Has Disney really gone downhill?

[DCLMP]

I would love to see that mentality change. I get it, 7 nights are convenient and usually financially accessible to families. But they are going to double the size of their fleet over a span of about five years. They can't have all their ships doing the same 7-night (or less) itineraries they've always done. They can keep doing their bread and butter cruises to be sure they're raking in the dough, and then try some new stuff. Some of those repo cruises are more appealing to adults because they're longer and less likely to have a ton of kids onboard. (Nothing against kids, and yes DCL is a family cruise line. But some adults like the Disney magic without a lot of younger kids around.)

I've done a few of the TAs and repo cruises and there were enough school-aged kids to make it feel like a family cruise without being overrun with kids. Our TA in May of 2017 actually had a lot of college and high school kids on it. I was surprised. Now that my kids are in college I see why. They get out the second week of May.

What they need to do is add some longer cruises and unique itineraries from the US. Mid May to Mid August and I think they would sell as long as they don't price them to the moon. The biggest reason long cruises on DCL don't sell is because they price them 4 times over their competitors. The 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next Summer is a perfect example of that and the itinerary is nothing special. It probably will not sell at that price.

 

[stkgator]

I think both of those lines use their on-board "Tender/Lifeboats" where as DCL uses the port tenders. I don't think any DCL ship has Tender boats.

Just checked my pictures - Celebrity was using the same tender-boats as the Fantasy, just a lot fewer.


When we departed the ship around noon, there was no wait to board the tender, although we still had to loop through the Walt Disney Theater, we did not have to stop. Here is a picture I took looking back at the Fantasy - you can see three tenders around the ship. Of course, we were on a tender and there was at least one, if not two, tenders at the dock - making a total of five or six tenders.


It was very warm (hot) and humid in Grand Cayman; thus, I am certain that there were some grumpy Celebrity passengers - especially when they saw the Fantasy passengers stroll right past them and stopping to enjoy iced water and cold compresses prior to boarding our tenders back to the Fantasy

 

[Flossbolna]

To us, the biggest disappointments and steps back are no dinner buffet and the mediocre service we encountered.

Sorry that you had bad service. We experienced a big difference this summer between Dream and Wonder. Some of it might just be the draw of luck whom you run into.

As to the dinner buffet: DCL never had that regularly as far as I know. They did open Cabanas for dinner, but it was a sit down meal. Very rarely would they put on a buffet (I remember looking at Navigators from old Med cruises where they had it on the long port days). But I do agree, at least the alternative sit down would be great to have back!!

 

[Mags2002]

The staff on the Wish was not the best. We have had better service on RCL. Maybe because it is a 3/4 day ship they don't get a higher caliber of guest services members, or they don't feel it is worth the extra effort. We were surprised how most staff (though not all) really didn't seem to empathize or want to work to create solutions with the few issues we ran into.

Disney certainly does not hire a lower caliber of Crew simply because the ship does shorter cruises. Disney does not do things by half and 110% effort goes into everything.The process to even be hired is extremely intense and they can literally pick and choose who they want.
As with absolutely any job, you will have some people who are outstanding in their role and others who are not as outstanding.
I’m sorry you felt that CMs were not empathetic to your needs and I hope that this really wasn’t “most” of the CMs. I hope that despite any concerns, you were still able to enjoy your cruise

 

[FastPasser.]

Disney certainly does not hire a lower caliber of Crew simply because the ship does shorter cruises. Disney does not do things by half and 110% effort goes into everything.The process to even be hired is extremely intense and they can literally pick and choose who they want.
As with absolutely any job, you will have some people who are outstanding in their role and others who are not as outstanding.
I’m sorry you felt that CMs were not empathetic to your needs and I hope that this really wasn’t “most” of the CMs. I hope that despite any concerns, you were still able to enjoy your cruise

Wow, that's a great and accurate response!

