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

[Joshua Kelso]

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!!!

MJ

I, at least, will. . I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to try a Disney Cruise for the first time in my life. I was able to introduce my wife to a Disney holiday in 2019 for the first time in her life and she's completely hooked, and very excited at the chance to experience Disney right from our home city in the UK, of all places!

My main concerns are: 1) We'll be priced out, 2) It will be sold out, 3) No stops will mean the pools/activities/meals will always be crowded. I've gone the Dreams route this time and have an agent helping us, which is a first for me, I've never used a travel agent before. My wife and I will both be off on the 19th, so hopefully we can get a place in our budget.

 

[GreenDress]

if you look at DCL castaway club benefits their first point is early release. Not early release conditional on the market they are selling too. Even if they had not advertised early release and withdrawn it is still there in print on the castaway club benefits.

 

[NicolaUK]

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.)

Exactly

 

[BadPinkTink]

if you look at DCL castaway club benefits their first point is early release. Not early release conditional on the market they are selling too. Even if they had not advertised early release and withdrawn it is still there in print on the castaway club benefits.

Its possible that these UK cruises will not count for Castaway Club membership. I'm seeing rumors about an update at 3pm UK time, which is about an hour, so its likely all this speculation will be cleared up.

 

[GreenDress]

I’ve called DCL who have said castaway advanced bookings will still go ahead. Save us all speculating! They have taken the information down as they need to confirm all itineraries.

 

[MomOTwins]

I don't mean to be a debbie downer, but I wonder if the reason they dropped castaway club status is that the data they have indicate that if they offered priority, with the limited capacity, the cruises would sell out before they even got to general booking day (like they do with the Hawaii cruises). That would defeat the (behind-the-scenes) purpose of using these cruises to introduce a new market segment to DCL. So they had to cut that or else first-time cruisers would have zero chance.

This reminds me of frustration that was expressed on the disney world boards about the fact that it became very obvious that on-site Disney hotel/package guests had no special access to make park reservations different from off-site guests who just buy a park ticket. I understand why they are doing it though--if you are going to have to turn away customers (and they did--they were at capacity at all four parks all week), it's better to have a "fist-come, first-serve" rule than a "you-didn't-give-Disney-enough-money-so-you're-SOL" rule. And let's face it, Castaway Club IS a paid service--to be a platinum member, you have to have paid for 10 cruises. That's a LOT of money and just out of reach for so many people for whom a disney cruise is something they save up for years for.

 

[MomOTwins]

I’ve called DCL who have said castaway advanced bookings will still go ahead. Save us all speculating! They have taken the information down as they need to confirm all itineraries.

I wouldn't get hopes up as phone CMs are notoriously ill-informed and have been known to give outdated info, particularly when changes are happening fast.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I don't mean to be a debbie downer, but I wonder if the reason they dropped castaway club status is that the data they have indicate that if they offered priority, with the limited capacity, the cruises would sell out before they even got to general booking day (like they do with the Hawaii cruises). That would defeat the (behind-the-scenes) purpose of using these cruises to introduce a new market segment to DCL. So they had to cut that or else first-time cruisers would have zero chance.

This reminds me of frustration that was expressed on the disney world boards about the fact that it became very obvious that on-site Disney hotel/package guests had no special access to make park reservations different from off-site guests who just buy a park ticket. I understand why they are doing it though--if you are going to have to turn away customers (and they did--they were at capacity at all four parks all week), it's better to have a "fist-come, first-serve" rule than a "you-didn't-give-Disney-enough-money-so-you're-SOL" rule. And let's face it, Castaway Club IS a paid service--to be a platinum member, you have to have paid for 10 cruises. That's a LOT of money and just out of reach for so many people for whom a disney cruise is something they save up for years for.

I agree and its another possibility. We know demand is high, and DCL would defiantly take into consideration the Hawaii cruises situation.

 

[CarolynU]

Well I am one that was platinum and wanting Southampton 4 nights.
So the good news is that the ship is still sailing from there the bad news is that with all the departures in jeopardy from two ports potentially requiring more passengers to book at the only two remaining and platinum no longer giving any advance booking I think I have as much chance of getting a booking as winning the lottery!
So I’ve placed it in the hands of Dreams Unlimited and I no longer want to get my hopes up.
It’s not a deal breaker for me. I can sail anytime. With 3 DCL cruises cancelled that my little grandkids were supposed to be on I feel sad for them. I also have a Disneyland Paris trip booked for them as an alternative but that’s even less likely to be possible.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Well I am one that was platinum and wanting Southampton 4 nights.
So the good news is that the ship is still sailing from there the bad news is that with all the departures in jeopardy from two ports potentially requiring more passengers to book at the only two remaining and platinum no longer giving any advance booking I think I have as much chance of getting a booking as winning the lottery!
So I’ve placed it in the hands of Dreams Unlimited and I no longer want to get my hopes up.
It’s not a deal breaker for me. I can sail anytime. With 3 DCL cruises cancelled that my little grandkids were supposed to be on I feel sad for them. I also have a Disneyland Paris trip booked for them as an alternative but that’s even less likely to be possible.

