Wonderful Panama Canal Sept 2014

[kayaker35]

Well, doesn't do me any good....a dummy cruise isn't going to help me and if they don't have the later ones released!
Any cruise I booked would have to be done by May 2015, according to their new rules! Those are all released, (except May) I don't plan on cruising then anyway. No more wonderful deals for me.

I have my cruise in January, but that doesn't help much!!
Doesn't DCL understand WHY people book dummys? Because they don't have the cruises laid out soon enough! I'm an uberplanner!

I really don't understand the change. We booked a dummy when we were on the Wonder in Alaska in August. We get an extra 6 months, since we had already booked the dummy. We won't have a problem booking another cruise before November 30, 2015, but in the future it may be a problem with the 18-month limit. We'll probably still book a dummy on the PC cruise, but if we can't find another one in the 18-month window, we'll simply cancel and go Princess, rather than lose the benefits and pay the full freight on DCL.

Why would Disney do this? They have use of the "free money" of the deposits made for the future cruises. They charge a premium for their cruises to begin with. Wouldn't they even consider the fact that people will look elsewhere.... at least people like my husband and me.... who don't have children, but enjoy the atmosphere on DCL. We also thoroughly enjoy cruising on Princess, so wouldn't shed any tears if we were forced to cancel our dummy cruise because we couldn't book within the shortened DCL window.

To say I'm disappointed in DCL is putting it mildly

 

[dsnydaddy]

I really don't understand the change. We booked a dummy when we were on the Wonder in Alaska in August. We get an extra 6 months, since we had already booked the dummy. We won't have a problem booking another cruise before November 30, 2015, but in the future it may be a problem with the 18-month limit. We'll probably still book a dummy on the PC cruise, but if we can't find another one in the 18-month window, we'll simply cancel and go Princess, rather than lose the benefits and pay the full freight on DCL. Why would Disney do this? They have use of the "free money" of the deposits made for the future cruises. They charge a premium for their cruises to begin with. Wouldn't they even consider the fact that people will look elsewhere.... at least people like my husband and me.... who don't have children, but enjoy the atmosphere on DCL. We also thoroughly enjoy cruising on Princess, so wouldn't shed any tears if we were forced to cancel our dummy cruise because we couldn't book within the shortened DCL window. To say I'm disappointed in DCL is putting it mildly

I'm with you on the disappointment. When I realized that they're not even publishing their cruises out much more than 18 mos in advance, I decided it's time. Out late Oct cruise on the Fantasy will probably be our last. Not just because of my disappointment but because they've taken away my incentive to pocket my dummies. (Which I always seem to use). Now I'll not have that tie to keep me on the DCL reservation.

 

[mmbl]

Well, doesn't do me any good....a dummy cruise isn't going to help me and if they don't have the later ones released! Any cruise I booked would have to be done by May 2015, according to their new rules! Those are all released, (except May) I don't plan on cruising then anyway. No more wonderful deals for me. I have my cruise in January, but that doesn't help much!! Doesn't DCL understand WHY people book dummys? Because they don't have the cruises laid out soon enough! I'm an uberplanner!

What are their new rules? Disney Execs must have been bored this past year looking at all the changes to rules/regs/ policies in the parks, cruises, etc.

 

[mmbl]

Never mind- saw the new policy. DCL should just do 'future cruise' bookings like RCCL, & Celebrity, with no end date; Carnival has a 48 mo policy on theirs. We put the deposits down on all. RCCL/ Celebrity also gives you a certificate for the OBC for 2 additional cabins if they travel with you. Our travel agent- who I transfer the cruise to after I book what I want online- gives 8% of base cruise fare back to us in form of OBC , or since DCL won't let them, a VISA gift card. Message me if you want their info.

 

[kdeans1010]

Is it bad that none of those places sound great? I've been to Grand Cayman. I'm okay going once. I dunno'. I may book onboard but.... I dunno'.... I wouldn't mind going to like Europe if it was cheap on Disney.

Christmas: I've started crafting for it.

