- Joined
- Aug 25, 2007
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- 5,164
Well, were back from our 4-night cruise on the Disney Wonder (April 27 May 1). It was our very first cruise and, as explained below, will probably be our very last cruise as well.
We drove down to Port Canaveral on Saturday, Apr 26 and checked into the Radisson Resort at the Port. We had booked a regular room, but were upgraded for free to a suite with a whirlpool tub. It was nice.
Sunday morning, we take the free shuttle to the DCL terminal. Since we go there a bit early, we had to wait a few minutes. We left our baggage and proceeded to security. We were the first ones to check in.
We get onboard and eat a nice lunch at Parrot Cay. Our Category 5 Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah was ready at 1:30 (Stateroom #7568). Although much smaller than a DVC Studio, it was nicer and roomier than we expected.
Viruses seem to get a lot of attention when it comes to cruising, as there are warnings posted in your stateroom about frequently washing your hands, and disinfecting wipes are handed to every guest as they enter the dining areas, and are available almost everywhere. We were given a Stomach Flu Advisory when we checked in. I read that getting a virus happens to about 1-2% of the guests on every cruise, so we both used disinfectant wipes.
My wife, who experiences motion sickness a lot (she got really sick on Soarin), took Bonine (Meclizine) and also wore the Scopolamine transdermal patch, and did very well.
Our dining rotation was PTTA (Parrot Cay, Tritons twice, and Animators Palate) second dining (8:30pm). We had booked reservations for Palo on the night we were to repeat Tritons, and brunch at Palo on the sea day.
We had scheduled a Couples Cabana Massage on Castaway Cay and the Elemis Aroma Stone massage for both of us at the Vista Spa.
We were excited and looking forward to a romantic and relaxing cruise!
At 1:00 pm on Monday (the second day of the cruise), my wife became very ill. The symptoms, which included vomiting and diarrhea, came upon her very quickly. She became very weak and needed fluids.
We contacted the onboard Medical Center as directed by the Stomach Flu Advisory form and they asked her to come down. She was finally strong enough to make her way down to deck 1 around 4:30pm. They gave her an IV and medication to treat her symptoms.
They then informed us that my wife was restricted to her stateroom for 48 hours (not from when she first became ill, but when she came to the Medical Center). That meant she would be stuck in her stateroom until the night before we disembark the ship practically the entire cruise.
She missed dining at Tritons and Animators Palate. She missed visiting Castaway Cay (which is what she was looking forward to the most) and the Couples Cabana Massage. She missed brunch at Palos. She missed all the nightly shows. She missed the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. She missed almost everything.
We were able to re-schedule her massage at the Vista Spa and dinner at Palo to the last night of the cruise, and those two things were all she was able to do when she was released from our stateroom at 5pm on Wednesday night.
So, our cruise was a bust. I didnt have very much fun on my own, especially since I didnt want to leave my wife alone in her stateroom for the entire cruise. I did step out to catch the shows in the Walt Disney Theater, and did get off at Castaway Cay for a while.
She had to order room service for every meal, and they kept botching her meals by forgetting her food allergies (Celiacs/gluten, soy, etc) and preferences (vegetarian). It wasnt at all like the fantastic way Walt Disney World handles people with food allergies.
We paid extra for the Romantic Escape package, but DCL botched that as well. They did the Romantic Turndown service (rose petals on the bed) the first night my wife was sick. The Champagne Breakfast was also botched, as my wifes plate of eggs was covered with bread and bacon making it inedible for her.
Disney Cruise Line didnt do much for us, and didnt offer us any compensation or credit for our misery. I know its not their fault that my wife caught a virus onboard their ship, but they could have at least offered to credit us for the Romantic Escape package.
Both of us were disappointed by our Disney Cruise Line experience. Not only will we not recommend DCL to others, we wont be doing any more cruises in the future (Disney or otherwise).
After our cruise, we went to WDW where we enjoyed three great nights in a Boardwalk View room at BWV. We had a great time at WDW!
The DVC guide on the cruise heard about my wifes illness, and DVC had four of those DVC fast passes waiting for us when we checked in at BWV. We both rode Splash Mountain (her favorite ride) 7 times in a row with no waiting!
