Weve been drinking the Kool-Aid for a long time

[perditax]

Yep. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

 

[cedricandsophie]

We hav been on 17 Disney cruises. We have an adult daughter with Down syndrome and always bring her best friend. The still have a great time and love the characters. As long as they do, Im sure we will still come. My grandkids, one of whom is 18, still love it too. We have been on lots of other cruises, crystal and silver sea aming them. They offer two for one cruises, included air, all drinks included, etc. so we occasionally go on a more adult cruise just the two of us. But Disney is still our go to line. I would love more perks but they don't seem to need them to sell out. As platinum cruisers we get a free dinner in Palo and a free bottle of wine and a 10% discount in the stores. That's all I expect at this point.

 

[TChrist05]

My wife and I still love the cruises but as I stated we just feel outpriced and under appreciated. For our 25th cruise we ran into Brent the cruise director. Had a long talk with him and told him how we loved DCL and how much we enjoy the cruise experience. That night when we got back to our room there was 2 DCL hats with a note thanking for our support for DCL. We felt so special and it was only 2 hats. I know that there are many people out there that have sailed many more times than us and I don't expect breakfast in bed from them but it is the little things that make you feel appreciated and special. We have family members who have sailed with us on Disney but they prefer Royal and mostly because they enjoy the casino. They have kind of been twisting our arms to just give it a try and I guess if we can work it out we will give it a shot. They just returned and raved about the cruise, and since they have been on Disney 5 times they can make a fair judgement on both. Maybe if we take some time off from Disney it will make us hungry again for it. Funny thing is I retired after working 44 years and fit a lot of cruises and Disney World trips in while I was working in retail. Now that I can go any time that I want we feel the need to pull back for the reasons I have stated. We are Vacation Club members and accumulate points every year and we would never allow them to expire so we will be back--maybe they know that so they feel they don't need to entice us with anything special.

 

[Toddymae]

I think you can 'burn out' of any vacation if you do it over and over. For years I went to California for a vacation and now - I swear never again! Burn Out! I've made 41 cruises with DCL and have two more planned. Yeah, I'm at the point that I'm getting burned out. BUT never have I excepted anything from Disney. I'm a platinum at Marriott and they give me extra towels and pillows - never thought they'd give me a gift.

It's important to take a vacation - American's don't vacation enough- go where you want to go and at a price you can afford. And if you get a gift - great!

 

[ptcbass]

What do other lines do? Just curious. I would expect Disney to go above and beyond. I am just not sure that they are doing that so much anymore.

 

[Eeyores#1Fan]

We've only cruised 10 times but after our Halloween cruise this year we too are taking a break. Just hope we can not spend the whole time comparing to DCL and truly enjoy ourselves. As a DVC member as well I'm just not feeling the love lately like I use too.

 

[TChrist05]

The truth of the matter is you are not feeling the love anymore because they do nothing to make you feel special. They really don't need us much anymore because there are many more to fill in the gaps. When was the last time they offered a real special rate for an annual pass? When was the last time they offered vacation club members a special on DCL? I think it has been a couple of years.

 

[tgropp]

Disney loses money on most annual passholders. They pay pennies per visit compared to guests holding multi-day tickets.

Maybe for some but I would think that the majority spend more money on dining and other things than they would if they had paid full price on their admission. With Disney, if you save money on one place, you usually spend it in another area. We save on DVC accommodations and reduced park admission but somehow we spend a lot of money on other things . If Disney thought that they were losing money on AP's, trust me they would be no longer available.

 

[Ofinn]

If you have cruised several times on DCL or been to WDW several times it gets really hard to keep paying more and more for the same vacation. If you get raises every year and not everyone does I would assume they're are in the 3-5% range. The WDW vacation I took in 2010 at the Poly is almost double now. Our household income sure hasn't doubled. Universal is where we now go when we need a theme park fix.

You can still get some deals on offseason cruises, but for those people that have to travel in the Summer the price increases the last few years are staggering. I think that's when the pixie dust starts to wear thin. It's hard to pay 8k for a cruise you paid 5k for just three years ago.

Of course people are always going to have kids and there's always going to be new customers. I've never been able to talk any family or friends into trying a DCL cruise. They come close to passing out when they see the prices, and most of them have higher incomes than us. I can't even throw in the "well you can bring your own alcohol" sell anymore.

