Future of Disney Cruise Lines

[SakeDad]

:eek:Well, now that I am reminded why I don't want to go back to working on ships......LOL!!!! But I will say DCL was my favorite by far to work on.

 

But, yes, I went through a 2 Day Traditions + 1 day at a park to play. I heard many say they were shocked it was only 2 days as it used to be 4 or 5! :eek: So that would explain the huge difference when you ask a CM a question now whether in the parks or onboard.

 

Sadly the food has gone down throughout the entire industry. I have been a passenger as much as a crew member and can attest that BOTH sides have gone down a lot over the last 10 years on the lines I have been on. I even had the "luxury" of eating in the Officer's Mess and can tell you after a month you aren't impressed by that either (although still 100 x better than the Asian fish head stew over rice for breakfast in the Crew Mess)

 

As for comparing cruises to Vegas....REALLY??? I have lived in Vegas (and worked in the casinos) since 1995. What hurt us most was the fall of the economy NOT the stupid corporate execs who made bad PR decisions! We still have HUGE conventions throughout the year that fill the entire city as well as many events that pack the town. Yes, there are a few empty hulks of buildings on the Strip that stopped construction but it was the ECONOMY not that a few firms overspent their budgets here. And 2 of those projects have recently restarted so your dire predictions for the Las Vegas future are entirely wrong and I will directly say you are NO EXPERT as you type from Florida.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone! :)

[chengkp75]

Just thinking out loud, but I would look at it this way. For just about every ship that is built for a line, 1 is retired or reassigned to a lesser division for lack of a better term.

 

Ill use RCCL as a neutral example. As RCCL adds 1 ship, at least 1 ship is moved to Pullmantur as an example, and Pullmantur reassigns 1 to xyz and they in turn break 1 up. So on the surface it may look like a lot of available rooms, but in reality, the ship count is staying the same, and the room count may or in some cases most likely goes up but no by much.

 

Not sure that I'm following you. Are you saying that one particular line's cabin count will remain stable, or the industry as a whole?

 

Total passengers carried, worldwide in 1990 was about 4 million, while in 2013 it was 20 million. The only way you could do a 5 fold increase in passengers, without significantly reducing the number of days for each cruise, would be to have a 5 fold increase in cabin capacity. And the 2013 capacity figures are a 3+% increase over last year. Ship counts continue to rise, and capacity continues to rise.

[Ex techie]

I even had the "luxury" of eating in the Officer's Mess and can tell you after a month you aren't impressed by that either (although still 100 x better than the Asian fish head stew over rice for breakfast in the Crew Mess)

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone! :)

 

I do not miss seeing the white rice three times a day and definitely do not miss seeing fish head soup on the line! :eek:

 

A very Merry Christmas and New Years too!

 

ex techie

Edited December 22, 2013 by Ex techie

[chengkp75]

I do not miss seeing the white rice three times a day and definitely do not miss seeing fish head soup on the line! :eek:

 

A very Merry Christmas and New Years too!

 

ex techie

 

On NCL, even in the officer's mess, the menu was on a 14 day rotation, so over a contract it got old real fast. And I did miss the international crew galley staff, as the US staff was really bad (worse than most merchant ship stewards departments, even with more people per person served, and more equipment.

[Ex techie]

On NCL, even in the officer's mess, the menu was on a 14 day rotation, so over a contract it got old real fast. And I did miss the international crew galley staff, as the US staff was really bad (worse than most merchant ship stewards departments, even with more people per person served, and more equipment.

 

Same for DCL but with little to no difference in the menu. Fridays were always burgers and fries as a CC day. Chicken, (no real meat on the bone), burnt or dried out pizza, flank steak, etc.

Biggest change in menu was on one international night where the chefs and cooks in the crew galley were given a budget to actually cook food with proper ingredients from they're own countries.

Martin was my hero for the rest of that contract!!

 

Wouldn't know about stewards and being served. DCL screwed up when they thought they could launch a Crew dry ship with the Magic.

The Petty Officers mess was quickly turned into the crew bar and the Petty Officers were back in the crew mess with the fish head soup and white rice ;)

Bagels and creamed cheese for a midnight snack after finishing. Or trying to steal pastries cooling outside the bakery!

 

ex techie

[chengkp75]

Same for DCL but with little to no difference in the menu. Fridays were always burgers and fries as a CC day. Chicken, (no real meat on the bone), burnt or dried out pizza, flank steak, etc.

Biggest change in menu was on one international night where the chefs and cooks in the crew galley were given a budget to actually cook food with proper ingredients from they're own countries.

Martin was my hero for the rest of that contract!!

 

Wouldn't know about stewards and being served. DCL screwed up when they thought they could launch a Crew dry ship with the Magic.

