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

[LeslieT]

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

When I told her I just wanted my daughters she started selecting them and hit "purchase" in about 10 seconds. I kept asking her to wait, and please let me choose the ones I wanted. She hit submit and handed me my ticket to go pay the $70 so I could get my disk.

 

[BigredNole]

Makes me want to spend my port times visiting around port and then back on the ship for our first cruise.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Makes me want to spend my port times visiting around port and then back on the ship for our first cruise.

I would highly recommend going on tripadvisor and looking at the top activities/landmarks in each port to see if anything interests you. Then look up top rated tour companies and contact them directly. Some ports are great for walking around. Some not so much.

 

[timrousbeastie]

[...] I kept asking her to wait, and please let me choose the ones I wanted. She hit submit and handed me my ticket to go pay the $70 so I could get my disk.[...]

That's terrible, thanks for sharing the experience: I have cancelled port adventures in the past after reading helpful reviews like yours.

We did the a "Dolphin Encounter" at Dolphin Cove in Jamaica. It sounds far more friendly, not just the service (the person you encountered has got to be fired by now), but observers could actually get a very good look at everything and were allowed to take photos as well. In fact, I am pretty sure we could have gotten exactly the same photos without paying to be observers (though maybe they would have been tougher on us in that case?). We got excellent photos ourselves with a good telephoto lens, though the staff obviously made the participants look the other way, towards their photographer, during the close interaction with the dolphins. Also, the staff were pretty laid back and not at all what I'd describe as pushy. They let us spend a lot of time browsing through the photos without any pressure and leave easily when we didn't buy anything. We actually ended up going back to buy their DVD later, in part as a memory of what had been a wonderful visit. The whole setting at Dolphin Cove was so beautiful and as much a part of the experience as the encounter itself. The combination of Dolphin's Cove and Dunn's River Falls was hands down the best port adventure for us to date (out of ~15).

Edit: It just occurred to me that the staff at Dolphin Cove actually saved us money: we had booked 8 "Dolphin Encounter" tickets, but, when the staff saw that 3 of us would be observers, they approached us, had us fill out a form, and then charged us something like ~$50 less per person. I couldn't believe that and thought it was very good service.

 

[BruinEd03]

We did the dolphin encounter at Grand Cayman and it was worth every penny. The people were super nice. While we don't have children, the staff were super patient with children (which I thought was a nice touch). They also didn't rush us for the photos at all. Maybe it just happens to be the ones in Cozumel? In any case as others have said, be sure to let Disney know. They can't change what they don't know.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I was on the same cruise OP. We did a Disney excursion (snorkel/beach break) in Cozumel and it was as expected. I didn't expect a ton, but my younger son doesn't like snorkeling so I was compromising with the beach break portion for him.

We did a private tour in Grand Cayman through Native Ways. Despite the rain it was awesome. We were in a boat with a closed cabin during the rain storm on the way to Stingray City so it didn't bother us too much. Great time there and then snorkeled and beach break for a bit at Rum Point Beach. That rain messed up a lot of things for people I think.

As for Jamaica I feel just like you! I did the Dolphin Trainer for a Day at Dolphin Cove through Disney. Was a let down. For a 7 hour excursion we spent maybe 30 minutes with dolphins. So many times during the day we were just left by the people that were supposed to take us around and we had to go look for someone. The place, at least for our tour, was extremely disorganized. We spent 1.5 hours just trying to get the CD purchased and we said from the start that we wanted the one that contained all pictures so we didn't need to go through and select, etc. It was just a whole lot of standing around! Not to mention that we paid for a CD containing 320 pictures and found when we got back to the ship it only had 10! We did go for help at the Port Adventures desk to get that resolved and Disney helped us get the photos sent to a Drop Box account. Got those today. We didn't complain about the actual excursion because I wanted to get back online and read what the description actually said before I complained. I read it today and we did not get half of what was listed on the DCL site as part of this excursion. I am going to put together an email tomorrow. I don't expect any money back, but I want Disney to know that they are deceiving people at a high cost offering this particular excursion!

 

[steves100]

We have had only positive things to say about Disney excursions, but, I know going in they are more expensive and I make sure they are the RIGHT ones.

EX. I would never do the dog sled in Alaska through Disney again WAY too expensive. But, VERY glad we did the Butchart Gardens through Disney, we were 1 1/2 hours late and if we did this on our own we would have been left behind.

Just make sure you have time to get back to the ship early if you do things on your own.

From what you say I doubt very much Disney will refund your money. Sorry.

 

[VS85]

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 a bummer to hear. I did this excursion in Oct 2014 and it was the highlight of our trip! We had plenty of time on the beach or to snorkel and the crew, while young, was very hospitable and professional. I hope your experience was the exception and not the norm. This is one of the few excursions that gets you over to St. John, which, in my opinion, is a thousand times more beautiful than St. Thomas. I'm sorry you ended up disappointed in this excursion. I would have recommended it! Hopefully they get their act together.

 

[Cathie111]

We didn't do any chartered excursions on our first cruise which was on Royal Caribbean. I don't know if we will for our Disney one, though I would like to do a glass bottomed boat trip. I've heard too many horrible things about Dolphin encounters and refuse to go to them. When we went on the other one, we just looked up things to do on the islands and found some really cool stuff to do. We will likely do the same this time for the most part.

