Disney Cruise Nightmare

Do not blame it on Disney at least they tried there best to help and
you need to look at the positive. Disney would probably be better than
Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Carnival has had enough stuff happen to
there cruise ships and on the Disney Cruise nothing broke down or
anything it was all your family and give Disney another chance. Royal
Caribbean has had ship sink and Disney has been around for 12 years
and have had no ship problems.

Wow, if this isn't one to beware of!!! This Mummy obviously has a
brat and wants a refund for her trip !!!!
This is totally not the experience my 100's of clients have on the
Disney ships !!!

READ BETWEEN THE LINES !!!

Don't ever cruise with disney

Disney Cruise Line - or anyone else for that matter - isn't going to
take you seriously if you don't even know how to spell "feces."

Disney usually does a really great job of providing over-the-top
service. Moreso than anyone else, Disney also understands the
importance of customer service recovery during the experience. This
entire scenario is so very un-Disney that I can understand your
frustration. I wonder if someone (of importance) on the cruise really
understood how bad you were feeling about the experience. The write
up seems to suggest (at least to me) that you really didn't stop to
talk to anyone -- that you just suffered in silence. While I
understand not rocking the boat, you sometimes have to speak up in
order to get things fixed in mid-stream, and not assume folks
understand they are in a service failure situation.

I'd give them a call as well as waiting for the letter to filter
through. I know that they'd want to hear about the experience.
Disney values its reputation a lot.

You must be one of those moms who has children just because it is the
thing to do, not because you really want them. You know, the kind who
dresses them up, parades them around in front of family and friends
and then drops them off at day care every chance you get. REALITY
CHECK...Most day cares are not that clean and children who attend day
care all the time are sick more often because of that. I am a
pediatric nurse and see it all the time. While the "feces" incident
was disgusting, things like that happen sometimes. I don't even
understand why you chose the Disney cruise. Why didn't you just
choose a more adult themed cruise and leave the kids at home with a
relative if you wanted a "relaxing" vacation. I can't imagine leaving
my children with strangers especially when the children don't want to
go. I choose vacations that are kid friendly because I want the kids
to have a good time, not me. We just returned from Myrtle Beach for
our wedding anniversary where we did Magiquest, mini golfed, Hard Rock
Park kiddie rides, the water park, ate at cheesy places like Planet
Hollywood, Nascar Cafe, and Hard Rock, and made sandcastles at the
beach. While that may not sound like a fun vacation to you because it
all involved the children---we had a blast because we were together as
a family and the smiles on the kids faces were priceless. We had
meltdowns and sibling rivalry, dirty hands and sticky fingers,
complaining and crying, but at least their mom was there to experience
it all and make everything right. Welcome to motherhood, where life
isn't always peaches and cream, and vacations will never again be
relaxing BUT will be fun (if done with the kids in mind).

Enjoy your children while they are young because before you know it,
you will be the one that they will be pushing aside because you aren't
"cool" enough to hang out with. Wait..you may be actually looking
forward to that day so that you can "relax" with you husband for the
rest of your life.

I've got to ask.. when your daughter was crying and screaming that she
didn't want to go back to the daycare, did you ask her why she didn't
want to go? And why did you make her go if she was having that bad a
reaction? Isn't that the first warning sign that a kid has been
abused/molested...?

In any case, that's terrible. Rather than asking for them to refund
your trip (because that's just going to make it sound like you want
money; as a general rule, the best way to get a refund is to never say
the word "refund" at all. People are a lot more willing to help
someone who isn't obviously after a few bucks) you should find out who
you need to contact about the day care center on that particular
cruise ship, and alert them to the problem. If you have to, call the
health department, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know that Disney
allows its guests to wallow in filth.

I don't care how difficult a day care job is. Having feces splattered
all over a playground and then continuing to let children play on it
is unacceptable.

