Disappointed?

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

I have been reading these boards for months now and all of you have provided me with so many valuable pieces of info I have to say thanks! My husband couldn't believe how much I already knew about our cruise! Anyway, we just sailed on our very first cruise on Jan. 15. 7 days on the Magic. We took our two children and also paid for my parents to go in exchange for their childcare this last year. We just got back late last night. The weather was ok. What was a little disappointing was that we missed two ports--Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay due to sea conditions and wind. I know Disney can't control the weather but I was wondering if anyone out there is as disappointed as I am?

 

[BeeSkip]

On our first Westen cruise, we were unable to stop at Grand Caymans due to rough sea conditions. We were very upset but we had a great time on the ship despite it. We were all signed up for Stingray city and the kids felt "cheated" until they got involved in other activities. The good thing about it was that when we found out the following year's spring break cruise would be another Western we booked without hesitation because it gave us a reason to redo the cruise. Stingray city was a lot of fun. We are doing the Eastern this March, and we are looking forward to the extra sea days.

Bee

 

[TooPure4u]

YIKES....I am sailing next weekend and never thought about not being able to dock at certain places. Does anyone know if you get a refund if you are unable to dock if you have reserved an excursion with an outside company? I have set up the dolphin adventure in cozumel with "Dolphin Discovery" and at Grand Cayman I set up with "Nativeway" (well I havent paid for this excursion yet so no big loss if we dont get to stop), but what do they do onboard if you dont get to stop on these islands? I know that they normally dont do much onboard when in port but I am guessing they are prepared for things such as this......right?

Sorry LUVTHEMAGIC....I would be a little disappointed myself.....but something positive that I can take from it is that I will have another sea day which I happen to just love!!!!! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise!!!

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

Thanks Bee! Five days at sea was alot. I have to say I loved the ship so much that even if I could have gotton off it would not have been for too long. We got off in Cozumel for the whole day. I couldn't wait to get back "home"!

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

Hi TooPure4u They put out a revised navigator each day that you miss a port with more activities added. Most of the shore excursions were already cancelled by the people in port due to rough seas. I don't know about the dolphin excursions though.

 

[macbasset]

After doing both summer and winter, one reason we prefer summer is because you seldom have the wind and sea conditions that cause you to miss ports. Also, I love hot, sunny weather and warm water--- and we were disappointed that Castaway Cay was cold and water chilly when we were there in Dec. and Jan. So, I guess we will see what March is like--- I sure hope it is warm. We mainly picked this month as this summer the Magic will be on the west coast and we didn't want to wait another year. It is disappointing to miss a port you hoped to visit--- we took an excursion to st. john and they couldn't stop there because of rough seas (trunk bay) so ended up going back to st. thomas. But, as others have said, just being on the Magic is fabulous.

 

[decoy86]

We did not miss any ports last week but was not happy with the excursions on the Wonder. The Black beards Cay was a bust. The water was very merky and very cold. We asked one employee at the island about the condiontions and he said that they almost cancelled it (they should have).

At CC the island was awsome but the snorking should have been 1/2 price or free. The hurrican destroyed the underwater mickey and has been removed. There was nothing to see, nothing like what we were told it would be like.

 

[jhorstma]

YIKES....I am sailing next weekend and never thought about not being able to dock at certain places. Does anyone know if you get a refund if you are unable to dock if you have reserved an excursion with an outside company? I have set up the dolphin adventure in cozumel with "Dolphin Discovery" and at Grand Cayman I set up with "Nativeway" (well I havent paid for this excursion yet so no big loss if we dont get to stop), but what do they do onboard if you dont get to stop on these islands? I know that they normally dont do much onboard when in port but I am guessing they are prepared for things such as this......right?

Sorry LUVTHEMAGIC....I would be a little disappointed myself.....but something positive that I can take from it is that I will have another sea day which I happen to just love!!!!! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise!!!

We're on the March 19 Eastern as well w/BeeSkip and macbasset - we booked our excursions thru Shoretrips.com - they claim that we'll be refunded our money if the ship for whatever reason doesn't make it to port - hopefully we won't have to find out.

 

[WDWLVR]

When we were on the 10 day we were able to dock at Castaway Cay but the lagoon was close due to storm damage to the netting. When they announced that the shore excursions were cancelled they also announced extra things they would be doing onboard. They opened up the kids club, did a few extra movies - things like that.

 

[EWL]

hi LUVTHEMAGIC,

We were with you on the Magic last week... and yes, we were as disappointed (maybe even more) than you were. We were traveling with our DD3 and grandparents who mainly wanted to see Key West-- so they at least were happy and the cooler weather made it easier to walk around. But we had booked snorkeling in Grand Cayman and were REALLY looking forward to Castaway Cay after hearing so much about it. Skipping GC was a shock-- we were all dressed and about to leave the cabin for our excursion meeting place when the captain came on to break the bad news. Another day at sea was OK, though it was a bit chilly for swimming (not for DD3 of course-- except when the rocking caused the pools to close). And then the 2 attempts at CC were just awful... we and seemingly everyone else watched out our balcony as we got closer, closer, closer, and then DOH! Back out to sea. So of course we understand that Disney can't control the weather and safey comes first, but we were still very disappointed since this was our one vacation.

Otherwise we were thrilled with the ship. Food at Palo was absolutely spectacular, though the food on the rest of the ship didn't impress us-- no really "bad" meals, but the overall quality seemed just average and not quite on par with our Princess cruise. Of course we did book another 7 day onboard but not for January again....

