DCL Disney Magic At Sea UK Residents Only Sailing Summer 2021 General Information

[BadPinkTink]

Disneyholidays .co . uk is the official disney site for uk residents though. Weird you can't navigate to this directly from the website in the UK.

Because its the travel agency department for all Disney package holidays, mainly the Florida package holidays and it is a UK based website updated by a different people. The UK market LOVE their package Florida holidays, so Disney have outsourced and created a specific website just for them. The people who update disney holidays will get their information from Disney Cruise Line. They are just behind in their updating.

Disney Cruise Line website is the only official website for Disney Cruises. Booking direct through Disney Cruise website is different to booking with Disneyholidays.co.uk. Its the same process, but just through basically a third party travel agency, which is an official authorized Disney travel agency.

 

[scottishwee35]

If this is true, i'm disappointed that Castaway status is not observed.

If it is true that Newcastle have been removed/cancelled. why they announcement at first place as it make us feel down now as we are looking forward to... Now amendment to Liverpool or Southampton that is more travelling for us from Scotland. I am really disappointed as holiday had been booked plus dogsitting booked now change the dates/port?

 

[BadPinkTink]

If it is true that Newcastle have been removed/cancelled. why they announcement at first place as it make us feel down now as we are looking forward to... Now amendment to Liverpool or Southampton that is more travelling for us from Scotland. I am really disappointed as holiday had been booked plus dogsitting booked now change the dates/port?

Because we are in a Pandemic and information and regulations are changing by the hour. This is how travel will be for 2021 and most likely 2022, nothing is guaranteed and people who travel will have to be flexible and expect and adapt to last minute changes.

Until people have actually booked a cruise, it is not advisable to book travel arrangements or anything which is non refundable or cant be changed. Disney Cruise Line are working hard to figure things out and they seem to be working on Florida time, not UK time. Any updates will be early morning Florida time which is afternoon UK time or after 5pm Florida time which is after 10pm UK time.

 

[luke]

Its possible they did a data base search and found a very low % of Castaway Club members who have UK addresses on file. Therefore they would know that the majority of people booking will be first time cruisers, so it might not make financial sense to have advance booking days. Also they might have seen negativity and confusion about Castaway Club. I have seen people on social media who have never booked with DCL thinking that people paid to have Castaway Club membership and that it was not fair that some people could buy their way to advance booking. Now we here on DIS know this is not true , so maybe its DCL listening to their target customers and making adjustments.

then why have a Castaway Club in the first place? If they don’t use tiers to give priority for booking it really makes a mockery of the system

 

[steveyjc81]

Its possible they did a data base search and found a very low % of Castaway Club members who have UK addresses on file. Therefore they would know that the majority of people booking will be first time cruisers, so it might not make financial sense to have advance booking days. Also they might have seen negativity and confusion about Castaway Club. I have seen people on social media who have never booked with DCL thinking that people paid to have Castaway Club membership and that it was not fair that some people could buy their way to advance booking. Now we here on DIS know this is not true , so maybe its DCL listening to their target customers and making adjustments.

This may be the case, however I have effectively paid for it, by booking cruises previously at a higher rate due to my positioning in the Castaway Club status levels. It doesnt seem fair a newbie could pay less by getting through earlier on release day - makes a mockery of the Castaway Club - effectively its only benefit apart from a naff gift.

 

[BadPinkTink]

This may be the case, however I have effectively paid for it, by booking cruises previously at a higher rate due to my positioning in the Castaway Club status levels. It doesnt seem fair a newbie could pay less by getting through earlier on release day - makes a mockery of the Castaway Club - effectively its only benefit apart from a naff gift.

For first time cruisers who know nothing about Disney, the assumption I saw is that people could pay a membership fee and then get advance booking, kinda like how Club 33 works.

These cruises are not being marketed to people who have sailed before with DCL. These cruises are mainly for UK people who have never been on a Disney cruise. Therefore it seems to me that it a sensible idea to have everyone on a level playing field, to make it more attractive for first time cruisers. And if that upsets Castaway Club members, so what, they are not the priority for THESE cruises, most Castaway members can not go on these cruises, so why should they get priority?

 

[luke]

For first time cruisers who know nothing about Disney, the assumption I saw is that people could pay a membership fee and then get advance booking, kinda like how Club 33 works.

These cruises are not being marketed to people who have sailed before with DCL. These cruises are mainly for UK people who have never been on a Disney cruise. Therefore it seems to me that it a sensible idea to have everyone on a level playing field, to make it more attractive for first time cruisers. And if that upsets Castaway Club members, so what, they are not the priority for THESE cruises, most Castaway members can not go on these cruises, so why should they get priority?

why does it matter if they are ‘not priority for these cruises’? There’s no point in having the loyalty system/ club if it’s not consistent

 

[scottishwee35]

Because we are in a Pandemic and information and regulations are changing by the hour. This is how travel will be for 2021 and most likely 2022, nothing is guaranteed and people who travel will have to be flexible and expect and adapt to last minute changes.

Until people have actually booked a cruise, it is not advisable to book travel arrangements or anything which is non refundable or cant be changed. Disney Cruise Line are working hard to figure things out and they seem to be working on Florida time, not UK time. Any updates will be early morning Florida time which is afternoon UK time or after 5pm Florida time which is after 10pm UK time.

Thank you for your feedback

 

[steveyjc81]

For first time cruisers who know nothing about Disney, the assumption I saw is that people could pay a membership fee and then get advance booking, kinda like how Club 33 works.

