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

[GreenDress]

What the old-timers may have forgotten is just how bogglingly complicated booking a cruise seems to a newbie. There are — what? — eleven categories of stateroom? The pricing structure — when they actually let you see it — seems hugely complicated. And — as I'm understanding it — it's so dynamic that it can change hourly. At least that's what I've read. On this thread, I think.

the categories still baffle me! People on here are really helpful though and we’ve had some really good positioned rooms in the past from advice given here. Do you have specific questions on the categories? Maybe someone can help?

 

[MissPrincessBelle]

Guys, come on, we need to keep this thread open so that important updates can be posted over the next few days. Going rond and round in circles about Castaway Club membership is getting us no where. UK members need to know updates and if this thread gets closed, those updates can't be posted

Agreed.

 

[BadPinkTink]

people arguing about an unrelated topic will get a thread closed, we need to keep this thread open, so that Disboard members who are booking these cruises have a place for updates about their cruises.

 

[mousematt]

Do you have specific questions on the categories? Maybe someone can help?

Given the shortness of the cruises and the possibility / likelihood that this will be my only DCL cruise, I think I've decided I want some kind of veranda room. I'm imagining waking up in the morning and stepping outside and admiring the view, even if it's just empty sea.

But it will come down to price. And it is very frustrating that we will get no indication of that until booking opens. The impression you get — which may be wholly wrong — is that it's a mad scramble to make a booking and — sorry, but this is a legitimate point — you're already at a disadvantage because you're days behind other people.

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

 

[MattMills31]

Given the shortness of the cruises and the possibility / likelihood that this will be my only DCL cruise, I think I've decided I want some kind of veranda room. I'm imagining waking up in the morning and stepping outside and admiring the view, even if it's just empty sea.

But it will come down to price. And it is very frustrating that we will get no indication of that until booking opens. The impression you get — which may be wholly wrong — is that it's a mad scramble to make a booking and — sorry, but this is a legitimate point — you're already at a disadvantage because you're days behind other people.

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

I have a cruise booked from New Orleans next Feb half term, and its around £1,700 for one of the cheaper verandah rooms for 4 nights so I am hoping that I can get a similar price on this cruise. In my experience (pre covid) the prices actually stay fairly stable for a while, and despite being a CC member I have never booked pre general release, as I find it easier to look over figures on the website and then give DCL a call as they are all so helpful.

I have just looked at my booking now, and similar staterooms can still be booked (4 months after we booked) for roughly the same price.

Hope that helps

 

[auntlynne]

Let me be clear. I would have no problem with CC members getting free bottles of champagne in their rooms. Every night. I would have no problem with CC members getting 50% discounts on their fares. Hell, they can have a Platinum Lounge if they want.

What I do have a problem with is CC members getting their pick of the rooms (and other things you can book) before everyone else. I don't think that's a fair perk. And no loyalty programme I've ever been part of has offered that kind of perk.

What the old-timers may have forgotten is just how bogglingly complicated booking a cruise seems to a newbie. There are — what? — eleven categories of stateroom? The pricing structure — when they actually let you see it — seems hugely complicated. And — as I'm understanding it — it's so dynamic that it can change hourly. At least that's what I've read. On this thread, I think.

I think there is an expectation that you will use a travel agent to book a cruise. A carry-over from the days before home internet use. The agent would discuss your vacation budget and wishes and deal with the categories.

I don’t think the pricing escalates as fast as might be portrayed (and I could be way off on this). I typically book sometime after prices have been listed, not on opening day.

 

[GreenDress]

Given the shortness of the cruises and the possibility / likelihood that this will be my only DCL cruise, I think I've decided I want some kind of veranda room. I'm imagining waking up in the morning and stepping outside and admiring the view, even if it's just empty sea.

But it will come down to price. And it is very frustrating that we will get no indication of that until booking opens. The impression you get — which may be wholly wrong — is that it's a mad scramble to make a booking and — sorry, but this is a legitimate point — you're already at a disadvantage because you're days behind other people.

