Aladdin not ready for Wish maiden voyage

[FLPrincessMom]

We were at the 6 PM show of Little Mermaid and an officer was talking to the woman next to us before it started. He told her that they made the decision to focus on having 2 incredible shows and not 3 average ones. Of course, there is no telling how much of that is truth but it is what he said. I personally think the problem now is finding the rehearsal time for Aladdin since they are still doing the other two shows. But who knows...

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

We were at the 6 PM show of Little Mermaid and an officer was talking to the woman next to us before it started. He told her that they made the decision to focus on having 2 incredible shows and not 3 average ones. Of course, there is no telling how much of that is truth but it is what he said. I personally think the problem now is finding the rehearsal time for Aladdin since they are still doing the other two shows. But who knows...

Interesting... The same thing I've been saying all along...

 

[Kwami]

Expectations and rights are not the same thing. Rights are enshrined in law or contract, and what you are describing is not a right that is guaranteed in this situation. The right that the consumer has is to not sign a travel contract for a cruise that in reality guarantees very little.

From the DCL terms and conditions:

"In the event of conflict between the terms and conditions contained in the Cruise Contract, these Terms and Conditions, the terms of any Disney Cruise Line advertisement or offer, and the oral or written representations of any Disney Cruise Line representative, the terms and conditions contained in the Cruise Contract shall control."

I am not saying people can't be upset by these things, its just that no one's rights are being violated.

I don't think anyone is threatening to sue Disney for breach of contract or something silly like that. It's perfectly normal to be disappointed when something like this happens and it's reasonable to expect a company to make up for it. Disney chose not to offer any compensation, which is their right, but guests also have the right to be disappointed in that decision and to express their disappointment here.

Disney is probably right to focus on two great shows instead of three mediocre ones. But they probably should have planned better so that they wouldn't have to make that choice at all.

 

[DLgal]

Are the 2 shows really great, though? Be honest...

I've already heard quite a few "the shows were mediocre" reviews.

 

[CastawayCayLover]

Are the 2 shows really great, though? Be honest...

I've already heard quite a few "the shows were mediocre" reviews.

I'm in the mediocre camp, was not impressed by the 2 new shows at all.

 

[Cliffside]

I'm in the mediocre camp, was not impressed by the 2 new shows at all.

Disney seas the Adventure was way too short. Are they going to have a guest entertainer during regular cruises like they did for the Welcome Aboard show?

 

[Dis_fool]

Are the 2 shows really great, though? Be honest...

I've already heard quite a few "the shows were mediocre" reviews.

We found the Little Mermaid chaotic. The number of folks on stage overwhelmed it. The person playing Ariel had a great voice. We really liked the Goofy Adventure at Sea. We found it very good. Everyone has different tastes and opinions. This was ours.

 

[mmouse37]

I went to the 6:00 pm show of Little Mermaid and my friend went to both the 2 pm show and the 6 pm show. For the 2:00 pm show she sat in the back and when she came out of it she told me it was terrible and some parts didn't make sense.

For the 6 pm show we sat in the front row and she said it was much better sitting closer. They use a lot of imagery on fabrics, walls and ceiling that she could not really see when sitting in the back.

The show reminded me of an interpretive version of the LM. It also reminded me of the Nemo show at Animal Kingdom. Lots of flowing fabric to represent waves and other things. Costumes were basically leggings with scarves around them. I can't say I didn't like it but it definitely felt different than the shows on the other ships. Ariel and Ursula had fantastic voices.

I liked Seas the Adventure show with Goofy. Went to the 6 pm show of that.

We went to the late night ventriloquist show and sat in the way back of the WD Theatre. You can't see the top of the stage from back there so I wouldn't sit back there for a regular show.

For anyone in a wheelchair you must go down to Deck 2 and enter the theatre from there. One in our party was in a wheelchair and that is where we were directed to go. So the theatre is actually on Decks 2, 3, 4.

MJ

 

[FLPrincessMom]

I loved Adventure at Sea! I was surprised it was only 30 minutes (which is what is listed) but I'm also wondering if they don't plan to add a few more numbers at some point. That wouldn't be that hard. We also really like Little Mermaid but we did sit up front if that is maybe making a difference

 

[mmouse37]

Don't count on getting in the Hyperspace lounge either!

I did not know we had to make reservation for Hyperspace until onboard the MV. We waited in line for over 40 minutes to make a reservation. It took so long to make the actual reservation once at the podium. Honestly, it is a cool venue but I would not go back if I had to make a reservation for it. I don't think it lived up to the Hype in Hyperspace.

MJ

 

[Linda67]

I did not know we had to make reservation for Hyperspace until onboard the MV. We waited in line for over 40 minutes to make a reservation. It took so long to make the actual reservation once at the podium. Honestly, it is a cool venue but I would not go back if I had to make a reservation for it. I don't think it lived up to the Hype in Hyperspace.

MJ

Did you go to the Lounge itself to make the reservation? Or somewhere else on board?

 

[Kwami]

Are the 2 shows really great, though? Be honest...

I've already heard quite a few "the shows were mediocre" reviews.

I haven't seen them, yet. That doesn't change the point that I was making.

If history is anything to go by, The Little Mermaid will end up being quite good once they've had time to practice a bit more and they've worked out the technical problems. Seas the Adventure will be fun to watch once, but not very memorable. That's how it is with the other ships.

 

[MickeySwirl]

Did you go to the Lounge itself to make the reservation? Or somewhere else on board?

On embarkation day, you could go to Luna to make a reservation. The line was well over 100 people long and not moving at all. So we gave up. That night we walked up to the Lounge itself (there is a person standing outside the door with a computer on a stand) and made a reservation for Day 3.

