DCL. How Much!?!? Deals to be had?

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Ciano

Hi we have booked 2 x interior rooms on Mariner of the Seas for a 3 night cruise this July. We go to the Bahamas and RC new water park island Coco Key. We are 2 adults and 2 children aged 10 and 15. We were on Harmony last year and had the same 2 x interior cabins. Everyone had a proper bed and 2 bathrooms were great. We have interconnecting door. We book with US travel agent. Paid $2400 for this year for the 2 cabins. Mariner was in dry dock last year so although it is an older ship it got a big facelift and has all the attractions the bigger ships have.

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Thank you. I honestly thought theDCL would’ve around half what I’ve now seen so I think I must have been living in a dream world.
Will have to have a sit down and look at RCI dates for when we are out there. I have mainly done Oasis class but have also done voyager class years ago and would be interested in any of them for that price difference.
Thank you

[Ciano]

Originally Posted by Milpston

Thank you. I honestly thought theDCL would’ve around half what I’ve now seen so I think I must have been living in a dream world.
Will have to have a sit down and look at RCI dates for when we are out there. I have mainly done Oasis class but have also done voyager class years ago and would be interested in any of them for that price difference.
Thank you

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No problem at all. We did 3 nights on the Disney Dream in 2015 but the 4 of us were in the same room. Think we paid €3000. It was fab but in my opinion it's not worth £4k.

[Gill H]

This really does bring home what a (relative) bargain the European cruises are. We're getting 7 nights for 3K for two adults. The only things we need to budget for on top of that are train fares to/from Dover, one night in a Dover hotel, gratuities, and spends (including excursions, probably on our own).

Compared to a week at WDW, which would cost more than that even before the flights, it's not bad really.

[MrsBC]

We didn't think our DCL 4 nighter for later this year was too badly priced. To be honest I think cruise prices per se have gone up for next year. We're like you and prefer a balcony and I've been looking at (non Disney) 10 -12 night Med cruises for next summer - and they're around £1500 more than we've usually paid. This is Princess and Celebrity who are easily on a par with DCL for service, food, accommodation etc.

[MrsBC]

Originally Posted by Ciano

No problem at all. We did 3 nights on the Disney Dream in 2015 but the 4 of us were in the same room. Think we paid €3000. It was fab but in my opinion it's not worth £4k.

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We've only paid £1634 for a 4 nighter on the Dream this year, in an extended balcony cabin which we think is a good price.

[Ciano]

Originally Posted by MrsBC

We've only paid £1634 for a 4 nighter on the Dream this year, in an extended balcony cabin which we think is a good price.

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It certainly is Mrs BC. We went in July so it's prime time! We had the extended balcony too was lovely.

[Peacemaker]

We are a similar family of 5 with kids 17, 7 and 4 (booked family verandah with DCL) the extra person has added a lot to the cost compared to if booking as a family of 4. Being a family of 5 bumps the cost up massively as you need a family room which cost more as they are less or 2 rooms. Booking 2 rooms one of my children get charged adult prices.

[Bats]

There is a cruise line for everyone and DCL may not be it due to many different factors.

With 5 people, I would definitely look at 2 connecting rooms, or even 2 separate rooms if your children are old enough to be on their own in the room.
On a short cruise of 3 or 4 nights, I would also ditch the veranda, you are not likely to be in your cabin enough to warrant the extra cost really.

DCL does cost more and for a lot it's worth it. It's true that more things are included with DCL than on other lines - so cinema, theatre shows, all dining, soft drinks, ice cream, cakes, room service (tip only) are all included. But, if it's not for you, it's not for you.

They don't really do 'deals' as such though I'm afraid. Going through a US TA will cost the same as going direct but you may get some on board credit to spend. If you want to pay in ££ though, direct is your best option.

Hope you manage to find something!

Joa

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Peacemaker

We are a similar family of 5 with kids 17, 7 and 4 (booked family verandah with DCL) the extra person has added a lot to the cost compared to if booking as a family of 4. Being a family of 5 bumps the cost up massively as you need a family room which cost more as they are less or 2 rooms. Booking 2 rooms one of my children get charged adult prices.

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You should look at 2 oceanviews or even 2 insides if you can do without natural light, you'd save yourself lots.
It's the big family veranda that's putting the price up.

Yes one of your children will get charged an adult price, but the extra space will be a Godsend, honestly!

Put one adult in each room, then spread the children out - DCL don't care where you sleep, but you just have to have an over 18 on the paperwork in each room.

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Bats

There is a cruise line for everyone and DCL may not be it due to many different factors.

With 5 people, I would definitely look at 2 connecting rooms, or even 2 separate rooms if your children are old enough to be on their own in the room.
On a short cruise of 3 or 4 nights, I would also ditch the veranda, you are not likely to be in your cabin enough to warrant the extra cost really.

DCL does cost more and for a lot it's worth it. It's true that more things are included with DCL than on other lines - so cinema, theatre shows, all dining, soft drinks, ice cream, cakes, room service (tip only) are all included. But, if it's not for you, it's not for you.

They don't really do 'deals' as such though I'm afraid. Going through a US TA will cost the same as going direct but you may get some on board credit to spend. If you want to pay in ££ though, direct is your best option.

Hope you manage to find something!

Joa

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I totally get everything has its price and there will be loyal fans to every cruise line. I don’t see where any more is included on Disney than any other cruise line though. Rci include all of the above with the exception of soft drinks which comes in a cheap as chips extra package. I also believe their ships have more in the way of on board activities included by way of flow riders , ice skating zip lines etc on many of their ships. The only real difference that I can see is the mouse 😜 I also haven’t priced RCI for 5 of us so there may not be a massive difference and it is more that I may be a good few years out of touch with pricing 😩