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

From whats been said so far its all phone bookings but the cast member will talk you through the options. One advantage of having people book ahead of you is they can give you sn idea of pricing so you’ve a rough figure in mind when you phone. We’re gold so are hoping platinums will share this info with us. If you find the balcony rooms are more expensive than you want to pay the fake portholes on the inside rooms are fun.
i’m not sure how quick pricing changes as we’ve not done an advance booking before.

 

[Garyjames220]

Hi everyone

Is the uk cruises still happening?

 

[mousematt]

This whole CC debate arises because of the bizarre circumstances in which we find ourselves. I actually have a WDW holiday booked for August and I would never normally even think of going on a DCL cruise because I don't really think it's my type of thing. I even have a back-up DLP trip booked, just in case the WDW trip doesn't go ahead.

But there's so much uncertainty around that I feel like I have to seize any opportunity. I've gone completely stir crazy during the most recent lockdown and I'm gasping to get away and do something fun.

With — apparently — half the cruises cancelled already, there's just this fear that there are so few staterooms and so many people wanting to book them. After having rescheduled my June 2020 trip to October 2020, then to January 2021, then to April 2021, then to August 2021, I'm not sure I can stand another disappointment.

And the whole booking process just feels so daunting. You get the impression it's really high pressure. You need to know exactly what you want and grab it straight away, or you'll miss out.

 

[auntlynne]

I have a cruise booked from New Orleans next Feb half term, and its around £1,700 for one of the cheaper verandah rooms for 4 nights so I am hoping that I can get a similar price on this cruise. In my experience (pre covid) the prices actually stay fairly stable for a while, and despite being a CC member I have never booked pre general release, as I find it easier to look over figures on the website and then give DCL a call as they are all so helpful.

I have just looked at my booking now, and similar staterooms can still be booked (4 months after we booked) for roughly the same price.

Hope that helps

Yep, i have had similar experience with pricing; I have no idea what happened the first few days of sales, so I don’t know if I missed a great price.

It’s Disney, it won’t be cheap.

 

[mousematt]

Is the uk cruises still happening?

The quick answer to that is: nobody knows. There is no new information from DCL.

 

[Mommb]

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

If you call in to make a reservation, you will indicate what room type you want (which can be as simple as "inside," "oceanview," or "veranda") and, if you care, the area of the ship where you want to be. I haven't booked directly by phone, so I'm not sure how many questions you'll be asked to pin down what you want. You will then be given a potential room number and a price for that room.

If you book online (assuming these cruises work like previous cruises), you will select, in order, the type (inside/oceanview/veranda/concierge), a category within the type, a location (aft/midship/forward), and a deck (if more than 1 is available). You will then see a ship map showing some rooms meeting those parameters, and select a room location to see the price. If you are not happy with that cost or location, you can go backwards to make other selections.

If you want to get a sense of the choices you can make, you can go onto the DCL website now and work through a booking for a cruise on the Magic. Obviously, the actual costs for the UK resident cruises will be different, but you'll be able to see the different kinds of rooms available and their relative costs.

How quickly costs go up varies greatly. I booked a European cruise for summer 2022 on opening day, and the cost has stayed the same ever since. For a different cruise that we considered, the cost has gone up by about 10% (but that happened at least a week after booking opened to all guests -- a week after I booked, the cost had not yet risen).

 

[Pens Fan]

I understand the frustration of not being able to see prices prior to actually booking. It's why we all greatly appreciate the time the moderators take to maintain the pricing threads whenever a new set of cruises drop. I do have one suggestion that some of you might not be aware of. Touring Plans has a cruise fare tracker on their website. You do not have to have a subscription to use it. It basically tracks the historical pricing for all itineraries for quite a few years back. You choose an itinerary, ship, cabin category, and party make-up and it shows you what the prices were on opening day and how it changed until the ship actually sails.

I know these UK sailings are unprecedented, so you'd have to be creative in choosing which itinerary to compare it to (there really is no comparison). Still, for someone who is unfamiliar with the DCL product you can get an idea of how cabin category and party make-up change the price. You'll also see how quickly prices rise. For example, your random 3/4 night Dream Cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay might not rise in price for months, if at all. A unique itinerary with only one sailing every few years might rise daily and sell out quickly. It will be interesting to see just how popular these UK sailings turn out to be. I have no idea what to predict .

