2/13 Magic -So Annoyed At Disney !

[jdybnsn]

Just returned home after the 2/13 cruise on the Magic and not at all happy with Disney over our compensation or our treatment at the time !
It was certainly no 'party' or picnic, as I have previously seen it described on here before.... and now looks like their so called 'compensation' is not what it appeared to be at first either !!


First, we arrived at the port on the day to find no ship - they knew the ship failed to make it home (it takes 12 hours back from CC and the ship was still there when we arrived) so why no phonecall or email, to prevent this needless journey ?

Little, to no, informaton when we got there - we were railroaded into following their plans for the day, in order to keep informed with what was going on - thus we were denied any chance to make our own arrangements for where to stay, and to eat, and therefore the ability to claim off our own insurance.

We were told to leave our luggage & board their bus to go to Epcot - this was not possible for us; too much hand luggage and too heavy ...plus alcohol in it as this is how it must be carried on board. Alcohol is not allowed in the parks. We had to keep our hire car and I have since heard they are refusing to meet claims for this.


Arrived at Epcot 12.30pm - 90 mins wait to get ticket to enter park to just to get further information - no alternative.
$60 gift card given to us for food for 4 of us - barely bought us burger/chips & soda (we should at that time been eating from a top quality buffet with free issue soda on the ship).
Queued 30 mins to get burgers - park is packed as Presidents weekend.
Park tickets no good - 120 mins wait times for practically everything !
Had to wait till 3pm for special pavillion to open......joined another 90 minute queue just to be told where to stay for the night ! I heard people say there was a party going on in the pavillion - never heard about it...I would not have called it a party - most people there were utterly miserable as you can well imagine ? They were showing 3 (old) Disney kids' films, balloon model making and some characters came out.... there were free issue drinks but they hadn't told us that until we'd already bought ours at lunch) ...not what I'd call a party !

Allocated the distinctly average Rosen hotel on I Drive - waited another 30 mins to check in as they were awaiting final instruction from Disney . Paid for parking & internet myself which apparently Disney are not refunding people.

Allocated $80 for 4 of us for dinner...have they seen the prices in the Rosen dining room ??? ..this did not even buy us our meal in their cafeteria, when we should have been sitting down to 4 couses of 5* dining on the ship !!
No further instruction received from Disney, though I believe others in the hotel received letters/instructions regarding the next day...very poor communications again.

Breakfast the next day the Rosen staff were blank as to what was happening ...had to ring Disney to be told we'd have to wait for a buffet at 9am ..it was 7.30am and my kids were hungry ! Eventually, Disney reluctantly agreed we could go to the Rosen's breakfast area & eat, and charge them.

Left the Rosen and returned to the Budget rental at Port Canaveral - chaos ! No information coming frm Disney other than they were not allowing Magic passengers to arrive at either terminal !
Another 90 min wait until a fellow Disboarder heard from another Disboader, that they were letting people check in at the Magic, and we were left to persuade Budget to take us there.

Now I hear the 20% refund they said they were offering us is only 13% in real terms over total the cost of the cruise. ..
They gave us a less than impressive $25 OBC each
They are not apparently refunding people's hire car, gas, tolls, or any other incidental costs.

I know that it was not DCL's fault that The Magic got stuck, but I paid for a seven night cruise and ended up with a six day one plus a whole 24 hours of waiting in queues, needlessly driving around stress and not getting information in a timely manner and am out of pocket on many of my expenses !!
Basically it stinks - they may have scraped up just enough to call it a refund on part of the missing cruise, but I don't feel they have been generous in the least, nor made any compensation for the complete run around and endless queuing we got the day before !!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Difficult one, your long planed trip and cruise badly affected by this incident.

You put the efforts they tried to make into 'context' and another viewpoint.

I am very sorry you have this bad experience.

The variables of kids, food, cruise luggage, car hire, are understood.

Its difficult to *judge* this as only the people who were booked on that cruise where there to experience it, but I can fully understand your frustration. As a lay person DCL, looked like they tried to do a lot, in a short time, but as you say they had warning, as it takes a time to get back up from CC.

