My moms first Disney cruise was 2001. When she booked to come with us for 12/2024 it was May of this year.
We have read anecdotally of nobody being purged yet, so that indicates Disney is either not really enforcing it, or giving a grace period.
I'm kind of with you. I think the only benefits we generally use are the stateroom gifts (I do pass some of them on to family if I get too many duplicates or bags I don't need), lanyard (though I have prior ones I could always use) and shopping discount. Last cruise we got chocolates in our room on the last night because I'd forgotten to call about the option for sparkling wine or chocolates. We haven't used our Palo perk for the last two cruises because I'm not thrilled with the menu changes (Wish) but we will use it on the upcoming cruise unless we decide to cancel. There's no longer any board any time perk for Platinum and I really prefer to board later in the morning when it's open boarding and my room is ready. The last two times and our upcoming one we are taking DCL transfers and they make you arrive early and give you an early boarding group which I don't really like but it's got nothing to do with CC status. Mostly we like the 10% discount.
We cruised several years with Disney 2-3 times a year with our kids and then we took a hiatus around 2017. Not even a conscious thing. But we bought dvc about that time and started doing more theme parks (staying at all the different resorts) and also started cruising other lines— new ports, etc. And we also traveled to Europe a couple of times. Well then covid happened and it was September 2023 before we stepped back onto the Disney Fantasy with our two youngest kids, now teens. It was really a dramatic experience. Dh and I looked at each other when we walked onto the ship and he was like I cannot believe it’s been like 6 years since we’ve been on a Disney cruise. Time really does fly. So it does happen to “serious” Disney cruisers. It’s absolutely crazy for Disney to think about discounting people like us. The idea that Disney would just remove us is insane. No other cruise line does that. I really cannot tell you how many hundreds of thousands of dollars we have spent with Disney corp when we add up DVC and the insane amount spent on cruises. Our DVC dues alone are over 10k per year. Since Covid I have become increasingly disgusted with Disney as a company. They better watch out or they will go down the tubes. Everyone thinks companies like Disney are invincible but most companies that were on the Fortune 500 50 years ago are not there today.
we also do not use palo perk
A lot of it is the memories that’s what forms the attachment. We took a 5 year break from WDW after making multiple trips in a couple of years time. 5 years does go fast when your busy doing other things. We may take permanent break from WDW now that the cost is just absurd in my opinion. It is insane, but not surprising under the current management
It’s not the benefits that people care about.
r.e. bold -- Our Cruise Line of choice has a 3 Year time frame where if you don't cruise - you are back to ZERO POINTS.
Yes, DCL joins the illustrious ranks of ultra-budget cruise line MSC as two of the only cruise lines that have an expiration clause in their loyalty programs. (Not that there's anything wrong with MSC--I enjoy sailing Yacht Club--it's just not really the market segment that I would expect DCL to be matching.)
With MSC's matching our DCL Gold we quickly made Diamond after a couple of cruises since we only cruise YC. We feel that YC is truly a bargain compared to DCL Concierge and even at times some DCL Verandah rates.
We have loyalty accounts on 4 other cruise lines and none have expiration. And they are the big cruise lines. If you are talking about Msc they are a different animal. They are a privately owned shipping company that recently (as far as their company history goes) got into the cruise industry. Their shipping company plays dirty but that’s a whole other issue and world. But it doesn’t surprise me that their cruise line is aggressive too. I’m not interested in being treated like a commodity.
We haven’t been to the parks since Covid except for moonlight magic which is “free” for dvc. We are seriously disgusted with Disney. It is a big world and we have branched out. We also spend time at Universal.. along with a lot of ex Disney employees and management running their parks (and doing a fabulous job I might add). I really do not get Disney current management. I really think they are trying to get rid of customers— I just can’t see it any other way. Like if you just look at that genie thing- it looks, to be blunt, awful. I wanted to use another word but refrained. We haven’t used it. But we’ve seen plenty of utube videos and read about it. Like I want to wake up at the crack of dawn and mess around with my phone to try to get a precious reservation for Tron or whatever ride? Why? Universal can be expensive too, although their annual passes come with a lot more perks that make them a good deal IMO, but at universal when you buy their “genie” equivalent, you get to go in the fast lane whenever you want when you want. It’s like Disney wants to be my daddy and tell me what to do and make my life difficult with a lot of rules that don’t make any sense. It’s vacation, not kindergarten. Now Disney is saying if you don’t take a cruise within five years or whatever you’re out of the special club lol. Grow up, Disney! Who is in charge at that company? A high school hall monitor?
r.e. bold -- *commodity* ????
That's because they needed to get somewhere and maybe that airline has the best flight at the best prices. DCL will never have the best prices nor the best itinerary and there's lots of competition in the cruise market.
If you are flying in a day early and staying at the MCO Hyatt using DCL transfers, chose the airport to port option. We do this and aren’t on a time schedule and arrive to the port later. Now if leaving from a resort that won’t work for you.
Not really my point, that's why I left price out of it.
Yes, I don't think they are sailing specifically because they are a Platinum member. However, if they lose the status, it does make "jumping ship" to another cruise line a lot easier, and less likely that they will return.
So, we have some relatives who will only use RCL, because they want to keep working towards their C&A society points. They don't want to "Split their status" between two lines.
