Dr Albert Falls said:
As many have mentioned, "you get what you pay for"... but its also important to note what you DON'T get.
* On DCL you probably WON'T see a spring breaker lift her bikini top and show off her ta-tas in the presence of your 7-year-old.
* On DCL, you probably WON'T be kept up all night by a rowdy bachelor party playing drinking games in the room next door.
* On DCL, your crewmates probably WON'T have any kind of criminal record.
* On DCL, if your spouse falls overboard, they probably WON'T be afraid to stop the ship and call out the coast guard (several other cruise lines have been accused of steaming on despite such claims)
*On DCL, if your cruise ship is diverted by a hurricane, you probably WON'T be deserted on a foreign island, and you certainly WON'T be bored while you wait out the storm. And if that storm hits on departure day, you probably WON'T be left to find a sleazy Titusville motel room on your own, but rather, given a WDW hotel room for the night.
*On DCL, there probably WON'T be anything stolen from your state room. But if by some chance it is, you probably WON'T be told "tough luck." I imagine a ship credit or a comped theme park ticket might be provided.
*On DCL, you probably WON'T be afraid to let your children explore the ship by themselves.
* On DCL, you probably WON'T hear couples fight about one of them blowing their entire vacation fund on a single drunken night in the casino.
Someone compared cruise lines to retail store competition. Sure, if I want some cheap diapers and fishing gear I'll go to Wal-Mart. But I sure as heck would not want to spend my hard-earned vacation hanging out with the lowlifes who frequent Wal-Mart after midnight, eating their cruddy cafeteria food, and sleeping in their sticky, food-covered shopping carts.
Now come on. Every year millions of people cruise and the overwhelming majority have a great time. I've read alot of readers reviews at cruisecritic.com and yes, I've come across some negative reviews on all the cruise lines (yes, even Disney). Most of the complaints are about poor service, embarkation proceedures, unfavorable cuisine or something they didn't receive on one ship that they got on another. I've yet to come across a review mentioning crewmates who are felons, lewd and lacivious behavior from fellow passengers, theft of property, or leaving behind a spouse who fell overboard. While those stories may exist, you make other cruise lines sound like a Greyhound Bus Terminal at 3:00 a.m. in downtown Detroit.
As for your Walmart comment, yesterday, I bought the Lady and the Tramp Platinum Edition DVD for just over $18.00 at Sams Club. Today I saw a copy of it at a store in a local mall for $29.99; same DVD, same packaging. Now why does someone want to spend over $11.00 at one store for the same thing?
No one is saying that a Disney Cruise isn't a quality product and yes, it's a unique product that caters to a certain demographic. My family is right in the middle of that demographic. If money weren't an object, we'd go on a Disney Cruise. I like the no smoking, no gambling policies, the wholesome enviornment. But with exception to the no gambling rule, why should those policies drive up the price? As you can see by the postings, a lot of people think that Disney is overpriced considering the marketplace. And for the life of me, I haven't seen one posting that can explain why someone should be paying more for a Disney Cruise.
Somone pointed out that Disney has bigger cabins but that argument got shot down in a subsequent posting. The food is reviewed better on Celebrity, Princess and Holland America. The public rooms are just as nice if not more impressive on Royal Caribbean. Norwegian gets high marks also on shore excursions, service and entertainment. I realize that there is a real demand for the Disney Cruise which is probably brought on by their advertising campaign. Sure the other cruise lines do a lot of advertising and marketing but they have 12 to 21 ships in their fleet while Disney has only two ships to fill.
Some people seem to feel personally attacked at the suggestion that DCL is overpriced. I'm a big Disney fan but it's not my religion. I'm sorry if I've offended some by stating an opinion that DCL charges too much for its product, but it's a valid opinion. Anyway, maybe we could move on to a less devisive subject like abortion, Pres. Bush, Hillary Clinton, the war in Iraq etc.:brick:
