From WDW to DL With Love - January 06, 2011 part 5

[sak0526]

I agree with the 'growing pains' concept but somehow they should have been able to avoid some of it with longer training periods on ships that had passengers. I don't think I will get over the well done Beef Wellington - ever. It had the consistency of liver and it tasted like pot roast. Oddly enough, I like pot roast and liver but somehow or other, it was not right. And then the dining manager (someone NOT new) offering me a chicken breast (had I wanted chicken, I would have ordered chicken). In reflection, the food in that restaurant close to the whole cruise was 'off'. There is part of me that feels we paid a pretty high price to be guinea pigs!

On the other hand - I could pack up and be ready to go tomorrow (helps that I still have one suitcase not unpacked). It was awesome and everyone here made that so - from the FE's to the SM gifts and all the activities. It was so nice seeing familiar faces - well, except you. Alan. I am bummed that we didn't meet.

I have only sailed on DCL so have nothing to compare it with, but some friends who have cruised other lines say some are excellent. I guess I will only know that when I try some!!

I did..they sent me a 25% off of a future cruise coupon.

glindamood - i am with you - i'm ready to go back! We're doing RC out of Baltimore this fall so at least i'll have something to compare with disney.
Interesting you all had so much issue with the butter/margarine. I'm thinking if i remember (didnt go back and reread) the ones with the most problem were the Brits? but whatever, we found butter a lot so it wasnt a big deal. and like alan we didnt mind the margarine. but Putu and Renaldo seemed to always bring butter and we had it at most lunches (we didnt do but maybe 2 breakfasts the whole cruise!!). the only meal I can say was bad was lobster. Lobster tail needs to be broiled, not baked! It's the only meal i can express true taste disappointment in. I knew we would not care for pirates night, we never have liked that menu, nor...i forget the other tropical one. but we found ok food. i woldnt have them change the menu for us. DH liked palo dinner more than me - well, i liked it but saw no reason to miss that nights lobster (was it baked or broiled??? tell me!! oh wait, no dont, cause if it was broiled i'd be more disapointed). but the food at palos brunch and dinner was very good, but i dont think i'd pay the uplift again for dinner. it wasnt that much better even at 15 a person plus tip. but otherwise, i can say neither DH nor i nor DD when she could join us were disapointed really. There were too many nights with a ton of pork dishes to choose from and some other things, but generally, it was good.

Jill, yes, what did you say? And was it your comments at the end or a separate letter?

 

[sak0526]

Doug & I were delighted to have dinner with Des, Richard & Tori. It was fun to get caught up on what's happening with everyone. Maybe we'll get together again in April. Goofprincess (Tony & Sandy) wants to come down for the MouseAdventure on April 10th. We want to play, too.

Tony & Sandy are coming over for dinner and cards this evening. We're all tired of rain - but aren't fussing a lot. At least we don't have to shovel it and we do need it. I'm making a BIG pot of chili.

Val, I really like what you did with your pins - gives me a good idea of what to do with mine. Perhaps I'll put the pins around the Panama Canal certificate.

Sorry to be away from the board for awhile - we've had some serious health issues to deal with. Fortunately, it's not related to the cruise, but I haven't felt like being on the computer. Things are looking up, though. We leave for WDW Thursday morning. I'm doing the 5K on Saturday, and we're both doing the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom that afternoon.

I will try to post my pix to SmugMug after we get back.
Shirley

Shirley, sorry to hear about your health issues. Hope things are better or improving.
My DD (not the one you met) is doing the 1/2 marathon sunday if her health holds out. wish i could go and see u and her !

 

[Wyndi Mother]

Hmmm...
Well, everyone I interacted with was very responsive. If I ever wanted butter instead of margarine, I am pretty sure they would have brought it--just would have had to ask. I figure it this way-- butter is expensive, and many people don't use it--what with health consciousness being what it is these days--so, since they have to throw away what isn't used after each meal, it is more cost effective and less wasteful to keep it in the refrigerator and bring it out on request. Somewhere along the line, there is a benefit to all in not being wasteful, and I can appreciate that.

Personally, I was extremely pleased with the food. My daughter and I are vegetarians, so I was thrilled that they were making the effort to try out all the different styles of tofu and interesting side dishes in the main dining rotations. There might have been a couple of things I didn't absolutely LOVE,LOVE,LOVE, but in 15 dinners, that doesn't seem extraordinary. In addition to the main dishes, there were always a lovely array of soups, salads, and appetizers...I never left with a complaint at the front of my mind. I also appreciated the dessert trios. We aren't generally dessert eaters, but we wanted to have fun with the offerings, and the temptation trios capped off the dinners nicely--fun, but not too much.

