$$eriously, DCL? Sad fans.

Well, No DCL for us in 2017. We were in love with the two Southern Caribbean sailings in June - we have been waiting for just those itineraries during a school break. Priced them this morning, and for 2 adults and one child in a 7A obstructed balcony, it came to over $11k. That's a small used car for our daughter or a big chunk of a semester in college! I know we shouldn't look at it that way, but really. When a similar sailing our of San Juan on RCCL is less than half that for a concierge suite......We didn't even pay that to sail Alaska a couple of years ago, and that was a bucket list trip. We try to hit new ports each time, so doing the same Bahamas or Caribbean ports again are not what we're looking for.

This is killing my husband. He is a tried and true DCL fan and really would rather sail with them than anyone else. We have a comfortable income - not wealthy but upper-middle-class-ish, and that is way too rich for our blood. Disney is truly turning into the luxury line that others have been saying they are. We are really sad about this.

This is largely where we were a few months ago. I'd suggest you try another line. There will be things you like better than DCL and things that you don't like as well...but the hole in your pocketbook will be MUCH happier.

I miss many things about DCL, but not enough to make it worth these insane prices.

Just got back from a first 5 day cruise with DW,DD,DSOL,and 3 grandchildren. The children loved it but we thought it was so so. It had its good points and its bad points. Was it worth the money???NO Really disappointed with the food quality. Were on the Wonder and realize it is an older ship but I think it was designed by the 7 Dwarfs. Everything was so small,rooms,bathrooms,hallways,elevators,stairways,pools,everything. Would I do it again??? NO. Would rather find a nice hotel on the beach in Florida with a McD and Golden Corral nearby and bring a bunch of Disney DVD's along. Would probably cost about 1/4 of a cruise and the result would be the same . I think the Magic they talk about is how they magically remove the money out of your pocket. Realize some people love it but it didn't float my boat!!!(pun?)

:eek::eek::eek:

I also had major sticker shock this morning. Was really looking forward to booking a 4-day for my family, but it was $5k for an inside cabin. Just can't bring myself to spend that much when I can get similar for half that on the brand new Carnival ship. I was expecting much less because people kept saying the best prices were the day sailings were released. But these prices are the same as sailings THIS June. Oh well. Will regroup and pick something else and just go to the parks if I want a Disney experience.

Just like park tickets and everything else, people are still paying a premium. As long as they keep doing so, Disney has no incentive to compete on price. However, unlike the parks, as noted there are many many decent options out there....

Yes, for sure. I am one of the people who will now be sailing on a different cruise line next year. Maybe some day I'll make it to DCL. But not 2017.

Yes, for sure. I am one of the people who will now be sailing on a different cruise line next year. Maybe some day I'll make it to DCL. But not 2017.

I still keep looking at *GTs, etc. But even those are often double the cost of a different line!

Holy smokes! Where are you booking that it's coming to 11k. I am on the Fantasy right now with my wife and daughter on. 7 day (Tortola, St. Thomas and co co cay). We have an upgraded cabin #8088 and it was $5200 all in. I'm enjoying the heck out of this cruise with only a few quibbles but no way would I pay 11k for it. That's almost 3 cruises on RC.

Holy smokes! Where are you booking that it's coming to 11k. I am on the Fantasy right now with my wife and daughter on. 7 day (Tortola, St. Thomas and co co cay). We have an upgraded cabin #8088 and it was $5200 all in. I'm enjoying the heck out of this cruise with only a few quibbles but no way would I pay 11k for it. That's almost 3 cruises on RC.

In her post, she states that she was looking at one of the longer (10 or 11 night) Fantasy cruises. And yes, they are in that range.

The 9 night Alaska cruises in a balcony, 4 people are $14K. 7 nights, 4 people in a balcony are $12K. This may not apply to all dates, but is accurate for some of them!

I priced an eastern on fantasy in July and it was over 9,000 for a balcony for 2a2c. I cannot pay that kind of money. Granted royal ain't much cheaper for similar dates, but there prices do drop where I never see dcl drop significantly unless you are booking last minute and in non peak season.

I priced an eastern on fantasy in July and it was over 9,000 for a balcony for 2a2c. I cannot pay that kind of money. Granted royal ain't much cheaper for similar dates, but there prices do drop where I never see dcl drop significantly unless you are booking last minute and in non peak season.

The good news is that there are at least 4 other cruise lines who have upgraded their family programs and amenities and would make good alternatives to DCL. As you noted, these lines start at better prices than DCL and often have sale prices available.

Genuine pixie dust is not cheap... there's only so much I can afford to snort.

Holy smokes! Where are you booking that it's coming to 11k. I am on the Fantasy right now with my wife and daughter on. 7 day (Tortola, St. Thomas and co co cay). We have an upgraded cabin #8088 and it was $5200 all in. I'm enjoying the heck out of this cruise with only a few quibbles but no way would I pay 11k for it. That's almost 3 cruises on RC.

We priced both the 11-night and 10-night Southern Caribbean cruises just released for June 2017. We've done the 4-night Bahama, the 7-night Alaska, and the 7-night Eastern and Western on DCL, so were looking for something new. Both came out just over $11k for me, my husband, and my daughter. That's before airfare, excursions, specialty dining, insurance, etc.

