Why is DCL worth the extra cost?

[GVG]

This was the first cruise right out of dry dock. The ship was clearly not ready to sail. Departure was delayed two hours because the main water line had a leak and they could not get water onto the ship. That was the first clue that something was wrong, it only spiraled down from there. Adding to the mechanical issues were two medical emergencies with one resulting in a death, that were both mistakenly broadcast to the entire ship and the tone of the entire cruise was just one of lets get through it and get home.

 

[xlxo]

The Ruby Princess had a similar problem a few weeks ago post-dry dock....

• my cabin would not flush for 3 hrs. Some cabins had no toilets for a 4 day cruise.
• There was an internet outage for 18 hours. Painful when some purchased large data packages.... Some pay as you go customers could not log off!
• some cabin sofa's were not assembled properly or missing.

But the price was so affordable compared to DCL.

 

[Shanti]

I never said they were cleaner, I said they were comparable. And we were on Magic in May and there was rust everywhere, the pool deck had the same trash on the floor all week (they never swept it up), the ceiling in our cabin leaked and the carpet was soaked and musty, two of the drawers in the dresser were broken, and you could have read a newspaper through the fabric on the couch it ws so warn. I guess I just leave my rose colored glasses home when I cruise.

I just disembarked from the Magic yesterday and the carpets were clean and the stateroom was well-maintained with nothing broken or out of order (and I stayed in a standard inside stateroom). The public areas were clean, certainly not with trash lying around- crew members were continually cleaning public areas. I didn't notice any rust on this beautiful, clean ship.

 

[Shanti]

The one constant is that on every one of our Disney cruises when they call for a show of hands at the welcome back party (remember when that was open to all repeat cruisers) almost all of the hands go down before they get to 10, and rarely do they ever get past 20. When we go to the welcome back parties on RCL, most of the hands don't go down until they get into the 800-900 cruise nights range. On our last cruise, the last hand went down at more than 2,500 nights.

I think that has more to do with cost than with quality. Few people could afford to cruise DCL that much, even if they wanted to. Also, the demographic of people who spend all of their free time cruising is usually not the primary Disney demographic (busy families with children), so they are less likely to consider Disney in the first place.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

I think that has more to do with cost than with quality. Few people could afford to cruise DCL that much, even if they wanted to. Also, the demographic of people who spend all of their free time cruising is usually not the primary Disney demographic (busy families with children), so they are less likely to consider Disney in the first place.

So what you're saying is that people who enjoy cruising and have sufficient disposable income to cruise frequently tend to choose to cruise on other lines than Disney. I certainly can't argue with that - it's what I've been saying from the start of this thread.

 

[jahber]

Now, Carnival Breeze will come here to Texas next summer. The waterpark looks awesome. Very tempting. But it's hard to get away from Disney, even with the value of other cruise lines. But my kiddos are less into characters than they were when they were younger, so I definitely want to pursue other options. Plus the Disney Pricetag $$$$$ YIKES, its really hard to justify

My kids loved the Breeze (and so did I). We sailed her a week after disembarking the Wonder and after a couple of days my daughter (10 at the time) confessed that she hadn't really thought the ship would be anywhere near as fun as the Wonder. But she admitted that she was wrong! My 7 and 10yos loved loved LOVED the water park. And the ropes course and mini golf and sports and yes--even the clubs. They also enjoyed having a buffet available most of the day and night. My husband loved the night life (he people watches in the casino and goes to the adult shows--he's a died in the wool extrovert). I loved how clean the ship was and how friendly all the crew were. I had a 6mo and every time I went to the buffet with the little one, a crew member offered to carry my tray or grab a table or high chair for me. And all day (and all night) long, there were people cleaning the ship, even spot-scrubbing the carpet and wiping down the undersides of the stairs.
Oh, and did I mention the FRESH, handmade hamburgers at Guy's on the pool deck? I'll never eat another frozen hockey puck hamburger on a cruise ship if I can help it

 

[Shanti]

So what you're saying is that people who enjoy cruising and have sufficient disposable income to cruise frequently tend to choose to cruise on other lines than Disney. I certainly can't argue with that - it's what I've been saying from the start of this thread.

No. I said that cost and quality are being confused in this debate. I wasn't saying that many of the people who cruise as their main vacation choice are usually upper income- some are, most aren't. Most of them want to cruise a lot, but can't afford to cruise that much on DCL, so they defensively deride the line.

That's not to say that DCL's prices aren't too high & a significant drawback to the line- that is a major problem in my opinion- it's overpriced. But I don't like seeing untruths spread ("the ships are filthy", etc.) when the primary issue is that the line is good yet overpriced.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My kids loved the Breeze (and so did I). We sailed her a week after disembarking the Wonder and after a couple of days my daughter (10 at the time) confessed that she hadn't really thought the ship would be anywhere near as fun as the Wonder. But she admitted that she was wrong! My 7 and 10yos loved loved LOVED the water park. And the ropes course and mini golf and sports and yes--even the clubs. They also enjoyed having a buffet available most of the day and night. My husband loved the night life (he people watches in the casino and goes to the adult shows--he's a died in the wool extrovert). I loved how clean the ship was and how friendly all the crew were. I had a 6mo and every time I went to the buffet with the little one, a crew member offered to carry my tray or grab a table or high chair for me. And all day (and all night) long, there were people cleaning the ship, even spot-scrubbing the carpet and wiping down the undersides of the stairs.
Oh, and did I mention the FRESH, handmade hamburgers at Guy's on the pool deck? I'll never eat another frozen hockey puck hamburger on a cruise ship if I can help it

Thank you for the comments about the Breeze, we will be sailing the new Vista in June and I can hardly wait to try Guy's, a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana and the pasta bar at lunch. The adult only and Havana areas look amazing too!

 

[cgolf]

No. I said that cost and quality are being confused in this debate. I wasn't saying that many of the people who cruise as their main vacation choice are usually upper income- some are, most aren't. Most of them want to cruise a lot, but can't afford to cruise that much on DCL, so they defensively deride the line.

That's not to say that DCL's prices aren't too high & a significant drawback to the line- that is a major problem in my opinion- it's overpriced. But I don't like seeing untruths spread ("the ships are filthy", etc.) when the primary issue is that the line is good yet overpriced.

There are people saying that about DCL? That really surprises me. I have noticed now that many threads tend to work a jab in about DCLs prices, but haven't seen this.

To your first paragraph we want to cruise yearly which is why we will be mixing in other lines and using DCL for cruises like the Panama Canal.

 

[Shanti]

There are people saying that about DCL? That really surprises me. I have noticed now that many threads tend to work a jab in about DCLs prices, but haven't seen this.

To your first paragraph we want to cruise yearly which is why we will be mixing in other lines and using DCL for cruises like the Panama Canal.

Yes, I was responding to someone who made that exact claim. That poster said the Magic was very rusty and had trash strewn about the pool deck for days without being cleaned, which was nonsense. I was just on the Magic a few days ago and it was in great shape and constantly being cleaned. Read the post I originally quoted and you will see those statements.

 

[cgolf]

Yes, I was responding to someone who made that exact claim. The poster said the Magic was very rusty and had trash strewn about the pool deck for days without being cleaned, which was nonsense. I was just on the Magic a few days ago and it was great shape and constantly being cleaned.

That sucks, but I remember stuff like that when the Magic came out of dry dock too. Sometimes people forget that the ships are older and wear and tear happens, I know I look worse than I did 20 years ago

We do have fun now on cruises, joking about small blemishes that people would complain about on here lol. Plus the Magic is our home away from home, nobody can dis her, so thanks for standing up for her