We just returned from a trip on the Disney cruise line. Yes, it was
expensive, but we knew going into it it was because of the "Disney"
brand name, not so much for the childcare. I too had high hopes of my
chiildren enjoying the clubs. As I had heard of many parents saying
how they rarely saw their kids while on the ship or better, their kids
having so much fun, they never wanted to leave the clubs when the
parents came calling for them. So, with that being said, we sailed
away with Mickey. The first night my daughter was sea-sick. No
worries, her and I stayed in the stateroom so she can rest. My
husband took our other daughter out to the restaurant (the one I
wanted to dine in more than any other) and they both had a "fun" time.
I ordered room service and then layed in bed and held my daughter as
she sipped a Sprite. I was not the least bothered nor had I any
resentment toward her. As she apologized for the inconvenience I told
her I wanted to be no where else and I meant it. It took our kids
three days before they even wandered into a club. Before then, we did
not force the issue. Instead, as a family, went to the movies, saw
the musicals, played family bingo, swam, ate tons of ice cream, played
ping pong, played in the arcade, napped and had breakfast, lunch and
dinner together. They were many more family activies we would have
loved to participate in but there just wasn't enough time. When in
Mexico, we introduced them to the beautiful clear blue beaches and
shared local cuisine with them. Back onboard and the girls still
hesitant, we finally got them in a club, just so they can try some of
the activities they offered which they did enjoy. From what we
witnessed, the counselors were friendly, energetic (considering they
work long hours. The clubs are open from either 6 or 7 AM till 12
midnight) and plenty of them around. These people work VERY hard
trying to get all the kids to have fun. And trust me, they were many
undisciplined children with rude mouths. I stayed to watch my girls
make flubber and I was losing my patience and I wasn't the one having
to deal with them. While, our vacation wasn't what I have envisioned
either, our family had a great time. We wanted a family vacation and
that is what we got. I had hoped that my kids would take full
advantage of all the kid programs, but that didn't happen. But is
that Disney's fault? I am sorry that your children did have feces on
them, I would have been upset too. But as one blogger said, things
like that happen in daycare. Also, I am sure that they did all they
could to properly handle the situation. Proper sanitation is
absolutely their number one concern as it should be. Especially
because of the many confined spaces and proximity to everyone. They
had someone physically providing everyone with either hand sanitzer or
a wipe everytime we came back onto the ship and at each every food
entrance. Also every child entering the clubs was given a squirt of
soap on their hands and they had to go to the bathroom and wash their
hands before they could do anything else. We came down to play
computer games with our girls and they gave us a wipe upon entry too.
I would have not been happy with a male in the rest room either but I
can't explain that. And I think the reason why you didn't get a page
was because it sounds as if you happend upon them pretty close to the
time the accident happened and they may not have had a chance yet. I
mean, honestly how long do you think he was standing there holding her
soiled clothes? These aren't dumb people and I am 100% sure that
wasn't the first time it ever happened. So what if they paged you
because your daughter wanted to show you a picture, you being there
probably gave your daughter confidence that you would come if she
needed you, which you did, and I hope that she didn't take your
resentment for the counselors as resentment toward her. Instead of
calling it a night, you should have praised her picture and told her
mommy and daddy were going out to dinner and you would see her soon.
Also, they do have a place for your child to nap, just right where he
did. Afterall, they are YOUR children. If you wanted to get out,
where was your husband? Mine stayed with the kids so I could do yoga,
attend the cooking demonstrations and an art auction. I did the same
for him while he worked out, caught up on some work in the adult
coffee lounge and slept. We also did find some quite time together,
but when our kids wanted us we worked it out. I do not think that you
have the right to ask for a refund. It may not have been what you had
hoped but sometime things don't work out but you make the most of it.
Judging the way you doctors reacted to you going on vacation, I also,
think you are the type of person who has the poor me attitude probably
most of the time, maybe even before you were sick. I hope that you can
step back and take these blogs as constructive criticism. I truly hope
that you get well soon. In the meantime, try to make the most of
every day. Whether its what you expected or not.

Hi:

I hope you feel better as soon as is possible.

Sounds to me as though the purpose of your cruise wasn't clear, even
to you.

- You took the children with you and have indicated you wanted to
have a vacation all together, but you left the children in daycare
pretty often. You're either going to be together or you're not.
Mostly you have complained about the time you wanted to NOT be all
together and your alone time was interruped.

- If you wanted rest and relaxation, why was being in the state room
with your napping child a problem? Seems as though it would have been
a great time for you to rest too.

