What Is One Thing You Would Change About DCL?

[dreamer17555]

Inspired by the DVC thread...

What is the one thing you would change about DCL? Just one.

Super curious to hear what everyone would like to change if they could only change one thing.

 

[wonderland.kimmi]

Definitely the Treasure having 4-night sailings LOL. I would love to sail on that ship, but the longer sailings have been out of my budget thus far !

 

[dreamer17555]

Definitely the Treasure having 4-night sailings LOL. I would love to sail on that ship, but the longer sailings have been out of my budget thus far !

Funnily enough mine is basically the opposite.

I wish DCL would have either the Dream or Fantasy offering 7 night sailings from FL. I think having the Wish, Destiny, Fantasy, and Dream all set to do 5 nights or less this winter from FL is insanity.

I know a lot of DCL cruisers who prefer the classic ships to the Wish class and love 7 night sailings (or longer)

 

[AquaDame]

Just one hmm... and ALL of DCL which knocks out a lot of the smaller stuff.

I guess I would like them to confirm "requests" before boarding. Did I get early or late dining? Private table OK'd? Even morning of I'd love a message in the app confirming so I didn't have to go stand in a line to see if my requests were met or not. It makes boarding a real PITA and delays enjoyment of our cruise. Just once I'd like a nice leisurely embarkation where we get to just arrive when we arrive, go to lunch, and swim! With the way things are I'm on edge until 2pm or later....

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

This is super specific to my family, but I would love to have people on board trained to be with autistic and other people with special needs. Either in the kids clubs or in room sitting. I think RCCL does this. Autism on the Seas has partnered with DCL on occasion but never does cruises we can make. My kiddo only gets to go into the kids clubs during open house because he can’t go alone.

Respite is super rare and highly valued for us. We usually trade off alone time which is nice, but doing anything as a couple is impossible. We’re finally getting to go to Palo for the first time in a few weeks because we’re bringing the grandparents, but that doesn’t happen often.

 

[dreamer17555]

Just one hmm... and ALL of DCL which knocks out a lot of the smaller stuff.

I guess I would like them to confirm "requests" before boarding. Did I get early or late dining? Private table OK'd? Even morning of I'd love a message in the app confirming so I didn't have to go stand in a line to see if my requests were met or not. It makes boarding a real PITA and delays enjoyment of our cruise. Just once I'd like a nice leisurely embarkation where we get to just arrive when we arrive, go to lunch, and swim! With the way things are I'm on edge until 2pm or later....

The private table one they will send a text if you are not granted it (around 2pm like you mentioned) but if you are on the waitlist for Early dining can’t you tell if it was granted the moment you open the app and connect to the ships WiFi at port and check your schedule?

 

[dreamer17555]

This is super specific to my family, but I would love to have people on board trained to be with autistic and other people with special needs. Either in the kids clubs or in room sitting. I think RCCL does this. Autism on the Seas has partnered with DCL on occasion never does cruises we can make. My kiddo only gets to go into the kids clubs during open house because he can’t go alone.

Respite is super rare and highly valued for us. We usually trade off alone time which is nice, but doing anything as a couple is impossible. We’re finally getting to go to Palo for the first time in a few weeks because we’re bringing the grandparents, but that doesn’t happen often.

I think DCL could make a fortune charging for in room sitters… but the liability is likely far too large.

I have cruised Royal with my autistic son- he had some difficulties with how LOUD the entire ship is. Music blaring everywhere (often different songs coming from different places that you can all hear mixing together). It was very overstimulating for him.

I do hope you and able to enjoy Palo! You deserve a great meal

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

I think DCL could make a fortune charging for in room sitters… but the liability is likely far too large.

I have cruised Royal with my autistic son- he had some difficulties with how LOUD the entire ship is. Music blaring everywhere (often different songs coming from different places that you can all hear mixing together). It was very overstimulating for him.

I do hope you and able to enjoy Palo! You deserve a great meal

Thanks! I am SO excited.

I can see that about the liability. A one to one helper in the kids clubs would work too. I’d pay, Disney take my money!

 

[Uncle Coaster]

Add casinos to their ships.

 

[brentm77]

Just one hmm... and ALL of DCL which knocks out a lot of the smaller stuff.

I guess I would like them to confirm "requests" before boarding. Did I get early or late dining? Private table OK'd? Even morning of I'd love a message in the app confirming so I didn't have to go stand in a line to see if my requests were met or not. It makes boarding a real PITA and delays enjoyment of our cruise. Just once I'd like a nice leisurely embarkation where we get to just arrive when we arrive, go to lunch, and swim! With the way things are I'm on edge until 2pm or later....

