Is DCL Mainstream yet?

[Sleepyluke]

I am curious your thoughts when DCL did/will become a mainstream cruise line that happens to have Mickey and Minnie. Obviously we are a group that is much more dedicated to DCL than the general population, so we may be skewed.

I know they began a s truly niche market and could charge what they wanted essentially, but for a long time, they were dare I say reasonable. Now that they have grown considerably and other cruise lines have added some family style things, has DCL become one of them, and if not, are we close and what do they have to do to set themselves apart again.

Is it number of ships, itinerary, price per night? I really don't have a good answer, but it sure feels like they are getting dangerously close to that line.

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't know what the criteria would be or the certifying agency for designating a cruise lie "mainstream". I don't consider DCL to be mainstream myself.

 

[dreamer17555]

Things that would push it that way- Losing nightly turn down service, losing rotational dining. Otherwise its a premium line IMO, not a luxury line like Seabourn but solidly in the premium tier along with Virgin

 

[FastPasser.]

Based on its tiny percentage of the cruising market, l’d have to say no.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

I put a lot of cruise line vlogs on in the background while doing paperwork. There are so many popular ones out there that never even mention DCL in any way. One of them recently ranked all the private islands and DCL wasn’t listed at all. Another one does cruise news all the time and for the first time in all of his vlogs he mentioned the Treasure was re routing due to the Hurricane. No other news ever for DCL.
It also seems like the newer ships that Royal, MSC etc seem to garner much more attention from what I can see.

 

[DCLMP]

When has it not been mainstream?

 

[Sanchez]

Things that would push it that way- Losing nightly turn down service, losing rotational dining. Otherwise its a premium line IMO, not a luxury line like Seabourn but solidly in the premium tier along with Virgin

My opinion - premium is wishful thinking. DCL's food and wine offerings alone exclude it from being premium. Five star prices don't make something premium, especially when the offerings are three star. I would say that DCL is certainly worthy of distinction in that the Disney IP and entertainment make it desirable to a certain audience (and worth the price premium to many), but nothing they do is premium. Using your criteria, Princess and Celebrity would be considered premium.

 

[dreamer17555]

My opinion - premium is wishful thinking. DCL's food and wine offerings alone exclude it from being premium. Five star prices don't make something premium, especially when the offerings are three star. I would say that DCL is certainly worthy of distinction in that the Disney IP and entertainment make it desirable to a certain audience (and worth the price premium to many), but nothing they do is premium. Using your criteria, Princess and Celebrity would be considered premium.

They are considered premium lines- Virgin, Disney, Princess, Celebrity, Holland all fall into premium

Luxury lines- Seabourn, Regent, Silver Sea, etc
Mainstream- NCL, Carnival, MSC, Royal, etc

 

[Flcruising]

Have you seen the other cruise lines islands? And the supercharged activities, entertainment, food and amusements on the other newer ships?
Mainstream has leaped over DCL.

But Are they still mainstream? I'd say no. Disney knows their target and it isnt the mainstream population. Really it never was. If they were trying to reach the mainstream their strategy would be very different.

I suspect the Disney visionaries are discussing how to regain their edge without losing their target audience.

 

[DCLMP]

They are considered premium lines- Virgin, Disney, Princess, Celebrity, Holland all fall into premium

Luxury lines- Seabourn, Regent, Silver Sea, etc
Mainstream- NCL, Carnival, MSC, Royal, etc

Who made up these labels?

 

[DCLMP]

My opinion - premium is wishful thinking. DCL's food and wine offerings alone exclude it from being premium. Five star prices don't make something premium, especially when the offerings are three star. I would say that DCL is certainly worthy of distinction in that the Disney IP and entertainment make it desirable to a certain audience (and worth the price premium to many), but nothing they do is premium. Using your criteria, Princess and Celebrity would be considered premium.

It's like saying the deluxe resorts at WDW are premium because they cost 800 a night. They are unique due to theming, but I wouldn't call them premium. Same with DCL. I did not notice a difference in service or amenities between Disney and Royal. DCL has theming that is unique.

 

[DCLMP]

How is Princess premium? There's no difference between Royal, Princess, NCL, DCL, Celebrity, Holland etc.