Disney Dream SKIPPED Castaway...and wont correct the issue!

[NerdyDad]

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

 

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.

[Cashe]

I'm sorry you had a bad trip. I would have been upset also. In fact, I've already made an alternative itinerary for a day at sea if for some reason we have to skip CC. However, I'm going to be happy if we just leave port canaveral because in the contract that you sign it clearly states, they don't even have to leave port canaveral. That being said, cruising and having to miss ports due to wind or weather is a risk you take on ANY cruise line and I don't think it's Disney's fault. Hopefully, in time, you'll remember the good things related to this trip and not the bad. My honeymoon was a trip from hell and now we just laugh about it and 10 years later, I'm finally going back to the caribbean. lol. This too shall pass.

[moki'smommy]

First of all, Disney does not yet control the weather.

 

Sometimes the rough seas prevent docking at Castaway (or other ports). I have NEVER heard or read of the ship going to "some other island" when docking at Castaway was impossible. The nearest island that could handle the ship is Nassau, and that is not a 1 hour trip! What I HAVE experienced is the captain making a decision to deviate to another island (chart a new course for the cruise) when a hurricane was preventing the ship from going safely to her scheduled ports. I was on the Magic when we made an unscheduled stop at Key West in order to see where a hurricane was going to move and allow us to continue as much of our cruise as possible.

 

Another cruiser suggested that they should employ tenders when they couldn't dock. UM....if the seas are too rough to dock, they are also too rough to tender.

 

The ocean/air conditions preventing docking happens in 1-2% of cruises. The fact that the captain tried 4 times demonstrates how serious DCL is about trying to get each docking at Castaway to be successful. Sorry, but fact of life. ANY port can be canceled or altered when weather conditions require this. Safety first! In a few situations (all ports were missed or a 7 night cruise turned into a 4 night cruise) DCL did offer some compensation. Missing one scheduled port--no, there is no history of compensation for that. What does happen is that the cruise staff quickly gets together more on board activities and you have a sea day.

 

Yes, I saw guests very upset when we missed St. Maarten. It happens. Your boys were in tears about missing Castaway? Perhaps this could have been turned into a life lesson. Stuff happens. Plans don't always go as we'd anticipated. Missing an island on a cruise is small stuff. It is not life altering. It is not the end of the world. It is a disappointment, but life goes on. Did you encourage your family to take advantage of things happening on the ship? Did you suggest other alternatives for things they could do? Or did you and your spouse fume and emote about your own disappointment?

 

In my experience when there is a change of plans for the ship, there is a supplemental Navigator issued. A healthy response might have included such things as "Let's see what else we can do while we are waiting to see if they can get in" or "Why don't you go have some private time in the fitness center since it doesn't look like the run will happen?"

 

Even the title of the thread is inflammatory. The Dream did not SKIP Castaway Cay--they were unable to dock at Castaway safely. OK, so that did result in missing the island, but it was not a voluntary skip. And exactly how do you expect them to correct the issue? Even if they would throw money at you (a precedent they are not about to set for something beyond their control), how does that correct your children's emotional distress?

Edited February 17, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Klstaack]

This happens....it happened to my on my first Disney cruise....they tried to dock 4 times during the day and then it just became a day at sea. It also rains there and is windy there. Every time I have been there except for the last cruise most of the activities were canceled due to the wind. It has to be hard for Disney because they know this is the one port that everyone wants to go to....but the ships are on a schedule and there is not much they can do.

 

In regards to getting money for missing the port. Disney does not pay any docking fees at this port so there is nothing to refund. The only time a cruise line would refund money would be for example...they could not dock in St. Thomas due to wind so they didn't have to pay those docking fees....those port fees might get refunded back to the passenger.

 

I do understand how disappoint this can be. Hopefully you will sail again and will be able to experience the port.

[Loonbeam]

Every..single..cruiseline has the same policy. When they cannot dock at a port due to conditions outside their control, the only compensation is a refund of any port fees.

