Magic to The Med Report VERY LONG

[lillygator]

thanks for the info, we were originally booked on this but when I priced airfare I quickly switched it~!!


sarasota mom, are you here in Sarasota? We live just off the south bridge to Siesta.

 

[nzdisneymom]

OP - Thanks for writing up your trip report and sharing your perspective. We had originally thought about booking the June 16th sailing but opted for the July 18th one instead for a variety of reasons, including giving DCL time to get the kinks worked out for their new itinerary.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Thanks for taking the time to share the report.There is no excuse for poor quality service. But even if I had poor quality service, I would just be glad I was on vacation and not home working every day and going to classes and being bored all day long.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

To the OP, thanks for the trip report.

To JeannieH, you can't be serious. People pay thousands of dollars for what might be a once in a lifetime trip and your suggestion to them is try to keep their gripes small? It seems to me your ties to the crew might be skewing your perspective. On the ship, it is the crew and staff who are paid by the guests to make their cruise a special one. It is NOT the job of guests to make the staff happy by NOT complaining about poor service/poor food. On new crew members you say they need consideration not retribution. Why? It is up to Disney to ensure their ship is staffed by trained and qualified cast members that are properly supervised by experienced staff. It is most definitely NOT the job of guests to train / break in the newbies.

I hope every person on the repo cruise who did not get the service they paid for filled out the comment cards, visited Guest Services and held back on the tips so Disney gets the message loud and clear that subpar service is absolutely NOT acceptable.

 

[cruisinluver]

Thank you for posting such a balanced and well written review.

 

[ragdoll]

Wow, I am so sorry that you didn't have the magical experience that we have all come to love and expect from DCL. I found many of the things that you wrote about to be true on our Double Dip last Sept. I wrote DCL a long letter listing all of the cost cutting cutbacks that I noticed. Please write to DCL about your poor experience. We are paying a premium price to cruise DCL and should recieve premium service.

 

[JeannieH]

As usual, the point has been completely missed: of course, everyone is entitled to complain about things that Disney or other cruise-lines fail to provide aboard one of their ships - providing they are valid points - and the complaint is directed to the right people. Sadly though, some guests take it upon themselves to make a "mountain out of a molehill". We had people on our cruises who continually complained about everyone and everything - making life tough for fellow travellers and the crew.

Certainly, Ive seen the "other side of the coin" - and have heard many of the "complaints" lodged. Less than 25% of them were rectifiable. Of course, having paid out a great deal of money for a vacation, you are entitled to receive the best possible treatment - and hopefully have experiences of a lifetime in various ports. Disney are NOT able to change the sea conditions, weather and historical sights that may not be quite what some people were expecting. Thankfully, most guests are very kind and polite........sadly, some are not. We made the best of things that didnt quite go according to plan.............just as we do in life. Manners cost nothing: but unfortunately some folk leave them at home when they cruise.

 

[jlawall]

Had a lengthy conversation with a server on the Magic late last year. The server had been on the Magic many years and we'd become quite friendly. The server wasn't sure they would renew their contract for the Med cruises because of tip issues. Servers were trying to get DCL to automatically add tips to guests accounts to ensure they would get something since Europeans aren't accustomed to tipping what would seem extra to them at the end of a cruise. Maybe this is the reason why some of the experieced servers left DCL.

I think that is a good idea.

 

[ssnyder]

Laura,

I'm so sorry you had so many problems. I guess I didn't have the same experiences as you - except for the food - I also thought the food was tasteless most of the time.

I had an excellent stateroom host. My bathroom was always spotless and I always had clean towels. It seemed that he was always working, but everytime he saw me coming down the hall, he would stop whatever he was doing and go unlock my door and hold the door open for me. He was always double checking that everything was alright. This was also my third cruise and he was definitely the best of my stateroom hosts. I think there is always the luck of the draw when it comes to the hosts and the servers. Some are definitely better than others.

I frequently had to stop by guest services and I had absolutely no problems with them. They were always very helpful. I was also amazed about the lack of lines. My other cruises it seems like there was frequently a line, but not this cruise.

