7 Night Sailings Turned into 4 Night

[DisneYE]

Yet people do it constantly for Dream sailings- 7 day sailings get a very different clientele than the 3/4 day sailings-

true but the 4-day crowd tends to be more either newbies or local Floridians/Georgians... the 7-day crowd is more ppl from either out of state, international or seasoned customers.. It would imagine it's a big turnoff for a lot of ppl to see their original desired 7-night schedules cut almost in half. If I'm flying into FL from 3+ hour away destination, no way I'm only doing a 3-4 night.

 

[sethschroeder]

Often they link to a park visit. I think the challenge for people trying to zig to that instead with their flights for the 7-night will be hotel availability. I suspect (this is a spitball) many DCL cruisers prefer on-property.

See if this was a normal September I would have possibly looked to at WDW (if they brought back APs in time). Issue is you have the 50th incoming and it just seems absolutely bonkers at WDW right now. So I will tackle that beast in January with for sure APs in hand.

It depends on how many people are sailing. For a party of 2, gratuities on a 4-night cruise are only about $100. A meal at Palo for 2 would be another $100. Still plenty of spending cash left. Even if it were a family of four, it's unlikely that all 4 would be over 18 & able to dine at Palo. So it doesn't disappear that easily unless you're drinkers or tend to buy a lot of souvenirs.

Issue is you have 7 nights of Palo/Remy and 3 sea days of Palo/Remy that they need to consolidate to a 4 night and 1 sea day cruise. They are going to have to bump people and people without a reservation already are out of luck. Additionally those with kids possibly can't even get the kids in to a club to be able to do dinner.

 

[kathi]

See if this was a normal September I would have possibly looked to at WDW (if they brought back APs in time). Issue is you have the 50th incoming and it just seems absolutely bonkers at WDW right now. So I will tackle that beast in January with for sure APs in hand.



Issue is you have 7 nights of Palo/Remy and 3 sea days of Palo/Remy that they need to consolidate to a 4 night and 1 sea day cruise. They are going to have to bump people and people without a reservation already are out of luck. Additionally those with kids possibly can't even get the kids in to a club to be able to do dinner.

Maybe they can offer the brunch on Castaway Days? It's their own Island so maybe that does not violate port agreements?

And we have the exact issue with WDW. We have one night on 10/2 and 2 days of park tickets, but now we have 3 days before that open. It's a coordination nightmare. If I could get my $ back for the park tickets, I'd just cancel and go home.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Maybe they can offer the brunch on Castaway Days? It's their own Island so maybe that does not violate port agreements?

I don’t think it’s a port agreement issue preventing Palo brunch on a port day. We’ve done Palo brunch multiple times in Nassau on the Magic. I think the issue is staffing the restaurant when at Castaway. I’ve certainly seen Palo staff working lunch at Serenity Bay lunch on a least a couple of cruises.

 

[mevelandry]

**Edited** I did not read correctly... At first I thought they only gave 400$ OBC to replace 3 nights!

That's disappointing but I am sure a lot of people will want to book for the double dip and with the money you get back, you can do a very nice Land & Sea.

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

I'm so glad that I went ahead and changed my dates last week. I was booked on a B2B for the 11th and 18th which obviously wouldn't have worked out. I guarantee that prices thru 9/2022 went up again just as soon as this was announced. I rescheduled mine just in time.

 

[jrapps]

Maybe they can offer the brunch on Castaway Days? It's their own Island so maybe that does not violate port agreements?

And we have the exact issue with WDW. We have one night on 10/2 and 2 days of park tickets, but now we have 3 days before that open. It's a coordination nightmare. If I could get my $ back for the park tickets, I'd just cancel and go home.

For what it is worth, we are on the Dream 9/3 sailing and we have Brunch on the 2nd Castaway day, so they definitely CAN do it.

 

[sethschroeder]

For what it is worth, we are on the Dream 9/3 sailing and we have Brunch on the 2nd Castaway day, so they definitely CAN do it.

Wait how did you get that?

 

[jrapps]

Wait how did you get that?

We do Brunch on the Nassau day every time we are on the Dream (3-day cruises). When they changed them to Double Dips, they moved our brunch from Day 2 to Day 3, the 2nd Castaway day.

