ZapperZ
Well-Known Member
Welcome to DCL pricing.
The prices for the same level stateroom fluctuates over time, especially if there is high demand. Think of this as the same as airline tickets.
Zz.
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Wanting to book our first cruise but I need some help first!
- Thread starter Zipadeelady
- Start date
Welcome to DCL pricing.
The prices for the same level stateroom fluctuates over time, especially if there is high demand. Think of this as the same as airline tickets.
Zz.
UGH! I'm not liking that. I guess I better hurry up and make a decision fast.
When I click on a room it will say Category 4e or 5c or 6a. What does that mean? I noticed some of the rooms on deck 7 or 8 have a white low white wall on the veranda while others have a clear plexi glass.
Location on the ship as well as size of the room. For example, a Deluxe Stateroom with verandah vs a Deluxe Family Stateroom with verandah.
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In other words, as the ship fills and the sail date gets closer, the price goes up. When rates are first released is when they are their lowest. They rarely go down unless a sailing isn't selling, and then they will offer some specials.
There are also different demand periods - I've seen the pricing at Spring Break/Easter be double or more the price of late August/September for the same ship and itinerary.
Make sure you are comparing apples to apples too - same inclusions i.e. insurance and DCL transfers. I highly recommend insurance when sailing - if you don't get if thru DCL, get it from another insurance company.
When is the last time that you looked? Were you looking at the same ship and itinerary then? Same dates? Same stateroom category? Same options? (insurance and transfers included or not?) Same number of people, same ages?
Even changing a week or two within the same month can increase or decrease the cost, or changing from inside stateroom to verandah.
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That's the crazy thing, I'm for certain that everything is the same when I looked at the prices. The only good outcome is that I can go on a different itinerary that is more to my liking. Thanks for the information.
There is an Itinerary from San Juan to New Orleans that looks appealing. It's on the Wonder, only stops at CC and has two back to back days at sea. Any of you frequent sailors 
think two days at sea back to back makes for a crowed ship?
There's also a 6 night, Texas to San Juan that stops in Cozumel, GC and Jamaica that sounds appealing and still less than our original choice.
think two days at sea back to back makes for a crowed ship?There's also a 6 night, Texas to San Juan that stops in Cozumel, GC and Jamaica that sounds appealing and still less than our original choice.
ZapperZ
Well-Known Member
There is an Itinerary from San Juan to New Orleans that looks appealing. It's on the Wonder, only stops at CC and has two back to back days at sea. Any of you frequent sailors
There's also a 6 night, Texas to San Juan that stops in Cozumel, GC and Jamaica that sounds appealing and still less than our original choice.
Have you considered the 8-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise that will be departing on Oct. 19, 2019? We will be on it!
If you are paying cash (as opposed to using DVC points), you should also look into AAA Travel and/or Costco Travel (if you are members of either or both). They do offer Disney cruises, and you may also get either shipboard credits or gift cards. There's no harm in doing price comparison between DCL and them.
Zz.
Warning with Costco - from many of the stories that I have heard, yes, you get a nice rebate as a Costco card, but you get no service from them at all - they book your trip and that is it, so buyer beware. AAA should be better.Have you considered the 8-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise that will be departing on Oct. 19, 2019? We will be on it!
If you are paying cash (as opposed to using DVC points), you should also look into AAA Travel and/or Costco Travel (if you are members of either or both). They do offer Disney cruises, and you may also get either shipboard credits or gift cards. There's no harm in doing price comparison between DCL and them.
Zz.
If you are looking to book DCL with a Disney-focused agency, I would suggest @Kingdom Konsultant , they are the sponsors of this board.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
DCL pricing is the opposite of most other cruise lines. On other lines, as you get closer to the sail date, rates tend to go down, DCL rates go up. The vast amount of the time, the cheapest time to book is when the rooms are released.
There are a variety of verandahs on DCL ships (which ship are you looking at)
A standard has a clear, low, wall on it
A whitewall has a solid low wall on it
A navigators has an opening, but is not like a deck rail, it is more like a giant oval porthole with metal all around it. It's kind of hard to describe, just google a picture.
As far as categories are concerned, a lower category is "better" and more expensive. When you run out of numbers and get to letters, then you are into big bucks
11: Standard Inside Stateroom
10: Deluxe Inside Stateroom
9: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom (with Porthole)
8: Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom
7: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Navigator’s Verandah
6: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah
5: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah
4: Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah
V: Concierge Family Stateroom with Verandah
T: Concierge 1-Bedroom Suite with Verandah
S: Concierge 2-Bedroom Suite with Verandah
R: Concierge Royal Suite with Verandah
When you start added letters after numbers, such as 5e, you are mostly breaking things down by location on the ship. A letter a is usually a higher deck than a b in the same category
For example, on the Dream
- Category 5A: Decks 9 and 10
- Category 5B: Deck 8
- Category 5C: Deck 7
- Category 5D: Deck 6
I believe a category 6 is a whitewall verandah and a 5 is the clear wall.
