What can DCL do to make their pricing "worth it"?

[Jusacuz]

Stepped off the Dream yesterday and for me, I need to sail once on the Fantasy before I give up on Disney Cruises. I would like to see new menus for sure. The food was just okay. I remember my first DCL cruise and the food being really good. Now it's just meh. Nothing was outstanding. If they could invest in better coffee, that would be great also.

I'd also like them to stop emphasizing the need for excellent rating on the comment card. Our asst. server actually pulled us aside before we left the last night and reminded us to rate them excellent. I did not because they weren't. I wouldn't mind paying the ridiculous prices (as much) if I didn't feel that pressure.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I also wish that they would change up the menus and add a better variety of food. Due to health issues, I am essentially vegan and eating on Disney trips is not especially exciting. However, I can understand that. My diet is not what most of America eats, so I can't expect them to specifically cater to my somewhat bizarre eating habits. With that said, food in Palo, Remy and (oddly) Cabanas have been excellent for me.

At the same time, no other cruise line seems to meet my needs either. I did a LOT of research (I'm kind of crazy when it comes to planning trips) and created a giant pricing spreadsheet. We were looking to cruise in January so not peak cruising time. But, with that in mind, given the upcharges that I would have to pay for "premium" food so that I wouldn't be eating a salad for every single meal for 7 days, the price for a soda package (love my one Diet Coke per day, especially out by the pool) and the more expensive alcoholic beverages (one fun cocktail a day on vacation is good for the soul), the cruises on Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity were all within $100-200 of Disney. RCCL was out of the question because my mom had a horrible experience on that line in the past and was cruising with me.

So, for what I was looking for which was the opportunity to eat normal (for me) food, sit on a lounger with no kids around by the pool and go sit on a beach again with no kids around and be on a sparkling clean ship, Disney was the best choice for only slightly more money. I'm in my 20s and my friends are always a little surprised by my decision. But I'm not a big partyer and I don't want to go to a casino. At this point in time, Disney meets my needs exactly. I skip all shows and spend most of my time in the adult pool area/deck and Serenity Bay. When cruising in November/January, I have never had any problem getting and keeping a lounger all day in the sun facing the ocean. I also could care less about the itineraries in the Caribbean except I do love Castaway. A chair on a clean beach with no buskers and someone bringing me a drink? Yes please. I've now been on 3 Disney cruises with one more planned.

Unless Virgin comes out with an amazing business model, as a childless young professional, I'm going to keep choosing Disney for my cruises.

Why would you be buying/pricing out a drink package for unlimited beverages if you're only planning on 1 diet coke a day and 1 alcoholic drink per day. You are aware that you can buy each of those individually. And you wouldn't need to purchase BOTH a soda card and an alcoholic drink package because generally alcohol packages come with soda included.

And you would still need to purchase your alcoholic beverage on Disney so that cost is close to equal on any line.

I know for certain on Carnival, they will work with your Vegan diet to provide you more than salads for meals (personal experience with one of our previous tablemates). And truthfully, I imagine other lines would as well (we have had great experience with some special orders with both Celebrity and Royal). Other cruiselines seem to me, to be just as eager to please as Disney.

If you are going to compare, at least be fair about it. Don't keep piling on costs in an effort to make DCL seem like a better deal.

 

[kollerbear]

Also depends quite a bit on where you live. Salaries vary depending on where you live. There are many middle class families living in NYC that can easily afford a Disney Cruise.

OK... As a couple that was making about $110k in combined income (which, by all stretches of the imagination, is at least a middle class income in this country) and paying $1700/month (a bargain!) for an extremely modest 1 bedroom in Queens and just left New York City because we were priced out of making any of the changes we would need to make in order to start a family... I honestly question the entire idea that there are "many" middle class families living in NYC period. I know very, very few of my peers who are comfortably living in NYC with savings--and even fewer with families.

Not that your point doesn't apply-- now that we've moved out of the city we will probably be able to afford a Disney Cruise within a year of our baby being born. We're having kids in our late 20s/early 30s and haven't invested in the same things that many living outside a metro area would (e.g. haven't bought a house yet, not confident of its value for us in the long run). But I'm just suggesting that "middle class" in a city does NOT inherently mean that you have substantially more disposable income.

