So about this Hurricane - 10/7 Dream cancelled, 10/7 Magic Canadian, 10/8 now 10/9 Fantasy 6-night

[Bear3412]

Look like the Dream is on the move...so much for an overnight at Cozumel (though new to watching the marine traffic, so maybe I'm reading it wrong)

Odd though, it's sailing south at 17 knots. Perhaps to link up with the Fantasy for more mickey bars.

 

[DCLSailing]

Has anyone tried to book the Dream on 10/7 when they were NOT originally booked? I heard on another board that it was under 60% full...wondering if they are offering major discounts?

Not true - I was on the phone Sunday trying to book the 10/7 cruise and doing whatever it took - even multiple rooms. Unfortunately they simply did not have room to book my party. I would gladly take the full refund with discount! Talk about a win.

 

[hmkenn0]

I'm on the Dream now- we are headed for Costa Maya followed by a day at sea and then into port canaveral (based on damage possible) Saturday pm. (Overheard cruise director say this is BEST case!)

 

[DCLSailing]

I'm on the Dream now- we are headed for Costa Maya followed by a day at sea and then into port canaveral (based on damage possible) Saturday pm. (Overheard cruise director say this is BEST case!)

Wow - stay safe and enjoy that! Incredible!

 

[gweeptrish]

I gotta say, I'm SO GLAD we booked through a travel agent. Poor guy spent 4 hours on hold with DCL, but managed to get my family rebooked from the 10/7 Magic Surprise!Canada!Sailing to the 10/15 Magic which (fingers crossed) will be going to the Bahamas. And if you think the folks on this board are cranky at Disney, you should see how irritated the travel agencies are that DCL waited until 5:01pm to announce, leaving them to field this disaster after hours.

 

[anricat]

For how many days extra is a ship provisioned? Has anyone been on a cruise that spent extra days beyond your normal itinerary? Just curious how they handle Navigators, dining rotation, menu, etc.

 

[hmkenn0]

I will say- we found out we were going to costa maya as we were randomly walking by port adventures during the Halloween party- captain didnt announce for another 20 Minutes- weird!!!
Overall I feel like the communication has been good- they have the NWS and ship-board track on the in-house channel 4, and the captain has given us weather lessons (and updates) every night before the shows as well as during other announcements.
They've also been really good announcing everything in multiple languages and staying REALLY Disney positive.
They are offering about 20 shore excursions tomorrow in costa maya- what can I say- they work fast.
One last thing- we were docked next to the Norwegian Sky today in Cozumel and as we were pulling away I could hear their captain announce that they would start to feel the effects of Matthew tomorrow afternoon (I think they are headed to Miami)- I am SO glad we are waiting another day to keep us away from that as much as possible. I've seen the videos of the Fantasy through Sandy- I'm hoping Disney learned their lesson because I definitely don't want that!

 

[hmkenn0]

Okay one more- we were told they have enough food for the whole next cruise (3 day) and brought extra knowing this was somewhat unknown (my son was worried- so we asked an officer).
Also we are going back to first restaurant (our rotation is now AEERA), i will try and keep my navigators and menus from the adjusted as an FYI.

Also we had a new pirate menu (90%) different- I have it and will put it up as soon as I can- losing shore wifi now :-(.

 

[jlynch924]

Thanks for the updates hmkenn0! Enjoy your trip and stay safe!

 

[DCLSailing]

Just fascinating to read! What is the general mood of the passengers?

 

[Dug720]

I will say- we found out we were going to costa maya as we were randomly walking by port adventures during the Halloween party- captain didnt announce for another 20 Minutes- weird!!!
Overall I feel like the communication has been good- they have the NWS and ship-board track on the in-house channel 4, and the captain has given us weather lessons (and updates) every night before the shows as well as during other announcements.
They've also been really good announcing everything in multiple languages and staying REALLY Disney positive.
They are offering about 20 shore excursions tomorrow in costa maya- what can I say- they work fast.
One last thing- we were docked next to the Norwegian Sky today in Cozumel and as we were pulling away I could hear their captain announce that they would start to feel the effects of Matthew tomorrow afternoon (I think they are headed to Miami)- I am SO glad we are waiting another day to keep us away from that as much as possible. I've seen the videos of the Fantasy through Sandy- I'm hoping Disney learned their lesson because I definitely don't want that!

