How come DCL isn't selling out?

[Lucien Franciosa]

The banister sliding video from the Wish is viral on TikTok if you want look it up.

so? are we equating banister sliding with brawls? I don't. I am sure people exhibit bad behavior on DCL, but the higher incidence on straight out brawling on the Carnival versus other cruise lines is well documented.

 

[dreamer17555]

so? are we equating banister sliding with brawls? I don't. I am sure people exhibit bad behavior on DCL, but the higher incidence on straight out brawling on the Carnival versus other cruise lines is well documented.

I’ve seen dangerous behavior on DCL as well including the incident I described that I personally witnessed in May. I just did not film it (nor would I).

The idea of the bad behavior doesn’t happen everywhere is a little bit ridiculous. Look at all the fights that break out at Walt Disney World and Disneyland that go viral.

 

[FastPasser.]

and where you’re paying full price or getting a 90% discount, you’re still a revenue passenger.

Is that a typo or does DCL offer 90% discounts?

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

I’ve seen dangerous behavior on DCL as well including the incident I described that I personally witnessed in May. I just did not film it (nor would I).

The idea of the bad behavior doesn’t happen everywhere is a little bit ridiculous. Look at all the fights that break out at Walt Disney World and Disneyland that go viral.

no one, no one, is saying bad behavior doesn't happen everywhere. what some are saying is sliding down a banister rail is not the same as brawling. not sure what there is to argue about there. and some are saying they will take their chances at DCL over lines like Carnival in terms of the potential for really bad behavior. to say DCL and Carnival have the same bad record is just not correct.

but in the end, is this really the hill to die on? If people don't see the value in DCL, fine. No need to rationalize it or defend it. For some it still has value. Again no need to rationalize or defend. Yet here we are. Arguing about things where there really is no argument.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Is that a typo or does DCL offer 90% discounts?

I suspect its hyperbole. but as I recall you used to be a cast member so maybe you can shed some light (if you are allowed to) on typical cast member discounts?

 

[brentm77]

This is how we’ve always felt about DCL that we pay more but we feel “safer” less drunks and fights, a calmer family crowd. But we just got off a Mediterranean cruise which was seriously expensive and the behaviour we experienced was pretty bad. We had a clearly drunk woman roaming the halls (drink in hand) with her 2 young kids knocking doors to find the “big good cabins” . We had a HA room so had a doorbell which the kids rang on 10 times in the space of 5 mins. Stateroom host saw it and laughed and allowed her to peer into next doors cabin he was cleaning. I reported it and he denied ever seeing them. Also many other people visibly very drunk around the pool most days shouting and screaming. Kids running and pushing past me in the hall, nearly knocking me into the wall. At cabanas a family were arguing loudly about yogurts and one of them launched a yogurt pot across the room narrowly missing me, another family and crew. Because we paid so much it felt like we could have had a similar experience on Royal for half the price. The cruise was sold out too. It just felt like the whole vibe was off and turning away from everything we used to love about Disney cruising

That's interesting. The worst behavior I have seen on DCL was also on a Med cruise. The kids were out of control to the point that I was worried they would hurt someone running through the halls. At one point, they seriously injured one of the kids in the group by pushing him down some stairs. It wasn't just one group of kids either; it was several large group of roaming kids with too little supervision and bad manners. I thought that was the new DCL, with parents getting lazy or something, but I didn't see that in any of the three cruises we took since then. We saw some rude behavior on a couple from adults, but nothing out of control. I too generally like the crowd DCL draws to its ships. It sounds elitist, but it is what it is. Most people are well behaved, family friendly, and nice to each other in my experience. It's even a different vibe than the Disney parks these days.

Now, I haven't sailed other lines in a long long time, so I'm not saying that doesn't exist on other lines. But it makes it easy to go back to DCL. So far, for our Alaska Celebrity cruise, the Facebook group stinks compared to the ones I have joined for DCL.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Is that a typo or does DCL offer 90% discounts?

Employee discounts are variable. A friend of mine worked as a contractor for a Disney-owned corporate outfit, so not even a direct employee, and sailed the OW San Diego - Vancouver itinerary for no charge (but had to pay applicable port fees).

 

[LAS2AMS]

If statistics are deceitful, then what are sweeping comments that are supposed to refute but actually are either not factual, or unsupported (hence easy to make) or hyperbole?

