For People Booked On Disney Dream August 2024 From Southampton

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Things To Note For August 2024 Disney Dream Sailings From Southampton

This is more a warning and a Know Before You Go for anyone booked or thinking about booking the 3, 4, 5 night cruises from Southampton in 2024. I wrote this as part of my trip report but I think it needs to be highlighted here in the main section.

My cruise this year, the 4 Night to Bilbao Spain and the previous cruise the 4 Night to La Rochelle in France had a very different passenger group than Disney normally have. These 2 cruises in particular but also other cruises from Southampton had 90% UK people who were either first time Disney cruisers or had only been on the 2021 Disney Magic Staycation cruises. People were complaining about the crowds as their only experience of a Disney Cruise was on the 50% occupancy staycation cruise on The Magic. They got a shock with the full capacity bigger Disney Dream.

August is peak holiday time for UK families. Term time starts in September. UK school authorities are very strict about school attendance, parents get fined for unexplained absence like taking the kids out of school to go on holiday. This means that every family in the UK with children have to take their summer holidays at the same time. As a result passenger expectations were not the reality of a full capacity Disney Dream Cruise.

Queues for the shops on embarkation day were very long. People started queueing outside the shops after the Muster Drill and after The Sail Away Party. The shops opened at 6pm and some people were queuing from approx 4.30pm. Then when the shops opened it was carnage. The lack of access to official and exclusive Disney merchandise creates a huge demand from UK people on the ship.

Queues for character Meet and Greets were very long. The queues often started an hour before the listed appearance time for the character. On the LA Rochelle cruise, the queue for Stich was over 2 hours and it was chaos. Stich, Chip and Dale did not appear on my cruise. Stitch is a popular character as there is alot of marketing of this character in Uk and Ireland. Primark an Irish / UK store similar to Forever 21 has a license for Stitch merchandise.

Character Meets in general are very popular with UK people, as going to a Disney Park is a huge financial outlay and usually only a once a year or once every few years holiday. So on a Disney Cruise filled with UK people, character meets will be high demand as people wont have a Disney Parks holiday planned.

There were many times kids were in the adult areas. I was at Satellite Falls at the front of the ship as we were sailing out of Southampton. There were multiple families in the area with young kids, not understanding or caring that it was an adults only area. I saw a Vlog where the adults were leaving Evolution about 11pm and they commented on the amount of kids in The District , which they could not believe. I have also seen online that people saw kids many times in Cove Cafe.

At the Pirates deck party I saw adults ignoring CM instructions to move along from the assistance area and obstructing the view of those outside the assistance area.

Things I have seen mentioned in various online communities

• People at Guest Services removing the automatic tips
• People at Guest Services complaining about the fireworks and wanting compensation as they were not like the ones in the park
• Lifeguards at the family pool on the port day having a hard time with unruly kids
• Plates from Flos Quick Service stolen and being sold online after the cruise
• Fish Extenders, Magnets and Pixie Dust items being stolen, one person was told by a room host that a woman and her kids were going from room to room taking things and not caring about being seen.
• Bullying in kids clubs and kids not wanting to go to the clubs due to being bullied
• People complaining about the American Food

P & O Cruise Line is a UK based company part of The Carnival Cruise Group. It is very popular with UK people as it has cheap fares, drinks packages, cheap alcohol, serves UK food and has UK entertainment. Many of the passengers on my cruise and on the LA Rochelle cruise expected The Dream to be the same as P & O. They were removing tips as they were not happy at having to pay $232 ( $14.50 x 4 nights x 4 people) when they had already paid so much for the cruise. They dont have that on P & O as tips are included in the fare price.

The majority of passengers stayed on the ship on the port day. Spain and France are major holiday destinations for UK people. There is a whole industry around cheap package holidays to Spain and parts of Spain have large year round communities of UK people. As a result, the majority of the UK people on The Dream have no interest in getting off the ship. The ship is a floating all inclusive hotel to them. I spoke to one family who didnt get off at Bilbao, they said if they wanted to see Spain they would do a cheap package holiday.

