Disney changes alcohol policy and raises corkage fee

[Gardeneroflove]

Frankly I have observed very little " poor behavior " due to alchohol abuse on any cruise . Bad behavior due to chair hogging , bad parenting and rudeness in the eating areas - yes on occasion. Due to booze , no . Perhaps I'm not hanging out with the drunks .;) . Besides most drink packages seem to have a maximum limit per day .

 

Personally I don't like drink packages because I don't drink that much and secondly it encourages the cruise lines to bump up individual drink prices so that passengers are encouraged to buy them . So far that's the plan on RC .

 

Try Carnival during thanksgiving break or spring break. :eek: Or, I've heard on the shorter 4-5 day cruises.

 

On carnival, the process for others wasn't slowed down. You through security, the scanner, then if you have drinks (Carnival allows cans/boxes of soda/juice 12 pp) you go to another line with a table. The table had 5-7 workers set up to checked the bag/cases of soda. The process took dh an extra 2-3 minutes, those who weren't bringing on drinks, were not delayed.

[Gardeneroflove]

Since I'm cruising with small one, the alcohol policy doesn't really effect me or play a part in if I'll book Disney or another cruiseline. We don't spend much on board, either way. I think we did drink a bit more because it was there, but that's same as I drank a bit more soda last week on Carnival because I could bring it, or I drank more soda on Disney because it was available. I drank neither, minus one drink, on RCL.

[AlexandNessa]

These phone calls have gotten really bad. You aren't the only person who is more upset after the call than before. Their wine offerings are pedestrian. And their hard alcohol offerings aren't great either. This idea of the Disney name or the Disney charm is laughable. Their charm isn't worth the insane prices they charge for a product they keep making less attractive.

 

 

Do you know I really did tell this jerk that I was actually more upset now than before we spoke? His answer, "Again, I'm so sorry you're disappointed." As if that solves anything.

 

He specifically said they were being consistent in the policy, and they didn't feel this was something they needed to offer compensation for. I said I wasn't asking for compensation and that I was willing to work with them: they could give me my suite deposit back in the form of OBC for our upcoming cruise that's too late to cancel, and then we could have a conscious uncoupling a la Gwynnie. I believe I called this cruise a break-up rodeo. (I was beginning to think he didn't appreciate my sense of humor at all, hmphh).

 

He was not amused.

 

I then said our October cruise better be absolutely perfect because I was stepping onto the ship angry before the cruise even started. He told me to call him personally if I had any issues in the ship (yeah, because he'd been SO helpful thus far).

 

How about I post his number, minus the area code? :D. I'm tempted. So very, very tempted.

 

He ended the conversation with "Take good care." I would only be half disappointed if he actually heard how I ended the conversation when hanging up on him.

 

 

P.S. We're platinum on Disney, and he knows it. Clearly it's not me he wants to keep, but Disney newbies who don't complain about tired itineraries, the same shows, the laziness of running Match Your Mate twice in a one week cruise (where they don't even bother to change the questions year after year) etc, etc, etc.

[Ex techie]

A good synopsis of what to expect from a DCL return call from an alcohol restriction complaint from the DIS.

 

cgolf said: ↑

I do know that we sent ours yesterday and I am guessing the number of emails coming in has slowed quite a bit. I do feel a little bad though that the person has called twice now and I did not get the call because the building I work in hates cell phones lol. My wife will be calling them tomorrow so I will let you all know how it goes.

I'll save you the trouble.

 

Do not expect a thing besides:

 

- I'm sorry.

- I know you're disappointed. I'm so very sorry.

- The timing of the announcement was not a financial decision.

- The policy was subject to change. We changed it. I'm sorry.

- No, there are no plans to change the policy at this time. I'm sorry.

-I promise we're listening to guest feedback. We may or may not use the feedback to reevaluate the policy at some point, but definitely not now. I'm sorry.

-No, you can't order your favorite bottle of vodka to have delivered to your room upon embarkation like every other cruise line. Might I interest you in some Korbels or Bud Light? That is readily available and equally refreshing.

-The new policy is standard across the industry. The industry has introduced all inclusive drink packages? No we're not that standard. I'm sorry.

- Too bad. So sad. We have your money, and there isn't a thing you can do about it.

-I'm confident you're going to have a MAGICAL cruise!!!!!!

 

That about sums it up.

 

I hope you'll report back and tell me how close I was to summarizing your call.