This isn't my top one, but it sure would improve cruising DCL. I despise when we book late and I have to try to rush on the ship to get in line quickly so I can try and get early dining. I would rather they just used the waitlist and did the same thing and then just told me whether I got it or not. It changes the whole morning and is ridiculous. They already know who is waitlisted and wants the change. On cruises that we booked far in advanced and my dining time is already confirmed, the embarking process is leisurely and enjoyable.

 

[brentm77]

The private table one they will send a text if you are not granted it (around 2pm like you mentioned) but if you are on the waitlist for Early dining can’t you tell if it was granted the moment you open the app and connect to the ships WiFi at port and check your schedule?

You can tell that you weren't moved from the waitlist. But you still have a shot if you go wait in line and re-request it. I don't understand why that is necessary. Just move people still without making them wait in line. It changes the whole dynamic of boarding and trying to be one of the first people in line. It also seems more "fair" to continue to go down the waitlist on a first-come-first served basis.

Edit: One of the things they do if you wait in line is tell you, "you will have to share a table if we move you," which weeds out a lot of people. But they could easily just make that an option in the waitlist: "Early dining - sharing a table is ok if necessary; or Early dinning - keep late dining if only a shared tabled is available."

 

[brentm77]

I have many. But I think my top one would be better non-MDR options for dinner. It doesn't need to be a buffet. I would take higher-quality pool side food - a decent slice of pizza, a quality burger with better toppings, add a little more variety, even if it rotates each night, and some salads like the classic ships have during the day, and have better hours. That would significantly increase the DCL experience for me and it wouldn't be a huge cost increase or labor increase for the company.

Edit to add: It would also be great if they could cook pizza quickly enough to meet the modest demand during dinner. The last time we were on the Fantasy, it wasn't even crowded and it was hard to get a slice because it would be gone in seconds once they pulled a new pie out of the oven. But the quality is terrible too. I have never understood why Disney can't make the easiest food on the planet to make taste good. It almost takes work to make a bad pizza.

 

[yowcruiser]

Having the ability to select a specific dining rotation in advance and online

 

[SnowWhite2]

Have them enforce the 18+ events/areas.

 

[AquaDame]

The private table one they will send a text if you are not granted it (around 2pm like you mentioned) but if you are on the waitlist for Early dining can’t you tell if it was granted the moment you open the app and connect to the ships WiFi at port and check your schedule?

Interesting... we did NOT get such a text on our last cruise where we were sat with another couple but that was April '23. Maybe this is new?

For early dining I'm not sure; just going off what others on the board have said and what folks in line talk about. We usually book in advance and have always been able to select early dining.

 

[GhostHost24]

More dinner options. Would love if the buffet was open.

When I did my Royal Carribean cruise few months ago, the menus for the main dining didn't look all that great, so we didn't go once. It was nice having so many other options

 

[mamaburrito]

I’m another vote for more dining options. The current offerings are stale and sometimes our family doesn’t want the big production in the dining room. Also, for the dining room staff to not make me feel guilty if we do skip out on dining. It’s not because we don’t like the servers but sometimes the menu or the noise level doesn’t excite us.

 

[CamColt]

While I have 3 others that rate neck and neck with this, since you said only 1, I will stick to that.

Give a 3/4/7 night option on a Dream class ship out of FL. 4 and 5 nights seem too short but to do B2Bs, 9 seems too long. With that said, I am booked on a 5/4 night combo for 2026, but I really feel that will be too long for me. Even this summer I'm booked on a 5 night, followed by a 3 night on RCCL. 5 just wasn't enough.

Edited to add, I should clarify, 4 or 5 nighters are great, I'm not against them, and really they work well for me for school year vacations (I work in a school). But for my summer trip which is usually a much longer trip as I have the time to spare then, I prefer a 7 night cruise.

 

[asunutgirl]

We love the show at Animators Palate and don't mind the Marvel show but the Frozen show on the Wish is too much. We were on the ship in 2023 and it was so loud we couldn't talk. My husband has hearing issues and wears hearing aids. He had to turn them down because the show was so loud and then he couldn't hear any of the conversation. We want dinner to be relaxing and it wasn't.

We are on the Treasure soon and I'm expecting the Coco restaurant to be the same way. I'm not thrilled about it but at least this time we know what to expect going in.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I have not cruised yet, booked my 1st cruise next April.
In my DVC thread someone said they would like DVC direct owners to automatically be given a fast track to Castaway Club status. This is my one thing as of now.