Anyway - here's the link if anyone is interested in playing around with it: https://touringplans.com/disney-cruise-line/tools/fare-tracker

And no, I'm not affiliated with Touring Plans in any way. I'm just a fan of what they do.

 

[Kate_45]

So I heard about the cruises via Facebook ads from Disney themselves in March. Thought it was an incredibly clever move by them seeing as at the time we were thinking the UK would likely be closed this summer. Everything including having the London cruises when only the private schools were on holiday suggested really good market knowledge.

But of course things are changing so fast at the moment. It's no wonder Disney are changing when goalposts keep moving.
And this thread was really not what I expected. Presale is quite a common thing, whether for O2 customers or mailing list subscribers, I never thought it might be controversial. Dynamic pricing too is a general holiday thing; I remember in 2007 trying to book a last minute summer holiday at the end of Aug and it was crazy expensive because it had been so wet that everyone had decided to go abroad. Plus booking flights of course. Urgh.

Anyway I look forward to the next announcement and can't wait to find out prices.

 

[Garyjames220]

The quick answer to that is: nobody knows. There is no new information from DCL.

why is it on the dcl website then that bookings start 19th. What’s changed

 

[Joshua Kelso]

Given the shortness of the cruises and the possibility / likelihood that this will be my only DCL cruise, I think I've decided I want some kind of veranda room. I'm imagining waking up in the morning and stepping outside and admiring the view, even if it's just empty sea.

But it will come down to price. And it is very frustrating that we will get no indication of that until booking opens. The impression you get — which may be wholly wrong — is that it's a mad scramble to make a booking and — sorry, but this is a legitimate point — you're already at a disadvantage because you're days behind other people.

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

As a first-timer, I decided to let a Dreams TA book it for me. If I don't get it, fine I'll move on. Since I have no idea what to expect price-wise, I just asked my wife what we'd be willing to pay, and we settled on £2-3k for four nights, and as close to £2 as possible. If we can't get a Veranda, we probably won't go, unless it's way WAY under £2k.

No idea at all if this is reasonable, but DCL isn't exactly making planning this easy so thats what we decided for us. Less than 4 days didn't seen like enough time to relax and enjoy the ride FOR US. "Our" price was based on our Tokyo Disney holiday, we were willing to pay up to £500/day for 3 days for that, so for 4 days I added another £500 and then also gave an extra £1k emergency buffer because it's a cruise and booking cruises is scary, weird and expensive.

But really the extra £1k is very conditional, I'm really not willing to go higher than £2k without very good reason. Anyway, my agent knows all this, so I'm just leaving it with them. *shrug*

 

[ukintheus]

I am helping family in the UK with all the ins and outs of these sailings (2 adults - CC Silver) - edited to add I'm not a travel agent, just have more experience than them with DCL. When first announced it was a big plus for them that Tilbury was one of the departure ports (35 mins from them). It's disappointing that it looks like dates and departure ports are changing but I agree with other posters that this is probably due to restrictions that are just now being found out. Oh well, we shall see what Monday brings if nothing is put out by DCL earlier. I have also priced the Virgin Staycation cruises out of Portsmouth. Those begin in August, follow the same 3 and 4 night format, and pricing is already available online. I had priced them vs DCL last year when the Scarlet Lady was going to sail out of the US. They were higher than DCL then (and are adult only, so not an option for a lot of typical DCL cruisers,) Their price includes all tips and wifi . I figured it was a good start to see where DCL match up when/if pricing does eventually become available.

 

[Starwind]

But it will come down to price. And it is very frustrating that we will get no indication of that until booking opens. The impression you get — which may be wholly wrong — is that it's a mad scramble to make a booking and — sorry, but this is a legitimate point — you're already at a disadvantage because you're days behind other people.

Are there huge pricing charts that you have to scan your eyes down? At what point do you specify a room? Or room type? If you take a day to think about it, will the price really have shot up by the time you log back on?

I've sailed 8 times with DCL and I also find it frustrating that they do not make some kind of "base" pricing info available before an itinerary opens for sale. Most of our cruises we've booked "opening day" for our Castaway Cay Club level at the time, and for most there wasn't much of or any price difference in the short term. For really popular sailing though, prices can rise quickly or certain room categories can sell out quickly. But it is variable and hard to predict. I'll give you an example of a cruise we priced [but did not book, we ultimately booked later in the summer].

