Elephant In the Room... But...

I don't quite get people who really dislike DCL would come to a forum to post about it, either. But, I do understand why people who DO like DCL would come on the forum and post about it. I recently posted a lengthy review that I know had some negatives mixed in with some positives. Part of the reason for posting the negatives is to warn other people away from aspects that they might be disappointed in. Part of it is some hope that these things would be improved on. I don't really think Disney closely monitors these boards, but I've seen many times where the "chatter" in online forums does in fact make it up to the level where companies take notice, and it wouldn't surprise me if some people at Disney aren't at least vaguely aware of strong reactions on the boards.

As for the comparisons, I think a lot of it is like comparisons of Disney parks with others, such as Universal. We love traveling to Disney Parks, but I'm glad that people told me about how good the Harry Potter area of Universal was (in my opinion, that part of those parks beats anything I've seen at WDW, though on the whole we still prefer Disney). Similarly, I think it's useful to know that people who have liked DCL also found things they liked on other lines. And, just as I think Universal puts pressure on Disney's parks to improve, I think other lines improving could push DCL to improve also, which is what I'd most like to see. Also, I think comparisons help in both ways - I can hear about things that let me know that DCL really is the better option for me: I compared my Spring Break Fantasy cruise last week with a colleague who cruised a different line/route, and the differences were significant; I would not have wanted to be on that cruise, despite the significant $ savings. We go on cruises infrequently enough (once every 2-3 years) that just "trying out" other lines is not something we can afford - I appreciate the ability to compare something I know and like (DCL) with something I don't know much about. Based on what others have told me, for instance, I now know one line I won't plan to cruise, and one I ought to consider if we ever do something besides DCL. Without some negative points posted, I wouldn't have even known that.
 
Yes, there are threads (well only really one) about other cruise lines, why is that not ok? Sure its Disney board, but it's pretty obvious and easy to avoid.

It's not that it's not okay, I just think there are other, better places to have the discussion. Additionally, I have seen what bashing is done to those that have a negative opinion of Carnival.

I honestly don't think there are many at all who come to the boards for the purpose of bashing DCL or being negative about DCL. Sure, there are a few who will say negative things and perhaps even overly negative/toward bashing, but then, there's also a few who are the definition of DCL fanatics. With reviews in general, I tend to ignore the top 10% and the bottom 10%; those who either love absolutely everything and don't have a single point about which to be even mildly critical, and those who hate absolutely everything and don't have a single point about which to be even mildly positive. Boards like these have all kinds - the know-it-alls (the ones who absolutely must chime in on threads, say involving children when they have none), the downers, the way-too-positive folk - I think all of these views are valid as long as they don't venture into name calling - and I honestly don't think any name calling really occurred in that "other/cheaper cruises" thread.

It's a discussion forum - not a "fans only" forum.

Oh, it did. The sarcasm was very petty.

I'm 99% sure people who hate Disney are not wasting their time creating an account on a Disney forum to search for Disney threads just to argue about hating Disney.

And I'm assuming you're refering to the Carnival thread, which actually is a great thread that compares not just Carnival & DCL, but also NCL vs. DCL, Princess vs. DCL, RCCL vs. DCL, Celebrity vs. DCL, etc. I have yet to see one "DCL hating" post anywhere. There are super helpful trip reports from all cruise lines. If you don't want to read it or contribute to the discussion in any way, then don't.:confused3 The Disboards is a fantastic resource and the Moderators are nice enough to let us have this thread, so I can't see how it affects you in any way whatsoever.

You can still love Disney and acknowledge and accept both the positives and negatives. :goodvibes

I am 100% sure there are at least a handful of people who hate Disney and ARE wasting their time on this board, to argue. The proof is in the posts. I also 100% agree that you can still love Disney and acknowledge both the positives and negatives.

Why do you think having a discussion on a discussion board doesn’t bring them joy?

I don’t think I’m as extreme as whoever you’re talking about, but I’m here because I read everything, retain a lot, and have info to share. And if someone wants a comparison, I can do that.




I’ve never seen anyone here so those things. How have I missed those threads?



Demand has always been high. Even at lower prices. I’m just not sure that supply and demand work that way with vacations, or *should* work that way.



That’s what I end up having often on royal. :(

And I tend towards the mac and cheese on Disney.

Neither of them make vegetarian food that is that all that awesome. (The one time royal majorly tried, they brought huge quantities of Indian food every night, and wouldn’t listen to us begging them to tone it down. It was embarrassing. So much wasted food, and so unnecessary.)