I also had problems getting my castaway club gift, because my castaway club number had not ended up in their records. My stateroom host explained the process to me though and why it would take a couple of days for me to get it. I had to notify guest services and they then notify to manager of the stateroom hosts (I don't remember their title). They then have to check their records and make sure that the information was correct and verify I had not received my gift yet. I can see that they couldn't just take my word for it. (As it was explained to me, this is not something that is handled by guest services.) They then would inform the stateroom host at the next afternoon meeting and he could then deliver it the next day. This process took two days, but that was not a problem for me as I had no need for a travel wallet in the middle of the Atlantic.

Food was really my only complaint. Instead of putting the sauces on the food they would decorate the plate with a tiny portion that wouldn't even flavor a single bite. For the most part I enjoyed the appetizers and desserts though. Also lunches in Lumineres were pretty good.

 

[gismo1554]

Ok, here is my review:
The Bad:
DCL really planned on good weather for this cruise, and mother nature did NOT cooperate. 6 days at sea with overcast conditions, rain, some thunderstorms, 13-20 foot rough seas and moderate gale force winds all worked at keeping people in their rooms on bonine and naps. I don't think anyone came back with a tan on this cruise. Because of the bad weather, it really took it's toll on planned activities on the deck. DCL could not control the weather, but they could have used better sense.
The Mouse 2.0 party was postponed one day and went ahead with the next. The weather was not that much better, but they held it outside anyway. Now here is a hint for all of you planning a BBQ and wondering if you should bring it in, if the wind is strong enough to blow the food off of your plate (not the plate,but the food it self) you should probably move it in. If it starts raining hard enough that you have to drag the costumed characters in before they become water logged, you should probably move it in. When people are riding boogie boards in the new 'wave pools' you should probably move it in. Same thing with the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party. When the table linens are blowing off and becoming water logged from the pool water sloshing out, you should probably NOT have it outside. They did go ahead with the fireworks and it seemed a little shorted, but that could have been a factor of the wind.
.......We only got lobster on the last night and it was not great. They did do a much better job on beef for this cruise, however, you can only have a rib eye so many nights.

I have to admit I was one of the few that came back with a tan because I burnt the day of the mouse 2O party watching hunchback of notre damn on deck. I agree the weather wasn't brilliant but that's the risk you take I suppose.

On the note of lobster I think it was on one of the first menus as well but can't be sure.

As said before I guess I was a lucky one who had a fab stateroom host and had no problems with customer service but I guess its just luck at the end of the day who you run in to.

The only problem I had was with Palos as the service was awful (we had our plates taken away before we had finished eating) and we have since complained about it (didn't on the boat as it was the last but one day and the desk was heaving). Definately not worth going to afternoon tea!

 

[crzy4magic]

Thanks to the OP for your posting - it is very interesting to see the DCL took actions to avoid problems that they had encountered on the Westbound Panama Canal cruise on this cruise, and those actions appeared to have worked, but were not prepared for a completely different set of new issues that cropped up on this cruise. As happened with the West Coast and Panama Canal cruises 2 years ago, I expect there will be a few deviations from the service we all have come to love DCL for, but by the second Med cruise all the kinks will be worked out.

 

[AuntyBrat]

First of all, I find your complaining a bit over the top. If I paid for a category 12 and was given a FREE category 5, I would be appreciative!!!! You should have researched Europe's weather before you left...Everyone who has been to Europe before knows that the weather is not good in May.. It is cold, dreary. and rainy...Ireland, Scotland, and UK are rainy even in June and July. The nights are very cool even then. As for Italy, the weather is cool in May, and by the end of June and July it is hot and humid...This is from a girl from Florida, that is used to the high humidity...The Italians do not bathe as frequently as we do, and shaving and deodorant is an option, so be ready for some nasty body odor reaking from the people.
Also Europe is much more expensive than the US. Last year the Euro was worth 1.31 dollars and the pound was like a 1.75 compared to the dollar. This makes it more expensive just in the conversions. Please people be ready for the sticker shock. If you eat at McDonalds, a Happy Meal is like $10 in Italy and you will pay 25 cents for every pack of ketchup. When my son went there in 2003, we had to keep putting more money on his debit card because of these high prices. Then the Euro was 1.25 US dollars.
As far as new cast members , I find this amazing. You would think that the current cast members would love to stay on for a new iteniary.
We went on a 4-day cruise at the end of March and we had the same experience with our roonm steward. I had to ask for new soap. shampioo, and conditioner. The soap one really had me boogled, as we had our own shampoo. I had to ask him for bath soap. We just thought it was the Wonder and vowed to only go on the Magic from now on. Now I don't know.
Anyway, there is no excuse for the food....Our food was awesome on our last cruise...And as far as the soda machine goes, that was totally there fault!!!

