Shockingly low passenger numbers on the Dream

[zapple]

I asked our head server on the 9/17 Dream cruise how many passengers were aboard and she said 1,002 and there were 1200 crew. Areas of the ship were almost ghostly empty at times. DCL must be hemorrhaging money now, how long do you think they can keep this up?

 

[squirk]

Seems like they’ve been trying to keep passengers around that 1k number since they resumed cruising?

But still, the fact that they started offering 60-day bounce-back offers to first-time cruisers did catch my eye.

 

[Intr3pid]

An idle ship still costs them more.

 

[zapple]

But still, the fact that they started offering 60-day bounce-back offers to first-time cruisers did catch my eye

That’s interesting, this was my first cruise with them and I didn’t get an offer. I wouldn’t cruise again in the next 60 days anyway, but I didn’t get any offers other than the future cruise thing in the app.

 

[squirk]

That’s interesting, this was my first cruise with them and I didn’t get an offer. I wouldn’t cruise again in the next 60 days anyway, but I didn’t get any offers other than the future cruise thing in the app.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...-welcome-offer-sail-again-and-save-up-to-350/
I never know how they communicate these offers, or who receives them and who doesn’t, but it’s a new promotion that I don’t think I’ve seen them offer in the past.

Something like this makes me wonder if you’re onto something where people are not coming back as quickly as DCL expected.

That, or DCL just wants more “new” cruisers on their ships who, unlike us vets, won’t know enough to moan and groan about the way thing used to be in the past.

 

[Cheburashka]

I asked our head server on the 9/17 Dream cruise how many passengers were aboard and she said 1,002 and there were 1200 crew. Areas of the ship were almost ghostly empty at times. DCL must be hemorrhaging money now, how long do you think they can keep this up?

Given what they're charging, they can probably keep it up indefinitely if they choose. I'm sure they want to be able to show a better profit margin to their shareholders, but regardless, Disney isn't just scraping by. It's easy to forget that DCL charges over twice as much as they used to, and their expenses likely haven't gone up nearly that much. They've also trimmed back guest perks & services. So while they've had to reduce capacity, they haven't reduced fares, and half of the passengers paying full price gives them about the same amount of money as they used to receive from twice as many passengers before DCL's extreme price increases.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

The ‘normal’ clientele of the 3 days and somewhat the 4 day cruises are not the ones willing to go in the midst of a pandemic with any adjustments/testing.

I’d wager there are significantly more gold and platinum on the Dreams sailings than Silver or Firsts which is unheard of pre-close.

I think as numbers dropfrom this Covid wave last minute bookings will grow.

 

[jktmom]

We have been trying to decide whether to book for 10/2 sailing specifically due to the low numbers. However the prices have held steady as a rock since the first time I looked over a month ago. I was hoping to see a price drop and not just a non-refundable guarantee rate which they are offering on our sailing but is like only $50 less than a regular verandah.

 

[cvjw]

The ‘normal’ clientele of the 3 days and somewhat the 4 day cruises are not the ones willing to go in the midst of a pandemic with any adjustments/testing.

I’d wager there are significantly more gold and platinum on the Dreams sailings than Silver or Firsts which is unheard of pre-close.

I think as numbers dropfrom this Covid wave last minute bookings will grow.

Normally, I would agree with you, but on our 2 sailings on the dream last month, there were so many first time cruisers aboard. Everyone we talked to was a first time cruiser. Lots of families too.

There were around 1300 passengers on each of the sailings. It must be less now with the vaccination and extra testing requirements.

 

[lanejudy]

I never know how they communicate these offers, or who receives them and who doesn’t, but it’s a new promotion that I don’t think I’ve seen them offer in the past.

They have always (well...past decade anyway) offered a targeted promotion to new cruisers who did not book an OBB while onboard. It usually was mailed as a postcard. The exact details are a little different as I believe it was basically the OBB offer but could be booked from home within a certain period of time (maybe 2 months) after debarking a first cruise. Of course there used to be an OBC component to the OBB, so the current offer is kind of a hybrid of new/old.

DCL must be hemorrhaging money now, how long do you think they can keep this up?

I think it probably costs them less to sail with low occupancy than it does to leave the ship empty. Maybe not a profit, but less of a loss.

