Kids' Club Gratuity Charge?

[bumbershoot]

Did they think the adults were also getting charged for the kids' clubs since the amount was the same?

Good point!

Plus your MDR servers - they're doing magic tricks, origami and brain teasers with the crayons, cutting up your kids' food, etc. and they shouldn't be tipped for that? Seriously?

OK, but none of our servers have done any of that. And crayons? Harumph. Not that I want anyone to cut up anyone's food at our table, but I would have liked some better service on our Disney cruises (we've had some of the worst on our concierge cruises, too, which is such a bummer).

 

[bbel]

The difference has to do with tax restrictions. The reason it's called a deposit and not a charge is the ship can't sell things while in port. The same restrictions are why you can't use the band at the parks.

Well this isn't entirely true as there are a number of people who don't return the band, so effectively buy the band in port.
It's a deposit because people don't like getting 'nickel and dimed' as well as disney kind of relying on them being returned: reasons I explained in more detail earlier in the thread....

 

[cmwade77]

Yes, those people have it all wrong. I don't know who made it but practically everything was incorrect.

My guess is people who are trying to scare people away from Disney for cruises. I know many claim Disney cruise prices are much higher than other lines, but when I look at everything that is included in the price of a cruise with Disney that is extra with other lines, I begin to see that prices aren't that far off. And people forget that the price Disney quotes includes all taxes and port fees, the prices that others quote do not, so you end up with a higher minimum price than that initial quote with the other lines, with Disney the price they quote up front is the price including all of that.

 

[cmwade77]

Good point!



OK, but none of our servers have done any of that. And crayons? Harumph. Not that I want anyone to cut up anyone's food at our table, but I would have liked some better service on our Disney cruises (we've had some of the worst on our concierge cruises, too, which is such a bummer).

Really? The worst servers we had were on our Star Wars Day at Sea Cruise and had we not been with the people we were, we probably would have asked for different servers to be honest and they weren't bad, just not up to the level I have come to expect on a Disney cruise. The ones on our last cruise were absolutely amazing though, so really it does depend, but you can get different servers if you don't like who you have.

 

[Dug720]

There are also other factors at play with the servers. On the Magic in Feb there was an extremely high-maintenance table in our section that demanded as much of the servers' attention as they could get. I only realized this the last night when the tables were such that I could see them in action.
That is a case where the head server should have stepped in, and had I realized what was going on earlier (we were not in a rush the other nights and our servers were fine) I would have said something to him about it. Politely of course.
I had already completed my comment card by dinner the last night, but I did follow up with an email about the issue (and the fact that my server and assistant server were thankfully amazing at keeping me gluten-free since we didn't even see the head server until night two - THAT made a huge impact on the person responding to my email: she was appalled that a table with a pre-noted food issue was ignored by the head server the first night) so they could address this with him.

Basically I'm just saying slow service/not fawning may not be entirely the fault of the servers by their own choice but by dictation of others being high maintenance. (Example: There were probably 6 adults at the table. And they all needed fresh drinks. But they would never order them together. It was literally Tiago would bring one back and someone else demanded one. And he ASKED if anyone else needed a drink only to be told no - but then the whole thing would repeat as soon as he reappeared. And one of the kids would pitch a fit if his ketchup was not perfectly Mickey - even after he had dipped his fries in it messing it up.)

 

[Ravenne]

I've read that they love magazines. They are out of touch with the real world and they love to read about what's happening in the world.

That's hit or miss. Our first cruise on the Dream, the youth club CMs squealed and screamed when I handed them a stack of magazines. On the Fantasy, they looked at me like I had 2 heads, wondering why I was giving them magazines. The CM said, "I guess some of us will like them."

 

[bumbershoot]

when I look at everything that is included in the price of a cruise with Disney that is extra with other lines, I begin to see that prices aren't that far off.

Soda isn't worth that much to me. I prefer seeing King Julian to Mickey if I have to walk by a character, and the two shows I've seen on Dream did not impress! Family won't let me seenBeoieve, as I nearly stormed the stage for golden mickeys demanding a coherent and intelligent storyline. They said believe was worse. So I find other things to do.

Disney has a decent product as a cruise itself, but the extra cost has no obvious "oh THAT'S why" value to me.

the price Disney quotes includes all taxes and port fees, the prices that others quote do not

Not sure what lines you're looking at, but the lines I look at all show poet fees and taxes. I'm never surprised by them.

Really? The worst servers we had were on our Star Wars Day at Sea Cruise and had we not been with the people we were, we probably would have asked for different servers to be honest and they weren't bad, just not up to the level I have come to expect on a Disney cruise. The ones on our last cruise were absolutely amazing though, so really it does depend, but you can get different servers if you don't like who you have.

It's not that we didn't like them. They were simply servers. First dude just couldn't handle how relatively little I ate and seemed to get his feelings hurt that I was leaving food from my small enough as it was dinner. Another guy didn't feel trustworthy to ask special requests from so we kept the meal stuff simply (first cruise i ended up asking for Indian food but second cruise I didn't and just made do with the almost across the board bleah vegetarian options), third cruise and fourth were barely remembered. Oh yeah on one my ONE request the whole time was to get two salads on AP night. He said he would bring me one at a time. Well, by the time I wanted the second it was entree time and he was too busy. Why he couldn't have just brought two so I could have my big salad before my entree I have no idea.

3-4 night cruise I don't know there's an actual issue until the cruise is nearly done.