 

[perditax]

Stepped off the Dream yesterday and for me, I need to sail once on the Fantasy before I give up on Disney Cruises. I would like to see new menus for sure. The food was just okay. I remember my first DCL cruise and the food being really good. Now it's just meh. Nothing was outstanding. If they could invest in better coffee, that would be great also.

I'd also like them to stop emphasizing the need for excellent rating on the comment card. Our asst. server actually pulled us aside before we left the last night and reminded us to rate them excellent. I did not because they weren't. I wouldn't mind paying the ridiculous prices (as much) if I didn't feel that pressure.

Every time I read one of these I dread my upcoming Dream MDR nights a little bit more.

 

[MillauFr]

OK... As a couple that was making about $110k in combined income (which, by all stretches of the imagination, is at least a middle class income in this country)

Yes being in your late 20s and having kids does put a crimp in your disposable income. I guess our family is just lucky to live in Seattle where the salaries are high, the taxes are low, and cost of living in moderate. I know people don't want move, but when I graduated from college I definitely looked at the ratio between cost of living compared to the salaries. Seattle was near the top, Honolulu was near the bottom.

 

[Berger]

On other lines they charge extra for kids club hours and such (I believe on RCCL it's after 9pm). FOR FREE you get the extended kids club hours, better clubs, better activities in the clubs, etc. And, while it may not be an extra cost on DCL, it's added value to what they offer over other lines (which while not other lines nickel and diming, it's offering less for the money you pay, if that makes sense). I was only addressing your post with my first paragraph. The others were just other reasons DCL is worth it to me. But I could relate them to my post. I can't get the food allergy accommodation on other lines, I get that for free on DCL, see what I mean?[/QUOTE]


Well, how would you feel if they started to charge for the kids club or not provide you with food allergy accommodations after you are PIF or put your deposit down. I would be upset evenCould you still justify the added cost to cruise Disney? DCL now has the attitude to be like the other cruise lines,so you should expect them to offer the same product as the others.

I emailed the CS team of several lines and all of them said that there was no guarantee my allergy could be accommodated nor that they could make safe food for me. Without that, I'm not going to even try. Can't be stuck at sea not able to eat! It has been a couple of years since I last checked, however. I've never had a reaction DCL, though!

 

[kollerbear]

Yes being in your late 20s and having kids does put a crimp in your disposable income. I guess our family is just lucky to live in Seattle where the salaries are high, the taxes are low, and cost of living in moderate. I know people don't want move, but when I graduated from college I definitely looked at the ratio between cost of living compared to the salaries. Seattle was near the top, Honolulu was near the bottom.

I hear you. For us it honestly wasn't so much about crimping our disposable income--we can handle having a minimal disposable income. I have since stopped working (but will begin some online classes this fall). This has cut our disposable income almost entirely but we're able to afford our rent and my husband's commute and our necessities in anticipation of having our first child. However, to stay in the city, it was that relocating to a 2 or 3-BR apartment would have increased our rent to such a ridiculous extent that it would have been almost unthinkable how we would have possibly afforded for me to change my work schedule at all, or to pay for daycare. As it was, our 1.7k/monthly rent put us in a building that ended up changing owners 3 times in our 5 year stay there, and we had a hellish episode of bedbugs that cost us a lot of money as well, which the management companies did a terrible job of addressing. We would have really had a very difficult time finding a 2 or 3 BR apartment large enough for a young family (esp. considering our cats) without having to look at a 2.8-3k rent, if we were lucky. In the six years that I lived in NYC I honestly saw the rents increase so dramatically. I'm sure that, as we vacated the apartment, the management company put that same apartment on the market for 2k+. It was 1.4k when we moved in.

There are a lot of wonderful things about NYC that make it very livable--affordable even--without kids. Transportation is relatively cheap, a lot of good entertainment and resources in relatively good proximity, if you live in Queens, at least, you can get produce very cheaply and a lot of good food for cheap prices. However, once your household gets more complicated, middle class households don't scale well at all. The things that people in the suburbs are able to do to budget and manage their households effectively are often a lot less practical in the city. It's hard to keep a very small space organized so you never buy unnecessary things, it's not practical to stock up on things when they are on sale, to entertain friends cheaply by having them over to your place instead of spending money somewhere at a third party location, to make quick trips to places with cheaper items and to transport daily necessities or household items using your own manpower without paying extra. These are things that I'm sure are true of most cities, but NYC in particular has a REALLY, REALLY bad middle class housing problem.

