PCC 3.0 ... Meh?

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columnwest

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
First off, I had a blast on PCC3.0, made a lot of great new friends and had the best dining companions I could've hoped for (even if our particular servers were a little less than great). I'm not posting this thread to dump on the cruise.

But, after getting back home, my reaction now is sort of... it was good, but not great. And, I'm not really sure why. After PCC1.0 and PCC2.0 my feeling was "wow, I can't wait to go on the next one". My reaction after 3.0 was, "maybe I'll skip the next couple". Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm just Disney'ed out; maybe I'm just really spoiled from the phenomenally great past experiences.

But, here are a few things I noticed. Not "good" or "bad" things per se, just different from the previous cruises.

- With a bigger ship and a smaller number of DISers, it felt less like we "owned" the cruise. On the previous cruises, it seemed like DISers were everywhere, especially with the PCC door magnets everwhere. This time, it felt like we were much more in the minority. For me, this definitely changed the "atmosphere" on the ship.

- On the previous trips, there seemed to be more evening and adult activites planned. Or, just more stuff planned in general. This time, the "official" activity list seemed pretty light. And, though I attended several of the talks with genuine personal interest, I thought it was a little disapponting that most of the daytime meets seemed to be centered around Dreams as a business rather than something more social.

- On the topic of on-board events... What ever happened to the "unofficial" events? I guess I'm guilty here as much as anyone, since there was nothing preventing me for organizing something. But, why again was there no West Coast meetup? I know Nancy said there was trouble getting it organized. I would've been happy just hanging out with other westcoasters at the Cove Cafe and sharing iPhone pics of Cars Land. Nothing fancy required. BTW, hats off to the folks who organized the stateroom crawl, which was one of the highights of my cruise. That Walt Disney Suite was amazing!

- A lot of folks I met from the previous cruises were absent from this one. I'm looking at you Todd, Lauren and Jeri, Frank, Heather and Anna (among others). I missed you guys and gals; it wasn't the same without you. Hope to see you on a future trip.

- I really enjoyed the presentation from Kevin and Jody. However, after the last cruise with Charlie Ridgeway, Bob Gurr and Jody Benson.... I mean, man, that's a hard lineup to top. Still... I have to be honest I was hoping for Marty Sklar or Dave Smith or Tony Baxter. It's hard not to make the comparison... Kevin and Jody are brilliant, but it wasn't as exciting for me as the lineup of Disney Legends we had last time.

- The Podcast recording seemed a little rushed to me. Maybe it was due to the smaller stage or having to fit in the DL recording as well (though I enjoyed finally seeing what everyone looks like). There didn't seem to be as much playful banter as in years past, and the "giveaway" portion at the end seemed shorter than last time with the "favorite things" motif. A friend's mom who was sitting next to me was hoping that an iPad would be among the items, but the prizes were gift cards and $6000K trips. Granted, I am fully aware that they don't have to give anything away at all. But, I thought there was less variety in this year's items. Personally, I think I'd rather see more smaller prizes than fewer big-ticket ones, since that would give more people a chance at winning something without having to spend more on prizes. And, I have never been a fan of gift-cards in general, though I know they make for more practical prizes. On the plus side though, I thought it was a very nice gesture on Pete's part to honor the prize to the girl who was not present due to her family's medical emergency.

- Also on a more positive note, I really loved the gift bags this year. Lots of cool and genuinely useful stuff. And even though it isn't all that functional in terms of keeping you cool, I can't stop playing with that LED fan. The gummies were great snacks, and the extension cord came in very handy.

And again, I really can't put a price on being able to hang out with 400 other like-minded Disney fans, make some great new friends, and have a fantastic time doing it all aboard one of the most beautiful ships at sea. Though I may appear to be complaining (and I'm really not, just sharing some thoughts about things that seemed different), I had an awesome time. In some weird way I hope that I end up really regretting not going on the next one.

