Aladdin not ready for Wish maiden voyage

[Cliffside]

Just got an email that Aladdin will not be ready for the Maiden Voyage this week…don’t know why? A little surprised…that’s the show they have done before…don’t know if it’s a COVID thing…kind of disappointed…haven’t seen it since the Maiden voyage of the Fantasy…hoping they have some special guest entertainers like we got on the Fantasy Maiden…to replace it…I hope it’s not be Thor in the main theater

 

[Geomom]

While it's a show Disney has done, it's a brand new set/props/stage/actors, etc. Aladdin is still on the Fantasy so it's not like they moved everything to another ship Sorry you're missing one of the shows though! I know it's disappointing.

 

[DVC Doc]

I also know that some of the theater performers have been in quarantine with COVID the last week or two so I'm sure that has impacted their rehearsal schedule

 

[paladin732]

Are they offering any concession given it is a headliner?

 

[cmp3400]

Just got the same email for the DVC Charter

 

[namtrig2]

The Disney shows are such a huge part of the Disney cruise experience and why we pay the premium for these cruises. Very, very disappointing.

 

[BruinEd03]

Are they offering any concession given it is a headliner?

I would doubt that they would. It’s only been in the last few months that they’ve even increased the number of shows on the ship. When cruising resumed, it was only 1 show initially which was shown multiple times. In addition, some sailings have had shows cancelled due to performers being unavailable.

 

[AquaDame]

It's unfortunate but a part of me is just glad it wasn't one of the new shows. Maybe they had to decide what to focus on?

 

[Disneyland_emily]

The Disney shows are such a huge part of the Disney cruise experience and why we pay the premium for these cruises. Very, very disappointing.

It’s never been a guarantee though. We’ve sailed on many cruises that a show had to be cancelled including when Beauty & the Beast was brand new and hyped all cruise only to be cancelled hours before show time on the last night.

I’d much rather them hold and put on a fantastic show then premiere something that’s not ready.

 

[brentm77]

Are they offering any concession given it is a headliner?

Not a chance with DCL. The dropped Aladin about a month before one of our Fantasy trips. The first week it was gone they replaced it with a really good guest singer, but they just let the theater sit dark that night on our cruise. I emailed them ahead of time about my disappointment, since it was really the only good show on the Fantasy (I think the others are pretty bad, actually) and we had first time cruisers with us. Disney was completely unsympathetic to my concern. I'm not sure any line would do anything, or even what I expected them to do, but it was a huge letdown at the time, since it's one of the reasons you pay a premium to Disney.

In short, as much as I like DCL, Disney rarely cares if you don't feel like you got what you signed up for. I get missing ports, it's part if cruising, but if you sell me a cruise that includes a headline "Broadway style show" as part of the package, you should do something if it is canceled weeks in advance (not due to some emergency situation last minute) and you fail to even try to offer a replacement entertainer. A little on board credit would have gone a long way.

At least on the Wish, they have some other shows that look great. The Fantasy's lineup on the other nights are its biggest weakness, but I love the ship otherwise.

 

[Sakura1017]

Not a chance with DCL. The dropped Aladin about a month before one of our Fantasy trips. The first week it was gone they replaced it with a really good guest singer, but they just let the theater sit dark that night on our cruise. I emailed them ahead of time about my disappointment, since it was really the only good show on the Fantasy (I think the others are pretty bad, actually) and we had first time cruisers with us. Disney was completely unsympathetic to my concern. I'm not sure any line would do anything, or even what I expected them to do, but it was a huge letdown at the time, since it's one of the reasons you pay a premium to Disney.

In short, as much as I like DCL, Disney rarely cares if you don't feel like you got what you signed up for. I get missing ports, it's part if cruising, but if you sell me a cruise that includes a headline "Broadway style show" as part of the package, you should do something if it is canceled weeks in advance (not due to some emergency situation last minute) and you fail to even try to offer a replacement entertainer. A little on board credit would have gone a long way.

At least on the Wish, they have some other shows that look great. The Fantasy's lineup on the other nights are it's biggest weakness, but I love the ship otherwise.

It depends on who you talk too. I had some issues with them on the cruise and they were aware about it, and when I emailed them they had someone talk with me. They listened to my concerns and offered compensation.

 

[brentm77]

It depends on who you talk too. I had some issues with them on the cruise and they were aware about it, and when I emailed them they had someone talk with me. They listened to my concerns and offered compensation.

Interesting. I really tried at the time. Asked to hear from a supervisor. I may have called too. But they didn't even seem to understand why it was such a disappointment. Honestly, it wasn't even a huge deal for us, as we had seen it, but for the family members we had convinced to try DCL for their first time. Side note - they still loved DCL and had a second scheduled before you know what.

I've heard some on our Greek cruise hit a dead end after very bad excursion experience too.

