Disney lays off 500 IT workers

[Ex techie]

People don't all vacation for the same reason you do. I wouldn't second-guess someone else's prioritization of a day at the spa and sitting in the sun by the adult pool over "shopping for overpriced trinkets".

 

Huh?

I think you need to reread the thread.

 

I will provide a synopsis of the posts leading up to the post you have just commented on.

 

I was on the Pride of Aloha in 2007. Awesome itinerary if you want port heavy and want to see all the Hawaiian islands in one shot. The cruise was more of a floating hotel though. Unfortunately it was my husband's first cruise and he wasn't all that impressed. Hopefully The Dream will change his mind.

 

If you are concerned about a "floating hotel" experience' date=' I'm not sure that a short cruise is the right option. At best, you'll have one sea day. I HOPE you opted for a 4 night cruise. Otherwise, he has a floating hotel again! [/b'] And one port is not even good.

 

We view the ship as the destination and the ports as a secondary (but nice) thing. To that end, longer cruises on the ship we like best works for us.

 

Why do so many people stay on the ship in Nassau then? Isn't it because the ship is more fun than the port?

 

Exactly. It is my least favorite port. That's why more people stay on the ship. BUT if you visit each port (rather than staying on the ship)' date=' the ship is little more than a floating hotel--you sleep and eat on it without even a sea day to enjoy the ship on the 3 night cruises. And they schedule very few activities on port days....[/b'] says something when a ship without full scheduling is more fun than a port!

 

So from what I've read, Slightlysilly has said a port intensive cruise didn't work to well for her husband as he viewed it just as a floating hotel, but was going on the Dream (3 or 4 night cruises normally).

Moki'smommy said she hoped they had booked a 4 night not the 3 otherwise it is just another floating hotel with minimal sea days to enjoy the ship and it not just being somewhere to sleep and eat.

 

Where has anyone in this second guessed how someone else should vacation?

 

An opinion was given as to why they like longer cruises with more sea days as a posed to shorter ones in line with the post that said they didn't enjoy lsland hopping and the ship feeling like just a hotel?

 

Either I or you are getting the wrong end of the stick here! lol!

 

ex techie

[slightlysilly]

Huh?

 

I think you need to reread the thread.

 

 

 

I will provide a synopsis of the posts leading up to the post you have just commented on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So from what I've read, Slightlysilly has said a port intensive cruise didn't work to well for her husband as he viewed it just as a floating hotel, but was going on the Dream (3 or 4 night cruises normally).

 

Moki'smommy said she hoped they had booked a 4 night not the 3 otherwise it is just another floating hotel with minimal sea days to enjoy the ship and it not just being somewhere to sleep and eat.

 

 

 

Where has anyone in this second guessed how someone else should vacation?

 

 

 

An opinion was given as to why they like longer cruises with more sea days as a posed to shorter ones in line with the post that said they didn't enjoy lsland hopping and the ship feeling like just a hotel?

 

 

 

Either I or you are getting the wrong end of the stick here! lol!

 

 

 

ex techie

 

 

Actually, you need to go one post prior. The topic within a topic was ships with a mostly American crew. It was just a passing comment of mine to mention that since it was such a port intensive cruise (I'm talking no sea days and 7am to 10pm at some ports) that the cruise was less of a "cruise" and more of just a means to get from port to port. The fact that the ship was staffed with 85% Americans didn't hit my radar because we were on the ship for breakfast and dinner if the ship left at dinner time. That's it. There were no shows (maybe there were, but I didn't go to any) The OP had said it was a low rated cruise. I can agree with that if you were expecting a cruise (with shows and activities and cruisey things) but on this ship there were none. (Or to be fair, there were very few, my son enjoyed the kids club)

 

The difference, I guess, is that we went on the NCL cruise as a means to get a flavor for the different islands of Hawaii. The cruise we are going on next week is to get out of the cold (mostly).

 

Does that make sense?

 

 

 

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[Ex techie]

Actually, you need to go one post prior. The topic within a topic was ships with a mostly American crew. It was just a passing comment of mine to mention that since it was such a port intensive cruise (I'm talking no sea days and 7am to 10pm at some ports) that the cruise was less of a "cruise" and more of just a means to get from port to port. The fact that the ship was staffed with 85% Americans didn't hit my radar because we were on the ship for breakfast and dinner if the ship left at dinner time. That's it. There were no shows (maybe there were, but I didn't go to any) The OP had said it was a low rated cruise. I can agree with that if you were expecting a cruise (with shows and activities and cruisey things) but on this ship there were none. (Or to be fair, there were very few, my son enjoyed the kids club)

 

The difference, I guess, is that we went on the NCL cruise as a means to get a flavor for the different islands of Hawaii. The cruise we are going on next week is to get out of the cold (mostly).

