Disappointed with the direction DCL is heading.

[cruisehopeful]

we always give the room host a tip at the beginning of our cruise when he comes to introduce him/herself

Thanks for posting that. I was wondering if that would be a good thing to do. My brother sails Carnival and he said he always give a $20. on the first day of the cruise and has excellent service. I've always had good service on DCL, but I did wonder if a small tip at the beginning would make the room host feel more appreciated and give even more attention to detail. I am going to do it. Also, sorry if you feel like posting something like this will create negativity on you by other posters. Just remember, none of them matter in the big scheme of things and some may not realize that they are coming across harshly when they post.

 

[MUN]

The rule with the empties is a stupid one anyway. What if there is enough shampoo in the bottle for two people, but the whole family of four wants to wash their hair before dinner? Replacements should be made before things get so low that you need it. Also, what if I take the shampoo with me to shower at the spa, empty it there and then throw it out? How will it be determined whether I am hiding the bottle or threw it out somewhere else?

I remember the same kind of thread about a supposed policy change just before my first cruise in 2013. And since then we have gotten various amounts of soap etc. But never felt like we had to prove that we used it up before it was replaced. Only one stateroom host was strange as we got lots of shampoo, but no soap. Went to guest services and asked for soap and five minutes later someone gave us 3 bars.

I don't think it's a rule.

 

[turtle27]

The CM's remembering people, I think some do and some don't. I think however, that when they take our picture for "security" purposes, it is also used to identify us, especially returning cruisers to the staff. I would think that CM's may remember faces at times. Our Palo server remembered us from our first cruise. We did not have him as a server on the first cruise, but he remembered our group in the back room at Palo. Maybe he was helped by the computer info, it seemed genuine, I don't really care if it wasn't, tbh.

Disney is losing me because they are seeming to care more about the little things. What seems stupid and trivial, really does add up. For instance, we have had the same couple cleaning our offices for almost 4 years now. They are employed by a third party contractor, but have been assigned to our building. I guess we are the only office that gave them a Christmas Card and invited them to our party. They said this was so nice of us. Their actual employer did not do anything for them. A card. An invite. Small things. Big impact.

Going a few more trips this summer and we will see. I am guessing another cruise line is going to start getting my money. I may go back to Disney, but the luster has certainly worn off.

 

[Karen727]

Customers that aren't going to complain like many on here over an extra $10. I get that it all adds up. I'm just tired of the bashing on the cruise line. JW

All the people who don't want to pay Disney prices, go elsewhere. Goodbye!

 

[MUN]

Disney is losing me because they are seeming to care more about the little things. What seems stupid and trivial, really does add up. For instance, we have had the same couple cleaning our offices for almost 4 years now. They are employed by a third party contractor, but have been assigned to our building. I guess we are the only office that gave them a Christmas Card and invited them to our party. They said this was so nice of us. Their actual employer did not do anything for them. A card. An invite. Small things. Big impact.

Actually, I fail to see how this is DCL's fault.

 

[wcw57]

i believe it was a simile....

 

[insureman]

All the people who don't want to pay Disney prices, go elsewhere. Goodbye!

OK?

 

[Mrs.Ed]

We just returned from our first DCL sailing on the Wonder, so I have no previous DCL experience with which to compare. But I will say I was very underwhelmed with our experience. Paying DCL premium prices I expected something more than what I would experience on another cruise line and that simply wasn't the case for my family. The ship was nice enough, but it was no more extraordinary than other ships on which we've sailed from other cruise lines. The service from our room hostess and dining staff was excellent, but no better than service we have received on other cruise lines. The biggest disappointment for us was the food - most of it was subpar. I will admit our last meal on the last night in Tritans was fabulous. Other than a fabulous pork chop I had in Animator's Palate that was the only memorable meal. Brunch at Palo was another huge let down. Breakfast was the worst meal of them all - I can get better food at Denny's or IHOP. And it was the same whether it was a buffet or ordering a la carte. We still had a fun family vacation, but there was nothing extraordinarily special about our DCL sailing. Nothing that would make us want to pay DCL premiums in the future. We are huge Disney fans and APH at DL and were hoping to experience the same Disney magic we've come to know and love from the Disney Parks. We've vacationed at WDW and Aulani and had a magical time so we had high hopes and expectations for our DCL experience. I'm not saying all this to bash Disney - my family and I were just surprised with how disappointing the experience was.

 

[jdb in AZ]

OK?

Too much Kool Aid?

 

[Mrs.Ed]

And FWIW we got plenty of soap and shampoo throughout our cruise Our room hostess Lois was a delight!

 

[Ofinn]

And FWIW we got plenty of soap and shampoo throughout our cruise Our room hostess Lois was a delight!

At least you got that. Regarding your previous post food seems to be hit or miss. Our Hawaii cruise on the Wonder the food was blah. Our last cruise out of Galveston the food was really good. The Wonder doesn't have any of the bells and whistles of the other ships, but it usually has better prices. We stick with DCL because it's a good fit for my 11 and 13 year old. I hope the other lines are as good as you say because I don't think we're too far off from trying one.

