Jumping Ship

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Maybe DCL will see this (and if they do, I am doubtful anything will happen).

I just can't take the price of DCL anymore.

My wife and I just booked a 7 night Celebrity cruise out of Bayonne to Bermuda. With perks and discounts it came to $3,100- total, for an ocean view stateroom.

Bayonne means no airfare either.

Oh, and with the included perks that means all of our gratuities are taken care of and a beverage package (including non-premium alcohol) is included at that price. So $3,100 is about it - no tips and no paying for any drinks.

I love DCL - three cruises show that, but at the current price points and lack of NYC sailings, I can't do it anymore.

Unless Celebrity turns out to be a leaky tub, I can't see sailing on DCL in the near future for me.

-dave
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
I feel your pain. DCL is VERY expensive. We only book when we're onboard to get the 10% savings and even that sometimes is pricey unless you're booking really far out. I did compare DCL with RCL though and after adding in a drink package, RCL was coming out pretty even with DCL. Same thing with Princess cruise lines. Never looked at Celebrity though. I also priced out a Carnival but I highly doubt we would ever go on a Carnival cruise, just from hearing personal experiences from people I know. They were less than pleased with Carnival.

I'll be interested to see how you like Celebrity. Definitely make sure you let us know how it goes!
 

ChuckElias

Well-Known Member
I admit that it's getting close for me, too, Dave. I'm REALLY looking forward to our Iceland cruise. But after that, the draw of NYC or Bayonne with no airfare is really attractive.
 

Bolna

Well-Known Member
That is actually one of the reasons why we are going on a European DCL cruise next year. By not having to fly to Florida from Europe it does not matter that much that cruise is on the pricier side. And I was able to use an onboard booking to get the price down.

If you can shop around there are still better deals to be found, especially in the repositioning cruises. And the IGT, OGT and VGT rates. But those only come out about 2 months before the cruise.

Actually, I kind of want to try out other cruise lines once I have been on the Dream or the Fantasy (only been on the Wonder so far). I think it would be fascinating to see how other cruise lines do it. I kind of fell in love with the pictures of the Royal Princess and really want to go on a cruise on her or her sister, the Regal Princess. I know that some of the things I like best about the cruises (being able to sit and watch the ocean) really does not depend on the line I sail with. I am a Disney geek and therefore I love Disney's hip. But I believe these other lines can't be all bad either, otherwise they would not be so successful!
 

ChuckElias

Well-Known Member
I was on the Grand Princess last October. Next month, I'll be on the Explorer of the Seas. And then my company is doing a 2-night sailing on the Quantum of the Seas after convention in November!! Can't wait for that one!
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I feel your pain. DCL is VERY expensive. We only book when we're onboard to get the 10% savings and even that sometimes is pricey unless you're booking really far out. I did compare DCL with RCL though and after adding in a drink package, RCL was coming out pretty even with DCL. Same thing with Princess cruise lines. Never looked at Celebrity though. I also priced out a Carnival but I highly doubt we would ever go on a Carnival cruise, just from hearing personal experiences from people I know. They were less than pleased with Carnival.

I'll be interested to see how you like Celebrity. Definitely make sure you let us know how it goes!


I will, but it is going to be a while - looking at over 300 days out.

We attended a Celebrity seminar/sales pitch whatever you want to call it because we thought it would be interesting.

I like (for the most part) what they are trying to do with their ships now. Some of their entertainment seems a bit not my tastes - but we shall see.

-dave


-dave
 

Ulysses McGill

Active Member
... I also priced out a Carnival but I highly doubt we would ever go on a Carnival cruise, just from hearing personal experiences from people I know. They were less than pleased with Carnival.

