Are you like us seriously re-considering due to recent events?

[DMMarla07860]

One can always find someone whose situation is worse, but that doesn't minimize what the folks on DCL's ships went through. I truly doubt anyone on those ships thought, This must be heaven compared to what the east coast is going to get!

Seems to me most of the "bashing" was directed against the people who sailed on the affected cruises, and was done by the Disney supporters!

I am not changing my cruising plans, because I have no cruises booked during hurricane season. While I won't cancel my 2 upcoming Disney cruises, DCL's actions during Sandy certainly don't make me more likely to book future cruises with them.

Well I didn't mean heaven, but i would gladly trade places with for that one night vs not having power

 

[DMMarla07860]

As caring human beings, we shouldn't minimize someone's horrific experience just because someone else is going through something horrible as well. Everyone with an ounce of human compassion feels awful for the people in the NE that have been impacted by this storm but that shouldn't keep us from feeling awful for the frightened people on the ship that night who were scared, confused and reassuring crying children that they weren't going to die.

There's no reason to compare the two experiences; I haven't read ONE passenger, either here or on Cruise Critic, compare their experience on the ship to the experience in the NE. IMO, it's completely inappropriate to assign levels of value to other people's experiences.

Hey maybe I'll think different when I have power, but I know of people who have been stuck places since Sunday and can't get home. So Fantasy and Dream people might have had a bad night, but so did lots of people in NYC/NJ area. All in all the hurricane was bad and one of a kind

 

[RedSox68]

I doubt that the captain "cleared" the storm then turned around to sail back through it...that would be insane to do that.....Since I am not an international sea captain nor a first officer I tend to believe that the ship is in good capable hands. If anyone knows anything about sailing on a large body of water is that weather can change in an instant and although we have the latest technology it cannot see the future or predict what a storm will do exactly. But as some of those "survivors" (an insult to true survivors IMO) have posted that they know more than a mere experienced captain and crew. At least this "disaster" will turn some off to cruising so sweetpee and me can enjoy the ships without hysteria about weather. Ahhhh more room for me and my family...

You weren't there. You have no idea what these people went through. "Hysteria about weather" is a rather harsh comment IMO

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

I doubt that the captain "cleared" the storm then turned around to sail back through it...that would be insane to do that.....Since I am not an international sea captain nor a first officer I tend to believe that the ship is in good capable hands. If anyone knows anything about sailing on a large body of water is that weather can change in an instant and although we have the latest technology it cannot see the future or predict what a storm will do exactly. But as some of those "survivors" (an insult to true survivors IMO) have posted that they know more than a mere experienced captain and crew. At least this "disaster" will turn some off to cruising so sweetpee and me can enjoy the ships without hysteria about weather. Ahhhh more room for me and my family...

You are entitled to your doubt. However, the path that the Dream sailed is readily available on the internet and the locations of both the ship and the storm at any given time are fact, not belief, supposition, or opinion. Your sarcasm and mocking are not helpful to anyone.

 

[sissy_ib]

Hey maybe I'll think different when I have power, but I know of people who have been stuck places since Sunday and can't get home. So Fantasy and Dream people might have had a bad night, but so did lots of people in NYC/NJ area. All in all the hurricane was bad and one of a kind

It's not a contest.

 

[DMMarla07860]

It's not a contest.

I'm not saying it is I'm saying I feel NYC and NJ had it worse, and least for people on the cruise they got to go home, well unless they were fron, nj or NYC area etc, then maybe not so lucky

 

[iloverags2]

Gee thanks for giving me doubt about RCCL now too!

Can you share some threads? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to share here - not sure if it's allowed?

What I have seen from and about RCCL is that cruises were rerouted, docked, or cancelled. All I've seen from folks on Explorer is that it was rough getting out and away from the storm, but from there all is well. I haven't seen anyone "saying the same type of things". Maybe I just haven't come across it yet?

I'll preface this by saying, the folks currently on RCI's Explorer of the Seas are mixed - some are upset about the conditions they went through others are taking it in stride. It's pretty much the same as those who sailed on the Fantasy. All I'm doing here is clarifying it is not only DCL making decisions like this.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=35918128&postcount=125

That post is from the thread found here...
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1729989&page=7

For those who would rather just read the post and not go to the link (which is a thread regarding the current Explorer of the Seas sailing from NY to Bermuda and left NY Harbor on the 28th), it reads:

"Here is a text conversation that I am having with a friend who is on the sailing and texting me from Bermuda.

