Anyone else Upset with the OCT 25 thru NOV 1 cruise?

[magicalme06]

We are very upset with this trip so upset we may never return to DCL again DISNEY ruined Halloween for my kids. I wish we had never went. 1 hour of trick & treating and a costume contest was it for the kids. Oh but the adults had a big costume party that night but you know they were buying booze so Disney had a reason to keep it going. When i think of Disney i expect and pay for excellence and over the top celebrations. Disney failed in both aspects. The last DCL we went on in 2006 they had a party every time we left a port. In 2004 when we went on the the DCL Wonder they had the ship decorated for Christmas and has MS. Clause reading stories in the atrium and all kinds of fun Christmas type events. This cruise was just not up to the standard that I expect from Disney. If they continue like this people will go somewhere else. Oh and now the 11-13 year old kids can do what they wish like the 14-17 year age group and they were running all over the ship knocking on doors and running away. they were playing in the elevators and screaming at all hours of the night.
Oh and who ever posted the line-up of events on these boards a few months ago flat out lied Disney didn't do crap!!! Oh and people were caught having intercourse in the hot tub with kids running around and it took Disney 30 min to get security up there to correct the situation. this happened more than once. and they have jacked up the prices on everything that they sell on the boat. We felt very cheated. I mean we understand the ports of call issues but everything else POOR QUALITY, we received raw chicken tenders at the snack bar , raw scallops at luminers,ETC... THIS TRIP WAS CRAP AND I WANT MY MONEY BACK. I MAY TRY CARNIVAL NEXT!!!!
WE USED TO BE BIG DCL FANS CRUISING EVERY TWO YEARS BUT THIS LAST CRUISE WAS AWFUL!:mad: :sad2: ::mad: :listen: :listen: :furious:


DISNEY WONDER 2004
DISNEY MAGIC 2006
DISNEY MAGIC 2008 (WORSE TRIP EVER) WE NEVER GO BACK TO DCL AGAIN!!!

[Mozart]

Welcome to the boards!

[slindamood]

We were on that cruise and had a great time. We did not observe what you did. In fact, for so many children on board, we wondered where they were. We were on deck 6 near the aft elevator and never heard noise in the hall or on our corridor.

We did not travel with children, so I do not have a child's perspective on trick or treat. Most likely the haul was not as great as spending two hours in a residential neghborhood. But the trick or treating looked like fun - directions looked like a treasure map to find the different stations around the ship. Most children also wore their costumes to dinner and it looked like each club also had a party.

We enjoyed seeing all of the costumes as the children went around and they looked like they were having fun. I have no way of knowing if one hour was enough - in my neighborhood, that is about the right amount of time.

The atrium was darkened and cobwebs were everywhere. Elegantly carved pumpkins adorned every surface. Lots of adults wore costumes to dinner. I know there was an adult costume contest in the atrium at 10:15, but I was not aware that it was a party. Maybe it turned into one, but we had seen enough costumes before dinner. And we had decided before the trip to not try to put together costumes. We saw some great ones just waiting in line for dinner. Wish we had gone to the party in the atrium, but that was our choice at the time to go elsewhere.

When we had to miss Grand Cayman because the port was closed, DCL did a great job in quickly lining up Key West. And in getting a program set up for the day.

We were in late seating dining and found the food prepared very nicely, especially considering the number being served. It was better than our last cruise, which was Thanksgiving.

The seas were rough at times and the pools had to be closed for a few hours, but it was not DCL fault. I think the captain did a great job in finding a route with sun in spite of poor conditions in our travel route.

Each cruise is different, and the same cruise is different for different guests. Had I experienced what OP did, maybe my opinion would be different. While this was not the best cruise ever (nothing will top the Transatlantic) it ranks right up there for being pleasant and enjoyable for us. And it did not change my high opinion of DCL.

[101DalmFan]

Nope, not upset at all. Just the opposite. We loved this year's cruise. We did the Hallowe'en cruise on the Magic last year as well as this year's and we had a fabulous time -- both cruises were comparable although both my DH and I were commenting that this year's seemed to have the Hallowe'en activities a bit more organized than last year, with a bit more decoration onboard as well. I just wish Ducky had been onboard this year as well as last year, but you can't have everything.

Booked onboard for the 2010 late-October Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Magic, a sign as good as any I guess that we had a good time (although that cruise ends Oct 30th, so we'll be just shy of the actual holiday).

Everyone experiences their holiday differently. As for us, it was MAGICal :)

[tig_n_pooh]

I have to agree with the original poster. This was by far the worst cruise EVER. We have sailed with DCL for 5 years straight. The food was terrible we didn't eat hardly anything, we also received raw chicken tenders not once but twice on separate days, the steaks were extremely fatty. There was so much down time, and when there were things to do they seemed to be always at 7:15pm. If you had first dining you couldn't go to any of them because our dinners always took 2 hours. If you had second dining you couldn't make it either as you had to get ready for dinner. How many origami flowers/animals can they expect people to make. Three things to do were flowers twice and animals once. Small children to not have the patience to fold paper. On one day they had to make a revised addition to add more things to do as people were complaining about nothing to do. I agree about the trick or treating thing. It was not for the kids at all. They had 9 stations to trick or treat at and each child got 2-3 pieces of candy from each station. hmmm 18-27 pieces of candy does not fair well with kids. I guess the people that did the dis trick or treating can say they had a great time, because they had added things for their kids to do, but for those that didn't it was awful. By far the food was the most horrible part of the entire cruise, the mickey waffles were so hard that you could literally break the ears off and they crumbled. I am a loyal DCL fan, but i expect more for what I am paying and this was just terrible. We did not rebook on board as we were all so disappointed.

[RussN]

Oh and now the 11-13 year old kids can do what they wish like the 14-17 year age group and they were running all over the ship knocking on doors and running away. they were playing in the elevators and screaming at all hours of the night.


I agree with you on the kids. We were on the EB Repo cruise and the kids were just too wild and had too much "free time" on there hands. On many times we would get into the elevator and every button would be pressed or there were kids sitting in the elevator just "chatting". My EB Repo cruise is enough to tell me to try a different cruise line. I will not be going back to Disney until the new ships are out and then I'll only give them one more chance.

Sorry to hear about your problems with the cruise.:cool2: :cheer2:

[mindy327]

Welcome to the boards!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

This isnt the place to NOT want to go on a DC.

[4hernandez]

I was also disappointed with Disney's celebration of Halloween. Because I had the luck of joining the DIS Board's Halloween celebration, my daughters did have a very fun Halloween. In fact, Disney should consider hiring "Suzie" who organized the Halloween for the DIS board members. One of the reasons that I chose this cruise was because I did expect the famous Disney over the top style of celebrations and parties. My children were not disapointed because they had the first celebration. I know that if they had only had Disney's celebration, they would have been disapointed- the amount of candy had nothing to do with it. It was over far too quickly, we were one of the first i line, and we would follow the clues to the next station to wait in line for one piece of candy. I think that Disney could have given out stickers, pencils or some other one-of-a-kind memorbilia. I never reallyfigured out why they celebrated Halloween on the 30th. We had a fine trip, because of the staff and fellow cruisers. That being said, it did not live up to our expectations. This was our 2nd cruise with Disney. Had it been our first, it would have been our only.

[IrishCowboy]

Oh and people were caught having intercourse in the hot tub with kids running around and it took Disney 30 min to get security up there to correct the situation. this happened more than once.


WOW...that's a new one. Guess somebody took the name 'Adult Pool' literally... :lmao:

[cbcable]

I have to agree with the original thread. The hype of a Great Halloween Cruise was great but this cruise really feel flat. I am a long time DCL fan but something did not sit right on this cruise for the first time ever the sail away party Saturday afternoon was over before we set sail, when we finally set sail there were only 2 cast members on the dock to see us off. Anyway the whole candy thing does not bother me, but the fact the trick or treat was done while half the ship was still at port and the half that was on the ship did not know about it also the "Halloween Party" was done for only one hour on the top deck with only a few decorations. Why was the party not done at night like the Pirate Party, show a movie under the stars, have a all out party to celabrate what brought half the ship to this cruise. We all love DCL however this was a serious let down from what Disney is known for I guess this may be part of the reason the Disney stock is down $10 in the last month. The quality that we pay for was not here for this cruise. Disney needs to go back to what brought the people to them ---SERVICE--- above the rest!!!!!!!!!:confused3

[homrjay]

We were on this cruise as well. I too, felt a bit disappointed as soon as we got on board, as our last time cruising we did so at Christmas time and the decorations and such made that cruise that much more magical, where as this one didn't have any halloween decorations at all until Thursday. I had expected Disney to go all out, based on what they are known for; so again, a bit of a let down.

My girls had a lot of fun trick or treating. My husband and I were wondering about the map and only having 7 stops for candy; however, we found MANY more stops once we were out and about. Disney just didn't list them all.
I did feel the timing wasn't the greatest, but I think it may have been, if we had been at sea as was originally planned. I think they may have made some adjustments to the day, due to changing our at sea day, due to the weather.

The adult costume "party" that the first poster mentioned, was listed as a contest and not a party; so I am not too sure about that atmosphere.

I had thought that we may have a bit more to do or a bit more decorations as Castaway Cay on Friday, seeing as it was truly Halloween, so was a bit disappointed there as well. But not so much so, that I didn't still enjoy my family time.

We didn't have any food problems and actually thought the food was better this time around. And although I wasn't aware of the children's age criteria changing, we did have a could knocks on our door, just thought nothing of it.

We didn't book onboard for another trip just yet, but only because we want our daughters to be in the same age group again next time and that would be in 3 years.

SO although, not what we expected, we will cruise Disney again. One can only hope that they read their feedback and maybe make for a more Magical Halloween experience in the future, just as they do Christmas time.

[magicalme06]

WOW...that's a new one. Guess somebody took the name 'Adult Pool' literally... :lmao:

FIRST OFF IT DIDNT HAPPEN IN THE ADULT POOL IT HAPPENED IN THE GOOFY POOL WITH KIDS AROUND..:mad:

[magicalme06]

Ok Let Me Clarify A Few Things Since I Am The Original Poster:
Ok First Off Dcl Is The Only Cruiseline I Have Ever Been On Because
I Trust That Disney Would Have Top Notch Security, Safety Procedures, And The Best Events Planned. We Have Been On 3 Cruises All Disney And With The First Two We Were Completely Satisfied.
On Our 2006 Cruise There Was A Party Every Time We Left A Port We Had 4 Stops Key West, Grand Cayman, Castaway Cay, & Cozumel.
And 2 Days At Sea. The Last Day At Sea The Walt Disney Theater Was Jammed Packed With Adoring Parents Waiting To See Their Cute Little Baby Graduate From "d Sea U" This Time If You Didnt Know That Friendship Rocks Was That Program Then You Just Missed It.
Disney Did Nothing To Announce It As Something Parents Needed To Attend And They Planned It At 5:00 The Same Time We Were Leaving Castaway And Right When We Were Getting Ready To Go To Dinner. So That Is Just One Example Of Poor Scheduling. The Day At Key West By The Time We Got Off The Ship Through Immigration It Was Almost Noon So We Had Enough Time To Grab Some Lunch And Then See A Couple Of Sites Then We Got A Page To Come Back For Trick And Treating So I Hauled Butt To Get Back Only Go To 9 Stations To Get A Small Bag Of Candy.
That May Be Fine For A 3 Year Old But For Kids 9 Thru 16 That Was A Big Fat Joke. It Was A Waste For Me To Go Crazy Trying To Get Back For That. They Had A Whole Day At Sea To Put Something Better Together. They Really Need Redo This Whole Pirate Thing It Has Been Done Exactly The Same For The Last 2 Years And It Is Getting Old Quick. Also They Could Have Used Te Pirate Decor To Help Decorate For A Halloween Party. As For The Room Attendant She Was Great We Loved Our Ms. Margaret! Our Waiters Were Great, Hugs To Michelle, Gary & Paula! As For The Costume Contest For Adults It May Have Started As A Contest But It Turned Into A Party Like Most Bar Tenders Will Tell You "we Stay Open While The Beer Is Flowing" And What Won The Contest Upset Some Parents It Was A Horses A** Now What Does That Say About Disney? We Were All Sent Packets Talking About What Was Appropriate And I Dont Think That Was. You All Can Think What You Want But Disney Is Known For Their Over The Top Celebrations Whether It Be A Wedding At Cinderellas Wedding Pavilion Or Their Cruise Line Or At The Parks. To Me Disney Means Quality, Service, And Fun And This Cruise Just Didnt Meet My Expectations....

[VacationJunkie]

I had a great time on the cruise and found it to rank as one of my best.

Yes, there were a few issues, and the ship didn't leave the dock as planned, but since the deck party started before the issue delaying leaving occurred, there was no way to delay the deck party till actual sail away (which I have had happen in the past). Things happen.

I didn't have any food issues and had chicken fingers from Pluto's on more than one occasion. All the food was wonderful. There was a bit of fat on a piece of steak one night, but I know if I had commented to the wait staff they would have gotten me a new piece.

As for Halloween, my perspective as a parent might be a little different from many, especially since my DD is only 5 months old; I felt it was well done.
I would have been extremely unhappy if the ship was decorated all week for the holiday. To me, that would have ruined many of my pictures. Disney did NOT bill this as a special Halloween cruise. It was a cruise that just happened to fall on Halloween, and Disney made sure that they acknowledged that. Halloween may be a HUGE deal in the USA with trick or treaters and costumes, but many other countries do not make a big commercial deal about it.
There were many spots to get candy around the ship. We saw many other tables that were not on the map.
I'll admit, I was surprised when I heard they were celebrating Halloween on Thursday instead of Friday. After all, for me, it was my DDs 1st Halloween and I wasn't sure what day she should wear her "my 1st Halloween" onesie. But, I understood the logic of doing it on a sea day. Yeah, that didn't work out as planned, but things happen.

Overall, we had a great time. I guessed I missed the "fun" of the couple in the goofy pool and the kids knocking on doors. Unfortunately, idiots will exist and join you on vacations. It is unavoidable. Disney can't control someone's common sense or lack of. As for the kids, fault the parents- not Disney.

I don't have another Disney cruise booked yet. Our next 2 are with other cruise lines, but I can't wait to take DD back. The goal is when she is old enough to go to the kids club and I don't have to pay for Flounder.

Sorry you had a bad trip. If you took it for Halloween, then you should have gone elsewhere. Disney didn't promise or advertise a huge Halloween extravaganza.

[magicalme06]

I had a great time on the cruise and found it to rank as one of my best.

Yes, there were a few issues, and the ship didn't leave the dock as planned, but since the deck party started before the issue delaying leaving occurred, there was no way to delay the deck party till actual sail away (which I have had happen in the past). Things happen.

I didn't have any food issues and had chicken fingers from Pluto's on more than one occasion. All the food was wonderful. There was a bit of fat on a piece of steak one night, but I know if I had commented to the wait staff they would have gotten me a new piece.

As for Halloween, my perspective as a parent might be a little different from many, especially since my DD is only 5 months old; I felt it was well done.
I would have been extremely unhappy if the ship was decorated all week for the holiday. To me, that would have ruined many of my pictures. Disney did NOT bill this as a special Halloween cruise. It was a cruise that just happened to fall on Halloween, and Disney made sure that they acknowledged that. Halloween may be a HUGE deal in the USA with trick or treaters and costumes, but many other countries do not make a big commercial deal about it.
There were many spots to get candy around the ship. We saw many other tables that were not on the map.
I'll admit, I was surprised when I heard they were celebrating Halloween on Thursday instead of Friday. After all, for me, it was my DDs 1st Halloween and I wasn't sure what day she should wear her "my 1st Halloween" onesie. But, I understood the logic of doing it on a sea day. Yeah, that didn't work out as planned, but things happen.

Overall, we had a great time. I guessed I missed the "fun" of the couple in the goofy pool and the kids knocking on doors. Unfortunately, idiots will exist and join you on vacations. It is unavoidable. Disney can't control someone's common sense or lack of. As for the kids, fault the parents- not Disney.

I don't have another Disney cruise booked yet. Our next 2 are with other cruise lines, but I can't wait to take DD back. The goal is when she is old enough to go to the kids club and I don't have to pay for Flounder.

