DCL cruisers defecting to RCL (and others)

[PlaneJoy]

I am often on an all things Disney board that has a site for the Disney Cruise Line. Apparently Disney has released rates for Jan-April 2007 and it is quite a jump. Posters are saying $2000 +/- more for 2007 for the same category as 2006, on top of the premium they are already paying for Disney vs. other cruise lines.

 

Most poster seem to be comparing Disney rates to RCL and are favoring RCL for their next cruise and some saying for good. Could get a little more crowded on RCL in 2007. :)

 

I've been on 1 Disney cruise, so I guess I can say I've "be there done that". Makes me wonder if Disney will still be able to fill ships at the rates they are quoting for 2007. Probably so....... I realize they are business and will charge as much as the market will bare. Just sad for loyal Disney folks. I can say that I can not see myself going on anther Disney cruise.

[barbyma]

I'm not surprised at this; 2006 rates were almost double 2005 rates. We originally wanted to do a DCL cruise until the 2006 prices came out.

 

The thing about Disney is that they only have the 2 ships. It doesn't take much to fill them with their popularity, so they can charge whatever they want.

 

Most people on this board who have cruised both lines with kids say that their kids actually PREFERRED RCI. Because of that, I won't even consider paying Disney's prices.

 

Barb

[OliverTheCat]

Well, I agree the prices are very high for 2007. I wont be able to take any more Disney cruises until hubby graduates law school at that rate!! :)

 

I bet they will have no problem filling all the cruises for that year though...even at those prices.

[ducklite]

I tried RCCL after a great DCL cruise, and trust me, it was the biggest waste of $8000+ that I ever made. I spent most of the trip wishing I had spent a little extra to cruise DCL, because frankly RCCL was pitiful in comparision.

 

Sometimes spending a little more gets you a whole heaping lot more--that's definitely the case between these two.

 

Anne

[TheWog]

I am often on an all things Disney board that has a site for the Disney Cruise Line. Apparently Disney has released rates for Jan-April 2007 and it is quite a jump. Posters are saying $2000 +/- more for 2007 for the same category as 2006, on top of the premium they are already paying for Disney vs. other cruise lines.

 

Most poster seem to be comparing Disney rates to RCL and are favoring RCL for their next cruise and some saying for good. Could get a little more crowded on RCL in 2007. :)

 

I've been on 1 Disney cruise, so I guess I can say I've "be there done that". Makes me wonder if Disney will still be able to fill ships at the rates they are quoting for 2007. Probably so....... I realize they are business and will charge as much as the market will bare. Just sad for loyal Disney folks. I can say that I can not see myself going on anther Disney cruise.

 

Are you reading my posts over there????:)

[FunCruiser56]

We went on a Disney cruise 4 years ago and had a wonderful time, as did our kids. But, we have just as good a time on RCI and for alot less money. Our kids now 18 and 10 thought there was more to do on RCI and my DH likes the casino action too. Me I am the one who does the planning and budgeting to pay for the cruise.

With Disney Cruise prices so high we will stick to RCI, but with the money we save we will go to our 2nd favorite vacation spot...Walt Disney World!

 

Funcruiser

[PlaneJoy]

I tried RCCL after a great DCL cruise, and trust me, it was the biggest waste of $8000+ that I ever made. I spent most of the trip wishing I had spent a little extra to cruise DCL, because frankly RCCL was pitiful in comparision.

 

Sometimes spending a little more gets you a whole heaping lot more--that's definitely the case between these two.

 

Anne

 

We had an opposite experience. I felt ripped off after paying more than $1500 more for Disney than I would have for a comparable line. We didn't see anything better about Disney, in fact we felt Disney pailed in comparison in most categories.

 

We'll probably do Disney again... eventually for our youngest to experiece it. But no guarentee's. We are looking into our first RCL cruise on one of the Voyager class ships. I just can't decide which one to choose.

[Gingras31]

i also agree with the previous poster. DCL was a waste of money, definately not worth the price. We are sticking with RCCL

[Cruising89143]

My sister and her family went on the Disney Wonder several years ago and while they like the Disney experience she stated that it was some of the worst food that she had on any cruise line.

 

I just went to the Disney board and read the comments concerning the prices. Most of those folks had cruised RCI in the past and had no problem with booking them again.

[getoutthere]

My favorite cruise so far has been on the Voyager (without kids). My family just went on the Disney Magic a month ago. While we enjoyed our cruise with DCL I didn't have as much fun as I did on the Voyager. It didn't have anything to do with DCL, it just wasn't our cup of tea (other than we thought the ship was very pourly laid out). We will enjoy WDW for years to come however, we will leave cruising to RCI.

