Riddle me that; cruise sales everywhere...

[JimGA]

Non stop cruise sales abound, half off, free gratuities, free everything, cheap fares, free WiFi, Why? Fill the ship for the casinos?

I find it intriguing, as other cruise lines seem to have "going out of business" sales year round, DCL prices go up.

Our family has our reasons on why we just booked our third Disney cruise, I was pleased with the price I got, actuallly a little surprised it was not higher, so happy.

"Riddle me that".. DCL is in high demand, 4 to 6 hour wait tines on the first 3 days for return cruisers on opening day for sailing only the first 5 months of the year, why the demand? I know my reason for our families demand, but why in the wake of other cruise lines selling for half the price of DCL can DCL keep raising theirs?

Surely, not the majority of cruisers are one cruise and done with DCL?

We as a family have no desire to sail another line, I find it fascinating DCL smiles in the wake of other lines basically giving away their product.

 

[darnheather]

Yes, I do think a huge part of other lines' pricing is about the casinos. Once you are on DCL they really aren't going to get that much money. Yes there is a bit of Bingo, specialty drinks, and souvenirs but it is also possible to go and not spend a dime and the other lines have those things in addition to the casino. Also, the fact that the other lines' have a higher percentage of people over 21 spending money.

 

[wombat_5606]

Non stop cruise sales abound, half off, free gratuities, free everything, cheap fares, free WiFi, Why? Fill the ship for the casinos?

I find it intriguing, as other cruise lines seem to have "going out of business" sales year round, DCL prices go up.

Our family has our reasons on why we just booked our third Disney cruise, I was pleased with the price I got, actuallly a little surprised it was not higher, so happy.

"Riddle me that".. DCL is in high demand, 4 to 6 hour wait tines on the first 3 days for return cruisers on opening day for sailing only the first 5 months of the year, why the demand? I know my reason for our families demand, but why in the wake of other cruise lines selling for half the price of DCL can DCL keep raising theirs?

Surely, not the majority of cruisers are one cruise and done with DCL?

We as a family have no desire to sail another line, I find it fascinating DCL smiles in the wake of other lines basically giving away their product.

One reason is that they have so many more cruise ships to fill.

Another reason, is Disney marketing. They are masters at it.

Yes, I think there are a lot of one and done with DCL. Possibly because Disney seems to care so little for their repeat cruiser. Possibly because people book to see what all of the hype is about and then, for whatever reason, they don't live up to their expectations.

One day you may change your mind, also. I can tell you that my opinion has decreased over the years since my first cruise in 2005. DCL has declined in many, many ways since then.

Glad you've found what you're looking for at the present.

 

[eds04]

We are scheduled for our 4th Disney cruise but have been on two other lines pre-kids. In my opinion, the attention to the kids makes a difference. They have their own places to go and things to do, regardless of age. While this is our family vacation, and we spend every breakfast and dinner, as well as port time, together everyone has their time to themselves (if they wish). The other cruise lines also have more people on their boats (my opinion) and there appear to be crowds; we have only been on the Wonder and Magic however I cannot recall waiting for much at all. I am not sure that they do not care about the repeat cruiser, however I can comment that there is little advantage to being a DVC member and booking a cruise (other than being able to use your points...) In my opinion, Disney does kids the best and for a family with children the extra cost is worth it...

 

[wombat_5606]

For my information, I went and looked at the most recent booking thread. I counted (with minimal mistakes, I hope) and I have rounded the numbers in relation to Castaway Club status.

We will assume for argument, although, I'm sure it's not true, that someone that reported a price, booked the cruise.

Platinum - 70
Gold - 125
Silver - 160

Interesting that the cruisers with the youngest relationship with Disney reported the most prices.

I am not sure that they do not care about the repeat cruiser,

What I'm was referring to concerns the meager repeat cruiser benefits. Most cruise lines are more generous.

