yoda288 Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Disney adding two new ships, 1st expected in 2021. To be a bit bigger than dream/fantasy http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/03/03/disney-cruise-line-announced-two-new-ships/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 The new ships at 135,000 GT will be very close in size to the Royal Voyager Class of ships. This is the same yard as Royal uses for many of their ships include the just floated Ovation of the Seas. These two new ships should be much closer to Ovation than Voyager in terms of technology. I heard that Disney is looking at a cruise ship tie in to their Hong Kong Theme Park. The new Hong Kong Cruise Terminal is very close to Disney World Hong Kong and the prefect set up for park cruise or cruise only packages. Royal owns the Asian Market now, yes we do has Star Cruises here (part of NCL) but they run a very Asian operation which can't compete with Royal. But if Disney came to Hong Kong they would give Royal real competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Be interesting to see the ships, where they are deployed, etc. and how much Royal has closed the pricing gap by then. We enjoyed our 2 Disney cruises and would consider them again but the pricing is generally to much to justify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Be interesting to see the ships, where they are deployed, etc. and how much Royal has closed the pricing gap by then. We enjoyed our 2 Disney cruises and would consider them again but the pricing is generally to much to justify. I do not anticipate any pricing drops from DCL. They just seem to be in their own universe when it comes to how they price themselves. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I don't expect them to drop either but RCL seems to be intent on moving upwards ... I think the gap is more likely to close from that direction ;) DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I don't expect them to drop either but RCL seems to be intent on moving upwards ... I think the gap is more likely to close from that direction ;) You might be right, but I firmly believe RC will still be pricing themselves well below what DCL does. There is a significant gap currently (in general) between the two lines, often in the thousands of dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 You cannot really compare Disney and Royal, Disney is a very small player in the cruise market with less than 3% of the total passengers cruising Worldwide and the revenue percent is even lower at about 2.4%. They are a niche player in the cruise market. Royal Group (all the lines together) has 23% of the passengers and about 22% of the total cruise revenue. So the companies market in completely different ways and have different goals. Disney has their loyal core clients, almost like the different between Apple Mac Users and PC Users. So Disney's pricing can be higher, and only Disney can offer a seamless package. Royal is number two with their eyes set squarely at becoming number one in the market. If you control 25% of a market it is much harder to have growth than a company that as only a few percent of the market. I really do not think Royal prices the product with much consideration to Disney pricing. The percent of the Royal's potential market Disney takes in Florida is very small but if they started offering cruises here in Asia they could take much more of the market and then I believe Royal would take notices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 You cannot really compare Disney and Royal, Disney is a very small player in the cruise market with less than 3% of the total passengers cruising Worldwide and the revenue percent is even lower at about 2.4%. I disagree, they are both mass-market cruise lines that are going after a similar demographic (family cruising). Yes, RC has a much larger market share, but they are still in the same grouping of competing cruise lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBC Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I went on my first cruise on the Disney Wonder about a year and a half ago. It was lovely and they do a great job with families. Since then, they have significantly raised their prices, probably 20-30%. For my 2nd cruise I am giving Royal a try, and the reason is purely price. The comparable Disney cruise was almost DOUBLE the cost, which equates to about $4,000. I couldn't believe it when I was researching. I couldn't justify it and I am hoping Royal provides some wow factor. Disney is all about kids and families, I found their adults only areas pretty much dead most of the time. The shows are all Disney themed (for kids), there are no casino's on Disney ships and they do not offer any sort of drink packages. I am hoping Royal provides a better balance of activities for kids and adults. If Disney prices remain at the levels they are currently at, RC and NCL will continue to have a tremendous opportunity to go after that demographic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I went on my first cruise on the Disney Wonder about a year and a half ago. It was lovely and they do a great job with families. Since then, they have significantly raised their prices, probably 20-30%. For my 2nd cruise I am giving Royal a try, and the reason is purely price. The comparable Disney cruise was almost DOUBLE the cost, which equates to about $4,000. I couldn't believe it when I was researching. I couldn't justify it and I am hoping Royal provides some wow factor. Disney is all about kids and families, I found their adults only areas pretty much dead most of the time. The shows are all Disney themed (for kids), there are no casino's on Disney ships and they do not offer any sort of drink packages. I am hoping Royal provides a better balance of activities for kids and adults. You will find many who experienced a similar scenario, including myself. I find DCL and RC products to be very similar, with each having areas of the cruise experience they excel at. The key is that price gap, and for the money, RC is a great family cruise experience! You may find this comparison blog post very helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/22/first-time-cruisers-comparing-royal-caribbean-disney-cruise-line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I disagree, they are both mass-market cruise lines that are going after a similar demographic (family cruising). Yes, RC has a much larger market share, but they are still in the same grouping of competing cruise lines. So the Apple Mac and the Windows PC Laptop both compete and go after the same market Laptops? Disney goes for a small select market center around their entertainment parks and controls a very small percent of the overall market. Royal group is a mass market player with the second largest overall share of the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBC Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 You will find many who experienced a similar scenario, including myself. I find DCL and RC products to be very similar, with each having areas of the cruise experience they excel at. The key is that price gap, and for the money, RC is a great family cruise experience! You may find this comparison blog post very helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/22/first-time-cruisers-comparing-royal-caribbean-disney-cruise-line Thanks for that link Matt, I hadn't discovered that on this site. You can tell from the comments under that post that opinions vary greatly (and sometimes fiercely) on the comparisons between the two. I wish I could find the pricing deals that some are commenting on for the Disney ships. I am doing 8 night Eastern Caribbean on Freedom in February 2017, 2 adults, 2 kids, balcony room for $3,800. 7 nights on Disney Fantasy for the same week is $7,600. If it was a grand more, maybe even 2 grand, I would have probably went with Disney. Not for almost 4. Like I said before, I have read a lot of good things about RC with the kids, so I am very optimistic that they will enjoy the kids clubs and pool area, the beach on Labadee, etc. Some of my friends who have sailed Disney are looking to other lines because of the steep price increase as well. One thing that I don't think RC could possibly match would be the dinner server. Our waiter on the Disney Wonder was incredible, could not have been nicer to my kids, brought them their meals right away before the adults, brought them dessert while we were eating our meals, dancing with them with the characters, hugging them, high fives, etc. One day he was walking past the pool and my kids waved to him, he came back a few minutes later with Mickey ice cream bars. My kids cried after taking pictures with him after the last meal. They still ask me when we can go on vacation with him again. Needless to say, he received the biggest additional gratuity out of everyone from my group. Royal is not going to disappoint me, I am confident!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 So the Apple Mac and the Windows PC Laptop both compete and go after the same market Laptops? Disney goes for a small select market center around their entertainment parks and controls a very small percent of the overall market. Royal group is a mass market player with the second largest overall share of the market. I'm not certain comparing the PC industry to cruising is a good one-to-one. Market share is not indicative of the audience that is being targeted. If that's the case, then Carnival, RC and perhaps NCL are the only mass market cruise lines? I agree DCL controls a small segment of the market, but both cruise lines target families and both cruise lines price their cruises in a manner that is appealing to middle and upper-middle class customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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