Disney is a really quality organization, regardless of the experience
we choose (cruise, parks, movies, live entertainment, etc.) It sounds
as though you wanted the best of all worlds in a single trip.

That is the worst travel story I've heard. And sadly, the worst part
is it's true. I hope you were able to contact someone about that and
get your refund.

First of all, I am so sorry to hear about your illness. I lost my
mother when I was just 15 and I hope that you can have more time with
your children.

I totally understand where you are coming from here. I cannot believe
all the people that are saying such negative things. I agree with you
that there should have been more supervision in the disney club. I use
to work daycare, and we would have 20 two year olds to each "teacher"
[ totally out of regs, but we were sooooo understaffed ] and could
keep them better organized. TWO YEAR OLDS!! They should have different
counselors providing activities such as a coloring table, maybe a
movie going, play-doh, painting, etc. If they were to have organized
activities, it wouldn't be complete chaios.

I agree that the children should not be able to page a parent for any
reason. The whole purpose of having them in the club is knowing they
are being taken care of while you and your significant other are out
enjoying dinner. I am a mom also, and understand that yes, sometimes
your child will miss you but that is no reason to be paged. Being that
I also use to work for a daycare I know that you can usually very
easily occupy the child with a change of activity.

I cannot believe that they did not call you when she had her accident.
Perhaps they had just gotten her in there? Or maybe they were afraid
you would complain about them and thought it to be better to just get
her cleaned up and play it down as no big deal. Either way, if they
can page you to see her picture, or just say hi, I would DEFINATELY be
upset that they would not page for this. That is just ridiculous...

As for the all ignorant people that are bashing you for putting your
children in the club and accusing them of "ruining" your trip, I
apologize. There is nothing wrong with taking a couple hours for you
and your spouse to be together. That is the whole idea behind a cruise
like this. I understand that you knowing that you are ill and not
knowing how much time you have, its just as important to spend time
with your spouse alone as it is to spend time with the whole family.


Do not listen to these people who obviously cannot read a blog and
understand your point of view.

I'm sorry you had such issues with this cruise and hope that you can
get more time to enjoy with your family, but just remember this, its
the little things they will remember. I remember my mom putting on the
radio and dancing silly around the kitchen while cooking dinner, or
going and getting ice cream with her, more than any vacation we ever
took. :)

I read the comments you recently posted and just wanted to thank you
for clearing up some of the misconceptions of your complaint. I hope
you at least receive a response from Disney acknowledging your poor
experience on the cruise. I also hope your letter alerts other parents
to the reality of daycare on the ship, as I think Disney's promotion
is a bit misleading.

I can't get over the fact that the OP's child was still in the daycare
center at 10pm. This isn't like home where the parents go out for an
evening leaving the kids with a sitter in their own home where they
feel safe. This is leaving your kids with strangers in a strange
environment at a late hour. I feel sorry for the poor kid.
And the three year old was simply acting like a three year. The kid
was probably confused so he wanted his parents close by. I don't think
it was the responsibility of the day care people to convince the child
he should stay with them.
It appears the OP was hoping for a vacation with hubby depending upon
dumping her responsibilities i.e her kids on the cruise line. I'm sure
if her 3 year old was taken to a room and put on a mat to nap as she
suggests, he probably would have screamed bloody murder.
Next time if she is still able to take a vacation, she needs to leave
the kids at home with a trusted sitter or bring along her own nanny if
she wants to behave like she is unencumbered by her children.
A refund? I don't think so.

I don't think you should get a refund. That's unreasonable.

We have been debating if we should take a Disney Cruisein lieu of
Christmas. Mostly we come to the conclusion of waiting until the kids
are older, like older teenage years and then let them take a friend,
use the buddy system. That way my hub and I can take the break we
need and they are responsible for themselves.

I agree that there should only be a certain number of kids allowed and
they should have a personal counselor. They would know by the bookings
how many! They should also schedule times for the children to be in
there.
As for the nap, you know your child more than anyone else, how could
they know your child's habits after a day or two? You should still be
a parent, even on a cruise, no matter what they offer.