Stay positive, an update is on the way which should hopefully answer a lot of the questions

 

[steveyjc81]

If bookings are a free for all on Day 1, I wonder will online booking be a reality then, or still phone only. Think I'd prefer online

 

[lanejudy]

I think there is a lot of assumptions and speculation going on here in the past 12 hours or so. Possibly something was inadvertently leaked early and unfortunately had to be pulled back. Or maybe there are some last-minute regulatory changes -- really, again more speculation. I find it highly unusual if there is no early booking for CC or no credit for the UK cruises. Rather than getting upset at what may or may not be happening, I suggest waiting (albeit impatiently) for more details without jumping to conclusions.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I'm seeing rumours that these are the new dates, as soon as the official DCL is updated, I will post links and full information

Liverpool Dates:

2 nights: 13th & 18th July
3 nights: 15th, 20th, 27th, 30th July
4 nights: 23rd July

Southampton Dates:

2 Nights: 4th, 16th, 18th, 30th August & 1st September
3 Nights: 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th August
4 Nights: 9th & 23rd August

 

[mmouse37]

I, at least, will. . I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to try a Disney Cruise for the first time in my life. I was able to introduce my wife to a Disney holiday in 2019 for the first time in her life and she's completely hooked, and very excited at the chance to experience Disney right from our home city in the UK, of all places!

My main concerns are: 1) We'll be priced out, 2) It will be sold out, 3) No stops will mean the pools/activities/meals will always be crowded. I've gone the Dreams route this time and have an agent helping us, which is a first for me, I've never used a travel agent before. My wife and I will both be off on the 19th, so hopefully we can get a place in our budget.

I hope you can go. It really is a wonderful experience. We were on the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Magic back on July 30, 1998 with our 3 kids and got hooked. Last year, a month before the world shut down, we completed our 45th DCL cruise. We travel with friends and when they are able with our adult kids and grandchildren so 3 generations of our family love DCL.

I love sea days on DCL....yes the pool areas may be more crowded but if you go earlier in the am you can swim before it gets crowded. But, who knows if there will be pool restrictions or capacity limits.

Good luck with booking and I hope you get what you want!

MJ

 

[luke]

I'm seeing rumours that these are the new dates, as soon as the official DCL is updated, I will post links and full information

Liverpool Dates:

2 nights: 13th & 18th July
3 nights: 15th, 20th, 27th, 30th July
4 nights: 23rd July

Southampton Dates:

2 Nights: 4th, 16th, 18th, 30th August & 1st September
3 Nights: 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th August
4 Nights: 9th & 23rd August

I wonder whether DCL realised that the earlier sailings were all outside of school holidays; hence pulling the London and Newcastle?

 

[BadPinkTink]

UNCONFIRMED UNOFFICAL RUMOUR
Disney Cruise Line will NOT sail from Newcastle or London this summer. The only ports of sail will be Southampton and Liverpool. The inaugural cruise will set sail on the 13th July from Liverpool for 2 nights.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1381976756446453765

 

[amystevekai&bump]

UNCONFIRMED UNOFFICAL RUMOUR
Disney Cruise Line will NOT sail from Newcastle or London this summer. The only ports of sail will be Southampton and Liverpool. The inaugural cruise will set sail on the 13th July from Liverpool for 2 nights.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1381976756446453765

People are quoting this chap all over Facebook and other boards - who is he? He seems to be the only person who knows what’s going on!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Apparently travel agents had a meeting with Disney Cruise Line this morning UK time. Thats where all these rumours are coming from. Advance bookings will open on Thursday 15 April for Castaway Club members and General booking on Monday 19 April

Again these are unconfirmed rumours and leaks from travel agents

 

[BadPinkTink]

People are quoting this chap all over Facebook and other boards - who is he? He seems to be the only person who knows what’s going on!

He posts about Disney Parks, Experiences & Products News and Information so most likely he was part of the online meeting travel agents had with DCL this morning

 

[NicolaUK]

He runs a DLP blog, there’s an official update coming today. I wouldn’t take what he says as gospel currently.