Fantasy Itinerary Change - Advice Requested

[olookasquirrel]

I don't have an opinion re compensation, but for others who.may be reading, we never do DCL excursions *but* we always choose companies that either monitor the cruise ships arrival times (in case of tendering) or provide full refund (or don't charge your card) in case ship does not make scheduled port. Happened to us twice. Side note, I'm impressed you made your excursion anyhow! Also wondering if trip insurance would cover your added expenses. In your cruise contract with DCL you agree to port and itinerary changes . But we never use DCL trip insurance so we are able to add our excursions to our total vacation costs.

This. I ended up booking a third party excursion for our last cruise, but before I did, I rejected several that would have required me to pre-pay, because I didn't want to run the risk of missing a pre-paid excursion and then stress about either getting a refund or losing money. Ended up with a FABULOUS trip that I may or may not have forgotten to bring enough cash to pay for, but luckily hubby had enough of "his" money in his wallet to cover the shortfall!

 

[ransomm]

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate hearing the consensus that I shouldn't expect anything. It helps to get the right mindset and release the frustration I had. I'll definitely just chalk this up as a lesson learned for cruising and figure out when my next DCL adventure will be.

I didn't opt for any trip insurance on this past go round, so I cannot offer any feedback on whether they would have covered some of my costs.

Thanks!

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice from you veteran Disney cruisers out there. I just completed my second Disney Cruise aboard the Fantasy for a 7 day trip to the Eastern Caribbean on May 27th. As expected, the on ship experience was amazing and the service excellent.

However, as many of you know, the Fantasy (just coming out of dry dock) had mechanical problems coming into port on the 20th and arrived several hours late. In addition, to deal with the mechanical problems, it didn't leave port until much later that night, maybe 10 or 11 pm.

As a result, Disney changed the itinerary for the cruise and instead of going to Tortola and St. Thomas as planned, it went to St. Thomas and then San Juan, Puerto Rico.

(Put aside for the moment the question of why the whole itinerary was changed for the mere 20 nautical miles that lie between Tortola and St Thomas, which can be navigated by a ferry in 1 hour. If you know why, I'd love to hear it.)

AFAIK, every passenger was given $25 OBC for the inconvenience.

I had arranged an excursion myself outside DCL on Tortola to do the dolphin experience (which was awesome, BTW). To make it happen with the ship making port in St Thomas, I had to take the ferry and incur a bunch of other expenses. This is in addition to not being able to go to Virgin Gorda from Tortola, which was one of the primary reasons for booking this itinerary in the first place.

I talked to the customer care people on the ship seeking some kind of additional compensation or concession from Disney given the change and additional expense, but they had to defer to the shore based team, and when word finally came back, Disney refused to do anything for me.

My question for the veterans out there is whether it's reasonable for me to expect something to be done?

I realize the cruise contract gives Disney the right to change whatever they want, but in the name of great customer service, I expected that they would do something more.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? What happened in your case?


Thanks very much!

 

[Beth06015]

That's an interesting theory. I haven't heard of any official reason given, nor of another credible theory, considering that Tortola and St. Thomas are so close to each other.

I have my own theory: In addition to possible maintenance logistics, there's also the consideration of what might happen if they had to limp to port and could not depart for a few days, and had to cancel the cruise mid-way. To leave BVI for the US, either by airplane or ferry, requires a passport for all people. However, if the cruise got cancelled while the ship was at St. Thomas or Puerto Rico, all that is required for US citizens is a driver's license or gov't photo ID (for those 16 and above) to fly from either of those cities to the US mainland. Although there is Customs control between USVI (but not Puerto Rico) and the mainland US, it's still okay for US citizens to pass through it with just a DL. Consider what a cluster it would be to cancel the cruise in Tortola and have to deal with perhaps thousands of passengers (i.e. those that traveled with a birth certificate only) that would need emergency travel documents to get back to the US.