The Petty Officers mess was quickly turned into the crew bar and the Petty Officers were back in the crew mess with the fish head soup and white rice ;)

Bagels and creamed cheese for a midnight snack after finishing. Or trying to steal pastries cooling outside the bakery!

 

ex techie

 

We had the guy we called "the mad chicken chopper" who cut chicken into unrecognizable square sections, not breasts and thighs, leaving small bits of bone around.

 

When we went to US crew, in order to make the payroll budget, they cut so many positions that the petty officers mess (which was the duty mess for the engine officers) was permanently closed. Not sure if they've yet to fix this on the POA.

[Ex techie]

Just to make clear I had no problem eating in the general Crew mess, just wished it had been a bit more like Cabana's and not Top Siders so you wouldn't have to walk past some of the more "exotic" no western foods shall we say.

 

ex techie

[Ex techie]

We had the guy we called "the mad chicken chopper" who cut chicken into unrecognizable square sections, not breasts and thighs, leaving small bits of bone around.

 

When we went to US crew, in order to make the payroll budget, they cut so many positions that the petty officers mess (which was the duty mess for the engine officers) was permanently closed. Not sure if they've yet to fix this on the POA.

 

I think every ship has a "mad chicken chopper" aboard Chief!

He or She not only manages to leave bits of bone in, but also suck any flavor from the meat!

 

Engine officers in coveralls also had to eat in the general Crew mess on the Magic.

 

Only saving grace was when leftovers from the restaurants used to get sent down after the wait staff there had eaten from them.

 

Kind of like a midnight crew buffet of luke warm steaks or chicken lol!

And if none came down, bagels, toast or cereal :(

 

ex techie

[chengkp75]

I think every ship has a "mad chicken chopper" aboard Chief!

He or She not only manages to leave bits of bone in, but also suck any flavor from the meat!

 

Engine officers in coveralls also had to eat in the general Crew mess on the Magic.

 

Only saving grace was when leftovers from the restaurants used to get sent down after the wait staff there had eaten from them.

 

Kind of like a midnight crew buffet of luke warm steaks or chicken lol!

And if none came down, bagels, toast or cereal :(

 

ex techie

 

Ah, the flavor cannot be blamed on the chicken chopper. That is blamed on the one galley device I was instructed to keep running no matter what: The Flavor Extractor.:p

 

Got to love peanut butter on a bagel after a night of cleaning grease from the galley ventilation system!:D

 

Oh, the romance of cruising!

Edited December 23, 2013 by chengkp75

[truck1]

Not sure that I'm following you. Are you saying that one particular line's cabin count will remain stable, or the industry as a whole?

 

Total passengers carried, worldwide in 1990 was about 4 million, while in 2013 it was 20 million. The only way you could do a 5 fold increase in passengers, without significantly reducing the number of days for each cruise, would be to have a 5 fold increase in cabin capacity. And the 2013 capacity figures are a 3+% increase over last year. Ship counts continue to rise, and capacity continues to rise.

 

 

I use a lines count as my thought, but the industry as a whole could be looked at the same way.

 

Say line "X" has a room inventory of 20,000 guest cabins available under perfect conditions, meaning no rehabs on cabins, cabins that dont have a permanent block on them due to noise etc.

 

Line "X" builds a new ship. That ship has 3000 cabins. Under most circumstances, when the new ship is delivered, or somewhere there abouts, at least 1 ship is sold off or transferred to a lesser line, which replaces another ship that is moved out, etc. Lets say Line "X" retires/replaces a 2000 room ship. Thats not big news. The big news is that the 3000 room ship is coming, book a cabin etc, while the other ship is quielty sometimes with a news blurb, sent on its way.

 

So on the surface,it looks like 3000 rooms are added to the fleet and world wide count. But in reality, when all of the ships settle into their new homes, sold for scrap etc, the total addition is more like 1500-2000.

 

Most major lines Ive been seeing lately have been releasing/selling their older ships off as they build newer fleets. Princess has done it, RCCL has done it most recently releasing/transferring Monarch to Pullmantur, and adding Quantum. Just an example.

 

In reality, the cabin count is going up worldwide, but not as quick as it appears on the surface. In most cases the individual ship count a line owns/operates will stay the same, but the cabins increase slightly. On occasion a line will increase its ship count for 1 reason or another, (RCCL come to mind, they are adding at least 3 more ships I know of, but the only ship I know that has transferred or planned is Monarch, though I would hazzard a guess and say that Majestys days are numbered as a RCCL flagged ship.That would put the total fleet count slightly higher as 22 instead of 21.)

Edited December 28, 2013 by truck1

[sunbrookgal]

DCL's biggest problem will be retaining the "empty-nesters" before they become grandparents and the kids who have aged out--I think most agree that DCL has a "donut hole" from 18 through parenthood. This is the demographic of my husband and I as well as many of our friends, and we have abandoned DCL and their repetitive itineraries and expensive Euro cruises in favor of luxury ships at the same price and with much better itineraries.

