Aug 14 Magic - Unhappy w/ Changes?

[RJake1]

Yes, I will contact DCL or DU. Can't do it now since I'm still on vacation. Was hoping some answers would be available on this board.

I saw some climitalogical data for GC on Aug 18 (Weds). Virtually no precip and wind speed less than 10 mph. Some gusts up to 19 mph which is pretty common. (I've sea kayaked in winds worse than that).

So, it would appear that Weds was a nice day in GC.

 

[drclaws]

Originally posted by RJake1
Yes, I will contact DCL or DU. Can't do it now since I'm still on vacation. Was hoping some answers would be available on this board.

You may have missed this posting earlier in the thread with the Captain's explanation.

Someone from your sailing posted the following earlier on this thread...

"...The tropical wave has wind around 25 to 35 knots which is 40 mph. The system will be approaching Grand Cayman tomorrow afternoon and over the Cozumel area on Wednesday. The weather system will make the tender operation very difficult and unsafe. The update from the hurricane center is that they expect this system to re-generate and this is another thing we have to take into consideration.

I promise you that this is not a decision that we make lightly and that we do carefully consider all of the options. We have been in contact with the National Hurricane Center in Miami for updates on the system after 11 am. My number one priority is the safety of you our Guests, my crewmembers and the ship. I trust you understand that this change is necessary in order to make sure that we keep a safe clearance away from any weather system that may potentially harm us."

I'm not sure exactly what you expected anyone here to say to further explain things. Hope your Vero experience is better!

 

[allears]

RJake1,

I think the suggestions you've been given do cover Wednesday. When it says that the "tender operations" would be difficult and dangerous, that means GC since they do not tender in any other port on that itinerary. And the way I read that it covers both days for for GC. Or simply the captian decided for whatever reason that GC was not an option. That really should be sufficient.

I guess we're all not sure what other explanation you want, or do you just want someone to say you're idea was better and they should have down what you wanted? It seems like most people posting here assume the captain does what is best and practical for the cruise as a whole, and given the circumstances did just fine. Unless of course you've uncovered the deep dark secret that the captain gets a kick back from Nassau officials everytime he diverts a cruise to that port?

 

[disneyma]

I was also on the Magic for this cruise! I think we have covered this subject above and beyond. We could not go to GC because the Captain said so! He is in charge and that is that! If we did switch days we would not have made it to CC on Friday. If you noticed we onlly traveled 1810 nautical miles instead of the expected 2015 miles. The extra 200 miles south we would have been would have taken about 10 hours extra to get to CC on Friday. (Average cruising speed of 22 Miles Per Hour)

You can't predict the weather as we seen in the track of Charley (Tampa Vs. Orlando)

The Captain made the best decision he could at the time he had the information.

 

[markey]

At least there were some people very happy that we stayed overnight in Cozumel. A lot of the crew got shore leave, they were leaving the ship as we got back on and a lot were talking about the fun they had the next morning including our servers. Our servers say they love it when the ship cannot tender in GC because it gives them an unexpected night on the town.

 

[gometros]

Originally posted by RJake1

DCL (which actually is a fictious name and not a legal entity) never offered an explanation as to why GC was not considered for Weds, so I thought someone on this board might have some tangible information.

Are you referring to the acronym or the name Disney Cruise Line. That's some statement. Can you back it up with fact?

 

[cjsmith]

Again, mother nature and the political climate and the like are things that we can't worry about when we cruise or take land vacations. I booked my Princess cruise for October and we were supposed to go to Venezula. This is one of the reasons that I chose this leg rather than the week before which hits different ports. Well, Princess has canceled this due to political unrest and have us going to a small dinky island called Isla Margarita. Am I happy about it, no, I would have preferred another day in Aruba or any of the other islands that are so very close. However, I'm going with the flow and I am not going to second guess their decision, I will simply treat this as another sea day. I'm not going to look too deeply into it or care.
While it's a shame you didn't get to Grand Cayman, you're never going to get the answer you're looking for. The weather projections for the hurricane and it's after effects didn't follow the pattern that it was supposed to. Things changed dramatically and quickly with this hurricane evidenced by the fact that it was going to hit Tampa and we then all had 1.5 hours warning that it was coming our way instead.
My suggestion would be to forget about it and try and look back fondly on your cruise and every aspect of it rather than focusing so much on missing one port. If you let this keep eating away at you and spend so much time looking for the answers it may ruin some of the fond and wonderful memories that you hopefully made.