 

[Lesverts]

From what I’ve been told most ships on the other main lines (HAL, Celebrity, NCL, RCL and Carnival) leave Port having lost money. The money paid By the guest to be on the ship does not cover the cost of running the ship for that cruise. The cruise lines make their money from:

Alcohol
Casino
Speciality dining
Onboard shopping
Port activities.

Disney makes their money from the cruise price. So in the end you could be paying more upfront for Disney but spend the same amount if your drop 1000 or more on all the other expenses.

 

[KashasMom]

We are scheduled for our 4th Disney cruise but have been on two other lines pre-kids. In my opinion, the attention to the kids makes a difference. They have their own places to go and things to do, regardless of age. While this is our family vacation, and we spend every breakfast and dinner, as well as port time, together everyone has their time to themselves (if they wish). The other cruise lines also have more people on their boats (my opinion) and there appear to be crowds; we have only been on the Wonder and Magic however I cannot recall waiting for much at all. I am not sure that they do not care about the repeat cruiser, however I can comment that there is little advantage to being a DVC member and booking a cruise (other than being able to use your points...) In my opinion, Disney does kids the best and for a family with children the extra cost is worth it...

My daughter is 8, had one bad experience in the kids' club and hasn't gone back in several cruises. She's outgrown the princesses, loves activities, especially swimming. With no/little "active" activities and 1 tiny pool Disney just isn't working for us. Larger ships have more space for more people so it's not as crowded as most people would expect. In fact, we've encountered horrible crowds on the Magic - especially during any party in the atrium. We were pretty crushed during our Very Merrytime Cruise last year. And on our first Disney cruise we spent an unbelievable amount of time on very long lines for princess/character photos. And that 1 tiny pool? People soup. If I had young kids or at least kids that enjoyed the kids' clubs, I might feel differently. As for us, the parents, DCL itineraries are a yawn. I have 2 OBB to use and I can't find any cruises that I want to go on.

 

[KashasMom]

One reason is that they have so many more cruise ships to fill.

Another reason, is Disney marketing. They are masters at it.

Yes, I think there are a lot of one and done with DCL. Possibly because Disney seems to care so little for their repeat cruiser. Possibly because people book to see what all of the hype is about and then, for whatever reason, they don't live up to their expectations.

One day you may change your mind, also. I can tell you that my opinion has decreased over the years since my first cruise in 2005. DCL has declined in many, many ways since then.

Glad you've found what you're looking for at the present.

I think that's a very real possibility especially for people who have had great experiences on other cruise lines.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

For my information, I went and looked at the most recent booking thread. I counted (with minimal mistakes, I hope) and I have rounded the numbers in relation to Castaway Club status.

We will assume for argument, although, I'm sure it's not true, that someone that reported a price, booked the cruise.

Platinum - 70
Gold - 125
Silver - 160

Interesting that the cruisers with the youngest relationship with Disney reported the most prices.



What I'm was referring to concerns the meager repeat cruiser benefits. Most cruise lines are more generous.

I was one of those 70 platinum members and did NOT book a cruise. I’ve seen the quality go down and the price go up and chose not to give them my money this time around. NCL is getting it these days.

 

[KashasMom]

From what I’ve been told most ships on the other main lines (HAL, Celebrity, NCL, RCL and Carnival) leave Port having lost money. The money paid By the guest to be on the ship does not cover the cost of running the ship for that cruise. The cruise lines make their money from:

Alcohol
Casino
Speciality dining
Onboard shopping
Port activities.

Disney makes their money from the cruise price. So in the end you could be paying more upfront for Disney but spend the same amount if your drop 1000 or more on all the other expenses.

But you can also drop 1000 on DCL on alcohol, specialty dining, onboard shopping, and port activities. Apples to apples, DCL has always cost us more - almost 3X more on our Baltic cruise summer 2016 (and we had a better/longer itinerary and nicer room than we would have had on DCL).

 

[bobbiwoz]

For my information, I went and looked at the most recent booking thread. I counted (with minimal mistakes, I hope) and I have rounded the numbers in relation to Castaway Club status.

