DCL Changed the rules on the Castaway Club Credit!?!

[happydays]

I just got off of the phone with a CM at the Castaway Club # of DCL. We have cruised DCL twice and have three more cruises booked. While checking into another matter with the CM, I also wanted to make sure that our CC onboard credits were applied to the reservations, as I had made them online. She informed me that I can only get this benefit if I book while on a cruise. She said that this is a "new" policy. I protested, because when we were on in January, DCL DID NOT have a rep onboard to book future cruises, so this was not an option for us.

All of our reservations fall within their previously published criteria for the CC onboard credit - booked within 12 months of the previous cruise and sailing within 18 months.

As this policy change made no sense to me - I asked the CM to reiterate it to me several times. She DID tell me that when I am on my next cruise in November (with no onboard credit) that I should see the rep onboard about the future bookings I have and that MAYBE I would qualify for the onboard credit - but I also may lose the early booking discount that I already have! What gives??

I think that this "change" in policy is ridiculous and renders the "benefits" of the castaway club non-existent. I am hoping that I have just had the misfortune of coming across a sorely uneducated CM this time. Has anyone else heard of this yet? Please respond if you might have any further information on this. Thanks.

[castawayfan]

Well, I just got off the cruise. We did not book on board because the rates were not good for when we wanted to cruise. I booked on Monday with Dreams and they were able to give me my returning cruiser $200 on board credit. They did tell me that I could not have both my $200 credit and my Disney Club Credit even though I received both on my cruise last week.

[happydays]

I called back DCL and spoke with a second CM who told me the same thing - I must book onboard in order to receive the $200 CC onboard credit. She was very nice and listened to my argument and then spoke with a supervisor. The bottom line is that I will get my onboard credit for my upcoming cruises, however - she reiterated that their policy is indeed changing and that the current policy of booking within 120 days of your last cruise will be replaced with booking WHILE ON YOUR CRUISE. She said that the old rules will only be honored through May.

Boy - I'll say it again - I sure hope this doesn't really happen.

[taswira]

While it's bad for all of us, I can understand DCL's point of view. 1) A cruiser is more likely to be enthusiastic and caught up in the wonder and magic of the Wonder and Magic while aboard. DCL wants to take advantage of that - sort of like a car salesman. 2) After leaving the ship you are more likely to shop around and compare prices to see if they really are giving you the best deal. DCL wants to get your commitment to them while they still have you. 3) You became a Castaway Club member by sailing with DCL. That means A LOT of people are CC members. A great many are return cruisers. It does not surprise me that DCL reached a point where they figured they're holding the ace.

I'm not saying I agree with the decision. I just think I understand <I>why</I> they made it. Guess that's a reason to get onboard Internet access and compare prices online before committing(?).

[albiats]

I was under the impression that other cruise lines give returning cruisers a discount on subsequent cruises. When I cruised on a Carnival ship in early 2001, I was told it was something like 5% and that it was throughout their entire line. It was explained that since I sailed on a Carnival ship, if I booked with Holland America (or any other Carnival line) I could get the discount.

I also remember that on one cruise line (can't remember which one now) that you would get a return cruiser discount of 5% for the second cruise and then an additional 5% for each subsequent cruise until you eventually reached a maximum discount of 30%.

DCL's sometimes credit is not as good as that, but like others have said, they may not have to offer that much to get people back.

[moocow35]

I have a question for Happydays, I sailed February of 2000, booked my February of 2001 in April 2000 and received my $200.00 credit. I booked my February 2003 in September of 2001, and they are telling me that I won't get the credit now. I booked way within the guidelines, and as you, before they were doing this on board booking thing.

What number did you call, and did I read this right you are now getting the credit? Did you get anyones name? I really would like to follow up on this myself.

Thanking you in advance for any help

Robin ºOº

[Lthouseprincess]

Someone help me understand this. I booked in February, before 120 days were up. We are cruising in Jan 2003. We were told we got a castaway club credit. so are they now saying no, we took that back? That is the only reason we picked disney. HELPPP I am confused?

[taswira]

Originally posted by Lthouseprincess
We were told we got a castaway club credit. so are they now saying no, we took that back? That is the only reason we picked disney.
That's the <I>only</I> reason you picked Disney?????

[Lthouseprincess]

honestly, yes. We had cruised only one other time, and it was disney. It was in November and we sailed to South Carolina, I know it wasn't their fault, but I did not like the way they handled it. I wasn't WOWed by this cruise. but I was willing to try again. i thought the on board credit was a nice touch. I know I can cruise another line cheaper, but I liked the idea of the perk! I was really planning on doing 2 cruises a year with them because of that. Greedy of me, yes.

[happydays]

Moocow35:
The reason the CM said that the supervisor is honoring my request for the $200 onboard credit is because I booked within 120 days of my last sailing and it will be within 18 months of one of my prior sailings. I think that I also had a valid argument when I pointed out to them that there was no opportunity to book online during our January cruise. It was after I persisted with my inquiry that the month of May was brought up as a cut-off point for the "new benefit rules".

I think the problem with yours might be that you booked your 2003 sailing in September of 2001 - which was more than 120 days after your sailing in February 2001. I use the 800-449-3380 Castaway Club number when I call. They can probably tell you for sure what the problem is.

Good Luck and Happy Cruising!

[moocow35]

Thanks for your answer, I will call them. I also forgot to mention that I also cruised February of 2002 also, so the booking for the 2003 was well within the time frame.