While you may have some valid complaints in your letter, asking for a
refund for your entire trip is absolutely ridiculous.

I have taken my children on a Disney cruise. The Kids Clubs, while
certainly a step above *many* childcare programs I've seen, are still
subject to the same sorts of problems that any other childcare program
may have.

Such as: children taking time to adjust to the setting, children
missing their parents and accidents.

Are you really upset that your daughter - left in a new environment
with childcare providers she just met - missed you and wanted to see
you? Come now. I would be heartbroken if my child wanted to see me
and was told no by a childcare provider.

The staff paged you when your children requested you. I really can't
consider that a bad thing. It's not as if you had to leave work or
drive hundreds of miles; you were a short distance away on another
part of the ship.

Maybe, as others have suggested, they didn't page you over the
bathroom incident because you were so annoyed at having been paged
previously.

Yes, it is a concern that your children came in contact with FECES
(not feses). That is something that should have been addressed
immediately with the childcare staff.

As to the problem with the phones - again you were on a contained,
relatively small area. You can WALK over and TALK IN PERSON in a
matter of minutes. Yes, it was an inconvenience, but hardly one worth
a free cruise.

As to your other suggestions - good Lord. Individual counselors
assigned to each child, an entire separate room for naps...now how is
Disney supposed to pay for all that if they need to fork over refunds
to everyone who suffered the inconvenience of 1/2 a massage?

Finally, I have to say that I am completely appalled at your complaint
that you were "stuck" in your room during your son's nap. YES, I
agree that Disney cruises are family friendly and certainly there is
nothing wrong with parents spending some time alone together, but for
pity's sake, couldn't you sit on your balcony and read a magazine
while your toddler took what was probably a much-needed nap?

Look, I am a mom. I know - we give up everything for our kids. We are
the ones making sure everyone else is having fun which means we don't
always have a lot of fun ourselves. It gets better as they get older.
But your youngest is THREE. Don't expect an adult vacation with a
three year old in tow. Not even from Disney. That's just completely
unrealistic.

Disney offers a lot of family-friendly entertainment, but not every
kid is going to react positively to what they have to offer.

It sounds to me like you made all your vacation plans contingent on
your kids being in the clubs and enjoying them and when that didn't
happen, you just couldn't find a way to make the best of it.

Not Disney's fault. Not worth a refund.

I still find it unreasonable. Why can't a kid friendly Disney cruise
be suited for everyone in the family and not just the kids? The
parents are part of the family too, so why shouldn't they be allowed
to have some fun on their own. I thought that was the point of a
Disney cruise.. to provide some entertainment for the kids that
excluded the parents. What is so wrong with that?

I never did anything without my kids when they were growing up, and
now I realize that was foolish. If I could do it over again, I'd
take them on a Disney cruise expecting them to be supervised while I
had some time to myself. That's how Disney promotes the cruise, so
why wouldn't I take advantage of that?

If a family can only afford one vacation, it seems to me a Disney
cruise would be perfect. There should be plenty for the kids to do
with and without the parents. Just because it's a kid oriented cruise
doesn't mean the parents must spend every moment with them. I think
the opposite is true.

If your children said that they were miserably unhappy in the clubs,
would you say "tough cookies" and go on with your plans?

As I said in my letter above, I have taken the Disney cruise. And they
do offer a lot of entertainment for family members of all ages. But
just because there is plenty for the kids to do doesn't mean they will
want to do it or enjoy doing it.

My daughter enjoyed the kids clubs very much but she didn't want to
spend all day and night there either. My son was very unhappy in the
clubs as he was younger and not used to a group care setting.

My sister, who was on the cruise with us, was very disappointed
because she had hoped that the two of us could do fun, adult
activities.

But as I'm sure you know, part of being the mom means adapting to the
situation and putting the child's needs first. That doesn't mean
catering to a child's every whim, but for a three year old a peaceful
place to nap is certainly a need.

Oh please. If your daughter had been forbidden to page you and had
been upset, you would have thrown a fit, too!! It's not Disney's
responsibility to /prevent/ your child from contacting you, and a
child young enough to page you for those reasons sounds to me like a
child young enough to reasonably be more dependent upon you.