 

[C6PT7]

All the people who don't want to pay Disney prices, go elsewhere. Goodbye!

Nice!

 

[cruiseletters]

we have sailed on the DCL 26 times, have had some great vacations but the last few years we have felt that the quality has slowly eroded. So we have booked with another cruise line for our next vacation, we may come back to DCL or we may never look back again, it remains to be seen. All i know is that the policy changes were enough for us to say DCL isn't the only product out there.

 

[turtle27]

Actually, I fail to see how this is DCL's fault.

I was giving an example of how something small can mean so much to people. It adds up. DCL is cutting the small stuff that used to make it special, just my opinion, everyone is entitled to their own!

 

[tlwfun89]

We changed our Disney wonder booking to the fantasy one. Never cruised with Disney but we want to make sure when we are cruising that if this does not awe us we went with the larger and longer ship so we wont tell ourselves well its because its only the wonder ship. We want to make sure we are getting the full picture. In all fairness we booked partially with DVC points or we would never cruise for the full rate shown unless we are knocked off our socks this time with the Disney fantasy

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We changed our Disney wonder booking to the fantasy one. Never cruised with Disney but we want to make sure when we are cruising that if this does not awe us we went with the larger and longer ship so we wont tell ourselves well its because its only the wonder ship. We want to make sure we are getting the full picture. In all fairness we booked partially with DVC points or we would never cruise for the full rate shown unless we are knocked off our socks this time with the Disney fantasy

My guess is you will love a week on the Fantasy! She is an amazing ship, with tons of things to do. My family now prefers, (by a huge margin), DCL over DL and WDW vacations. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[TeamRilan]

i'm pretty sure this will not be a popular post, I can feel the heat rising now but.......we always give the room host a tip at the beginning of our cruise when he comes to introduce him/herself. I explain its just an extra, i'm sure through the week we will request something from him that's over and above so just in case we are not around when he/she does it we wish them to have this now. when they ask if there is anything they should know or anything we may be needing I just mention that it would be nice to have extra shampoo and body lotion left if at all possible. we always come home with tons. on one b2b I had to ask the host to please stop leaving it as he would leave a full set in the morning when he made our bed and then again in the evening at turn down service. it got to be way to much. I was a bit reluctant to post this as there was a thread a while back that got really hot when it was mentioned that people were taking the h2o products home and I don't want to be the person who gets picked on now. i'm just saying it can't be a rule that you have to have empties because mine never are.

as to the cm's saying hi and remembering who we are, I have to call bs. I feel they have a data base and let the cm's know who is coming back aboard. there is just no way they remember us, no way. some maybe but certainly not all. dh and I are the most unremarkable people ever and last October our head server came over every night and reminded us he was our server on a cruise five years ago. he insisted we must remember him, after all, he remembers us. ummm, no. a server at lunch did the same. nope, don't remember you either, sorry. this happens almost every cruise, someone 'remembers' they were our 'person'. we never remember them but i'm sure if I checked back to my records they would be correct. I just don't believe that with 4000 new guests every cruise that they can pick out the people that they attended from years back. I have seen this wonder posted to often. now, this is JMO and I know lots will not agree. i'm not looking to change peoples minds, if the cm knows you and says hi, how can that be a bad thing.

I love your idea of a tip in advance. It's a great way to introduce yourself. We will do this on our next cruise. Thanks for the "tip". Pun intended.

 

[stitch 6 2 6]

I was going to ask the same thing. I'm assuming someone who drinks the DCL kool-aid without questioning what's in it?

They're a business? It's like the Zoo Tycoon game: if you fill the park you can raise the rates. If you raise it too high, you'll have empty rooms. So they want to get as many $ as they can, which means as high of rates as possible without empty rooms. Since they don't have more ships that's "easy" for them to do right now.

 

[NYKaren]

Too much Kool Aid?

LOL!

All the people who don't want to pay Disney prices, go elsewhere. Goodbye!

So Karen727, is it that in your eyes DCL can do no wrong? The mouse is always correct? If they eliminate something, it must be our fault because we are "bad" customers? If they are charging a premium to cruise with them, but are eliminating all of the little things that made them special and are becoming just like every other cruise line, why pay that premium? Some of us are asking ourselves that question, that's all! You obviously feel differently and that's OK for you. Not for the rest of us.

 

[cgolf]

All the people who don't want to pay Disney prices, go elsewhere. Goodbye!

I invite you to go read my most recent B2B report and tell me if you think that we are bashing the product or dislike DCL! Many of us that cruise regularly just don't want to fork out the big bucks every year that DCL is now asking for, when we can go elsewhere for much cheaper. If it were only a small amount of money we would still be on DCL next year. Just about ready to pull the trigger on a cruise on another line and I don't feel guilty at all, kind of excited. I will stop in on the boards here once in a while and help out some newbies though Also have a DCL placeholder booked hoping for a better 2018 price wise?

Also if these threads bother you why read them?