Seriously, where are these threads?



Someday you might be priced out. Or under-serviced out. Or just get curious. And then you’ll appreciate those threads. For now maybe ignore them? They provide a service to some.



Ah I disagree. Just like pictures and video do not show what the clown pool actually looks like at Boardwalk, I don’t think that videos really show much for cruises. I’m glad I didn’t watch videos for any of our trips. Videos are just so disappointing.

Editing to add: pictures of the Disney ships turned me off big time! It’s just NOT my aesthetic at all. They still aren’t my fave, but it’s prettier in person than in pictures, so I’m glad I took the plunge so I knew. But I like the brighter ships more; they make my eyes happier.



Have you watched his cruise special?



His company does. He doesn’t lead them anymore, but he takes ONE a year by surprise, to see how things are doing. :)



In case that’s at me, I got rid of mine. :) All my pictures were dead anyway, and I’m divorced now, so...



If you ever want to see them on the phone, turn it to landscape. Boom, signatures again!

I do miss the feature the dis used to have that allowed you to click to turn off your signature for any given post you were making. I used to do that for the longer discussions.




Yep!



They (we, though I haven't been there in awhile) are indeed.
And there’s no place there for comparisons. Here it’s a little more open, so we can have that sort of discussion.

I appreciate the dis for allowing that space.

The threads and posts are definitely out there. Not every thread has a negative post/poster, but they certainly exist.

My daughter and I were just talking about this yesterday. Years back this forum was a place to plan and share your excitement with others who were DCL fans. I don't have a problem with hearing honest opinions regarding food, service, etc. It is great to be able to hear other's experiences and I like knowing as much as possible before making definite plans. What I do have a problem with are people who have nothing good to say. Go to some other place if you have no other agenda than to trash DCL.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
I don't quite get people who really dislike DCL would come to a forum to post about it, either. But, I do understand why people who DO like DCL would come on the forum and post about it. I recently posted a lengthy review that I know had some negatives mixed in with some positives. Part of the reason for posting the negatives is to warn other people away from aspects that they might be disappointed in. Part of it is some hope that these things would be improved on. I don't really think Disney closely monitors these boards, but I've seen many times where the "chatter" in online forums does in fact make it up to the level where companies take notice, and it wouldn't surprise me if some people at Disney aren't at least vaguely aware of strong reactions on the boards.

As for the comparisons, I think a lot of it is like comparisons of Disney parks with others, such as Universal. We love traveling to Disney Parks, but I'm glad that people told me about how good the Harry Potter area of Universal was (in my opinion, that part of those parks beats anything I've seen at WDW, though on the whole we still prefer Disney). Similarly, I think it's useful to know that people who have liked DCL also found things they liked on other lines. And, just as I think Universal puts pressure on Disney's parks to improve, I think other lines improving could push DCL to improve also, which is what I'd most like to see. Also, I think comparisons help in both ways - I can hear about things that let me know that DCL really is the better option for me: I compared my Spring Break Fantasy cruise last week with a colleague who cruised a different line/route, and the differences were significant; I would not have wanted to be on that cruise, despite the significant $ savings. We go on cruises infrequently enough (once every 2-3 years) that just "trying out" other lines is not something we can afford - I appreciate the ability to compare something I know and like (DCL) with something I don't know much about. Based on what others have told me, for instance, I now know one line I won't plan to cruise, and one I ought to consider if we ever do something besides DCL. Without some negative points posted, I wouldn't have even known that.

I get the comparison aspect, as it really is useful information. It's when the thread digresses into just information about other cruise lines, like waiting for them to release new dates and itineraries, when their restaurants open, how to book rooms, etc. Then it no longer has a DCL nexus and just becomes a separate forum.
 
It's when the thread digresses into just information about other cruise lines, like waiting for them to release new dates and itineraries, when their restaurants open, how to book rooms, etc. Then it no longer has a DCL nexus and just becomes a separate forum.

And when the thread does that just move on. Why would you let that bother you? :confused: You're not a Mod or Webmaster so you have no control over what is posted on the boards. No one is required to read or participate in any thread on this board
 


I am 100% sure there are at least a handful of people who hate Disney and ARE wasting their time on this board, to argue. The proof is in the posts. I also 100% agree that you can still love Disney and acknowledge both the positives and negatives.

I think this goes both ways. Someone started the official priced out thread, and instead of letting people vent and and have a discussion about how a cruise on a different line will be different, but it should be a fun new adventure etc, people jumped in right away defending Disney. They tried and succeeded in getting it shut down.

