Just back & a bit disappointed...

[poohssmum]

To the OP, I respect your opinions and thank you for sharing them here. I'm sorry that these inconveniences have caused you to decide that you will no longer cruise DCL. I too missed a late night deck party (prior to Pirates and fireworks) on our first cruise because the kids were just plain tuckered out. We knew to plan better the next time.

As far as character interaction We always seemed to have the time we needed and the interaction that the kids wanted. As a matter of fact, on our last cruise my youngest DS was very upset with me that he missed Stitch in the club. I checked the schedule and we were among the first in line the next time Stitch was in the lobby for pictures ... my DS also colored pictures as a gift for Stitch ... Stitch promptly repaid my DS by sticking DS's pen up his (Stitch's) nose

 

[tinytink]

LindyLoo - No characters aren't wandering around the ship all day like they portray in a video. I did see a few times they were out on deck and it was listed in the navigator. They ARE dancing around during party times and have meet and greets (look at the navigator or call for times). They were really out and about in the evening at different places. You will have to wait your turn like at the parks. There are other people cruising too. Our sailing was booked and I never experienced a horrible time with seeing a character we wanted. There were lines everywhere but they moved. I don't think we stood in line more than 15 minutes at a time. If you look in your guide and see a character you REALLY want then just plan on getting there early.

when I was on the first double dip cruise earlier this year, i did see the character everywhere. yes, some lines are long and others non existant but if you plan for it you could very well be in the front of the line like we were. at least they attendents closed off the line and not make you wait in line to find out they are out of time and you just stood in line for nothing as I have heard of them doing in the parks. the photographers were always very nice about taking pictures for us but they did say they could not take it with our camera because their job is to take pictures professionally for our purchase. would you go the dentist with your own tool and expect them not to charge you for working on your teeth? don't think so the same goes with the photographers.

we saw the charactures on castaway as we got off the ship they were starting to come off the ship and to the picture staging areas. we also got a treat when we were eating a cookies and the charactures came out to take photos with us. the charactures assistants are allowed to take pictures for you with your camera so don't be shy to ask.

imho, a vacation should be relaxing but you still have to plan ahead to get the most of your experience. On a Disney Cruise you will never experience every event/activity listed in the Navigator so you will have to pick and choose. For example should Disney compensate you for the time you spend off the ship at the different ports because you are not on board to do the activies being held on board? No, if you plan to get off the ship you will miss things and you will just have to figure out what you want to do. This is a prime time to visit with the characters and not worry about long lines, go to the pool when it less crowded, look at your Shutters pictures. So once again your time is what you make of it!

hope this help any new cruisers and any past cruisers.

this is not written to hurt anybody's feeling or justifiy any opinions, this is simply put IMHO.

we love disney and while the kids are still young we wouldn't cruise any other line because we learn from our past experiences.

 

[lillygator]

OP - I am sorry you were disappointed in your cruise.

Our first cruise was a three nighter and boy we sure missed out on a lot! Our second cruise was a 7 nighter and we still missed out on a lot. Since we go to the parks frequently seeing the characters is not a big deal, we won't wait in too many a line on the ship....except for the upcoming cruise where I plan to camp out for Jack Sparrow. But there were times we had charcters to ourselves and sometimes couldn't get rid of them!

I think as long as you go with the realization that there is so much to do there will never be enough time to do it all --- great incentive to book another cruise! I feel that DCL charges more than other lines not for characters, but for name, which has come to equal service.

 

[zweihund]

I completely respect your opinion. Disney IS more than other cruise lines. And I think for some people, to pay the extra is worth it because of what they do get or what they think they are going to get.

I'm sorry so many people took the opportunity to point fingers at you for expressing your opinion. To disagree is one thing, but to imply that there is something wrong with you is another.

I understand your points, but I think if you think long and hard about the sheer number of families on the ship you will understand why they would not be able to feasibly do things the way you would have preferred. But, I can give you a few hints and you can decide whether you'd be willing to give DCL a second chance.