I've been on three Carnival Cruises, and I can attest to the fact that the quality of what they offer has dwindled. I went on my first one in 1998, and it was AWESOME. I mean, I had so much fun that I still, to this day, remember that cruise fondly. Then I went again in 2004 on a slightly older ship, and had I been sober for five minutes I might have a better recollection for the good and the bad, but I do remember how the quality of food being noticeably worse from my first to second trip. Then my wife and I went on another Carnival Cruise in 2008, and we had a really good time but the food, again, kind of sucked, and the overall upkeep of the ship looked as if they had been cutting corners for several years.

My family owned companies running boats in the offshore oil business, so I know enough about ships to know when something isn't right. From the things I saw in 2008, it came as no surprise Carnival was having the issues they were having the past few years.

Disney prices are only okay for us because we live within driving distance of the Florida ports. However, if we had to add airfare to anything, I doubt we would be going on our third one soon. Although I do believe you can see your money at work on a Disney ship. Everything is always in perfect order, and if isn't, they'll move heaven and earth to make it right. The food is better than other cruise lines. The accommodations are a little nicer, so I think you get what you pay for. Plus, the quality of the shows are beyond anything else on the water.

Pricewise, I've never been able to find evidence for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if the lack of on-board casinos don't cause some of the inflated price point. Almost all of the other cruise lines have casinos with people pumping hundreds of thousands of extra dollars into the pipeline.
 

dumboflyer

Well-Known Member
@5thGenTexan FYI disneycruiselineblog.com picked up a story that the port of Galveston will start collecting tax for alcohol and cigarettes purchased while on board the cruise. Sort of defeats the purpose of duty free...

To the original poster's point, agree that DCL is pricey. It was a really hard jump to go from CM/Space Available rates to just the 10% onboard booking price. Our family has done 9 DCL cruises (1 Alaska, 8 Caribbean), 3 Princess (Alaska, Panama Canal, Baltic), and one Norwegian (Hawaii). We were booked on DCL for a Norway cruise next summer, until we saw a longer, better itinerary, and half the price cruise on RC. We've done the same thing a few times in the past; book a DCL, only to eventually find a similar cruise on Princess or Norwegian with a better itinerary and for half the price.

We've settled on a generic cruising policy of this:
-If we're going somewhere for the destination, treating the cruise ship as transportation and accommodation, then we'll pick the cheapest non-Carnival line with a good itinerary.
-If we're going to enjoy the ship itself, DCL is the only way to go for us.

108 days until the Fantasy!
 

5thGenTexan

Well-Known Member
@5thGenTexan FYI disneycruiselineblog.com picked up a story that the port of Galveston will start collecting tax for alcohol and cigarettes purchased while on board the cruise. Sort of defeats the purpose of duty free...

To the original poster's point, agree that DCL is pricey. It was a really hard jump to go from CM/Space Available rates to just the 10% onboard booking price. Our family has done 9 DCL cruises (1 Alaska, 8 Caribbean), 3 Princess (Alaska, Panama Canal, Baltic), and one Norwegian (Hawaii). We were booked on DCL for a Norway cruise next summer, until we saw a longer, better itinerary, and half the price cruise on RC. We've done the same thing a few times in the past; book a DCL, only to eventually find a similar cruise on Princess or Norwegian with a better itinerary and for half the price.

We've settled on a generic cruising policy of this:
-If we're going somewhere for the destination, treating the cruise ship as transportation and accommodation, then we'll pick the cheapest non-Carnival line with a good itinerary.
-If we're going to enjoy the ship itself, DCL is the only way to go for us.

108 days until the Fantasy!

I have seen those stories the past few days, but we don't make those purchases on board anyway. Neither I nor my wife smoke at all, and my wife only has the occasional margarita when at home. So its not a big deal for us. Our next cruise is going to be particularly light as far as on board charges go. We are stopping at Key West and Castaway Cay, and there are no paid excursions at either port that we will be paying extra for.

