Why is Disney so much more than Carnival?

[Pyrate13]

Been on 4 DCL trips and post #11 pretty much sums it up for us, no way DCL is worth the extra cost as far as we're concerned. Food is not that good nor is the service any better. As for first run movies, so what, I don't cruise to go to the movies and I really don't care for the shows. We just don't get any extra value out of DCL. JMHO.

[Havingfun2010]

It's outrageous. It's like $3500 compared to $8000 to $10000 for an upcoming cruise the 4 of us are looking at. Is the food quality , entertainment, atmosphere really worth the 3 times the price?

 

Well, number one, you are comparing everything with the basic cruise, low end Carnival. No cruise line offers such a cheap (as both in money and product) as Carnival. So every thing you look at is priced higher. With Disney being way up there in price. If you go to Orlando, you can easily find a hotel room for $50.00 a night within a few mile of Disney. But you get a hard bed with little critters running around. Go on the Disney property, and you will have a magical experience, with a quality product. Of course the food might not be 5 star etc, but you know the quality is better.

 

If you can afford it, go on the better vacation, only you can decide if it is worth the better and magical experience.

[TrinaLC]

No, not a cutback, but rather following an industry trend toward earning more revenues from leveraging the captive consumers onboard. It's well established that consumers respond more positively to lower fare increases and more revenue enhancement over higher fare increases.

 

 

But Disney did not lower its fares when they instituted the new policy.

 

 

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[bUU]

No, not a cutback, but rather following an industry trend toward earning more revenues from leveraging the captive consumers onboard. It's well established that consumers respond more positively to lower fare increases and more revenue enhancement over higher fare increases.

But Disney did not lower its fares when they instituted the new policy.

You misread the comment to which you replied. I've highlighted the important part you seem to have overlooked in putting together your reply.

[Drrandall]

Well, number one, you are comparing everything with the basic cruise, low end Carnival. No cruise line offers such a cheap (as both in money and product) as Carnival. So every thing you look at is priced higher. With Disney being way up there in price. If you go to Orlando, you can easily find a hotel room for $50.00 a night within a few mile of Disney. But you get a hard bed with little critters running around. Go on the Disney property, and you will have a magical experience, with a quality product. Of course the food might not be 5 star etc, but you know the quality is better.

 

If you can afford it, go on the better vacation, only you can decide if it is worth the better and magical experience.

Like we said earlier. To a kiddo, any cruise is magical. I'd rather go on a good one every year instead of one great one every 3 or 4 years

[jackparts]

Our family has turned into cruising freaks, mostly because of DISNEY cruiseline. I took my family on Carnival and NCL before the grandkids came along. The next 11 cruises, no family as they did not want to go. Five years later and 5 grandkids, I used them to get the parents to go on a Disney cruise. Six cruises in six years on Disney cruises they became cruise crazy. After the sixth cruise, we tried NCL and Carnival due to $$. Still cannot compare any other with Disney, the kids were stunned when we were announced as they mentioned all three family names when we boarded on Disney. Service was FANTASTIC, on all the Disney cruises. The only bad thing was all dining was either early or late. Casino, none so I saved a ton.

[bUU]

I'd rather go on a good one every year instead of one great one every 3 or 4 years

And other folks will have the opposite perspective; and still others will be in between or beyond the endpoints.

 

And that's why CCL has 10 cruise line brands, offering a vast spectrum of different grades of service. In a way, Disney is at a disadvantage in that they have but one cruise line and effectively offer just one service specification. Therefore, they are only going to appeal to a specific portion of the marketplace (not coincidentally indicated by their price-point).

[Tapi]

No cruise line offers such a cheap (as both in money and product) as Carnival.

 

 

We sailed on MSC last year for considerably less money than a similar Carnival cruise. And their pricing is consistently lower than Carnival year round because of the many promotions that they offer on a semi permanent basis (like kids sail free, 2 for 1 balcony sales, and loyalty match discounts). The experience (entertainment, service, cuisine, quality, etc) was at par with what we've experienced on Carnival, although I must admit, in more elegant surroundings.

 

MSC and Carnival are still budget, mass market products. But at that price point, expectations should be adjusted accordingly. Not doing so will create disappointment stemming from unrealistic expectations.

 

 

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[Tapi]

Practically no one would pay the extra amount Disney charges, "just to say," that they cruised on Disney.

 

 

Oh me! Me! I don't really have too many reasons to select Disney for our next cruise besides saying that we've sailed on them.

 

As mentioned before, we don't care much about Disney, even with small children. But I do care about sailing on as many different cruise lines as possible. For the last few years, I've made it a point not to repeat two cruise lines in a row.

 

Logically, I knew that I wanted to do Disney at some point in time even though I don't really care for all the Disney pixie dust. Might as well do it now when the kids are at that age. We'll see what they say about it.