I question your 90% figure, I think the norm discount is far less. I also question enough employees with discounts are on a cruise to significantly impact the bottom line. Been on 4 cruises now, have yet to meet a single employee paying with a discount, and I have met a LOT of people. I am sure it happens, just as I am sure someone will come up with their anecdote that proves the rule, but not enough to be relevant. Finally, so what? what cruise does NOT offer employee discounts? so if they all do it, what relevance to this discussion?

I agree, Disney prices are higher than some cruise lines, lower than others. That's indisputable. Also as Disney prices rise, some are going to be priced out and or no longer see the value. That's the beauty of choice. But what Disney experience would you have Disney drop to make a cruise cheaper? Character meet and greets? Don't see that on other cruises. You willing to give up twice a day cleaning? Again not standard these days on other cruise lines? The list of touches goes on and on.

Cool, some people get tired of the Mouse and/or the premium pricing and move on. So? The difficulty I have is when people seem to take personal offense and blame Disney as if Disney should just lower their prices for them. It's a product. People always have choices.

It’s 100% factual that Disney offers employee discounts. It’s 100% factual that those discounts are variable and targeted - a part-time janitor at the Hollywood Studios isn’t going to have the same discount as a full-time corporate employee in Burbank. It’s 100% factual that more cruises are eligible for discounts in 2024 vs. years past.

You do understand that at minimum it’s proper etiquette for employees not to disclose that they’re traveling on a discount and most corporate employees would not want to identify themselves as such anyway? A close friend of mine works for Princess corporate and can cruise at no cost. If he discloses to other passengers that he’s traveling for free, it can lead to termination. Disney probably has similar policies.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Employee discounts are variable. A friend of mine worked as a contractor for a Disney-owned corporate outfit, so not even a direct employee, and sailed the OW San Diego - Vancouver itinerary for no charge (but had to pay applicable port fees).

can you comment on how widespread this is... sounds like an isolated case of a gift.

 

[SL6827]

The banister sliding video from the Wish is viral on TikTok if you want look it up.

I'll do!

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

It’s 100% factual that Disney offers employee discounts. It’s 100% factual that those discounts are variable and targeted - a part-time janitor at the Hollywood Studios isn’t going to have the same discount as a full-time corporate employee in Burbank. It’s 100% factual that more cruises are eligible for discounts in 2024 vs. years past.

You do understand that at minimum it’s proper etiquette for employees not to disclose that they’re traveling on a discount and most corporate employees would not want to identify themselves as such anyway? A close friend of mine works for Princess corporate and can cruise at no cost. If he discloses to other passengers that he’s traveling for free, it can lead to termination. Disney probably has similar policies.

It's also 100% factual not all, not even most, of employee discounts are 90% as you cited. And 100% factual that DCL discount rates for passengers, even if true ( where is your documented reference) has zero to do with number of employees on the boat getting discounts, which is what your original point was. Implying that Disney is somehow hiding their true occupancy rate by having a substantial number of employees on board with discounts.

You keep coming up with anecdotal stories of this friend or that friend. So are you now saying cast members lie about their status? Because when I talk to people it often comes out what they are doing for a living. Not saying all do, but again we aren't talking about one or two people here, the implication of your theory is a 100 or more employees are taking advantage of significant discounts to cruise per voyage. As for your corporate friend, are you saying he would be terminated if he said he worked for Princess? No. you said he would be terminated if he disclosed he was cruising for free. Two different things entirely. In the first case I would know the person was an employee, which was my point. Not that I knew what discount they got.

I have said it before, the fact that there are more discounted spots on DCL cruises is not an indication they are over priced, it's an indication their price model is working. Selling out quickly just means you are selling too low. And its not a new commercial tactic to raise prices to then discount them, which is exactly whats going on here.

You do understand you don't have to justify that Disney Cruises don't have enough value for you to go on one yes? That I would accept as fact. I just think your claim that Disney is padding its occupancy numbers by employees receiving a discount is unsubstantiated at best.

 

[LAS2AMS]

It's also 100% factual not all, not even most, of employee discounts are 90% as you cited. And 100% factual that DCL discount rates for passengers, even if true ( where is your documented reference) has zero to do with number of employees on the boat getting discounts, which is what your original point was. Implying that Disney is somehow hiding their true occupancy rate by having a substantial number of employees on board with discounts.

