Wait, What?? A Disney Cruise is a Better Value Than WDW?

Wait, What?? A Disney Cruise is a Better Value Than WDW?

Let’s pick a date and compare prices - 6/15-22/24 2 adults 2 kids 7/10. We will do the same dates and family size for both locations.

 

Disney Cruise Line 7-Night Oceanview on the Disney Fantasy out of Port Canaveral - price is $10,240.

Walt Disney World 7-Night 7, 1 Per Day Base tickets, Port Orleans Riverside (equivalent to DCL Oceanview room) - price is $5,191.99.

 

Wait!! The WDW package is almost ½ the price!!! Really?? How can anybody think DCL is a better deal? Let’s think about this and take a deep dive.

 

What is included in your WDW package, Room, Park Tickets, Transportation around the Resort.

 

What is included in your DCL package, Room, Port Fees, Taxes, Fees, 3 meals plus snacks all day (including dinner each night at a find dining restaurant equivalent to Be Our Guest), Soda, Regular Coffee/Tea, Juice, Milk, Hot Coco, 3-5 live shows plus first run movies, Daily 2 times per day Room Service, Dedicated Main Dining Room Dinner Servers, Entertainment all day, and Kids Clubs so parents can have adult time. Check the link at the bottom of the page for all that is included in the Cruise Fare.

 

Now let’s add up what is not included at WDW:

For this to be fair we need to include high-end dining every night and 4 shows while there. You would get these included at DCL so it is not fair to compare less. Remember these are higher end shows on the cruise and not the Park shows. They are equivalent to Drawn to Life and what you would expect on Broadway, even if a little short, average 45 minutes.

2 quick service breakfast and lunch ($75 per meal), 1 sit down equivalent to the restaurants on the ship ($250 per day - Be Our Guest for example) and snacks $100. Total $450 per day or $3,325 for 7 nights or $3,500. Yes you can eat for less but that is not a fair comparison to what you get on the ship. If you only ate quick service and snacks you may do $325 per day with a total of $2,275. This would save $1,050

Live shows like Drawn to Life $125+ per person average. $500 per show with 4 for the week. $2,000. You get at least 4 live shows on the cruise and maybe a movie. You can skip the shows and save but is that a fair comparison to what you get on the ship? I think not.

The food and entertainment adds $5,500 to the cost bringing the total package to $10,691.99. If you when without shows and only quick service meals that would save you $3,050 making the total $7,641.99. For a little more you get a higher-end experience, relaxation, and the cruise experience. Well worth it to me!

 

This is a fair comparison between the two vacation destinations. DCL is far more inclusive and in fact more budget friendly than WDW in my opinion. You know what the prices are before going. You can plan for the expenses and prepay almost everything.

 

I did not add Port Adventure to the DCL package. Those run from $30-$300 per person depending on the experience. Honestly we usually just stay on the ship or explore the area around the port rather than doing an expensive Port Adventure.

 

I did not add Spa, Adult Dinning, or Alcohol because we don’t usually do it and it is not required to have fun. Spa prices depend on what you are having done, Adult dining runs $50-$300 per person depending on ship, restaurant, Alcohol is $6-$18 per drink average but can go way higher for some specialty drinks.

 

I think DCL is a much better deal. You get all the higher things added in and there are no surprises with added fees! Even the “added things” such as Spa, Adult Dining, and Port Adventures you can budget for them and even prepay by adding funds to your onboard account/folio before boarding. Budgeting for a DCL vacation is a lot easier. And don’t forget to check out Money Saving Tips, such as using a Target Red Card to purchase Disney Gift Cards!

 

This is not to say a DCL vacation is cheap. It is not. This is to show the value of a DCL Vacation. This is a fair comparison between the two destinations. The choice is yours.

 

What is included in your DCL Cruise Fare:

https://pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2023/07/whats-included-in-disney-cruise-fare.html

 

Disney Vacation Money Saving Tips:

https://pixiepranks-panstinkerbell.blogspot.com/2023/06/disney-cruise-line-money-saving-tips.html