Disappointed thus far!

[closetmickey]

You really expect DCL to employ the same protocols they use for medical emergencies in order to get The Incredible Burt Wonderstone onto the ship?

Well yes I do… If it means sending out a boat such as when they do for an inspector or patrol officer to board. I’m not talking about hiring a medivac...

 

[squirk]

Well yes I do… If it means sending out a boat such as when they do for an inspector or patrol officer to board. I’m not talking about hiring a medivac...

So you do expect DCL to use the same protocols for a medical emergency in order to make sure people get to see a juggler? Interesting perspective.

You'd think if it were as easy and as simple as just "sending out a boat", DCL would have done it in this case.

 

[closetmickey]

So you do expect DCL to use the same protocols for a medical emergency in order to make sure people get to see a juggler? Interesting perspective.

You'd think if it were as easy and as simple as just "sending out a boat", DCL would have done it in this case.

You would hope so. But I’m sadly starting to lose a little faith in our beloved Disney as a corporation who puts the customer first.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Only Fantasy and Oasis of the Seas were set to dock today at Falmouth. Neither did. Independence of the Seas is due to port there tomorrow.

I somehow doubt that it is advisable to tender out performers on a day when it was unwise to dock two ships in port. Emergency situation, sure. Ventriloquism is not an emergency.

 

[squirk]

I somehow doubt that it is advisable to tender out performers on a day when it was unwise to dock two ships in port. Emergency situation, sure. Ventriloquism is not an emergency.

^ This.

Also, while I know next to nothing about admiralty/maritime law, I wonder if it was even legally permissible to tender over non-critical staff or independent contractors if the ship would not or could not make port.

 

[OKgirl]

I'm so sorry for your disappointment as well. Although we have never cruised Disney (because we can't stomach the cost), we cruise frequently on several different cruise lines. We tend to prefer the larger ships such as Oasis Class because there is so much to do onboard. If one show is missed there are often multiple things happening at the same time. There are also so many restaurants available that we could always find a good place to eat. On other ships, the sea days are so crowded at the pool but we don't experience this on oasis class ships (too much going on at all times for everyone to be out at the pool). As for excursions, we cruise enough that they all start to blend together anyway! I'd probably just shop or go to the beach that day! I hope the rest of your trip is wonderful and if you decide to venture out to other lines, I hope you have a great experience too!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Pixie dust ur way OP... hope things change for the better!
Try what someone else suggested regarding ur sons disappointment.. good luck!

 

[JanDave]

The OP states a CM told him there are 5,000 passengers on board the Fantasy this week. I believe the Dream class ships have a maximum capacity of 4,000 passengers.

 

[MelSpees]

The OP states a CM told him there are 5,000 passengers on board the Fantasy this week. I believe the Dream class ships have a maximum capacity of 4,000 passengers.

Oops! Someone misspoke.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I’ll start this by saying what we hear a lot from people, but I’d like to think it’s really true about me; I usually don’t complain and I’m not hard to make happy……... Anyway, our story starts as we are currently on a sea day on the Fantasy as our Port stop in Jamaica was cancelled due to weather (quick note, the Oasis of Sea and the Independence of Seas both made their scheduled visit to Jamaica today).

The issues began on day 3 as the Disney excursion we had booked 75 days ago was canceled after we disembarked and were waiting in line at the pier in Grand Cayman islands. The Disney employees were unsure why it was canceled and seemed confused as we were sent to another line to sign up for another Disney excursion. There was one Disney employee signing people up manually. In his defense, he did tell us that it takes very long to do it manually by paper. After one hour, we finally got to the front of the line only to be told that all the Disney excursions had already left for the day. We quickly booked an excursion with a private local company, I won’t go into detail, but this entire excursion was extremely frightening and dangerous. (But I will add one example, the van driver stopped at a local grocery store to go shopping for his family while my family waited and baked in the van.)

And then later in the day, during our dinner at Animators Palate, none of our families drawings made it onto the movie as we were told there was a technical issue. Our special needs son was extremely upset by this as we had shown him videos of what to expect and he had put a lot of effort into his drawing. Our server told us he would get back to us to explain what exactly had happened.

And now we have just learned that tonight's show at the Walt Disney Theatre of a Comedian Hypnotist and tomorrow's show of a Ventrilliquist, were both canceled and replaced with movies as the performers were suppose to be picked up in Jamaica and never made it on-board.

In addition, our server told us that there are over 5,000 guests on the ship this week. Which make sense due to school vacation week in the north east.. But DCL should be prepared for these numbers and we shouldnt have to wait 20 minutes to find a seat at Cabana's buffet.

