Okay....here is what happened:
1) Our room air conditioner was broken on extremely cold and though they made attempts it was not fixed until Wednesday of the cruise....which meant it was uncomfortable to be in our room and I think that is unacceptable. That is more than half the cruise.
2) My 4 year old son was in the kids program from 10am in the morning and we went to check on him at around 4pm. He was standing up with his eyes rolling and he was swaying....NO ONE NOTICED! My husband and I were alarmed and he ran and got him before he fell over. Immediately I was thinking that he is sick, but he was not. I asked a staff member, has he eaten and the response was, "we do not know...we can not watch them all"...this was disturbing!!!!! I then said, okay (kind of shocked) and I then asked what they had served that day. The response was that they just put a selection of food on the plate and they eat it or not.
We took him to Pinnochios (the pizza place) and he ate 3 pieces of pizza so fast that it scared me. After 30 minutes he looked and felt better. That was the end of meals in the kids program. They offer no substitutes on a ship overflowing with food. I said if a child does not like what is being served can you give him a peanut butter sandwhich, a cheese sandwhich, a piece of pizza...anything....the answer was no. I said can you keep tracking and beep me if he does not eat...they said no...they do not do that.
How could they not notice a child in the condition my son was in?
3) My kids went to the program and were given permanent markers to do artwork with. However, no art smocks were given to the children and the parents were not told to dress the children appropriately before hand. As a result, my childrens brand new clothes (purchased from their trip to Disney World, just a few days before) were ruined. But the most puzzling part to me is what happened next. The program representative, made me believe that they could get the permanent marker. The individual told me that if I would just leave the clothes with them that they would have them cleaned and get out the marker. Somewhat skeptical, I agreed. I asked for the clothes back for days and days. Finally, I was told the clothes were lost. On the last day of the cruise when I asked if they found the clothes, I was told to check the lost and found after disembarkation to see if the clothes had turned up. Incidentally,I did check the lost and found. My familys clothes were there and they were still ruined. Its also interesting to note that our names and cabin numbers were on the clothes. Obviously if they wanted me to see them while onboard they could have brought them to me. Now, tell me something what kind of service is this? At the very least, they could have returned the clothes and admitted they couldnt clean the clothes. Not throw them in the lost and found, hoping the guest wouldnt show up again. Thats awful.
4) Another issue with the kids program. My 4 year old son was apparently hurt while dancing during the program because another child fell on him. I understand that things happen, but the disturbing issue is how it was handled. My son apparently fell down and asked for some ice to put on the injury. He was told there was no ice and I was paged. When I came to get him, I was told that the child just simply wanted to leave. I immediately noticed that he had a mark on his cheek and that he was crying. They didnt make any mention as to injury or the situation. How does this happen?
5) Apparently on 04/22/2003 the movie HOLES was advertised in the Navigator as a G Rated movie. So, I decided to take my boys ( 7 year old twin and a 4 year old) to this movie. To my surprise and to many others, the first part of the movie contained violence and which I found disturbing in a G Rated movie. As a result my children and others were frightened and left the theatre (my children were shaking and crying). When I asked about the rating and the movie content, the staff told her that they were not responsible for movie ratings and that if it was wrong it was the Disney's fault because they send them the ratings. The truth came out the following day when the movie was advertised as PG-13. Neither one was true..it was a PG. Have any of you seen this movie...it is quite violent! Again, I can understand mistakes. But, why wasnt the mistake admitted in the next days issue of the navigator with an apology to all parents who may have been offended. or an announcement aplogizing to anyone. My 4 year old son would not step back into the Walt Diisney theaters for any shows without having a panic attack and insisting that we leave.
6) My family went to the pool. The pool was dirty and had a strong urine odor to it. We left the pool area and couldnt swim. Later that day, my husband was attending the Navigator Series and they had mentioned that they were experiencing filtration problems aboard the ship. Now, these two items may or may not have been related however, passengers should be informed if such a situation exists that may effect there vacation. While this is not a big item, it became more of an issue due to the other experiences. DISNEY DENIES THAT THERE WAS ANY PROBLEM WITH THE WATER IN THE POOL OR THE FILTRATION. THEY SAY IT IS MONITORED AND THE WATER WAS JUST FINE....
So, what became of all of this? I tried several times to speak with the pursers desk and other managers aboard the ship. I was promised phone calls and apologies but received very few. When I left the ship I requested a phone number to call and received a business card with an address to write to. No apology. This was supposed to be taking ourr Dream Vacation. After wel she spent over 8,000.00 dollars on this trip. What I got was frustration, worry, aggravation and sleepless nights. I dont know about you, but this is not my Dream Vacation.
As I said before, I can understand things are going to happen. Air conditioners are going to break, problems are going to occur, but what disturbs me is how my concerns were addressed. My concerns were addressed by individuals who didnt care about us or our children. Their attitude was that everything that happened was just unfortunate...I do not see it that way since they obviously made mistakes and conclude what you want over the shirt thing. The entire reason that I wanted to go on this trip was for the kids prigram...we needed a break and if my kids are happy and well cared for, then my huband and I could have a good time and some time alone. Disney is about kids and family. I know this. Ive been a fan of Disney and a vacation club member. As a parent, I expect the best from Disney and its staff. I dont expect to be lied to and I expect that my children are being entertained and care for in only a way that Disney can provide.
I hope you all see where I am coming from on this. There were a lot of other parents and people who were disappointed with this cruise. Maybe it was because it was the busiest cruise of the year, but this was our only experience with it and I will not risk my money or my only vacation of the year to see if it can be better. If Disney's offer to me was more serious I might have considered giving it a second chance or atleast would have felt better...to think they cared. They didn't even care enough to send my shirts that were for children.
Arlene
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The CM's and managment we dealt with immediately after each "problem" were very helpful and really made us all feel better. They were actually the ones to persaude us to call the Legal Dept.
