Just returned from Magic- disappointed

[PrincessShmoo]

And there's no price adjustment to account for those inconveniences?

Usually not.

 

[mmmears]

I'd be really upset if it was me. Cabanas with table service would be ok, but a buffet just isn't the same as a sit down dinner. And the other stuff isn't any better. We avoid any WDW hotel that is undergoing a refurb or renovation no matter how small, and it looks like we will need to check the dry dock dates carefully in the future. I would definitely complain. Sorry this happened on your cruise.

 

[mmouse37]

Yeah, this is what really strikes me about it -- I get from the comments here that this is apparently just how it's done in the cruise industry, but it seems like bad customer service and bad PR. I stayed at Coronado Springs last month and it seemed like half the resort was torn up -- very ugly views coming in -- but they'd made it very clear when I booked and I got a great deal on the room because of it, so I didn't come in expecting something I was never going to get.

We also stayed at Coronado Springs last month and have to honestly say the construction did not bother us too much. We were in Casitas #1. Obviously the views were not as pretty as before the construction but what I really miss at CSR is the Cabanas 9B building (which had the Business Class Lounge). Loved that building. Also I don't think a multistoried building will fit in with the overall vibe of the resort. I liked the pins we got.

OP I would definitely email DCL. From the email they sent to guests about the refurb and what you were to expect seemed a far cry from what you actually experienced

MJ

 

[YawningDodo]

We also stayed at Coronado Springs last month and have to honestly say the construction did not bother us too much. We were in Casitas #1. Obviously the views were not as pretty as before the construction but what I really miss at CSR is the Cabanas 9B building (which had the Business Class Lounge). Loved that building. Also I don't think a multistoried building will fit in with the overall vibe of the resort. I liked the pins we got.

OP I would definitely email DCL. From the email they sent to guests about the refurb and what you were to expect seemed a far cry from what you actually experienced

MJ

I was in the Cabanas and I was mostly just there to sleep, so it didn't actually interfere with my stay much either -- it was just not as magical an arrival as usual when I got to the resort. Agreed about the multi-story building, but what can you do? Loved the pins, though.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

While it may be in the contract that DCL can do this - it’s not ok on a ship like the Magic. Or really any of the Disney ones. They make rotational dining a big deal, just watch the cruise line planning videos. The dinners become part of the story or whatever DCL calls it. They are an immersive experience unlike dining on any other cruise line. I’d go as far as to say dining is part of the entertainment on DCL. If you take one restaurant out of commission than it will affect the average guest experience. Especially first time cruiser. Of course accidents could happen and something else could cause the restaurant to close. But this was planned, to start the construction while still at sea.
If this happened on let’s say Oasis of the Seas where they closed a restaurant early... not nearly as big of a deal as there are a dozen other options.
In this situation if you don’t want to eat dinner at the buffet where do you go?
Same if they close half quick service... it’s not like you can go into the atrium and find several different options.
So while I can’t stand complaints such as oh the weather was bad or I didn’t like the entertainment, your complaint is very valid and not unreasonable.
Definitely contact DCL if you haven’t already.
Although I’m pretty sure they already received tons of complaints, they should really just email all guests and in the very least apologize. Probably more.

 

[cgolf]

Not to put too much of a damper on this situation (I, too, think it's bad PR to start a dry dock during the last cruise), most cruise lines do this.

It's a good idea, unless you have to take the cruise prior or the cruise after a dry dock, that you pick another date.

How are we supposed to do this, most cruisers would not know where or how to look. Putting the blame on the cruiser who paid full fare for a diminished experience is not right. Perhaps when people are booking cruises the cruise line website should have the drydock dates for their ships clearly listed on it, oh but wait that would probably drive down bookings so they would never do it.

Well, if you read the terms & conditions (contract) you agree to when you make a reservation (on ANY cruise line, not just DCL), you'll see that they don't guarantee anything. Even that you'll actually leave port. Or make any port stops.

Not really trying to justify it, just pointing out cruise lines can pretty much take your money and not take you anywhere.

What you say is true but DCL markets itself as an above average line with 'legendary service' (from their website) and this family got much less then that. If they were going to do this much work to the ship, then they should have scheduled a longer dry dock or sailed the ship empty like they do a lot of the transatlantic trips after a major drydock to continue working on the ship.

This plain and simple was a bad move by DCL, and they deserve all the bad PR they get from it. Hopefully they will learn not to do this in the future if enough people complain about it. They lived up to the laughable contract, but they did not live up to what they market themselves as. Not sure why anyone would even try to defend this.

