Observations: Dining, alcohol and sharks.

[mevelandry]

Of course you can.

You can, but are you gonna win your case? That's another story.

 

[goNDmay9]

Interesting to know that the cooler is the same as last year! I love ours - it is the perfect size. At CC it was filled with Coronas (a few times). Here is the pic of ours. Looks to be the exact same.

 

[kimberwee]

LOVE THE COOLER!

 

[afyoung]

Of course you can.

There is a statue of Jesus in the water near Key Largo, in a very popular snorkel location. Once a guy went over to hug this Jesus statue while we were on a snorkel trip. Jesus was covered in fire coral, the hugger had a miserable rest of the trip. Maybe he could have sued Jesus.

 

[ludari]

Thanks for the information and sharing your experience. BTW, I'm a rescue certified scuba diver and I also volunteer at a local aquarium to care for the fish in their largest tank. I have been around sharks in the wild and feed the various species we have in the aquarium so I feel comfortable around them since I never had any problems with them (the small fish in the aquarium are the aggressive ones). I have had several sharks circle me while scuba diving in the ocean but they are a curious bunch and typically keep their distance. I have also seen a few small sharks while snorkeling at CC but they quickly left the area. Sharks get a bad reputation and they are other more dangerous hazards in the ocean.

 

[MUN]

There is a statue of Jesus in the water near Key Largo, in a very popular snorkel location. Once a guy went over to hug this Jesus statue while we were on a snorkel trip. Jesus was covered in fire coral, the hugger had a miserable rest of the trip. Maybe he could have sued Jesus.

Was it Ernie Chambers?

http://newsone.com/862165/nebraska-state-senator-sues-god/

 

[littleblackegg]

Disney Cruise Line application. A must! We used this free app to set up a group chat and could stay in touch with everyone in our party. The app also has the Navigator and we used this more than the paper version.

Dining. The continued dressing down on cruises is apparent. Saw a lot more shorts, tee-shirts and flip flops in the MDRs than in the past. Our family dressed nice and I don't think anyone noticed the shorts and flip-flops except me. I would not have noticed but because this is always a hot topic on this board I could not help but look around and see what other people were wearing.

Non-Americans. I was surprised at the number of non-Americans sailing. There were a lot of Europeons, Indians and Asians on the cruise. Seeing this made me realize what a huge market there is for Disney! People with money from all over the globe are coming to Florida just to sail on a Disney cruise. So don't expect prices to ever come down on DCL.

Beers. On our last cruise you could get a 'bucket of beers' that came in a tin bucket full of ice and beers. Now they have a cooler of beers. It's a very nice DCL cooler and you get it 'free' when you buy 6 beers. I think it was $36 for the 6 beers and cooler. To get it refilled you pay for 5 beers and you got 6 beers. They also have this for water at CC. 6 bottles of water and ice and the cooler for $20....plus tip and tax.

Pirate Night. I was surprised that the wait staff did not participate in the pirate night. They did not wear pirate attire and did not do anything special. In the past the wait staff walked around waving bandanas and singing....none of that at all this time.

Wine. We had 5 adults and got the wine package - 4 bottles of wine (2 red and 2 white) - for about $135. This was cheap wine! I’m mean the kind with the screw on top, something you’d pay $7 for at Publix. If you like wine, it would be worth the effort to brining your own IMO. They had a ‘premium’ wine package but I don’t remember how much it was.

Sharks. While at Serenity Bay (adult beach) we were out in the water about 50 yards off shore when some people on shore started yelling "SHARK". Everyone started running to shore. People said there were 2 sharks. I started heading further out away from shore to let my sister and son know as they were out further than me and could not hear people on the shore. When they could head me and started heading in I turned around to face the shore I saw one of the two sharks between me and the shore, it was about 4 feet long. I waited on my son and sister. One of the DCL employees came by with a jet-ski to try to run the sharks off. People said they were nurse sharks and are not very aggressive. Nevertheless a bit disconcerting to see a big shark swimming by you in the water. It was exciting for a while but once they were gone people went back in the water.