Just a small point... Disney (and other lines) did NOT intentionally sail into Sandy. They chose their path based on the latest models and she decided to take a turn NO ONE predicted which put those ships in the middle of the storm. (This in contradiction to the Anthem out of NJ this past late Winter/early Spring which DID sail into a storm with questionable information about what it had the potential to do.)

 

[PlanoNana]

How fun that the Dream folks get another port instead of just wandering around at sea. Guess that's a good example of making lemonade out of lemons. And I can definitely understand not wanting to be near Miami and eastern Florida until Matthew is totally out of the way.

 

[ajeent]

Yup, Dream is still in Cozumel. Has anyone ever spent the night in a port? (assuming they are staying). Anything different other than the lack of motion? I assume they run the engines.

We were on the Feb 2010 Disney Magic cruise that got stuck at Castaway Cay on our last day. The ship had pulled in forward to do work on that side of the ship and then when the seas picked up, she was not able to back out of the channel... So after trying for a few hours, they gave up and we stayed overnight. We spent the next day docked at CC (not allowed to go on the island)and sailed out that night. We docked at another dock in PC, where it was crazy getting through customs, etc. The folks on the cruise after us stayed in Disney hotels and got a day in the parks and a discount. We got a 10% discount on our next cruise - although the extra day was kinda fun in itself.

They helped folks rearrange their flights, etc. and gave free transport to the airport. We were staying a few days after in WDW, so not a problem for us, but even with the transport, because of the craziness at the port, my cousin didn't make her flight, so had to reschedule for the next day. She felt that DCL was helpful and did their best to help...

So beyond all of the issues with where the ship will dock, etc., travel out of Orlando is going to be crazy considering that there will be a ton of people rearranging their plans...

 

[Ofinn]

Just a small point... Disney (and other lines) did NOT intentionally sail into Sandy. They chose their path based on the latest models and she decided to take a turn NO ONE predicted which put those ships in the middle of the storm. (This in contradiction to the Anthem out of NJ this past late Winter/early Spring which DID sail into a storm with questionable information about what it had the potential to do.)

How is this a contradiction to Anthem? I believe the Anthem was taken by surprise by everything that was reported by meteorologist... they screwed up. I know your a DCL apologist, but really the Fantasy could have waited a day to return to port. I've talked to crew about the Sandy sailing they said they were well informed that it was going to be a really rough ride. I don't think it was a surprise to anyone, but the passengers.

 

[Dug720]

How is this a contradiction to Anthem? I believe the Anthem was taken by surprise by everything that was reported by meteorologist... they screwed up. I know your a DCL apologist, but really the Fantasy could have waited a day to return to port. I've talked to crew about the Sandy sailing they said they were well informed that it was going to be a really rough ride. I don't think it was a surprise to anyone, but the passengers.

They purposely sailed into the storm on the Anthem. And there were multiple forecasts that DID predict it becoming as rough as it did which did come out in the investigation.

In Sandy, the path chosen would, based on the models available, have at worst taken them to the western (and weaker) side of it, but it turned and caught MORE THAN JUST THE FANTASY in its new and not predicted path.

I'm not an "apologist" but NO ONE can predict the weather 100%. Heck, I had the weather channel on not that many minutes ago, and the METEOROLOGISTS - the people who get paid to read the weather and say what it's going to do - cannot even say with 100% certainty if it is going to HIT Nassau or PASS just to the side of Nassau...and whatever is going to happen is likely to happen within the next few hours.

 

[Japfeffer]

This is my first post! Thanks to everyone for sharing their expertise, it has been really helpful as I try to navigate (no pun intended) through this hurricane disruption.

I am booked on the Magic 10/7 out of NYC. I was just on hold with DCL customer service for 2 hours. I finally got a rep, told her I am trying to decide if I should cancel or not, and asked if any upgrades were available if I still take the cruise.

She said she would need to transfer me to the special department that is handling this situation. She transferred me at 10:14 and lo and behold, I heard the message that customer service hours end at 10:00 and I was disconnected. Aaargh! I am sure they are deluged with calls, but couldn't she have just told me I would need to call back in the morning? Shouldn't Disney extend customer service hours in this type of situation?

