Disney Nightmare not a Dream

[NavyWife93]

We just sailed on the Dream (2/5-2/9). Hubby and I previously sailed on the Wonder and had a great time and talked our family into going on the Dream. Wish we hadn't. My mom uses a cane and sometimes a wheelchair. When booking we asked for a handicap accesible room. When we checked in, one was not offered to her and once aboard one was not offered to her. Even though both on our deck were empty (which we didn't find out until the last night of the cruise). She had a hard time getting in and out of the bathtub. The doorways onto the decks are NOT wheelchair friendly. The sills are not even and the wheelchair gets stuck and you end up having to turn it around and back it out the doorway thus holding up a ton of screaming kids. Deck 11 was a total mess in the pool area. The standing water on the deck was a hazard and we saw kids as well as adults slip and fall. Kids were running and screaming and the parents seemed to be no where around. We are used to sailing on cruise lines where food is available 24/7 but not on the Dream. Room service is not even available after midnight. That is IF you can get room service to pick up the phone. The 2nd day we were on hold with room service 22 minutes before we finally hung up. We always eat late dinner hoping that the number of screaming kids will be minimal but not this time. They were running around the dinning room getting in the way of the wait staff and screaming and yelling and crying. When getting off in Nassau we were told to go one way because we had the wheelchair with us and turns out that was the exit with the stairs!!!! Our 17 yr old son went with us and we quickly found out that the teen club was a bust. So he spent all his time with the adults. And speaking of adults we quickly found out that the entertainment is geared to families with small kids. Even the night clubs on board hardly had anyone in them. We went into Evolutions a few times and at the most there were about 20 people in there. The night of the Pirate Party we skipped eating in the dinning room so that we could stake out a good spot on Deck 12 for the show and were quickly made to feel like the "bad guys" by people with small kids as we had a good view of the screen and were in a prime spot for the fireworks. We are huge Disney fans but this cruise left us cold. We were thinking of taking the Disney Fantasy in 2013 as our son will be graduating high school but at this point I think we will look somewhere else. Lita (room steward), Nandu (hostess), Ranzil (waiter) and Richard (assistant waiter) were the highlight of the cruise. On the scale of 1-10 this cruise is barely a 4. Disney needs to realize that not everyone that takes a Disney cruise has small kids that want to wait in line for hours to get autographs and pictures with Mickey and Minnie.

 

[smitch425]

We just sailed on the Dream (2/5-2/9). Hubby and I previously sailed on the Wonder and had a great time and talked our family into going on the Dream. Wish we hadn't. My mom uses a cane and sometimes a wheelchair. When booking we asked for a handicap accesible room. When we checked in, one was not offered to her and once aboard one was not offered to her. Even though both on our deck were empty (which we didn't find out until the last night of the cruise). She had a hard time getting in and out of the bathtub. The doorways onto the decks are NOT wheelchair friendly. The sills are not even and the wheelchair gets stuck and you end up having to turn it around and back it out the doorway thus holding up a ton of screaming kids. Deck 11 was a total mess in the pool area. The standing water on the deck was a hazard and we saw kids as well as adults slip and fall. Kids were running and screaming and the parents seemed to be no where around. We are used to sailing on cruise lines where food is available 24/7 but not on the Dream. Room service is not even available after midnight. That is IF you can get room service to pick up the phone. The 2nd day we were on hold with room service 22 minutes before we finally hung up. We always eat late dinner hoping that the number of screaming kids will be minimal but not this time. They were running around the dinning room getting in the way of the wait staff and screaming and yelling and crying. When getting off in Nassau we were told to go one way because we had the wheelchair with us and turns out that was the exit with the stairs!!!! Our 17 yr old son went with us and we quickly found out that the teen club was a bust. So he spent all his time with the adults. And speaking of adults we quickly found out that the entertainment is geared to families with small kids. Even the night clubs on board hardly had anyone in them. We went into Evolutions a few times and at the most there were about 20 people in there. The night of the Pirate Party we skipped eating in the dinning room so that we could stake out a good spot on Deck 12 for the show and were quickly made to feel like the "bad guys" by people with small kids as we had a good view of the screen and were in a prime spot for the fireworks. We are huge Disney fans but this cruise left us cold. We were thinking of taking the Disney Fantasy in 2013 as our son will be graduating high school but at this point I think we will look somewhere else. Lita (room steward), Nandu (hostess), Ranzil (waiter) and Richard (assistant waiter) were the highlight of the cruise. On the scale of 1-10 this cruise is barely a 4. Disney needs to realize that not everyone that takes a Disney cruise has small kids that want to wait in line for hours to get autographs and pictures with Mickey and Minnie.

