Did DCL do enough to find their missing son?

[ducklite]

As one of those parents who is glad they lump kids together, just want to say it is definitely NOT because I think my child is more mature! My 6 year old is special needs and needs his 8 and 10 year old sisters to talk for him and my 2 year old won't stay in the nursery by himself. The only reason we booked again for next year is because we can leave the two boys with their siblings. Otherwise, we would have had to wait several years to cruise DCL again :eek:

 

Your children could play together outside the club. A lot of families cruise DCL and never even use the clubs.

[MizDaisy]

Call me stupid...but I'd like someone to show me where the guy's blog was inconsistant. Show me.

 

Also...I didn't see him DEMAND a refund. He said he sent a note to the CD suggesting that a refund would be nice. He asked the woman shoreside about it, and she denied it.

 

End of refund story. I didn't see any DEMANDS.

[MizDaisy]

Someone on the Disney discussion threads said that the CD came to his table to say they were sorry, or something. And came to his room. Why would it be so outrageous to think that they could go to this guy's table?

 

And it sounded in the blog as though the CD did say he'd come. Until he got the private note about a refund. Then he probably wanted to keep his distance and ignore the guy.

[ducklite]

Someone on the Disney discussion threads said that the CD came to his table to say they were sorry, or something. And came to his room. Why would it be so outrageous to think that they could go to this guy's table?

 

And it sounded in the blog as though the CD did say he'd come. Until he got the private note about a refund. Then he probably wanted to keep his distance and ignore the guy.

 

His time frames are inconsistent with the amount of travel he claims to have done all over the ship unless he's the Flash.

 

I also find it impossible to believe a perfect stranger told him that he was considering leaving the ship at the next port over it.

[Tonka's Skipper]

Someone on the Disney discussion threads said that the CD came to his table to say they were sorry, or something. And came to his room. Why would it be so outrageous to think that they could go to this guy's table?

 

And it sounded in the blog as though the CD did say he'd come. Until he got the private note about a refund. Then he probably wanted to keep his distance and ignore the guy.

 

 

I beleive that was a different person and something that happened on her cruise......not this incident.

 

Sorry and kick me for manners, you don't make people gruble in public for a appology, you have already recieved....especailly since these people were not the people directly involved in the incident...........not classy.

 

This is just another thing that make me think the cople were more interested in getting attention, then the incident as a whole.

 

 

AKK

 

AKK

[Tonka's Skipper]

Call me stupid...but I'd like someone to show me where the guy's blog was inconsistant. Show me.

 

Also...I didn't see him DEMAND a refund. He said he sent a note to the CD suggesting that a refund would be nice. He asked the woman shoreside about it, and she denied it.

 

End of refund story. I didn't see any DEMANDS.

 

 

After his wife and he decided they wanted a full refund, they sent a written note to the CD wanting it...that reads a a demand in my book.

[MizDaisy]

After his wife and he decided they wanted a full refund' date=' they sent a written note to the CD wanting it...that reads a a demand in my book.[/quote']

 

If you didn't read the note, you have no way of knowing if it was demanding. Maybe it was a really nice note?

[ducklite]

If you didn't read the note, you have no way of knowing if it was demanding. Maybe it was a really nice note?

 

From his original blog post:

 

"I told the personnel at the gangway that my son was missing from their child care facility and that they needed to make sure no one else left the ship until he was found. "

 

"I told her if she didn’t make an announcement immediately, I’d be forced to break down the door and make the damn announcement myself!"

 

I have no doubt that he was very demanding.

 

By the way, nothing for nothing, but had I been the guys wife, instead of standing there "sobbing and shaking" I would have been looking for my son.

[Tonka's Skipper]

If you didn't read the note, you have no way of knowing if it was demanding. Maybe it was a really nice note?

 

 

If you go though the trouble to send a written note, nice or otherwise, at that point, in this type of the situation..........its a demand.......maybe a nice demand...but a demand none the less.

