DCL carry-on alcohol policy changing Sept. 30 2015

[sweetpee_1993]

And this is really what EVERYTHING boils down to -- the company thinking that they are above reproach simply because of the name. No matter what they do, they firmly believe people will come and spend money because it is Disney. And they may be right -- people are paying $20 for french toast sticks at BOG. What they will lose over time are their most loyal, long term customers, but maybe they don't care because that "magical name" will continue to draw money from new sources. It seems to be a horribly bad business model.

And it makes me sad.

I've been a Disney lover since childhood. When they made changes at the parks that I didn't like (FP+, continued decline of Epcot etc) we moved to DCL and to DL so that we were still able to enjoy Disney without all of the frustration of the WDW experience.

I am a little over two weeks past my PIF date for our October cruise. The newly announced alcohol policy will not only affect our port experience - I think we are the second cruise out with the new policy in place, so imagine the chaos - it will affect our trip as well. I'm not a big drinker, but we are beer snobs. My DH and I enjoy a couple beers while getting ready for dinner or after our kids go to bed. If we bring 12 beers for the two of us, on our seven day cruise...well, lets just say that math doesn't work.

We will find other vacation options from now on. I'm glad our kids are getting bigger and ready for other adventures. And I'm so glad that they/we got to experience Disney before they became so arrogant and indifferent to their guests.

You and I could be twinsies! We stopped going to WDW for decline in quality, overselling/crowding, and the entire MM+ garbage. I just got to a place where I was over it. DL is a breath of fresh air in comparison. DCL totally enamored us., but, we're feeling about done with DCL, too. Our boys are aged out of the teen clubs. What they do is nice enough but so little changes which has made it all a bit stale for us. Disney can only float on nostalgia for so long. I don't care how awesome BOG is inside, I'm not spending $20 on French toast sticks like a mindless, senseless sucker. I'm not going to continue to blindly throw more and more and more money at Captain Mickey either. Yeah buddy, you can't just sit there with your gloves hand outstretched collecting my bucks. Gonna have to earn them.

We're taking our first wobbly steps away and it feels awesome, really. There's a whole 'nother world out there! Even Carnival with their forthcoming Havana Cabanas! I want THAT!!!!! I don't see Disney doing anything that innovative right now. Shoe-horning the Frozen hoopla onto the ships just doesn't scream fabulously interesting to me.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'd say anyone who does actually book another line due to this or other changes to be sure to forward your email copy of your reservation with the other line to DCL guest services along with a note explaining which changes to policy (even if it's not just this one) caused you to book with someone else.

At least it'll show them you were serious about taking your business elsewhere.

I have 3 to send!!!! I'm proud!!!!!

 

[C6PT7]

Lady? (not that I'm not female, but unless you're Jerry Lewis in his heyday I'm not sure that was appropriate?)

Rant? (tired, sighing bemoaning the state of Disney, yes, but rant?)

Huh? (that means I don't understand how you read it like that)

I agreed with you. Hence the word "exactly". In all caps from excitement 'cuz I'm in total agreement with you. You said it just right. "EXACTLY".

Then I threw in a new paragraph, because that's how we define a spot for a separate thought or a tangent, and then I wrote about those thoughts you inspired in my brain. I was writing about Disney. Not you.

I think maybe you could go back and read it again?

And a sigh at the end is a way of expressing exhaustion about something; and that something is Disney and their slash and burn way of changing policies. Unless you were the one to make that decision, you're taking my words way too personally.

It was even OK that you read the other part differently and told me so, because it showed what I felt; that that other thing wasn't a vetted response with knowledge behind it.

Bumbershoot,
I have two apologies for you! firstly sorry, i have no idea why i thought you were a lady, but sorry!
secondly, i obviously thought your post was directed at me, again i am sorry!

Why are they talking about confiscated booze anyway..? The CM took my husband out of context first. My husband was asking about the rum they'll be taking from us at every port stop in the southern caribbean - we are planning on buying many bottles of rare deliciousness that we can't get at home like we did last October. We won't have any yet when we go through those xray machines during embarkation, so it can't be held there.

It seems to me, as others have said, they just don't know what they are going to do at present. If we have to pick up our bottles and repack our luggage in the terminal with thousands of other people swarming around that is going to be a downright mess. Luckily we have plenty of time until our flight in this case...!

AquaDame,
I'm pretty sure they did not figure out how to make the policy work before implementing it so replied with something slightly related as they did a couple of times in the first responses people got back in the hope that it would make you go away.
It makes no sense and it is almost like they aren't even reading the emails properly before responding.

 

[godde8ss]

I have 3 to send!!!! I'm proud!!!!!

