DCL carry-on alcohol policy changing Sept. 30 2015

[mmouse37]

Why do you think they changed their minds back in 2011, then?

I think they were testing the waters and were not really ready yet. Since then they have probably crunched the numbers enough to realize it is worth pursuing to go ahead and make the change.

MJ

 

[godde8ss]

Why do you think they changed their minds back in 2011, then?

Good thought...I would say social media has come along way in even 4 short years, more people utilize on a daily basis, even those from older generations... So, what was it that made the difference then?

 

[JimmyV]

I sometimes wonder how many people who say Disney is unsurpassed in customer service have really explored other options. I find they have successes and flubs like every other line.

I mentioned this in a post on the Strategies Board. For the price that people are paying at many of the Disney resorts, they could easily afford to stay at Four Seasons, St. Regis or Ritz Carltons in many places around the world. And if you don't think that you are going to get "Disney level service" or better at these places, you are kidding yourself. Disney level service is not as unique as people like to think it is. Perhaps it is just unique within the circles that they run in. But if people pay Disney prices to stay at nice resorts in other parts of the country or world, they will be pleasantly surprised to find that good service is fairly widespread. As for service on the cruise ships, all cruise lines use third party hiring agencies from which they draw their employees. There is no special pool of applicants for Disney. Your waiter who is working on the Magic could just as easily have been hired by Royal Caribbean. And maybe next year he will be. Or maybe last year he was.

 

[bumbershoot]

Your waiter who is working on the Magic could just as easily have been hired by Royal Caribbean. And maybe next year he will be. Or maybe last year he was.

Yep.

 

[jpeppers]

I mentioned this in a post on the Strategies Board. For the price that people are paying at many of the Disney resorts, they could easily afford to stay at Four Seasons, St. Regis or Ritz Carltons in many places around the world. And if you don't think that you are going to get "Disney level service" or better at these places, you are kidding yourself. Disney level service is not as unique as people like to think it is. Perhaps it is just unique within the circles that they run in. But if people pay Disney prices to stay at nice resorts in other parts of the country or world, they will be pleasantly surprised to find that good service is fairly widespread. As for service on the cruise ships, all cruise lines use third party hiring agencies from which they draw their employees. There is no special pool of applicants for Disney. Your waiter who is working on the Magic could just as easily have been hired by Royal Caribbean. And maybe next year he will be. Or maybe last year he was.

Yes, I finally turned away from staying on site and driving to the park. For the same price as I pay for a value resort I can stay at the Fantasy World resort a couple of miles from DTD and I have access to a zero entry pool with very large lazy river and 2 huge water slides and a ton of amenities and I also end up with a 2 BR condo with W/D and 2 bathrooms with screened in porch. They also have an awesome pool bar where I pay $2 for a Beer during the 3 hour happy hour, I believe that same Beer would cost me at least $6 in Disney. I love Disney but there comes a time when they are just taking too much. If I was doing a vacation in Orlando at a park it would be Universal/BG/SW because you can still do those a little more affordable. They still have me for my next cruise but they might have lost me after that, you can find service just as good at other places now that are a way better value.

 

[Grumpy_74]

Yes, I finally turned away from staying on site and driving to the park. For the same price as I pay for a value resort I can stay at the Fantasy World resort a couple of miles from DTD and I have access to a zero entry pool with very large lazy river and 2 huge water slides and a ton of amenities and I also end up with a 2 BR condo with W/D and 2 bathrooms with screened in porch. They also have an awesome pool bar where I pay $2 for a Beer during the 3 hour happy hour, I believe that same Beer would cost me at least $6 in Disney. I love Disney but there comes a time when they are just taking too much. If I was doing a vacation in Orlando at a park it would be Universal/BG/SW because you can still do those a little more affordable. They still have me for my next cruise but they might have lost me after that, you can find service just as good at other places now that are a way better value.

This is so true and ironic as I was just having this discussion with friends. They are all DVC, which is great for them, it works. I love Disney, and have taken my son more times than I care to admit. With that said though, he has never stayed on property, much to these same friends dismay and amazement. I always rent a house off site, for many reasons. First and foremost is cost. We go for 2 weeks at a time, and I go to other places besides Disney when we are in Orlando. Yes, I have to pay for parking when I then drive to the parks. But, the $150 or so that I pay to park at Disney doesn't even touch the difference in what I am paying for the house. We always get a 4-5 bedroom house, with pool and hot tub, and we often times have friends and family come stay with us for some or all of our vacation. Even if I am paying for the whole house alone, the actual cost is less than me staying at a value for the same length of time. I know - gasp - we are losing out on the Disney bubble by not staying on property But - this works for us. I get what I feel is more bang for my buck, and quite honestly since I travel for work frequently, I loathe staying in hotels. At the end of the day, it's what works best for you and yours.

