We had a TERRIBLE first night! Is this normal?

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by TLHB70
I have heard nothing but how wonderful cruises are from my parents and friends. I did a lot of research on this cruise before we left. I read these boards at least three times a day. I was expecting nothing but top-notch service and experience.......especially for the price. This just wasn't top-notch to me.

I agree with you. We sailed on the Wonder 3 night on 10.21.04. We were getting out of the Budget rental van and a Disney CM came over to get our bags. We wanted to just take ours since they roll, but he said he had to take them. Right away he starts in with "I'm a porter folks just like at a hotel. Your bags will be in your room later, but you may not see me again... if you would like to acknowledge me..." I was really taken aback that he was fishing for a tip. By the way one of our bags got lost. Of course it was the one with our clothes for that evening in it. We watched him tag it, but guest services said there was no tag on it. It wound up being held down there. We had 15 minutes to get dressed for dinner that night. Not a great start to our 1st evening either.

I thought the Disney Wonder was very pretty but could not hold a candle to the Mariner of the Seas. We sailed with RCCL in February also out of Port Canaveral. The service was better on RCCL. Our stateroom attendent was much better on RCCL! The buffet was far better. Much bigger and better food. The dining room food was a bit better on the Wonder. I liked the 3 dining rooms, but none of them were as elegant/beautiful as on the Mariner. The specialty restaurants were on a par-there are 2 on the Mariner (Italian and steak house.) There were more lounges and entertainment options on the Mariner. The only show we liked on the Wonder was Golden Mickeys. We LOVE WDW/Disneyland and the parks, but thought the other 2 shows were cheesy and the performers did not have voices as good as the actors in the parks. I did like Pain and Panic but DH walked out on the Herc showThe shows on the Mariner were only ok but the ice show is fantastic.

Labadee is a nice private island but of course Castaway Cay is just beautiful. We did not like how people with small children kept coming over to the adult BBQ area and beach as well as the adult pool area on the ship. The CMs said nothing and even served them food at the BBQ area. Other (older) guests said something to them and they left very annoyed. They commented on how there should not be areas their children could not go to- this was Disney. Wow-I think the adult areas are great- even for parents to get away for a bit! While getting a massage in the huts on the adult beach, several families rode the rental bikes right past on the dirt road outside. A few were having melt downs and it was not a happy scene out there Why did Disney set it up this way?

We enjoyed our Disney cruise and will be taking another one but for the price, RCCL is better. Our 7 night Mariner cruise cost less than our 3 night Wonder cruise!

 

[TLHB70]

We basically only had a problem with our service in our stateroom. We enjoyed the entertainment and dining rooms. We LOVED our server and assistant server for dinner. The characters were fabulous. The ship was beautiful! Our problem was what we experienced in the room. I didn't think that it lived up to the typical Disney standard.
When I told my mom about it, she was shocked. They always go on Carnival cruises and she said that they have never experienced anything like that!
I don't know that we will ever take another cruise. If we do, we may try another cruise line just to see the difference. I am a Disney fan, LOVE Disney World, but I would like to see what the other cruise lines are like compared to this last experience.

 

[jgalecpa]

There are about 1,000 rooms, and if one person has a bad room experience there are two ways to view it.

One way would be to say that one out of a thousand is pretty darn good, since we were 99.9% effective.

The other is that if you are the one, than to you they batted 0%.

I do think letting DCL know is the key.

Anyone can make mistakes, but how the company tries to deal with it is the real test.

ALSO, please give DCL another chance. Since the odds of you getting the bad breaks twice are 1/1000 * 1/1000 or literally one in a million.

Just my two cents.

Jim

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

If you got no soap or shampoo for the length of the cruise, then I think it's definitely something I'd bring up. If it just happened once, which is what I thought was the case when I posted, I'd be inclined to write it off as an oversight. Maybe if you reminded the room attendant to leave them, that would have taken care of it, although maybe not with someone who forgets to leave it for an entire cruise.

And maybe I was raised by wolves, but the lack of washcloths wouldn't even register as a problem for me.

 

[crisi]

You should send an email or write. They can't fix what they don't know about - and since at least some of this is a training issue, they can certainly find out who your stateroom host was, as well as who did the first incomplete job on your phone.

The phone is something they probably wouldn't have known ahead of time. I doubt its standard for the stateroom hosts to check the phone. Though it should have been fixed properly the first time.

And I can understand a stateroom host not noticing the room is warm. Those people are busy and moving - so all the rooms probably feel warm to them.

