Well ahead of Hurricane Irma, the Disney Dream arrived at Port Canaveral early on Thursday morning to disembark guests from the shortened 4-night Bahamian cruise.
Around 12 o’clock, the Disney Dream dropped lines and departed Port Canaveral.
As the Disney Dream was nearing Jetty Park the bridge crew set their destination to Cozumel for September 9th.
Shortly after, the Disney Fantasy returned to Port Canaveral and to tied up at Cruise Terminal 8 just before 2 PM to disembark passengers from the shortened 7-Night Western Caribbean cruise.
Earlier this morning Commodore Tom provided some additional information to guests
https://twitter.com/dustin2008/status/905854532952891392
Beautiful day at @PortCanaveral – look at the @DisneyCruise buses lined up waiting for us on the #disneyfantasy. @TheDCLBlog pic.twitter.com/xFrs1XiYR3
— Dustin Burton (@Dustin2008) September 7, 2017
Due to the Fantasy’s later arrival guest were given a partial day navigator with a morning full of events and a letter with current information.
Special half day navigator on #disneyfantasy today! @TheDCLBlog #DisneyCruise pic.twitter.com/fSQOmzcGDc
— Dustin Burton (@Dustin2008) September 7, 2017
We just left #DisneyFantasy & got on a DCL bus within 15 min! Fastest EVER! They opened both aft and midship gangways on Deck 1! @TheDCLBlog pic.twitter.com/os0tYn9A6I
— Dustin Burton (@Dustin2008) September 7, 2017
Around 7PM, after all the passengers disembarked and the ship was resupplied and refueled, the Disney Fantasy dropped lines to depart Port Canaveral.
As the ship sailed away, the destination was update to Cozumel.
On Tuesday, Disney Cruise Line made the decision to shorten the underway sailings for both ships and cancel 3 upcoming sailings. This permitted passengers to return safely to Port Canaveral and allow the Captains to keep the ships a safe distance from Hurricane Irma.
Thank you so much for the timely updates! You have no idea how much this means to me!
An empty parking garage must be a sight to see. I wonder when it was last devoid of all cars.
Last October for Hurricane Matthew.
We were parked in the garage during Hurricane Matthew, when the Dream went to Mexico. Right now though, there’ll only be possibly some staff vehicles there.
Crew with cars parked there were given permission from CBP to move their cars into the structure once the guests had left.
Do you think they are actually headed to Cozumel to get clear of the storm, or is that just a navigational “have to” while they sail around in the gulf?
We will find out in a could days.
My son, who works on the ship, said they are headed to SW Cuba to hang out between Cozumel and Jamaica. Where they came from last night.
On marine traffic the Dream’s destination was updated to Yucatán Channel and the Fantasy is Listed as SW Cuba.
So does the crew get a break or are they working, cleaning and doing upkeep of the ships?
We were on the 8/19 Fantasy sailing, and a poster in our FB group said a crew member they connected with online had posted pictures of a Navigator produced for the crew.
It would be nice if Disney would give them a well deserved break from their cramped crew quarters and let them stay in the guest rooms. Maybe they will.
What happens to upcoming cruises that were destined for the Virgin Islands?
We will find out on September 12th which is the day DCL said they would make any necessary announcements.
Thanks, Scott I’ll check their site on the 12th
We are scheduled on a cruise in December. Going to Tortola and st Thomas. Do you think they will be making announcements today on cruises that far out or will it be a month by month case?
Very disappointed in Disney cruise line..they will not let me cancel and refund my cruise due to this hurricane…can’t even get to my cruise due to flight and land package being canceled…wow sad
Which one? Disney Dream canceled for next week with full refund and even a 25% discount if we book again. I was very impressed with how they communicated. But before they did, I had bought vacation insurance just in case they didn’t cancel. I didn’t want to be out there in a hurricane!