Sorry you had a bad trip. If you took it for Halloween, then you should have gone elsewhere. Disney didn't promise or advertise a huge Halloween extravaganza.

AS I CAN SEE YOU HAVE BEEN ON MAY CRUISES AND AS DCL CRUISER YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT DCL KNOWS HOW TO THROW A PARTY. YEA YOUR KID DIDNT TRICK AND TREAT SO YOU DIDNT MISS ANYTHING. AND DISNEY DID SAY THIS WAS A HALLOWEEN CRUISE THEY SENT OUT PAPERWORK STATING WHAT TYPES OF COSTUMES WERE APPROPRIATE IT STATED NO FAKE GUNS, KNIVES, OR EXTREMELY SCARY COSTUMES. SO IF THEY WERENT ADVERTISING IT AS A HALLOWEEN CRUISE WHY BOTHER SENDING A LETTER

[magicalme06]

I had a great time on the cruise and found it to rank as one of my best.

Yes, there were a few issues, and the ship didn't leave the dock as planned, but since the deck party started before the issue delaying leaving occurred, there was no way to delay the deck party till actual sail away (which I have had happen in the past). Things happen.

I didn't have any food issues and had chicken fingers from Pluto's on more than one occasion. All the food was wonderful. There was a bit of fat on a piece of steak one night, but I know if I had commented to the wait staff they would have gotten me a new piece.

As for Halloween, my perspective as a parent might be a little different from many, especially since my DD is only 5 months old; I felt it was well done.
I would have been extremely unhappy if the ship was decorated all week for the holiday. To me, that would have ruined many of my pictures. Disney did NOT bill this as a special Halloween cruise. It was a cruise that just happened to fall on Halloween, and Disney made sure that they acknowledged that. Halloween may be a HUGE deal in the USA with trick or treaters and costumes, but many other countries do not make a big commercial deal about it.
There were many spots to get candy around the ship. We saw many other tables that were not on the map.
I'll admit, I was surprised when I heard they were celebrating Halloween on Thursday instead of Friday. After all, for me, it was my DDs 1st Halloween and I wasn't sure what day she should wear her "my 1st Halloween" onesie. But, I understood the logic of doing it on a sea day. Yeah, that didn't work out as planned, but things happen.

Overall, we had a great time. I guessed I missed the "fun" of the couple in the goofy pool and the kids knocking on doors. Unfortunately, idiots will exist and join you on vacations. It is unavoidable. Disney can't control someone's common sense or lack of. As for the kids, fault the parents- not Disney.

I don't have another Disney cruise booked yet. Our next 2 are with other cruise lines, but I can't wait to take DD back. The goal is when she is old enough to go to the kids club and I don't have to pay for Flounder.

Sorry you had a bad trip. If you took it for Halloween, then you should have gone elsewhere. Disney didn't promise or advertise a huge Halloween extravaganza.
OH AND IT IS DISNEY FAULT KIDS WERE RUNNING HOG WILD THEY CHANGE THE 11-13 YEAR OLD CLUB TO WHERE THE KIDS COULD CHECK THEMSELVES IN AND OUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PARENTS WANTED! I TOOK MY KID TO CLUB AND LATER ON THAT DAY I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SWIMMING, HANGING OUT IN THE ARCADE, AND WONDERING AROUND DOING AS SHE PLEASED, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE!!

[nzdisneymom]

OP - sorry you didn't have a magical time.

What delayed the ship leaving from the port?

FWIW, on Key West day, it's usually late morning (11 a.m. or after) before guests are allowed to disembark, which does make for a shorter day.

I'm discouraged to hear about the behavior of the tweens/younger teens onboard, not just on this report but on others. We'll be taking our 12 and 11 y.o. boys with us for the Christmas cruise and you bet we'll monitor them carefully. They enjoy having some freedom onboard but they also know we check up on them (and have eyes/ears of others on them, too - nice thing about joining a DIS Meet Thread is that you get other adults who will know who your kids are and can let you know if they see them out -- cameras everywhere, don't you know?!)

We enjoy the non-scheduled time as much or more than the scheduled activities because we find things to do as a family (or maybe one parent/one child). Our first cruise, we introduced the boys to Scrabble in Diversions one afternoon... and they wanted to play every day after that!

Anyway, sorry you encountered some less-than-magical experiences.

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I believe DCL sends the letter knowing people will wanna dress up since it ran over Halloween. Doesn't mean they need to give you a fabulous party. Personally most kids don't need more then 25 pieces of candy...look at how obese the country is. The reason for going on a DC should not be what holiday it falls over...just enjoy it regardless and don't expect things or feel entitled to them.
I would be upset about the food too, however it sounds like every little detail is being complained about. Live in the moment....stop focusin on what didn't happen, it's a bunch of negative energy. Use it positively else where.

[magicalme06]

I believe DCL sends the letter knowing people will wanna dress up since it ran over Halloween. Doesn't mean they need to give you a fabulous party. Personally most kids don't need more then 25 pieces of candy...look at how obese the country is. The reason for going on a DC should not be what holiday it falls over...just enjoy it regardless and don't expect things or feel entitled to them.
I would be upset about the food too, however it sounds like every little detail is being complained about. Live in the moment....stop focusin on what didn't happen, it's a bunch of negative energy. Use it positively else where.

Look if you were not there then dont comment. We arent new do Disney or DCL
In our family alone we have on 20 cruises between us all and 90% of them have been wonderful. I dont like to travel on holidays regardless but when you do travel you expect something fun for the holiday especially when your with someone like DISNEY. We went at Christmas in 2004 on the wonder and I didnt expect Santa to coming down the chimney, but Santa was there so was Mrs. Clause and the ship was decorated with beautiful christmas trees and gingerbread house, etc. Not everyone believes in santa but he was there.
It is about a level of expectations, service, and organization. Disney failed the cruisers in all these areas whether the cruisers know it or not. Repeat cruisers know or should know that things were way off. In fact they were so way off that Christian the assistant cruise director was calling a meeting on saturday because of all the complaints and rumors he had heard. So we are not the only ones complaining!!!

[magicalme06]

OP - sorry you didn't have a magical time.

What delayed the ship leaving from the port?

FWIW, on Key West day, it's usually late morning (11 a.m. or after) before guests are allowed to disembark, which does make for a shorter day.

I'm discouraged to hear about the behavior of the tweens/younger teens on board, not just on this report but on others. We'll be taking our 12 and 11 y.o. boys with us for the Christmas cruise and you bet we'll monitor them carefully. They enjoy having some freedom on board but they also know we check up on them (and have eyes/ears of others on them, too - nice thing about joining a DIS Meet Thread is that you get other adults who will know who your kids are and can let you know if they see them out -- cameras everywhere, don't you know?!)

We enjoy the non-scheduled time as much or more than the scheduled activities because we find things to do as a family (or maybe one parent/one child). Our first cruise, we introduced the boys to Scrabble in Diversions one afternoon... and they wanted to play every day after that!

Anyway, sorry you encountered some less-than-magical experiences.

Just so you know they have created a new club called Ocean Quest for ages 11-13 you do not get a pager and this kids have the authority to come and go as they please. So if you drop the kids off and you get off the ship at a port of call your kids could be running wild doing what they want when they want. It wasnt the 14-17 year olds that were causing the problems. It was the 11-13 year olds. Happy Cruising!!!

[CastawayJP]

Look if you were not there then dont comment. We arent new do Disney or DCL
In our family alone we have on 20 cruises between us all and 90% of them have been wonderful. I dont like to travel on holidays regardless but when you do travel you expect something fun for the holiday especially when your with someone like DISNEY. We went at Christmas in 2004 on the wonder and I didnt expect Santa to coming down the chimney, but Santa was there so was Mrs. Clause and the ship was decorated with beautiful christmas trees and gingerbread house, etc. Not everyone believes in santa but he was there.
It is about a level of expectations, service, and organization. Disney failed the cruisers in all these areas whether the cruisers know it or not. Repeat cruisers know or should know that things were way off. In fact they were so way off that Christian the assistant cruise director was calling a meeting on saturday because of all the complaints and rumors he had heard. So we are not the only ones complaining!!!

I think it is unfair to compare Halloween to Christmas for decorating purposes. To most of the world Christmas is celebrated as a holiday season culminating on December 25th. Halloween (for most Americans) is a one day event, and except at Target does not warrant several days of decorations. If you were to poll DCL customers I think you would find the same thoughts.

[DMMarla07860]

I think it is unfair to compare Halloween to Christmas for decorating purposes. To most of the world Christmas is celebrated as a holiday season culminating on December 25th. Halloween (for most Americans) is a one day event, and except at Target does not warrant several days of decorations. If you were to poll DCL customers I think you would find the same thoughts.

I agree it is unfair to compare Halloween to Christmas for decorating purposes.

I'd much rather see decorating and special activities for christmas then halloween if I was on a cruise.

but anyway sorry to the OP that you didn't have a great cruise

[wwwosie]

OH AND IT IS DISNEY FAULT KIDS WERE RUNNING HOG WILD THEY CHANGE THE 11-13 YEAR OLD CLUB TO WHERE THE KIDS COULD CHECK THEMSELVES IN AND OUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PARENTS WANTED! I TOOK MY KID TO CLUB AND LATER ON THAT DAY I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SWIMMING, HANGING OUT IN THE ARCADE, AND WONDERING AROUND DOING AS SHE PLEASED, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE!!

I am really sorry about your bad experience on DCL. But I don't think it's Disney's fault that the kids are running wild all over the ship. When kids are allowed to check themselves in and out of the clubs without notifying the parents, then it is us, the parents, who need to set the parameters of what can or cannot be done if a kiddo is out of the clubs. The expectations need to be set before sailing, or shortly thereafter. And if kids choose NOT to EVER check into OQ you really cannot blame disney for their behavior.

I also agree that 25 pieces of candy are just about right for anyone on a cruise, after all, there are so many other treats to be had, like mickey bars, cookies, etc. When we went to the MNSSHP every station only gave us 1or 2 pieces.

About your undercooked scallops: I assume you've had them before and know that if you over cook them you might as well use them as hockey pucks right? :lmao: Did you send them back?

Again, sorry you had a bad experience. I hope you let DCL know about your dissapointment.

[CruiseBoundnKY]

I have to say that we agree with the original poster. This was NOT a good cruise.

Trick or Treat was definitely lacking. Not much candy, not much hype, not much fun.

The food was not as good as we remembered it. Was never so glad to get back and go to Cracker Barrel in my life :rotfl2:

My son got sick in our bed one night while it was just me and him in the room. I stuck my head out the door and seen my state room attendant and yelled for help. He told me to call upstairs :eek: I thought that meant that he was coming, but no someone else came to my rescue.

I agree with whoever said that if this had been my first, it would have been my only. We did NOT rebook onboard.

Our asst. server was ill and not there 2 nights and the final breakfast. Needless to say our drink service stunk!!! Even when he was there it stunk actually. I love our server, we had him before and i requested him but this new guy was not so great.

I cannot believe that adults would do such a thing in the hot tub. I was in both of them. ewwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[justhat]

I read this as I am thinking about cruising this period in the future. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought that there would be anything more for Halloween than one day. In fact, the trick or treating wasn't even in my mind and I'm glad to see they have that as I'm sure my kids would enjoy it. The amount of candy wouldn't bother me at all as we don't let them eat more than 5-10 pieces total anyway, over the course of a few days. So 25 pieces would be fine, particularly since I didn't think they'd have any trick or treating.

The weather stuff stinks though. We were on the 5 night in September, right before the dry dock, and we had t miss our 2nd CC stop cause of the hurricane and essentially had 2 pretty crappy sea days, but what can you do.

To the last poster, on our Med cruise last summer, our asst server was sick and missing 3 days of the cruise. Maybe more actually, it seemed like a long time. The replacement guy was actually better, so it worked out to our advantage, but I can see that being a pain otherwise.

I think the issue with your son getting sick in the bed is that a special crew has to deal with vomit. I know when a kid at the table next to us vomited at the character breakfast the servers wouldn't go near the table and a special crew came in so fast and disinfected the whole area. Maybe room attendants are the same and vomit always has to be handled by the special team, but I don't really know.

[cdavishb]

We were on this cruise as well and had a great time. I thought the adult costume contest in the atrium was great. Mr. and Mrs. Claus on a cruise, Ursula, and Brent Davies were all great. The shows were great. The food (especially Palo) was great. I fully agree that the cruise was never billed as a halloween cruise. I've been on the ship on 2 previous halloweens and this year was better than last. If people went on this cruise to celebrate Halloween, then I suppose that it would dissappoint. I think Disney tries hard to please everyone but can't. People have very different levels of expectation and many find anything to complain about. Others are just greatful to be on such a beautiful ship in the warm waters of the Caribbean.

As in all places, people (including teens) will misbehave. I have seen bad behavior on the ship, at the Polynesian Resort, the Magic Kingdom and all other places I have vacationed. That is the fault of parenting---not DCL.

I am sorry that the original poster did not enjoy the cruise. I have been on 10 disney cruises since 2000. Both with and without children. I enjoyed them all and think that Disney does the best. It will never be perfect.

The line for re-booking was very long the last 2 nights. It seems that most families really enjoyed the experience.

[LovableGluttons]

Was everything absolutely perfect? No.

Did I get my hard earned money's worth on this cruise?

I sure did!

My son is 12 and found the OceanQuest club pretty lame too.

Luckily, he made some great friends and they had Jurassic Park video game competitions in Quarter Masters, snacked together, saw movies together, played Wii, and got along very well.

I rebooked onboard too!

[lbgraves]

Posting on a public forum opens yourself up to comments that both agree and disagree with your view. Please remember the DIS board guidelines. Everyone is entitled to their opinion whether or not it agrees with yours.

3. NO FIGHTING/SARCASM: While we'd like to think that a Disney fan site is always lighthearted, there are times when there are disagreements. Let's face it, there are certain topics that can transform any of us into a raging "Donald Duck." When you sense this is happening, we ask that you step away from the discussion before it escalates into a fight. Just like Mom always said about fighting, we don't care who started the argument and we don't want it on the DIS. (Okay, she didn't say the part about the DIS, but you know what we mean.) No attacking others and no sarcasm please. Either will result in an infraction.

[kritter]

That is to bad that you did not enjoy your Halloween Cruise. Two years ago we were on the Halloween Cruise and had the best time ever. My kids got more candy than they knew what to do with. We had a HUGE Dis Trick or Treat it was AMAZING!!!!!!! DCL did a Great job with decorations, etc. We did celebrate it on the 30th as the 31st was the Pirate Party night and a port day. But the kids did not seem to mind.

We cruised three weeks ago also and even though we had a hurricane out there the captain and crew did a WONDERFUL job rerouting us around the storm and the entire cruise was PERFECT!!!!!!!

I look forward to my next cruise in Aug. 09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[karibritt01]

So sorry the cruise was so awful for you. Sounds like there were specific things that upset, and the effect snowballed to ruin the rest of the cruise.

I agree the kids running in the halls is out of hand. We didn't have anyone knocking on doors and such, but they were constantly running up and down the stairs and playing in the elevators. At one point, they were playing a hide & seek/tag sort of game, and almost knocked people down the stairs with the running. I think this should be up to parents to keep a better eye on their kids, and set/enforce better rules. But ultimately, the responsibility does fall on Disney. If you go to a public pool, you see the lifeguard call down rowdy kids when parents won't. At WDW or a mal, security will deal with people causing problems. DCL needs to step up and find a way to fix this problem.

We had no issues with the food. I tried the scallops at Lumiere's. It was my first time trying scallops... and honestly, how would you know they were raw?? They were rubber! :crazy2:

[cnj]

We were also on this cruise. We gave it a 8.5 out of 10. There were some things that could have been better. The food in the dining rooms was actually not as bad as I remembered, but not great either. Palo was wonderful! The ports were wonderful. As far as the Halloween thing goes, I believe DCL gave 2 different trick or treat maps for the ship. There were a lot more stations that were not on our map that we found along the way. My children received a lot of candy. They loved trick or treating on the Magic. It was over very quickly, but they did not seem disappointed.

My husband and I did bring costumes to dress up, but decided that due to the lack of activities for Halloween, we would just skip the festivities. I do think they could have had a little more going on.