Anyway, I’m am venting, as one would think that Disney would have a backup to the backup plans, which they obviously don’t. Disney Cruise line charges premium prices for their cruises and tell us that we should expect a magical time. Yes, things happen, and Disney will carry another group of passengers out next week that may be magical. But this was our week, our only week, and thus far it’s been far from magical.

This is the problem with dcl. Unfortunately for you it happened on your first dcl cruise. Their prices set them up for failure and when they do fail, it is a hard fall. In my opinion, if you pay premium pricing, dcl really isn't worth it. When you are on the ship you realize this, or your subconscious does, which makes it hard to relax and enjoy your vacation. In the moments when they take you for granted as a passenger, it is glaring. We also experienced the drawing animation fail at animators and our kids were also very upset, so that must be a pretty common occurrence, not really acceptable since they market it. My advice is to try other more affordable cruise lines, which we have done, and the vacations are much more relaxed for all. I still check dcl occasionally looking for a "deal," but I haven't found one yet. Lol

 

[aggiedog]

I'm sorry your trip has been disappointing, OP.

Something else to consider about the "ease" of tendering performers out to the ship - you have to get them back off the ship. So the ship has to drop anchor or circle back around to the closest pick up point. And while patrol officers, etc, are familiar with safety and tendering procedures and transfers onto the boat, I'm sure the average entertainer is not.

Movies are not ideal, but if the ship can't safely dock, it holds that personnel can not safely get to the ship either.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I would kindly as guest services if i could speak to the person in charge of their department. I had to do it on the Fantasy when a CM hit my daughter’s head with a door stall and blew it off as no big deal. The person i spoke to apologized profusely and sent my daughter a Tiana Barbie doll to the room that night. I’m not saying it will make up for everything, but their fix will put a little more magic back into your sailing. Definitely mention the issues in the comment card at the end of the sailing. I’ve heard they do read them thoroughly. Also, if there is no room at the Cabanas for lunch, try one of the sit down restaurants open a that time. It’s much more relaxing than having to fight your way to a table. For the record, the Fantasy was my least favorite ship. Try the Dream or the Wonder.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Well yes I do… If it means sending out a boat such as when they do for an inspector or patrol officer to board. I’m not talking about hiring a medivac...

I would imagine that if the weather was so severe that they could not dock there it certainly is not good enough to send a small boat out to the ship just to bring out entertainers.

 

[MUN]

The OP states a CM told him there are 5,000 passengers on board the Fantasy this week. I believe the Dream class ships have a maximum capacity of 4,000 passengers.

Perhaps that explains why Cabanas was so crowded!!!

 

[undertheradar]

Perhaps when DCL gains control of the weather, those complaining about missed ports can receive compensation. I'm not aware of a single cruise line that has that control.

 

[cvjw]

Our cruise on the fantasy last October was also a sell out. Yes, that meant that if everyone wanted to eat at cabanas at the same time, there aren’t enough tables for everyone. There is also one sit down restaurant open for breakfast, that could have been an alternative.

We also missed our drawings at animators pallete because of really rough seas. Lots of people were sick that night and missed dinner.

Oh, and we had rain in all but one of our stops. We were sailing in a tropical storm.

Sorry for your experience with a private tour. We don’t feel comfortable with that after a bad experience in Mexico years ago.

Op, things just happen. We made the best of it. Lots of your complaints Disney had no control over. Try and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

[mevelandry]

I'm sorry you are not experiencing the magic you were expecting. It is true that the more you pay, the more expectations you have. I hope that things will pick-up for the rest of your cruise.

 

[starvenger]

Perhaps when DCL gains control of the weather, those complaining about missed ports can receive compensation. I'm not aware of a single cruise line that has that control.

I agree, but at the same time, I can understand how one might be disappointed that a port day gets cancelled. And we as a society tend to look for someone or something to blame when things don't go our way, so fair or not the cruise line (where is Storm when you need her, anyway?) and guest services will face the brunt of it.

 

[Jess_S]

I'm sorry that so many things have gone wrong for you this week, OP. Even though I know that these types of things can go wrong on vacation, I find them disappointing when they happen to me -- so I totally get your frustration. (And now I know not to show my son how the animation magic show works before our next cruise -- because he gets very disappointed when his expectations aren't met).

 

[cruiser21]

Sorry your disappointed in your cruise. DCL is so expensive and I get why expectations are so high. We had great weather on our last cruise, and I talked to a few cruisers who were like.....meh not worth the price. Unfortunately weather can ruin cruises. It's a chance you take when you cruise.