DCL Feedback & Research

[kappaman14]

I just got off the Magic (5 night to Cozumel & CC). Very good trip, per usual, but I also left with a number of feedback points that I'd like to share. I filled out the survey as always, but that seems like a very limited feedback mechanism for DCL and frankly comes across more like an employee scoring service rather than genuinely seeking improvement opportunities.

My question for the group is this: has anyone either a) provided longer form, critical feedback to a person or department in a position to affect change or b) participated in focus groups or interviews to gather qualitative feedback on cruise experiences? Having a background in insights & analytics, I see a lot of opportunity for DCL to expand their capabilities here and I'd welcome the chance to provide "real" feedback other than just scoring my servers.

 

[happycamper47]

We have taken the note paper out of the drawer and written both kudos and criticisms which we then included with the survey form. We've been told numerous times that they are read. If you send kudos to a CM by name they are also told.

 

[TiszBear]

I have actually written a letter to DCL and I did hear back from them. One of the past cruises I did, I felt that even after filling out their comment card I need to send a letter detailing the good and the not so good. When I sent them the letter I made sure to give the crew members (who I did mention on the comment card) who were fantastic a grew review and why (dates and events). The few issues I had I also made sure to give enough details of my concerns. I felt better after I sent the letter and I wasn't expecting anything in return. About a month after I sent the letter I received a very nice letter back with references to the crew members I mentioned and how they were going to be recognized and who mentioned them. They also thanked me for the writing to them about the few concerns I mentioned and they were going to contact the appropriate department(s). The letter was not a form letter as some might think and I actually felt they listened.

Jennifer

 

[o&smom]

We always write extra feed back positive or negative on our cards. You could also send an email to the head of DCL.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Curious what your feedback points are. We will be on the magic in 2 weeks

 

[colleen costello]

I appreciate this information as I just wrote to them and wondered if I would eventually hear back. It was my first cruise and I was committed to praising cabin steward and servers, so that was my first letter. Second letter was addressing some "accessibility" issues. After a week in a bad bed at WDW, my lower back was in a state, and discovering that virtually nowhere on Castaway had "regular chairs" -- just low-to-the-ground ones -- I was pretty bummed. I could have done a lot more and stayed way longer were some "regular chairs" with actual backs to be found. It was important to me to point this out to them and I hoped I would hear back.

 

[happycamper47]

I appreciate this information as I just wrote to them and wondered if I would eventually hear back. It was my first cruise and I was committed to praising cabin steward and servers, so that was my first letter. Second letter was addressing some "accessibility" issues. After a week in a bad bed at WDW, my lower back was in a state, and discovering that virtually nowhere on Castaway had "regular chairs" -- just low-to-the-ground ones -- I was pretty bummed. I could have done a lot more and stayed way longer were some "regular chairs" with actual backs to be found. It was important to me to point this out to them and I hoped I would hear back.

Did you go out to Serenity Bay? There used to be some there and I thought all around as well.

 

[colleen costello]

Hello! Thank you for your info. Yes, we did go to Serenity on first CC day. The barbecue area was all picnic tables so I just stood up when there. But even though some beach chairs DID have backs, they were also really low to the ground. I think I spied some "normal chairs" (normal seating height) at the bar that sits between the BBQ and the Serenity beach, but a monsoon hit and we headed back on the tram. I may have missed some regular chairs on Serenity; that's possible. I looked for regular chairs on the other beaches too but never did see any. Perhaps at the bars (although some of what I saw were just backless stools).

 

[Erica1016]

I agree that I'd love some regular-height chairs. My knees don't like getting up from those low riders and I'm not particulary a lounger person.

 

[colleen costello]

I agree that I'd love some regular-height chairs. My knees don't like getting up from those low riders and I'm not particulary a lounger person.

I mentioned in my letter that there are a LOT of reasons that people need "regular chairs." Hopefully they will consider it!

 

[Jim Libasci]

I just got off the Magic (5 night to Cozumel & CC). Very good trip, per usual, but I also left with a number of feedback points that I'd like to share. I filled out the survey as always, but that seems like a very limited feedback mechanism for DCL and frankly comes across more like an employee scoring service rather than genuinely seeking improvement opportunities.

My question for the group is this: has anyone either a) provided longer form, critical feedback to a person or department in a position to affect change or b) participated in focus groups or interviews to gather qualitative feedback on cruise experiences? Having a background in insights & analytics, I see a lot of opportunity for DCL to expand their capabilities here and I'd welcome the chance to provide "real" feedback other than just scoring my servers.

