Has Disney really gone downhill?

[tidefan]

The reason that DCL does not offer dinner in Cabanas is staffing. Each ship has 4 dining crews - MDRs plus Palo/Remy. If all the MDRs and Palo/Remy are open, there is not enough dining staff available to work in Cabanas.

Our past cruise, Cabanas was open for breakfast on debarkation day - this is the first time, for me, that I have seen this. What was more interesting, it was the cooks and staff from Remy/Palo that were working Cabana's - some of the MDR staff found this humorous But, if the MDR staff did not have any of their guest eating debarkation breakfast in the MDR, they were sent up to Cabana's to help the Remy/Palo staff.

This is a poor excuse. Other lines seem to do just fine being able to staff dinner hours their regular MDRs, specialty restaurants, as well as the buffet. On our last Regal Princess cruise to the British Isles, it was so nice to be able to come back whenever you wanted (some port days lasted until 8pm) and to be able to just go to the buffet to eat. (Also, Princess had themed buffet nights that were really good as well that we enjoyed).

 

[anjuan]

I know they ended up discounting it this Summer. What is lookout Cay?

Lookout Cay is the new name for Lighthouse Point.

 

[DCLMP]

Lookout Cay is the new name for Lighthouse Point.

Well, that makes a so-so itinerary a lot better.

 

[Mango7100]

I've done a few of the TAs and repo cruises and there were enough school-aged kids to make it feel like a family cruise without being overrun with kids. Our TA in May of 2017 actually had a lot of college and high school kids on it. I was surprised. Now that my kids are in college I see why. They get out the second week of May.

What they need to do is add some longer cruises and unique itineraries from the US. Mid May to Mid August and I think they would sell as long as they don't price them to the moon. The biggest reason long cruises on DCL don't sell is because they price them 4 times over their competitors. The 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next Summer is a perfect example of that and the itinerary is nothing special. It probably will not sell at that price.

I’m on that 10 day Southern Caribbean. If you look online at room availability it is actually selling very well. There aren’t many rooms left. I think the itinerary is a nice change of pace if wanting to stay in the Caribbean, there are a few islands that aren’t usual stops like Dominica and St. Lucia plus stopping at both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay. Of course not as exotic as a South Pacific or Asian port cruise, but I think it’s pretty solid for a Caribbean

 

[Kwami]

Wait staff are paid the greater of either the gratuities they receive or a (very) small, guaranteed payment. I can assure you if all they received was this minimum payment, they could not afford to continue to work. So technically yes DCL does pay the MDR wait staff, but again, they do not receive both the guaranteed payment and their gratuities - it's the greater of the two.

That's now how every server that I've asked about it has explained it to me. Do you have anything to back up your claim?

You answered your own question - the other ships have only one MDR with a show, Animators Palate. The Wish has two - Marvel and Frozen. But the point I made is that it is not just the show, it is also that there is very little room between tables, making it more difficult for the servers to complete their job due to both space AND time constraints due to the show.

You ignored the part where the Magic and Wonder also have two dinner shows. And, the tables can be quite closely packed together, especially on cruises with only one dinner seating (e.g. the NYC to San Juan cruise last fall).

There are guests on all ships that decline to pay the gratuities - for whatever reason - but it is more common if the guests do not like the service, which from what I am told, is more prevalent on the Wish. Surveys are also critical for MDR staff - poor service for even things out of their control will be reflected poorly on the staff.

Well, sure, some people are jerks and don't pay gratuities. I'd like to know what evidence you have that the problem is worse on the Wish. I'm very skeptical that that's the case. The Wish is likely to have a higher percentage of new cruisers who haven't experienced other serving teams on DCL, so they're likely to be more easily impressed by whatever they get. Also, fewer British guests, who (according to some other recent threads here), seem to remove gratuities at a higher-than-average rate.

Before Wish launched that was true - but try to find an experinced MDR staff on one of the other ships today offering to transfer to the Wish. PC days can be very busy for the MDR staff - those that have time off worry if they can make it to Walmart and back before departure - as this is the only time/place they can shop for their necessities - which is why they prefer Cozumel.

I did say before and after. I've spoken to some servers that still want to transfer because 1) it's newer and different, and 2) the crew quarters are much better.

 

[goofy4prez]

I don't see any 10-night Caribbean cruises on the Grandeur in the summer. Are you talking about a winter cruise? Rates are always much higher in the summer months, especially in July. Of the cruises available, the cheapest penthouse for a 10-night on that ship is approximately $10k per person. I'm not sure that this is at all comparable to Disney's 10-night cruise next summer.

Yes it is in Feb. 2025(13th -23rd) I am paying 17K for my cruise. I booked it on a promo they had with a 2 suite upgrade. Booked concierge and was moved up to a Penthouse C. Granted, I booked this cruise this past March when I was on the RSSC Splendor. As for comparing if it is comparable to a Disney 10-night... They are night and day, I don't disagree. My point is the cost of a Disney cruise is very comparable with how I prefer to cruise Disney which is concierge. Having said that, I am not flaming or bashing DCL, I love Disney. I have an upcoming cruise this December on the Wish and I have another cruise on the Fantasy in April 2024.

 

[DisneyKatie1]

Disney certainly does not hire a lower caliber of Crew simply because the ship does shorter cruises. Disney does not do things by half and 110% effort goes into everything.The process to even be hired is extremely intense and they can literally pick and choose who they want.
As with absolutely any job, you will have some people who are outstanding in their role and others who are not as outstanding.
I’m sorry you felt that CMs were not empathetic to your needs and I hope that this really wasn’t “most” of the CMs. I hope that despite any concerns, you were still able to enjoy your cruise

What is the process to be hired?

 

[Cfabar1]

I think some misconstrued my comment. I was saying that, in the airline world, the long haul routes are the most desired by crew for a few reasons including the more exotic locales, the pacing of the journey, the rules about work on and off periods, etc.

I wondered among Disney cruise employees if they prefer the longer journeys or the exotic travel components, which might result in more seasoned crew wanting to work on ships other than the Wish, and that maybe their seniority allows them to choose where to go.