I personally don’t like CC for cruise info, the people over there are rude and ridiculously opinionated. A recent topic about kids sailing on Celebrity almost had me pull my booking because I wouldn’t want to sail with people like that, then I remembered that they are a small portion of the cruising population.

A lot of people here have opinions I trust on disboards and folks like dug720 helped me out with some RCCL stuff and I shared my Celebrity review on the RCCL board so she and others could read it.

There are a lot of good people on here with a lot of good information Disney and other lines, it would be great if we could all share it with each other:) That is why I prefer this board over CC.

Sorry someone came after you, we may not agree on some stuff but that kind of behavior isn’t right.

Happy cruising all on whatever lines you set sail:)
 
I get the comparison aspect, as it really is useful information. It's when the thread digresses into just information about other cruise lines, like waiting for them to release new dates and itineraries, when their restaurants open, how to book rooms, etc. Then it no longer has a DCL nexus and just becomes a separate forum.

This needs separate answers.

1) Threads digress all the time ...

2) We've asked for a separate forum, the mods said no for a new section but said that we could keep the thread alive and we could condense all our reviews over there.

3) It makes me sad because I work hard to keep it alive and updated with the most recent informations (about DCL and Carnival) and stating the differences on the first post and although I have no control on what other DISers post, I always encourage people to "compare" when they do reviews. And I encourage people to remain calm and polite when they don't agree (and they are, most of the time). And we compare itineraries and prices a lot too. We encourage/congratulate people when they think of booking/book with DCL and when they caught good rates. I keep asking people for suggestions and telling everybody that they are welcome to participate and make suggestions to improve the thread... Is it not enough?

4) How can we compare their new ships when the only info we get about DCL is Disney Doe 2021 - Disney Doe 2022 - Disney Doe 2023? With no plans or sneak peaks whatsoever?
 
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As for the comparisons, I think a lot of it is like comparisons of Disney parks with others, such as Universal. We love traveling to Disney Parks, but I'm glad that people told me about how good the Harry Potter area of Universal was (in my opinion, that part of those parks beats anything I've seen at WDW, though on the whole we still prefer Disney).

I agree with this. Universal Hollywood Harry Potter is awesome. The quality of that one area beats Cars Land which is the best land Disney has on offer. The rest of Universal is meh. We will always go to Disney but I am thankful that Universal is pushing Disney to up its game. We will see in June if Star Wars Land beats Harry Potter.
 


I mostly agree with where the OP is coming from. The majority of people coming to message boards are looking for honest opinions both good and bad. It’s the extremist on both ends that derails threads and, for me, becomes a pure entertainment read. A guilty pleasure almost. I enjoy the honest reviews where it’s acknowledge that something wasn’t right for that poster. People hate change and while there have been changes I don’t like I try to look at it objectively. If I were making the decisions what would I do? I expect any business to cater to their mass audience.

My opinion is that statements that present opinion as fact and extreme statements are pointless. Most things in this world are subjective. As soon as I see things like “there is no value in XXXX”, “ the food is inedible” , “their beer tastes like horse****” I know where the post is going. Those are all subjective. Not everyone is going to like the same things. Totally fine. But again, saying something has no value is unproductive. Value is perceived differently for everyone and not always purely about dollars and cents.

I also know, with anything, that I’ll never experience the exact same thing twice. We’ve been lucky that we’ve really never had a bad experience with Disney but law of averages will likely rear it’s ugly head soon enough. A CM on a bad day, a simple mistake, or series of bad events can make for a terrible experience. I try to look at trends vs single experiences. We’ve spent many a day in WDW and IMO the service hasn’t changed but I don’t doubt for a second that people have had negative experiences and when spending that much money choose not to go back.

Everyone has an opinion which is why god created the internet. The only thing missing is the sarcasm font.
 
I compared my Spring Break Fantasy cruise last week with a colleague who cruised a different line/route, and the differences were significant; I would not have wanted to be on that cruise, despite the significant $ savings.
Just out of curiosity was it the Norwegian Epic?
 
I agree with this. Universal Hollywood Harry Potter is awesome. The quality of that one area beats Cars Land which is the best land Disney has on offer. The rest of Universal is meh. We will always go to Disney but I am thankful that Universal is pushing Disney to up its game. We will see in June if Star Wars Land beats Harry Potter.
I would agree with Diagon Alley, but I thought that the original HP area was "meh".

(Sorry - Digressing from the thread).

I do have a question. @mevelandry , would your thread be the place to post my Regal Princess reivew?
 
