What Changes Would You Like DCL to Make?

[Disturbia]

I would like to see this, but I get why they don't. They let CMs have time off to go visit ports. If they offered brunch on ports days that would mean less time off for CMs, which likely wouldn't go over so well.

I love the idea, I just see logistically why DCL doesn't offer it already.

That makes sense. There is always a next time. I suppose when we get to the next tier it would be a better experience anyway with older kids (less to worry about).

 

[Dug720]

I would like to see this, but I get why they don't. They let CMs have time off to go visit ports. If they offered brunch on ports days that would mean less time off for CMs, which likely wouldn't go over so well.

I love the idea, I just see logistically why DCL doesn't offer it already.

I've been on Royal and Celebrity (as well as Disney), and I am pretty sure they only do MDR lunch on sea days. And only limited specialty restaurants on port days.

 

[bonnielynn]

I just got off the treasure today, so while fresh in my mind.

1)Castaway Club by days and not bookings.
2) Buffet in the "sports" bar like they used to have (nothing in Periscope Pub - you can order food here but it costs);
3) Pastries brought back to Cove Cafe and coffee areas (none on the Treasure) - who doesn't want a treat with their coffee?
4) Give the adult areas more consideration -the people paying for the cruise!
5) Why are the lounges so small now on the newer ships? Skipper Society on the Treasure felt to me like it is in a mall because it is open on two sides and the jewelry shop is right there with people just walking by.
6) More dining options for adults who don't always want to go to the main dining rooms. How about leaving the buffet open and making it a sit-down? I remember when you could go to the "buffet venue" and have dinner—no particular time—just show up while they were open, and that was fine.
7) I wish this new ship class had more fluidity. I miss deck 4 as a walking/running track.
8) On the Wish class, can we fix the elevators? Beyond the fact that there are only two sets on each end, if you want to go to decks 12-14, most of the time you had to wait for the right elevators because there were only a few that went to those floors, and they were on the same "circuit" as the rest, so you aren't able to call just those specific elevators. Yes, you can walk - but just saying.
9) Menu changes for all venues.

 

[bonnieappetit]

Give me a reason not to go to bed at 11pm and make some more adult fun things to do. Then again, its basically for kids, so I can't really complain too much.

It would be nice if they had some adults only sailings a few times a year with some special events.

We just got off of The Fantasy after Christmas and we got a survey asking if we would be interested in an adult only cruise for DCL. So they are at least thinking about doing this. I'm thinking that they would only do it a few times per year?

 

[bonnieappetit]

I don't like the adult pool area on The Wish either. I have used the Chip and Dale pool sometimes because it seems to be less crowded and a nice area at the front of the ship. Would be nice if they changed this pool to adults only as well.

 

[Disturbia]

I just got off the treasure today, so while fresh in my mind.

1)Castaway Club by days and not bookings.
2) Buffet in the "sports" bar like they used to have (nothing on Periscope Pub - you can order food here but it costs);
3) Pastries brought back to Cove Cafe and coffee areas (none on the Treasure) - who doesn't want a treat with their coffee?
4) Give the adult areas more consideration -the people paying for the cruise!
5) Why are the lounges so small now on the newer ships? Skipper Society on the Treasure felt to me like it is in a mall because it is open on two sides and the jewelry shop is right there with people just walking by.
6) More dining options for adults who don't want to always go to the main dining rooms. How about leaving the buffet open and making it a sit-down? I remember when you could go to the "buffet venue" and have dinner - no particular time - just show up while they were open and that was fine.
7) I wish this new ship class had more fluidity. I miss deck 4 as a walking/running track.
8) On the Wish class, can we fix the elevators? Beyond the fact that there are only two sets on each end, if you want to go to decks 12-14, most of the time you had to wait for the right elevators because there were only a few that went to those floors, and they were on the same "circuit" as the rest, so you aren't able to call just those specific elevators. Yes, you can walk - but just saying.
9) Menu changes for all venues.

Thanks for the info. We sail spring break. This was what I was fearing. The adults area on the Fantasy felt cramped (we just walked through it to get to the spa). A bit disappointed the bar areas are small.

 

[RedHead0186]

I just got off the treasure today, so while fresh in my mind.


8) On the Wish class, can we fix the elevators? Beyond the fact that there are only two sets on each end, if you want to go to decks 12-14, most of the time you had to wait for the right elevators because there were only a few that went to those floors, and they were on the same "circuit" as the rest, so you aren't able to call just those specific elevators. Yes, you can walk - but just saying.

I had forgotten about this, but it is a huuuuuuge pet peeve of mine. I wish they would go to the model where you press what floor you want to go to, and then it tells you which elevator to get in. Helps with crowd flow and also ensures you get in an elevator that can take you to the floor you need to go to. Most of the time on the Wish I gave up and just took the stairs (but I recognize that's not an option for everyone).

 

[Cfabar1]

Maybe they could open up itineraries earlier like how other cruise lines do!

 

[holula]

Maybe they could open up itineraries earlier like how other cruise lines do!

I think with their current pricing and having to fill more ships, they are going to have to do this. Last itinerary drop we got what would have been two drops normally.