ETA: Sorry, that was a terrible tangent to go on!! I think my point was that the Disney prices are pretty tough for middle class families to afford no matter where they are from. However, it's possible that families that are starting a little bit later may already be used to spending more of their income on things like vacations from their pre-kid days. That would seem to be the kind of demographic they're counting on.

 

[Bella29]

DCL told me on the Fantasy they had a separate prep area and there should be no cross contamination (though they were not liable if there was). I've never reacted on DCL, even on the Magic, nor at DL or WDW. The difference is that DCL said they had a separate area and could accommodate allergies while the other lines said it was up to me and they couldn't guarantee there would be allergy free offerings. On several cruise boards, DCL is usually mentioned as the best for handling allergies.

I agree that Disney is pretty good at handling allergies and probably far better than some others, but I don't believe they have a separate allergy prep area. Think about it - they would have to have one for no peanuts, one for no eggs, one for no milk, one for no gluten, etc.. And what about people allergic to peanuts and eggs but not gluten? They would need TONS of prep areas, each with its own supply/storage/staff - it would be impossible to do that.

And to address a previous post, we have been told by special services that they do not "guarantee" anything allergy-wise, they just do their best. And they do a pretty good job, but in my experience they have really gone down hill in this service area since 10 years ago when my family started cruising with our food-allergic son. I'm believe that's partly due to the general decline in customer service on DCL and partly due to the massive increase in food allergies, along with an increase in people who claim a food allergy dishonestly.

 

[perditax]

I agree that Disney is pretty good at handling allergies and probably far better than some others, but I don't believe they have a separate allergy prep area. Think about it - they would have to have one for no peanuts, one for no eggs, one for no milk, one for no gluten, etc.. And what about people allergic to peanuts and eggs but not gluten? They would need TONS of prep areas, each with its own supply/storage/staff - it would be impossible to do that.

And to address a previous post, we have been told by special services that they do not "guarantee" anything allergy-wise, they just do their best. And they do a pretty good job, but in my experience they have really gone down hill in this service area since 10 years ago when my family started cruising with our food-allergic son. I'm believe that's partly due to the general decline in customer service on DCL and partly due to the massive increase in food allergies, along with an increase in people who claim a food allergy dishonestly.

I'll throw in the non scientific observation that I see more references to food allergies and intolerances on this forum than on basically every other Internet forum I'm on combined. (And I'm on quite a few regarding food and/or diet.) >.> Disney crowd seems slightly high maintenance.

 

[Ofinn]

OK... As a couple that was making about $110k in combined income (which, by all stretches of the imagination, is at least a middle class income in this country) and paying $1700/month (a bargain!) for an extremely modest 1 bedroom in Queens and just left New York City because we were priced out of making any of the changes we would need to make in order to start a family... I honestly question the entire idea that there are "many" middle class families living in NYC period. I know very, very few of my peers who are comfortably living in NYC with savings--and even fewer with families.

Not that your point doesn't apply-- now that we've moved out of the city we will probably be able to afford a Disney Cruise within a year of our baby being born. We're having kids in our late 20s/early 30s and haven't invested in the same things that many living outside a metro area would (e.g. haven't bought a house yet, not confident of its value for us in the long run). But I'm just suggesting that "middle class" in a city does NOT inherently mean that you have substantially more disposable income.

I know it's hard to believe but at 110k your in the top 18% nation wide. The median household income in this country is around 52k. I'm sure the median income is higher in New York.

 

[Ofinn]

Instead of a discount for adults only, I'd be willing to go for less expensive/smaller staterooms (for 2) that would have non-split smaller bathroom.

They have these 11 a,b and c.

 

[DahliaRW]

I agree that Disney is pretty good at handling allergies and probably far better than some others, but I don't believe they have a separate allergy prep area. Think about it - they would have to have one for no peanuts, one for no eggs, one for no milk, one for no gluten, etc.. And what about people allergic to peanuts and eggs but not gluten? They would need TONS of prep areas, each with its own supply/storage/staff - it would be impossible to do that.