Over the last year I have really noticed a shift in the attitude on these boards. It used to be just a DCL cheerleading forum. I won't cruise DCL unless it's a good rate like a TA crossing or get good discount. I'm willing to pay a premium for DCL over other cruise lines, but that premium has just gotten to high.

 

[TChrist05]

Just wanted to thank all the posters who responded--maybe thanking some that didn't for not going on the attack mode. I know there are many cruisers who really love Disney and will defend them to the death--and we love the cruisers but have just really opened our eyes and will NOT open our wallet for a while. Thanks again folks. Tom & Marilou

 

[momof2n2]

I doubt I'll make it back to wdw until the next recession. Since the prices have gone up so much they're going to have to do better than 45% they offered in 2009. I think I would need about 60% off to lure me back. Value resort are not my thing.

It's bad, I admit... but since my family rode the last recession really well and traveled heartily during it, I won't be heartbroken when the next one rolls around.
(I know, I know - it's not nice to suggest that kind of thing.... )

 

[AquaDame]

It's bad, I admit... but since my family rode the last recession really well and traveled heartily during it, I won't be heartbroken when the next one rolls around.
(I know, I know - it's not nice to suggest that kind of thing.... )

We were the same, but we know we lucked out. We may not the next time...! I hope it doesn't come back around personally even if I did get a good deal on our house.

 

[Ofinn]

My dh and I have jobs that don't suffer during recessions, but on the other hand don't really improve during the good times. It was much easier for us to travel during the bad times.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Maybe for some but I would think that the majority spend more money on dining and other things than they would if they had paid full price on their admission. With Disney, if you save money on one place, you usually spend it in another area. We save on DVC accommodations and reduced park admission but somehow we spend a lot of money on other things . If Disney thought that they were losing money on AP's, trust me they would be no longer available.

Sure, for AP holders who do not live within driving distance of the parks. For the locals, they might buy one or two meals in the parks, but that rarely adds up to the price of a day ticket. In reality, they are the most likely to pack a lunch, bring refillable water bottles, and skip on souvenirs (because Disney's stock doesn't change all that often). Locals are the majority of AP's. AP holders are also among the most difficult guests for CM's to deal with.

Also, Disney is slowly removing the AP benefit through price hikes and pass eliminations. This is much more evident in the CA parks than the FL parks so far, but Disney is slowly moving away from it's AP program in favor of the more profitable multi-day tickets. They are just smart enough to know that removing the AP's in one move would gain them masses of bad press, because people seem to think going to Disney is a right and not a privilege.

 

[momof2n2]

My dh and I have jobs that don't suffer during recessions, but on the other hand don't really improve during the good times. It was much easier for us to travel during the bad times.

We must be your east coast twins.

 

[Trera]

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!

magic holds 2,400 and the dream and fantasy are 4,000 passengers.

 

[mevelandry]

I think you can 'burn out' of any vacation if you do it over and over.

True. After our 7th time at WDW (always trying new hotels and trying to experiment new activities and restaurants every time), DH decided to skip WDW for a while. We booked a DCL cruise departing from Miami instead and the Wonder instead of the Dream. And after the Wonder, we'll need to try other cruiselines and different vacation experiences.

We are also hearing about how you can get better/more for the same amount of money when you go somewhere else. The truth is we have never tried anything else... And we feel like it's time to experiment.

There are other things and experience in life that our magical and they are not coming from Disney.

We will always have love for WDW and DCL and we'll probably come back in a few years (as long as we can afford it). But after our March cruise, we'll need to try something else for a while.

 

[jmpurdy]

We have invested in this brand for over 33 years. I grew up near Disneyland and now our go-to park is WDW (we now live in the east) and also the cruise line. We stay because we have emotionally invested in it. It is our family place where we can forget about our problems and just be a family and enjoy each other's company. Is it expensive? Yes it can be. We've done it on a budget when our kids were small and we are splurging on a royal suite next year on the Magic. No company is perfect. We've been very disappointed in the condition of some villas at WDW, BUT the service extended to us when we do have a problem is what keeps us going back. We got upgraded to concierge at Boardwalk Inn a few weeks ago. We had no idea until we arrived at the resort. We had the time of our life enjoying this once in a lifetime experience. We've seen cast members literally swoop in to find a lost child like nothing I've ever seen. These are but a few of the reasons we keep going back. We are also platinum Carnival cruisers, so we definitely know what is offered on other cruise lines. Our family will be cruising on the Dream in 2 short months and we have already introduced our new son-in-law to our love of Disney.