Anyone else Upset with the OCT 25 thru NOV 1 cruise?

[mommylovesdisneymore]

First off I do not feel entitled I just have never been disappointed by Disney I have done the Christmas parties and Halloween and they have always been so much fun. This was just poorly scheduled. Candy is not a big issue with me but the point is your average Joe will give out a few pieces of candy and if not when it's only one it's worth having. I do follow my Navigator everyday and you just can't do somethings if youhave early dinner and sometimes you miss out if you have late dinner. Mickey and Minnie we out n their Halloween costumes ONLY during 1st Dinner not any other time. And as far as the parents job finding out info all it said was Friendship rocks in the Theater Ok I am uppose to know what that is because?? Last time it was a graduation ceremony not friendship.
Yes I did enjoy many things on my cruise. I enjoyed all the Cast members they are the most friendly people you ever want to meet. I enjoyed watching my kids swim with sting rays in Nassau and REALLY enjoyed Castaway Cay it was beautiful. I was just let down maybe I had built it up too much to myself before I went but only because I know how Disney does things and usually it is always over the top abover everyone else. I loved each and everyone of the shows they are always the best like no other

 

[karibritt01]

Like previously stated if you had dinner early you missed everything Characters shows everything.

We did early dinner and had no trouble meeting characters before or after dinner. They are out most of the evening. We also saw all the shows, as the early dinner seating goes to the 8:30 show. If you missed something, perhaps it was because you made the choice to do something else, in which case the responsibility falls on you... not DCL.

I just think it was so poor I expected so much and built it up so much to my boys and they were just let down and it did not help they did pirate night the same day so it was all so rushed.

As a previous poster said... you need to do your research on what goes on. Many people have reported that this Halloween was better than previous years, so there must have been threads about what was entailed. And I would have thought pirate night on Halloween was cool, personally. Everyone going in costume from TOT to the deck party, followed by fireworks and the buffet... sounds like one continuous party to me.

They too never told us about the graduating ceremony this time either but i heard they did not have the caps and it was friendship rocks or something not DCU.

That info has been posted and discussed for several weeks now. Sorry you didn't know about it. I do think its sad they discontinued the caps, as they are so darn cute! But honestly, my kids hated the DCU graduation, and only went so they could get the cap and T-Shirt. We couldn't see either one of them on stage, DD6 tripped and fell, and cried all the way out of the auditorium, and we were late for dinner because we had to check them out... you didn't miss much!

 

[karibritt01]

we were on the 3 day cruise

Just re-reading your first post (making sure my response sounded appropriate and not harsh!) and it struck me you said the 3 day cruise. I think that is part of the issue really. There is always so much going on, and then to try to pack it into 3 days... I bet you never had time to slow down! Don't get me wrong... I would take 3 days if that was the only choice at the time! But with no sea day to relax and enjoy the ship, I can see where you got frustrated. I hope you consider cruising again, and can go for a longer trip!

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Mommylovesdisneymore--Hey I know what ya mean about early dinner. I try and get 6pm cause the characters come out about 5:45 and my kids see them and go to dinner. I don't know if you ever have done a 7nt'er but thats all we do. It is so relaxing and I can only imagine that a 3 nt'er feels rushed. I really think you would love it! I know what you mean about missing things, Like I would have liked to have played Match your Mate but they always put things after the late shows and our kids are in bed and we can't leave them alone in the stateroom yet, they just aren't old enough. So I understand missing things. I will only hope that as my kids age I can do more.

 

[Meeska Mooska Mom]

I was on the same Halloween Wonder Cruise as mommylovesdisneymore and while we had a really great time, I do have to agree on the HSM thing.

I appreciate that the new movie just came out, but it would have been really nice to see something halloween-ish. Each person giving out treats was dressed in a cap and gown and there weren't any real decorations around. I really think HSM is of interest to a very small percentage of the people on board.

But for me this was just a *gee whizz* in the scheme of a GREAT first cruise with my family. I'd go again but probably not for Halloween - we missed too must "real" Halloween stuff that we could have done at home.

 

[dvc4life]

Well, I have to say that with older children, Disney is the place to be for Halloween. We have done the MNSSH party 3 times, love the parade!!!, and a Halloween Cruise twice. And for us, it is the only place we would want to be. Our girls are 12 and 15, and they can still be kids. As a matter of fact, so can me and my DH. We TOT at the Magic Kingdom and on the cruise along with our kids. And it is fun. Where we are from, they are to old to go TOT'ing any more. But, at Disney, everyone can and no one is going to say anything. For example, in my office this week, my boss was talking about a whole family coming to trick or treat her house and everyone had a candy bag. Mom, Dad, kids, and Grandparents. That bothered her. Plus, around here, there is not that much to do for Halloween. Carve pumpkins, maybe a haunted house, one night, boom over. Plus, we usually have really bad weather like rainy, snowy, cold. So, anything Disney does for Halloween for us, is better than being here.