 

[sethschroeder]

We do Brunch on the Nassau day every time we are on the Dream (3-day cruises). When they changed them to Double Dips, they moved our brunch from Day 2 to Day 3, the 2nd Castaway day.

Thanks for the tip I was able to grab a Palo Brunch I didn't know was an option. Made my night after having to change all our plans this morning.

 

[jrapps]

Thanks for the tip I was able to grab a Palo Brunch I didn't know was an option. Made my night after having to change all our plans this morning.

That's awesome! Glad I could help!

 

[lilmc]

Suggested gratuities for a 4 night cruise for 2 people is $108. We have never done Palo or Remy, and enjoy MDR, so we weren't planning on picking up any of those reservations.

Any remaining balance from the OBC just assign to the serving staff and room stewards?

 

[cvjw]

I'm so glad that I went ahead and changed my dates last week. I was booked on a B2B for the 11th and 18th which obviously wouldn't have worked out. I guarantee that prices thru 9/2022 went up again just as soon as this was announced. I rescheduled mine just in time.

Sounds like the people that didn’t cancel get 25% off another cruise. That discount makes up for a lot of price increases.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Disney doesn't want to require vaccinations

yet. Perhaps they are just holding out for now because a huge age group of their target market can't be vaccinated yet. Maybe this will change once vaccines are approved for ages 5-11. At that point, only ages 4 and under won't be vaccinated. That would exclude some potential travelers but still give them a decent size chunk of their market.

 

[Clojel]

yet. Perhaps they are just holding out for now because a huge age group of their target market can't be vaccinated yet. Maybe this will change once vaccines are approved for ages 5-11. At that point, only ages 4 and under won't be vaccinated. That would exclude some potential travelers but still give them a decent size chunk of their market.

I’m inclined to agree….I think once 5-11 is approved, if we’re still in a similar or worse position than now, DCL will consider mandating vaccines.

 

[sethschroeder]

yet. Perhaps they are just holding out for now because a huge age group of their target market can't be vaccinated yet. Maybe this will change once vaccines are approved for ages 5-11.

Except you don't have to require vaccination for those under 12 to meet the requirements of these foreign ports it was 12+ and 16+ for the BVI/USVI.

They also don't require vaccination for those not eligible in the UK because of age including not requiring masks for those not of a certain age.

 

[TinkerMouse]

Yes, but spending $600 ($200 for booking the original cruise on board + $400 for this change in itinerary) in on board credits without excursions seems tough to me for a 4 day cruise.

There are tons of ways to spend the money unless you genuinely don't like any of the options.

General tips/gratuities, room service tips, Castaway Cay activities and rentals, spa treatments (from massages to pedicures), rainforest room access, gelato and milkshakes at Sweet on You, personal training sessions (which you'll need after the gelato and milkshakes), Cove cafe craft beverages (tea lattes, coffee, etc.), liquor, onboard tasting events, Bingo, adult only restaurants plus tips, souvenirs for friends and relatives, embarkation stateroom decor and gift packages, bottled water...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Except you don't have to require vaccination for those under 12 to meet the requirements of these foreign ports it was 12+ and 16+ for the BVI/USVI.

They also don't require vaccination for those not eligible in the UK because of age including not requiring masks for those not of a certain age.

My comment was not made with BVI/USVI rules in mind. Just that in general, if DCL required vaccines right now, it would exclude too many children, and include only tweens and teens. It would hurt them too much financially. If they wait until 5-11 can be vaccinated, they would then only be excluding preschoolers which is still a lot of families but perhaps worth the sacrifice to be able to have only vaccinated people onboard.
We can make guesses all day about how DCL might handle things.

 

[mevelandry]

Sounds like the people that didn’t cancel get 25% off another cruise. That discount makes up for a lot of price increases.

At best it's going to "freeze rates" for those who picked that option. I'm scared of what the rates will be in 2023 when they try to compensate for a 17 months pause.

 

[ThinkTink1]

Maybe they can offer the brunch on Castaway Days? It's their own Island so maybe that does not violate port agreements?

And we have the exact issue with WDW. We have one night on 10/2 and 2 days of park tickets, but now we have 3 days before that open. It's a coordination nightmare. If I could get my $ back for the park tickets, I'd just cancel and go home.

We are leaving in the 3 night this Fri and that looks like what they’ve done… Palo brunch on the 2nd Castaway Cay day.