We agree that the Feed back form they give you doesn't give you enough space to really let DCL know what we think. Every trip we write a little 2-3 page letter and mail it to them. We ALWAYS hear back, sometimes they send letters, sometimes emails or phone calls.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I always leave an encyclopedia and even onboard I talk a lot to the officers. Always hear back, some things approve, some dont…

 

[kiford]

I nearly always get a follow-up survey whenever we stay at WDW and after a cruise. Each time, it's different, with the focus being somewhat different. I've also participated in a number of surveys at WDW when we get stopped by someone with a tablet asking questions about something quite specific - we've had questions asked because we live outside of the US, on Mission Space, at resorts. Disney does a lot of different types of surveys, and I believe there's also a way to submit unsolicited feedback online, though I've never done it.

We had someone at our table on DCL several years ago who worked in the IT department at Disney and were told that they consolidate a lot of data from a lot of different surveys and feedback and then have sessions where they go through things that rise to the top to identify what they might do - or not - about them (presumably in different departments). There's a whole lot of work that happens between getting survey and other data to "rising to the top", but they do seem to have a process for actually using and acting on what they collect. We noticed years ago that we'd say things to ourselves about how we wished they would do this or that though we might or might not have said anything, and then the next time we'd visit, there would be positive changes in those things. Obviously, we were not the only ones who noticed something or wanted something done differently, and enough people said something - or it was noted internally - and changes happened.

It may take time - or your feedback may just not be what gets acted on - but from my experience, it's definitely worth putting in the feedback or filling in the surveys.

 

[auntlynne]

@kiford - do you often sail Concierge? I see you stay DVC and that you mentioned Mission Space. Wondering if they focus on higher-end destination guests.

 

[kappaman14]

Curious what your feedback points are. We will be on the magic in 2 weeks

Let me caveat this by saying we generally had a very good time, and we've sailed multiple times on the Magic (& understand it is 26 years old). That said, there are a number of wear & tear items on this ship. Lots of repairs to address and maintenance to do (the "P" in Animator's Palate was missing?). Plumbing issues, both in my room (problematic shower) and around the ship. Air conditioning is substandard, especially in the shared spaces. Plus there were cleanliness issues that I haven't seen with Disney previously; dirty glasses/dishes/napkins/etc.

Beyond this ship and this cruise, I think Disney has some opportunities to address. For one, adult programming is a weak point. There was an 18+ trivia around 7:30pm most nights (with multiple dancing children in the bar), and then a program block 10-11pm (game shows, magician, etc). There are liquor tastings, and that's about all I saw. I suspect DCL's aim is to have you attend the stage show (Fathoms isn't open when the show is running), but the stage content is very family focused and (understandably) attended by lots of children.

I recognize Disney's positioning is "family", and this is part of what attracted us to them. In 2011, when we went on the Dream for the first time, our daughters were 5 & 1.5 and a lot of their content was perfect for us. Throughout the past decade, their content options have generally aged with our kids, but now I'm at a point where my 18/15/11 year old children aren't seeking as much of the younger content. Plus, as my kids need less attention, I'm available to attend more activities without them but there just aren't enough of those activities. I really like the Disney ambiance and standard, but I'm simply not spending as much time as I used to at character meet-ups. Another element of this is Disney's ability to maintain loyalty as families expand. I've seen more multigenerational families on the ships, which is awesome and something I'd like to do in the future. But that means the balance of adults to children on the ship will continue to increase, and the adult programming should increase commensurately.

Adjacent to this is Disney's need to update/expand technology on the ship. We're doing trivia with honor system pencils & pads, meanwhile my kids have been using Kahoots in school for nearly a decade. In room technology needs updating (& get Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, & Hulu on the TVs). Video gaming is a huge miss; there some limited gaming options in the kids clubs, but nothing for adults. The app is incredibly glitchy and hard to operate, and would greatly benefit from a "find my friends" type GPS solution.

I can go on, but this is a sampling of what I see. I'm hoping Disney is capturing & addressing feedback (and I see several notes here that they are), because their cruise experience has stagnated from my point of view. It's very hard to justify a Disney premium if Disney doesn't continue to innovate and if Disney will neglect entire age brackets of guests.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Let me caveat this by saying we generally had a very good time, and we've sailed multiple times on the Magic (& understand it is 26 years old). That said, there are a number of wear & tear items on this ship. Lots of repairs to address and maintenance to do (the "P" in Animator's Palate was missing?). Plumbing issues, both in my room (problematic shower) and around the ship. Air conditioning is substandard, especially in the shared spaces. Plus there were cleanliness issues that I haven't seen with Disney previously; dirty glasses/dishes/napkins/etc.

Beyond this ship and this cruise, I think Disney has some opportunities to address. For one, adult programming is a weak point. There was an 18+ trivia around 7:30pm most nights (with multiple dancing children in the bar), and then a program block 10-11pm (game shows, magician, etc). There are liquor tastings, and that's about all I saw. I suspect DCL's aim is to have you attend the stage show (Fathoms isn't open when the show is running), but the stage content is very family focused and (understandably) attended by lots of children.