 

[mommylovesdisneymore]

Well I just believed that alot more could have been done. More decorations more Halloween activities and more characters out for Halloween and something other than the HSM3 trail. I to LOVE anything Disney

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Let me again just say HALLOWEEN is NOT a Holiday!! Some like it some don't.....I would expect Disney would decorate big on DCL for Xmas and maybe Easter but that is ALL!! Even MNSSHP the kids didn't get tons of candy, (which is fine with me) we go for the fact that we love the parade and that the attendence is limited so you get more valuable time in the park and can walk right on the rides!!
Ya just gotta do a week cruise nothing like it.

 

[jns]

Hi just to say we were on the Oct 25th cruise too and we had a great time
The food was great
my DS told us about the carry on in the hot tub and noticed the next night that both were empty
we were also on the Halloween cruise in 2007
only differece was at T&T they were giving out Tatoos and stikers none this year , but noticed that at WDW too

And yes we had should a great time we rebooked on board

 

[dizzi]

We did early dinner and had no trouble meeting characters before or after dinner. They are out most of the evening. We also saw all the shows, as the early dinner seating goes to the 8:30 show. If you missed something, perhaps it was because you made the choice to do something else, in which case the responsibility falls on you... not DCL.



As a previous poster said... you need to do your research on what goes on. Many people have reported that this Halloween was better than previous years, so there must have been threads about what was entailed. And I would have thought pirate night on Halloween was cool, personally. Everyone going in costume from TOT to the deck party, followed by fireworks and the buffet... sounds like one continuous party to me.



That info has been posted and discussed for several weeks now. Sorry you didn't know about it. I do think its sad they discontinued the caps, as they are so darn cute! But honestly, my kids hated the DCU graduation, and only went so they could get the cap and T-Shirt. We couldn't see either one of them on stage, DD6 tripped and fell, and cried all the way out of the auditorium, and we were late for dinner because we had to check them out... you didn't miss much!

I ddint go tot he graduation......
2 reasons
1 I have seen my kids graduate from soooo many things, it just seemed bit cheesy..... (MICKEY MOUSE CHEESY though)
2 That theater they have it in makes me sick and i tend to fall aslepp inthere anyway....i dont get to do many of the shows either.

Didnt ruin my vacation

BUT yes the hats are cute and My dd keeps them

 

[lcborn2run]

I have to give my opinion on this. As one poster said, the show was definitely short on humor. I think that it was uncomfortable in the theater before the heckling incident because she was doing so poorly on stage. I believe the guy started heckling because the ventriloquist was doing a very stereotypical spanish/puerto rican accent with some insulting (and not funny jokes) regarding the same.

I could be wrong, but he did look like that was what got him angry. Maybe he was very insulted and that coupled with a few drinks resulted in his outburst. It may have been "Un-Disneylike", but it was the most entertaining part of her act!

 

[dicar123]

I think the issue with your son getting sick in the bed is that a special crew has to deal with vomit. I know when a kid at the table next to us vomited at the character breakfast the servers wouldn't go near the table and a special crew came in so fast and disinfected the whole area. Maybe room attendants are the same and vomit always has to be handled by the special team, but I don't really know.

My son got sick on our cruise (Dec 2007) and it was our regular stateroom attendant who cleaned up. I had thought Disney would have some special easy-peasy cleaning system, but it was the attendant with a scrub brush and a bucket. Poor guy... It's a shame the other poster had a hard time getting help.

 

[Stepht5]

You can ask for a pager and have your niece page you when she leaves the Quest, but Disney won't enforce it (again unless they've changed it since August). This worked for us, but I think it depends on both the child and the parent. When our youngest is ready for Ocean Quest, I'm not sure we'll be able to trust him. He's our little giver of gray hair!

I feel your pain, Christopher!! Claire may be the death of me! LOL!

As for the 11 to 13 year olds being on their on. I have a 13 year old head strong, slightly wild niece that will be sailing with me in Jan on The Wonder. I have already requested that she be put back in one of the clubs and that she NOT have sign out privilege.

She's not the sister to your neice that was on the 10 nt? Good grief you couldn't get her to have any fun! LOL!!!

