Len Testa - “Disney positions itself as the all-American vacation. The irony is that most Americans can’t afford it.”

[JoeCamel]

I know this isnt an exact comparison but Celebrity Cruises came out with a River Cruise product recently. There was a placeholder that you could purchase to be among the first able to book these sailings ( Smaller boats, less guests etc) Those placeholder spots sold out within 6 minutes. Yes you heard correctly, 6 minutes. Those placeholders were filled and on Thursday the 25th, the remainder of the 33 sailings were opened to the general public. Those sold out in 5 hours total for all of 2027 which is 33 cruises, double occupancy, among two ships. All of these sailings will take place on the Danube or Rhine Rivers in Europe. The money and the desire to travel is out there. People want something new and different. Granted this might be a different audience but I do see some overlap. Marie

The days of quiet river cruising are over, they will turn all the ports of call into the same tourist trap on repeat. If it's Tuesday it must be Budapest......

 

[wannabeBelle]

Boomers hold most of the wealth in this country. It’s no surprising that river cruises on celebrity which tend to attract an older demographic were a hot ticket for celebrity fans. I remember when vacations by Disney went to the river cruises market there was a lot of excitement, but that faded pretty quickly.

How were these priced? ABD starts around 5k per person and Tauck a little less than that.
I also don't think the high end vacations selling out means a lot with the wealth divide in this country.

Celebrity is starting at $4200 per person or so for an infinite balcony room, so it isnt far off from the Disney river offerings. My only point is that travel isn't dead because people can't afford it. People can be priced out or valued out. Im willing to say it is a combination of the two.

 

[Miss Bella]

Celebrity is starting at $4200 per person or so for an infinite balcony room, so it isnt far off from the Disney river offerings. My only point is that travel isn't dead because people can't afford it. People can be priced out or valued out. Im willing to say it is a combination of the two.

I never considered river cruises a middle class family vacation. You're looking at over 20k for a family of four. I don't think travel is dead. There are plenty of older wealthy people that can afford those types of vacations. There are also a lot of people that can't afford the vacations they used to take because their discretionary income is shrinking. That is more of a middle class issue. High end river cruises aren't vacations middle class families have ever been able to afford.