 

[davidls]

I'm with you on the disappointment. When I realized that they're not even publishing their cruises out much more than 18 mos in advance, I decided it's time. Out late Oct cruise on the Fantasy will probably be our last. Not just because of my disappointment but because they've taken away my incentive to pocket my dummies. (Which I always seem to use). Now I'll not have that tie to keep me on the DCL reservation.

Donna and I are as sad and disappointed as everyone on here. We too will book another Disney Cruise on board our Panama Canal cruise, but that will probably be our last one as well. We can't understand Disney's thinking on this policy. As I mentioned before I believe this will hurt their business.

While on board the Oasis last month we booked another cruise with Royal Caribbean. Like Karen stated it is an open booking, good for................ever I guess. We didn't know when we wanted to go next or on what ship with Royal Caribbean, but we knew we wanted to sail with them again. We put down $200.00 to hold this open booking, which gave us a guaranteed reservation for whenever we decided to sail again. All we have to do, since we use a travel agent, is contact her and let her know when we want to go and on what ship, give her the reservation number Royal Caribbean gave us, and we are all set. Why, oh why, doesn't Disney do a similar policy. From what Karen said, I guess the other cruise lines do. Disney needs to rethink this completely thru. Not a good business policy.

 

[kerstfan1]

Yep count me in with those that will look elsewere toe a next cruise i was looping at rci and they are pretty cheap

 

[davidls]

Yep count me in with those that will look elsewere toe a next cruise i was looping at rci and they are pretty cheap

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas last month and had a great time. We have an open booking to go again, whenever we can decide when and on what ship we want to sail. I think you would like Royal Caribbean kerstfan1.

 

[kerstfan1]

Ty David

 

[Va-NanaTink]

It's really sad.

The Panama Canal cruise was my last dummy, I have no dummys in line, so if I were to book one on our cruise (in 3 weeks), it wouldn't be a dummy for me since they have all the cruises already laid out. There is nothing there I want. I am looking at possibly Alaska, possibly Hawaii if they ever do that again, or a southern.
None of those are there for the next 18 months. So, I don't book a cruise. Simple as that. It won't do me any good. I'm kind of burnt out on Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises and don't even get me started on Bahamas. So what is my incentive to come back? I'm going to write to DCL, not that I think it will make a difference, but to let them know they are really messing with their repeat customers. I do like shipboard life, but I like to see new things as well. Whatever happened to having 2 years on line?
I will say I have also seen several people posting on FB in favor of the change. They seem to think it will lead to lower cost cruises.

uberplanner...meaning above the norm...I like to have our vacations planned out for about two years out so that I know where and what I need to do to get to them......I'll be booking our Dec 2014 trip in January......but I know what is going where. DCL is screwing with my system!


(I already have a TA, thanks! )

 

[kayaker35]

Having had a night to mull all of this over, I've been able to get my emotions back in check, lol. DCL is a corporation, and they will do what is in their best interest. I'm an individual consumer, and will do what's in my best interest. I'll probably do OBB on the PC cruise, and if I don't find a cruise I want in the 18-month window, I'll just cancel it. DCL seems to be saying they would prefer that to extending the time for me to choose an itinerary and date that would be convenient for me.

After cancelling my DCL booking, I can then use one of my Princess Future Cruise Deposits and find a cruise that will give me a longer itinerary at a lower price than DCL, even considering DCL's 10% discount. It's a win for me, a win for Princess, and a loss for DCL. Granted, Princess doesn't have DCL's pixie dust, but overall Princess is, for us, a Perfect 10. Given that we have so many choices of where to spend our cruise dollars, it doesn't make sense for DCL to do something that pulls the rug out from their customers' feet.

It would have made far more sense to institute a program of purchasing a deposit credit, rather than a specific cruise date. If, as has been suggested, the shedding of all those dummy bookings that eventually get changed, the price of the cruises can be reduced, they could even eliminate the 10% discount when booking onboard. That would bring their prices a bit more in line with other cruise lines.