 

[ChisJo]

As someone who has never cruised before, I didn't even know there was a thing as a dry dock until literally the last week (and we booked in August!). I wouldn't know to ask about it, to look for it, or to be aware of it when booking. Had I shown up and had this happen, I would be incredibly disappointed. We are paying A LOT of money to do a Disney Cruise and to leave even mildly disappointed is not acceptable. Personally, it takes a lot of time for us to save up for a trip, and then if the only offer we got after our complaint was say 10% off our next cruise, it wouldn't it be worth it because a) we'd take forever to save up for that again, and b) I don't know if I would want another Disney Cruise. I am so sorry that happened to you. I would be incredibly disappointed.

 

[mevelandry]

My family and I just returned from a cruise on the Magic out of Miami. While the CMs were great and the boat was beautiful, the decision to start the refurb while the boat was in use was ridiculous . Closing Cariocas and replacing it with Cabanas was unacceptable. Was not a sit down dinner- still a buffet with nothing special. Our wait staff had no idea where we were sat. Had to go get our own drinks from soda station. Really? Also the quick service at the pool was closed the first half of the trip. The last evening of the cruise we tried to go to front of boat to take pictures of the sunset- not happening because workmen had blocked it off. They were also installing plywood on the deck so those areas were blocked as well. None of these issues were relayed to us prior to our final payment. I realize that things can sometimes need fixing at the last minute but this was really unacceptable to actually start the refurb in this way. Just not the best experience for our first cruise.

So sorry to hear that. Cruising on a construction site doesn't sound fun at all. I would have been pissed.

 

[Quellman]

I've totally been there seen that. I pretty much make it a rule now to not book a cruise a week before a planned dry dock, and at least for a month afterwards. There is always some sort of construction that impacts the cruise. Sometimes they take the stage show off line if they are changing out shows. Sometimes they shut down restaurants, as mentioned. On the other side of dry dock, you may end up with dust dirty conditions or plumbing that isn't quite working (see the Magic Cadiz dry dock) or carpets being ripped up still, or a crew that isn't quite used to the new spaces yet.

While I would LOVE to be the first to experience new things (and we did last year with the Fantasy) dry docks just simply leave the ship in a slightly less than optimal condition.

 

[minniemouse1]

We are paying A LOT of money to do a Disney Cruise and to leave even mildly disappointed is not acceptable.

While I completely agree that I would be beyond angry and disappointed about what happened to the OP on the Magic I am also concerned about your expectations for your upcoming cruise. I would love to say that DCL has met or exceeded our expectations for our previous 6 cruises but that is not the case. I just feel you are going to be "mildly disappointed" by something on your trip, could be the food was not that great, your luggage didn't arrive to your stateroom before dinner (happened to us once and it was awful), the line for characters were too long, in rained CC day, etc. We obviously have felt our enjoyment out weighed our disappointment or we wouldn't be going on our 7th cruise with DCL in a couple of weeks. I just don't want you to go into the vacation thinking everything is going to be rainbows and butterflies when there will probably be a big fat ugly stink cloud around somewhere. Just be prepare not everything will be perfect but it will be pretty darn close if your expectations are not set too high. Enjoy your cruise. I may even see you around the ship!

 

[Pens Fan]

OP, I am really sorry this happened to you and everyone else on your cruise. While, yes, Disney did operate within their cruise contract, that does not make this acceptable - especially for a cruise line that markets "magical" experiences and claims to hold itself above and beyond the masses. I am also sorry that some posters seem to think you should have known about the dry dock and construction ahead of time and chosen to avoid it. The average consumer booking a vacation isn't going to scour through the internet looking for constructions schedules. One thing I have always appreciated on WDW's website is that they make it very clear before you book if there is construction going on at a particular resort. DCL should do the same.

To me, the worst thing about this whole mess is that Disney chose to wait until after the PIF date to even notify passengers of the construction issue. This was not something that broke unexpectedly and needed to be fixed. While that would be disappointing, it would be understandable. This was a planned event and Disney waited until passengers could not cancel without penalty to notify them. Then, to make things worse they did not clearly state in their email what was going to happen. We hate buffets - all of them, Disney or anywhere. Switching from a sit down, MDR experience to a buffet is a big step down in service in our opinion, and I would be ticked. Closing half of the pool deck food areas for a good portion of the cruise is not OK either. Disney already lags behind the norm in the cruise industry for their number and variety of food offerings on board. To close down a significant portion of them while passengers are on board is not cool.