Airport Shuttle. We got in line to get off the ship a few minutes after 7 am. By 7:30 we were sitting on the bus waiting for the bus to fill up before we could leave. We got off the bus at the airport a little before 9 am.

Of course there are sharks out there. That's where they live. We live in 3/2 ranch houses in cozy cul-de-sacs. They live in the ocean.

 

[Rogillio]

If you're going to bring it up, you should read up on it.

The case was totally justified. They served coffee that was so hot it caused 3rd degree burns, and caused the need for skin grafts, in the elderly woman's inner thigh/groin area. They served coffee that was THAT hot. What do we do with coffee? We drink it.

McD's, at that time, had already been in trouble more than once for serving coffee that was hotter than standard. They KNEW this was a problem.

The woman just wanted her medical bills paid, and McD's ignored her. So, she sued.

And none of us have ANY idea how much she actually got. We know the amount the jury said, but that's not the end of the story. The end of the story is sealed.

McD's was 100% in the wrong on that case. It's a horrible case to mention when talking about crazy juries. If your grandmother was handed a cup of coffee that she was going to drink, spilled it, and ended up with skin grafts, you would want her to be compensated by the company knowingly making that coffee THAT hot.



I've been on 3 and 4 night Dream cruises and have never experienced the dining staff singing.

You make a good point....IF we were in a court of law instead of an internet forum.

I admit I did not research the details of the case. I was merely citing this case as it has come to epitomize what people think of when talking about tort reform and frivilous lawsuit. Maybe it was and maybe it was not. I don't know. I do know this: "The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages. This amount was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at fault in the spill." So it is not 100% cut and day as you say.

The jury also award $3 million in punative damages. Where does that money come from? It comes from society! I gaurentee you McDonalds did not reduce profits to cover this loss. Everybody will pay a few cents more for a Happy Meal to cover their losses. Was she hurt? Yes. Was she entitled to compensation? Yes. Was she entitled to a lottery ticket? No! The award was later reduced to $400k.

 

[Quellman]

Of course there are sharks out there. That's where they live. We live in 3/2 ranch houses in cozy cul-de-sacs. They live in the ocean.

Exactly. Some people eat sharks on land. Other times sharks eat people in the sea. yay?

 

[Rogillio]

The Disney is responsible for everything mentality is the reason the pools are now closing at 10.
And maybe for the change in the carry on alcohol policy, people have been posting they were told it was limited because kids were getting drunk on the parents booze.

I absolutely believe this. If you have a policy that allows cruisers to bring on unlimited booze and someone gets drunk and falls overboard they will point to DCL's irresponsible policy of letting you bring on booze get as drunk as you want. One might argue that the bars would continue to serve you even if you are falling down drunk but I'm sure DCL has a policy that states bar tenders will refuse service to anyone they feel is "clearly intoxicated". Whether or not they enforce that policy matters not. So now they have a CYA policy that limits your alcohol.....does it really? No. But they now have plausible deniability and can deny liability based on their policy. Can someone bring on Jack Daniels in a old bottle of Listerine, get hammered and fall overboard? Certainly. But that is not DCL's problem. You clearly violated the rules so no you are at fault not DCL; plausible deniability!

 

[Rogillio]

Of course you can.

Unfortunately you are right. You can sue anyone for anything! And putting up a sign is no gaurentee you won't get sued. But sueing someone and actually winning the lawsuit or being awarded damages are worlds apart. You can sue and spend thousands of dollars and lose and not get a penny. And in addition the company being sued can always counter sue for legal fees. So if you got bit by a shark and sued Disney and lost Disney had to spend $200,000 in legal defense for what they will claim is a frivlous law suit, you might end up having to pay them $200,000. So just be careful before you try to cash in on a lottery ticket.

