What can DCL do to make their pricing "worth it"?

[zymurgy1999]

Yes, they do have it down to a science, don't they? But even the largest and most profitable of companies can get greedy and stupid, and ruin that well-oiled machine by trying to squeeze out even more profit.

That day will come, but that is the goal of these big companies, push revenues to the point where the general public start to push back. They pushed the prices WAY up, people complained, nothing changed. They took away the pillow-case signing, people complained, nothing changed. They took away the ability to bring alcohol on board, people complained, TBD. However, how many reduced rates are being offered right now? A handful MTO, no FLR and a smaller handful of GTY. We have a ways to go before this thing stabilizes.

In my opinion this behavior is irresponsible on their part, creating dreams and then forcing people to pay unbelievable amounts of money (both before you board and now on board as well, money that people may not have) to fulfill those dreams. Even more irresponsible is that they are selling these dreams to kids and counting on the parents' (and grandparents') desire to make sure that their kids (and grand kids) see all of their dreams come true. Yes, this is our economy at its best and darkest simultaneously.

 

[perdidobay]

Ok, this is going on the assumption the OP wanted: prices on DCL stay the same.
Fare includes your choice of one : paid gratuities,or free alcohol drinks for length of cruise, or onboard credit , or $75 port excursion credit at each port, or free dining in specialty restaurants or all of them if you book a conceirge room.
Ncl is currently doing this and their rates are much lower than DCL.

Also add more adult entertainment like dueling pianos and more comedy shows that don't include jugglers. IE: have adult entertainment not family shows with a few racy jokes thrown in.
Have hot tubs and pools open for adults till at least midnight....yes, treat adults like adults Disney, and don t give us curfews!!

 

[MunFam]

So are you ready to give up your shorts, tee shirts and flip flops in the MDR's for Dinner? Most are not (unfortunately). It seems like a lot of people want a QE2 experience with Carnival Dress Code and Prices (again unfortunately).

I would in a heartbeat!! We packed tuxes and ballgowns and "proper" attire for dinner each night. I did not feel comfortable showing up in shorts, a tee shirt or flip flops. A minimum was golf/country club level attire.

 

[Dug720]

I maintain that traveling as a solo cruiser, I have yet to see this massive price difference on an equivalent stateroom category (ie. Ocean view to Ocean view) AND itinerary on another line. For square footage as a solo DCL wins hands down.

Apparently it is different for families, but as a solo, while I am not wedded to Disney (I have a 12-night Med/Venice cruise next summer on RCCL because that or similar itinerary is not available on DCL) for the same itinerary I will go with Disney pretty much every time.

 

[AquaDame]

Its all about what I can get with Disney that I can't get with someone else. I can see other ports, I can get a better price, but I can't get the parts that make it Disney. The characters, design, movies, service, events ON THE SHIP are what makes it worth it. Take enough of those away and its just another line and I will shop around, pure and simple. A lot of the suggestions above are how to make it cheaper which is just getting around the actual question since a lower price = less needed to make it "worth" it.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

This is a genuine question, not a sarcastic jibe.

Lots of threads and posts about how DCL is pricing itself out of the market, and how the competitors, while lacking the Disney brand, still offer a lot of value for a lot less money than DCL.

If we presume that DCL will never get into a price war with RCCL, NCL or Carnival for "family market" dollars (meaning they will never drop their base fares substantially, if at all), what can they do to make the hefty DCL premium "worth it"?

Is it more discounts for off-season cruises?
Is it more "bells and whistles" on the ships (along the lines of AquaDuck, Midship Detective Agency, etc.)?
Is it more "specialty" cruises (e.g., Star Wars Day at Sea)?
Is it more variety in itineraries/ports of call?
Is it more ships, meaning more departure ports that are more convenient and cheaper to get to?
Is it improving the service on the ships to really be a cut above competitors' service?
Is it better perks and/or faster advancement in Castaway Club?
Is it more OBC when rebooking?

Just curious as to what your thoughts are.

For us, they don't have to do anything. Disney is a brand that I trust. I don't hear them embroiled in nightmare at sea stories. Their customer ratings/reviews strike me as unsurpassed. Add the Mouse and kids' clubs, and we are sold -- just waited for the kids to be old enough. That's all it took for us to book our first cruise ever with DCL for March.

All that said, I don't think we'll ever be "cruise people". We won't be in the market for frequent cruises.

