Sailing out of New Orkeans

[European]

On the other hand, there’s already GTY rooms available for cruises departing from Galveston in January and February 2025

 

[auntlynne]

On the other hand, there’s already GTY rooms available for cruises departing from Galveston in January and February 2025

That’s a good sign - they often go GTY when there are few left in a category. Sell them for a little less, and if necessary, bump them to a higher category. You are under the same payment date and cancellation rules as if you picked your cabin.

 

[Nabas]

This is probably part of the reason.

Once the Treasure comes online at the end of the year:

Port Canaveral: Wish and Treasure year round
Port Everglades: Dream/Fantasy year round, Dream/Fantasy wintering
Galveston: Magic for majority of the year
San Juan: Magic for minority of the year
Wonder doing its ring of fire roaming.
Europe: Dream/Fantasy summering.

Probably just not enough ship to go around. Though I could see Disney maybe trying Tampa at some point.

And I cannot find it anywhere but I am pretty sure the Imagination or whatever realDCL Ship 7 is going to be called is going to be PC as well.

Reports are the 7th ship is going to sail out of Singapore.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/d...theast-asia-basing-new-7th-ship-in-singapore/

 

[Lesverts]

Reports are the 7th ship is going to sail out of Singapore.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/d...theast-asia-basing-new-7th-ship-in-singapore/

real DCL ship. Not the frankenship.

 

[European]

That’s a good sign - they often go GTY when there are few left in a category. Sell them for a little less, and if necessary, bump them to a higher category. You are under the same payment date and cancellation rules as if you picked your cabin.

No. Full payment required and no changes. Sorry, I meant IGT, OGT and VGT.

 

[lilmc]

real DCL ship. Not the frankenship.

I dunno, I think the Wish is the frankenship

 

[Nabas]

real DCL ship. Not the frankenship.

So you mean the 8th ship.

 

[Nabas]

I dunno, I think the Wish is the frankenship

Compared to the first 4, the Wish gets a lot of hate.

At first I thought it might be a case of, “We’ve sailed on Disneys other ships and then sailed on the Wish. We don’t like it because it’s different than what we’re used to.”

But we sailed on the Wish first, and the Magic second. (The Wish was our first experience with DCL.). For us, there’s no question that the Magic is way better than the Wish. That doesn’t mean everything about the Magic is better, but most of it is.

But also no question that sailing out of Port Canaveral is so much better than sailing out of New Orleans.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Man, I loved sailing down the Mississippi on the cruise. That was probably the coolest part of leaving out of New Orleans.

We had a fog that sat on the river and the ships almost having that ghost ship type feeling as we sailed past them:

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I don’t know about March (considering there’s spring break in certain states?), but multiple cruises out of NOLA in January and February this year were on sale at a fairly low price and it took a long time before they were finally sold out.

I booked the January 31st cruise on August 6 (first day it went on sale) and it sold out maybe 2 weeks or so before sailing, with continually being on sale.

I booked an OGT rate for my niece and her family on this cruise. It was soooo much cheaper than any of the other cruises but I chalked it up to the lame itinerary: only one port stop at Progresso and no CC. She always wanted to visit NOLA anyway and they were happy just to be on a Disney ship but I probably wouldn't have chose it for myself.

It only got worse when DCL emailed her not long before sailing that they would have to delay embarkation and wouldn't be getting onto the ship until 4-5pm. No reason was given. Then a bad storm headed straight for NOLA meant having only something like 8-11am in Progresso (all excursions cancelled) and needing to return to NOLA early.
So what should have been a day at sea not far from MX (warm weather), turned into a cool, rainy day docked in NOLA.

Then due to allowing guests to leave the ship to visit NOLA meant EVERYONE had to go through customs that evening around dinnertime.

I can completely appreciate that safety is top concern and weather cannot be controlled, no port guaranteed, etc. but when a short 4 nt cruise starts late and ends early, it leaves you feeling like you didn't get what you expected, like you want a "do-over". I feel like DCL should have offered some small OBC at least for the late boarding in NOLA. I've had 3 nt cruises that were better than that.

