DCL announcement at 8PM tonight

[MarkRG]

If you are on the Wonder, HANG UP! They are trying to call you!

They have JUST updated the announcement, here is the new one.

As you may know, Hurricane Frances brought about significant destruction in part of the Caribbean as well as the state of Florida in past days. The thoughts of Disney Cruise Line’s cast and crew are with all of those who have been negatively impacted by the hurricane.

The slow movement of Hurricane Frances has made it necessary for us to make additional changes to the scheduled Disney Magic and Wonder sailings.

Disney Wonder
The four-night Bahamian sailing originally scheduled to depart on September 5th has been cancelled . All guests have the option of a full refund, a four-night Walt Disney World Resort stay, or on a space available basis, sailing on the modified Disney Magic four-night itinerary scheduled for September 7th. All guests scheduled for this cancelled voyage will also receive a discount voucher for a future three-, four- or seven-night cruise.

Guests scheduled to sail on the cancelled September 5th Disney Wonder voyage are in the process of being contacted by our reservations staff or they may contact Disney Cruise Line Reservations
at 800-WDW-CRUISE.

The September 9th three-night cruise to the Bahamas is still set to depart as scheduled from Port Canaveral.

Disney Magic
The seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailing, originally scheduled for September 4th, will be shortened to a four-night cruise and will depart on Tuesday, September 7th at 5 p.m. from Port Canaveral. The ship will arrive back at Port Canaveral as scheduled on Saturday, September, 11th. This voyage will sail to Cozumel, Mexico.

Fares for this shortened cruise will be discounted 50% , and guests will be offered special incentives for sailing.

The September 11th, seven-night Western Caribbean sailing is still set to depart as scheduled from Port Canaveral.

 

[HumanCookie]

Disney Cruise Line® –
Important Information
Sunday, September 05, 2004 8:32:44 PM

As you may know, Hurricane Frances brought about significant destruction in part of the Caribbean as well as the state of Florida in past days. The thoughts of Disney Cruise Line’s cast and crew are with all of those who have been negatively impacted by the hurricane.

The slow movement of Hurricane Frances has made it necessary for us to make additional changes to the scheduled Disney Magic and Wonder sailings.

Disney Wonder
The four-night Bahamian sailing originally scheduled to depart on September 5th has been cancelled . All guests have the option of a full refund, a four-night Walt Disney World Resort stay, or on a space available basis, sailing on the modified Disney Magic four-night itinerary scheduled for September 7th. All guests scheduled for this cancelled voyage will also receive a discount voucher for a future three-, four- or seven-night cruise.

Guests scheduled to sail on the cancelled September 5th Disney Wonder voyage are in the process of being contacted by our reservations staff or they may contact Disney Cruise Line Reservations
at 800-WDW-CRUISE.

The September 9th three-night cruise to the Bahamas is still set to depart as scheduled from Port Canaveral.

Disney Magic
The seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailing, originally scheduled for September 4th, will be shortened to a four-night cruise and will depart on Tuesday, September 7th at 5 p.m. from Port Canaveral. The ship will arrive back at Port Canaveral as scheduled on Saturday, September, 11th. This voyage will sail to Cozumel, Mexico.

Fares for this shortened cruise will be discounted 50% , and guests will be offered special incentives for sailing.

The September 11th, seven-night Western Caribbean sailing is still set to depart as scheduled from Port Canaveral.

 

[Bigbaby]

*RANT*
MAD MAD MAD!!!

I drove down here (NYC) to spend my time in hotels since thurs. in FLA to have my 7 day shortened to 4 days to a port I HATE! GREAT Thanks DCL I cant cancel now because Im here, because you called me when I was half way here and not make decision until this LAST minute!

Im glad those of you who had a chance to cancel did, but for me Im here already, DS 3 in a hotel room with nothing to do, and well now no food around GREAT!

Some vacation, and what an experince Im having with DCL.

*end*

 

[QueenTrident]

Bigbaby (ah, the irony of your name)...If you've been in FL, then you must know what the heck is going on. The Hurricane has been a mysterious force of nature and no one could have predicted what has gone on. I'm in NJ and the images on TV haunt me. I can't imaging how you could feel entitled to have your rant while you are in FL, experiencing it. The images I keep seeing of people losing everything - going on a four day cruise would be like heaven to them.

If you hate the idea of the shortened cruise so much, why don't you cancel your cruise and take your child to WDW or Universal for a day or two? Or, drive back home and stop at Busch Gardens or another place, just to get away fromt he destruction in FL.

I do feel for DCL in this situation - if they had cancelled outright 3 days ago and the storm had blown right through, then they would have been killed for that. Now, they wait until the last minute to make a choice, most likely to give everyone a chance to cruise and they're killed for that. It's a situation where noone will be happy.

