DW and I are putting our love affair with DCL "on hold"

[ElenaRN]

I don't think anyone is saying DCL stinks it's simply that for a premium price some want to think twice. I am perfectly fine going if there is a discount though.

^^ Totally this!!!!

We love DCL and would have been Gold if we sailed in Nov. We were booked on a 5 night Merrytime Double Dip. It killed us to cancel.
I totally understand why some things have had to change. In my mind though the price should reflect that.

Maybe to some people the changes are minor or don't affect them much.
Some don't have children under 3, so no nursery doesn't impact them.
Some kids don't like the kids club, so having to book time slots and plan around that isn't an issue.
My son would have been 2 1/2 at sailing. No nursery would mean no Palo dinner for hubby and I or our well deserved couples massage we wanted. Our DDs absolutely love going to the kids club after dinner.
These were major factors for us in deciding to cancel.

FWIW- I have also never had issue finding loungers on CC or seats in the theater. Cabanas can get crazy but never that I couldn't find a table. Chairs by the pool have been the only thing I can say was difficult.

 

[MomOTwins]

^^ Totally this!!!!

We love DCL and would have been Gold if we sailed in Nov. We were booked on a 5 night Merrytime Double Dip. It killed us to cancel.
I totally understand why some things have had to change. In my mind though the price should reflect that.

Maybe to some people the changes are minor or don't affect them much.
Some don't have children under 3, so no nursery doesn't impact them.
Some kids don't like the kids club, so having to book time slots and plan around that isn't an issue.
My son would have been 2 1/2 at sailing. No nursery would mean no Palo dinner for hubby and I or our well deserved couples massage we wanted. Our DDs absolutely love going to the kids club after dinner.
These were major factors for us in deciding to cancel.

FWIW- I have also never had issue finding loungers on CC or seats in the theater. Cabanas can get crazy but never that I couldn't find a table. Chairs by the pool have been the only thing I can say was difficult.

I will give you the lack of a nursery is something that would have given me pause if my kids were still little. But I don’t see how disney can/should realistically discount its cruises for that given it only affects a relatively small subset of cruisers, and the nursery was never a sure thing included in the price of the cruise. To explain—when our son was two, we cruised on DCL twice. We tried the nursery several times and even though my son loved his day care, he fussed a bit at the nursery and they called us to come get him after 15 mins because they won’t keep a child if they are asking for their parent or crying. We had to redo everything we booked as a couple and take turns babysitting while the other parent got a massage etc. Since other posters have confirmed this is pretty common, I’ve come to realize that DCL and its guests have very different perceptions of what the ship’s nursery is—it is a supervised setting where your toddler can go and play if they are in a good mood and like it being there, but not dependable babysitting/child care. I think that’s why it was always an extra charge—that way when DCL turned kids away they could refund the extra charge and guests wouldn’t be able to say they should get some of their cruise fare back.

On the last point, I think somehow what I have been saying about pre-cruise annoyances like crowds at Cabanas and pool loungers is getting misconstrued. I never thought those things made cruising on DCL horrible—I loved the cruises and felt they were minor inconveniences that don’t really detract from the cruise experience. That’s the analogy I was trying to use to explain my post-Covid cruise experience. Waiting in a short line to get into a shop or a pool, keeping to a scheduled time at the kids club, or having to show up 15 mins early to get a seat at shows, really aren’t things that are st all bothersome once you are on board having fun!

 

[sethschroeder]

But I don’t see how disney can/should realistically discount its cruises for that given it only affects a relatively small subset of cruisers

They already discount though cruises (got one in December) and plenty more were discounted in January and February so far. They are not specific to those with kids nursery age but in general because in general they value is impacted currently for DCL to charge a premium price.

Additionally if they wanted to target parents of those who have kids under 3 they could offer discounts specific to this age of child like other lines do for specific things. Example kids cruise free to Alaska on HAL or guests 3+4 cruise free on NCL for certain itineraries. So they easily could but I don't think anyone is asking for that, I will simply just wait until last minute for DCL discounts to hit most likely.

pre-cruise annoyances like crowds ... were minor inconveniences that don’t really detract from the cruise experience. ... post-Covid cruise experience. Waiting in a short line ... aren’t things that are st all bothersome once you are on board having fun!

Except as I said on this thread a number of times that capacity is not guaranteed. When you are looking 90-120-180 days out from now you are not guaranteed lower crowds. Yes Disney is not Carnival or Royal but they also have not come out and said we will limit to X% through Y date or until Z policies are in place.

I will add Royal and Celebrity were also the only ones to publicly state (that I can remember) they were going to keep capacity under 50% upon returning and there are even now bad stories from their December cruises with long waits and issues on the fuller ships (which prior to that you didn't really hear) which was made worse by COVID outbreaks in the crew ranks.

 

[freshmanjs]

Except as I said on this thread a number of times that capacity is not guaranteed. When you are looking 90-120-180 days out from now you are not guaranteed lower crowds. Yes Disney is not Carnival or Royal but they also have not come out and said we will limit to X% through Y date or until Z policies are in place.