 

AKK

[SamsGoodLife]

From Disney's standpoint, the CD spoke with him, he didn't ask for anything at that time, except to maybe have the Captain or CD come by the table to wish his DW happy birthday and apoligize. OK, that's doable, at least the happy birthday part (most likely be the CD, not the Captain).

 

Then, between that conversation and dinner, the CD gets a note from the passenger asking for a full refund of their ruined vacation. From a customer service standpoint, this is now escalated to issues, any visit from the CD or Captain to apologize is an admittal of fault, and a liability that they're not going to set themselves up for. So I'm not surprised that the guy didn't get that visit. He escalated, they then locked down and would only communicate through designated channels.

 

The guy panicked, his wife was worse than useless, and instead of common troubleshooting, he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off making stupid demands that weren't going to happen. His kid couldn't have left the ship with someone else, they need to scan their KTTW card and minors aren't allowed to leave the ship without the responsible party in their stateroom being with them, plus, the KTTW card has a photo associated with it, so any crazy trying to abduct a kid would have had to 1. Get past the program's security with the right KTTW card that's authorized to check out that child, and also the right password.

2. Get past the ship's security at the gangway.

 

Why didn't dad go running up to the pool deck to see if Jr. fell in the pool, or went to the arcade, or the movie theater? Because he panicked, and made the whole situation worse by running around the ship without his wave phone. The child may have been sleep alone for all of 10 minutes and was found quickly, but dad's off on a quest and can't be reached because he didn't take any steps to stay in touch.

[AUDirt]

Count me among those who think something's not making sense here.

 

We got off the Fantasy on March 2nd. During the trip we tried to use the laundromat and the computer malfunctioned. My wife called for help, help was slow in coming, and when it finally did her card wound up getting charged 17 times while they got the clothes out of the washer.

 

For this (very minor) incident, DCL did the following:

 

* Refunded all the laundry charges

* Did all of our laundry (wash, dry, and fold) :)

* Sent both of my kids (large) stuffed Eeyores from Mickey's Main Sail

* Sent a hotel manager, in person, to our room to ensure everything was settled in a satisfactory manner.

 

Now then, I just have a hard time believing that the same company that handled my incident this way handled a lost child with a park pass and a shrug.

 

If I were to guess, my hunch would be that the wristband did work, and they were confident the child was somewhere in the club. I spent 10 minutes trying to find my 4yro on our cruise and he was totally fine, just running around like a madman.

[CI66774]

Okay - I'll share my own moment of terror at the kid's club on the Fantasy. I went to pick up my daughter (3 at the time) and couldn't find her - anywhere. I went back and forth between to the two connected clubs and thought I searched every nook and cranny (even the bathrooms). That's when I started to feel hot and panic (yes - panic) set in. I went to the front reception desk in the younger club and asked one of the counselors to help me find my child. We couldn't find her. Went back to the computer and they confirmed she still was in the club somewhere. Finally - after about 15 minutes - I found her asleep under some costumes in the corner of the dress up room. Did I demand compensation? No. Did I demand to speak to the Captain? No. I simply picked up my child, kissed her on the cheek and had an extra martini the next night - end of story. No harm - no foul.:)

[angeleyez915]

I don't feel that the father is crazy. I have had a child go missing in an area where another child had gone missing a few years prior and had never been found. I do completely understand that feeling that he was having and that complete and utter feeling of hopelessness and panic. Until you have experienced something like this please do not judge. Everyone handles crises differently and you never really know just how you will feel when a situation arises until you are actually experiencing it for yourself. You may go through scenarios in your mind, you may THINK you know how you will react and feel, but I can tell you without any doubt that everything you THINK you know is completely different from the reality.

 

With that being said, I don't think I agree with a full refund. I do think that what they offered him was very generous.

 

I do think that a lot more investigation needs to be done on by the cruise line to determine why the bracelet malfunctioned and new precautionary measures should be put in place to prevent any future issues. A suggestion would be that someone should be able to monitor the bracelets constantly and the instant a malfunction occurs all children should be gathered immediately and accounted for so that if someone is missing they will know right away and can start looking sooner rather than later. Time is extremely important when a child is missing.

