Could this be the last cruise...

[auntlynne]

Children are a thing on Disney. People with money and no children have a lot of options. They don't need Disney to sail to South America to take a cruise to South America.

Disney can fill a couple of long Panama cruises every year with old people that started cruising Disney when their kids were young, but that's not their target. Those are also repositioning cruises so the cruises will go regardless of how many are onboard. I'm not sure why you bring up Alaska those are Summer cruises full of kids,

I've done a few of their attempts at off-season unique cruises... let's just say I've gotten really good discounts on them.

I was just recalling my experiences on Disney cruises; I don’t remember them being kid-heavy. Maybe the kids are in the kids clubs or I don’t actually notice them. We try to cruise off-season when the kid (and overall) passenger count is lower. And our AK cruise was in May, while some schools still had a month until the end of the year. I have never sailed Disney during Spring Break or starting in June, July or August. (Was fortunate enough to have the flexibility of a home-school calendar.)

I don’t understand your first paragraph.

Also, I said “money and free time.” Not … “and no children.”

“…don’t need Disney…”. For many people, Disney is their CHOICE, not because they have children, but because they like the product / environment.

…”have a lot of options.” Not if Disney is their cruise of choice.

As for those unique cruises - one of the biggest complaints I hear - and a reason some people switch to other cruise lines - is they are tired of the “same old itineraries.” But
there are cruisers who have 100+ cruises on Disney. They don’t NEED Disney - they want it. There is no cruise fare discount nor loyalty perk so great that keeps them from changing. And you find a lot of them on long cruises. Don’t think Disney is not paying attention.

Maybe you thought I was disparaging children on Disney. Not what I said. I was wondering when the cruise industry started focusing on families with children. When I was a kid, it really seemed to be older, wealthy people or rich and beautiful. Watch some episodes of The Love Boat from the 1970s and you’ll see what I thought was the norm. The few kids seen were portrayed as being with grandparents. Yes, it was TV, but the cruise world before you were born is not what it is today.

The only person I meet before I started cruising was a friend in college who had sailed with her wealthy grandmother. That just perpetuated the idea in my head.

(If you question why I inserted that ”wondering” - sometimes people actually know these things or can relate their experiences. It’s nice to hear from others. It gives a broader view of the world.)

I am not deciding for Disney if or when they should cruise South America. I am speculating (as many so often do on this forum) where they are headed in the future. I expect the Magic to be sold in the next 5-10 years, but will utilize her on an itinerary that may not need as large a ship before that happens. Other lines also use their older, smaller ships for this type of itinerary.

 

[DCLMP]

I was just recalling my experiences on Disney cruises; I don’t remember them being kid-heavy. Maybe the kids are in the kids clubs or I don’t actually notice them. We try to cruise off-season when the kid (and overall) passenger count is lower. And our AK cruise was in May, while some schools still had a month until the end of the year. I have never sailed Disney during Spring Break or starting in June, July or August. (Was fortunate enough to have the flexibility of a home-school calendar.)

I don’t understand your first paragraph.

Also, I said “money and free time.” Not … “and no children.”

“…don’t need Disney…”. For many people, Disney is their CHOICE, not because they have children, but because they like the product / environment.

…”have a lot of options.” Not if Disney is their cruise of choice.

As for those unique cruises - one of the biggest complaints I hear - and a reason some people switch to other cruise lines - is they are tired of the “same old itineraries.” But
there are cruisers who have 100+ cruises on Disney. They don’t NEED Disney - they want it. There is no cruise fare discount nor loyalty perk so great that keeps them from changing. And you find a lot of them on long cruises. Don’t think Disney is not paying attention.

Maybe you thought I was disparaging children on Disney. Not what I said. I was wondering when the cruise industry started focusing on families with children. When I was a kid, it really seemed to be older, wealthy people or rich and beautiful. Watch some episodes of The Love Boat from the 1970s and you’ll see what I thought was the norm. The few kids seen were portrayed as being with grandparents. Yes, it was TV, but the cruise world before you were born is not what it is today.

