Photo Credit: DCL Duo Podcast + Vlog
The Disney Wish suffered an undisclosed mechanical issue to her propulsion system on her April 29, three-night Bahamian sailing. While the ship departed Port Canaveral without incident on Friday, April 29, she struggled with a late arrival into Nassau on Saturday morning (April 30). Guests onboard reported she was moving at slow speed, may have been using her “thrusters” for propulsion, was assisted into port by tug boats, and parked “head-in” which is unusual for DCL. Some reports indicated the Wish may have experienced an issue with her Azipods. The Wish is the first Disney to deploy the Azipod technology.
Passengers were ultimately advised that the ship was experiencing a mechanical issue, and its departure from Nassau would be delayed. Regular fireworks were canceled on the evening of April 30 (they did take place on the evening of May 1), as fireworks cannot be set-off while in port, although the “Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Deck Party” proceeded as planned. Initial information to guests suggested the ship would leave Nassau late in the evening, so she could make her regular call on Castaway Cay the next morning.
However, on Sunday (May 1), guests awoke to find the ship still docked in Nassau, with no indications of when she might leave. Eventually, guests learned the ship would depart Nassau at 10am that morning (she actually cast lines closer to 10:30am). DCL also advised it would not be calling on Castaway Cay as planned; although DCL cited weather as the cause, rather the mechanical issue. Guests were compensated with a $100 onboard credit (OBC) (per cabin) and a 20% off future cruise credit (FCC) that is good for two years and can be stacked with an onboard placeholder for a total of 30% off (although the FCC is subject blackout dates).
Unfortunately for Disney, two well-known YouTube personalities were onboard, who have now posted a lengthy live video about the experience taking Disney to task over its lack of communication, suggesting weather had nothing to do with the missed Castaway Cay stop (despite gnarly weather in Southern Florida the same day) and saying the compensation offered was insufficient for those who may not be able to afford to sail Disney in the next two years. They also called on their fans to complain to Disney with the hope of changing the provided compensation.
We ran an informal poll both on Twitter and Facebook, and a majority of respondents on both platforms (282 total) disagreed that the compensation was not reasonable.
While we sympathize with those onboard who might not be able to use their FCC and agree it might have been nice for Disney to offer an option for a partial refund or an FCC, the approach Disney took here is nearly identical to what Disney offered impacted guests on the Wonder last year in Alaska when she suffered a propulsion issue that prevented her from making a planned call on Ketchikan (guests there were given a $150 OBC per stateroom, although that was a seven-night sailing). We have a show coming out later this week on this topic where we discuss our thoughts in more detail with a guest who was on the sailing, so stay tuned!
