Answer to Petes question.

[loves to dive]

If I'm going on a cruise it's going to be somewhere in Europe. I've been to all the ports Disney goes to on dive trips. I can go on a dive live aboard for a week and do 4 dives a day, have all my food and drinks (including alcoholic) provided and still come out less than a 4 night Disney cruise. I've never seen the attraction of cruising, it's just not for some people.

 

[rlk]

I just listened to part of the last podcast. I was turned off by all three laughing about people getting turned away for testing positive. Well, I revise my statement. At least Pete was trying to say it was sad.

 

[AndrewMickey86]

I am not cruising right now, because even though I am fully vaccinated and boosted, and Disney has loads of precautions in place (which is great), I know that this variant is highly contagious and the guidelines are to not cruise. I have to prioritize my health and the health of those around me. A cruise can wait.

 

[TummyGirl]

For me, nothing can beat rides! I would love to experience a Disney cruise eventually but Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest still have my heart and $$$$.

 

[Sabine W.]

Been in the Navy for 15 years, I can't bring myself to pay to go on a ship lol.

Thank you for your service!

I find the idea of a cruise claustrophobic and would not go on any cruise, at any time.

 

[TreAntDeu]

Pete asked the question on 1/25/22 As he commented on the great prices and compare to resort packages. So I will answer for possibly many of us.

WHY ARENT YOU GOING ON A DISNEY CRUISE ?
ANSWER : BECAUSE I AM NOT VACCINATED!

I would love too but Disney said No

My answer: I'm not risking wasting vacation days and booking flights for a vacation that can be canceled for me once I get to the port.

I'm vaccinated and boosted. But that risk for me or anyone im with is a total non starter. I'm not scared of the virus, I just don't think its worth the risk of it being canceled for me.

With WDW, I know if I book it and commit my money/time to getting there and not having to work, I'm going to have no issues once I arrive.
.
It would be different if I could just drive home 2 hours away and go to WDW whenever I want if I could not cruise.
.
Not sure why they are so baffled by the idea of how risky it is and what ppl stand to lose if they test positive.

 

[Sydnerella]

I actually just canceled my cruise. Everyone 5 and up is vaccinated so we could go, but with the limitations on Kids Club time and the closure of the nursery, it' just not worth the price to me. There is a lot more for my kids at the parks/resorts than on a cruise currently.

Good point! Lately when I listen to these shows I don’t think that Pete, John nor Kevin think about the broad demographic of their clients but think more about people who are just like them.

During the show I compared a cruise for my family of four to a week vacation for my family over my kids upcoming spring break and it wasn’t even close, no comparison the Disney park at a moderate was far cheaper and even when adding on costs for meals I would not get up to the 10 grand the veranda state room I would’ve wanted on the cruise would cost! The veranda state room is what we had on our last and only cruise and while it was lovely this is not a huge cost savings for a family of four, its more in my calcs. And a partially full ship full of vaccinated tested people? Yes! But I’m not sure I am up for the limited offerings, so so Palo and spending more money right now and teenagers who want more freedom to run around the parks than the cruise ship.

And by the way who the heck are they talking to that loves genie plus anyway? certainly not Elaine nor Deni!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Once they require the booster I’ll have my sea legs cut off too. Going to AULANI tomorrow and a DCL cruise in February then we will see

 

[Morieris]

I haven't cruised for one reason:

I don't have a passport. I'll do DCL one day before the decade is up.

If I did, I would.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Why I am cancelling our upcoming cruise and not booking another (after 12 Disney cruises; most recent in December 2021):

• The begging for excellent rating in the MDRs was outrageous. When I say we did not have 4 consecutive minutes without being interrupted (actually interrupted--server would start talking over whoever at the table was talking), I am not exaggerating. We could not carry on a conversation at all. We cruise with extended family, some of whom we don't see often, and getting together at dinner is a big part of our cruise. This has always been a problem (I complained about it on the comment card on our fist cruise in 2004), but it was FAR WORSE this time. Husband says he is never stepping foot in a Disney MDR ever again after this experience. (This continued even after we spoke to the servers about it, asked them to stop, and ensured them we would put highest possible ratings on the comment card.)
• Edge and Vibe were a huge disappointment this time. They were full almost every time my kids tried to go. Yes, I know it's covid, but maybe they need to move to a larger venue or limit number of teens allowed on board (like they already do with the younger kids). Every previous cruise since my kids have been old enough for these clubs, they meet people on that first night and then hang out with them the whole rest of the cruise. They still text message with some people they've met in the past.
• It is not worth the risk of being denied at the port if we test positive. Yes, we are all vaccinated and boosted, but my kids are in school and so are probably exposed all the time. In December, we just drove to Galveston (we live in Houston), but I do not want to fly everyone to Florida and then get stuck. I cancelled Alaska because I definitely do not want to deal with international travel right now.
• We missed the extra entertainment (like a magician or comedian). We've seen all the regular shows, and we always have enjoyed these extra performers.