 

[ImTempest]

There are two things that really work for me on DCL (Fantasy): 1) the split bathroom. I travel with my husband and son, and having the split bath just makes it so much easier. Love it. 2) I'm allergic to cigarette smoke (actually allergic; my sinuses fill up, I wheeze, and I start talking like Elmer Fudd). Not having the casinos with the smoke spilling into the halls makes Disney a match for me. I also have to say that for now, my son likes Vibe so much he doesn't want to go on a different ship. If there is something I wish they could add, it would be some of the outdoor stuff we've seen on tv ads for other cruise ships: ziplines, wave boarding, rock-climbing, and I know one competitor's ship out there (don't know which one) has bumper cars. Also, Disney needs to add more water slides - especially add the water slides, I should say. Aquaduck is an amazing amount of fun, but it's just the one, the wait can be long, and the yellow slide on Deck 12 is only for littles. I'm sure half-court basketball is fun and all, but we can walk half a block from my house and do that. BOR-ING. In fact, on our cruise I don't remember seeing anyone using the basketball courts. Time for Disney to up their game (but not their prices).

 

[AcuraTL]

To our family, it was well worth the price we paid on the Alaska Cruise that we just came back from (8/3-8/10/15). You have to like Disney for the cruise to be "worth it" for you and your family. Even on this old ship (Wonder), it was so clean and all the cast members were so nice. The fact that my 11 year-old daughter can roam around on her own and do her own thing and I can still keep in touch with her through the Navigator App was awesome. She had the most fun out of us all. My 13 year-old son did not have much fun as my daughter but he still had a blast. To me, you do not go on a Disney Cruise every year. To make it special, you have to go every other year lol.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

I've always assumed that the DCL business model will allow them to keep their prices higher than other cruise lines, without the fear of pricing themselves out of the market - and what I mean by that is that I assume that the business plans of cruise line X, Y or Z are predicated upon providing value for dollars such that first-time cruisers become repeat cruisers (hopefully for life), whereas DCL knows that the sweet spot for their target cruisers are families with adolescent children, and once those children become teenagers, a whole new group of families with young children will take their place.

To use my own family as an example, we went on our first DCL cruise when my daughter was 7. DCL ticked all the boxes for us in terms of activities, Disney magic, and me, being "Safety Dad", feeling comfortable that if any business was not going to let anything bad happen to my kid, it was Disney. To me, that was worth the high price. We loved it and couldn't wait to go back. We went again last year when my daughter was 10, and she had reached the point where the kids clubs held no interest for her, and she wanted to spend her days on deck getting sun and reading books. We still loved our cruise, but the price differential became harder to swallow. When we sail next spring, she will be 12, and based on how she wants to spend her days (sunning, reading, going on port adventures) with no desire to spend time in the clubs, there was zero incentive for us to pay almost double to sail in an oceanview cabin on DCL as we are paying for a mini-suite/large balcony room on the new NCL Escape.

And that's fine. Circle of life. A new family with young children who want to experience DCL for the same reasons we sailed on it, and who think that the Disney magic is worth the price (it was for us), will take our place. And if we end up loving NCL and find that it fits our needs, then there is no reason that we won't sail on it for many, many years to come (as opposed to our two cruises on DCL, before we grew out of it).

If DCL were price comparable to the other mass market lines, would we have stuck with it for a few more years? Sure, I guess. But ultimately, it served a purpose for a particular point in our lives and now it's time to move on.

 

[TifffanyD]

At the current prices, the only way it would be "worth it" to me is if they were a deluxe line which included a lot more amenities (drinks, excursions) and had better entertainment and food. Their food has really gone downhill.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I maintain that traveling as a solo cruiser, I have yet to see this massive price difference on an equivalent stateroom category (ie. Ocean view to Ocean view) AND itinerary on another line. For square footage as a solo DCL wins hands down.

Apparently it is different for families, but as a solo, while I am not wedded to Disney (I have a 12-night Med/Venice cruise next summer on RCCL because that or similar itinerary is not available on DCL) for the same itinerary I will go with Disney pretty much every time.

You go by yourself on a Disney cruise? How is that experience?

 

[kaseyC]

As @FairestOfThemAll37 mentioned, I want to see Disney quit pretending to be a luxury or premium cruise line that offers an average product. If you remove a few people in costumes, I mean, really...you are left with an overpriced run of the mill cruise line at this point. If DCL wants to have a competitive market edge over the other lines, I feel that it would need to:

-increase the quality of in room items such as bed linens, multiple pillow offerings, bath products etc.

-increase the quality and offerings of the MDR and other dining options, especially on the longer cruises. 14 days of hot dogs, burgers and chicken sandwiches at the pool got old real fast. I found myself getting a bowl of chili and making chili dogs/fries etc. They also NEED more salad offerings. One specialty salad per day in the MDR for lunch is crazy.

