Originally Posted By AutoPost This topic is for Discussion of <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID10053200.asp" target="_blank"><b>Latest: Disney Cruise Line Unveils New 2014 Itineraries and Ports</b></a> <p><span>In 2014, Disney Cruise Line will offer new itineraries, including an expanded collection of European cruises highlighting the Greek Isles. Plus, Disney Cruise Line will depart for the first time from homeports in Venice, Italy and San Juan, Puerto Rico.</span></p>
Originally Posted By TP2000 It looks like they've completely abandoned the Mexican itineraries, and thus have abandoned the SoCal ports as well. Can't say I blame them, as you couldn't pay me to visit Mexico now. And I can't imagine any parents in their right mind who would willingly take their children down there. But interesting that Disney Cruise Line has now abandoned the Southern California market, with seasonal Alaskan cruises out of Canada as their only West Coast offering.
Originally Posted By SuperDry << But interesting that Disney Cruise Line has now abandoned the Southern California market, with seasonal Alaskan cruises out of Canada as their only West Coast offering. >> If you rule out Mexico, what itineraries could you have for SoCal-departing cruises?
Originally Posted By schnebs <<If you rule out Mexico, what itineraries could you have for SoCal-departing cruises?>> Well, there's always Pacific Coast (with a brief stop in Ensenada or Victoria to keep it legal under U.S. law), but the bookings on the 7-day cruises they tried were pretty underwhelming, even with the Pixar-themed events being added. Personally, I think they should have tried it with shorter itineraries (say 3-4 days), to give West Coast folks a cheaper and shorter option that would have gotten them more excited about going on longer cruises, but DCL insisted on 7-day sailings out of LA. Considering how well the 2-day "cruises to nowhere" sell when Disney offers them out here, I don't understand that decision... You could also do 2-week Hawaii cruises like the two they did last year. They sold pretty well, but I can't imagine you could do a lot of them.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Personally, I think they should have tried it with shorter itineraries (say 3-4 days), to give West Coast folks a cheaper and shorter option that would have gotten them more excited about going on longer cruises >>> That's precisely my point. What itinerary out of Los Angeles could you have that was only 3-4 days long? Assuming it stopped somewhere, there would have to be at least one stop in Mexico. Then what else could you add? San Diego? With the negative publicity that Mexico has with respect to safety these days (independent of how unfounded it may be to cruise day visitors), that's a problem. And, I don't think that a "cruise to nowhere" is going to sell very well to people that aren't familiar with cruising. To people that have been on DCL before, that may seem just fine, but it doesn't sound interesting to someone that "doesn't get it."
Originally Posted By schnebs Last time I checked, Carnival was still running itineraries from Long Beach to Ensenda for 3-day trips, and adding Catalina for 4-day; they seem to be doing well enough with them that they've kept their ships in the market. Ensenada hasn't had any problems with drug violence in the tourist areas; the biggest problem Ensenada has for Disney is that isn't family-friendly enough. It's doable as a port. As far as the cruises to nowhere, I disagree. The first two-day cruise Disney did in 2011 sold out in a few weeks; the one out of San Diego hasn't sold out yet, but it appears to be selling well. When the Magic went to New York, bookings for two-day cruises did reasonably well - better than for some of the Bermuda and Canada cruises, or so I've heard. If Disney really worked to market short cruises - especially if they tied them in with stays at DL, much like they have with the Port Canaveral cruises and WDW, I think they could make a go of it.
