Please explain the difference between a "preview" cruise an "inaugural" cruise?

[Disney1fan2002]

I thought the inaugural cruise was the very first cruise? I would hate to have paid the premium price for the Dream's inaugural cruise only to find it is not the very first cruise. I mean, sure, the ship has to sail from Germany to her home port, but why a preview cruise? What is that?

 

[kcashner]

In each case when a ship was launched, there was at least one cruise before the "maiden voyage" or "inaugural sailing." For the Magic, there was a celebrity cruise, then the ship returned to Port Canaveral for the Christening ceremonies, and then we got to cruise.

My understanding is that the Dream has at least one (and I think a couple) of sailings before the "inaugural sailing" that normal people were able to book. There is a "preview cruise" and some media/TA/publicity sailing before the "maiden voyage."

 

[Disney1fan2002]

In each case when a ship was launched, there was at least one cruise before the "maiden voyage" or "inaugural sailing." For the Magic, there was a celebrity cruise, then the ship returned to Port Canaveral for the Christening ceremonies, and then we got to cruise.

My understanding is that the Dream has at least one (and I think a couple) of sailings before the "inaugural sailing" that normal people were able to book. There is a "preview cruise" and some media/TA/publicity sailing before the "maiden voyage."

So her "maiden voyage" is in name only. I can see a media cruise, but to have a couple of cruises that regular people could book before the inaugural cruise makes no sense. Why not just make the "preview" cruise the maiden voyage?

 

[KevinP1935]

I'll take a stab at this question. A preview cruise could be a number of things. For instance, a preview to travel agents to provide them the opportunity to learn about the ship and in the long run help "sell" the ship to their clientele. Another form of preview could be from Disney's perspective to get the castmember's the opportunity to learn about the ship. Wouldn't you hate to be on the inaugural cruise and ask a castmember where Palo is an they accidently send to the wrong end of the ship? Also, it gives Disney a chance to work out any bugs with regard to their scheduling embarkation/disembarkation, breaking in the kitchens, etc.

 

[mmouse37]

I thought the inaugural cruise was the very first cruise? I would hate to have paid the premium price for the Dream's inaugural cruise only to find it is not the very first cruise. I mean, sure, the ship has to sail from Germany to her home port, but why a preview cruise? What is that?

I am on the Maiden Voyage of the Dream and did pay the premium....and I was upset when I found there were about 8 cruises before the actual MV on the 26th....but....the more I think about the better I feel that there are cruises beforehand. The preview cruises are to "test the waters" so so speak. Make sure the servers know their routines, make sure the food is being prepared properly, seeing how long it takes to get the ship ready for the next set of guests, how embarking and debarking go, etc.

If I am not mistaken the first few cruises are for CM's, Media, travel agents, etc. Then there is a the Christening cruise on the 19th with invited guests and VIP's, the a charity cruise for the Boys and Girls Club of Florida, then another short cruise. By using these "guinea pigs" they then work out all the kinks hopefully. They can also gain valuable guest feedback on the different areas so they can tweak where necessary to ensure the MV goes off without a hitch!!!

Hope that all made sense. We are going on the charity preview cruise on the 21st...can't wait!!! I am more than willing to be a guinea pig and it will be interesting to see if anything changes from that cruise to the MV cruise.

MJ

 

[all5ofus]

I thought the inaugural cruise was the very first cruise? I would hate to have paid the premium price for the Dream's inaugural cruise only to find it is not the very first cruise. I mean, sure, the ship has to sail from Germany to her home port, but why a preview cruise? What is that?

I'm with you. DCL charged an high premium for the "Maiden Voyage", made it non-refundable and non-transferrable, and held back the majority of suites, Palo, and Remy reservations for VIPs. Only after we have paid such a premuim did we find out that there were eight cruises before us.

It's not that I will enjoy the cruise less because others have been there before me, but it is no longer so new, unknown, and mysterious, I feel the premuim they charged is less of a value.

If I knew on the day bookings were released what I know now I would not have booked the maiden voyage.