-promote service again. I feel like their on board customer service was average and very "tip oriented". The people that were trying to earn a tip from you went above and beyond...other than that...meh. (example: eating lunch in the buffet, if your dining team was not there, forget getting any assistance with anything). I also noticed that staff throughout the ship would make eye contact but would not say hello. I was always saying hello first. Perhaps, it is because I was trained at a AAA 5 diamond property in college, so its just what I know/expect, but if they want to sell a "premium product" I feel they should meet that criteria...honestly, DCL might only get a 2 diamond...and well, 2 diamonds are not premium priced for sure!

-increase the on board activity options and provide them at different times on different days. If your kid naps every day from noon to 2 and every day at 1 is towel folding, you lose.

I would like to see them continue the cold towels and waters in port at the dock. That was a high end touch and made me feel "value" in my cruise. I also want to see sodas continue to be included as well as the BYOB liquor policy reviewed. What if you don't drink beer or wine? Or want to buy wine on board and carry on liquor?

But, but... they have Disney magic and pixie dust. Doesn't that make it all worth it?

 

[jlynch924]

More OBC, new shows more often, bigger discounts off-season.

 

[The Sasquatch]

I'm interested to see what others opinions are on this. We are sailing in October, and when I compared prices with the other lines it was definately more, but I personally didn't think it was that huge of a difference. I also didn't see the double or triple fare prices others have stated they have seen compared to other cruise lines.

I am glad you mentioned this. I never see these 1/2 or 1/3 prices on the other lines and when I price out a similar trip on a similar boat its about the same plus they nickel and dime for everything else. I am glad you brought this up because I always scratch my head. I will caveat this with we intentionally look for the cheapest times to go DCL and I havent spent all that much time comparing.

In reference to the OP, the things that would excite me the most are new ports and new ships. I would like to see more New York so we dont have to fly but I would love to see the Dream go to Castaway and maybe Key West instead of Nassau

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

So are you ready to give up your shorts, tee shirts and flip flops in the MDR's for Dinner? Most are not (unfortunately). It seems like a lot of people want a QE2 experience with Carnival Dress Code and Prices (again unfortunately).

Let me just get it out of the way first, I don't wear shorts to the MDR. I also do not expect carnival prices, but I do expect a higher level of service to Royal, Princess, etc. that are cheaper than Disney.

For me, service and dress code are unrelated. I feel like the so-called unrivaled customer service of Disney is riding the reputation of a by-gone era.

While on a Disney cruise, I've had to ask our stateroom attendant for new towels because they hung visiably dirty ones on the rack.

I've had to ask for new sheets twice on embarkation day-ones for grease marks and once for blood stains.

I've watched waiters go by as my drink sat empty, I've had wrong orders, I've had them serve my bottle of wine to another table.

I've had to spend 20 minutes in the customer service line disputing a charge that wasn't mine.

DCL markets themselves as a cut above-to me these are not representative of a higher caliber of service than other main stream lines.

For two people in a cabin, verandah or above the price differential between Disney and Royal, Celebrity (far better service than Disney IMO and only slightly more than its competitors), Princess, etc. is usually way more than the differential between Disney and Cunard and even Regent has seemed like a bargain when compared to Disney.

If you take out the value of the Disney branding, the increase in price doesn't have any real tangible benefits. Especially when I look at how close in price DCL is to some of the luxury lines and what they offer.

For me, Disney has whittled down their perks and I'm just not willing to pay their premium on the Disney theming/branding.

 

[The Sasquatch]

As @FairestOfThemAll37 mentioned, I want to see Disney quit pretending to be a luxury or premium cruise line that offers an average product. If you remove a few people in costumes, I mean, really...you are left with an overpriced run of the mill cruise line at this point.

beg to differ. DCL has the most beautiful ships and cabins of any cruise line out there, and thats worth a premium

 

[The Sasquatch]

Disney has "upset" a bunch of it's customers at the Parks and on DCL. But they have NOT found the price point yet on either front to even marginally have a NEGATIVE impact their revenue and bottom line. It sounds like they might have finally reached that point with ESPN. Parks and DCL still have a ways to go before prices stabilize. Supply and Demand - it's been the Parks and DCL way of continuing to increase prices while decreasing service. That's why I think it's highly unlikely that DCL adds any new ships anytime soon. More ships, more rooms, leads to lower prices just to try to get people on the older ships. So only 4 ships and 6 (I think) park locations around the world for the time being.

unfortunately there has been no negative impact on their bottom line because WDW and DCL continue to sell out everything. There are far less "upset" people than you think and they continue to turn huge profits.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Several of you have mentioned not seeing the price differences. I wonder if some of the differences are based on ports. I priced similar cruises from Port Canaveral and New Orleans yesterday. New Orleans - easy driving distance for me - was almost exactly half the price. The cabins on both New Orleans cruise lines were smaller though.

