Trouble on the Glory- Maiden Voyages Pros & Cons?

[Incharge]

Whew! I was reading some of the reviews, and boy, there are some angry people who were on that 7/14 voyage There were apparent AC problems BIG TIME! 83degrees in the cabins at night, nasty waiters, when you would complain, there were only 2 people on the desk. One poster said there was no way to contact them if the children wanted to leave the kids zones, they weren't allowed to go in with their kids if they didn't go on the first embarkation day, etc...etc. REALLY Not trying to bash any cruise line, because as you see, I like them.
So, that being said, did anyone go on the maiden voyage for the Magic or Wonder? How was it? I figure that every ship has to "get the kinks out." Is it a good idea to do the first one?

 

[mmouse37]

Sorry to hear that those people had a bad time on the Maiden Voyage, but that is to be expected.

We actually were on the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Magic back on 7/30/98 or was it the 29th??? anyway ours was the first paying passenger cruise after the VIP cruise for the big wigs.

Yes, the Magic did have a bunch of problems....no A/C for two days, unreliable service, no cruise director or adult activities, someone dumped a box of tide in the hot tub and there were suds everywhere with people slipping and sliding. I had to contact 4 different CM's to "explain" the problem...none of them spoke or understood english very well. Finally had to tell people myself to be careful where their walked until some CM's roped off the area. No real communication via Guest Service desk or loud speakers, computer problems. Safety drill was chaos. Room service was sketchy. Activities were not starting on time or were not where listed in the Navigator. Oh, the Navigators were personalized to each guest and were about 10 pages thick and very heavy...Glad they now have the ones they do. All these things are to be expected until almost 1,000 crew members get used to doing things and working with each other and guests. It did not deter us....we just finished up our 8th DCL cruise in May! DCL definately has her sea legs now!!!!

There was also chaos when DCL was giving out a Commerative Litho for the Maiden Voyage and subsequent sailings. Everyone thought it was one per person, and not per stateroom so they were up in arms when they found out it was per stateroom. One couple actually bused up the stateroom in protest and did over $10,000 worth of damage.....burnt holes in the linens and table tops, tore things off the walls, tore the drapes scratched things up....needless to say they were put off and charged when we got to the Bahamas. The problem was many people were travelling from different families in the same stateroom such as friends sharing a cabin....who gets the litho??? DCL finally gave each person a litho when they exited the ship...but there were some folks who snuck back inside and came out the terminal again to get another....some people!!! The framed litho they gave out is the same one I still see for auction onboard all the time...Mickey at the helm black/white.

MJ

 

[Incharge]

WOW!!!! I'll bet that all lines experience problems on their maiden voyages. Are they more expensive than the regular voyages, or the same?? I have also heard a rumor that if you are scheduled for a maiden voyage, and the ship does not sail on that day, that you get a free cruise. I wonder if that is true. You would think that on the way to their locations, they would test the air conditioners. They probably don't cut them all on when they are floating to their destinations for launch. They need to, to get all that fixed befor sailing. What a nightmare it must be. At least by Sept. 2004, the new Miracle should be broken in. I think their first sail is early next year. The Magic is nice and "seasoned" for me, and I am raring to go.

 

[dclwdwlover]

Wasn't booked for a maiden voyage, but for one of the very early April 1998 Magic sailings. Since it was postponed until July, Disney gave us 25% off our sailing in Oct. of that year. Awesome honeymoon present from DCL!