Major competition coming for the Disney Wish?

[1ST08WRX]

We cruised DCL once before the pandemic and were not impressed for the price. The service wasn't any better or worse than the other cruise lines. They were just as pleasant and accommodating as cheaper options. We felt the food was comparable to the other 3 cruise lines we tried and the entertainment was meh. When we were on the Fantasy they had some b.s. reason about not showing the Broadway show that week we were sailing which we didn't find out until we were on the boat.
We just got back from the Oasis with RCCL and i only ever smelled smoke in the Casino never on the promenade and not in the hallway in front of the Casino. And i believe they have limited the smoking to one section on the pool deck.
Short cruises don't interest me and these mega ships have plenty of balcony rooms to enjoy a central park view, the boardwalk and the ocean.
And on this last cruise we got to try out their revamped Perfect Day private stop and it blows away Castaway. The number of options for families and older generations is by far the better island. Hopefully lighthouse point will offer something in the way of competition.

 

[bunnm09]

We cruised DCL once before the pandemic and were not impressed for the price. The service wasn't any better or worse than the other cruise lines. They were just as pleasant and accommodating as cheaper options. We felt the food was comparable to the other 3 cruise lines we tried and the entertainment was meh. When we were on the Fantasy they had some b.s. reason about not showing the Broadway show that week we were sailing which we didn't find out until we were on the boat.
We just got back from the Oasis with RCCL and i only ever smelled smoke in the Casino never on the promenade and not in the hallway in front of the Casino. And i believe they have limited the smoking to one section on the pool deck.
Short cruises don't interest me and these mega ships have plenty of balcony rooms to enjoy a central park view, the boardwalk and the ocean.
And on this last cruise we got to try out their revamped Perfect Day private stop and it blows away Castaway. The number of options for families and older generations is by far the better island. Hopefully lighthouse point will offer something in the way of competition.

Unfortunately lighthouse point looks like castaway 2.0 and offers nothing like CoCo. Which is great for some and not great for others

 

[bakerworld]

I shouldn't probably shove my oar in because we've only cruised DCL but it's a forum, right?
Our cruise preference is 4D with 2 stop at CC. I just booked the November Fantasy 4D Lighthouse & CC. For us 3D is too short and 5D I spend that last day just waiting for the disembarkation day. We really don't do anything on the cruise except enjoy the ocean. We usually do one TS dinner and the rest is buffet or room service. We tend to just ramble around, popping in and out of stuff that catches our attention. We caught a magician show once that was good and we finally experienced a movie on the Wish. We enjoy the fireworks and pirate night - not that we 'dress'. We just enjoy the relaxation of the ocean and the staff interaction.

 

[starvenger]

I do like that Royal has two private locations that don't feel like a clone of one another. Labadee isn't as good as Castaway Cay, but it's still a pretty chill location where you can just relax on the beach.

As for Oasis class, you can generally smell the smoke near the spiral staircase that heads down into the casino. But I think the newer ships have improved ventilation, so the smoke is noticeable, but nowhere near as bad. Still, it would be nice if the casinos were smoke free like they are here in Ontario.

 

[tvguy]

Unfortunately lighthouse point looks like castaway 2.0 and offers nothing like CoCo. Which is great for some and not great for others

You nailed it. Great for some and not great for others. We love the Gilligan's Island feel of Castaway Cay, not interested on an amusement park on an island. Labadee and Great Stirrup Cay had that feel too when we were there but that was decades ago so that may have changed. Actually, our second trip to Labadee they had started letting outside merchants on the island, that was a mistake in our opinion.

 

[OKW Lover]

Unfortunately lighthouse point looks like castaway 2.0 and offers nothing like CoCo. Which is great for some and not great for others

I'm sure there will be differences and improvements. Not going to discount this new stop before anybody has actually been there.

As for Oasis class, you can generally smell the smoke near the spiral staircase that heads down into the casino.

I've sailed on the Oasis, Harmony & Allure. The spiral staircase doesn't exist on at least one of them, just can't recall which one. But yes, it does exist on the Oasis.

 

[starvenger]

I've sailed on the Oasis, Harmon & Allure. The spiral staircase doesn't exist on at least one of them, just can't recall which one. But yes, it does exist on the Oasis.

You're right - they removed the staircase starting with Harmony. I forgot about that.

 

[Kwami]

I am trying to see how other cruise lines nickel and dime more.. The only thing I see "free" on DCL is the soft drinks and room service. Anything else special is an upcharge too on DCL. MSC recently in europe has great crafts sessions on sea day for free. Though the smoke with bad in some places...