It can be horrible, even for older children, to suddenly have to adapt
to a group childcare environment, especially past their bedtimes or
for unknown periods of time, and the only "anchor" these kids had to
familiar people or surroundings was to page their parents. I can't
believe you are upset that they used that opportunity to enhance their
feeling of security.

If alone time is very important to you on a vacation, consider
inviting a relative who would be willing to take on some childcare
duties, or hiring a childcare provider. Your kids love and need
individual attention; just because they are on a cruise ship (or, from
their perspective, in hugely unfamiliar surroundings) does not take
away that need.

It really sounds to me as if this is the sort of thing that can happen
when you have a bunch of kids who are completely off all their
schedules and routines (I'm guessing that your kids aren't ordinarily
in an unfamiliar group daycare situation most nights at 10, and I
suspect that a lot of other families were on vacation schedules as
well) and who are almost all strangers to one another, and a bunch of
caregivers with no established relationship to any of the kids (which
no doubt contributed to their not knowing when you would want to be
paged or how you would like them to respond to a child with separation
anxiety).

Even the incident with the feces -- if 3 kids had accidents all at the
same time and at least one of them was overflowing his or her diaper I
can imagine that the amount of supervision available for every child
in the room who had not just had an accident decreased very quickly
(note that when your daughter had her accident they had 2 people
responding to 1 accident that was contained in the bathroom) -- seems
to me like one of those really unpleasant things that nonetheless is
sometimes just part of life.

In other words, while you have my sympathies, and while I hope that at
the end of that cruise the daycare workers decided to get together and
figure out what they could do differently on future cruises (and I
hope that your suggestions are forwarded to them as well), I don't
think you are owed a refund.

I do hope that the five of you are able to go on another cruise fairly
soon and that it goes a lot better for all of you.

You opted to have kids. You opted to take them on an expensive
vacation. Things went wrong, as things will in real life, especially
when young children are involved. Did you really expect anything
different?

To everyone who said the OP was throwing her kids in daycare all day,
the OP does mention that the first two times the kids were in daycare
were NIGHTS. To me that says she spent the daytime with her kids. And
if Disney offers this service, then I don't think it's unreasonable
that the OP took advantage of it while on the trip.

I do think the point about letting the kids page their parents when
they wanted is a good one. Perhaps the staff sensed a little attitude
from the OP those times and that's why they didn't page her during the
bathroom incident. But we never know in these letters, and I think the
staff should've exercised better judgement in this case.

I agree with Redhead below that it sounds like the staff was stretched
pretty thin, and the OP's suggestions are good ones. No, I don't think
a full refund should be in order, but like Venice, I can see where the
OP was disappointed.

I really sympathize with you, your kids are wrong for constantly
bothering and "interrupting" you. It really isn't the sitter's fault
if your child thinks it's okay to ruin your night by wanting to share
a picture with you, how tedious. How dare your daughter question when
you were going to pick her up it was only 10pm sheesh. Those mean
counselors should have persuaded your kids into staying there so you
and your husband could have some fun without being constantly bothered
what the heck are they paid being paid for?

I agree the male in the bathroom was inappropriate and a real concern
that should not be allowed to happen. I also agree that they should
have tried to clean and sanitize your kids and the slide after the
accident yuck!

The suggestion of a separate nap room seems like a great idea. I
cannot imagine being stuck in a cabin on a cruise just so a kid can
sleep. I hope you a your husband can get some satisfaction but take
heart the kids will be grown and gone in 15 years and you'll be free
to party!

My kid (the lucky guy) went on a Disney cruise with grandma and
grandpa.

The "day care" is fairly extensive, in that there is a very large area
where kids, of varying ages, can do. They have dress up, arts and
crafts, video games, and so forth. There are also scheduled
activities, such as putting on a mini-show and a "graduation"
ceremony.

The pager system is there to ensure that the parents are notified when
they are needed. The staff there cannot (and, in my opinion, should
not) make the determination of what is a reason to call the parents or
not. This is not school, and it's not appropriate for a child to feel
hostage.

It does concern me that a male was with a female child (although it
sounds like there was also a female adult present). And it concerns
me that children were placed near a feces-covered individual. This
does not sound like the experience that my son had.