I do have our cruise next spring booked, and it's one that has been promised to my son for a while - he's been dying to go to Vibe since he saw it on one of the Disney Cruise shows. So, we will fulfill that and let him experience what he wants. In the meantime, I'm researching all else out there for our Alaskan cruise. At this point in time, I don't believe I will ever do another Disney cruise, unless some things change drastically and they provide more bang for the extra buck it is costing me. If not, that's OK, there are plenty of other options for me. And maybe, just maybe, when I cruise next year, I'll be so absolutely blown away that I won't want to consider anyone else, as much as I doubt that will happen.

#dclprohibitiongate2015

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think they were testing the waters and were not really ready yet. Since then they have probably crunched the numbers enough to realize it is worth pursuing to go ahead and make the change.

MJ

I think you're onto something with this line of thought. Judging by the bookings (Dream in September) vs past years at the same time and the fact that there haven't been discounts on those sailings.... Disney must see their bookings at a level they can afford the few who will stop cruising with them because of this change. The numbers of people who will actually walk away because of this are likely far outnumbered by new cruisers who are probably still totally trippin' out over "free" soda. LOL!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I still think part of this is the passengers that were very opening abusing the system. With bookings up our right sweet pea, they may have felt now is the time to stop it!.

Disappointing in any case.

AKK

 

[perdidobay]

I find the service getting better, the food getting better, more activities being introduced, refurbishments, etc. Yes, they took some things away but OVERALL they are a great product. Any business is going to evolve over the years or they would be stuck in a rut. Disney has such a loyal following that I think some feel any change is sacrilegious. I am not trying to convince anyone on the merits of DCL but I know I enjoy the cruises VERY much and you may feel that way too once you get to cruise with them.

I also can't wait to take my grandchildren (just had 2 in 2 months!!!) on their first DCL cruise next year and see it all anew through their eyes as I did when my kids were first onboard!!

MJ

It is funny how two people can have two totally opposite views on things. I feel over the years DCL has gone downhill and stopped being the most innovative cruise line, that their service has gone down somewhat, and the food and menus have become repetitive and bland. The shows and adult entertainment are stuck in a rut in my opinion. All they have over other cruise lines are the Disney characters.
I have done half the cruises you have on DCL MJ, yet am so tired of the same old same old on the ships. Maybe it's because unlike you, I'm not emotional invested in Disney. And also, I assume you get cast member discounts, do you still work for TDS? At the prices I pay, I sure don't feel the love anymore. To each their own I guess.

 

[turtle27]

Perhaps you and others who are not pleased with the new policy could send a letter/email to DCL and tell them how you feel. Many of us have and even if it does not make a difference, it lets the policy-makers know that their customers are not happy.

I have sent them a letter. I have received a call back, but am working until 8pm at night, so I would really rather them e-mail me back. I will write and call and sign all I can. This has still left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

[steves100]

It's so fun saying things like that, because even in the back of your own mind you hear "denial is the first sign of a problem" LOL.

One time I had a massive reaction to 4 beers over the course of over 4 hours, back in my 20s when I felt like doing things like that. The reaction caused me to stop drinking for nearly a year, and I went to an AA meeting just to see. And when I said "no, I actually don't think I have a problem", woo that was fun. (still never figured out what caused the reaction but it's never happened again)



Why do you feel people (other than DCL) want it quited down? There's a nearly 70 page thread about it, a 13ish page poll, just here. That's not quiet.



So as I came to the DCL page about 10 minutes ago I saw about 15 threads about signing a petition. Spamming the boards will ALWAYS get things taken down. If the actual link isn't allowed, well there are lots of URLs that aren't allowed for various reasons. If that particular one isn't allowed, it isn't allowed.



Who knows? How could we know? Can we do anything about it?



Definitely with you there. I think all of Disney thinks its better than it is, even while making themselves worse and worse...

AA after 4 beers WOW : )

 

[steves100]

I love Celebrity! its my mass market cruise line of choice! I enjoy the styling and use of space on the ships.

That being said, I think cruise food is generally all the same. You get a high volume of mediocre food.

I also think that on any given ship with any given crew (within any line) you can have from higher than average food and service to food and service that makes you go "what the?"

Disney IMO is not immune to this. I really think that Disney have given people a form of Stockholm Syndrome where they believe in the superiority of the product/service based on marketing and reputation from a different era.

I sometimes wonder how many people who say Disney is unsurpassed in customer service have really explored other options. I find they have successes and flubs like every other line.