DISNEY MADE THE DECISION TO IN DANGER EVERYONE IN MY FAMILYS LIVES ! BY MAKEING EVERYONE EVACUATE THE SHIP IN FLORIDA , THE PLACE WERE THE HURRICANE IRMA WAS TO HIT WITH 24 HOUR OR SO … THEY SHOULD OF TAKEN US TO A SAFE PLACE WERE WE COULD OF GOT A CAR RENTAL HOTEL GIVE US A CHANCE TO GET AIRFLIGHT,,, DISNEY KNEW THAT ALL THE RESIDENT OF FLORIDA WOULD HAVE EVACUATED FIRST AND ALL FLIGHTS WOULD BE TAKEN. THEIR WAS NO CAR RENTAL NO AIRFLIGHTS NO GAS IN ANY GAS STATIONS MY FAMILY OF 11 PEOPLE KIDS AGES 2 ,6, 8 10 AND 16 WERE DEVASTATED AND NO HELP FROM DISNEY TO SHOW US WERE WE COULD GET SHELTER.. WE HAD ON INTERNET ON THE SHIP, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO HOURS OF LINES WAIT TO PAY FOR INTERNET .. SO WE COULD NOT CONTACT OUR AIRLINE OR OUR FAMILY ..NO HELP FROM DISNEY..
DISNEY MAIN CONCERN WAS TO GET US OUT OF THEIR SHIP. SO DISNEY CAN SAVE THEIR SHIP AND THEIR MONEY,,AFTER HOURS OF SEARCHING WE PAY LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY AND OUR FAMILY OF ELEVEN PEOPLE TO TRAVEL15 HOURS WITH MINIMAL STOP FOR NO LUCK FOR HOUR FOR GAS FOR NO HOTELS TO ALANTA GEORGIA SO WE COULD FIND A FLIGHT HOME TO CALIFORNIA . WE ARE ALL SO DISAPPOINTED BY DISNEY NO CONCERN OF PEOPLE LIFE IN A CASE OF EMERGENCY OUR FAMILY WAS DEVASTATE …IM STILL IN SHOCK OF DISNEY ZERO CONCERN ON PEOPLE,,, I WILL NOT STOP UNIT I GET AN EXPLANATION FROM DISNEY
DISNEY FANTASY SHIP SEPT 2, 2017
I’m sorry that you had issues getting necessary travel arrangements, but I know that most people on our cruise were able to get off and get to safety. I would not have wanted to disembark somewhere else as my car was parked in the garage at Port Canaveral. I understand your frustration but Disney and the ships crew did the best that they could given the situation at hand. I will gladly take my refund and my 25% off to sail with Disney again, I hope that you all made it home safely.
I also hope your family made it home safely. This whole situation was very hard on many people, but DCL as far as I’m concerned did everything to keep your family safe.
You are being very unreasonable. This was a major hurricane. Everything was done to keep you safe. At some point though you have realize this can happen sailing during hurricane season. We were affected last year in October by hurricane Matthew. It was stressful but most people were grateful they were out of harm’s way. However many were mad, and nothing was good enough. It will always be this way I guess. I just wish people would stop by and think of others and not only me me me.
We were on the same cruise. Had no problem finding a room that night. Easily secured a rental car and had no problem at all finding gas on our trip north. Yes, our 12 hour journey turned into 22 hours, but things could have been much worse. Thanks to Disney for returning us back in time to prevent any possible risk to my family.
I don’t feel the refund was adequate. This was my first cruise and I did extensive research. I was looking forward to so many things that never came to fruition due to the cruise getting cut short. I also spent several hours in guest services line the night of the announcement rather than enjoying the cruise and spent the next day worrying about what I might be missing and dreading the long drive home. I can’t personally afford to book another cruise within a month (as I had already been saving for many years). I would have preferred the entire cruise got cancelled, got a complete refund, and a 25% discount for a future sailing. I think those on the canceled cruise got a better deal (you may or may not see it that way, but a partial Disney cruise just didn’t live up to the hype and I feel that I overpaid for a mediocre experience).
