Ship or Time on ship more important?

[Sleepyluke]

With the growing talk of people disliking certain ships and seemingly more talk of one and done of this or that, I am curious where the DCL problem is with returning guests. I know the bread and butter to the bottom line is 3/4 day out of Florida, but what is your decision maker?

For instance we have never and don't really want to go on a cruise less than 7 nights. Looking at just the US based departures (included San Juan, maybe maybe not should have) there are 307 3-6 night and 75 available 7 nights with multiple ships. BUT 70 of those 75 are on the new ships that returning customers don't love. Yes i know there are some that do, but if we want the ship we like and a 7 day, we have 5 options to choose from. Not many. Not even 2 classes of ship, it is the Treasure or Destiny to get to those 70.

In my perfect world there would be at least a couple options of ship class doing each type of cruise under 6 or over. Besides not justifying the prices currently, we sure are not going to justify it for a cruise we aren't 100% sure we want to take.

Just my thoughts and curious what others are thinking out there.

 

[dreamer17555]

Many DCL Vets were very attached to the Fantasy 7 nights. Some of them enjoy the Treasure just as much (or more) but I know many who are not fans of the Wish class and would love to have a 7 night option from FL on the Dream or the Fantasy.

 

[DCL58]

We have sailed 12 times on the fantasy since 2017 - all were 7 or 8 night cruises. We just don’t enjoy shorter cruises as much as longer ones.

Just sailed the Treasure, and hated the adult only sundeck. We have booked a B2B2B cruise on the fantasy for next spring, but just going to the Bahamas over and over won’t cut it for us.

Unless DCL fixes the adult only sundeck on the Treasure, or allows another ship to do 7 night cruises, we will be forced to find another cruise line. Not something I want to do, but will be forced to do.

 

[dreamer17555]

We have sailed 12 times on the fantasy since 2017 - all were 7 or 8 night cruises. We just don’t enjoy shorter cruises as much as longer ones.

Just sailed the Treasure, and hated the adult only sundeck. We have booked a B2B2B cruise on the fantasy for next spring, but just going to the Bahamas over and over won’t cut it for us.

Unless DCL fixes the adult only sundeck on the Treasure, or allows another ship to do 7 night cruises, we will be forced to find another cruise line. Not something I want to do, but will be forced to do.

I’ve been saying since the wish premiered that they really need to take that Chip & Dale pool and make it adult only. It would not fix everything about the pool deck but it would help a lot and provide the adults that want it some shade.

 

[sadiecatie]

We haven't been sailing anywhere near as long as others (we're relative babies - we board our 4th cruise in 15 days), but I think for me length of cruise would be more important. Our last cruise was on the Wish, and I liked the ship itself - I know a lot of veteran DCL cruisers don't, but I thought it was a beautiful ship. The problem for us was that it was only 3 nights and we felt rushed and like there was no way to see everything. Assuming someday the Wish moves to longer sailings (no less than 5), we would sail her again, but until then, we'll go on other ships (we're booked for two sailings on the Fantasy right now - 7 and 5 nights - and looking at possibly the Destiny, 5 nights, summer 2026).

 

[CamColt]

For background, I'm Pearl and have been sailing since 2000.

In a perfect world I would like 3/4/7 nights on Dream or Fantasy, out of Port Canaveral (or even Ft Lauderdale) in the summer.

I’ve been saying since the wish premiered that they really need to take that Chip & Dale pool and make it adult only. It would not fix everything about the pool deck but it would help a lot and provide the adults that want it some shade.

I've been saying the same...the pool, the side sun decks, and Currents Bar (and add more seats at the bar since there is no bar to sit at in the adult area). In fact when I first saw the model of the Wish at One Man's Dream, before the ship was even done, I just assumed that area was adult only, along with the infinity pool we had all heard about, in the aft. I thought it was weird they split the adult area up like that. But then it made sense it's not split up, it's just not adult. But I do feel if they made that change, I could probably get past the other stuff I don't love on the Treasure, and there is enough that I did like, that I probably would do a 7 night on that ship. But I just need an adult sun deck. That's key for me on a cruise.

 

[sethschroeder]

Price/night, ports, room type, ship

These are all work out to a final decision. I could never do a sub 7 night cruise as the math would be skewed because of flight costs.

This is also why though DCL hasn't really been something I look close at since the value of what you get doesn't match up. I am hopeful that will change with more and more ships needing to be filled.