1) The deck party started at 9:30 pm & the fireworks are at 10:30 pm. Now, if this cruise is geared to kids why in the world would they do this so late?? All of the kids were wiped out from being in St. Thomas all day & could not stay up. So, therefore we all missed it. I know there is a late seating for dinner but that is just not fair.

Naps. Especially after port days! It's exhausting enough walking around in the sun all day but add the excitement of excursions to that and man....I don't know how anyone could even get to dinner and a show without a nap. And I'm 31!

2) Also, obviously we all know the disney cruise is a lot of money (it's no secret) & you are paying for the name & to have characters on the ship. Well, we were all disappointed that the charatcers are just not walking freely around. You still have to wait on lines to see them like disney world & after waiting for 20 mins, they leave & sometimes another comes & sometimes they don't. As you can see (if you have cruised before) on the navigator, sometimes there are hours where there are no character appearances. They should be constantly in the atrium or up on deck 9 so every child has a chance to see or visit with a character. The other thing is they make it like an assembly line...you can talk or have any interaction with them.

You CAN interact, you just can't chat for 20 minutes about the weather. Actually, it's just like at the parks. Everyone wants to get up there. Your best bet is to find out ahead of time what characters are appearing when, and try to get there at least 15 minutes beforehand. Otherwise you run the risk of missing the time slot and beign stuck in line all for nothing. Honestly, it would be no different if they WERE walking around - they would get stopped, and then a line would form, and then we're back to square one.

3) Then adding to our character frustration, my ds, dd & dh were taking a picture with sorcerer mickey & I took a picture behind the photographer. I took another & Max, the charatcer manager told me "mam, only 1 picture please" I said WHAT...YOUR KIDDING ME? He said we have a long line here. I said yeah I know we just waited there!!! Off to guest services DH & I went. One of the managers called us that night & offered us to meet all the characters at 10:30 that night. Yup, once again, exhausted kids couldn't make it. A little too late.

I can tell you why they limit the pictures you take - because they are trying to get you to buy THEIR pictures. If you snap three or four, chances are you'll get one just as good as what they took and then you won't make a purchase. I'm not saying I agree with it, just telling you the photographer perspective.
Now, if we were offered a meeting with all of the characters, we would JUMP on it! NAPS! I can't stress them enough!!! What a great opportunity, it's sad that you missed it.

Like I said.....to each their own. Obviously these things were the dealbreaker for you, but I think there are so many other wonderful things - especially in the kids programs - that I think just a little pre-planning to avoid the difficulties you mentioned could make your next cruise a much more magical one.

 

[cristit14]

DCL really should consider this. In all of Disney's ads they show children cavorting with characters down the beach or along deserted decks on the ship. This doesn't happen,ever.

Not true for us. I came out of Shutters to go back to where the kids were playing shuffleboard and Donald Duck was playing with them. It was way cool!!

 

[alytwo]

One of the reasons for the long lines is people taking multiple pictures. I just returned from a Disney cruise and found the lines to be well managed. When a line was closing, there was a cruise staffer there to inform the guests. There were numerous character opportunities every day.

Regarding the cost. You get more than characters on a Disney cruise. You get a ship that has a first rate crew. I have cruised on another line and it was cheaper because they were cheap. Their bathrooms were dirty, the staff, aside from the dining room staff were not friendly or happy. If cost is your most important factor, then by all means go with a cheaper line but remember, you get what you pay for.

3) Then adding to our character frustration, my ds, dd & dh were taking a picture with sorcerer mickey & I took a picture behind the photographer. I took another & Max, the charatcer manager told me "mam, only 1 picture please" I said WHAT...YOUR KIDDING ME? He said we have a long line here. I said yeah I know we just waited there!!! Off to guest services DH & I went. One of the managers called us that night & offered us to meet all the characters at 10:30 that night. Yup, once again, exhausted kids couldn't make it. A little too late.

I don't mean to be a downer...like I said we did have a great time & it was a trip we will never forget. The youngest was 5 months old (my ds) & the oldest on the trip was my 91 year old grandmother so we will have great memories.