Sorry you had a bad trip. Curious about something though... you said when you checked in that they did not "offer" your mother a handicapped room. Did you request one AT check-in or just assume they knew about it from when you booked?

 

[Jenene]

Bummer, It sounds like you guys had a rough time. I am glad to hear you liked the servers though. A bad server is tough to find. We are going in a few weeks on the dream... hope we have better luck. We have taken a HA cruise prior, they are much more adult oriented, but offer a program for youth (not sure what it was, we didn't have our kids with)
When we were thinking about taking our kids, we asked a lady with small children on our HA cruise. She said she preferred the adult cruises for her kids because there are fewer kids on board and dining is quieter.
We still decided on the DCL, but it was interested to hear her perspective.

Hugs to ya though

 

[NavyWife93]

Sorry you had a bad trip. Curious about something though... you said when you checked in that they did not "offer" your mother a handicapped room. Did you request one AT check-in or just assume they knew about it from when you booked?


We assumed since we booked as needing handicapped that we got a handicapped room. Once on board and seeing that we didn't get one, my sister and I went to Guest Services and stood in line for over 45 minutes without getting any help and had to leave for the life boat drill. By then my mom was so upset that she was being a bother she wouldn't let us go back to see about moving her. When we checked in she was IN her wheelchair. You would think they would have asked either "how come she didn't book a handicap room" or "we have one available would you like to be moved there" but nope they did neither!!!

 

[MoranClan]

Sorry you had such a bad time, but I have to ask a question about the teen club. My daughters were 17 and 16 when we cruised in December on a B2B, they loved the teens club and all the counselors on the Dream, I am surprised your son thought it was a bust. Was it because of the lack of teens?

In December we did notice Chaos at the family pool and the Mickey pool, too many people and not enough space to swim.

 

[NavyWife93]

There didn't seem to be any kids his age. The 2 or 3 times he went into the teen club he was the only one in there. After that he just gave up going and hung with the old people LOL

 

[MoranClan]

There didn't seem to be any kids his age. The 2 or 3 times he went into the teen club he was the only one in there. After that he just gave up going and hung with the old people LOL

That blows, I am sorry he did not experience what my daughters love. My daughters still talk with their fellow cruisers from all of our vacations.

As a family, we said we will never do a 3 night again. The 4 night was totally different.

I would suggest you try the 7 night Fantasy, I have a feeling you will all have a much better time.

 

[gomagic]

As a family, we said we will never do a 3 night again. The 4 night was totally different.

I would suggest you try the 7 night Fantasy, I have a feeling you will all have a much better time.

I agree completely. We have done B2B 3/4 on Dream and it was so different from a 7 night. The 4 night was not so bad but the 3 night was at times. That being said, we will be doing B2B on the Dream again in March but this time both cruises are 5 nights. It will be interesting to see how these compare to the others.

 

[Goldeelox9]

Dd you book through Disney on the phone, online or with a Travel Agent? You have to specifically book a Handicap Assessable room. Did you check the room number on a ship layout map before hand?

Your Son is at the least popular age for cruisers. I am surprised they let him in the teen club since he is 19 years old.

I am so sorry you had a bad trip.

 

[Alexander]

Dd you book through Disney on the phone, online or with a Travel Agent? You have to specifically book a Handicap Assessable room. Did you check the room number on a ship layout map before hand?

Your Son is at the least popular age for cruisers. I am surprised they let him in the teen club since he is 19 years old.

I am so sorry you had a bad trip.

Son is 17 and perfectly aged for the club.

We did not like the Dream either. We've pretty much given up on wanting to sail on her or the Fantasy because of the sheer size and number of people. I won't say "never" because I don't know if it is true, but we certainly will be looking to the Magic and Wonder first for our cruises.

I guess I don't understand the whole HA room thing. You can specifically request and then show proof of need by faxing a form, that you require a HA room. Did you do this ahead of time? You have to let them know that you must have one or they aren't going to give you one just because it looks like you need one. I don't think it is fair to assume the CM checking you in should have offered one. Many people would turn around and complain that he/she did so.

