My Disappointment on the Wonder

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Originally Posted by maria-fan-22

Many times with the characters its due to them not having a CM that can be that character at a certain time. The Crew deserves their time off and expecting that they work all day long for 7day and then over again is ridiculous. Maybe YOU should have lowered your expectations. The characters you met were MORE than enough for most people. They can't have every character out all the time, it doesn't work that way. All of the Disney ships deserve a break in expectation because of all the new crew on each ship. The Wonder also deserves some because she is doing cruises that are longer then her normal routine. The characters are honestly the smallest reason for why I choose Disney. You listed many characters and that should be enough.

Everyone sailing on the Wonder, Have a GREAT cruise! It will be a special week!

I think your arguments are a bit flawed.

I didn't take the OP's comments to suggest that they believe EVERY Disney character should appear at once. I took it to mean a couple of things, that the rotation was poor and that perhaps they did not have sufficient costume/wardrobe. I don't think it's unfair that the OP expected what is customary- that on the theme nights (sail away, Pirates, formal) that the characters should be dressed for the occasion because that is the standard DCL set.

Just because the characters aren't your primary reason for choosing DCL, doesn't mean that is true for everyone.

I don't think it's fair for people who take longer cruises to expect less service than someone who takes a shorter one. Not to mention, regardless of how long a cruise it, there are still going to be 7 days in a week be it with one week long cruise or a 3 & 4 day cruise. I would actually think a week long cruise would be easier since I am sure the toughest day for CM is disembarking/embarking.

Sure, with the new ship and changes in staff I think people should be prepared to expect some growing pains but how will they get it right if anytime someone gives less than stellar feed back they are shot down?

Complaints are opportunities to improve customer service.
The best way to learn how to get something right is to knowing where you went wrong.

Of course I hope people taking the cruise have wonderful holiday but that doesn't mean if they they shouldn't be allowed to say where they think Disney dropped the ball.

[CruznLexi]

I feel lucky to be able to cruise. I have over 33 cruises on 3 lines and 4 with Disney! I work 2 jobs to help pay for my travel addiction I have high standards but I feel very lucky to do that and just try to relax as I could be back home working 3-11. Just got off the PC and had issues but I got to take my Mom for 2 weeks what is better than that!

[lds0191]

We were on the Wonder in October for a 4nt and have absolutely no complaints (except 4nts was not long enough). Service was great and the ship was in tip top shape. The sofa in our cabin was looking a bit worn but I could not see any other differences than when I had been onboard in October 09. Characters were all over the place. Got some great pics at the pools on our sea day.

[clawmachine]

Please do not assume that early seating will get you a faster dinner, even if you have young kids. We had the 5:45 seating on the Magic 2 weeks ago and never left the restaurant until 7:30. There were usually at least 10 tables still eating dessert when we left. We do not get coffee or anything after dessert. We never felt like our servers were poor, or stalling in any way - that's just the pace that is normal. I attempted to rush them on the first night and they smiled sweetly as if to accomodate that, but still, it didn't really happen, and honestly, I got used to the slower pace rather quickly! I actually think it's much better for my stomach to eat that way than the way I do at home!

(As far as getting the restaurants ready for second seating, from what I saw, as long as they have 15 minutes in between, they can certainly do it. I never saw anyone being rushed out of first seating...)

[wdwwishes]

Let's all stop sailing DCL, then they'll get the message! Only kidding.

Lousy/slow service at dinner--that can happen for a number of reasons and often times they're reasons beyond the control of the servers. Did you say anything or make any comments to your wait staff or customer service?
Dirty linens? Did you say anything to your room steward or customer service?
Lack of characters? I think this is a personal pre-set expectation, sorry it was a let down and not that anything could have been done, did you say anything on board?

We're doing Alaska this summer. While we've sailed twice on the Wonder and had stellar times on each of those sailings, I know this is a new itinerary, there's new staff on board, new ports for the ship and crew to become familiar with etc.

I think that DCL might be getting lots of negs here lately because people have cruised them too much, have set their expectations a bit high and maybe need a break. I've read similar stuff about RCCL etc. on the boards at cruisecritic. Or take into consideration that two of the top travel polls, Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure consider DCL tops.

DCL is also having a big year in terms of a new ship, new staff, changing staff from ship to ship, building a new ship, new itineraries, new ports etc. While we hope that it's all perfect in light of that, it might not be.

I honestly don't think that the Wonder or the Magic have turned into floating Motel 6's.

We all have our opinions of the ships and our times on board. Let's hear the opinions but let's also hear what you did on board about it. Then it becomes a bit more productive IMHO. I'd rather hear how DCL addressed, or didn't address, something.

[sabrecmc]

I appreciate all the reviews, whether negative or positive. I hope those with both experiences share with DCL. Obviously, most characters are the full costume characters, since that's a lot easier than the "face" characters. If they weren't meeting your expectations as far as the level of interaction or number of characters available, by all means let DCL know. Looking at the 1/23 MR navigators, I see at least Peter Pan, Goofy, Pluto, Cinderella, Belle and Mickey came to the Club. That doesn't seem that different from the Med cruise we went on last year, though I think I recall Green Army Men coming for a Toy Story game and Snow White coming for a dance. But that was a 10 night cruise.

