Disney DREAM, March 3-6- SKIPPED Castaway Cay!!!

[RJ Cumpata]

Well let me start by saying that the ship is beautiful!!!!!
The service was also very nice- the employees at all levels were helpful and courteous!!!!

But there were a couple big problems.....

The Pirate Party never happened.....sound problems, viedo screen problems and no cast members to be found!!!
There were 1,200 people wondering around on the top deck trying to figure out the program.....It was not good. Then we saw some fireworks & everybody figured "that wa it" and went to thier cabins......



The ship was unable to dock at Castaway. The Captain tried twice and said the winds were in excess of 50mph......That is odd because my children and I were on our verandah having breakfast-and it seemed very calm. I went to check the TV it stated the winds as 28mph...... It is kinda a bummer because on 3 day cruise - CC is a big deal!!!!!!

I didn't feel as though they had a plan B either.....just an extremely busy pool area. While I love the ship....the pool arear is made for 1,000 preople not 4,000 .......it was very crowded!!!


I don't know....what is the best way to communicate to DCL?

 

[RJ Cumpata]

This is something.......Disney could care less about any complaint......They comments were "so sorry....maybe you should try another cruise with us"..........

That is kinda unbelievable!!!!

 

[mnkev]

Yep - we pretty much got the standard e-mail back syaing they cannot control the weather. We were not looking for a free cruise but a little OBC for a return trip would have been nice...

 

[MagicMe]

Why would you expect OBC? Because they didn't dock at CC? Your cruise contract basically states that they don't have to dock anywhere and can make changes if needed.

Is it a disappointment that the ship could not dock - of course. But there's not alot they can do about it. I've seen times where the Magic and Wonder could not dock there and I would imagine it would be even more difficult to manuever the larger ship.

I've seen cruisers on here have the bad luck of not getting there twice in a row. I've been lucky on all four of my cruises including a double dip.

Now I can understand expressing your disappointment in the pirate party but even then technicalities happen.

 

[RJ Cumpata]

I am not sure if I needed an OBC.... I just wanted some of my questions answered & addressed.....

Nothing appears to be Disney's fault .....It isn't my fault either ....

I would love to tell people who buy GM cars ....we are are not going to fix your car- cars break all the time.... but please buy a nother GM car!!!!
Can you imagine?

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Why would you expect OBC? Because they didn't dock at CC? Your cruise contract basically states that they don't have to dock anywhere and can make changes if needed.

Is it a disappointment that the ship could not dock - of course. But there's not alot they can do about it. I've seen times where the Magic and Wonder could not dock there and I would imagine it would be even more difficult to manuever the larger ship.

I've seen cruisers on here have the bad luck of not getting there twice in a row. I've been lucky on all four of my cruises including a double dip.

Now I can understand expressing your disappointment in the pirate party but even then technicalities happen.

Yes, sometimes things to happen but I would say missing CC AND not having the pirate party are two pretty major events/attractions, especially on a 3 day cruise.

I don't think offering a small OBC as a goodwill gesture for a future cruise would cause the value of Disney Shares to fall, especially since they would not only be making money from another cruise- since the money is spend on board; something like $50 isn't actually costing Disney that much since they obviously inflate the value of their goods and services they are selling.

While I get that Disney does many things right, from my own personal experience when they do drop the ball or are dealing with a valid compliant, they do very little (in my case nothing- not even a reply) to resolve the issue.

I just don't see why some people feel that Disney NEVER has to make amends. I've seen comments where people's children have been injured by Disney Employees (and I am not talking about the Hot Chocolate lawsuit) where Disney was 100% at fault- and they still didn't feel that the company should have to do anything to make any restitution to the family.

 

[dawne98]

that is sooo sad!
But I never have time to go to a movie so I know I would have been in the Movie theater all day LOL

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Yes, sometimes things to happen but I would say missing CC AND not having the pirate party are two pretty major events/attractions, especially on a 3 day cruise.

I'm not usually one who agrees with any compensation for missing CC. Yep, it's in your cruise contract and absolutely DCL cannot control the weather! However, missing the pirate party too (NOT due to weather) seems like complaint worth investigating/reporting.

It's really too bad that DCL didn't provide more for you on the missed CC day... when we missed CC, the new Navigators were full of great things to do. We had a very busy and fun day despite missing Castaway. It was DH's actual 40th birthday and we were so hoping to relax at Serenity Bay to celebrate. So I understand the disappointment. It's unfortunate that the Dream staff wasn't prepared to provide you a great day at sea. The Magic staff certainly was, in our experience.

 

[yarlenna]

If they would give me a free day on a cruise for each missed port call - I would have a long cruise for free. What I am trying to say is that missed port calls are very very frequent. Sorry you had one.

 

[RJ Cumpata]

when you watch the planning DVD with your children- the main activites of Disney's 3 day cruise are the Pirate Party & the fun at Castaway Cay........WE got neither!!!

 

[Mazz519]

That just does not seem rt. It should not be standard procedure that it should just be accepted that it is OK to miss a port call. Some sort of compensation should be in line when a port is missed. After all families are spending alot of $$$$$ on these cruises

 

[e_s_jones]

While I get that Disney does many things right, from my own personal experience when they do drop the ball or are dealing with a valid compliant, they do very little (in my case nothing- not even a reply) to resolve the issue.

I just don't see why some people feel that Disney NEVER has to make amends. I've seen comments where people's children have been injured by Disney Employees (and I am not talking about the Hot Chocolate lawsuit) where Disney was 100% at fault- and they still didn't feel that the company should have to do anything to make any restitution to the family.

It is MY OPINION that the Disney lawyers are behind this policy/corporate attitude. Restitution could be construed as an admission of responsibility or (gasp!) liability, and this CANNOT be allowed, saith the legal team, lest it leadeth to litigation.

 

[camikey]

If you miss CC do they reinburse excursions that are missed?

 

[MagicMe]

If you miss CC do they reinburse excursions that are missed?

Absolutely! They will not charge your account or at most refund the dollars to your account. We even had this happen in Nassau. My brother booked a speed boat excursion and with expected thunderstorms, they canceled. He received a refund back on to his on board account.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Absolutely! They will not charge your account or at most refund the dollars to your account. We even had this happen in Nassau. My brother booked a speed boat excursion and with expected thunderstorms, they canceled. He received a refund back on to his on board account.

What about those who didn't book their excursions through DCL but outside vendors directly?

 

[MouseLovinMom]

Research your private excursions carefully before booking. Most vendors will issue refunds if the ship misses the port call but beyond that it's hit or miss. Most reputable vendors will not go (or charge you) if the weather conditions would make the excursion unsafe even if the ship makes the port.