I’m sorry that your cruise was cut short, but it was done with your safety in mind! Most cruise lines returned to Florida early. Even if you don’t book the future cruise, you did get a refund for those 2 days you came back early. I’m not sure what the refund is but it’s probably close to cover a good chunk of next cruise deposit if you wanted to.
Technically you only lost 1 full day on the ship – Friday. Disembarkation day you go to breakfast and get off the ship, all ship services are closed so really the last day is Friday. (for the 7 night Fantasy cruise).
If you were stuck on the ship until the end of the cruise, you’d be complaining about that too. If DCL canceled your sailing altogether, you would also complain.
I would be very disappointed if my cruise ended early. However there is nothing else they (DCL) could have done, can’t make everyone happy. Keeping everyone safe is their main goal.
I’m simply stating that the refund does not cover what was lost due to the shortened length and change in itinerary of the cruise (I’ve done the math). I’m not complaining about Disney making the decision they made. I imagine if I was able to book a Disney cruise every year or so, I might have the same outlook as you, but I’m not fortunate enough to have that kind of disposable income. If the refund was adequate enough to book a shorter cruise, I would jump all over it, but it’s not even close. And to have to turn around and book another cruise in only 1 months’ time for the discount is absurd.
I disagree with your if statements and I disagree with your statement that DCL can’t do more. They certainly can do more. Only 2 cruises were cut short…that is a small number of cruisers to take care of in the scheme of things and I’m willing to bet DCL is insured for situations like this.
We also saved for over a year and this was our first and last Disney Cruise. DCL made great decisions and I appreciated their focus on safety and communication. With that said, we spent many hours in the single Guest Services line to have calls “pushed” to our wave phone just to get disconnected after waiting on hold for 20 min. The Disney reservation center closed at midnight and we kept getting busy circuit messages until almost 11am on Wednesday. I was informed that every hotel room on Disney property was filled except for club suites at the Contemporary ($1,400 for two nights). $700 a night? There went our refund. We were lucky to have shelter lined up and a flight out of Orlando on Saturday before the airport closed. Why didn’t DCL immediately set aside Disney rooms for cruise guests to purchase instead of taking the “you are on your own” approach? Why weren’t guests given the option of 25% off the shortened cruise to soften the blow of never getting to The Disney Island? Norwegian Escape guests were at least given an option to stay on the ship (free of charge) until Irma passed. We had a wonderful vacation overall and DCL has a lot to offer, but this was a once in a lifetime experience and cost for our family. The 25% off a future cruise booking is useless for a family that can’t afford to try it again. I take full responsibility for booking a cruise during hurricane season and am happy they took us back to Cape Canaveral early. Unfortunately the word Disney just doesn’t have the same affect on me as it did before our cruise.
Not sure which Disney resorts you were calling, but we went online while on the ship and were able to immediately book a room at an All Star resort for only $100! There were lots of resort rooms at various price levels available. AND, when we arrived at the resort, Disney was offering 40% off their rooms for anyone whose flights were cancelled and couldn’t leave. Pretty generous, I thought, since the hurricane certainly wasn’t their fault!
I agree that Disney was generous in your experience. We wanted All Star, POP Century, or any inexpensive room and was told nothing was available due to the Florida evacuation. I was not offered 40% off my hotel stay. Those two things would have made a big difference in our experience. I wonder if it was because we booked our flight separately from the cruise? We stayed at Disney before and after the cruise and purchased the Disney transportation. The flight was linked to our reservation but not booked through Disney. Maybe those extra customer appreciation items were tied to your flight? Thank you for responding and the extra information.
Actually, no, our air travel was booked independently. When we found out about the shortened cruise itinerary, I just went online and booked the room on Disney’s website. Then, I checked with guest services to make sure we could switch our return bus transfer to the resort rather than the airport. No problem. Our Friday flight was later cancelled by the airline so we ended up renting a car (again, booking online) at the Car Care Center on Disney property. They seemed to have an adequate inventory of available cars and the price was comparable to non-peak rentals that I’ve booked in other cities.
Oh, to answer your question… I spoke with the Disney Reservation Center on Wednesday around lunchtime