As for Palo, we did brunch, tea, and dinner. Loved them all. Everything was exceptionally yum.

I truly loved the fruit, yogurt, salads, and paninis at Goofy's Galley, loved the pizzas at Pinnochios--and the freshly made pretzels! I loved being able to grab a good old, messy burger (gardenburger, of course) at Pluto's on a couple of occasions.

At the bottom of the dining ranks was Beach Blanket, and it was perfectly fine. We really only went there for a couple of breakfasts and maybe two lunches. It was quick, easy, and with all the options there was always something that worked.

I don't know. My only complaint...it ended. Yep!

 

[valbob89]

I think if you look at those of us that are voicing issues with any part of the cruise you will see that most of us are comparing this cruise to many we have taken on DCL in the past.

I can only speak for myself when I say, having been on three other cruiselines, that Disney is by far my favorite and has our loyalty (other cruises were to locations that Disney didn't travel to with friends who we wanted to travel with). It is almost like DCL is family, no one better say anything bad about them - but me. On this cruise I saw a drop in some of the levels of excellence we have come to expect. Not at all in the level of commitment from the crew, thank goodness, nor from most of the officers. But other things, like the quality of products and the general atmosphere seemed different.

Is it just me or did it seem like the officers were feeling it too and were slightly on edge. They all tried to put on a good face but when I spoke to a few that I had developed a relationship with I could tell they were not sure about this move to the west coast. Many of them own homes in Florida and have family there. They are also comfortable traveling back to their homes from there. They even were concerned about the LA port being so far from anything. In Florida DCL has shuttles that take the crew to local shopping, plus Florida allows them alot of freedom. In LA there is no shuttle and the LA immigration is restricting their ability to go away from the ship for any length of time. I think this played apart in feelings and atmosphere on the cruise. A number of us mentioned we thought there would be a bigger send off of the Wonder and arrival in LA - imagine how they must have felt. Plus, even if the crew members didn't want to go to the Dream, they may have felt overlooked.

I have uploaded most of my pictures to smugmug. For those of you who asked about the pictures Bob took at the Champagne Girls, Mixology and Roomtour, they are there now. I also have others there, including pictures from our bridge tour and the Mickey Whistle button.
Val

 

[sumeto]

I have uploaded most of my pictures to smugmug. For those of you who asked about the pictures Bob took at the Champagne Girls, Mixology and Roomtour, they are there now. I also have others there, including pictures from our bridge tour and the Mickey Whistle button.
Val[/QUOTE]
I saw the bridge tour pic's .They were nice. How did you get to go to th bridge?
Also was the picture of the room with the corner shaped closet your? If so what room was that?
Thanks in advance!

 

[granmaz]

Val, that is interesting.

One of the things I said to John was that something was different and I couldn't put my finger on it, just that it all wasn't the same as we had experienced previously. Our US friend on our second night over dinner said exactly the same thing. Something felt not quite right. We came up with all the things we have talked about like the crew being used to 3 or 4 nights, new crew etc etc, and our friend wondered if some of the crew weren't too keen on the move. There was much more chit chat amongst the crew, particularly at the stations at dinner time. I had never seen that much chatting and not getting on with the work.

One of the things we said early on was that that positive interaction or whatever it is called seemed lacking, not gone, just lacking. Our friend went to see an officer about her concerns, including that point, and the following morning we could hardly get to breakfast with officers coming down the stairs and chatting as we passed each other, and the buffet staff behind the counter actually speaking. We decided they had been told! Our friend noticed it too, independently.

I guess we could talk about it forever. We had a fantastic time, but it was still missing something. We are back on the Magic in September so we will see what it is like there now.

 

[valbob89]

I have uploaded most of my pictures to smugmug. For those of you who asked about the pictures Bob took at the Champagne Girls, Mixology and Roomtour, they are there now. I also have others there, including pictures from our bridge tour and the Mickey Whistle button.
Val

I saw the bridge tour pic's .They were nice. How did you get to go to th bridge?
Also was the picture of the room with the corner shaped closet your? If so what room was that?
Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

The bridge tour was arranged by friends who knows someone. The pictures of the room on the stern with the closet wasn't our cabin but one we went into after most everyone had left the ship and after we did the bridge tour on the last day. We had left our carry-on in our cabin because they didn't want us dragging them onto the bridge so we had to go back for them. That gave us a chance to look around the empty rooms before we left.

 

[Luvin all Disney]

Well, at long last I can post again!

We had a fabulous time on the cruise and cannot say enough about all the amazing FE gifts. I wish I had been so clever!

I wasn't feeling too well the last three days and, after we returned, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. After a few days I was sent home, but then had a relapse and was admitted again.