And to address a previous post, we have been told by special services that they do not "guarantee" anything allergy-wise, they just do their best. And they do a pretty good job, but in my experience they have really gone down hill in this service area since 10 years ago when my family started cruising with our food-allergic son. I'm believe that's partly due to the general decline in customer service on DCL and partly due to the massive increase in food allergies, along with an increase in people who claim a food allergy dishonestly.

On the Dream and Fantasy they have a whole separate kitchen for prepping food for allergies. Not on the Magic or Wonder. Call and ask if you want clarification, but I talked about it with my head server on the Fantasy.

 

[DahliaRW]

I'll throw in the non scientific observation that I see more references to food allergies and intolerances on this forum than on basically every other Internet forum I'm on combined. (And I'm on quite a few regarding food and/or diet.) >.> Disney crowd seems slightly high maintenance.

Or people know Disney is good with allergies, so they come here asking when they are looking to cruise.

 

[Bella29]

On the Dream and Fantasy they have a whole separate kitchen for prepping food for allergies. Not on the Magic or Wonder. Call and ask if you want clarification, but I talked about it with my head server on the Fantasy.

Are you saying they have a separate kitchen for each food allergy their passengers have on the Dream and Fantasy? And you're saying that DCL has guaranteed no cross contamination for your allergy? Because that would all be news to me.

 

[TestingH2O]

I'll throw in the non scientific observation that I see more references to food allergies and intolerances on this forum than on basically every other Internet forum I'm on combined. (And I'm on quite a few regarding food and/or diet.) >.> Disney crowd seems slightly high maintenance.

It's the kid thing. Everyone under the age of 12 is allergic to at least 3 things. Or they are GF because of behavior issues. Or they are lactose intolerant. Or or or.

Like service dogs, there are real needs for precautions due to allergies and then there are some "special" cases that end up making the people not take the real needs seriously.

 

[squirk]

Are you saying they have a separate kitchen for each food allergy their passengers have on the Dream and Fantasy? And you're saying that DCL has guaranteed no cross contamination for your allergy? Because that would all be news to me.

I don't think either are true. Look at all the different allergy checkboxes they have online when making reservations. I don't know 100%, but I"m pretty sure they don't have a "peanut-free" kitchen, a "Celiac's/GF" kitchen, a "shellfish-free" kitchen, etc. I think they probably have just a single kitchen (or maybe a few) that either a.) never have any of the major food allergens in them; or b.) have very discrete stations to avoid cross-contamination.

And DCL has never "guaranteed" my wife anything in terms of cross-contamination. I don't think they would assume that kind of liability. I will echo the sentiment that Disney parks/resorts/ships, far more than any other place we have ever dined, are great about allergy requests.

 

[rcchello]

DCL's price is worth it to sufficient people to fill their ships with enough people to make money and keep operating. In times of economic stress of public fear, DCL has found ways to fill their ships using various discounts. If you watch the boards you will notice that cruise lines will raise fares, until just before the cruise and then offer targeted discounts to fill the last bunch of cabins.

If Disney was having problems filling ships they would be running these constant sales I see from the other cruise lines (free drink packages, free specialty dining, etc.).

What you are talking about is Disney lowering it's profits to make it more accessible to those unwilling to pay their price. If and when Disney has more ships and cannot fill them or has a unpopular itineraries they will adjust their pricing downward. Until then these are the prices.

 

[Ofinn]

It's the kid thing. Everyone under the age of 12 is allergic to at least 3 things. Or they are GF because of behavior issues. Or they are lactose intolerant. Or or or.

Like service dogs, there are real needs for precautions due to allergies and then there are some "special" cases that end up making the people not take the real needs seriously.

Not all kids. My kids don't have any allergies or intolerances.

 

[FloridaBabe]

On the Dream and Fantasy they have a whole separate kitchen for prepping food for allergies. Not on the Magic or Wonder. Call and ask if you want clarification, but I talked about it with my head server on the Fantasy.

Having done the galley tours, there was no separate kitchen, there was a dedicated working area where all the allergy tickets were pinned up.

 

[over50visits]

OP:

If we presume that DCL will never get into a price war with RCCL, NCL or Carnival for "family market" dollars (meaning they will never drop their base fares substantially, if at all), what can they do to make the hefty DCL premium "worth it"?

Register in the United States, and treat your crew to the American protection and respect they deserve. Lots of things will result from that significant and honest action. Word will get around that Disney is something special, not "industry standard."