We will assume for argument, although, I'm sure it's not true, that someone that reported a price, booked the cruise.

Platinum - 70
Gold - 125
Silver - 160

Interesting that the cruisers with the youngest relationship with Disney reported the most prices.



What I'm was referring to concerns the meager repeat cruiser benefits. Most cruise lines are more generous.

I was one of those 70 platinum members and did NOT book a cruise. I’ve seen the quality go down and the price go up and chose not to give them my money this time around. NCL is getting it these days.

Platinum who did book! Senior citizen, at this point we cruise as a couple or with adult friends. We have 6 DCL cruises booked 2 in Europe , but also a 10 night Princess Cruise and a 10 night RCCL cruise through January 2019.

 

[kaseyC]

Non stop cruise sales abound, half off, free gratuities, free everything, cheap fares, free WiFi, Why? Fill the ship for the casinos?

I find it intriguing, as other cruise lines seem to have "going out of business" sales year round, DCL prices go up.

Our family has our reasons on why we just booked our third Disney cruise, I was pleased with the price I got, actuallly a little surprised it was not higher, so happy.

"Riddle me that".. DCL is in high demand, 4 to 6 hour wait tines on the first 3 days for return cruisers on opening day for sailing only the first 5 months of the year, why the demand? I know my reason for our families demand, but why in the wake of other cruise lines selling for half the price of DCL can DCL keep raising theirs?

Surely, not the majority of cruisers are one cruise and done with DCL?

We as a family have no desire to sail another line, I find it fascinating DCL smiles in the wake of other lines basically giving away their product.

That may be how you see it but that doesn’t necessarily make it true. DCL has 4 ships while the other mainstream cruise lines have many more so that could be one factor that gives the impression of more discounting other lines. It’s true DCL’s prices are going up but that doesn’t mean they are filling those ships at full price. GT rates, CM rates, FLR, Military and Interline rates are helping keep those ships full. We are seeing a lot more of those on great variety of itineraries. The long waits on the CC early booking days isn’t concrete proof of demand considering the only way to find out the rates was to call. They were not available online until bookings opened for the general public.

We’ve been sailing Disney since 2000. They have a great product we love and we will continue to sail them but for our family at least we have found that sometimes based on itinerary and/or rate other cruise lines fit better. That’s what works for our family.

The bottom line is that we all are trying to do what’s best for our family. If you are happy with your choice then it doesn’t matter what other cruise lines are doing to fill their ships.

Happy Sailing!

 

[DCLDVC1]

My daughter is 8, had one bad experience in the kids' club and hasn't gone back in several cruises. She's outgrown the princesses, loves activities, especially swimming. With no/little "active" activities and 1 tiny pool Disney just isn't working for us. Larger ships have more space for more people so it's not as crowded as most people would expect. In fact, we've encountered horrible crowds on the Magic - especially during any party in the atrium. We were pretty crushed during our Very Merrytime Cruise last year. And on our first Disney cruise we spent an unbelievable amount of time on very long lines for princess/character photos. And that 1 tiny pool? People soup. If I had young kids or at least kids that enjoyed the kids' clubs, I might feel differently. As for us, the parents, DCL itineraries are a yawn. I have 2 OBB to use and I can't find any cruises that I want to go on.

I agree. The Wonder and Magic atriums are horribly congested during events.

 

[keaster]

I am gold and called in on opening day to get pricing for March 2019 but did not book due to the pricing. However we did pull the trigger and booked a VGT on a 4-night Dream cruise next month for just DH and I, we found the pricing reasonable and we have airline credit we have to use by year's end!

I think that may be what we do now, just wait to see the *GT rates and see if they work for us.

 

[JimGA]

That may be how you see it but that doesn’t necessarily make it true. DCL has 4 ships while the other mainstream cruise lines have many more so that could be one factor that gives the impression of more discounting other lines. It’s true DCL’s prices are going up but that doesn’t mean they are filling those ships at full price. GT rates, CM rates, FLR, Military and Interline rates are helping keep those ships full. We are seeing a lot more of those on great variety of itineraries. The long waits on the CC early booking days isn’t concrete proof of demand considering the only way to find out the rates was to call. They were not available online until bookings opened for the general public.