Being a holiday time in USA, and half term in the UK, didnt help.

 

[IrishKevin]

I too was on this cruise and thought Disney did a fantastic job considering the situation. For anybody to move that many displaced people plus find them lodging in that short of a time is a miracle! No other cruise line could have pulled that off!!! We had a great time and made the best of the situation. What I did find most disappointing was having to listen to other passengers whine about how long the lines were or how they were owed a free cruise! Some people seriously need to get over themselves!!!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I too was on this cruise and thought Disney did a fantastic job considering the situation. For anybody to move that many displaced people plus find them lodging in that short of a time is a miracle! No other cruise line could have pulled that off!!! We had a great time and made the best of the situation. What I did find most disappointing was having to listen to other passengers whine about how long the lines were or how they were owed a free cruise! Some people seriously need to get over themselves!!!

Well, I am sorry but must respectfully disagree in part. I have had PM correspondence with the OP, it was their vacation and personally I think she painted a picture of the impact on them, it is not a whine in any way, but their personal experience.

I posted before in my balanced response that DCL did do a lot, it seemed hard work in a short time, but they did have about 12 hours notice as it takes the ship from 5pm to 5am to get back to PC, YES overnight, and people do not work that.

Everyone is entitled to their view, she put it in context to us, how it affected her family, they didn't plan to go to Epcot, queue for tickets and rides have Park food, DCL offered that, which in the circumstance as you say was actually good of them to organise it quickly, but in the end it had an impact on them.

I actually disagree that no other cruise line could have pulled it off, I have been on one, and they did a good job, Disney owns four theme parks and two water parks and a number of resorts in Orlando, they have more mussel than anyone else, if anyone could do it, they should be able to.

The important thing on this is TRIP INSURANCE, a number of people here have said they have skipped it on 5/6 cruises and encouraged others to save money, this shows don't skip it, buy it with good cover, from whoever you feel is good, but do buy it.

Lastly it appears they knew about the storm at CC, but decided to go in front (forward) that day, and not to leave early. Since then posters have said re Grand Cayman they have changed policies, that would imply they were not 100% perfect on this case.

 

[TChrist05]

As an avid DCL cruiser who has done 22 cruises to date I am always sympatheric to anyone who has had their cruise interupted or things not go well...my DW and I were booked on the cruise many years ago that they cancelled to clean the ship during the outbreak of the Norwalk virus....we found out the day before Thanksgiving that the cruise was cancelled....and it was set to sail on Saturday.....Disney did everything they could to make it right but no matter what everything seemed to go wrong. We spent time in the World and then they put us on the 4 day Wonder.....the ship was so full it was almost laughable....the only good thing was we were offered a 50% cruise. It was not really 50%, but we did book another and things worked out well....but the vacation was frustrating so I can truly understand everyones unhappiness.....I would write a letter stating your feelings and request the additional expenses you had to shell out....but I would not try demanding anything.....Disney does not seem to respond to those requests.
Tom

 

[jdybnsn]

I too was on this cruise and thought Disney did a fantastic job considering the situation. For anybody to move that many displaced people plus find them lodging in that short of a time is a miracle! No other cruise line could have pulled that off!!! We had a great time and made the best of the situation. What I did find most disappointing was having to listen to other passengers whine about how long the lines were or how they were owed a free cruise! Some people seriously need to get over themselves!!!

Well I was sick of reading what a fantastic job Disney were doing... when really it was hell on earth for most of us !

Glad you had a great time - perhaps you were one of the lucky ones that were told to stay put in your Disney resort right at the beginning, and were able to make the best of it ? Lucky you.

If DCL had simply told us to turn up again the next day in our case, we would have been alot better off - we would have made our own arrangements and claimed off our own insurance.... instead of being herded around like sheep and forced to stand in endless queues for the entire day simply in pursuit of more information.

Their compensation is a joke but OK some people might be happy if they only got 13% of their costs back when they were told it would be 20% ?

