PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Disney Cruise Line said it corrected
problems that marked the Disney Magic's maiden voyage a few weeks
ago.
After a variety of guest complaints on that voyage, from July 30
to Aug. 3, Disney assembled a task force charged with fixing
problems, said Walt Disney World Resort president Al Weiss, who
oversees the cruise line. "We've made great progress, and the
ratings on the two subsequent cruises have gone up
tremendously."
Two travel agents who sailed on the Magic's Aug. 7 cruise said
they were impressed by the sailing, but they cited a few remaining
start-up hitches (see sidebar below).
Reports of the maiden voyage cited long lines, faulty
communications from cruise officials to passengers and a dearth of
daytime activities for adults. Weiss said the long lines at
Disney's new terminal have been eliminated. The delay there was
caused by a glitch, since solved, that left those passengers
registered in Disney hotels unable to use key cards for their
cabins. "Because of that problem," he said, "the whole maiden
voyage got off on the wrong foot."
Aboard ship, Disney moved to improve communications with
passengers by filling, on a temporary basis, two key posts: cruise
director and hotel manager.
Taking over the responsibilities for cruise director was Cliff
Perry, director of entertainment for the cruise line. "He's brought
the ship together from a communications angle," Weiss said.
Filling in as ship hotel manager was Kevin Myers, general
manager of Disney's Coronado Springs Hotel.
With those appointments, lines at the guest services and
shore-excursion desks have been trimmed to no more than five
minutes, Weiss said. To streamline the process, auxiliary locations
for booking excursions have been set up.
Weiss said Disney also temporarily stationed the food and
beverage director for Walt Disney World, Dieter Hannig, aboard the
ship to oversee food services.
Weiss said delays on the maiden voyage in seating and serving
passengers in the ship's three main restaurants have been remedied.
Hannig, Weiss said, is working to improve service in the ship's
topside Lido restaurant and on Castaway Cay, Disney's private
island. "We're probably 90% of the way there," he said. Weiss said
there is less of a problem in reserving the ship's adults-only
northern Italian restaurant, Palo; to insure quality, he said, only
about half of the dining room's 136 seats were available on the
maiden voyage.
However, he said that not everyone seeking a reservation at the
restaurant's two nightly seatings would be accommodated. A
solution, he said, might be to expand the capacity to 150 per
sitting and open the restaurant for lunch. Although the vessel has
no midnight buffet, late snacks are being served by waiters
carrying food platters and circulating in lounges from 11:30 p.m.
to 1 a.m. , he said.
He said that organized daytime activities for adults were being
expanded and will include more deck entertainment and more movies.
Also, autograph opportunities with the Disney characters will be
expanded and more baby-sitters are available, Weiss said.
Areas cited from the outset as major successes for the line
include its entertainment and Disney's Castaway Cay, Weiss
said.
He added that improving the vessel's product would be an ongoing
program. "We're trying to take the best of Disney and the best of
cruising and provide a unique experience," he said.
Retailers: It's Almost Magical
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Two travel agents on the Aug. 7 to 10
sailing of the Disney Magic said they were impressed with the
cruise but that some start-up problems still need to be fixed.
"Disney is attempting something new, and I think it will take a
little while to achieve the vision," said Joel Elliot of AAA
Rochester (N.Y.). "People can still have a lot of fun, but if their
expectations are incredibly high, they could be disappointed."
Elliot said Disney needs to refine its embarkation process. He
said the crew still needs work in terms of its cohesiveness,
particularly in the main dining rooms.
Jeff Abels of Vacation Connection in Long Beach, Calif., said
the ship worked well and easily absorbed a large group with 700
kids. "I think Disney is 95% of the way there," he said.
Problems singled out by Abels included misinformation concerning
the availability of seating in Palo, the adults-only restaurant.
Although passengers were informed that the restaurant was fully
booked, he said, many tables were vacant. Abels found it difficult
to view animation screens in the Animator's Palette restaurant --
which features a show of Disney cartoons -- from his corner table,
he said.
In addition, servers in Scoops, an ice-cream stand on the sun
deck, ended service even though passengers were still waiting in
line, he said.