Thanks for letting me vent. My husband told me tonight that didn't really want to go on this cruise anyway and really doesn't want to go to Canada but also doesn't want to go to work next week and thus we need to go somewhere. Obviously not helpful, so it is nice to find a group of people who are in the same boat (again, no pun intended)!

 

[Ofinn]

They purposely sailed into the storm on the Anthem. And there were multiple forecasts that DID predict it becoming as rough as it did which did come out in the investigation.

In Sandy, the path chosen would, based on the models available, have at worst taken them to the western (and weaker) side of it, but it turned and caught MORE THAN JUST THE FANTASY in its new and not predicted path.

I'm not an "apologist" but NO ONE can predict the weather 100%. Heck, I had the weather channel on not that many minutes ago, and the METEOROLOGISTS - the people who get paid to read the weather and say what it's going to do - cannot even say with 100% certainty if it is going to HIT Nassau or PASS just to the side of Nassau...and whatever is going to happen is likely to happen within the next few hours.

I can only report what the crew has told me. They knew it was going to be really bad. They were warned. On our Iceland cruise the captain told us exactly when it was going to get bad and exactly when it was going to end, and he was exactly right. They know when it's less then 24 hours or so. They have really good radar systems on the ships. They wanted to get back to port for the next cruise. It may have ended up being worse then they expected, same goes for Anthem. I'm sure RCCL is being a lot more careful with storms, and it seems DCL is doing the same.

 

[MUN]

This is my first post! Thanks to everyone for sharing their expertise, it has been really helpful as I try to navigate (no pun intended) through this hurricane disruption.

I am booked on the Magic 10/7 out of NYC. I was just on hold with DCL customer service for 2 hours. I finally got a rep, told her I am trying to decide if I should cancel or not, and asked if any upgrades were available if I still take the cruise.

She said she would need to transfer me to the special department that is handling this situation. She transferred me at 10:14 and lo and behold, I heard the message that customer service hours end at 10:00 and I was disconnected. Aaargh! I am sure they are deluged with calls, but couldn't she have just told me I would need to call back in the morning? Shouldn't Disney extend customer service hours in this type of situation?

Thanks for letting me vent. My husband told me tonight that didn't really want to go on this cruise anyway and really doesn't want to go to Canada but also doesn't want to go to work next week and thus we need to go somewhere. Obviously not helpful, so it is nice to find a group of people who are in the same boat (again, no pun intended)!

I would think a cruise to Canada from NYC would be a lot of fun. I hope you have a great time!

 

[Japfeffer]

I would think a cruise to Canada from NYC would be a lot of fun. I hope you have a great time!

Thank you! I think I am going to go with my daughter even if my husband decides to stay home!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

This is my first post! Thanks to everyone for sharing their expertise, it has been really helpful as I try to navigate (no pun intended) through this hurricane disruption.

I am booked on the Magic 10/7 out of NYC. I was just on hold with DCL customer service for 2 hours. I finally got a rep, told her I am trying to decide if I should cancel or not, and asked if any upgrades were available if I still take the cruise.

She said she would need to transfer me to the special department that is handling this situation. She transferred me at 10:14 and lo and behold, I heard the message that customer service hours end at 10:00 and I was disconnected. Aaargh! I am sure they are deluged with calls, but couldn't she have just told me I would need to call back in the morning? Shouldn't Disney extend customer service hours in this type of situation?

Thanks for letting me vent. My husband told me tonight that didn't really want to go on this cruise anyway and really doesn't want to go to Canada but also doesn't want to go to work next week and thus we need to go somewhere. Obviously not helpful, so it is nice to find a group of people who are in the same boat (again, no pun intended)!

Welcome to the DIS! I am sorry your cruise is all screwed up and I am sorry you were on hold all that time only to be cut off. That is the PITS!

You have no idea how much I wanted to be on your sailing. Our daughters have different weeks off for their Fall Breaks and DH would not agree to allow our older DD to miss a week of school, so we didn't book it. I was angry for days about it. I would LOVE to go to Canada and visit these ports but today while I was talking about it to DH, he gave it a big thumbs down (sound familiar? ) and said thank goodness we didn't book it because HE has no desire to go to Canada. He thought out loud wondering if I and younger DD could still book and get on! So, all of this back story to say to you: I am sorry your plans have been changed, but it might be really fun to do a girls trip! Please let us know what you decide ok?

All my best.