DCL is horrible with extra tipping pressure IMO. That is what I love about other lines, no pressure to give more.

Other lines have started to charge for "better" food in the main restaurants. I know that at least NCL does this now. They also charge you for misplacing a towel. They charge you to access the adults-only sundeck. They charge you for soda and juice. They add a 20% gratuity to everything, including something simple like a soda. They pressure you to buy "premium" dining. They charge you quite a lot for those "free" drinks, too.

I also just generally don't like how NCL's website straight up lies to me constantly and pretends that I have to book a cruise right now because their special "Free at Sea" promotion and 50% off promotion is only good for one more day! But, they're pretty much always running those promotions. I've never been to the website and not seen them offered. And the "50% off" one is totally bogus, anyway. They're just repricing the rooms to show the price for one person instead of the room price for two people, so it looks like half.

So, maybe Disney charges more. But, I don't have kids. For just two people, the price difference isn't usually very much. Disney has better non-"premium" food, better service, better entertainment, and from what I've read in this thread, better daily activities, too. And no smoky casinos or cigar lounges! I'll stick with Disney when I can.

 

[jimmymc]

To answer the original question, probably not. Disney has a section of the market cornered because it's the only cruise where you can meet Mickey, Minnie, Anna, Elsa, and a few dozen others. It also has Castaway Cay, a huge draw for people sailing out of Florida.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Other lines have started to charge for "better" food in the main restaurants. I know that at least NCL does this now. They also charge you for misplacing a towel. They charge you to access the adults-only sundeck. They charge you for soda and juice. They add a 20% gratuity to everything, including something simple like a soda. They pressure you to buy "premium" dining. They charge you quite a lot for those "free" drinks, too.

I also just generally don't like how NCL's website straight up lies to me constantly and pretends that I have to book a cruise right now because their special "Free at Sea" promotion and 50% off promotion is only good for one more day! But, they're pretty much always running those promotions. I've never been to the website and not seen them offered. And the "50% off" one is totally bogus, anyway. They're just repricing the rooms to show the price for one person instead of the room price for two people, so it looks like half.

So, maybe Disney charges more. But, I don't have kids. For just two people, the price difference isn't usually very much. Disney has better non-"premium" food, better service, better entertainment, and from what I've read in this thread, better daily activities, too. And no smoky casinos or cigar lounges! I'll stick with Disney when I can.

This may be true but NCL's package inclusions really do add tremendous value. We've been caught up in pricing out other cruise lines that they make it seem like you're getting similar included but you're really not.

When it comes to leaving the cruise without a huge bill at the end, NCL is the cruise line we've sailed where we actually spent the least since our price already included drinks, specialty dining, and Wifi. Disney comes close 2nd.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

The only thing that makes me want other ships besides Disney is how crazy beautiful they are with more things to do. The new celebrity cruise ships are so nice with tons to do. But of course its give and a take, cause you have many more people on those ships.

My only real gripe I have with Disney ships is the adult entertainment is lacking. Nightlife. The ship is quiet at 11pm. I want a real club with more lounge areas with music and adult entertainment. Want slightly more party things on a Disney ship. I just don't find bingo entertaining. Then again, it's a ship catered to children so I get it.

It would be nice if they made a somewhat adults only cruise ship or parts of the year with adults only with new entertainment.

 

[DCLMP]

Having just spent 12 days on one of Royals' new ships the Odyssey. I will take any new Royal ship over the Wish any day of the week that ends in Y. The Odyssey was by far my favorite ship. I'm willing to try Utopia.

 

[Kwami]

This may be true but NCL's package inclusions really do add tremendous value. We've been caught up in pricing out other cruise lines that they make it seem like you're getting similar included but you're really not.

When it comes to leaving the cruise without a huge bill at the end, NCL is the cruise line we've sailed where we actually spent the least since our price already included drinks, specialty dining, and Wifi. Disney comes close 2nd.

Not for me, they don't.

The "free drinks" package is actually $21.80 per person per day to pay for the expected gratuities. You must purchase the package for every adult in the room and you can't downgrade it to the soft drinks package or coffee package. So, if one adult in the room doesn't drink alcohol (me), then the whole thing doesn't work. And even if everyone does drink, that's at least two pricy drinks per day to break even. If you just want beer or wine with dinner, then you'll never get there.