You keep coming up with anecdotal stories of this friend or that friend. So are you now saying cast members lie about their status? Because when I talk to people it often comes out what they are doing for a living. Not saying all do, but again we aren't talking about one or two people here, the implication of your theory is a 100 or more employees are taking advantage of significant discounts to cruise per voyage. As for your corporate friend, are you saying he would be terminated if he said he worked for Princess? No. you said he would be terminated if he disclosed he was cruising for free. Two different things entirely. In the first case I would know the person was an employee, which was my point. Not that I knew what discount they got.

I have said it before, the fact that there are more discounted spots on DCL cruises is not an indication they are over priced, it's an indication their price model is working. Selling out quickly just means you are selling too low. And its not a new commercial tactic to raise prices to then discount them, which is exactly whats going on here.

You do understand you don't have to justify that Disney Cruises don't have enough value for you to go on one yes? That I would accept as fact. I just think your claim that Disney is padding its occupancy numbers by employees receiving a discount is unsubstantiated at best.

I’ve read a lot of your postings and you continue to demonstrate a level of ignorance (I mean that politely as a literal definition) when it compels to employee discounts. I work in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, so yes I know a lot of and have built trusting relationships with Disney corporate employees. I’m fully aware of the range of discounts.

You believe that a part time janitor at a Disney theme park shares the same discount, which must explain why you’ve never run across a corporate employee - the discount is mediocre.

Disney employees must follow a strict code of conduct that other guests aren’t subject to. Many people, including myself, are discreet about what they do for a living (unless a networking opportunity is present). A corporate employee bragging about their deep discount… will at the very least lose their privileges.

 

[vakamalua]

After 15 DCL cruises, we have seen plenty of horrible adult behavior (not to mention kids). Interestingly the adults are at their worst on the cruises with lots of families with kids. And, we have noticed a great reluctance by DCL staff to intervene.

--We saw a brawl at the fireworks deck party that had everyone scrambling for cover--a dad put a kid on his shoulders so another kid couldn't see & a fight broke out. One dad was even beating the other with his belt. Others got involved trying to stop it. Took a while for DCL staff to appear & break it up.
--Seen plenty of drunks; often in the middle of the afternoon on the pool deck when the kids are at the kids club. One evening (when most people were at dinner or show) two drunk parents sat in the adult pool drinking (with lots of empties around them) while their two kids ran around screaming, running & toppling over chairs. When we told the kids to stop, the parents started yelling at us. DCL staff was nowhere to be found (or chose not to be).
--Once a couple was so drunk in the small Skyline Lounge, they were falling off the barstools. Obviously the bartender was not cutting them off. They got so loud, everyone else was leaving. As we were leaving , the Cruise Director walked in; we told him why the place was empty & we asked him to be sure they were cut off for their safety. We were rudely informed that DCL's policy is never to interfere with the guests!

The list goes on...

After 25+ cruises on several other lines, we can honestly say that we have seen the worst behaved passengers on DCL.

 

[momof2n2]

25+ cruises on several other lines,

I hope to be able to say this someday!

I love the DCL elitests - because they keep DCL churning and the more new ships they build, the more likely it is that they will have lower prices and I will be able to do an occasional DCL and keep them in the mix.

I haven't had a bad cruise, yet!

The sheer volume of NON-DCL ships and voyages makes it statistically more likely there will be an account of negative behavior. At any given moment Carnival has (?) two dozen ships sailing?

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

I’ve read a lot of your postings and you continue to demonstrate a level of ignorance (I mean that politely as a literal definition) when it compels to employee discounts.

Why thank you. I have read a few of yours too. Given that this is the only forum post I have commented on regarding employee discounts I would agree with your summation that I don't talk about it a lot. Just isnt my go to conversation. Life is short. But I hate to see misinformation, so I tend to call BS when I see it . You can call me ignorant if you wish, but that wont get you an invite to thanksgiving!

I work in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, so yes I know a lot of and have built trusting relationships with Disney corporate employees. I’m fully aware of the range of discounts.