 

 

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[Tapi]

I am sure a Disney cruise will meet the call in terms of making kids and families happy. We would love to hear your thoughts on it when you return. Can't help with the money tho.... ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know that I'll be reviewing that sailing when I get back! About the money, we've tried little tricks here and there to minimize the financial impact but there's nothing that substantially brings the price down. We got a discount from the TA worth a couple hundred dollars. We were also able to reserve the same exact Dolphin experience in Tortola for $59pp by calling them directly than by booking it through Disney (which was priced at $189pp if I recall correctly).

 

Everything is completely paid for with 4 months to go, but the "budget cruiser" in me is still having a hard time with these prices and my inability to find a better discount. [emoji19]

 

 

 

 

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[ryano]

We sailed on MSC last year for considerably less money than a similar Carnival cruise. And their pricing is consistently lower than Carnival year round because of the many promotions that they offer on a semi permanent basis (like kids sail free, 2 for 1 balcony sales, and loyalty match discounts). The experience (entertainment, service, cuisine, quality, etc) was at par with what we've experienced on Carnival, although I must admit, in more elegant surroundings.

 

MSC and Carnival are still budget, mass market products. But at that price point, expectations should be adjusted accordingly. Not doing so will create disappointment stemming from unrealistic expectations.

 

 

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Please dont use FACTS to get in the way of this troll's daily Carnival hatred diatribe. :rolleyes: You might as well told that to the nearest wall.

 

 

As to stay on topic, you couldnt pay me to go on a Disney cruise. I certainly wont waste my hard earned money on one :)

[drvmywifecrzy]

Same reason there is a Disney Channel on TV and not a Carnival channel.

 

Same reason it costs a fortune to get into Disney World but is free to get into the Carnival office in FL

[MoreMouse]

I, personally, am a Disney person. I love DCL, but can't cruise them all the time. They are indeed expensive. I find that to get the cheapest price you need to book the day/week that the cruise you want becomes available. That might be a year to a year and a half away. You won't ever see the prices go down from that. Don't worry about checking back for price reductions. It's NOT going to happen.

 

We only booked our first 2 DCLs with our son. The rest have been just us as a couple. We're in our late 40s, early 50s.

 

*We love that the ships are so classically beautiful and kept in tip top shape.

*The rooms are larger than other lines I've been on. (We've never had such great stateroom attendants.)

*I love the rotational dining.

*The entertainment can't be beat. (I find the entertainment on others ships to be quite cheesy and bland. That's just my Disney opinion though.) There is a LOT going on in the adult entertainment area at night, but only the dance clubs run into the morning hours. We're early to bed people though.

 

*I like being able to watch free on demand TV in the cabin.

*I am thankful that Disney doesn't have a casino. (I'll actually pay extra for that.)

*The daily activities involve a lot of Disney theming, which I love.

*I like to just get any soda for free. Not that I drink it a lot.

 

You can spend all your time in the adult pool section and you will rarely see or hear a child. It's very relaxing. You would never find me around the family pools. They are way too small for all the people on board. The waterslide was really fun though.

 

Characters? I've seen them around but not out roaming the ship bothering people. I have had a couple walk through the hallway with me on the way to an event. It's funny. I also enjoy watching the little girls interacting with the princesses in the atruim. It's great. We watch from up above though. Don't want to get in the way of a girl and her princess.

 

I am pretty anti-kid. Sorry. I feel that some parents just let their kids run wild. I was WAY too strict with my son. I can't take it now. I don't see too much of that when I'm on Disney though. I've seen much more of it on other lines. The only place I see kids that I'd like to take to the side and (I can't say to do what to...) is when they are at the elevators alone and push ALL the buttons. ()&*&^%&(^ I'd also like to teach EVERYONE using ANY elevator ANYWHERE, that you let others exit before you enter. OMG!!!!

 

The food is fine to me. I don't see much of a difference between cruise lines on the food though.

 

We've had great wait staff and we've had ones that just didn't seem to be into the whole Disney thing. That's rare though. I have found the best service to be in Cabanas (which by day is the buffet). They class it up a bit at night and turn down the lights. It's walk up seating. The food is really good and the staff are EXCELLENT. They are the waiters that are trying to work their way up to being in the MDR. (That's what they told me anyway.) They work really hard to make you happy. It's fabulous. Very quiet. Every time we go in there it seems the ship's officers are eating there as well. We don't pay to eat in the adult only restaurants. Up charge and getting that dressed up is not in my vacation plan. You can eat there at brunch and pay way less.

 

I will be cruising on the Vista in January and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll love it. I like the look of it. I love going on the latest ships when I can. I like the Dream so I'm sure I'll like this one too.

