Why only October NYC Cruises in 2016?

[thenoflygal]

I was so so excited when I heard that Disney was returning to port in NYC in 2016! I have been waiting for this EVERY Day since they left. But when I looked on the DCL site they are only offering 4 seven day cruises in October of 2016. Why October only? Does anyone know? That is literally the worst time of year for our family to travel (kids just started new school year, work schedule in full swing) This is the most densely populated area of the country and it's cold for 1/2 the year! Disney could clean up with cruises from the Northeast! Their cruises from NY are always full. Why do they keep snubbing this part of the country? Is there more to it??? Anyone else disappointed?

[Loonbeam]

Money.

 

The last time they did NYC they didn't make as much as they hoped. This was a lower risk way of giving it another shot.

 

Disney makes a lot less onboard sea days than other lines do, so itineraries without many ports are not a plus for them.

[moki'smommy]

OK--Dream and Fantasy are under contract requiring them to cruise out of Port Canaveral.

 

The Magic is in Europe for the summer. The return port is NY. Why October only for Magic...don't know but it might be that November gets cold.

 

Wonder is in Alaska for the summer where she typically fills and makes good profits for DCL, so she's out.

 

I frankly don't know if the previous cruises out of New York were full or not. I know there were a few cruises in the northeast US previously, but don't know how they did from a profit standpoint. And the cruises out of New York in 2016 are going to stop at Port Canaveral for a day, contributing to the required number of dockings there as required by the port contract. And they include a day at WDW, again profit for Disney.

[Loonbeam]

It's also quiet season at Disney World...

 

The NYC cruises did OK but not great. They had to drop rates in some cats (rare for Disney) and onboard revenue did not come close to targets. And these were summer sailings back then.

 

There was no way they were going to give up the lucrative summer season in AK and Carib for NYC risk, but October is quiet enough to minimize that.

 

OK--Dream and Fantasy are under contract requiring them to cruise out of Port Canaveral.

 

The Magic is in Europe for the summer. The return port is NY. Why October only for Magic...don't know but it might be that November gets cold.

 

Wonder is in Alaska for the summer where she typically fills and makes good profits for DCL' date=' so she's out.

 

I frankly don't know if the previous cruises out of New York were full or not. I know there were a few cruises in the northeast US previously, but don't know how they did from a profit standpoint. And the cruises out of New York in 2016 are going to stop at Port Canaveral for a day, contributing to the required number of dockings there as required by the port contract. And they include a day at WDW, again profit for Disney.[/quote']

[RSLeesburg]

Money.

 

The last time they did NYC they didn't make as much as they hoped. This was a lower risk way of giving it another shot.

 

Disney makes a lot less onboard sea days than other lines do, so itineraries without many ports are not a plus for them.

 

 

These NYC itineraries are not going to help them if that's the case - two sea day down, Castaway Cay, then PC, then two sea days back. This is one the biggest problems sailing from NY - there are limited places you can reach in 7 days. NCL and RCI have a lock on most of the docking rights at Bermuda, so you are left with Bahamas and/or PC. Although if DCL added Havana as a new port, they would sell these NYC cruises in minutes :).

[Loonbeam]

Right, but at least in October, traditionally a lower selling season, they don't need to make as much as they do to compare to a run in say August, especially if they can command decent cabin prices.

 

These NYC itineraries are not going to help them if that's the case - two sea day down, Castaway Cay, then PC, then two sea days back. This is one the biggest problems sailing from NY - there are limited places you can reach in 7 days. NCL and RCI have a lock on most of the docking rights at Bermuda, so you are left with Bahamas and/or PC. Although if DCL added Havana as a new port, they would sell these NYC cruises in minutes :).

[RSLeesburg]

October is great time to sail from NE - it can be cold, but it can also be quite nice. We sailed from Baltimore at end of Sep, and it was in high 60's when we left. We sailed over Thanksgiving and it was 34 degrees when we left.

 

If we were not moving down to FL in 2016, I might consider booking one of these cruises - I love sea days, and would love to try DCL. But, I think they will have no problems getting these sold. Plenty of parents with younger children love to sail during non-peak times.

[Loonbeam]

So far, based on numbers, they are doing OK. The proof will be in total revenue after the cruise...

 

October is great time to sail from NE - it can be cold, but it can also be quite nice. We sailed from Baltimore at end of Sep, and it was in high 60's when we left. We sailed over Thanksgiving and it was 34 degrees when we left.

 

If we were not moving down to FL in 2016, I might consider booking one of these cruises - I love sea days, and would love to try DCL. But, I think they will have no problems getting these sold. Plenty of parents with younger children love to sail during non-peak times.

[cessna38F]

I've heard that there may also be NE and Canada ports from NYC.

 

We just booked the NYC cruise for Halloween week. My friends wife has a setup with Disney so we booked through her. She told us that the bookings opened on May 20 and by May 23, all interior staterooms were gone. I think all that is left are balcony and suites.

 

Right now we have an ocean view with balcony booked (I have not planned for a $6700 ticket)....I'm hoping between now and and when final payment is due we can change to an interior state room....some of those rooms should hopefully open up in the coming months.

 

It will be a lot easier and cheaper to get to NYC rather than Florida.

[Loonbeam]

Groups and block TAs grabbed a lot of interiors it looks like so some should open up one would hope.

[moki'smommy]

A lot of people reserve rooms hoping that they can sail. Generally, availability increases as the penalty date approaches or shortly after that. The fact that all interior rooms were booked quickly does mean that there was interest in the cruise, but not that they will remain sold out.

 

A prime example is the WBTA for 2015. We tried for over a year to get a balcony HA cabin on this cruise which varied from totally sold out to a very few cabins open. Penalty date was 5/22. On 5/21, ALL categories were available, including at least 3 HA balcony cabins.

[ImprovGal2]

I've heard that there may also be NE and Canada ports from NYC.

 

The other roundtrip itinerary from NYC right now is a 5-night "Canada & New England" cruise on October 2. It doesn't actually stop at any New England ports -- just the Canadian ports of Halifax, NS and Saint John, NB.