 

[Starwind]

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.

We had a great dolphin experience at Discovery Cove in Orlando. We spent the day there during a WDW trip (we booked it on our own and I rented a car for the day to get us to/from our WDW resort), and it could easily be done as a pre or post day to a cruise. It is expensive, and the photos are expensive, so not an option for everyone. Having seen some of the dolphin areas on some of the islands, we feel (rightly or wrongly) much more comfortable with how the animals are treated (and, lets face it, held in captivity) at Discovery Cove than the islands, though perhaps we just haven't seen the "right" place.

For excursions, we have been happy with all of the DCL excursions we have done, with the exception of one part of one of them and a good chunk of a second: on a trip to St Thomas/ST John we did the safari vehicle tour of St John, which starts with a ferry trip from St Thomas. The ferry itself was fine, but the crew did make multiple mentions of tipping (though not as bad as others have described they encountered on various excursions). In St Thomas we also got the butterfly garden excursion (same price through Disney or direct). We arrived and were told the tour would start shortly. After 45 minutes of no tour starting we decided to just walk through ourselves (we had been doing little walks then returning to our seats) and leave. While we enjoyed it, we would have liked the tour !

SW

 

[Quellman]

I understand that you were disappointed by the excursions. How was the rest of your voyage?

 

[Barbydoll8]

I'm so sorry this happened to you but I like others did 1 DCL excursion and for the price I won't do that again. Second excursion I researched on TripAdvisor and booked on my own. It was half the price and WONDERFUL. This was Grand Cayman's Sting Ray city.
I would only book with DCL if it was an exclusive tour with them and not available privately.

Definitely let DCL know and I'd send in a review on TripAdvisor as well.

 

[Ariel484]

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.

I did this same excursion in October - our crew (not the same as yours, it sounds like - our captain was female) was also young and they also mentioned tips multiple times, but I don't think they were as pushy was your crew sounds like. How annoying!

I do agree with the beach time not being quite as long as advertised. The beach was beautiful, though and we did really enjoy the excursion overall. I'm glad you spoke up and that Disney took care of you (as much as they could have after the fact). That is good to keep in mind that they take the feedback so seriously.

 

[RedSox68]

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.

100% agree with this. We have had some major disappointments on 3 of our excursions over 10 cruises -- excursions cut short, stops missed, etc. -- and the excursion desk refunded us either the whole excursion fee or part of it -- depending on the extent of the excursion flub. Disney has always come through and, while they contract out, they always stand behind the excursions and what you should be getting.

I would never stay onboard in a port as it is one of the reasons we sail -- to visit new places and check out the local history. Do some research for independent vendors through Trip Advisor or Cruise critic to get a more custom excursion -- and probably cheaper.

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

We did the Grand Cayman dolphin encounter and it was horrible. The entire experience was a rushed photoshoot so they could sell you the overpriced pictures.
If you do participate be sure to haggle w/ the people on the price of the pictures, they will definitely come down on price if you're low-key enough that the other customers don't hear and you make them feel like you're not going to buy any.

 

[Disney Divva]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment! What a bummer! Embarking on some 30+ cruises over the past 15 years, we don't do excursions at EVERY port. We may walk or take a shuttle to town/market and look around, but some port days we just lounge around the near empty ship and ENJOY!!

 

[Elliesmama]

X

 

[khsu]

We have had only positive things to say about Disney excursions, but, I know going in they are more expensive and I make sure they are the RIGHT ones.

EX. I would never do the dog sled in Alaska through Disney again WAY too expensive. But, VERY glad we did the Butchart Gardens through Disney, we were 1 1/2 hours late and if we did this on our own we would have been left behind.

Just make sure you have time to get back to the ship early if you do things on your own.

From what you say I doubt very much Disney will refund your money. Sorry.

hi Steve, I would love to hear more about your sled dog experience in Alaska. We are going to Alaska this August and I have been looking through the DCL excursions.
Karen

 

[Sparkie]

I had similar experience with DCL excursions on my May 8, 2016 Magic sailing. I emailed DCL after returning home and was told that they would follow up with the vendor.

My main complaint was the herding of cattle feeling. I agree. I felt like I spent more time waiting, lining up, being checked in, moving from point a to b, lining up again, being divided than I did participating in the actual excursion.

Then vendor complaint was over food safety on an excursion that "buffet lunch" was offered.

I chose DCL excursions this trip because I wanted the transportation portion included. My last cruise, I didnt plan well and didnt take enough cash off the ship and was worried that I wouldnt have enough to pay for a taxi to return to the ship. So that goal was met. But in the grand scheme of things, I think for my family, we will book independently on our next cruise. I felt like a great portion of my day was wasted waiting.

 

[steves100]

hi Steve, I would love to hear more about your sled dog experience in Alaska. We are going to Alaska this August and I have been looking through the DCL excursions.
Karen

I would not do it through Disney a 2nd time. Do it direct through Temsco MUCH cheaper, or atleast it was.

Other than the expense it was awesome, it was beautiful and fun, we did have perfect weather though. Only needed a fleece. You get a tour of the area via helicopter get to see wildlife. Land on the glacier get to see the dogs and how they are housed and fed. Then a you go out on a sled around the whole area. Very cool...