Overall passenger behavior on my cruise the 4 night to Bilbao and on the 4 night to La Rochelle France was not the normal Disney Cruise passenger behavior. It really shows how a high % of one nationality can impact a cruise on board experience for crew and other passengers. I had a very different experience in 2022 when there was a smaller % of kids and a bigger mix of different nationalities and not a high % of one nationality.

 

[erider]

We are thinking about the 7 night Norway cruise leaving on August 5th from Southampton next year, so this is a good heads up.

 

[NephieRN]

DCL should raise the standard cruise fare to include gratuities on sailings that originate outside of the US to avoid the crew members being screwed over by people removing the gratuities. That is completely unfair to those crew members that work 90 hours a week and rely on tips.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

We are thinking about the 7 night Norway cruise leaving on August 5th from Southampton next year, so this is a good heads up.

From what I saw about the 2023 Norway cruise, it did not have a as much UK people as the Spain and France cruises, there was a better % of nationalities. UK people traditionally holiday to warm weather places, so going to Norway would not be as attractive as going to Spain. Also the 7 night cruises are more expensive so again, price will put many UK people off from the Norway cruise.

Norway is amazing, I did the 7 night Norway cruise on The Magic in 2022. If it is a bucket list cruise for you, then book it but now you are more aware of the different passenger behavior and can manage your expectations accordingly

DCL should raise the standard cruise fare to include gratuities on sailings that originate outside of the US to avoid the crew members being screwed over by people removing the gratuities. That is completely unfair to those crew members that work 90 hours a week and rely on tips.

Unfortunately I can't see that happening, DCL European cruises are already a lot more expensive than similar itineraries on other cruise lines, so if they raise the prices any more then they will price themselves out of the market. I see so many people here and other online communities not wanting to pay DCL prices for Mediterranean as they can get the same ports cheaper with a different company.

P & O Cruises are specifically for the UK market and they added the tips to the cruise fare as they only operate in Europe and know that 90% of their passengers are not from a tipping culture country like America.

I agree is totally unfair, but UK people just assume that a cruise from Southampton will have a UK culture, like P & O does.

 

[holula]

We are thinking about the 7 night Norway cruise leaving on August 5th from Southampton next year, so this is a good heads up.

That cruise is likely to have a good mix of nationalities on board and not just Brits. The short 3-5 day cruises are the ones that are going to be Brit heavy.

I did the 7 night Norway last year and had none of these issues, it was around 50% Americans and 50% Brits with a few other nationalities. It was in September vs August but this issue only seems to have cropped up on the 4 night sailings as they are so Brit heavy.

 

[Mommb]

That cruise is likely to have a good mix of nationalities on board and not just Brits. The short 3-5 day cruises are the ones that are going to be Brit heavy.

I did the 7 night Norway last year and had none of these issues, it was around 50% Americans and 50% Brits with a few other nationalities. It was in September vs August but this issue only seems to have cropped up on the 4 night sailings as they are so Brit heavy.

Yes, I just did the Northern Europe/Fjord cruise leaving September 3, and the US/UK mix seemed roughly 50/50. There were a lot of young kids, as I would expect on a Disney cruise, but I didn't see as many school-age kids as I typically do. If most UK schools are back in session, that would account for having younger but not older kids. I didn't see any more kids than usual in the adult areas -- occasionally families would walk by Cove Cafe, but I didn't notice any in the District at night.

I did notice a long line for shops on the first night, but the shops weren't especially crowded on subsequent nights, except right after shows let out. Guest Services rarely had more than a few people in line, so I don't think a lot of people were choosing to reduce or eliminate tips.

Most character lines were reasonable. I saw long lines for Mickey and Minnie in their 25th anniversary outfits but was able to talk with Minnie in her captain's outfit with just a few people ahead of me. Stitch, Donald, Chip and Dale, and several other characters appeared several times on our cruise.