That said, we booked this cruise for the double dip factor. It just happened to fall on Halloween (my own personal favorite holiday, by the way). I was really disappointed to learn we would be sailing during Halloween. I knew they would not be doing that many things to celebrate it. I told the kids they would not get a lot of candy, and I would get them some when we got home. I did not need to do that, because they still have so much left over.

We did not rebook onboard. This was our third cruise with Disney, and we want to wait until the new ships are built.

We did not have the trouble of the kids running through the hallways. We were also Aft on deck 6. So, that could be a factor. If that were happening, I would be livid as well. I hope they can get a handle on that.

Anyway, I feel so lucky to be able to have taken a cruise and be home safely with my memories. I hope you can find some happiness in your memories, as well. :cloud9:

[slindamood]

What delayed the ship leaving from the port?

FWIW, on Key West day, it's usually late morning (11 a.m. or after) before guests are allowed to disembark, which does make for a shorter day.



The ship waited for late arriving guests. At sailaway from Port Canaveral, we were toward the front of the ship over the captain's area . The workers were ready to release the ropes and the officer seemed ready but was watching the bus arrival area. About 5:15, maybe a bit later, a DCL bus pulled up and a family of five ran off, into the terminal and then onto the ship. Immediately after that the ropes were released and we sailed.

At Key West we had to go through US immigration and customs because we were arriving from Mexico, not from the port as usual. I assume that there is no immigration or customs when going from a U.S. port to another U.S. port.

At Key West we got off about 11, but all aboard was 4:45. We had to be shuttled by trolleys to and from the downtown area because we were docked at the navy pier, not the usual pier. We got to town towards noon. The shuttle back took over 20 minutes to board, go through security at the navy gate where we each had to show photo ID and KTTW cards, get to the ship and go through security again. Our driver to town also acted as a tour guide and it was really interesting.

As I said in an earlier post, we had a great time on this cruise and were thrilled to go to Key West. It was about the right amount of time for us. Although some things were not as planned or different than usual, it made it interesting. In travel, you have to roll with the punches, or the waves as the case may be.

[CODisneyFans]

I'm sorry that you were disappointed with your cruise.

We sailed with you and had a great time. Our children were excited when they woke up to find cobwebs throughout the ship and the giant carved pumpkins. They enjoyed the trick or treating and were happy with the amount of candy they received. They wore their costumes trick or treating, to dinner, and to the parties in the kids clubs.

Our cabin was on deck two, the same deck as ocean quest, and didn't have any trouble with the 'tween crowd, outside one incident where all of the elevator buttons were pushed.

We didn't have any problems with the food, but we didn't get the chicken nuggets from deck 9.

We would definately book another Halloween cruise.

Again, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip, but I wanted to post my point of view for anyone who had a trip booked over Halloween 2009.

[ariel7303]

I wasn't on the cruise...but I'd have to say that I would have been upset with my kids if they complained about only getting 25 pieces of candy after all the money I spent so they could be there. I would have assumed that Halloween would have been "part of the experience" not the reason we were on the ship. Then again, I don't count Halloween as a Holiday...just a night of fun. :confused3

OP...Sorry you didn't have a good time. Hopefully next time will be better for you. :flower3:

[debster]

I was on this cruise and it was one of the better ones! We were busy all the time. I have 3 children too that ALL got bags full of candy. They split the map into forward cabins and aft cabins, everyone got the Mid Ship clues. We just hit them all.

To be upset about Disney with the teens I don't really understand. I know they have some play in it, but where are the parents? I have an 11 year old and would never let him just run the ship. I think people get a false sense of security on Disney and let their kids run around too much. This is no way Disney's fault.

Weather, well Disney certainly can't help that. Key West ended up being our favorite port of the week.

The cruise was far from perfect. This was our 5th Disney Cruise. I would agree with one of the above posters, I would rate it an 8.5.

We booked this as a double dip. I was surprised how much they actually offered for Halloween!

Late Dinner. That is all I have to say. My youngest is 4 and we STILL request Late Dinner. Early dinner you just rush around. Its not Disney's fault that sail away was delayed. We enjoyed the sail away quite a bit.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but to blame Disney for some of the items you did was incorrect.

I think the OP's thread is a bit unfair. Maybe you should travel Carnival and see the difference, I think you will be back.

And yes, we did rebook on board.

[BelleEm2]

Is anyone else slightly peeved at the OP's grammar? No offense, or anything... But capitalizing every first letter of every word just makes me a tiny bit upset. And typing in all caps is perceived as yelling, FYI. I don't think we at the DIS have done anything wrong to warrant that...

As for your apparent God-awful time, I'm sorry. Still, I think that a little relaxation would have made the trip all the more enjoyable for you. Next time, buy your kids a bag of candy before embarking (as if 25 pieces are not enough, in addition to all of the rest of the food on board) and tell them to stop complaining. Stay away from chicken fingers. And, intercourse in the hottubs? HAHA! I don't think Disney could've controlled people like that if they tried...

[orlandothebeagle]

Is anyone else slightly peeved at the OP's grammar? No offense, or anything... But capitalizing every first letter of every word just makes me a tiny bit upset. And typing in all caps is perceived as yelling, FYI. I don't think we at the DIS have done anything wrong to warrant that...

As for your apparent God-awful time, I'm sorry. Still, I think that a little relaxation would have made the trip all the more enjoyable for you. Next time, buy your kids a bag of candy before embarking (as if 25 pieces are not enough, in addition to all of the rest of the food on board) and tell them to stop complaining. Stay away from chicken fingers. And, intercourse in the hottubs? HAHA! I don't think Disney could've controlled people like that if they tried...

:lmao: excellant, but to be fair it took me two years to work the caps locks button!

[CanadianCruiser67]

Everyone has different expectations coming into a vacation.

We work hard, to earn our money for vacations and expect either the same or a better experience than the last.

I'm awfully sad to read about your experience on this cruise.

Perhaps a letter directly to Disney Cruise Line would help and they may offer an incentive to Cruise with them again that is satisfactory to you?

I believe Customer Service does not end when the vacation is over, if the experience was bad, you would tell your Travel Agent right?
They would want to know if you did not have a good time.

On the language issues recently brought up, the OP was upset.
I'm not sure I would have reacted the same, but when one is truly upset you write what you feel.
Hence my suggestion of writing or calling those who are responsible.

On the kid's knocking on doors, was this part of the Halloween Trick or Treating? Or was this just kid's playing pranks?

Apparently some others had a different experience which was more positive.

This poster's experience is sad, but compared to the other people who have had great experiences on DCL, it will not stop me from booking another Cruise on this line.

I'm glad this forum exists so that people are able to share their experiences.

[KSDisneyDad]

We were on this cruise as well and had a great time. ...... Others are just greatful to be on such a beautiful ship in the warm waters of the Caribbean......The line for re-booking was very long the last 2 nights. It seems that most families really enjoyed the experience.

This mirrors our thoughts from our cruise this past August. I couldn't believe that on a 15 night cruise, the line for rebooking would be so long and we didn't procrastinate until the last day to rebook.


Anyway, I feel so lucky to be able to have taken a cruise and be home safely with my memories. I hope you can find some happiness in your memories, as well. :cloud9:

Well said:thumbsup2


We sailed with you and had a great time. Our children were excited when they woke up to find cobwebs throughout the ship and the giant carved pumpkins. They enjoyed the trick or treating and were happy with the amount of candy they received. They wore their costumes trick or treating, to dinner, and to the parties in the kids clubs.



That sounds cool...do you have any pictures of the decorations and pumpkins?


To the OP: Sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise. This thread reminds me of a couple of the extremely long threads regarding behavior of others on the EB PC Repo cruise this past summer that discussed teens/tweens, Quiet Cove behavior, bad shows, etc. Reading these threads, one could have concluded that it was the worst cruise ever. Even though we also experienced some of these items, none of it ruined our trip. Yes, we experienced some bad food, a truly awful show (the singing magician) and even rude behavior from other guests young and old. That said, we found that almost every day brought new and often unexpected experiences which made our trip very special. We too had very high expectations about certain events or items on the cruise, and found that these expectations weren't always met. However, more often than not our expectations were met or exceeded. Even if it wasn't perfect, it truly was a trip of a lifetime for us and we would do it all over again if we could! Like a previous poster said, I hope that you too find some happiness in your memories when you look back on it.

With respect to Halloween -- did you have a chance to do MNSSHP before the cruise? We've done this when cruising in the fall before and it really helps set the Disney mood prior to the cruise.

[TotallyAngelic]

We were also on this cruise and I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience - we actually had a wonderful time. The Halloween decor was understated, but tasteful and worked well. The Halloween trick or treating seemed to be enjoyed by most of the people we saw taking part - obviously it would have been better to have been able to have Halloween activities on a sea day, to allow guests to enjoy the port, rather than having to rush back from Key West to do the trick or treating, but considering DCL worked hard to find us a new port after losing Grand Cayman, there were bound to be schedule clashes caused by the changes but most people were just grateful to be able to go to Key West and not lose a port day completely.

I would also have preferred a halloween themed deck party, but do not really consider the costume competition in the atrium to be a party in any case, and I don't really think this was just held to increase revenue by encouraging the consumption of alcohol - I actually saw very few people with a drink in their hand during this competition. It was just a bit of fun. A lot of people had put a lot of time and effort into their costumes (including my DD, who had painted herself blue), and the person who came as the "horse's rear" was only the winner of the comedy costume award, and it was actually quite funny and not at all offensive.

As far as the food was concerned - I had the most wonderful food at every meal along with outstanding service throughout, and I also had some very acceptable chicken tenders from the counter on Deck 9. However I also understand that everyone's standards of acceptability are very different, but I would find it very unfair to condemn the whole dining experience on board on the basis of a couple of undercooked chicken tenders.

However I suppose I should recognise that we are all very different with different likes, dislikes, priorities and expectations, and it is a shame when an experience such as a hard-earned and long-awaited vacation such as this does not live up to your expectations and leaves you feeling less than impressed. Despite their bad experience, I hope that the OP will be able to reflect on all the enjoyable moments of their vacation and focus less on the negative ones.

My cruise experience was first class from start to finish, I enjoyed some parts of the cruise more than others, but rather than taint my overall wonderful and positive experience by dwelling on the occasional less inspiring moment, I remain grateful that I had the opportunity to take my family on this cruise and enjoy such a magical time together. I will certainly hope to book another cruise, and may well have done so on board, had the lines for rebooking not been so long every time I passed the desk - which in itself is testament to the quality and enduring popularity of Disney Cruise Line.

[tinytink]

FIRST OFF IT DIDNT HAPPEN IN THE ADULT POOL IT HAPPENED IN THE GOOFY POOL WITH KIDS AROUND..:mad:
NO FLAMES, PLEASE just trying to lighten up this thread

sorry you had such a terrible time but are you really upset because it took security 30 minutes to find you? I can understand when it takes 29 minutes longer than normal. lol

[orlandothebeagle]

NO FLAMES, PLEASE just trying to lighten up this thread

sorry you had such a terrible time but are you really upset because it took security 30 minutes to find you? I can understand when it takes 29 minutes longer than normal. lol

What finding security or:rolleyes1 ???:lmao: very funny tinytink!!

[TotallyAngelic]

NO FLAMES, PLEASE just trying to lighten up this thread

sorry you had such a terrible time but are you really upset because it took security 30 minutes to find you? I can understand when it takes 29 minutes longer than normal. lol

I never even saw the Goofy pool without about 200 kids in it, so how the couple in question were able to experience a "private moment" in there totally defeats me!

[Sully]

We were not on this cruise,but have been on 9 Disney cruises, 2 of 14 days in length. All have been excellent. For some people the glass is either half full or half empty.

[Eric, Julie and Hailey]

We were also on this sailing. However, we had a great cruise. Here are my thoughts (which I will also post on a separate thread):

- The ship looks great. I was very worried given the nay-sayers after the dry dock. 90% of the carpets were new when we arrived (according to the ship tour guide). The remaining new carpets were literally being installed while we were there. Public areas were in like-new condition. Our stateroom was not perfect, but certainly in good to very good shape. Our cat. 6 (6612) was clean and comfortable enough for four of us (DDs are 6 and 9). It was also relatively noise-free, despite being close to the aft elevators. The bed was very uncomfortable, but our stateroom attendant brought the eggcrate stuff after the first night, and it was somewhat better.

- The cruise staff was top notch. Dave had more energy than any cruise staff member I've seen. Brent seemed to lead nicely from behind -- always present and watching over major events, but letting his staff handle the logistics. On the first night, during Magic Quest, a teammate accidentally broke our video camera (long story - but, basically overly enthusiastic). The cruise staff got our cabin number and within 24 hours had found a crew member who could fix it (basically a "tinker" fairy!) -- and then paged us when it was ready to return it as good as new. No cost. Talk about above and beyond!

- Our dining room server (Jose) was sweet, but hard to understand. The equally nice asst. server (Ozen) had a sick roommate and was quarantined on day 5. The replacement (Eric) was brand new at being an assistant server. Moreover, the other table in our section was ver large (10 to 12?) and appeared difficult (many small kids). Hence, our dining room service was only so-so. Drinks took a long time to be re-filled. On a few nights, we waited a long time for orders to be taken and food to be brought out (frustrating on the 8:30 seating!). However, the head server helped out - and all were very apologetic and eager to please.

- The 8:30 seating is WAY too late. 8:00 is fine -- but, that extra half-hour really makes it unbearable. We found ourselves watching the clock between 8:00 and 8:30 and trying to fill time with whiny hungry kids.

- Food was up and down -- but, mostly up. Our lobsters were tender and tasty (a first on the Magic for us). The beef was not so good - and fish was usually overcooked in the dining room. Pasta dishes were always good -- as was the shellfish meals. Palo was outstanding as always -- both dinner and brunch. Although, brunch was especially good.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Goofy's was delicious! The paninis were truly special (duck and goat cheese, for example).

- We heard that the dry-dock was monopolized by unexpectedly having to handle structural problems under the pools. :scared1: Apparently, they discovered the pools were about to collapse due to some poor construction! (source: an officer-type in a dining room)

- We thought the family and adult activities were as good as the first two times we've been on board. We were never bored. In fact, we ran around so much, we found ourselves exhausted from having fun!

- Pools were clean.

- Our daughters (9 and 6) were entertained by the kids clubs. They always seemed to enjoy going - especially once they made some friendship connections. Bless those youth counselors! They are the most under-appreciated group -- and yet, so vital to the Disney Cruise product!

- The artist series was awesome! Trevor Carlson painted Sorcerer Mickey in 30 minutes in the atrium (we bought the limited edition "Making Waves" at what we have since learned is a fair price ($270)). And, John Rowe spent a ton of time talking with my 9 year old (a budding artist), which made her trip very special. Add to that, Stacia Martin (a Disney artist and historian extraordinaire). We were in Disney art heaven!

- The shows were very good as usual. I was distracted by the Disney Dreams enhancements (why does Peter Pan fly so early now?) -- but, not enough to dislike the show. I cried like a baby at all the usual moments. The farewell show had an awesome variety act. The guy actually balanced a full size A-frame ladder on his chin! He got a standing ovation at that moment -- which I've never seen at a variety act.

- The spa was nice. We enjoyed good massages. A bonus was being massaged side-by-side in the spa villa, but not having to pay for the villa (just the massage) -- simply because it was available.

- We thought the Key West make-up for missing Grand Cayman was a true Disney difference. The weather was not Disney's fault -- yet, they went out of their way to give us another port. By comparison, the Carnival ship that left port with us on 10/25 ended up dumping all of its passengers in Fort Lauderdale for a 3 hour bus ride back to Port Canaveral due to a problem on the ship. Those boarding on Saturday 11/1 had to wait past 4:00 p.m. to board The compensation for all of those lucky passengers: $50.

- Halloween was fine. Our kids got dressed up, got some candy, took some pictures and danced. What more is there to do with Halloween? With all of the junk food on board, I was happy that their bags were not full with more candy. Who needs more candy when there's Mickey Bars :love:, unlimited desserts and ice cream, chocolates on the pillows, etc.? It was moved to 10/30 because 10/31 was the last day -- and a Castaway Cay day. Thank goodness it was moved -- we ran around like crazy on Friday to pack, eat, buy photos, souvenirs, see the show, and say good-byes. If we had to add trick or treating, ferrgetaboutit!

