Disney Fantasy and How Disney handles cancelling a cruise

[bbel]

DCL could have done everything everyone has suggested here, and more, but there would still be someone posting that it wasn't enough and they could have done better and should've done more....

 

[cruiser21]

DCL could have done everything everyone has suggested here, and more, but there would still be someone posting that it wasn't enough and they could have done better and should've done more....

Not true. Dcl has a history of handling these situations poorly. Company's should always strive to do better don't you think? Yes there will always be someone no matter what you do they're not going to be happy, but when you have a number of people complaining that's a problem. Dcl brags about having the best customer service and they charge a premium price for it. I don't think they always live up to what they sell. Disney could have handed people life jackets told them to jump, and I swear there would be posters on here defending them.

 

[mjh2901]

Disney is a Premium Cruise line charging two to three times what the competition does. They do so on the promise of excellent guest service. Guest service is not judged by how you handle things when it's all working, its judged by how well you handle things that do not work. Guest Recovery is the test. We pay for them to be good at that. In this case, they were not. No, it was fine for some people. No well they should have paid more and booked everything with DCL. Everyone on that boat paid a premium for being handled as a guest, and a large percentage were not. And Disney has not handled this issue any better in the past. Which means they don't care. By now someone should have been locked in a conference room and tasked with coming up with a how to handle cutting a cruise short binder. They should have a plan for the common scenarios and a method to handle it. I can think of a huge number of ways to handle this. The issue is no one at DCL has even spent a small amount of time working on plans. At no point am I suggesting Disney pay for it. To the contrary, I paid for travel insurance if I did not Its still my responsibility to pay. I'm not calling for freebies. To the contrary. I am pointing out, Disney completely failed. They not only failed to provide the standard of service they promise....
They failed by having no ability to take the pile of money I was trying to hand them to take care of my family. That is why there are some people at DCL that should be hunting for a job. That is why the stockholders and the board of Disney should be pissed.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

At no point am I suggesting Disney pay for it. To the contrary, I paid for travel insurance if I did not Its still my responsibility to pay.

You may not have said they needed to pay, but others have -- even here on the DIS, let alone Cruise Critic and Facebook.

 

[undertheradar]

Disney is a Premium Cruise line charging two to three times what the competition does. They do so on the promise of excellent guest service. Guest service is not judged by how you handle things when it's all working, its judged by how well you handle things that do not work. Guest Recovery is the test. We pay for them to be good at that. In this case, they were not. No, it was fine for some people. No well they should have paid more and booked everything with DCL. Everyone on that boat paid a premium for being handled as a guest, and a large percentage were not. And Disney has not handled this issue any better in the past. Which means they don't care. By now someone should have been locked in a conference room and tasked with coming up with a how to handle cutting a cruise short binder. They should have a plan for the common scenarios and a method to handle it. I can think of a huge number of ways to handle this. The issue is no one at DCL has even spent a small amount of time working on plans. At no point am I suggesting Disney pay for it. To the contrary, I paid for travel insurance if I did not Its still my responsibility to pay. I'm not calling for freebies. To the contrary. I am pointing out, Disney completely failed. They not only failed to provide the standard of service they promise....
They failed by having no ability to take the pile of money I was trying to hand them to take care of my family. That is why there are some people at DCL that should be hunting for a job. That is why the stockholders and the board of Disney should be pissed.

Wow. I get that you are angry, comes out throughout this thread. The basic logistics of changing plans for roughly 15,000+ people would be an incredible task. It is not just about passengers on the cruise ships, guests at the resorts, cast members, suppliers, transportation suppliers, emergency service managers who control what options the cruise line would have available, the airports and airlines, or any of the government officials who make the decisions of when curfews will be enacted/roads closed/ ports closed, etc. Somewhere in this experience it should have been obvious that there was a major storm that failed to follow predicted paths.

I'm sorry that your idea of how things should have been handled was not adopted with immediate action. Perhaps the other cruise lines that you believe handled things so much better than DCL will better serve your future cruise needs. Just be sure to ignore the feedback that passengers from other cruise lines are providing via complaints on numerous internet boards.

It is honestly true, you can never please 100% of the people 100% of the time.

 

[mevelandry]

What a nightmare!

I know some other cruise lines kept their passengers (safe) on their ships until they could dock to their original departing port. Those guests ended up with a longer cruise. Sounds like that was the best strategy after all.

I would send a complaint to DCL (with suggestions). Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.

 

[mevelandry]

Both the Dream and the Fantasy return that day. That's 8000 people. It's just not possible for Disney to be able to provide hotel rooms for that many people.
This hurricane was running straight up the state. There was no other place for the ship to dock.