[superjerryw]

You're welcome to come over to RCCL, but please leave Mickey and Pluto behind.....;)

[tarps14]

My family went on Disney when they first started doing 7 day cruises about 5 years ago. We ended being upgraded all the way to a one-bedroom suite. Now I will say, DCL definitely knows how to do a concierge group, absolutely top notch. However, if I had had to pay for it at their rates even then, I don't think I would have. I do agree with a previous post about their food. While acceptable, it was nowhere near as good as RCI or Carnival. My kids are 19, 16 and 12 now so they are a little beyond Disney. It would be difficult for me to justify the added expense for a young family in this day and time. JMHO:rolleyes:

[juliew]

Our family cruised on the Disney Wonder when she first came out. We enjoyed it and certainly it is truly a family vacation. We liked the cabin space and we enjoyed the shows - they were very good. However, I can truly say that the food was mediocre. I have had much better on all other lines I have sailed.

 

I think they are just totally different experiences and it depends upon your preference. You definitely have to like Disney to sail the ships.

 

Also, I agree that there are only two ships to fill and they fill very, very quickly. They can command the top dollar. I know our local high school seniors do a class trip every year - they work from the time they are freshmen and we are only one of two schools in the state of Ohio that still do a school-sanctioned class trip. They do usually 3 day land and 4 day disney cruise. It is expensive, but was also feel it's one of the safest experiences for them. The ship is priced such that it pretty much keeps "rif-raf" off and we are certainly more comfortable with our 18 year olds on that ship than any other line. So for them it's a great option, but it gets more and more expensive every year and harder and harder to find group space.

 

That is another thing - there is no group space for summer and holiday travel - no perks - they know they'll sell the ship and they don't have to give away anything.

 

I love Disney, but sometimes I think the greed of the corporation is far away from what Walt would have wanted.

[stillfrantic]

Same week, same number of nights, same size ship(Grandeur vs. Magic) Aprox. $5700 Grandeur vs. $12,500 Magic. Hummm....is Mickey worth that much more?? I'm thinking NOT!:eek:

[beth4652]

We are cruising RCCL for Christmas and New Years this year. Four of my children will be going --- their Christmas present from DH and me. My two married DD's spend every other Christmas with us. We have talked about taking a cruise next year with DH, myself, all seven children, two spouses and four grandchildren. Our first thought, of course, was Disney. However, when I saw the prices I quickly changed my mind. Although I haven't cruised with young children, fellow cruisers on Celebrity were very pleased with the children's program. We'll see how people feel about RCCL in two months. I don't see Disney in our future.

[TonyaJune]

My family has sailed on both of the Disney ships when they first started sailing. We had a wonderful time on both ships, but we enjoy RCI much more. My daughter is now 16 years old and I am glad we had the opportunity to sail Disney when she was younger, but there is no way I would ever pay the prices they are asking today.

[csbenedict]

We sailed DCL Magic in 2003. We were able to get a hefty military discount at the time so it was affordable for us. There is no way we would pay the current prices. We enjoyed our DCL cruise very much and there are things about DCL that we liked over RCCL but not for the price difference. Luckily, the kids are getting older and just want to be on a cruise and the Disney thing isn't as important as it once was!! :D

[VikiLee]

My whole family is very into Disney - we currently have two land trips booked and another on the back burner, but when I went to book a DCL vacation and then compared price and value with RCCL, I couldn't justify it. So today I booked our first cruise - on Freedom of the Seas, March 2007. I can't wait!!!

[Minybear]

We are DVC members and I have been on the DIS boards many times but recently have dropped off due to us booking our next cruise on RCI on Enchantment or Navigator. Disney has great food, service, and entertainment, but their prices I have noticed have gone sky high. We have been on 2 Disney cruises and loved every minute of it. Our first RCI cruise is 12/06 on Enchantment or Navigator and we cannot wait to try RCI.

[settingsail]

We are booked for our first RCCL cruise leaving in 5 weeks . I think our girls are going to have a wonderful time . They are 4 and this is their frist cruise , my 7th , DH 3rd . We did book a Disney cruise for April 29th , we are doing 4 days prior to the cruise at the Animal Kingdom lodge , we booked early enough and paid $3500.00 for the 4 of us , I didn't think that was horrible , but since then it went up $1400.00 same cabin . We will probally not be taking another DCL in many years but I did look into their Southern iternary and it looks amazing .The DCL is our dream vacation and we figure we only live once :)

[andrea t]

We have sailed Disney 3x and Loved it...especially the dining and shows. With my son now 12, he says he's too "old" to do a Disney cruise. We have done RCCL 7x and we love them too, but think the food, especially desserts are just ok. But its hard to beat those Voyager class ships for fun!