We don't have young children, but were hoping to take another Disney cruise in the fall of 2015 with our children and grandchildren. We will probably be able to agree on a date prior to November 30, using our existing dummy cruise purchased on our Alaska cruise in August, but if we were forced to go by the new guidelines we would need to choose a date prior to May 2015, which wouldn't work out, and we would end up cancelling altogether.

I would like to know what the thinking was behind this move. If it was simply to get rid of the burden of having people book dummy cruises, then the sensible solution would have been the deposit credits. That DCL chose to simply tighten the booking window for using the OBBs, there had to be some other consideration. Whatever it was, they've managed to stir up a hornet's nest, and will throw people like me right into the arms of other cruise lines. It's customer loyalty programs that encourage.......... wait for it..... CUSTOMER LOYALTY! When you start pulling back on the perks, then you have to take whatever consequences ensue.

Given the length of this post, I guess my emotions aren't entirely back in check!

Off to write a letter to the complaint department while I'm still sufficiently irritated to do it, lol

Karen

 

[kdeans1010]

My whole vibe on the change this is:
I love the Fantasy. Gorgeous ship. But I don't want to go basically to the same ports. A cruise to nowhere would be awesome, but we're kinda' doing that with the Canal. And I don't have a strong urge to go to Jamaica, never have... in fact that country kinda' freaks me out (the weed thing. I know I live in Washington, but the idea of going to a country where weed is such a part of the culture... and being a white girl tourist...). So right now their current selection, nothing sounds appealing. Not booking anything and I'm not angry or upset about it. I figure I booked 3 great Disney cruise vacations. Growing up I begged my folks to take us on one but my folks were very "let's go on educational trips!" So the idea that I got to do one, then two, and now a third... Yay! I cried when I walked into our room last cruise and got Castaway Club stuff.

Moving on: lost just shy of 15lbs since the gut issue. Wondering how my fancy clothes are going to fit now... and I'm too cheap to buy new ones (why wear a dress once?!), yay for a tailor!

 

[dsnydaddy]

I'm going on the fantasy for the ship not the destinations but I'm with you, been there done that and there's not much to bring me back. After 2015 we'll be exploring new and different vacations.

 

[kayaker35]

I'm going on the fantasy for the ship not the destinations but I'm with you, been there done that and there's not much to bring me back. After 2015 we'll be exploring new and different vacations.

That's why we go, too. In fact, I doubt we'll get off in any of he Ports on this cruise. If we stopped at Castaway Cay we would probably get off there, but the Mexican ports and Cartagena don't interest me in the least. We'll take advantage of a less crowded ship on port days

Princess has much more varied itineraries than Disney, so given the higher prices and the squeeze on the OBB program, we'll be taking more Princess cruises after we use our current OBB sometime before November 30 2015.

 

[Va-NanaTink]

That's why we go, too. In fact, I doubt we'll get off in any of he Ports on this cruise. If we stopped at Castaway Cay we would probably get off there, but the Mexican ports and Cartagena don't interest me in the least. We'll take advantage of a less crowded ship on port days

Princess has much more varied itineraries than Disney, so given the higher prices and the squeeze on the OBB program, we'll be taking more Princess cruises after we use our current OBB sometime before November 30 2015.

Cartagena is beautiful, but I agree about the Mexican ports, been there done that. I agree, a cruise to nowhere is great. Just wish I had a dummy to get to 2015 in case, but this was my last dummy and I haven't been on a cruise since I booked this. So I don't know if we will cruise with Disney again or not. Only time will tell.

 

[kayaker35]

Cartagena is beautiful, but I agree about the Mexican ports, been there done that. I agree, a cruise to nowhere is great. Just wish I had a dummy to get to 2015 in case, but this was my last dummy and I haven't been on a cruise since I booked this. So I don't know if we will cruise with Disney again or not. Only time will tell.

