Back from the 9/7 Cruise.

[mostyn17]

Nope...you can't order PALO in a cat. 3 suite....I asked. Our concierge staff was nice but not DISNEY NICE. I would book it again for the suite, not for the concerige service.

They did bring us some cookes, fruit bowl, and some chocolate covered strawberries...

I think we would enjoyed them more if it was longer. I did get lots of pictures of the suite. Give me some time on posting them though...I have about 700 digital pictures to go through..... haha

I have to agree....if this was my first cruise with Disney, I would not go back. I talked to lots of people on this cruise and most are not going back. I kept telling them, it's not like this. We are taking advantage of the 25% and going back this November.

I did feel bad for Donna, I'm friends with her and did get to talk to her during the cruise. She said everyone was screaming at her. I did witness one of those and it was not pretty. I wanted to grab her and tell her to stop it. It was no ones fault on that ship we were diverted.

Ok...i'm going to stop now and try to forget the start of our cruise. It was a horrible experience I want to forget about it! I don't know if I will write a trip report or not. Maybe in a few weeks.

Travis

 

[MarkRG]

That is just horrible how Donna(and I would presume) other cm's onboard were treated by the passengers. Like they could just wave a magic wand and make the hurricane go away or something. I'm sorry it seemed so poorly organized, but they did the best they could with what they had. That's no reason for people to take it out on the cm's. Total lack of class from my point of view.

 

[mmouse37]

Donna or any other CM did not deserve to be yelled out...some people are just so ignorant and stupid!!!

We had heard on the Dis that they had stopped booking onboard and wondered why....now we know and I do not blame Donna for not wanting to go through that again. I am sure they will resume it once things calm down again.

Glad you guys made the most of a rough situation!!! We are going on DCL #11 the same time as Allears and I can vouch that what happened on your cruise is not the norm!!! Give them another chance and you will be pleasantly surprised...

Also, definately write a letter....it usually helps a lot....it feels good to get all that off your chest!!!

MJ

 

[selvey]

allears - thank you for your nice comments. I do appreciate them. And, I think we are all in agreement that the crew on-board definitely did not deserve any negativity from the cruisers as they had nothing to do with any of the pre-sailing plans. I had not heard about Donna - poor thing - you know, there are just some people that have to show their you know whats all the time - how sad. A big thumbs up for the Magic crew from me.

mostyn17 - I know that you know all what we went through and understand how we are thinking since we are first time cruisers. However, if they would like to give me 75% off the next one, I think I will take them up on it.

musicgirl - I realize you weren't there so you have no idea what we all went through pre-cruise. So, you are entitled to your opinion but I'm entitled to mine and I would think that DCL, after being in business for as long as they have been, would have a little better plan than they did. And, I have no idea where the items go in my shoe hanger and basically we all did go with the flow very well considering that the pre-cruise customer service people had no idea which flow they wanted us to go with -hahaha. You do reach a point where you have had enough and we reached it. Trust me, you have no idea!!!

inkkognito - I'm with you on the miscommunication. I would just say "no communication" between anyone -

I am hoping that anyone sailing the end of next week has a lot of patience because I'm afraid you will need it. If they offer cancellation opposed to waiting and waiting to see if, and maybe if, you will be cruising, take the cancellation. Good luck.
Karen

 

[selvey]

musicgirl - I'm definitely with you on the cancelling the cruise if this happens again. There are just too many arrangements for people traveling different ways, not to mention hotel reservations, gas (if available), power outages.
We finally found a hote, the power went out, tornados went by. A night to remember. But, I will still be thankful I didn't lose my home or any of my family or friends. I am a very grateful person, but I am also hoping that DCL uses this last week as a BIG example of how to handle future situations.
Karen

 

[selvey]

mmouse37 & aalears

Just so you know. If you have to change plans (they delay you a day or so), just TELL the DCL people to put you in one of their resorts "on them" - they will, that is, if you can get them on the phone. And, if the park is open, tell them you want a free pass to one of them and they will do that too. Then, they can bus you "for free" to the port and they will bus you back "for free" - no transfer fees.
A lot of people in our situation that couldn't find a place to stay when postponed again, did that and they accommodated us. Another thumbs up for Disney.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Karen

 

[lbgraves]

I can commisserate with everyone who is upset about the lack of communication that happened last week regarding the cruise. I would expect people to complain about it...but in a rational way. For anyone to yell at Donna or any other CM is inexcusable!! IDK what I would have done if I had witnessed that. I was blown away as it was on our cruise that went off without a hitch as far as we knew that people were being rude to the CMs starting the afternoon we boarded. I just went out of my way to be nice to them after I saw that. DH would have probably disappeared if I had opened my mouth.

