How Well Did DCL Handle Hurricane Francis?

[LT Hambone]

To All -

Sitting on the sidelines, reading all of the posts about people being stuck on the Magic/Wonder during hurricane Francis, has led me to wonder - how well did DCL handle hurricane Francis?

And so, this poll - if you were on the Magic/Wonder during the hurricane, or if you were supposed to cruise post hurricane, what are your thoughts? Take a moment to answer the poll, and let us know!

 

[mrsltg]

My feeling is that they did a decent job, but could have been better. DCL/Disney is a huge corporation and having contingency plans in place for all sorts of mishaps is something that should be in place. A blanket policy for what to do in the event of x should also be standard. This would alleviate the "Susie rebooked keeping her early booking discount while I was told that I could not." DCL is well aware of the Atlantic hurricane season, as are the customers. Yes, you take a chance sailing at this time of year, then again, you take a chance living in Florida, along the Mississippi flood plains, along the fault lines in CA, in tornado alley.... It's all about calculated risks, and DCL should be prepared for most eventualities. I give them high marks in keeping people safe, low marks in being equitable to all. I'm sure that they've learned from their experiences though.

Erin

 

[gallaj0]

Having just got off the Wonder yesterday in Port Everglades, I can say that everyone in my party thought that Disney did a wonderful job, all castmembers went above and beyond their jobs to keep everyone happy.

The Captain kept everyone informed of any changes in the schedule, ports of call, etc.

A lot of people seemed amazed that they still had plenty of entertainment, shows, etc. for the passengers. We even got two shows of Hercules- The Muse-ical; with two different casts.

On top of that, the $300 on board credit, and the trip to Cozumel, made it a great trip.

 

[markey]

I think this is a question that you will find 2 really different point of views.

1. The person on the extended cruises will think DCL did a terrific joy - pay for 7 get 10

2. The person who paid for 7 to get 4 and has to pay more for a 7 day cruise then when they booked because they would like to sail on a 7 day cruise or can't make it will think it stinks. Even with the discount and other perks I still would like to see everybody be able to rebook at the price they paid. To be fair DCL could give a 2 week rebooking time frame, if the ship is full first come basic and just stretch it out. If not allow the people to rebook for the same time frame next year.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Wasn't there, but, from the actions and posts I have read they did everything they possibly could, and offered compensation and discounts and onboard credits.

Remember a hurricane is a force of nature whilst there is a window when to expect them, no one has seen this power twice in a month for a long time, ( possibly three times)

If anyone is to blame its Global warming! (I.E. all of us)

 

[inkkognito]

I won't say too much, since I already started another thread with my rant. I think they were super to the earlier cruises, but the people who have to embark at Port Everglades (thus missing several hours of onboard time) and disembark in Port Canaveral should have been allowed to cancel without penalty.
Barb

 

[cforsythe]

Let me start with the fact that I was thrilled to get the additional days!!! We did not have to pay any extra for the the cruise part but we did freely give the extra tipping for the CMs. They did alot of extra days without a break. They are commended!!! That was an additional cost that we as well as others were not expecting. All in all I was very happy with the cruise!!

 

[ericnj]

Our family just got back to New Jersey last night and I think that Disney did a nice job handling a situation out of their control.
With that said I think the perfect number of days on a cruise is 7.

After our sixth meal at Parrot Cay we thought another would be too much. The good news is that we escaped before the seventh meal.

Disney brought onboard extra entertainment, Rythym Extreme and added another Disney Dreams show. I would have loved to see Hercules again.

The communication from the Bridge, Captain Tom, was very good as he gave updates every day and sometimes three times.

The stop in Galveston allowed my family and I the chance to learn more about the 1900 hurricane that killed so many.

The shortcoming was the last day as they made no announcements to disembark, although they did have announcements to not clog the deck 3 atrium. The big problem with that is--people do not know when and where to get off the ship and half the passengers are eagerly awaiting the chance to get to their flights. This caused some angst as people waited on deck 1 to disembark in a very hot stuffy area for almost two hours.

The free bus shuttle to orlando airport was nice, no videos, and was very quiet as I think people were just to tired to cause any noise.

We are happy to be safe at home with the kids in school and our sea legs slowly subsiding.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

I was on the Wonder for the "endless cruise" and although I was sad that we didn't get to enjoy Castaway Cay the cruise was great.

Capt. John kept the passengers informed, the CM's were wonderful ... I could have stayed longer.

Getting home yesterday was a pain ... but it could have been worst. We took a bus from Port Everglades to Port Canaveral where our rental car had survived the storm undamaged.

Then we drove to MCO ... it was a mob scene ... seems like we walked from one end of the airport to the other ... traveled up and down in every elevator ... but in the end we had a flight home.

By the time we rolled into our driveway at 10:30pm I was exhausted (we were up at 6am) ... but I'm looking forward to cruising again in the near future.

That said, I'm very glad that I was due to cruise on the Magic's 9/4 sailing or the Wonder's now-cancelled 9/5 sailing!!!

I spoke to a couple who'd sailed with Royal Caribbean ... it was their first time sailing with RC (they normally sailed on Carnaval) ... they were NOT happy.

Apparently their Capt. did not keep them informed. RC said they'd rebook their flights ... not only were the flights not rebooked, they weren't informed ... so I'm thinking DCL did a great job in a lousey situation.

 

[pattiteach]

We just got off the Magic, and yes I do believe that those of us who where on ship generally had a good experience, compared of course to those whose trip was cut short. However, we too had problems with transportation 4 hr bus ride with 3 kids is not my idea of fun. But for the most part, we were very pleased with the way disney handled EVERYONE'S inconvenence. We were not given a $300 on board credit, therefor more days at sea meant a more expensive vacation. I feel for those who got slighted for this week, but I feel that disney did the best they could in an changing and unpredictiable situation.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by mrsltg
. I give them high marks in keeping people safe, low marks in being equitable to all. I'm sure that they've learned from their experiences though.