The stated reason for the $25 credit was to compensate for lunch that passengers had to provide for themselves on the first day, when it ordinarily would have been provided on board. Since I assume that almost everyone did in fact feed themselves an extra meal on land before boarding the ship, I'd consider that courtesy credit fully used at the time of boarding.

I was also on this cruise. A few points to add: (1) the $25 OBC covered our expenses for lunch and extended rental car, etc, as a result of their delay boarding us. That has nothing to do with the itinerary change (2) The first day on ship was very confusing, they did not provide navigators to us getting on board so as 1st time cruises we had no clue what was going on -- after dinner we picked up a navigator, but to that point we were just listening to announcements to see where to go/do etc. We got on the ship with no direction other than a letter saying our itinerary was possibly changing and the crew was equally unsure as to if/when it could be fixed, if/when we would be leaving, what events were scheduled. At 9pm there was an announcement we would be sailing soon, but we did not start moving until after 11pm (which we figured out only because we went to the deck and saw it moving). There was no sail away party, onboard celebrations, etc. They got us on the ship before we could figure out the ship wasn't running. Missing the sail away, with this being my first cruise ever, was a big disappointment. (3) Our excursion for St. Thomas, which I planned well in advance of the cruise and with Disney, was not able to be accommodated bc we went to St. Thomas Tuesday rather than Wednesday and they were booked assisting the other cruise ship on Tuesday. We found out it was canceled when we went to see options for what we could do in San Juan (no prior communication). At that point we had one option if we wanted to snorkel and it was not the St. John sail we'd planned. For San Juan, there was really only one option for a five-year-old. The excursion situation was very frustrating.

No explanations have satisfied my thusfar as to why St. Thomas was moved from Wed to Tues. If we needed to leave mid-week if the problem couldn't be fixed, then why wasn't it in place of Tortola on Tues and not mess up St. Thomas? The islands are close so distance can't be an issue. If we needed a part in San Juan, also, why not go there Tues first and leave our plans as is for Wednesday? There were no other ships in San Juan Tuesday, so that couldn't have been the issue.

Also, with respect to the issues we encountered - this was not a hurricane or distress on an island or other unknowable factors. We paid to be on a cruise ship, a good amount of money, and part of that product we bought was a working ship -- not one with mechanical issues to be fixed on our time. Being delayed with the confusion involved, the switcharoo of ports without explanation, and missing half a day on the ship including most on-board/sail-away activities was a big loss.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

No explanations have satisfied my thusfar as to why St. Thomas was moved from Wed to Tues. If we needed to leave mid-week if the problem couldn't be fixed, then why wasn't it in place of Tortola on Tues and not mess up St. Thomas? The islands are close so distance can't be an issue.

I think SuperDry's theory makes the most sense:

That's an interesting theory. I haven't heard of any official reason given, nor of another credible theory, considering that Tortola and St. Thomas are so close to each other.

I have my own theory: In addition to possible maintenance logistics, there's also the consideration of what might happen if they had to limp to port and could not depart for a few days, and had to cancel the cruise mid-way. To leave BVI for the US, either by airplane or ferry, requires a passport for all people. However, if the cruise got cancelled while the ship was at St. Thomas or Puerto Rico, all that is required for US citizens is a driver's license or gov't photo ID (for those 16 and above) to fly from either of those cities to the US mainland. Although there is Customs control between USVI (but not Puerto Rico) and the mainland US, it's still okay for US citizens to pass through it with just a DL. Consider what a cluster it would be to cancel the cruise in Tortola and have to deal with perhaps thousands of passengers (i.e. those that traveled with a birth certificate only) that would need emergency travel documents to get back to the US.




The stated reason for the $25 credit was to compensate for lunch that passengers had to provide for themselves on the first day, when it ordinarily would have been provided on board. Since I assume that almost everyone did in fact feed themselves an extra meal on land before boarding the ship, I'd consider that courtesy credit fully used at the time of boarding.

