Weve been drinking the Kool-Aid for a long time

[TChrist05]

My wife and I have been sailing DCL for a long time and have sailed a total of 36 times. We are vacation club members and have been going to the World since our honeymoon in 1978. I just finished reading 18 pages of posts regarding the change in alcohol policy effective 9/30/15. It really does not effect us since we cannot drink due to medications but it kind of solidifies what has been brewing with us for the past two years. May I point out we both love the parks and cruising but feel we have been outpriced and under appreciated. It is no secret that you pay dearly for a Disney cruise and we feel that we have just gotten to OUR breaking point--and it has taken us a few years to get to this point. Many suggest that we cruise someone else but we feel it would just be not be the same. We do love the Disney product--both on land and at sea. It is just time to take a break for a little while. Will this make any difference to Disney's bottom line--NO. They make billions every quarter and I am quite sure the shareholders are quite happy with things. After time we just decided we were not happy with the massive price increases all around and could not justify to continue drinking the Kool-Aid. Will we be back--probably, but we are comfortable with our decision right now.

 

[cgolf]

While we have only done 10 cruises, we have been very surprised how little DCL does for repeat cruisers as far as benifits. Now that they are slowly removing the DCL perks that they had over the other lines along with the rising prices, we too are thinking of giving cruising a break. We really aren't interested in other lines either, we would just do a different kind of vacation.

With the 36 cruises you have been on I would hope that DCL would treat you like royalty. Sadly they just figure they can get another group of newbies to take your/our spots. Eventually though this attitude will catch up with them and their image will be tarnished, maybe then they will begin to take care of their loyal customers. How long it will take for that to happen, who knows, but it is really sad because some of our best vacation memories have been on DCL ships.

 

[godde8ss]

They have done the same things with annual passholders at the parks. I've held a pass for 5 years, and they do less and less while the price goes up and up, every year. I understand the cost of doing business, fireworks everynight, alone, is an astronomical cost. But, I am pretty sure it is the loyal, repeat customer who spends and spends, year after year, you hope to retain. Thus, maybe they could put in a little extra for those of us drinking the kool aide...

 

[perditax]

I know it doesn't help, but I have the impression that loyalty benefits are being watered down/devalued across as lines. Cruising is booming, people are living longer, the economy is improving and the world is getting smaller. I've read stories of sailings (on various lines) where a crazy percentage of pax are at the highest loyalty tier.

As such, I've chosen to ignore brand loyalty entirely. I can almost even sympathize with the cruise lines. How can you treat people "special" when everyone is special? How do you build an exclusive lounge for hundreds and hundreds of "special" people per sailing?

Book the ship and itinerary you want when you see a price you like, and don't hold out for perks that aren't listed on the paperwork.

Says the person with the wisdom of one cruise and seven months of forum surfing.

 

[cgolf]

I know it doesn't help, but I have the impression that loyalty benefits are being watered down/devalued across as lines. Cruising is booming, people are living longer, the economy is improving and the world is getting smaller. I've read stories of sailings (on various lines) where a crazy percentage of pax are at the highest loyalty tier.

As such, I've chosen to ignore brand loyalty entirely. I can almost even sympathize with the cruise lines. How can you treat people "special" when everyone is special? How do you build an exclusive lounge for hundreds and hundreds of "special" people per sailing?

Book the ship and itinerary you want when you see a price you like, and don't hold out for perks that aren't listed on the paperwork.

Says the person with the wisdom of one cruise and seven months of forum surfing.

All I know is that my in laws sail Holland America and when we looked at their loyalty perks from last years cruise catalog they send out we were blown away. Made the platinum perks feel like we were getting nothing at all. That said we will do our B2B next year and then maybe price out a PC cruise and if it is reasonable and do that as potentially our last cruise for a while. We really want to do PC cruise and could put frustrations aside for that run.

 

[Ofinn]

I know it doesn't help, but I have the impression that loyalty benefits are being watered down/devalued across as lines. Cruising is booming, people are living longer, the economy is improving and the world is getting smaller. I've read stories of sailings (on various lines) where a crazy percentage of pax are at the highest loyalty tier.

As such, I've chosen to ignore brand loyalty entirely. I can almost even sympathize with the cruise lines. How can you treat people "special" when everyone is special? How do you build an exclusive lounge for hundreds and hundreds of "special" people per sailing?

Book the ship and itinerary you want when you see a price you like, and don't hold out for perks that aren't listed on the paperwork.

Says the person with the wisdom of one cruise and seven months of forum surfing.

The economy is ok right now, but history always repeats itself. There will be another recession, depression, more wars etc. Travel prices are high right now so look for the deals. I haven't found any companies to be particularly loyal to the customer.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Many suggest that we cruise someone else but we feel it would just be not be the same. w.