Fantastic! Since you bring it up, then you can comment with specifics on that range. because so far the only actual number you have given is 90%. I see you have not repeated that. and are still not actually giving us numbers despite repeatedly given the chance too. So let me ask more directly sorry. I work in the science industry. we deal with numbers. not hypotheticals. We dont make sweeping statements without data. Please give some real data, not anecdotes. As you are 'fully aware', please give us how much the discounts are, as its a range broken down into what percentages of employees get that would be helpful, anything that would shed some actual light on your claim that Disney ships are full of employees sailing with deep discounts. you said 90% discounts before. are there 100 people on the wish getting 90% discount?! that would change the occupancy level on the Disney Wish with 1254 staterooms from 97% to 93% which is outside the margin of error, so substantial.

You believe that a part time janitor at a Disney theme park shares the same discount, which must explain why you’ve never run across a corporate employee - the discount is mediocre.

woah buckaroo. I never ever said that about part time janitors. either quote where I said that, or tone down the hyperbole if you want to make your point. Facts matter.

Disney employees must follow a strict code of conduct that other guests aren’t subject to. Many people, including myself, are discreet about what they do for a living (unless a networking opportunity is present). A corporate employee bragging about their deep discount… will at the very least lose their privileges.

blah blah, strict code of conduct, again a sweeping statement with zero numbers and questionable relevance. but okay you dont seem to know there is a difference in someone saying , 'oh I work for company x' and 'I work for company x doing this, that and I eat lunch ever day at 12:30 and I am getting a 90% discount to be on this cruise.' Sorry, in my experience I just havent had a conversation where when asked what do you do for work, the person says,'sorry cant tell you, and if I did, I would have to kill you.' But I will be on the lookout for you. My point is if I was on a boat with a significant amount of employees, I would have ran into one that would say, 'oh I work for Disney.' I have ran into them in other places.

We are clearly two old dogs fighting over a bone so much that the initial point may have been lost, I know I dont seem to be getting a reply to my actual questions, so let me remind you,

Nobody’s suggesting doom & gloom, they’re just pointing out that people are being turned off by Disney’s prices. Statistics are deceitful — select employee groups get access to deeply discounted DCL rates, and where you’re paying full price or getting a 90% discount, you’re still a revenue passenger.

So answer me this, without calling me ignorant please,

1) Do all Disney Employees cruising on a discount get 90% off as you stated? True or false. If false, could you give us an actual range, including the fraction that get a particular percentage. Thanks.

2) You said statistics are deceitful, the ones being discussed were occupancy rate. Is it correct to say you were suggesting that disney employees on discount rates make up a significant number of revenue passages so that the occupancy rates are significantly impacted (by more than a percentage point or two)? If that is not your point, then what is the relevance to this discussion because I apologize, I completely missed it.

If you can't or won't answer those, thats cool, you can keep the bone. I am too ignorant it seems to deserve it. have a magical day.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

I love the DCL elitests - because they keep DCL churning and the more new ships they build, the more likely it is that they will have lower prices and I will be able to do an occasional DCL and keep them in the mix.

I was going to say Disney never lowers its prices (rack rates), but I googled and apparently Disney once lowered the rack rate on rooms to one of its budget hotels to say they met a particular price point. Never say never! But I think it's a fair statement to say Disney rarely lowers rack rates. But what they DO do is have promotions with certain amount off for specific groups, for specific properties, at specific times, and to some extent they do that for DCL (Military, and Canadians for example get discounts). I would love to see Disney lower its prices across the board, just not optimistic about it.

I haven't had a bad cruise, yet!

neither have I. I have only been on 4 so far, but each one was memorable for different reasons so I have three upcoming cruises for specific reasons, 1) locations, lookout cay for one, Alaska for another, and 2) new boats (to me), magic, wonder and treasure coming up. I can see the point where I am looking for something new and I might go outside of Disney then. Hey, I have been known to go to Universal too! Why not?

 

[LAS2AMS]

Why thank you. I have read a few of yours too. Given that this is the only forum post I have commented on regarding employee discounts I would agree with your summation that I don't talk about it a lot. Just isnt my go to conversation. Life is short. But I hate to see misinformation, so I tend to call BS when I see it . You can call me ignorant if you wish, but that wont get you an invite to thanksgiving!