- Castaway Cay was awesome as usual, despite the weather. (When will Disney learn to control mother nature:lmao: ?)

- We're all a bit sick now (sore throat, cold symptoms, not serious), but who knows how we got it?

Well, there you have it. OUR view of the October double dip. We rebooked a "dummy date". We're seriously contemplating the transatlantic in 2010. That must mean something about how we enjoyed our week!

[Indea88]

We were on this cruise as well... a few questions and concerns here too..:confused3
The parents are not always at fault, I have a teen son age 14, he will say I am the most overprotective mom on the earth...He had to find things to do, nothing was going on in the stack, the 14-17's made their own agenda's and were told this in the first 411 on embarkation day. I wish there were more organized activities for this age group. My son found new friends and spent most of his time in the pools, the teen beach at CC and some time in the quest. I saw many tweeners running and disruptive in the elevators and stairways. When they are allowed to check out on their own how do their parents know where they are? I didn't allow check out until this year, 14-17 have no check out, they don't check in...
I always had check in times and curfews for my DS.
I promptly heard about the couple in the hot tub, DS14 said "I saw two people naked in the hot tub, "did you hear about that mom?

The weather was tough but it can't be helped, I wore a sweater in the carribean, I just won't cruise again in Oct. It was 79 in Cozumel! The captain stated that he was battling two cold fronts on this cruise, just don't understand why we would head to GC with gale force winds, don't they know that tendering wouldn't happen? Maybe not..We had to turn around and head to Key West, gave us an extra sea day but that night I woke up alittle quesy from the 13 foot seas ( and a pepperoni pizza before bed..never again.
We had a beautiful dolphin swim at Dolphinaris, it didn't matter what the temp was!

Thank you to Suzie for our TOT from our Dis group, we were'nt able to atttend, it's tough for my DS5 to stand in line (he has Autism) and bags for our children were given to us by this wonderful group, thanks so much.:lovestruc Needless to say we didn't participate in the ship's TOT but DS5 had Halloween festivities in the club, he was happy and content..

Just a little note on this cruise..on day 2 or 3 we must have entered the migratory pattern of thousands of small birds, heading to South America? DH woke me up to say look outside! There must have been thousands of birds. Two entered the stateroom, were flying around like parakeets. I called maintenence, room service, couldn't find help at 5:00am. DH caught both birds and set them free from the balcony. It was all good, no harm done!! The kids were happy that's what matters...

The only other issue was concierge, they met with us once at the beginning and visited once the entire week.Last cruise we saw them each day and they called each day. I know how this sounds but why pay extra for concierge if you never see them. We were notified of the concierge party a few hours prior and we already had other plans booked.They booked tea with Alice the same time as beer and wine tasting:confused3 I agree with some poor planning this trip
I rebooked but not for October!

[Amlee]

Is anyone else slightly peeved at the OP's grammar? No offense, or anything... But capitalizing every first letter of every word just makes me a tiny bit upset. And typing in all caps is perceived as yelling, FYI. I don't think we at the DIS have done anything wrong to warrant that...
As for your apparent God-awful time, I'm sorry. Still, I think that a little relaxation would have made the trip all the more enjoyable for you. Next time, buy your kids a bag of candy before embarking (as if 25 pieces are not enough, in addition to all of the rest of the food on board) and tell them to stop complaining. Stay away from chicken fingers. And, intercourse in the hottubs? HAHA! I don't think Disney could've controlled people like that if they tried...

I stopped reading the OP's post when she or he went to that. Not only is it considered rude on the internet to type that way. It makes it hard to read, therefore not worth reading.

[Indea88]

This poster has a right to their opinion, they may not know about caps, gentle reminders would be nice, why the harshness in response:scared: ......I was able to read it without difficulty.;)

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I have to say I don't think it's the caps that matter but the tone of which tings were said. NASTY! I mean I wasn't on the trip but this is a DIS thread and everyone has a right to say how they feel about a situation. It seems like the OP just wanted people to agree with them and when we didn't got rude. No need for it.

I have had some issues on board nothing Disney purposely did wrong but things that happen when u live aboard a floating hotel. I approached them with respect and kindness and my problems were resolved fast & efficiantly. I think it's all in how u handle it. If the OP went at Disney like us DIS people then I see why nothing has been done. U get more bees with Honey.

I have to say after reading this forum I am writing Disney with my concerns about the 11-13 age range having free, unsupervised run of the ship. i think 11 is to young if you have parents who don't know where their kids are and don't teach them right from wrong. Anyone whos kids ran around like that didn't teach their kids manners or how to use them or have respect.

[Amlee]

I have to say I don't think it's the caps that matter but the tone of which tings were said. NASTY! I mean I wasn't on the trip but this is a DIS thread and everyone has a right to say how they feel about a situation. It seems like the OP just wanted people to agree with them and when we didn't got rude. No need for it.

I have had some issues on board nothing Disney purposely did wrong but things that happen when u live aboard a floating hotel. I approached them with respect and kindness and my problems were resolved fast & efficiantly. I think it's all in how u handle it. If the OP went at Disney like us DIS people then I see why nothing has been done. U get more bees with Honey.

I have to say after reading this forum I am writing Disney with my concerns about the 11-13 age range having free, unsupervised run of the ship. i think 11 is to young if you have parents who don't know where their kids are and don't teach them right from wrong. Anyone whos kids ran around like that didn't teach their kids manners or how to use them or have respect.

It was the way the post came across that bothered me, the caps just made it worse. Opinions are going to vary and telling people if they didn't sail on that sailing not to post was just the icing on the cake for not to finish reading what the OP had to say.

As for the 11 to 13 year olds being on their on. I have a 13 year old head strong, slightly wild niece that will be sailing with me in Jan on The Wonder. I have already requested that she be put back in one of the clubs and that she NOT have sign out privilege.

[KSDisneyDad]

It was the way the post came across that bothered me, the caps just made it worse. Opinions are going to vary and telling people if they didn't sail on that sailing not to post was just the icing on the cake for not to finish reading what the OP had to say.

As for the 11 to 13 year olds being on their on. I have a 13 year old head strong, slightly wild niece that will be sailing with me in Jan on The Wonder. I have already requested that she be put back in one of the clubs and that she NOT have sign out privilege.

Unfortunately, for any kids in Ocean Quest or the teen club, you don't get a choice. They can come and go as they please. You can't ask that they not have sign-out privilege -- at least we weren't given that option for our 13 year-old on our cruise this past August.

We did get a pager for all of our kids and our 13-year old could have a specific message paged to us by the counselors when he entered or left the club. We had him page us frequently so that we knew where he was when he left the club. We also had a very stern discussion with him early in the cruise regarding behavior of some of his new "friends". To avoid getting into trouble, he stopped hanging around with several of them. Fortunately, there were also several good kids for him to hang out with on the cruise. You just can't expect Disney to babysit your kids for you.

[Amlee]

Unfortunately, for any kids in Ocean Quest or the teen club, you don't get a choice. They can come and go as they please. You can't ask that they not have sign-out privilege -- at least we weren't given that option for our 13 year-old on our cruise this past August.

We did get a pager for all of our kids and our 13-year old could have a specific message paged to us by the counselors when he entered or left the club. We had him page us frequently so that we knew where he was when he left the club. We also had a very stern discussion with him early in the cruise regarding behavior of some of his new "friends". To avoid getting into trouble, he stopped hanging around with several of them. Fortunately, there were also several good kids for him to hang out with on the cruise. You just can't expect Disney to babysit your kids for you.

I'm not asking DCL to babysit anyone. I'm asking to be know when she wants to leave the clubs. Something they do a 1000 time a day.

When I called and talked to DCL they said that I could remove her sign out privilege. But it wouldn't be the first time any of us have been told one thing and got on the ship only to be told something else.

If that is the case and they won't remove it. Stinks to be her! Because she will not be allowed to roam the ship by herself.

[SweetSpot]

They don't have the kids in the 11-13 check in or out at all anymore. They just wander in and out all day long. They use to have to check in give their key to the world cards over and then go through the process to get out. There are no more bracelets, etc. You can get a pager and tell your child they must have a CM page when they come and go but that is entirely the responsibility of the child the CM's won't do it on their own even if you request it.

While it wasn't an issue for me with my DD and my middle DS who follow my rules and know better, had this been in place when we began cruising and my oldest DS who is H/F autistic was in that age group. We would never have been able to cruise. My DD did love the new structure, being in the Quest vs. the Lab and not doing the same old activities but I still think that parents should be given an option about signing out privileges. On the repo cruise my DD told me many stores about the unruly kids and we unfortunatley experienced a good deal of kids roaming looking for trouble.

Still baffled by the incident in the hot tub. That's a first, I've never read about any behavior like that before. Feel sorry for the poor CM who had to handle that situation.

[KSDisneyDad]

They don't have the kids in the 11-13 check in or out at all anymore. They just wander in and out all day long. They use to have to check in give their key to the world cards over and then go through the process to get out. There are no more bracelets, etc. You can get a pager and tell your child they must have a CM page when they come and go but that is entirely the responsibility of the child the CM's won't do it on their own even if you request it.


That's my understanding as well.

I'm not asking DCL to babysit anyone. I'm asking to be know when she wants to leave the clubs. Something they do a 1000 time a day.

When I called and talked to DCL they said that I could remove her sign out privilege. But it wouldn't be the first time any of us have been told one thing and got on the ship only to be told something else.

If that is the case and they won't remove it. Stinks to be her! Because she will not be allowed to roam the ship by herself.

Unfortunately, unless they've changed it since August, for any kids in Ocean Quest or the Stack (i.e. 11-13's and 14+, respectively), you can't remove sign-out privileges for a 13 year old. If you're on the Wonder and have your 13 year old drop down to the Lab, then you could probably revoke the sign-out privileges.

You can ask for a pager and have your niece page you when she leaves the Quest, but Disney won't enforce it (again unless they've changed it since August). This worked for us, but I think it depends on both the child and the parent. When our youngest is ready for Ocean Quest, I'm not sure we'll be able to trust him.:rolleyes1 He's our little giver of gray hair!

[Amlee]

Well I'm trying to head off any problem to keep my dad from exploding on her for being stupid. She is head strong, naive, has no common sense and just dumb enough to get into trouble.

[kvaday]

I too was on this and I can honestly say I will never do it again. We do have some great memories and some good experiences but over all no I would never do it again. When you hear Disney you think the best, and that is not what we had. There were some things that were out of their control like weather but they did do a great job with taking us to Key West. I didnt think the food was top notch but it wasnt the worse either. I would have liked topsiders to have been open a little more but I understand that too.
As far as trick-or-treating goes, the candy was no big deal to us. Its horrible for the teeth and we were lucky enough to have such a wonderful dis group who well made up for it. But i didnt appreciate the older kids running wild and pushing the little kids outta the way just to get candy. They were just putting their hands in the buckets taking what they wanted which wasnt fair to the smaller ones. The parents didnt take as much responsibility for their teens as they could have. I give props to the kids clubs but my youngest one (5) wanted nothing to do with it because of the kids being brought their crying because they did not want to be there, she also had an accident because she was told she couldnt use the bathroom and had to wait. :confused3
I'm happy most had a wonderful time and will be going back but Disney just wasnt up to my high Disney standards. I dont mean to be negative because it was not all bad but I am very dissapointed. I'm just happy I was not the only one with a bad experience. I did not appreciate them constantly sending stuff to the room trying to get you to book again or join the vacation club. Personally if people want to book again or join they would have done it on their own. As far as the buttons in the elevators and the knocking of the doors yes we had the pleasure of dealing with that too. I too was very very sick on the last night. I felt fine until after I had dinner then it was all down hill. But again that was out of their control.

Again, sorry for venting but I do have to agree with some of the stuff stated. I hope for all of you who have rebooked or are going that you all have a wonderful experience.:flower3:

[RussN]

I promptly heard about the couple in the hot tub, DS14 said "I saw two people naked in the hot tub, "did you hear about that mom?


Wow, that is horrible to hear. Can't believe people would do this. Was it adults or teens?

I've been concerned about the lack of supervision (and/or activities) with some of the teens and some of these teens don't think clearly enough and may do something they may later regret.

[Aneille]

I was on the cruise too.

I also saw the family of 5 running for the boat. I was confused as well about the sailaway party ending before we left port and we were hanging out looking at the dock when we saw them running in with an escort. As soon as they were on board we left. I was so happy for the family. I couldn't imagine seeing the ship pull away if you were that close!

My 5 year old and almost 7 year old loved it. That certaintly enjoyed Halloween and the trick or treating and I must be a really bad parent because I allowed 3 stops! We had tons of candy already from the DIS Trick or Treating that Suzie ran earlier in the week.

We never heard the kids running down our halls at all. We never heard a knock either. I saw kids in the elevators but maybe I was lucky they were all very well behaved. We were on the 8th deck.

The good things:

1. My head server was great, although once he found out we loved wine and he did too, he cost us much more than we would have liked but we enjoyed every minute of it!

2. Our stateroom attendents were faboulous too.

3. My kids had fun and enjoyed the kids club until the end of the week. They realised maybe Mommy and Daddy were more fun!

The things I didn't think were top notch:

1. I think they could have done more for Halloween. I was expecting a bit more for the kids. I didn't like the timing at all but I chalked that up to us losing Grand Cayman.

2. The food was good, a few times it was excellent but overall I would give it a B+.

3. I also wish the Pizza place was open more hours. It seemed everytime we needed a pizza for the kiddo's it was closed.



Indea88 - We cruised Concierge as well and we had great help. They called every day and came up a few times during the week. We had concierge last cruise on a 4 day and it wasn't near as good as this time.

We did rebook a dummy date. My kids love crusing with Disney but we are considering something else instead. But I would love to cruise Disney again as well. I was thinking of just trying something new not necessarily better.

[dizzi]

I tried in May to put a warnign ut on the boards about thsi very thing.

I even started the threa from the cruiseline.

I got very HORRIBLE responses from so many that i asked the moderators to end the thread.

Responses like i was a bad mother for not teaching my DD to be mature and be responsible.
That i was over reacting
That other cruiselines do it.
That DISNEy is not a babysitting service.


I AM SOOO SOOO SORRY you gus had to experince this!!! As it was horrible for us, I did go to the head man on the ship over the kids clubs and expressed my concern. And he helped us out as much as he could, but most;y the whole cruise i was left being concerned about where my DD was and who she was with in turn we decided to wait 2 years until she is in the teen club to go again.

AGAIN i am sorry for this and wish you had caught my thread.

[dvc4life]

I have been reading this post throughout the day and I have to say that I am amazed and shocked at what I am reading. We were on this cruise and saw none of the problems that were mentioned. We had a great time and will be cruising again on the DVC members cruise in Sept 09.

We have done a Halloween cruise with DCL before and I can say that they were pretty comparable. In fact, the TOT was better this time than the other. Our girls got more candy this time than last. And they don't need alot of candy.

We had no problems with the kids on the ship. One day while we were getting ready to go to the pool we heard a bunch of kids yelling/singing/screaming so we looked out and it was a group of kids from the Oceaneer Club with the counselors. They were having fun and not hurting anything. They were loud, but we thought it was cute.

The weather was not the best. But bad weather there is better than home. Disney has no control over that and we all know that when we board. I wish it could have been better but I still came home with a tan!

The ports were wonderful! Our favorite wasn't even the one we were to go to. Key West!!! We want to go back on our own. We had such a good time. Castaway Cay was wonderful as always and Cozumel was very pretty.

As for the couple in the pool, I wasn't even aware. They really should have known better. How rude. We did have two bad experiences on this cruise and they were both at Rockin' Bar D. We went to two different shows and had very rude people at both. The night at the ventriliquist there was a heckler in the audience who was loud and obnoxious (sp). The cruise staff came and escorted him out with no incidence. I felt sorry for the poor entertainer. Then the next night we went to see the comedian, we were sitting at the bar and had a group of people come in right beside us and they talked very loud. Not giving a hoot about the show going on. We ended up leaving early because we couldn't hear the show. So, maybe all the rude kids on board were just acting like their parents who were in the clubs at night. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So those are two bad memories for us, but we are not focusing on them. We have wonderful memories of this cruise. The family we ate dinner with, our servers at dinner, Yelena the bartender at Sessions and just seeing our kids so happy.

