Disney Cruise Line Ship Damaged by Hurricane Sandy

The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships are feeling the effects of Hurricane Sandy. According to passengers onboard, the Disney Fantasy suffered some broken windows and other minor damage last night as 100 mile per hour winds hammered the cruise ship.

For the passengers on the ships, the experience is far from what they expected when they planned their dream vacation. But they can find some reassurance in knowing that the Disney Cruise Line will do everything in its power to keep them safe and sound as they ride out the storm.

“We are currently monitoring Hurricane Sandy very closely as the safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority,” said Rebecca Peddie, Manager, Public Affairs Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club & Adventures by Disney.

Many of the ship’s activities have been canceled due to the storm, including the typical stop at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. Disney is offering the debarking passengers from the Fantasy 25% off a future cruise or a WDW trip. The Disney Dream replaced its stop in Castaway Cay tomorrow with a call on Nassau.

Update: Below are two more photos: One showing another angle of the damage to the gift shop and another giving a view of the high seas from a passenger balcony.

Update 2: Below is a CNN iReport video from onboard the Disney Fantasy. In the video you can see the passengers getting tossed around the cabin, doors slamming shut, and several scenes of minor damage from around the ship.

In an earlier statement, Disney Cruise Line said, “The Disney Fantasy skipped its stop in Castaway Cay today, and instead, guests are enjoying a sunny day at sea a safe distance from the storm.” This may have been the case for the first part of the trip, but the voyage home looks like it was a wild ride.

Update 3: Here are some additional photos of the damage from around the Disney Fantasy.

Update 4: Disney issued a statement to USA TODAY saying that there was some minor damage which included “cracked windows and broken furniture that have been addressed.” This seems to match what we’ve seen in the photos and video, that all the damage was cosmetic. The fact that the ship was able to depart on its next trip as scheduled seems to reinforce that the damage was minor.

While the physical damage might have been minor, based on the comments to this blog, it sounds like this was a very frightening experience for the passengers on board. We’re glad to hear that everyone made it home safe and without injury.

Photos via TheGF22611, Goofy57Runner, Heather

Filed Under: Disney Cruise Line October 27, 2012

Bob

I”m a DCL fan but not a fan of the decision they made to drive up the tail end of a hurricane while all other cruise lines diverted their ships. Safety did not appear to be their first concern.
- Tracy
  
  Were you onboard? Do you have the experience that the captain and crew have? I was onboard and while it was not a good experience, it was not my decision to make and I respect that. I will be back onboard, hopefully with this same crew as I feel they did a fantastic job with the situation.
  - heather
    
    I was on board. I feel that it’s quite evident that they made the WRONG decision. I spoke to dozens of crew members that night. Nobody expected what happened to happen. The DCL execs and officers need to man up and admit they made a HUGE mistake.
    - Heinz Doofenshmirtz
      
      I too was on board and agree with all the above posts. Furthermore, 2 other cruise liners that were to disembark on Saturday at Port Canaveral chose to stay out at sea to avoid the storm. The Royal Caribbean cruise liner that was at Port Canaveral when we arrived yesterday was scheduled to leave on Friday afternoon, but chose to stay in port due to weather….Saying that the captain did a “fantastic job with the situation” is most certainly an overstatement!!
Deela Hicklen

We were on the Disney fantasy and it was very scary coming up the tail end of the hurricane. Captain Tom did get us there ,but there was a few times I feared for my life.
Steven

Bob, I agree. It was our first, and as of this writing, likely our last cruise. To me, it seemed the only reason to continue, was DCL’s desire to be able to get to port Saturday to disembark our group and get the next group ($) on board (albeit late). 25% off the next cruise or Disney vacation? How about a 25% refund on this debacle of a trip?
Jeff

I agree as well. I do not blame the crew as I believe they were forced by Disney senior management to continue on schedule to ensure Disney did not lose a single $ from the next Saturday afternoon boarding. As for the 25% discount, my family will never cruise with Disney ever again. My family and I thought the ship was tipping over and we would not make it back alive. We sat together on our bed w/ our life jackets on while my wife cried out loud and my 10-year old daughter shook in fear. Thanks Disney for ruining the magical experiance and you will NOT see us real soon!!!
Disney Fan

I was on the Fantasy for this cruise. Contrary to Disney reports, we spent Friday in high winds and squalls. At approximately 1:30 a.m. the crew let the ship get beam to the waves? Not sure how many degrees we rolled, but I was looking directly at the sea from deck 7. Who was driving that thing!
Ottawa, ON Canada

Thankful to be home. We were on deck 10 under the pool area pizza and snack shack. We were looking directly into the massive waves also and throught that the ship was going to flip. It felt like we were listing around 35 – 40%. It was like a scene from the Perfect Storm and Titantic swirled together. When the Captain comes on twice in the middle of the night along with the rocking and rolling everyone knew how serious it was. You could heat it in his voice.
http://www.facebook.com/melinda.reith Melinda Chartrand Reith

