Disney Magic May Be Headed for Stormy Seas Over Cruise Prices

It is now roughly two months until the maiden voyage of the much-awaited, twice-delayed cruise ship known as the Disney Magic, and Disney staffers are insisting that this time--for sure, don’t worry, absolutely, positively--the grand vessel will sail on time.

Far more in doubt than the ship’s start-up date is its reception by the public. Though everyone agrees that the Disney Magic apparently will be a spectacular vessel, a floating palace for children and their families, there are some (like me) who wonder aloud whether the cruise has been overpriced.

The Disney Magic (telephone [800] 511-1333 for bookings, or through travel agents) will make three- and four-night crossings between Port Canaveral, Fla., and the Bahamas, which Disney will sell in combination with either a three-night or four-night stay in Walt Disney World, Orlando. If your Orlando stay is three nights long, you will sail for four nights to and from the Bahamas; if your Orlando visit is for four nights, your sailing will be for three nights. Either way, your vacation will last for seven nights, and that weeklong trip to Florida and vicinity will cost the average family of four upward of $5,600 in high-season periods, including round-trip air fare from a home city.

Though a handful of cabins-combined-with-hotel-rooms (category 12, about 10 staterooms) will enable some lucky foursomes to lower their total costs to about $4,000, the overwhelming percentage of families traveling in school vacation times will pay at least $5,600.

What’s more, meals are not included during that segment of the trip spent on land in Orlando. Adding those meals and other miscellaneous expenses brings the family’s total cost for the one-week Disney vacation to about $5,900. Isn’t that a bit steep?

Carnival Cruises (tel. (800) 327-9501) apparently feels that the Disney price will steer a great many families its way. The giant “fun ship” line has recently placed one of its largest ships, the Fantasy, into Port Canaveral to provide the cruise element of a one-week vacation almost identical to Disney’s: either three or four nights near theme parks in Orlando (including theme park tickets), coupled with four or three nights of a cruise to the Bahamas.

For that one-week combination, in a category with a great many cabins and in high season, Carnival is charging about $2,898 per family of four, not including the cost of air transportation to Florida. Adding, say, about $1,200 for a family’s air tickets from Los Angeles brings their total expenses with Carnival to about $4,098, still considerably below Disney’s.

Meanwhile, the ship that pioneered the combination of a three- or four-night cruise to the Bahamas with a four- or three-night stay in Orlando--it’s called the Big Red Boat, and it’s owned by Premier Cruises (tel. [800] 373-2654)--continues to offer its now-classic seven-night package for about the same as Carnival. The prices are occasionally lowered through various discount promotions that it periodically offers in different markets or for selected dates.

A recent test call for a one-week hotel-and-cruise stay in early August brought a quotation from the Big Red Boat of $2,367 for a family of four, including port charges and theme parks but not air fare. Adding $1,200 for air fares brings the total, $3,567, to considerably under Disney’s rates for an August week. Don’t be surprised if, after the initial flurry of bookings for the first several sailings of the Disney Magic, you begin to see discount offers. How many families will pay $6,000 for a one-week trip to Florida?

This new column from Frommer, the longtime budget travel expert, appears weekly in the Travel section.