disney out of galveston

[SArick]

anyone heard any updates about how sales are for the new upcoming disney cruises out of galveston, next year on the Wonder?

[Shmoo here]

anyone heard any updates about how sales are for the new upcoming disney cruises out of galveston, next year on the Wonder?

 

nevermind

Edited August 6, 2014 by Shmoo here

[moki'smommy]

I just did a quick look. All cruises had every non-concierge category available. One cruise had no concierge cabins available; the others had most or all of those categories available as well.

 

The problem is that I can't tell whether that means they have 2 cabins left in each category or 52 left.

 

It's too far out to have much information at this point.

[SArick]

thanks. Just curious because of the way disney pulled out of their contract with the port of Galveston last year. if it was due to lack of sales or what?

[Shmoo here]

thanks. Just curious because of the way disney pulled out of their contract with the port of Galveston last year. if it was due to lack of sales or what?

 

It's my understanding that the sales out of Galveston were extremely poor. There were a lot of discounts given on those cruises (Kids Sail Free, Military, last minute rates) in order to fill the ship.

[SArick]

Well thats what i heard, so wondering why they are trying it again? Obviously hoping for a different outcome. I personally hope they do better this time around.

[Shmoo here]

Well thats what i heard, so wondering why they are trying it again? Obviously hoping for a different outcome. I personally hope they do better this time around.

 

It's speculated that the "limited" cruises currently scheduled from Galveston are part of the agreement worked out allowing DCL to break the original contract.

[SArick]

i see, well i still hope that DCL has good turnout for these limited cruises. I personally think that the market is limited for them in Galveston due to Carnival and RCL offering much more affordable cruises. Unfortunately, for Texas, DCL will do much better out of Florida and California due to the theme parks located there also.

[moki'smommy]

My understanding is exactly as above. They definitely had LOTS of specials on the Galveston cruises last time. Then, when DCL said they were pulling out due to poor sales. there was a huge outcry about them leaving Texas. Sorry, it can't be both ways--either people support the limited schedule so DCL makes a profit on the cruises or they will totally pull out.

 

As noted, there is no tie in between these cruises and any other Disney product, so they need to make a profit on the cruise. On cruises out of Port Canaveral or those with ABD excursion options, they can justify less gain from the ship.

 

That said, selling a cabin at a huge discount can still generate profit--most people will still buy a beverage, t-shirt, spa service, excursion, or whatever. An empty cabin is a loss; a cabin sold at cost is a potential gain. And it takes the same amount in fuel, crew cost, etc. whether that cabin is full or empty.

[karin5]

My family was very excited Disney is going out of Galveston next fall. Living in California, we didn't want to fly to Florida. So, we already booked a cruise for next Thanksgiving out of Galveston. We have talked to other friends and the Galveston port is a lot more attractive for people living on the west coast. We have already done Hawaii and Alaska, so the Bahamas is our next destination. Hopefully The Texas port will be a success.

[moki'smommy]

My family was very excited Disney is going out of Galveston next fall. Living in California, we didn't want to fly to Florida. So, we already booked a cruise for next Thanksgiving out of Galveston. We have talked to other friends and the Galveston port is a lot more attractive for people living on the west coast. We have already done Hawaii and Alaska, so the Bahamas is our next destination. Hopefully The Texas port will be a success.

 

Part of the problem with Galveston was the transportation from the airports to the cruise terminal. It's is only a little farther than from MCO to PC, but there is the issue of 2 airports. When we were booked, we got conflicting info as to whether or not there would be DCL transportation from both airports or only one. They just seemed to have a lot of issue with it. Hopefully the bugs have been worked out.

[karin5]

Moki'smommy,

yes, I can understand the confusion with two airports in Houston, and Galveston 1.5 hours from Houston. I spoke to a Disney rep, and if we arrive the day before the cruise, we will be taken to the airport's Marriott Hotel. The next day, everyone will board buses, and taken to Galveston. My husband and I decided, we will arrange our own transportation and go to Galveston the day before our cruise. There is a nice Wyndam hotel across from the cruise terminal.

 

I hope the Galveston port will be a success for Disney. It is convenient for West coast people.

[QueenofEverything]

i see, well i still hope that DCL has good turnout for these limited cruises. I personally think that the market is limited for them in Galveston due to Carnival and RCL offering much more affordable cruises. Unfortunately, for Texas, DCL will do much better out of Florida and California due to the theme parks located there also.

 

Yes and no. The major problem they had before (IMHO) is that they did ZERO advertising. The Houston area alone is home to 6 million people and I would guess that most of them had no idea you could take a Disney cruise from Galveston. If you bring in a new product, you have to let people know! They also decided to pull the plug before most people even knew they were there. Apparantly, after they decided to leave, bookings picked up significantly. RCL and Carnival do sail from Galveston cheaper and Princess and NCL sail from Houston (also cheaper). However, they all offer the same 2 western caribbean routes. I noticed most of the Disney cruises currently offered go to Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay. That is certainly a route no one else offers. California does have Disneyland, but that is not as big a destination as Orlando. Also, the only option for ports is the west coast of Mexico and it is just not popular anymore because of safety concerns.

[moki'smommy]

Yes and no. The major problem they had before (IMHO) is that they did ZERO advertising. The Houston area alone is home to 6 million people and I would guess that most of them had no idea you could take a Disney cruise from Galveston. If you bring in a new product, you have to let people know! They also decided to pull the plug before most people even knew they were there. Apparantly, after they decided to leave, bookings picked up significantly. .

 

DCL doesn't seem to learn. They had the same problem the first year or two with the European cruises. They did NO advertising in Europe and most of the people who booked were from the US. We had friends who asked about DCL and their European TA told them that it was "only for little kids" and that they didn't want to do "that ship." They were shocked as they'd sailed the Magic before. Also, there were no short cruises. Last year they added 4 night cruises and advertised...and most of the short cruises filled with Europeans. Of course those of us who came from the US opted for the longer cruises, but they picked up a whole new customer base who could "try it out" on a 4 night and might be back for more.

[ArbysSauce]

I am very glad to see that they came back to Galveston. I live about 5 hours away from Galveston so being able to drive is a great option for us. My wife and I took our 2 daughters on the Magic in Jan 2013 and we all had a blast. We have been wanting to go again but having to fly to FL makes the cost of the vacation too high for us. I will probably be booking a late Nov or early Dec 2015 cruise. I am anxious to see if they will be there in 2016 at all.

[moki'smommy]

I'd book 2015 if you want it. There is no way to predict what they have in mind for 2016.