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

[jwalk03]

The PVSA prohibits non-US flagged vessels from transporting passengers between two different US ports without stopping at a distant foreign port.

There may be other rules/restrictions on cruises with no port stops, but I don't believe that's because of the PVSA.

It is because of the PVSA. (And because of an interpretation of the PVSA visa rules for crew members by CBP)

 

[Mommb]

"Cruises to nowhere" from US ports are prohibited because of laws for employment of non-US citizens. If a ship leaves from and returns to the same US port without another stop, it's considered to be in the US and must follow US labor laws. If it stops in a foreign port, it can follow different rules.

This article has quotes from cruise lines and US Customs and Border Patrol that explain the situation:
https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Customs-says-cruises-to-nowhere-were-never-legal

 

[cruisingtheseas]

I would also like to see them alter some sailings.

I know this might be a different take, but I prefer Days at Seas over the ports. Most port days I stay on the boat. I prefer the 7 night cruise because of the opportunity for 2 Days at Sea.

I would be interested in 3-4 night sailing with all Days at Sea or a 5 night sailing with only one port day.

I dont mean this rudely, but then why do you go on a cruise and not to a land resort?

 

[Joanna71985]

I would also like to see them alter some sailings.

I know this might be a different take, but I prefer Days at Seas over the ports. Most port days I stay on the boat. I prefer the 7 night cruise because of the opportunity for 2 Days at Sea.

I would be interested in 3-4 night sailing with all Days at Sea or a 5 night sailing with only one port day.

I know it would never happen, but I would love a cruise of just sea days. I hope to do a TA cruise someday because of all the days at sea

I dont mean this rudely, but then why do you go on a cruise and not to a land resort?

because of the activities onboard the ship

 

[jimmymc]

I can't recall ever seeing that the Wish was designed for shorter cruises (maybe I missed that?).

I don't think it was explicitly stated by Disney. That may have been me summarizing the vloggers and reviews I've read.

 

[dreamer17555]

I can't recall ever seeing that the Wish was designed for shorter cruises (maybe I missed that?).

It is the same set up as the Treasure so the Wish could do longer sailings but it would need a different dinner show (and menu) for Ardendelle's for the second rotation and they would need to put the Groot Remix show into Marvel.

 

[WB1971]

Interesting perspective. I'm one of those DCL vets and am indeed booking the Destiny because it's new. Just like I booked the Treasure, and the Wish before that.

Will I sail on any of them again? Yes. If the cost and itinerary are to my liking. I don't write off any DCL ship when considering my future sailings.

I’m sure we will sail her someday for ship count purposes, as we have the treasure booked for next year. I’d just not do it while the dream was available at the same port for similar cruises is what I should have specified.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We sailed on the Magic from NYC on a 2-nt cruise to nowhere back in 2012. That was the first year DCL sailed from NYC.
Dh and my older son thought it was silly to just go for 2 nts. My younger ds, then 12, were perfectly happy to leave on a Friday in summer, drive 30 mins to the train station, hop a train to NYC, taxi to the port and be on our beloved Disney Magic. It was fun to sail past the Statue of Liberty too.
It also gave me a chance to book another Onboard Booking (before the days of placeholders).
My inner nerd loves the map channel, so of course I had to watch it to see where we'd go. We sailed south to approximately VA Beach and turned back.

It helped to complete our Grand Slam that year.

 

[yowcruiser]

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.

All fair points. Now, I will also add that you have a slowing global economy and a slowdown of inbound travel to the USA. At the price premium they command, DCL may be more sensitive to economic factors. Also, and I have zero data on that, but DCL likely has more global brand appeal than the other cruise lines, so the decreases in non-US travelers may be hurting more. This would be more felt on the ships offering 3/4 nights itineraries only because there is an oversupply vs the 7 nights.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

I dont mean this rudely, but then why do you go on a cruise and not to a land resort?

I look at it this way, when we are on a cruise, I don't have to worry about where we are going to eat, while my wife is pretty open on what she will eat, getting her to make a decision on where to go is like playing who's on first. We don't have that issue while on the ship, she normally goes to one of the MDR's for lunch and I'll either join her or go to Cabanas to eat. I also don't need to worry about what we are going to do for activities/entertainment.

While at a land resort, I have to figure out what we are going to do for the day, where we will stop for lunch/dinner/snacks, etc. Way more decisions then compared to when we are on a cruise.

Psy

 

[Girl of the South]

Days at Sea are sort of unplugged. I love them too. I am doing the WBTA in November. 13 nights and only 3 port stops. Yay!

 

[jwalk03]

It is the same set up as the Treasure so the Wish could do longer sailings but it would need a different dinner show (and menu) for Ardendelle's for the second rotation and they would need to put the Groot Remix show into Marvel.

I would assume that they have a plan to implement this when the Wish has longer trips at some point since its unlikely the Wish will do only 3/4 night cruises forever.

The 2nd show for Arendelle doesn't even necessarily have to be that involved if they don't want it to be. On the Magic the 2nd show for Rapunzel's was not much of anything. Though I hope they have something better up their sleeves- as Animation Magic is an AWESOME show at Animator's Palate. A 2nd show of that caliber would be great instead of an easy way out.

 

[RedHead0186]

It is the same set up as the Treasure so the Wish could do longer sailings but it would need a different dinner show (and menu) for Ardendelle's for the second rotation and they would need to put the Groot Remix show into Marvel.

That makes sense. My point was that I've never actually seen that statement ("the Wish was designed for shorter cruises") made by anyone 'official'

 

[dreamer17555]

That makes sense. My point was that I've never actually seen that statement ("the Wish was designed for shorter cruises") made by anyone 'official'

I agree completely that it could make longer sailings. It would need some changes (an additional dinner show and menu for Arendelle's) but it is completely reasonable that it could make longer sailings. What I think it interesting is the Destiny is already setting up for longer sailings with extra dining experiences planned right away because it has a 7 night this summer.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I doubt it. The spending per passenger is through the roof on the 3/4 day cruises as compared to 7 day. Until that changes, the itineraries won't shift to longer cruises. Basic math, carrying twice as many passengers a week is more profitable even at a lower fare.

Not only is spending per day higher on shorter sailings but there is a much more limited set of guests who can afford 7 night sailings in the first place. Maybe Disney hasn’t quite hit it yet, but I would be surprised if they went to much longer sailings at higher prices in an uncertain economic environment (where we are already seeing pull backs on travel to the U.S.).
I wonder if they would consider New England cruises, perhaps 5 day one way from U.S. to Canada? Would give their fans who don’t want to visit America an option to board in Canada and do a B2B, I think? I am already in America but would love the option to visit new ports and combine with a few days in Boston/NYC instead of Miami.