 

[Kwami]

Disney certainly does not hire a lower caliber of Crew simply because the ship does shorter cruises. Disney does not do things by half and 110% effort goes into everything.The process to even be hired is extremely intense and they can literally pick and choose who they want.
As with absolutely any job, you will have some people who are outstanding in their role and others who are not as outstanding.
I’m sorry you felt that CMs were not empathetic to your needs and I hope that this really wasn’t “most” of the CMs. I hope that despite any concerns, you were still able to enjoy your cruise

In fact, some of the best CMs that I've encountered were on the Dream when it was doing the 3/4-night Bahamian cruises out of PC before the Wish came online.

 

[stkgator]

As to the dinner buffet: DCL never had that regularly as far as I know. They did open Cabanas for dinner, but it was a sit down meal. Very rarely would they put on a buffet (I remember looking at Navigators from old Med cruises where they had it on the long port days). But I do agree, at least the alternative sit down would be great to have back!!

The reason that DCL does not offer dinner in Cabanas is staffing. Each ship has 4 dining crews - MDRs plus Palo/Remy. If all the MDRs and Palo/Remy are open, there is not enough dining staff available to work in Cabanas.

Our past cruise, Cabanas was open for breakfast on debarkation day - this is the first time, for me, that I have seen this. What was more interesting, it was the cooks and staff from Remy/Palo that were working Cabana's - some of the MDR staff found this humorous But, if the MDR staff did not have any of their guest eating debarkation breakfast in the MDR, they were sent up to Cabana's to help the Remy/Palo staff.

 

[ljhayes]

The reason that DCL does not offer dinner in Cabanas is staffing. Each ship has 4 dining crews - MDRs plus Palo/Remy. If all the MDRs and Palo/Remy are open, there is not enough dining staff available to work in Cabanas.

Our past cruise, Cabanas was open for breakfast on debarkation day - this is the first time, for me, that I have seen this. What was more interesting, it was the cooks and staff from Remy/Palo that were working Cabana's - some of the MDR staff found this humorous But, if the MDR staff did not have any of their guest eating debarkation breakfast in the MDR, they were sent up to Cabana's to help the Remy/Palo staff.

Cabanas has always been open for breakfast on debarkation day. And while they claimed it was due to staffing during covid, there obviously wasn't a staffing issue in the past. So at this point it seems to just be another cost cutting measure blamed on covid.

 

[stkgator]

In fact, some of the best CMs that I've encountered were on the Dream when it was doing the 3/4-night Bahamian cruises out of PC before the Wish came online.

The MDR wait-staff's compensation is 100% gratuity and tips - so they are very motivated to provide the best experience to the guests. But there are things that are out of their control, like food quality.

One of the reasons I have heard why the experienced MDR staff have avoided the Wish is that the MDR seating is very tight along with a very short window to serve the food (due to the dinner shows). These two things alone make it difficult, even for the best server, to provide the consistent level of service that DCL guests expect. This results in poor guest survey rating along with guest's declining to pay the MDR gratuity and/or not adding an additional gratuity.

So why would an experienced MDR member want to work on a ship where they have to work harder/faster with a greater chance that they will make less money?

Lastly, like everywhere else, hiring any staff if more difficult post-Covid than it was before, along with the new ships and increased passengers, DCL has more new (inexperienced) staff than they had pre-Covid. which too adds to the challenge of providing a consistent level of service.

 

[Kwami]

The MDR wait-staff's compensation is 100% gratuity and tips - so they are very motivated to provide the best experience to the guests. But there are things that are out of their control, like food quality.

Well, no, their compensation isn't 100% gratuity and tips. They do actually get paid by Disney. But, sure, most of their compensation comes from gratuities.

One of the reasons I have heard why the experienced MDR staff have avoided the Wish is that the MDR seating is very tight along with a very short window to serve the food (due to the dinner shows). These two things alone make it difficult, even for the best server, to provide the consistent level of service that DCL guests expect. This results in poor guest survey rating along with guest's declining to pay the MDR gratuity and/or not adding an additional gratuity.

That doesn't make sense to me. The other ships also have dinner shows. All four of the older ships have shows at Animator's Palate. The Magic also has shows at Rapunzel's and the Wonder has shows at Tiana's. Are servers avoiding those ships, too? Many of the recent complaints here are about the Dream, which only has shows in one restaurant. By your reasoning, the Dream should have all of the experienced staff since there are fewer dinner shows.

