Fall 2026 itineraries

[Cfabar1]

Fall travel is softening and it’s not limited to DCL, the cruise industry or Disney in general. One of the cruise lines (Carnival Corp IIRC) reported record second quarter but mentioned bookings had slowed.

Prob had a lot to do with the economy. Higher income families continue to spend at record levels whereas moderate income families are cutting back. My bet is this will linger in for awhile… we’re just now seeing retailers pass on tariffs. Dollar Tree is hiking prices again this weekend.

I would be curious to know... to me, it seems like DCL increased prices more than other lines over the past two years.... I think that has something to do with it as well...

 

[Kwami]

Seems a non sequitur.

Not really. Those parks are packed with people doing things other than character meets. That's going to be true on cruises, too.

 

[Agent 86]

Which prooved false in australia. The itineraries just werent good enough. And im guessing within 12 months this idea will also proove false in Singapore.

I think the local, Japanese market is going to be very different to the Aussie market. I think a huge part of the appeal of Disney cruises for locals will be totally immersing themselves in everything "Disney" onboard and enjoying every single themed detail.

I have no idea about Singapore though. With Shanghai and Tokyo Disney relatively close and their own major theme parks locally (including Universal Studios), I'm not sure how appealing the "Magic at Sea" cruises will be long term. The Adventure might have more onboard activities (three rides / attractions, etc) than other Disney ships, but given the size of the ship it will be interesting to see if and how all guests even get a chance to ride them.

 

[Agent 86]

Why not just build a big resort then.

Tokyo Disney Resort (Disneyland and DisneySea) is pretty big!

 

[yowcruiser]

I would be curious to know... to me, it seems like DCL increased prices more than other lines over the past two years.... I think that has something to do with it as well...

I'd say a combination of the two. DCL raised prices because they could (demand was there), but now, you have a number of factors impacting demand. Yes, people are more cautious on where they spend their money, but there is also a somewhat large group of people that has put vacationing/cruising out of certain destinations on hold...and price sensitivity is not the main driver.

 

[DCLMP]

There is definitely a market for Japan cruises, but it's mostly for foreign tourists. Those Princess and Celebrity cruises that go round trip from Tokyo usually cater to westerners, and I don't think there's much of a domestic market. The shorter cruises to nowhere would appeal to locals looking to do a long weekend.

Don’t you think they should do a mix of both then? All the surveys they sent me over the years about destinations I’d like to sail to and I get cruises that go around in a circle.

 

[Agent 86]

Not really. Those parks are packed with people doing things other than character meets. That's going to be true on cruises, too.

I think the OP's point is that Japanese fans go ... all-in ... on the most minor details. They will arrive at DisneySea at 7am, wait in line for two hours, enter the park at 9am and then immediately go and sit down in the "front row" for the evening harbour show. And stay there all day!

They will line up for hours to "meet" a character, only to take a photo of the character. They don't even want to be in the photo! They could grab anyone else's photo of that character off the internet, but they want to be the ones to take the photo.

They will spend a lot of time (and money) inspecting every single item of merchandise in the stores.

Obviously the rides and shows are also popular, but the general theming, atmosphere, characters, shops, merchandise, restaurants and food, etc are also hugely appealing and all those elements will be on the ship/s as well, possibly even more immersively than they are in the parks.

 

[Agent 86]

There is definitely a market for Japan cruises, but it's mostly for foreign tourists. Those Princess and Celebrity cruises that go round trip from Tokyo usually cater to westerners, and I don't think there's much of a domestic market. The shorter cruises to nowhere would appeal to locals looking to do a long weekend.

Especially if the Japan cruises are all in Japanese, which I presume they will be (with some English elements). I'm not sure how many foreign tourists will take a cruise where most elements are in another language. That typed, it obviously doesn't seem to be impacting international visitor attendance at Tokyo Disney Resort, so maybe that won't be a big factor for most people.

 

[DCLMP]

I would be curious to know... to me, it seems like DCL increased prices more than other lines over the past two years.... I think that has something to do with it as well...

This 100%. There are other economic factors that have been brewing the last fews years. You know they always say nothing cures high prices like high prices.

 

[Agent 86]

Don’t you think they should do a mix of both then?