I wish i could send my phantom was gonna book on my cruise, but now i'm not papers. LOL

 

[Eeyores#1Fan]

We will find other vacation options from now on. I'm glad our kids are getting bigger and ready for other adventures. And I'm so glad that they/we got to experience Disney before they became so arrogant and indifferent to their guests.

Yep I'm right there with you. I'll still probably get my Disney fix at the F&W festival annually however my kids now have made a list that goes through 2023 of summer vacas that DO NOT include DCL. Still just makes me sad. People that know me will be like 'whatttt???? no Disney cruise for you???' And it just bugs me cause I was sooooo prepared to have my sister and friend plan to rebook while on our cruise this Oct for a short adult only cruise for Mar of 2017 just so we could rebook an Alaskan cruise for 2018!!! Now sadly everyone is looking at RCL to do the Alaskan cruisetour. And for DSis, aside from this policy change she's still mad about not being able to get autographed items delivered. Ahhhh well. Guess I'll take my $$$$ elsewhere. Thanks DCL...it's been real....that's going on my door in Oct.

 

[goofymom74]

My husband and I discussed this whole policy change issue last night. Here is what we decided if Disney doesn't make this right before we leave on our cruise:

#1 - We will cancel our automatic tips & pay everyone in cash (except our bar tips - which are automatic). We will tell them on our comment card that this is the reason why we cancelled our tips. They don't need to know we really did tip our crew members! We have always tipped in cash above and beyond & we still will (if we receive the great service we typically have in the past).
#2 - No Palo, Remy, salon or spa treatments this time - gotta make up for the bar bill somehow!
#3 - We will NOT be rebooking onboard. We talked to our boys about trying some of the other cruise lines, and they are excited about what the other lines have to offer.
#4 - No Disney trip at all next year!

Will one family make a difference? NO!!!! But at least I will feel better about it!

 

[steves100]

Going on a 7 night in April (1st as Platinum members) really not happy about this, knew it was too good to last. Have tried the email route, got form letter back.

The only positive I could say is at least they havent outlawed it completely. I do agree that service is going down while prices going up. Still love DCl and most probably will still cruise them.

Just frustrated. Alot of people never even knew about the policy and have planned cruises thinking it was great to bring on alcohol. Oh well

 

[steves100]

I can't figure out if you are agreeing with me or misreading what I said...

Not agreeing with you at all. You make everyone who is complaining an alcoholic!!!!
It was a great option for cruisers now its gone with no Disney option to save money!

 

[steves100]

Some of us already know how to do this easily, especially those who attended a large university that has dry campus and doesn't sell booze during football games...

I'm looking at you Vols fans.

Sorry I agree with you wrong thread I was responding to....

: )

 

[1buckeyegirl]

Our cruise in November will sadly probably be our last with DCL. As much as we loved our first cruise I'm just really disappointed with the way Disney is doing things and it's making it really hard to give them our hard earned money. We cruised with them 2 years ago, booked our cruise almost a year out and 4 months before we left they cancelled our cruise. Airfare was already bought and even though I could change it because it was with southwest it cost me twice as much to change the dates. My sister wasn't even notified that the cruise was cancelled so if I wouldn't have been going too I'm not sure when she would've found out. Fast forward to this year and were booked for thanksgiving on the wonder and I find out a month ago they aren't signing things anymore and then at 100 days until sailing they change the alcohol policy. We're not big drinkers but it is vacation and we could easily rack up a decent bar bill and we didn't plan any of that into our budget especially since Christmas is right around the corner. We haven't reached our pif date (we are already pif though) but I already have non-refundable air fare that's was purchased clear back in May. Oh and they also changed out port days with no notice (I found out here, still haven't gotten a notification from Disney) and we already had plans for that day. I'm just so disappointed with Disney at this point! We are spending 5 days at the parks before we leave at the akl club level and at 6 months out can't get one ressie we want. Most days there is no availability at any restaurants at any of the parks were visiting. I'm just fed up, this is a once in a lifetime vacation for our family and I while I am grateful that we can even go I just feel like a lot of the magic I remember as a kid is gone

 

[Subi WRX]

I've been thinking about this, and here is my thought: if this jerk was so confident that this didn't factor into people's decisions, DCL should offer with that same arrogant confidence a full refund for everyone PIF who disagrees with this policy. But I guess they're not that confident, are they?

I know we would cancel and book either Celebrity or NCL who limit alcohol brought aboard, but also comp beverages as a booking perk.