When I hear Colombia, all I can think of is drug traffickers. It may be beautiful, but I just don't want to take the chance of getting caught in the crossfire! I may be off-base, but I've heard both sides.... people who feel "very safe" there with the strong police and military presence in tourist areas, and others who say the opposite, with a poor, and sometimes desperate, population. No point making myself a target as a "rich" American. I can't think of anything I would be looking for there, so might as well stay on the ship and enjoy the relative peace and quiet while eating lots of soft-serve

Maybe my age is showing. I'm in preservation mode, lol.

 

[kdeans1010]

When I hear Colombia, all I can think of is drug traffickers. It may be beautiful, but I just don't want to take the chance of getting caught in the crossfire! I may be off-base, but I've heard both sides.... people who feel "very safe" there with the strong police and military presence in tourist areas, and others who say the opposite, with a poor, and sometimes desperate, population. No point making myself a target as a "rich" American. I can't think of anything I would be looking for there, so might as well stay on the ship and enjoy the relative peace and quiet while eating lots of soft-serve

Maybe my age is showing. I'm in preservation mode, lol.

That's what I felt when I first saw Cartegena as a port. But I've heard it's magical. There's a monastery I want to see. Looking at the ports for this cruise I'm going to a monastery in Colombia and a temple in Cozumel. Yeah... and the church of Disney.

 

[kayaker35]

That's what I felt when I first saw Cartegena as a port. But I've heard it's magical. There's a monastery I want to see. Looking at the ports for this cruise I'm going to a monastery in Colombia and a temple in Cozumel. Yeah... and the church of Disney.

On our first cruise, over 30 years ago, we went to some Mayan ruins when we visited Cozumel. They were neat, but we got really tired of the people aggressively hawking their wares (mostly carved birds) wherever tour buses went. It was annoying. I'm all for buying local crafts, but I don't like things being pushed into my face. And I'm not all that sure where those carved birds originated, since we were "offered" the same buying opportunity, for what looked to be identical birds, when we docked in Jamaica. I like browsing for things to purchase.... not the aggressive sales pitch.

If you can bypass the clamoring salesmen, I'm sure whatever you do in port will be more pleasant!

 

[davidls]

I'm going on the fantasy for the ship not the destinations but I'm with you, been there done that and there's not much to bring me back. After 2015 we'll be exploring new and different vacations.

We enjoy the ships like all of you guys. And Disney's newest ships the Dream and the Fantasy are beautiful. When we did our B2B on the Dream the only port we got off on was Castaway Cay. We love their island.

That's why we go, too. In fact, I doubt we'll get off in any of he Ports on this cruise. If we stopped at Castaway Cay we would probably get off there, but the Mexican ports and Cartagena don't interest me in the least. We'll take advantage of a less crowded ship on port days

Princess has much more varied itineraries than Disney, so given the higher prices and the squeeze on the OBB program, we'll be taking more Princess cruises after we use our current OBB sometime before November 30 2015.

Since we have already sailed on Royal Caribbean's Oasis, we are going to look into more of their cruises.

Cartagena is beautiful, but I agree about the Mexican ports, been there done that. I agree, a cruise to nowhere is great. Just wish I had a dummy to get to 2015 in case, but this was my last dummy and I haven't been on a cruise since I booked this. So I don't know if we will cruise with Disney again or not. Only time will tell.

I have never been to Mexico, Donna has for business reasons several years ago. So we may get off in the ports there just to say been there and done that like you guys. But we are interested in seeing Cartagena.

This is our last dummy cruise too Stephanie. We will probable sail Disney again. Like Steve, I'm going to book a cruise while on board the Wonder on our Panama Canal cruise for 2015. But that may be it, not sure.

I've seen where others on here have commented how Disney's pricing for basically the same cruise from this year to next year is somewhere around 35% higher. This was around spring break time of year, but still 35% higher??What in the world can Disney be thinking???

 

[dsnydaddy]

I've been thinking about that David. And I'd take the quotes with a grain of salt. It seemed to me that everyone and their dog wanted the same 3 or 4 weeks. If that's true they may have tiered up those cruises. From what I have looked at myself Disney started their low season pricing at the same level that they were at the end of 2014. And those cruises were not unflated too much. In fact one person stated that they got a deal that was better than a similar week last year.