 

[wilkeliza]

I was also on this cruise. A few points to add: (1) the $25 OBC covered our expenses for lunch and extended rental car, etc, as a result of their delay boarding us. That has nothing to do with the itinerary change (2) The first day on ship was very confusing, they did not provide navigators to us getting on board so as 1st time cruises we had no clue what was going on -- after dinner we picked up a navigator, but to that point we were just listening to announcements to see where to go/do etc. We got on the ship with no direction other than a letter saying our itinerary was possibly changing and the crew was equally unsure as to if/when it could be fixed, if/when we would be leaving, what events were scheduled. At 9pm there was an announcement we would be sailing soon, but we did not start moving until after 11pm (which we figured out only because we went to the deck and saw it moving). There was no sail away party, onboard celebrations, etc. They got us on the ship before we could figure out the ship wasn't running. Missing the sail away, with this being my first cruise ever, was a big disappointment. (3) Our excursion for St. Thomas, which I planned well in advance of the cruise and with Disney, was not able to be accommodated bc we went to St. Thomas Tuesday rather than Wednesday and they were booked assisting the other cruise ship on Tuesday. We found out it was canceled when we went to see options for what we could do in San Juan (no prior communication). At that point we had one option if we wanted to snorkel and it was not the St. John sail we'd planned. For San Juan, there was really only one option for a five-year-old. The excursion situation was very frustrating.

No explanations have satisfied my thusfar as to why St. Thomas was moved from Wed to Tues. If we needed to leave mid-week if the problem couldn't be fixed, then why wasn't it in place of Tortola on Tues and not mess up St. Thomas? The islands are close so distance can't be an issue. If we needed a part in San Juan, also, why not go there Tues first and leave our plans as is for Wednesday? There were no other ships in San Juan Tuesday, so that couldn't have been the issue.

Also, with respect to the issues we encountered - this was not a hurricane or distress on an island or other unknowable factors. We paid to be on a cruise ship, a good amount of money, and part of that product we bought was a working ship -- not one with mechanical issues to be fixed on our time. Being delayed with the confusion involved, the switcharoo of ports without explanation, and missing half a day on the ship including most on-board/sail-away activities was a big loss.

It probably had a lot to do with what ports could take them when. So they made 1 big change that then caused some minor moves as well. During this time of year ports can be pretty packed with other cruiselines as well.

On top of that just for future crusies I've never been handed a navigator the first day. I've always had to ask or grab one in the terminal.

 

[Beth06015]

I think SuperDry's theory makes the most sense:

Even with that explanation, still why not exchange Tortola with San Juan and leave St. Thomas as is (going right to San Juan)? If they were so concerned wouldn't you want to stop first in the bigger port anyway? Schedule at San Juan wasn't an issue as they had no ships there Tuesday. St. Thomas was busier the day we went than it would have been Wed.

 

[Beth06015]

It probably had a lot to do with what ports could take them when. So they made 1 big change that then caused some minor moves as well. During this time of year ports can be pretty packed with other cruiselines as well.

On top of that just for future crusies I've never been handed a navigator the first day. I've always had to ask or grab one in the terminal.

That's helpful if we go again, but none of the crew seemed to have much direction and there weren't printed schedules (or planned times, for that matter) for anything, until after the first show/dinner.

Also, San Juan was empty Tuesday and St. Thomas was busier the day we went (Tuesday) than when we were scheduled (Wed).

 

[bbel]

Even with that explanation, still why not exchange Tortola with San Juan and leave St. Thomas as is (going right to San Juan)? If they were so concerned wouldn't you want to stop first in the bigger port anyway? Schedule at San Juan wasn't an issue as they had no ships there Tuesday. St. Thomas was busier the day we went than it would have been Wed.

At the end of the day, I doubt anyone on here knows the actual reason. There would have been a reason behind it disney (or any other cruise line) aren't going to say 'we delayed them with boarding, hey let's just mess them around even more because we can, just for lols.

Chances are they needed a part or a diver or a specialist of some sort and San Juan was the nearest place while trying to keep the itinerary close to the one people were expecting. And that was the only time they could get them in. They're not going to stop another ship coming in so the fantasy could, that's bad business for them. You said San Juan was empty on the Tuesday- that's probably why you were there....

