How come DCL isn't selling out?

[CanucksRock]

it is certainly price that has kept me away from DCL. Having said that though, we were thinking of doing Utopia, but might give Wish a shot, just watching the VGT pricing before booking for Sept. Wish is definitely more expensive than Utopia. They will have competition with that running same itinerary essentially.

 

[yowcruiser]

Disney has somewhat indirectly admitted that things are getting tougher for the cruise line... by openly admitting that attendance at the parks in the US is dropping due to a combination of factors... which for one is the end of the "revenge travel period" that was fueled by extra savings and credits that people had been provided during the pandemic. As those extra savings are drying up and prices also going up (both the price of a Disney vacation... and generally cost of living meaning less discretionary spending) + a general increase in inventory (both by DCL itself and the industry). You are also seeing a bit of a drop in non-US guests sailing due to what is becoming a less favorable exchange rate... DCL has been offering at least one cruise going over Christmas at a 25% discount for Canadians for two years in a row now... this is telling too... but also a sign that the launch of the Treasure is having an impact on other ships.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

$900 for two people is a screaming good deal. We pay $900 each.

Yeah, we get decent prices being in Houston. Lots of direct flights to MCO, but it's still double what it was last year. We have flown to MCO double digit times over the last 10 years and the flights have always been in the $500.00 range for the two of us.

 

[DCLMP]

cost

 

[DCLMP]

it is certainly price that has kept me away from DCL. Having said that though, we were thinking of doing Utopia, but might give Wish a shot, just watching the VGT pricing before booking for Sept. Wish is definitely more expensive than Utopia. They will have competition with that running same itinerary essentially.

Price is keeping me away from a lot of things. It's not just Disney it's everything. Even a fast food meal is a luxury. I'm fortunate that I can still afford to cruise DCL. Four years ago I went to part time and two years ago I went back to Full time. I could not afford a vacation working part time. Not with how expensive everything is. I worked part time from 2008 to 2018 when my kids were young and had no problem affording vacations. Not anymore.

 

[MillauFr]

Price is keeping me away from a lot of things. It's not just Disney it's everything. Even a fast food meal is a luxury. I'm fortunate that I can still afford to cruise DCL. Four years ago I went to part time and two years ago I went back to Full time. I could not afford a vacation working part time. Not with how expensive everything is. I worked part time from 2008 to 2018 when my kids were young and had no problem affording vacations. Not anymore.

Once I got rid of one of our two cars we saved boatloads of cash. That and canceling cable tv.

 

[mousefan73]

I can only comment on DCL Europe sailings. Most of their ships are filled with Americans who fly over or Disney fans from the UK. Rest of the EU it is simply to high priced. If you read online comments on DCL social medis ads in France or Germany people are simply shocked und find the prices not just high but just unbelievable ( they honestly thing it's a mistake) . Especially when for ex. Germany two main lines offer more included for half.. Aida ( free alcohol at dinner beer/wine) and Meinschiff (completly all inkl drinks). DCL depends on "wealthy" Americans who can afford the right now high airfare on top of high cruisefare to fill a ship that has more capacity than before.

 

[FreckledOne]

Price. I'm currently shopping cruises and the same itinerary (minus perfect day vs castaway) is 30% cheaper on RC Utopia of the Seas. That is too big of a gap for me to justify.

Same. My daughter and I just sailed our first Disney cruise on the Magic. Loved it! So, we thought, „We sailed on the OG ship. Let‘s go on the newest.“. One of her friends sailed on one of the mega RC ships that went to their private island and raved about everything, so she asked if we can look at one of their ships, too.

I priced out both ships sailing on the same dates. A Wish inside cabin is 30% more expensive than a Utopia balcony cabin. We will give RC a try.

 

[randumb0]

The cruise industry is seeing record demand and are expecting even more passengers next year according to CLIA. I don't think inflation is slowing the overall industry down. Overall supply and DCL's prices are what is impacting them

 

[sponica]

I'm not a cruise customer (I don't need a casino, I can get those on land easily enough and I don't need a drink package) but I am a Disney customer and while the parks to DCL is sort of an apples to oranges comparison, it's where our vacation money goes.

What's really killing me is the airfare. Last year we paid about 3K for 6 people for February break, this year it was that amount for 4 people....I have to get to MCO whether it's a WDW or DCL trip, and DCL does come in ahead because I can cost contain better than the parks.

For me the DCL premium is still worth it, but ugh that airfare.

 

[lscrivan18]

It's price for me. I'm contemplating cancelling my 6 night Merrytime triple dip in November and moving to Icon for 7 nights. It would be $1,200 less for my family. Also looking at Utopia which is under $2,000 for 4 nights. The Wish is double. These prices are all verandah cabins.

 

[emmabelle]

I would love to cruise Disney in July but refuse to pay those rates so I typically book cruises for May and September.

 

[Travel60]

I don't disagree that price is part of the reason but also itinerary. We've "easterned" and "westerned" all we care to. Even "southerned" and "PC". If I go back to the Caribbean, it will be a land trip so I can really enjoy the culture. We may take the kids and grands to Alaska on DCL but for Europe, it's just DH and I and we think the smaller ships (~150 rooms) have better itineraries.