Fantastic! Since you bring it up, then you can comment with specifics on that range. because so far the only actual number you have given is 90%. I see you have not repeated that. and are still not actually giving us numbers despite repeatedly given the chance too. So let me ask more directly sorry. I work in the science industry. we deal with numbers. not hypotheticals. We dont make sweeping statements without data. Please give some real data, not anecdotes. As you are 'fully aware', please give us how much the discounts are, as its a range broken down into what percentages of employees get that would be helpful, anything that would shed some actual light on your claim that Disney ships are full of employees sailing with deep discounts. you said 90% discounts before. are there 100 people on the wish getting 90% discount?! that would change the occupancy level on the Disney Wish with 1254 staterooms from 97% to 93% which is outside the margin of error, so substantial.


woah buckaroo. I never ever said that about part time janitors. either quote where I said that, or tone down the hyperbole if you want to make your point. Facts matter.



blah blah, strict code of conduct, again a sweeping statement with zero numbers and questionable relevance. but okay you dont seem to know there is a difference in someone saying , 'oh I work for company x' and 'I work for company x doing this, that and I eat lunch ever day at 12:30 and I am getting a 90% discount to be on this cruise.' Sorry, in my experience I just havent had a conversation where when asked what do you do for work, the person says,'sorry cant tell you, and if I did, I would have to kill you.' But I will be on the lookout for you. My point is if I was on a boat with a significant amount of employees, I would have ran into one that would say, 'oh I work for Disney.' I have ran into them in other places.

We are clearly two old dogs fighting over a bone so much that the initial point may have been lost, I know I dont seem to be getting a reply to my actual questions, so let me remind you,



So answer me this, without calling me ignorant please,

1) Do all Disney Employees cruising on a discount get 90% off as you stated? True or false. If false, could you give us an actual range, including the fraction that get a particular percentage. Thanks.

2) You said statistics are deceitful, the ones being discussed were occupancy rate. Is it correct to say you were suggesting that disney employees on discount rates make up a significant number of revenue passages so that the occupancy rates are significantly impacted (by more than a percentage point or two)? If that is not your point, then what is the relevance to this discussion because I apologize, I completely missed it.

If you can't or won't answer those, thats cool, you can keep the bone. I am too ignorant it seems to deserve it. have a magical day.

Multiple posters have indicated that there’s lucrative discounts for select employee groups and you’ve “called BS” based in the fact that you cruise often and have never encountered such employees. Do you really go around asking people what their job titles are and what they paid for their cruise? And four cruises isn’t cruising often.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Multiple posters have indicated that there’s lucrative discounts for select employee groups and you’ve “called BS” based in the fact that you cruise often and have never encountered such employees. Do you really go around asking people what their job titles are and what they paid for their cruise? And four cruises isn’t cruising often.

Okay so you aren’t going to answer my repeated questions even though you claim to know. You do you. Job titles were never part of this discussion nor was asking people what they paid. That is false. I simply pointed out that your claim doesn’t pass the stink test when you say Disney is being ‘deceitful’ regarding their occupancy numbers by inflating them with Disney employees cruising on 90% discounts. Keep the bone.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Okay so you aren’t going to answer my repeated questions even though you claim to know. You do you. Job titles were never part of this discussion nor was asking people what they paid. That is false. I simply pointed out that your claim doesn’t pass the stink test when you say Disney is being ‘deceitful’ regarding their occupancy numbers by inflating them with Disney employees cruising on 90% discounts. Keep the bone.

The assertion was that DCL is slow selling compared to years’ past. A response to disprove the assertion was that occupancy rates are similar to years’ past. I’m pointing out that most DCL discounts are traditionally offered closer to departure date, and we’re clearly seeing more guarantee, military, etc than in years past. Disney employees at all levels have confirmed they’re seeing more cruises eligible for discounts (regardless of the amount) than they have in the past.

It’s not rocket science that discounts will equate into higher sales. We’re taking a Disney cruise shortly that was never on our radar until the price dropped (through an eligible discount rate) by a couple thousand dollars. That doesn’t mean DCL is hurting - they’ll still make plenty of money off of what we’re paying - it just means that they hit a ceiling for now.

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

I have two cruises coming up. Both are sold out. One in March of 2025 and the other in April of 2026. To me it looks like DCL is doing great.