Therefore, they should have kept all of them on the ships.

 

[Weedy]

Carnival had a cruise that couldn't dock in Ft Myers. Extended the cruise. Still couldn't dock. Had to dock in New Orleans. Imagine all the complaints about getting home from that.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Therefore, they should have kept all of them on the ships.

Supplies may or may not have been an issue, especially if any of the cruisers who might stay aboard expected a "Disney Cruise!" and not a "we're working with that we have, and no, nothing's in the WDT tonight, and don't expect chocolates or an open pool."

 

[cruiser21]

Carnival had a cruise that couldn't dock in Ft Myers. Extended the cruise. Still couldn't dock. Had to dock in New Orleans. Imagine all the complaints about getting home from that.

You didn't have millions of people evacuating Louisiana therefore it would have been much easier getting a flight and a hotel.

 

[bumbershoot]

They were dumped on land where a hurricane was coming. How is that safe? I think passengers should have a least been given the option to stay onboard like other cruise lines did.

So they barrel back to canaveral. Have those who want to disembark do that. Then barrel out of there as the storm had continued to move and go...? They've lost hours by then.

Therefore, they should have kept all of them on the ships.

And end up with a possible Sandy situation.



I'm by NO means a Disney apologist and especially not a dcl one. But the cruise lines can't win. This hurricane Royal was good. I think NCL did better though. Royal was as bad in Harvey. Disney was bad in Sandy. Etc. it's weather and it's unpredictable and no two people on a cruise will want the exact same thing.

 

[bbel]

Not true. Dcl has a history of handling these situations poorly. Company's should always strive to do better don't you think? Yes there will always be someone no matter what you do they're not going to be happy, but when you have a number of people complaining that's a problem. Dcl brags about having the best customer service and they charge a premium price for it. I don't think they always live up to what they sell. Disney could have handed people life jackets told them to jump, and I swear there would be posters on here defending them.

That's your opinion. That's fine. This is mine. You don't have to agree with me or even like or read what I have to say... I'm not defending DCL in anyway, I'll admit when they're wrong, if I wanted to defend Disney, I could jump on the majority of your posts. I first hand have had better service and more fun at non Disney resorts etc. Pretty much all my money goes on travelling, and in the last two years, none of that has gone to Disney, so no, I'm not in the major fan club of Disney...I'm just genuinely a geek when it comes to cruising and cruise lines and try and keep up to date with the industry.

Yes there will always be people defending DCL because they're passionate about a company, but that's ok. Just like there will always be those people who jump on the people who defend DCL...

In my opinion they handled it as best they could. And are learning from their mistakes. Should they strive to better, yes, obviously, but when there's the tiny matter of a massive hurricane on your backside that kind of changes the game a little.
People still go on about Sandy and DCL putting guests in danger - well they avoided that being repeated.
People still complain from last year and cancelling cruises so last second - well they gave some more notice this time.
Sure they could've extended the cruise, or let others go back out to sea, but everyone knew Irma was massive and unpredictable (I'm the other side of the Atlantic and it was all over the news here) - they had no idea when PC would reopen, or if there was even going to be a port to go back to safely with guests.

You can do all the training in the world, it doesn't mean it will work and make everyone happy when it has to be implemented. Look at the muster drill as an example, you really think it's going to look like that for real? That people are just gonna stand there, chilling on deck four until their lifeboat is ready?
DCL can train their teams and have all the plans in place, doesn't mean all the other companies that have to come alongside to make things happen will fit in with that when needed...

There are as many people on this thread saying they did a great job as those saying they didn't, and that's life, ten people can experience the exact same thing and have completely different versions of events and thoughts on how it went down...but of course, it's disboards so we'll focus on the negative.

After working at DCL for three years I dont think they boast about having the best customer service, they just train and try to do the best they can and go above and beyond as much as possible. But never in any training I have did they make the bold statement that they are the best at customer service. in my opinion they did the best they could with the information and resources available to them in the time frame they had. They don't charge a premium for that, they charge a premium because so many people are willing to pay it and it's easy money for the company, and then people assume that's what they're paying for. At the end of the day, they're there as a business, not to be your best friend.

Again, Like I said. Just my opinions. I already know you don't agree lol...
But at the end of the day that doesn't matter, i have no idea of the important communications that went on at the time, the emails and phone calls and meetings that would have gone on shoreside and on the bridge with a relatively tiny time frame and restrictions out of their control. I didn't experience that and never will, and until I, never, go through that and have a full understanding of what actually goes on in those situations then my opinions don't really matter.

