Maybe I'm just tired...but I'm pretty disappointed

[LeslieT]

We are just home from our 7 day Western Fantasy cruise. Like the luggage is still in a pile, just walking in the door home. I've had a feeling of disappointment with all of our excursions the entire trip and now I'm really bummed out. Let me start by saying that we have planned this trip for a year. I poured over the excursion options, I read and re read the reviews and tried to make it all happen to give each member a part of their wish list. I booked them all with Disney and will be contacting them Monday as well.

On our first day off the ship we did the Dolphin Discovery at Cozumel. I didn't think we would ever get to the actual Dolphin part for all the stops and check in's. Once we did get started I thought it was really fun. When it was over, it went down hill. We had purchased the Observer for my husband so he could take pictures and stay on the beach. Wrong. The observer tower is in a spot where they can see nothing. NOTHING. The beach is a rocky mess. His entire day was gone. Then came their picture sell. This lady was very pushy. I even tried to barter with her on the price and no deal. So I paid $70 for pictures of my daughter with the dolphin but chose not to purchase any of mine, it was another $70. I just put them i the computer to look at them and we didn't get the "handshake" or the "high five" What we did get are a few of the interaction and several file photos.

On our Second day we did the Shipwreck and Reef snorkel tour. It was subpar at best and we didn't even leave the cove. The corral is very dull and honestly we had better fish and scenery on Castaway Cay. I realize no one can help the rain that moved in that day but it wasn't worth the price. Again I booked it with Disney, thinking their options would be the best of the best and we had the guarantee of not missing the ship. By Jamaica we gave up and skipped what we had booked. I was afraid of more disappointment.

It will be awhile before we do another Disney cruise. Not because of the cruise, but because of the price, but when we do I'm just going to see what the day brings and not spend months and months pouring over the excursions. I'm also going to be getting in touch with Disney.

As far as the cruise, the service was great, my daughter loved Vibe, we loved the Tube, the pool, the sun, staff, all amazing. I just feel a little robbed on shore.

 

[msmayor]

Did you mention your disappointment with the excursions while on board? That would have been a good starting point rather than waiting until you are home. They might have had an opportunity to do something right then to ease the disappointment.

 

[darnheather]

One thing to remember when contacting Disney, they are only the brokers for these tours. They are not running them in any way. As for the dolphin thing every single review I've read has mentioned the pushiness and high price of photos.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Disney doesn't run the excursions. They are contracted out. If you are disappointed in them you need to let the Port Excursions desk know.

 

[LeslieT]

I had read those and was prepared but this gal was over the top. When I told her I'd take the ones of my daughter she just started selecting them for me and the sent the order in. She was very fast.

One thing to remember when contacting Disney, they are only the brokers for these tours. They are not running them in any way. As for the dolphin thing every single review I've read has mentioned the pushiness and high price of photos.

 

[LeslieT]

Disney doesn't run the excursions. They are contracted out. If you are disappointed in them you need to let the Port Excursions desk know.

I'm going to call them and see what I can get done. I know it's too late now and we did have a good time but I guess I was expecting the Magic since I booked with them.

 

[Ofinn]

If you do another cruise on DCL or any other cruise line. My suggestion would be not to do excursions through the ship. You can have a lot more fun and spend a lot less money doing stuff on your own.

 

[wilkeliza]

Sorry your excursions were a let down. Please do write Disney Cruise Line. Although you may not get anything back and of course the time on the ship etc will never come back at least DCL will know there is a problem with the excursions. If they get several complaints about they same excursion they'll pull it as an offering.

 

[lovedisneycruise]

Sorry your excursions were a let down. Please do write Disney Cruise Line. Although you may not get anything back and of course the time on the ship etc will never come back at least DCL will know there is a problem with the excursions. If they get several complaints about they same excursion they'll pull it as an offering.

THIS. Last year when I was on a Disney cruise I casually mentioned to the onboard booking guy about an excursion that we were unhappy with and I told him why. He specifically told me to make sure I let Port adventures know about a bad OR good experience because they discontinue excursions for which they get lots of complaints. He said they will give the tour operators warnings and give them a chance to correct The issues.

So sharing the experience with Disney may not change it for you, but it could help future cruisers.

 

[jiminy14]

We had a very disappointing excursion with the Champagne Catamaran in St. Thomas this past May. The description mentioned "beach time of 90 minutes". We barely had an hour. One of the crew informed us, upon arrival, that we would have to return to the boat in 55 minutes. The crew was very young and unprofessional. They actually had some of their friends on the excursion who were drinking and eating the provisions set out for us. The "captain" also informed us on numerous occasions that we were expected to tip them with a minimum amount of 20% of our excursion price. He even went on to tell us that if we could not figure out the correct amount he could do it for us.
After returning to the Magic, I went to Guest Services and told them this was not the type of service I expected from Disney. They referred me to the Port Adventures desk where I filled out a form detailing my problems with the excursion. Later that evening I was contacted by the Officer in charge of Port Adventures who assured me that this was not the type of experience Disney would approve of. He told me he would follow up with the excursion vendor and get back to me. The next day I received a call back from said Officer who told me the vendor agreed that I was not provided with the experience listed in the description and would refund me 20% of the excursion price. The vendor also told him that the crew denied that they had asked for tips and that there were no friends on board. Guest Services also sent us a bottle of wine to apologize for our difficulties with the excursion.
I would advise anyone looking for an excursion in St. Thomas to avoid booking the Champagne Catamaran sail and snorkel to St. John's.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had purchased the Observer for my husband so he could take pictures and stay on the beach. Wrong. The observer tower is in a spot where they can see nothing. NOTHING. The beach is a rocky mess. His entire day was gone.