 

[peder]

I can only comment on DCL Europe sailings. Most of their ships are filled with Americans who fly over or Disney fans from the UK. Rest of the EU it is simply to high priced. If you read online comments on DCL social medis ads in France or Germany people are simply shocked und find the prices not just high but just unbelievable ( they honestly thing it's a mistake) . Especially when for ex. Germany two main lines offer more included for half.. Aida ( free alcohol at dinner beer/wine) and Meinschiff (completly all inkl drinks). DCL depends on "wealthy" Americans who can afford the right now high airfare on top of high cruisefare to fill a ship that has more capacity than before.

For European sailings, I don't really believe DCL is targeting Europeans. I think their target demographic is a traveler that likes the idea of visiting Europe but wants a very safe American retreat--surrounded by Americans speaking English--when they get back to the ship. Meinschiff, meanwhile, only appeals to a small % of Americans because there's a perception that the language and cultural barriers are too high, and you can see this by how little activity there is in the Aida/Meinschiff English message boards... most Americans would simply never consider those lines. And for the typical DCL cruiser, it's not an advantage if the ship is mostly filled with those speaking different languages or coming from different cultures. I have sailed with MSC several times, and the chief complaints from Americans mostly center around cultural differences.

So yes, DCL is for "wealthy" Americans, but that's the price DCL can charge to offer a safe retreat while allowing their American cruisers to dip a to into Europe without much effort. It's like a convenience fee.

I would argue that DCL, in their almost fanatical pursuit of premium margins, excludes a very large % of the total cruise market. Sometimes you need to offer multiple price points and target different segments of the market to create a pipeline for future cruisers, and I think it's very hard to get the average middle class European family into DCL for a first cruise with DCL's current price and itinerary offerings.

However, when the Adventure is launched, it's an entirely new ballgame. Because I don't think they intend to actively market the Adventure to Americans. They will basically be creating a new DCL ecosystem and market in southeast Asia. This will be very interesting to watch, because the pricing for the Adventure will almost certainly reflect the reality of a business that is growing from scratch rather than the Amerocentric DCL.

 

[sponica]

I don't disagree that price is part of the reason but also itinerary. We've "easterned" and "westerned" all we care to. Even "southerned" and "PC". If I go back to the Caribbean, it will be a land trip so I can really enjoy the culture. We may take the kids and grands to Alaska on DCL but for Europe, it's just DH and I and we think the smaller ships (~150 rooms) have better itineraries.

I do wonder if the Bahamas itinerary overload + 5 ships in florida for part of the year next year is part of the softer bookings. I just checked the cruise I have booked for next August and I don't think prices have risen that much since I booked it with a placeholder.

 

[loislane]

There are soooo many factors at play. Inflation remains high and people are being more thoughtful with their dollars. Combine that with Disney overpricing itself a bit too much, Disney having more ships to spread cruisers across, other cruise lines having new ships as well - there is more capacity than people. I love a Disney cruise but even I have to admit the new elements they have added to their newer ships don't have the WOW factor when compared to the things RCCL and even NCL are putting on their ships. (While I enjoyed our cruise on the Wish, I'm just gonna say the AquaMouse is boring and the Hyperspace Lounge was just meh.)

Cruising in general is a growing industry (Forbes projects growth of 11% from 2022 to 2028) and Disney benefited early from carving out a family niche. The problem now is that their model has not evolved to keep pace with what travelers are looking for. (That said, I have 2 Disney cruises booked and nothing planned in the near future for other cruise lines. lol)

 

[CarolynU]

I’ve taken my family on DCL Europe in the Summer for years but then they switched itineraries doing The Med first and then Northern Europe second.
Now my grandkids are both at school in the UK they only have August off. So we took a Northern out of Dover.
To be honest the weather was mostly windy, fairly cold and at times rainy.
Even with these conditions the kids pool was rammed. Too many kids too little space.
The kids club didn’t seem to do much with the children and there just didn’t seem enough to do compared to the new ships that other lines offering, multiple slides, climbing walls, skating and other appealing stuff for kids.
So given that the weather in the uk is gloomy so much, we mostly head off somewhere warmer and sunnier in the Med in the Summer rather than DCL floating about the same climates as home.

 

[CarolynU]

I do wonder if the Bahamas itinerary overload + 5 ships in florida for part of the year next year is part of the softer bookings. I just checked the cruise I have booked for next August and I don't think prices have risen that much since I booked it with a placeholder.

I’ve just taken two B2B with DCL and like you Easterned Westerned and Southerned so many times that I’ve already decided and booked Barbados only for 10 nights next year just for a change. I want to go out and about evenings and sample some restaurants and street food and music etc rather than getting off the ship and then being back onboard at 5pm.

 

[starry_solo]

Please let me know where these cast discounts you mention are. If anything, this year they’ve been providing less and less opportunities for cast to sail at a discount.

I know that some of the Alaska cruise out in the West have 50% off for cast members.

 

[nancipants]

I do wonder if the Bahamas itinerary overload + 5 ships in florida for part of the year next year is part of the softer bookings. I just checked the cruise I have booked for next August and I don't think prices have risen that much since I booked it with a placeholder.

Yeah, I was hoping that when the Treasure started sailing that one of the older ships would be used to do longer Southern Caribbean cruises or just sail out of San Juan, but instead they moved the Fantasy to do Bahamian cruises. We booked one because it's our favorite ship and to see Lookout Cay, but can't see us booking another one unless we get a Florida resident rate.