On the flip side.....

Ever see a sign on the back of a dumptruck that says something to the effect, "Warning. Stay back at least 200 feet. We are not responsible for debri falling off truck."

Not responsible? Sure they are. And they are liable! Just becuase you put a sign on your truck does not mean you can drive down a public street with crap flying off your truck! Nor can you put a sign in your yard that says, "If you come on my property and break your leg, I am not liable". Sorry, but the law says you are liable.

One final one.....you know that sign at the public pool that says, "We are not responsible for stuff stolen out of your basket"? Yes they are. You are checking your personal stuff in with an expectation that they will take reasonable measures agaisnt theft. If they fail to do so, they are liable.

These two examples I learned from a college proffessor talking on liability.

 

[mcd2745]

Beers. On our last cruise you could get a 'bucket of beers' that came in a tin bucket full of ice and beers. Now they have a cooler of beers. It's a very nice DCL cooler and you get it 'free' when you buy 6 beers. I think it was $36 for the 6 beers and cooler. To get it refilled you pay for 5 beers and you got 6 beers. They also have this for water at CC. 6 bottles of water and ice and the cooler for $20....plus tip and tax.

Is this only available at CC, or on the ship as well? Is it prominently advertised?

 

[Rogillio]

Thanks for the information and sharing your experience. BTW, I'm a rescue certified scuba diver and I also volunteer at a local aquarium to care for the fish in their largest tank. I have been around sharks in the wild and feed the various species we have in the aquarium so I feel comfortable around them since I never had any problems with them (the small fish in the aquarium are the aggressive ones). I have had several sharks circle me while scuba diving in the ocean but they are a curious bunch and typically keep their distance. I have also seen a few small sharks while snorkeling at CC but they quickly left the area. Sharks get a bad reputation and they are other more dangerous hazards in the ocean.

I totally agree. I did a lot of SCUBA diving in Kwajalein atoll, Marshall Islands and we very frequently swam with sharks. I never had to deal with any agressive sharks. They kept their distance but did not flee (unless I chased them). I guess they didn't see us as a meal or as a threat.

 

[Rogillio]

Is this only available at CC, or on the ship as well? Is it prominently advertised?

I got the beers on the ship in the adult pool. I got another bag with water on the beach at CC. I did not see this advertised anywhere.

Oh, here's a good tip. Right when you get off the boat they are selling the coolers with water bottle. I took my cooler there to get it topped off with ice and talked to the guy about buying one. I asked if the cooler were agailable on the beach. He said yes. So, rather than carry it all the way to the beach, I waited till I got to the beach. When I got there I asked one of the servers about the coolers and he said he'd go get me one. With 6 bottles of water and full of ice, they are kinda heavy so it was nice not to have to carry it.

 

[Orukal]

Whether or not they enforce that policy matters not.

In a legal sense, whether or not they enforce that policy matters completely.

 

[Rogillio]

In a legal sense, whether or not they enforce that policy matters completely.

Perhaps. But one would have to prove they don't enforce the policy and that would be difficult. Any given incident could be blamed on the bar tender. DCL is not dumb enough to tell their bartenders "just ignore our policy; even if someone is falling down drunk, continue to server him". Most employers have employees sign an agreement that they will follow company rules and procedure and adhere to company policy. If a rogue employee goes off the reservations....well, we can't helpt that. Plausible deniability.

 

[lillygator]

my god, if someone gets bitten by a shark, in the ocean, at castaway cay and sues disney, they need someone to just smack them over the head. who are all the people off the east coast who have be bitten recently suing?

 

[lillygator]

does the bag only hold a 6 pack or larger? love it!

 

[Rogillio]

does the bag only hold a 6 pack or larger? love it!

Definitely more than a 6 pack....not sure about a 12 pack. I will do some 'research' this weekend...

 

[funseeker]

View attachment 124030

Love this thanks for sharing! I may just order the beer bucket just for this!