You're having to say it multiple times because it's not a strong point. Capacity limits are not guaranteed 90-180 days out, but neither are service limitations. The 2 move hand in hand. So if capacity is higher, services will be higher. There is no case where capacity will be maxed out and services are still limited like today. It's not feasible.

 

[PirateFrank]

about 20 months ago, someone here (and I cant remember who) prophetically said "get your $ out of cruising until this is all over". Whoever it was, was 100% bang on right. I wish I had listened to him/her back then.

Since then, I have rebooked the same 12-day Mediterranean cruise twice...only to watch the additional 25% cruise credit be surgically whittled away by DCL through "price increases." Meanwhile, DCL has not released *any* protocols on what the summer's european cruises will operate under. But if they are anything like what's currently going on in the states (port testing, mask requirements, reduced amenities, etc) I will be bailing and taking that advise I should have taken back in the spring of 2020. The port testing is the most problematic, as you could spend thousands of dollars on airfare, lodging, only to watch your vacation get blown up by a (potentially false) positive test with no chance of appeal or review. Then you're stuck in a foreign city, forced to quarantine until negative, scrambling to find flights to get home. Will insurance cover this kind of Charlie fox? maybe. I guarantee you're going to have to fight to get it, though. At some point the risks just aren't worth it.

The fact of the matter is that relying on a vacation company in today's climate is like asking a bear to join you on a picnic. The OP has the right idea. Control your own vacation experience with your own plans that can't be torpedoed by someone else's "protocols".

We haven't formally made the decision to pull out of this upcoming cruise, but the decision is imminent. I'll return to spending money on disney travel (whether its cruising or land based travel) if and when this pandemic and the measures attempting to control it are long gone.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

about 20 months ago, someone here (and I cant remember who) prophetically said "get your $ out of cruising until this is all over". Whoever it was, was 100% bang on right. I wish I had listened to him/her back then.

Since then, I have rebooked the same 12-day Mediterranean cruise twice...only to watch the additional 25% cruise credit be surgically whittled away by DCL through "price increases." Meanwhile, DCL has not released *any* protocols on what the summer's european cruises will operate under. But if they are anything like what's currently going on in the states (port testing, mask requirements, reduced amenities, etc) I will be bailing and taking that advise I should have taken back in the spring of 2020. The port testing is the most problematic, as you could spend thousands of dollars on airfare, lodging, only to watch your vacation get blown up by a (potentially false) positive test with no chance of appeal or review. Then you're stuck in a foreign city, forced to quarantine until negative, scrambling to find flights to get home. Will insurance cover this kind of Charlie fox? maybe. I guarantee you're going to have to fight to get it, though. At some point the risks just aren't worth it.

The fact of the matter is that relying on a vacation company in today's climate is like asking a bear to join you on a picnic. The OP has the right idea. Control your own vacation experience with your own plans that can't be torpedoed by someone else's "protocols".

We haven't formally made the decision to pull out of this upcoming cruise, but the decision is imminent. I'll return to spending money on disney travel (whether its cruising or land based travel) if and when this pandemic and the measures attempting to control it are long gone.

Well stated. Still makes me sad. My third cancellation for Europe is coming right up). DCL isn't even sure their cruises will resume in Europe this summer. I would not be booking airfare and hotels unless the fares and rooms are refundable. And who knows when they will make that decision and what the protocols will be if they decide to proceed. CDC just advised to not travel to Canada-thus perhaps impacting Alaska cruises. Not sure when, and some days I wonder, IF, this will all end. And what will be left of anything, when it does.

 

[PirateFrank]

Well stated. Still makes me sad. My third cancellation for Europe is coming right up). DCL isn't even sure their cruises will resume in Europe this summer. I would not be booking airfare and hotels unless the fares and rooms are refundable. And who knows when they will make that decision and what the protocols will be if they decide to proceed. CDC just advised to not travel to Canada-thus perhaps impacting Alaska cruises. Not sure when, and some days I wonder, IF, this will all end. And what will be left of anything, when it does.

Interesting. Where did you hear that DCL isn't sure cruising will resume in Europe? Ive been fairly frustrated at the lack of communication from DCL on my upcoming cruise - largely because we're inside of 180 days at this point. if we haven't already done so, some of us need to start booking flights, lodging...and its frustrating to do that without any understanding of what's going to be expected of us as travelers.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Interesting. Where did you hear that DCL isn't sure cruising will resume in Europe? Ive been fairly frustrated at the lack of communication from DCL on my upcoming cruise - largely because we're inside of 180 days at this point. if we haven't already done so, some of us need to start booking flights, lodging...and its frustrating to do that without any understanding of what's going to be expected of us as travelers.

When I called to cancel another cruise. We all know that those that answer the phones don't know everything, but have also seen that same sentiment posted by others on these boards. I certainly wouldn't take it as gospel, but at this point, nothing would surprise me. It is very frustrating, I agree.

 

[PirateFrank]

When I called to cancel another cruise. We all know that those that answer the phones don't know everything, but have also seen that same sentiment posted by others on these boards. I certainly wouldn't take it as gospel, but at this point, nothing would surprise me. It is very frustrating, I agree.

gotcha! Thanks for the info!
Definitely something we’re all going to have to watch!