The only person I meet before I started cruising was a friend in college who had sailed with her wealthy grandmother. That just perpetuated the idea in my head.

(If you question why I inserted that ”wondering” - sometimes people actually know these things or can relate their experiences. It’s nice to hear from others. It gives a broader view of the world.)

I am not deciding for Disney if or when they should cruise South America. I am speculating (as many so often do on this forum) where they are headed in the future. I expect the Magic to be sold in the next 5-10 years, but will utilize her on an itinerary that may not need as large a ship before that happens. Other lines also use their older, smaller ships for this type of itinerary.

I think I misinterpreted what you said. I've never been on a cruise out of PC that wasn't kid-heavy. Some of them had over 1200 kids.

I've done a few TAs, Hawaii, Southern Caribbean, Quebec, and our last European cruise that were light on kids. All were heavily discounted to fill the ship.

I would love it if Disney cruised to South America. I just don't know if they would do it if it's not profitable. Those PC cruises are really their money-makers.

The Australian cruises are obviously for Australians and the Singapore cruises will most likely attract Asians. Could they put a ship in South America and fill it with South American families? It's a possibility. They love coming to WDW in the winter.

 

[JM_97]

Yes, our WBPC in October is on the Magic. She was our first and still is our favorite.

The Wonder was my first and is my favorite. I'd love for her to come back to the Atlantic but don't expect her to anytime soon. A flight to the west coast and a cruise unfortunately just isn't in the cards.

 

[Flossbolna]

Looking at the recent reports on the Magic about her not being in perfect state, I wonder if there won't come a time when Disney will have to offer interesting itineraries on those older ships to attract cruisers. I think the Magic and the Wonder still have a lot of life in them, but they won't be the best ship for a first time cruiser on a 4-night to the Bahamas for an expensive cruise. Other lines run Panama Canal cruises as experiences on older ships and I think it is a model for DCL as well. Send the Magic through for the winter like they do this year might be something to do now and then. Also, I think there might be interest in sending the Dream or Fantasy to the West Coast at some point and use that as a selling point for West Coast cruises. They tried that this year in Europe.

 

[JM_97]

Looking at the recent reports on the Magic about her not being in perfect state, I wonder if there won't come a time when Disney will have to offer interesting itineraries on those older ships to attract cruisers. I think the Magic and the Wonder still have a lot of life in them, but they won't be the best ship for a first time cruiser on a 4-night to the Bahamas for an expensive cruise. Other lines run Panama Canal cruises as experiences on older ships and I think it is a model for DCL as well. Send the Magic through for the winter like they do this year might be something to do now and then. Also, I think there might be interest in sending the Dream or Fantasy to the West Coast at some point and use that as a selling point for West Coast cruises. They tried that this year in Europe.

I did a little research because I forgot that the ship would have to pass under the Bridge of Americas. The clearance for the bridge is 201 feet, and the Fantasy is 217 ft tall, meaning the she wouldn't fit. So the Dream and Fantasy crossing over to the Pacific may not be an option.

 

[Flossbolna]

I did a little research because I forgot that the ship would have to pass under the Bridge of Americas. The clearance for the bridge is 201 feet, and the Fantasy is 217 ft tall, meaning the she wouldn't fit. So the Dream and Fantasy crossing over to the Pacific may not be an option.

But she has a draft of 27.3 feet, so only 189.7 feet are over the water level. That’s a fit in my books.

 

[JM_97]

But she has a draft of 27.3 feet, so only 189.7 feet are over the water level. That’s a fit in my books.

I see. Thanks for the clarification!

If that is the case I could see her splitting time between the East and West Coast. It would give the West Coast a Dream class ship after only having the Magic or Wonder.

 

[holula]

I did a little research because I forgot that the ship would have to pass under the Bridge of Americas. The clearance for the bridge is 201 feet, and the Fantasy is 217 ft tall, meaning the she wouldn't fit. So the Dream and Fantasy crossing over to the Pacific may not be an option.

This has been discussed to death and she will fit. There is a stats sheet about the Dream on DCL blog that shows she will fit based on the height she is above the water.

 

[happycamper47]

EDIT: Read something wrong