Based on what I've heard, I would hesitate to go on a Disney cruise or
to send my kids to the "day care." I do think it's nice that they
offer such an extensive program. I also like the security procedures
they use as well as the fact that they don't hold children hostage.
The benefit of a cruise like this is that the kids can spent some time
with their parents and some time with other kids and "on their own."
The amount depends on the child. Apparently, your children want to
have occasional visits, if only to show you their artwork.

By the way, my son opted to spend a lot of time at the "center." It
was his choice (so he says).

Your poor kids!!!!

To be taken on the trip of a lifetime with their parents only to be
dumped in the daycare all day long while mom and day run off and
play.

UGH!

If you and your husband were looking for a couples getaway (and it
sounds like this even if you state it was a "family" vacation) you
should have hired a nanny or gotten someone to stay home with your
children. I have been to several resort and cannot imagine putting my
children under the care of people I know nothing about. Your children
were in a strange place with strangers and wanted to be with their
parents. They are just little children.

Why did you bother to bring your children with you if all you were
going to do is shove them off into the hands of strangers to care for
while you and your husband romp around like "giggling teenagers"? Not
that there's anything wrong with that, but all I'm seeing in your
letter is how your kids ruined your cruise to the extent that you
asked for a refund.

I am very sorry to hear about your health concerns, but frankly I'm
surprised that the last trip your kids remember taking with you
involves you putting leaving them in the on-ship child care
facilities. What a way to instill in them positive memories.

Jeanine, your letter sounds as if you have an illness that may prevent
you from being with your family in the near future and if this is the
case I am very sorry. And I understand that this was a vacation that
was supposed to be for all your family, not just you and your husband.


I believe no child care center aboard a cruise ship will deny or
interfere with a child paging their parent(s). And your children were
probably not the only ones who were paging their parent(s). Not
knowing all the ages of your children it sounds like your daughter
just wanted to be with you and not in the center...i.e. "...she said
she just wanted to know when we were coming to get her." And also "...
my daughter paged us to come get her and she just wanted to give us a
picture." Sans her accident in the bathroom again it sounds like she
just wanted to be with you.
As for the slide incident...if any of your children have been in
daycare, gone to an amusement or public park and played on the
childrens equipment/rides then they have more than likely followed
another child who had an "accident". But its usually not noticable and
the child keeps playing and we never know the difference. (Hence the
reason we usually throw our kids right into a bathtub when they get
home from such places!)

As for your comment regarding the type of people from various
countries aboard this cruise...there always various nationalities on a
Disney Cruise. People come from all over the world to vacation on
these cruises. I am sure some mother/father felt the same about your
children in the fact that their children may catch something from
yours also.

I may have missed this in your letter but when did you complain to the
purser or anyone higher up on board regarding ALL your issues. You did
complain about the "feces" incident and of course the pink eye had to
be documented. Be even with pink eye who is to say that your child
did not bring it on board as easily as any other child or adult could.


I do hope they take into consideration your idea for the child care
center and seperate those who need quiet time or to take naps from
those older children who want to play, do arts and crafts or watch a
movie. This should be expected by any parent from any child care
center that handles a large amount of kids of various ages.
As for a FULL refund...I am up in the air about this.

I think you did have some mishaps on your cruise, some caused by your
children and some by the staff. I don't think this equates to a full
refund however.

I agree with some posters that after the first couple of incidents in
which your children paged you, the counselors may have been reluctant
to page you again.

You daughter having an accident was unfortunate but it does happen.
Perhaps they could have handled it a bit better but from what I could
see about the counselor to child ratio, they seemed to be stretched a
little thin.

How could the staff predict three potty accidents at the same time?
Again, unfortunate and could have been handled better but it does
happen in a daycare type setting as does pink eye.

The phones being out is again, something they can't predict. You
could have gone down to the purser's desk to complain about the feces
and then to the spa to book your massage but you chose to wait.

Cruise ships are like mini cities and problems and outages can occur.

I was prepared to be against the OP because on cruise letters, the OPs
seem to generally have an inflated sense of entitlement and
privilege.

However, I came away from this letter fully understanding the OP's
frustration.