 

 

Sounds like DCL doesn't give a hoot what people say.

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

 

P.S. We're platinum on Disney, and he knows it. Clearly it's not me he wants to keep, but Disney newbies who don't complain about tired itineraries, the same shows, the laziness of running Match Your Mate twice in a one week cruise (where they don't even bother to change the questions year after year) etc, etc, etc.

 

It costs more in advertising for DCL to recruit a newbie, but they spend a lot more on board than a return cruiser. Obviously that is based on statistics across the line; there are certainly platinums with high per day spending. But in general, newbies spend more per capita than return cruisers and short cruises have more spending per day than long ones. So do they care about those of us who are "frequent flyers?" Obviously not as much as they used to.

 

Honestly, as long as they are filling the ships at something close to a regular fare, I don't believe they do!

[AlexandNessa]

It costs more in advertising for DCL to recruit a newbie' date=' but they spend a lot more on board than a return cruiser. Obviously that is based on statistics across the line; there are certainly platinums with high per day spending. But in general, newbies spend more per capita than return cruisers and short cruises have more spending per day than long ones. So do they care about those of us who are "frequent flyers?" Obviously not as much as they used to.

 

Honestly, as long as they are filling the ships at something close to a regular fare, I don't believe they do![/quote']

 

 

One look at our profile (& I'm sure they have one on each of us, if they're smart), & he would know he made a mistake alienating us. We'll be sticking to Norwegian Haven from here on out, until DCL changes their suite deposit policy and we are forced to take a cruise to burn our deposit. Perhaps by then, Disney will have made some changes to make them palatable to me once again (yes, fat chance, I know).

 

All I can do for now is limit our onboard spending this cruise (we never have before) & indicate my displeasure in the comment card (and rest assured, this *is* going in the comment card ;) ).

[moki'smommy]

Oh yes, they have a profile on each of us....at least on the lead name on the reservation....both at DCL and WDW.

 

Since you are booked at concierge level, at least you can enjoy the lounge on all ships except the Wonder. And as you said, limit your on board spending to little or nothing.

 

I can't believe they are handling this so poorly. The policy change is one thing, but the management of the roll out has been dismal. Just another example of how Karl and crew think they can do whatever they want and we'll all continue to drink the kool-aid. I think they are going to increasingly find that they've alienated some of their regulars with the various recent changes.

[Loonbeam]

As noted just above, they don't really care. Again, using figures from another line (that I still think is good as a baseline), new and entry level cruisers (defined as 0-3 prior cruisers) spend about on average 28 percent more than cruisers above that (and the number goes down as the cruises go up).

 

Part of that is common sense. Experience cruisers know where the deals are, are more likely to DYI or do private tours in ports (if they get off at all), have already bought from the gallery and shops etc). And please, no "well 'I' spend'. There are exceptions to every rule - we're talking averages here.

 

With only 4 ships to fill and the marketing power of the parks, etc, behind them, Disney is going to not have any problem finding people to cruise.

 

As I have said before, given the way this was rolled out, I am certain there were other forces at work determining the time frame. Doesn't mean they couldn't have messaged better, but they are NOT going to change, and playing the 'Platinum' card has almost no value these days (other than to usually annoy the rep you are talking to who cannot do a dang thing about it)

 

Oh yes' date=' they have a profile on each of us....at least on the lead name on the reservation....both at DCL and WDW.

 

Since you are booked at concierge level, at least you can enjoy the lounge on all ships except the Wonder. And as you said, limit your on board spending to little or nothing.

 

I can't believe they are handling this so poorly. The policy change is one thing, but the management of the roll out has been dismal. Just another example of how Karl and crew think they can do whatever they want and we'll all continue to drink the kool-aid. I think they are going to increasingly find that they've alienated some of their regulars with the various recent changes.[/quote']

[Ex techie]

So whilst DCL are limiting the amount of booze you can bring aboard and excluding hard liquor, Royal Caribbean are piloting a self serve beer program....

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6539

 

ex techie

Edited September 19, 2015 by Ex techie

[perditax]

Two random pieces of info: my 9/14 sailing on the Dream definitely did not sail full, and I was also informed by an online friend on board that Karl Holz was on the sailing. Wonder what that was about.

[moki'smommy]

Two random pieces of info: my 9/14 sailing on the Dream definitely did not sail full, and I was also informed by an online friend on board that Karl Holz was on the sailing. Wonder what that was about.