 

Weather happens, its a part of cruising. Any conditions affecting one port will also often affect other ports in the area, so if a diversion is even feasible schedule wise it may not be possible.

 

A beach port, regardless of how nice is one thing. Imagine having to miss 3 of 5 islands in Hawaii as another cruise line just had happen due to high seas in the area..

[ellie1145]

I can understand and sympathise with your disappointment, and that of your chldren, but unfortunately, ships sometimes find it impossible to dock at a port, and in these cases it is the safety of the passengers and the ship which is paramount.

 

I am sure you would be very unhappy if, for instance, the captain had allowed tendering in a dangerous situation and one of your children had been injured getting in or out of the boat!

 

We missed St Kitts recently, due to windy weather. It was a port we had never visited and which we were really looking forward to, but although the captain tried valiantly several times it just wasnt possible. For our safety and the safety of crew and the ship he had to give up. We didnt wallow in misery all day, but simply reorganised ourselves and enjoyed a day on our beautiful ship.

 

Sadly, children have to realise that they cannot always have everything their own way, and it is our duty as parents to show them that despite some disappointment there are other things we can do to enjoy ourselves.

 

To be honest, I think any child sailing on a Disney ship, or any cruise ship, is mighty lucky. Missing a port, however wonderful, is definitely not something that is traumatic. I am sure there were plenty of other things they could have done onboard to alleviate their disappointment, and a positive response from parents when something goes wrong is the best way to put a smile on a child's face.

 

If the adults were throwing a wobbly no wonder the children did!;)

[Stephylynn02]

We sailed on the Dream in early Dec and had the same issues. It was my dads first Disney cruise and we were all upset but we moved on. The captin tried 4 times to dock and he just couldn't do it the weather was horrible. We could feel the boat rocking, and when we looked outside we could see the trees blowing like crazy and sand everywhere. Who wants to go to a beach and have sand in their mouths, eyes, ears, everywhere etc. Think if they would have docked how upset everyone would have been, it would have been miserable!

 

Disney lost money that day... they had to refund all of the $500 cabanas, and excursions. They want to take you where you are supposed to go but sometimes it is not possible. They did have a sea day planned as back up and it turned out to be great. They also said if there wasn't another ship docking(the Wonder I believe) the next day they would have tried to go back. Maybe thats what OP heard?

 

All in all we were disappointed but happy that they put the guests safety first. We love DCL!!

[chictravel227]

Well, first, I am sorry you missed Castaway, it is a great little island and lots of fun! When I got to visit, it was too windy to wind surf, :mad: but I put on my big girl panties and moved on to serenity bay, where servers were waiting with pretty drinks! :D

It was for the safety of everyone that the ship did not dock that day. Just think back to the accident with Costa a few years ago.

I also agree with the others that this is a life lesson that apparently, you as an adult have yet to learn, but there is still hope for your children. Life happens. Sometimes good things, sometimes bad, but it is how you choose to deal with the situation that determines your outlook.

December 2012 we were on the Fantasy when we were hit with the rogue waves. It was scary. We missed Castaway. We were glad to get back to Orlando safely though. We just flew with it. Oh, and until disembarkation, the staff was great, had loads of activities (they even closed the outer decks so we were all getting cabin fever) and we still had a blast! There were plenty of activities to do. Sounds like you still had fair weather and could have enjoyed any number of the outside decks for a stroll or some book reading.

In 2013, we were in Belize (oh the mistake of trying Princess again) and it was pouring. I mean pouring. Well, it had lightened up a bit, so we were like, yeah, lets do an open air tour of the city. Hah, it started pouring again about 10 minutes after we took off. We were sopping wet and laughing our heads off. It wasn't the best/ most comfortable of times, but we made the most and had a ton of fun. We still laugh about that adventure to this day. Now, like you, I guess I could blame Princess for docking at Belize that day for the weather, but last time I checked, neither Princess, nor Disney, nor Carnival or any cruise line controls the weather.

