Is DCL getting - or is it already - complacent?

[KdKyA]

We used to rush for the onboard booking/placeholder credit, but now that we have been on 7 cruises, we don't feel we need to do that anymore. We are retired military and can save way more than the placeholder offers. The downside is not knowing if/when a cruise will go up for discounts. Also, the late booking used to be what kept us from going the military rate, but now that we have done a lot of the things onboard, we don't feel we have to rush to book anymore. Used to think we stood a chance at a cabana with early check in/booking, but the reality is, unless you are concierge, it's basically not going to happen. If they offered new things and cruise itineraries, more cabanas, etc. we would be willing to rush to build up our club status. We are a family of 5 and have more bags and luggage tags than we will ever use (mostly due to couple rooms to fit all of us). I definitely don't feel DCL cares if people come back. They are glad to have us, but won't shed a tear if we cruise somewhere else.

 

[Marc D]

That being said, the cruise industry as a whole is grappling with the loyalty program swells. After all, outside of the school holidays, it's the same set of cruisers every year - and everyone will eventually reach those higher levels.

You would think that, yet it doesn’t happen. People move from one cruise line to another as they get older. Unless devoted Disney fans, families go from DCL to lines more tailored for teens when the kids get older, like RCCL or NCL. You will not find flow riders and zip lines on Celebrity, or even many cabins for more than 2 guests. People on that line say that guests on Holland America are old people.

On lines with a large spectrum of ages, like Celebrity, RCCL and NCL, the loyalty programs have steep requirements for the higher echelons. They can’t easily be reached unless sailing in suites at all times. My parents have sailed around 75 cruises on Celebrity and they are nowhere near the highest level.

 

[smmco]

Major lines do not, but they do give more points if you book higher-tier rooms. We sailed Celebrity in a suite and got double the points compared to a regular cabin.

I’m not that familiar with other lines. Do the points add to status or some other kind of perks?

 

[brentm77]

This was something I posted back in May of this year in response to the thread
Any thoughts on Castaway Club levels and future possible adjustments?


First off I think status should be based on days at sea not number of cruises. This might upset people who only take 3 and 4 day cruises but I think it would be a more fair way to gain different levels of the Cast Away Club. My wife and I had sailed on ten, seven day cruises for a total of seventy days at sea as apposed to some one that has done ten, three day cruises for a total of thirty days at sea to gain Platinum status. We are currently at seventy seven days at sea with another fourteen booked. As far as additional rewards on top of what Disney already offers Cast Away Club members, they might think about 5% off future cruises for Silver,10% off future cruises for gold and 15% off future cruises for Platinum without having to do an on board booking/placeholder. They might also want to look at similar discounts for on board shopping.

The discount is probably the one perk that would mean the most to us. Booking early or booking stuff on board early isn't that helpful to us, and I can't think of any gift that would be important to us. But the escalated discount would be something that could make us feel appreciated and push us to come back over other lines.

Like the OP, I feel Disney is getting a bit complacent. There are small things that have slowly getting cut back, and I understand the soft serve quality may be changing to the really cheap stuff lately. Simple things like that will quickly make people question the value in paying the Disney premium. They already fall short in area such as casual dinning quality and variety, and ship amenities.

Now is not the time for them to cut corners or take repeat customers for granted, because the new ships will require Disney to not only attract new customers, but to up the game in bringing people back. They will have thousands of more spots they need to fill weekly, and competition from other lines is getting better all the time.

 

[Marc D]

I’m not that familiar with other lines. Do the points add to status or some other kind of perks?

This is the Celebrity membership tiers and benefits. You can see they are based on points. Each night onboard gives points, and the amount per night goes up with the type of cabin you book.



On NCL and RCCL, which also use points, they offer free cruises at the highest level, and a similar benefits program. RCCL and Celebrity being the same company, they match levels between both lines. Therefore, I will be Diamond if I ever go back on RCCL because I’m Elite on Celebrity.