I know that on the cruises that leave from the US, the "feel" is often different on the 3- and 4-night cruises than on the longer cruises, since people feel more pressure to get their money's worth and do everything. So it doesn't surprise me that the shorter cruises from Southampton had a more chaotic feel than the longer cruises. For anyone planning a cruise out of Southampton next year, I'd strongly recommend a 7-night cruise if possible -- they are more expensive, but the September cruises have a lower per-day cost than the shorter cruises.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

There were a lot of young kids, as I would expect on a Disney cruise, but I didn't see as many school-age kids as I typically do. If most UK schools are back in session, that would account for having younger but not older kids.

Home schooling is not as big a thing in UK compared to USA and with the strict attendance laws, very few families take to risk of going on holiday in term time. UK schools started term on Monday 4 September this year so all children aged 5 upwards enrolled in school had to be present on that day, unless they had an authorized absence. Going on a Disney cruise would not be accepted as an authorized absence.

 

[Geomom]

We are thinking about the 7 night Norway cruise leaving on August 5th from Southampton next year, so this is a good heads up.

We did the 7 night Norway cruise this year 8/19-8/26. (You can see my trip report (almost completed) in my signature.)

It was probably about 1/2 British, 10% other nationalities, and maybe 40% US citizens. Our cruise Facebook group did a poll and 1/3 of the members said it was their first cruise. There were also a bunch that had only done the staycations before this cruise. There was at least 1 family that had no plans to get off the ship. Lines were long for character meet and greets, but not as long as those 4 nt cruises after ours. As a group of 4 adults, we managed to avoid most of the bad behavior I heard about afterwards. Apparently, there was some pushing/shoving/language at some of the deck/atrium parties. I did see 1 child in the adult hot tub arguing with a cast member who was trying to get her out. "But my friend is meeting me here!"

We did have a great time! Our serving team was incredible and the scenery was gorgeous.

 

[EnchantedWishes]

Wondering if the Canadians or Kiwis will take me in because being from the U.K. is F****ing embarrassing.

 

[Garyjames220]

Things To Note For August 2024 Disney Dream Sailings From Southampton

This is more a warning and a Know Before You Go for anyone booked or thinking about booking the 3, 4, 5 night cruises from Southampton in 2024. I wrote this as part of my trip report but I think it needs to be highlighted here in the main section.

My cruise this year, the 4 Night to Bilbao Spain and the previous cruise the 4 Night to La Rochelle in France had a very different passenger group than Disney normally have. These 2 cruises in particular but also other cruises from Southampton had 90% UK people who were either first time Disney cruisers or had only been on the 2021 Disney Magic Staycation cruises. People were complaining about the crowds as their only experience of a Disney Cruise was on the 50% occupancy staycation cruise on The Magic. They got a shock with the full capacity bigger Disney Dream.

August is peak holiday time for UK families. Term time starts in September. UK school authorities are very strict about school attendance, parents get fined for unexplained absence like taking the kids out of school to go on holiday. This means that every family in the UK with children have to take their summer holidays at the same time. As a result passenger expectations were not the reality of a full capacity Disney Dream Cruise.

Queues for the shops on embarkation day were very long. People started queueing outside the shops after the Muster Drill and after The Sail Away Party. The shops opened at 6pm and some people were queuing from approx 4.30pm. Then when the shops opened it was carnage. The lack of access to official and exclusive Disney merchandise creates a huge demand from UK people on the ship.

Queues for character Meet and Greets were very long. The queues often started an hour before the listed appearance time for the character. On the LA Rochelle cruise, the queue for Stich was over 2 hours and it was chaos. Stich, Chip and Dale did not appear on my cruise. Stitch is a popular character as there is alot of marketing of this character in Uk and Ireland. Primark an Irish / UK store similar to Forever 21 has a license for Stitch merchandise.

Character Meets in general are very popular with UK people, as going to a Disney Park is a huge financial outlay and usually only a once a year or once every few years holiday. So on a Disney Cruise filled with UK people, character meets will be high demand as people wont have a Disney Parks holiday planned.

There were many times kids were in the adult areas. I was at Satellite Falls at the front of the ship as we were sailing out of Southampton. There were multiple families in the area with young kids, not understanding or caring that it was an adults only area. I saw a Vlog where the adults were leaving Evolution about 11pm and they commented on the amount of kids in The District , which they could not believe. I have also seen online that people saw kids many times in Cove Cafe.