I think that is the idea. That it is not the same! Similar in some respects but not the same. I enjoyed Princess cruise because it had a similar feel like the wood decor. Seems silly but it was just familiar enough and the differences honestly were great! Better food and nicer pools. We like you love DCL but it is nice to try something different and not feel like you were missing out on something. We even parked next to a Disney boat and I was surprisingly not sad.

FWIW though I understand your feelings and your need to put it on a message board for that matter as we felt that way after multiple trips to WDW. We got frustrated in 2010 and no they did not miss us. We returned but with a different mindset. It was during this timeframe we went on DCL and to Disneyland which quickly became our preferred park.

 

[MunFam]

Book the ship and itinerary you want when you see a price you like, and don't hold out for perks that aren't listed on the paperwork.

Says the person with the wisdom of one cruise and seven months of forum surfing.

Well, I am a travel agent and this is my advice to my clients too!

 

[squirk]

With the 36 cruises you have been on I would hope that DCL would treat you like royalty. Sadly they just figure they can get another group of newbies to take your/our spots.

I think you are right on the money, for both DCL and the parks. As large as the Disney fan community is, we are a very small part of their overall target market. New babies being born every day. New families. New future customers. And since a visit to a Disney park is now seen as some kind of rite of passage, yeah, new blood is probably what they are focusing on.

However, I think the shelf-life of that mentality is far shorter for DCL. While DCL cruises are great, they don't outpace the competition nearly as much as the parks do. It's a much tighter race, IMO. As such, perhaps we will see more competitive action sooner rather than later, (but only if DCL sales start to flag).

That having been said, if they really are just looking for fresh meat, I think we would see relief in terms of fare pricing (to attract everyone, including new cruisers) than increasing Castaway Club benefits for that smaller subset of frequent and repeat cruisers whom DCL probably take as a "given".

I will be interested in reading Disney's 10-K next month and seeing what Iger has to say about DCL.

 

[braysmommy]

I totally agree with you we have only sailed DCL 5 times, with our 6th booked for January, and I'm not sure we will book again while on board. DCL has reached the point for our family where it is just to expensive when compared to alternative land based vacations. I will watch for sales and discounts but not holding my breath.

 

[Donna3271]

It is cheaper for me to fly my family of 5 to Rome, rent a 3 bedroom condo next to Vatican city for 9 NIGHTS, take FULLY guided day tours to Florence, Capri and Pompeii than it is to sail Cat 4A 7 night Caribbean in the summer.... just an observation.

I am shy of platinum, but have taken expensive cruises (minimum Cat 4A - Alaska, most 7 nighters, etc...). The incentive to repeat cruise is just not there.

 

[ptcbass]

We have been drinking the Kool-Aid for many years too and always wondered about other ships and trying out the other theme parks and things in Orlando. Now that we have been there don't that and are getting older I don't feel that we need to be that loyal. I mean why would we be? What incentives do we really have? We like to cruise out of Port Canaveral because it is only a few hours away. Right now that limits us mostly to Disney, Carnival, RC Freedom of the Seas and RC Enchantment of the Seas. I don't care to try Carnival and since the RC ships are older I am scared I will be too disappointed. I don't get enough vacation days to spend them disappointed. Now at the end of 2016 and 2017 the game will be changing! RC's Oasis of the Seas and Norwegian's Epic will be at Port Canaveral. I think that will be a game changer for those like me that feel as if they really don't have many options (if they don't want to travel further to the ship). I love DCL but am excited to try these new ships. I wonder how much it will change things.

 

[El Cid 94]

My wife and I have been sailing DCL for a long time and have sailed a total of 36 times. We are vacation club members and have been going to the World since our honeymoon in 1978. I just finished reading 18 pages of posts regarding the change in alcohol policy effective 9/30/15. It really does not effect us since we cannot drink due to medications but it kind of solidifies what has been brewing with us for the past two years. May I point out we both love the parks and cruising but feel we have been outpriced and under appreciated. It is no secret that you pay dearly for a Disney cruise and we feel that we have just gotten to OUR breaking point--and it has taken us a few years to get to this point. Many suggest that we cruise someone else but we feel it would just be not be the same. We do love the Disney product--both on land and at sea. It is just time to take a break for a little while. Will this make any difference to Disney's bottom line--NO. They make billions every quarter and I am quite sure the shareholders are quite happy with things. After time we just decided we were not happy with the massive price increases all around and could not justify to continue drinking the Kool-Aid. Will we be back--probably, but we are comfortable with our decision right now.

Tell it all, brother... Tell! it! all!

While we are relatively new to the Disney cruise game, but we too spent our honeymoon at Disney World and Epcot (in 1995). You summed up exactly how we feel after just 5 years of cruising with Disney. Thank you for your eloquently written post!

 

[Donna3271]

Tell it all, brother... Tell! it! all!

El Cid.... LOL!!! Love it!