 

[FightingIrishman]

They would have to grandfather in anyone with current Status. The fact that 10 cruises is their highest level is pretty ridiculous.
As disappointed as I am in DCLs loyalty program I just got off my first RCCL cruise and Im pretty sure I’m one and done with them. IMHO they are not on par with DCL. Were supposed to try Carnival next year and I’m hesitant to do that after this experience. We had fun, but iI wasn’t wowed by it the way I’d hoped to be.

I hear you. We did one RCCL and some aspects were new and interesting but kids clubs were a complete disaster with zero positive customer service. Despite that, we booked another cruise with RCCL because Disney doesn't sail to some places we want to go. I had to cancel that particular cruise and now I have cruise credit (minus 100 bucks per person) with them so I guess at some point we will have to sail with them again.

If DCL gets rid of OBC, I am pretty sure we would not be doing a cruise with them at minimum every other year. That OBC is a factor in our frequency.

Overall, I would say DCL is becoming a little complacent. Hopefully with more ships they will be sailing to new ports. I think a lot of us want to sail with them again but if you have already been to some ports multiple times, do you really want to go back there yet again?

 

[G.Tyler]

My wife and I are platinum status and perhaps a revamped Castaway Club is warranted; However; as some have already stated; while maybe it shouldn't be dependent on what a particular cruiser has spent on previous sailings to determine their position or status, it certainly should not be dependent on number of cruises completed either. I would like to see DCL use a similar plan as Royal Caribbean; i.e. A cruiser would be awarded 1 point for each night completed PLUS an additional point given for each night in a suite, doubling the points ,basically what a previous person. stated. As a point of reference, all of our platinum qualifying cruises were concierge class of which we got 0 additional points. With Royal Caribbean, our per day points would have been double. I feel very fortunate to have been able to cruise concierge level with Disney, however, to me, it doesn't seem fair for me to have spent double and sometimes triple the price of a cruise compared with a inside stateroom; i.e. $3000 to $4000 +or- compared to $10,000 to $18000+or-. Just saying.

 

[Intr3pid]

You would think that, yet it doesn’t happen. People move from one cruise line to another as they get older. Unless devoted Disney fans, families go from DCL to lines more tailored for teens when the kids get older, like RCCL or NCL. You will not find flow riders and zip lines on Celebrity, or even many cabins for more than 2 guests. People on that line say that guests on Holland America are old people.

On lines with a large spectrum of ages, like Celebrity, RCCL and NCL, the loyalty programs have steep requirements for the higher echelons. They can’t easily be reached unless sailing in suites at all times. My parents have sailed around 75 cruises on Celebrity and they are nowhere near the highest level.

The cruise industry has quietly become concentrated in the hands of three major players, so you might think you are moving to a different line, but it's simply the company selling you a more suitable product. You will eventually go back to a handful of cruise brands that you like. Your parents are a perfect example.

The reality is, there is no need to sail 75 cruises. You can, for example, buy Celebrity's Premier Pass these days. This is what we did on our first cruise with them and were bumped right to the front of queue of pretty much everything - ahead of the highest-tier Zenith.

 

[Karin1984]

And not just cruises, also the airline industry has the same problem. As people live longer, are mobile longer, flights getting more affordable, they can travel more and further for more years. The airline I work for has a 'for life' frequent flyer status if you have the highest status for 10 years (will take longer than some status on cruise lines, I know). We now have an ever growing group in this tier who get all benefits like lounge access, free seating, luggage etc.
This is a problem for which we do not have a solution for. You cannot do anything about the status people have achieved yet, and adjusting existing benefits can cause major backlash. Making small tweaks, like Disney also does, are noticed immediately.

 

[Dug720]

Major lines do not, but they do give more points if you book higher-tier rooms. We sailed Celebrity in a suite and got double the points compared to a regular cabin.

HAL does a combination - there are points for each night, but you can also earn points for spending onboard. I forget the correlation, but when I was on them for Alaska I racked up a few additional points on shore excursions alone.

 

[smmco]

I hear you. We did one RCCL and some aspects were new and interesting but kids clubs were a complete disaster with zero positive customer service. Despite that, we booked another cruise with RCCL because Disney doesn't sail to some places we want to go. I had to cancel that particular cruise and now I have cruise credit (minus 100 bucks per person) with them so I guess at some point we will have to sail with them again.

