Disappointed?

[Koohiichan]

You are so right about it being very disappointing. This was our third cruise and first on Disney. Usually we come home after a cruise feeling sad and wishing we didn't have to leave, but we couldn't wait to get off and even enjoyed cleaning our house and cooking our own meals today after we got home!

I think the weather conditions, along with missing 2 ports, played a very large part in the disappointment. For our family, the kids program did not work out and we ended up with less couple time/alone time than we usually have at home and I am a stay-at-home mom! The large number of kids and small number of staff in the Oceaneers Club was a big turn-off to my three year-old and she wouldn't set foot in that place after the first day or so, even with us promising not to leave her there! Had we gone without our 3 year-old we would have found a way to enjoy ourselves (How anyone without a child to entertain can complain, I don't know.), but having to entertain a disappointed child who can't swim (too cold!) or get off the boat to let off some steam, is stressful and not like a vacation at all. She wanted to go home from the second day on up until the last! Today she asked me when we were going to the beach. Yep, that is right, we did not see the beach, or swim in the Ocean at all. In hindsight, we should have gone in Cozumel, but who would have thought we'd miss two ports!!!!! She did enjoy the characters, however and the shows.

The food, was not very impressive, either. Had we not had the poor weather conditions, etc., that would have been tolerable, but with no other way to enjoy ourselves, the mediocre food just added to the disappointment.

On the plus side, we loved the ship itself. It was very uniquely disney, but still stately and beautiful. The portholes that you could sit in were a neat touch. The rooms were great and service was great for the most part. Our housekeeper did a great job! The shows were very entertaining and professional, a lot better than our other two cruises (Celebrity, although the food on Celebrity was a whole lot better!)

I certainly wouldn't tell others not to go. I think we had really, really bad luck. I think our impressions would have been different had the weather been favorable, but right now the last thing we want to do is cruise Disney again.

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

Thank you all so much for all of your replies. I have to admit that the first thing I did this morning was write Disney Cruise Line Guest Communications about the cruise. Has anyone ever missed two ports before? I truly did not feel like it was worth the $5500 it took for the two staterooms we booked. We did talk to someone on board the cruise at guest services and they said write a letter. So that's what I did. We also talked to the lady at the rebooking desk to see if Disney would knock a certain percentage off another cruise (more than 10%) for such a bad experience. She brought up the cruise contract that we had signed. I replied that I understand that Disney is not responsible but felt that it would just be Disney to try to make the 2700 people on board happy and just offer a little compensation. This is what I wrote in my letter. Disney's service our last three summer vacations has always been above and beyond. They don't HAVE to do anything --they just should. We did rebook along with my parents on board. I want to try a cruise in March or May. When is the weather best? I will let you know if anything comes of my letter. I too felt very bad for the crew who work so very hard.

 

[ppiew]

About 2 yrs ago we were on a DCL cruise that had similar disappointments. We couldn't stop at GC either (no docking there, just tenders). We did get to CC though, but still the weather didn't cooperate and was chilly. Anyway, when I read this thread I thought - what a great bunch of people! Disappointed with the changes in the cruise they had planned on for so long and yet the attitudes overcame the disappointments and no one whined. I would have been PROUD to be with any of that crowd!!
So here goes - I am sure the flames will fly high - BUT then I got to the comments from Houzer and I have to disagree though I wasn't there. (so I guess that makes ME the 'flamer') The Captain of ANY ship has the final say-so on safety issues, and if he didn't feel it was safe to dock at CC then it wasn't safe! All cruise documents have weather disclaimers. As far as the other ship at GC - I have no idea, but I would doubt Disney needs to explain the actions of another cruise line vs. DCL. As far as monetary compensation - again there is NO guarantee from ANY cruise line that I know of that you WILL visit the ports on their brochures. I truly sympathize with anyone who experiences shortcomings on their cruises/vacations, but I fail to see how $$$$$ makes it all OK. Why does everything have to be reduced to dollars to make things right???
Sorry, enuf of my soap box. Hope everyones future cruises are just great! We have been on 4 and loved all - even with the changes necessitated by weather etc.

 

[lookingforward]

I can relate to the dissapointed people and definately feel for you! I was on a hurricane cruise. People flamed me for complaining about the trip but I felt justified for a few reasons. One was that other cruises during the month of September that were affected by the hurricanes recieved better compensation packages than my particular cruise. There was no rhyme or reason to how Disney decided to compensate passangers. My bed was wet when we boarded (yuck) and took two nights to fix (they only replaced half the bed and it was lopsided). We did not set sail until 10 pm and when we returned and had to be bussed back to Ft. Lauderdale they sent us off with a driver that did not know where to go. We were on the road for over four hours with no water, snacks, etc. Just poor planning. I realize the stress that the staff was under during that horrible month and certainly don't blame them, but the management should have done better.

