My hits & misses list for 11/24 Eastern

[Bec3b1g]

I don't have the time for a trip report, so I thought I would jot down a few things from our 1st DCL that stood out.

Hits:

--Customer Service: As business owners, dh and I were really impressed at the DCL employees. I wish we could employ such an excellent staff.
The disney staff members were great....all of them. Our servers made the trip memorable and really connected w/ our kids. They work so hard!! If anyone worries about the cost of tipping before the cruise...don't!! They earn every penny. Our stateroom host was fantastic as well.

--Entertainment: The shows were top notch and enjoyed by the entire family. Even my boys (12, 11, 11) were entertained! After the show ended, we had about 30-45 minutes before dinner and would find either another show or hang out in the Promenade lounge.

--Spacious Rooms: We've been on one other cruise ship and the room was tiny. So glad DCL gave us the extra space.

--Palos was fabulous, both for brunch and dinner. Not to be missed.

--Verandah: Well worth the money. No problems w/ smokers either, which is something I worried about.


Misses:

--Pools: I was really disappointed in the pools. Way too crowded, both in and around the pool. It was really frustrating to try and find a lounger near the pool while dd (4) swam....not my idea of fun at all.

--Food: I found the breakfast food to be mediocre. The breakfast buffet at Topsiders was surprisingly better than the food at Animators. Overall, the food was safe....kinda bland.

--Room service: We averaged 45 minutes to get a simple order. It was way faster to run up and get something from the buffets.

--Coffee: Yuck! Come on, Disney. You can do better than that.

--St Thomas tendering: Disney would not allow customers who were going on non-Disney excursions off the first several boats. We had a 9:00 private day sail booked and needed to get on the 8:00 tender. Nope.....they wouldn't give us a ticket. We were placed on an 8:45 tender, even though I showed up at 7:15 am to secure an early spot. We arrived over 30 minutes late. If this is Disney's policy, they should clearly state it to their customers.


Both a hit & miss

--Medical Center: We ended up using the medical services 3 times. Is that a disboard record? LOL! DD (4) got a terrible URI. Her upper airway nearly closed and she was having a terrible time breathing. She needed antibiotics and steriods. I found the dr. and nurse to be fabulous. One of my sons has a chronic lung disease so I'm fairly well versed in treatment for breathing issues. They did everything exactly right and were so gentle w/ dd.

My husband, however, had to take our ds (11) to the med center for stitches. He sliced his foot open during the day sail on St. Thomas when the boat pitched and a glass plate fell to the floor and shattered. DS had a different dr. who was not kind or gentle. DH was floored when he pulled out the stitch equipment from a sterile pouch and it was visibly rusty!! DH told the dr. he wasn't going to be using rusty equipment on our son, which didnt' sit well w/ the dr. He told dh it was a sterile rusty. Dh still said no and requested other instruments. The dr. said he was going to charge us a 2nd fee for equipment if that is what he wanted. These were supposed to be 1 time use only equipment, but they sterilize and reuse them because it's a "waste," according to the dr. You are charged for the full equipment on the bill....not for use/reuse. Anyways, dh was fairly ticked off at this point and told the dr. that he would be happy to explain to the captain about the rusty equipment and unethical billing practices. The dr. agreed to not charge us for the visit. I think the bill was supposed to be around $600.


The kids had a blast on the cruise. DH and I, not so much. We just aren't cruise type people. DH hates vacationing w/ crowds, and the constant queing up and being crowded at the pools or getting seats at shows was a major frustration.

Anyways, thanks disboard! All the tips and suggestions made this a memorable vacation for the kids.

 

[nokidz]

My husband, however, had to take our ds (11) to the med center for stitches. He sliced his foot open during the day sail on St. Thomas when the boat pitched and a glass plate fell to the floor and shattered. DS had a different dr. who was not kind or gentle. DH was floored when he pulled out the stitch equipment from a sterile pouch and it was visibly rusty!! DH told the dr. he wasn't going to be using rusty equipment on our son, which didnt' sit well w/ the dr. He told dh it was a sterile rusty. Dh still said no and requested other instruments. The dr. said he was going to charge us a 2nd fee for equipment if that is what he wanted. These were supposed to be 1 time use only equipment, but they sterilize and reuse them because it's a "waste," according to the dr. You are charged for the full equipment on the bill....not for use/reuse. Anyways, dh was fairly ticked off at this point and told the dr. that he would be happy to explain to the captain about the rusty equipment and unethical billing practices. The dr. agreed to not charge us for the visit. I think the bill was supposed to be around $600.

I would hope a complaint would be lodged about this type of practise. If the instruments are truely rusty, then it is in no way acceptable.

 

[mruhaak]

Becca-
We visited the med center during this same cruise with our 18 mo. old and I had a very good experience. He was having breathing problems as well. We had the female doctor and she was very good. It was kind of pricey though for what she did... but what are you going to do?