If DCL gets rid of OBC, I am pretty sure we would not be doing a cruise with them at minimum every other year. That OBC is a factor in our frequency.

Overall, I would say DCL is becoming a little complacent. Hopefully with more ships they will be sailing to new ports. I think a lot of us want to sail with them again but if you have already been to some ports multiple times, do you really want to go back there yet again?

It wasn't bad, There were actually a lot of good things about the ship, but the service wasn't on par with DCL. The atmosphere was completely different. That was probably my biggest takeaway. I've really gotten used to the family vibe on DCL. My teens enjoyed it, but one of them prefers Disney. We enjoy taking a Caribbean cruise in the Winter just to relax and honestly we could care less where the ship goes. In my opinion, you've seen one island you've seen them all. We'll be on DCL this Summer in Europe only because Carnival cancelled the Maiden Voyage of the Mardi Gras. They are giving us 25% off on another cruise. Hopefully next year I'll be ready to try something new again. At the moment I'm looking forward to going back on DCL.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think DCL is figuring out they can't be everything to everybody. With their prices, I think the know they will likely be a one-time deal for many guests, as an add on to a WDW vacation. WDW doesn't have great returning customer rewards either-pretty much zilch in fact; no rewards program like a Hilton, and only limited-in-time bounceback offers that are not much better than the public room discounts.

That said, I noticed no decline in service. The service we had was better on our more recent cruise than any prior cruise--cute towel animals and all. I think some of it is just luck of the draw.

I do agree with the OP that port adventures have been disappointing. I rarely complain to guest services, but I had to complain big time on one of the excursions we did--the tour guide was rude and even made one of our kids cry, we were held hostage for ages at gift shops we had no interest in shopping in being pressured to buy, and went several hours passed our return time to ship, missing several onboard activities we had looked forward to, we were repeatedly reminded to tip (we always do, but the amount of reminders was excessive). It really left a bad taste in my mouth. I do think DCL should be more careful in their port adventure contracting, as it was a very un-disney experience.

 

[tvguy]

@PhilipC Disney across the board is a master of marketing and master of maximizing profits. I don't think they are getting complacent. They are everything they can to keep fares up (and admission prices in the parks too), and to bring in a mix of passengers that maximizes their profits on souvenir sales. From this thread, while repeat cruisers wish there were more perks, they continue to return.
I think this is the very marketing plan DCL wants.
I went on a Celebrity Cruise in October, and yes, their perks were better, because they couldn't fill staterooms or extra cost restaurants. They throw in tips, alcohol, and half way through the cruise, they had staff walking through the buffet with menus from the extra cost restaurants offering half off the regular price because they couldn't fill those restaurants.

 

[Tasmen]

I have always been disappointed that Disney grants status based on # of cruises as opposed to # of nights on a cruise. I do like that other cruise lines give credit based on type of cabin and # of nights.

That said, we don't pick a cruise line based on perks. We pick based on overall price and itinerary. So far we've sailed NCL and DCL. We like both lines (though we frequent DCL the most). We have an RCCL cruise slated for this July.

 

[PhilipC]

From this thread, while repeat cruisers wish there were more perks, they continue to return.

I didn't really expect the focus of the replies to be on perks for repeat cruisers; I can understand why it is but I think that is only part of the bigger picture. I think that DCL needs to consider reviewing the overall cruise package, which is why I had also brought up tips, excursions, alcoholic drinks, specialist coffees, Internet, etc. Other cruise lines either offer special pricing (e.g. Princess offer a 50% discount for a bundle of a drinks package, tips and Internet) while other cruise lines don't want tips (P & O, Viking) and some even include a base excursion with the option to pay for something else (Viking). Ultimately, you do end up paying for those extras (Viking is not cheap) and it will be interesting to review particularly Viking's cruise contract to see how they handle the liability for excursions.

Not that it will matter much, but my wife & I have decided to take a break from cruising with DCL. We had actually made that decision after last year's bad experience but we'd already booked the recent cruises we just finished and didn't really want to miss out on those ports. Now that we've done those, we're going to try out other cruise lines to see if it just the case that we've moved on from what DCL have to offer.