Would I ever take another disney cruise? Definatley not! We would go on another crusie line & pay 1/2 the price to not have the characters. [/QUOTE]

 

[alytwo]

I did Sovereign in August with my cousins. It was not clean, but it was cheap. You do get what you pay for.

 

[suzij13]

Hey just a tip about the charecter lines. I'm 19 an I went on my first disney cruise when I was 18. As they do not have a whole lot of activites during the day for people my age I made the character meet and greets my priority. I found it helpful to get there 15 min early and try to be one of the first in line. i figure your going to have to wait one way or the other and being one of the first in line means you will deffinetly going to get to see the charecters. Also about personal interactions with the charecters: Chip and Dale made my night the last night of our cruise. I went to get there autographs and Chip was signing my book while he was doing that Dale starts leading me down the hall toward stuido sea. well once Chip finshed singing my book he came over took me from Dale and then he started to lead me down the hall. There was a small line of people waiting for autographs while all this was going on too. It sure is nice to have two guys fighting over you even if they are chipmunks.

 

[lbgraves]

I love the idea of calling the PALS line. Would you mind telling me what PALS stands for and where can I get the number? It would help a lot with our planning character meets. Thanks!!

It is just the corresponding numbers on the phone pad. IDK what it stands for.

 

[tinknsnow]

Not true for us. I came out of Shutters to go back to where the kids were playing shuffleboard and Donald Duck was playing with them. It was way cool!!

That is such a great photo and surely memorable for your children! Go Donald!

We rode the elevators with Mickey-- twice-- on our recent voyage. My kids were totally starstruck. Wish I had a photo... WTG!

 

[Amlee]

I've always ran into different characters just wondering the halls. This past cruise Mickey was walking around as we came into port in St. Lucia. Nobody really seemed to be paying him in mind, so we went up for a photo op.

As for the autographs, I have seen seen the lines at WDW and the thought of standing in lines such as that on the cruise made cringe inside. So I pre-ordered the kids books to be in their rooms when they boarded the ship. Also to make things easier I found big fat pens, that could hang around the kids necks. Each child got a different color. That way they had their pens ready. My brothers and brother in law all still joke that we spent 5 days chasing a rat!

 

[T&E]

Hi there
My Husband and I just got back from the September Double Dip and were "grossly" dissappointed !!!!
For starters, we were celebrating our Anniversary, every server in our area knew about it ... it was posted in BIG letters outside our cabin door... and the day basically came and went without any sort of acknowledgement from any of the staff we encountered ... which was SAD considering we had heard SO many great things about the way "special events" are handled on a cruise.
That was only magnified when every order that we ordered from room service --- once per day --- had to be sent back, or had something left out of it. Come on, how difficult is it to know that you NEED cups for Hot Chocolate !!!!!!! At first I thought it may have been because we wanted our cookies and cocoa to be waiting in our room for when we got back from our evening stroll --- perhaps they wanted a tip, but REALLY how inclined are you to tip someone for a service that isn't performed properly!
I could go on ... but I really don't want too.

Only one more thing...
I DON'T think I will be cruising with DISNEY anytime soon!!!!
I don't think I would cruise with them, even if they COMP'ed the ENTIRE stay!

Better Luck to the rest of you!!!!

 

[zweihund]

Hi there
My Husband and I just got back from the September Double Dip and were "grossly" dissappointed !!!!
For starters, we were celebrating our Anniversary, every server in our area knew about it ... it was posted in BIG letters outside our cabin door... and the day basically came and went without any sort of acknowledgement from any of the staff we encountered ... which was SAD considering we had heard SO many great things about the way "special events" are handled on a cruise.
That was only magnified when every order that we ordered from room service --- once per day --- had to be sent back, or had something left out of it. Come on, how difficult is it to know that you NEED cups for Hot Chocolate !!!!!!! At first I thought it may have been because we wanted our cookies and cocoa to be waiting in our room for when we got back from our evening stroll --- perhaps they wanted a tip, but REALLY how inclined are you to tip someone for a service that isn't performed properly!
I could go on ... but I really don't want too.

