Shopping for a Disney cruise looks a little different now. Disney Cruise Line prices on the booking site now show an average cost per person instead of the total price for a stateroom.
Before the change, the site showed the lowest total cabin price up front when guests searched for sailings. Now, the first number guests see is a per person figure, and the full cabin total doesn’t appear until the final step of picking a stateroom.
Promotional savings follow the same pattern. Discounts are now shown per person, too, which makes them look smaller than they would as a cabin total, but it also makes it harder to compare the real cost of a trip at a glance.
The change arrives right after a big moment for the line. Disney Believe bookings opened to all guests on October 19 after the ship’s maiden voyage sold out, so many families are browsing sailings right now.
Here’s what the switch means for anyone pricing out a trip.
Why Disney Cruise Line Prices Look Lower Now
A per person price is usually a smaller number than a cabin total, especially for families of three or four. That can make a sailing look cheaper on the first screen, even though the final cost hasn’t changed.
Plenty of other cruise lines already use per person pricing, so Disney is moving closer to the rest of the industry. Still, longtime Disney cruisers who were used to seeing the total right away may need to adjust how they shop.
Disney’s newer ships tend to sell quickly once bookings open, so many families compare several sailings at once. A per person number on the first screen makes that quick comparison a little less clear, since cabin sizes and guest counts can vary from search to search.
The change doesn’t affect what guests pay. It only changes which number shows up first, so the final price for the same stateroom and sailing should match what it would’ve been before.
How to Compare Disney Cruise Line Prices
The easiest fix is to go all the way to the stateroom selection step for each sailing you’re considering. That’s where the full cabin total shows up, so it’s the best number to compare across dates and ships.
One of the pools on the deck of the Disney Wish Cruise Ship – Photo Credit: M. Montanaro
It also helps to multiply the per person price by the number of guests in your party for a rough estimate.
Families with kids should pay extra attention, since third and fourth guest pricing can be different and the per person average can hide how much the price changes when they’re added to the room. The cabin total is still the number that counts.
Disney hasn’t commented publicly on why it made the change. With Disney Believe and its other new ships drawing a lot of interest, though, more families will be running into the new Disney Cruise Line prices as they plan their next vacation.
Do you prefer seeing cruise prices per person or as a cabin total? Let us know in the comments.
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