 

[auntlynne]

I booked an OGT rate for my niece and her family on this cruise. It was soooo much cheaper than any of the other cruises but I chalked it up to the lame itinerary: only one port stop at Progresso and no CC. She always wanted to visit NOLA anyway and they were happy just to be on a Disney ship but I probably wouldn't have chose it for myself.

It only got worse when DCL emailed her not long before sailing that they would have to delay embarkation and wouldn't be getting onto the ship until 4-5pm. No reason was given. Then a bad storm headed straight for NOLA meant having only something like 8-11am in Progresso (all excursions cancelled) and needing to return to NOLA early.
So what should have been a day at sea not far from MX (warm weather), turned into a cool, rainy day docked in NOLA.

Then due to allowing guests to leave the ship to visit NOLA meant EVERYONE had to go through customs that evening around dinnertime.

I can completely appreciate that safety is top concern and weather cannot be controlled, no port guaranteed, etc. but when a short 4 nt cruise starts late and ends early, it's leaves you feeling like you didn't get what you expected, like you want a "do-over". I feel like DCL should have offered some small OBC at least for the late boarding in NOLA. I've had 3 nt cruises that were better than that.

Yikes! I wonder how many guests on that cruise will never cruise again?!

 

[auntlynne]

Reports are the 7th ship is going to sail out of Singapore.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/d...theast-asia-basing-new-7th-ship-in-singapore/

real DCL ship. Not the frankenship.

So you mean the 8th ship.

They are talking about the 7th Disney cruise ship to set sail. Yes, the Frankenship (thanks for this, too, @Lesverts).

Triton class #3 will be the 8th ship in the Disney fleet, based on date of first sailing.

And Singapore/ SE Asia has been its expected homeport if the Frankenship.

What happens to positioning the fleet with arrival of Triton #3 is anyone’s guess.

…It’s okay that you were unaware. And maybe I could not read your posts correctly. If so, I apologize.

…If someone names another ship Imagination, can they make Timothee Chalamet the godmother?

 

[Lesverts]

They are talking about the 7th Disney cruise ship to set sail. Yes, the Frankenship (thanks for this, too, @Lesverts).

Triton class #3 will be the 8th ship in the Disney fleet, based on date of first sailing.

And Singapore/ SE Asia has been its expected homeport if the Frankenship.

What happens to positioning the fleet with arrival of Triton #3 is anyone’s guess.

…It’s okay that you were unaware. And maybe I could not read your posts correctly. If so, I apologize.

…If someone names another ship Imagination, can they make Timothee Chalamet the godmother?

Oh I am completely aware. Triton 3 was the 7th ship announced and is a true DCL ship. I am stubborn and until I see what the frankenship is, I'll consider it the red-headed stepchild of DCL. (No offense meant to red heads or step children)

 

[LAS2AMS]

Disney’s just chasing the $$$. Galveston continues to grow. Carnival based its newest ship there and Royal moved an Oasis-class ship a couple years ago. Yes, ports in New Orleans and Tampa are restricted in terms of the types of ships that can dock and generally receive older, smaller ships… but the itineraries are generally the lowest priced available. Royal had similar ships in Tampa and PC last year, and yet Tampa was frequently 1/2 the price… or less. For similar itineraries.

I suspect keeping a ship in Galveston most of the year will increase brand awareness and thus fares, rather than the hodgepodge schedule it’s been operating.

As for GTY… most of the itineraries on the Wonder and Magic offer it at some point. Even Alaska. Most people will naturally book newer, larger ships, so ask DCL grows this isn’t much of a surprise. The good news is it looks like they’re keeping both ships whereas many of us suspected that the two (now three) ship order was intended to replace them.

 

[Lesverts]

Galveston is just a much more inconvenient port compared to Miami/Port Everglades/Tampa/NYC. It is an expensive trek, just like PC.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Considering how much they are asking for 7-nt cruises on the Treasure, I’m glad they’re not getting rid of the Magic or Wonder.