I agree that 7 nights is the best arrangement if you can do it. It took us almost 2 days to get our bearings & find a routine that worked for us. Starting Monday we had the kids in the room napping at 3 or we went to the afternoon movie to help them settle down so they had energy to enjoy the evening activities. Sunday night DS slept with his head on the table during dinner at the early seating. He was fine after his 1 1/2 hour nap. LOL!

 

[invaderzim]

In reference to the different comments made about the discount on future cruises and onboard credits -- you guys are lucky with whatever you got (both 9/4 Magic cruisers and the Wonder cruisers). My family was on the 8/28 sailing that turned into a 10-night sailing. While many can comment "oh, you got three extra days free" .... no, we actually didn't get them "free" of stress, turmoil and rising costs. We had to pay a fortune in ship to shore calls to contact family, etc., a fortune in internet fees trying to contact family, airlines, work, schools, etc. And Disney offered no compensation. We also had to pay three extra days of tips, which were not in our budget. Of course, we paid four extra days in kennel fees, food for Tuesday and Wednesday because DCL caused us to miss the Tuesday afternoon flight they had rescheduled (forgot to notify us when the buses were leaving for early afternoon flights), and my husband and I lost money from missing two days of work.

NOW, I have already posted on several other threads about the awareness that ALL of us on those buses back to Orlando had about the damage in Florida and the people's losses. But right now I am just talking about our confined situation.

I am now hearing a lot of grumblings from fellow cruisers we befriended who are finding out about all that was offered to the 9/4 cruisers and the Wonder cruisers. WE WERE OFFERED NOTHING "for our inconveniences". I think they could have at least offered us the 25% off a future cruise. No onboard credits were offered to cover the extra expenses either.

I really do hope people write letters so that Disney will be sure to have more organization next time. I know this was a first time, not their port, they were disoriented, etc. I have no problems with that. But there was a LOT of misinformation given and the lack of communication the morning we were disembarking was very disheartening.

I am very surprised to hear that after Tuesday's fiasco with disembarkation and embarkation, they still don't have their act together for the next cruise. I was hoping they might have picked up a few pointers.

Anyway, we are taking our 4th cruise next August (yes, hurricane season again) on the Panama Cruise. I have no hesitation to go again. I would just love to receive some sort of good faith letter from DCL expressing their appreciation of our patronage and offering some discount off a future cruise.

Again, just my two cents.

 

[allears]

Karen, thanks for the good advice. I'm keeping just about everythihg, and yes I mean everything crossed, that no new storms form in conjunction with our departure!

I've enjoyed our "conversation" as your has been one of the more rational posts on the subject. I sincerely hope you try them again and it is the magical experience it should be.

invaderzim, I agree that DCL should have made some sort of accomodation to allow for inexpensive communications to shore, since everyone had to make some sort or changes. What I'm not clear on, other than wanting something monetary from Disney, what esle is it that you think they could have done at that point other than extending your cruise? Florida was shut down and unapproachable. And frankly, I don't know how anyone could have expected the dembarkation process to go even remotely smoothly. Looking at it realistically the ship couldn't get to it's home port, because it was closed, none of their usual infrastructure was in place at Port Everglades, the work force had to be severly dimished in light of the fact many members of said work force were with out services such as power or with out homes.

Yep, I can totally understand how stressful the uncertainty of the extra days were. And armed with the knowledge that things were a mess for everyone, how couldn't people be some what prepared for chaos. Keep in mind Disney is not the only cruise line in Florida or the only one that had to make last minute changes. The whole industry was taxed beyond capacity, I just think expectations should be brought into line with reality.

Should Disney compensate you beyond an add on three day cruise? Perhaps. Did you incurr a lot of extra expenses, sure. Did you get a three day curise at a significantly reduced price, yep.
Did Disney make a mint over the whole situation, nope. Maybe after they compensate everyone to the degree each person feels wronged, they can better serve us all by jacking up the rates on future cruises to make up the multi-million dollar defcit Frances caused them.