 

I think it's just a very specific type of person that falls in love with DCL. I think everyone should try it at least once, with or without kids.

[bUU]

Anecdotal price comparisons aren't illuminating: The folks in the next 8D stateroom over from me on my upcoming cruise will almost surely have paid a different amount of money. Yet, our cruise will assuredly be just as "cheap" as theirs. Also, MSC is too new to the North American marketplace to make any reliable forecasts based on past history. Comparisons to MSC suffer from the fact that MSC is trying to enter the marketplace so they are deliberately underselling competitors to manipulate the market to their advantage. Such efforts don't last forever which is why such comparisons are only significant when the assessments factor in performance and pricing over a number of years: MSC simply doesn't have the track history selling to North American-based cruise passengers to say anything, yet, about their pricing that doesn't have an asterisk ("as of right now, as they're trying to enter the marketplace"). If you want to understand what MSC is going to be, as a cruise line offering passage to North American-based passengers, then it is probably more profitable to see where they've fit themselves in the European market. Perhaps someone can share their insights about that, but IIRC what folks have relayed in the past is that they'll probably end up as something comparable to Royal Caribbean, at the same quality and price point. Regardless, what we know for sure is that they won't always be offering what are effectively "loss leader" cruises.

 

It is a shame that MSC didn't offer a seven day cruise in the second week of November that included port calls Costa Maya and Belize. I would have grabbed that up in a New York minute.

[evandbob]

Another thing to consider about Disney - 4 of its 4 ships scored a perfect mark of 100 on CDC test inspections.

 

Carnival also had 4 ships scoring 100, but that is out of their fleet of 25 ships. One Carnival ship, the Legend, failed the CDC scoring.

 

source :http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/11-cruise-lines-with-the-cleanest-ships/ss-BBDq8oM?li=BBnbklE

[meatloafsfan]

I, personally, am a Disney person. I love DCL, but can't cruise them all the time. They are indeed expensive. I find that to get the cheapest price you need to book the day/week that the cruise you want becomes available. That might be a year to a year and a half away. You won't ever see the prices go down from that. Don't worry about checking back for price reductions. It's NOT going to happen.

 

We only booked our first 2 DCLs with our son. The rest have been just us as a couple. We're in our late 40s, early 50s.

 

*We love that the ships are so classically beautiful and kept in tip top shape.

*The rooms are larger than other lines I've been on. (We've never had such great stateroom attendants.)

*I love the rotational dining.

*The entertainment can't be beat. (I find the entertainment on others ships to be quite cheesy and bland. That's just my Disney opinion though.) There is a LOT going on in the adult entertainment area at night, but only the dance clubs run into the morning hours. We're early to bed people though.

 

*I like being able to watch free on demand TV in the cabin.

*I am thankful that Disney doesn't have a casino. (I'll actually pay extra for that.)

*The daily activities involve a lot of Disney theming, which I love.

*I like to just get any soda for free. Not that I drink it a lot.

 

You can spend all your time in the adult pool section and you will rarely see or hear a child. It's very relaxing. You would never find me around the family pools. They are way too small for all the people on board. The waterslide was really fun though.

 

Characters? I've seen them around but not out roaming the ship bothering people. I have had a couple walk through the hallway with me on the way to an event. It's funny. I also enjoy watching the little girls interacting with the princesses in the atruim. It's great. We watch from up above though. Don't want to get in the way of a girl and her princess.

 

I am pretty anti-kid. Sorry. I feel that some parents just let their kids run wild. I was WAY too strict with my son. I can't take it now. I don't see too much of that when I'm on Disney though. I've seen much more of it on other lines. The only place I see kids that I'd like to take to the side and (I can't say to do what to...) is when they are at the elevators alone and push ALL the buttons. ()&*&^%&(^ I'd also like to teach EVERYONE using ANY elevator ANYWHERE, that you let others exit before you enter. OMG!!!!

 

The food is fine to me. I don't see much of a difference between cruise lines on the food though.

 

We've had great wait staff and we've had ones that just didn't seem to be into the whole Disney thing. That's rare though. I have found the best service to be in Cabanas (which by day is the buffet). They class it up a bit at night and turn down the lights. It's walk up seating. The food is really good and the staff are EXCELLENT. They are the waiters that are trying to work their way up to being in the MDR. (That's what they told me anyway.) They work really hard to make you happy. It's fabulous. Very quiet. Every time we go in there it seems the ship's officers are eating there as well. We don't pay to eat in the adult only restaurants. Up charge and getting that dressed up is not in my vacation plan. You can eat there at brunch and pay way less.

 

I will be cruising on the Vista in January and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll love it. I like the look of it. I love going on the latest ships when I can. I like the Dream so I'm sure I'll like this one too.

 

I think it's just a very specific type of person that falls in love with DCL. I think everyone should try it at least once, with or without kids.

