Change of itinerary until June for Eastern Caribbean

[vikequeen]

Does anyone know which June cruises this will impact. We sail June 16 through the 23 on the Fantasy eastern Caribbean.

It affects that cruise.

 

[Stacey1980]

Just confirmed I did. I've been out of town the past few days, so really lucky this came in today and not last week or I wouldn't have had time. I'm excited. Looks like a fun alternative (although I still think the Aristocats Charter would have been slightly better . . .)

I'm glad you were able to book! It does like like a fun alternative, but like you, I think Aristocats Charter would have been slightly better.

 

[Stacey1980]

Well, we sail in 28 days so...sure we could "choose" not to go, but we would lose what we paid. So.

And what we paid for is a cruise that went to Tortola. Again, I understand all the clauses and fine print and know that nothing is guaranteed. We are still allowed to be disappointed. Does being disappointed in this moment mean that our vacation is a scorched earth unsalvageable disaster? Of course not. Does it mean that we wont try and make the best out of the situation? Of course not. Does it mean I begrudge the happiness of those pleased with this change? Of course not. It means in this moment we feel bummed and just let me and my family have our feelings, maaaaan! Being disappointed does not equal "you are the most negative person on planet earth, its all or nothing just stay home and be miserable!!!" I'm just not a fan of telling people to suck it up/be grateful and ignore times they feel disappointed or sad because "it could be worse". We probably WONT forget about this change and WILL always still wish a little bit that we were able to see Tortola, but hey. I'm more sad for the people of Tortola who were likely depending on us being there and bringing in the cash.

Yes, I completely understand how you feel because we feel the same way! I am pretty aggravated that they waited until 28 days out, because I probably would have either cancelled or picked a different itinerary had we known further in advance. Sure, we were able to find another excursion, and I am sure we will have a great time, we just were really looking forward to Tortola! Like you, I understand there is fine print that allows them to change things at the last minute, but when you pay a premium to sail with Disney you do expect that can let you know something like this a little further in advance. I have a hard time believing that they didn't know they wouldn't go to this port sooner. I also felt pretty bad cancelling my excursion today on Tortola. I am sure they understand, but they have been so great up to this point that I just feel bad cancelling it...

 

[kkayluvsdis]

We were in St.Maarten last month and I will tell you snorkeling isn't great there right now. It's still rough and damaged, we went up the west side of the island and only swam for a bit with some beach time on our private catamaran. Downtown has a lot of buildings on generators as well.

I totally agree. All we kept thinking was- if St. Maarten was the choice to replace the stop in Tortola, how bad must Tortola be?!

We did the excursion with Soualiga and Captain Bob said we were the first group of cruisers (he has multiple boats that all go out with 10 or so people on board) in a while that had been able to proceed with the tour due to the weather in St. Maarten not being ideal. It sounded like high winds and therefore rough waters were to blame. As a result, the snorkeling was not great. We did have a fun day, but were disappointed that we didn't see much of the sea life we were hoping to see. We had originally been booked with Aristocat Charters for a stop in Tortola. Hopefully, we'll get back there some day.

 

[MelSpees]

I imagine the decision for Tortola was held off this long as they were hoping that they would be able to make the port. It sounds like things are not proceeding as well as expected and they had to make this unsatisfying decision.

 

[TwinsFan]

I'm bummed too. Sure there are beaches and places to go to in St Maarten's and I can stock up on my Guavaberry hut supplies, but I've been trying to get back to Tortola for years now and my itineraries keep getting changed. Hopefully I'll finally make it back there in January on the Edge.

 

[oakleycat]

We're in the same situation, having booked Soualiga to replace Aristocat for the 4/21 cruise. I'm disappointed as well but will make the best of it. Now to go cancel that Aristocat reservation, thanks for the reminder!

 

[vikequeen]

We're in the same situation, having booked Soualiga to replace Aristocat for the 4/21 cruise. I'm disappointed as well but will make the best of it. Now to go cancel that Aristocat reservation, thanks for the reminder!

It makes me feel good about my choices to hear so many other people who had the same plan. I'm not going until June. I would love to hear how things go for you in April if you have time to update. Good luck!

 

[minniemouse1]

Oh you're on my cruise!

Oh that's cool. I am excited for vacations since we have just had 16 inches of snow dumped on us in the past 2 days (and it is still snowing!!) but I really wanted something different. Oh well. We will still have a great time just not what I had hoped for.

 

[abacab]

We are on the April 7 sailing. I just found out about the change to St. Maarten today, by randomly checking on our Cruise Activities page at the DCL website. We never got any email or other notification. Did anyone else NOT get a notification?

 

[pezgirlroy]

We are on the April 7 sailing. I just found out about the change to St. Maarten today, by randomly checking on our Cruise Activities page at the DCL website. We never got any email or other notification. Did anyone else NOT get a notification?

Did you use a travel agent? I believe travel agents were informed.

 

[pezgirlroy]

We are on the April 21st sailing. I completely understand people being disappointed. For us, we have a 2 year old and a 7 year old. My husband is going scuba diving. He will now just go at St. Maarten instead of Tortola. The rest of us (plus grandparents) will just explore. Honestly for me the biggest draw is the ship with some fun place my kids haven't experienced. And given that where I live we are about to get our fourth noreaster next week I just want to be in the sun and in the sand.

 

[abacab]

It was booked directly with DCL, then transferred to Costco. We've gotten all other notifications directly from DCL, but nothing about this port change.

 

[pezgirlroy]

It was booked directly with DCL, then transferred to Costco. We've gotten all other notifications directly from DCL, but nothing about this port change.

I did read on a different board someone who had the same issue and they had the booking through Costco. So maybe that is it? I do know some people got a call and not an email.

 

[cvjw]

It was booked directly with DCL, then transferred to Costco. We've gotten all other notifications directly from DCL, but nothing about this port change.

We also booked onboard and then transferred to Costco. I still haven’t gotten notification about the change. I found out about the port change right here on the disboards.

 

[DVC Jen]

I booked direct with Disney last April and did not get a notification. So I called to make sure my email address with them was correct. It was not! When we booked our cruise last April I updated the email and we received the booking confirmation just as we should have. Somewhere between then and yesterday the email address in their system reverted to an old email - but it was MISSPELLED. So I have no idea how many emails I did not get.

 

[Jenlynn3]

In 2009 on the Magic, we were suppose to stop in St Croix, but it got switched to Tortola! Best switch and best island we stopped at besides castaway Cay. St Maarten isn’t appealing to me either but just have to go with it or switch cruise dates if possible. Do they still stop in St Croix?

 

[Dug720]

In 2009 on the Magic, we were suppose to stop in St Croix, but it got switched to Tortola! Best switch and best island we stopped at besides castaway Cay. St Maarten isn’t appealing to me either but just have to go with it or switch cruise dates if possible. Do they still stop in St Croix?

It's not in the Port Adventures list, so I'm going with no.

 

[Billinaz]

Guess Im in the minority. I didnt like Tortola at all, Im glad to be going to St. Maarten instead.

 

[Billinaz]

Haha, I'm gonna have to stop you right there... Disney isn't "giving" us anything. We all paid a premium for this cruise.

Disney and giving is like jumbo shrimp...a contradiction.