For a family of 4, it’s outrageous. $9-10k not including airfare, tips excursions etc.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Galveston is just a much more inconvenient port compared to Miami/Port Everglades/Tampa/NYC. It is an expensive trek, just like PC.

Most people drive to the port and are from Texas and surrounding states. But it’s been the fastest growing port for awhile.

 

[Lesverts]

Most people drive to the port and are from Texas and surrounding states. But it’s been the fastest growing port for awhile.

I am not opposed to Galveston but considering the logistics, I'd probably want a few days in Houston/the barrier islands before a cruise. Kinda like with PC and spending some time in Orlando pre-cruise instead of fly-in and go. Goes in cycles I think. San Juan use to be near the top of embarkation ports. Now it is just one of 6ish 'Eastern Caribbean' ports from Florida that are most common. Galveston, like San Juan is a bit port determinate too. Galveston is going to be an Western cruise.

Also the Houston metro is big, but it is not big enough to support weekly cruises on the biggest and best that pretty much every North American cruise line has to offer without out-of-state guests making up a sizable portion of the passengers.

Back to New Orleans. I think while Disney might not be back, it is going to still be a regular embarkation port as NCL/Carnival/Royal/Celebrity/MSC realize there isn't as much potential in the Chinese market as they thought there was pre-Covid and shift their 'Chinese designed ships' to Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Coast/Alaska and keep more ships in the Caribbean and Mediterranean year round. Also think that given the major players are likely already planning the schedules into 2028 there is probably going to be a glut of ships staying in a more concentrated areas given the current chokehold in traffic between the Med and the Indian Ocean. So Dubai, Mumbai and the like are going to not figure as much in those plans as you would maybe have thought 2 or 3 years ago.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I am not opposed to Galveston but considering the logistics, I'd probably want a few days in Houston/the barrier islands before a cruise. Kinda like with PC and spending some time in Orlando pre-cruise instead of fly-in and go. Goes in cycles I think. San Juan use to be near the top of embarkation ports. Now it is just one of 6ish 'Eastern Caribbean' ports from Florida that are most common. Galveston, like San Juan is a bit port determinate too. Galveston is going to be an Western cruise.

Also the Houston metro is big, but it is not big enough to support weekly cruises on the biggest and best that pretty much every North American cruise line has to offer without out-of-state guests making up a sizable portion of the passengers.

Back to New Orleans. I think while Disney might not be back, it is going to still be a regular embarkation port as NCL/Carnival/Royal/Celebrity/MSC realize there isn't as much potential in the Chinese market as they thought there was pre-Covid and shift their 'Chinese designed ships' to Australia/New Zealand/Pacific Coast/Alaska and keep more ships in the Caribbean and Mediterranean year round. Also think that given the major players are likely already planning the schedules into 2028 there is probably going to be a glut of ships staying in a more concentrated areas given the current chokehold in traffic between the Med and the Indian Ocean. So Dubai, Mumbai and the like are going to not figure as much in those plans as you would maybe have thought 2 or 3 years ago.

It's not just Houston, it's the surrounding region with tens of millions of people -- many of who would've traveled to New Orleans in years past. Galveston is now the largest domestic cruise port outside of Florida and continues to see the largest growth. It's still largely a drive market, with few people flying in, so if you're like me and don't live within a "reasonable" driving distance, you've likely never been there.

DCL is also fairly aggressive at pursing subsidies. When DCL first came to the West Coast, Los Angeles and San Diego got into a bidding war that LA initially "won" before SD upped its offer a few years later. Without even looking it up, I'm willing to bet NO and Australia were launched with similar subsidies and once they dried up, Disney exited (and will exit) the market. Australian cruises are typically the lowest priced which is problematic when Disney pays its expenses largely in USD.

 

[SeanSD]

Yikes! I wonder how many guests on that cruise will never cruise again?!

Was Jan 31 Magic the best cruise? No.
Are we booked for Fantasy double dip in November? Yes.
Wanted to visit NOLA - check
Wanted to try a different ship - check
Would I do another cruise from NOLA? doubtful. Enjoyed the city, especially the food but unless some amazing itinerary popped up would stick with Port Canaveral or other ports.