 

[JD&LYD]

I read on these boards a review and pics of a "preview Cruise", that was actually a "Training" cruise for CM's and thier familys. The pics showed very few people, the OP said that there were only a few hundred people on it, and some of the attractions, venues were not working yet. If these are to get the Bugs out, more power to DCL. The poster also said that 3 more were planned for the weekends leading up to the Maiden Voyage. very acceptable to me, as you wouldn't want 4,000 passengers to be complaining about things.

 

[hopemax]

I remember bits of pieces of people's trip reports when the Disney Magic first was launched. They didn't do "shake down" cruises, because the ship was already so late, which was worrisome to the people with cruise experience. There were all sorts of problems on that first trip, including the electrical not working right, or the plumbing.

I tried to Google for some of those original Trip Reports, but didn't find one. But I did find this parody about the 2nd cruise, which should give you some idea on what that 1st cruise was like.

Parody of 2nd Cruise

While I'm sure Disney has learned a lot since then. And no major issues like the one's that plagued the Magic, seem to have popped up. I would think that if one were to be spending big bucks, they would prefer everything be "smooth sailing," even if they weren't technically the first paying passengers on board.

 

[steelek_29]

I was on the NYE cruise on Magic and we had the chance to see the Dream on CC... The magic was sailing around the island so we could see. At night we could see her again at sea. They were "practicing"" the Pirates IN the Caribbean party and fireworks. I took a lot of photos of her. I felt so overwhelmed and even had tears in my eyes... It looked so awesome!!

 

[zulemara]

one of the preview cruises is a benefit cruise for...can't remember the organization, I wanna say give kids the world but I might be wrong. It's open to all CMs and is a 2 day cruise. All the money for the cruise goes to the organization.

 

[CWO4DVC]

OK,

So I booked the Maiden Voyage of the Dream the day it went on sale. I was so excited to be on the first cruise of this classic ship. As cruise time approached, I was unable to book Palo or Remy. Also I noticed the additional sailings added for this and that. So, I figured if I could not enjoy the same benefits as other passengers (Remy and Palo) and was not on the first sailing why take the cruise. So, I cancelled my reservation. Why pay the premium for a MAIDEN Voyage? So I can look and say wow, wish I could eat there! I am a gold Castaway member so I figure that the Plat. members had the take on the reservations. I would rather eat the deposit than not get a full experience of what the Dream has to offer. My 2 cents....

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

one of the preview cruises is a benefit cruise for...can't remember the organization, I wanna say give kids the world but I might be wrong. It's open to all CMs and is a 2 day cruise. All the money for the cruise goes to the organization.

it is for the Boys & Girls club and 100% of the money is going to the club.They are taking 45 families onboard for a 2 day cruise with one stop in CC

 

[mrp4352]

By using these "guinea pigs" they then work out all the kinks hopefully. They can also gain valuable guest feedback on the different areas so they can tweak where necessary to ensure the MV goes off without a hitch!!!

MJ

Hi MJ - I'm with you! I was a little upset at first to find out about the other cruises but the more I think about it, I would much rather know that DCL's had experience getting so many passengers on and around the ship; that everything works and that someone else had the opportunity to make sure all the screws are in my bed frame and the plumber didn't forget any pipe putty.

I also feel like Disney has (in the last couple of weeks) gone out of its way to promote our cruise as the Maiden Voyage and to make us feel special. I know that everytime I hear Rachel say, "the Maiden Voyage on January 26th" during one of the videos I am so proud and excited to be on that cruise!

 

[mmouse37]

OK,

So I booked the Maiden Voyage of the Dream the day it went on sale. I was so excited to be on the first cruise of this classic ship. As cruise time approached, I was unable to book Palo or Remy. Also I noticed the additional sailings added for this and that. So, I figured if I could not enjoy the same benefits as other passengers (Remy and Palo) and was not on the first sailing why take the cruise. So, I cancelled my reservation. Why pay the premium for a MAIDEN Voyage? So I can look and say wow, wish I could eat there! I am a gold Castaway member so I figure that the Plat. members had the take on the reservations. I would rather eat the deposit than not get a full experience of what the Dream has to offer. My 2 cents....