It is also standard practice in the cruise industry to not refund anything other than port fees/taxes when missing a port. I will not say you should have read the contract of carriage, but at least knowing general policies about the industry can help keep the disappointment at bay. I guess my other issue is you really have not said what you think is fair compensation to you. You still enjoyed the ship, ate the food, and had staff waiting on you for the day. How much do you really think you are owed? Oh, and you were able to enjoy being out on the open ocean! Count your blessings.

I have never heard of Disney going to another island. That would really be logistically crazy, as ports are generally booked fairly well in advance, as well as customs regulations, etc. Also, tendering at CC, hah.

I, like the others, hope that one day you will start remembering the fun times you had and chalk it up to windy weather.

[jwalk03]

Disney misses Castaway Cay a lot less frequently than the other lines miss their private island stops, since Castaway Cay has a dock, while none of the other private islands in the Bahamas do.

 

I would be dissapointed in missing Castaway Cay too, but its just part of cruising. The weather impacts cruises ALL THE TIME. Would you prefer the captain place the ship into an unsafe position and caused serious damage to the ship or worse? Maybe next time you should just jump overboard and seim over to Castaway if the ship isnt able to dock?

[moki'smommy]

Maybe next time you should just jump overboard and seim over to Castaway if the ship isnt able to dock?

 

Be careful. Given the reasonableness and maturity level of some posts, not everyone will realize that you are kidding! Personally, I think it's a great ideal:rolleyes:

[Shmoo here]

Interestingly, same poster (same name, same join date) ranted, err, posted same comments on a different site. Pretty much got the same responses there - DCL doesn't control the weather and the ship's captain makes the call as to safety issues (on any cruise line).

[mividajp]

I do think cruise lines need to explain things to passengers a little better when these situations occur.

 

It's virtually impossible to go to another port on the same day.

 

1) Most alternate ports will take at least 4-6hrs to travel to depending on where you are.

2) the ships can't just dock wherever they want. They have to find a port that has a slip available. A lot of ports only have so many docking slips and between other cruise lines and commercial ships there usually aren't any empty slips available even if you could make it to another port before sundown. That's why cruise itineraries are posted a year in advance and sometimes longer. They have to grab a docking slip as soon as it's available or they won't get one for the days they need.

3) Customs and local authorities have to process everybody's passports, birth certificates, etc before they can let anyone off the ship. Can you imagine how long it takes to process 4000 documents? Several hours even in a rush. The ports like at LEAST 24 hrs.

4) everyone is right in that the cruise line will only reimburse any missed excursions and port charges. My dad and I went on a cruise on Carnival. We couldn't dock in Grand Cayman due to high waves. We were reimbursed for our shore excursion and $48 for missing the port. Even if you had been charged port fees for CC the reimbursement would have been very minimal.

 

By the time you combine all these factors, you don't have time to go to another port. The only thing a cruise line can do is try to make a fun sea day.

 

I've been on two cruises where ports were cancelled due to bad weather of some sort. Two different cruise lines but both were not very good at communicating why it was dangerous or why we couldn't go to another port. We explained to several people around us what the problem was and why we couldn't go somewhere else. Usually the people were still disappointed but realized the captain really didn't have a choice.

I think a lot of these situations would be avoided with some extra information instead of the cruise director coming out and saying it's dangerous and the cruise line puts passenger safety first. Explaining why it's dangerous to people that don't know about ships and ports would help keep a lot of tempers down.

 

I'm sorry your family was disappointed. Unfortunately, this happens in cruising. If you continue to go on cruises this will happen again at some point. Even in the non- hurricane and tropical storm times of cruising.

 

I'm not going to lecture you on life lessons. I wasn't there and I don't know your family. If you were unaware that this is a possibility I can understand your frustration. The "small" print on the cruise documents are laborious to read and can sometimes be confusing. A hard fact of cruising is that ALL cruise lines are set up to where you will get little to no compensation. Even for injuries on board. The only cruise line that has ships registered in the USA are Norwegian. All other cruise ships are registered in other countries and such do not have to follow American standards for compensation. TAs don't always explain everything very well either. They tend to blurb over everything and make it sound like its a remote possibility that it will happen. They also make it sound like if something does happen an alternate will be provided.

