DCL Changes

[2prettygirl]

The last time we cruised DCL was January 2014 and we absolutely LOVED IT!! We loved how you could purchase alcohol at port and bring back to your room, no hassle of trying to get it on last day of cruise, etc. We loved being able to get all the character signatures by sending a pillowcase through guest services. I have heard these 2 things are no longer available through DCL. Can anyone tell me what else may have changed recently?

We are going to be rebooking soon and just looking for things that may be a touch different now.

Thanks!

 

[lanejudy]

Well... many businesses change, especially over the course of a couple of years. These are some more recent changes that pop to mind:

• no more Mickey Mail (character signatures) though Guest Services
• alcohol policy has changed -- maximum 2 bottles of wine or champagne OR 6 bottles of beer at embarkation and each port stop
• meet and greet tickets (free) for Princess Gatherings and Frozen characters
• OBB placeholder for $250 instead of dummy bookings
• onboard bookings must take place within 24 months
• black out dates apply to OBBs
• no more All Hands on Deck cheese platter through Room Service
• no exceptions to the minimum age of 3 for the Oceaneers Club/Lab
• no exceptions to the maximum age limits for all kids club spaces
• potty-trained no longer a requirement for the Club/Lab
• MagicBand-style bracelets in use for the Club/Lab
• recommended tips automatically charged to your stateroom account but can be adjusted at Guest Services
• auto-gratuity of 18% for all Spa services
• no more "Afternoon High Tea"
• possibly no more "Tea with... [Alice/princess/etc.]" on the Classic ships
• possibly changes to the character breakfast on the Classic ships (I think the Wonder may still do one but it is a ticketed event, not sure if the Magic has one at all, Fantasy may have a ticketed one with Disney Jr. characters)
• there is some form of BBB on the Magic and the Dream as well as the Fantasy now
• all 4 ships have mini fridges in the staterooms
• queen-size beds cannot be split on any ship
• arcades have been removed from some, if not all 4, ships
• the Dream has a few new features -- candy/sweets shop, Star Wars in the Club, a family water play area
• upcharge for Palo may have increased
• upcharges for some additional items at Palo and Remy as well as for some bar food menus

I'm sure there are more that others can point out.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Well... many businesses change, especially over the course of a couple of years. These are some more recent changes that pop to mind:

• no more Mickey Mail (character signatures) though Guest Services
• alcohol policy has changed -- maximum 2 bottles of wine or champagne OR 6 bottles of beer at embarkation and each port stop
• meet and greet tickets (free) for Princess Gatherings and Frozen characters
• OBB placeholder for $250 instead of dummy bookings
• onboard bookings must take place within 24 months
• black out dates apply to OBBs
• no more All Hands on Deck cheese platter through Room Service
• no exceptions to the minimum age of 3 for the Oceaneers Club/Lab
• no exceptions to the maximum age limits for all kids club spaces
• potty-trained no longer a requirement for the Club/Lab
• MagicBand-style bracelets in use for the Club/Lab
• recommended tips automatically charged to your stateroom account but can be adjusted at Guest Services
• auto-gratuity of 18% for all Spa services
• no more "Afternoon High Tea"
• possibly no more "Tea with... [Alice/princess/etc.]" on the Classic ships
• possibly changes to the character breakfast on the Classic ships (I think the Wonder may still do one but it is a ticketed event, not sure if the Magic has one at all, Fantasy may have a ticketed one with Disney Jr. characters)
• there is some form of BBB on the Magic and the Dream as well as the Fantasy now
• all 4 ships have mini fridges in the staterooms
• queen-size beds cannot be split on any ship
• arcades have been removed from some, if not all 4, ships
• the Dream has a few new features -- candy/sweets shop, Star Wars in the Club, a family water play area
• upcharge for Palo may have increased
• upcharges for some additional items at Palo and Remy as well as for some bar food menus

I'm sure there are more that others can point out.

Enjoy your cruise!

Wow, nice list!

 

[lanejudy]

Wow, nice list!

I was surprised how many things I came up with! I won't guarantee all were since Jan.2014, but I think so.

 

[islandsnoopy]

There's no arcade on the Dream. Vanellope's Sweet and Treats opened in Oct 2015 in its place. The arcade is still on the Fantasy.

