DCL Fantasy Guests' Account of Sailing Through Sandy

[*NikkiBell*]

Terrifying accounts from DISers who were aboard the Fantasy when the captain decided to sail through Hurricane Sandy:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3013842

 

[disneyholic family]

we were on the Dream that returned to Port Canaveral on thursday - that last night we were rocking and rolling like i've never rocked and rolled on a ship before!!
i woke up before we got to the PC channel so that i could watch from our verandah - that ocean was churning big time!!!

we were very lucky on our cruise as we managed to be ahead of the hurricane - we even made it into CC and had a relatively nice day there.
but it was definitely a rocky cruise, with the rocking increasing with each passing day.

from what i heard, the 3 day cruise after ours wasn't as lucky.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Here is a video I just watched on CNN from someone on the ship...I was shocked how bad it seems. All I can say is that I would have been terrified and I don't blame people onboard for being upset they decided to sail.

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-865019

ETA: My whole family of first time cruisers (11 of us) are booked on the Dream for March and I am praying no one sees this video...my dad and sister especially, I might not get them on the ship.

 

[GaDisneyFreak]

Disney sailed purely on a financial standpoint. So sad. I have a cruise next October and I am going to cancel it. Even Carnival put their passengers ahead of the almighty dollar on this one.

 

[BriarRosie]

Disney sailed purely on a financial standpoint. So sad. I have a cruise next October and I am going to cancel it. Even Carnival put their passengers ahead of the almighty dollar on this one.

Frankly, the storm was so huge, I don't think it would have made a significant difference if the ship waited or not. My friends were on the ship, and they are not deterred from taking another cruise.

They were in a midship cabin, deck 8, which may have made a difference. Compared to forward or aft staterooms. You'd feel motion in extremes in the front or back of any ship.

I can imagine first time cruisers will NOT want to cruise again, EVER. I can't blame them. But I can't say whether this would deter me or not. And I do think Disney as a company is concerned with safety. Ask any person who is a current or former cast member what they feel Disney's policy is about safety. We'll all tell you that safety IS a priority. I don't think the Captain would have sailed through if he felt is was unsafe.

 

[LilyWDW]

Disney sailed purely on a financial standpoint. So sad. I have a cruise next October and I am going to cancel it. Even Carnival put their passengers ahead of the almighty dollar on this one.

If this was true, then they wouldn't have taken a chance. Lawsuits and the damage to the ship would have been big bucks. I highly doubt it was a purely financial decision.

 

[AndyPok1]

Disney has often delayed ships and/or gone to other ports as needed, even at the detriment of additional cost. I'm not sure why people suddenly think that there has been a major change of policy.

Everything I've read and from talking to people make it sound as if they tried to follow the storm up the coast, but then it just stalled, so they had no choice but to keep going.

Unfortunate? Absolutely. Terrifying? Apparently. Unsafe? Nah.

 

[WicketsMom]

We were on the Dream that sailed into the storm on Thursday, and returned today. It was rough the whole time, most outdoor areas were closed for the duration, we made no ports, and it got much worse last night. I think what we went through was the same as the Fantasy did, we were just a bit more accustomed to it because we had been in it for two days already. It was miserable, and the decision to leave port at all was a poor one in my opinion.

 

[jeanigor]

We were in cabin 8000 (deck 8, extreme forward, dead center of the ship). It was rather intense. I am not sure about the others who have second guessed Captain Tom's decision, but I know I do not have his experience navigating a vessel of that magnitude. I find it analogous to the chatter around the lunch room on the morning following a football/baseball/basketball game, how everyone talks about how they would have done it to improve it. Hindsight is twenty-twenty they say.

I do not think that a Captain worth his salt of any reputable line would purposely sail his vessel into danger. In theory Captain Tom's planned worked well. Hurricane Sandy just decided to slow down and grow in an inconvenient place.

I cannot speak highly enough of the crew on board though. They weathered the same storm we all did. They still did their jobs well. They showed proper signs of caution and concern, but didn't come across as alarming or setting off panic nor having a fake sense of security and smiles.

And even though they got as little sleep (if not less) than the guests on board, they took care of us, cleaned up the ship and took on another set of guests to sail with.

Bravo, DCL crew members. Bravo.

Because it was an experience and levity is sometimes best, we had some fun at the create a t-shirt shop at Downtown Disney:

 

[wiigirl]

Disney sailed purely on a financial standpoint. So sad. I have a cruise next October and I am going to cancel it. Even Carnival put their passengers ahead of the almighty dollar on this one.

 

[WebmasterMike]

Disney sailed purely on a financial standpoint. So sad. I have a cruise next October and I am going to cancel it. Even Carnival put their passengers ahead of the almighty dollar on this one.

Carnival does not have the best reputation for putting passengers first...