I am disturbed at the "rusty instruments" though... I didn't see anything like this myself.

 

[Bec3b1g]

Becca-
We visited the med center during this same cruise with our 18 mo. old and I had a very good experience. He was having breathing problems as well. We had the female doctor and she was very good. It was kind of pricey though for what she did... but what are you going to do?

I am disturbed at the "rusty instruments" though... I didn't see anything like this myself.

Yes, the female dr. saw dd. She was great, as was the nurse helping her. There must have been a bad bug running through the boat because I heard lots of little ones w/ terrible croupy coughs during the cruise.

We're appalled that the dr. (different dr. from the one that dd saw) tried using the rusty instruments on ds. The dr. told dh, "I know this is going to sound strange, but they are a sterile rusty."

I'm not a dr. or a nurse, but this doesn't sound right. Maybe there is a "sterile rusty??"

I recanted this incident on my comment card at the end of the cruise. It will be interesting to see if Disney responds.

 

[mruhaak]

Becca-
Just curious. Were you early seating?

Because I was wondering about why you were having problems getting seats at shows. We went to 2 of the shows one of the matinees and one at the 6:15 and we had no problem. But we were there maybe 15 minutes before the show started.

Sorry you & DH didn't have a good time. Ours was a little rough at first because our kids were not cooperating at dinner (late), and that was stressing me out, so I just gave up on that and they spent that time in Flounders and at the club and we were able to have that be our "adult time."

I really didn't feel like we waited in a lot of lines, but we didn't wait in a lot of photo lines because DH is a photographer. And my boys don't collect character autographs. Also I didn't spend a lot of time at the pool, as I was with my youngest a lot, so that wouldn't have affected me either. But I agree that the Disney pools need help. I hope they address that on the new ships!
Melanie

 

[lg3]

ITA about the difficulty finding a lounging chair near the pool in order to more closely watch the little ones. We had the same difficulty, and would be at the pool for very long periods of time where NO ONE went up to the lounge chairs closest to the pools that were already claimed.

 

[mruhaak]

Unfortunately I think the lounge chair saving problem is a problem on every cruise line. I've spend a lot of time planning my various cruises and people are always complaining about this problem!

We were laughing one of the first sea day mornings because we were up on deck watching the Lion King on the big screen with our young son and some guy and his family were trying very hard to save a bunch of lounge chairs right in front of the pool (there were just a handful of people there at that time) and it was very windy and the towels kept blowing off. And he looked quite upset about the whole deal.

 

[Got Quattro?]

surgical instruments are made of stainless steal...they dont rust.

whay you probbaly saw was some dried up bettadine that was not completly cleaned off the device before it went in the autoclaive for sterilization.

The doctor was correct, it was fine to use, but his delivery may not have been very good.

 

[Got Quattro?]

We were laughing one of the first sea day mornings because we were up on deck watching the Lion King on the big screen with our young son and some guy and his family were trying very hard to save a bunch of lounge chairs right in front of the pool (there were just a handful of people there at that time) and it was very windy and the towels kept blowing off. And he looked quite upset about the whole deal.

People like that stir me up, and i would purposly sit in the seats he was trying to save. We all know there are not enough seats, if you want them, get your party there and sit...dont send dad and son to save 8 seats for after breakfast.

 

[carole88]

surgical instruments are made of stainless steal...they dont rust.

whay you probbaly saw was some dried up bettadine that was not completly cleaned off the device before it went in the autoclaive for sterilization.

The doctor was correct, it was fine to use, but his delivery may not have been very good.

Not true. Stainless steel is rust resistant, not rust proof. There are actually products that you can buy to remove rust from surgical instruments.

 

[PurplePrincess4]

Hits:

--Customer Service: As business owners, dh and I were really impressed at the DCL employees. I wish we could employ such an excellent staff.
The disney staff members were great....all of them. Our servers made the trip memorable and really connected w/ our kids. They work so hard!! If anyone worries about the cost of tipping before the cruise...don't!! They earn every penny. Our stateroom host was fantastic as well.

--Entertainment: The shows were top notch and enjoyed by the entire family. Even my boys (12, 11, 11) were entertained! After the show ended, we had about 30-45 minutes before dinner and would find either another show or hang out in the Promenade lounge.

--Spacious Rooms: We've been on one other cruise ship and the room was tiny. So glad DCL gave us the extra space.

Misses:

--Pools: I was really disappointed in the pools. Way too crowded, both in and around the pool. It was really frustrating to try and find a lounger near the pool while dd (4) swam....not my idea of fun at all.

--Food: I found the breakfast food to be mediocre. The breakfast buffet at Topsiders was surprisingly better than the food at Animators. Overall, the food was safe....kinda bland.