I am finally starting to get some energy back, but it has not been easy. I had no idea how it felt, personally, to be so sick.

Anyway, I know I am late with this, but I still have $20 in my lanyard that I owe to the couple who set up the Wine Meet and Greet. I want to get this money to you, so please let me know the best way to do this.

I'll go back and read posts later, as I don't sit up for too long at a stretch, and I need to get the bills organized around here.

Thanks again to all you organized folks who made the trip even more special with all the extra events!!

Marie

 

[valbob89]

Val, that is interesting.

One of the things I said to John was that something was different and I couldn't put my finger on it, just that it all wasn't the same as we had experienced previously. Our US friend on our second night over dinner said exactly the same thing. Something felt not quite right. We came up with all the things we have talked about like the crew being used to 3 or 4 nights, new crew etc etc, and our friend wondered if some of the crew weren't too keen on the move. There was much more chit chat amongst the crew, particularly at the stations at dinner time. I had never seen that much chatting and not getting on with the work.

One of the things we said early on was that that positive interaction or whatever it is called seemed lacking, not gone, just lacking. Our friend went to see an officer about her concerns, including that point, and the following morning we could hardly get to breakfast with officers coming down the stairs and chatting as we passed each other, and the buffet staff behind the counter actually speaking. We decided they had been told! Our friend noticed it too, independently.

I guess we could talk about it forever. We had a fantastic time, but it was still missing something. We are back on the Magic in September so we will see what it is like there now.

When I talked with the crew and officers about how they felt about the move to LA at first I got the company feed line. "it is really exciting, we are so looking forward to going to Alaska and the new ports in Mexico". But once you really asked about what they were looking forward to and what they knew you would get the real story. They had been told but crew members who had been to the west coast that the LA port was "miles and miles" from LA and there was no way to get there. Sort of true but they didn't tell them they weren't far from San Pedro and Long Beach shops. However, without a car they would not be able to easily go shopping like they were use to. Also, they realized it was going to be a lot more expensive for them and they seemed to feel DCL wasn't doing anything to make it any easier.
If you have every been at a job where the company had been sold, people knew layoffs were coming or even just that major change was coming you know the atmosphere. That is what I felt on the Wonder and I felt sorry for them.

 

[granmaz]

Well, at long last I can post again!

We had a fabulous time on the cruise and cannot say enough about all the amazing FE gifts. I wish I had been so clever!

I wasn't feeling too well the last three days and, after we returned, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. After a few days I was sent home, but then had a relapse and was admitted again.

I am finally starting to get some energy back, but it has not been easy. I had no idea how it felt, personally, to be so sick.

Anyway, I know I am late with this, but I still have $20 in my lanyard that I owe to the couple who set up the Wine Meet and Greet. I want to get this money to you, so please let me know the best way to do this.

I'll go back and read posts later, as I don't sit up for too long at a stretch, and I need to get the bills organized around here.

Thanks again to all you organized folks who made the trip even more special with all the extra events!!

Marie

Oh, so sorry you have been so ill. I hope you soon feel your old self again.

When I talked with the crew and officers about how they felt about the move to LA at first I got the company feed line. "it is really exciting, we are so looking forward to going to Alaska and the new ports in Mexico". But once you really asked about what they were looking forward to and what they knew you would get the real story. They had been told but crew members who had been to the west coast that the LA port was "miles and miles" from LA and there was no way to get there. Sort of true but they didn't tell them they weren't far from San Pedro and Long Beach shops. However, without a car they would not be able to easily go shopping like they were use to. Also, they realized it was going to be a lot more expensive for them and they seemed to feel DCL wasn't doing anything to make it any easier.
If you have every been at a job where the company had been sold, people knew layoffs were coming or even just that major change was coming you know the atmosphere. That is what I felt on the Wonder and I felt sorry for them.

What a shame. I guess DCL might lose some good crew because of not looking after them.

I know some friends talked to crew they knew on the Dream, and some of them had been moved really against their will, but they had no choice of course. Shame isn't it? Apparently DCL asked for volunteers, but not enough wanted to move so they just moved people anyway. I guess they have no contract to any particular ship so that can happen. Just general dissatisfaction with work right now in some cases.

 

[TxMermaid1]

For those of you asking about my letter. I started by telling them how much love cruising with Disney. I told them I had a few issues they might want to reflect on. In a nice way I explained those issues, such as the pins etc. I also had some problems with the air in my room but it was resolved after a few days. Anyway, I tried to give equal positive feedback as well as the negative things. They sent me an email and followed up with the coupon. Disney does try to make things right. I didn't expect any compensation. I just felt they need to know what issues the passengers are having.

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

Well, at long last I can post again!

We had a fabulous time on the cruise and cannot say enough about all the amazing FE gifts. I wish I had been so clever!

