How come DCL isn't selling out?

[Memepoppy]

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.

This! We're cruising RCCL on the Wonder in January 2025. Since we were traveling from out west, the wife suggested maybe we look at a 5-day on the Wish after our Wonder cruise as we hadn't been on DCL for a few years. Pricing this cruise was basically what we paid for our 7-day eastern Carribean on Royal or, as you said, 30%+ more than the exact same cruise on Utopia (except for the Coco cay vs Castaway). Guesss which one we booked!

 

[clarker99]

Wish Occupancy
Sept '24 88.5%
Sept '23 88.5%

Rolling 12 month period, 94.7%.

Fantasy Occupancy
Sept '24 84.6%
Sept '23 83.4%

Rolling 12 month period, 90.2%.

Overall Occupancy for DCL Cruises out of Port Canaveral
Sept '24 87.3%
Sept '23 86.9%

Rolling 12 month period, 93.2%.

https://www.portcanaveral.com/About/Public-Meetings/Watch-Meetings

 

[Genie+]

Wish Occupancy
Sept '24 88.5%
Sept '23 88.5%

Rolling 12 month period, 94.7%.

Fantasy Occupancy
Sept '24 84.6%
Sept '23 83.4%

Rolling 12 month period, 90.2%.

Overall Occupancy for DCL Cruises out of Port Canaveral
Sept '24 87.3%
Sept '23 86.9%

Rolling 12 month period, 93.2%.

https://www.portcanaveral.com/About/Public-Meetings/Watch-Meetings

People preferring to avoid storm season?

 

[Kingkonig]

People preferring to avoid storm season?

That, school is back in session (and it is a lot weirder IMO to pull kids out of school RIGHT when they got back), and we're encroaching on an election. People generally spend less on luxuries leading up to a presidential election.

 

[clarker99]

People preferring to avoid storm season?

September is the slowest cruise month of the year for DCL cruises out of Port Canaveral (and by a good margin).

It is likely the slowest month for travel in general.

 

[Paul Stupin]

In my opinion, this is not just a calendar or cruise season issue. My wife and I are currently on a Royal Caribbean Ovation Of The Seas cruise to Australia, and with our last cruise being on the Disney Dream last April, I can’t help but compare the two. Of course we love the Disney characters, but for us everything on our RCCL ship is pretty much superior.
1. More to do, more fun activities
2. Monumentally superior buffet
3. Better food in MDR and greater choice of specialty restaurants.
4. More varied entertainment
5. Ship feels newer, more contemporary and up to date.
6. Better internet
One issue, no doubt, is that we don’t have kids, which changes our perspective. But maybe one reason DCL isn’t selling out is the fact that the product is overpriced and perhaps not keeping up with the offerings of competitors.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

RCL utopia is 1050pp for ocean verandah view and 150 on board credit
DCL is 1500 pp for same with no credit

3 nights

Love Disney but can't justify the difference. Going to try Royal this time. Wouldn't have in the past. Were younger so we will enjoy trying the more night life etc. Its apples to oranges in the difference in ships, so I know I won't really be able to compare. Just going to be a different experience, which I am expecting and will be fine with

 

[Paul Stupin]

RCL utopia is 1050pp for ocean verandah view and 150 on board credit
DCL is 1500 pp for same with no credit

3 nights

Love Disney but can't justify the difference. Going to try Royal this time. Wouldn't have in the past. Were younger so we will enjoy trying the more night life etc. Its apples to oranges in the difference in ships, so I know I won't really be able to compare. Just going to be a different experience, which I am expecting and will be fine with

This is our first time on RCCL, and we’re really enjoying it. I’d bet the kids club is better on Disney, but that’s not an issue for us. There is no aspect of this cruise, honestly, that is not superior, or markedly superior to DCL. The ship itself is considerably larger and monumentally fun. No sense whatsoever of being overcrowded. The food is on an entirely different, higher level.

People seem to think that Disney is the only cruising game in town, and it’s not.

 

[LordVader]

This is our first time on RCCL, and we’re really enjoying it. I’d bet the kids club is better on Disney, but that’s not an issue for us. There is no aspect of this cruise, honestly, that is not superior, or markedly superior to DCL. The ship itself is considerably larger and monumentally fun. No sense whatsoever of being overcrowded. The food is on an entirely different, higher level.

People seem to think that Disney is the only cruising game in town, and it’s not.

We'll be on the Utopia in 30 days due to the being less than half the cost to back on the Wish and we get an extra night. My kids are crazy excited for Splashaway Bay on the ship and Coco Cay and my wife and I are just excited to try a different cruise line for comparison sake.

 

[Paul Stupin]

We'll be on the Utopia in 30 days due to the being less than half the cost to back on the Wish and we get an extra night. My kids are crazy excited for Splashaway Bay on the ship and Coco Cay and my wife and I are just excited to try a different cruise line for comparison sake.

I’m sure you guys will love it!

 

[tidefan]

This is our first time on RCCL, and we’re really enjoying it. I’d bet the kids club is better on Disney, but that’s not an issue for us. There is no aspect of this cruise, honestly, that is not superior, or markedly superior to DCL. The ship itself is considerably larger and monumentally fun. No sense whatsoever of being overcrowded. The food is on an entirely different, higher level.

People seem to think that Disney is the only cruising game in town, and it’s not.

You should try Virgin Voyages

 

[LordVader]

I’m sure you guys will love it!

Thanks! We're very excited to give it a shot, now just hoping for good weather lol

 

[Paul Stupin]

I’m sure you guys will love it!

I’m sure we totally will at some point or another!

 

[randumb0]

Icon is practically the same price as DCL. I just think that there is a large supply to choose from

 

[DCLMP]

It will be interesting to see how the year progresses. Cruise sales are more dependent on the economy than any other factor.

 

[dreamer17555]

So today DCL dropped kids sail 50% off with Disney + for a ton of their Wish, Wonder, and Dream sailings starting in Jan and going till mid June (which is a bit crazy to me since summer is normally already an easier sell).

Our early Jan sailings are blocked out (I'm guessing too close to the sail date) but looking at availability on the website- the *GT rates, CM discounts, and FL & Military discounts- still is no where close to full . I will report back passenger numbers after sailings but it is clear DCL is struggling to fill these ships

 

[happycamper47]

it is clear DCL is struggling to fill these ships

I think it's the short cruises more than anything. People are less willing to spend money on airfare for a 3 or 4 day cruise.

 

[dreamer17555]

I think it's the short cruises more than anything. People are less willing to spend money on airfare for a 3 or 4 day cruise.

Several 5 nights are included as well (and one 6 night but it's from Sydney so we can ignore it as an outlier)

 

[jujubiee4]

Several 5 nights are included as well (and one 6 night but it's from Sydney so we can ignore it as an outlier)

I looked at the dates for the offer....that is an awful lot of cruises. In today's uncertain economic
times people are being more choosy than ever with their dollars. The price better be perceived
a good VALUE for most people.

 

[cvjw]

I think it's the short cruises more than anything. People are less willing to spend money on airfare for a 3 or 4 day cruise.

And DCL is adding the fantasy, the destiny and the magic (part of the year) to sail MORE of these short Bahamas cruises. Not sure who is making these decisions, but they need to hire someone else. DCL needs more 7 night itineraries, not more short ones out of FL ports.