 

Your 9/14 cruise was at the notoriously low time of the year. Traditional schools have just started up, so parents won't take kids out. On top of that, people are running scared of "hurricane season." These dates traditionally have some of the lowest cruise fare rates of the year, and also often have specials.

 

Did you find out the number of guests on board (either the concierge or the cruise director will typically tell you this if asked). The CD will often give a breakdown of ages as well.

 

Also, a full ship does not mean a max passenger load. For example, I've been on a Magic cruise (they call normal capacity 2500, she will hold 2700 if every cabin is booked to its max) with only 1900 guests total, 400 under 18. That tells you that it was "full" because all cabins were sold and most cabins had only 2 people in them. And there were a lot of cruisers sailing solo. OK, it was the TA a few years ago, and there were a lot of solo cruisers as there was a great rate available.

 

As to Karl on board....who knows? Wanted to check out the Halloween themed stuff? Wanted a vacation? or any of 1000 other reasons.

[Loonbeam]

On the low kid level cruises, full can be 200-400 or more below capacity as noted..

 

Also, if they are even close to out of cabins, they will call it full just to avoid upgrade requests.

 

They may also use lower demand cruises to take some cabins out of inventory for cleaning/service, which reduces capacity. Happened to us on Princess, the next steward over had no passengers that trip, they were powercleaning all the carpets in his section and doing some other maintenance, so he helped ours and the one on the other side.

[moki'smommy]

On the low kid level cruises, full can be 200-400 or more below capacity as noted..

 

Also, if they are even close to out of cabins, they will call it full just to avoid upgrade requests.

 

They may also use lower demand cruises to take some cabins out of inventory for cleaning/service, which reduces capacity. Happened to us on Princess, the next steward over had no passengers that trip, they were powercleaning all the carpets in his section and doing some other maintenance, so he helped ours and the one on the other side.

 

We've been on at least 2 DCL cruises where they had closed entire sections of the cabins for maintenance or refurbishing.

 

As above, "full" is a relative term. And the "Captain Mickey says" sign doesn't always tell the truth.

[Alleycat48]

We just sailed DCL in May with another family and have a second booked in Oct. The May cruise was fantastic as we were able to bring our favorite spirits, liquors and Bourbons (DCL doesn't have). We were able to enjoy them, on the connecting decks, after the children went to bed. We were able to add flavors to our coffee in the mornings before the kids woke up all without paying the 500% markup on alcohol. On a seven day cruise, this could amount to hundreds of dollars in savings. Then the change....though, personally, I'm not necessarily irate regarding the actual policy, I'm freaking furious over the implementation of it. With less than 30 days from being notified of it until the implementation of it is outright the worst customer service I've delt with. I called them and they outright refused any form of compensation and basically said it was a business decision. I emailed their public relations and they offered to refund my money, but refused to offer onboard credit to supplement those of us that had an expectation (that they created) of service. Canceling a Disney Cruise 3 weeks out would make me a rock star to my 4 and 7 year old (sarcasm font)....and they new that. If it wasn't for the kids i would have taken my money and ran....like i will when I get off the boat at the end of this trip. CUSTOMER SERVICE MATTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS!! But I guess i'm in that percentage of people that your statisticians and accountants say you can do without...

[AlexandNessa]

Is the secret then to email the public relations department? I'd really like my concierge deposit back, but executive guest relations practically laughed in my face at the thought.

[moki'smommy]

Is the secret then to email the public relations department? I'd really like my concierge deposit back, but executive guest relations practically laughed in my face at the thought.

 

I think the "secret" is to transfer your concierge deposit to a regular cabin on a 3 night cruise--basically move it to the cheapest DCL cruise you can find just to spend it because they won't refund it. Spend as close to nothing on board as you can get. And then don't book any more DCL.

 

They have made a decision to not refund it...and I don't think that is going to change.

 

Oh yeah, and do it before they decide that you can't move concierge deposits (NO, I don't have any inside info and I'm just being ugly in saying this.)

Edited September 23, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Alleycat48]

Is the secret then to email the public relations department? I'd really like my concierge deposit back, but executive guest relations practically laughed in my face at the thought.

dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com

 

I basically shared my thoughts above with them and the next day they called and offered to refund my money....