 

[cruiser21]

So they barrel back to canaveral. Have those who want to disembark do that. Then barrel out of there as the storm had continued to move and go...? They've lost hours by then.



And end up with a possible Sandy situation.



I'm by NO means a Disney apologist and especially not a dcl one. But the cruise lines can't win. This hurricane Royal was good. I think NCL did better though. Royal was as bad in Harvey. Disney was bad in Sandy. Etc. it's weather and it's unpredictable and no two people on a cruise will want the exact same thing.

Yes they needed to give people more options like other cruiselines. I never said you are going to make everyone happy, but there are better ways to handle things. If dcl is going to sell cruises in hurricane season they should have things more organized in situations like this. Let's be honest cruises aren't cheap in September. What is it 5 to 6k for a family of four in September. Not cheap at all.

 

[cruiser21]

That's your opinion. That's fine. This is mine. You don't have to agree with me or even like or read what I have to say... I'm not defending DCL in anyway, I'll admit when they're wrong, if I wanted to defend Disney, I could jump on the majority of your posts. I first hand have had better service and more fun at non Disney resorts etc. Pretty much all my money goes on travelling, and in the last two years, none of that has gone to Disney, so no, I'm not in the major fan club of Disney...I'm just genuinely a geek when it comes to cruising and cruise lines and try and keep up to date with the industry.

Yes there will always be people defending DCL because they're passionate about a company, but that's ok. Just like there will always be those people who jump on the people who defend DCL...

In my opinion they handled it as best they could. And are learning from their mistakes. Should they strive to better, yes, obviously, but when there's the tiny matter of a massive hurricane on your backside that kind of changes the game a little.
People still go on about Sandy and DCL putting guests in danger - well they avoided that being repeated.
People still complain from last year and cancelling cruises so last second - well they gave some more notice this time.
Sure they could've extended the cruise, or let others go back out to sea, but everyone knew Irma was massive and unpredictable (I'm the other side of the Atlantic and it was all over the news here) - they had no idea when PC would reopen, or if there was even going to be a port to go back to safely with guests.

You can do all the training in the world, it doesn't mean it will work and make everyone happy when it has to be implemented. Look at the muster drill as an example, you really think it's going to look like that for real? That people are just gonna stand there, chilling on deck four until their lifeboat is ready?
DCL can train their teams and have all the plans in place, doesn't mean all the other companies that have to come alongside to make things happen will fit in with that when needed...

There are as many people on this thread saying they did a great job as those saying they didn't, and that's life, ten people can experience the exact same thing and have completely different versions of events and thoughts on how it went down...but of course, it's disboards so we'll focus on the negative.

After working at DCL for three years I dont think they boast about having the best customer service, they just train and try to do the best they can and go above and beyond as much as possible. But never in any training I have did they make the bold statement that they are the best at customer service. in my opinion they did the best they could with the information and resources available to them in the time frame they had. They don't charge a premium for that, they charge a premium because so many people are willing to pay it and it's easy money for the company, and then people assume that's what they're paying for. At the end of the day, they're there as a business, not to be your best friend.

Again, Like I said. Just my opinions. I already know you don't agree lol...
But at the end of the day that doesn't matter, i have no idea of the important communications that went on at the time, the emails and phone calls and meetings that would have gone on shoreside and on the bridge with a relatively tiny time frame and restrictions out of their control. I didn't experience that and never will, and until I, never, go through that and have a full understanding of what actually goes on in those situations then my opinions don't really matter.

I don't disagree with a lot of what you said. Except the part about not boasting about their excellent customer service. You need to sit through a MDR meal as a paying customer to know what I'm talking about. I give dcl plenty of praise, but I'm no afraid to point out their shortcomings either.

 

[mevelandry]

So they barrel back to canaveral. Have those who want to disembark do that. Then barrel out of there as the storm had continued to move and go...? They've lost hours by then.



And end up with a possible Sandy situation.



I'm by NO means a Disney apologist and especially not a dcl one. But the cruise lines can't win. This hurricane Royal was good. I think NCL did better though. Royal was as bad in Harvey. Disney was bad in Sandy. Etc. it's weather and it's unpredictable and no two people on a cruise will want the exact same thing.

Nope. They sailed hundreds of miles away from the hurricane. It was safe.