I think that these kid-oriented cruises have been around long enough
by now that they've had time to "work out the kinks," so to speak. Of
course the OP would be annoyed if her kids were allow to page her on a
whim -- the employees should know better than to do that.

I just feel like this was an ill-prepared child care center staff, and
for what she probably paid for five people to go on a cruise, she
deserved better care for her kids, and that "better care" includes
"let me have four measly uninterruped hours alone with my husband."
(Something that probably requires a sitter and a night out back
home.)

Just my opinion.

With all due respect, it sounds as if the kids caused much of the
initial problem. As another commenter posted below, the staff may not
wish to interfere with a child attempting to contact a parent.
Additionally, interrupting a parent/child confrontation, such as the
young one throwing a fit, isn't always welcome either.

On the other hand, the staff may have been reluctant to page the OP
regarding the bathroom accident if she had vocalized frustrations
regarding the earlier pages. Regarding the potty accidents, having to
deal with multiple children messing their clothes is difficult enough
without having to supervise the other children at the same time. The
staff probably didn't deliberately let the children slide down the
contaminated equipment, but were too busy trying to clean up the other
children to be able to prevent a lot of activity. They also cannot
examine every child to determine if an irresponsible parent allowed
one with pink eye or an ear infection to be exposed to other children.


For someone who emphasized the need to have this trip be a memorable
one with her children, the OP seems to be fretting a lot about having
to spend time with them.

Oh how I do not miss those poopy days lol. The difference in taking
kids to anything Disney so young, and then taking them a few years
later is phenomenal. At least for us it was.

It's a shame it worked out that way and I hope your health is good so
you have another opportunity to be able to get away and all of you
have fun again.

I haven't heard anyone disappointed in the Disney employees, only the
opposite, but things can happen. They usually do everything they can
to make a bad situation wonderful. They were always wonderful with my
kids when we were in challenging situations. They don't like to call
parents for every little thing, it would make parents a wreck so maybe
they were trying to handle it on their own as much as possible so you
could try to enjoy your time out.

Let us know if they respond. Good luck.

I agree with Venice below, and I understand why you're disappointed.
However, I wanted to point out a couple of things:

"There were people from 17 different countries on the boat and God
knows what could of happened"

It doesn't matter what country you're from; feces in a public area is
gross. Feces from an American is just as much of a health hazard as
feces from someone of another country.

"The next day I had to take my 3 yr old to the medic for an ear
infection and double pink eye which he had gotten from the daycare."

As a mother who puts her child in daycare twice a week, this is one of
the risks. It's one of the risks of being out in public, period. It's
unfortunate that it happened, but these illnesses still could've
happened without being in daycare.

You wrote "I wanted this to be a trip for the whole family to remember
just in case it was our last." and "I just hope my health concerns
allow my family and I to vacation again cause I would hate for this
trip to be the last they remember taking with me!!!", but this whole
letter is about how spending time with your kids pretty much ruined
your trip.

1. Unless your health concerns directly impacted your enjoyment (or
non-enjoyment as the case may be) of the cruise, it doesn't really
matter and you are simply using it as a sympathy ploy. It's obvious
and makes many people less sympathetic instead of more.

2. Your kids paged you several times for non-reasons. Did you talk to
the attendants about why they let the kids page you? Did it ever occur
to you that it might be the rule of thumb to *let* the kids page the
parents whenever they want? Many parents would throw a fit if they
found out their kids had tried to contact them and weren't allowed to.


While your three year old was screaming, did you ask or in any way
suggest you would have welcomed help? Many people are hesitant - for
good reasons - to interfere between parents and children.

3. Your daughter in the bathroom is a more than valid complaint and
I'm shocked you didn't raise cain about it with the powers that be,
along with the *feces* on the slide. That's disgusting, though I have
to wonder what you are implying when you say there were kids from 17
countries and anything could have happened.

4. Your suggestions about having a quiet area in the daycare are great
and I wish you had mentioned them while you were on the ship when
there was more of a chance of something actually being done.

Welcome to parenthood.

A lot of this sounds like what would happen if parents took their kids
with them on a vacation.

It is called feces, by the way. Or faeces.