Do not book 5024/5524 on the Dream/Fantasy!

[Stebu]

I just came back from the first double-dip on the Dream, and I loved the cruise/hated my room. The problems with 5024 (and I am assuming 5524) are

1) The balcony is less than half the depth of the other Cat 5E staterooms.
2) Because of the short balcony, people in 5026/5526 can look right into your stateroom (not just your balcony, your entire stateroom).
3) You are not at the edge of the ship, unlike all the other balconies.
4) The room is over the Walt Disney Theater, and the bass really (really!) comes into the room. This was a big problem on the pirate night when they had a 11:15 PM -1:45 AM showing of On Stranger Tides.

Basically, this room has no business being in Cat 5E.

 

[FLPrincessMom]

I'm really sorry to hear about your room!

I'm not sure what you heard on Pirate night as the11:15 Pirate movie was in the Buena Vista Theater.

 

[Stebu]

On pirate night, the showings (including the 11:15) were definitely in the walt disney theater. I popped down to see the end as I was awake anyway.

 

[MaleficentRN]

That's good to know! I'm surprised they haven't re catagorized those rooms yet.

 

[Dizzyworld]

Write a letter to DCL.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Write a letter to DCL.

I agree. They can't fix these kinds of problems if they don't know about them.

 

[Stebu]

I talked to a couple officers on board the ship, and I'm definitely going to write a letter as well.

One thing that certainly helped with talking with the officers is the picture I took from my stateroom bed of the balcony of the other room.

 

[mom2brooke76]

I talked to a couple officers on board the ship, and I'm definitely going to write a letter as well.

One thing that certainly helped with talking with the officers is the picture I took from my stateroom bed of the balcony of the other room.

Can you post that picture so that I can see what you're referring to? Thanks!

 

[nordkin]

I got nowhere contacting DCL via phone and letter about 7520. Guest services even took a picture of the ~40% obstruction of the verandah. The very rude person I spoke to at DCL after the cruise and a letter stated DCL did not feel any of the staterooms needed to be recatagorized. He said they were not getting complaints and there was nothing they would do. I will never sail on the Dream again and will not sail the Fantasy.

 

[jilljill]

Stebu - please post a stateroom report: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomlist.cfm

 

[noahsmom]

Not knowing about this room we booked 5E guarantee for our upcoming cruise. Sadly we were assigned this room. DH called DCL, the manager said he'd heard nothing about this room having an obstructed view. He said he'd look into it and call back. He did call back and confirmed that the view was obstructed but it's a 5E and that's what we booked - too bad. DH then sent an email to DCL stating we were disappointed that we upgraded our category 9 to 5E to have a veranda. After paying an extra $800 we now have a room with an obstructed view AND neighbors that can look into our room. He also stated that we understand the ship is full but that this room clearly should be re-categorized and for that reason is there some compensation we could get since we didn't get a true 5E. You can guess the response.

I do intend on having the hotel officer come to the room once we board and explain to me how this room is the same as the one next door.

Stebu I'd be very interested to hear how your conversations went with the officers. Please send me a PM if you'd prefer not post the conversation.

I will also say we have been nice and polite in all our interactions - lot of good that's done. Very disappointed in DCL's response. We will certainly never do a guarantee reservation again. I've learned my lesson.

 

[luvdisney24]

oops!

 

[noahsmom]

Yes the bulkhead obstructs part of the veranda, but I think the biggest issue is the fact that the stateroom next door has an extended veranda and they can look into 5024/5524. At least that bothers me more than the obstruction.

 

[RRB]

I will never sail on the Dream again and will not sail the Fantasy.

I understand your disappointment and would feel the same way about the room but there are about 1,000 staterooms on the ship. I'm pretty sure you would find a stateroom to your liking on another cruise.

RB

 

[Stebu]

Not knowing about this room we booked 5E guarantee for our upcoming cruise. Sadly we were assigned this room. DH called DCL, the manager said he'd heard nothing about this room having an obstructed view. He said he'd look into it and call back. He did call back and confirmed that the view was obstructed but it's a 5E and that's what we booked - too bad. DH then sent an email to DCL stating we were disappointed that we upgraded our category 9 to 5E to have a veranda. After paying an extra $800 we now have a room with an obstructed view AND neighbors that can look into our room. He also stated that we understand the ship is full but that this room clearly should be re-categorized and for that reason is there some compensation we could get since we didn't get a true 5E. You can guess the response.

I do intend on having the hotel officer come to the room once we board and explain to me how this room is the same as the one next door.

Stebu I'd be very interested to hear how your conversations went with the officers. Please send me a PM if you'd prefer not post the conversation.