One time we had a late night in key West. They told us was crew recognition. It wasn't (KW is an expensive port, they wouldn't pay that for crew) it was because they needed a specialist diver that could only go in safely in KW, they had a plan for the next day in case the 'crew recognition' didn't go to plan.

Just to point out - no way saying your view/feelings/experiences/thoughts aren't valid - just trying to give you a potential reason that might make it seem a little better when you look back at it in the future...

 

[Beth06015]

At the end of the day, I doubt anyone on here knows the actual reason. There would have been a reason behind it disney (or any other cruise line) aren't going to say 'we delayed them with boarding, hey let's just mess them around even more because we can, just for lols.

Chances are they needed a part or a diver or a specialist of some sort and San Juan was the nearest place while trying to keep the itinerary close to the one people were expecting. And that was the only time they could get them in. They're not going to stop another ship coming in so the fantasy could, that's bad business for them. You said San Juan was empty on the Tuesday- that's probably why you were there....

One time we had a late night in key West. They told us was crew recognition. It wasn't (KW is an expensive port, they wouldn't pay that for crew) it was because they needed a specialist diver that could only go in safely in KW, they had a plan for the next day in case the 'crew recognition' didn't go to plan.

Just to point out - no way saying your view/feelings/experiences/thoughts aren't valid - just trying to give you a potential reason that might make it seem a little better when you look back at it in the future...

To clarify - San Juan was empty Tuesday AND Wednesday. We went there Wednesday. I guess their touring season ends earlier in May, so they weren't busy and it seems could have accommodated us either day (so why move St. Thomas?). Maybe the part was only available Wednesday? Anyways, seems like their problem to me, since it was their broken ship I was paying to be on.

 

[bbel]

To clarify - San Juan was empty Tuesday AND Wednesday. We went there Wednesday. I guess their touring season ends earlier in May, so they weren't busy and it seems could have accommodated us either day (so why move St. Thomas?). Maybe the part was only available Wednesday? Anyways, seems like their problem to me, since it was their broken ship I was paying to be on.

Sorry I got the days mixed up...
Like I said, it sucks. But you got a cruise, try and focus on that and the things you did enjoy. Yes it is their problems, but unfortunately for you, and thousands of others, you got mixed up in that problem, but I believe disney did the best they could with the situations they were left in. Sure, it's their responsibility but at the same time, they can't control everything, it's not like they planned/caused/wanted a broken ship, it's inconvenient for guests and a lot more inconvenient and costly for the company.
They could've easily cancelled the ports all together, probably would have been a lot easier for them. They could have cancelled the cruise althogether of just kept you in PC.
Sometimes (especially when travelling) you just got to go with what happens and try and make the best of it no matter how upsetting/annoying/enraging it might be.

I hope you made some good memories besides all this.

 

[Beth06015]

Sorry I got the days mixed up...
Like I said, it sucks. But you got a cruise, try and focus on that and the things you did enjoy. Yes it is their problems, but unfortunately for you, and thousands of others, you got mixed up in that problem, but I believe disney did the best they could with the situations they were left in. Sure, it's their responsibility but at the same time, they can't control everything, it's not like they planned/caused/wanted a broken ship, it's inconvenient for guests and a lot more inconvenient and costly for the company.
They could've easily cancelled the ports all together, probably would have been a lot easier for them. They could have cancelled the cruise althogether of just kept you in PC.
Sometimes (especially when travelling) you just got to go with what happens and try and make the best of it no matter how upsetting/annoying/enraging it might be.

I hope you made some good memories besides all this.

Don't get me wrong -- we had an absolutely amazing time -- the kids loved all of it, every second. We went on the adventure we ended up on and made the most of all of it. Now we are back though and I just don't feel much charity towards Disney about their mechanical problems....that's the product they're selling for quite a large price tag. Sure they could have canceled (and refunded us), instead they let us board and took us where was convenient for their repairs. Safe operation of the ship is a number one priority for them, as it should be, but I feel like more should be addressed given the impact on the passengers. Disney made plenty of money keeping us on that ship rather than rescheduling us.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FWIW, I don't know that any other cruise line would have handled this any better. So even if you try another line, keep that in mind.

