Disney Cruise Line might be changing how guests plan their day. According to numerous guests, paper personal navigators are no longer being left in each stateroom. Instead, guests who still desire a paper version of the navigator must visit Guest Services.
Guests who have sailed with Disney Cruise Line in the past are familiar with planning their day based on the paper personal navigator that’s left in each stateroom. The personal navigator is (was?) a sheet of paper that highlighted all of the day’s events in a convenient grid format. A guest could easily scan a certain time or location and immediately see everything taking place, as well as the length of each activity.
Now, it appears Disney Cruise Line wants to cut down on the paper used for the personal navigators and is pushing guests to use the smartphone version of the navigator.
While conserving paper is a strong goal and one that should be commended, the folks over at the Disney Cruise Line Blog highlight several issues that this may cause. Forcing the smartphone app, which we must note is no where near as convenient as it doesn’t give a very good overall view or potential overlaps of multiple activities, will create issues for older guests or guests who don’t have a smartphone. This change won’t be received well by the guests who have been sailing with Disney for decades.
The reduction of paper with the personal navigator seems a bit hypocritical given the sheets and sheets of paper still left in staterooms pitching various sales or shopping opportunities. Evidently the reduction doesn’t include or fully apply to the Disney Vacation Club ads or port adventure shopping ads.
Guest Siren Chudgar contacted Disney Cruise Line about the change. Below is their response.
“At Disney Cruise Line, we are dedicated to providing our Guests with a world-class experience, as well as minimizing our impact on the environment. Our Guests have overwhelmingly shared that they prefer the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to view all of the available cruise activities. As a result, we have launched a test in which we will temporarily suspend delivery of printed Personal Navigators in Guest staterooms. Printed Personal Navigators will be available at Guest Services.”
Disney via Disney Cruise Line Blog comments
Evidently, the current removal of the paper navigators is a test and Disney Cruise Line is gathering feedback. Guests who feel strongly about still having the paper version should contact Disney Cruise Line as soon as possible.