One thing I will say is that when I read the actual cruise meet threads for some of these cruises where people have complaints, it seems there were a lot of very happy cruisers. I'm not saying that doesn't mean that things need to be addressed, but just that it seems from my unscientific sampling that most people had a good time and many rebooked onboard.

We were on the second Med cruise last year and it wasn't 100% perfect, but it was so good that I wrote to DCL about how wonderful certain CMs were. Two of the things related to things that were technically screw-ups (one DCL's fault, one not), but I was so impressed with how they were handled. The first was that our stateroom floor was wet when we got there. Not a little wet, but the whole "living room" area floor was fairly well wet. As soon as we told our stateroom host, she got a huge fan up there and towels to dry it, assuring us that if it wasn't dry by that evening, we'd be moved. Then her supervisor came to check on things to make sure we were ok. It dried and was no problem, but I liked how quickly they handled it and that someone "upstairs" followed up. Then one of our tours, which was supposed to feature a kids' activity, did not get the activity. By the time I got back to my stateroom, I had a message that 50% of our tour cost was refunded and an apology. I guess the CM on the tour reported the issue, but DCL was prompt about taking care of it in a more than fair way. Maybe some people would complain about those issues, but it really just mattered to me that as soon as someone became aware of it, it was handled. That's all I ask. Not that everything goes perfectly smoothly the whole time.

[coloradodad]

It has been three years since I have posted, mainly when I was doing DVC research years ago. Not much has changed around here, but it is fun to read the daily drama that goes on.

I am happy to learn about things here since I have a cruise booked in a year, but mostly I like the excitement amongst posters. Hopefully in 15 months I will be able to post a dream review, good or bad. (then I will slink off for a few more years)

[lvstitch]

Originally Posted by cmwade77

We did the two day cruise to Neverland (our first cruise ever) and liked it so much that we are boked for the end of next month!

My answers are:
1. The food in general was great, there were some things that we didn't like, but that was just personal preference. For example I did not like their cheesecake, it was too light and airy, I like a denser cheesecake, but others might not.

2. There was always something that each of us would enjoy, but they would do everything that they can to accomodate this.

3. There is fresh fruit available, I forget the name of it, but it is by Beach Blanket Buffet.

4. The buffet breakfast was good, the last day breakfast was not as good.

we were on the same cruise and agree with everything above. I thought the food was actually better on the Wonder than on my previous 3 Magic cruises.

I was also surprised at how many characters they had for just two days. They had formal, pirate and cruise characters and all the princesses.

I also agree that the people on the West coast cruises are different. They sail with more of a theme park commando style than a laid back cruise style.

[cmwade77]

Originally Posted by sabrecmc

Maybe some people would complain about those issues, but it really just mattered to me that as soon as someone became aware of it, it was handled. That's all I ask. Not that everything goes perfectly smoothly the whole time.

This is my philosophy, but sometimes you do have to say something, because if no one is aware of the problem, then no one can take care of it. Be polite, but let them know right away (we were encouraged on our 2 day cruise to do so by everyone on board).

[justhat]

Originally Posted by LKFan

Not arguing, but just letting peole know that the tea party on the Wonder is no longer "Alice's Tea Party" but is called, "Disney Friends Tea Party." In one or two (or three) of the trip reports/reviews, people have listed the characters who are at the tea party. I believe it was Peter Pan and the princesses but I'm not sure. What I do remember is that everyone said that they only serve apple juice and cookies - no tea (even to adults).

I didn't know that they changed this from our last sailing in July, when it was Alice and the Madhatter. I personally am glad as I have done the Alice tea many, many times.

The apple juice and cookies, that has always been the case, at least since I have done the Alice tea since 2007. Never had any real tea for adults, always just the apple juice.

[orlandothebeagle]

Sorry about your experiances.
Plenty of characters and activities on the 15 night wonder cruise.

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by maria-fan-22

Many times with the characters its due to them not having a CM that can be that character at a certain time. The Crew deserves their time off and expecting that they work all day long for 7day and then over again is ridiculous. Maybe YOU should have lowered your expectations. The characters you met were MORE than enough for most people. They can't have every character out all the time, it doesn't work that way. All of the Disney ships deserve a break in expectation because of all the new crew on each ship. The Wonder also deserves some because she is doing cruises that are longer then her normal routine. The characters are honestly the smallest reason for why I choose Disney. You listed many characters and that should be enough.

Everyone sailing on the Wonder, Have a GREAT cruise! It will be a special week!

Unlike the characters at the theme parks, crew members DO work 7 days a week for months at a time! They understand that when they sign their contracts. Instead of the characters appearing on 3 night cruises followed by 4-night cruises, now they're on 7-night cruises - so little has changed in that regard.

While many of us who post on Disney discussion forums are aware that DCL has a lot of new crew members, that doesn't mean the general cruising public knows that. Nor should passengers be expected to overlook mediocre service for that reason.

[drparoo]

Originally Posted by loving_life

maybe a little off topic but maybe you know... are muppets considered Disney? i know started by jim henson but want to know for door magnet purposes (fond of Kermit)

They are indeed....there is a 3D Muppet Vision at Hollywood Studios at WDW.