New Castaway Club Benefits Announced

[jrabbit]

Remember no one actually knows that repeat cruisers spend less. It was just a poster's guess. My guess would be since repeat cruisers on average might have more discretionary income than a one and done family, they may spend more? Just a guess on my part, too. In addition, the amount spent in a gift shop does not compare to the fare. Repeat cruisers are spending big bucks for every repeat cruise.

We didn't attend every reception but I am sorry to see them discontinued on 7 day cruises.

Disney Does!!! - But you are correct - we are just making the assumption.

Same Assumption as the Annual Passholders that clog up the parks (DL/WDW), create long lines, don't mind waiting (and staking out their territory) for 3+ hours for the nighttime parade and/or fireworks. They spend less money in the parks than the tourists do. And we are also making the assumption that the Multiple Repeat Cruisers spending habits are more in line with the Annual Passholders than the first time or infrequent visitors.

 

[hanscarlet]

Dude! I just made gold as of walking off the ship yesterday, was so looking forward to the reception, now we'll never see it because we can't do 8+ days. Booo

 

[JWG]

I got absolutely no acknowledgement or response to my e-mail sent over a week ago to DCL. Not even a cookie cutter response or a "we received your e-mail and will respond in..."

Disappointing.

 

[RedSox68]

I got absolutely no acknowledgement or response to my e-mail sent over a week ago to DCL. Not even a cookie cutter response or a "we received your e-mail and will respond in..."

Disappointing.

Their customer service has gently gone down hill over the past few years. I never get responses to inquiries or specific questions anymore

 

[anna08]

Just got off the Magic 7d Southern Caribbean out of San Juan May 7th - we did get platinum lanyards and had the officer reception. We do find it very interesting to chat with the officers - this time it was the head of food and beverage and we got to give him our feedback and suggestions, which he truly appeared interested to hear. I think it would be a shame for DCL to let this perk go. Fathoms was completely full and it's a nice chance to connect with a character or cruise director. In all honesty, after listening to the Dreams Unlimited podcast reviewing the Celebrity cruise that Tracy took which sounded really enticing, I went and checked out their itineraries and I think we're done with DCL until the new ships come out. There has been nothing new in the ship programming for the past 7 years and honestly, we could have done a mediterranean cruise in a suite compared to what we paid DCL for a veranda room in the caribbean.

 

[cruiser21]

I got off the Dream last week and got a really really loooo...ng survey. I can't remember all the questions, but some were about price, value. The wanted to know income level, how much we owned in assets, savings etc. Kind of personal questions. Also remember questions about what other cruiselines you've tried or would try and why. Would you cruise DCL without kids? Anybody else get this survey? It's the first time I have.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I got off the Dream last week and got a really really loooo...ng survey. I can't remember all the questions, but some were about price, value. The wanted to know income level, how much we owned in assets, savings etc. Kind of personal questions. Also remember questions about what other cruiselines you've tried or would try and why. Would you cruise DCL without kids? Anybody else get this survey? It's the first time I have.

We have received similar surveys more than once both from dcl and wdw. Do you answer those questions? I never give that information over to a company. It's a real turn turn off and none of their business. Dh tells me Disney corporate is laughing at their customers filling information out for free and that they should be paying for market research. (Like even Chick fil a and McDonald's give a free sandwich or something for filling out their surveys). I do sometimes fill them out for Disney, however, but I never give them personal information or I mislead them and give them misinformation about things like income.

 

[RedSox68]

I got off the Dream last week and got a really really loooo...ng survey. I can't remember all the questions, but some were about price, value. The wanted to know income level, how much we owned in assets, savings etc. Kind of personal questions. Also remember questions about what other cruiselines you've tried or would try and why. Would you cruise DCL without kids? Anybody else get this survey? It's the first time I have.

Seriously -- they wanted to know income level and assets? That is way TMI in my book! I would have put lines through those questions.

 

[jrabbit]

Seriously -- they wanted to know income level and assets? That is way TMI in my book! I would have put lines through those questions.

The more they know about your income and "assets" (assets = you are not spending enough on our stuff) - the better they can gauge how much to gouge you ... er ... I mean charge on your next vacation.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

I guess I'm glad glad i got to go to my first Gold/Platinum reception on the WBPC last month; it looks like I'll never see another one, as I can rarely get long periods of time off work. Why do they keep taking things away from us?!

 

[NZMUM]

I got absolutely no acknowledgement or response to my e-mail sent over a week ago to DCL. Not even a cookie cutter response or a "we received your e-mail and will respond in..."

Disappointing.

Very disappointing.
I feel very lucky that not only did earlier quoted response to my email (about the cutting of the reception), but I also got extra information.
I don't get emails from DCL as it is considered marketing.
And when you change CC level on the 2nd leg of a B2B, it takes a while for the ship to catch up, so we might need to tell them.
Was pretty pleased with the responses I got regarding those 2.

 

[Sytrace]

Their customer service has gently gone down hill over the past few years. I never get responses to inquiries or specific questions anymore

Here is the response I got the day after I sent an email with my concerns about the CC reception change.

Helo, Tracey!

Thank you so much for your e-mail, as well as your extremely kind
patience with us.

