Weather can affect Disney Dream Castaway

[PrincessShmoo]

When did the thread title get edited?

Yesterday afternoon. That would mean that NerdyDad is keeping tabs on his rant. I believe he would be the only one (besides a mod) that can change the title. Interesting, over on cruise critic the title has changed also. And there you can only edit a post for 20 minutes after posting. I'm thinking that either the mods had a problem (in both places?) with the title, or NerdyDad contacted them about changing it.

 

[SirDuff]

Yesterday afternoon. That would mean that NerdyDad is keeping tabs on his rant. I believe he would be the only one (besides a mod) that can change the title. Interesting, over on cruise critic the title has changed also. And there you can only edit a post for 20 minutes after posting. I'm thinking that either the mods had a problem (in both places?) with the title, or NerdyDad contacted them about changing it.

The Cruise Critic thread still seems to have the old title, when I just searched for it. However, wow did the OP post his rant all over - here, Cruise Critic, Yelp, Trip Advisor (I wanted to see what the responses were like on Cruise Critic, so I Googled some of the text of the OP do find it, and saw the other sites as hits too).

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The Cruise Critic thread still seems to have the old title, when I just searched for it. However, wow did the OP post his rant all over - here, Cruise Critic, Yelp, Trip Advisor (I wanted to see what the responses were like on Cruise Critic, so I Googled some of the text of the OP do find it, and saw the other sites as hits too).

That's funny, when I posted, I had checked on cruise critic and the title was the "new" one that's here. Now it's back to the "old" one.

 

[SillyInventor]

I notice it last night. I think it needs to be edited further. "Cruise ships sometimes must make changes in itinerary due to weather or emergencies... Duh!"

And Dr. Who is rumored not being a doctor at all!

 

[SirDuff]

That's funny, when I posted, I had checked on cruise critic and the title was the "new" one that's here. Now it's back to the "old" one.

Weird! I don't go there often and found it by Googling the text in the OP. Maybe because I wasn't logged in, I saw something old/different?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Weird! I don't go there often and found it by Googling the text in the OP. Maybe because I wasn't logged in, I saw something old/different?

I don't know. Now I'm seeing the original title, also.

 

[k3chantal]

I am so disappointed in Disney Cruise Line. Our family loves the beach and loved our first visit to Castaway Cay. This year we took the Disney Dream to Castaway Cay, but tides and wind caused the ship to not be able to dock. The ship tried 4 times but was unsuccessful. We wasted the whole day for the boat to dock, and my two older boys were in tears, by wife was upset because she had prepared for the Castaway 5K, and my parents wanted to take the kids on a bike ride around the island. We heard many other guests on the ship complain about how disappointed they were also. I read online that sometimes the ship will try once and then take the guests to some other island to enjoy a beach. This ship and crew decided to try four times and then spend the rest of the time at sea. If you have ever been on the Dream, you know that the ship (especially deck 11) is super crowded and because of the design and the size of the ship,many crew members seem tired and complain about the working conditions. I emailed Disney Cruise line after the trip to inform them of the issue, and I received a response back stating that the cruise contract and terms and conditions state that the trip can be changed at the cruise lines discretion. They also informed me that there will be no special compensation for the loss in value to their guests that this caused. Out of curiosity I looked at the Disney Cruise line mission statement and it talks about how Disney is an entertainment and information company that sells products to maximize profit. I suppose long term growth, customer value, customer satisfaction, family fun, are no longer a part of Disney's culture, value, or mission. I wonder what Walt would have thought of the current mission statement. I know that my wife and I are both crushed. We have fond memories of our parents taking us to Disneyland and Disneyworld when we were young, but it seems that Disney doesn't care if your family doesn't have a good experience with their services. I responded to Disney and stated that terms and conditions and contract may state that the schedule can change, but that the right thing to do was to help all the disappointed customers that expected to be at Castaway Cay that day.



Be warned, Disney can skip Castaway Cay, and Disney will not do anything to make the situation right.

Just got off the Dream myself and the weather was terrible Castaway Cay day. So much so that most people barely made it through half the day due to the wind and rain. But am I mad or disappointed in DCL......no. As we all joked, Disney can't control the weather yet! (We didn't even waste our time going to the island but rode the Aquaduck over 15 times. No wait at all and it was a great time!)

I think it is important to understand what Disney WILL do and do very well. On our visit, they increased the activities in and around the ship. They kept us safe by CANCELING excursions that may have been extremely dangerous in the inclement weather conditions. Even though the plans changed, each and every cast member I met, smiled and did their jobs well even though it was extremely cold and windy.

I guess guests can be allowed to be disappointed but to expect compensation for something Disney can't control yet is over the top. I believe Walt would be proud of the commitment the company has made to their guests especially to the commitment to keep guests safe.