 

[NewfieMom]

I have to give my opinion on this. As one poster said, the show was definitely short on humor. I think that it was uncomfortable in the theater before the heckling incident because she was doing so poorly on stage. I believe the guy started heckling because the ventriloquist was doing a very stereotypical spanish/puerto rican accent with some insulting (and not funny jokes) regarding the same.

I could be wrong, but he did look like that was what got him angry. Maybe he was very insulted and that coupled with a few drinks resulted in his outburst. It may have been "Un-Disneylike", but it was the most entertaining part of her act!

I was sitting right behind him - he started getting mouthy before she even had a chance to get into her show . He just got louder and more obvious about it - in direct relation to how hard his family/friends worked to keep him quiet, it seemed ! I will agree that her show wasn't the best act I've seen, but it didn't excuse his behavior. And from where we were sitting - directly behind him - it was far from entertaining . The DCL staff did handle him very efficiently, thankfully - the situation could have gotten very ugly.

The other nights we got to Rockin Bar D, we had a great time - I was glad my youngest DS enjoyed the clubs more this time so we could have some adult time! And Pub Night the final night was absolutely hillarious! My only complaint about the cruise was the weather - but like has already been said, even Mickey can't control the weather!

 

[LetsGoSteelers]

Let me again just say HALLOWEEN is NOT a Holiday!! Some like it some don't.....I would expect Disney would decorate big on DCL for Xmas and maybe Easter but that is ALL!! Even MNSSHP the kids didn't get tons of candy, (which is fine with me) we go for the fact that we love the parade and that the attendence is limited so you get more valuable time in the park and can walk right on the rides!!
Ya just gotta do a week cruise nothing like it.

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. Halloween is a holiday of sorts that many people like to celebrate. Neighbors all around us decorate their homes weeks in advance of the event much like xmas, never seen anyone decorate their home for easter though.

Anyway, being the Disney fans that we are, we chose this particular date for the original port Costa Maya, the Castaway Cay double dip and the fact that it was happenning during Halloween somewhat expecting that Disney would go all out for the festivities.

The following notice didn't do anything to dispell those expectations either.

I dunno, but we sort of envisioned a magical ghost ship or something to that effect. Look at their notice...

hmmm they even refer to it as a Halloween holiday and transforming the ship!! Not the last minute decorations that were put up.

Did this diminish our cruise experience in any way, no but the fact that we had to hurry back from key West with our girls only having 15 mins to join the trick or treaters and no time to get into their costumes kinda sucked! In my opinion it should have been rescheduled to follow dinner for each dining group, that way people could enjoy their port visit and the kids would have already been in costume.

Re: the movies, they only had one screening that I saw of nightmare before christmas at 2:00 ??? what was that about?? people would be in port and they were showing this in broad daylight, oh yeah, that's spook-tacular isn't it...

Also, like others mentioned, when the people at the stations had boxes full of candy they could have been a little less frugal handing them out. I very politely asked one of them for a twix, 1 candy bar, a small size one at that and he just ignored me and walked away after giving me this look....that was uncalled for.

Hell, it's not even about them getting to eat all of it, its just the fun of going around and getting it. Then they get to check out their haul and trade with their friends for their favs. That stuff will usually linger around for weeks unless there is soo much that it will get donated somewhere.

We also did what many on here had suggested and brought our own treats for them to find in their fish extender ranging from candy, to lil halloween stuffed ghosts and witches, treasure chests, tatoos, pencils, etc. We figured we'd be prepared just in case.

hmm...Maybe its an east-coast thing. Being out here in California, Disneyland gets transformed, the entire park into a halloween wonderland and that was sort of what we were expecting. We didn't get to go to the park this year, we were kinda dis'ed out from having passes last year and were looking forward to going to the magic Kingdom thinking they did the same there.

Our youngest loves jack skellington and the entire halloween / nightmare before christmas and we were so disappointed to get there and find that the haunted mansion was not transformed like they do here in disneyland.

oh well what can you do?

 

[rylisal]

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with you. Halloween is a holiday of sorts that many people like to celebrate. Neighbors all around us decorate their homes weeks in advance of the event much like xmas, never seen anyone decorate their home for easter though.

Anyway, being the Disney fans that we are, we chose this particular date for the original port Costa Maya, the Castaway Cay double dip and the fact that it was happenning during Halloween somewhat expecting that Disney would go all out for the festivities.

The following notice didn't do anything to dispell those expectations either.