 

[natdencro]

Enough! All this is in the past! Crikey, just be glad you are fortunate enough to cruise AT ALL. Try watching "World News" and see how lucky YOU are! Anyway, Grand Cayman was our LEAST favourite place - but we still were happy to have seen it at all. Lets move on guys: - God is in charge of the weather situation! Nat

 

[mmouse37]

Sandy...I believe what the poster was referring to is the actual name of the company that DCL is doing business under.

If you read in the cruise contract it states that the real company name is not DCL but Magical Cruise...blah, blah, blah...I don't have the contract in front of me so I cannot quote the exact name but real name of the operation that runs the show is not DCL.

MJ

 

[gometros]

Thanks, MJ. I never read that, must have been the small print I guessed I missed the posters point. Was that making DCL and its employees any less credible? Gee, Sandy isn't on my birth certificate, so don't listen to anything I say either.

 

[mmouse37]

To me it all one in the same but I don't know how it breaks down if there was real legal issue!!! And yes, it was the fine print!!!

MJ

 

[IrishCowboy]

Originally posted by wide awake
Irish Cowboy,
I don't think you're being quite fair to the posters on this board. I have read some BAD reviews of DCL cruises, things that DCL had absolutely no control over, and people on this board were very "I'm so sorry you didn't have a good time, that is just terrible, blah, blah, blah". In fact 99.5% of the time it seems to be a group of Pollyannas. I don't have any sympathy for the OP...people died in this disaster, and he is upset because he didn't see Grand Caymen. They're taking donations for the Ritter family, perhaps he thinks we should do the same for him.

My apologies if I have offended or upset anyone on this board. I was just trying to state that I understand the original poster's disappointment in going to Nassau instead of Grand CAYMAN. Personal attacks are unwarranted and not needed here.

To compare this event to the Ritter family tragedy is unnecessary and in poor taste.

 

[abitjaded]

Originally posted by HumphreytheBear

The reason I am posting is to answer the question from abitjaded... the reason that the Magic and Wonder use the port of Nassau is because that is where the ships are registered. Disney is required to make X amount of stops at the port in Nassau every year in order to keep their registry. As Libertybelle pointed out in an early post you will see that when the Wonder goes down for rehab the Magic takes over the 3/4 night cruises instead of continuing on the 7 night cruise (even though more money can be made on a 7 night) because of the Nassau docking requirements. Also when the Magic leaves for the West coast the Wonder will continue making the 3/4 night sailings and there will be no 7 night cruises for this same reason. Agreed that the dock requirments where not the case in this situation but that is why they continue to use the port of Nassau.

....(some deleted), I may be the only one here that actually likes Nassau. I have been there about 8 or 9 times and while it is not my favorite port of call (that would be Cozumel in the Caribbean) I enjoy Nassau. I think it gets a bad rap and that people go there with expectations of it being horrible. The people are very friendly, you just have to be firm with the hairbraiders, you can get some great deals on merchandise and Paradise Island is beautiful (that's why the celebrites vacation at Atlantis).

Thanks, I was curious. Kind of hard to change a ship's registry. Nice to hear something nice about Nassau. Kind of like St Maarten for us, I love the place, while many seem to hate it.

Carla

 

[hydster]

WOW...there is a LOT of mean posts on this thread and certainly no PD!!

To the OP--I get your frustration and disappointment! Been there done that with DCL as well!!