I'm sorry the OP did not have a good experience on this cruise. I can't say it was our best cruise ever, but it was 100 times better than the Carnival cruise we went on. And after reading the posts, I really didn't appreciate the tone in the OP's writings. I hope she/he finds happiness in life. Like someone said earlier, look for the positive, not the negative.

[BabyRN]

Are you allowed to request a 12 year old to stay in the Lab? I'm booked for a 10/31/10 Wonder cruise. I will have a 12, 9 and 7 year old at the time. I will not allow my 12 year old to run in and out free, so if he's unable to stay with the 9 year old in the lab then I guess he will be stuck with me and his dad!! While I know I am taking the chance that maybe Disney is not going to do anything spectacular with this cruise for Halloween, in my eyes I believe the kids will have a better time being on this type of vacation. I will bring some type of candy for them so they don't get disappointed, just in case, but I'm sure I'll find some fellow DISer's that will do some trick or treating! Halloween is not a holiday...it's for fun. Unless it was advertised as a big ordeal for the ship, I would not expect to see a whole lot more than what it sounds like there was. It almost sounds as if the OP was more upset that his/her kids didn't get much candy.

[NewfieMom]

We were also on this cruise, and although our 11 year old had the freedom of being able to come and go as he pleased from the club - according to DCL rules - he DID NOT have that freedom according to our rules! He knew his limits, and that we would check on him - which we did. It worked out great. One night I did see some kids running and yelling on deck 4, but otherwise, not an issue. Of course, there were some of the dis trick or treat kids running - including my group :rolleyes1 - but we really tried to keep that to a minimum, and it was only for an hour. My apologies :flower3: to anyone they bowled over in their excitement !

I did think the DCL Halloween celebrations could have been a bit better, but then again one of the disadvantages of sailing at a special time is that it can take away from other cruise experiences - we celebrate Halloween every year, but don't cruise every year! They enjoyed the trick or treat, but it did mean getting them out of the pool and them missing other things they wanted to do, so I don't know if they or I would have wanted it to be more involved. Of course, the fact that we had the FABOULOUS dis TOT (thanks Suzie :worship: !) may have colored that opinion. But the kids enjoyed it, and that's what matters. I was glad to not have the huge haul of candy they usually end up with at home. And hey - my kids got to trick or treat without heavy coats and mitts to deal with the cold & wet weather here :cold: that alone was worth it!

We were also in Rockin' Bar D when the heckler was there - he was sitting RIGHT in front of me :scared1: . I will admit he made me anxious - he was a BIG man! His friends/family did their best to stop him, without success. But DCL handled it very quickly and efficiently. My friend did the ship tour later, and a question was asked about "the brig" - that man was used as an example, and apparently he'd been confined to his cabin for a few days. I know I did seem him and his family around later in the cruise, and he had a much different demeanor. I felt really sorry for the performer, and his wife :sad2: !

Other than that, we really enjoyed the cruise, and would sail DCL again. I think the friends we made on the meets made a huge difference. I would think twice about sailing in October again - the weather just wasn't what I want when I spend that much money to go south. But DCL did the best they could with the weather and the port changes. I, for one, was sorry they went to Key West - not because of the port - but I was looking forward to an extra sea day to enjoy the ship!

[dvc4life]

We were also in Rockin' Bar D when the heckler was there - he was sitting RIGHT in front of me :scared1: . I will admit he made me anxious - he was a BIG man! His friends/family did their best to stop him, without success. But DCL handled it very quickly and efficiently. My friend did the ship tour later, and a question was asked about "the brig" - that man was used as an example, and apparently he'd been confined to his cabin for a few days. I know I did seem him and his family around later in the cruise, and he had a much different demeanor. I felt really sorry for the performer, and his wife :sad2: !



NewfieMom - Thanks for the information about the guy being confined to his cabin for a few days. I wondered what they did about something like that. I was sitting at the table right by the stairs where they took him out. I even got up and moved because I didn't want him right behind me. My DH stayed in his chair but I was nervous. And I did see him around the ship towards the end and he did seem very subdued. Thanks again!

[karibritt01]

Are you allowed to request a 12 year old to stay in the Lab?

My DS10 and DD6 went back and forth between the club and the lab with no problems. They like to stay together, so would choose where to go based on what activity was going on at the time. Not a single counselor even looked at me funny when checking my 10 yr old into the 5-7 group, or my 6 yr old into the 8-10 group.

[BabyRN]

My DS10 and DD6 went back and forth between the club and the lab with no problems. They like to stay together, so would choose where to go based on what activity was going on at the time. Not a single counselor even looked at me funny when checking my 10 yr old into the 5-7 group, or my 6 yr old into the 8-10 group.

Thank you...it's nice to know they will have that freedom to be able to stay together. I will NOT be allowing my 12 year old to be going to the 11-13 yr old group!!

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Ok Since the responsible parents are concerned about this I wrote Disney asking them about it and this is the response.

11/6/08


Dear Michelle,

Thank you for choosing another Disney Cruise Line Vacation!


I am happy to assist you with information regarding the youth programs.


Children between the ages of 8 - 12 can check-in and check-out of Youth Activities with parental permission. If you do not wish your children to have this privilege, you will not give them permission to leave the children's program without an adult to sign them out.


As to the children running the halls, etc., I too have been on two Disney Cruises and have never encountered the situation. This may be a limited situation as there are several families with children on our ships.


Regrettably, there are children who may be running in the halls etc. however, it does not mean they were in the youth program.


I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.


We look forward to sailing with you!


Have a Magical Day!


Francesca

Reservations Department

Disney Cruise Vacations

OK that is the response I got. I wouldn't want my 9 yr old checkin herself out without being paged first which i believe u CAN flag their wrist bands as such. However knowing she is responsible I would let her check in. She has wanted to go to the club half way through dinner before and instead of appet. they order their meal for then and that way she could run up and check herself in w/o one of us havin to interrupt dinner. Now my 5 yr old not so sure at that age I would let her walk across the hall...LOL j/k but she is a totally different one then her older sis.

[BigJon]

I was also on the "Halloween" cruise last week. I thought Heath Hyche was the funniest comedian I've seen on the Disney ships. And I was also at the show with the female ventriloquist. Me and my wife left within 5 or 10 minutes. She had a lot of talent (her lips really didn't move), but her delivery wasn't that good, in my opinion. Once her show began, I could sense some uneasiness and tension within the crowd. After reading this thread, I'm glad I did leave. I would not have wanted to be around with the guy heckling her. She definitely did not deserve that.

[SweetSpot]

Ok Since the responsible parents are concerned about this I wrote Disney asking them about it and this is the response.

11/6/08


Dear Michelle,

Thank you for choosing another Disney Cruise Line Vacation!


I am happy to assist you with information regarding the youth programs.


Children between the ages of 8 - 12 can check-in and check-out of Youth Activities with parental permission. If you do not wish your children to have this privilege, you will not give them permission to leave the children's program without an adult to sign them out.


As to the children running the halls, etc., I too have been on two Disney Cruises and have never encountered the situation. This may be a limited situation as there are several families with children on our ships.


Regrettably, there are children who may be running in the halls etc. however, it does not mean they were in the youth program.


I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.


We look forward to sailing with you!


Have a Magical Day!


Francesca

Reservations Department

Disney Cruise Vacations


I think you will find that at time the DCL reps haven't been advised to changes on the ship. They only recently changed the ages and clubs on the Magic (don't know if they ever made the change on the Wonder) and it was a trial basis to be decided on after dry dock. Apparently they have kept the change in place. The new club is in Ocean Quest for 11 -13 yr olds without the ability to restrict check in or check out. You can (I have done it in years past) put your child in the younger club if you feel fit, so you can have a 12 yr old go to the Lab who's age goes until 10 and then since they are in the Lab you can restict check in and check out priveleges. But as of right now, on the Magic, if your child is 11 -13 in Ocean Quest or 14 -17 in the Stack they can come and go as you please even if you want DCL to restrict their check in/check out privelges. Ages under 11 who are in the Lab or Oceaneer Club, parents have a choice to restrict priveleges.Unfortunately, the DCL reps sometimes are misinformed to changes on the ship.

[WHATIF]

I was on the Magic the week before Halloween. My grandson is twelve and he was in the Ocean Quest club. It is true that he could check himself in and out, but we had no problem with that. He is not an angel, but he is a reasonably well behaved kid, and he had strict instructions to immediately return to our cabin when he left the club. He could then go other places on the ship and rejoin his group of friends, but only after checking in and letting us know where he would be, and with whom. We knew some of the other parents of kids of the same age, and all seemed to be great kids. We had no problems with tweens or any other age group.

I am sorry the OP had such a bad experience. We had a great time and would gladly cruise again.

[KSDisneyDad]

Ok Since the responsible parents are concerned about this I wrote Disney asking them about it and this is the response.

11/6/08


Dear Michelle,

Thank you for choosing another Disney Cruise Line Vacation!


I am happy to assist you with information regarding the youth programs.


Children between the ages of 8 - 12 can check-in and check-out of Youth Activities with parental permission. If you do not wish your children to have this privilege, you will not give them permission to leave the children's program without an adult to sign them out.


As to the children running the halls, etc., I too have been on two Disney Cruises and have never encountered the situation. This may be a limited situation as there are several families with children on our ships.


Regrettably, there are children who may be running in the halls etc. however, it does not mean they were in the youth program.


I hope this information has been helpful. If you require further assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.


We look forward to sailing with you!


Have a Magical Day!


Francesca

Reservations Department

Disney Cruise Vacations

OK that is the response I got. I wouldn't want my 9 yr old checkin herself out without being paged first which i believe u CAN flag their wrist bands as such. However knowing she is responsible I would let her check in. She has wanted to go to the club half way through dinner before and instead of appet. they order their meal for then and that way she could run up and check herself in w/o one of us havin to interrupt dinner. Now my 5 yr old not so sure at that age I would let her walk across the hall...LOL j/k but she is a totally different one then her older sis.


I think this is still true on the Wonder, but on the Magic, it should read ages 8-10. On the Magic, ages 11 - 13 now go to Ocean Quest and can check themselves in and out with no ability to change it by the parent.

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Thanks for the info...I sent the info onto the Disney reps so they could give out the correct info.

[tink,too]

I promptly heard about the couple in the hot tub, DS14 said "I saw two people naked in the hot tub, "did you hear about that mom?

OMG - that is terrible - some people have no shame! :mad: I think DH would have thrown them over the side of the ship if he'd caught folks doing that in front of all the kids around. :scared:

[barndweller]

Well, I might as well chime in since I was on the cruise and it was my first Disney cruise. We are retired and went simply because our children are big DCL fans (5 times) and wanted to have a family trip. This was only the second time we have ever cruised the first over 20 years ago on Royal Caribbean. We took my 80yo mom as well.

We loved the roomy cabin with split bath & veranda on deck 6. We had no problem with kids in the halls but the blond woman and her entire family who loudly monopolized the laundry room all morning long on Monday was very annoying. (Sorry, just needed a little rant!) The weather was disappointing and the change of port before sailing as well. We had planned to do a tour of Mayan ruins as our only planned shore excursion. Alas, it wasn't in the cards. Key West was an interesting alternate port but an American party town wasn't on my bucket list of must sees before I kick said bucket. I found the announcements on the speaker system impossible to understand given the cruise director's accent and my 60 year old ear's diminished abilities. This made added or changed activities very difficult to track. We enjoyed the Martini Tasting and Wine Tasting very much but knew nothing about the Latin Dancing or Galley Tour until after they were over. The men in our group really wanted to do the cognac & cigars but the timing was really bad and it was not rescheduled. The only beverage station (coffee & sodas) was at the far aft end of the ship while we usually spent our leisure moments in the adult area at the front. This made for a long trek to get non-alcoholic refreshment. Our servers at dinner were very good but the food was only OK. I expected much better. We were unaware of the hot tub incident and the delay at leaving port. We had a great time because we were with our family, not because the cruise itself was outstanding. We enjoyed watching the children in their costumes, the clever adult costumes, and the friendly folks we met onboard. We loved the 2 stops at Castaway Cay despite the rotten weather. But the other ports of call were not our cup of tea. We feel the higher price charged for DCL isn't worth it for us but understand the big appeal to families with young children or Disney fanatics. But for us, once was enough.

[Familyman1024]

My family and I recently went on the disney magic cruise in Oct 11-18.We rebooked for Halloween 2010, hopefully things will be better. Sorry to hear about the bad time everyone had. I've always had a good time and hope it continues.

[Shoshie]

I wonder if I was on a different cruise from the OP. Our week was nothing like that (this was my thrid DCL cruise, 16th overall).

Our waiters were amazing. The food was delicious. Our tablemates were the perfect match. Our cabin steward was incredible. And everyone I met, with the exception of a couple of kvetchers on our tram to Serenity Bay (and the one heckler), was great.

There was so much going on, I couldn't believe how much we did -- from match your mate to trivia to Bingo.

Yes, our Cozumel excursion was canceled, but it gave us time on the ship. We bought awesome Key Lime goodies in Key West, too.

We were on deck two and had no problems with kids knocking on doors or hanging out with nothing to do. We don't have kids, but every kid we talked to that week said they were having a great time.

As for the Halloween stuff, I thought it was just right. We enjoyed the party (I was Alice in Wonderland, DH was The Bachelor). And as for the TOT, how much candy should one kid get? I honestly didn't see anyone lacking for sugar.

Sorry you had a bad time, every cruise isn't perfect for every person.

[BabyRN]

My family and I recently went on the disney magic cruise in Oct 11-18.We rebooked for Halloween 2010, hopefully things will be better. Sorry to hear about the bad time everyone had. I've always had a good time and hope it continues.


Are you going on the Magic or the Wonder? I'm booked for 10/31/10 for the Wonder!

[WDWLODGE]

Sorry you had a bad expierence. I haven't had time to read the whole thread, but I hope that you take the time to contact DCL and let them know what you think. That is the only way things will get improved.

[mommylovesdisneymore]

Hi! I just found this thread and I do not know if this really counts but we were on the 3 day cruise for Halloween this year and it too was a joke. We were on an excursion in Nassau and actually took and earlier boat back so my 2 boys (4 & 12) could get ready for Halloween and like you I know how great Disney can be and expected something great like They do for their Halloween party. NOT!! we too had about 7-9 spots to stop at with the boys and they gave out one piece of candy each I mean several stops my son got 1 dumdum sucker. I am sorry but that is sad. All the money Disney makes and they can not even give out decent candy. My boys had worked so hard and made their own canvas trick or treat bags and they had maybe 12 - 15 pieces of candy total. WOW!! I get that in 2 stops at home. Then I get HSM is very popular with the tweens and that is fine but they could have mixed it up a little because neither of my boys were into it at all. people in caps and gowns were not halloween to them. The "party" per say with the costume contest on deck 9 lasted maybe 20 min. But we missed that trying to actually see some characters for Halloween. Like previously stated if you had dinner early you missed everything Characters shows everything. I just think it was so poor I expected so much and built it up so much to my boys and they were just let down and it did not help they did pirate night the same day so it was all so rushed. Also we did not see as many characters this time as previous cruise. They too never told us about the graduating ceremony this time either but i heard they did not have the caps and it was friendship rocks or something not DCU. I just have to say I was very disappointed and so were my kids the best thing that did happen though was to meet friends from here on the board and participate in the Fe exchange and of course Castaway Cay last time we could not get in so this was a big deal for us.

[orlandothebeagle]

Hi! I just found this thread and I do not know if this really counts but we were on the 3 day cruise for Halloween this year and it too was a joke. We were on an excursion in Nassau and actually took and earlier boat back so my 2 boys (4 & 12) could get ready for Halloween and like you I know how great Disney can be and expected something great like They do for their Halloween party. NOT!! we too had about 7-9 spots to stop at with the boys and they gave out one piece of candy each I mean several stops my son got 1 dumdum sucker. I am sorry but that is sad. All the money Disney makes and they can not even give out decent candy. My boys had worked so hard and made their own canvas trick or treat bags and they had maybe 12 - 15 pieces of candy total. WOW!! I get that in 2 stops at home. Then I get HSM is very popular with the tweens and that is fine but they could have mixed it up a little because neither of my boys were into it at all. people in caps and gowns were not halloween to them. The "party" per say with the costume contest on deck 9 lasted maybe 20 min. But we missed that trying to actually see some characters for Halloween. Like previously stated if you had dinner early you missed everything Characters shows everything. I just think it was so poor I expected so much and built it up so much to my boys and they were just let down and it did not help they did pirate night the same day so it was all so rushed. Also we did not see as many characters this time as previous cruise. They too never told us about the graduating ceremony this time either but i heard they did not have the caps and it was friendship rocks or something not DCU. I just have to say I was very disappointed and so were my kids the best thing that did happen though was to meet friends from here on the board and participate in the Fe exchange and of course Castaway Cay last time we could not get in so this was a big deal for us.