On 2021-03-23 I priced the May 16 2022 Alaska Disney Wonder sailing on DCL. For 3 adults, the price then for stateroom 8008 [cat 4B, deck 8 forward, sleeps 5 and has a murphy bed] was: USD$: Adult 1 $4,172.00; Adult 2 $4,172.00; Adult 3 $1,323.00; Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $607.29; Total Stateroom Price $10,274.29. The price stayed the same for quite a while. Now though on 2021-04-14 I price the same stateroom and the prices for Adult 1 and 2 have each risen to $4,298.00, raising the overall total price to $$10,526.29. For the cruise we are actually booked on in late August 2022, when we booked the total for that same room started at $11,009.29 and it is now $11,765.29.

If you want an idea of of how booking works online and how the different categories are, you can always play with "pricing" a cruise on dates that are already available to book via the DCL website: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ at the top of the page you can set your correct country/currency. Then play with the filters to select your number of travelers, destination, ship etc. You can then navigate through the process and see how it is done online.

This page for example will take you to Disney Magic cruises leaving Miami for the Bahamas: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...t/#bahamas-cruises,miami-florida,disney-magic Randomly choose some different dates and play around to get a feel for pricing differentials between oceanview and verandah, between different parts of the ship etc.

In short, when pricing online, you: Use filters [eg departure port, month of departure, number of adult and child guests] to narrow down the available cruises to a shorter list and then choose your desired sail date; view the cruise itinerary; confirm your travel party (the number of adults and children in your party); select the stateroom type (inside, oceanview, verandah, concierge); select stateroom category [eg Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah OR Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah; select ship location (aft, midship, foward) and deck [it only lets you select what is available]. Then you are presented with a deck plan and room options and you can click around and see the pricing. Near the top of the screen is a back option so you can back out to choose other options if you want to compare eg oceanview vs verandah.

If you want info about the different types of staterooms, DCL has some good info here: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/magic/staterooms-overview/

Interactive deck plans are here [make sure Disney Magic is selected]: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships/deck-plans/

And a PDF colour-coded deck plan for the Disney Magic is here [I suggest downloading it and opening it in Adobe so you can enlarge as needed]: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...edia/Assets/ShipsActivities/Ships/mw-deck.pdf

The PDF I find helpful because it lets me easily figure out where the categories of staterooms I am interested in are located, which lets me narrow down my researching. We have never sailed on the Wonder, so this is what I did to figure out stateroom choice for our Alaska trip: First, I knew from other research I had done that we wanted a verandah. Also, we have sailed before with Disney and I knew we wanted a room with a murphy bed. A bit of reasearch let me know that the only non-concierge rooms with a murphy bed are the "deluxe family oceanview stateroom with verandah" category. Looking at the PDF map and the stateroom info page on the DCL website, I learned those staterooms are category 4A, 4B, 4E and are located on deck 8. Already narrowed down a fair bit !! Then I started researching things like what is on the decks above and below [because that can affect things like noise if people are moving chairs around right above you], where are the outdoor smoking areas, and other factors that would influence my decision about where on deck 8 I wanted to be located. In the end, we choose deck 8 forward, the cat 4B rooms on the starboard side. Then I started plugging those room numbers into here on the Disboards as well as Google and Youtube [eg Disney Wonder stateroom tour 8502] to see what info I could come up with. I learned there are overhangs in that part of the ship, so videos people had posted of the view from their verandah were important, as were comments about the view and the overhangs. After reading everything we could find, we came up with a rank-ordered short list of our preferred rooms; we also made a second list in case our category was completely gone. It took a chunk of time to research, and I won't know until next summer if we are going to be happy with our choice, but for now we are satisfied and feel we have a good idea of what to expect.