Edited September 23, 2015 by Alleycat48

[justhappy]

Simple supply and demand keeps the Disney ships full without DCL needing to lower prices or offer incentives anymore. In fact, demand is so good right now they can cut services and perks and keep making money hand over fist. Why should they care that cruisers like us, who are platinum on DCL, are disappointed and will take our business elsewhere?

I get so tired of DCL cheerleaders who spout the "DCL has pixie dust and magic and other lines don't" mantra. I'll leave them to pay their inflated prices for pixie dust.

So I will take my business elsewhere, and I know that DCL won't care, and sadly, with all the changes, to people who ask me my opinion of DCL, I'll have to be honest and tell them I think their money is best spent elsewhere.

[Loonbeam]

I try not to be a brand champion - I look at itinerary first, price second , brand third...

 

Simple supply and demand keeps the Disney ships full without DCL needing to lower prices or offer incentives anymore. In fact, demand is so good right now they can cut services and perks and keep making money hand over fist. Why should they care that cruisers like us, who are platinum on DCL, are disappointed and will take our business elsewhere?

I get so tired of DCL cheerleaders who spout the "DCL has pixie dust and magic and other lines don't" mantra. I'll leave them to pay their inflated prices for pixie dust.

So I will take my business elsewhere, and I know that DCL won't care, and sadly, with all the changes, to people who ask me my opinion of DCL, I'll have to be honest and tell them I think their money is best spent elsewhere.

[justhappy]

I try not to be a brand champion - I look at itinerary first, price second , brand third...

 

I really don't mind higher prices, if I feel that the product I'm paying for has that value, I used to feel it was there on DCL, but on our last few cruises service was poor and the menus, shows and entertainment feel "tired" due to never changing. Prices have drastically increased the last few years, a good part of why I no longer find the value to be there. Cutting perks like the new liqueur policy is the nail in the coffin.

I just love being on a ship at sea so I have to admit I really don't care where it goes, I'd rather stay on the ship most port days! As long as service is good and the value for the price paid, I'd cruise any cruise line.

[Ex techie]

Well reports from the first sailings affected by the alcohol change on the disboards are that DCL have screwed it up as expected!

 

Guest's having alcohol taken to be kept from port purchases (restocking) that would be in line with the policy of 2 bottles of wine or champagne/6 beers in each port, and misdirection of where to retrieve liquor afterwards resulting in Guest's being sent into the terminal and unable to go back aboard to get it.

 

You really have to hand it to Karl and Goofy.... They really know how to make a mess!

 

ex techie

[Alleycat48]

We just sailed DCL in May with another family and have a second booked in Oct. The May cruise was fantastic as we were able to bring our favorite spirits, liquors and Bourbons (DCL doesn't have). We were able to enjoy them, on the connecting decks, after the children went to bed. We were able to add flavors to our coffee in the mornings before the kids woke up all without paying the 500% markup on alcohol. On a seven day cruise, this could amount to hundreds of dollars in savings. Then the change....though, personally, I'm not necessarily irate regarding the actual policy, I'm freaking furious over the implementation of it. With less than 30 days from being notified of it until the implementation of it is outright the worst customer service I've delt with. I called them and they outright refused any form of compensation and basically said it was a business decision. I emailed their public relations and they offered to refund my money, but refused to offer onboard credit to supplement those of us that had an expectation (that they created) of service. Canceling a Disney Cruise 3 weeks out would make me a rock star to my 4 and 7 year old (sarcasm font)....and they new that. If it wasn't for the kids i would have taken my money and ran....like i will when I get off the boat at the end of this trip. CUSTOMER SERVICE MATTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS!! But I guess i'm in that percentage of people that your statisticians and accountants say you can do without...

 

So my wife gets a call from some customer service "executive" who tries to explain why they refuse to compensate those guests/customers that have booked their cruise under one expectation only to be denied. He claimed that there is plenty of beverages on board for her to partake and that they wanted to align themselves with the rest of the industry....which totally avoided the issue at hand. She reiterated the failure of notification in a timely manner and asked why those that were promised a certain level of service when they deposited their money, are now receiving something less than expected. His "frustrated" answer was that they don't want customers over indulging with children on board and that that is not the environment that Disney wants to portray..... i.e. all of us parents that have a beverage, responsibly, are now put in the same bucket as the 1% (or less) that are irresponsible. He went as far as passively calling my wife a drunk, dangerous parent for wanting to bring her favorite liquour on board and that she is not the kind of customer they are now seeking.