 

[brentm77]

Maybe they could open up itineraries earlier like how other cruise lines do!

Me too - and allow excursion booking as soon as you book your cruise (or as they are added as time goes by). The midnight rush for anything is ridiculous and outdated in 2025. I know those who tend to book late would lose out, but it somehow works out on other lines and would encourage early booking, which is better for DCL. Hold some spots back for high CC or concierge if they need to keep the high rollers happy.

 

[RedHead0186]

Me too - and allow excursion booking as soon as you book your cruise (or as they are added as time goes by). The midnight rush for anything is ridiculous and outdated in 2025. I know those who tend to book late would lose out, but it somehow works out on other lines and would encourage early booking, which is better for DCL. Hold some spots back for high CC or concierge if they need to keep the high rollers happy.

One other thing some other cruise lines do is charge for excursions when you book them (which you can get refunded if you cancel within the window). While I'm not saying that's a perfect solution, I do think it keeps people from just booking up a bunch of stuff to hold it and then cancelling later-it makes you think twice about what you realllllly want to book.

 

[mcd2745]

On the topic of excursions...a change they should make is allowing guest reviews on their site (as other lines do). Would really help with planning/picking excursions.

 

[Mommb]

I would appreciate if the "possible" excursions lists for each port on the website were updated more frequently so they were a better match for the excursions actually offered. This may be more of an issue for the less frequently visited ports, such as those in northern and western Europe, but it's frustrating to read about excursions that sound great only to find that they are not available for my cruise.

It doesn't bother me that excursions can't be booked until closer to sailing. For most excursions, it's not necessary to book at the stroke of midnight ET. I'd rather make the choice to stay up to book something I really want a few months in advance than have to decide on my cruise over a year in advance to be able to book a desirable excursion.

It appears that many, if not most, of the cruise lines that allow earlier excursion booking also have non-refundable deposits (unless you pay an additional fee, in some case). I appreciate that Disney Cruise allows cancellations of non-Concierge booking with no penalty until the final payment date. That allows flexibility if school or work schedules change or if other situations arise.

 

[lilbon]

Love these! The overall change they need to make is they need to stop shutting the ship down entirely once the entertainment for the lounge ends 11-15pm. Give us stuff to do after that other than silent disco- which no one does.

Leave the adult pools open (until 1 or 2am, IMO), like you said. Have a trivia session in the pub that starts at 11:30pm. Show a movie on Funnelvision at midnight and leave the ice cream station open until it's over. Do mixology and/or other tastings that start 11:30 or midnight. None of these things require large number of cast members to still be working in order to facilitate these things.

Adding on for DCL to extend some of the provided entertainment to more than 30 -45 minutes at a clip. On the Treasure, the Dublooners (add any musicians here) would be scheduled for 30 - 45 minutes, the bar would be packed and then empty as soon as they stopped because you had to move on to something else. It would be nice to have music play for a bit, or something else start. I feel like I am chasing the next thing.

 

[lilbon]

On the topic of excursions...a change they should make is allowing guest reviews on their site (as other lines do). Would really help with planning/picking excursions.

Good idea!

 

[holula]

One other thing some other cruise lines do is charge for excursions when you book them (which you can get refunded if you cancel within the window). While I'm not saying that's a perfect solution, I do think it keeps people from just booking up a bunch of stuff to hold it and then cancelling later-it makes you think twice about what you realllllly want to book.

I wouldn’t want them to do this as everything onboard is in dollars so anyone outside the US would be subject to an exchange rate conversion and likely lose money if you had to pay upfront and ended up cancelling. Since they will have a ship in Singapore full time, do an Australian season, and are pushing DCL in the UK, all of those people would be subject to the exchange rate problem unless DCL upgraded their website to charge anything pre booked in local currency.

 

[Disturbia]

How about sending personal navigators before your port adventure booking date so you can make decisions on if you can skip a show and book spa/BBB that day vs trying to figure out itineraries and daily schedules online

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/category/cruise-planning/personal-navigators/

 

[RedHead0186]

I wouldn’t want them to do this as everything onboard is in dollars so anyone outside the US would be subject to an exchange rate conversion and likely lose money if you had to pay upfront and ended up cancelling. Since they will have a ship in Singapore full time, do an Australian season, and are pushing DCL in the UK, all of those people would be subject to the exchange rate problem unless DCL upgraded their website to charge anything pre booked in local currency.

That's an interesting point. I do know other cruise lines do this (Princess comes to mind) so I'd be curious how they do it.

 

[RedHead0186]

How about sending personal navigators before your port adventure booking date so you can make decisions on if you can skip a show and book spa/BBB that day vs trying to figure out itineraries and daily schedules online

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/category/cruise-planning/personal-navigators/

You can contact DCL and get the show/theme nights ahead of time. I'm not sure they've finalized all onboard activities far enough out to be able to send the full navigators out before activity booking windows open.

 

[holula]

That's an interesting point. I do know other cruise lines do this (Princess comes to mind) so I'd be curious how they do it.

I’ve booked both NCL and Royal from the UK and they both show the amount payable in GBP when you prebook anything.