But Dreams need not worry--we replaced our upcoming cruise with a trip to Grand Californian and booked through Dreams. And I imagine we'll get back to cruising again eventually (after enough time passes that husband forgets about the MDR experience).

 

[dreamer17555]

I actually just booked a last minute amazing rate after the show for a 7 night leaving Feb 5th. But I can because

1.) I can drive down (10 hours but doable)

2.) I homeschool so my son doesn’t have to worry about missing school last minute or me work

3.) If we test positive at port we know the plan (a hotel room for the night and then a long drive home)

4.) Did I mention the amazing VGT rate? Because it was a steal in terms of DCL for a 7 night SWDAS for my SW obsessed 14 year old

5.) My Dreams agent handled the booking. I don’t like dealing directly with DCL and even though DU said they don’t do quotes within 14 days of sailing she was still able to do everything and book it. Love my agent

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm cruising! Got 6 cruises planned this year. Three of them are on DCL.

Went in December on my first one, going again in April. It's a pain to go through the COVID hurdles to get on board, but once you're "into the bubble," it's by far the highest level of customer service I've experienced anywhere since 2019.

Dad - Vaxxed and boosted
Mom - Vaxxed and boosted
D7 - Vaxxed
D4 - Too young
S1 - Too young

 

[dez1978]

well, for 1 DCL is ridiculously expensive. If I had the time to go on a cruise, I could spend half that and go on a different line and I'm sure be just as happy. 2, Like others have said, I'd be mad to spend that $ then get there and not be able to board. I really do want to take a cruise one day, but it's going to wait until life is back to normal. So maybe never lol

 

[kbelle8995]

Price. That's a lot of money

 

[Doingitagain]

We are booked on an Alaskan cruise in July. The adults are all vaccinated and boosted and the two children have had COVID, so catching it on the ship isn’t a big health concern for us. However, here are our concerns to consider:
1. A four year old having to wear a mask everywhere inside except stateroom or when eating. Not sure if she will do kids clubs since she hasn’t tried before.
2. An 11 month old with no nursery … where to play?
3. Neither of the children can be vaccinated yet, so they have to go on DCL excursions and cannot just get off the ship to walk around
4. Alaska weather is cold, so swimming/splashpad aren't good options and it is cold to be on deck very much…hence a greater concern about wearing masks all the time indoors
5. We fly to Canada and if one person in our party of 8 tests positive, we cannot board and are in Canada with no where to go
6. Upon return, we have to test negative. If not, those who are positive can’t return to US and are stuck in Canada with no where to go.

We purchased the cruise a while ago and have the OBB discount, but not any of the special discount rates that might be floating around. It is a lot of money for 4 staterooms considering the above items. Even if COVID is significantly reduced this summer, the above might all still be in place.

We are platinum cruisers and love DCL, but this might be the third year in a row we postpone.

We are DVC members and are going to WDW in March to use our points…but we have a three bedroom grand villa at Copper Creek and a lot of outdoor options.

Curious if anyone on the podcast is not local and has young children they are taking or have taken in the last few months?

 

[afwdwfan]

Here's my reasons...

1. I'm not all that interested in a cruise to begin with. Yes, the ships are amazing, but I prefer the thrill of the attractions and nostalgia in the parks over a resort on water.

2. I really don't want to travel anywhere right now. I'm vaxxed, my family is vaxxed, all but one of us have had Covid already. I'm not scared of the virus. I don't want to deal with the impacts of what even exposure has on day to day life. It's not worth the risk of screwing up work schedules or the kids' school schedules for a week on a boat. I was supposed to go to Washington DC next month and I even cancelled that just because getting on a plane and traveling out of state just seems like an unnecessary risk that my family could be dealing with for weeks if I'd come home sick.