 

So...in conclusion. Disney has lost control of their PR department as they, I'm sure, are being berated daily by unhappy customers and their phone reps are losing their collective minds....I started this whole conversation with them in hopes they would have said, "Yes Sir, you are correct, we'd like to offer you $ on board credit or (compensation) for our untimely decision and extra expenses caused by it. Our future reservations will reflect this new policy".....I would then have continued to investigate their Disney Vacation Club as my kids love everything Disney! But, rewarding a pretentious company to ignore the masses and worship the dollar/ or ego of board members bad decision, is not in the cards.

[moki'smommy]

Well reports from the first sailings affected by the alcohol change on the disboards are that DCL have screwed it up as expected!

 

Guest's having alcohol taken to be kept from port purchases (restocking) that would be in line with the policy of 2 bottles of wine or champagne/6 beers in each port, and misdirection of where to retrieve liquor afterwards resulting in Guest's being sent into the terminal and unable to go back aboard to get it.

 

You really have to hand it to Karl and Goofy.... They really know how to make a mess!

 

ex techie

 

Well, I can't say I'm surprised that they have managed to mess up their own policy. But telling guests they can bring a limited amount of alcohol on board at each port and then denying (confiscating) alcohol that meets those requirements is both wrong and wasteful. The amount that a guest was supposed to be allowed to bring on board at a port of call exceeds US Customs allowances...so even if a guest is allowed to reclaim their purchase at the end of the cruise, they have a choice between chugging it and trashing it. I'd be seriously angry! The new policy is one thing; a failure at implementation is unacceptable.

[dexddd]

So my wife gets a call from some customer service "executive" who tries to explain why they refuse to compensate those guests/customers that have booked their cruise under one expectation only to be denied. He claimed that there is plenty of beverages on board for her to partake and that they wanted to align themselves with the rest of the industry....which totally avoided the issue at hand. She reiterated the failure of notification in a timely manner and asked why those that were promised a certain level of service when they deposited their money, are now receiving something less than expected. His "frustrated" answer was that they don't want customers over indulging with children on board and that that is not the environment that Disney wants to portray..... i.e. all of us parents that have a beverage, responsibly, are now put in the same bucket as the 1% (or less) that are irresponsible. He went as far as passively calling my wife a drunk, dangerous parent for wanting to bring her favorite liquour on board and that she is not the kind of customer they are now seeking.

 

So...in conclusion. Disney has lost control of their PR department as they, I'm sure, are being berated daily by unhappy customers and their phone reps are losing their collective minds....I started this whole conversation with them in hopes they would have said, "Yes Sir, you are correct, we'd like to offer you $ on board credit or (compensation) for our untimely decision and extra expenses caused by it. Our future reservations will reflect this new policy".....I would then have continued to investigate their Disney Vacation Club as my kids love everything Disney! But, rewarding a pretentious company to ignore the masses and worship the dollar/ or ego of board members bad decision, is not in the cards.

 

I'm not sure I buy the story about irresponsible folks. Certainly they know how much a problem it is or isn't but I can say from my limited experience of being on DCL a few times I've never seen any issues. If someone wants to get obnoxious they still have plenty of ways of doing it, it just will cost them more.

[marxthespot]

Returned from the Disney Wonder, 10/4 to Cabo, with a few experiences/tips (after complaining and getting the same crap response as everyone else).

-Tried to take a bottle of vodka on with my wine carry on. No go. Got a receipt and was told to pick up after debarking at a confiscated items booth in port. The confiscated items were actually on the boat though and you are not allowed to get back on after debarking to pick up your items. With the receipt I demanded that one of the workers go get my bottle and bring it to me. They did.

-Each port you ARE allowed to bring on a six pack or 2 bottles of wine. They were pretty lenient with this. I saw a couple with 2x12 packs and wine that got on without a problem in Ensenada.

-When going to dinner (Palo and MDR) we had just corked our bottle of wine in the room and sat it on the table at dinner. Our servers did not charge us the corking fee as the work had already been done. Once are glasses were getting low, they refilled. We did this at 3 dinners and saved us $75, which was helpful.

-Coming back from Cabo we returned to our room to find a bottle of champagne and a plush Gonzo doll for the kid. I'm guessing they had a note on account of me complaining about the policy as I don't see any other reason why they would do this.