 

[lillygator]

How much is palo brunch and dinner and what are the hours for both?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How much is palo brunch and dinner and what are the hours for both?

Both meals are now $30 per person. Dinner hours are typically 6:0:-8:30. Not sure about brunch, but we've always done it at 10:30.

 

[summerskye]

For what it's worth, I sent this email to guest services. I am sure I will get the standard call explaining how the changes are good blah blah blah

I just wanted to express my disappointment with the recent changes. Some I understand but most I don't. Everyone say that DCL is different due to the little things. Well it seems to me that the little things are now either disappearing or becoming a "nickle & dime" situation. Please do not respond with "in line with industry standards". If I wanted industry standard I would have saved thousands and tried another cruise line.

Changes:

no more Mickey Mail (character signatures) though Guest Services
alcohol policy has changed -- maximum 2 bottles of wine or champagne OR 6 bottles of beer at embarkation and each port stop
meet and greet tickets (free) for Princess Gatherings and Frozen characters
OBB placeholder for $250 instead of dummy bookings
onboard bookings must take place within 24 months
black out dates apply to OBBs
no more All Hands on Deck cheese platter through Room Service
no exceptions to the minimum age of 3 for the Oceaneers Club/Lab
no exceptions to the maximum age limits for all kids club spaces
potty-trained no longer a requirement for the Club/Lab
MagicBand-style bracelets in use for the Club/Lab
recommended tips automatically charged to your stateroom account but can be adjusted at Guest Services
auto-gratuity of 18% for all Spa services
no more "Afternoon High Tea"
possibly no more "Tea with... [Alice/princess/etc.]" on the Classic ships
possibly changes to the character breakfast on the Classic ships (I think the Wonder may still do one but it is a ticketed event, not sure if the Magic has one at all, Fantasy may have a ticketed one with Disney Jr. characters)
there is some form of BBB on the Magic and the Dream as well as the Fantasy now
all 4 ships have mini fridges in the staterooms
queen-size beds cannot be split on any ship
arcades have been removed from some, if not all 4, ships
the Dream has a few new features -- candy/sweets shop, Star Wars in the Club, a family water play area
upcharge for Palo may have increased
upcharges for some additional items at Palo and Remy as well as for some bar food menus

The latest change to the cheese platter really bothers me. Such a simple item is no longer available. Now the only option is the $38 gift platter. WOW

It sure would be nice to see some added items instead of things being removed. Again, I understand some. But really a simple cheese plate.

Come on Disney, where is the magic, where is the Pixie Dust, where is the difference that use to make Disney Disney...

 

[lanejudy]

Sorry, let me caveat that I did not make that list as strictly negative or bad changes. I consider some to be positive changes, some just changes (not negative or positive), and yeah some may be construed as negative. Others may disagree with what is positive or negative on any given point. I guess how one views a change may depend on expectations and personal viewpoint.

 

[summerskye]

I understand. And I appreciate the list. I used it as a reference to the changes. Like I said in my email, I understand some. I agree that some are positive changes as well as many being negative. I am just frustrated with the fact that "in my opinion" there seems to be more negative vs positive.

 

[wilkeliza]

I understand. And I appreciate the list. I used it as a reference to the changes. Like I said in my email, I understand some. I agree that some are positive changes as well as many being negative. I am just frustrated with the fact that "in my opinion" there seems to be more negative vs positive.

I'll admit it will be hard for you to judge anything since you haven't gone on your first DCL cruise yet. I have to imagine that once they look up your name and see that is the case you'll get a response that you have to come on board and see for yourself.

I still think DCL provides a service above and beyond what I got on Carnival and Norwegian. RCL boats are just have too much going on for me. If I wanted a theme park I'd go to a theme park. I take a cruise to relax and live on ocean time.

 

[summerskye]

I'll admit it will be hard for you to judge anything since you haven't gone on your first DCL cruise yet. I have to imagine that once they look up your name and see that is the case you'll get a response that you have to come on board and see for yourself.

I still think DCL provides a service above and beyond what I got on Carnival and Norwegian. RCL boats are just have too much going on for me. If I wanted a theme park I'd go to a theme park. I take a cruise to relax and live on ocean time.