 

[charminnie]

I was also on this cruise. This was my 3rd DCL cruise and frankly I am very disappointed in the way DCL handled the entire situation. I understand that DCL does not have to compensate fora change of itinerary but should compensate us for the loss of our embarkation day!! Yes we were allowed onto the boat later than usual but that first day was a chaotic mess!! No navigator, no sail away party, muster was right before the main dinner seating so it was chaotic getting to dinner! The first day is supposed to be exciting but it was such a disappointment being handed a paper when I boarded the ship telling me my entire vacation was not what we had planned. We weren't even told in person. I believe we should have been told when we checked in. I thought this was very unprofessional. The icing on the cake was when I went to guest services to voice my concerns and the representative laughed and told me I was lucky because San Juan is a much better port than Tortola!! Maybe no other cruise line would have done any better but I probably could have swallowed it better if i had paid 3000 less like I would have if we had sailed Royal Caribbean. We pay a premium price for DCL and I expect outstanding customer service for that premium. Everyone on this board always says "you get what you pay for". Well I did not get what I paid for at all!!

 

[undertheradar]

I was also on this cruise. This was my 3rd DCL cruise and frankly I am very disappointed in the way DCL handled the entire situation. I understand that DCL does not have to compensate fora change of itinerary but should compensate us for the loss of our embarkation day!! Yes we were allowed onto the boat later than usual but that first day was a chaotic mess!! No navigator, no sail away party, muster was right before the main dinner seating so it was chaotic getting to dinner! The first day is supposed to be exciting but it was such a disappointment being handed a paper when I boarded the ship telling me my entire vacation was not what we had planned. We weren't even told in person. I believe we should have been told when we checked in. I thought this was very unprofessional. The icing on the cake was when I went to guest services to voice my concerns and the representative laughed and told me I was lucky because San Juan is a much better port than Tortola!! Maybe no other cruise line would have done any better but I probably could have swallowed it better if i had paid 3000 less like I would have if we had sailed Royal Caribbean. We pay a premium price for DCL and I expect outstanding customer service for that premium. Everyone on this board always says "you get what you pay for". Well I did not get what I paid for at all!!

So what exactly are you looking for in compensation?

 

[jrabbit]

and remember, if they went to Tortola and replaced St. Thomas with San Juan, there's a whole other group that would have been upset as well (or instead). With the ship issues, there were going to be "Winners", "Losers" and those that were able to go with the flow regardless of what they did with itinerary.

At least you didn't have a double dip in Nassau with Freeport as an additional stop.

 

[bbel]

I understand that DCL does not have to compensate fora change of itinerary but should compensate us for the loss of our embarkation day!!

Just to put it out there, you book and pay for nights onboard, so in that respect they don't owe you compensation for embarkation day, and you got the evening and night you paid for.

Do thy owe you compensation for other things? That's a different topic...

 

[quickcat]

I was also on this cruise. This was my 3rd DCL cruise and frankly I am very disappointed in the way DCL handled the entire situation. I understand that DCL does not have to compensate fora change of itinerary but should compensate us for the loss of our embarkation day!! Yes we were allowed onto the boat later than usual but that first day was a chaotic mess!! No navigator, no sail away party, muster was right before the main dinner seating so it was chaotic getting to dinner! The first day is supposed to be exciting but it was such a disappointment being handed a paper when I boarded the ship telling me my entire vacation was not what we had planned. We weren't even told in person. I believe we should have been told when we checked in. I thought this was very unprofessional. The icing on the cake was when I went to guest services to voice my concerns and the representative laughed and told me I was lucky because San Juan is a much better port than Tortola!! Maybe no other cruise line would have done any better but I probably could have swallowed it better if i had paid 3000 less like I would have if we had sailed Royal Caribbean. We pay a premium price for DCL and I expect outstanding customer service for that premium. Everyone on this board always says "you get what you pay for". Well I did not get what I paid for at all!!