 

[spipek]

We were also on the Magic last week. It was dissapointing but I also felt sorry for the crew. So many of them were looking forward to an afternoon off at Grand Caymon. I understand they love it when the guests are on shore because they all try to get extra sleep. Disney does such a good job with the Crew. They were dissapointed right along with us. They sure pulled it together for us. We still had a great time. We booked for Oct. 2006.

I also agree with the docking attempt at CC. We had such hopes the second attempt but it wasn't meant to be.

The Pirate party was a blast and the fire works...unbelievabley cool.

 

[EWL]

We were also on the Magic last week. It was dissapointing but I also felt sorry for the crew. So many of them were looking forward to an afternoon off at Grand Caymon. I understand they love it when the guests are on shore because they all try to get extra sleep. Disney does such a good job with the Crew. They were dissapointed right along with us.

That is so true, we felt bad for them too, especially those who lost out on their time off because they suddenly needed to open more restaurants, etc. to keep a shipfull of people fed and entertained. Having to put out a revised Navigator not once but twice during a week can't be easy. I would also add they did a great job of trying to make it up to everyone on Friday with 2 for 1 drinks and free Bahama Mamas on Deck 9! (Edit: Not that this DID make up for it, but at least they realized that they had a shipful of unhappy folks.)

 

[spipek]

Yes the Bahama Mama's were fantastic my daughter, son in law and husband and I all participated in that deal. The band at the Goofy Pool was wonderful!!

 

[d'Isigny]

Hello LUVTHEMAGIC - i can understand...as we are 1 out of 3 for making Castaway Cay. Our 'travel buddies' (other family that loves Disney and we enjoy traveling with) are ZERO and 2 - they were 'completely depressed' when we missed AGAIN in Jan of 03 - sorry to say, they will prob not take another DCL cruise. I've been able to justify it with - if it's 'questionable' on how safe it is to dock...how enjoyable would it be when you got off of the ship. I applaud the Capt, Crew and Disney Company for making a safe choice for all.

 

[Houzer]

Hi everyone...we were also on the Jan. 15th cruise and were very disappointed about the cruise. Sorry but I don't think free drinks for an hour or a glass of wine at dinner cut it for us. I have even more news to pass along to you all!!! We were rerouted to Charlotte North Carolina if I remember correctly since the entire flying home was an experience in itself with the snow storms in Toronto. Anyway there was another couple there that had also had been cruising but on another cruise ship...one that was at Grand Cayman when we were. Well THEY GOT ON THE ISLAND!!! I want to know what the Captin was really meaning when he said that NO CRUISE SHIPS could get to the Island. This couple did!!!!! We plan on calling DCL and also writting a letter to find out what they plan on doing for us since we figure we should at least get a small credit for another cruise. Go ahead and flame me if you don't agree but if you had all been on deck 10 when we were trying to dock at Castaway Key you'd understand. I must have seen at least a dozen children plus crying and the amount of people upset that he wouldn't try a third time in an hour....

Houzer

 

[disneypilots]

Yes its diappointing.....last year in February we were able to Dock in Cozumel, but all the shore excursions were cancelled We are 4 for 4 at Castaway Cay, but last year the weather was so cold, it just was not worth it. It happens, at least your on a cruise, a Disney one at that.....Things could be much worse....... Remember a Bad day on a Disney cruise is better than a Good Day at work !!!

 

[lbgraves]

I believe that DCL doesn't dock at Grand Cayman but requires a tender to get onto the island. When we were there 12/4 I was very nervous getting on the tender since the waves kept raising & lowering the tender so the walk way would rise up off the deck. I was very concerened about my children falling off the walk way. If conditions were worse than that, I wouldn't put any of our lives in jeopardy to see the island...which I wasn't impressed with anyway. The captain is not going to cancel something just to shake things up. He is concerned about the safety of everyone on board and the entire crew wants everyone to have a great time.

 

[joycepa]

I agree 100 % with Houzer. We were also on the 1/15/05 Magic. It was very depressing. We had terrible weather which I know Disney can't control but we missed 2 ports and spent almost 5 days at sea. The only nice day we had was on Cozumel. Add to that the fact that the Mickey pool was closed on Tuesday and on Friday, it makes for verrrry loooong days at sea. We were within 100 yards of docking at Castaway Cay with the sun shining and as the TV described " a gentle breeze" It just seemed like there was no desire. It should be in Disney standards Completely Unacceptable to not dock at their own port.
Our experience was way below our expectations. We will also be writing to Disney.

FLAME AWAY!!!!

 

[karebear1]

I'm jumping on the band wagon with Houzer and Joyce! We were on that cruise too- and it was miserable for us. We had no children, just my DH and I and there really was no effort put into planning for adults when it came to things to do when the ports were cancelled. To make things even worse- what little they did have planned was in the Beat Street section of the ship- of which I had a severe allergic reaction to after our DIS meet on Sunday morning. I was unable and unwilling to go back in there for any entertainment that might have been repeated. And, honestly that is all they did- they repeated the same activities over and over again- try doing the same things for 5 days - BORING! My advice- if you are adults and thinking of doing this cruise- DON'T ! I love Disney- but this is NOT good for adults- no matter what DCL advertises! DCL is great when it comes to planning when thigns go accordingly, but when things don't.... they stink. They could really improve in this area.

My plans when I got home definetly included writing some pretty descriptive letters to DCL and others about this cruise. I am planning on asking for a refund of some kind to compensate for the loss of a $3600.00 vacation. Free bahama mamas and wine at dinner didn't do it for me either- we don't drink! But- I still had to pay $2.50 for a diet sprite if I wanted one at dinner time- go figure. I do have an email addy and snail mail addy if anyone is interested.

 

[dandbsmom]

Oh no, we are on the 27th Wonder. I hope we don't experience this disappointment. Does anyone know if the other cruises after you got to go to CC?