"Just arrived into Bermuda after a difficult crossing with winds exceeding 110 knots and causing the ship to list at an uncomfortable angle for 6 hours. The waves were higher than my balcony and many cabins were flooded, but not mine. Many windows shattered and many areas were closed off. Thank you all for your concern. After looking death in the face, I believe there is more for me to do on this earth before entering the next world and I'm grateful for opportunity to stay around."

Glad u are safe, unbelievable they sailed right into it.


"Thank you, it was a bad decision. It was choppy when we left. The captain said it would remain that way and the worst would be the next morning from 4am-8am, which was true. The very bad part lasted until mid afternoon, so about 12 hours it was life threatening to me. The listing to the port side which is where my cabin was scarey because all I could see out my balcony was a wall of water. The next day was still bad but not like the day before when I thought we would all die."


Is everyone freaked out?


"At the time, yes. Now everyone has calmed down. But there is a lot of talk about suing RC. People don't read the pc contracts."


Are they offering any compensation?


"No.
D*#& RC. I've lost a lot of respect""

And to reiterate, none of this would keep me from sailing again especially with DCL! I'm a crazy kind of girl! (And have always said I would rather drown than free fall from the sky! Again, a bit crazy!)

 

[argomANIA]

The recent events have not changed my mind about cruising. You see car accidents on the road all the time. Do you stop driving?

Can't wait to book my 2014 when the dates come out

There's quite a difference between seeing or reading about something and experiencing it. I would expect to feel differently about driving/flying/cruising, etc. after any close call.

I've been in two car accidents...one a serious one that had me off work for 4 months. So it's not just something I've "read" about. I guess that's just my personal belief. You can't live life in fear or you'd never leave the house.

My friend was also on that Fantasy cruise. She's crazy though and enjoyed the rough ride.

 

[RedSox68]

I'm not saying it is I'm saying I feel NYC and NJ had it worse, and least for people on the cruise they got to go home, well unless they were fron, nj or NYC area etc, then maybe not so lucky

There's no comparison that can be made here. I'm not far from some of the areas that were devasted. I have friends with houses down the shore and four feet of water in their first floor; another friend lost her house AND her car.

This thread is about people who were on two different ships during a not great situation before Sandy hit here and they are going by their experience. Spending 18-24 hours of constant pounding, waves, nausea and trying not to get hurt by flying objects or washed across the deck by emptying pools is in no way a light or over-exaggerated situation. And if you have small children, I imagine it would be terrifying. I don't understand why people are posting such judgmental comments when you weren't onboard and don't know how some people were affected.

There was an article by a CNN reporter who was on one of the ships and it was pretty graphic about what went on and how he felt about it!

 

[rkdahl]

To the original poster, we are sailing on the Fantasy in a few weeks. Reading the recent reports definitely gave us pause. We decided to go ahead and sail but only because we will be out of the hurricane season by then. My personal belief is that DCL and Capt Tom made a serious mistake in sailing into port on that sailing given the weather reports. I suspect, and hope, that more caution would prevail in the future. I believe the Capt discovered things were much worse than he believed. Much like a pilot flying into a thunderstorm that turns out to be much worse than he expected. I cannot believe Capt Tom would have sailed into that situation knowing the damage and emotional distress it was going to cause.

I sincerely hope that DCL learns from this experience. I will judge them by their actions in future sailings. If I see reports that this has happened again, to any DCL ship, we are done sailing with Disney, period.

For now I will assume this was 'pilot error' and a learning experience that will never be repeated.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DMMarla07860]

There's no comparison that can be made here. I'm not far from some of the areas that were devasted. I have friends with houses down the shore and four feet of water in their first floor; another friend lost her house AND her car.

This thread is about people who were on two different ships during a not great situation before Sandy hit here and they are going by their experience. Spending 18-24 hours of constant pounding, waves, nausea and trying not to get hurt by flying objects or washed across the deck by emptying pools is in no way a light or over-exaggerated situation. And if you have small children, I imagine it would be terrifying. I don't understand why people are posting such judgmental comments when you weren't onboard and don't know how some people were affected.

There was an article by a CNN reporter who was on one of the ships and it was pretty graphic about what went on and how he felt about it!