I would have been very disappointed with having no sail away party and no navigator the first afternoon as well. It is really too bad they completely cut that out. I am surprised about the customer service gal laughing about your concerns, really just kind of adds insult to injury. Hope some of your cruise went better than the way it started!

 

[charminnie]

So what exactly are you looking for in compensation?

Well maybe it would have been nice to receive a better onboard credit or a higher percentage off of our next cruise. I know that has been done before by DCL. Look, I am a big Disney fan and a big DCL fan but I'm also not one of those people who thinks Disney never makes mistakes. This was just not good customer service, period. Maybe they legally don't owe their passengers compensation for itinerary changes or loss of embarkation day, but one would think that they would want to make their customers happy. They continually rave about their customer service and how they want to make each and every passengers cruise as magical as possible. I can tell you that there were lots of unhappy people on that ship. We spoke with many other passengers who were down right mad about the whole thing and how it was handled. We usually book a place holder while onboard but did not this time.

 

[MickeyD]

I was going to stay quiet, but this is really making me mad. We were on this cruise as well, and yes, we were disappointed by the first day--but big flipping deal! You missed ONE party people! With a 70% chance that they were going to CANCEL this cruise, we are darn lucky to have sailed at all! Disney didn't owe us anything, yet they chose to give each person $25. For those of you sailing with numerous kids, that adds up quickly! The staff was simply awesome and did what they could to make that first day fun and seamless for everyone. The fact that there were "glitches" throughout the cruise--like Enchanted Garden losing power every night we were there--was simply an excuse for us to laugh again. It is all about attitude. We were bummed to not got to Tortola and we had a great excursion planned there, but it is what it is and we then chose to stay on the ship in San Juan (been there before and it was HOT and HUMID) and you know what? We had a great day, as a family and loved the mostly empty ship. Again, attitude. People and their entitled attitude of "Disney owes us more because we were inconvenienced" is such a sad testament to our society anymore. Sorry you missed your first day Navigator, and your excursions were messed up, and you didn't get to dance with Mickey and the gang leaving Port Canaveral, but you DID get to sail and we had fabulous weather, calm seas, and nice port stops. (and this is not necessarily directed at the OP, but all the people on this cruise with the entitled attitude)

 

[princess pooh]

I was going to stay quiet, but this is really making me mad. We were on this cruise as well, and yes, we were disappointed by the first day--but big flipping deal! You missed ONE party people! With a 70% chance that they were going to CANCEL this cruise, we are darn lucky to have sailed at all! Disney didn't owe us anything, yet they chose to give each person $25. For those of you sailing with numerous kids, that adds up quickly! The staff was simply awesome and did what they could to make that first day fun and seamless for everyone. The fact that there were "glitches" throughout the cruise--like Enchanted Garden losing power every night we were there--was simply an excuse for us to laugh again. It is all about attitude. We were bummed to not got to Tortola and we had a great excursion planned there, but it is what it is and we then chose to stay on the ship in San Juan (been there before and it was HOT and HUMID) and you know what? We had a great day, as a family and loved the mostly empty ship. Again, attitude. People and their entitled attitude of "Disney owes us more because we were inconvenienced" is such a sad testament to our society anymore. Sorry you missed your first day Navigator, and your excursions were messed up, and you didn't get to dance with Mickey and the gang leaving Port Canaveral, but you DID get to sail and we had fabulous weather, calm seas, and nice port stops. (and this is not necessarily directed at the OP, but all the people on this cruise with the entitled attitude)

I hope you don't fall off your high horse and hurt yourself. A disney cruise is very expensive and a once in a lifetime vacation for most people. I don't blame anyone for being upset at not getting the vacation they planned on and expected. If it were me I'd be expecting more compensation than $25 for lunch. Getting mad at people for being upset and expecting everyone to have the same attitude as you just smacks of privilege. It's a lot easier to roll with the punches when you've taken seven disney cruises.