Castaway Cay is one day on a multiple day trip. Putting "all your eggs" into the Castaway Cay basket" may be a little short sighted since weather does seem to be an issue occasionally and there are definitely beaches at all the other ports of calls..........

 

[dsnydaddy]

Missed two Ports on our last EBPC. Hurricanes. Never expected Disney to do a doggone thing about it. It happens. I was glad that we were safe. We did have a blast with all the "At Sea" days and everyone including the CM's made the best of a bad situation. Was I disappointed... YES! But upon reflection, I would not have changed a thing. We had a lot of fun. I did hear some people grumbling but they can grumble, I'm on vacation! Besides I hear we made DCL history with the longest consecutive number of "At Sea" Days.

I'd miss CC if we missed it. But I'd also make the best of the situation.

 

[bafleyanne]

We might as well not have docked at CC on our November cruise on the Dream. It was rainy and freezing and the water was not enjoyable at all. I spent the whole time huddled under a towel on a beach chair under shade. We did get to eat at Cookies before we bailed for the ship though. DCL moved all the afternoon activities back to the boat, including the kids clubs. That must have been a huge pain for them but they issued new Navigators immediately and were very gracious about it. I'm sure some people did complain but not us. It's one of the hazards of an off season cruise IMO.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Disney Cruise line goes through the Panama Canal twice each year with inches to spare on each side of the boat. These captains are rockstars at what they do.

DCL's Captains are not in control in the Panama Canal no captain is they are at the mercy of the pilot. When I was on it in 2008 Captain Tom was fairly mad at them when they decided to drag the ship on both sides in the last lock. From what the retired Panama Canal pilot on board said as he was on the bridge at the time as he had trained most of the pilots and also he was there in case the narrator got boring too. Anyway he said at his post Panama Canal Talk that Captain Tom was ready to throw them off the bridge wings for that.

 

[Dug720]

Been there, done that. Honestly, as disappointing as it is to your family if the ship can't dock, it can't dock. Disney does not want to disappoint their guests but mother nature can't be helped. Disney does not have another island to go to cases like this so not sure where you heard they will take you to another beach. It is usually a day at sea when CC is missed. And, yes, it does happen quite often as you can't help nature.

I hope you don't let missing one port ruin your entire vacation experience. Disappointment in life happens. There is no way DCL could financially reimburse every guest for missing CC. We all have a warm fuzzy feeling towards Disney but they are a business in the end.

Curious how you think they should have corrected the problem? I am sure they reimbursed everyone's port adventure costs since they couldn't dock and beyond that there is not much more to do. As I said above they would not be able to reimburse everyone for missing CC as it is not feasible.

MJ

Well said! We did make it to the dock on Friday, but I'm pretty sure Commodore Tom was sweating it as there were very high winds and VERY strong currents (I'd experienced the currents and surges at St. Maarten on my excursion there, so I know they were rough). I was up on Deck 13 at the front before he started turning around, and I could literally lean into the wind on my tip toes and not worry about falling it was so strong. The sea day between San Juan and CC was a bit rocky, and that night we were rocking and rolling. I knew Commodore Tom has a ton of experience docking there, and I just put my confidence in him that he would do everything he could to get us in there, but not at the expense of our safety. So while I did pack my backpack (my own brought from home...the Club gift is still the bags, though my silver one did have the sewn-on straps rather than the grommets which seemed to have reappeared) to be prepared, I also mentally prepared for the possibility that we might not get in.

When it became clear he was going to make an attempt, I went to the 13th deck aft and watched the process. It really is threading a needle to get into the channel just right, and he definitely took his time. We were about 30-45 minutes late docking, but we did make it.

That said, had we not, while I would have been disappointed, I would not have let it ruin my cruise - instead I would have enjoyed the ship and the activities they got up and running.

 

[SillyInventor]

DCL's Captains are not in control in the Panama Canal no captain is they are at the mercy of the pilot. When I was on it in 2008 Captain Tom was fairly mad at them when they decided to drag the ship on both sides in the last lock. .. that Captain Tom was ready to throw them off the bridge wings for that.

Would have loved to be a fly on the bridge wall

 

[SillyInventor]

Well said! We did make it to the dock on Friday, but I'm pretty sure Commodore Tom was sweating it as there were very high winds and VERY strong currents (I'd experienced the currents and surges at St. Maarten on my excursion there, so I know they were rough). I was up on Deck 13 at the front before he started turning around, and I could literally lean into the wind on my tip toes and not worry about falling it was so strong.

When it became clear he was going to make an attempt, I went to the 13th deck aft and watched the process. It really is threading a needle to get into the channel just right, and he definitely took his time. We were about 30-45 minutes late docking, but we did make it.

And did you have an enjoyable day at CC with those winds? I can imagine guest would have been better of with a sea day than being blown off the beaches.