 

[slabeaume]

I have no doubt that the whole process many of you went through was quite stressful---not knowing where you'ld be going or when you'ld return. But I imagine it was the same for Disney. I don't think they had much choice in how they handled the debarkation and extension of the trip. I'm sure there are people they, too, had to get their instructions from. I doubt they knew much until port authorities, or whomever, gave them the info. I also can't imagine them being able to reconfirm everyone's itineraries, even if they tried to---it's not a quick and easy process, especially when they don't know where they're going and when.
Even if they had a plan for such circumstances, I would think that reality would dictate what would actually happen. I wonder about the muster drill----what do you think would really happen if a true muster was neccessary?
I am a little surprised how they handled the next couple sailings---but I guess they're just trying to keep everyone happy. That, too, is an impossible thing to do!
At least I assume everyone made it back safely.

Just curious---did anyone have trip insurance and did it cover missed flights, extra nights, or anything?

 

[Rachelizabeth]

Originally posted by selvey
.
I guess the other thing that got my goat was that even though they gave us 50% off another cruise (excludes holidays - but should not), they only gave us a $200 onboard credit.

Hi Selvey,

Just curious, is your voucher off of a future cruise for 25% or 50%?
I was suppose to cruise on the 9/7 but had to cancel at the last minute due to curfew complications and getting to Port Everglades.

Thanks,

Rachel

 

[tvguy]

I've got a stupid question. What did DCL do after the September 11th attacks when all air travel was halted? Did they sail? Did folks get any credit? Did travel insurance cover anything since technically it was an act of war?
3 of my 7 cruises were during hurricane season, although my DCL wasn't. First cruise was 6 months after hurricane David literally destroyed the entire island of Dominica. It was a scheduled stop, but 6 months after the hurricane we still could not dock, so we just cruised by slowly and it looked like the hurricane had just struck the day before.

 

[westjones]

I sailed the week after 9/11. They did allow people to reschedule without penalty, but there was no incentives like onboard credits and % off future cruises.

We had decided to cancel that year, but a few days later decided to go ahead and drive ourselves down there. There were a lot of empty seats in the dining rooms during that cruise so I think a lot of people couldn't make it.

DJ

BTW, they may have allowed full refunds, but I didn't ask about that because I wanted to go on the cruise and only asked about rescheduling. They allowed us to reschedule and then switch back to our original dates with no fees.

 

[paulmc80]

People were yelling at Donna? Oh my! I could never, ever, ever think of a situation calling for that. I feel for that.

I did forget to tell the person at Guest Services "Thank you" the last time I had to see them to fix something. I felt awful about that later.

For the life of me I could not imagine yelling at anyone.

CM's on ship were nice as usual. I just don't know what happened on the administrative side of things. Seemed like all of our stuff on the reservation got erased. Surprised we were even allowed on.

 

[becca's gammie]

My family also was on the 9/7/04 sailing.

Originally booked for the Wonder on 9/5/04.
We had several issues.

I was on hold for 35 minutes onetime and 40 minutes another time when I called to confirm that we were still sailing.
Finally talked to a human each time.

Thanks goodness for cell phones!

Our bus did not have air and it took 4 1/2 hours to get to the port.
that was our choice to use the transportation. No terminal parking fees.
Saved us additional $$$$

They only had one cabin booked should have been 3.
Probelm resolved.
Several other minor issues corrected with no problem

I heard and saw one lady going off big time on Donna while i was standing in line at the Customer Service Desk.

She basically had the same issues our family had. She was pointing her finger and giving the poor girl the what for/

My heart goes out to the Staff of Disney for the way they were treated.

No it was not the vacation I had planned for over a year.
A vacation is what you make and ours was wonderful or should I saw Magical.

 

[selvey]

invaderzim - Just wanted you to know that the first thing my husband said when we found out you guys would be sailing for extra days was "thank goodness I'm not on that boat and I sure hope it doesn't happen to us." The first thing I thought of was people's jobs, school, extra expenses. So, I'm with you on DCL offering you guys a discount on your next cruise. I read a post from someone on the ship when you were that they had to keep going to the teller (didnt' know there was on on the ship) to get more money for tips.

I do think that the disorganization and misinformation has been the biggest headache for everyone. And we all do need to write some letters so that they can improve in the event it happens again.

But, we're also glad they kept you all away from danger. Have fun on your next trip.
Karen

 

[selvey]

Rachelizabeth
I didn't mean to put 50% - it's for 25% off the next cruise. I think I had 50% in my mind for the discounted cruise rate because of the loss of days. sorry about that.

 

[selvey]

Just curious---did anyone have trip insurance and did it cover missed flights, extra nights, or anything?

I just called the insurance people 1-800-573-5665 and she is emailing me a form to fill out. I can't figure out if it's trip interruption or trip delay though. So, I will fill it out and mail all the receipts in and see what happens.

