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Post by tomandrobin on Mar 15, 2024 13:54:04 GMT -5
I can understand DCL being at a disadvantage in terms of port access, but I don’t see how that impacts prices. Do you find DCL is worth twice, or even more, than other cruise lines -even with pre-teens? What exactly is the “Disney difference”? I was referencing the lack of new itineraries. Disney has too few ships to spread out and add more new itineraries.
Do I find DCL worth twice the price.......That is a loaded question. My answer is it all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise and where it is going. Disney has two things going for it.....The Disney bubble, which everyone here knows what that is, and generational cruising. No one can match DCL on those two marks. When you are taking your family with younger kids on a cruise, parents buy in to the kid friendly experience. Less partying, no casino, no "blue" entertainment.....just good wholesome "Disney" fun.
Every cruise line has a "nitch" that they serve best.
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Post by tomandrobin on Mar 15, 2024 13:56:50 GMT -5
The newer class of ships draw us in. This Virgin cruise in the summer. Is because we could not justify WDW for a 4th time in 2 years. (should have got annual passes) We really like the newer ships too.
This summer, we are sailing on the DCL Magic for the first time. We are taking the whole family, kids and grand-kids (there is that generational thing).
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Post by nickys on Mar 15, 2024 15:23:07 GMT -5
I can understand DCL being at a disadvantage in terms of port access, but I don’t see how that impacts prices. Do you find DCL is worth twice, or even more, than other cruise lines -even with pre-teens? What exactly is the “Disney difference”? I was referencing the lack of new itineraries. Disney has too few ships to spread out and add more new itineraries.
Do I find DCL worth twice the price.......That is a loaded question. My answer is it all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise and where it is going. Disney has two things going for it.....The Disney bubble, which everyone here knows what that is, and generational cruising. No one can match DCL on those two marks. When you are taking your family with younger kids on a cruise, parents buy in to the kid friendly experience. Less partying, no casino, no "blue" entertainment.....just good wholesome "Disney" fun.
Every cruise line has a "nitch" that they serve best.
Understand about the itineraries, that absolutely makes sense. Loaded question?  Yes, of course it was! But it was genuine. I totally get the multi-generational aspect. For those brave enough to contemplate cruising with younger kids I can see the Disney experience makes it special. (Personally DH and I could never bring ourselves to contemplate cruising when the boys were little - we were both convinced they’d fall overboard). The Disney bubble though ….. I understand that for when we visit WDW or DLP. The offsite vs onsite debate. Though for us the “bubble” was more a question of DH not being a chauffeur to everyone, of all of us being free to come and go as we wanted. Still a bubble but it’s more of a practical one, as much as I love the whole Disney vibe, the happy feeling I get being there. When applied to a cruise. to me the Disney bubble just a matter of being a Disney “fix” or experience vs a non-Disney one. But if I want to see 5 Mediterranean ports, I have to decide whether the destinations are more important to me than having a Disney experience. It would have to be a choice, the option to have both just isn’t a viable one. For the price of a 4 night European DCL cruise we could go to WDW. What I find interesting though is how the Disney bubble is still so important to someone who visits WDW as often as you do. That is in no way meant cynically or as a criticism, just an example of how it lures us all in. I remember during the Covid lockdown having thoughts that travel would never recover, and at the time the fact we had to cancel our trip (for DS’s 21st) it was like a gut punch. I felt physically sick with the thought we’d never be able to go back. Obviously we finally did and we had a fantastic time (albeit with 2 or 3 not-so-great moments). But after October’s spur of the moment trip to DLP, that I booked about 7 weeks before, I now see DLP as being my solution to wanting a Disney fix. Per person, per night it’s expensive. But it’s still around a quarter of the price for a reasonable comparative experience compared to Florida. And although I hope we might return to WDW a couple of times, I’m currently weighing up a new kitchen vs a Florida trip in a couple of years; the kitchen is winning because we could also go to DLP for that Disney fix. |
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Post by brp on Mar 15, 2024 15:38:33 GMT -5
I was referencing the lack of new itineraries. Disney has too few ships to spread out and add more new itineraries.
Do I find DCL worth twice the price.......That is a loaded question. My answer is it all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise and where it is going. Disney has two things going for it.....The Disney bubble, which everyone here knows what that is, and generational cruising. No one can match DCL on those two marks. When you are taking your family with younger kids on a cruise, parents buy in to the kid friendly experience. Less partying, no casino, no "blue" entertainment.....just good wholesome "Disney" fun.
Every cruise line has a "nitch" that they serve best.
I totally get the multi-generational aspect. For those brave enough to contemplate cruising with younger kids I can see the Disney experience makes it special. (Personally DH and I could never bring ourselves to contemplate cruising when the boys were little - we were both convinced they’d fall overboard). I think that for those that want to cruise with kids (theirs or other people's), this can make sense. For those who would prefer to minimize the presence of any kids, this is likely not the best choice. And the price premium makes it even more so.
Our niche is adult-only. And really more cruises that are in port every day on smaller ships, i.e. river cruises, as opposed to behemoth open-water cruises.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Mar 18, 2024 6:14:34 GMT -5
When applied to a cruise. to me the Disney bubble just a matter of being a Disney “fix” or experience vs a non-Disney one. But if I want to see 5 Mediterranean ports, I have to decide whether the destinations are more important to me than having a Disney experience. It would have to be a choice, the option to have both just isn’t a viable one. For the price of a 4 night European DCL cruise we could go to WDW. What I find interesting though is how the Disney bubble is still so important to someone who visits WDW as often as you do. That is in no way meant cynically or as a criticism, just an example of how it lures us all in. I remember during the Covid lockdown having thoughts that travel would never recover, and at the time the fact we had to cancel our trip (for DS’s 21st) it was like a gut punch. I felt physically sick with the thought we’d never be able to go back. Obviously we finally did and we had a fantastic time (albeit with 2 or 3 not-so-great moments). But after October’s spur of the moment trip to DLP, that I booked about 7 weeks before, I now see DLP as being my solution to wanting a Disney fix. Per person, per night it’s expensive. But it’s still around a quarter of the price for a reasonable comparative experience compared to Florida. And although I hope we might return to WDW a couple of times, I’m currently weighing up a new kitchen vs a Florida trip in a couple of years; the kitchen is winning because we could also go to DLP for that Disney fix. For a European Cruise or any other interesting destination cruise, I choose ports and ship over paying for a Disney cruise. For example, last year when we went to Alaska, we choose NCL over DCL because of the port of calls. Plus it did not hurt that the price was cheaper.
So me, the Disney bubble is not important for a cruise. That said, I really do enjoy the Disney double dip cruises because their private islands are the best. Now we are taking the grands on a DCL cruise this summer. The Disney bubble is nice for the boys being younger still. There is nothing on the ship they can not do or experience, unlike of NCL cruise.
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Yes, of course it was! But it was genuine. 