I imagine they will, once they've maximised their immediate profit from the "Magic at Sea" cruises. When they're no longer popular, they'll change things up to appeal to prior and new guests.

 

[DCLMP]

I imagine they will, once they've maximised their immediate profit from the "Magic at Sea" cruises. When they're no longer popular, they'll change things up to appeal to prior and new guests.

That ship is probably too big for the interesting ports.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I would be curious to know... to me, it seems like DCL increased prices more than other lines over the past two years.... I think that has something to do with it as well...

Everyone is discounting, so it’s not just a DCL thing. So far the discounts have been limited to the second half of this year, so it seems the industry is optimistic things will rebound next year.

But like I mentioned earlier, the travel industry in general is cooling. WDW and DLR both have had lackluster summers and have retorted to increasing discounts for the second half of the year. Six Flags just released its 2025 passes for its SoCal properties… and not only have they lowered the price, they’ve increased the validity from now until the end of 2026 — unheard of for this deal to be offered before school begins. Las Vegas is reporting crappy occupancy. And the list goes on.

I think the bigger question is how does DCL respond if the economy goes into a recession. Gonna be tough to double its capacity without taking a hit on pricing.

 

[scroogie]

Especially if the Japan cruises are all in Japanese, which I presume they will be (with some English elements).

OLC has four decades of experience so I have confidence that they know what they're doing. If English-speaking people can get around TDR without any problems, I think they'll be fine on the ship.

 

[Agent 86]

OLC has four decades of experience so I have confidence that they know what they're doing.

I have a LOT of confidence in OLC. I can't wait to see them turn their exemplary skills and attention to detail to designing a ship!

 

[Kwami]

I think the OP's point is that Japanese fans go ... all-in ... on the most minor details. They will arrive at DisneySea at 7am, wait in line for two hours, enter the park at 9am and then immediately go and sit down in the "front row" for the evening harbour show. And stay there all day!

They will line up for hours to "meet" a character, only to take a photo of the character. They don't even want to be in the photo! They could grab anyone else's photo of that character off the internet, but they want to be the ones to take the photo.

They will spend a lot of time (and money) inspecting every single item of merchandise in the stores.

Obviously the rides and shows are also popular, but the general theming, atmosphere, characters, shops, merchandise, restaurants and food, etc are also hugely appealing and all those elements will be on the ship/s as well, possibly even more immersively than they are in the parks.

Yes, some Japanese fans do those things. But obviously, most of them don't. If they did, then there wouldn't be huge lines for rides and big crowds in the shops because everyone would be greeting characters and waiting for parades. That was my point.

And I very much disagree that they don't want to be in the photos.

 

[jimmymc]

Don’t you think they should do a mix of both then? All the surveys they sent me over the years about destinations I’d like to sail to and I get cruises that go around in a circle.

Not necessarily. I don't have access to Disney's marketing data, and Japanese people tend to take shorter vacations. Plus how many foreigners are really flying over there just for Disney?

 

[Cfabar1]

I have a LOT of confidence in OLC. I can't wait to see them turn their exemplary skills and attention to detail to designing a ship!

I'll be curious if their ship corrects any of the very obvious problems with the Triton class ships that have been talked about over the past several years....

 

[DCLMP]

Not necessarily. I don't have access to Disney's marketing data, and Japanese people tend to take shorter vacations. Plus how many foreigners are really flying over there just for Disney?

I would hope not many. I thought Tokyo Disney was just Okay. One and done for me, but the rest of Japan was awesome. I can't wait to go back and do a cruise around Japan.

I think a lot of foreigners spend a couple of days at Disney and maybe a day at Universal on a two week trip. That is what we did. I don't think many will get on a 4 day cruise to nowhere.

I would fly over there for a 12 day sailing around Japan on Disney. I think a lot of DCL cruisers would. Most likely I will be flying over there to do it on princess. Americans fly to Tokyo to cruise on NCL, Princess, Royal....I'm not sure why you think they wouldn't on Disney. They fly to Europe to cruise Disney over other lines. I don't see the difference.

 

[DCLMP]

Speaking of Japan there is a Tsunami currently happening.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

Today is not the day Nope. No way no how.