It will be very interesting to see if the launch of the new ship(s) triggers an overhaul of DCL's offerings.

 

[tvguy]

I didn't really expect the focus of the replies to be on perks for repeat cruisers; I can understand why it is but I think that is only part of the bigger picture. I think that DCL needs to consider reviewing the overall cruise package, which is why I had also brought up tips, excursions, alcoholic drinks, specialist coffees, Internet, etc. Other cruise lines either offer special pricing (e.g. Princess offer a 50% discount for a bundle of a drinks package, tips and Internet) while other cruise lines don't want tips (P & O, Viking) and some even include a base excursion with the option to pay for something else (Viking). Ultimately, you do end up paying for those extras (Viking is not cheap) and it will be interesting to review particularly Viking's cruise contract to see how they handle the liability for excursions.

Not that it will matter much, but my wife & I have decided to take a break from cruising with DCL. We had actually made that decision after last year's bad experience but we'd already booked the recent cruises we just finished and didn't really want to miss out on those ports. Now that we've done those, we're going to try out other cruise lines to see if it just the case that we've moved on from what DCL have to offer.

It will be very interesting to see if the launch of the new ship(s) triggers an overhaul of DCL's offerings.

When they launched the Dream and Fantasy they didn't. Like I said, they are masters of marketing and I suspect they won't need to overhaul anything.

 

[lilsonicfan]

As a silver cruiser with 2 cruises and 20 nights on board, it does seem a bit strange that someone else with 2 cruises and 6 nights on board could have the same status, but to me it's one of those "it is what it is" things. Loyalty is mildly rewarded because DCL doesn't really need it. Obviously, demand is super high and their supply is pretty low as they only have 4 ships right now ... if they can sail every ship full of newbies, why work harder to reward those who obviously already love their product enough to pay their rather inflated prices. They know they have us. I do feel they are watering down their product and the incentives to return are diminishing.

 

[smmco]

I didn't really expect the focus of the replies to be on perks for repeat cruisers; I can understand why it is but I think that is only part of the bigger picture. I think that DCL needs to consider reviewing the overall cruise package, which is why I had also brought up tips, excursions, alcoholic drinks, specialist coffees, Internet, etc. Other cruise lines either offer special pricing (e.g. Princess offer a 50% discount for a bundle of a drinks package, tips and Internet) while other cruise lines don't want tips (P & O, Viking) and some even include a base excursion with the option to pay for something else (Viking). Ultimately, you do end up paying for those extras (Viking is not cheap) and it will be interesting to review particularly Viking's cruise contract to see how they handle the liability for excursions.

Not that it will matter much, but my wife & I have decided to take a break from cruising with DCL. We had actually made that decision after last year's bad experience but we'd already booked the recent cruises we just finished and didn't really want to miss out on those ports. Now that we've done those, we're going to try out other cruise lines to see if it just the case that we've moved on from what DCL have to offer.

It will be very interesting to see if the launch of the new ship(s) triggers an overhaul of DCL's offerings.

I agree with you there. I loved my drink and internet package on Royal. The internet was fantastic. It was great not having to worry about my data usage. I was even able to binge-watch a Netflix series by the pool on one of our Sea days.

 

[DCLPrincess]

I personally do not think it should be based on dollars spent. I think non concierge people are just a valuable.

 

[smmco]

As a silver cruiser with 2 cruises and 20 nights on board, it does seem a bit strange that someone else with 2 cruises and 6 nights on board could have the same status, but to me it's one of those "it is what it is" things. Loyalty is mildly rewarded because DCL doesn't really need it. Obviously, demand is super high and their supply is pretty low as they only have 4 ships right now ... if they can sail every ship full of newbies, why work harder to reward those who obviously already love their product enough to pay their rather inflated prices. They know they have us. I do feel they are watering down their product and the incentives to return are diminishing.

I used to think this was the case until I got the survey Friday. The questions they asked made me really think they are at least somewhat concerned about their loyalty program. They have three new ships coming and there going to need to fill their older ships. New cruiser tend to book the newer ships. Seasoned cruisers look at itinerary and cost.