$250 Credit Extended into July

[peder]

Lastly Royal Caribbean recently launched the giant Utopia of the Seas in PC and I bet that is taking some of the possible Wish passengers away as well

And Royal is launching Star of the Seas out of Port Canaveral as well. I forget just how many new, massive ships have launched, and how many of them are serving the Caribbean cruise market.

 

[sponica]

DCL wanted their cake and to eat it, too. We just booked the Dream, and it's way cheaper on a cost-per-night than the Treasure, which we were also looking at, and the Dream's itinerary is much better with the two private islands. Probably some evidence that newer ships just by themselves aren't enough of an attraction, that itineraries still matter a great deal. Hopefully this is the start of a realignment of itineraries that includes more interesting destinations overall.

We're on the Treasure in mid/late August....but I booked it back in March 2024 (I think) with a placeholder and we liked the Wish so we wanted the Treasure. If we were more last minute planners, we might make different decisions.

 

[Cfabar1]

I have a few thoughts...

Called today, we did book a September Wish sailing with the Florida VGT rate. Price was very reasonable for a DCL cruise. Some sailings are eligible for the Chase and DVC benefits, but not all of them. The discounts are good, but the sticker price for these cruises is becoming staggering and I think unattainable for many families to even consider.

I think the DCL prices are getting too high overall, and the Wish does have some serious problems. That said, it still is a beautiful ship, and I know we will enjoy being on her again though we prefer the Dream/Fantasy class ships and enjoy the nostalgia of the Magic. I'd still rather be on a Disney ship than RCCL any day of the week...

DCL may need to consider just how many ships can they keep in FL at one time. Brightline makes it easy to get to PE from Orlando now. Also, for those flying down, I would personally rather fly into FLL and sail out of PE than fly into MCO (or MLB?) and have to make my way to PC and then you can sail on the Dream which is (though not always) generally cheaper to sail on than the Wish.

Even the Magic has had a lot of FL resident rates this summer. And, I hear everyone wanting longer and more unique itineraries, but... the 10 night on the Magic is offering FL Resident IGT/OGT rates. If I were DCL I'd be worried about filling the Fantasy next summer.

DCL has had a number of misses lately, all while pushing costs up, but I think the larger issue is the macro environment is not conducive to a massive expansion of supply and a desire for high margins and high costs. That said, I applaud DCL for keeping the ship experience relatively premium, and think that will serve them well over the long run.