Would love a long sailing on the Dream class. Fantasy has only been doing short cruises since the Treasure came on, so one of the Dream/Fantasy needs to do 7 nighters. To me, it's the best class. Bigger than the classics and not an IP in your face at every corner.
Disney is still getting a lot of first and second time cruisers on the shorter Port Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale cruises. They might eventually run out of new customers, but they seem to be doing strong.
I think Disney is unique in that they aren't particularly worried about the middle of the road users. They know Pearls will come year after year with the same itineraries (they already have), and they'll continue to get new sailors year after year as people have kids. They've staked their money on people who don't know any better or care, and those who are mildly annoyed but keep coming anyway. It's not worth the logistic or financial cost to chase every person, especially when there are still major new markets to unlock in Asia and the Middle East.
for those with kids the DCL experience cannot be beat.
It's impossible to say how many potential platinum or pearl cruisers they have lost due to stale itineraries. I'm pearl and we became pearl by sailing every itinerary they have offered. I would not have become pearl doing the same thing over and over. If I started sailing now on DCL I doubt we would even reach platinum. One is cost and two I would want more options.
I'm Pearl but I'm not looking for different itineraries. I just want to leave out of FL (or have them come back north to NY...or even better Boston), and be on the Dream or Fantasy. I have no interest in Europe or Alaska. I just want to be in a warm climate and to be on the ships I love. What is pushing me away is not the same old itineraries but the new ships doing the old itineraries I want. If I had the option to do a 7 night or B2B 3/4 on the Dream this summer I would. Instead I'm doing 5 nights on the Magic and then a 3 night on RCCL.
I’m always curious- what time do you think would be best for this? For many reasons 6 AM or 7 AM is actually worse for many people, especially people on the West Coast. As a parent, I always hated that early morning time start for WDW dining reservations, and fast passes because it was always when I was juggling kids and getting them ready for school. I don’t think there really is a perfect time. And no matter what time you set it as people are going to still want those early port arrival times and the competition is still going to be tough.
I’ve also very rarely seen open boarding happen more than 90 mins after boarding starts and I kind of wonder if the stress is worth the potential extra 90 minutes on the ship for a large group, but that’s just me. I like getting more time on the ship too, but at a certain point that cost benefit analysis has to be weighed.
I may go back to DCL next year if they offer the 10 night New Zealand cruise again. I wish I could do it this year. I would love to see them have at least one cruise to South America over the Christmas break. I really think that would be a big seller. I'm not sure the logistics of positioning in South America, but I would be shocked if it didn't sell out. They have enough ships now they don't need to have them all in the same place. Two ships in Alaska doing the same thing is also a head scratcher.This is a good point I never thought of, as I am actually the opposite.
What's nice about DCL's cruise is that it starts in New Zealand and ends in Sydney. More port days and less sea days then the round trips from Sydney. I looked at Celebrity, but the one-ways did not fall over the college Winter break.