 

Does that make sense?

 

No, not at all really.

Since the comment made by Bicker was in regard to moki'smommy's post to you about shorter cruises and less sea days to enjoy the ship, not just a means to get from port to port which your husband didn't like, the comment "People don't all vacation for the same reason you do. " when moki'smommy was clearly commenting on your upcoming "short" 3 or 4 day cruise, offering advice that a longer cruise would be better to feel like you are there for the ship as well as the ports.

Absolutely nothing to do with the proportion of American crew aboard is out of context to what was replied to?

 

ex techie

[bUU]

Huh?

You seem intent on not acknowledging what others are posting. That's your prerogative. I am not interested in your games. Edited February 5, 2015 by bicker

[GUT2407]

http://www.wesh.com/news/walt-disney-world-information-technology-workers-laid-off/31015168

 

Why? So they can have Indian workers replace them. So let Disney take their cruise ships to India and see how they do. If Indian IT workers replacing American workers is Disney's strategy then let them move Disney World to Bangalore.

 

Another stab in the heart to American Workers. Walt Disney is probably turning in his grave.

 

 

Maybe Celebrity can snatch them up and fix that travesty they call a web site.

[Ex techie]

You seem intent on not acknowledging what others are posting. That's your prerogative. I am not interested in your games.

 

Honest to goodness, I have no idea what you are saying or implying.

 

I will say that judging by your posts in this thread, I really couldn't think of a more apt user name for you though.

 

ex techie

[Ex techie]

Maybe Celebrity can snatch them up and fix that travesty they call a web site.

 

Hopefully!

 

But even if they do, the DCL website is a disaster full of misinformation from many years gone by, very rarely updated to current new policies when they are implemented, poor redirection to helpful information, and the search function is not DCL specific and often redirects to the parks.

 

I'm sure any number of Guests if paid for their time and questioned as to how they would like to book a cruise and compare dates, rates, Staterooms would have everything DCL need to set up an efficient and quick enjoyable way to do that.

 

But Disney employees LOVE bureaucracy and each department LOVES not being solely responsible if it goes wrong, to shoulder the blame or redirect it, so not much changes unfortunately.

Blame culture.

They do love to blow trumpets, bring out the Mickey shaped confetti and sprinkle themselves when it does go to plan though.

If Karl wasn't so blind and gave two hoot's about DCL, he would spend the money revamping the DCL website to keep the Guest's happy and sell them a ABD vacation on top.

 

I hope those that were let go were either on a fixed term contract and knew it was happening, or are re-employed somewhere else.

 

ex techie

Edited February 6, 2015 by Ex techie

[GUT2407]

Hopefully!

 

But even if they do, the DCL website is a disaster full of misinformation from many years gone by, very rarely updated to current new policies when they are implemented, poor redirection to helpful information, and the search function is not DCL specific and often redirects to the parks.

 

I'm sure any number of Guests if paid for their time and questioned as to how they would like to book a cruise and compare dates, rates, Staterooms would have everything DCL need to set up an efficient and quick enjoyable way to do that.

 

But Disney employees LOVE bureaucracy and each department LOVES not being solely responsible if it goes wrong, to shoulder the blame or redirect it, so not much changes unfortunately.

Blame culture.

They do love to blow trumpets, bring out the Mickey shaped confetti and sprinkle themselves when it does go to plan though.

If Karl wasn't so blind and gave two hoot's about DCL, he would spend the money revamping the DCL website to keep the Guest's happy and sell them a ABD vacation on top.

 

I hope those that were let go were either on a fixed term contract and knew it was happening, or are re-employed somewhere else.

 

ex techie

 

Ex techie

 

What is it about cruise web sites I worked in IT about 30 years ago and really haven't stayed up to date but suggest I might be able to do a better job. :eek:

 

 

I accept that keeping it up to date is on ongoing chore.

 

Maybe they need to offer us an OBC for every flaw we can point out to them:D even just $10 then they could fix them;)

[Ex techie]

Ex techie

 

What is it about cruise web sites I worked in IT about 30 years ago and really haven't stayed up to date but suggest I might be able to do a better job. :eek:

 

 

I accept that keeping it up to date is on ongoing chore.

 

Maybe they need to offer us an OBC for every flaw we can point out to them:D even just $10 then they could fix them;)

 

Honestly I think it is a "build it and they will come" regardless attitude.

You, I or anyone else wouldn't tolerate it if we booked a hotel or land based vacation like that! We would walk away from the site and book elsewhere.

