Will dcl start offering more 7 night cruises now that they’ve had to put their 3/4 night cruises on sale?

DCL sets its schedules over a year ahead of time. It's not like they can just change a ship from 3/4 to 7 night sailings without significant disruptions. Perhaps when the next itinerary release happens we might see a change but remember that there will also be new ships to figure into the mix.
 

I think it’s going to be super interesting to see how much they need to discount the dream this winter to get it to fill. 3/4 nights out of Ft. Lauderdale this January and February, with no theme days (like Marvel), and the destiny sailing out of the same port… I absolutely could be wrong, but I think they’re really going to regret those choices.
 
I hope they do change it up more in their next itinerary release. Even if their idea of changing it up is the occasional 7 night out of Port Everglades.
To me a seven night on the dream or fantasy out of Fort Lauderdale makes the most sense. It’s not cannibalizing any of the audience that might want to do short sailing and the parks, but is giving people who want to sail 7 nights from FL on a non Wish class ship the option.
 
To me a seven night on the dream or fantasy out of Fort Lauderdale makes the most sense. It’s not cannibalizing any of the audience that might want to do short sailing and the parks, but is giving people who want to sail 7 nights from FL on a non Wish class ship the option.
That would be great. I am also wondering if they will do 7 nights out of Galveston when they put a ship there year round. Then they could also do some better ports from Galveston.
 
To me a seven night on the dream or fantasy out of Fort Lauderdale makes the most sense. It’s not cannibalizing any of the audience that might want to do short sailing and the parks, but is giving people who want to sail 7 nights from FL on a non Wish class ship the option.
I agree and even if they did one every couple of months I think it would be really popular. I’d love to see an Eastern with different ports eg San Juan/St Maarten.
 
I feel like Disney is at a crossroads here. The Treasure has a lot of sparked interest these days due to it being new and how plussed up it is over the Wish and other ships. However
This can only last so long as Disney has a market that really likes / prefers the older ships. The price point of the Treasure is also high and giving an option for an older ship with a 7 day itinerary at a lower price point I think would help the overall market.
But what I really think is hurting Disney right now with the 3 and 4 night is two factors. #1 they have too many ships in Florida doing the same 3 and 4 night itineraries. #2 is the new Universal Epic Park. I haven’t been yet and most likely wont go for awhile but the reviews so far is it’s EPIC ( no pun intended) and I am positive that people who would normally do a Disney World trip and then do a 3 or 4 night cruise either before or after are looking at how high those are priced vs going to this brand new Universal Epic Park and are making the choice to do that. I think when you factor that in plus the fact that Disney World will be getting new lands at 3 of their 4 parks in the next few years the current 3 and 4 night cruises will be even harder to sell at a higher price point.
I feel like the word is out now - why book a 3 or 4 night cruise way in advance if you are already planning to come to central Florida at a specific knowing that if you wait to plan the cruise portion of that 2 to 3 months in advance the price point will be considerably lower.
I think the only way to counter this is to give more options for different cruise lengths across all ships ( except the Treasure as that is the current 7 night ) and come up with 7 plus night at different ports than what they do now.
 
The Magic 10 night southern caribbean sailing has had Military and FL resident rates at $263/nt. Opening day price was $366/nt. I’m not sure that long summer cruises are the answer either. There is still a SPH room for almost $9K. That is $450/nt. I won’t pay that for the Wish or Treasure and I’m sure not paying that for an inside deluxe on the Magic (although the OGs are my fav). Their pricing is very out of line. RCCL has better amenities and has to be cheaper. My DCL 10 night to Hawaii in September was just lowered in price right before PIF date. We saved over $1K in my SPH room. DH and I are paying $169/nt per person for the cruise. Pretty good for transportation, food, entertainment and lodging. But DCL can’t get a full ship to Hawaii which is a supposed sought after destination by DCL cruisers.
 

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