DCLs Great Record?

[jkl2000]

Question from a complete cruise newbie. Just read the DCL section in the Unoffical Guide on a whim and was impressed - the cruises sound great!

I was wondering, how is it that the DCL is able to avoid any of the kinds of mishaps/bad scenes that the other cruise lines seem to experience so often? I can't remember ever hearing about lots of people getting sick on a DCL cruise, anyone "disappearing" overboard, etc. I've NEVER heard DCL mentioned in the news except when it was first launched. How do they do it?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I can tell you when I've been on tgd ships (3 out of the 4 in the fleet) it seems like care for the ship never stops. Around the clock you see crew painting, cleaning, polishing, etc. It never ends. Disney also seems kinda rigorous with their germ mitigation. For example, every time you walk into a dining area there's a crew member there handing out wipes to each person to clean your hands. The staterooms are cleaned multiple times every day.

That's not to say nothing bad can happen on a Disney ship or that they're immune to mechanical difficulty. It can. Some things just happen. Its how cruise lines choose to handle their problems that really stands out to me as a guest.

 

[Master Yoda]

DCL has had its share of problems. They shut the cruise line down for around a week due to a Norwak virus outbreak in 2002. They had a CM go missing in Mexico in 2011 and a crewmember go overboard in 1995.

 

[jkl2000]

Interesting - I hadn't heard about any of that. Of course, I didn't expect there to be nothing, but they're doing better than Carnival. I guess they have the best PR.

 

[ChuckElias]

Plus, they had a funnel fire very early on.

BTW, I was on a January 2003 cruise right after the Norovirus shut-down that @Master Yoda mentioned. They were merciless with the wipes.

So DCL is not immune to problems, but they handle them better than almost anyone else.

 

[Master Yoda]

Interesting - I hadn't heard about any of that. Of course, I didn't expect there to be nothing, but they're doing better than Carnival. I guess they have the best PR.

There is no question that they are doing better than Carnival. Carnival has earned the moniker "The Wal Mart of Cruise Lines".

 

[Master Yoda]

Plus, they had a funnel fire very early on.

BTW, I was on a January 2003 cruise right after the Norovirus shut-down that @Master Yoda mentioned. They were merciless with the wipes.

So DCL is not immune to problems, but they handle them better than almost anyone else.

We were on an April Cruise in 2003 and they were still on-top of it big time. One of my daughters threw up because she was a little sea sick and you would've thought that radiation alarms went off.

 

[EOD K9]

Attention to detail.

 

[ncstate7991]

First let me say, Disney Cruises are awesome! The attention to detail, service, and maintenance is way better than what I have seen on the other cruiselines I have been on. However, keep some things in mind. Carnival has 23 ships and Disney has 4. The more ships you have, the more mishaps and bad press you are statistically likely to have. Carnival Corp owns 10 cruiselines (Princess, Holland, P&O, Costa, Carnival, etc) and has a total fleet of over 100 ships. When the Costa ship sank off the coast of Italy, many American new outlets would say the Carnival owned Costa Concordia.

Carnival is a different experience than a Disney Cruise. It is marketed and priced as such, so comparing the two is truly like comparing apples to oranges. Just remember that cruising is a very safe, secure, economical, exciting, and fun way to vacation. Be aware of your surroundings and don't totally check your brain at the pier. This will increase the likelihood of a safe and fun trip.

In addition to the incidents Master Yoda added above, during Hurricane Sandy the Disney Fantasy was hit by very rough waves. There are multiple YouTube vidoes about it. Several windows were busted out and rooms were flooded. Disney is better at providing great service when an experience is sub-par, and that helps to keep some issues out of the headlines. Oh, and they own ABC