P.S....If you cancel your Eastbound Panama Cruise let me know...we are dying to book one...We are currently booked for the Thanksgiving 2008 double dip...We are dying for a western or east bound Panamal Cruise...

First of all, I did pay to upgrade to the cat 5, it was not free.

I don't recall complaining about the weather, I had a really good idea that the weather would not be ideal. If you read the review carefully, my comments were about DCL not taking the weather into account when they scheduled deck parties and other activities. That was a mistake on their part.

I also did not mention the cost of things at all. You have brought that up. I brought up converting your money over before you go to save time on the ship. I knew that the dollar was worth less than the Euro, and even less than the Pound when we were in Gibraltar.

As for cast members staying on with a new itenerary, that is not always their choice and has to do when their contract expires.

As for flaming me and my over the top complaining, you were not there, you did not experience it, and as always, YMMV.

Laura

 

[hopemax]

We had a fabulous dining room service team. Our room steward was fine, although I did send DH to him a couple times for more conditioner. No complaints about the cleanliness of the room. We had 2 brunches, one tea and one dinner at Palo, and had a different server each time. Alexander from Croatia was by far the best of the bunch. Palo was the one place my drink was not refilled promptly, which was discouraging.

I didn't expect fantastic food on DCL, as I was disappointed with it on our first cruise. It was actually a little better than I expected (except the desserts). There was a lobster dish the first night, on the "Let the Magic Begin" menu, and sliced lobster on the "Farewell to the Caribbean menu," as well as the Captain's Gala. My lobster that day was fabulous, so I wonder if was dependent on how and when it came out of the kitchen.

Aye! the kitchen problems. Our head server did not come to our table the first night, and on the second night he apologized citing "kitchen problems." Soon we got to experience first hand these problems, days 3 and 4, were so bad, that we didn't get our entrees until after a bunch of tables had already finished their entire meal. And dessert was very rushed because they were trying to get setup for the second seating. It did get better as the days went on, but you could tell everyone was frustrated by the speed the food was coming out. Our server did his best to make sure his orders went in quickly. And souffle night he was excited to let us know that he was first in line.

We did experience frustrations with guest services, and I know the staff can't control the weather, but they can help with the communication. One day, they cancelled a bunch of stuff and then rushed a mini-navigator out to the staterooms so people would know what was still schedulded. Then later there was another weather problem. I guess there was an announcement over the loudspeaker that stuff had gotten cancelled, but we were sleeping in our room and didn't hear it. Later we went up to Deck 9 to watch one of the Pirates movies on the Ariel View. It didn't start when it was supposed to. 15 minutes passes, and nothing. There were lots of people waiting, and finally someone went to track someone down. There was one guy who got on the radio, disappeared, came back, was on the radio some more, and finally someone in a suit showed up, and a half hour later the movie finally started. I'm guessing they thought the movie was cancelled, but since not all areas can hear the announcements, a lot of people didn't know. That is a situation that could have been helped by making another mini-navigator, or having a sign posted that tonight's movie has been canceled.

We were still quite satisfied with our vacation, but if we had paid a non-discounted rate, or had a less wonderful dining room team, our satisfaction levels would have been very different. I still have a hard time recommending a Disney cruise vs one of the other lines like RCCL.