Frankly, I think Disney understands its market and key demographic (families), and it doesn't seem to be hurting for passengers. As of now, I don't see prices going down or amenities going up, really, because they don't need to offer more for the same price as long as the ships are full. If they offer more, I bet it comes with a larger price tag.

If I choose Disney for my next cruise, it is for the Disney "magic" rather than a side-by-side price comparison.

 

[Quellman]

As @FairestOfThemAll37 mentioned, I want to see Disney quit pretending to be a luxury or premium cruise line that offers an average product. If you remove a few people in costumes, I mean, really...you are left with an overpriced run of the mill cruise line at this point. If DCL wants to have a competitive market edge over the other lines, I feel that it would need to:

-increase the quality of in room items such as bed linens, multiple pillow offerings, bath products etc.

-increase the quality and offerings of the MDR and other dining options, especially on the longer cruises. 14 days of hot dogs, burgers and chicken sandwiches at the pool got old real fast. I found myself getting a bowl of chili and making chili dogs/fries etc. They also NEED more salad offerings. One specialty salad per day in the MDR for lunch is crazy.

-promote service again. I feel like their on board customer service was average and very "tip oriented". The people that were trying to earn a tip from you went above and beyond...other than that...meh. (example: eating lunch in the buffet, if your dining team was not there, forget getting any assistance with anything). I also noticed that staff throughout the ship would make eye contact but would not say hello. I was always saying hello first. Perhaps, it is because I was trained at a AAA 5 diamond property in college, so its just what I know/expect, but if they want to sell a "premium product" I feel they should meet that criteria...honestly, DCL might only get a 2 diamond...and well, 2 diamonds are not premium priced for sure!

-increase the on board activity options and provide them at different times on different days. If your kid naps every day from noon to 2 and every day at 1 is towel folding, you lose.

I would like to see them continue the cold towels and waters in port at the dock. That was a high end touch and made me feel "value" in my cruise. I also want to see sodas continue to be included as well as the BYOB liquor policy reviewed. What if you don't drink beer or wine? Or want to buy wine on board and carry on liquor?

@MunFam has it right. The Disney theme, attention to Disney details, and Disney exclusive shows (including fireworks) are mostly what keeps Disney from being average. The cast of the last shows I watched on the Fantasy were particularly cringe worthy. While the shows are being updated, slowly, for repeat cruisers they aren't anything ground breaking anymore.

Additional things not in a particular order:

• 
  
• The sports simulator on board is a joke. The graphics are poor and there is lag in the software. This activity should not be an upcharge on board.
  
• Sodas should always be included in the cost of the cruise. Anything that you order from a pool/show server should of course be paid for, to include drinks of the day, smoothies, and sodas provided in can or bottle as part of service at the nightly shows.
  
• Popcorn should be provided at the movie theater on board without charge.
  
• Return of signed items but with a strict limit on the number of items, 1 per stateroom if no children, or 1 item per child.
  
• A review of alcohol policy to allow the carry-on of 1 liquor or spirit per stateroom (not sure how you enforce this) with an additional allowance for itineraries longer than 5 days. Liquor bought in ports will be held until the end of the cruise.
  
• A reduction in the corkage fee. $25 fee is often more than the cost of the bottle I brought.
  
• A review of the menus at each dining room. I can only imagine how difficult it is to serve quality food en masse twice nightly but the menus should rotate fairly frequently.
  
• Updated on ship activities. Trivia is always a crowd pleaser but I can get that at my local restaurant on Tuesdays. Include additional classes or educational programs, some on the company, parks, or cruiseline. Others about the places the ship is going to. Some of the games that are onboard also are stale. Past cruisers show up to the games already with ladies bras in purses, and cash on hand, etc. Takes some of the fun out of it when they already are beating the host to the punch.
  
• Adult hot tubs should not be subject to early closing.
  
• Room service should remain free with gratuity accepted.
  
• I like the idea of upgrading the linens and towels in staterooms.
  
• Upcharge candy shop on the Dream sounds atrocious. More offerings should be provided with the free ice cream.
  
• Better CC perks. Many lines have gone to total nights on board.
  Additional perks could include a free laundry service on sailings of 7 nights or more, a complimentary beverage at a MDR on the first night, or a free 3 hours of nursery time.
  
• Magic bands instead of room keys would be a nice change as well. If I already have a tan line from the MB at the parks, I might as well continue it on the cruise.
  
• Additional events/excursions on CCay. A ropes course would be a great addition for families, especially those who have teens.

 

[tltay2005]

I have to agree with Dug720, I have only priced two cruises, but both times Disney was only $300 & $500 more than RCCL for the same size room and itinerary. For that difference, I will cruise Disney every time. I think the pricing depends on the time of year and number of days. We can only sail 3 & 4 nights due to work. Maybe the 7 nights have a bigger price difference.