DCL to get rid of Placeholder Booking Perks?

[Garyjames220]

We were on the Wonder last month and I debated waiting until we are on the Magic to get a placeholder - glad I got one last month! And both of our cruises in 2020 were booked with placeholders so at least that's 3 more cruises that have OBC.But boy oh boy.....what is next to go, eh?

The 10% booking discount

 

[crazy4wdw]

They're getting ready for the new ships! Must be expecting them to sell out quickly once their booking windows open!

 

[bcwife76]

The 10% booking discount

Yes I'm sure eventually that may go too.....

 

[tinkerone]

Because of the short notice of this offer expiring I think DCL thought it best to just rip the band-aid off and be done with it. I mean to give 3 or 4 days notice is ridiculous unless you just want to get the bad publicity over and done with. It will be talked about for a week and then gone where as if they waited 60 days/90 days it would be talked about for that amount of time as well.
I really do think they will continue to take offers off the table until it actually does affect the bottom line. We are ones that have changed our habits and no longer spend the majority of our vacation money with the mouse. We have historically done B2B's, 14 nights, with DCL but have changed that over to Royal where I get a product that is as good as, and in some areas better, than DCL and can pay in my home currency. We no longer spend a week to two at WDW, that has been switched to Universal where the product may be different but for us every bit as good. The dining is less expensive with no need to book months in advance. The hotels are great. We are closer to lots of other Orlando things to do.
I know we are just one of the thousands of Disney fans but I'm sure there are others who have changed their habits as well and I'm positive there are more to follow. Vacation dollars for a lot of families are becoming harder and harder to come by. Each one that cuts down on spending with Disney hurts their pocket just a little bit more. Eventually they will see where they need to fix things to keep those $$'s coming in.
JMO and not necessarily correct.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Didn’t platinums used to get 300 OBC. They also used to change the gifts. I think we’re going on three years of the same rcastaway gift and the same Pali menu. The new gold platinum party ion the Walt Disney theatre is lame.

It was $300 or $350. And it didn’t last long before that sweet perk was yanked away.

 

[cgolf]

Funny with this topic today, I found this in the mail tonight.

 

[monarchsfan16]

We are relatively new to Disney Cruising (first in 2016). We have never cruised for the returning cruiser "perks"; we've cruised for the experience. We haven't cruised other lines yet. We are, by our standards, frequent cruisers, but by this board's standards, we are not. We did a cruise in 2016, 2018, 2019, and have one booked for 2020.

Is the loss of the OBC going to hurt? Yes. This spring that paid for our base tips, plus a couple of drinks (we are only a couple, no kids). But, we don't generally book unique/ultra expensive itineraries, and we historically don't book on opening day. So, for us, this means changing our booking strategy. It means guessing when school vacation week will be (I'm an educator, and we don't find that out until Christmastime the school year before) and booking close to opening day, rather than booking on the ship. I'm guessing this will come close to making up for the difference, for the time being. And we will do fewer beverage tastings on board (honestly, we didn't really want to repeat the rum and tequila ones anyway), and maybe we will start to look at 3rd party vendors for excursions, rather than booking with Disney. So, in the end, we will still sail, but Disney will probably end up with less in their pocket from us. I promise though, the tipped staff will still receive extra tips from us, provided they continue to provide excellent service. I'm not foolish enough to stick it to the ones providing the experience.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

So, we booked a PH on our last cruise and then booked on opening day for silver for our next cruise, so we got the lowest possible price and the OBC from both DCL and our TA. We went down a level and booked non-concierge because we wouldn't get 10% off otherwise. I think Disney is more and more thinking of their customer as an affluent, luxury customer, and assuming that because of that their customer base isn't price sensitive. But even people who can afford nice vacations want to save money where they can, and will notice when value is being taken away. This is a penny-wise pound-foolish change, and will encourage existing customers to look at other lines to see where they can get the best deal. Also, OBC can feel like fun money and encourages the opening of purse strings. I only entered the shops and got a wine package because we had OBC, but I definitely spent more than my OBC over the length of our cruise.

 

[MomOTwins]

The recent price hikes have definitely been a bit frustrating. The Spa prices have gone up (especially rainforest room passes), the cost of Palo/Remy also went up quite a bit in this past year. And of course cruise fares too. I think they should take a note from the parks and recognize that they are going to start to feel some attrition soon if they keep raising prices across the board. I actually was on the fence between getting my next placeholder for a 2020 cruise or waiting until 2021, and it is starting to feel like every two years maybe be more our speed going forward (we cruised twice last year and once this year, so yeah, the increased prices are really having an effect on me).

 

[lilsonicfan]

Also, OBC can feel like fun money and encourages the opening of purse strings. I only entered the shops and got a wine package because we had OBC, but I definitely spent more than my OBC over the length of our cruise.

I agree with your entire post but especially this part. We had a total of $400 OBC on our cruise due to having 2 staterooms. On a 13 night cruise this wouldn't have fully covered even the gratuities. But I still viewed it as fun money and still bought myself a couple of souvenirs and did a couple of liquor tastings that I would have been more hesitant about were it not for the gratuities.

 

[n2mm]

I agree with your entire post but especially this part. We had a total of $400 OBC on our cruise due to having 2 staterooms. On a 13 night cruise this wouldn't have fully covered even the gratuities. But I still viewed it as fun money and still bought myself a couple of souvenirs and did a couple of liquor tastings that I would have been more hesitant about were it not for the gratuities.