I am sorry you were disapointed, did you not enjoy anything??

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Sorry if i seem a little confused but isn't finding out whats going on the job of the parent,,,,thats what the navigator is for! We have always done early seating and have had NO problem. Halloween is not a HOLIDAY and why is everyone focused on candy...sheesh go buy your kids a bag!! Just rots their teeth and makes em fat anyhow. It's funny what people get upset about. I would be disappointed(not mad) if I missed Castaway, or Till we meet again....the things my kids love. The simple things...stop feeling entitled and be happy with the surprises that do happen!

[mommylovesdisneymore]

First off I do not feel entitled I just have never been disappointed by Disney I have done the Christmas parties and Halloween and they have always been so much fun. This was just poorly scheduled. Candy is not a big issue with me but the point is your average Joe will give out a few pieces of candy and if not when it's only one it's worth having. I do follow my Navigator everyday and you just can't do somethings if youhave early dinner and sometimes you miss out if you have late dinner. Mickey and Minnie we out n their Halloween costumes ONLY during 1st Dinner not any other time. And as far as the parents job finding out info all it said was Friendship rocks in the Theater Ok I am uppose to know what that is because?? Last time it was a graduation ceremony not friendship.
Yes I did enjoy many things on my cruise. I enjoyed all the Cast members they are the most friendly people you ever want to meet. I enjoyed watching my kids swim with sting rays in Nassau and REALLY enjoyed Castaway Cay it was beautiful. I was just let down maybe I had built it up too much to myself before I went but only because I know how Disney does things and usually it is always over the top abover everyone else. I loved each and everyone of the shows they are always the best like no other

[karibritt01]

Like previously stated if you had dinner early you missed everything Characters shows everything.

We did early dinner and had no trouble meeting characters before or after dinner. They are out most of the evening. We also saw all the shows, as the early dinner seating goes to the 8:30 show. If you missed something, perhaps it was because you made the choice to do something else, in which case the responsibility falls on you... not DCL.

I just think it was so poor I expected so much and built it up so much to my boys and they were just let down and it did not help they did pirate night the same day so it was all so rushed.

As a previous poster said... you need to do your research on what goes on. Many people have reported that this Halloween was better than previous years, so there must have been threads about what was entailed. And I would have thought pirate night on Halloween was cool, personally. Everyone going in costume from TOT to the deck party, followed by fireworks and the buffet... sounds like one continuous party to me.

They too never told us about the graduating ceremony this time either but i heard they did not have the caps and it was friendship rocks or something not DCU.

That info has been posted and discussed for several weeks now. Sorry you didn't know about it. I do think its sad they discontinued the caps, as they are so darn cute! But honestly, my kids hated the DCU graduation, and only went so they could get the cap and T-Shirt. We couldn't see either one of them on stage, DD6 tripped and fell, and cried all the way out of the auditorium, and we were late for dinner because we had to check them out... you didn't miss much!

[karibritt01]

we were on the 3 day cruise

Just re-reading your first post (making sure my response sounded appropriate and not harsh!) and it struck me you said the 3 day cruise. I think that is part of the issue really. There is always so much going on, and then to try to pack it into 3 days... I bet you never had time to slow down! Don't get me wrong... I would take 3 days if that was the only choice at the time! But with no sea day to relax and enjoy the ship, I can see where you got frustrated. I hope you consider cruising again, and can go for a longer trip!

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Mommylovesdisneymore--Hey I know what ya mean about early dinner. I try and get 6pm cause the characters come out about 5:45 and my kids see them and go to dinner. I don't know if you ever have done a 7nt'er but thats all we do. It is so relaxing and I can only imagine that a 3 nt'er feels rushed. I really think you would love it! I know what you mean about missing things, Like I would have liked to have played Match your Mate but they always put things after the late shows and our kids are in bed and we can't leave them alone in the stateroom yet, they just aren't old enough. So I understand missing things. I will only hope that as my kids age I can do more.

[Meeska Mooska Mom]

I was on the same Halloween Wonder Cruise as mommylovesdisneymore and while we had a really great time, I do have to agree on the HSM thing.

I appreciate that the new movie just came out, but it would have been really nice to see something halloween-ish. Each person giving out treats was dressed in a cap and gown and there weren't any real decorations around. I really think HSM is of interest to a very small percentage of the people on board.

But for me this was just a *gee whizz* in the scheme of a GREAT first cruise with my family. I'd go again but probably not for Halloween - we missed too must "real" Halloween stuff that we could have done at home.

[dvc4life]

Well, I have to say that with older children, Disney is the place to be for Halloween. We have done the MNSSH party 3 times, love the parade!!!, :thumbsup2 and a Halloween Cruise twice. And for us, it is the only place we would want to be. Our girls are 12 and 15, and they can still be kids. As a matter of fact, so can me and my DH. We TOT at the Magic Kingdom and on the cruise along with our kids. And it is fun. Where we are from, they are to old to go TOT'ing any more. But, at Disney, everyone can and no one is going to say anything. For example, in my office this week, my boss was talking about a whole family coming to trick or treat her house and everyone had a candy bag. Mom, Dad, kids, and Grandparents. That bothered her. Plus, around here, there is not that much to do for Halloween. Carve pumpkins, maybe a haunted house, one night, boom over. Plus, we usually have really bad weather like rainy, snowy, cold. So, anything Disney does for Halloween for us, is better than being here. :)

[mommylovesdisneymore]

Well I just believed that alot more could have been done. More decorations more Halloween activities and more characters out for Halloween and something other than the HSM3 trail. I to LOVE anything Disney

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Let me again just say HALLOWEEN is NOT a Holiday!! Some like it some don't.....I would expect Disney would decorate big on DCL for Xmas and maybe Easter but that is ALL!! Even MNSSHP the kids didn't get tons of candy, (which is fine with me) we go for the fact that we love the parade and that the attendence is limited so you get more valuable time in the park and can walk right on the rides!!
Ya just gotta do a week cruise nothing like it.

[jns]

Hi just to say we were on the Oct 25th cruise too and we had a great time
The food was great
my DS told us about the carry on in the hot tub and noticed the next night that both were empty
we were also on the Halloween cruise in 2007
only differece was at T&T they were giving out Tatoos and stikers none this year , but noticed that at WDW too

And yes we had should a great time we rebooked on board

[dizzi]

We did early dinner and had no trouble meeting characters before or after dinner. They are out most of the evening. We also saw all the shows, as the early dinner seating goes to the 8:30 show. If you missed something, perhaps it was because you made the choice to do something else, in which case the responsibility falls on you... not DCL.



As a previous poster said... you need to do your research on what goes on. Many people have reported that this Halloween was better than previous years, so there must have been threads about what was entailed. And I would have thought pirate night on Halloween was cool, personally. Everyone going in costume from TOT to the deck party, followed by fireworks and the buffet... sounds like one continuous party to me.



That info has been posted and discussed for several weeks now. Sorry you didn't know about it. I do think its sad they discontinued the caps, as they are so darn cute! But honestly, my kids hated the DCU graduation, and only went so they could get the cap and T-Shirt. We couldn't see either one of them on stage, DD6 tripped and fell, and cried all the way out of the auditorium, and we were late for dinner because we had to check them out... you didn't miss much!


I ddint go tot he graduation......
2 reasons
1 I have seen my kids graduate from soooo many things, it just seemed bit cheesy..... (MICKEY MOUSE CHEESY though)
2 That theater they have it in makes me sick and i tend to fall aslepp inthere anyway....i dont get to do many of the shows either.

Didnt ruin my vacation

BUT yes the hats are cute and My dd keeps them

[lcborn2run]

I have to give my opinion on this. As one poster said, the show was definitely short on humor. I think that it was uncomfortable in the theater before the heckling incident because she was doing so poorly on stage. I believe the guy started heckling because the ventriloquist was doing a very stereotypical spanish/puerto rican accent with some insulting (and not funny jokes) regarding the same.

I could be wrong, but he did look like that was what got him angry. Maybe he was very insulted and that coupled with a few drinks resulted in his outburst. It may have been "Un-Disneylike", but it was the most entertaining part of her act! :rolleyes1

[dicar123]

I think the issue with your son getting sick in the bed is that a special crew has to deal with vomit. I know when a kid at the table next to us vomited at the character breakfast the servers wouldn't go near the table and a special crew came in so fast and disinfected the whole area. Maybe room attendants are the same and vomit always has to be handled by the special team, but I don't really know.

My son got sick on our cruise (Dec 2007) and it was our regular stateroom attendant who cleaned up. I had thought Disney would have some special easy-peasy cleaning system, but it was the attendant with a scrub brush and a bucket. Poor guy... It's a shame the other poster had a hard time getting help.

[Stepht5]

You can ask for a pager and have your niece page you when she leaves the Quest, but Disney won't enforce it (again unless they've changed it since August). This worked for us, but I think it depends on both the child and the parent. When our youngest is ready for Ocean Quest, I'm not sure we'll be able to trust him.:rolleyes1 He's our little giver of gray hair!

I feel your pain, Christopher!! Claire may be the death of me! LOL!

As for the 11 to 13 year olds being on their on. I have a 13 year old head strong, slightly wild niece that will be sailing with me in Jan on The Wonder. I have already requested that she be put back in one of the clubs and that she NOT have sign out privilege.


She's not the sister to your neice that was on the 10 nt? Good grief you couldn't get her to have any fun! LOL!!!

[NewfieMom]

I have to give my opinion on this. As one poster said, the show was definitely short on humor. I think that it was uncomfortable in the theater before the heckling incident because she was doing so poorly on stage. I believe the guy started heckling because the ventriloquist was doing a very stereotypical spanish/puerto rican accent with some insulting (and not funny jokes) regarding the same.

I could be wrong, but he did look like that was what got him angry. Maybe he was very insulted and that coupled with a few drinks resulted in his outburst. It may have been "Un-Disneylike", but it was the most entertaining part of her act! :rolleyes1


I was sitting right behind him - he started getting mouthy before she even had a chance to get into her show :sad2: . He just got louder and more obvious about it - in direct relation to how hard his family/friends worked to keep him quiet, it seemed :ssst: ! I will agree that her show wasn't the best act I've seen, but it didn't excuse his behavior. And from where we were sitting - directly behind him - it was far from entertaining :scared: . The DCL staff did handle him very efficiently, thankfully - the situation could have gotten very ugly.

The other nights we got to Rockin Bar D, we had a great time - I was glad my youngest DS enjoyed the clubs more this time so we could have some adult time! And Pub Night the final night was absolutely hillarious! My only complaint about the cruise was the weather - but like has already been said, even Mickey can't control the weather!

[LetsGoSteelers]

Let me again just say HALLOWEEN is NOT a Holiday!! Some like it some don't.....I would expect Disney would decorate big on DCL for Xmas and maybe Easter but that is ALL!! Even MNSSHP the kids didn't get tons of candy, (which is fine with me) we go for the fact that we love the parade and that the attendence is limited so you get more valuable time in the park and can walk right on the rides!!
Ya just gotta do a week cruise nothing like it.

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. Halloween is a holiday of sorts that many people like to celebrate. Neighbors all around us decorate their homes weeks in advance of the event much like xmas, never seen anyone decorate their home for easter though.

Anyway, being the Disney fans that we are, we chose this particular date for the original port Costa Maya, the Castaway Cay double dip and the fact that it was happenning during Halloween somewhat expecting that Disney would go all out for the festivities.

The following notice didn't do anything to dispell those expectations either.

I dunno, but we sort of envisioned a magical ghost ship or something to that effect. Look at their notice...

hmmm they even refer to it as a Halloween holiday and transforming the ship!! Not the last minute decorations that were put up.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk222/letsgosteelers68/DCL%202008-10-24/dcl_halloween.jpg

Did this diminish our cruise experience in any way, no but the fact that we had to hurry back from key West with our girls only having 15 mins to join the trick or treaters and no time to get into their costumes kinda sucked! In my opinion it should have been rescheduled to follow dinner for each dining group, that way people could enjoy their port visit and the kids would have already been in costume.

Re: the movies, they only had one screening that I saw of nightmare before christmas at 2:00 ??? what was that about?? people would be in port and they were showing this in broad daylight, oh yeah, that's spook-tacular isn't it...

Also, like others mentioned, when the people at the stations had boxes full of candy they could have been a little less frugal handing them out. I very politely asked one of them for a twix, 1 candy bar, a small size one at that and he just ignored me and walked away after giving me this look....that was uncalled for.

Hell, it's not even about them getting to eat all of it, its just the fun of going around and getting it. Then they get to check out their haul and trade with their friends for their favs. That stuff will usually linger around for weeks unless there is soo much that it will get donated somewhere.

We also did what many on here had suggested and brought our own treats for them to find in their fish extender ranging from candy, to lil halloween stuffed ghosts and witches, treasure chests, tatoos, pencils, etc. We figured we'd be prepared just in case.

hmm...Maybe its an east-coast thing. :confused3 :goodvibes Being out here in California, Disneyland gets transformed, the entire park into a halloween wonderland and that was sort of what we were expecting. We didn't get to go to the park this year, we were kinda dis'ed out from having passes last year and were looking forward to going to the magic Kingdom thinking they did the same there.

Our youngest loves jack skellington and the entire halloween / nightmare before christmas and we were so disappointed to get there and find that the haunted mansion was not transformed like they do here in disneyland.

oh well what can you do?

[rylisal]

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. Halloween is a holiday of sorts that many people like to celebrate. Neighbors all around us decorate their homes weeks in advance of the event much like xmas, never seen anyone decorate their home for easter though.

Anyway, being the Disney fans that we are, we chose this particular date for the original port Costa Maya, the Castaway Cay double dip and the fact that it was happenning during Halloween somewhat expecting that Disney would go all out for the festivities.

The following notice didn't do anything to dispell those expectations either.

I dunno, but we sort of envisioned a magical ghost ship or something to that effect. Look at their notice...

hmmm they even refer to it as a Halloween holiday and transforming the ship!! Not the last minute decorations that were put up.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk222/letsgosteelers68/DCL%202008-10-24/dcl_halloween.jpg

Did this diminish our cruise experience in any way, no but the fact that we had to hurry back from key West with our girls only having 15 mins to join the trick or treaters and no time to get into their costumes kinda sucked! In my opinion it should have been rescheduled to follow dinner for each dining group, that way people could enjoy their port visit and the kids would have already been in costume.

Re: the movies, they only had one screening that I saw of nightmare before christmas at 2:00 ??? what was that about?? people would be in port and they were showing this in broad daylight, oh yeah, that's spook-tacular isn't it...

Also, like others mentioned, when the people at the stations had boxes full of candy they could have been a little less frugal handing them out. I very politely asked one of them for a twix, 1 candy bar, a small size one at that and he just ignored me and walked away after giving me this look....that was uncalled for.

Hell, it's not even about them getting to eat all of it, its just the fun of going around and getting it. Then they get to check out their haul and trade with their friends for their favs. That stuff will usually linger around for weeks unless there is soo much that it will get donated somewhere.

We also did what many on here had suggested and brought our own treats for them to find in their fish extender ranging from candy, to lil halloween stuffed ghosts and witches, treasure chests, tatoos, pencils, etc. We figured we'd be prepared just in case.

hmm...Maybe its an east-coast thing. :confused3 :goodvibes Being out here in California, Disneyland gets transformed, the entire park into a halloween wonderland and that was sort of what we were expecting. We didn't get to go to the park this year, we were kinda dis'ed out from having passes last year and were looking forward to going to the magic Kingdom thinking they did the same there.