Trust me, I'm trying to be anything but judgmental. I'm sure it was not a good time, I find it funny people were blaming captains about it. I got to my breaking point about people blaming captains, and that was people not on the boat. And CNN reporter, should read about the family who was in a car, parents died and kids live, not that was graphic compared to what I heard of and saw about Fantasy, heard nothing saw nothing from Dream, so guessing Dream was easier then Fantady

 

[mmouse37]

Let's get the thread back on topic.....thanks.

MJ

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

I sincerely hope that DCL learns from this experience. I will judge them by their actions in future sailings. If I see reports that this has happened again, to any DCL ship, we are done sailing with Disney, period.

For now I will assume this was 'pilot error' and a learning experience that will never be repeated.

That's a great position to take, and I think one that can allow me to move on and sail with DCL again.

Thank you.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We have two cruises booked, one dummy cruise and one for 2013.

We have cruised during hurricane season several times, most of them late into the hurricane season but still signed up for them. One year we went in August; 2004 and we're were lucky, got it in between two hurricanes that hit Florida. Very sad flying into Orlando seeing a sea of blue tarps covering all the roofs.

We went into each cruise knowing that weather including a hurricane could hit during our cruise time. And we went into it knowing that we could end up in rough seas; even really, really rough seas. And we know going into it that it could be a mystery cruise as they avoid some ports of call.

If this current event with the Fantasy scares you away, too bad because most likely you'll miss out on a fabulous Disney Vacation. And if you still want to go but are really worried, buy trip insurance with "cancellation for any reason". The odds of this happening is slim.

And if you go without any insurance that would cover this, I don't think you have a right to complain. This is what this type of insurance is for. Remember you chose to cruise over hurricane season.

 

[msbiscuit]

No, I won't be reconsidering due to recent events. I'm not the bravest person in the world, but fear of natural disasters doesn't keep me from returning to a place. Heck, if it did, I probably wouldn't be sitting in my own home right now - having ridden out a tornado or two in this house.
When considering vacation possibilities, if I've been treated rudely, mocked, belittled, etc. THAT will rank a lot higher on the list of 'never agains'.

Barb

 

[carpenta]

You weren't there. You have no idea what these people went through. "Hysteria about weather" is a rather harsh comment IMO

..rode out a worse one than Sandy on a smaller ship.......you know about "assuming" anything....

 

[hmangus]

I have all faith in DCL. I feel if they didn't believe that the ship could handle the situation or the captain was incapable of handling the situation they would not have attempted to return on time. If the passengers were in any real danger the coast guard would have told the fantasy to not return. So many factors come into play in situation. I think if I was in a plane a hit terrible turbulence no one would blame the airline or pilot it would just be brushed off as bad turbulence. I will still be sailing DCL and have no plans of taking my business elsewhere!

 

[airplanegod]

I will say I don't feel as bad for anyone who was on the Dream or Fantasy right now. After hearing about all the stuff here in NJ and NYC a really bad night on a ship seems like heaven

Thank you! I am still without power, and that is no where near as bad as some other people are experiencing up here in CT, NJ, and NY. Unless the Fantasy was SERIOUSLY about to tip over, I have no sympathy for any of them. In fact, me and millions of other people would rather be on that ship then up here, especially since it was ONE NIGHT!! Loss of house, food, water, heat, or even a family member does not relate to one bad night on a cruise ship. Remember, this is my opinion because everyone I know is up this way.

 

[Artgraph]

After this situation, I feel optimistic for future cruise. Too bad some people had to be part of this nightmare of a cruise, but I'm sure in the future they might not risk it after all this bad feedback and damages they had to endure.

 

[carpenta]

Thank you! I am still without power, and that is no where near as bad as some other people are experiencing up here in CT, NJ, and NY. Unless the Fantasy was SERIOUSLY about to tip over, I have no sympathy for any of them. In fact, me and millions of other people would rather be on that ship then up here, especially since it was ONE NIGHT!! Loss of house, food, water, heat, or even a family member does not relate to one bad night on a cruise ship. Remember, this is my opinion because everyone I know is up this way.

Thank you for giving a realistic perspective.....hope your life returns to closer to normal soon. We lived through the Ice Storm and had no power for 11 days in winter.....no fun...and as you state would rather be on a bumpy cruise ship....