Sorry about the whining......I will try to get over myself despite my aversion to queuing and losing money LOL !

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Well I was sick of reading what a fantastic job Disney were doing... when really it was hell on earth for most of us !

Glad you had a great time - perhaps you were one of the lucky ones that were told to stay put in your Disney resort right at the beginning, and were able to make the best of it ? Lucky you.

If DCL had simply told us to turn up again the next day in our case, we would have been alot better off - we would have made our own arrangements and claimed off our own insurance.... instead of being herded around like sheep and forced to stand in endless queues for the entire day simply in pursuit of more information.

Their compensation is a joke but OK some people might be happy if they only got 13% of their costs back when they were told it would be 20% ?

Sorry about the whining......I will try to get over myself despite my aversion to queuing and losing money LOL !

As mentioned before but will repeat, I do not think your OP, was any whine, you painted a picture how it affected you personally, the weather etc is beyond anyone's control, I was disappointed my Eastern was swapped to a Western in 2009, I have done that three times, but my and everyone's safety was important and I knew why they did it.

You posted an open and honest description of what occurred, to you, and the impact.

You are entitled to do that without a 'label' being given.

 

[jdybnsn]

As an avid DCL cruiser who has done 22 cruises to date I am always sympatheric to anyone who has had their cruise interupted or things not go well...my DW and I were booked on the cruise many years ago that they cancelled to clean the ship during the outbreak of the Norwalk virus....we found out the day before Thanksgiving that the cruise was cancelled....and it was set to sail on Saturday.....Disney did everything they could to make it right but no matter what everything seemed to go wrong. We spent time in the World and then they put us on the 4 day Wonder.....the ship was so full it was almost laughable....the only good thing was we were offered a 50% cruise. It was not really 50%, but we did book another and things worked out well....but the vacation was frustrating so I can truly understand everyones unhappiness.....I would write a letter stating your feelings and request the additional expenses you had to shell out....but I would not try demanding anything.....Disney does not seem to respond to those requests.
Tom

Thank you for sharing your story, and your advice is appreciated.

 

[kcashner]

So your private insurance won't pay because DCL threw you a bone? Not even your incidentals for the day?

 

[jdybnsn]

As mentioned before but will repeat, I do not think your OP, was any whine, you painted a picture how it affected you personally, the weather etc is beyond anyone's control, I was disappointed my Eastern was swapped to a Western in 2009, I have done that three times, but my and everyone's safety was important and I knew why they did it.

You posted an open and honest description of what occurred, to you, and the impact.

You are entitled to do that without a 'label' being given.

Thank you Derek.......
You are right the weather wasn't their fault....I just hope they are better organised if this happens again, and that people are given more options (ie assistance if its needed... but also freedom to make their own plans if not).

Also, they should avoid misleading statements about their compensation offers - this would avoid people's annoyance when their expectations are not met.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Thank you Derek.......
You are right the weather wasn't their fault....I just hope they are better organised if this happens again, and that people are given more options (ie assistance if its needed... but also freedom to make their own plans if not).

Also, they should avoid misleading statements about their compensation offers - this would avoid people's annoyance when their expectations are not met.

As others have posted a good positve suggestion is to write a nice letter to DCL, dont demand as said, and see the response, bet many others have.....

 

[jdybnsn]

So your private insurance won't pay because DCL threw you a bone? Not even your incidentals for the day?

The difficulty is that because DCL have paid for some things and not for others, or worse have part paid for some stuff (ie meals), but not fully paid..... an insurance claim is going to be something of a nightmare - though I intend to try !

...it would have been far better to have gone & organised our own hotel & meals from the begining, and not spent the day in queues in Epcot.

Please, I am not trying to knock Disney for making some of the efforts that it did, especially if some people didn't have any trip insurance (I'm sure they were most grateful !),

....but it did expose them to the fact that they were totally ill-prepared for this eventuality.... did appear to lack a real understanding of people's true costs, needs or feelings on the day ....and worse, appear to be less than sympathetic to these today.

