Len Testa - “Disney positions itself as the all-American vacation. The irony is that most Americans can’t afford it.”

wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Dcl is not competitively priced for their fleet vs Royal. It simply is not.

Now they are expanding more than ever…100% due to the weakness they’re seeing surface in parks…and already having to use gimmicks to try and fill berths…

Interesting times
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A while ago we ( Some of the Konsultant TA's) did a pricing comparison of DCL to one of the Royal ships, with a comparable ship, itinerary etc. It wasnt even close for one of our TA's family of 5. It was thousands of dollars of difference. I have nothing against DCL, the shows are incredible, the food is good etc. The staterooms generally dont work for me as a single person who doesnt like sharing a bed with a roommate, but that could be very different for a lot of people, that is a more individual thing. The cost for me to get a stateroom on a Disney ship is so much more of a difference in pricing than other lines, so I only do that every once in a while, usually to sail with friends.
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
I tend to stick to the older ships, for now at least. We booked a 5 nighter over Christmas 2026 on Liberty. Booking two connecting interior rooms for my family of 4 came out to be cheaper than a single balcony. If I booked a DCL over Christmas?...Yikes!! lol
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That is what I would like to do but the kids, especially my son, don't seem as interested if not the latest greatest as far as promoted activities
(Though I am sure they would enjoy it once on board)
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
mysto said:
A problem with park hopping in the modern era is the effect on LL. Various flavors of LL cost more in multi-parks, and it's difficult to arrange the timeslots you want in the park you want. It complicates that game a little more. It's possibly worth it but I'm saying the past eras were better for hopping (like so many things).
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On the flip side, the cheapest way to do LL is to start at AK and pay for it it, scanning for you first use and then start booking for your 2nd park ... You might not be able to get the hardest to get LL at the other parks but can still get a lot of use
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
You can still do it…but you would have to cut down your Disney even more…

Which kinda explains the travel “conundrum” that is unfolding

Airlines are way down and slashing

Vegas is in DEEP doodoo

Cruiselines will aggressively price slash the minute things sputter (they have to)

…and then there’s Disney…which people assume out of habit to believe is better positioned to withstand trouble. But that was your father’s Disney. Watch it play
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We still do plenty of other vacations & did Cape Cod this summer, have Paris planned for February, etc ... Usually do fit in at least one Disney trip as everyone in the family enjoys it where as other options at least someone isn't as excited about it (our last cruise my oldest spent a good chunk of time just vegging in the room)
 
lentesta

lentesta

Premium Member
wannabeBelle said:
A while ago we ( Some of the Konsultant TA's) did a pricing comparison of DCL to one of the Royal ships, with a comparable ship, itinerary etc. It wasnt even close for one of our TA's family of 5. It was thousands of dollars of difference.
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My last GTY suite on Celebrity Beyond was less than half the cost of a standard DCL 4A stateroom. We could’ve sailed Beyond suite for 3 cruises over 18 nights for DCL money. And DCL concierge amenities aren’t as good.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
lentesta said:
My last GTY suite on Celebrity Beyond was less than half the cost of a standard DCL 4A stateroom. We could’ve sailed Beyond suite for 3 cruises over 18 nights for DCL money. And DCL concierge amenities aren’t as good.
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Celebrity’s quality is 5x DCL’s…

Please, everyone here be careful and not swallow your pearls…

Ok…it’s probably 3x nicer
 
wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Celebrity’s quality is 5x DCL’s…

Please, everyone here be careful and not swallow your pearls…

Ok…it’s probably 3x nicer
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Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
Splash4eva said:
Again everyone can choose what they wanna do. Its not lik Disney is the only place who has raised prices. Everyday life has gone up. If i told you what my house/home insurances have risen in a year along with my utilities its disgusting. I am a divorced Dad who at most times is only one in the house. We are talking 30% increases y/y its disgusting. My theory is tho you can save money elsewhere and stillhave a similar experience as you did in past for maybe a slightly higher cost if you still need your Disney fix
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I agree and for some people that theory will work. For my family it doesn't. We enjoy a certain lifestyle when we aren't on vacation. We aren't willing to sacrifice our Cedar Point season passes, our bi weekly dinners out, and our other mini vacations for one week at Disney.
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
Splash4eva said:
I can understand that. Listen. I use to stay Deluxe/Moderate depending on who/when but i finally said whats the point. Im barely in hotel. I rent a car may as well stay Value and stay longer or spend same. To may wasting all that money on a hotel im barely in is pointless to me its principle more than the money
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It's all relative to what people want and are used to. I now stay premium at Universal because of all the extra value, and I just want to at this stage of my life. :) That's all it is. I know that the number of trips I can take is dwindling so I opt to go for deluxe and enjoy myself:)
 
Miss Bella

Miss Bella

Well-Known Member
wannabeBelle said:
Would a better way of putting it be that if you price out a current Disney vacation it is way more expensive than it ever was previously, even bringing costs of previous vacations up into today's equivalent which I believe @lentesta has done in several different places? Is everyone in the middle class priced out? No probably not. Is it worth the amount of money that they would have to spend and potentially cut from other areas of their life in order to have that vacation in the way they would like to do it worth it? That is very subjective and definitely bears looking at. Marie
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I agree not everyone in the middle class is priced out. I really comes down to how much disposable income you have. That is usually determined by how much debt you have. A 55 year old with a paid off house and grown kids is going to have an easier time paying for WDW trip then a 30 year old with two kids and a 2000 dollar a month mortgage.
 
Miss Bella

Miss Bella

Well-Known Member
Dranth said:
Just goes to show how people approach things differently.

I can't think of a trip where we didn't park hop. Now normally it is after going back to the resort and relaxing/napping so we aren't running around all day, but we nearly always do at least a few hours in two parks each day.
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I am a non park hopper. I got this great pin code for DL park hoppers. If they offered non-park hoppers for an even lower price I might buy them. Yes I know its easy to park hop at DL. I just want a lower price.
 
Miss Bella

Miss Bella

Well-Known Member
Sirwalterraleigh said:
Dcl is not competitively priced for their fleet vs Royal. It simply is not.

Now they are expanding more than ever…100% due to the weakness they’re seeing surface in parks…and already having to use gimmicks to try and fill berths…

Interesting times
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A lot of us DCL old timers don't like the new ships. I'll be sailing on Utopia and the NCL Viva next year. They are offering a lot of discounts on DCL, but they still aren't competitive. You will never convince people on DCL forum of that. They will read negative reviews about other cruise lines just to validate how much money they are spending. They also get extremely defensive about it.
 

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