I wasn't feeling too well the last three days and, after we returned, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. After a few days I was sent home, but then had a relapse and was admitted again.

I am finally starting to get some energy back, but it has not been easy. I had no idea how it felt, personally, to be so sick.

Anyway, I know I am late with this, but I still have $20 in my lanyard that I owe to the couple who set up the Wine Meet and Greet. I want to get this money to you, so please let me know the best way to do this.

I'll go back and read posts later, as I don't sit up for too long at a stretch, and I need to get the bills organized around here.

Thanks again to all you organized folks who made the trip even more special with all the extra events!!

Marie

Sorry you have been so ill! I came back with the flu and it took almost 3 weeks to get completely better.

Hope to see you soon!

 

[Happy Goofy]

I was not satisfied with the form letter I received from Disney so I sent an email to them with my concerns. Like Val said, some of us with concerns are big Disney fans and have been on other Disney cruises and the PC in no way stood up to the Disney standards that we expect.

Shirley - hope you are feeling better- good luck at WDW- give us a call if you get a chance.

 

[valbob89]

For those of you asking about my letter. I started by telling them how much love cruising with Disney. I told them I had a few issues they might want to reflect on. In a nice way I explained those issues, such as the pins etc. I also had some problems with the air in my room but it was resolved after a few days. Anyway, I tried to give equal positive feedback as well as the negative things. They sent me an email and followed up with the coupon. Disney does try to make things right. I didn't expect any compensation. I just felt they need to know what issues the passengers are having.

Jill - would you mind sharing with us who you sent your letter to and to what address? It seems that another change at Disney that I have noticed is that line staff are no longer empowered to do much more then give the scripted response. Ten years ago Disney Co. was up there with GE in the business text books for best in class - not any more. So sad.

 

[rotary2808]

Oh, so sorry you have been so ill. I hope you soon feel your old self again.



What a shame. I guess DCL might lose some good crew because of not looking after them.

I know some friends talked to crew they knew on the Dream, and some of them had been moved really against their will, but they had no choice of course. Shame isn't it? Apparently DCL asked for volunteers, but not enough wanted to move so they just moved people anyway. I guess they have no contract to any particular ship so that can happen. Just general dissatisfaction with work right now in some cases.

One of the shop CM's told me that they used to be able to specify what ship they wanted to work on. Now their contracts list all four ships and they don't have any say. They go wherever they are needed for that contract.

 

[valbob89]

For all of you Dooney & Bourke fans, Disney Store http://www.disneystore.com/, is having on sale on the following designs. Today there is also an additional 25% off, plus free shipping, and EBates is offering 5% cash back.
http://www.ebates.com/stores/disneystore.com.htm

Clearance Price plus
CODE SHIPFIFTY FOR FREE SHIPPING
CODE PRESDAY for an additiona 25% off
EBATES giving cash back of 5%

 

[TxMermaid1]

Jill - would you mind sharing with us who you sent your letter to and to what address? It seems that another change at Disney that I have noticed is that line staff are no longer empowered to do much more then give the scripted response. Ten years ago Disney Co. was up there with GE in the business text books for best in class - not any more. So sad.

I used the form on the disney cruise line page and also sent a letter to the CEO. They forwarded it to Joel. I don't think I have his email but I will check.

 

[LindaBabe]

On another topic - a friend of mine from Salt Lake city phoned a little while ago - and asked me if I had seen the "LDS Temple" in Panama City. Apparently, it's a spired or spiral topped building with a gold angel on top, and supposedly visible from the canal. I *think* I remember seeing it,not knowing what it was, so, of course no photo. If you have a photo of this building, I sure would love to get a copy!

 

[KayR]

For all of you Dooney & Bourke fans, Disney Store http://www.disneystore.com/, is having on sale on the following designs. Today there is also an additional 25% off, plus free shipping, and EBates is offering 5% cash back.
http://www.ebates.com/stores/disneystore.com.htm

Clearance Price plus
CODE SHIPFIFTY FOR FREE SHIPPING
CODE PRESDAY for an additiona 25% off
EBATES giving cash back of 5%

That's a really good deal. Shame I cannot bring myself to spend that much on a handbag I keep looking, but just cannot do it.

 

[KayR]

On another topic - a friend of mine from Salt Lake city phoned a little while ago - and asked me if I had seen the "LDS Temple" in Panama City. Apparently, it's a spired or spiral topped building with a gold angel on top, and supposedly visible from the canal. I *think* I remember seeing it,not knowing what it was, so, of course no photo. If you have a photo of this building, I sure would love to get a copy!

I took this one (its up on Smugmug), but I couldn't see the building you were referring to.