 

[MomOTwins]

From the sounds of it, it is not the only thing about the Wish that won’t be totally ready for the maiden voyage. Beginning to suspect that 50% off was not just for the inconvenience of rescheduling. But hey, it’s already 50% off—can’t imagine Disney discounting it even more due to a few missing things.

 

[AquaDame]

From the sounds of it, it is not the only thing about the Wish that won’t be totally ready for the maiden voyage. Beginning to suspect that 50% off was not just for the inconvenience of rescheduling. But hey, it’s already 50% off—can’t imagine Disney discounting it even more due to a few missing things.

This one is the first flat out omission they have fessed up to; may I ask what else you've heard..? There have been some things missing from the preview cruises of course but so far everyone is being told it will be ship shape for the next one... we'll see...

 

[fitnessmouse]

I hope Aladdin will be ready in August. Have never been on Fantasy and really wanted to see this show.

 

[MomOTwins]

This one is the first flat out omission they have fessed up to; may I ask what else you've heard..? There have been some things missing from the preview cruises of course but so far everyone is being told it will be ship shape for the next one... we'll see...

Agree thus is the first one they’ve admitted to. But from what I can tell nobody has yet been able to do the “Uncharted adventure,” Olaf’s frozen picnic, and a lot of the activities (game shows etc) seem to be limited or unavailable. For example saw one report say Luna is open but the big screen that is supposed to integrate to the activities there is not being used.

I guess they could make paying MV guests the guinea pigs for those things, but seems like those are the sort of things you would want preview cruisers to use to work out the kinks, so hearing some of those things are not happening makes me question if they are ready.

Also just troubles me a but reading some bloggers say there are some areas that don’t seem quite finished/polished. For example read one blog today saying some of the furniture seemed to be temporary/waiting on final version to be delivered. And that the little mermaid show was a short version rather than full show. I guess we will see.

 

[namtrig2]

Agree thus is the first one they’ve admitted to. But from what I can tell nobody has yet been able to do the “Uncharted adventure,” Olaf’s frozen picnic, and a lot of the activities (game shows etc) seem to be limited or unavailable. For example saw one report say Luna is open but the big screen that is supposed to integrate to the activities there is not being used.

I guess they could make paying MV guests the guinea pigs for those things, but seems like those are the sort of things you would want preview cruisers to use to work out the kinks, so hearing some of those things are not happening makes me question if they are ready.

Also just troubles me a but reading some bloggers say there are some areas that don’t seem quite finished/polished. For example read one blog today saying some of the furniture seemed to be temporary/waiting on final version to be delivered. And that the little mermaid show was a short version rather than full show. I guess we will see.

I agree... sounds like all of the MV passengers should be lowering their expectations quite a bit.

 

[Mommb]

The risk to DCL of using "influencer preview" cruises to work out kinks is that guests will report on everything that didn't work as they hoped it would, and it might not clear to readers/viewers that these activities are still being finalized rather than just not good. DCL may consider it better to not have an activity at all rather than have it in less-than-stellar condition (which is appearently what they are doing with Aladdin).

It is also possible that some furniture is indeed not placed yet due to supply chain issues. I have no idea if this is the case, but given how many supply chain issues I see and hear about in daily life, it wouldn't be a surprise that the Wish is also affected. Rather than say "Oh, these things aren't final yet" and have more people want to delay their cruise until everything is final, Disney is doing the best they can for now. If new furniture and show effects are installed later, it will be seen as a plus.

Because, as people have mentioned, shows are such a big part of the cruise for some guests, DCL did want to temper expectations about Aladdin. They will still get complaints onboard, but will be able to say "You knew this when you boarded." People are less likely to complain about activities that have never happened on any ship (such as the Luna screen, Olaf's Picnic and Uncharted Adventure) because they don't know what they're missing.

 

[brentm77]

Agree thus is the first one they’ve admitted to. But from what I can tell nobody has yet been able to do the “Uncharted adventure,” Olaf’s frozen picnic, and a lot of the activities (game shows etc) seem to be limited or unavailable. For example saw one report say Luna is open but the big screen that is supposed to integrate to the activities there is not being used.

I guess they could make paying MV guests the guinea pigs for those things, but seems like those are the sort of things you would want preview cruisers to use to work out the kinks, so hearing some of those things are not happening makes me question if they are ready.

Also just troubles me a but reading some bloggers say there are some areas that don’t seem quite finished/polished. For example read one blog today saying some of the furniture seemed to be temporary/waiting on final version to be delivered. And that the little mermaid show was a short version rather than full show. I guess we will see.

I haven't seen any video showing the full AquaMouse working right either. For example, there is no water coming down the lift yet. And I understand some other effects aren't working.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

New ships always have bugs to shake out. TBH, I'm fairly surprised that the show is the only hiccup of note that they're fessin' up to at this point. I was on a ship that for it's maiden voyage half of the bathrooms didn't work. Granted, it was a guided missile cruiser, but hey, who's counting?

Of note, we're on the 3rd sailing (22JUL) and didn't get the 'no show' email, so I expect it for our sailing.