We just wait for the Florida Resident rates to be released. Not an option for most of you, but if you're a Floridian, you can save a bundle.

We just wait for the Florida Resident rates to be released. Not an option for most of you, but if you're a Floridian, you can save a bundle.

No question, FL res rates are great....but they are still higher than most other lines!

My travel agent Just got back to me with prices for the June 28 2017 10 day cruise that includes Aruba. Oceanview was 8300 for two, inside was 7800 for two and over 10000 for 3. We are taking at least 7 people and need three cabins. This is Before our discount from booking deposit on our last cruise. We will probably still do it but it is pricier than I hoped. Our 7 day cruise in jan from San Juan was 6700 for two ocean views with 2 in one and 3 in another. This will be well over 20000 plus air and extras.

Hopefully our August cruise on the dream will be our last. The daughter will be to old for all the clubs after this year and the price is just rediculous used to be able to drink my own alcohol not anymore and the adult activities are pretty lame. So double or triple the price cause I'll be elsewhere.

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Two adults and three kids = $10,000 plus is INSANE! I loved our DCL cruise, but no way in heck would I ever pay that price.

I'm glad DCL has found enough people to sustain these prices. I'm glad I found NCL, RCCL and Carnival to help satisfy our cruising passions.

Yeah I think they went way over my limit too. The southern Caribbean sailings were 17-18k for 5 people in a 4A. The 10nt Barcelona was over 20k. That's crazy! By comparison a 14 night Barcelona on RCCL with 2 connecting balcony cabins would be 14k. 30% less money for 4 more nights and 2 cabins vs 1. We love the Disney cruises and they have always been more expensive but this seems extreme.

There must be some Disney DW/DL or a specific DCL formula they are using to predict opening day pricing and cruising booking rate vs. cancellation before PIF rate.

I would expect other family lines are eagerly using the thread on the DIS of opening day prices as a great open source resource for their own pricing formula too.

That along with the Priced Out threads.

If this is working for them, then full power to them as they really are beholden to their shareholders for higher profits.

Time will tell if they can maintain this prices and ridiculous increases, along with when those that cancel after the 3 day hold on their cruise.

And only DCL with have that information unfortunately.

I hope they get stung badly, and realize their product is not all that great anymore, more "industry standard", and they have over estimated their profit potential.

ex techie

At least on the 2016 crazy prices they had 2 issues. First there are the people who drop out after the 3 day hold. This doesn't seem to bother DCL at all as they will turn around and sell the cabin to someone else for more than the original booking.

The bigger problem was the huge number of people who dropped out just before the penalty date. We experienced this on 3 cruises. On the first, we were wait listed for over a year for an HA cabin. In order to do this, we had to be booked in a standard cabin. I'm not sure there even IS a waitlist as I've been told different things by different CMs, but I do know that both the TA and I were looking on a regular basis. About a week before the penalty date, we canceled as we didn't get the cabin we needed. One day after the penalty period, our 3 favorite cabins on the ship were available! People held them up to the last day and then canceled. DCL would have been happy to rebook us, but would not reinstate the price that we had originally, so I said that we wouldn't cruise. The other two cruises we canceled before the penalty period due to excessive cost compared to other lines. These were also "full" within 2 weeks of the opening date.

MANY other people must have canceled as well since all three of these cruises had *GT bookings available shortly after the penalty date. I keep looking, thinking that if they fill the ship, the *GTs will drop from booking. Currently they are about 6 weeks out and still advertising *GTs at a rate THOUSANDS lower than opening day. That's got to irritate people who booked that day and didn't cancel. Not my idea of a way to build a client base.

Well, just in case DCL read these forums, I will add my voice to the chorus of those who are "priced out" by DCL for 2017. As the prices continue to rise, it looks like our Westbound TA later this year will be our last voyage with DCL. Which is sad because the Disney Magic remains our favourite ship.

Which is sad because the Disney Magic remains our favourite ship.

Completely agree.

We are priced out as well, because I can't fathom paying DCL prices when we could use that money elsewhere. The WBPC went up 2200 in 2 years for us :(

Speaking of elsewhere... We are very seriously considering the new Carnival Vista, would Carnival be decent enough of a comparison to DCL or should we stick to NCL or RCI? I have younger kids so RCI doesn't have quite as much they can do as far as the Flowrider, etc.

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Speaking of elsewhere... We are very seriously considering the new Carnival Vista, would Carnival be decent enough of a comparison to DCL or should we stick to NCL or RCI? I have younger kids so RCI doesn't have quite as much they can do as far as the Flowrider, etc.

Carnival has worked very hard to improve their image and upgrade their family programs, especially on cruises of at least a week. Other interesting possibilities are Princess and Celebrity. Both have good kid programming, although without the comprehensive hours of DCL. Princess did not have very good evening entertainment, while Celebrity had a mixed presentation (some good, some not so good). Kids on Celebrity Alaska had nothing but good to say--again, no flow riders or fancy stuff, but good kid programming.