So, someone just called me saying they were representing Karl Holz's office in regards to my email. The jist of the call was, "sorry you are disappointed." Basically, they don't care what I have to say because I cannot cancel and they have my money, and I said that to him. He keep saying he thanked me for sharing my opinions but they are not making any changes, even for those who should really be "grandfathered" in. I reminded him that people booking a DCL cruise today, can review the new policy and factor that into their decision. We, factored the other policy into our decision and is akin to a "bait and switch." The representative said that that is not really bait and switch, to be technical, that would be giving me a different product than I signed up for. It may be the same product, but the price is significantly altered for us, Mickey Mail is gone, Palo costs more, the corkage fee is ridic and babysitting is more expensive. Not bait and switch exactly, but, really, why is he arguing over semantics? The product is not different but it is not of the same caliber. He dared to say that people do not really factor that into their decision. REALLY? REALLY? It convinced my husband and uncle to go on this cruise. To many men, a budget is a HUGE deal, and to my uncle so is Jack Daniels on the Veranda. He did say, I see your point a lot too. all very canned stuff.

I was very annoyed he kept using the word disappointed. NO, I feel cheated, and bummed about my budget being blown. And please, do not thank me for sharing an opinion you do not care about. Disney would care if I could cancel my booking, because that would be money walking away...I did point out that many of us only know about this because we are active on social media. He made the point that it will be going out in cruise docs, IF, we or the travel agent opted for that. I feel really bad for the people that are not active online. I forsee many, many people finding this out at the Port...

 

[AFrayedKnot]

We are sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii on 9/7, so the new rule doesn't apply to us. It is a 10 day cruise, so we were planning on bringing one bottle of hard liquor and some wine. I found this thread because I was looking for the CURRENT policy on alcohol - does anyone know it? Also, regarding bringing wine to dinner (and paying the corkage fee) are you allowed to bring the unfinished wine back to your stateroom? Usually a bottle of wine is four drinks for us and I can't always finish a 2nd one - even on vacation.

I do agree with those that are not happy with the new policy. We haven't taken advantage in the past, but it was nice to know it was there. We have been on two Disney cruises, and I have never seen anyone falling down drunk. I can certainly get rather tipsy at the tastings, though!

I would be extremely worried if they started confiscating coffee. I could not make it through the day without Via - the regular coffee is horrid and the lattes are not that great.

Thanks for your help!

 

[papertraveller]

I have read this thread with interest. We have six Disney cruises under our belt, and one upcoming on "another" line.

The alcohol policy probably doesn't make much difference to us -- we have certainly taken advantage of it. We are wine and beer drinkers, and the policy still allows two bottles per person, per port. That's still okay.

Our daughter's room has several lovely signed items courtesy of the team behind the scenes -- photo mats, a Vinylmation, pillowcase, tote bag, etc.

But what has done us in is price. We have travelled in the same room on the Magic, at the same time of year, and of course the price keeps creeping higher and higher. And of course, we're in the lucky group that is being crushed by currency exchange now.

I am sitting on a cruise certificate (is that what they're called now?) that I suspect will expire unused. We're still travelling, but DCL is just too difficult to justify for us.

That said, there are always those who can afford it. On our last cruise there was a "How well do you know your parents" game for kids. The first question was "What does your parent do for a living?" The parents on stage were an attorney, a surgeon, an executive, and a stay at home mom.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii on 9/7, so the new rule doesn't apply to us. It is a 10 day cruise, so we were planning on bringing one bottle of hard liquor and some wine. I found this thread because I was looking for the CURRENT policy on alcohol - does anyone know it? Also, regarding bringing wine to dinner (and paying the corkage fee) are you allowed to bring the unfinished wine back to your stateroom? Usually a bottle of wine is four drinks for us and I can't always finish a 2nd one - even on vacation.

I do agree with those that are not happy with the new policy. We haven't taken advantage in the past, but it was nice to know it was there. We have been on two Disney cruises, and I have never seen anyone falling down drunk. I can certainly get rather tipsy at the tastings, though!

I would be extremely worried if they started confiscating coffee. I could not make it through the day without Via - the regular coffee is horrid and the lattes are not that great.

Thanks for your help!

Current policy is that you may bring aboard whatever beverages you wish (alcoholic or otherwise), in any amount. It just needs to be in your carry on bags, not checked.

If you take a bottle of wine to the MDR, you will be charged a corkage fee of $20. If you don't finish the bottle, they will either hold it for you, and it will show up in your next evenings dining room, OR you may bring it back to your room.

 

[AquaDame]

AquaDame,
I'm pretty sure they did not figure out how to make the policy work before implementing it so replied with something slightly related as they did a couple of times in the first responses people got back in the hope that it would make you go away.
It makes no sense and it is almost like they aren't even reading the emails properly before responding.

