Disney has higher safety standards on excursions

[DISJen]

I wanted to tell you all what I learned while taking the Grand Cayman Island tour - Disney excursion.

This tour is on one of those Toyota mini-buses that holds about 30 people or so. One seat on one side of the isle and two seats on the other. There's a jump seat that folds down into the isle where you can put another person, but this literally blocks the isle and makes it wall to wall seats - 4 across.

As we were being herded towards the buses with all the other mass of people, I heard one of the drivers say to our driver, "No! You can't use the jump seat, remember, this is Disney!" What I was able to put together is that Disney has higher safety standards and won't let these foreign tour operators use the jump seats. I was so glad because we ended up having to sit in the very back of the bus. I told my husband, that it was a good thing they didn't use the jump seats because if there had been any type of emergency, we never would have been able to get off the bus. We could have been trapped behind 10 or so rows of solid seating.

At that momement, I was so happy I was on a Disney excursion and I wondered what the standards are for the other cruise lines. I got the feeling from this conversation that Disney is the most particular one, because there were several other cruise lines there who were also getting loaded on buses and the driver was only referring to Disney as having this standard.

 

[JJsmama]

Interesting...

 

[rotary2808]

Wow, that is a good thing. Disney has always had high standards and they go to great heights to make sure their guests are safe at all times.

 

[lisamacd]

We were on a Disney tour in Grand Cayman in March and our tour bus DID use the middle jump seat. Our bus was packed. You were lucky.

 

[poohs4me]

We had a similar experience on our snorkel trip at Grand Cayman last year. The snorkel vest did not fit some of the men properly and they wanted to avoid using it. The captain of the boat told everyone that Disney mandates everyone where a snorkel vest. He said if we had not booked through Disney it would not have been an issue and they could choose whether to wear the vest or not. I found it very interesting. He went on to elaborate that if he did not enforce the Disney standards that his company would be cut from the recommended Disney excursions.

However, saying that I would NEVER EVER book that snorkel trip again. It was terrible.

 

[inkkognito]

Even though I am a bargain hunter, that is why I have always taken Disney excursions the first time around in any port of call. I know that the tours are run by independent operators, but I prefer to use someone "vetted" by Disney. Once I get the lay of the land, I'll do something on my own the next time around. We did an activity on our own once in Nassau, and I won't go into the sordid details, but it was a DISASTER!
Barb

 

[ShannonRT]

We also took the Grand Cayman island tour (booked through Disney) in May 2004 and they did end up using the jump seat for 1 passenger in the next to last row. Unfortunately I was behind them in the very last row. It made loading and unloading very slow. I think we made 3 stops.

 

[wccruiser]

We are taking the 28May West Coast Cruise, so no one may know the answer to this, but in the Caribbean anyway, did the vehicles used for excursions have seat belts? I would not feel at all comfortable riding in anything without seatbelts, especially for my little one! We are planning on bringing her booster seat with us...hope we need it!

 

[JanetMB]

We are taking the 28May West Coast Cruise, so no one may know the answer to this, but in the Caribbean anyway, did the vehicles used for excursions have seat belts? I would not feel at all comfortable riding in anything without seatbelts, especially for my little one! We are planning on bringing her booster seat with us...hope we need it!

I posted the same question a week or so ago. I was told not to bring their car seats because most of the vehicles didn't have seat belts! I have two DDs (4 and almost 3) and hate the thought of them unprotected!

 

[wccruiser]

I posted the same question a week or so ago. I was told not to bring their car seats because most of the vehicles didn't have seat belts! I have two DDs (4 and almost 3) and hate the thought of them unprotected!

Hi Janet,

Went back and saw the old thread...actually, the last post on there is mine, expressing my dismay!
Is anyone else concerned about this? When I was 17, I went on a date and another car sideswiped us, causing us to crash onto a strip of grass next to a canal. My date (the driver of our car) was thrown in the back of the van and broke his thumb. We were very lucky. We did not land in the canal. I woke up outside the van. I had flown out the windshield. Luckily, it popped out ahead of me. I walked away with only scratches on my hands. When my mother washed the shirt and jeans I had been wearing, they came out in shreds. Apparently my clothes had been covered in teeny tiny shards of glass. Anyway, my point is we were not wearing seat belts and that could of very well been my demise, so I have always worn seat belts since that day and am an advocate of them. I sure hope Disney has a plan and is covered as far as safe transportation on the excursions that we book thru them.

 

[tvguy]

We did not have seatbelts on any tour vehicle or taxi we rode in in the Caribbean.
A lot of these vehicles are just standard U.S. make pickups, with the right side of the bed cut off and bench seats bolted in and a canvas canopy on top. It's custom body work on the pickup bed, they just don't cut off the side and leave jagged edges, but no seatbelts. Not required by law I guess.
Same thing I guess as Greyhound busses or city busses or even most school busses in the U.S., no seat belts (although I think some states have talked about requiring them).

 

[ksjayhawks]

When we took our dcl excursion in Grand Cayman, all the jump seats in the vehicle were used both ways. You must have been lucky or things have changed.

None of the vehicles have seat belts, so you won't need your carseats/booster seats.

 

[carriep1657]

Hi WCcruiser, it's Carrie. I am stressed about this. We're doing a private tour in Mazatlan. I made sure the guide's van had seatbelts. We're bringing boosters with us because he didn't have those. In Cabo, we're just planning to walk around. DH and I will do one of the Disney excursions in the afternoon. The kids will stay on the ship. In PV, we'll probably just walk to the nearby Krystal resort or hire a taxi to take us sight seeing. If we do the taxi, we'll take the boosters. I hate being unbelted but I can hardly bare the thought of my kids being unrestrained.

My big worry right now is we're also doing Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan. Apparently, we'll ride in some sort of truck from the pier to the water taxi. I don't know how long the ride is. I hope it is short and on quiet roads. Maybe I'll ask about that on cruisecritic.

 

[wccruiser]

Hi Carrie,


Glad to know I'm not the only one concerned. I have sent Disney an email asking them about the West Coast excursion transportation and am waiting a reply. I would certainly hope they would provide safe transportation being Disney and all. I know I will never allow Grace to ride a school bus that is not equipped without seat belts. Hopefully by the time she's old enough to take a field trip though, California will have seat belt laws for school buses.

 

[JennsBabySky]

Quote:
Same thing I guess as Greyhound busses or city busses or even most school busses in the U.S., no seat belts (although I think some states have talked about requiring them).

No not the same thing. Buses keep occupants safe by a totally different method than cars. They use compartmentalization and we have trained drivers. Stastically you (or your child) is safer unbelted on a school bus than belted in a carseat in your car.

Like the others, I'm also concerned about the lack of seat belts and lack of safety considerations on the excursions. Add me to the list!