3. Testing. Our daughter had to get a negative test to go back to school at the end of our quarantine for our son. She had tested multiple times prior and tested negative each time. The morning she was set to go back, tested positive. No symptoms, ever. This is why I would not set plans in motion to fly down to the port and play roulette with a test dictating whether I get to have a vacation or not.

4. Masks... eh, they don't bother me that much. Not a huge deal to me. But I'd rather be at the parks where I have more flexibility to remove it.



And honestly, right now, I'm not even planning a trip to the parks anytime soon. Not sure any of it is worth the money right now. It felt good to cast my proxy vote for my Disney stock against Chapek on the board. I know it won't matter, but it felt good to me.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We are booked on an Alaskan cruise in July. The adults are all vaccinated and boosted and the two children have had COVID, so catching it on the ship isn’t a big health concern for us. However, here are our concerns to consider:
1. A four year old having to wear a mask everywhere inside except stateroom or when eating. Not sure if she will do kids clubs since she hasn’t tried before.
2. An 11 month old with no nursery … where to play?
3. Neither of the children can be vaccinated yet, so they have to go on DCL excursions and cannot just get off the ship to walk around
4. Alaska weather is cold, so swimming/splashpad aren't good options and it is cold to be on deck very much…hence a greater concern about wearing masks all the time indoors
5. We fly to Canada and if one person in our party of 8 tests positive, we cannot board and are in Canada with no where to go
6. Upon return, we have to test negative. If not, those who are positive can’t return to US and are stuck in Canada with no where to go.

We purchased the cruise a while ago and have the OBB discount, but not any of the special discount rates that might be floating around. It is a lot of money for 4 staterooms considering the above items. Even if COVID is significantly reduced this summer, the above might all still be in place.

We are platinum cruisers and love DCL, but this might be the third year in a row we postpone.

We are DVC members and are going to WDW in March to use our points…but we have a three bedroom grand villa at Copper Creek and a lot of outdoor options.

Curious if anyone on the podcast is not local and has young children they are taking or have taken in the last few months?

I haven't cruised nearly as much as you, but my kids are similar ages so I think I have some insight.

I would *not* be doing an Alaska cruise with the kids right now. We did a Miami Double Dip in December and it was fantastic, but a large part of that is because we were able to be outside pretty much from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. The splash pad on the ships is kind of dinky, and they won't let babies go in the kids' pool unless they're potty trained, but the baby LOVED Castaway Cay and on a 5 night Double Dip, you're basically there half of the trip.

 

[Doingitagain]

I haven't cruised nearly as much as you, but my kids are similar ages so I think I have some insight.

I would *not* be doing an Alaska cruise with the kids right now. We did a Miami Double Dip in December and it was fantastic, but a large part of that is because we were able to be outside pretty much from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. The splash pad on the ships is kind of dinky, and they won't let babies go in the kids' pool unless they're potty trained, but the baby LOVED Castaway Cay and on a 5 night Double Dip, you're basically there half of the trip.

That is where we are leaning...we won't pay in full to book excursions at the platinum window and wait until the 60 day date. And we have a Plan B local resort booked.

 

[V.B.]

My answer: I'm not risking wasting vacation days and booking flights for a vacation that can be canceled for me once I get to the port.

I'm vaccinated and boosted. But that risk for me or anyone im with is a total non starter. I'm not scared of the virus, I just don't think its worth the risk of it being canceled for me.

With WDW, I know if I book it and commit my money/time to getting there and not having to work, I'm going to have no issues once I arrive.
.
It would be different if I could just drive home 2 hours away and go to WDW whenever I want if I could not cruise.
.
Not sure why they are so baffled by the idea of how risky it is and what ppl stand to lose if they test positive.

Yeah, as much as I love the Dis podcasts, I'm finding I'm enjoying it less with their regular "why aren't you cruising and going on vacation". I do wish there were more opinions from workers with younger kids who can't just pick up and leave with little planning. I know they are all travel agents and they do have the benefits living in Florida, but with that, I don't think they often take into account of what would happen if you ended up in Florida with an entire family not being allowed on the cruise.

But, I do get it to a degree. They are travel agents and have the money, time and a lot of them don't have children (or they are grown), so I get why they are able to enjoy the cruises so much right now. I don't always have to agree with what they say .

 

[WGCFV]

Personally just not a cruise fan. In my experience, cruises seem to consist of eating, drinking and up charges. Just not our thing, like the freedom of doing what we want, when we want at WDW, even if that means just hanging out at the lobby in the Poly.