 

Service in Cabanas at dinner isn't always excellent - like you said, they are servers in training. We've had a great one and a terrible one.

 

Dinner and brunch in Palo are the same price - $30 per person. Brunch is not "way less".

 

And while it may seem likes there's lots of adult evening entertainment going on - there's not. Stay up past 9pm sometime and go to the adult only areas - they are dead.

[MoreMouse]

Service in Cabanas at dinner isn't always excellent - like you said, they are servers in training. We've had a great one and a terrible one.

 

Dinner and brunch in Palo are the same price - $30 per person. Brunch is not "way less".

 

And while it may seem likes there's lots of adult evening entertainment going on - there's not. Stay up past 9pm sometime and go to the adult only areas - they are dead.

 

I was thinking more about Remy, which is where we ate. It was $60 for lunch and $95 for dinner. I've only eaten that brunch. :)

[sparks1093]

Nonsense. I've been on Disney and am going to be on Carnival.

 

You seem to have a baseless grudge against Disney.

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

That just shows that you aren't one of those people, but they most definitely exist.

[Tapi]

Also, MSC is too new to the North American marketplace to make any reliable forecasts based on past history. Comparisons to MSC suffer from the fact that MSC is trying to enter the marketplace so they are deliberately underselling competitors to manipulate the market to their advantage. Such efforts don't last forever which is why such comparisons are only significant when the assessments factor in performance and pricing over a number of years: MSC simply doesn't have the track history selling to North American-based cruise passengers to say anything, yet, about their pricing that doesn't have an asterisk ("as of right now, as they're trying to enter the marketplace"). If you want to understand what MSC is going to be, as a cruise line offering passage to North American-based passengers, then it is probably more profitable to see where they've fit themselves in the European market.

 

 

 

I've priced out MSC in Europe many times as well, where they have a much more established presence (in fact we had a cruise booked on them which we later canceled). Over there, its also consistently cheaper than all the other cruise lines, including all the American cruise lines that deploy their ships across the Atlantic during the summer. Even when compared to Costa (which many dub as "the Carnival of Europe"), MSC still prices themselves cheaper. As mentioned before, a big part of it is because they always offer kids sail free as well as loyalty match discounts.

 

Don't know if they do so by purposely subsidizing their passenger cruise segment from their massive cargo business (something that other cruise lines can't take advantage of), but whatever they are doing, it consistently keeps their prices very competitive while delivering more and more impressive ships, some which are forecasted to surpass Royal's Oasis class ships.

 

 

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[bUU]

Time will tell. Like I said above, I'd jump at the opportunity if they only offered the itineraries I want.

[sparks1093]

Our goal is to sail all of the main stream lines at some point and some of the more upscale lines. I don't consider Disney to fit into either definition because it is a niche cruise line. One day we might decide to give it a go when the grandkids are old enough but only time will tell.

[soapbxking]

Oh, yes they would. It's called "prestige", and these people wouldn't be caught dead on Carnival, because it's Carnival.

 

I'm remembering when "my little one" went to a fancy private nursery school in an affluent neighborhood of NYC. Not only did they take the kids on Disney, they also brought the nannies. Some could easily afford it; some did it so others would think that they could easily afford it.

 

I concur!!! I was sitting here thinking that some people do it because Carnival is so low brow(not to me I love Carnival). They cant bring themselves to sail on Carnival because its beneath them

[cruzeluver]

Originally posted by Havingfun2010:

No cruise line offers such a cheap (as both in money and product) as Carnival. So every thing you look at is priced higher.

Normally I just report your posts to the admins who have been very gracious in removing them on a fairly regular basis. But this is not an opinion, this is you stating as fact something that is not true. Comparing like cruises NCL, MSC, Costa and occasionally Royal I have found from time to time lower rates on them vs. Carnival. Our MSC cruise next January not only has fares lower compared to the Carnival cruise we considered, but on board charges across the board are also lower on everything from photos, to drinks to excursions.

Edited July 5, 2017 by cruzeluver
spelling

[Saint Greg]

I concur!!! I was sitting here thinking that some people do it because Carnival is so low brow(not to me I love Carnival). They cant bring themselves to sail on Carnival because its beneath them

 

I know people like that. They only sail disney. They will pull their kids out of school to sail in the non-peak times because it's cheaper...and they wouldn't be caught dead on a fun ship.

[DNorthrup]

It's outrageous. It's like $3500 compared to $8000 to $10000 for an upcoming cruise the 4 of us are looking at. Is the food quality , entertainment, atmosphere really worth the 3 times the price?

 

 

 

Disney your paying for Disney! RCL has dreamworks check it out I just got off the Allure and would take kids on that! You pay for what you get and I would never do a Carnival since they left there ships stranded!

 

 

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