DCL Revises Alcohol Policy

[sweetpee_1993]

As for the actual topic...eh. Our experience with alcohol has been inconsistent on the cruises, from the unstaffed/closed bars on the Dream like you described, to fully stocked almost always open bars with several dozen different beers on the Magic.

This is what I've found as well. For a cruise line that's commanding such a premium for their cruises you'd think they could at least manage to be consistent across their fleet. Not like they have even half a dozen ships to manage......

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sorry. I was just generically addressing some of the arguments presented in this thread. I understand your point of view, but at the same time have a hard time getting too outraged when DCL policy just falls in line with the others. I figure not having a casino on the ship probably saves me $1,000 over the course of a cruise. I don't mind spending a little of that on liquor. And I would assume that is one of the reasons DCL is higher priced than the other lines. They do not have that major source of revenue.

I assumed the same: Disney wants more money because they don't have the income from casinos or as much income from bar sales because of their liberal carried-on alcohol policy. But then things are changing so they can garner more $$ from bar sales. So let's revisit this compensating with the larger cruise fares. Now we're double-dipping a bit, huh?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

A very good point was made on another forum that I think bears repeating. Why this specific date: September 30th? If this was a safety issue or issue with disruptive drunkards than why not put the new policy in place effective immediately? If it was just something Disney wanted to move towards, why not set the effective date for 75 days + 10 from the date of the information release to give guests a chance to cancel without penalty? OR, what about the date that marks the end of a fiscal quarter???? Things that make ya go hmmmmmm.......

If you go here:

https://cdn.thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/q3-fy15-earnings.pdf

You will see the end of the 3rd fiscal quarter was June 27, 2015. A quarter is 3 months. Count out another 3 months. That marks the end of the 4th quarter and the fiscal year.

Now, tell me again that this move by DCL isn't rooted in Mickey's bottomless pockets.



Ps. @WDW1974, just wanted to wave "Hello" to you, friend.

 

[RoadTrip]

I assumed the same: Disney wants more money because they don't have the income from casinos or as much income from bar sales because of their liberal carried-on alcohol policy. But then things are changing so they can garner more $$ from bar sales. So let's revisit this compensating with the larger cruise fares. Now we're double-dipping a bit, huh?

Probably, but then that is nothing new for Disney. The theme parks are even worse!

 

[RoadTrip]

Hi WDW1974!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Probably, but then that is nothing new for Disney. The theme parks are even worse!

Yep. I've been on parks trips twice in the past 4 years. Both were not WDW. Now, ask me if I carried my own liquor along with me?

 

[jaklgreen]

I have been on other cruise lines also. They nickel and dime you about everything. On the Celebrity cruise it feels like you are at a flea market with the tables they set out with knockoffs. It is a real turnoff. Just think of all the money a family saves on a Disney cruise by not having to buy soft drinks, milk, etc for the kids. Especially little kids, you get them a drink they take 2 sips and dump the rest. There is a lot more that you get from a Disney cruise that so many people either forget or choose to ignore. It stinks to loose a perk if it was something you liked. If they start shrinking the rooms and charging for the buffet, then I will get mad.

 

[flynnibus]

Now if you want a mixed drink, you must pay Disney's ridiculous on-ship prices.

Except... their onboard beer/liquior prices aren't that bad. They are on par almost with any local bar here in town.

I think changing this long standing policy is bad.. and serves little purpose but to off your established customer base... but drink prices are actually tolerable.. and why we never bothered with the hassle of carrying beer/liquor on board. Why serve myself when there is so much staff around willing to do it for me

 

[PhotoDave219]

Except... their onboard beer/liquior prices aren't that bad. They are on par almost with any local bar here in town.

I think changing this long standing policy is bad.. and serves little purpose but to **** off your established customer base... but drink prices are actually tolerable.. and why we never bothered with the hassle of carrying beer/liquor on board. Why serve myself when there is so much staff around willing to do it for me

I agree. Everyone needs to be service aboard ship.