First, I am so sorry for any disappointment you have expressed
with the changes to the onboard receptions, which are now only being
offered on sailings 8-nights or longer. I truly apologize! Please know
that we regularly evaluate the program and make updates from
time-to-time often based upon guest feedback, which always plays a very
important role in all of our decisions. Please be assured that our
officers and crew enjoy meeting Castaway Club guests and will continue
to do so throughout each and every sailing.

However, I loved the suggestion about offering those receptions on
7-night sailings, which I'll be happy to share with the appropriate
leaders. Please know that your feedback is very important to us, and
your remarks will be evaluated along with those received from other
guests and will be used to determine where future changes might be
necessary. We will continue to strive to provide our guests with the
finest vacation and entertainment experiences, and we are very grateful
for your valuable input to help us achieve that goal.

Again, thank you so much for your e-mail. We hope to have the chance to
welcome you aboard one of our cruise ships again one day soon.


.

 

[cruiser21]

We have received similar surveys more than once both from dcl and wdw. Do you answer those questions? I never give that information over to a company. It's a real turn turn off and none of their business. Dh tells me Disney corporate is laughing at their customers filling information out for free and that they should be paying for market research. (Like even Chick fil a and McDonald's give a free sandwich or something for filling out their surveys). I do sometimes fill them out for Disney, however, but I never give them personal information or I mislead them and give them misinformation about things like income.

No I just make something up like I make 20k a year and let them wonder how I afford DCL twice a year. I'm sure they know it's not accurate.

 

[RedSox68]

Here is the response I got the day after I sent an email with my concerns about the CC reception change.

Helo, Tracey!

Thank you so much for your e-mail, as well as your extremely kind
patience with us.

First, I am so sorry for any disappointment you have expressed
with the changes to the onboard receptions, which are now only being
offered on sailings 8-nights or longer. I truly apologize! Please know
that we regularly evaluate the program and make updates from
time-to-time often based upon guest feedback, which always plays a very
important role in all of our decisions. Please be assured that our
officers and crew enjoy meeting Castaway Club guests and will continue
to do so throughout each and every sailing.

However, I loved the suggestion about offering those receptions on
7-night sailings, which I'll be happy to share with the appropriate
leaders. Please know that your feedback is very important to us, and
your remarks will be evaluated along with those received from other
guests and will be used to determine where future changes might be
necessary. We will continue to strive to provide our guests with the
finest vacation and entertainment experiences, and we are very grateful
for your valuable input to help us achieve that goal.

Again, thank you so much for your e-mail. We hope to have the chance to
welcome you aboard one of our cruise ships again one day soon.


.

Well, at least you got a response.

 

[ladyj0212]

With gold members now being able to choose an embarkation time, if gold members check in with a stateroom that is linked to their reservation that has first time cruisers, would they be able to embark as well? I'm wondering if they will still take into consideration that the reservations are linked.

When we sail, my daughter will be in an adjoining stateroom with my mom. My mom is a new cruiser, and my daughter is silver...but my husband and I are gold.

 

[RedSox68]

With gold members now being able to choose an embarkation time, if gold members check in with a stateroom that is linked to their reservation that has first time cruisers, would they be able to embark as well? I'm wondering if they will still take into consideration that the reservations are linked.

When we sail, my daughter will be in an adjoining stateroom with my mom. My mom is a new cruiser, and my daughter is silver...but my husband and I are gold.

I always thought that all family members could board together -- whether in separate staterooms or not. If the reservation is in your or your DH's name, then I think your gold status takes priority over their silver.

 

[FigmentSpark]

That brings up a good question. Has anyone who's not gold or higher been able to pick their PATs? When did or will this change? I wondered if it meant that gold or higher could choose a time, even if it wouldn't be available for a choice to someone silver and lower. But then, since they have an earlier sign-in date, maybe that's an incorrect reading of that perk.

Anyone have any idea how silver and new cruisers will be affected? Do they still get to pick a PAT or is it assigned now?

 

[havaneselover]

Maybe I missed it but the exclusive booking opportunity for gold/platinum is a vgt on 7/22/17 Fantasy for $123/person + taxes, fees, port expenses??? Have to call dcl to book by 5/15. The price seems suspiciously low so maybe this isn't correct information.

 

[moremouse]

This is all I got.


Dear Tricia,


Thank you for your comments and thoughts related to the Castaway Club.


We regularly evaluate the program and make updates from time to time.

Guest feedback plays an important part in these decisions. Please be assured that our Officers and Crew enjoy meeting Castaway Club Guests and will continue to do so throughout each and every sailing. All activities and experiences vary by ship and itinerary and are subject to change without notice.


Thank you again for your comments. We are always evaluating our shipboard experiences and appreciate your feedback.


Sincerely,


Rebekah Hemken

Executive Guest Correspondent

Disney Cruise Line

 

[PrincessShmoo]

With gold members now being able to choose an embarkation time,

That's been changed. It now says:
Early Access to Select Port Arrival Times
Platinum members can embark the ship at their leisure after boarding begins; Gold members can select their preferred port arrival time upon completion of eDocuments.

Which is basically the same as it's always been.