We’ve been sailing Disney since 2000. They have a great product we love and we will continue to sail them but for our family at least we have found that sometimes based on itinerary and/or rate other cruise lines fit better. That’s what works for our family.

The bottom line is that we all are trying to do what’s best for our family. If you are happy with your choice then it doesn’t matter what other cruise lines are doing to fill their ships.

Happy Sailing!

I disagree, when cruise line struggle to get bookings they discount. Case in point of my post. DCL up in price others giving it away. Riddle me that..lol.

 

[Tootles75]

I am gold and called in on opening day to get pricing for March 2019 but did not book due to the pricing. However we did pull the trigger and booked a VGT on a 4-night Dream cruise next month for just DH and I, we found the pricing reasonable and we have airline credit we have to use by year's end!

I think that may be what we do now, just wait to see the *GT rates and see if they work for us.

Yes, we would totally have to book *GT in the future to cruise Disney. (We're silver, and we sailed on only one previous Disney cruise that we loved and one NCL one that we really didn't.) In fact, we just booked the Nov 25 Merrytime WC on the Fantasy VGT and the price seems almost too good to be true. The VGT rate is $2847 through Disney (we booked thru a cruise wholesaler for $2700 for 2 adults including taxes), which is somehow cheaper than the IGT rate of $3169!

I'm assuming that kind of discount is a real fluke? I'm not seeing anything similarly discounted (especially for verandah class) on any of the other cruises available this fall. But we would likely have to find that kind of pricing to make the vacation affordable for us. Spending $3K is about our limit for a vacation.

 

[kaseyC]

I disagree, when cruise line struggle to get bookings they discount. Case in point of my post. DCL up in price others giving it away. Riddle me that..lol.

Didn’t say anywhere in my post that other cruise lines did not discount. Just because DCL raises their prices doesn’t me everyone is paying those prices. As I stated in my post DCL discounts too.

 

[wombat_5606]

I disagree, when cruise line struggle to get bookings they discount

They do discount. It's just that their deep discounts aren't available to the public. They are offered to CM's, their families and those offered to people in the travel industry.

Next you have Florida Residents and Military.

The only discount to the general public are the GTY/IGT/OGT/VGT rates. There have been many more of those offered this year than in the past year or two.

So, Disney doesn't splash their discounts around, you have to be among a select group of people. I prefer the former way of offering discounts.

 

[mevelandry]

How to say this delicately... Other cruise lines don't give away their products: DCL is overpriced. You are simply paying a premium for the Mouse. As simple a that.

(However, I do agree that having a casino on board generates revenue for a cruiseship and other cruise lines may be able to afford doing a little bit more sales).

Check the stocks for major popular cruise lines... Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean stocks have been going up up up in the last 5 years. Only Norwegian seems to be in a bit of a roller coaster.

There is a hype for DCL when new prices are released because it is usually when you can get the lowest price for a cruise.

Other than that, some DCL itineraries don't sell very well and they offer huge %off to Travel Agents in order to fill them. A friend of mine who was a TA booked a 7 nights cruise departing from NYC, verandah cabin... for the price we paid for a 3 nights Bahamas inside cabin ... Same from Galveston and San Juan were the sales did not compare to cruises leaving from other ports.

 

[lorimay]

We are Platinum cruisers in our 50's, we have paid regular prices for cruises we really wanted to do on DCL(those we book opening day.) In the past, we have been fortunate enough to book several Florida Resident specials and VGTs and save anywhere from $500-$2500 on a cruise.

I watch for specials all the time, and I have been pretty lucky in finding them.
We mostly look for new itineraries so we can see new things, but if a great deal comes up for a repeat cruise we will take it. Sometimes we get lucky on the 7 nights and get one new port in there.

At this point we choose only to sail on Disney, I have been tempted to try other lines, but have never pulled the trigger.