Ugh.

Again I booked it with Disney, thinking their options would be the best of the best and we had the guarantee of not missing the ship.

Just to make sure it's understood, they don't guarantee that. If the ship has to go, it has to go. But if you book through Disney then (assuming any legalities like passports are taken care of to get you from point A to point B by transportation other than ship) they will get you *to* the ship if it has to go and your group isn't onboard.

I had read those and was prepared but this gal was over the top.

Be sure to leave reviews in those same spots where you saw them, and try to write it with strong enough wording so it is clear.

 

[mom4fun]

We had a very disappointing excursion with the Champagne Catamaran in St. Thomas this past May. The description mentioned "beach time of 90 minutes". We barely had an hour. One of the crew informed us, upon arrival, that we would have to return to the boat in 55 minutes. The crew was very young and unprofessional. They actually had some of their friends on the excursion who were drinking and eating the provisions set out for us. The "captain" also informed us on numerous occasions that we were expected to tip them with a minimum amount of 20% of our excursion price. He even went on to tell us that if we could not figure out the correct amount he could do it for us.
After returning to the Magic, I went to Guest Services and told them this was not the type of service I expected from Disney. They referred me to the Port Adventures desk where I filled out a form detailing my problems with the excursion. Later that evening I was contacted by the Officer in charge of Port Adventures who assured me that this was not the type of experience Disney would approve of. He told me he would follow up with the excursion vendor and get back to me. The next day I received a call back from said Officer who told me the vendor agreed that I was not provided with the experience listed in the description and would refund me 20% of the excursion price. The vendor also told him that the crew denied that they had asked for tips and that there were no friends on board. Guest Services also sent us a bottle of wine to apologize for our difficulties with the excursion.
I would advise anyone looking for an excursion in St. Thomas to avoid booking the Champagne Catamaran sail and snorkel to St. John's.

This is good to know. I was actually considering this excursion but opted for the full day sail and snorkel. I was equally disappointed. I don't think Disney should go to excursions where they have a huge sign selling pot at the bar on a tiny beach. Not only that but the beach was run down and the restrooms were disgusting. I didn't think to go to guest services and complain. I should have.

 

[SCMouseFans]

I would definitely let Disney know, and post reviews so others know what your experience was.

Our first couple of cruises I only booked Disney excursions. On our most recent cruise I branched out and booked a private excursion - the difference was night and day. The Disney-approved excursions all seemed run down and more expensive compared to the private excursion experience. In the future I will always research and plan my own excursions this way.

 

[princessmommyx3]

I learned my lessons on DCL excursions as well. Our very first excursion was through DCL and I was underwhelmed. I have booked non-DCL excursions ever since (I use trip advisor to select them) and every one has been spectacular. I hope that you give DCL another chance but book outside excursions. I think you will have a very different experience.

 

[21stamps]

I'm sorry that you did not enjoy your excursions!

I do want to point a couple things out though-

Photos at dolphin interactions are always extremely high priced. It's the number 1 complaint about them.

The snorkeling trip-

It's sad that you didn't see much, but you're dealing with nature, and rain has a huge impact on how much you will see.

I've been on airboat tours and not seen one alligator. - stinks but it happens.

Also, last September we were in Key West, storms the entire times. Our snorkeling was horrible. Our sunset cruise was barely a sunset and our beach day had a waterspout appear within minutes of paying entry fee/chairs/snorkel gear/rafts/umbrella. That really didn't make me a happy camper, but unfortunately no one can control the weather

 

[hanscarlet]

I have heard those dolphin encounters are a rip off... I'm trying to figure out which island gives you the best experience. Sounds like Blue lagoon but yes I heard the photos are ridiculously expensive. I am sorry you felt that way about your excursions but glad you had a good experience outside of your excursions. I booked expensive non Disney excursions and one was well worth it and the other was so so and I remember feeling a bit of regret after spending all that money. We just learn from it. Next time we're going to do a simple bahamas trip and maybe spend $ on a day pass to British Colonial and that's it.... that way if we leave the daypass early I won't feel like I was robbed.

 

[MUN]

I had read those and was prepared but this gal was over the top. When I told her I'd take the ones of my daughter she just started selecting them for me and the sent the order in. She was very fast.

She "made" you buy something you didn't want?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

OP, I'm sorry to hear of your disappointing experiences. After a few cruises, I found, as other PP's have pointed out, that it's better (for us, anyway) to go on tripadvisor months prior to our cruise, research the ports and then find private tour companies and book on our own. We did this for our Norway/Iceland/Scotland B2B last summer and we had FANTASTIC experiences. Not only did we have private tours, but they were less expensive than the DCL bus tours that were offered. I was also able to tailor the excursions to our interests, eat local foods, etc. We are doing the same for our upcoming western Carribbean cruise.

I would definitely contact DCL and let them know of your experiences. And highly suggest booking privately if you ever cruise again.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Again I booked it with Disney, thinking their options would be the best of the best and we had the guarantee of not missing the ship. By Jamaica we gave up and skipped what we had booked. I was afraid of more disappointment.

That was your first mistake.....

I say this not to pour salt on your wounds so to speak but as a warning to others! Not sure why people buy into that thinking but they are just using the tours that give them the best cut and check off all the boxes for them. Do your own research and book independently. 9 times out of 10 you will be more happy! No amount of refund or apologies from Disney give you back your vacation day. Just not worth leaving it up to them imho.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

We're done w/ Disney excursions too. Feeling like you're cattle corralled and then ripped off isn't our idea of vacation.
If we can't just walk around the port we just stay on the ship.