 

[Bigbaby]

Lets not make this about me (lets not jump on the bandwagon) this is not what my post was about. You can say what you wish, but it's not about me it's about the way DCL handled this situation. I too have family here so let's not go there!!!

I have family in West plam beach and Tampa. So before you decide to FLAME read the post and understand my frustration. With that I stand by my previous post.

 

[Brisully]

Cmon everyone. This is a very tough time for all involved, and this is something DCL has not had to do before. They are trying to do what they can under constantly changing circumstances, but we don't need to attack anyone here.

 

[SueEllen]

Thanks DCL I cant cancel now because Im here, because you called me when I was half way here and not make decision until this LAST minute!

I'm sorry that your cruise is not going to be what you expected. While I can understand that you are very frustrated right now, you should really keep in mind that Disney had no way to know in advance what they would need to do with these cruises for everyone's safety, based on this natural disaster, which no one has any control over.

I personally do not think you should be angry at DCL for the brevity of the cruise--this was a matter completely out of their control and had to be determined daily by the current weather situation.

***and to everyone else--please keep in mind that personal attacks will not be tolerated on the DIS--it is against posting guidelines. Thank you****

Sue Ellen

 

[WDWLVR]

QueenTrident - I agree 100%

Big Baby- read your PM's.

Remember that those at the port and many of those on the ship have homes and family that are in danger. I know of one CM who moved his family to the area and switched to the Wonder so he could see them more often. Can you imagine what they are going through with them at Sea and their families in the middle of this.

 

[Doctor P]

I, too, must say that I am extremely frustrated by this whole thing. While I fully understand (and accept) acts of nature and the fact that they are beyond DCL's control, I am hoping that the earlier post on this or another thread that said that they are now no longer offering the discount on a future cruise as part of the package of incentives is incorrect. In my opinion, those of us who made a commitment to stay with the cruise, and, in our case, DRIVE to Florida just to be able to make the revised cruise time after being given the offer for the five day cruise should be able to feel that they in some way are not being made worse off than the offer that got them to drive to Florida in the first place. I am taking a wait and see attitude until I have all the facts, so I hope I am wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I think a cancellation with some future incentives to help make people whole might have been better up front. But, I can't fault them for trying.

 

[moocow35]

Brisully,

I tried to click on your "awesome" picture to see your homepage, and it is not available. Is your link wrong? Love the "awesome" picture though.

Back to the topic of this thread, I am so very sorry for everyone involved. The millions of people in Florida who for the second time in a matter of weeks are losing homes and personal items. Not to have electricity for days on end in that heat alone must be torture. I also feel very sorry for all the people who have been planning their vacations for months, even years. In my 5, soon to be 6 Disney cruises, they all were booked a year or more in advance. Devasting? Yes it is to have this happen after all the anticipation and planning. But it is also devasting for everyone in the State of Florida. Disney cruise line also is going through a lot, from the phone reps to the cm's on the ship. I'm sure they have tried to have everyone's best interest in their decisions, and they certainly did not plan for this to happen.

My DD is in college, first time away from home, and the hurricane is now headed for Tallahassee in the panhandle where she is.

I pray for everyone.

Robin

 

[bemily]

While I feel bad for everyone that has had their vacation plans changed, and I am sure the frustration level as to what exactly the new plans will be is very high, but unfortunately that is what can happen in hurricane season. that is why prices are a bit cheaper, that is a chance one takes...

I think offering any stateroom credit and any discount is incredibly generous, as that is where insurance should kick in for money lost...that is why there is insurance, right?

Again, I am not trying to *flame* anyone, but, again, that is why there is a specific time of year called hurricane season, and frances was part of that!

Good luck everyone with all your vacation plans, I hope they turn out okay!!

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Originally posted by Bigbaby
*RANT*
MAD MAD MAD!!!

I drove down here (NYC) to spend my time in hotels since thurs. in FLA to have my 7 day shortened to 4 days to a port I HATE! GREAT Thanks DCL I cant cancel now because Im here, because you called me when I was half way here and not make decision until this LAST minute!

Im glad those of you who had a chance to cancel did, but for me Im here already, DS 3 in a hotel room with nothing to do, and well now no food around GREAT!

Some vacation, and what an experince Im having with DCL.

*end*

Understand that a hurricane is an act of Mother Nature, not of DCL. They have NO control over weather. They have to take precautions to protect their passengers. You can not blame them for this. You need to be understanding and think about all the Floridians that are having to endure this awful hurricane. If they put your life in danger or someone elses what would you say then???? DCL is not trying to ruin your vacation or anyone else's for that matter. You need to be more understanding. By the way, some cruise lines are not giving the options that DCL is so to be honest you really should be thankful. DCL is being fair with their options to their passengers. Don't forget this is due to a HURRICANE!!