 

[Silverfox97]

We were in cabin 8000 (deck 8, extreme forward, dead center of the ship). It was rather intense. I am not sure about the others who have second guessed Captain Tom's decision, but I know I do not have his experience navigating a vessel of that magnitude. I find it analogous to the chatter around the lunch room on the morning following a football/baseball/basketball game, how everyone talks about how they would have done it to improve it. Hindsight is twenty-twenty they say.

I do not think that a Captain worth his salt of any reputable line would purposely sail his vessel into danger. In theory Captain Tom's planned worked well. Hurricane Sandy just decided to slow down and grow in an inconvenient place.

I cannot speak highly enough of the crew on board though. They weathered the same storm we all did. They still did their jobs well. They showed proper signs of caution and concern, but didn't come across as alarming or setting off panic nor having a fake sense of security and smiles.

And even though they got as little sleep (if not less) than the guests on board, they took care of us, cleaned up the ship and took on another set of guests to sail with.

Bravo, DCL crew members. Bravo.

Because it was an experience and levity is sometimes best, we had some fun at the create a t-shirt shop at Downtown Disney:

Excellent attitude!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[OKW Lover]

I do not think that a Captain worth his salt of any reputable line would purposely sail his vessel into danger. In theory Captain Tom's planned worked well. Hurricane Sandy just decided to slow down and grow in an inconvenient place.

I cannot speak highly enough of the crew on board though. They weathered the same storm we all did. They still did their jobs well. They showed proper signs of caution and concern, but didn't come across as alarming or setting off panic nor having a fake sense of security and smiles.

Thanks for this great perspective Todd. I know you've been on several other DCL cruises, at least one of which was a bit rocky at times.

I take it that this experience won't deter you from doing another DCL cruise during hurricane season?

 

[jeanigor]

Thanks for this great perspective Todd. I know you've been on several other DCL cruises, at least one of which was a bit rocky at times.

I take it that this experience won't deter you from doing another DCL cruise during hurricane season?

I rebooked before we hit wavy water and don't plan on changing it. Pretty close to the same date for 2013 as a matter of fact.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

I expected nothing less than the "as reported" excellent service from the cast members. Although they were going through everything the guests were going through, they always seem to have a wonderful and friendly demeanor. As Todd pointed out, the Captain's decision may have been made when the storm was predicted to be in a different path. I may have misundertood, however that Disney was using more advanced monitoring equipment which allowed them to make those difficult decisions. I was not on the ship. But if I had been, I think I may be surveying the damages on the ship (I've only seen the video showing the violent waves and the damages in the shops) and then noticing the other cruise line(s) that made the decision with (what I would hope would be) the same info that Disney had available. And while I cannot say if the decision to stay or go was a good one, I am looking forward to hearing Pete's opinions on it.

 

[mjtm610]

I don't know the "why" Disney made their decision but I do have a couple of thought.
1) They know their ships and their crews abilities better than I do.
2) The crew/captain don't want to get hurt, be sick, scared, anymore than their travelers do
3) At what "level" should the ships stay away? We were on a HORRIBLE cruise last year. Lots of tossing about/ moving of tables etc. Was that trip worse than the Sandy one? I don't know.....but I do know we felt safe. Scared, yes, but safe.
4) Everyone has a different level of security. Because some passengers felt comfortable wearing their life perservers, does that mean Disney OWES them something? I think the captain and his crew are in a much better position to make that call.

 

[Bouldering]

We are booked on the Dream March 10th I feel the same way, praying my family does not see the video.

 

[BriarRosie]

We are booked on the Dream March 10th I feel the same way, praying my family does not see the video.

March 10th is not hurricane season. You really shouldn't worry too much about it.

And I do think Todd's experience mirrored what my friend Brenda reported. She was one of those "cooler heads will prevail" kind of people.

 

[two-foxes]

We were on this cruise, as well, and had probably a similar experience to the movement Todd had. We were in 12510, deck 12 forward (a few cabins down from the infamous ireport CNN guy.) It was fugly. This was our 8th cruise, fifth cruise in hurricane season, our third to miss CC, so we know what we gamble with when sailing during this time. However, it was just plain horrible conditions. Worst I could have imagined sailing in. I never felt unsafe, just horribly sick and hoping it would end so I could move out of bed. I felt terrible for those people who were truly terrified and those who missed their flights out on Saturday. But, alas, you mess with the bull, you get the horns, so to speak. And we got gored on this one. Now, that being said, we rebooked for October of next year on board. I will think long about this one, though, as quite frankly, I LOVE CC and actually want to make the port more than we miss it

I listened to the podcast today and thought both Pete and Kevin had equally valid points. Good discussion.

 

[tracysaluki]

glad everyone is ok and hoping weather is good next week for our cruise!