What sets Disney cruises above other cruise lines?

[ScoutN]

I pay the premium for the safety and maintenance of the vessels. Far too often we see the Crown Jewels of other lines in port with rust spots all over, deck windows that are filthy and clouded, rust streaks, and overall disrepair and neglect to maintain the hull properly. If that kind of neglect is show outright then what kind of neglect is allowed in other areas of the vessel?

DCL striking a check to have MOBAS onboard on their fleet is another big deal. Too many other lines have people go over and the bridge is unaware until reported, which can be hours later. That is unacceptable. DCL had someone go overboard, at night, and he was back on the vessel within two hours. Do I plan to go over? Nope, but accidents, even wild ones, occur. DCL having an excess of life vests all over the vessel vs the USCG minimum is another big plus that shows dedication to safety.

Entertainment, food, movies, and all that can be discussed but I look at an entirely different set of variables when I book.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I pay the premium for the safety and maintenance of the vessels. Far too often we see the Crown Jewels of other lines in port with rust spots all over, deck windows that are filthy and clouded, rust streaks, and overall disrepair and neglect to maintain the hull properly. If that kind of neglect is show outright then what kind of neglect is allowed in other areas of the vessel?

DCL striking a check to have MOBAS onboard on their fleet is another big deal. Too many other lines have people go over and the bridge is unaware until reported, which can be hours later. That is unacceptable. DCL had someone go overboard, at night, and he was back on the vessel within two hours. Do I plan to go over? Nope, but accidents, even wild ones, occur. DCL having an excess of life vests all over the vessel vs the USCG minimum is another big plus that shows dedication to safety.

Entertainment, food, movies, and all that can be discussed but I look at an entirely different set of variables when I book.

What are MOBAS?

 

[jaklgreen]

I pay the premium for the safety and maintenance of the vessels. Far too often we see the Crown Jewels of other lines in port with rust spots all over, deck windows that are filthy and clouded, rust streaks, and overall disrepair and neglect to maintain the hull properly. If that kind of neglect is show outright then what kind of neglect is allowed in other areas of the vessel?

DCL striking a check to have MOBAS onboard on their fleet is another big deal. Too many other lines have people go over and the bridge is unaware until reported, which can be hours later. That is unacceptable. DCL had someone go overboard, at night, and he was back on the vessel within two hours. Do I plan to go over? Nope, but accidents, even wild ones, occur. DCL having an excess of life vests all over the vessel vs the USCG minimum is another big plus that shows dedication to safety.

Entertainment, food, movies, and all that can be discussed but I look at an entirely different set of variables when I book.

I have experienced what you are talking about on our Celebrity cruise line. The rust all over the pool deck where people walk, the dirt in the corners, etc. It grossed me out, especially after sailing on a Disney cruise line. Plus the food was no where near the quality that Disney has. It was all bland and reminded me of nursing home food. I truly believe you get what you pay for when it comes to cruises.

 

[Phonedave]

What are MOBAS?

Man Overboard Alert System, or somthing like that.

Automated alert systems that monitor for motion of an object over a ships rail.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Man Overboard Alert System, or somthing like that.

Automated alert systems that monitor for motion of an object over a ships rail.

Thank you. And thank you Disney Cruise Line for the extra safety measure.

 

[ScoutN]

Man Overboard Alert System, or somthing like that.

Automated alert systems that monitor for motion of an object over a ships rail.

This. DCL has it installed on all four vessels. IIRC the only other mainstream line that has them is NCL on a few ships.

 

[Phonedave]

This. DCL has it installed on all four vessels. IIRC the only other mainstream line that has them is NCL on a few ships.

My understanding is that all cruise lines have camera, the problem is in the automatic detection part.

On personal / small craft such as racing yachts, the crew wears persona MOB decvices. They are usually integrated into the inflatable life jacket, and tied by radio into a master controller on board. Once a person goes overboard, it activates, and sounds an alarm on the master controller. There is also usually some sort of directional indicator in the system to lead the vessel back to the person that went over.

Clearly, cruise ships would have a problem with this system. It would require everyone to wear such a device at all times, and then return it at the end of the cruise. Peoplw who wanted to go overboard for whatever reason without detection could do so by removing the device.

So, the cameras that they use to monitor the sides of the ship have detection abilities built in. They look for a heat signature, and an object that fits the shape of a human going overboard. If they detect it, they log the lat/long of the incident, and alert the bridge crew. The system also usually sends a video loop of the incident to a monitor, and flags in the video what caused the alarm.

The problem is avoiding false positives (birds, sea spray, dolphins, etc) while not setting the threshold so low that you do not flag real MOB instances. From what I have read, the systems are pretty touchy, and they do have a number of false alerts. They have to have a bridge officer review the footage and make the call as to if it was really a MOB, and then act accordingly.

-dave

 

[Cesar R M]

My understanding is that all cruise lines have camera, the problem is in the automatic detection part.

On personal / small craft such as racing yachts, the crew wears persona MOB decvices. They are usually integrated into the inflatable life jacket, and tied by radio into a master controller on board. Once a person goes overboard, it activates, and sounds an alarm on the master controller. There is also usually some sort of directional indicator in the system to lead the vessel back to the person that went over.

Clearly, cruise ships would have a problem with this system. It would require everyone to wear such a device at all times, and then return it at the end of the cruise. Peoplw who wanted to go overboard for whatever reason without detection could do so by removing the device.

So, the cameras that they use to monitor the sides of the ship have detection abilities built in. They look for a heat signature, and an object that fits the shape of a human going overboard. If they detect it, they log the lat/long of the incident, and alert the bridge crew. The system also usually sends a video loop of the incident to a monitor, and flags in the video what caused the alarm.