Is there any actual evidence that servers on the Wish make less or receive lower survey results? It's hard to imagine that very many people bother to go to guest services to have the gratuities removed.

So why would an experienced MDR member want to work on a ship where they have to work harder/faster with a greater chance that they will make less money?

Many experienced MDR servers tried to get positions on the Wish. I spoke to a bunch of them before and after the ship launched. The crew quarters are substantially improved and while repetitive 3/4-night Bahamian cruises aren't exciting, being at PC every few days makes communication and supplies much easier.

 

[anjuan]

I've done a few of the TAs and repo cruises and there were enough school-aged kids to make it feel like a family cruise without being overrun with kids. Our TA in May of 2017 actually had a lot of college and high school kids on it. I was surprised. Now that my kids are in college I see why. They get out the second week of May.

What they need to do is add some longer cruises and unique itineraries from the US. Mid May to Mid August and I think they would sell as long as they don't price them to the moon. The biggest reason long cruises on DCL don't sell is because they price them 4 times over their competitors. The 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next Summer is a perfect example of that and the itinerary is nothing special. It probably will not sell at that price.

I'm on the 10 day Fantasy Southern at the end of July 2024 and it is actually selling very well. If you look online there aren't a lot of rooms left at all, especially for the family size rooms. I think a big selling point of this one in addition to the 10 days with Southern ports is that it goes to both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm on the 10 day Fantasy Southern at the end of July 2024 and it is actually selling very well. If you look online there aren't a lot of rooms left at all, especially for the family size rooms. I think a big selling point of this one in addition to the 10 days with Southern ports is that it goes to both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay.

I know they ended up discounting it this Summer. What is lookout Cay?

 

[goofy4prez]

I've done a few of the TAs and repo cruises and there were enough school-aged kids to make it feel like a family cruise without being overrun with kids. Our TA in May of 2017 actually had a lot of college and high school kids on it. I was surprised. Now that my kids are in college I see why. They get out the second week of May.

What they need to do is add some longer cruises and unique itineraries from the US. Mid May to Mid August and I think they would sell as long as they don't price them to the moon. The biggest reason long cruises on DCL don't sell is because they price them 4 times over their competitors. The 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next Summer is a perfect example of that and the itinerary is nothing special. It probably will not sell at that price.

I have to agree here (but I do like the itinerary). I get it, it's Disney. I love Disney. But a deluxe family with a veranda is just over 13K and a concierge was crazy. I have an RSSC 10-night booked on the new Grandeur in a penthouse suite, all-inclusive including fine dining, beverages, wine, drinks, excursions, airfare, a 1-night stay in a luxury hotel, transportation, and more. The cost when everything is added up would be about the same as the veranda suite and less than concierge. It's not what I would call family-oriented, or overly kid-friendly, but being in my 50's I enjoy something that is not Disney from time to time.

 

[Karin1984]

For those who cruise with other lines as well. Does Disney fall behind by industry standard?

 

[BStieers]

Karin1984 - having cruises with Royal and Celebrity - no, Disney is in no way behind on service or entertainment offerings. CMs on Disney just seem to be more interested in conversations with guests in general, more willing to be helpful, and generally in a better mood.

 

[karmacats]

For those who cruise with other lines as well. Does Disney fall behind by industry standard?

I am writing this from Day 3 of the Dream transatlantic. My husband and I keep commenting on how this cruise blows our last couple of Royal Caribbean cruises out of the water (no pun intended). We've done 22 cruises on Royal and this is our 6th on Disney; we used to find them comparable so chose Royal for the price and all the bells and whistles on the ships. The food and service have both drastically gone downhill on Royal since covid, though. I think we may become more frequent Disney cruisers.

 

[Kwami]

I have to agree here (but I do like the itinerary). I get it, it's Disney. I love Disney. But a deluxe family with a veranda is just over 13K and a concierge was crazy. I have an RSSC 10-night booked on the new Grandeur in a penthouse suite, all-inclusive including fine dining, beverages, wine, drinks, excursions, airfare, a 1-night stay in a luxury hotel, transportation, and more. The cost when everything is added up would be about the same as the veranda suite and less than concierge. It's not what I would call family-oriented, or overly kid-friendly, but being in my 50's I enjoy something that is not Disney from time to time.