 

[Starwind]

They have always (well...past decade anyway) offered a targeted promotion to new cruisers who did not book an OBB while onboard. It usually was mailed as a postcard. The exact details are a little different as I believe it was basically the OBB offer but could be booked from home within a certain period of time (maybe 2 months) after debarking a first cruise. Of course there used to be an OBC component to the OBB, so the current offer is kind of a hybrid of new/old.

This. We received this after our first cruise many years ago, by mailed letter. We did not book the OBB on board. The mailed letter we got a couple weeks after the end of the cruise was basically the OBB offer, which we could book within the next 60 days. As I recall, it was the same terms as the OBB. The "placeholders" did not exist at that time, so it had to be used to book an actual cruise date.

SW

 

[squirk]

I guess if we see Kids Sail Free come back, then we’ll know there’s trouble.

 

[sethschroeder]

I never know how they communicate these offers, or who receives them and who doesn’t, but it’s a new promotion that I don’t think I’ve seen them offer in the past.

Told someone on this forum a few weeks ago DCL would start doing actual discounts beyond their norm.

So many lines are being aggressive if DCL doesn't they will just keep going out without really anyon especially on boring 3/4 night cruises.

 

[n2mm]

We were on the 9/11 Fantasy cruise and we had 950 guest. One main restaurant was closed each night and cabanas only served breakfast and lunch. (No dinner). On castaway days only quick service and cabanas was opened for lunch While all 3 bbq locations were open on the island. We were on both the august 30th Dream and the 9/11 Fantasy and 11 days in wdw. The cruises were good, but very strict protocol on the Fantasy compared to the Dream (expected since it was the first Fantasy cruise)

 

[lizzyb]

I think this is great, maybe Disney will realize that they can't charge full price for half of the experience.

 

[MomOTwins]

I mean... it's September. Peak hurricane seasons, school in session, lots of people recently took vacation over the summer or are saving days for winter break so aren't wanting to travel right now. DCL ships never sailed full in September. I don't think Disney is going to worry unless it seas ships sailing with 1,000 guests at Christmas

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

My wife and I were on the OP's cruise. Rumors of DCL's death are greatly exaggerated.

One of our servers shared similar numbers in the passenger census and there was certainly more wide open space than I've ever seen before on a cruise. But I've also never cruised before in mid-September. This is by far one of the slowest times of the year for DCL and their prices reflect it.

Back-to-school, hurricanes, and the very real heat, humidity, and rain are reasons why folks avoid this time of year. It rained hard at CC and during sail away. I'm from the south and it was very hot and humid on CC - think Louisiana in August. So I don't think this ship ever sails full or nearly full in mid-September.

We also ran into first time cruisers, and Silver, Gold, and Platinum CC members.

Based on what I saw at embarkation DCL does not have the capacity to test and onboard 4,000 folks at their terminal. I think 2,000 would likely be a strain so my guess is that DCL understands the dynamic they're in and are making the best of it.

Come on in. The water is fine.

 

[tvguy]

I think this is great, maybe Disney will realize that they can't charge full price for half of the experience.

I don't know. We don't know Disney's break even point, but this passenger level is pretty close to what other lines have said is their break even point. Disney may decide they CAN charge full price for less. Sort of like when they went from charging for soft drinks to soft drinks are included, the fare hike was several times what they had been charging for a soda pass, and passengers ate it up.

 

[nmoody1]

I think this is great, maybe Disney will realize that they can't charge full price for half of the experience.

It would also be great if they encouraged thier crew to be a little more approachable and present. I get the current times we live in call for a less hands-on approach, but on our 2 recent cruises we found the staff to be standoffish - to the point of it coming across as quite rude. Not the usual disney standard. I get health and safety and the barriers that masks bring, but as someone who works in the service industry also, there are ways around this.

Also the fact that you don't see many officers around - certainly none of the steering Committee.

In a huge comparison, we sailed with Virgin Voyages and the staff were approachable, friendly, willing to take photos and interact. I know it's a slightly different set up as it was adults only/100% vaccinated, but so is disney now!

On our most recent cruise, I was pleased to see the return of chocolate truffles with wine in Keys and snacks in O Gills (served by staff). So things are improving.

Things may be different on the US sailings?

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I thought the Dream crew was far friendlier than I remember to the point it was slightly annoying as instead of quick pleasantries they wanted to chat..

I think DCL wants that happy medium. To break even/profit but also not overwhelm their staffing (which who knows if they have more waiting for when they need them when capacity rises...) and processes.