 

[NavyWife93]

No I didn't check the ship map layout beforehand. I didn't have time. Hubby was moving due to change of orders in the Navy and I had family driving in and flying in. And I had to coordinate all of that. We have used the same travel agent for over 10 years and never had a problem getting a HA room. I think the cast member checking my mom in could have at least said "oh I see you are not in a HA room, we have one available on the same deck, would you like us to switch you?" But hubby and I checked in thru the Castaway line and the rest of our party did not. So I was not with my mom and didn't realize that she didn't get a HA room until after we were on the ship and after 1:30 when we could get to our rooms. We tried to get it changed but spent too much time standing in line at Guest Relations and before we could get to talk to someone had to leave for the life boat drill. Then she was upset because we spent so much time standing in line for her she didn't want us to go back. I just feel that at check in the Cast Member should have noticed that she was NOT in a HA room and asked if she would have liked to have changed rooms. Simple as that. Common courtesy.

I also forgot to mention that on the 2nd day of our cruise we were sitting on Deck 11 enjoying some ice cream after a day of shopping in Nassau, and the kid at the table next to us started throwing up and his parents just gave him a cup to throw up in and kept eating their lunch. Have common manners been totally lost??????????????

 

[DisFor20]

I'm sorry you had a bad time. I'm curious about room service. I've never heard that it ends at midnight on the Dream. Is that new?

 

[NavyWife93]

Not sure if it is something new or something for this cruise. On the Wonder we ordered room service at 3 am. But then of course we also were able to go up and get ice cream and pizza 24/7 on the Wonder and on the Dream they shut everything down.

 

[BeeTeacher]

We were on the dream Feb 2-5 and ordered room service at 1:45 am one night, and 2:30 on another. On the final night room service closed at 1:30 according to the navigator, if memory serves. One time it took a while for someone to pick up but not more than a minute or two.

I would not count on a CM to notice your mom in a wheel chair--she could have been with anyone as its kinda crazy at check in and its just a mosh pit of people. When we came up the escalator I was like "oh no, this is a LOT of people".

I've never done the smaller ships, and really, Ive seen them at the port and they are not THAT small. But what I liked with the dream is that even though it had a LOT of people, I never *felt* like it did, except in shutters on the last night.

Elevators after the muster drill--we anticipated this and used this time to take a walk all the way around the promenade deck and when we got back, no lines no waiting. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the number and size of the elevators. In no situation did I not get on "the next one" while waiting. Granted, we were on deck 10 and going up to 11 we always took the stairs.

 

[NavyWife93]

Not sure how a CM could not notice my mom. She was on a bill all by herself so had to check in all by herself. And she was in her wheelchair at the time. And it was not even close to being crowded when we checked in. It was 11:15 am. Went in, got right on the elevator and walked right up to desks to check in. No waiting at all.

 

[Goldeelox9]

The Person checking your mom in has no idea what type of room your mom booked? The HA rooms have numbers just like the other rooms. Disney sails and almost 100% every cruise. If your Mom booked Cabin 7576 and when she checked in they handed her the card for 7576 that is the room she gets. Rooms are not assigned at the port, they are assigned when you book them unless you book a GTY cabin and then that is assigned like 30 days prior to sailing. Someone should have made sure your mom was booked in a HA room before the day you were at the port. All rooms had been assigned at least a month prior to that day. It is not like a hotel where they move you around.

Now I know you said the HA rooms were empty on your cruise, that is because those rooms all can not be booked online. You have to call when booking or book with a certified Disney Travel Agent.

If you booked with a travel agent and told them you needed a HA room and they didn't give you one you should file a complaint with them. In no way is it Disney's fault. Your mother got the room she either picked while booking or the room that was assigned to her at least 30 days prior to sailing. I would contact the travel agent or look at the original confirmation.

On the Dream there are only 35 HA staterooms and they do not release these all for public booking. You must call to book one and while you do not need to provide proof of need you do have to request one specifically. There are only a few in most of the stateroom categories.

Again I am really very sorry that you guys had so much frustration. I have been a Disney Travel agent for years and I have never had a client book a HA stateroom and then not get it while boarding.

 

[gailg3horses]

Im sorry you had such a rough time, but you can't expect Disney to "know" you need or want a ha room. Even in a wheelchair, maybe you don't want one. Just saying. Also, what category stateroom did you book? If the ha rooms that you saw were a different category you cant expect them to move you at no charge. Again sorry it was so rough, but you should give it another go with more planning.