But the washclothes and soap and shampoo - those are really basic issues. Frankly, if they don't put out shampoo, they aren't going to notice a warm room if its hot enough to bake cookies in there.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

I'm really surprised -- one of the things we love about DCL is how amazing our stateroom hosts have been. When we didn't actually see ours on the Magic, we left him notes and he did exactly what we asked (things like extra soap or shampoo).

I would write to DCL, and I will tell you my experience with doing so. In 2002, we sailed on the Wonder. We had a great time, but we were very disappointed in the kids' meals and in our server's refusal to bring our daughter something off of the adult menu. I wrote to DCL with suggestions, and listing my complaint in a constructively critical manner. We received a personalized letter back, thanking us for our comments and telling us that our comments would be sent to the department that looks at menu changes.

Two years late, we sailed on the Magic. The kids' menu was completely revamped, and many of my suggested changes were implemented. I'm sure this had nothing to do with me as an individual, but, rather, because of the many people who made similar suggestions, DCL took the collective comments and implemented changes.

Did you reflect the bad stateroom service in your tip? I would have, with a note explaining why I did so. But I'm also a bit outspoken.

 

[tecdavidt]

The shampoo you could have bought in the Spa if your needed to buy some. I must be bold because I would have stopped at any of many stewards that we always saw working and would have requested shampoo from their cart. I have asked for extra items in the past the same way. They always handed me what I needed, shampoo, soap or towels, even a Disney mint . As far as the AC, and phone keep calling until it is fixed. Even call if the bed wasn't down when it needed to be. The next time you cruise you will now know what to do. It sounds like you had a new room steward. Give DCL another try, you won't be disappointed. Kathy

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by TLHB70

Is this normal? Am I over-reacting? Should I write to Disney about it? The comment card only allowed two lines for comments so it all would not fit on the card. I will have to go online and comment on their web site. I don't want to sound like a complaining person, but I think they may want to know about it.

I do not think you're overreacting at all. I think you should write a nice detailed letter to them letting them know of your experience.

This also bugs me that they only leave you two lines to give comments. I always have so much to say! (good mostly, but still...)

 

[inkkognito]

Don't feel constrained by the two lines on the comment card...that is what the stationery in the room is for!
We visited Labadee and absolutely hated it. It is not really "private," as we discovered from the moment we disembarked and discovered natives solicited tips to allow us to sit in the RCCL beach chairs! There was a woman in the bathroom handing paper towels and blocking my way for a tip (like I carry money in my bathing suit), and in the marketplace, the vendors literally grabbed people. They made the straw market look take. RCCL's other island, Cocoa Cay, is truly private like Castaway Cay (and very nice), but I would never, ever go back to Labadee.
Barb

 

[LAMPSKIES]

On our 11/03 eastern sailing on Wednesday when we opened our verandah (it was VERY windy) the a/c unit would make a huge growel noise!!! We called guessed services and they sent a tech and everything was fine.....as for soap and shampoo, DDs 14 and 12 shower quite a bit.....a simple 20.00 tip in advance on Saturday kept my "carry on" miller lites on ice and PLENTY of extra shampoo and towels all week long!!! We were very generous at the end also.........

 

[buster478]

We had a warm room on deck 2 but was fixed right away. Never had any problems with the other items you mentioned. The stateroom host has always been helpful and taken care of every wish. Many times we ran into him in the hall and he would ask how things are and if we needed anything.

I think this was out of the norm. I would definatly write DCL. They may send you an sorry letter and that is about it.

Hope you go again and things are better.

 

[TLHB70]

I did contact DCL last night. I sent them a comment message online. I hope that they will receive it and understand that I just wanted to let the information be known. I don't want to hurt any CM or his job. I just thought that DCL should be aware of it so that it will not happen to another cruiser. I love Disney!!!!! I want every Disney experience to be magical for everyone!

Did you reflect the bad stateroom service in your tip? I would have, with a note explaining why I did so. But I'm also a bit outspoken.

No, I have to be honest. We did tip our stateroom host the recommended amount. My dh and I had a long discussion about this topic. We went back and forth about what to do. The fact is that we didn't want to cause him any problems so we just tipped what was suggested for him. All of our other servers got the recommended tip plus more. They were all FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lookingforward]

I also had some "issues" in my stateroom on the first night. One side of our mattress was wet. The sheets and blanket was dry but the mattress itself was ice cold and wet at the end of it. EHH! They took a long time but they sent someone up to replace that half of the bed. Only problem was that the replacement mattress was new and MUCH harder than the other side, thus making the bed lopsided and there was a metal latch sticking out. It then took two nights to fix (this was a three night cruise!). I wrote to DCL and they sent me a letter with a $150 onboard credit stating that I had already received a 40% discount (they neglected to mention that it was because of a hurricane shortened cruise). The onboard credit was a very nice gesture but not worth three lousy nights of sleep. At least they finally responded.