At the Pirates deck party I saw adults ignoring CM instructions to move along from the assistance area and obstructing the view of those outside the assistance area.

Things I have seen mentioned in various online communities

• People at Guest Services removing the automatic tips
• People at Guest Services complaining about the fireworks and wanting compensation as they were not like the ones in the park
• Lifeguards at the family pool on the port day having a hard time with unruly kids
• Plates from Flos Quick Service stolen and being sold online after the cruise
• Fish Extenders, Magnets and Pixie Dust items being stolen, one person was told by a room host that a woman and her kids were going from room to room taking things and not caring about being seen.
• Bullying in kids clubs and kids not wanting to go to the clubs due to being bullied
• People complaining about the American Food

P & O Cruise Line is a UK based company part of The Carnival Cruise Group. It is very popular with UK people as it has cheap fares, drinks packages, cheap alcohol, serves UK food and has UK entertainment. Many of the passengers on my cruise and on the LA Rochelle cruise expected The Dream to be the same as P & O. They were removing tips as they were not happy at having to pay $232 ( $14.50 x 4 nights x 4 people) when they had already paid so much for the cruise. They dont have that on P & O as tips are included in the fare price.

The majority of passengers stayed on the ship on the port day. Spain and France are major holiday destinations for UK people. There is a whole industry around cheap package holidays to Spain and parts of Spain have large year round communities of UK people. As a result, the majority of the UK people on The Dream have no interest in getting off the ship. The ship is a floating all inclusive hotel to them. I spoke to one family who didnt get off at Bilbao, they said if they wanted to see Spain they would do a cheap package holiday.

Overall passenger behavior on my cruise the 4 night to Bilbao and on the 4 night to La Rochelle France was not the normal Disney Cruise passenger behavior. It really shows how a high % of one nationality can impact a cruise on board experience for crew and other passengers. I had a very different experience in 2022 when there was a smaller % of kids and a bigger mix of different nationalities and not a high % of one nationality.

I’m booked on the Bilbao sailing next year

should I cancel

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I’m booked on the Bilbao sailing next year

should I cancel

Read my trip report https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...-cruise-2023-complete-final-thoughts.3929341/

I had a wonderful cruise and really enjoyed my time in Bilbao on my port day. The cruise is what you make it, but people need to be aware of what the 2023 cruises were like so that they can manage expectations. You need to make up your own mind whether to cancel or go on the cruise.

 

[RACHEL_GB]

I dunno if I am just getting old or people have just lost their minds a bit after being locked in their houses, but I do feel like people's manners have dropped right down. Stealing plates for eBay .

 

[holula]

I dunno if I am just getting old or people have just lost their minds a bit after being locked in their houses, but I do feel like people's manners have dropped right down. Stealing plates for eBay .

People did this with the animators butter knives and the spork things when Galaxy’s Edge opened. This sadly isn’t a new thing.

 

[AussieNay]

I live in Australia and have been on three DCL cruises, and will be going on more when the Wonder is here in Oct-Feb. This kind of behaviour is exactly what I've been worried about, because I've seen so much debate already about why they have to pay the tips, which aren't a part of Australian culture. I think locals have high expectations and will inevitably be disappointed, mostly because they don't understand that their own behaviour will help create the atmosphere onboard! I hope the staff is ready to deal with drunk entitled bogan Aussies who want a photo with a princess...

 

[Jonbob*]

As a Brit I would like to stress that we are not all like this and I have seen equally bad behaviour from other nationalities.

I was on the Bilbao cruise and had a fantastic time - even bringing my parents along for their very first cruise. They also had an amazing time. It is what you make it, but it was definitely VERY different in feel to previous cruises (we did the WBTA last year for instance).

I do wonder if a lot of these “issues” will be weeded out over the next year or two as those “bad eggs” will have decided they didn’t like it and not come back!