I dunno, but we sort of envisioned a magical ghost ship or something to that effect. Look at their notice...

hmmm they even refer to it as a Halloween holiday and transforming the ship!! Not the last minute decorations that were put up.

Did this diminish our cruise experience in any way, no but the fact that we had to hurry back from key West with our girls only having 15 mins to join the trick or treaters and no time to get into their costumes kinda sucked! In my opinion it should have been rescheduled to follow dinner for each dining group, that way people could enjoy their port visit and the kids would have already been in costume.

Re: the movies, they only had one screening that I saw of nightmare before christmas at 2:00 ??? what was that about?? people would be in port and they were showing this in broad daylight, oh yeah, that's spook-tacular isn't it...

Also, like others mentioned, when the people at the stations had boxes full of candy they could have been a little less frugal handing them out. I very politely asked one of them for a twix, 1 candy bar, a small size one at that and he just ignored me and walked away after giving me this look....that was uncalled for.

Hell, it's not even about them getting to eat all of it, its just the fun of going around and getting it. Then they get to check out their haul and trade with their friends for their favs. That stuff will usually linger around for weeks unless there is soo much that it will get donated somewhere.

We also did what many on here had suggested and brought our own treats for them to find in their fish extender ranging from candy, to lil halloween stuffed ghosts and witches, treasure chests, tatoos, pencils, etc. We figured we'd be prepared just in case.

hmm...Maybe its an east-coast thing. Being out here in California, Disneyland gets transformed, the entire park into a halloween wonderland and that was sort of what we were expecting. We didn't get to go to the park this year, we were kinda dis'ed out from having passes last year and were looking forward to going to the magic Kingdom thinking they did the same there.

Our youngest loves jack skellington and the entire halloween / nightmare before christmas and we were so disappointed to get there and find that the haunted mansion was not transformed like they do here in disneyland.

oh well what can you do?

We were on this cruise too & I'm sorry to say we were a little disappoined too!
We'd received the info above about Halloween & really thought we were going to get more of a Halloween theme than we did. Coming from the UK, where we don't tend to do a lot for Halloween, we really thought the Ship would be more 'transformed'.We were glad we'd been to MNSSHP the week before the cruise so at least we had seen something of a Halloween theme!
I'm still unsure why Halloween was held on 30th...I did ask our server who said it was so as not to spoil our CC day but that seems a bit of a silly excuse to me!
Trick or treat imo was over way too quick & our DS didn't even get chance to get his outfit on as we arrived back at 4pm from Key West. We got enough candy but i must say it seemed only a few of the CM's were really having fun, most just could'nt be bothered. We actually cut out a few lines as they were SO long.
The other thing I didn't get was why was that night Halloween Attire or Semi formal? That was just silly & should have been cruise casual that night & Semi formal on friday, would have made more sense to me although of course i do think friday should have been Halloween anyway!
In conclusion, we did enjoy our cruise, there were a few things we didn't like but on the whole we did have fun, especially our DS(14) who just loved every minute of it & can't stop wishing he was back there!

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

It sounds to me u got almost all they advertised! U got T/T==doesn't say u'll need a garbage bag tp carry it, it said some stations. I don't know I just get a kick out of some people(not necc U) but some getting bent outta shape over candy...its candy for goodness sakes. I don't know I just think Halloween is another of the made up holidays!! We go trick or treating, mostly just to show the friends of ours in the neighborhood their costumes. I could do w/o the day though. I have been to MNSSHP and like it. I can't tell u if it's decorated enough for u, but it was fine to me. Also we went to 3 t/t stations and just enjoyed the park...we don't care about candy..much rather enjoy the park. Actually mine like MVMCP better cause they like taking their thermos and puring their hot cocoa in and sippin on it all night long. Happy Holiday season is coming!

 

[4hernandez]