 

[KdKyA]

This actually could have had a simpler outcome. Disney and DCL are sister companies. They work together. It's actually a very simple solution. Disney World has many many conference centers. They also have tons of mattresses and can easily get cots and blankets etc. For those cruise passengers dumped into Port Canaveral with no way home and flights cancelled or full, they should have had an option to "camp out" in one of the conference centers for a small fee which they would gladly have paid in order to have a safe shelter over head. They would still have to pay for food and water as well. The state had been declared a state of emergency and can resorts can even receive money from the government for offering shelter, so Disney can go back and recoup loss later, although, it wouldn't be a loss since everyone would be paying for bunking at the conference center to begin with.

Yes, DCL did what they could and what they were trained to do. However, logistically, you really can't dump 4,000 people off when resorts are full, flights are cancelled, and many of them literally had no place to go. Having a back up plan for cruise guests that are stuck is essential. It doesn't have to be free, but they should still have a safe place to shelter in place.

 

[phinz]

Carnival had a cruise that couldn't dock in Ft Myers. Extended the cruise. Still couldn't dock. Had to dock in New Orleans. Imagine all the complaints about getting home from that.

I didn't know cruise ships could dock in Ft. Myers. That must be new because they never did when I lived there. There's not really a place a ship of that size could dock that I can recall.

 

[cruiser21]

This actually could have had a simpler outcome. Disney and DCL are sister companies. They work together. It's actually a very simple solution. Disney World has many many conference centers. They also have tons of mattresses and can easily get cots and blankets etc. For those cruise passengers dumped into Port Canaveral with no way home and flights cancelled or full, they should have had an option to "camp out" in one of the conference centers for a small fee which they would gladly have paid in order to have a safe shelter over head. They would still have to pay for food and water as well. The state had been declared a state of emergency and can resorts can even receive money from the government for offering shelter, so Disney can go back and recoup loss later, although, it wouldn't be a loss since everyone would be paying for bunking at the conference center to begin with.

Yes, DCL did what they could and what they were trained to do. However, logistically, you really can't dump 4,000 people off when resorts are full, flights are cancelled, and many of them literally had no place to go. Having a back up plan for cruise guests that are stuck is essential. It doesn't have to be free, but they should still have a safe place to shelter in place.

It's funny because I was thinking the same thing today. This would be a great idea for them to do something like this for there cruise guests. They could charge them or not charge them. I think Disney could afford to not charge them. After everything cruise passengers have had to endure this hurricane season sales may be down next year. It's in all cruiselines best interest to make it as easy as possible for their customers when the problems like this happen. If they don't people won't book during hurricane season. I've sailed on DCL 5 times in September, but after seeing the way the way they've handled hurricane Sandy, Mathew and Irma I'm a little hesitant to book another cruise with DCL during hurricane season. The first cruise I sailed on with DCL was in October. I asked them what would happen if they cancelled because of a hurricane. The CM told me they had never cancelled a cruise and this would never happen. This was in 2010 and I get the feeling they never prepared for these situations.

 

[FigmentSpark]

This actually could have had a simpler outcome. Disney and DCL are sister companies. They work together. It's actually a very simple solution. Disney World has many many conference centers. They also have tons of mattresses and can easily get cots and blankets etc. For those cruise passengers dumped into Port Canaveral with no way home and flights cancelled or full, they should have had an option to "camp out" in one of the conference centers for a small fee which they would gladly have paid in order to have a safe shelter over head. They would still have to pay for food and water as well. The state had been declared a state of emergency and can resorts can even receive money from the government for offering shelter, so Disney can go back and recoup loss later, although, it wouldn't be a loss since everyone would be paying for bunking at the conference center to begin with.

Yes, DCL did what they could and what they were trained to do. However, logistically, you really can't dump 4,000 people off when resorts are full, flights are cancelled, and many of them literally had no place to go. Having a back up plan for cruise guests that are stuck is essential. It doesn't have to be free, but they should still have a safe place to shelter in place.

I'm confused. Has anyone that came off one of the DCL ships came out and said they were left stranded... had to actually find a shelter? I have heard stories of people being scared and feeling abandoned and having to make their own arrangements in a hurry, but I never heard any of the stories of the people left at the port or airport and had to make their way to a shelter for the duration. Did that happen to DCL passengers?

 

[Momee]

I didn't know cruise ships could dock in Ft. Myers. That must be new because they never did when I lived there. There's not really a place a ship of that size could dock that I can recall.

Carnival nor any other cruise line docks in Ft Myers. The only "ship" that really docks in Ft Myers (aside from dinner and sunset cruise boats) is the Key West Express. I have no idea what the previous poster was referring to... maybe Tampa? That would be the only west FL coast port.