 

[perditax]

The economy is ok right now, but history always repeats itself. There will be another recession, depression, more wars etc. Travel prices are high right now so look for the deals. I haven't found any companies to be particularly loyal to the customer.

Yep. Been on the planet long enough to spot the essentially circular nature of things. But people are trying to figure out where to spend their vacation dollars in the next 12-18 months-ish.

 

[The Sasquatch]

we havent done 36 cruises but we are on our 5th in 2 years since discovering how much we loved DCL. But as far as WDW is concerned, we are the same way, we have visited close to 50 times, always stay on property etc etc etc. I am not even close to my breaking point but I can definitely see that there is a disregard for repeat customers. We should be the ones getting the discounts and its the exact opposite. Disney knows we will be back so there is no need. In all of my trips and years as a loyal customer, we have NEVER received a promo offer for anything. Friends of ours go once and get 3 or 4 a year. That makes me upset but not upset enough to take my business elsewhere. I still feel the value in Disney and will continue to spend my money with them in hopes that it may change.

 

[squirk]

To be fair, everyone can take advantage of the GP discounts offered, whether you are a first-timer or if you're an AP holder who visits six times a year. I'm not even sure if they do the PIN mailers anymore, especially if you are an AP holder. And it seems those PINs were no better than the GP discounts anyway.

But yes, the perks are thin for AP, DVC and CC. Disney would argue that those things are the perks in and of themselves, and I would tend to agree that DVC and AP are great bargains if you visit at least once a year for at least a week or more. The CC perks kinda suck until you hit Platinum, and even then, they aren't fantastic.

Again, even with the strides Universal has made, Disney still has a comfortable lead over its competitors in the theme park business, and can afford to be stingy with perks for repeat customers. I don't think DCL has the same luxury.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

We have been drinking the Kool-Aid for many years too and always wondered about other ships and trying out the other theme parks and things in Orlando. Now that we have been there don't that and are getting older I don't feel that we need to be that loyal. I mean why would we be? What incentives do we really have? We like to cruise out of Port Canaveral because it is only a few hours away. Right now that limits us mostly to Disney, Carnival, RC Freedom of the Seas and RC Enchantment of the Seas. I don't care to try Carnival and since the RC ships are older I am scared I will be too disappointed. I don't get enough vacation days to spend them disappointed. Now at the end of 2016 and 2017 the game will be changing! RC's Oasis of the Seas and Norwegian's Epic will be at Port Canaveral. I think that will be a game changer for those like me that feel as if they really don't have many options (if they don't want to travel further to the ship). I love DCL but am excited to try these new ships. I wonder how much it will change things.

Don't be afraid of the older ships, they just might surprise you!

They are kept well maintained and are closer in size and capacity to Disney ships. Yes, the mega ships are newer and have more activities, but they also have the additional 2-3k additional passengers and you feel it!

 

[BethC1952]

Don't be afraid of the older ships, they just might surprise you!

They are kept well maintained and are closer in size and capacity to Disney ships. Yes, the mega ships are newer and have more activities, but they also have the additional 2-3k additional passengers and you feel it!

I spent thirteen on Brilliance of the Seas in May (transatlantic), and I loved the ship. She's newer than DCL's classic ships (but not much newer) and in beautiful shape. The weather was awful, so I really got to know the ship! In November I spent 18 nights on Independence of the Seas (transatlantic and Europe), and that's a beautiful ship, as were Explorer and Adventure of The Seas. After 16 Disney cruises, we bravely tried Royal Caribbean, and are still very happy with them, and are able to take a lot more cruises because of the price difference.

Beth

 

[perdidobay]

My wife and I have been sailing DCL for a long time and have sailed a total of 36 times. We are vacation club members and have been going to the World since our honeymoon in 1978. I just finished reading 18 pages of posts regarding the change in alcohol policy effective 9/30/15. It really does not effect us since we cannot drink due to medications but it kind of solidifies what has been brewing with us for the past two years. May I point out we both love the parks and cruising but feel we have been outpriced and under appreciated. It is no secret that you pay dearly for a Disney cruise and we feel that we have just gotten to OUR breaking point--and it has taken us a few years to get to this point. Many suggest that we cruise someone else but we feel it would just be not be the same. We do love the Disney product--both on land and at sea. It is just time to take a break for a little while. Will this make any difference to Disney's bottom line--NO. They make billions every quarter and I am quite sure the shareholders are quite happy with things. After time we just decided we were not happy with the massive price increases all around and could not justify to continue drinking the Kool-Aid. Will we be back--probably, but we are comfortable with our decision right now.

Like you we have come to the same point. We are stepping out there and trying a new cruise line and I am excited by the fact that we will get to see new shows, eat off new menus, and have more on deck actitives than DCL ships offer and at a much better price to boot.
Will DCL care or even notice they've lost our business? No, but we will no longer feel like we are sheeple being had.