I kind of agree. We had ordered off the menu for ever for our daughter, calamari appetizer. On our last cruise we were told no we could not do that. So the one time I asked for the head server, he also said the same thing. I explained on that on the previous 7 other cruses we did this and didnt have an issue. We werent trying to be special, it just something we like to do.

In the end it did happen but we didnt feel very good about the experience.

 

[steves100]

All my friends did not know about his FEATURE. The all loved the idea when I told them. The real problem with them removing this is they are hurting a very small percent of people who really like the privilege.

 

[steves100]

Yes, I finally turned away from staying on site and driving to the park. For the same price as I pay for a value resort I can stay at the Fantasy World resort a couple of miles from DTD and I have access to a zero entry pool with very large lazy river and 2 huge water slides and a ton of amenities and I also end up with a 2 BR condo with W/D and 2 bathrooms with screened in porch. They also have an awesome pool bar where I pay $2 for a Beer during the 3 hour happy hour, I believe that same Beer would cost me at least $6 in Disney. I love Disney but there comes a time when they are just taking too much. If I was doing a vacation in Orlando at a park it would be Universal/BG/SW because you can still do those a little more affordable. They still have me for my next cruise but they might have lost me after that, you can find service just as good at other places now that are a way better value.

You know Disney does have the Vacation club with all the same immensities. It has worked out great for us, but, we got in a long time ago

 

[turtle27]

Also want to say that I do think DCL is going downhill. From my first cruise in 2007, where the food was wonderful, fresh, and new. Now, it is dated, the SAME items, and at times, just bleh. Especially the desserts. Then, the shows. I fell asleep during Toy Story. It was that bad. I was not tired. I wanted to be entertained. It failed to do so. I thought the Golden Mickey's were, well, I'll just leave it as not up my alley. The shows are stale and dated. Some ships have better shows than others, but they are not all that different. The Villains production is probably my favorite. For the price we pay, DCL can afford to change the productions every 2-3 years. Not every 10....

DCL service. We have had both wonderful and mediocre. We almost did not feel any Disney magic on our Fantasy cruise. There was some, just not as great as earlier experiences.

Itineraries and pricing are not in line with other cruise lines. I can sell myself on paying more because it is Disney, to a point. At some point, I have to sit down and look at what benefits I utilize, versus what I am paying and asking is it worth it to me? Now, maybe, just maybe, DCL has something really spectacular planned that will just blow my mind and I will think, hey, it was worth giving up A-M to have N. Or I may think, nope, not for me. Right now, I just see them take take take, and so far have not replaced anything or even offered to make it right.

 

[wcw57]

we are fulfilling our grandparental obligations by taking our OTHER grandkids on the DCL....we LOVED it before and, undoubtedly, will again.

However, that is prob our LAST dcl cruise....we will continue to do wdw and most other things disney. BUT the kids will have had the experience, they will get older, and other cruise lines will be just as much fun....dollar for dollar, it makes no sense for us to return, as much as i would love to.

 

[Grumpy_74]

I have sent them a letter. I have received a call back, but am working until 8pm at night, so I would really rather them e-mail me back. I will write and call and sign all I can. This has still left a sour taste in my mouth.

I'm glad to hear (see) you say this - I think Disney is just waiting for everyone to give up. Again, not saying stuff such as the petition that has been started will truly make a difference, but if we don't all sign it and voice our concerns, that's a guarantee that it will NEVER change to our benefit.

#dclprohibitiongate2015

 

[godde8ss]

I have sent them a letter. I have received a call back, but am working until 8pm at night, so I would really rather them e-mail me back. I will write and call and sign all I can. This has still left a sour taste in my mouth.

I think they will never email back because they do not want some of these responses in writing...In the thread titled Did you write Disney a letter concerning the change? A poster stated they received a call where the cast member indicated they were removing the alcohol because children were drinking it? Another person was told to "buy the drink of the day" when she stressed budget concerns ...They are not going to take the chance of putting ridiculous, unofficial statements like that in writing. I have written and written, and like you, I work long hours. I also have children to take care of and don't want to spend time on the phone talking in circles...I did receive a call and it was lack luster. I posted about that somewhere within this thread. #dclprohibitiongate2015

 

[PizzieDuster]

AA after 4 beers WOW : )

AA doesn't require a drinking limit nor do they care. It's the fact that person showed up. No one goes into an AA meeting skipping and laughing. For whatever reason - this person felt the need to go. I admire that. Even if it was after 1 beer.

 

[steves100]

AA doesn't require a drinking limit nor do they care. It's the fact that person showed up. No one goes into an AA meeting skipping and laughing. For whatever reason - this person felt the need to go. I admire that. Even if it was after 1 beer.

It was just a joke, I wasnt trying to make fun of the guy