First of all, I want to apologize in advance if this is posted in various forms 2 times before this. I have tried to post a reply from my laptop and after writing and hitting post, it seems to be lost in cyber space. This third time around, and I will try to write what I felt I need to express...
This is my second actual post to this thread. I, too was disappointed by the Halloween Cruise. I would like to say it is not about candy. I'd be willing to bet that each and everyone of us on board can afford to buy our children a bag or two of candy. I was disappointed by the general lack of festivities.
You may or may not believe that Halloween is a holiday--just as you may or may not celebrate Christmas or Easter. Whether you are in agreement or not, Halloween has become a mainstream event. Other countires may or may not celebrate a form e.g. Mexico's Day of the Dead. The real only important issue (my humble opinion) is whether Disney celebrates Holloween. I believe it does-check out the Park decorations, MNSSH, the letter sent to cruiser and the press release for this cruise.
Did I choose this particular cruise for a bagful of candy? Of course not. What I thought I was chosing was a very unique cruise. The chance to celebrate a "Holiday" on a Disney Cruise Ship!!! Over the top festivities-mabe even spooky decorations! Nope.
My own families TOT with Disney went like this. We hurried (like everyone else-back to the ship), put on our costumes and went downstairs at 3:45 for the posted start of 4:00. The event had already started. All we did was follow a line from one station to the other. No stations were decorated. It all looked the same, nothing special. WE did become aware that there was more than one map and stations that were not on our map. We did not go to anyother station, other than what was on our own map. My dd8 told me, if we take candy form the other stations, than the kids following that map might not get any candy. We ended up upstairs with everyone else. I would have imagined that Disney would have put more than a dumdum or 2 in each bag, maybe a sticker or something else to commemorate "Halloween on the High Seas." Halloween might not be a big deal to you personally, especially if you are cruising without children-Santa might not be a big deal either, but ask the average 8 or 9 year old kid, and I believe their take on both counts would differ with the average adult.
If we had not celebrated Halloween with the DIS cruisers that I had met on line, this cruise could have taken place any other day of the year.
Susie and Jackie put together a Halloween that unfortunately put Disney to shame. This was done on the forum, long distance with just fellow parents. They had over 90 kids running and laughing (Opps-I mean walking quietly-LOL) from floor to floor following clue to clues (ex-where would the 101 Dalmations eat if on board?) to the end where they were greated with a pirate bag full of not just candy, but stickers, pencils etc. I was so proud of these amazing women (and men), who put in long hours not just to benefit their kiddos but everyones elses. I saw more than a few amazed adults also!
The FE (thanks totallyangelic) for keeping track, meant that everytime you returned to your room, it felt like Christmas. Creative, fun, useful gifts...WOW
Did Disney disappoint me? or did I have unreasonable expectations-hard to say.
What did I learn? The importance of the forums. Whether your interaction was a frinedly wave to a fellow DISer, or welcomed hints or advise, you guys MADE my trip. YOU GIRLS ROCK!!! ( sorry a little shout out for some well deserved, hard working people..LOL)
I joined the forum very late and was met with warm and welcoming fellow cruisers. I guess like most things in life, it is the people around you that can make or break an experience.
Just my opinion...

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I so agree with U about the threads. I am keeping track of things for ours. I have to say your little scavenger(sp) sounds fun regardless of the time of year. Hmm Where would the dalmations eat?? LOL Did they read a clue then find another clue where the answer was and so on and so on? How did U hand out the clues? It sounds fun and I hope to see my DIS'ers on the boat and maybe chill out by the pool with some or even end up on the same excursions, but how much did u really spend. I mean we all have fav things to do. I like that there are a lot of DD's my DD's ages so hopefully they will make some great friends. My older DD(8) is already emailing one of the girls...it seems to make them both more excited about meeting each other.

U are right we have different ideas about what Halloween means and needs for celebration. But for me we could stay on the ship for 7 days and stop no where and just relaxing is the vacation, no cells, no comp, no everything!

 

[101DalmFan]

What seems to be forgotten here is that the bad weather contributed GREATLY to the arrangement of events. IF the Hallowe'en events had been planned for our last day, the day Hallowe'en actually fell on, then it would have interfered with Castaway Cay as well as everyone's attempts to get packed up to leave. These boards would have been full of complaints on how their Castaway Cay day was ruined because of participating in Hallowe'en events or how Hallowe'en was ruined because their family wanted to be on Castaway Cay. Given that it was a no-win situation for DCL, it made perfect sense to move it a day ahead to a SEA DAY. A sea day is a wonderful time to tackle it all because everyone is on the ship and nobody misses out on any excursions etc. Who could have anticipated that the Grand Cayman day would turn into a sea day and the sea day would turn into Key West?

I was on last year's Hallowe'en cruise on the Magic so I think I can claim the ability to compare the two. I find it interesting there is so much complaining about this given that I thought this year's Hallowe'en events, decorations etc were better than last year's -- and I don't recall reading any similar complaints about last year's cruise whatsoever.

My bottom line is that I had a wonderful cruise and we rebooked onboard for 2010's late October cruise on the Magic. For those who would rather remember their vacation in a negative manner and choose to vacation elsewhere in the future, I wish you good weather and good times. Remember, vacations are important!!