time next year, they will probably be higher than the prices you are looking at now.

 

[mischief32]

We first sailed in April 2016(4 nights)(not near easter). Price - 2 adults , 1child 2800. We are sailing end of March 2019(4 nights) and the cost this time 4,000. So the prices go up every year and you got a very good deal for the number in your party. We did also sail last year at end of May 2017 and the priced was I think like $3400 so as you can see the prices do go up every year.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If you are wondering about how the fare has varied since it went on sale, you can check the Touring Plans Fare Tracker. Generally, they have most fares and are pretty good a tracking, so it'll give you a good idea if you're paying what others paid when they booked earlier. But even if the price has gone up, only you can decide if that price will be worth it to you.

https://touringplans.com/disney-cruise-line/tools/fare-tracker

 

[Pens Fan]

Unfortunately Disney is a killer when it comes to charging for over 2 passengers per stateroom. Other lines often offer 3rd and 4th passenger free deals, and their normal prices for the extra passengers are usually significantly less than Disney. Yes, the kids programming on Disney is top notch, but you are paying dearly for it.

I don't know that I've ever seen prices go down prior to the sail date unless it's a *GT fare. I'm not saying it doesn't ever happen, but it's definitely rare. As someone previously mentioned, regular GTY fares are not discounted on Disney, only the *GT ones. Disney is crazy expensive during school breaks. It just comes with the territory. Prices are much better during the off season.

 

[MomOTwins]

Didn't you get a partial refund because your husband was quarantined

No, they did not give any refund/credit, but I am submitting a claim for a partial compensation for "trip interruption" to the DCL travel insurance so we will see if that pans out. Fingers crossed, although I am always skeptical with insurance!

We first sailed in April 2016(4 nights)(not near easter). Price - 2 adults , 1child 2800. We are sailing end of March 2019(4 nights) and the cost this time 4,000. So the prices go up every year and you got a very good deal for the number in your party. We did also sail last year at end of May 2017 and the priced was I think like $3400 so as you can see the prices do go up every year.

This kind of confirms my suspicion that we got an exceptionally good deal (by Disney standards) on our first cruise and are not likely to see fares like that again if we wait closer to the date. I am on the fence about whether it is worth the "real" prices, but I will probably suck it up at least once because my 6 years old twins were so heartbroken about the plans we made and couldn't do (for example, I could not take them on the aquaduck/Pelican plunge because we had nobody to supervise the toddler who absolutely refused to go to the nursery--we tried and they messaged me on the wave phone to come pick him up because he was so unhappy, poor little guy; another time we had to leave dinner at animator's palace before they got to talk to crush because little one had a meltdown). The cruise is really for them, after all. It is a bummer there are not last minute discounts though--I hoped they would want to fill rooms enough to offer some.

Can you sail during the cheaper months? We try to sail Jan-March(before Spring Break gets going).

Sadly, no, although I do see there are good prices for January/February similar to what we paid before. We expect we will moving pretty far away from our present location at the end of the summer, so the cost savings of the cruise would be defeated many times over by the cost of increased airfare for 5 to Orlando. Also, beach swimming is a must for us so I am a bit wary of traveling in the winter months. The price is also not bad at the very end of August, but I scared of hurricanes -- don't want the bad luck streak from the first cruise to continue!

I'm assuming you didn't do an onboard booking? It is possible that you might get an offer for 10% off a cruise (I haven't heard about these much but in the past they were only sent out to first time cruisers who didn't book onboard.)

That would be awesome! Maybe I will wait a week and see if they send me a discount. I actually wanted to book a placeholder onboard but totally forgot - didn't get much of a break to do so anyway. Oh well.

 

[Intr3pid]

Are you comparing apples to apples? Your first cruise was in April, but this one cannot be unless you are talking April 2019. The month of travel may make a bucketload of difference when it comes to pricing. Generally speaking, once schools are out, the crowds are unleashed!

Can you do without a balcony/verandah? On some itineraries, two inside rooms or one inside and one oceanview may come out cheaper (compared to the one 5-guest family cabin).

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I hate to say it but DCL prices are insane in the summer. We have done it once but it was years ago when the prices were "better" but still nutty and we regretted it even then. Never again. I would look around and see what else you can do to vacation with that money. So many other awesome options out there.