I don't see any 10-night Caribbean cruises on the Grandeur in the summer. Are you talking about a winter cruise? Rates are always much higher in the summer months, especially in July. Of the cruises available, the cheapest penthouse for a 10-night on that ship is approximately $10k per person. I'm not sure that this is at all comparable to Disney's 10-night cruise next summer.

 

[DCLMP]

For those who cruise with other lines as well. Does Disney fall behind by industry standard?

No I say they’re all comparable. I really can’t say the staff is friendlier on DCL. That’s all subjective. We did have some really entertaining bartenders on Odyssey that really seemed to be enjoying their job.

 

[Donna3271]

I am a Platinum Cruiser. Our server on our last cruise Aug 2022 Fantasy Eastern was her first time as a waiter (she was an assistant prior). She explained most of the seasoned staff were moved to the Wish. She tried her best, but messed up our dinners every night. She actually snapped at me when I mentioned I received the wrong food for the second time in the same sitting. I was so flabbergasted, I left and went back to the cabin. My husband brought my correct dinner up to me. The service was slow and tedious. I felt bad for her, and knew she was stressed, but it had a major impact on our trip. Seeing her the next night was very awkward. She apologized, and we made the best of the week, but the mistakes kept happening. She was put in the job before she was ready.

We DID NOT complain about her and gave the recommended tip (we usually give extra). We were a family of 5 in a Cat 4A, so the cruise was not cheap.

I have seen a decline in service. We are on the 6 night to Bermuda Oct 21. I hope things are better.

 

[stkgator]

Well, no, their compensation isn't 100% gratuity and tips. They do actually get paid by Disney. But, sure, most of their compensation comes from gratuities.

Wait staff are paid the greater of either the gratuities they receive or a (very) small, guaranteed payment. I can assure you if all they received was this minimum payment, they could not afford to continue to work. So technically yes DCL does pay the MDR wait staff, but again, they do not receive both the guaranteed payment and their gratuities - it's the greater of the two.

That doesn't make sense to me. The other ships also have dinner shows. All four of the older ships have shows at Animator's Palate. The Magic also has shows at Rapunzel's and the Wonder has shows at Tiana's. Are servers avoiding those ships, too? Many of the recent complaints here are about the Dream, which only has shows in one restaurant.

You answered your own question - the other ships have only one MDR with a show, Animators Palate. The Wish has two - Marvel and Frozen. But the point I made is that it is not just the show, it is also that there is very little room between tables, making it more difficult for the servers to complete their job due to both space AND time constraints due to the show.

By your reasoning, the Dream should have all of the experienced staff since there are fewer dinner shows.

No. 7-Night cruises have one additional show in AP - which is the same number of total shows on the Dream during a 7-day period. The more experienced staff prefer the Fantasy for many reasons, but one of them is that the stop in Cozumel has inexpensive shopping (Megamart) within walking distance of the port. For crew to get to the nearest Walmart from PC, they must take a taxi. Not sure if the same is true for Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

Is there any actual evidence that servers on the Wish make less or receive lower survey results? It's hard to imagine that very many people bother to go to guest services to have the gratuities removed.

There are guests on all ships that decline to pay the gratuities - for whatever reason - but it is more common if the guests do not like the service, which from what I am told, is more prevalent on the Wish. Surveys are also critical for MDR staff - poor service for even things out of their control will be reflected poorly on the staff.

Many experienced MDR servers tried to get positions on the Wish. I spoke to a bunch of them before and after the ship launched. The crew quarters are substantially improved and while repetitive 3/4-night Bahamian cruises aren't exciting, being at PC every few days makes communication and supplies much easier.

Before Wish launched that was true - but try to find an experinced MDR staff on one of the other ships today offering to transfer to the Wish. PC days can be very busy for the MDR staff - those that have time off worry if they can make it to Walmart and back before departure - as this is the only time/place they can shop for their necessities - which is why they prefer Cozumel.