The "free WiFi" package gives me a whole 2.5 hours of WiFi time over a 10-night cruise, per stateroom. So, a bit over an hour each for a 2-person room. Upgrading to unlimited WiFi is $200 per person, and it's $300 per person for the "premium" speeds. So, that's actually more than Disney charges when you're booking for the duration of the cruise. Does NCL also charge to use the direct message feature in their app like some lines do? Disney doesn't, anyway.

The specialty dining package also isn't free since they charge for gratuities. And, the gratuities are set as if you would spend $90 per meal, which is unlikely for us. Still, at $36.80 for two meals each, I won't complain about it. It's cheaper than Palo, anyway.

We'll see about the $50 credit toward shore excursions. My cruise is too far out to book excursions, so I don't know if the prices are artificially inflated to cancel out the credits.

 

[DCLMP]

Just watch a 40-45 minute informational video on You Tube about Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas. Wow! Impressive is what I thought, but then they said it will be doing 3/4 cruises only out of Port Canaveral and how unusual that is. Looks like the Wish is going to have some serious competition there.

What do you think? Will Disney have to compete pricing wise to draw folks away from possibly the best ship in Port Canaveral?

A lot more people cruise Royal than Disney. Are you referring to Royal pulling away DCL fans? So far DCL has had the best ships doing those short cruises. I expect this will give DCL some competition. Doesn't Royal partner with Universal?

 

[rainbowredpanda]

Just watch a 40-45 minute informational video on You Tube about Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas. Wow! Impressive is what I thought, but then they said it will be doing 3/4 cruises only out of Port Canaveral and how unusual that is. Looks like the Wish is going to have some serious competition there.

What do you think? Will Disney have to compete pricing wise to draw folks away from possibly the best ship in Port Canaveral?

I do think with Disney having more and more cruise ships, they are lowering their demand. We will have DCL coming here now each year, and will only sail from here now. Previously we would go to Florida and do one B2B each year which we simply won't do now. We will also have the ship in Asia soon enough which is only a 'short' fight away (8 hours instead of 25 hours). Also in certain countries, including mine DCL is extremely expensive. I can get a 4 day cruise on another cruise line for 1/3 of the price or do a 10 or even 14 day cruise for the price of a 4 day in DCL or get a large suite instead of an inside room. Other cruise lines also offer packages which are very tempting especially for people who drink alcohol.

 

[starvenger]

Actually, our second trip to Labadee they had started letting outside merchants on the island, that was a mistake in our opinion.

I missed this earlier. Labadee is not an island. It's a little isolated, but it's on the Haitian mainland.

 

[OpieDoodle]

You nailed it. Great for some and not great for others. We love the Gilligan's Island feel of Castaway Cay, not interested on an amusement park on an island. Labadee and Great Stirrup Cay had that feel too when we were there but that was decades ago so that may have changed. Actually, our second trip to Labadee they had started letting outside merchants on the island, that was a mistake in our opinion.

This right here. Most people on DCL looking for an amusement park would opt for a Land and Sea trip doing WDW with the cruise or if the amusement park is THAT important to them they'd likely just do WDW anyways.

For me the Amusement park feel is just not it for me. I have an amusement park near where I live and we go to WDW relatively often. On a cruise I want to see the beach and what it has to offer. On other cruiselines we have sailed on if we have one of those amusement park islands on our itinerary we usually don't bother getting off.

 

[tvguy]

I missed this earlier. Labadee is not an island. It's a little isolated, but it's on the Haitian mainland.

Correct. But at least the two times were were there in the 1980's it was securely fenced off with razor wire on top.

 

[MomOTwins]

I took a look at a few videos and I don’t see how this new ship is any different from all the other RCCL ships.

I would be more likely to try a 3 night on RCCL rather than a 7 night as I don’t want to use up a full week of vacation in case we don’t like it, but if the price is not much different from DCL I think it will be a hard pass. We are a family of 5 so there are not a lot of options on lines outside dcl that can accommodate us without a pricey suite or booking two rooms instead of one.

 

[MomOTwins]

I took a look at a few videos and I don’t see how this new ship is any different from all the other RCCL ships.

I would be more likely to try a 3 night on RCCL rather than a 7 night as I don’t want to use up a full week of vacation in case we don’t like it, but if the price is not much different from DCL I think it will be a hard pass. We are a family of 5 so there are not a lot of options on lines outside dcl that can accommodate us without a pricey suite or booking two rooms instead of one.

Replying to myself to add, I just did the pricing. Haha, no thank you. A 3-night in Utopia is $1000 MORE than the wish the same weekend in August next year for a family of 2 adults, 3 kids, and that was with Royal’s “30% off everyone” discount. Yeesh.