I recognize Disney's positioning is "family", and this is part of what attracted us to them. In 2011, when we went on the Dream for the first time, our daughters were 5 & 1.5 and a lot of their content was perfect for us. Throughout the past decade, their content options have generally aged with our kids, but now I'm at a point where my 18/15/11 year old children aren't seeking as much of the younger content. Plus, as my kids need less attention, I'm available to attend more activities without them but there just aren't enough of those activities. I really like the Disney ambiance and standard, but I'm simply not spending as much time as I used to at character meet-ups. Another element of this is Disney's ability to maintain loyalty as families expand. I've seen more multigenerational families on the ships, which is awesome and something I'd like to do in the future. But that means the balance of adults to children on the ship will continue to increase, and the adult programming should increase commensurately.

Adjacent to this is Disney's need to update/expand technology on the ship. We're doing trivia with honor system pencils & pads, meanwhile my kids have been using Kahoots in school for nearly a decade. In room technology needs updating (& get Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, & Hulu on the TVs). Video gaming is a huge miss; there some limited gaming options in the kids clubs, but nothing for adults. The app is incredibly glitchy and hard to operate, and would greatly benefit from a "find my friends" type GPS solution.

I can go on, but this is a sampling of what I see. I'm hoping Disney is capturing & addressing feedback (and I see several notes here that they are), because their cruise experience has stagnated from my point of view. It's very hard to justify a Disney premium if Disney doesn't continue to innovate and if Disney will neglect entire age brackets of guests.

Oh dear to the cleanliness and plumbing issues. Did you point these out to an cm when they were happening? Our last cruise in 2022 was on the wonder to Alaska and we found the ship to be pristine but the food lacking. Our girls were 10 then and loved the kids club so much we found ourselves looking for things to do. We enjoyed the spa, art of the theme ship tour, karaoke, and anyone can cook. Wanted to play bingo but ran out of time. I kind of like the old school trivia but then again I’m a teacher and 2020 traumatized me from kahoot lol. I can see where Disney might be lacking in the 18-25 age group but it’s all about what you want out of a vacation. Glad it was a good time and hopefully you hear back from Disney.

 

[Jsoenning]

I agree with the comment that there is very little planned activities on Disney. My wife and I just completed a cruise on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas and there was a ton of stuff happening simultaneously, so much so that we didn’t do everything we wanted to do. Mini golf competitions, swimming activities, ice skating, different games besides trivia, art show, towel / napkin folding, March of Dimes walk, nightly themed parties, just to name a few.

I think we’ve outgrown Disneys target demographic, as their activities are heavy on character meets. But back in the day for Christmas there were decorate gingerbread houses you could bring back to the room, making Christmas crafts, etc. All cut via cost cutting under premise of COVID.

Disneys alcohol tastings are a super premium price compared to RCL. We went to a Women of Wine for likely half the cost, and it was amazing with videos from the women wine producers, great info from staff (super passionate and info beyond Disney) and a booklet to take home. We also tried six half glasses plus champagne. I took a long nap they were so generous.

Also loved Chefs Table and Jamie’s Italian, both surpassing Palo by a mile. Disney Cruise execs need to take a trip on their competition to see how they’re being left behind by staying pat and not staying true to Walt’s passion for innovation. Food presentation was a major wow factor at the two venues I mentioned. Chicken parmigiana was better at Jamie’s than Palo.

Love the suggestions from OP, easy to implement and cost not insane. Main dining food was better on recent RCL cruise than our two 2024 Disney cruises. Just the bread basket alone destroyed the equivalent on Magic. Heck the food in the buffet was solid and the Cafe Promenade.

We also had bathroom issues on Magic in March. Now Mariner is five years younger than Magic so that could be why. Only note for Mariner was balcony railing no longer polished so looked rough. We were in a Junior Suite booked last minute, four nights $2000 including tips. Left the ship with less than $100 bill. Four free drinks per day from status. Room the size of the large verandas on Disney. No way would’ve been $2000 for the two of us on Disney.

 

[auntlynne]

I don’t think Disney planned for the idea of adult cruisers and so many repeat customers on DCL. The premise of 3- and 4-night cruises to compliment a WDW vacation are still their bread and butter. Sure, they added a second ship and started 7-night runs. And are still doing those; with the same Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.

Even WDW is set up for families. And specifically younger ones. Look at the lack of extreme rides. And the principal activity focus for adults in the parks and onboard is alcohol consumption. Similar to ships.

It’s possible that HAL, Viking, or other premium lines might be similar for adults as DCL. Even cruises I have taken on NCL and Princess didn’t seem to offer much adult activity. Or maybe I didn’t notice, as my speed /cruise style is essentially what Disney offers, no matter the ship. I actually miss several things when on other cruise lines: the great Buena Vista Theater set-up on the MWDF. Funnelvision late night. Some of the production shows. If there’s a comedian, knowing I won’t have to cringe. And the lack of frat party music loudness and poolside events.

We can’t forget that I like to cruise for the ports (despite doing TAs and a PC). The ship is my floating hotel.