 

[anlashokna]

Personally I would have probably rescheduled the cruise early last week when it was pretty much known the hurricane was going to hit Florida. Not hope for the best and take the shot driving or flying in. But that's up to each and every individual to decide what they want to do. Knowing it was going to be a mess getting in and out of Florida if the ships sailed at all. I've been watching as well and agree DCL seems to be trying to do what they can for there passengers and upcoming cruises. I'm not sure if any of the other cruise lines are even going near the extent that DCL is going to with refunds/incentatives. I've actually have questions about my future cruise but knowing dcl was being flooded with calls during this time am holding off calling till things settle. CM's have more than the job stress to deal with right now. Families and homes should be their priorities.

I feel sorry for the cruisers arriving back on the Magic and Wonder tomorrow. Has anyone heard the condition of the port? I know some folks have been worried about vehicles left at the port. Then they have the flying headache, the hotel headache and gas for vehicle headache. All of which could be nonexistant upon their return

 

[Carrie25]

Has anyone been able to get through to DCL since their latest announcement? I only get a busy.

 

[mrsnesbit]

I have just gotten off the phone with DCL and they are not being very nice. In fact they "transfered" me to a dial tone oooopppsss it was supposed to be Rick the supervisor. Busy again.

I think DCL could have made this decision sooner. I am in Florida and it was obvious much earlier that the ships wouldn't be coming in Monday. I am packed and my children are extremely disappointed but at least we live in Florida. I would hate to have travelled here only to be told that the ship is leaving another day later. We work very hard and were looking forward to taking a cruise with our good friends adjoining rooms and all.

 

[eek40]

No matter what DCL would have done someone would be upset. Vacations are planned so far in advance and its often nearly impossible for them to be rescheduled on short notice. I do feel for those that had cruise plans that have been in effect ruined by a hurricane.

That being said, this isnt the time for vacations to Florida, the destruction is wide spread and they need time to recover, and there is a cat 4 heading in the same general path into Florida soon.

I worked on the other end of these phone calls for years for a major airline and belive me people can be horrible, when you are only doing what the "head Honcho" tells you to do. Please everyone be nice to these poor men and women that are trying to help you on the phones, please remember that they personally had no control of the decisions OR the hurricanes. Take a deep breathe and be thankful that everyone is safe.

 

[Carrie25]

Those folks on the phone have a tough job. I've been there before, when I finally got through I made a point to be really nice. No use taking my frustrations out on them, especially since I know all of them are dealing with the same storm I am. In fact, it is worse for them because they are at work not safely at home. Lots of people just got their power back from Charley only to lose it again to Frances. I'd hate to be at work knowing all my food was spoiling and I had to boil water to drink and wash my clothes by hand and deal with this heat with no AC. I'm really dissapointed about the new length of our cruise. But, I'm still going because I'm not letting Frances kill my vacation. We are making the best of it and at least we will have an interesting story to tell.

 

[wtg2000]

Disney did seem to wait far too long to make this decision. We've been wondering since Saturday how a Monday turnaround was possible since we'd read that the Port wasn't even opening until Tuesday. Plus, you need customs officials, harbour pilots, dock workers. Then to send a boat out you need tons of trucks with food and supplies. Then to get your customers you need an open airport (they are saying today at NOON), gasoline for cars and buses, and all the workers, etc. There just didn't seem any way for this to happen on Monday. And this was obvious by late Saturday, not late Sunday. If I was sailing I would be disappointed with Disney.

 

[muntzfab4]

Big baby,
I can understand your frustration. A lot of time and effort goes into planning a vacation and when things don't work out it can be upsetting. A few things you may want to consider - take the refund and use it to spend the rest of your week at WDW - or- take the shortened cruise. Who knows - it may be extended a few extra days due to Hurricane Ivan!

Try to make the best of it!

 

[jlawall]

Well, I've been watching the Weather Channel all weekend and I really feel for the residents of Florida. This has been an extremely difficult ordeal!

I have vacationed many years during this past week and I have always been warned about "hurricane season." I have fortunately never had a problem but this year obviously the hurricanes have come.

No enjoys disappointment and WE ALL REALLY FEEL FOR EVERYONE WHO IS HAVING THEIR LONG AWAITED CRUISE DELAYED. However, please take advantage of the perks that DCL is going to offer you. Maybe your next vacation will make up for the disappointments of this one.

Best wishes and God bless you all!!