These cruises are not being marketed to people who have sailed before with DCL. These cruises are mainly for UK people who have never been on a Disney cruise. Therefore it seems to me that it a sensible idea to have everyone on a level playing field, to make it more attractive for first time cruisers. And if that upsets Castaway Club members, so what, they are not the priority for THESE cruises, most Castaway members can not go on these cruises, so why should they get priority?

I must disagree. This is marketed to everyone in the UK, whether or not they have sailed before. Some people have, and likewise some are DVC members. To make the decision not to follow their roll-out structure based on incorrect internet rumours from some loons online that don't know the normal setup seems odd to me, particularly at the detriment to loyal DCL cruisers.

 

[BadPinkTink]

why does it matter if they are ‘not priority for these cruises’? There’s no point in having the loyalty system/ club if it’s not consistent

this is how marketing works. Companies tailor a product to suit a particular market segment. The market segment for these cruises are first time passengers from The UK. These people have no knowledge of Castaway Club, and from feedback I saw on DCL Official Facebook page, they are confused by what Castaway Club is. Therefore it is a smart move by DCL to remove advance booking information and have everyone on a level playing field. This is marketing and website copy writing in real time, by digital marketing people who are using social listening tools to gauge the reaction of their target market.

 

[luke]

I must disagree. This is marketed to everyone in the UK, whether or not they have sailed before. Some people have, and likewise some are DVC members. To make the decision not to follow their roll-out structure based on incorrect internet rumours from some loons online that don't know the normal setup seems odd to me, particularly at the detriment to loyal DCL cruisers.

Absolutely! Because some people on Facebook don’t know what the Castaway Club is it shouldn’t be used?? Nonsense

 

[luke]

Looks like castaway club loyalty, along with London and Newcastle, have vanished. Farcical

 

[auntlynne]

Is there a guarantee that they will use dynamic pricing? Could they just have set prices for cabin categories? That would eliminate the seemingly-unfair pricing that loyalty-level early booking with dynamic pricing presents. (I can see where the current system can seem inequitable.)

 

[BadPinkTink]

Is there a guarantee that they will use dynamic pricing? Could they just have set prices for cabin categories? That would eliminate the seemingly-unfair pricing that loyalty-level early booking with dynamic pricing presents. (I can see where the current system can seem inequitable.)

Thats a possibility, they may be looking at the pricing structures of the other cruise lines who are offing UK staycation cruises and using the competitor analysis data to change from dynamic pricing. That would make sense with elimination of Castaway Club advance booking. When launching a new product, competitor analysis data is very important, as it shows what your target customer expect and want. The fundamental basics of a new product launch, is to offer a product that satisfies a want in your target market at a price point they are willing to pay.

 

[GreenDress]

Looks like they are already cheapening the UK cruise experience. There is no way they would take away advance bookings in USA. Does this mean they value the UK castaway club members less? Disgraceful if they is the case.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Looks like they are already cheapening the UK cruise experience. There is no way they would take away advance bookings in USA. Does this mean they value the UK castaway club members less? Disgraceful if they is the case.

No its not "cheapening" the cruise experience. What they are doing is creating a cruise experience which UK first time cruises will buy. Every customer segment has a different type of expectations and needs. What the UK first time cruises expect and want from a Disney Cruise experience is different to what American Cast Away Members who have been cruising for many years expect and want.

Its very normal for a company to offer a different version of the same product in different markets territories.

Its EXACTLY what The Walt Disney Company do with the international Disney Parks. The Disney Parks experience in Disneyland Paris is not the same as the Disney Parks experience in Walt Disney World, because Disneyland Paris main target market is European visitors, not American visitors.

 

[mmouse37]

Been following this thread all along and it is very interesting. I can't imagine the logistics involved. Can't comment on why DCL are not using CC levels for booking. I find it odd it would be based on internet rumors but who knows. To me it seems more than there are not enough CC members in the UK to warrant different booking days. Very interested to see how it all plays out. Being Platinum I would feel disappointed if I was not able to book as in past cruises. But, this is a whole new world we are navigating so I guess people have to go with the flow.

I think they will have to be more strict with social distancing in the terminals. Less people at a time hence the PORT ARRIVAL TIMES (not boarding times). In the past, the times you pick online is not a boarding time but a Port Arrival Time. You would then be assigned a boarding number at check in desk in the terminal. I have seen boarding numbers from 1-30 ish. Time will tell how PAT times are spaced and how they will equate to actual boarding times. Pre Covid, when boarding started, it would be Concierge then boarding group #1 would be platinum and they would run through the other boarding numbers pretty quickly. if boarding started at let's say 11:00 they could go through all the boarding numbers by noon and then call "open boarding" which means regardless of your boarding number you can board the ship.

Now, they will probably limit the amount of people in the terminal at one time so time will tell how they are going to handle port arrival times.

Good luck to all who are booking on the 19th. Please post your experiences in bookings and pricing for those of us living vicariously through you!!! Even though we are not UK residents it is wonderful that Disney cruising is starting again.

Kudos to @BadPinkTink for keeping the info flowing and up to date.


MJ

 

[GreenDress]

But what about what the UK castaway club want? Are their wants not as valuable as the american castaway members? Are UK castaway club members going to be penalised for the lack of knowledge of new customers? if they do not offer advance bookings they are creating a tier of castaway members with american residents rating higher than the UK members.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I'm seeing rumours that an update will be announced at 3pm, so just hold tight for the next 2 hours

 

[luke]

What is really bad, is them releasing and changing information. If information hadn’t been released at all then they released their final version then nobody would complain as much about it

very un-Disney like