Anyway, I feel for all of you. By the way, I wrote Disney a very detailed letter and was sent a $150 onboard credit for a future cruise. Not exactly what other cruisers got on other sailings, but I guess I appreciated the gesture. I am a bit afraid to book another sailing.

 

[tvguy]

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.

I assume you were at Topsiders since soda is free with all meals in the dining room. I also assume there is no diet Sprite at the Beverage station.

I can understand the disappointment with the weather, but remember, while Disney probably saved money not docking in GC,(port fees) it probably spent a whole lot more on food that folks stuck on the ship ate. The cruise industry is a fixed cost business.......it costs Disney about the same whether you cruise in July or in January...and you got a discount for sailing in January.
You got that discount for traveling at a time when there was a chance you might have bad weather and might miss ports. Very basic business principle, risk and rewards. You took the risk on the weather, and your reward was a lower price.
2 or our 7 cruises have been in late December-early January and mid-January, the most recent, and only Disney cruise at the 12-27-04 to 1-3-04 NYE cruise. We have been lucky with weather, but both times there were ports where the water temperature was higher than than air temperature.

 

[dwkwootton]

We were also on the 1-15 Western sailing, my 7th (or 8th?) Disney Cruise. I've sailed with my kids and without, this trip being just the adults and I've sailed all different times of the year. Sure, the weather was a major problem, but it was not THE problem. The situation was not handled well by Disney and it made for a vacation bordering on comically miserable. This week, the food was quite bad for the first 4 or 5 days but thankfully improved alot for the last couple days. Activities were added for the kids but little was done for the adults. For example, the day we missed CC, two movies were added during the day ... but both were kid's films. We would have been thrilled to go see Ladder 49 during the day. Another round of Mr. Toad's Wild Races was added as well as family Pictionary, leaving the adults with nearly nothing to do. Disney should have a back up plan ready and not be scrambling the way they were on the missed port days. They had a ship full of pro-Disney people anxious to have a good time and it should have been a no brainer to organize something like an adult trivia match with complimentary beer in Diversions or a poker tournament, something! Unless you were on that sailing, you cannot relate to a glass of free wine at your last dinner being your substitution for a poor but very costly vacation.

 

[westjones]

We were on the cruise in September that ended early because of Hurricane Jeanne. We missed Castaway Cay. I spent two days in bed from being seasick (missed dinner for two nights). It was not fun; so I understand how you feel.

We went on another cruise in December and had a WONDERFUL time and didn't miss a thing. Give it another try if you get a chance. It really can be a great experience.

DJ

 

[karebear1]

I assume you were at Topsiders since soda is free with all meals in the dining room. I also assume there is no diet Sprite at the Beverage station.

Actually- this was at Artist's Palette. The beverage station does have diet Sprite- for free. But, in the ships "formal" restaurants, if you want diet sprite you have to pay $2.50/can. They only offered diet coke at dinner for free. What's that all about?? I'm a diabetic- and don't drink coke because of the caffiene. There are many other things that I could write down here, but I don't want to make a laundry list of all my complaints about this cruise- I'll save that for my letter to the cruise line and hope they address it. In general, I am very pro Disney- Love their resorts, parks etc. But this cruise was awful. It was NOT Disney done.

Disney does not have control of what happens with the weather- but they have control of everything else that happens on that ship- and their planning was poor at best.

On the upside-

1) We had a great room host. He was always there with fresh towels, making sure everything was ok. These people work very hard! Towel animals every night. I never understood why people would get so excited about towel animals, but it is fun to come back to your room and see a surprise.

2) no sea sickeness for either DH or I

3) I had one meal I really enjoyed- it was the rib eye steak- yummy.

4) the live shows in the evenings were wonderful. VERY TALENTED folks putting those on.

For anyone wondering.... I'll include this list as well when I write that letter. I believe they need to hear the good with the bad- and I'm including names, because they deserve the recognition.

 

[karebear1]

I truly sympathize with anyone who experiences shortcomings on their cruises/vacations, but I fail to see how $$$$$ makes it all OK. Why does everything have to be reduced to dollars to make things right???

If you can suggest another way of being compensated- I'm all ears!

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

I would be really happy if they would just give 25% off the next cruise so I can get to Castaway Cay. But that still amouts to $$$$.

 

[ablmc]

... Add to that the fact that the Mickey pool was closed on Tuesday and on Friday ... We will also be writing to Disney.

QUOTE]

joycepa - for the record, the Mickey pool was open Friday, my daughter spent most of her day on the slide. It did close for about 2 hours starting at about 3:15PM becuase a child vomited in it. I actually appreciated the fact that DCL had someone monitoring the pool at all times and immediately shut it down to begin the sanitation process. Sad to say, I have seen other cruise lines _not_ address such situations.

 

[decoy86]

What days were you supposed to dock in those missed ports??