 

[ScoutN]

Just think of all the money a family saves on a Disney cruise by not having to buy soft drinks, milk, etc for the kids.

You mean the drinks that are included in the very high premium paid for a DCL trip?

 

[jaklgreen]

You mean the drinks that are included in the very high premium paid for a DCL trip?

Its not like they ever gave away free booze. The disbelief I have is with the people saying that they will not cruise Disney again because they are unable to bring whatever alcohol they wanted on board. Why even cruise? Just stay home and drink if that is a deciding factor on whether or not you are going to go on a Disney cruise. If the cruise lines are, in your mind, interchangeable then cruise another line and be happy. But for me, I sail Disney because they are clean, the rooms are way bigger, the kids love the clubs, the food is good. I sailed the Celebrity Constellation once and it was nasty. Rusted railings and pool deck, the food was bad, the employees were rude beyond belief, the rooms where TINY!! Every day I overheard people saying that "you would never see this on a Disney cruise". There were a bunch of unhappy cruisers. I know not every line is like that but there was such a striking difference that I felt like I wasted that money and would have gladly paid triple to be on a Disney cruise.

 

[lostpro9het]

So Joel Hayes, one of the wigs at DCL, just called me about my email I had sent. He was quite pleasant and very apologetic about the timing of the decision since we had already paid for our April 2016 trip in full. In my email I expressed concern that this was an initial step in bringing DCL in line with some of the other cruise lines and felt that was detrimental for the DCL. He spent much of our 5-10 minute call reassuring me that he has been with the company a very long time and this was the furthest thing from their intention. BUT in his next breath he stated that “this policy of two bottles per person is an industry standard” which I felt contradicted his previous points. It seems many of the responses they have received have a thread of “You are lowering the standard” engrained in their words. He also mentioned an email my wife had sent to him which he responded to in email and said that he hopes we can still enjoy our trip in September and April. I reiterated my concern about the future of DCL and how much we have enjoyed sailing with them, hence our second and third cruises planned in September and April. He expressed his apologies again and continued to reassure me that my and the many other DCL guests that have been supplying feedback will be taken into consideration on this and the future decisions with the company. He closed our conversation by giving me his phone number and asked that I call with any feedback after our cruise in September and April.



Overall thoughts were that it was nice getting the personal contact from DCL but I was left with the feeling nothing was going to change.

 

[Rodan75]

Refreshing this one...

We just got off our last 'BYOA' cruise with Disney before the new policy went into effect (Hurricane Joaquin...ugh). We chatted about the change with several bartenders and officers aboard. Everyone gave us a similar answer for the change in the alcohol policy (the answers were similar but not enough to seem like a prepped response)

• Parents are providing and over-serving liquor to their minor kids 15-17, those kids are behaving inappropriately in the teen clubs, causing issues with other teens and getting injured. Parents when dealing with the aftermath were blaming bartenders, even though Disney / the bartenders could easily prove they never served the minors and have sued DCL.
• Adults being over-served and the bartenders being fired for 'over-serving' folks who got their last drink from their stateroom and not a bartender. Any trip and fall or injury associated with alcohol gets the last bartender in trouble (several said it was an automatic dismissal)

They said the date aligned with other policy changes that impacted the crew. We received a lot of very candid feedback from the staff this trip, both good and bad but all stuff you know that DCL doesn't want their team sharing with guests.

Overall I'm thinking over-served entitled a-holes are responsible for this change moreso than corporate greed.

 

[Bolna]

They said the date aligned with other policy changes that impacted the crew.

Interesting information that you got there! And are there any examples of policy changes regarding the crew?

 

[ChuckElias]

They said the date aligned with other policy changes that impacted the crew. We received a lot of very candid feedback from the staff this trip, both good and bad but all stuff you know that DCL doesn't want their team sharing with guests.

Overall I'm thinking over-served entitled a-holes are responsible for this change moreso than corporate greed.

Awesome info. Thank you very much for sharing. (Sorry about Joaquin! )

 

[KCL]

Too many negative comments to respond to individually. I will say that I am disappointed about this rule change. However, I don't think that a Disney cruise is somehow less valuable now that you can't bring liquor. Was that really the only reason you were paying the higher prices?