We drove down to Port Canaveral on Saturday, Apr 26 and checked into the Radisson Resort at the Port. We had booked a regular room, but were upgraded for free to a suite with a whirlpool tub. It was nice.
Sunday morning, we take the free shuttle to the DCL terminal. Since we go there a bit early, we had to wait a few minutes. We left our baggage and proceeded to security. We were the first ones to check in.
We get onboard and eat a nice lunch at Parrot Cay. Our Category 5 Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah was ready at 1:30 (Stateroom #7568). Although much smaller than a DVC Studio, it was nicer and roomier than we expected.
Viruses seem to get a lot of attention when it comes to cruising, as there are warnings posted in your stateroom about frequently washing your hands, and disinfecting wipes are handed to every guest as they enter the dining areas, and are available almost everywhere. We were given a Stomach Flu Advisory when we checked in. I read that getting a virus happens to about 1-2% of the guests on every cruise, so we both used disinfectant wipes.
My wife, who experiences motion sickness a lot (she got really sick on Soarin), took Bonine (Meclizine) and also wore the Scopolamine transdermal patch, and did very well.
Our dining rotation was PTTA (Parrot Cay, Tritons twice, and Animators Palate) second dining (8:30pm). We had booked reservations for Palo on the night we were to repeat Tritons, and brunch at Palo on the sea day.
We had scheduled a Couples Cabana Massage on Castaway Cay and the Elemis Aroma Stone massage for both of us at the Vista Spa.
We were excited and looking forward to a romantic and relaxing cruise!
At 1:00 pm on Monday (the second day of the cruise), my wife became very ill. The symptoms, which included vomiting and diarrhea, came upon her very quickly. She became very weak and needed fluids.
We contacted the onboard Medical Center as directed by the Stomach Flu Advisory form and they asked her to come down. She was finally strong enough to make her way down to deck 1 around 4:30pm. They gave her an IV and medication to treat her symptoms.
They then informed us that my wife was restricted to her stateroom for 48 hours (not from when she first became ill, but when she came to the Medical Center). That meant she would be stuck in her stateroom until the night before we disembark the ship practically the entire cruise.
She missed dining at Tritons and Animators Palate. She missed visiting Castaway Cay (which is what she was looking forward to the most) and the Couples Cabana Massage. She missed brunch at Palos. She missed all the nightly shows. She missed the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. She missed almost everything.
We were able to re-schedule her massage at the Vista Spa and dinner at Palo to the last night of the cruise, and those two things were all she was able to do when she was released from our stateroom at 5pm on Wednesday night.
So, our cruise was a bust. I didnt have very much fun on my own, especially since I didnt want to leave my wife alone in her stateroom for the entire cruise. I did step out to catch the shows in the Walt Disney Theater, and did get off at Castaway Cay for a while.
She had to order room service for every meal, and they kept botching her meals by forgetting her food allergies (Celiacs/gluten, soy, etc) and preferences (vegetarian). It wasnt at all like the fantastic way Walt Disney World handles people with food allergies.
We paid extra for the Romantic Escape package, but DCL botched that as well. They did the Romantic Turndown service (rose petals on the bed) the first night my wife was sick. The Champagne Breakfast was also botched, as my wifes plate of eggs was covered with bread and bacon making it inedible for her.
Disney Cruise Line didnt do much for us, and didnt offer us any compensation or credit for our misery. I know its not their fault that my wife caught a virus onboard their ship, but they could have at least offered to credit us for the Romantic Escape package.
Both of us were disappointed by our Disney Cruise Line experience. Not only will we not recommend DCL to others, we wont be doing any more cruises in the future (Disney or otherwise).
After our cruise, we went to WDW where we enjoyed three great nights in a Boardwalk View room at BWV. We had a great time at WDW!
The DVC guide on the cruise heard about my wifes illness, and DVC had four of those DVC fast passes waiting for us when we checked in at BWV. We both rode Splash Mountain (her favorite ride) 7 times in a row with no waiting!
). I was reimbursed within a month or so