Only one more thing...
I DON'T think I will be cruising with DISNEY anytime soon!!!!
I don't think I would cruise with them, even if they COMP'ed the ENTIRE stay!

Better Luck to the rest of you!!!!

Wow - sounds like you got a bum deal! We had a few little things go wrong here and there (documented in my report) but nothing major and nothing we would boycott the cruise line over. But I guess your experience was worse.

As far as the anniversary....and I don't mean this to sound snide in any way of it does, but did you tell the head server when he came around? If not, I can understand why they did not make a fuss about it. Likely they would have assumed you did not want a big to-do. However, if you DID tell them you wanted to celebrate it and they DIDN'T, then obviously something got messed up somewhere and I would be annoyed too.

DCL is not perfect, but at the same time you have your standards and if they don't meet them then by all means vacation elsewhere. As for me, nothing so major has ever happened that I would seek out another cruise line. To each their own!

 

[BethA]

I think the stories here of things special done for events celebrated onboard are the exception not the rule. If you request a cake in the dining room they will bring it to ou and sing--as they did for my parent's 50th anniversary, but no other big deal was made and I do think 50 years is a BIG deal. I think you have to request the cake though.

Sorry to hear room service didn't work out. We never had a problem with them and truthfully they do expect to be tipped and probably don't like to go into rooms when noone s there---but that is no excuse for no cups.

Was there something major that made you so upset with the trip? I think these boards are great, but may lead to unreal expectations for some.

 

[3sons]

We tried our best to make the boys nap on pirate day! Ha! On a disney cruise! DS 12 & DS 9 are to old for naps, but were not good company by the time we saw fireworks. We should have skipped it.

 

[Tarabra]

T & E, when we booked our cruise there was a spot for special events where I mentioned the anniversary. I also went to guest services and mentioned it to them. She asked how long, etc. and then at dinner a few days later, even the head server mentioned 11 years when they brought out the cake. Prior to that our servers didn't even know about it. I believe it has to be in the system so they know ahead of time so they know how many cakes to make. As far as the door sign, the room host or hostesses don't really do anything and nobody else is going to see it from the dining rooms. You have to be proactive about getting the word out there. We've been on 6 DCL's and have never ordered room service so I can offer no advice there, but I'm assuming they would probably want to be tipped. Although the orders should've been right. So sorry you didn't have the time of your lives. There have always been little things that go wrong on each of our cruises, but nothing that would outweigh all the fun we have. Other cruise lines don't give you half the service that Disney does. Hope you give it another chance.

 

[scrapperjill]

I had late dinner seating, and I didn't think it was fair that we had to rush dinner to get to the Pirate Party on time. Life's not fair, but I think they were trying to make it fair on that night. If it's any earlier, the late seating wouldn't make it at all (they are already pushing it). I think they found the perfect time. I'm not trying to attack you, just give you a different perspective!

Just had to say I totally agree with you. We too had late seating and everyone in the dinning room (including the servers) had to rush in order to get us out intime...or as close to the priate party start time as possable. As it was we were late...and didn't really get much of a chance to even think about getting a decent spot to view the party from...Luckly we found a spot on deck 10 just big enough for DD to see (but that's a diffrent story on it's own). The priate menu in the dinning room ended up being one of my most fav's...I only wish we could have enjoyed it more...but being rushed through a good meal isn't enough to make my whole trip unenjoyable.

Another point with the characters and not having them run around the ship non stop...is the heat. I don't think they can have the CM in character out in the heat very long. Even inside the ship...it gets very warm at times...I for one can't see the CM in character being to happy about hugging and being friendly to hundreds of kids for hours on end.

I think there is simpley way to much to do on the ship...and every cruiser needs to realize you can't do it all. You have to pick and choose what activites your going to do and which one's you'll pass on. On our first cruise we thought the kids wanted to see and needed to see all of the characters on board..BIG mistake. I couldn't believe the crowds and lines...after the second day we all had enough and decided meeting the characters wasn't all that important. After we decided to take that out...we had the times of our lives and enjoyed the MANY chance encounters with the characters even more.