[ducklite]

I don't feel that the father is crazy. I have had a child go missing in an area where another child had gone missing a few years prior and had never been found. I do completely understand that feeling that he was having and that complete and utter feeling of hopelessness and panic. Until you have experienced something like this please do not judge. Everyone handles crises differently and you never really know just how you will feel when a situation arises until you are actually experiencing it for yourself. You may go through scenarios in your mind, you may THINK you know how you will react and feel, but I can tell you without any doubt that everything you THINK you know is completely different from the reality.

 

I think most parents have experienced that terror at one point in time or another. My son (who has disabilities) went missing in a department store once. Instead or running all over the mall, I asked the nearest clerk to get the store security because my son had disappeared. Then I began searching for him, thinking about all the places he might have hidden. I remained cool and collected, and we found him a couple of departments over hiding under a rounder with long dresses on it after about 15 minutes--he had been scared by something and then scared even more by strangers calling for him.

 

Instead of overreacting I kept my cool and people were very willing to help--even other shoppers. I think it's human nature to not want to assist someone who is being irrational--irrational people do irrational things to those who aren't acting the way they want them to, and the average person isn't trained to manage irrational people.

[angeleyez915]

I think most parents have experienced that terror at one point in time or another. My son (who has disabilities) went missing in a department store once. Instead or running all over the mall, I asked the nearest clerk to get the store security because my son had disappeared. Then I began searching for him, thinking about all the places he might have hidden. I remained cool and collected, and we found him a couple of departments over hiding under a rounder with long dresses on it after about 15 minutes--he had been scared by something and then scared even more by strangers calling for him.

 

Instead of overreacting I kept my cool and people were very willing to help--even other shoppers. I think it's human nature to not want to assist someone who is being irrational--irrational people do irrational things to those who aren't acting the way they want them to, and the average person isn't trained to manage irrational people.

 

which only emphasizes this point even more : Everyone handles crises differently and you never really know just how you will feel when a situation arises until you are actually experiencing it for yourself.

[ducklite]

which only emphasizes this point even more : Everyone handles crises differently and you never really know just how you will feel when a situation arises until you are actually experiencing it for yourself.

 

However as I said, people are far more willing to help someone who doesn't become irrational.

[angeleyez915]

However as I said, people are far more willing to help someone who doesn't become irrational.

 

In my opinion the fear of losing a child is not irrational. Incapacitating maybe, but not irrational. Irrationality is the absence of logic, you can be scared and still be logical. You can be emotional and upset yet still be logical. What part of this father wanting answers as to why things happened the way they did is not logical?

[ducklite]

In my opinion the fear of losing a child is not irrational. Incapacitating maybe, but not irrational. Irrationality is the absence of logic, you can be scared and still be logical. You can be emotional and upset yet still be logical. What part of this father wanting answers as to why things happened the way they did is not logical?

 

I don't think anyone has said that DCL doesn't need to rethink some of their policies.

[Host Mick]

Also, I agree with the PP that to demand a full refund because your child was where he was supposed to be and you just didn't know it, seems a bit ridiculous. While from the author's point-of-view I can understand why he was frustrated, there are two sides to the story and we have no idea what really went on here.

 

We know half of what went on. I wonder what was happening on the DCL side. Their side wasn't included in the story. For security reasons I assume, they didn't tell the parents exactly what was gong on.

[MizDaisy]

Other than the fact that the little boy was "missing"...and he truly was, regardless of whether or not he was still inside the Kids Club....the one thing that's driving me nuts with this whole thing, is everyone saying the dad "DEMANDED" a refund.

 

He asked, and was denied. End of story. He never said that he was going to sue....he hasn't ranted and raved. He blogged. Yes, he's a writer to some degree or another, and yes, the word has spread. SO? Every time something happens on any other cruise line, it's splattered in great big headlines all over the news.

 

Should every "bad" incident that happens on or at Disney be kept a secret for some reason?????

[Artemis908]

It should definitely be talked about and people should know about it. I mean that is why we post on these forums and look at blogs, right?