 

[JimGA]

I am so disappointed in Disney Cruise Line. Our family loves the beach and loved our first visit to Castaway Cay. This year we took the Disney Dream to Castaway Cay, but tides and wind caused the ship to not be able to dock. The ship tried 4 times but was unsuccessful. We wasted the whole day for the boat to dock, and my two older boys were in tears, by wife was upset because she had prepared for the Castaway 5K, and my parents wanted to take the kids on a bike ride around the island. We heard many other guests on the ship complain about how disappointed they were also. I read online that sometimes the ship will try once and then take the guests to some other island to enjoy a beach. This ship and crew decided to try four times and then spend the rest of the time at sea. If you have ever been on the Dream, you know that the ship (especially deck 11) is super crowded and because of the design and the size of the ship,many crew members seem tired and complain about the working conditions. I emailed Disney Cruise line after the trip to inform them of the issue, and I received a response back stating that the cruise contract and terms and conditions state that the trip can be changed at the cruise lines discretion. They also informed me that there will be no special compensation for the loss in value to their guests that this caused. Out of curiosity I looked at the Disney Cruise line mission statement and it talks about how Disney is an entertainment and information company that sells products to maximize profit. I suppose long term growth, customer value, customer satisfaction, family fun, are no longer a part of Disney's culture, value, or mission. I wonder what Walt would have thought of the current mission statement. I know that my wife and I are both crushed. We have fond memories of our parents taking us to Disneyland and Disneyworld when we were young, but it seems that Disney doesn't care if your family doesn't have a good experience with their services. I responded to Disney and stated that terms and conditions and contract may state that the schedule can change, but that the right thing to do was to help all the disappointed customers that expected to be at Castaway Cay that day.



Be warned, Disney can skip Castaway Cay, and Disney will not do anything to make the situation right.

It happens, I got mad as DCL on our cruise because it was cloudy 3 out of 4 days on our cruise... how dare DCL not to compensate me for lost sun?? ROFL

 

[Dug720]

And did you have an enjoyable day at CC with those winds? I can imagine guest would have been better of with a sea day than being blown off the beaches.

I did enjoy it. Yes, I could have gone to the family beach (I walked around there on my way back to the ship and people were having a blast - things calmed a lot around 11/11:30, so it was really only an hour or so where things weren't fantastic) where it was less windy, but I grabbed some towels and wrapped my legs up in those, snagged a hammock at Serenity Bay, and watched the waves and read. It was AWESOME!

I should add, the sea day before wasn't the greatest weather - the Detective Agency got a LOT of use, the Rainforest Room was packed, and people were milling about inside - so I suspect they really hoped that they would be able to dock and that the weather would improve as predicted so it wouldn't be a second sea day of what we'd just had.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

My daughter and I met Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy at Denver Comic Con last year. It was a highlight for both of us. Colin Baker and Paul McGann were supposed to be there this year, but both have had to back out.

I'm bummed about that, but, my DD and I will still be there, just to see Kaile and Wash (love Firefly!)

 

[mrsmarilyn]

One of the things I hated most about the character in 50 Shades is that she is 21 year old college student and has ONE friends. Ok also the guy friend who is in love with her. One friend. And she treats her like crap as soon as she starts dating Mr Grey.

I didn't read the books, but I'd believe the one friend part. My twins are 13 and have no friends. They are quite quirky (Aspergers/high functioning autism) and their peers have no patience for them. Never underestimate how isolated someone can really be, in fiction or in life.

 

[over50visits]

Compensation? Guests actually expect Disney to compensate them because the weather was bad? I've heard of this happening but thought it was just folklore, never actually saw it happen.

What have we come to...

 

[Sandisw]

I just got off the Dream and while we did dock, the weather was cloudy and rainy for most of the day. It was windy too and when we got off to do the 5K, there was a sign that said all excursions for the day had been canceled due to the weather. We were lucky that the rain showers stopped long enough for us to get in the race, and then a few hours of clouds. Around noon, it started raining and a lot headed back to the ship. It did stop about an hour or so later, but never really got off again because it just wasn't going to be enjoyable. It was a disappointment for sure--I loved Castaway when we were there at the end of July--but certainly not the fault of Disney that it wasn't the best day. At dinner, the server was telling us about how the ship could not dock a few trips ago and how much the captain had tried as they realize it is an important part of the adventure. I'm hopeful that my next one, April 2016, works better!!

 

[js]

Wow. I really didnt remember not to think we may not dock at CC when we sailed over NYE. It was extremely windy on New Years Day. It was so windy that we almost didnt get off the ship. Once we were on the Island the wind didnt seem as intense as it was on the ship (we had an aft facing balcony) but it was windy.

Looking back now, I guess we were lucky.