Is DCL Mainstream yet?

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

To me it depends on the territory / market.

I would say Disney is mainstream in America because The Walt Disney Company in general is just part of American culture and nostalgia plays a big part in guest loyalty over multiple generations.

In Europe I would say Disney cruise is more niche. The Walt Disney Company really only started marketing to UK and Irish guests in the 1980s when long haul package holidays to Florida became accessible and affordable. Disney Cruise is not marketed or promoted in Ireland, I only found out about Disney cruising when I joined Disboards.
P & O , MSC and RCL would be the mainstream cruise lines in Europe. P & O main guests are UK and MSC main guests are Italian , Spanish and French.

 

[jimmymc]

I don't think there is a criteria for any category mainstream, premium, luxury. I tink it comes down to however you want to define it. It's completely subjective. Disney has Disney characters, Royal has Dreamworks and Carnival has Dr Seuss. Other than that I guess it comes down to how you feel about the food and housekeeping

Cruise media and travel agents do have some defined categories for different cruise lines. These aren't official in any way, but they tend to offer comparable products and the same inclusions while being in the same price range per night:

• Regional: Margaritaville, American Cruise Line, P & O
• Mass market: Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean
• Premium: Celebrity, Cunard, Disney, Holland America, Princess, Virgin Voyages
• Luxury: Azamara, Cunard, Oceania, Viking Ocean, Windstar
• Ultra-Luxury: Crystal, Explora Journey, Regent Seven Seas, Ritz-Carlton Yacht, Seabourn, Silverseas

So when I hear mainstream, I would default to mass market, but that's definitely not true for Disney. They're also an outlier in the premium category because of the family appear. The other premium lines usually make less of an effort to appeal to kids, and Virgin doesn't allow them. Princess is starting to target families with their newest ships, but they're still behind Disney and mass market lines.

I wouldn't say Disney is mainstream yet due to their unique position of being a family-friendly premium cruise line, but the word is certainly out.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Cruise media and travel agents do have some defined categories for different cruise lines.

It's really the industry itself that has the definition and they rely on it. All companies rely on it. The other poster for whatever reason doesn't want to see that the categories aren't made up things but are standard in the industry. Individual people may think (see below) a line falls elsewhere but it is personal opinion; the usage of categories is not.

I would default to mass market, but that's definitely not true for Disney.

I would differ on that but understand it's not something that is going to be seen as easily on a Disney internet forum. Disney makes food for several thousand passengers (2,700-more than 4,000) and will be making ones for 6,000+ passengers soon on the Adventure. They are attempting to appeal to the masses, they can't fill a ship without depending on several thousand people at once deciding to go on their ships not to mention they do the same routes over and over and over they don't have much uniqueness to them at all (you only have to look at the threads to see how people feel about that).

Remove the Disney part, as in the theming, and you have a mass market company with a mass market attempt in appeal. Their brand is mass market. What makes them not as let's say booked the same way as Royal for example is price point, as many say here you have to really want the Disney stuff to pay the pricing they charge.

 

[tvguy]

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.

All personal preference I guess. I have been to Labadee, Great Stirrup Cay and Castaway Cay, all YEARS ago. I thought Castaway Cay was too supercharged back in 2004. But I was at Great Stirrup Cay in 1983 and 1984 and Labadee in 1986 and 1988 when they were much more like Gilligans Island. And THAT was what was unique about the experience. I can do all the activities and amusements cruise lines are offering now ANYWHERE. How many places can I go now with a deserted island experience with food and a few limited vendors?

 

[John VN]

All personal preference I guess. I have been to Labadee, Great Stirrup Cay and Castaway Cay, all YEARS ago. I thought Castaway Cay was too supercharged back in 2004. But I was at Great Stirrup Cay in 1983 and 1984 and Labadee in 1986 and 1988 when they were much more like Gilligans Island. And THAT was what was unique about the experience. I can do all the activities and amusements cruise lines are offering now ANYWHERE. How many places can I go now with a deserted island experience with food and a few limited vendors?

Have you been here ???

DW and I will be once again overnighting at Ocean Cay next month. It is like NO OTHER cruise line's private Island and it is the only reserve.

p.s. - they are in the process of building a new smaller island

 

[tvguy]

Have you been here ???

DW and I will be once again overnighting at Ocean Cay next month. It is like NO OTHER cruise line's private Island and it is the only reserve.

p.s. - they are in the process of building a new smaller island

I have not.