 

I think what I've learned from this is that Disney obviously doesn't watch the kids in these clubs very much. They aren't leaving the clubs, but they can easily fall asleep in odd places and be "misplaced" that way. I would be worried though if kids were disappearing and running around the ship alone.

 

I don't know what they could have offered to make him happier or what would be considered "fair". I think talking to the cruise director was good. I guess I don't know what Disney could have done better outside of having the bracelet work. Everyone has their own ideas about how someone should handle things. Some people don't want to be consoled if they are upset or be touched, etc. So, I don't know. I guess that's why we are all here - to discuss it and learn from each other and make hopefully it'll never happen to us. If it does though - I learned some things from this discussion!

[Tonka's Skipper]

Other than the fact that the little boy was "missing"...and he truly was, regardless of whether or not he was still inside the Kids Club....the one thing that's driving me nuts with this whole thing, is everyone saying the dad "DEMANDED" a refund.

 

He asked, and was denied. End of story. He never said that he was going to sue....he hasn't ranted and raved. He blogged. Yes, he's a writer to some degree or another, and yes, the word has spread. SO? Every time something happens on any other cruise line, it's splattered in great big headlines all over the news.

 

Should every "bad" incident that happens on or at Disney be kept a secret for some reason?????

 

 

Actually NO he was not misisng , he was taking a nap right in the rooms he was supposed to be in!

 

The Father admitted himself he over reacted and Yes he did demend!.he tolok the time to hand write a note, abit, a said to be politie one, but at the point that is a DEMAND, polite note or not!

 

Lets be hoest folks,,,,,,,,,this has been greatly over blown..........I truly beleive if this was not Disney and the Father did not write out a long, IMO, *gee I want attention* blog story, true or not, we would not be having this discussion. The Fathers lost alot of credibility with me, went he went so far as demanding the Master, and CD come to Palos and stand *hat in hand as it were* in public and allogize AGAIN................that screams.*I WANT ATTENTION*, it was not about hs son.

 

 

AKK

[wayne_trisha]

His time frames are inconsistent with the amount of travel he claims to have done all over the ship unless he's the Flash.

 

I also find it impossible to believe a perfect stranger told him that he was considering leaving the ship at the next port over it.

 

That's not so unbelievable. Err, nevermind, I can't come up with enough of a ridiculous exaggeration to demonstrate how stupid it would be for someone to threaten to leave a cruise based on something that did not happen to them. Something about this story is out of phase.

[skittl1321]

Actually NO he was not misisng ' date=' he was taking a nap right in the rooms he was supposed to be in!

 

[/quote']

 

Since the staff didn't know that, I would say he was missing.

 

If the system worked the way it should have, the staff would have been able to just say "oh, your son is over there in the corner"- the system didn't work which caused a huge amount of stress for the parents. Not 'free cruise' level, but I understand why they were so upset. Having lost track of a kid makes me really concerned on how well monitored the programs are.

[SamsGoodLife]

Since the staff didn't know that, I would say he was missing.

 

If the system worked the way it should have, the staff would have been able to just say "oh, your son is over there in the corner"- the system didn't work which caused a huge amount of stress for the parents. Not 'free cruise' level, but I understand why they were so upset. Having lost track of a kid makes me really concerned on how well monitored the programs are.

 

Actually, that's not how the system is supposed to work. All the staff would be able to say is whether or not the kiddo is in the club, not where in the club the kiddo is. So, if dad had been thinking logically, he would have known that kiddo can't leave the lab without the adult trying to take him presenting a KTTW card and the secret password, so even if the RFID tag was listed as malfunctioning his kiddo would be in the club somewhere, so before running off to check the gangway, which also has additional security to ensure kids can't leave the ship without mom and dad, he probably should have done a very thorough sweep of the club/lab area.

 

Those RFID tags aren't GPIS locators. They don't tell the club staff where in the area the kids are, just whether or not they've been checked in or out. There's nothing out there from Disney about being able to locate children in the club or lab using the tags.