I am Platinum and was shut out from getting any ressies for Palo or Remy...I think it just that many more people and not that many reservations...

I still think we will get the full experience. We are going on the Boys and Girls Preview Cruise on the 21st, then the MV on the 26 and staying onboard for the 30th....I want to explore that ship from top to bottom.

MJ

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

Hi MJ - I'm with you! I was a little upset at first to find out about the other cruises but the more I think about it, I would much rather know that DCL's had experience getting so many passengers on and around the ship; that everything works and that someone else had the opportunity to make sure all the screws are in my bed frame and the plumber didn't forget any pipe putty.

I also feel like Disney has (in the last couple of weeks) gone out of its way to promote our cruise as the Maiden Voyage and to make us feel special. I know that everytime I hear Rachel say, "the Maiden Voyage on January 26th" during one of the videos I am so proud and excited to be on that cruise!

I was on the MV of the Magic and there were tons of problems.....no A/C in some cabins, no cruise director, no real activities...CM's that did not know a thing.....I am glad that they are having some shakedown cruises to get the kinks out.


MJ

 

[Orlando Disney Guy]

I just scrolled through so I may have missed some of the comments but here are my two cents:

We had tv but no sound (yes everything was plugged)
Atleast Parties in two seperate staterooms (that i heard about) had to be moved because the power stopped working day 2 into our cruise.
There were helicopter choppers outside our Veranda window at 8am each morning filming the ship for marketing and that great DCL DVD we all love to watch.
Would'nt you like to rest assure that on that MV that Disney workede through all the kinks to get more tha 4000 pieces of luggage not only to your room on time but also back to customs on debarkation day?
The light effects in Enchanted Garden did not work.
All of the servers had to use maps with table numbers when seating Guests (even the one who took us to the table he was serving)
We did not get to see Villians Tonight, there were rough seas on the trip from Germany and the Cast did not get enough rehersal time.
At one point during embarkation the terminal lost contact with the ship and had to stop checking people in.

Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining I had a great time but if I paid top $ for the MV and I encountered these issues (especially if the ship was full and no room to move me too) I would be beyond upset.

 

[FoodLover]

So her "maiden voyage" is in name only. I can see a media cruise, but to have a couple of cruises that regular people could book before the inaugural cruise makes no sense. Why not just make the "preview" cruise the maiden voyage?

The maiden voyage is the first cruise with staterooms available for purchase by the public. The preview cruises are only available to press, travel agents, Cast Members, celebrities, etc.

Cruise lines normally do "shakedown" (preview) cruises of this type to makes sure as many bugs are worked out as possible, before the paying public gets onboard.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[hgon76]

Geez....I'm scheduled to go on the 3rd Fantasy voyage & I'm a little nervous the kinks won't be worked out by then!! I'm kind of hoping they do quite a few of these "test cruises" before mine!! Rather that than things not working properly for mine. Also a little bummed, reading some other posts, that I probably won't get into Palo. Was originally booked on Magic for next January. Switched to Fantasy.....hoping I made the right decision?? Nonetheless excited about a new ship!

 

[martincorral]

We booked the maiden voyage the day it was available. As gold castaway members going to the captains receptions, we would always watch the videos of the previous Christening AND Maiden Voyage of the Magic and the Wonder, and every time we would say that looks like it would be a blast to be able to experience that much fan fair. All the celebrities and all the celebrations. This is part of the reason that we booked the MV. We were a little upset about the pre cruises, only because none of these were discussed during our booking. Right now the only thing that we are REALY UPSET is the fact that they are doing the Christening before the MV. Like I said before we like the celebrations. I am hoping that they do clean out all their problems and every thing runs 100% during the MV, otherwise the customer service people are going to hear about it. Two weeks left to go and we can't wait!!

 

[TicketMan]

I was on the transatlantic pre-inaugural crossing of the Dream from Germany to Port Canaveral. It was amazing! The experience of a lifetime to see this ship come together over the 17 days!