Good luck with your letter. I also agree with the OP that there are some other wonderful cruise lines out there. My favorite is Celebrity...and I am a devoted Disney fan.

 

[SweetSpot]

On our second cruise there was no toilet paper in the room. We had a sweet stateroom hostess but she wasn't very good. This year we found a huge pair of mens red underwear in our stateroom. Sometimes it's better to find things missing....

 

[Dreamer04]

Originally posted by lookingforward
I wrote to DCL and they sent me a letter with a $150 onboard credit stating that I had already received a 40% discount (they neglected to mention that it was because of a hurricane shortened cruise).

That is plain rude of DCL to infer that the 40% discount was compensation for your poor sleep. I'm sure the onboard credit was nice, but it didn't sound like you were asking for money. Some knucklehead probably saw the discount off the reservation and assumed it was because you had already complained. This is the most common problem alot of people have with Disney. Poor customer relations.

I guess most people give up, or let it go. That is precisely why it is important to let DCL know when something is not working. Or just plain wrong.

 

[DVCajun]

This is the most common problem alot of people have with Disney. Poor customer relations.

What???

Disney is renowned for their awesome customer service. I surely am misunderstanding this statement. The comment re: the 40% was unfortunate and is not the kind of customer service typical of Disney.

 

[Dreamer04]

Originally posted by DVCajun
What???

Disney is renowned for their awesome customer service. I surely am misunderstanding this statement. The comment re: the 40% was unfortunate and is not the kind of customer service typical of Disney.

Hi DVCajun! I don't understand. I was responding to the previous poster. The letter from DCL mentioned the 40% discount, inferring that, since they already received a discount, there were no more forthcoming.

The 40% was related to a previous cruise and not because of the terrible mattress.

You are probably right. Disney is renowned for their awesome customer service. They have made magical dreams come true for alot of people. I have experienced that magic, myself.

 

[dclwdwlover]

Originally posted by MarcyIn Florida
Did you reflect the bad stateroom service in your tip? I would have, with a note explaining why I did so. But I'm also a bit outspoken.

Our 1st two sailings we had fantastic stateroom hosts. They were not only very friendly, but went over & above with always having everything supplied timely & leaving terrific towel animals & always checking to see if we needed anything.

Our last trip, the SH was, in a word, horrible. We had to repeatedly ask for basic things such as towels, soap, shampoo, etc. the entire trip & sometimes it took a full day before receiving them - sometimes we never got them. (Until the last night when we got a huge supply of everything!) We had two staterooms & he was the same in both rooms. He didn't make up our rooms until mid-afternoon (2-3:30 pm) everyday, which is not terrible, but not what we previously experienced & we do like to come back to the room after lunch & relax on the verandah.

There were numerous other issues, but I won't go into them all. I would just like to say that this is NOT the norm & was nothing like what we experienced on our first two trips & I'm fairly certain won't be on our upcoming trip. Yes, I did make note of it on the comment card & on a note (& reflective tip) to the stateroom host. If I had not politely asked for things many times I would attribute it to my lack of expressing what we needed, but as he was asked repeatedly, I chalk it up to very poor service.

 

[Skuba2]

Sometimes, it is just a the luck of the draw. We had a similar experience on our first trip and we were in The Walt suite. Luckily, I was able to call the concierge and she took care of it. It was a bunch of little things but it was kind of funny how every day something went wrong. We found someone's dirty underwear on one of the shelves the first night. Our safe battery must have died so we had to get security to come up and open it up for us and change the battery. Our door lock malfunctions atleast twice which kept us from getting into our room. The light in the kid's closet went out the night we were trying to pack which made it pitch black and I couldn't see to pack. Our AC needed fixing once also. Our daughter hurt herself at the club and ended up with a badly bruised mouth. Other than the last one, the others were minor annoyances that after a while became rather amusing to us. Hey, we were on vacation and were able to laugh them off. On our last cruise, it seemed that everytime we went back to the room during the day, the steward was there. We didn't mind it so much and even starting taking bets with eachother before we turned the corner on whether he was there or not. We told him to not stop on our account.

It isn't the "norm" but it can and does happen to the best of us.

DG

 

[jrabbit]

And maybe I was raised by wolves, but the lack of washcloths wouldn't even register as a problem for me.

Same here, I'm not sure what they are for - way too small to dry yourself with. I know someone in my family uses them because I see them in the laundry!!