If anyone else has already done this, please let me know what info. you have.
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Drcell01]

I and my family were also on the 9/7 cruise. We were origonally to sail on the 9/5 Wonder 4 day cruise. We planned on this for so long that when they cancelled the 4 day sailing and offered us passage on the Magic we accepted.

Issues...

1. We had to fly to Ft. Myers on Monday just to get into FL in time to sail. I say this because when we left we thought that we were still sailing on the Wonder out of Port Canaveral on Monday evening (lack of communication from DCL). When we landed I called DCL and was told that the time of departure had been "deleted" but new information would be available later.

2. We rented a car (for the week) thinking that we would be driving to Port Canaveral (we got a deal of $103 for the week). We drove over 200 miles to WDW only to find out later that we would not be sailing Monday evening. (Continued lack of Communtication).

3. We had called ahead to our travel agent to get a room for the night as we were now not sure of what was going to happen next. Upon our arrival (All Star Movies resort) we got settled and went to MK for a few hours to wait out the next piece of the puzzle.

4. We received a call at 6:23pm (while we were having dinner at Cinderella's Castle) that DCL had a room for us at Port Orleans and that the ship was sailing tomorrow (Tuesday) from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. I told the woman that called me "thanks for the nice jesture" but we had just flown 1300 miles and drove another 200+ and would not come to WDW without a hotel reservation and that it was a little late on their part.

5. The next day was even worse! We were told where buses would be leaving from and based upon our reservations (had a room reserved at the boardwalk which the DVC rearanged for me without any hastle) we parked our car at the Boardwalk and waited for the DCL bus that was to leave at 10:30am for Port Everglades. We waited, and Waited, and WAITED!!! At 11:45a I decided to call DCL to see what was going on (the DCL CM that was waiting with our group had no clue! She told us that a bus was coming from the Beach club in 15 minutes but never showed.)

6. I called again to DCL (12:15p) explaining our situation and I was told that a Manager was coming to the Boardwalk with lunch vouchers to take care of us until the bus came. By 1:45 pm I had enough and once again called. I encountered a DCL reservations supervisor named Rachel that told me they were "doing everything they could and to have a nice day" and hung up the phone on me.

7. At 2:25 pm a DCL manager did show up but only after someone in our group went to the front desk of the hotel, explained our situation, and they proceded to get the group fed at the ESPN club (no charge, on Disney).

8. The bus finally showed up at 3:20pm and we took off for Ft. Lauderdale. About an hour into the trip (we were traveling in a pack of three buses) on of the buses developed transmission trouble. We pulled off into a rest stop and they put transmission fluid into the injured bus and started off again.

9. We arived at the port at 7:40 pm and after a quick process of our paperwork we got on the ship. They pulled the gangplank at 8 pm and away we sailed for Cozumel.

I know that this cruise was a logistical nightmare for DCL and to pull it off was beyond reasonable expectations...BUT...

Timely, acurate information is the least that we should expect and received none!

As for the cruise, it was our first and it was great. I will post a full report soon as we just returned home just after midnight last night. Will we sail with DCL again...YOU BET...I would not hesitate to go again next year.

Will I be sending DCL guest relations an email today concerning my issues...YOU BET! Inacurate information, information and offers made to me after reasonable time allowed, and having a rude CM hang up on me was uncalled for under any circumstances!

 

[pogopossum]

hi travis,
glad to see your trip home was better, it was great to meet you, and maybe we'll cruisee together again under better circumstances.

as far as our experience, we had a lot of issues that were dealt with by cms, and i can only thank deck 7 mgr lays for dealing with our cabin problem and making sure that we were in a verandah room just as we had booked. i never once felt that any of our problems originated with anyone on board the ship and i feel that they did a great job dealing with this thrown together cruise. i think a lot of the problems stemmed from the fact that they combined two cruises into one. i think that they should have kept the two separate. someone also told me that many of the management that had dealt with this sort of thing in the past had moved on to other positions and this was a new dcl management staff with little or no experience in this sort of thing.

we will cruise again with dcl, definitely seven day, as having done both seven and four day before, we much prefer seven, don't want to even unpack bags on a four day. and discussing with dw on the way home we'll probably rebook during hurricane season, just because this is an abnormal year and look at the history and see that most cruises still come off without a hitch, and the rate can't be beat. but wwe may not continue on if there is a way out without penalty like there was this time.

like travis i'll probably sit down and write a trip report later, after the letter to dcl and maybe a phone call or two.