Oh, I am sure you are right in saying that. I am very disappointed that they want us to just go away. Still no announcement from DCL (or my TA for that matter) so as far as they want me to know everything is as it always was. When on earth will they be able to answer my question I wonder... in the email I myself received back they merely said that we would be told what the new rule is WHEN WE BOARD. So frustrating. Meanwhile I can toss my hands up and sail someone else on a slightly different itinerary for less from the same island and not have to cancel my airfare. Disney isn't helping me out here even though I tried and waited... time to do some soul searching.

 

[AFrayedKnot]

Thank you! PrincessShmoo! I'll toast you on our cruise (once I figure out what the limits are for crossing into Canada.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I emailed to voice my concern and disappointment to the new policy that effects our first cruise with little notice. It's not the only reason we chose DCL but it helped offset the super high cost for this family of 4 to know we could save by having a few cocktails on our own in between buying them by the pool! And no we aren't alcoholics either! But we are part of the cruisers who don't drink beer or wine, so that's a downfall there too! I viewed it as one of the many things that set them apart, but it seems lately lots of those things are vanishing. But here's the response I got from Disney i thought I'd share


8/17/15

Dear Miranda:

Thank you for your recent e-mail and your thoughts around our alcohol
policy.

We regularly evaluate our policies and procedures and have recently
changed our alcohol beverage policy to limit the amount and types of
alcohol Guests may bring onboard in our home- and out-ports.

Effective for cruises embarking on or after September 30, 2015, Disney
Cruise Line Guests 21 years and older may bring a maximum of 2 bottles
of unopened wine or champagne (no larger than 750 ml) or 6 beers (no
larger than 12 ounces) on board in their carry-on luggage at the
beginning of the voyage and at each port-of-call. This type of alcohol
beverage policy is not unusual in the cruise industry.

Additional information on our policies can be found on our website at:https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...aring-for-your-cruise/alcohol-onboard-policy/

Again, thank you for your comments and concerns.

Sincerely,

Joseph Paris
Executive Correspondent
Disney Cruise Line

"Not unusual" Disney, we're paying you a premium to be unique!!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

"DISNEY FANTASY" - we get it that you saw a bad incident on ONE cruise. I've been on 16 and have never seen an incident. I think what you witnessed it not the norm (although I am very sorry that you had to experience such an unpleasant situation).

Her signature says she's been on many Disney cruises for 166 days and she can only cite 1 rowdy group. That tells me it's not abuse...

 

[C6PT7]

Oh, I am sure you are right in saying that. I am very disappointed that they want us to just go away. Still no announcement from DCL (or my TA for that matter) so as far as they want me to know everything is as it always was. When on earth will they be able to answer my question I wonder... in the email I myself received back they merely said that we would be told what the new rule is WHEN WE BOARD. So frustrating. Meanwhile I can toss my hands up and sail someone else on a slightly different itinerary for less from the same island and not have to cancel my airfare. Disney isn't helping me out here even though I tried and waited... time to do some soul searching.

It just goes to show how little upper level management care or are prepared when they make changes like this.
it is incompetence from them not working this out BEFORE instsituting such a change.
they are doing as little as possible from what i can see in the hope you will just swallow the change and accept it.i feel for you, and the others put in this situation or worse. Only you know what you are willing to do and sacrifice. this thread is 10 pages over the last thread from the last time. somehow unless people keep overwhelming them with questions and complains they will not know and even then do they care?
I guess you have to vote with your head and not heart as to what you should do to be objective. easier said than done though

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

"This type of alcohol beverage policy is not unusual in the cruise industry." is what DCL's canned reply is...what they are forgetting to say is...we don't really want you to do a side by side comparison with other cruise lines because we will fail in comparison. While our alcohol beverage policy is aligned with others (see lookie, lookie, we're not awful, we're normal, just like them!), please do not compare the fact that our:
a) prices are much higher than all of our competitors
b) our dining options are fewer and inferior to our competitors
c) our fleet is much older than many of our competitors
d) our itineraries are less exciting than our competitors
e) while our rooms are larger than our competitors, per square foot, you will pay way more.
f) We have some characters in costumes, so do other lines...but they have way more entertainment options...but we have thee mouse...but now you have to stand in a line if you want his autograph...because we took away the Mickey Mail perk too.
g) we have a private island! Oh wait...so do the competitors

That is what they are forgetting. They used to offer perks and incentives that put them in a class that really prevented them from being compared side by side to other cruise lines because you really could not place a value on emotions or certain perks that were unique to DCL...start taking those away and people will see less gray and more black and white and the line item comparisons will be much easier. Its not just about the new policy, its the direction the organization is moving that is alarming to me. More and more cuts with price hikes that are not just keeping up with inflation or demand...its nuts!

This!!