ray3127
Life goal = Quarterly vacation
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2018
We are struggling to decide what cruise to book (if any) for early 2025.
We've cruised Disney 3 times before
- 2017, Dream 4 nights
- 2019, Fantasy 7 nights Eastern SWDAS
- 2023, Fantasy 7 nights Western PDAS
We are cruising on Oasis OTS in Feb. 2024, our first venture away from DCL. We are looking forward to trying something different, but also thinking that early 2025 could be a good time for DCL.
We have an OBB that we can use by Feb. 2025, so we are considering the following. Prices are inclusive of the OBB discount, taxes, AND gratuities. All rooms are Deluxe Family OV.
- Wish, $4,855 for 4 nights ... Sea, Lighthouse Point, Castaway Key
- Dream, $4,890 for 5 nights ... Nassau, Castaway, Lighthouse Point, Sea
- Treasure, $7,183 for 7 nights ... Western Caribbean (Castaway, but no Lighthouse Point)
As bad as this sounds, we felt a little "meh" on our 2023 Fantasy cruise. A lot of "been there, done that," even though it had been 4 years. So if we do DCL, we'd really like it to be something different. This means new ship and/or new private island.
Obviously the Wish checks both boxes. However, the Wish is only 4 nights, which feels waaaaaay too short. It was fine for our first cruise, but since then we feel like we're weeklong cruisers.
The Treasure is 7 nights on a new ship, which is awesome. But then we miss out on Lighthouse Point.
(Then there's the general consensus that people don't like the Wish. Since Treasure will be the same general layout, this is concerning.)
The Dream is a bit longer than the Wish at 5 nights, and we get both private islands. But like I said, we're ready for a different type/class of ship.
So we have to compromise somewhere.
Total wildcard: forget Disney altogether and try one of the new Carnival ships. Same dates as the Treasure cruise gets us 7 nights on the Mardi Gras (ports at Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau) for $3,421. That's inclusive of all costs in a Balcony room. Literally less than half the price. Will it be a Disney cruise? Of course not. But's it's LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE.
Our kids would be 10 & 7 at the time of this cruise. I feel like we have a few more years to focus on Disney, and Carnival may be a better fit down the road. But still, the Carnival price is attractive. And I'm sure they'd have a good time on the Mardi Gras.
I've gone round and round in my head (and on my spreadsheets) with this, and can't make a decision. Your thoughts are appreciated!
We've cruised Disney 3 times before
- 2017, Dream 4 nights
- 2019, Fantasy 7 nights Eastern SWDAS
- 2023, Fantasy 7 nights Western PDAS
We are cruising on Oasis OTS in Feb. 2024, our first venture away from DCL. We are looking forward to trying something different, but also thinking that early 2025 could be a good time for DCL.
We have an OBB that we can use by Feb. 2025, so we are considering the following. Prices are inclusive of the OBB discount, taxes, AND gratuities. All rooms are Deluxe Family OV.
- Wish, $4,855 for 4 nights ... Sea, Lighthouse Point, Castaway Key
- Dream, $4,890 for 5 nights ... Nassau, Castaway, Lighthouse Point, Sea
- Treasure, $7,183 for 7 nights ... Western Caribbean (Castaway, but no Lighthouse Point)
As bad as this sounds, we felt a little "meh" on our 2023 Fantasy cruise. A lot of "been there, done that," even though it had been 4 years. So if we do DCL, we'd really like it to be something different. This means new ship and/or new private island.
Obviously the Wish checks both boxes. However, the Wish is only 4 nights, which feels waaaaaay too short. It was fine for our first cruise, but since then we feel like we're weeklong cruisers.
The Treasure is 7 nights on a new ship, which is awesome. But then we miss out on Lighthouse Point.
(Then there's the general consensus that people don't like the Wish. Since Treasure will be the same general layout, this is concerning.)
The Dream is a bit longer than the Wish at 5 nights, and we get both private islands. But like I said, we're ready for a different type/class of ship.
So we have to compromise somewhere.
Total wildcard: forget Disney altogether and try one of the new Carnival ships. Same dates as the Treasure cruise gets us 7 nights on the Mardi Gras (ports at Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and Nassau) for $3,421. That's inclusive of all costs in a Balcony room. Literally less than half the price. Will it be a Disney cruise? Of course not. But's it's LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE.
Our kids would be 10 & 7 at the time of this cruise. I feel like we have a few more years to focus on Disney, and Carnival may be a better fit down the road. But still, the Carnival price is attractive. And I'm sure they'd have a good time on the Mardi Gras.
I've gone round and round in my head (and on my spreadsheets) with this, and can't make a decision. Your thoughts are appreciated!