Finally, one of the things that helped me the most when we were planning our FIRST DCL cruise was the book "PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line and Its Ports of Call". It is out of print now, but I just checked on the Amazon UK website and they have the kindle version for sale [ Kindle Price: £11.19 ], which would give you instant access, my only caveat being it was published in 2014 so is not entirely current: https://www.amazon.co.uk/PassPorters-Disney-Cruise-Line-Ports-ebook/dp/B00HBU0BVA

Another excellent book, is the "Unofficial Guide to the Disney Cruise Line 2020 (Unofficial Guides)" and they also have a kindle edition [it is cheaper too ! Kindle Price: £8.54]. it will be more current, though the Passporter Guide IMO has nicer graphics. I own and use both books and recommend both as you will get good info from both !! The Unofficial Guide kindle edition is here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-Guide-Disney-Cruise-Guides-ebook/dp/B081K7HJP7 They also have a paperback version which looks like it can deliver quickly from Amazon, and it is also likely to be available in your local bookstores.

I hope this helps you with your researching and helping decide what options would work for your family.

SW

 

[Starwind]

If you call in to make a reservation, you will indicate what room type you want (which can be as simple as "inside," "oceanview," or "veranda") and, if you care, the area of the ship where you want to be. I haven't booked directly by phone, so I'm not sure how many questions you'll be asked to pin down what you want. You will then be given a potential room number and a price for that room.

If you call you can also be very specific if you want to be, such as "I would stateroom XXXX", or a specific category and location or range of rooms, if you know that is what you want.

We have always known the stateroom we wanted, so when we call once we are speaking with a cast member we let them know which sailing we want to book and that we already know the stateroom we would like if it is available. They may take the stateroom number right then or a bit into the call [we'be had both, but usually they have taken it right away].

SW

 

[mmouse37]

Booking first time could be daunting as there is the unknown. Even after all my cruises I still find it frustrating that pricing is not available until the day bookings begin. Some cruises never go up in price. More popular itineraries can go up in price quickly and some can sell out very quickly (like Hawaii). That said these UK cruises are a total unknown. Do people feel safe enough to cruise and are hesitant or are they bursting to go somewhere. No one knows how it will go.

I have sailed in most categories except Concierge. My favorite spot on the Magic is Cabin 2546 or there about. I like Oceanview cabins as I need natural sunlight. I have had verandas before but find I do not spend as much time as I think I might have before the cruise. So, I choose Oceanview. Beautiful views with less money. I really like Deck 2. Close to all the action and dining rooms and only an elevator ride away from the pool deck.

As far as Palo, it is easier to snag a dinner reservation than a brunch reservation. They usually hold back an amount of reservations to be booked onboard. I have often (even as Platinum) not been able to book a Palo meal but had gotten one once onboard. I don't often book on opening day but more last minute.

I was an avid WDW fanatic but once I discovered DCL I decided it is my favorite of the Disney products. We recently got back from WDW and what a nightmare trying to book that and then make park reservations, dining reservations, trying to book quick service meals hours before we wanted to eat to make sure we could eat lunch at a normal time. I must have spent 50 hours in planning that trip. Don't get me started with My Disney Experience. Its an awful website/app. With DCL once you book your room the rest is gravy. I love knowing when and where I am eating dinner each night with no effort on my part. Just pick early or late dining.

In all honestly there are really no bad cabins on DCL (hence no worry all the best cabins will be booked before you). Yes, some areas may be less desirable to some but I have been happy anywhere onboard. For instance even though cabin on Deck 8 have verandahs I don't like Deck 8 because sometimes you can hear Deck 9 deck chairs being dragged around.

When I book last minute we are assigned a cabin and can't choose one. That can also happen when a particular category is close to selling out. DCL will then put that category in GTY status which mean you are guaranteed a room in the category you booked but DCL will assign it to you closer to sail day. Higher decks are more expensive due to "perceived" notion that higher is better. To me its not. I can see the same water from Deck 2 that I can see from Deck 8. If you really want a verandah but want to save some money there are cabins called Navigator Verandahs that have a verandah but is more enclosed with an open air cutout.

I find this deck plan site to be fantastic. You can see every category and cabin and see what is above and below an area you are interested in.

Disney Magic Deck Plans, Diagrams, Pictures, Video (cruisedeckplans.com)

Definitely longer is better. I have done 2 night cruises on DCL and while still lovely you really don't get the sense of how wonderful they are as they are so short. If you can do the 4 night ones go for it.

MJ