The problem is avoiding false positives (birds, sea spray, dolphins, etc) while not setting the threshold so low that you do not flag real MOB instances. From what I have read, the systems are pretty touchy, and they do have a number of false alerts. They have to have a bridge officer review the footage and make the call as to if it was really a MOB, and then act accordingly.

-dave

Maybe they should make "key chains" for the keydoor card that has this feature.
They activate as soon they touch salted water.

 

[Phonedave]

Maybe they should make "key chains" for the keydoor card that has this feature.
They activate as soon they touch salted water.

Again, it does nothing to address people going overboard who are not carrying the device - either because they are not carrying the key card, or becuase they want to go over undertected.

It also does not address the logistics of collecting them all at the end of the cruise.

They are also not "keychain" size

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=157

 

[Cesar R M]

Again, it does nothing to address people going overboard who are not carrying the device - either because they are not carrying the key card, or becuase they want to go over undertected.

It also does not address the logistics of collecting them all at the end of the cruise.

They are also not "keychain" size

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=157

They will definitively not help in cases people that want to suicide.
But considering that everytime I cruise, everyone is using their lanyards to carry their cards...

Also technology advances, I bet they could minimize the size if they wanted.

 

[disney4life2008]

About a 80 percent price difference between Disney and carnival. More than enough to keep me away lol

 

[ChuckElias]

My understanding is that all cruise lines have camera, the problem is in the automatic detection part.

On personal / small craft such as racing yachts, the crew wears persona MOB decvices. They are usually integrated into the inflatable life jacket, and tied by radio into a master controller on board. Once a person goes overboard, it activates, and sounds an alarm on the master controller. There is also usually some sort of directional indicator in the system to lead the vessel back to the person that went over.

Clearly, cruise ships would have a problem with this system. It would require everyone to wear such a device at all times, and then return it at the end of the cruise. Peoplw who wanted to go overboard for whatever reason without detection could do so by removing the device.

So, the cameras that they use to monitor the sides of the ship have detection abilities built in. They look for a heat signature, and an object that fits the shape of a human going overboard. If they detect it, they log the lat/long of the incident, and alert the bridge crew. The system also usually sends a video loop of the incident to a monitor, and flags in the video what caused the alarm.

The problem is avoiding false positives (birds, sea spray, dolphins, etc) while not setting the threshold so low that you do not flag real MOB instances. From what I have read, the systems are pretty touchy, and they do have a number of false alerts. They have to have a bridge officer review the footage and make the call as to if it was really a MOB, and then act accordingly.

-dave

Maybe they should make "key chains" for the keydoor card that has this feature.
They activate as soon they touch salted water.

Again, it does nothing to address people going overboard who are not carrying the device - either because they are not carrying the key card, or becuase they want to go over undertected.

It also does not address the logistics of collecting them all at the end of the cruise.

They are also not "keychain" size

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=157

They will definitively not help in cases people that want to suicide.
But considering that everytime I cruise, everyone is using their lanyards to carry their cards...

Also technology advances, I bet they could minimize the size if they wanted.

To quote John Lassiter during the making of Frozen: "How did we get here?"

 

[Cesar R M]

About a 80 percent price difference between Disney and carnival. More than enough to keep me away lol

I dont know about you, but I rate DCL's food waaaaaaaaaaay higher than RCL (I compared the DCL's WONDER to Alaska vs RCCL's OASIS of the Seas to Caribbean).
We only had one issue with DCL's food in our 7 day cruise.
We had 5 issues with the food in the RCCL's..
I dont know how good is Carnival, but I'm not a fan of booze fests..
But yeah, the price difference is huge.

One thing that I noticed is.. the smallest cabin in the DCL ships are on par of a "deluxe" family cabin on RCCL.
Plus DCL includes 2 people by default in the price, RCCL only includes 1 in the price quote.

To quote John Lassiter during the making of Frozen: "How did we get here?"

Talking safety happened.
DCL seems above most liners on security measures.

 

[21stamps]

About a 80 percent price difference between Disney and carnival. More than enough to keep me away lol

Depends on dates and which ship. The Vista is a relatively small price difference during several weeks in the year.. or at least was last year when I checked.

 

[disney4life2008]

Depends on dates and which ship. The Vista is a relatively small price difference during several weeks in the year.. or at least was last year when I checked.

That is true.

 

[Phonedave]

I dont know about you, but I rate DCL's food waaaaaaaaaaay higher than RCL (I compared the DCL's WONDER to Alaska vs RCCL's OASIS of the Seas to Caribbean).
We only had one issue with DCL's food in our 7 day cruise.
We had 5 issues with the food in the RCCL's..
I dont know how good is Carnival, but I'm not a fan of booze fests..
But yeah, the price difference is huge.
.

I'll quote that last sentence again "yeah, the price difference is huge". That is the problem with me. The difference in price does not justify the difference in quality (again, with the caveat that if you have young children, then all bets are off and DCL wins hands down). DCLs stage shows are better, but on longer cruises they are also repetitive. You may get that "Old Disney level of customer care" but I have had excellent service on other cruise lines as well. Teh DCL ships may be instanely spotless, but other cruise lines do a good job too (I'm not talking Carnivals rusted hulls or green brightwork, I am talking a small section of peeling varnish on a rail, or a speck of rust on a light brace - things that a corrected in short order)

Is DCL a notch above - yes it is, but the price is about 12 notches above.

Somebody posted something about when you have money, then you just buy the best because your vacation time is critical to you and you don't want to waste it. That is not the case here. When I say DCL is not worth the price difference, it's not because I am trying to nickle and dime a vacation. I can afford a DCL cruise - I have been on three of them, and vacation time with my family is important because we do have very limited windows when we can vacation. But choosing DCL over say Celebrity is akin to saying I am taking a $400 a night hotel room over a $200 because the more expensive one has 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.


-dave