DCL not returning to Australia/NZ

[DCLMP]

I did those cruises in 2022 and they had to heavily discount even before PIF date. It was the cheapest DCL I’d sailed in about 10 years.

If they are going to keep a ship in California over the Winter, if I was Disney I’d make it the Magic. The Wonder hasn’t been through the canal is ages, it would mean both coasts get a different ship than the one they are used to. (I know the Magic has sailed from California before.)

March to June can be on the cool side. I can't imagine cruising on the Pacific in January. July to October is the best beach weather in California. I think the water in California is too cold for swimming anytime of year, but that's a me problem.

 

[DCLMP]

I would put a ship in California and one in New York during the Summer. I think the cruises would sell well. The offseason come up with some longer unique itineraries to attract the adult cruisers.

 

[RedHead0186]

March to June can be on the cool side. I can't imagine cruising on the Pacific in January. July to October is the best beach weather in California. I think the water in California is too cold for swimming anytime of year, but that's a me problem.

I did a Panama Canal cruise (not on DCL) a couple of years ago that ended in LAX in mid-January. Brrrrrrrrrr.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It's starting to look like DCL won't be returning to Australia after the 25/26 season, and I'm pretty bummed.

Obviously there's no official word yet, but The Wonder has been removed from the Melbourne port schedule, and I've read of a few people contacting the call centre to confirm it.

So after February the closest Disney cruise will be Singapore

Sorry, just having a little pity party.

There are cruise lines that do vary when they do their itineraries. Meaning, they don't do the same itineraries every year. Some itineraries may only show up every 2 or 3 years. Possibly DCL will be doing the same.

 

[happycamper47]

Remember, Australia was one of the last markets to reopen to cruising during the pandemic, nearly two years after most other cruise ports. Environmental restrictions have been a hassle for cruise lines. And a family member who live in Australia put it this way....."some in Australia are questioning whether the negatives of allowing cruise ships outweigh the positives". Disney may have just thrown in the towel.

One cruise line was not even able to dock unless the entire hull was re-cleaned and inspected due to foreign muscles/barnacles if I remember correctly. So those costs definitely have an affect.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

The thing is that even with the "allegedly" super discount prices, a 3 day cruise is still more expensive than a 4 day Singapore cruise. If the want to sell they need to make it cheaper!

 

[happycamper47]

The thing is that even with the "allegedly" super discount prices, a 3 day cruise is still more expensive than a 4 day Singapore cruise. If the want to sell they need to make it cheaper!

But how much higher is the AU overhead, food, fuel, port fees etc?

 

[Dreams&wishes]

But how much higher is the AU overhead, food, fuel, port fees etc?

Oh I'm sure that's the case, but unless they add some nice ports or a better ship there is no competitive advantage and people are not going to pay for it.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Given how badly DCL bungled having a ship in LA many years ago, it doesn’t surprise me that they didn’t do a good job in Australia. I remember people on this board complaining that DCL didn’t have much advertising about their cruises being in LA. DCL doesn’t have very creative marketing people. They are in the camp of - bring it (the ship to the area) and they will come. There are too many options in the cruise field not to market DCL. I’m about 3-4 hours from NYC and you would think I would see ads on TV about DCL having a ship in NYC for 2023. Nope. I did a B2B2B out of NYC and took the train to NYC. Booking in advance got me business class seats for 2 for about $100 on Amtrack. Why didn’t they advertise being in NY to the north east area? The cruises were not full except the one during Jersey week.

 

[Kwami]

Oh I'm sure that's the case, but unless they add some nice ports or a better ship there is no competitive advantage and people are not going to pay for it.

Well, but the Australian cruise is probably still cheaper than flying to Singapore, paying for a hotel, taking a cruise, and then flying back from Singapore. Right?

 

[Kwami]

Given how badly DCL bungled having a ship in LA many years ago, it doesn’t surprise me that they didn’t do a good job in Australia. I remember people on this board complaining that DCL didn’t have much advertising about their cruises being in LA. DCL doesn’t have very creative marketing people. They are in the camp of - bring it (the ship to the area) and they will come. There are too many options in the cruise field not to market DCL. I’m about 3-4 hours from NYC and you would think I would see ads on TV about DCL having a ship in NYC for 2023. Nope. I did a B2B2B out of NYC and took the train to NYC. Booking in advance got me business class seats for 2 for about $100 on Amtrack. Why didn’t they advertise being in NY to the north east area? The cruises were not full except the one during Jersey week.

They must do some advertising. My father, who lives in the northeast, but not in New York, tells me every time a Disney ship is going to visit NYC because he hears about it on TV.

 

[AussieNSW]

Well, but the Australian cruise is probably still cheaper than flying to Singapore, paying for a hotel, taking a cruise, and then flying back from Singapore. Right?

Yes it is. I just fid a quick search and in our situation 3 adults and 2 children flights alone would add between $5000 and $6000au to a trip. That is not adding in hotels ect. Flights would need to be in our school holidays which makes them more expensive and an 8 hour flight.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

We are in western Australia

Well, but the Australian cruise is probably still cheaper than flying to Singapore, paying for a hotel, taking a cruise, and then flying back from Singapore. Right?

and it's cheaper to fly to Singapore than Sydney or Melbourne

 

[DCLMP]

Well, but the Australian cruise is probably still cheaper than flying to Singapore, paying for a hotel, taking a cruise, and then flying back from Singapore. Right?

That depends on wether you are using miles or cash.

 

[Moonspinner]

This doesn’t surprise me. We’d never go to Australia to sail DCL. So unless there is a big local DCL market in Australia. I’m not sure who’s booking. Same with Singapore, frankly. We’d never go there to sail DCL. The only thing DCL has going for it in Singapore is American and European expats. It will be interesting to see what happens with that ship. I won’t be surprised if that’s a flop too. I remember when Ncl built a specially designed ship for (I think it was) China. Joy. That ship was back in the US within something like a year. Retrofitted for the US market.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

This doesn’t surprise me. We’d never go to Australia to sail DCL. So unless there is a big local DCL market in Australia. I’m not sure who’s booking. Same with Singapore, frankly. We’d never go there to sail DCL. The only thing DCL has going for it in Singapore is American and European expats. It will be interesting to see what happens with that ship. I won’t be surprised if that’s a flop too. I remember when Ncl built a specially designed ship for (I think it was) China. Joy. That ship was back in the US within something like a year. Retrofitted for the US market.

And they have done zero advertising for the Adventure in Australia as well which is a bit silly really...

 

[NZwade]

Hopefully they come back to NZ / Aus. I have been seeing a lot of marketing in NZ with billboards and advertising on city buses as well as on TV over the past few months.

 

[sponica]

They must do some advertising. My father, who lives in the northeast, but not in New York, tells me every time a Disney ship is going to visit NYC because he hears about it on TV.

Maybe it's super targeted because I'm in the northeast, and I don't think I've ever seen DCL advertising when they have a ship in NY.

 

[jimmymc]

The Disney cruises seemed to be incredibly expensive from Australian ports. Wanted to send some Aussie friends on one but the price was insane.

The magic at sea prices aren't much higher than 3 night Bahamas cruises, but I'm not sure how that translates to Australian standards.

 

[yowcruiser]

One cruise line was not even able to dock unless the entire hull was re-cleaned and inspected due to foreign muscles/barnacles if I remember correctly. So those costs definitely have an affect.

Well, this impacted the timing of the last Wonder dry dock as it received a really deep clean prior to its first TPAC crossing, amongst other things