 

[macbaby]

According to the port authority at Grand Cayman, there were 4 ships scheduled to dock on Wednesday, which appears to be their maximum. The Magic was not the only ship to miss Grand Cayman on Tuesday; Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas also missed its docking.


For what it's worth, docking contracts for cruise ships are worked out years in advance. Most likely, DCL (or MCCL if you prefer) most likely has an agreement with Nassau for situations like this.

 

[RJake1]

Four ships maximum can be docked at GC and that'swhat was scheduled for Weds.

Thanks to the poster that offered that info. Its precisely the type that I was hoping this board would be able to offer.

Why are so many concluding that I'm 'second guessing' the Captain's decision? I never second guessed anything. I was simply looking for an explanation as to why GC wasn't a viable option for Weds. Magical Cruise Company must've had some reasons and I'm just wondering what they were (presuming that the port was open and weather permitted docking.... it was and it did).

Now, if I learned the reasons and then used the benefit of hindsight to argue for a different result that would be second-guessing. I've done enough Monday Morning Quarterbacking in football season to know the difference. <g>

So far I've learned from the more factual posters on this board that dock capacity was full and that the added distance from CC might have been a problem, but also that weather on GC would likely not have been an issue (based on climatological data for Aug18 posted on various websites). That is more info than I knew a few days ago.

I appreciate most of the replies but we're still trailing the "Verandah Man" thread which has over 103 responses.

 

[JenKatt]

Jake, there's no way your thread here is going to come even close to topping the lists of threads... go over to the meet side and see for yourself.. I'm still waiting for you to call DCL and see what they say... I know you're on vacation but seeing as how you're in here a bunch it can't be that hard to make a call and get the info you so desperatly want

 

[RJake1]

Sandy, the name of the company that owns and operates the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder is Magical Cruise Company, LTD.

My point in mentioning it is not that it impacts the credibility of the company or its employees, but that it illustrates many of the so called expert posters on this thread still have a lot to learn about this topic.

You'll also notice that none of the posters that were quick to criticize me bothered to ask me about my experiences although they were quick to boast about their own. I imagine that I've cruised more, both on MCC/DCL and other lines, including transatlantic, than 99.9% of the posters.

I'm also an avid sea kayaker having been out on the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.

Rough seas don't bother me which is why I don't worry about booking during Hurricane season. What I never could understand is why others book during Hurricane season when they fear a bit of motion sickness or inclement weather. They expect the Captain to ensure that their desires are met and the heck with everyone else. Somehow I don't see that as quite fair, although I do understand the practical implications to Magical Cruise Company in terms of attracting future patrons.

In any event, thanks for taking time to reply.

 

[RJake1]

JennKat, I'd gladly call from vacation if I thought it was going to be a "quick and easy" or if I could do reach the business offices during evening hours (which you might note is when I post here).

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that I'm going to get placed on hold, transferred, asked to call back, etc. and that is going to take more time than I have right now. Perhaps that's being unfair to MCC but my vacation will be over soon enough and I will inquire next week.

Thanks for your suggestion, though.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by RJake1
Four ships maximum can be docked at GC and that'swhat was scheduled for Weds.

Thanks to the poster that offered that info. Its precisely the type that I was hoping this board would be able to offer.

It's not true that a maximum of four ships can be docked at Grand Cayman. Technically, zero cruise ships can be docked at Georgetown, Grand Cayman, because there is no dock there. Cruise ships anchor offshore, and passengers are tendered to the shore.

Actually, it's not uncommon to have seven cruise ships at Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and there are days when eight cruise ships are there.

As others have noted, the captain made a decision based on a number of factors, including judgements about the possible consequences of the weather, the safety and comfort of the passengers, and the need to make it to Castaway Cay on Friday morning. I'll assume that the captain made the best possible decision under the circumstances.

But I'll defend RJake1 in one regard. From RJake1's account, it seems that the reasons for the decision were not adequately communicated to the passengers. Had DCL provided flyers to each stateroom explaining the captain's options and why he decided on Nassau rather than other ports (especially Grand Cayman), I don't think we'd have this thread now.