I get the comparison aspect, as it really is useful information. It's when the thread digresses into just information about other cruise lines, like waiting for them to release new dates and itineraries, when their restaurants open, how to book rooms, etc. Then it no longer has a DCL nexus and just becomes a separate forum.

So OP out of curiosity- do you have a problem with all non-Disney threads, or just not Disney cruise threads? I’ve never done Universal or SeaWorld so don’t click over there, but they have their own forums on here. Since the owners don’t want a separate forum wouldn’t it be easier to have separate “all other” threads or comparison posts for those that

1. Love Disney parks but prefer other cruise lines (so they ARE here for Disney but would like to discuss other travel as well)

2. Love or like DCL but mix it up and want a place to compare and hear about their other lines of interest

It just seems like a confusing stance to say you find all non-Disney talk out of place here when the boards seem to encourage and promote that with forums like Universal or SeaWorld prominently displayed and lots of discussionon the WDW board will compare and such.

Disney can absolutely be your favorite one and only line and this should absolutely be a great happy place for you to plan and discuss and enjoy. I just don’t think that ideal is mutually exclusive from letting others discuss their lines and preferences (as long as it doesn’t get nasty on either side of course!). Just don’t read those threads.
 
I would agree with Diagon Alley, but I thought that the original HP area was "meh".

(Sorry - Digressing from the thread).

I do have a question. @mevelandry , would your thread be the place to post my Regal Princess reivew?

Diagon Alley? There was only one Harry Potter area at Universal Hollywood.
 
Just out of curiosity was it the Norwegian Epic?
Ha! - wasn't that the one that took out the dock in Puerto Rico? No, that wasn't the ship - and I'd rather not get into the specifics of what make the other lines sound good/bad to me, just was trying to point out that comparisons where people do mention things that might be better (or worse) than Disney can be helpful.
 
I really don't let those posts from naysayers who bad mouth or complain about DCL bother me. I've sailed on DCL more than any other cruise line and although I've taken advantage of better deals on other cruise lines I always come back to DCL because for me they provide the best cruise experience.
 
Ha! - wasn't that the one that took out the dock in Puerto Rico? No, that wasn't the ship - and I'd rather not get into the specifics of what make the other lines sound good/bad to me, just was trying to point out that comparisons where people do mention things that might be better (or worse) than Disney can be helpful.
I have nothing against Norwegian. I just know someone who had a bad experience last week and it seemed coincidental that you did too so just wondered if it was the same ship. Fyi, this person has cruised Norwegian before and loves it, it was just an off week I guess.
 
It is very interesting to me because nowadays I find I spend more time on other DIS forums than I do on dcl's Dis forum. I have noticed that people are critical of Disney on other DIS forums and do not get reprimanded by other disers, but whenever people are critical on the DCL forum, there is a real pushback. I do feel more comfortable on the dl or wdw or dvc DIS forum. On the DCL forum, there is like a mini police force that comes out to try to purge criticism or even just different opinion. It is an interesting dynamic. I also occasionally listen to the DIS podcasts and find that the DIS owners and their staff are often critical of Disney. I find it very refreshing to have that more honest open discussion and am thankful for disboards in general.
 
We are taking a land vacation with Rick Steves Tours this summer through central Europe - I am VERY MUCH looking forward to how that stacks up to a cruise.

We are thinking of doing this next summer! Please tell how it was. We are trying to figure out if it is $ comparable to a European Disney cruise. I've watched all of his shows and even got the full set for Xmas. If I ever grow up I want his job!

Love him! I had the opportunity to meet him once - totally star struck. I had no idea he had guided tours... must check them out!

He has a couple family-specific tours with lots of kid-friendly activities that we're planning on trying in a couple years.
 
It is very interesting to me because nowadays I find I spend more time on other DIS forums than I do on dcl's Dis forum. I have noticed that people are critical of Disney on other DIS forums and do not get reprimanded by other disers, but whenever people are critical on the DCL forum, there is a real pushback. I do feel more comfortable on the dl or wdw or dvc DIS forum. On the DCL forum, there is like a mini police force that comes out to try to purge criticism or even just different opinion. It is an interesting dynamic. I also occasionally listen to the DIS podcasts and find that the DIS owners and their staff are often critical of Disney. I find it very refreshing to have that more honest open discussion and am thankful for disboards in general.

And the DVC forums actually are pretty critical regularly, with a side dose of telling would-be purchasers not to believe what the guides tell them. To the people who defend Disney, the DVC forums would probably break them!
 

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