Our youngest loves jack skellington and the entire halloween / nightmare before christmas and we were so disappointed to get there and find that the haunted mansion was not transformed like they do here in disneyland.

oh well what can you do?
We were on this cruise too & I'm sorry to say we were a little disappoined too!
We'd received the info above about Halloween & really thought we were going to get more of a Halloween theme than we did. Coming from the UK, where we don't tend to do a lot for Halloween, we really thought the Ship would be more 'transformed'.We were glad we'd been to MNSSHP the week before the cruise so at least we had seen something of a Halloween theme!
I'm still unsure why Halloween was held on 30th...I did ask our server who said it was so as not to spoil our CC day but that seems a bit of a silly excuse to me!
Trick or treat imo was over way too quick & our DS didn't even get chance to get his outfit on as we arrived back at 4pm from Key West. We got enough candy but i must say it seemed only a few of the CM's were really having fun, most just could'nt be bothered. We actually cut out a few lines as they were SO long.
The other thing I didn't get was why was that night Halloween Attire or Semi formal? That was just silly & should have been cruise casual that night & Semi formal on friday, would have made more sense to me although of course i do think friday should have been Halloween anyway!
In conclusion, we did enjoy our cruise, there were a few things we didn't like but on the whole we did have fun, especially our DS(14) who just loved every minute of it & can't stop wishing he was back there!

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

It sounds to me u got almost all they advertised! U got T/T==doesn't say u'll need a garbage bag tp carry it, it said some stations. I don't know I just get a kick out of some people(not necc U) but some getting bent outta shape over candy...its candy for goodness sakes. I don't know I just think Halloween is another of the made up holidays!! We go trick or treating, mostly just to show the friends of ours in the neighborhood their costumes. I could do w/o the day though. I have been to MNSSHP and like it. I can't tell u if it's decorated enough for u, but it was fine to me. Also we went to 3 t/t stations and just enjoyed the park...we don't care about candy..much rather enjoy the park. Actually mine like MVMCP better cause they like taking their thermos and puring their hot cocoa in and sippin on it all night long. Happy Holiday season is coming!

[4hernandez]

First of all, I want to apologize in advance if this is posted in various forms 2 times before this. I have tried to post a reply from my laptop and after writing and hitting post, it seems to be lost in cyber space. This third time around, and I will try to write what I felt I need to express...
This is my second actual post to this thread. I, too was disappointed by the Halloween Cruise. I would like to say it is not about candy. I'd be willing to bet that each and everyone of us on board can afford to buy our children a bag or two of candy. I was disappointed by the general lack of festivities.
You may or may not believe that Halloween is a holiday--just as you may or may not celebrate Christmas or Easter. Whether you are in agreement or not, Halloween has become a mainstream event. Other countires may or may not celebrate a form e.g. Mexico's Day of the Dead. The real only important issue (my humble opinion) is whether Disney celebrates Holloween. I believe it does-check out the Park decorations, MNSSH, the letter sent to cruiser and the press release for this cruise.
Did I choose this particular cruise for a bagful of candy? Of course not. What I thought I was chosing was a very unique cruise. The chance to celebrate a "Holiday" on a Disney Cruise Ship!!! Over the top festivities-mabe even spooky decorations! Nope.
My own families TOT with Disney went like this. We hurried (like everyone else-back to the ship), put on our costumes and went downstairs at 3:45 for the posted start of 4:00. The event had already started. All we did was follow a line from one station to the other. No stations were decorated. It all looked the same, nothing special. WE did become aware that there was more than one map and stations that were not on our map. We did not go to anyother station, other than what was on our own map. My dd8 told me, if we take candy form the other stations, than the kids following that map might not get any candy. We ended up upstairs with everyone else. I would have imagined that Disney would have put more than a dumdum or 2 in each bag, maybe a sticker or something else to commemorate "Halloween on the High Seas." Halloween might not be a big deal to you personally, especially if you are cruising without children-Santa might not be a big deal either, but ask the average 8 or 9 year old kid, and I believe their take on both counts would differ with the average adult.
If we had not celebrated Halloween with the DIS cruisers that I had met on line, this cruise could have taken place any other day of the year.
Susie and Jackie put together a Halloween that unfortunately put Disney to shame. This was done on the forum, long distance with just fellow parents. They had over 90 kids running and laughing (Opps-I mean walking quietly-LOL) from floor to floor following clue to clues (ex-where would the 101 Dalmations eat if on board?) to the end where they were greated with a pirate bag full of not just candy, but stickers, pencils etc. I was so proud of these amazing women (and men), who put in long hours not just to benefit their kiddos but everyones elses. I saw more than a few amazed adults also!
The FE (thanks totallyangelic) for keeping track, meant that everytime you returned to your room, it felt like Christmas. Creative, fun, useful gifts...WOW
Did Disney disappoint me? or did I have unreasonable expectations-hard to say.
What did I learn? The importance of the forums. Whether your interaction was a frinedly wave to a fellow DISer, or welcomed hints or advise, you guys MADE my trip. YOU GIRLS ROCK!!! ( sorry a little shout out for some well deserved, hard working people..LOL)
I joined the forum very late and was met with warm and welcoming fellow cruisers. I guess like most things in life, it is the people around you that can make or break an experience.
Just my opinion...

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I so agree with U about the threads. I am keeping track of things for ours. I have to say your little scavenger(sp) sounds fun regardless of the time of year. Hmm Where would the dalmations eat?? LOL Did they read a clue then find another clue where the answer was and so on and so on? How did U hand out the clues? It sounds fun and I hope to see my DIS'ers on the boat and maybe chill out by the pool with some or even end up on the same excursions, but how much did u really spend. I mean we all have fav things to do. I like that there are a lot of DD's my DD's ages so hopefully they will make some great friends. My older DD(8) is already emailing one of the girls...it seems to make them both more excited about meeting each other.

U are right we have different ideas about what Halloween means and needs for celebration. But for me we could stay on the ship for 7 days and stop no where and just relaxing is the vacation, no cells, no comp, no everything!

[101DalmFan]

What seems to be forgotten here is that the bad weather contributed GREATLY to the arrangement of events. IF the Hallowe'en events had been planned for our last day, the day Hallowe'en actually fell on, then it would have interfered with Castaway Cay as well as everyone's attempts to get packed up to leave. These boards would have been full of complaints on how their Castaway Cay day was ruined because of participating in Hallowe'en events or how Hallowe'en was ruined because their family wanted to be on Castaway Cay. Given that it was a no-win situation for DCL, it made perfect sense to move it a day ahead to a SEA DAY. A sea day is a wonderful time to tackle it all because everyone is on the ship and nobody misses out on any excursions etc. Who could have anticipated that the Grand Cayman day would turn into a sea day and the sea day would turn into Key West?

I was on last year's Hallowe'en cruise on the Magic so I think I can claim the ability to compare the two. I find it interesting there is so much complaining about this given that I thought this year's Hallowe'en events, decorations etc were better than last year's -- and I don't recall reading any similar complaints about last year's cruise whatsoever.

My bottom line is that I had a wonderful cruise and we rebooked onboard for 2010's late October cruise on the Magic. For those who would rather remember their vacation in a negative manner and choose to vacation elsewhere in the future, I wish you good weather and good times. Remember, vacations are important!! :)

[4hernandez]

If I remember correctly, I believe the 101 Dalmations have a preference for the black and white Animator's palate!
I would like to clarify something, I am not choosing I to look back at negative aspects of my cruise. Someone started a post on his experience and wanted to know if anyone else was upset...I am not upset. I could understand some of his disappointment. I believe that not everything in life is going to meet your expectations (like I mentioned in my previous response, maybe I had unrealistic expectations of "Halloween on the Highseas"), but that does not mean that there is room for improvement on Disney' end. I do not feel that anyone is "bashing" Disney. I love Disney, but even Disney could have done a little bit better on the Halloween programs. Weather is Weather--not everyday is going to be 75 and sunny. The weather did not have anything to do with the decorations of the individual TOT stations,. 101 Dalfan, you mentioned that this year was a better Halloween cruise than last year, each year hopefully will be better than the last, but this is nly accomplished by letting those in charge know that some, maybe just a few and certainly not everyone felt that something was lacking. By the way I loved your FE gifts.

[Maryrn11168]

[QUOTE=101DalmFan;28626296]What seems to be forgotten here is that the bad weather contributed GREATLY to the arrangement of events. IF the Hallowe'en events had been planned for our last day, the day Hallowe'en actually fell on, then it would have interfered with Castaway Cay as well as everyone's attempts to get packed up to leave. These boards would have been full of complaints on how their Castaway Cay day was ruined because of participating in Hallowe'en events or how Hallowe'en was ruined because their family wanted to be on Castaway Cay. Given that it was a no-win situation for DCL, it made perfect sense to move it a day ahead to a SEA DAY. A sea day is a wonderful time to tackle it all because everyone is on the ship and nobody misses out on any excursions etc. Who could have anticipated that the Grand Cayman day would turn into a sea day and the sea day would turn into Key West?

I have to agree with you about the change in itinerary causing a lot of the confusion! Staff members had to re-arrange work schedules to accomodate more meals on ship, maybe they planned on decorating while everyone was in grand caymen then we were at sea and they had to arrange activities to do that day!!so they had to pull from the decorating staff to run something else. My kids had a great time and we rebooked for 2010!:banana: :banana:

[dvc4life]

Just sitting here reading all the recent posts and I have a thought about our past Halloween's at Disney. We have been going to Disney in October since 2005. And I have to say that 2005 rocked. Nothing has compared since then. Was it because that was the first time we were there? Was it the decorations? Was it the candy? Was it the cruise? I couldn't tell you.

What I can tell you about 2005 is that it left a standing impression upon us that we want to continue to go during this time frame. We love the MNSSHP and the Food and Wine Fest at EPCOT. I will say that in 2005, Disney must have had something going on with Hershey's because our girls, and us, got so much candy it was unbelieveable. Even when we left the MK there were tables set up outside and you could get whatever you wanted! Wow. We have never gotten that much, or that kind of candy ever since. Did we complain or not want to go back? No. The parade, the people, and just being at the park with a limited number of people is awesome.

And then we went on our cruise, and the girls got a bunch more candy there. I bet, by the time it was all over we had over 10 lbs of candy. Could we bring it all home? No. So, we had to leave it on the ship. We left a note for our cabin attendant telling them to enjoy because we just couldn't pack it in. So, maybe we weren't the only ones doing this and that is why Disney doesn't hand out so much candy. I don't know. My kids really don't need all that much candy.

So, every year is different. Maybe Disney could have done more, I don't know. And yes, the weather and the port situation probably had a lot to do with it. But it was better than getting hit with Paloma, lol.

[jship210]

OH AND IT IS DISNEY FAULT KIDS WERE RUNNING HOG WILD THEY CHANGE THE 11-13 YEAR OLD CLUB TO WHERE THE KIDS COULD CHECK THEMSELVES IN AND OUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PARENTS WANTED! I TOOK MY KID TO CLUB AND LATER ON THAT DAY I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SWIMMING, HANGING OUT IN THE ARCADE, AND WONDERING AROUND DOING AS SHE PLEASED, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE!!

Parents have any responsibilty here???
Disney, contrary to opinion, does not raise children, nor do teachers or police officers. :confused3

[jenn&nelsonrego]

I wonder if I was on a different cruise from the OP.

Shosie,

I was on the same incredible cruise that you were... Not at all on the same cruise as the OP.

(In avoidance of flames, my disclaimer is that the OP is certainly entitled to his/her opinion and it is unfortunate that many things snowballed to create a not-so-fun time for that family).

This was the 4th trip on DCL for DH and I and it was the best by far (with the exception of our honeymoon and I think that was b/c there was extra magic then ~and not in the hottub~ :lmao: ). We have always had an incredible time on our DCL trips (and we do have a RCCL cruise to compare to).

The food on this trip was exceptional! I never had a piece of meat with excessive fat on it (and I am very very picky about this)! Everything from chicken tenders and cheeseburgers at Pluto's, pizza at Pinocchio's, the incredible paninies (sp?) at Goofy s, to the wonderful food in our dining rooms and exceptional in Palo's.

I was disappointed with the weather, but can certainly not blame that on DCL. I will take that up with God. :goodvibes I thought DCl went above and beyond in securing Key West as an additional port for us. This was something they did not need to do, it was their commitment to their guests that caused them to go out of their way for us. I, personally, would have preferred an additional Sea Day as those are my favorite. I must not have been in my cabin when the Captain called to ask my opinion. Bummer. pirate:

Also, something I have not seen considered on this thread. Was there an expense for DCL to go to Key West that day? An additional expense for docking at a Navy shipyard? Having all those trolleys brought in? This is not my area of expertise, but I tend to think that DCL still had to pay docking fees at GC, then again at Key West.....

HSM didnt matter to me... I gave the pins away when I got home and actually was confused by the CM's in red robes... DH had to clue me in... Once he did though, I simply shrugged....

I was slightly bummed by the combo of semi-formal night and Halloween but I understood it and realized that the change in our itinerary was to blame for feeling so rushed through Halloween (if it truly had been a Sea Day, it would have been much more easy going IMO). I came back from KW, took a quick shower, changed into my Halloween Costume, ran around, took pictures with the characters in their costumes, then headed back up to my room to put on my semi formal dress.... It all worked out in the end.


[What seems to be forgotten here is that the bad weather contributed GREATLY to the arrangement of events. IF the Hallowe'en events had been planned for our last day, the day Hallowe'en actually fell on, then it would have interfered with Castaway Cay as well as everyone's attempts to get packed up to leave. These boards would have been full of complaints on how their Castaway Cay day was ruined because of participating in Hallowe'en events or how Hallowe'en was ruined because their family wanted to be on Castaway Cay. Given that it was a no-win situation for DCL, it made perfect sense to move it a day ahead to a SEA DAY. A sea day is a wonderful time to tackle it all because everyone is on the ship and nobody misses out on any excursions etc. Who could have anticipated that the Grand Cayman day would turn into a sea day and the sea day would turn into Key West?

Well said. Perfect! :thumbsup2

I have to agree with you about the change in itinerary causing a lot of the confusion! Staff members had to re-arrange work schedules to accommodate more meals on ship, maybe they planned on decorating while everyone was in grand caymen then we were at sea and they had to arrange activities to do that day!!so they had to pull from the decorating staff to run something else.

My thoughts exactly.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I would love to repeat it! We also stayed at OKW in WDW for a week after and everything was simply wonderful!

Oh! And we did re-book onboard (I have learned that the trick to this is to do it early on in the cruise). We are doing to WB TA in Sept 2010! :thumbsup2

[TotallyAngelic]

Shosie,


Oh! And we did re-book onboard (I have learned that the trick to this is to do it early on in the cruise). We are doing to WB TA in Sept 2010! :thumbsup2

We are hoping to book this cruise too Jenn! Obviously we should have listened to all the advice on our HOTHS thread to re-book on board - but although we discussed it at great lengths we didn't manage to make any decisions. So we arrived home in the damp, dreary and depressing UK, and immediately regretted it!

At the moment I am waiting on quotes, and I have a reservation hold with DU until tomorrow. No kids this time either - just DH and myself!

[Maryrn11168]

OH AND IT IS DISNEY FAULT KIDS WERE RUNNING HOG WILD THEY CHANGE THE 11-13 YEAR OLD CLUB TO WHERE THE KIDS COULD CHECK THEMSELVES IN AND OUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PARENTS WANTED! I TOOK MY KID TO CLUB AND LATER ON THAT DAY I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SWIMMING, HANGING OUT IN THE ARCADE, AND WONDERING AROUND DOING AS SHE PLEASED, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE!!

Mybe you should be yelling at your daughter!! If she left the kids club she should know where you were so that she could let you know what she is doing!!!!

[PrincessaJasmine]

Are you allowed to request a 12 year old to stay in the Lab? I'm booked for a 10/31/10 Wonder cruise.

The Wonder does not have the Ocean Quest club........yet and hopefully it never will!

[mmouse37]

WOW...that's a new one. Guess somebody took the name 'Adult Pool' literally... :lmao:


We witnessed this before on one of our cruises so not a new idea!!! People just don't think they will get caught or they just don't care. After the incident we witnessed we saw the crew drain and powerwash the hot tubs.....