 

[RedHead0186]

I wouldn't not sail on a particular ship if it was doing an itinerary I liked.

I, like many other, miss the 7-night Fantasy itineraries. I don't mind that the Treasure is currently doing the 7-night Caribbean itineraries, I do mind that they're so darn pricey. (I actually liked the Treasure as a ship).

 

[DCL58]

I’ve been saying since the wish premiered that they really need to take that Chip & Dale pool and make it adult only. It would not fix everything about the pool deck but it would help a lot and provide the adults that want it some shade.

That is exactly what we said! And I also sent an email to DCL with the suggestion. Who knows if they will make this change - it would make a lot of adults happy. And the kids already have multiple pools on the Treasure.

 

[Skippyboo]

My first cruise was a 7 night Merry Time Eastern Caribbean on Fantasy in Nov 2023. Last year I did 6 nights 2 CC, 1 LP, Nassau Halloween on High Seas on Fantasy and 3 Nights Merry Time Wish solo. Feb 2025 did 7 night Western Caribbean with a friend on Treasure. I booked Eastern Caribbean on Treasure for late October 2025. Also have Wonder in May 2026 for Alaska.

Today I booked 3 night Wish in early August on VGT rate to tack on my WDW vacation.

I enjoyed the Treasure more than the Wish because there was more time on the ship. I loved the 6 nights with multiple Disney islands especially as a solo traveler

 

[UnderDog_808]

Many DCL Vets were very attached to the Fantasy 7 nights. Some of them enjoy the Treasure just as much (or more) but I know many who are not fans of the Wish class and would love to have a 7 night option from FL on the Dream or the Fantasy.

My family can be included as one of the DCL Vets that love the Fantasy. We were disappointed, but not surprised that they went from 7 nights to 5 nights sailings once they are back from their European itinerary. We are sailing on the Treasure this year, but from all the videos and talking with others that have sailed on the Wish and Treasure, we are not optimistic about liking it more then that Fantasy. But, it's DCL so it will be fun and magical!! Stay safe and blessed everyone!!

 

[Carohs]

We have opted to try out other lines. Plenty of beautiful ships out there, and we don't need Disney all the time every time. But since you were willing to include San Juan, why not also include Vancouver. Yes it's not the US but also not super inconvenient in terms of flights and may open up more cruise options for you. Also, as much as the Wish gets some naysayers the Treasure isn't getting quite the same negative feedback. You never know until you experience the ship 1st hand.

 

[ShaneDJ]

We have opted to try out other lines.

Same here. After they stopped the 7-night itineraries on the Fantasy, Disney has forced us to look at other cruise lines (hello Royal Caribbean!).

DCL has the 7-night'ers on the newest ship (most expensive), and we absolutely do not like the layout of the Wish-class ships.

 

[Drfate102]

For us, it depends on what we are looking for. Living in Florida, a three night is a good extended weekend. A long cruise requires a lot more into it. We have the Destiny booked to try it out. And we are looking at adding the Adventure as part of a larger Asia trip.

But they have to cater to the largest groups possible, they only have 6 ships as of today. yes by 2031 they will have 13, but more than likely by 2033 they will have 11. It is simply easier to fill shorter cruises. Yes other cruise lines have longer cruises, but that is either they specific market or Royal has 30 ships, Carnival has 29 ships and NCL has 21, and they are building and scraping all the time.

 

[dreamer17555]

For us, it depends on what we are looking for. Living in Florida, a three night is a good extended weekend. A long cruise requires a lot more into it. We have the Destiny booked to try it out. And we are looking at adding the Adventure as part of a larger Asia trip.

But they have to cater to the largest groups possible, they only have 6 ships as of today. yes by 2031 they will have 13, but more than likely by 2033 they will have 11. It is simply easier to fill shorter cruises. Yes other cruise lines have longer cruises, but that is either they specific market or Royal has 30 ships, Carnival has 29 ships and NCL has 21, and they are building and scraping all the time.

Royal still has a higher percentage of their ships doing 7+ nights than DCL does, even comparing just sailings from FL, Royal just devotes a higher percentage of their fleet to 7+ nights (and that is not even taking into account that most of her biggest ships are doing the 7+ nights). And I do not agree that it is easier for DCL to fill shorter cruises. Look at the offer DCL just put out for the Wish for this fall, heck she has *GT rates all summer and most were offered well before PIF... Fall generally has Restricted GT rates but the last few years they have been 25% off, not 30% and definitely not able to stack with a $250 in stateroom credit promotion.