So true for us too. Obc is our fun money. I’ll just cut out some of the extras and adjust my spending once the obc ends. Though DU still gives us some too

 

[Garyjames220]

I would have spent that 200 on drinks

basically my next cruise has gone up 200 plus the increase on the cruise itself

It angers me how greedy Disney is getting.

I would love to tell you what I think but I don’t want to get banned from dis

 

[deliela999]

I'll add to the others that we wouldn't get anything on our next cruise so why bother. We're going over Christmas and it's blacked out for the 10% but we get $100 OBC. Now it would be nothing. I was already looking at Princess for our dream to go to Alaska because of both ports and price. We can get a suite with Princess a few thousand less than a verandah with DCL.

 

[Surgie2]

Though DU still gives us some too

Are you allowed to say what perks DU gives? My AAA agent said DCL cut way back for TAs a few years back so all she can offer me for my booking (2 family verandah cabins on a 4-night cruise) is a "courtesy" $50 OBC per cabin. Just wondered if this is in line with what other TAs offer.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Are you allowed to say what perks DU gives? My AAA agent said DCL cut way back for TAs a few years back so all she can offer me for my booking (2 family verandah cabins on a 4-night cruise) is a "courtesy" $50 OBC per cabin. Just wondered if this is in line with what other TAs offer.

If you book via Costco Travel (or transfer to them within 30 days of booking), they will give you a Costco Shop Card worth 8.5% of your base cruise cost after the cruise. If you're an executive Costco member, you get a personal check for 2% back in addition to the 8.5% Costco cash card.

 

[n2mm]

Are you allowed to say what perks DU gives? My AAA agent said DCL cut way back for TAs a few years back so all she can offer me for my booking (2 family verandah cabins on a 4-night cruise) is a "courtesy" $50 OBC per cabin. Just wondered if this is in line with what other TAs offer.

It’s $50 per $1000 you spend for a new reservation.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/disney-cruise-line/discounts-specials.htm#sbc
Dreams Unlimited is a sponsor of disboards.

 

[cvjw]

If you book via Costco Travel (or transfer to them within 30 days of booking), they will give you a Costco cash card worth 8.5% of your base cruise cost after the cruise. Most Costcos will completely cash that out for you, and that's on top of any savings from DCL. If you're an executive Costco member, you get a personsl check for 2% back in addition to the 8.5% Costco cash card.

AND 3% back if you pay with the Costco Visa card.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I doubt this information because it’s a total impulse buy when you’re on the ship having fun. You don’t want the party to end so how do we keep it going? We buy another cruise.
Edit: I read this as referring to getting rid of onboard bookings altogether but you were just referring to the OBC. Ignore my comment.

 

[cvjw]

Are you allowed to say what perks DU gives? My AAA agent said DCL cut way back for TAs a few years back so all she can offer me for my booking (2 family verandah cabins on a 4-night cruise) is a "courtesy" $50 OBC per cabin. Just wondered if this is in line with what other TAs offer.

I have two 4 night cruises on the dream (back to back) booked thru Costco for next September. We are in an extended verandah cabin - category 4E. Costco is giving us a cash card of $165 for each cruise. Plus 2% back for being an executive member and 3% back for using their Costco visa.

 

[Ravenne]

I agree but it's more of a totality of all the reduction in benefits and not just the single issue of the $200 loss. There has been a reduction in approx 10 to 12 different areas like cgolf described above. Seems strange for cruise prices to creep up to almost double and then couple that price increase with so much reduction in benefits. It goes against the old saying "you get what you pay for". Generally if you're continuing to pay more and more, you should get more and more, not the other way around. Obviously we will continue to sail DCL but the constant reduction of services is irritating.
.

Honestly, the thing I am most irked about is service. I would be fine with all these "little" things going away if the CMs were still being well taken care of, happy, and in return, provided superior service to guests. Good service, provided by humans should cost a premium, and I'm happy to pay for it, but the sad reality is, that's just not the case any more. It's been on the decline for years in the parks, and part of the reason why we cruised was because for a while there, the good, magical service that Disney is known for remained on DCL. Our cruise, on the Wonder last year made it very clear that the demoralization of CMs that'd hit the parks finally made it to DCL. Our poor servers seemed so disenchanted, and unhappy (through their smiling facades.) One of them kept to himself about it, just working through it with a grin, knowing he had to do the job with a smile, but it was a stark difference from the first time we cruised with DCL, on the Dream. The other server was more candid about it, and the stories she told me made me so sad, and realized that Disney isn't a premium product any more. It's become...common. Common in huge corporations where workers are just low men on the totem pole, rather than respected. It's something that the DisUnplugged crew discussed in this week's episode, so in a way, I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing it, but I'm sad it's happening to a company I've grown to love and respected. And it wasn't just the serving team either. The entire vibe of the crew just seemed off the whole time. They lacked energy, enthusiasm, and at the risk of sounding cliche...magical. There were other issues that arose, big enough for me to write DCL about it afterward, and their response to it was surprisingly bad.

I'm giving DCL another shot, and going back to the Dream next. It wasn't necessarily my first choice, but price increases was a big deciding factor. My upcoming 4 night costs as much as my 7 night in Alaska in 2018. I can't keep doing this at this rate of cost. I have kids who are growing up way too fast - cars, insurance (eek!), college tours, college tuition, our retirement, etc. We're fortunate enough to be able to travel with Disney all these years, but just like Disney is looking out for themselves, I need to do the same for me and my family. Just because we can, doesn't mean I want to if the value isn't there for me. Hopefully, the crew on the Dream is just as good as I remember, and I can go out with a bang, and positive impression of DCL. I'll clutch my placeholder money and let DCL convince me they want it.