You may be right. I am not changing my plans on taking the cruise. I am still looking forward to it. My expectations are from reading the boards and talking to others who have been. That being said, I was looking forward to some particular things that have changed since making my reservation. Is it enough to make me change my trip, no. Am I somewhat disappointed, yes.

 

[2prettygirl]

You may be right. I am not changing my plans on taking the cruise. I am still looking forward to it. My expectations are from reading the boards and talking to others who have been. That being said, I was looking forward to some particular things that have changed since making my reservation. Is it enough to make me change my trip, no. Am I somewhat disappointed, yes.

Don't be disappointed......I don't like the idea of the changes but sometimes change is a good thing! We really did enjoy our cruise in 2014 and definitely look forward to cruising again. I just wish that for the price, some of those additional special perks were still included.

 

[summerskye]

Don't be disappointed......I don't like the idea of the changes but sometimes change is a good thing! We really did enjoy our cruise in 2014 and definitely look forward to cruising again. I just wish that for the price, some of those additional special perks were still included.

This is exactly what I am saying. Everyone says it's the little thing that make Disney different. Some of those lost little things look like they would have made for a more enjoyable experience, IMHO.

I am sure we will enjoy the cruise.

 

[wilkeliza]

For at least one change listed here I believe it has been that way for awhile. We have always either prepaid our tips or it was added to our on board account when we got onboard. We have been sailing Disney since 2012.

The tickets for the meet and greets make things so much easier! It was awful the one time we tried to do the princess gathering as adults. I saw little kids standing there for an hour just to meet them so we didn't even bother getting in line. Next time my friends and I got tickets and only waited 5 minutes. We also were able to meet Anna and Elsa with very little wait. To me that made the cruise much more enjoyable and we have some great photos from the meet and greets.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

For at least one change listed here I believe it has been that way for awhile. We have always either prepaid our tips or it was added to our on board account when we got onboard. We have been sailing Disney since 2012.

Well, you could always pre-pay gratuities, but DCL didn't start automatically adding them to the onboard accounts until something like 3-4 years ago. Started on the Med cruises where, apparently, tipping isn't as prevalent as here in the US, or at least other cruise lines add the tips automatically and those cruisers weren't aware that CMs weren't being tipped.

 

[DisneyMom70]

Regarding the tickets for Meet and Greets. This also includes the character breakfast on the Wonder. I have to say, that was the worst experience of my Alaska Cruise. The Wonder doesn't have as many passengers, and it was only about 3/4 full. That being said, I was in line for at least an hour and a half to get tickets to the character breakfast. As well as Disney does lines, this was HORRIBLE. Of course, it was right when we boarded, so no cell phone but also no wave phones. My family couldn't understand where I was, as I had just said "running to get the breakfast tickets." We could not believe it took so long, and that was such a waste of the afternoon. I guess you could risk what was left over by going later. In the end, I was glad I got them, but that process needs to change. It should be added to things you can sign up for before the cruise.

 

[cruisehopeful]

This also includes the character breakfast on the Wonder. I have to say, that was the worst experience of my Alaska Cruise.

When was this? My Alaska sailing was in 2012 and my server told me at dinner one night to come to the same restaurant for a character breakfast in the morning. I'm wondering if it turned into a ticket event after that. How odd if it did, as my experience was really easy and nice.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

When was this? My Alaska sailing was in 2012 and my server told me at dinner one night to come to the same restaurant for a character breakfast in the morning. I'm wondering if it turned into a ticket event after that. How odd if it did, as my experience was really easy and nice.

Yes, the character breakfast has changed. Time was that everyone was assigned to a specific seating (based on their dinner rotation) in Parrot Cay for the character breakfast. Recently, not a lot of people were showing up for those meals. DCL changed the breakfast to a ticketed (free) event. You pick up tickets for it once onboard. There's really no reason to stand in a giant line for it. The dining room is fairly large, just stop by later in the afternoon (after all the other people have stood in a giant line) and see if there are still tickets left.

Another change - most of the character breakfasts are now Disney Jr. characters, not the Fab 5 (or 6).

 

[cruisehopeful]

Another change - most of the character breakfasts are now Disney Jr. characters, not the Fab 5 (or 6)

Oh, I wouldn't have any idea who any of those are. I guess it won't be worth my time to go to it next time.