I'd be interested to know what others thought of PCC3.0. Hopefully, we can all keep our comments respectful of each other's. And, also reflective of the huge respect I think we all have for the DIS team's (especially John's) hard work in putting the Podcast Cruises together.
 
Wow - this makes me so glad I spent so much time, effort and money on this cruise.

Also makes me feel really good that I just spent my entire July 4th Holiday working on Podcast Cruise 4.0 and our RCCL cruise next year.
 
I probably shouldn't dive in here, given our totally crazy experience, but I would give just about anything to have had even a "meh" experience. We were beyond delighted with everything John and Dreams/DIS Unplugged did to make this a beautiful event, and we cherish the new friends we made on our short time aboard the ship. That soulless gift card also totally made my daughters' day when they learned Tessa had won it, allowing them some very special (and otherwise unavailable) spending money back at MK this week. We knew right away that we wanted to give the cruise another shot, and we wouldn't want to do it a second time with anyone but this group, no matter what percentage of the sailing masses we might be.

XO
Liz

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
 
Given the fact that I had orginally booked this cruise, then had to cancel, I can tell you that I would have (in a New York minute) have gladly traded places with you.
 


Thanks everyone for the great feedback to my post so far. I understand that people love the podcast cruises, and I do too, especially considering I've been on all three of them (not to mention the very first DIS ABD Backstage Magic trip as well).

I have a question for Liz: Were you on either of the previous podcast cruises? Most of my comments were in the context of comparing PCC 3.0 to the previous podcast cruises. It is only in that comparison that I feel PCC 3.0 comes off a little lacking. I think that, on its own, PCC 3.0 was great, and I say that several times in my original post.

But, I'd be curious to know how people would rank the three podcast cruises? Putting aside external factors like the larger ship and the longer duration, and focusing on the DIS-specific parts of the cruises, would you rank PCC 3.0 at the top of the three?

I've given some of the reasons that I personally felt it was the weakest of the three. Please understand, I don't think it was "bad", just not as good as the other two. But, I would be interested to hear from people who had been on the previous podcast cuises as well, and have the opposite opinion.
 
I can not rank them as they were each a unique experience. We have been on 1, 2, and 3. Each was great fun and each had it's own unique dynamic when it came to the cruisers. I think John did an amazing job with the event.

, and the "giveaway" portion at the end seemed kinda weak

That seems a little ungrateful.

I personally think the team went above and beyond by giving away a single gift card. I do not think they owe us anything and that it was extremely generous of John, Pete, and gang, to give away a single prize.
 
Wow - this makes me so glad I spent so much time, effort and money on this cruise.

Also makes me feel really good that I just spent my entire July 4th Holiday working on Podcast Cruise 4.0 and our RCCL cruise next year.

Hi John, thanks for your reply to my post. Let me repeat something from my original post that you maybe missed: "...the huge respect I think we all have for the DIS team's (especially John's) hard work in putting the Podcast Cruises together." You may have also missed me in that packed theatre on the ship, but that was me in the sixth row giving you a standing ovation (along with everyone around me) in recognition of those efforts during the podcast taping. I'll say it again: John, I think you're a genius, I love your contributions to the podcast, and thank you very much for all the hard work you do to make these events happen.

However, I have to say I'm a little surprised by your reply. I listen to the DIS Unplugged every week (and have done so since before the "roundtable" format). And, one of the hallmarks of the show is having an unbiased opinion of all things Disney. So, following in your footsteps, I gave my personal review of PCC 3.0, keeping it as even-handed and informative as possible. As Kevin likes to say, it's just one person's opinion.

But, specifically to your comment, I have to believe that Disney spent far MORE time, effort and money building the Art of Animation resort (which I stayed at prior to the cruise). That didn't stop you from pointing out that you felt the furniture in the rooms looked "cheap" (something I would agree with, by the way). I loved Art of Animation, but would I stay there again? Probably not. The "master" bed is too small, the linen's are really scratchy and the bedspread is stiff enough to double as a camper shell. But, the theming is brilliant, and I'm really glad I got to stay there, even if I won't be coming back (except maybe to take pictures).

So, take the post as intended, one faithful DISer's unbiased review. Even if I dont join you on the next cruise, I'll certainly be listening and reading all about it (and probably wishing I had gone). :)
 


Maybe part of the sparse feel for you was where you were located? Happened that our room was on the party deck, Deck 10, so our neighbors on both sides were Dis'ers and it was a pleasure meeting both of them. One of the neighbors lives just up the road from us here in WI and they were the nicest most genuine people ever. I'm so glad we were able to meet them and can't wait to meet up with them again.

This was our first PCC and everyone in our family enjoyed it immensely. I have to thank the crew for giving us the impetus to even go on a cruise as I would have never had the want to go on one. Cruising would have never crossed my mind as a vacationing option. Ends up we booked another cruise while on-board.

I enjoyed being able to meet Pete, John, Kevin, Corey, Julie, Cathy, Oscar, and Teresa. Those are the people I was most interested in meeting because that's who I listen to every week. Plus I'm a Kevin fan, even after meeting him :lmao: It was also great to meet the West Coast crew.

There was one celebrity I would have died to have on this cruise, John Lassiter. He's the one Disney employee I would swoon over because in my mind he is our modern day Walt Disney.

Now, our family didn't attend a lot of the Dis events as we had other ship activities to do. I did go to the signup, the podcast, and the Kevin and Jody talk.
 
"and the "giveaway" portion at the end seemed kinda weak" That seems a little ungrateful.

I personally think the team went above and beyond by giving away a single gift card. I do not think they owe us anything and that it was extremely generous of John, Pete, and gang, to give away a single prize.

I agree completely, and I state in the very next line in my original post: "Granted, I am fully aware that they don't have to give anything away at all." I was extremely grateful for the $50 giftcard I won from the prizemotron many years ago.

But, I also think that by having more smaller prizes instead of fewer big ones, they can (for ostensibly the same cost) allow more people to share in the joyful experience of winning something.
 
I probably shouldn't get involved in this thread as I wasn't able to attend 3.0 although the rest of my family was there.

If my memory serves me right it was discussed in the early stages of planning that this was the intent of podcast cruises moving forward. Instead of the "E-ticket" events they were going to do a few more smaller, more intimate events to allow folks the opportunity to better mingle and meet the team and so forth. If I recall it was also intentional to have a smaller crowd compared to past podcast cruises to make it a little less daunting when it comes to trying to meet everyone. When you go from about 700 folks down to around 400 it makes it much easier to shake hands and kiss babies so to speak. Which by the way is much better than kissing hands and shaking babies.

I wish I could have been on this cruise, even though I'm sure I would have been quite busy. The way I look at it is for the most part I'm paying no more, in most cases, less than a "non-podcast" cruiser and all the additional events, speakers, prizes, etc. are nothing more than gravy. Cruising with friends is great. Cruising with hundreds of friends, meeting some cool and interesting people and enjoying some history and fun from a group that has touched us all in ways big and small is even better.
 
Hi John, thanks for your reply to my post. Let me repeat something from my original post that you maybe missed: "...the huge respect I think we all have for the DIS team's (especially John's) hard work in putting the Podcast Cruises together." You may have also missed me in that packed theatre on the ship, but that was me in the sixth row giving you a standing ovation (along with everyone around me) in recognition of those efforts during the podcast taping. I'll say it again: John, I think you're a genius, I love your contributions to the podcast, and thank you very much for all the hard work you do to make these events happen.

However, I have to say I'm a little surprised by your reply. I listen to the DIS Unplugged every week (and have done so since before the "roundtable" format). And, one of the hallmarks of the show is having an unbiased opinion of all things Disney. So, following in your footsteps, I gave my personal review of PCC 3.0, keeping it as even-handed and informative as possible. As Kevin likes to say, it's just one person's opinion.

But, specifically to your comment, I have to believe that Disney spent far MORE time, effort and money building the Art of Animation resort (which I stayed at prior to the cruise). That didn't stop you from pointing out that you felt the furniture in the rooms looked "cheap" (something I would agree with, by the way). I loved Art of Animation, but would I stay there again? Probably not. The "master" bed is too small, the linen's are really scratchy and the bedspread is stiff enough to double as a camper shell. But, the theming is brilliant, and I'm really glad I got to stay there, even if I won't be coming back (except maybe to take pictures).

So, take the post as intended, one faithful DISer's unbiased review. Even if I dont join you on the next cruise, I'll certainly be listening and reading all about it (and probably wishing I had gone). :)

I did not say you were not welcome to your opinion or that you could not post it. I replied with my opinion to your opinion.
 
Hi John, thanks for your reply to my post. Let me repeat something from my original post that you maybe missed: "...the huge respect I think we all have for the DIS team's (especially John's) hard work in putting the Podcast Cruises together." You may have also missed me in that packed theatre on the ship, but that was me in the sixth row giving you a standing ovation (along with everyone around me) in recognition of those efforts during the podcast taping. I'll say it again: John, I think you're a genius, I love your contributions to the podcast, and thank you very much for all the hard work you do to make these events happen.

However, I have to say I'm a little surprised by your reply. I listen to the DIS Unplugged every week (and have done so since before the "roundtable" format). And, one of the hallmarks of the show is having an unbiased opinion of all things Disney. So, following in your footsteps, I gave my personal review of PCC 3.0, keeping it as even-handed and informative as possible. As Kevin likes to say, it's just one person's opinion.

But, specifically to your comment, I have to believe that Disney spent far MORE time, effort and money building the Art of Animation resort (which I stayed at prior to the cruise). That didn't stop you from pointing out that you felt the furniture in the rooms looked "cheap" (something I would agree with, by the way). I loved Art of Animation, but would I stay there again? Probably not. The "master" bed is too small, the linen's are really scratchy and the bedspread is stiff enough to double as a camper shell. But, the theming is brilliant, and I'm really glad I got to stay there, even if I won't be coming back (except maybe to take pictures).

So, take the post as intended, one faithful DISer's unbiased review. Even if I dont join you on the next cruise, I'll certainly be listening and reading all about it (and probably wishing I had gone). :)

Chris,

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. We all know that.

The problem I have with your opinion is your choice of words. "Cheesy, soulless, not really an a list line up, the podcast was weak". Couching all of this in "your great and wonderful" just smacks of nastiness.

You compare your comments to John's report that the furniture in Art of animation is cheap. I think we would have a very difficult time going to the furniture designer's website and posting there our opinions of his furniture.

Also, keep in mind that you paid NOTHING for the added events on this cruise. Had you criticized DCL, I would have defended your opinion. You didn't. You criticized things you got for free and that's not something we are ever willing to do.

I'm sure that you haven't considered the fact that Disney Cruise Line regulates the spaces we can use and for what duration. I'm sure you haven't considered the fact that people complained after the last podcast that there were too many people for it to be enjoyable. I'm sure you haven't taken into account the sheer cost of buying 360 people multiple drinks. Should I go on? I'm sure you haven't taken into account that one prize awarded has a value of almost 6K and another prize went to two little girls when they needed it most.

As we put our hearts, souls, time, energy, money etc I am sorry that you didn't enjoy this.

It seems to me that the right people were not on board, we didn't give away the right prizes, you didn't have enough to do, you don't like business related events...the list goes on....so, in light of that you should plan your own podcast cruise.

Try it. I dare you.

Maybe better people will be on board to keep you entertained in the manner that suits you best.

As you are entitled to your opinion....I am mine and my opinion is that your comments were...to use your word..."cheesy".
 
I probably shouldn't get involved in this thread as I wasn't able to attend 3.0 although the rest of my family was there.

If my memory serves me right it was discussed in the early stages of planning that this was the intent of podcast cruises moving forward. Instead of the "E-ticket" events they were going to do a few more smaller, more intimate events to allow folks the opportunity to better mingle and meet the team and so forth. If I recall it was also intentional to have a smaller crowd compared to past podcast cruises to make it a little less daunting when it comes to trying to meet everyone. When you go from about 700 folks down to around 400 it makes it much easier to shake hands and kiss babies so to speak. Which by the way is much better than kissing hands and shaking babies.

I wish I could have been on this cruise, even though I'm sure I would have been quite busy. The way I look at it is for the most part I'm paying no more, in most cases, less than a "non-podcast" cruiser and all the additional events, speakers, prizes, etc. are nothing more than gravy. Cruising with friends is great. Cruising with hundreds of friends, meeting some cool and interesting people and enjoying some history and fun from a group that has touched us all in ways big and small is even better.

Hey Chris, thanks for your reply. You're absolutely right about the changes to the cruise that were announced prior to the event in terms of size and scope. I guess maybe I'm just a sucker for spectacle and razzle-dazzle, so I just fall in to the camp that thinks "the bigger, the better".

Like I said in my original post, I'm sure that I am really spoiled from my previous experiences, the podcast cruises, the ABD trip and the Harry Potter event, all of which really blew me away. While the DIS team sets the bar so incredibly high, it's wrong of me to expect that every experience will match the last one, especially since each event isn't necessarily aiming for the same goal.

As I said before, I had a wonderful time. Just because I liked PCC 2.0 better doesn't mean that I didn't also really enjoy PCC 3.0.
 
The problem I have with your opinion is your choice of words. "Cheesy, soulless, not really an a list line up, the podcast was weak". Couching all of this in "your great and wonderful" just smacks of nastiness.".

No nastiness was intended. I'm sorry if it came off that way. That was not my intent. I stated right up at the top of my original post that my intent was NOT to dump on the cruise. I went out of my way to point out that there were parts of the cruise I really enjoyed, and that overall it was a great experience. My whole point was just that I preferred the first two cruises even more, and then gave my reasons for why I felt that way. That's it.

You compare your comments to John's report that the furniture in Art of animation is cheap. I think we would have a very difficult time going to the furniture designer's website and posting there our opinions of his furniture.

So, where am I supposed to post my comments about the podcast cruise, if not here? Plenty of other folks have shared their experiences about the cruise here. Do you only want people to post the positive and ignore the neagtive? Reading back over my original post, I think my comments were pretty fair. All I did was list some of the things I felt could have made a great cruise even better. If that's not constructive criticism, I don't know what is.

As we put our hearts, souls, time, energy, money etc I am sorry that you didn't enjoy this.

Remind me when I said I didn't enjoy the cruise? I said that "I had a blast" and, "I had an awesome time". I just didn't enjoy it AS MUCH as the previous cruises. That isn't the same thing as not enjoying it at all (which I never said). I don't like "Aladdin" as much as "Beauty and the Beast". That doesn't mean I hate "Aladdin". I enjoy "Aladdin", but I prefer "Beauty and the Beast".

It seems to me that the right people were not on board, we didn't give away the right prizes, you didn't have enough to do, you don't like business related events...the list goes on....so, in light of that you should plan your own podcast cruise. Try it. I dare you.

Hmm. You know, every so often at the parks, some nice CM will ask me about my experience that day for a survey. I'm pretty sure they aren't asking me because they think I know better than they do about running a theme park. But, they're glad to take my feedback anyway, both positive and negative, and hopefully use that (along with mountains of other data) to improve things over time. True, my comments here were unsolicited, but I think you misunderstood the spirit in which they were intended.

I just can't imagine someone from Disney listening to my feedback at City Hall (even if it was filled with expletives, which I would never do) and saying something like "Hey pal, YOU'RE the cheesy one! How's about YOU try running a theme park, I dare you."
 
I just can't imagine someone from Disney listening to my feedback at City Hall (even if it was filled with expletives, which I would never do) and saying something like "Hey pal, YOU'RE the cheesy one! How's about YOU try running a theme park, I dare you."

The HUGE difference is that you paid to be in a Disney theme park.

Your opinion is valid. Your critique is valid.

You paid nothing for any of the podcast events.

To refer to anything as soulless and cheesy that you were given at no cost is at best tactless.

Go back and read your post and pretend you put on an event of this magnitude...for FREE. Would you accept your criticism?

You paid for a cruise, you got a cruise. You paid nothing for any of the events.

I only review restaurants for which the meal has been paid for by the Dis. I would never review a restaurant where my meal was free. Never have...never will.

Again....you are entitled to your opinion. I'm just voicing mine.
 
To refer to anything as soulless and cheesy that you were given at no cost is at best tactless.

Hi Kevin. I agree with the point above. I could have worded those items better, so I will go back and edit my post to remove those words and clarify what I was trying to say.

As for the rest of your reply, I respectfully disagree. I'll email you directly to explain why I disagree, rather than continue posting here.
 
As someone who has never been on a podcast cruise, I would never complain about one iota of a five day vacation at sea. My level of gratitude would be boundless. Due to a job loss and this horrible economy, I haven't been on vacation since 2007. Before complaining, maybe count the blessing of even being able to go on such a wonderful trip, let alone three of them.
 
As someone who has never been on a podcast cruise, I would never complain about one iota of a five day vacation at sea. My level of gratitude would be boundless. Due to a job loss and this horrible economy, I haven't been on vacation since 2007. Before complaining, maybe count the blessing of even being able to go on such a wonderful trip, let alone three of them.

I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to go on these trips. You'll get no argument from me on that point. As I stated in my original post, I know I have been extremely spoiled by the fanstastic experiences that I've shared with the DIS team up to and including PCC 3.0.
 
Here's the part I don't understand......to what end?

What was the purpose of your post? To commiserate? To allow others to say how they liked other cruises better? What is the point?

It seems to me that this would have been better served privately or, as my mother used to say (probably EVERYONE's mother) if you don't have something nice to say.....

I am continually baffled by people who criticize things that are free. Did you pay extra for this? Would you have cruised if it were not for the Podcast?


This seems like it was put here to hurt, not critique.

I am glad you enjoyed all your cruises, I have not been one even one. But here is the difference, when someone does something nice for me, I do the right thing....again, mother's lesson: Thank you- That is all that is needed.

This strikes me as being asked over for a nice meal and complaining about the food.....

Just my opinion.
 
Here's the part I don't understand......to what end? What was the purpose of your post? To commiserate? To allow others to say how they liked other cruises better? What is the point?

I guess I was approaching it like a good-natured debate the third season of Star Trek (the original series). Some episodes are good. Some are bad. On the whole, I liked Season 2 better. Discuss. I thought people discussed more on discussion boards. Guess I was wrong.

It seems to me that this would have been better served privately or, as my mother used to say (probably EVERYONE's mother) if you don't have something nice to say.....

You're right. I should've just kept my darn trap shut.

I am continually baffled by people who criticize things that are free. Did you pay extra for this? Would you have cruised if it were not for the Podcast?
No, I would not have cruised if not for the podcast. I've been on all the podcast cruises, but no non-podcast Disney cruises. So, right or wrong, yeah, I do sorta feel like I was paying for the cruise just to do the DIS stuff. My "complaints" were really just a few minor observations comparing it to the previous cruise.

This seems like it was put here to hurt, not critique.

Sorry to everyone if I gave that impression. That was not the case. I thought if I balanced out negative comments with positive ones it would come out fairly neutral, but I guess nobody read the positive stuff. Again, sorry for any hurt feelings.
 
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