 

[DCLMP]

Overall passenger behavior on my cruise the 4 night to Bilbao and on the 4 night to La Rochelle France was not the normal Disney Cruise passenger behavior. It really shows how a high % of one nationality can impact a cruise on board experience for crew and other passengers.

I don't know about that. Cruises leaving from the US are a high percentage of US citizens. I would venture to guess 90% or more.

 

[RACHEL_GB]

As a Brit I would like to stress that we are not all like this and I have seen equally bad behaviour from other nationalities.

I was on the Bilbao cruise and had a fantastic time - even bringing my parents along for their very first cruise. They also had an amazing time. It is what you make it, but it was definitely VERY different in feel to previous cruises (we did the WBTA last year for instance).

I do wonder if a lot of these “issues” will be weeded out over the next year or two as those “bad eggs” will have decided they didn’t like it and not come back!

Agree on both of your first two points for sure! And let’s hope so on your last point. Glad your parents had a good trip, I am hoping to get mine to go on one sometime, they don’t fly so Southampton would be our only option

 

[Scottishdisneyfan]

As a Brit I would like to stress that we are not all like this and I have seen equally bad behaviour from other nationalities.

I was on the Bilbao cruise and had a fantastic time - even bringing my parents along for their very first cruise. They also had an amazing time. It is what you make it, but it was definitely VERY different in feel to previous cruises (we did the WBTA last year for instance).

I do wonder if a lot of these “issues” will be weeded out over the next year or two as those “bad eggs” will have decided they didn’t like it and not come back!

The OP has had a few posts laying into people from the UK on cruises now. She also makes lazy generalisations that every all UK schools go back in September when Scottish schools go back in August and made a sneering post about British people being ‘chavs’ quite despicable and borderline xenophobic. Ive seen bad behaviour from people of all nationalities, my mate is a head of security on an NCL ship (retired cop) and some of the things he has told me about people of all backgrounds, its a bit rich to just paint an entire country.

 

[AquaDame]

made a sneering post about British people being ‘chavs’ quite despicable and borderline xenophobic.

I admit being from the US our mods may not know what is and isnt a derogatory term elsewhere.... when you see these please report the posts and which word is questionable and we will look into them!

 

[CarolynU]

The OP has had a few posts laying into people from the UK on cruises now. She also makes lazy generalisations that every all UK schools go back in September when Scottish schools go back in August and made a sneering post about British people being ‘chavs’ quite despicable and borderline xenophobic. Ive seen bad behaviour from people of all nationalities, my mate is a head of security on an NCL ship (retired cop) and some of the things he has told me about people of all backgrounds, its a bit rich to just paint an entire country.

When analysing the original post there are many points that need considerable further clarification.
So just a few examples.
Somehow the OP could ascertain that 90% of the passengers were British. That’s 3600 people to somehow meet and talk to. With the number of passengers that the Dream can carry I wonder how that can be confirmed specifically.
Not only that but the OP somehow knows about the demographic of sailings that she hasn’t even been on, and further even knows that there were a high percentage of those 3600 prior cruisers who were first time cruisers or only those who had been on the staycations?! That’s impressive!
Seven negative points about the nationality were made from various online sources and a vlog so not even first hand experience. I particularly like the anonymous woman being told by an anonymous room host about an anonymous female passenger and her anonymous children all stealing with wanton abandon from peoples rooms! That must have been quite the incident at guest services for them checking all the cctv footage!
Additionally counting 90% of passengers not disembarking on ports must have taken forever! Of course there is an assumption here that it’s because the Brits just love going on their cheap holidays to Spain or presumably living it up on their cheap P&O cruises catering especially for them! Is this yet more negative bias or hard facts?
Why would anyone wait to watch a two hour chaotic line to meet Stitch? And if you don’t wait there yourself how do you know that it was two hours of chaos without relying on hearsay! Additionally the opinion presented as fact re people wanting refunds at guest services for a sub par firework display compared to the parks was not witnessed first hand at the time, but once home?!?!
One thing I do know is that of the many cruises I’ve been on myself I’m far too busy enjoying myself rather than trying to target an entire nation based upon some incidents that I’ve witnessed personally combined with online negativity!