Erin

Not to be disrespectful of your opinion, but I would argue that Disney's special incentives to cruise on the Magic this past week were anything but safe.

When the Governor declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuation, when the airports and ports were closing down, when there was incredible traffic, gas shortages and power down, not to mention overcrowded shelters and no hotel rooms....
Disney offered those who could get there 50% off their current cruise, $200 stateroom credit and 25% off next cruise.

Those of us who were unable to get to Fort Lauderdale by plane, train, automobile or wagontrain - got the choice of a full refund or rebook at the current prevailing rate (any price increase would be OUR responsibility).

As for insurance, yes we have it - for our $171 we will get back the airfare and one night's hotel lodging (if priceline allows it).

So, in all fairness to those who heeded Governor Bush's warning and weren't seduced by Disney's offers......we think they didnot handle this well at all.

Rae

 

[gshoemate]

Originally posted by inkkognito
I won't say too much, since I already started another thread with my rant. I think they were super to the earlier cruises, but the people who have to embark at Port Everglades (thus missing several hours of onboard time) and disembark in Port Canaveral should have been allowed to cancel without penalty.
Barb

My thoughts exactly. We will be missing out on alot of hours that we would of spent on the boat (getting their as soon as port opens) but now we have to sit on a bus for those hours. Luckily, after talking to 4 differant people and not getting very good information, we finally found someone who knew what they were doing and directed us to the Grand Floridian bus leaving at 9:15.

But if I got extra time on the boat, a refund and an onboard credit, I am sure my view would be differant.

 

[slacker]

I was on the Aug 28th Cruise and was also one that got off in Galveston (so I didn't get the 10 for 7 deal).

Overall, I'd say that Disney did a very good job when it comes to safety and keeping us informed of the situation. We never felt concern about the storm (except for how we would get home in time for the start of school).

There were a handful of occasions where we were given wrong or inconsistent information, especially when we were headed to Galveston. Also, they could have been a bit more accommodating with respect to helping us change travel reservations. I didn;t expect them to handle the changes, but it would have been better for them to do something like waive the telephone charges (I heard they may have done this on a case by case basis), or monitor usage of the Internet cafe.

Also, we were told that if we wanted to disembark in Galveston, we would have to sign a form by 5:00 PM, then 6:00 PM the night before. We didn't do that since we hadn't been able to change our flights. We were told that if we didn't sign the form we couldn't get off. We the next morning, once we had cell phone coverage, we changed our reservations, packed, and left the ship.

None of these things were big deals and we left very happy with how most things were handled. If anything, I would bet that if something like this happens again, the process will be better - that's Disney.

 

[rae519]

I think this Poll should be broken down into several categories:

Disney Magic 8/28 - 10 night cruisers
Disney Wonder 9/2 - 7 night cruisers
Disney Magic 9/4 - Modified 4 night cruisers
Disney Wonder 9/5 - Cancelled/rescheduled cruisers
Disney Wonder 9/9 - Modified 4 night cruisers
and of course,
People who weren't involved with these cruise


The "real" winners were the 10 night cruisers and 7 night cruisers, but only if they had no job/school/time constraints and flexible transportation. During their cruise they also had to consider lodging, transportation, kennel arrangements and family notifications. Sounds a little stressful to me. So where they really winners?

9/4 Modified 4 nighters - Cancel and get a full refund; reschedule and pay the difference between your cruise and the new one or take your chances on an unstable hurricane to venture into an area called "STATE OF EMERGENCY/EVACUATION" where you were unsure about when the airlines would fly into Florida again, road conditions, traffic, no gas, limited food supplies, hotel or shelter vacancy and had no idea when or where your ship was leaving from.....yes, you got that 50% off the cruise, $200 room credit and voucher for 25% off for future travel - but to risk your life and the lives of your loved ones for this.

And it goes on......

Rae

 

[ColeenMaryD]

I was on the Wonder and Disney did a great job! They did keep us informed and added extras for us, even tried to re-book our flight from Sun to Mon, but of course we didn't disembark Monday. I had six other women with me, 4 of them 1st time cruisers, and our main concern was getting a flight home. We were routed to BWI thru Nashville on a late flight Tues (hubby had made the reservations after I emailed him from the sip) and wonderful SW Airlines put us on standby when we got to the airport at 1:30 Tues. Had all 7 of us on a non-stop to BWI at 5:55 pm. I have the 4 day Wonder booked for Dec. 5, and we intend to be on it! Having said that, I would feel cheated if I were booked on the shortened sailings AFTER the hurricane. But while we were on the ship, Disney excelled!

 

[pattiteach]

When you book during hurricane season, this is a risk you take. I know that it was extremely difficult for those who were meant to sail on Sept.4. Of course Disney made some mistakes, and they will learn from them. This is the first time this ever happened. Unfortunately, mistakes have to be made inorder to make experiences better, this is the way we learn. Yes it does stink if you are the one it is learned upon, but we all new we were taking risks to tralvel at this season. I think Disney did far better than any other cruise ship that was out there and in the same situation.

 

[gottaluvdisney]

Rae - Have you made any follow-up calls to DCL? If you did you would find out that DCL is sending letters to ALL guests that were on the original 9/4/04 sailing and giving them 25% off their next DCL sailing. My friends that were on that sailing have been told that and letters to their TA will follow within the next few weeks. This is a couple that chose to cancel their sailing and receive a full refund. So, you may be a real 'winner' now in conjunction with the full refund.

 

[Uferlives]

Beyond awful. See my rants on 9/4 cruise disater thread.