 

[princessmom29]

Not sure how a CM could not notice my mom. She was on a bill all by herself so had to check in all by herself. And she was in her wheelchair at the time. And it was not even close to being crowded when we checked in. It was 11:15 am. Went in, got right on the elevator and walked right up to desks to check in. No waiting at all.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I honestly don't know how you could expect he CM at check in to catch this. should they have all the HA room numbers memorized and check EVERY guest with a mobility issue? It is not something I would expect them to check behind me and make sure I had done. I think the blame here is with your TA for not booking your mom HA, and to some degree with the facthat it see,s no one checked to make sure this was done before ou arrived. i think if I t was important I would have at least take a few moments to check it before getting to the terminal.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't think it's a reasonable expectation to EXPECT a DCL cast member at check-in to offer a HA room to a guest who didn't book one based on what the guest looks like when they check in. They have no way of knowing that that guest didn't book exactly the room they wanted. There are procedures by which a guest may book an accessible room if that is what they want or require, but there's no procedure by which accessible staterooms are randomly assigned at check-in because somebody looks as though they might need one.

 

[Justacruiser]

No I didn't check the ship map layout beforehand. I didn't have time. Hubby was moving due to change of orders in the Navy and I had family driving in and flying in. And I had to coordinate all of that. We have used the same travel agent for over 10 years and never had a problem getting a HA room. I think the cast member checking my mom in could have at least said "oh I see you are not in a HA room, we have one available on the same deck, would you like us to switch you?" But hubby and I checked in thru the Castaway line and the rest of our party did not. So I was not with my mom and didn't realize that she didn't get a HA room until after we were on the ship and after 1:30 when we could get to our rooms. We tried to get it changed but spent too much time standing in line at Guest Relations and before we could get to talk to someone had to leave for the life boat drill. Then she was upset because we spent so much time standing in line for her she didn't want us to go back. I just feel that at check in the Cast Member should have noticed that she was NOT in a HA room and asked if she would have liked to have changed rooms. Simple as that. Common courtesy.

I also forgot to mention that on the 2nd day of our cruise we were sitting on Deck 11 enjoying some ice cream after a day of shopping in Nassau, and the kid at the table next to us started throwing up and his parents just gave him a cup to throw up in and kept eating their lunch. Have common manners been totally lost??????????????

Hello NaviWife93, I am a retired Army Veteran who enjoys Disney Cruise Line. First, if you used a TA, I blame a lot of the HA room issue on them. If they have provided great service for 10 years that is awesome. But, the TA should have ensured you had a HA room prior to you boarding. The check-in folks are not going to look at every KTTW card to see if something is right or wrong. There job is to get the 3,000 folks checked based on the room that was purchased by you.

You also state that you got to you rooms at 1:30 which is 2:30 hours before the muster. I know that if you would have hotten to the CS Counter by 1:45-2:00 you would have been assisted by 3:45. I would have stayed in line all night if I had too! No matter what momma wanted. The HA room is something that you request. Not everyone with a handicap request a HA room and it should not be the cruise lines RESPONSIBILITY to ask you about the room. Would the room have cost as an upgrade?

17 year old on a cruise. By daughter did the 17 year old stuff and now does the adult stauff with us at 24. The ship is a huge ship with plenty of indoor and outdoor activities. I am not a 100% sure he wanted to have a good time. Did you ask him what he was expecting to find on the cruise?

Adult entertainment is also available for us to attend. It is not DCL fault that noone shows up. They might need to focus on some need to provide something different, but I believe the DCL does a pretty good job and trying.

I love DCL but I know that with a 3-4 cruise everything is at an excellerated level. Not from CM's, but by the passengers. They are running around trying to get everything done while they are on baord. That is why I prefer the longer cruises, the passengers seem to be at a slower pace because they might be able to go to that activity at another time during the cruise.

I do think that the Wonder and Magic run better and there is more of a personal approach. But depending where you want to cruise those ships might not be available.

Wheelchair. I see a lot of posts where folks in wheelchairs have a hard time getting around. IMHO you have to be patient with crowds and be prepared to get to an activity early. DCL is not going to cater to someone anymore just because they are in a wheelchair. Wheelchair accessable means that a wheelchair can manouver. That's it.

IMHO this started off bad by a HA room not being issued. The Category of your room assignment for your mother should have been an identifier for you.

Not trying to attack you Navywife but just want you to see DCL will not make everything perfect. That's our job once we get on baord.