 

[Flcruising]

All personal preference I guess. I have been to Labadee, Great Stirrup Cay and Castaway Cay, all YEARS ago. I thought Castaway Cay was too supercharged back in 2004. But I was at Great Stirrup Cay in 1983 and 1984 and Labadee in 1986 and 1988 when they were much more like Gilligans Island. And THAT was what was unique about the experience. I can do all the activities and amusements cruise lines are offering now ANYWHERE. How many places can I go now with a deserted island experience with food and a few limited vendors?

You are right. It is a personal preference choice.
But since the OP was talking about mainstream would you say your choice for a Gilligan Island experience is now mainstream or is your choice a bit different from mainstream?
Has what Disney and others thought was mainstream in the '80s changed at all after 40 years?

 

[tvguy]

You are right. It is a personal preference choice.
But since the OP was talking about mainstream would you say your choice for a Gilligan Island experience is now mainstream or is your choice a bit different from mainstream?
Has what Disney and others thought was mainstream in the '80s changed at all after 40 years?

Well, I am hearing some complaints about the current state of private islands on other forums. And Lookout Cay is among them on this forum.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Well, I am hearing some complaints about the current state of private islands on other forums. And Lookout Cay is among them on this forum.

Yeah LC has had some growing pains....
Flies
Lack of seating
Long pier with no shade
Locals sometimes there
Rough waters at times
Beach erosion
Lack of signage
And a plus for some and negative for others (families)... no water park like others are doing.

 

[jimmymc]

I would differ on that but understand it's not something that is going to be seen as easily on a Disney internet forum. Disney makes food for several thousand passengers (2,700-more than 4,000) and will be making ones for 6,000+ passengers soon on the Adventure. They are attempting to appeal to the masses, they can't fill a ship without depending on several thousand people at once deciding to go on their ships not to mention they do the same routes over and over and over they don't have much uniqueness to them at all (you only have to look at the threads to see how people feel about that).

Remove the Disney part, as in the theming, and you have a mass market company with a mass market attempt in appeal. Their brand is mass market. What makes them not as let's say booked the same way as Royal for example is price point, as many say here you have to really want the Disney stuff to pay the pricing they charge.

I would personally say that Disney is in the premium category, along with Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America. They're more expensive than Royal or NCL and less reliant on secondary revenue. Other premium lines also have medium to large size ships like Disney. Maybe the Adventure will feel different, but I'll wait until the reviews come out to judge that. I also realize we're splitting hairs at this point, but Disney feels like a different category than Royal, Carnival, or NCL.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would personally say that Disney is in the premium category, along with Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America. They're more expensive than Royal or NCL and less reliant on secondary revenue. Other premium lines also have medium to large size ships like Disney. Maybe the Adventure will feel different, but I'll wait until the reviews come out to judge that. I also realize we're splitting hairs at this point, but Disney feels like a different category than Royal, Carnival, or NCL.

Generally the industry considers it a premium category but I was commenting on the mass market of your comment.

A lot of people want to see Disney as different than say Carnival or Royal by making this or that statements but they are both serving thousands of passengers in the same market over and over and over again. I think people want to see Disney as more of an exclusive club kind of line which like I mentioned you really have to want the Disney stuff to pay the price for it but it's not as exclusive of a club as one would think when you're sailing with thousands of other people on your ship. The chefs still have to feed several thousand people per day, housekeeping still has to take care of several thousand people per day, the pools and areas of the ship still have to serve several thousand people per day.

As far as size of ship Disney is now in the mega ship market with Wish/Treasure/Destiny. People conjure up Royal's Oasis or Icon but mega ship is generally referred to as one that can hold 3,500 or more passengers. With ships getting bigger and bigger (especially Icon class) I could see an adjustment with that. Although they do separate themselves in that category by not having all the water slides, central park style stuff (meaning making it seem more like a city on a ship), etc.

As far as expense yeah but that's because they are using their brand outside of cruising industry not because of something the ships have (it's the characters, theming, etc but not the fact that they have xyz on the ship). They can be more expensive than Seabourn for example (an ultra luxury line) it does not in any way mean they are higher than Seabourn on things just by using price as the determining factor.

As far as your very last statement I totally agree there but my viewpoint is people try to make Disney much more separate from other lines than they really are. They really only truly unique they have going for them is trademark rights to characters. They do operate on trying to deliver the customer service people associate them with built upon decades of their brand but that doesn't really separate them out, it's having Mickey Mouse, but having that is only because they are protected by trademarks (a legal but not a conscious company policy to make themselves so different from others).