I don't know why they would promise a 20% refund...and then only deliver 13%? People are bound to be angry about that.
They were obviously working from a base figure different than most people's total cruise costs...this should have been stated from the start.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I don't understand. Disney didn't have you prisoner. Why couldn't you have just left with your car and make your own arrangements so that your insurance would cover it, if that is what you wanted to do?

 

[jdybnsn]

I don't understand. Disney didn't have you prisoner. Why couldn't you have just left with your car and make your own arrangements so that your insurance would cover it, if that is what you wanted to do?

.....if only LOL
.......because we were told we had to go to Epcot to be given more information/instructions.

..at first they wouldn't say if we were cruising later that day .....or the next day.....we were told we had to go to Epcot ( no indication of why - even the DCL personnel at the port didn't know - they were just told to give us these instructions)...and secondly you would hope under the circumstances, that Disney would take very good care of you...sadly this did not prove to be the dream senario that everyone hoped !

 

[MACfamily4]

I'm sorry this happened to you. It is noteworthy that you only speak of the one wretched day and fail to mention the other six days, which might have been quite glorious. I hope they were and that when you remember this vacation with your family, you will recall something good.

All the best.

 

[Olga]

I don't understand. Disney didn't have you prisoner. Why couldn't you have just left with your car and make your own arrangements so that your insurance would cover it, if that is what you wanted to do?

I also don't understand , With trip insurance I'll eat and sleep where I please and stay in touch with DCL by phone and internet. If the trip insurance has not refused a claim then it's unclear what OP wants.

 

[ACDSNY]

I don't know why they would promise a 20% refund...and then only deliver 13%? People are bound to be angry about that.
They were obviously working from a base figure different than most people's total cruise costs...this should have been stated from the start.

I'm guessing DCL was taking 20% off the base fare before port charges and taxes, is that correct? Kind of like they do when you rebook on board and get a 10% discount.

Sorry your first few days of your cruise were so disappointing.

 

[b00kw0rm429]

It's unfortunate that it happened at all. With that many people affected, it would surely be hard to make the situation pleasant for all involved. Even in just a dining room full of people having dinner (not a cruise ship with thousands...) things go wrong and people leave unhappy. Hopefully, they learned something and it will go smoother if it happens again. Hopefully trip insurance will come through. It would be hard to see the "happy" side of others if my trip were completely spoiled by unexpected events. I may never get on another disney cruise so to have my one and only affected like this, would make me pretty miserable, too.

 

[mmouse37]

As mentioned before but will repeat, I do not think your OP, was any whine, you painted a picture how it affected you personally, the weather etc is beyond anyone's control, I was disappointed my Eastern was swapped to a Western in 2009, I have done that three times, but my and everyone's safety was important and I knew why they did it.

You posted an open and honest description of what occurred, to you, and the impact.

You are entitled to do that without a 'label' being given.

Nobody labeled the OP....IrishKevin said he heard other passengers that day whining....he never mentioned the OP. Both sides are entitled to their opinions on how they viewed that day and their experiences.

We don't want this thread turning into a he said/she said.

MJ

 

[ferastu]

I was on this cruise as well. The other six days were great.

Judy's (and my) problem is that Disney is famed for its above and beyond customer service. We were all told multiple times that we would be refunded 20% of our cruise price. Not 20% of some phantom subtotal that we had never seen before.

Also the lack of notification is a very sore point. In my case I wouldn't have received any notification because I don't check email on vacation and DCL only had my home phone# not my cell.

But by the time I was listening to the recorded message they should have been able to tell me, 'The Magic is still at Castaway Cay, there will be no boarding today. The earliest boarding will take place is 11am Sunday morning'. Instead of a 'go to Epcot, we'll get you some type of hotel room'.

Since I was already in Cape Canaveral we elected to not travel to Epcot and we got our own room for the night.

We didn't have any travel insurance and I know Disney doesn't have to give us any more than they already have. I'll write them a letter being as courteous as possible.