Before we had kids we did two cruises on NCL and one on Princess to Alaska. Our DCL cruises are for the Disney experience, so we are willing to pay the premium for that. Like I said in the previous post, all out of Galveston. We live in the D/FW area and flights to Orlando are prohibitive for us. 4 plane tickets are as much as the trip to WDW. Southwest will finally be able to make non-stop flights to Orlando from Dallas starting next year, so hopefully that will be much better for us.
 

5thGenTexan

Well-Known Member
@5thGenTexan FYI disneycruiselineblog.com picked up a story that the port of Galveston will start collecting tax for alcohol and cigarettes purchased while on board the cruise. Sort of defeats the purpose of duty free...

To the original poster's point, agree that DCL is pricey. It was a really hard jump to go from CM/Space Available rates to just the 10% onboard booking price. Our family has done 9 DCL cruises (1 Alaska, 8 Caribbean), 3 Princess (Alaska, Panama Canal, Baltic), and one Norwegian (Hawaii). We were booked on DCL for a Norway cruise next summer, until we saw a longer, better itinerary, and half the price cruise on RC. We've done the same thing a few times in the past; book a DCL, only to eventually find a similar cruise on Princess or Norwegian with a better itinerary and for half the price.

We've settled on a generic cruising policy of this:
-If we're going somewhere for the destination, treating the cruise ship as transportation and accommodation, then we'll pick the cheapest non-Carnival line with a good itinerary.
-If we're going to enjoy the ship itself, DCL is the only way to go for us.

108 days until the Fantasy!


I was looking into it more and this announcement seems to have been made in December 2013. What's more, its a 40 year old Texas state law. Not sure why they decided to start enforcing it.

http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/home/press_releases/2013/20131220.asp
 

LSUmagic

Member
We all know Disney is pricey. I don't believe that will change. In the past I have sailed on Princess, Carnival & Norwegian. My biggest draw to Disney besides the service is the idea that there is something for everyone. I enjoy have adult only zones that are truly adult only. I have yet to sail another company that has provided that.

That being said, we are going to Alaska in the next few years as a big family trip and we will be sailing Princess bc (and this is coming from the mouth of a platinum Disney cruiser we met on our last trip on the Magic) "Princess basically owns Alaska"
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@5thGenTexan
-If we're going to enjoy the ship itself, DCL is the only way to go for us.

108 days until the Fantasy!


I love the Disney ships- from the layout, to the classic look, to the entertainment offering. From what I had seen prior, I would have agreed with you about sailing for the ship, or sailing for the destination.

However, when we went to the Celebrity presentation, I was very impressed. There were a few things that didn't thrill me (I like Broadway, DCL does a Broadway type show, Celebrity does not seem to have one is the biggest factor) but overall the ship looked great. They way they presented their brand package nice as well. They call it modern luxury. They compare it to a Mercedes being "old luxury" and a Lexus being "modern luxury" - They don't have things like a wave rider or rock wall or water slide, but they do have a lot of kids activities, and a lot of adult activities.

One thing that does bug me is their use (or abuse) of the English language. Their new ships are Solstice class, and they were talking about which ships had been "solsticized". Then I was trying to figure out what Qsine was on the ship. Apparently it is pronounced cuisine and is their version of Palo. Then they have a Aqua Class only restaurant which is named Blu. It's just a hang up of mine.

Clearly the proof is in the sailing, and we shall see just how nice this ship is come next summer.

-dave
 

Bolna

Well-Known Member
Do you really think "solsticized" is so much worse than "re-imagineered"?? :p I think we are just more used to the later term due to our affinity for Disney. :)

I hope you will have a great cruise! I think the ships look beautiful in a modern way that is very elegant.
 

dumboflyer

Well-Known Member
We have friends that swear by Celebrity that keep trying to get us on one of their cruises. We keep doing the same for them. One of these days we'll hit up Celebrity too and see what we think. We do have 4 former CMs in our family and a ton of Disney heritage/history in our family story (see profile pic, yes that is the moment I proposed to my wife!), so that probably keeps us coming back to DCL as well.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom