Well, the laundry is done and the luggage is put away and DH and I are back into our normal daily routines after another great Disney vacation (overall). DH and I were dumbfounded to find that when we got home, there was nobody placing napkins in our laps before dinner, nobody to make food recommendations, no evening entertainment, no lovely ports of call to visit and worst of all -- no towel animals with chocolates on our bed at night 
(sigh).
As you can tell, we've arrived home safely from our second Disney cruise. It was a 'magic'-al vacation for the most part, and reality has struck us both with a firm hand. To further prove what a great time we had, DH and I are toying with the idea of joining Disney's Vacation Club and have already started planning our Western Carribbean cruise. So, since we since we learned so much from these boards, we felt we should give our feedback (positive and negative) to help other people planning a Disney cruise, so here goes with the positive first.
Overall, as you can guess from what you've read so far, we had a great time and enjoyed everything the ship had to offer, although I missed the kitchen tour (doggone it!) to play bingo the last day. There's just so many fun things to do (along with my daily afternoon naps on-board!), I just couldn't get it all in, try as I might. Our favorite things on the trip were: snorkeling/swimming on St. John, the See & Sea tour on St. Maarten, Castaway Cay's Serenity Bay 18 & over beach, our fabulous servers Erasmo (from Chile) and his assistant, Adrienn (from Hungary) who worked so hard to make dinners enjoyable, the fabulous food on-board coupled with very fun dinner companions (we were SO fortunate there), dinner and brunch at Palo's, the nightly shows in the Walt Disney Theater (don't miss them -- especially the popular Disney Dreams), the beautiful ship, and our roomy outside cabin with a HUGE window (#2566) and split bathroom.
We felt like our money had been well spent and, for the most part, our vacation mission had been accomplished. But even at Disney, it is not a perfect world and try as they might to prevent it, we did encounter a couple of vacation snafus, which I would like to share so other travelers can be prepared.
My least favorite thing on the trip was a high tea reservation snafu that happened at Palo's, of all places. I was trying to meet all the 9/7 Disboard ladies at Palo's high tea, and whoever was first to arrive was to make an open reservation for the rest of those who wanted to join us. Well, to put it bluntly, that turned into a fiasco.
Once on-board, DH and I did the ressie rush and got up to Palo's at 2:30 p.m. (that's the soonest we could get there using the Disney transportation, which we're probably not going to use next time). We made dinner and brunch reservations with no trouble (although it would have been nice to know what day/time the character breakfast was upon boarding so we could have planned brunch better -- we missed the character breakfast because we had already made Palo's brunch ressies). Then I went to the high tea reservation table where I was told they had no reservations for high tea left (then why was someone still sitting at the table??). I told her about our special Disboard Ladies reservation that should have already been made (I was wearing my lanyard with my first name on it and a big Disboard logo and a green ribbon). Then I was told curtly by the CM that Palo's opens at 11 a.m. for reservations (as if we'd been lounging around all this time), insinuating that we should have gotten there sooner, and I responded that since we used Disney transportation this was the soonest we could get to Palo's. Then another, friendlier CM came up to us (Nadege from France), who remembered making our Disboard ladies ressie for an earlier guest and that she knew I was supposed to join the group (whoever made the ressie must have left my name) as she looked at my lanyard. Finally, someone who knew what was going on! Anyway, the original CM wrote down all our reservation times and the ressie rush was officially over.
Well, on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m., I got gussied up (full makeup in the tropical heat) and showed up at Palo's for high tea. This was the date and time the CM wrote down, and I was told at the front desk that I had come on the wrong day and to come back on Monday!!!!! Needless to say, I was irritated
and told DH what happened. He suggested we'd better confirm the rest of our ressies at Palo's since we were not sure of anything they told us anymore. So I called and left a message, and not more than 5 minutes later got a call back saying there was a misunderstanding on the high tea reservation, and the other Disboard ladies had shown up like I did. So the reservationist asked me to come back on Monday at 3:30 p.m., not telling me that the ladies I knew already had tea and weren't coming Monday!!
So I got gussied up again on Monday and had tea alone. And the tea itself was disappointing, compared to the high standards Palo's sets by dinner. The service seemed rushed (I had to ASK for sugar, and there was no milk for the tea) and the meal consisted of a scone and a mini-eclair, plus 4 pairs of finger sandwiches on a small plate, already on the table. The only thing the CM brought me was my tea. I just didn't think high tea was worth the hassle, and definitely don't try to do a group reservation off the Disboards as a way of meeting each other there -- obviously, their reservation system isn't set up for special meetings like that, and I think a language barrier was also an issue.
So anyway, after tea, I had guest services call the one lady for me whose name I knew (she goes by Quickdraw on the boards) and told her what happened. I told her I just got through with tea and that I wanted her to know I was terribly sorry I didn't get to meet her, but then went on to explain what happened to me on my reservation. She ended up having tea alone too (I'm guessing on the first day I showed up??) but Quickdraw, if you're out there, I really did show up for tea twice, and I probably won't make that kind of effort for high tea on a Disney cruise ship again because it just wasn't worth the aggravation.
My DH's least favorite thing happened as we disembarked. Customs went smoothly (Disney is great at that part) and we dragged our luggage out to the Northwest airline stand at the port. When we got to the counter, the Northwest agent told us we were chosen randomly by the airlines to have our luggage x-rayed and that we had to transport our luggage ourselves to the airport (Which meant we lug our bags as cargo on the Disney bus, then pay a porter to help us to the Northwest check-in). DH was furious and pretty much had a polite meltdown (as polite as a meltdown can be) right then and there. To add insult to injury, a Disney employee came up to us after we moved our pile of luggage in the hot Florida sun to the Disney bus, and asked us what the problem was. DH told her we thought it was very unfair that Disney advertises this "check your bags once" deal coming and going home (which we already paid for) when there's the possibility we don't get to use it. I added that it was very frustrating, and she made me repeat myself. Then she said to me, "Yes, I understand that, and you probably feel like kicking somebody" -- and then she proceeded to turn her back to us and stick out her backside while saying, " so go ahead and do it because I'm good at that." I was dumbfounded and DH and I just stared at her, speechless. I couldn't believe a Disney employee would act that way or say those things, especially since overall during the cruise we were shown nothing but politeness. Unfortunately I don't remember her name, but she was from New Hampshire and tried to tell us she had her bags x-rayed at her home airport, which I guess was supposed to make us feel better. Coupled with her callous attitude, she just made us even angrier with her rude behavior. Not the usual good Disney customer service. She suggested we write a letter, which we certainly intend to after her display. We were totally unaware that the airlines would do this type of random x-ray determination at the port, and she said Disney couldn't take responsibility for what the airlines do. We understand that. But I feel like Disney should at least be aware of how their customers are being treated by the airlines at the port and adjust their services accordingly so their guests aren't inconvenienced. Had we known this was going to happen, we would not have bothered to use Disney transfers since they only seem to work one way (from home to the boat). The rude CM did take one of our cruise luggage tags, and so now we're probably marked for life as permanent members of the "royal pain" class on Disney cruise line. Oh well --I think DH had a right to be upset, since he did most of the heavy luggage lifting sweating in the hot sun with rheumatoid arthritis in his hands, and me helping as much as I could.
So we paid a porter at the airport out of our own pocket, the luggage got x-rayed and we also were searched as we boarded the plane (we both had to be wanded, pockets emptied and shoes taken off). But we made it home in one piece, despite a bratty kid opening and closing the blinds and kicking my seat all the way to our Memphis connection. So much for those handy Disney transfers.
This is our second cruise and the second time the going home "convenient" one-time check-in of luggage was not honored when leaving from the port to go home. On our first cruise, Disney booked us on an airline that did not operate out of the port, so we had to lug our suitcases to check-in and hire a porter that time as well. We weren't happy then either. So we wrote a letter to Disney that time and they responded by saying they were sorry we "misunderstood" their port check-in service. It was not much of a response, needless to say. So we were NOT happy with the way this turned out, especially since it was the SECOND time this has happened.
But like I said, overall we still are huge fans of everything Disney and our two bad situations didn't dampen our enthusiasm for The Mouse. We realize there are always a few bad apples in every bunch of employees, even at Disney. And it's a shame that those very few employees don't realize that a customer complaint is an opportunity to turn things around and make a customer happy again, and I just don't think that our Disney port employee made the most of her opportunity.
DH and I will be happy to respond to any comments or questions you may have about our trip, and if you've made it this far, thanks for reading this!
(sigh).As you can tell, we've arrived home safely from our second Disney cruise. It was a 'magic'-al vacation for the most part, and reality has struck us both with a firm hand. To further prove what a great time we had, DH and I are toying with the idea of joining Disney's Vacation Club and have already started planning our Western Carribbean cruise. So, since we since we learned so much from these boards, we felt we should give our feedback (positive and negative) to help other people planning a Disney cruise, so here goes with the positive first.
Overall, as you can guess from what you've read so far, we had a great time and enjoyed everything the ship had to offer, although I missed the kitchen tour (doggone it!) to play bingo the last day. There's just so many fun things to do (along with my daily afternoon naps on-board!), I just couldn't get it all in, try as I might. Our favorite things on the trip were: snorkeling/swimming on St. John, the See & Sea tour on St. Maarten, Castaway Cay's Serenity Bay 18 & over beach, our fabulous servers Erasmo (from Chile) and his assistant, Adrienn (from Hungary) who worked so hard to make dinners enjoyable, the fabulous food on-board coupled with very fun dinner companions (we were SO fortunate there), dinner and brunch at Palo's, the nightly shows in the Walt Disney Theater (don't miss them -- especially the popular Disney Dreams), the beautiful ship, and our roomy outside cabin with a HUGE window (#2566) and split bathroom.
We felt like our money had been well spent and, for the most part, our vacation mission had been accomplished. But even at Disney, it is not a perfect world and try as they might to prevent it, we did encounter a couple of vacation snafus, which I would like to share so other travelers can be prepared.
My least favorite thing on the trip was a high tea reservation snafu that happened at Palo's, of all places. I was trying to meet all the 9/7 Disboard ladies at Palo's high tea, and whoever was first to arrive was to make an open reservation for the rest of those who wanted to join us. Well, to put it bluntly, that turned into a fiasco.
Once on-board, DH and I did the ressie rush and got up to Palo's at 2:30 p.m. (that's the soonest we could get there using the Disney transportation, which we're probably not going to use next time). We made dinner and brunch reservations with no trouble (although it would have been nice to know what day/time the character breakfast was upon boarding so we could have planned brunch better -- we missed the character breakfast because we had already made Palo's brunch ressies). Then I went to the high tea reservation table where I was told they had no reservations for high tea left (then why was someone still sitting at the table??). I told her about our special Disboard Ladies reservation that should have already been made (I was wearing my lanyard with my first name on it and a big Disboard logo and a green ribbon). Then I was told curtly by the CM that Palo's opens at 11 a.m. for reservations (as if we'd been lounging around all this time), insinuating that we should have gotten there sooner, and I responded that since we used Disney transportation this was the soonest we could get to Palo's. Then another, friendlier CM came up to us (Nadege from France), who remembered making our Disboard ladies ressie for an earlier guest and that she knew I was supposed to join the group (whoever made the ressie must have left my name) as she looked at my lanyard. Finally, someone who knew what was going on! Anyway, the original CM wrote down all our reservation times and the ressie rush was officially over.
Well, on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m., I got gussied up (full makeup in the tropical heat) and showed up at Palo's for high tea. This was the date and time the CM wrote down, and I was told at the front desk that I had come on the wrong day and to come back on Monday!!!!! Needless to say, I was irritated
and told DH what happened. He suggested we'd better confirm the rest of our ressies at Palo's since we were not sure of anything they told us anymore. So I called and left a message, and not more than 5 minutes later got a call back saying there was a misunderstanding on the high tea reservation, and the other Disboard ladies had shown up like I did. So the reservationist asked me to come back on Monday at 3:30 p.m., not telling me that the ladies I knew already had tea and weren't coming Monday!!So I got gussied up again on Monday and had tea alone. And the tea itself was disappointing, compared to the high standards Palo's sets by dinner. The service seemed rushed (I had to ASK for sugar, and there was no milk for the tea) and the meal consisted of a scone and a mini-eclair, plus 4 pairs of finger sandwiches on a small plate, already on the table. The only thing the CM brought me was my tea. I just didn't think high tea was worth the hassle, and definitely don't try to do a group reservation off the Disboards as a way of meeting each other there -- obviously, their reservation system isn't set up for special meetings like that, and I think a language barrier was also an issue.
So anyway, after tea, I had guest services call the one lady for me whose name I knew (she goes by Quickdraw on the boards) and told her what happened. I told her I just got through with tea and that I wanted her to know I was terribly sorry I didn't get to meet her, but then went on to explain what happened to me on my reservation. She ended up having tea alone too (I'm guessing on the first day I showed up??) but Quickdraw, if you're out there, I really did show up for tea twice, and I probably won't make that kind of effort for high tea on a Disney cruise ship again because it just wasn't worth the aggravation.
My DH's least favorite thing happened as we disembarked. Customs went smoothly (Disney is great at that part) and we dragged our luggage out to the Northwest airline stand at the port. When we got to the counter, the Northwest agent told us we were chosen randomly by the airlines to have our luggage x-rayed and that we had to transport our luggage ourselves to the airport (Which meant we lug our bags as cargo on the Disney bus, then pay a porter to help us to the Northwest check-in). DH was furious and pretty much had a polite meltdown (as polite as a meltdown can be) right then and there. To add insult to injury, a Disney employee came up to us after we moved our pile of luggage in the hot Florida sun to the Disney bus, and asked us what the problem was. DH told her we thought it was very unfair that Disney advertises this "check your bags once" deal coming and going home (which we already paid for) when there's the possibility we don't get to use it. I added that it was very frustrating, and she made me repeat myself. Then she said to me, "Yes, I understand that, and you probably feel like kicking somebody" -- and then she proceeded to turn her back to us and stick out her backside while saying, " so go ahead and do it because I'm good at that." I was dumbfounded and DH and I just stared at her, speechless. I couldn't believe a Disney employee would act that way or say those things, especially since overall during the cruise we were shown nothing but politeness. Unfortunately I don't remember her name, but she was from New Hampshire and tried to tell us she had her bags x-rayed at her home airport, which I guess was supposed to make us feel better. Coupled with her callous attitude, she just made us even angrier with her rude behavior. Not the usual good Disney customer service. She suggested we write a letter, which we certainly intend to after her display. We were totally unaware that the airlines would do this type of random x-ray determination at the port, and she said Disney couldn't take responsibility for what the airlines do. We understand that. But I feel like Disney should at least be aware of how their customers are being treated by the airlines at the port and adjust their services accordingly so their guests aren't inconvenienced. Had we known this was going to happen, we would not have bothered to use Disney transfers since they only seem to work one way (from home to the boat). The rude CM did take one of our cruise luggage tags, and so now we're probably marked for life as permanent members of the "royal pain" class on Disney cruise line. Oh well --I think DH had a right to be upset, since he did most of the heavy luggage lifting sweating in the hot sun with rheumatoid arthritis in his hands, and me helping as much as I could.
So we paid a porter at the airport out of our own pocket, the luggage got x-rayed and we also were searched as we boarded the plane (we both had to be wanded, pockets emptied and shoes taken off). But we made it home in one piece, despite a bratty kid opening and closing the blinds and kicking my seat all the way to our Memphis connection. So much for those handy Disney transfers.
This is our second cruise and the second time the going home "convenient" one-time check-in of luggage was not honored when leaving from the port to go home. On our first cruise, Disney booked us on an airline that did not operate out of the port, so we had to lug our suitcases to check-in and hire a porter that time as well. We weren't happy then either. So we wrote a letter to Disney that time and they responded by saying they were sorry we "misunderstood" their port check-in service. It was not much of a response, needless to say. So we were NOT happy with the way this turned out, especially since it was the SECOND time this has happened.
But like I said, overall we still are huge fans of everything Disney and our two bad situations didn't dampen our enthusiasm for The Mouse. We realize there are always a few bad apples in every bunch of employees, even at Disney. And it's a shame that those very few employees don't realize that a customer complaint is an opportunity to turn things around and make a customer happy again, and I just don't think that our Disney port employee made the most of her opportunity.
DH and I will be happy to respond to any comments or questions you may have about our trip, and if you've made it this far, thanks for reading this!
) post, our vacation was 99.5% perfect. The problems we encountered were small, but the baggage thing just hit a raw nerve, after our first cruise, when we didn't get to use the port baggage check. I know that there was absolutely nothing that Disney could have done to prevent our being chosen for airline security screening, so I don't blame Disney. The CM was trying, in her own way, to "smooth" us, but just couldn't find the right way to do it (a very difficult task, considering our mood!). Her methods just made a bad situation seem worse. I do have to give her credit for walking over to us in the first place. The airline rep must have told her we were unhappy, so I'm impressed that she tried to help. I think that this was just a situation where there was very little she could have realistically done to make things better.
I loved the formal night pictures of your family. What a nice-looking family -- your wife looks familiar. I think I may have ridden the elevator with her once on the ship.
- DW & I did ride up & down a lot as we took turns getting DD from the clubs!