 

I hope you take future cruises. They're fun and an easy way to see multiple destinations for less money than taking individual trips. Now that you know what can happen, you'll be better prepared to handle adverse situations.

[cyclenut]

I am not sure what it would have taken to make things "right". If there is a major storm and they know they have to miss a port, they will try and find an alternative, but sometimes it just means an extra day at sea ... away from the storm. In this case, it wasn't so much a storm, but unexpected weather conditions, which can happen when you cruise any time ... even more likely in the off season. Your cruise fare is already lower during the off season, so giving you a partial refund dosen't seem fair to DCL.

 

I am sure they kept trying because they knew finding another port wasn't really an option.

 

If your kids really wanted another beach day, you could have just stayed an extra day at Cape Canaveral. They have an excellent beach there. Did you consider that? I'm guessing that was not an option for you due to other travel arrangements such as airfare and hotel, just like sailing into another port isn't always an option for DCL.

 

Assuming there was an option for DCL, would you have been willing to pay the port fee, or is DCL supposed to just eat that?

 

How far did you expect them to reach?

[coanjo6176]

Is your first and only post seriously to complain that Disney considered the safety of it's passengers over entertainment?! I've missed a port due to weather conditions before too. Yes, it was a bummer, but given that (a) my safety was considered over and above making their $$ at the port, and (b) it was entirely out of everyone's control, I got over it.

 

I'm looking forward to my first visit to Castaway Cay more than any of the other ports (228 days to go!) and if I miss it, it will be disappointing, but at the end of the day, no one is to blame for mother nature. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise and won't allow this to cloud your *good* vacation memories!

[mividajp]

I know the OP was harsh but I got the impression that they are very new to cruising. Maybe one or two other cruises (could be wrong, it's just an impression I got).

 

If they weren't told ahead of time that this was a real possibility or were told that if this happened, an alternate would be provided, it would seem like DCL didn't care.

 

I think OP might have been confused when people say they missed a port and went to an alternate port. People don't usually state that when they go to an alternate port the port they missed was at the beginning of the trip instead of at the end and the alternate port was not on the same day they missed the intended port.

 

Again, I could be wrong but doesn't the Dream do a 4 or 5 day cruise? I could be wrong about this as well, but usually CC is the last port on a trip before returning the next day to the disembarkation port. If all those factors are correct DCL wouldn't have time to go to an alternate port. Was this explained to OP prior to cruising by whoever booked the cruise for him? (TA, DCL rep, etc) Yes they always tell you that due to weather the itinerary may change but I'm not sure any of them have told me that there's a possibility that you can pull up to the port and then have it canceled altogether. I learned that by experience.

 

I remember being pretty clueless on my first cruise. If this is the first time OP has ever dealt with this and wasn't given enough information to understand the situation can you blame him for getting upset? Yes, he sounded like a petulant child but bashing him without understanding the entire situation puts all of us in the same boat.

 

There are a lot of variables missing from OPs rant. How old are the boys? It's hard to make toddlers understand they can't do something after you told them you were going to do it. Also, what if the boys have autism or some other disability that makes it almost impossible for them to understand why they can't do something they were promised. As for the wife, how hard did she train for the 5K? Did she weigh 250lbs and that was her goal, to run on CC? That would be VERY disappointing. He didn't say his wife and parent threw a fit, he said they were all disappointed which is understanble.

 

I'm not trying to defend OPs rant but if he truly didn't understand what was happening and why, then I can see where his frustration comes from. It doesn't seem like anyone at DCL tried to explain more than policy to him. When you're planning on something and it suddenly and unexpectedly falls through, if you go to complain and all they do is spout policy instead of explaining the situation are you satisfied with that?

 

Maybe next time OP can dial down his rant and maybe we can ask a few more questions before lambasting somebody. JMO.