I found the drink prices, especially for the drink of the day to be reasonable. I was actually quite surprised.

I think something that I didn't see mentioned was that people who were bringing their own liquor were getting s---faced and probably ruining other people's vacations.

 

[KCL]

Refreshing this one...

We just got off our last 'BYOA' cruise with Disney before the new policy went into effect (Hurricane Joaquin...ugh). We chatted about the change with several bartenders and officers aboard. Everyone gave us a similar answer for the change in the alcohol policy (the answers were similar but not enough to seem like a prepped response)

• Parents are providing and over-serving liquor to their minor kids 15-17, those kids are behaving inappropriately in the teen clubs, causing issues with other teens and getting injured. Parents when dealing with the aftermath were blaming bartenders, even though Disney / the bartenders could easily prove they never served the minors and have sued DCL.
• Adults being over-served and the bartenders being fired for 'over-serving' folks who got their last drink from their stateroom and not a bartender. Any trip and fall or injury associated with alcohol gets the last bartender in trouble (several said it was an automatic dismissal)

They said the date aligned with other policy changes that impacted the crew. We received a lot of very candid feedback from the staff this trip, both good and bad but all stuff you know that DCL doesn't want their team sharing with guests.

Overall I'm thinking over-served entitled a-holes are responsible for this change moreso than corporate greed.

This was my initial thought.

 

[Phonedave]

Overall I'm thinking over-served entitled a-holes are responsible for this change moreso than corporate greed.

I think something that I didn't see mentioned was that people who were bringing their own liquor were getting s---faced and probably ruining other people's vacations.

I don't doubt this. While I am sure that DCL is going to be making more money because of the change, I also don't doubt that people abused this policy. I have seen people on embarkation day dragging on board what amounts to a mini liquor store. I think we have all read posts about people asking if a case of beer counts as a carry on, and could they use a wagon if they had to.

DCL tries to be very family friendly - no casino, no giant drinking parties, not many "adult only" entertainment venues - I think this just reinforces that.

What I would like to see is an all inclusive package. After doing an all inclusive resort (Sandals) and what amounted to an all inclusive Cruise (Celebrity with a premium drink package) I really find that so much more enjoyable. It's not that I can't afford to pay $17 for a drink if I wanted to, it's just that it galls me to do so.

-dave

 

[Rodan75]

I don't doubt this. While I am sure that DCL is going to be making more money because of the change, I also don't doubt that people abused this policy. I have seen people on embarkation day dragging on board what amounts to a mini liquor store. I think we have all read posts about people asking if a case of beer counts as a carry on, and could they use a wagon if they had to.

DCL tries to be very family friendly - no casino, no giant drinking parties, not many "adult only" entertainment venues - I think this just reinforces that.

What I would like to see is an all inclusive package. After doing an all inclusive resort (Sandals) and what amounted to an all inclusive Cruise (Celebrity with a premium drink package) I really find that so much more enjoyable. It's not that I can't afford to pay $17 for a drink if I wanted to, it's just that it galls me to do so.

-dave

I agree! And I asked a lot about drink packages moving forward, and they said they have hear zero rumors or information on drink packages outside of the wine package, the beer mug and the hurricane cup discounts. Are you serious on the $17 a drink? We were drinking top shelf and never paid over $10. (I thought we were expensive alcoholics)

 

[Sans Souci]

I agree! And I asked a lot about drink packages moving forward, and they said they have hear zero rumors or information on drink packages outside of the wine package, the beer mug and the hurricane cup discounts. Are you serious on the $17 a drink? We were drinking top shelf and never paid over $10. (I thought we were expensive alcoholics)

I wonder if it depends upon which bar you go to? Last month, we were on the Magic and we went to Keys quite a bit. This one drink I'd taken a shine to was $16. Now Keys has a piano player and the servers prepare your drinks table side, so I am thinking maybe you're paying a bit extra for that in a place like Keys v. a regular bar?