 

I think a lot of it is arrogance due to the fact a large percentage of cruises are booked through TA's, not direct.

The attitude seems to be some TV commercials, maybe some adverts in papers, a billboard in a new state like they did for Texas, word of mouth, and email. And Social Media now.

 

I know Disney Fantasy has said they have no DCL commercials in the UK and yet DCL get UK residents that cruise on DCL, so I guess it is either the TA's selling, boards like CC and the other big one (who's name shall not be mentioned!) and other Disney based sites, or cruisers from other line that see the Mickey ship in port.

 

It is laziness on their part IMO

 

ex techie

[Loonbeam]

and supply and demand.. They are having few problems filling ships at premium pricing, so there is little value add to updating the site.

[Ex techie]

If you are correct the thing I do not understand then Loonbeam, is what is cheaper?

 

Keep the website information current (maybe a team of 20) or have a call center inundated with calls because someone posted what the disneycruiselineblog posted before they updated the website?

 

ex techie

[mollyeilis]

And since Greg Fox only spoke with a handful of people who said they were laid off on Friday, just a handful, whilst several people said that they felt like they had a good chance of keeping their jobs, this is a non story without proper reporting which you are unlikely to find.

 

ex techie

 

Exactly. From the very article it doesn't support what the OP said.

 

I know two people who are part of the "layoff" (which I heard only affected 125 people, half or more of whom will be doing other things with the company) and they have already been hired for other positions within Disney. One doesn't even have a day off between positions, the other has a week which they are using accrued vacation time being paid out and going to go fishing in the Keys.

 

Yay for them!

 

 

 

 

What amazed me about the OP's take on the article is that...a whole lot of Disney IT is in, well, Seattle. And I would say from what I've gleaned is that that the bulk of the people working on the site up here are very very young new graduates from college. The ones with no family, no time to be in charge of family trips to Disney, no experience in what how they are doing affects people...and no will to fight back against what they're being told to create. (the website started to change in Fall of 2012, people, that is when MDE and MBs and FP+ all started, though we had NO idea what it was going to become back when it all started, and it's still not done...)

 

And from DH's experience, companies hire people from India because they are HIGHLY educated, WELL educated, and know what they are doing. They aren't always the best at taking phone calls (cultural differences are a beast), but they do tend to know what they are doing otherwise. If American workers want to compete, well, they need to compete.

 

I've also been an outsource employee, working for the UK website of my former company instead of taking .com emails, because it was cheaper to pay me during my daytime than it was to pay them overtime. Horror of horrors! Oh wait, no, it wasn't. Served the customers, helped me, helped the company. Bonus!

[ducklite]

FYI, I was the website manager for a large, international corp with over 1M pages in their public web presence. Total team for managing the web site was... Drum roll... two full time, and two internal consultants (we shared their services with another part of I/T and used them about five hours a week each for server/security related things.).

[bUU]

Honest to goodness, I have no idea what you are saying or implying. I will say that judging by your posts in this thread, I really couldn't think of a more apt user name for you though.

My comments were clear, stood on their own as statements, and didn't need your commentary. I suspect that you simply read my user name (a family name, by the way) and let that dictate your reaction to my comments.

 

and supply and demand.. They are having few problems filling ships at premium pricing, so there is little value add to updating the site.

Just look at Cruise Critic. Roughly the same software has been running here for many years. It serves the need. There isn't a compelling need to change it to accomplish the mission better. People may not like it, and may make up stories to justify their preference, but the folks who run the place are in the best position to know what's actually worth it and what's not.

[Ex techie]

My comments were clear, stood on their own as statements, and didn't need your commentary. I suspect that you simply read my user name (a family name, by the way) and let that dictate your reaction to my comments.

 

If you had done that, you'd know that your inquiry is misdirected. Perhaps you'll want to try again.

 

People don't all vacation for the same reason you do. I wouldn't second-guess someone else's prioritization of a day at the spa and sitting in the sun by the adult pool over "shopping for overpriced trinkets".

 

You seem intent on not acknowledging what others are posting. That's your prerogative. I am not interested in your games.

 

You suspect wrongly, and I only took notice of your username after your curt posts to others and myself.

You obviously take offence to anyone asking what you mean or to extrapolate on your opinion or stance.

 

Since you are beyond replying in a civil tone or expanding on your opinion, probably best to leave it at that.

 

ex techie

[Host Mick]

...

 

Just look at Cruise Critic. Roughly the same software has been running here for many years. It serves the need. There isn't a compelling need to change it to accomplish the mission better. People may not like it, and may make up stories to justify their preference, but the folks who run the place are in the best position to know what's actually worth it and what's not.

 

Shhhh, don't jinx us.