 

[happyfeet]

First of all, I find your complaining a bit over the top. If I paid for a category 12 and was given a FREE category 5, I would be appreciative!!!! You should have researched Europe's weather before you left...Everyone who has been to Europe before knows that the weather is not good in May.. It is cold, dreary. and rainy...Ireland, Scotland, and UK are rainy even in June and July. The nights are very cool even then. As for Italy, the weather is cool in May, and by the end of June and July it is hot and humid...This is from a girl from Florida, that is used to the high humidity...The Italians do not bathe as frequently as we do, and shaving and deodorant is an option, so be ready for some nasty body odor reaking from the people.
Also Europe is much more expensive than the US. Last year the Euro was worth 1.31 dollars and the pound was like a 1.75 compared to the dollar. This makes it more expensive just in the conversions. Please people be ready for the sticker shock. If you eat at McDonalds, a Happy Meal is like $10 in Italy and you will pay 25 cents for every pack of ketchup. When my son went there in 2003, we had to keep putting more money on his debit card because of these high prices. Then the Euro was 1.25 US dollars.
As far as new cast members , I find this amazing. You would think that the current cast members would love to stay on for a new iteniary.
We went on a 4-day cruise at the end of March and we had the same experience with our roonm steward. I had to ask for new soap. shampioo, and conditioner. The soap one really had me boogled, as we had our own shampoo. I had to ask him for bath soap. We just thought it was the Wonder and vowed to only go on the Magic from now on. Now I don't know.
Anyway, there is no excuse for the food....Our food was awesome on our last cruise...And as far as the soda machine goes, that was totally there fault!!!

P.S....If you cancel your Eastbound Panama Cruise let me know...we are dying to book one...We are currently booked for the Thanksgiving 2008 double dip...We are dying for a western or east bound Panamal Cruise...

 

[AuntyBrat]

On the tips:

Based on previous cruises I had budgeted to pay much higher tips to all involved, because we have always gotten much better than average service. Even though our stateroom hostess was lacking in our opinion, she still got the minimum amount. As for the folks in the dining room, they did not control the kitchen, or the cooking of the food. They were fabulous and got much higher than average tips. Even the head server as he was constantly communicating with us and trying to get the problems in the kitchen resolved. There really seemed to be a disconnect or some other problem with the kitchen and the servers not being on the same team, and it seemed that the problem was with the kitchens not wanting to play. We also ran into a problem where the descriptions on the menu and the actual food were not the same on several items on different menus. I know the menus were printed in advance and that sometimes they have to make changes based on product availability, but the kitchen was not communicating with the the servers and with all the new items, the servers didn't always know what something was supposed to look like. When we asked, they would go and check and find out that the kitchen changed the item but didn't tell them. Again, I do not fault the servers, but the kitchen was having issues.

As for Alex in Palo's he was the bomb. We had him for all our meals and he was top notch. He is also one of the folks who was going home in Barcelona.

 

[hopemax]

Aside from the group getting off now, there is another chunk that is getting off on June 19th. I'm beginning to wonder who's going to be left to staff the ship!

 

[AuntyBrat]

Aside from the group getting off now, there is another chunk that is getting off on June 19th. I'm beginning to wonder who's going to be left to staff the ship!

Well, if you get enough disboarders, they could probably run most of it...

 

[kidcoos3]

First of all, I did pay to upgrade to the cat 5, it was not free.

I don't recall complaining about the weather, I had a really good idea that the weather would not be ideal. If you read the review carefully, my comments were about DCL not taking the weather into account when they scheduled deck parties and other activities. That was a mistake on their part.

I also did not mention the cost of things at all. You have brought that up. I brought up converting your money over before you go to save time on the ship. I knew that the dollar was worth less than the Euro, and even less than the Pound when we were in Gibraltar.

As for cast members staying on with a new itenerary, that is not always their choice and has to do when their contract expires.

As for flaming me and my over the top complaining, you were not there, you did not experience it, and as always, YMMV.

Laura

I really appreciate the candor in your trip report. Hopefully DCL will get the kinks worked out - but at least we know what to watch out for.

 

[Tiggersk82]

Wow, I had a completely different experience on the trans-atlantic cruise. My family found most of the dinners to be amazing! The dinners weren't as good when we had it sent up to our stateroom, but that's because they weren't hot anymore. Our room steward (Ike) was awesome, friendly, and even wanted to teach my sister and I how to make towel animals. I can't really comment on Guest Services, because our concierge team was very attentive and took care of everything for us. Overall, this was definitely the most magical of the seven cruises my family and I have been on, and I'd be hard-pressed to find anything negative to say about it.

 

[granmaz]

Well, if you get enough disboarders, they could probably run most of it...

That could be true!!