[orlandothebeagle]

The Wonder does not have the Ocean Quest club........yet and hopefully it never will!

My niece lovd the ocean quest. Why do you say that?

[dvc4life]

My niece lovd the ocean quest. Why do you say that?


My 12 year old loved it too! She met a lot of friends down there and they had a blast together. I love seeing her pictures of her and the friends in OQ. It lets me know that she really did enjoy the cruise when she was down there.

[jajomo0118]

The Wonder does not have the Ocean Quest club........yet and hopefully it never will! WHY?

My niece lovd the ocean quest. Why do you say that? DITTO....:)

My 12 year old loved it too! She met a lot of friends down there and they had a blast together. I love seeing her pictures of her and the friends in OQ. It lets me know that she really did enjoy the cruise when she was down there. DOUBLE DITTO...;)


Our sons had sign out "rights" when they were 11 & 12 and we had guidelines and if those guidelines were not followed then the sign out right was taken away from them. I preached alot about rules and safety and I can say we never had any issues with them. Anytime I went to find them they were doing what they were supposed too. Its called having boundries and rules and most kids can follow them if given the chance.....JMHO...not meant to comment one anyones parenting skills...please do not take it as so....:hug:

[suziemva]

I'm sorry that I haven't had time to post about this yet but finally do now.

We enjoyed this cruise. We really did. Not because of the DCL ToT. Not because of our ToT - although that was really fun! It was because of the people we met through this thread. They made me forget that there really wasn't alot of decorations, that it rained at CC both times, and the loud nasty drunk that was directly in front of me! Yes, he could have stepped on my toes if he's stepped backwards. AND I KNOW that that behaviour is NOT tolerated at all on DCL and had found out that he was confined to quarters for a few days. Trust me, I did NOT make eye contact with him the rest of the cruise when I bumped into him on our deck.

Would I ever cruise Halloween again? I don't know. I had fun doing the ToT for our group but is it a big deal to us? Not really. I personally don't like getting a ton of candy as our kids don't eat a lot of it - they would love to but I really don't want them having my weight problem - HUGE sweet tooth here. We ended up leaving over half the candy to our cabin attendant.

I think the biggest thing here is that people feel that this was to be a MAGICal cruise and that they paid for that MAGIC. Well, you did pay for it. That you didn't feel you received it, I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I wish we could have gotten the OP to have joined our group. Like I said, we had such a great time with our fellow HOTHS cruisers, it may have blinded me to anything less MAGICal on this cruise.

I think my biggest thing was the weather. Sure it wasn't great. Could have been worse. But it made me laugh when a CM told the lady begging her for some bonine for her 12 yo son and asking when it would stop and how much longer we had to endure this weather - "Ma'am, Disney is MAGICal but even Disney can't control the weather! We're doing our best but just can't get that under our control.....yet!"

I still was just super happy to be away from home, the cell phones, the computers, schoolwork, dreary weather, work, ......insert your most hated thing here. I had a great time and miss all my new friends!:love:

Oh, and it was all the parents who volunteered to help with ToT that made it great! Without them, it just would not have been. See, HOTHS group effort again!! MAGICal!

[jenn&nelsonrego]

I'm sorry that I haven't had time to post about this yet but finally do now.

We enjoyed this cruise. We really did. Not because of the DCL ToT. Not because of our ToT - although that was really fun! It was because of the people we met through this thread. They made me forget that there really wasn't alot of decorations, that it rained at CC both times, and the loud nasty drunk that was directly in front of me! Yes, he could have stepped on my toes if he's stepped backwards. AND I KNOW that that behaviour is NOT tolerated at all on DCL and had found out that he was confined to quarters for a few days. Trust me, I did NOT make eye contact with him the rest of the cruise when I bumped into him on our deck.

Would I ever cruise Halloween again? I don't know. I had fun doing the ToT for our group but is it a big deal to us? Not really. I personally don't like getting a ton of candy as our kids don't eat a lot of it - they would love to but I really don't want them having my weight problem - HUGE sweet tooth here. We ended up leaving over half the candy to our cabin attendant.

I think the biggest thing here is that people feel that this was to be a MAGICal cruise and that they paid for that MAGIC. Well, you did pay for it. That you didn't feel you received it, I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I wish we could have gotten the OP to have joined our group. Like I said, we had such a great time with our fellow HOTHS cruisers, it may have blinded me to anything less MAGICal on this cruise.

I think my biggest thing was the weather. Sure it wasn't great. Could have been worse. But it made me laugh when a CM told the lady begging her for some bonine for her 12 yo son and asking when it would stop and how much longer we had to endure this weather - "Ma'am, Disney is MAGICal but even Disney can't control the weather! We're doing our best but just can't get that under our control.....yet!"

I still was just super happy to be away from home, the cell phones, the computers, schoolwork, dreary weather, work, ......insert your most hated thing here. I had a great time and miss all my new friends!:love:

Oh, and it was all the parents who volunteered to help with ToT that made it great! Without them, it just would not have been. See, HOTHS group effort again!! MAGICal!

Well said Suzie! :thumbsup2 You are absolutely right too! I had an awesome time! Can't wait to go back!

[auntlynne]

Expectations. That's what so much of our happiness boils down to. Did something live up to them or fail to meet them?

Expectation: Disney will do Halloween (insert any other special day here) right. [We personally don't do witches or the like, but pumpkins and Mickey Mouse-based Halloween stuff can be fun.] But if you are a kid with a costume and are waiting for the chance to show it off, running from the port of call to get ready would leave you wanting. I had forgotten about the stuff that was supposed to have happened, as mentioned in the letter. They did build it up as more than they delivered. I went to one station and saw a long line of people waiting for dumdums; I wanted chocolate - and it sounds as though adults weren't really given the opportunity to get any, anyway.

Expectation: Good food. I've eaten everything on the ship that I've wanted to try (third cruise). Looking at my scheduled future cruise, I realized it wasn't for the food that I was going to take that trip. But I have never left the boat hungry or lighter, for that matter. Pinocchio's Pizzeria always makes up for any spare inch of stomach left empty. And we had a waiter that I wanted to give a tranquilizer. He complained about the kitchen and was moody; he seemed to relax after a few days, but he just tried too hard to be charming. Now how can I get them to serve Dole Whip pineapple soft serve onboard?

Expectation: Great shows. I've seen the Golden Mickeys, etc...multiple times. Now I could skip them and try other things if I wanted. Heath Hyche was definitely my favorite. He especially made my niece's day at CC when he saw her Auburn U hat and gave her a big "War Eagle" - and found about 5 AU fans in the vicinity. Definitely a connection thing making a memory. And the poor ventriloquist; I kept wondering why this guy was talking a bit loud and seemed to be responding to what she was saying. I honestly thought he was mentally challenged at first before I realized he was a heckler. She definitely needs to work on her act; but she was talented. I appreciate that for the most part, even "adult" acts are not filled with profanity. But the best part was having new playmates from the DIS who would wave me over to join them for activities. I was alone for the nighttime events and was so happy to have fun people around. Shoshana, Adam, Sandy, Tony, Shirley, Doug and Carianne+DH were a great gang to hang out with.

Expectation: Great Cruise. I didn't really care about the food, okay with the shows. Disappointed that I didn't get to go to Tulum (at Cozumel) or drive power boats at Grand Cayman or parasail at CC - more disappointed for the children than for me, as I found alternate activities (and so did they).

But...But...I am scheduled on another cruise and wonder how it will be as good as this one without having our DIS posse around. How can a bunch of pirates (the theme for our cruise meet thread) be nearly as fun as this set of people was. But then I think that I wasn't all pumped up about having "Halloween on the High Seas" as my theme, either. And these people aren't really pirates...they just play one on a cruise vacation. And they are there to have fun. Just as I did. And many of you did too, and some didn't. Some won't. Some can't. Some never will. And some wanted to but ran into situations that didn't match their expectations.

(Boy, that is fun writing little stories that somebody might take the effort to read, or not. But you get to put your feelings out there. :rolleyes1 )

:grouphug: to everyone who helped make this trip exceed my expectations.

[podsnel]

The Wonder does not have the Ocean Quest club........yet and hopefully it never will!

I'm so sorry you feel that way- OQ was heaven to my DS11- he LOVED it, and cried on Thurday night when he realized the cruise was almost over, largely because of it. He loved the video games and the activities- it was all good!!
The ability to sign himself in and out was never an issue, primarily because he never wanted to leave the place. We would check on him periodically, let him know where we were, and he also knew (along with DS9 after the 1st night) that if he left the club, he had one and only one option- go to the cabin. I think he did that maybe once- the rest of the time he was happy to be in OQ. I couldn't see how this would be appropriate for either of my sons before we sailed, but once we got there, it actually was fine. They followed our rules, and we all had a good time. If DH and I had an adult activity planned, we also made it very clear to them that they HAD to stay in the clubs until we were done and came back to check on them. And they did. I don't even know if I would go on the Wonder if there's no OQ- DS11 would be devastated!!!:scared1:

[JoiseyMom]

OH AND IT IS DISNEY FAULT KIDS WERE RUNNING HOG WILD THEY CHANGE THE 11-13 YEAR OLD CLUB TO WHERE THE KIDS COULD CHECK THEMSELVES IN AND OUT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PARENTS WANTED! I TOOK MY KID TO CLUB AND LATER ON THAT DAY I FOUND OUT SHE HAD BEEN SWIMMING, HANGING OUT IN THE ARCADE, AND WONDERING AROUND DOING AS SHE PLEASED, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE!!


Your child doing things without YOUR knowledge was YOUR fault. Not DIsney's. My DD12 has been on 2 cruises. Once when she was 11 and then 12. We gave her signout privliges when she was 11, and she checked in with us, and I knew where she was the majority of the time. In August we had the issue that they could come and go as they pleased. We gave OUR DD instructions on what she could and could not do. And to leave us voice mails and messages on the white board on our door. She did also have the ability to page us, since our DS7 was inthe clubs and we had a pager. She always was where she said she would be. ANd yes the kids ran amok on the EB cruise...but Disney did a great job of handling it. If the parents controlled their kids and were PARENTS, the issues would not have been that bad. Some parents got on the ship and were like..see ya when we get off!! That is NOT Disney's fault.

YOU control YOUR child. It's not Disney's job to babysit your child, and you had enough time to know that the older kids were in quest. I have also heard that parents were able to get pagers for older kids and to be paged when the left quest.

But if YOUR child left the clubs after YOU left her there, and YOU told her to stay and not to leave...it's YOUR issue with YOUR child.

[JoiseyMom]

First off I do not feel entitled I just have never been disappointed by Disney I have done the Christmas parties and Halloween and they have always been so much fun. This was just poorly scheduled. Candy is not a big issue with me but the point is your average Joe will give out a few pieces of candy and if not when it's only one it's worth having. I do follow my Navigator everyday and you just can't do somethings if youhave early dinner and sometimes you miss out if you have late dinner. Mickey and Minnie we out n their Halloween costumes ONLY during 1st Dinner not any other time. And as far as the parents job finding out info all it said was Friendship rocks in the Theater Ok I am uppose to know what that is because?? Last time it was a graduation ceremony not friendship.
Yes I did enjoy many things on my cruise. I enjoyed all the Cast members they are the most friendly people you ever want to meet. I enjoyed watching my kids swim with sting rays in Nassau and REALLY enjoyed Castaway Cay it was beautiful. I was just let down maybe I had built it up too much to myself before I went but only because I know how Disney does things and usually it is always over the top abover everyone else. I loved each and everyone of the shows they are always the best like no other


You really can't compare the WDW Halloween and Christmas Parties to DCL. The WDW parties are ticketed events. They are extra parties people are paying for, so they are above and beyond. DCL never spouts wow...great Halloween celebrations. They do however do things for Christmas, and advertise what they do. I am sorry if you were disappointed...but DCL never pushed the Halloween aspect of the cruise. And I have been reading that things seemed unplanned because they had to change ports. I am sure that was a part of the issue. It's not that easy to change things on the fly. There are alot of schedules to redo.

[Tent Camping Mom]

Sorry you had a bad experience. :flower3:

I wouldn't be upset about the Halloween event...it's not a holiday like Christmas. Even when I go to WDW, I don't expect to Trick-or-Treat unless I buy the hard ticket for MNSSHP.

But I would be upset at the inappropriate couple (not DCL)...I'm just a little confused about your statements, I'm not saying it's a lie, just that it sounds a little contradictory:

Oh and people were caught having intercourse in the hot tub

FIRST OFF IT DIDNT HAPPEN IN THE ADULT POOL IT HAPPENED IN THE GOOFY POOL WITH KIDS AROUND..:mad:

:confused: :confused3

It happened "in the hot tub" or "in the Goofy Pool?" Or both? :confused:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the only hot tubs were at Quiet Cove...there are whirlpools at both.

[disney1990]

Your child doing things without YOUR knowledge was YOUR fault. Not DIsney's. My DD12 has been on 2 cruises. Once when she was 11 and then 12. We gave her signout privliges when she was 11, and she checked in with us, and I knew where she was the majority of the time. In August we had the issue that they could come and go as they pleased. We gave OUR DD instructions on what she could and could not do. And to leave us voice mails and messages on the white board on our door. She did also have the ability to page us, since our DS7 was inthe clubs and we had a pager. She always was where she said she would be. ANd yes the kids ran amok on the EB cruise...but Disney did a great job of handling it. If the parents controlled their kids and were PARENTS, the issues would not have been that bad. Some parents got on the ship and were like..see ya when we get off!! That is NOT Disney's fault.

YOU control YOUR child. It's not Disney's job to babysit your child, and you had enough time to know that the older kids were in quest. I have also heard that parents were able to get pagers for older kids and to be paged when the left quest.

But if YOUR child left the clubs after YOU left her there, and YOU told her to stay and not to leave...it's YOUR issue with YOUR child.

Totally agreed. If I told my child to not leave the club and they left, it would be an issue between me and my child. People need to understand that, if you can't control your children, how can you expect Disney to control your child if you can't.

[Jackie Psarianos]

I'm sorry to hear about your last cruise, that's a terrible feeling. I would highly recommend that you contact DCL via email and then ask for someone to call you back. Believe me they really listen and try to make things better.

Give it a try, you'll at least feel better that you vented and DCL needs to know so that they can rectify weaknesses.

We've never cruised with anyone else before but my sister in law cruised with Royal Caribbean on the Freedom of the Seas and they have two boys and just loved the cruise.

You should check out pictures of the Oasis ship by Royal Caribbean, it totally impressed me.

:santa:

[DVCconvert]

...Oh and people were caught having intercourse in the hot tub with kids running around and it took Disney 30 min to get security up there to correct the situation. this happened more than once...

Just wondering, is it correct to assume that on the first such event you and your kids stood there with a stop watch to see how long it took for security to arrive???

-- Is it also correct to assume that since you know it 'happened more than once', you were maintaining surveillance of the hot tubs throughout the length of your cruise????

:scared:

[Mom2PixiePrincess]

I am really sorry about your bad experience on DCL. But I don't think it's Disney's fault that the kids are running wild all over the ship. When kids are allowed to check themselves in and out of the clubs without notifying the parents, then it is us, the parents, who need to set the parameters of what can or cannot be done if a kiddo is out of the clubs. The expectations need to be set before sailing, or shortly thereafter. And if kids choose NOT to EVER check into OQ you really cannot blame disney for their behavior.



I agree with you. There seems to be a lot of complaining about the tweens being aloud to self check. Truthfully it seems like parents are trying to escape their responsibilities. We all enjoy the "free" babysitting. But a child's behavior and activities come down to the parent's responsibility NOT Disney. It is a priviledge that Disney offers child care not an entitlement!

[Mom2PixiePrincess]

Just wondering, is it correct to assume that on the first such event you and your kids stood there with a stop watch to see how long it took for security to arrive???

-- Is it also correct to assume that since you know it 'happened more than once', you were maintaining surveillance of the hot tubs throughout the length of your cruise????

:scared:


Hilarious! :rotfl2:

[orlandothebeagle]

Just wondering, is it correct to assume that on the first such event you and your kids stood there with a stop watch to see how long it took for security to arrive???

-- Is it also correct to assume that since you know it 'happened more than once', you were maintaining surveillance of the hot tubs throughout the length of your cruise????

:scared:

lol. also 30 mins;) ??