[chengkp75]

Not sure what the OP expects from DCL. They missed an island due to weather. If you missed the ship due to your flight being delayed or cancelled due to weather, would you expect the airline to "make it right" and repay your cruise? You don't get squat from an airline when weather drops the boom, all they will do is book you the next available. Need a hotel? Get your own. Missed what you were flying to? Not their problem.

[MCC retired]

Gotta learn to handle disappointment someday .

Learning when to start a new paragraph would help also.

[cyclenut]

At this point, my guess is the OP isn't really looking for a reply. They are really just trying to publicly vent since they didn't get what they expected out of DCL. I'd be surprised if they even come back to read the comments.

[slightlysilly]

I'm sorry you missed Castaway Cay. I think you were on the cruise right before ours. I heard a rumor that Castaway Cay was missed. We did get to CC but a number of excursions were cancelled due to the wind and rough seas. Oh well.

[JVilleGal]

We missed Santorini Greece, was super bummed! First thing I did was call the Spa and booked a Facial... It's called " making lemonade out of lemons"

 

Ship happens!

[Ex techie]

At this point, my guess is the OP isn't really looking for a reply. They are really just trying to publicly vent since they didn't get what they expected out of DCL. I'd be surprised if they even come back to read the comments.

 

The OP NerdyDad also posted the same rant on another board that has a higher and more frequent reply base.

They were, shall we say "educated" as to the why not's, and basics of cruising. After their first DCL cruise went perfectly smoothly, they had the same expectation for the second, but unfortunately Mother Nature decided not to play ball this time, and their lack of understanding led to being very frustrated, angry, and have unreasonable expectations of what should or shouldn't be required.

AND they did after a second rant with a lot of questions, admit they didn't know how complex docking is.

I doubt they are happier with their cruise experience. Ignorance is bliss for some, and no excuse when they are ill informed.

But in this case I think they are probably licking their self inflicted wounds and now know a hell of a lot more that they should have known before they cruised the first time, let alone the second.

 

 

ex techie

 

edit to add:

 

a lot of crew would have had time off on CC to visit the crew beach for a BBQ, but given the change in itinerary be required to work.

DCL will always try to get into port if it is safe, otherwise they are loosing the shore ex money, and paying additional hours to those CM's that are now working additional hours.

Skipping a port does not make any sense for the line.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Ex techie

[dkjretired]

Disney misses Castaway Cay a lot less frequently than the other lines miss their private island stops, since Castaway Cay has a dock, while none of the other private islands in the Bahamas do.

 

I would be dissapointed in missing Castaway Cay too, but its just part of cruising. The weather impacts cruises ALL THE TIME. Would you prefer the captain place the ship into an unsafe position and caused serious damage to the ship or worse? Maybe next time you should just jump overboard and seim over to Castaway if the ship isnt able to dock?

 

Royal Caribbean docks at Labadee Haiti and has for a long time. I did it last year on Celebrity Silhouette.

 

OP should read his contract, this happens to all cruise lines...

[OSULabRat]

OP, thanks for the reminder on why I will never cruise on Disney. Not because of them, but because of people like you.

 

Before everyone loses their mind, most of the replies here were perfectly reasonable and I would be happy to cruise with any of you. But... it's the small portion of people like OP and his family on board that I have always imagined exist on any Disney Cruise. It appears my suspicions may have been correct! ;)

 

Sent from my SM-N910P using Forums mobile app

[Shmoo here]

OP, thanks for the reminder on why I will never cruise on Disney. Not because of them, but because of people like you.

 

Before everyone loses their mind, most of the replies here were perfectly reasonable and I would be happy to cruise with any of you. But... it's the small portion of people like OP and his family on board that I have always imagined exist on any Disney Cruise. It appears my suspicions may have been correct! ;)

 

Sent from my SM-N910P using Forums mobile app

 

To be fair, we've run into the same type of people on Holland America and Carnival. I don't think it's limited to Disney.

[moki'smommy]

I suspect that any time you put together a group of 2500 (or 4000) people who have paid a lot of money to "have a good time," you're going to get a few crazies.