I agree with most of the posters here, that you should notify Disney of your disappointment. Normally, I kind of roll my eyes at the folks that want some type of compensation when their cruise doesn't measure up to their (often unrealistic) expectations. But that isn't the case here. You simply didn't get the experience that was marketed to you and that you paid a premium price for. All that being said, I hope that this doesn't turn you off of DCL for good. While it would be understandable if it did, please know that this isn't the norm for how they operate (well, let's hope it's not the "new norm"). We have had fabulous experiences on the five DCL cruises we've taken. While there are always highs and lows and a few glitches here and there, we have never experienced anything at all similar to what you guys did.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Just because they CAN do something doesn't mean the SHOULD. No, they are under no obligation to notify anyone or to offer any kind of compensation, per the cruise contract, but if they want to keep the clientele they have and maintain their reputation for outstanding customer service that keeps people like us coming back to Disney rather than another line this kind of thing just isn't acceptable.

They could have waited to start the refurb, they are just looking to save a buck by having the ship out of commission for fewer days. It just isn't a "DCL" thing to do and not something I would expect to see on a Disney ship. Other lines, maybe, but nto Disney. We pay a premium price for Disney Cruises BECAUSE they don't do stuff like this. If I were on this cruise, I would definitely be contacting DCL. I probably would have asked to speak to the dining manager while on board as well.

 

[cadien]

I think the fact that they originally notified passengers that Cabana's would still be the regular sit-down experience and then it was a buffet instead is one of the more egregious things.

 

[morrismhs]

Thank you so much for your supportive comments. I am definitely contacting DCL. While my family was first time cruisers, we were a party of 14 - others had cruised DCL numerous times and were upset by what went on. I understand the need to refurb - have visited WDW numerous times- when its needed, its needed. This was exactly as another OP said. DCl wanted to save a few days and started early. I understand that there is a contract and they can do what they want but I have a feeling that seeing workmen with toolbelts roaming the halls would not have been a welcome sight to anyone. Is there a specific email for DCL or just Guest Services?

 

[mkh531]

Anywhere you look for tips for first time cruisers, nobody says “check for planned dry dock dates” because that’s absurd. Disney made promises in their marketing material and did not keep them, regardless of what is in the contract. I’d be super pissed, and make it known.

 

[mab2012]

Wasn't the MDR closure known in advance? I thought I remembered reading it on these boards some time ago. I would have thought that if it was pre-scheduled and announced in advance there would at least be some kind of notice at the time of booking. If not, that was definitely a bad move by Disney.

I'd probably be pretty put out if an MDR was closed without advance notice, especially if I couldn't access the same menu at Cabanas. Beyond that, I guess I'm in the minority in thinking the rest wouldn't bother me too much. Bad weather would be far worse for me. It's a measure of the expectations Disney has set (mainly through their pricing) that relatively minor (IMO) disruptions cause so much anger and disappointment.

Regardless, I totally agree that OP should contact DCL, since clearly he(r) expectations were not met. Also agree that the contractual obligations are pretty irrelevant here. There's a reason cruise ships don't just park a couple of kilometres offshore for a week, and it has nothing to do with the contract.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

And there's no price adjustment to account for those inconveniences?

Not automatically, no. Might be if you demand one. and there's no way they are going to email all guests, so that's up to you. Definitely contact DCL.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Wasn't the MDR closure known in advance? I thought I remembered reading it on these boards some time ago. I would have thought that if it was pre-scheduled and announced in advance there would at least be some kind of notice at the time of booking. If not, that was definitely a bad move by Disney.

I'd probably be pretty put out if an MDR was closed without advance notice, especially if I couldn't access the same menu at Cabanas. Beyond that, I guess I'm in the minority in thinking the rest wouldn't bother me too much. Bad weather would be far worse for me. It's a measure of the expectations Disney has set (mainly through their pricing) that relatively minor (IMO) disruptions cause so much anger and disappointment.

Regardless, I totally agree that OP should contact DCL, since clearly he(r) expectations were not met. Also agree that the contractual obligations are pretty irrelevant here. There's a reason cruise ships don't just park a couple of kilometres offshore for a week, and it has nothing to do with the contract.

From what I understand, that was revealed only after the PIF date, and cruisers were told it would be a sit down dining meal, just with a location change. It turned out to buffet dinner.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Note that there's a reason I said that this was all in DCL's control.

Being disappointed even when "I paid a lot of money!" happens a lot. It rains and closes your favorite ride at WDW. There's a hurricane and you skip a port. Your 6 year old tries the lobster and promptly vomits on your nice shoes. These are all disappointing and happen and aren't on Disney in any way.

Starting a dry dock process, with passengers, at sea? Ugh.

 

[Pens Fan]

Is there a specific email for DCL or just Guest Services?

I would just use the contact link on their website.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/help/email/

Good luck!