 

Sure, DCL has adult areas and a couple nice restaurants, but that is not enough to lure us back at this point. The baby boomers are the most affluent demographic group, and there's just not enough to keep us coming back at this point.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

HI,, NANA here. Two times on Fantasy with my granddaughters(2). Another trip booked. That is my husband and I and the 2 girls. No parental units required. The fun we have , just the 4 of us is life changing. If you are so blessed, try DCL for the family. Yes we do CC and RCL and a few others. But Disney is above and beyond especially if you have grandchildren and want some alone time with them. I promise you they never forget that time. Sorry , but I could not resist. It is a wonderful time,,, Promise

[ducklite]

HI,, NANA here. Two times on Fantasy with my granddaughters(2). Another trip booked. That is my husband and I and the 2 girls. No parental units required. The fun we have , just the 4 of us is life changing. If you are so blessed, try DCL for the family. Yes we do CC and RCL and a few others. But Disney is above and beyond especially if you have grandchildren and want some alone time with them. I promise you they never forget that time. Sorry , but I could not resist. It is a wonderful time,,, Promise

 

 

 

Maybe you missed the part where I said empty-nesters BEFORE they become grandparents--which we are not.

 

At this point in our lives there is nothing to lure us into a DCL cruise. We can take a luxury small ship with it's intimate environs and complete lack of lines, quiet dining rooms, and outstanding ports the large ships can't enter for the same or lower cost than DCL. Mickey and Minnie (and the lines for a photo op) aren't enough to woo us on board. DCL offers nothing to our demographic except a high price point. Until they figure out something to make this change, we won't be back until we have grandchildren. If that ever even happens.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[EJanss]

As for comparing cruises to Vegas....REALLY??? I have lived in Vegas (and worked in the casinos) since 1995. What hurt us most was the fall of the economy NOT the stupid corporate execs who made bad PR decisions! We still have HUGE conventions throughout the year that fill the entire city as well as many events that pack the town. Yes, there are a few empty hulks of buildings on the Strip that stopped construction but it was the ECONOMY not that a few firms overspent their budgets here. And 2 of those projects have recently restarted so your dire predictions for the Las Vegas future are entirely wrong and I will directly say you are NO EXPERT as you type from Florida.

 

Vegas seemed like it was taking lumps from the ease (and less scam/Rat-Pack image) of nearby regional Native casinos, which were a little more secluded, atmospheric, less noisy and more lenient on the casinos.

 

And then....."The Hangover" came out. Cashing in on the "What Happens in Vegas" ad tagline.

Now, with help from the Jabbawockees, America's Got Talent and six different Cirque du Soleil productions, Vegas seems to have bounced back as national Bachelor/Bachelorette Party Central, and the native casino resorts are starting to feel the pinch.

 

And yeah, I was just about to ask whatever happened to DCL's Hawaiian itineraries. :(

Thought Aulani might have something to do with it.

Edited November 12, 2016 by EJanss

[sm3ds]

Maybe you missed the part where I said empty-nesters BEFORE they become grandparents--which we are not.

 

At this point in our lives there is nothing to lure us into a DCL cruise. We can take a luxury small ship with it's intimate environs and complete lack of lines, quiet dining rooms, and outstanding ports the large ships can't enter for the same or lower cost than DCL. Mickey and Minnie (and the lines for a photo op) aren't enough to woo us on board. DCL offers nothing to our demographic except a high price point. Until they figure out something to make this change, we won't be back until we have grandchildren. If that ever even happens.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

We're not empty nesters, but our kids are teens. I can't see us sailing on DCLonce they are gone. We've already started trying other lines and have not been disappointed. The Carnival Vista was the best ship we've been on. The food was the best we've had on a cruise. I think other cruise lines are really stepping it up with their new ships. DCL just keeps raising prices.

[ducklite]

We're not empty nesters, but our kids are teens. I can't see us sailing on DCLonce they are gone. We've already started trying other lines and have not been disappointed. The Carnival Vista was the best ship we've been on. The food was the best we've had on a cruise. I think other cruise lines are really stepping it up with their new ships. DCL just keeps raising prices.

 

 

 

Once you begin cruising alone, you should try the small and smaller ships like Regent and Windstar. While they might look more expensive, once you look at what is and isn't included, you will likely be pleasantly surprised. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sm3ds]

Once you begin cruising alone, you should try the small and smaller ships like Regent and Windstar. While they might look more expensive, once you look at what is and isn't included, you will likely be pleasantly surprised. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I plan on trying everything once my kids are gone. River cruises included. On one of our cruises I was talking to a retired couple who had never cruised anything but Disney. They said they believed Disney was the best and they weren't going to waiver. My thought was "how sad". There are lots of options and lots of itinerary's to explore. Disney has some blind loyalist. I don't get it, but they have them.