 

[mevelandry]

I hate to say it but DCL prices are insane in the summer. We have done it once but it was years ago when the prices were "better" but still nutty and we regretted it even then. Never again. I would look around and see what else you can do to vacation with that money. So many other awesome options out there.

I agree. For 5000$ you can spend a whole week in Europe... Jump in a Ultra Low Cost flight and you are there!

I wouldn't spend more than 250$/per person per night on a 3 nights cruise unless it is was on a VERY luxury cruise (and as much as I like DCL, it isn't)...

 

[Dolby1000]

After sailing on our 1st Disney cruise a week ago, short answer is no. The "Disney" difference isn't worth the ever increasing rate differences between Disney and other cruise lines.

 

[aggiedog]

I've loved our two DCL cruises, but for the price, no it's not worth it at the current prices. We are a family of 6, so two rooms. We can only sail during peak times due to having a kid in high school. This past summer, we cruised concierge on MSC in the Med for less than half of what non-concierge DCL would have cost on a comparable route. Concierge on DCL (which would have had less amenities on the Magic) would have been over 3 times as expensive. I know you're weren't discussing concierge but I think it speaks to how highly priced DCL is.

If you really want to go DCL, go and don't worry about price. If price is as important, then don't feel bad about looking elsewhere and enjoying it. I know for a fact that families have fun on all sorts of vacations not associated with DCL.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

The price is also not bad at the very end of August, but I scared of hurricanes -- don't want the bad luck streak from the first cruise to continue!

End of August really is a sweet spot price-wise if it works for your kids' schedules. As for hurricanes, if you get good (third party, not DCL) trip insurance that will give you piece of mind, and a way to reschedule if the worst were to happen. Remember, Hurricane "season" is 6 months long and yet most cruises go off without a hitch. We went the second to last week in August and saved a bunch. The last week in August would have been even cheaper.

 

[MomOTwins]

Based on a lot of these I researched Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian cruise line, but I am either missing something, or looking at the wrong cruises (3-4 nights Bahamas), but I think the price savings everyone keeps talking about is only really available for families of 4 or less. The only room for 5 people I could find for less ($3,400) was an interior room on NCL that was roughly half the size of a DCL family room, which I just don't think we would enjoy. All the suites were more expensive than Disney. Oh well.

 

[MomOTwins]

End of August really is a sweet spot price-wise if it works for your kids' schedules. As for hurricanes, if you get good (third party, not DCL) trip insurance that will give you piece of mind, and a way to reschedule if the worst were to happen. Remember, Hurricane "season" is 6 months long and yet most cruises go off without a hitch. We went the second to last week in August and saved a bunch. The last week in August would have been even cheaper.

I am sort of leaning this way now too. One of my kids has a birthday in late August, so the celebration factor would be a plus.

 

[mevelandry]

Based on a lot of these I researched Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian cruise line, but I am either missing something, or looking at the wrong cruises (3-4 nights Bahamas), but I think the price savings everyone keeps talking about is only really available for families of 4 or less. The only room for 5 people I could find for less ($3,400) was an interior room on NCL that was roughly half the size of a DCL family room, which I just don't think we would enjoy. All the suites were more expensive than Disney. Oh well.

If you do the exercise with two cabins (which you can easily have side by side if not connecting), it will be much much cheaper.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I've loved our two DCL cruises, but for the price, no it's not worth it at the current prices. We are a family of 6, so two rooms. We can only sail during peak times due to having a kid in high school. This past summer, we cruised concierge on MSC in the Med for less than half of what non-concierge DCL would have cost on a comparable route. Concierge on DCL (which would have had less amenities on the Magic) would have been over 3 times as expensive. I know you're weren't discussing concierge but I think it speaks to how highly priced DCL is.

If you really want to go DCL, go and don't worry about price. If price is as important, then don't feel bad about looking elsewhere and enjoying it. I know for a fact that families have fun on all sorts of vacations not associated with DCL.

So what did you think of MSC / its amenities / kids/youth club / concierge?? Which ship?

OP: we moved our original August booking to November (same length of cruise) and saved $2,000+. DCL summer pricing is sky high because the demand is sky high, so I understand it, but will still try to avoid summer if I really want to do DCL.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

there is no way I would pay that for a three night cruise. Or a four night cruise. Pretty much anything that wasn't a specialty cruise.

 

[cruiser21]

In a word NO. I would not spend 5000 for a three night cruise nor would I pay 3000. I could probably find a 7-10 night cruise on another line for under 5k.