My family and I were on the Fantasy for this cruise as well! We had an amazing week and the staff, service, accommodations, shows etc. were EXCELLENT. Until Friday night. I understand that Disney has a business to run
and I understand that they have a schedule to keep BUT – Friday night was
significantly more than safe or secure for the guests and the staff. We were on deck 7 at the front of the ship and at times you would look out and see only straight up, nothing but sky and others, straight down, nothing but water. The most frightening parts however were when we started to roll from side to side. This was beyond `rough seas`. It is beyond my comprehension why Disney would put its staff, passengers, property and reputation is such jeopardy by sailing so close to the tail of this storm. For the next day’s business? We will NEVER sail again, Disney or otherwise.
As for the 25% off of the next cruise – I`m sure there are a large number of people on that ship who will not take them up on that offer – due to fear – rational or otherwise; or due to the inability to take another cruise in the next year.
Wow, what a compassionate offer? Unless you were on it, you have no idea what we went through. Yes, we risked rough seas due to travelling in hurricane season and understand that our experience might be modified due to weather, beyond Disney`s control. So we missed Castaway Cay – that’s life? What was within Disney’s control was not placing that ship where it was, when the storm was obviously growing and not moving where it was predicted. That’s
why they’re storms, they’re dangerous and unpredictable. The one thing that was predictable was that the storm wasn’t going south. It would make sense that they would navigate away from the storm. The other thing within Disney’s control is providing some type of reasonable compensation for the losses experienced on this trip. 25% off your next cruise simply means 75% more business for them or nothing. How magnanimous of them.
http://www.facebook.com/Millyboricua Rivera Milly

I was supposed to traver on October 25, and as soones i heard that was bad weather I called and ask for the money back or a refund,, and they said if I dont board I will loose my money, so what we did was change the date and now we going on Dicember 13 and we hope we have a nice weather then,, BUT we had to pay 100.00 extra to change the date,, im really dissapointed with DCL. Because of the xtra charge. :((
DadLogic

Thank you for sharing these photos Heather. It is amazing to see how widespread the damage was on the ship. We’re very sorry that everyone went through the experience and are glad you all made it home safe.
Alison

My family and I were on this cruise as well.. We were on Deck 8 and I have to tell you this experience was one I will never forget.. I mean who sails into a Hurricane.. I mean I know its Hurricane season and that was fine not gong to Castaway Cay but to go ahead and push on.. It was clearly not for us but for DCL and getting their next group. I have sailed before but this time was different I had my children with me and frankly the disregard for their safety was unforgivable. I do not think the 25% off of another cruise or Disney stay makes up for that night of living terror. I paid almost 7000.00 for this cruise and I will never go one another one again. I am so disappointed in their Decision making process… It was Hell.
Tj

I have been on all the Disney cruise ships and been through just as much if not more where windows were missing the next day and I did not fear for my life. I think you all go a little bit to extremes. Get over it and move on. Heck it was so bad the one night I was sent rolling out of bed and I still go back on the cruises.
Faith Canals Gonzalez

We were passengers of the Disney Dream cruise that departed on October 25th. I am still wondering why they decided to still go on with the trip when other cruise lines were cancelling theirs, especially when there are more children involved. I traveled with a family of four and two other families and the kids were all miserable. The pools and slides were closed and there were no stops because of the storm. Many people were sick and upset and all they could offer was 25% off the next trip?? Are you kidding me?? We spent so much money for this dream vacation that had me wishing that I just stayed home. Disney should of really thought about the safety of their passengers and rescheduled.. They should really consider offering free trips if they do not want to loose many customers.
- Heather
  
  Faith, I feel terrible for those of you on the Dream!!! At least we had 4 great days and 2 ports before Sandy ruined our trip!
Andrea

8 of my family members and I were on board for this, including my 3 year old son. It was beyond scary. I feared for all of our lives. We were thrown from our beds onto the floor and heard many things falling and crashing. I speak for my whole family when I say we will not sail with Disney anytime soon or ever again. We should have been taken to safe waters and waited. We were held on the boat for over 3 hours before we were allowed to disembark and we all missed our flights and were inconvenienced for days after. I am very upset that our lives were put in danger and all we receive is 25% off another cruise or Disney parks. Disney still makes money off of this. Money must be more important than the lives of the people on the ship that week.
Heather

Our story was featured on two news stations in Nashville tonight. The NBC affiliate mentioned that the NBC National news may carry it too.

I ask people to consider this when they look at the photos of the damage on the ship…. Since we were never given instructions to stay in our rooms until AFTER we hit the rouge waves, What if it had been 4 hours earlier? What if children had been at the midship detective kiosks that flipped over and skidded across the hall. They would have been seriously injured or killed! What if the flipped “hover-round scooter” had its handicapped passenger onboard? What if families had still been occupying the gift shops and restaurants that were destroyed? Could a small child have faired well crushed under those 100lb display tables and racks that were flung around like confetti? What if folks had still been watching a movie on the Ledo deck? (Which did remain open all night on Friday during this weather). They could have fallen off the deck. I look at those pictures and think, it is ONLY by the Grace of God that it happened at 1AM when the public areas, restaurants and shops were empty. I wonder if any of those naysayers would be willing to wheel there child or grandparent into those areas for a repeat performance? Do they have THAT much faith in the Magic of Disney that they now believe they are invincible?

http://www.wsmv.com/story/19969435/sandy-gives-cruise-passengers-a-rough-ride

DisneyFantasyNightmare.blogspot.com
Pingback: Is Travel Insurance Worth the Cost? - Dad Logic