 

[ablmc]

The Captain of ANY ship has the final say-so on safety issues, and if he didn't feel it was safe to dock at CC then it wasn't safe! ...
As far as the other ship at GC - I have no idea, but I would doubt Disney needs to explain the actions of another cruise line vs. DCL.

As you say in the first sentence I quote, the captain has final say. I accept that completely.

As for GC, the captain told us, twice, and the Staff captain repeated at a later event, "No cruise ships were able to go to GC". If in fact some other cruise ship was able to visit GC that day, then I believe the officers of the ship are lying to us, or, I think DCL owes us an explanation.

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

Sat--Port Canaveral; Sun-Key West; Monday--Day at Sea; Tuesday--Grand Cayman but spent day at sea; Wed- Cozumel; Thur-Day at Sea; Fri-CC but spent day at sea; Sat- Port Canaveral
I completely agree the captain had everones best interest at heart and it was for safety reasons however I am still disappointed that we paid $5500 even if was a discounted January price. Our brightest stars were Oka, William, and Otti--the crew. They are fabulous.

 

[joycepa]

Does anyone know how often they can't dock at castaway cay??? A person from the crew told us he has been there for 6 months and they haven't missed at all. I thought that the 10 day cruise missed also.

ablmc,
Sorry that I incorrectly stated that the pool was closed on friday. Even 2 hours was frustrating.

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

Joycepa--That 10 Christmas cruise made it to the island I read here on the boards but the close swimming atthe beach due to the predator net being broken. I think I heard that 2 sharks got in. We we told by Joclyn at the rebooking desk that it had been 10 months since they missed CC and years since they missed Grand Cayman.

 

[bettemom]

I would like to offer my thoughts to the always present, upset, demanding, letter writers( which thankfully is a small group and you know who you are)

What an absolutely irresponsible captain you had on your cruise. For the captain not to attempt to dock the ship at Castaway Cay in strong currents, and risk one of you getting injured if the ship crashed into the pier. Of course I am sure none of you would have complained, or written letters if you or one of your children happened to have been injured while the irresponsible captain attempted to dock the ship. We have taken 4 Disney cruises and will be on a 5th cruise in May through the Panama Canal. Have each of our cruises been perfect, of course not !! Do I expect the Panama cruise to be perfect, of course not. On one cruise we did not make ONE scheduled port call, instead our responsible captain decided it was safer to dodge hurricanes than to sail into them.
On another cruise due to some errors on Disneys side which they freely admitted, we were actually downgraded in our cabin assignments, perhaps I should have demanded more of a discount on a future cruise or something else totally irresponsible and greedy. We were refunded the money difference and that was all I asked for and all we were due. If you missed a port you are 100% entitled to the port charges refunded back to you, however you are legally,morally or ethically entitled to nothing else. Demanding anything other than what is guaranteed to you by your cruise contract is so totally crass. Asking nicely for something you really are not entitled to is polite, but still a bit gauche.
If you are trully " injured" while on your cruise and it was not your fault then you have a legal leg to stand on. But, if you were " injured" because you did not get to tender at a port, or the weather was poor, or the complimentary drinks were not the compensation that you wanted, or you had to pay
$ 2.50 for a diet sprite ?? ( by the way since when did Disney start charging for sodas in the dining room ? , we cruised a couple months ago and were never charged for any sodas...) You need to find a new form of entertainment. Everyone has the right to be disappointed, however, not everything that happens in life or on a Disney cruise is worthy of compensation.

Perhaps I should demand a bigger discount for our Panama cruise since the lines were sooo long for photos we did not get a photo on formal night ...

 

[disneysooz]

Does anyone know how often they can't dock at castaway cay??? A person from the crew told us he has been there for 6 months and they haven't missed at all. I thought that the 10 day cruise missed also.



The CM must be mistaken because we were on the 9/25/04 Western and due to Hurricane Jeanne we were 2 and 1/2 days late boarding the ship and did not make port at Key West (due to time loss), GC (went to Costa Maya instead) or Castaway Cay (hurricane damage). I am not certain how soon after Jeanne they were able to go back to CC but I am thinking it was at least 3 weeks, making it mid-October maybe.
Susie

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

No one on these boards has said that the Captain made an unwise decision. All of us agree he decides and made a wise choice. Is there anything wrong with being disappointed at missing two ports and have saved and planned this trip for two years?

 

[dwkwootton]

Bettemom, according to you I may be part of the small group of the always present, upset, demanding letter writers who know who we are ...

Travelling with only my husband, I would have enjoyed a matinee of Ladder 49 or a lively match of adult trivia, scrabble or maybe poker with a beer in Diversions without the large group of keyed up and disappointed children overtaking the very few activities substituted for yet another day at sea in bad weather.

Evidently you feel I was not legally, morally, or ethically entitled to this but feel the need to inform me that I crass and gauche.

I had not known till now that wishing there had been some kind of activity for the adults was quite so distasteful to some.