I will also say we have been nice and polite in all our interactions - lot of good that's done. Very disappointed in DCL's response. We will certainly never do a guarantee reservation again. I've learned my lesson.

My conversations with the front desk staff started off as comical. One guest services crew member even told me that 5026 was a nicer room because it was a higher category; he said this while looking at a stateroom category map.

The officers I talked with were all apologetic, and seemed to try and walk the fine line of both acknowledging that I had a problem but trying to convince me it wasn't really a problem. They did promise me that they were taking my complaint seriously and would review the room categorization later, but I'd take that with a salt shaker. I did get a bottle of champagne as an apology.

One thing I would keep in mind is that both guest services and the officers I talked with acted like this was the first they had ever heard of any problems at all with 5024/5524. I would be very curious to see if they attempted the same with you.

And yes, the #1 thing that bothered me was the lack of privacy.

 

[truck1]

I got nowhere contacting DCL via phone and letter about 7520. Guest services even took a picture of the ~40% obstruction of the verandah. The very rude person I spoke to at DCL after the cruise and a letter stated DCL did not feel any of the staterooms needed to be recatagorized. He said they were not getting complaints and there was nothing they would do. I will never sail on the Dream again and will not sail the Fantasy.

email guest communications, and put in the subject line Attention Karl Holz. Hes the DCL pres and from my understanding if you do that, the email will get routed to him.

Next question is what is wrong with 7520?

 

[nordkin]

email guest communications, and put in the subject line Attention Karl Holz. Hes the DCL pres and from my understanding if you do that, the email will get routed to him.

Next question is what is wrong with 7520?

The verandah has about a 35-40% obstruction coming from the left toward the center and is partially enclosed due to it.

 

[woody73]

. . . One thing I would keep in mind is that both guest services and the officers I talked with acted like this was the first they had ever heard of any problems at all with 5024/5524. I would be very curious to see if they attempted the same with you.

This reminds me of a problem I had with a pair of ECCO walking shoes. The sole simply crumbled apart the second time I wore them.

Before contacting the company, I did a Google search, and learned that ECCO acknowledged problems with the sole of this particular style, and replaced many, many pairs of this style shoe.

When I called ECCO's customer service, the representative acted like this was the first time they ever heard of the problem. I was tempted to ask her, "Which acting school did you attend?"

Woody

 

[jilljill]

This reminds me of a problem I had with a pair of ECCO walking shoes. The sole simply crumbled apart the second time I wore them.

Before contacting the company, I did a Google search, and learned that ECCO acknowledged problems with the sole of this particular style, and replaced many, many pairs of this style shoe.

When I called ECCO's customer service, the representative acted like this was the first time they ever heard of the problem. I was tempted to ask her, "Which acting school did you attend?"

Woody

I have also done the same when contacting the company about a particular problem. While the company may have dealt with the similiar problem the agent you talk to may not have encounted it before. So always go in armed with info to inform the c/s rep. that the company has encountered the problem in the past and then they usually pass you along to someone else that can help you or just ask to be passed 'up the chain'.

 

[Makayna]

I work in the hospitality industry, and it's quite common to treat every occurrence of a problem as though it's the first time it's happened. It's not the fault of the person you're talking to that the ship was designed poorly! But they will OFTEN get the brunt of the abuse from the angry guest, ESPECIALLY if the guest knows/thinks that this is a common problem.

So, I will admit to acting ignorant of problems when I have an irate or disgruntled guest in front of me! It's only going to make things worse if you let them know that others have complained about the same thing, and like I said... it's not THEIR fault that the ship was designed poorly! It's not THEIR fault that the room hasn't been reclassified yet! But they most certainly WILL take the verbal backlash from it if the guest knows that it's a common problem!

So, like I said, it's VERY common for the front-line people to act ignorant of problems and it's not because they don't care or that they don't want you to be satisfied... it's just that there's only so much they can do. So the BEST thing they can do is smile, be courteous and respectful, recognize that you DO, in fact, have a problem (sometimes, all people want is for someone to recognize that they HAVE a problem, and honestly, for the front-line person, that's the BEST thing they CAN do), apologize for the problem, do everything within their power to make the situation better for the guest, and again, act completely ignorant that this has ever been brought up before. To do otherwise only gives the guest fuel when they complain to the heads of the company ("and your guest service staff even SAID that they get LOTS of complaints about this issue and still, you've done NOTHING about it!!!!!!!") and that comes right back to the CM, who may very well lose his/her job over it if they say that this is a common complaint.

So again, it's not their fault, and yes, they probably HAVE heard that same complaint before, but to admit to it will only make the current situation with the guest worse because the guest will get even MORE irate, and it could also even lead to them losing their job if the guest goes on to complain higher. Just keep that in mind.