--St Thomas tendering: Disney would not allow customers who were going on non-Disney excursions off the first several boats. We had a 9:00 private day sail booked and needed to get on the 8:00 tender. Nope.....they wouldn't give us a ticket. We were placed on an 8:45 tender, even though I showed up at 7:15 am to secure an early spot. We arrived over 30 minutes late. If this is Disney's policy, they should clearly state it to their customers.

The kids had a blast on the cruise. DH and I, not so much. We just aren't cruise type people. DH hates vacationing w/ crowds, and the constant queing up and being crowded at the pools or getting seats at shows was a major frustration.

We were on the sailing right before you and I would agree with all the above! Now that the time has come and gone for booking 2009, my husband has made known his true feeling about the cruise. He was especially disappointed with the pools. I really hope the setup and space for childrens pools are greater on the new ships. Now we are looking at Carribean and Mexico All inclusives where the pools and water activities take center stage. Our kids are real fish!

Let me add that I thought that the breakfast on debarkation day at Lumieres was downright bad! YUCK! The pancakes were like bricks!

There were many, many coughing kids on our sailing too. We all got sick right after the cruise! I am appalled at how you were treated by the Dr. with the rusty instruments! I really hope you make DCL management aware of your treatment. It is unacceptable!

 

[Joan1]

My husband, however, had to take our ds (11) to the med center for stitches. He sliced his foot open during the day sail on St. Thomas when the boat pitched and a glass plate fell to the floor and shattered.

Question - if this happened on your private sail excursion wasn't the company that set it up responsible for getting the medical attention for your son since it happened on their boat? If it was a time issue, you had to get back to the ship, they should have at least paid for seeing the doctor and getting stitches

 

[Bec3b1g]

Question - if this happened on your private sail excursion wasn't the company that set it up responsible for getting the medical attention for your son since it happened on their boat? If it was a time issue, you had to get back to the ship, they should have at least paid for seeing the doctor and getting stitches

Definitely a time issue....the boat will sail whether we are on it or not.

Unfortunately, we had to come back early from our private day sail and the owner of the boat still required us to pay in full. It was Interline Sail. We were all having a blast up to that point and stopped to get lunch. The waters of St. Thomas were clear. We got to snorkle and saw a sea turtle, sting ray, and lots of colorful fish.

We did buy trip insurance and I thought (mistakenly) that the insurance purchased through Costco would comp part of the excursion. I spoke w/ a representative yesterday that told me they would only reimburse if it was a Disney excursion. I'll send the paperwork in anyway and hope for the best, but I doubt we'll get any of our money back.

The cost of the medical visit was not of concern because we have both health insurance and trip insurance. The dr. did waive the medical charge so we ended up paying nothing.


As to whether the instruments were really rusted or not.........It certainly seems reasonable to say it was a chemical left on during the sterilization process. However, the dr., himself, referred to the discoloration as "rust." If it wasn't rust, why wouldn't the dr. try and clear that up w/ my dh, who was clearly appalled at the use of rusty instruments? The dr. did say the instruments were supposed to be single use only so maybe that weren't as rust resistent as use/reuse type instruments......who knows. At the time, dh was more upset over the dr telling him he would charge him for a 2nd instrument pouch and also because he was rough during the shots.

 

[mruhaak]

People like that stir me up, and i would purposly sit in the seats he was trying to save. We all know there are not enough seats, if you want them, get your party there and sit...dont send dad and son to save 8 seats for after breakfast.

That's exactly what he was doing. He was crabby too. We were just watching the Lion King for a little while and wanted to sit down. Some people have a real hard time "relaxing" on their vacations!

 

[bsusanmb]

surgical instruments are made of stainless steal...they dont rust.

whay you probbaly saw was some dried up bettadine that was not completly cleaned off the device before it went in the autoclaive for sterilization.

The doctor was correct, it was fine to use, but his delivery may not have been very good.

Suture is disposable and is attached to a disposable curved needle. A surgical instument is used to pull the disposable needle through the skin.

I wouldn't have allow the doctor to do this either.

 

[danicaw]

Thanks for posting..
We are booked on the week after Thanksgiving 08 and I am curious if the holiday decorations were up on your cruise? Any holiday stuff onboard?
Also, looks like we are neighbors, who did you guys fly on?
We were at WDW after Thanksgiving 07 and used two different airlines - Southwest over w/one plane change and Alaska on the way back - nonstop.
I still don't know which was better.
Our kids 4 and 17 mo. had a hard time with the nonstop - for them it was nice to get up and run around half way. But its an extra couple of hours on an already LONG travel day.

Thanks again.

 

[mruhaak]

Danica,
I cruised with kids your same age the day after Thanksgiving this past year! We're planning on cruising again that week in 2009. Your 4 year old is gonna love it! We couldn't hardly keep our 4 year old out of the kid's club. The little one got really needy about that time and didn't like being left at Flounders. But we were prepared for that and had a great time anyway!

If you're interested there is already a cruise meets board going for this cruise.
Have fun planning!
Melanie