I predict that the Dream is going to struggle badly this winter trying to fill 3/4 night sailings for Ft. Lauderdale with the Destiny right there- heck she had trouble filling this winter with serious discounts and she had Marvel on some of those sailings... If you live in FL it is nice and easy to take a weekend cruise but many people travel from out of state to cruise Disney and I cannot see most of them going all the way to Ft. Lauderdale for a 3 night on the Dream.

Many DCL vets only like to sail 7+ nights but are not fans of the Wish class which leaves them with no ship from FL to sail on. I personally believe DCL would have a much easier time filling the Dream if she were doing 7 nights from Ft. Lauderdale but that is pure speculation. Still I think the Wish discount this fall is the canary in the coal mine for how hard DCL is going to struggle with the 3/4 nights Dream offerings this Jan & Feb.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

For us, it is a combination of ship and 7-day cruises. We have only been on the two classics, and we don't have any current plans to try the other ships. When looking at cruises, we first search for either of the classics and then select cruise length of 7 days or more and go from there.

While 3/4-day cruises would raise our castaway status faster, to me, they are too short. Especially since we would have to fly to get to whichever city the ship is sailing out of. We are making an except next year and doing a 4 day on the Wonder, but that cruise is the front end of a B2B with the back end being a 7-day cruise for a total of 11 days on board.

I also just prefer the smaller size of the two classics; it is just my wife and I on the cruises, so the added kid activities that are on the larger ships are not a draw for us. I like that there are fewer people on board, so activities that we do are less crowded, and I feel that we can actually relax while on the cruise.

Psy

 

[sponica]

MCO is the easier airport for me to get to compared to FLL or Miami, so if I have to fly to get to a cruise in Florida, I'm only sailing out of Port Canaveral.

For me it's port, then itinerary.

I'm still sailing with kids who are kids club aged though, and for me, it's important that the kids club isn't first come first served, that the kids club is open on port days. Once we age out of the kids club completely, maybe we'll look elsewhere....or we'll just return to the parks. We only started cruising because post COVID the parks were too frustrating to deal with....and my kids hate bed sharing, so the cruise stateroom layout with the bunkbeds is better for us.

 

[Sabres431]

We only do 7+ day cruises. Flying from NY to port for a 3-4 day is a waste. This is our first and probably only Disney cruise. We have cruised NCL, Royal, MSC, and Carnival. For Disney veranda pricing we can do the MSC Yacht Club and get a premium experience. I'm not impressed by the Disney caste system where first time Disney cruisers literally have no chance of getting activities unless they wait in line as soon as they get on the ship. At least give people a chance.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I also really only want 7+ nights (really I wish they would have some regular 8-10 night options). I think in the right circumstances I'd consider 5-6 nights, but that's definitely my minimum. It is just too much hassle for anything shorter than that. Equal with # of nights in importance for me is the itinerary. I'm more interested in what I can see at the ports vs. the ship. Don't get me wrong, I love the time on the ship, seeing the artwork, the characters, the different bar venues, etc., but it's not the top most consideration of my vacation.

We were on Treasure this spring. Overall I really enjoyed it. I liked having some new menus, different food at the pool deck, exploring a new ship. But it's just going between the eastern & western 7 nights, we've done both of those itineraries now, so I'm not really interested in repeating. I don't think I'd reject a 7 night with itinerary I wanted solely due to the ship ... especially if I haven't been on that ship before and experienced it for myself.

I've only cruised with Disney, and only 4 times, and I don't know if I'll be going again anytime soon, but I suspect if I did choose to cruise again, it might be with another line, due to the stale itineraries and the obsession they seem to have with 3-5 night cruises.

 

[Sleepyluke]

I thought of that, but Alaska seems to have its own followers and a specific season, and really probably should have not included San Juan. But for a large majority of the population not in Fl and having to fly, it just does not make sense to fly and not go for the longer cruises. We have been with DCL since 2006 and maybe it is the price and the combo of everything else we currently just don't have the drive if you will to book another one right now, they jsut don't fit what we want out of a cruise, but did easily with only 4 ships. I think that may be what is throwing me off, we feel like we should have more options, but in reality for what we are looking for it SEEMS less, but may not be in reality. \

Thanks for all the comments. I know the board is a somewhat skewed veteran cruiser population, but I am enjoying the perspectives.