-dave
You've explained it so very well. Thank you!
MotherofaPrincessLover
Well-Known Member
I tend to book my cruises the day I am able to. My last cruise (a southern Caribbean one) the price went up by a couple thousand over time (and that was an outside stateroom with no verandah).
If there are any future cruises I'll definitely do the passholder and book right away. I really didn't realize the price would go up so fast so I wasn't worried at all. Now I'm a little freaked out that I'm waiting until Monday to book. But I've already spoke with a TA and I'm not one to change after I committed.
@lostpro9het @imahistorygeek @ChuckElias @ZapperZ @MotherofaPrincessLover @Surfin' Tuna and anyone else that can help.
This seems blasphemous. But I was reading reviews and someone mentioned Royal Caribbean cruises. I hoped on their website to take a peek and was very surprised how much cheaper they are and I can go on a longer cruise for less money. Are the cruises just a good as DCL? Something you should know, out of the 4 of us going on the cruise I'm the only Disney freak. There will be no character meetings. I choose DCL for the Disney shows and what everyone has said about the dining. Am I crazy for contemplating a different cruise line to save money or go on a longer cruise?
This seems blasphemous. But I was reading reviews and someone mentioned Royal Caribbean cruises. I hoped on their website to take a peek and was very surprised how much cheaper they are and I can go on a longer cruise for less money. Are the cruises just a good as DCL? Something you should know, out of the 4 of us going on the cruise I'm the only Disney freak. There will be no character meetings. I choose DCL for the Disney shows and what everyone has said about the dining. Am I crazy for contemplating a different cruise line to save money or go on a longer cruise?
ChuckElias
Well-Known Member
You're not crazy. Royal will always be less expensive for the same number of nights and the same category of stateroom. You can do a search on the forum to read some of the conversations that we've had about the value of DCL vs. other cruise lines. Even in this forum, there are people who will tell you that DCL is great but not worth the money, but not so much better than RCCL or Celebrity to justify the cost difference.
But you have to understand that you're getting a different product. You're getting lower quality service, smaller staterooms, different style of shows/entertainment. But you're also getting a casino, water slides and FlowRider, etc.
So it depends on what you want in your cruise experience. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's a matter of personal taste.
But you have to understand that you're getting a different product. You're getting lower quality service, smaller staterooms, different style of shows/entertainment. But you're also getting a casino, water slides and FlowRider, etc.
So it depends on what you want in your cruise experience. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's a matter of personal taste.
Surfin' Tuna
Well-Known Member
You will most likely enjoy RCCL, and I bet the 17 year olds will really like it. The ships are too big for me, and I prefer the service, food, and cabins on DCL. As Chuck said, it is a matter of preference. Even when our kids aren't with us, we enjoy the characters, and we certainly like the shows. We are all Disney people, though. Even if we weren't I would give the nod to DCL for several reasons. If you want to go on RCCL no one will blame you; there are several people on here who cruise multiple lines. I know, for us, we fell in love with DCL after our first cruise there and haven't cruised on anything else since. One day I'm sure we will, but I bet it will be a let down.
If I had never been on a Disney cruise (and thus didn't prefer them), I would be really tempted to go on RCCL if I could go on a longer cruise. For me, length of cruise really does matter.
If I had never been on a Disney cruise (and thus didn't prefer them), I would be really tempted to go on RCCL if I could go on a longer cruise. For me, length of cruise really does matter.
Room service being a big one that Royal Scare charges extra for, now.
For me the biggest reason for thinking RCI is the two 17 year olds that will be with us, plus the husband and son aren't big Disney People. Ugh, I was really wanting DCL for the customer service and dining. I've looked into hidden costs on RCI but still think the boys would enjoy it more. When it is just husband and I there will be no question but for now I'm still a little unsure.
As of now the only thing from stopping me switching to RCI completely is the 4 day itinerary out of Miami. It stops at 3 ports so it would be a busy cruise and they wouldn't have time to be bored.
As of now the only thing from stopping me switching to RCI completely is the 4 day itinerary out of Miami. It stops at 3 ports so it would be a busy cruise and they wouldn't have time to be bored.