 

[Lilsia]

So you Go on a cruise ship

And a company prioritizes two new shows over one old show and are nice enough to at least let you know in advance that its cancelled but instead your ungrateful and demand other things like "compensation" even though the cruise contract that you signed and forgot that you did which says that entertainment offerings are always subject to change and are not guaranteed.

You also understand that the performers on board the ship are HUMAN BEINGS not jukeboxes that need time to ensure the two brand new shows shows that they are offering are up to snuff instead of 3 High school quality shows that you now don't like because the company just pushed them to that third show just so you could SEE A SHOW THAT HAS BEEN AVAILABLE FOR 20+ years in multiple different formats around the world.

Works both ways. At least in this sense we are on topic instead of making simpleton comparisons that have no actual benefit to anyone.

I agree with you on this issue. Yes, it is disappointing that the show is not ready. But Disney does not cancel things lightly and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt that there is a real issue. And none of us know what it is. It could be that the cast have not practiced it enough, or the props are not ready, or it is a safety issue. Whatever it is, it was bad enough for Disney to cancel, and again, they don't do that lightly. I honestly don't know how the performers do it. With all 3 shows going, they will put on 2 shows a night, 6 nights a week. Add in all of the practices and their other performances on the ship, they work their behind's off.
I have chosen to not live my life getting upset about things like this. I am just thrilled to be able to go on the ship and be there. I am happy as a clam just sitting and relaxing. Getting angry about something that really doesn't matter in life is something that I refuse to do. No one is going to look back in 20 years and say, "geez, if only they showed Aladdin on the one cruise I did, my life would be so much better". There are lots of other things to do on the ship, if something is not available, that does not mean that anyone deserves compensation. It's not like they shut down the main dining room and fed everyone hot dogs.

 

[FWRR3]

I did not know we had to make reservation for Hyperspace until onboard the MV. We waited in line for over 40 minutes to make a reservation. It took so long to make the actual reservation once at the podium. Honestly, it is a cool venue but I would not go back if I had to make a reservation for it. I don't think it lived up to the Hype in Hyperspace.

MJ

I'm curious to know how you found out once onboard.

 

[CharlotteStreet]

Judging from the facts that (1) The Little Mermaid still seems a little rough around the edges, (2) Adventure at Sea seems to be only half finished, and (3) they already cancelled at least the first 6 weeks of Aladdin, I think we can deduce that as of the MV they hadn’t really started Aladdin practices at all. I think they spent their time on the transatlantic cruise just focusing on the other two shows. Which means they could have told customers sooner that Aladdin would not be finished, but didn’t want the bad press to come out before the good press of the ship sailing with customers. I think it also means they planned poorly because they could have been practicing all 3 shows before they even took to the ship. Part of me thinks it wasn’t even poor planning but actually a budgeting decision not to bring in performers for practices long before the maiden voyage. Which is disappointing because they’ve been marketing the Wish as featuring 3 shows including Aladdin while they had to have known, due to their own decisions, that the first sailings wouldn’t have Aladdin.

 

[lanejudy]

Part of me thinks it wasn’t even poor planning but actually a budgeting decision not to bring in performers for practices long before the maiden voyage.

I thought rehearsals for the stss add GE shows actually begins on land - maybe in Toronto. Or did I make that up? Or maybe Canada hasn’t allowed it to resume? I wouldn’t be surprised if rehearsals have been impacted by Covid quarantines. Everyone seems to forget that the CMs onboard are working and stuck onboard in close quarters with Covid positive guests with every new cruise.

I get the disappointment over the cancelled show. I do think the whole Wish roll-out was rushed because it was already significantly delayed due to the pandemic and DCL wanted it launched this summer. What I don’t get is the concept that not having that show is such a disappointment that it ruins a cruise before departure. How many people who think monetary compensation should be offered would be willing to pay that same amount (x3) to watch the shows onboard? It’s an all-inclusive fare and you get what they offer at the time you are onboard - whether that is a stage show or other entertainment.

 

[MickeySwirl]

I'm curious to know how you found out once onboard.

We didn't know before we boarded. We heard it from other cruisers when we asked what they were standing in line for at Luna.

 

[mmouse37]

I'm curious to know how you found out once onboard.

Once onboard we were just walking down the hall and saw a long line. I asked what it was and was told reservations for Hyperspace Lounge. Got on the line and waited.

MJ

 

[Geomom]

I thought rehearsals for the stss add GE shows actually begins on land - maybe in Toronto. Or did I make that up? Or maybe Canada hasn’t allowed it to resume? I wouldn’t be surprised if rehearsals have been impacted by Covid quarantines. Everyone seems to forget that the CMs onboard are working and stuck onboard in close quarters with Covid positive guests with every new cruise.

I get the disappointment over the cancelled show. I do think the whole Wish roll-out was rushed because it was already significantly delayed due to the pandemic and DCL wanted it launched this summer. What I don’t get is the concept that not having that show is such a disappointment that it ruins a cruise before departure. How many people who think monetary compensation should be offered would be willing to pay that same amount (x3) to watch the shows onboard? It’s an all-inclusive fare and you get what they offer at the time you are onboard - whether that is a stage show or other entertainment.

You're correct, not sure with COVID, but they used to do 8-12 weeks? rehearsal in Toronto before going on the ship. So maybe it's something technical specific to Aladdin that's delayed...or maybe they don't have a good genie yet?

The other issues for the 2 shows they're doing are likely specific to being completely new shows, not just new cast.