Robin ºOº

[two4ruff]

We just booked last week while on board and were told that was the only way to get the onboard credit. We did notice that on the Disneycruise website that the credit has been removed as one of the Castaway Club benefits just this week.:confused:

(On another note, we were also told booking on board was the ONLY way to save $750 each on the cruise date we chose. Once home, we discovered that it is the price they are advertising on line for anyone. Loved the cruise, but not to happy about the sales pitch...)

[taswira]

Maybe we could choose a few different dates, price them the day before the cruise on DCL's site and other places offering DCL, print out the quotes and have them in hand when they give their onboard sales pitch telling us how <I>much</I> we're saving by booking then and there.

[happydays]

Another thought - This can't be good news for travel agents, because this would encourage cruisers to book directly with DCL and then DCL avoids paying commission to an agent. Maybe it would be possible to book onboard to secure the cc credit and then let your agency "take over" the reservation so that you could take advantage of any rebates the agency offers. Just thinking out loud ...

[prymsu]

That may be the route to go as lots of times they offer shipboard credits or rebates. With AAA we also got the refillable soda mugs.

[taswira]

Originally posted by happydays
Another thought - This can't be good news for travel agents, because this would encourage cruisers to book directly with DCL and then DCL avoids paying commission to an agent.
It is clearly <I>not</I> good for travel agents, but it is good for DCL. Nowadays in the travel industry, many companies (just as with airlines) have realized they can make more profit by"cutting the middleman" and <I>not</I> having to pay commission. This does not work for unpopular or unknown companies. It <I>sometimes</I> works for big names like Disney. It looks like they are headed in that direction or at least giving it a try. Not sure how they would handle a "bait and switch" reservation, considering their "new" policy. In the future, if you book onboard for the benefits, they <I>might</I> force you to cancel and re-book your ressie if you want to switch to your TA, therefore losing the onboard booking benefits. I can't blame DCL for looking after its own interests. Benefits or not, there will always be people who procrastinate and book later through their TA.

[gottaluvdisney]

I have booked onboard and my travel agent got credit for the new booking. On the bottom of the 'onboard offer' sheet that was in my stateroom it states -

"If current cruise was booked through a travel agent, the same travel agent will get credit for the new booking"

So - Disney is not cutting out the middleman. It sounds like they are just changing their process for Castaway Club members.

[taswira]

Originally posted by gottaluvdisney
I have booked onboard and my travel agent got credit for the new booking.
That's true for right now, but I'm thinking further down the line. If someone books onboard as a CC member, then their next cruise they do the same thing, eventually there is the <I>possibility</I> of eliminating the non-DCL agent's commission . . just a possibility depending on the path DCL chooses for their future procedures. But again, there will always be those who wait and book with their TA.

[AnnMorin]

We booked two weeks ago and it was 110 days from our last cruise, we were told we got the credit as it was within the 120 days. I called back and they said that we definately will be getting our 200.00 so I am confused about your denials, we did it over the phone not on board

[taswira]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
We booked two weeks ago and it was 110 days from our last cruise, we were told we got the credit as it was within the 120 days. I called back and they said that we definately will be getting our 200.00 so I am confused about your denials, we did it over the phone not on board
Was that addressed to me? I wasn't denying anything - only talking about possibilities in the future, given the direction they may be headed. The other posts seem to be referring to their individual experiences, and it seems clear that the story you get may depend on the particular CM you are asking. But someone did state that the benefit info on the CC website was recently changed.

[Hopkins]

I have our travel agent checking into it for us. Our cruise in January 2003 was booked a month after our previous cruise so it's within the old guidelines, but not booked on-board. We sailed 1/2002. So, it was booked 120 days after our previous cruise for a cruise within 18 months. Not booked on-board. The original poster said that offer will be honored until May, but I don't know if that's for cruises booked until then or for travel up to May. I don't think it's fair, but it states on our castaway club cards...

"The membership card identifies you as a Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club member and cannot be used as a credit card. Disney Cruise Vacations reserves the right to add, modify or delete any of the rules or conditions pertaining to the Disney Cruise Line Cadtaway Club, with or without notice. The DCLCC has no predetermined termination date and will continue until such time that Disney Cruise Vacations elects to discontinue the program."

So, what does this club give us? A welcome reception, welcome gift, and special check-in line.

Tina

[happydays]

We booked two weeks ago and it was 110 days from our last cruise, we were told we got the credit as it was within the 120 days. I called back and they said that we definately will be getting our 200.00 so I am confused about your denials, we did it over the phone not on board

The supervisor that the second CM asked said that the formal "cut-off" for the existing policy (no onboard booking requirement) is May in terms of booking - that is why you had no problem. It seems that the CM's I spoke with were already utilizing the new rules and that is why I was originally denied the credit. Maybe they are phasing it in until May and you won't get the credit unless you ask.?. Who knows!?

[AnnMorin]

I did not mean to offend anyone when I said I didn't understand your denials, I meant I did not understand why they would deny you. If it were me I would yell and scream to get my money as that is what I was promiced when I joined up. Sorry if I ruffled any feathers:eek:

[taswira]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
If it were me I would yell and scream to get my money as that is what I was promiced when I joined up.
<B>I agree</B> that for those who already booked and were told they would have certain benefits, they should get those benefits. But in the future (the after May deadline?) I wouldn't yell and scream about it (me personally) because <B>we did not pay money to "join up</B>." CC benefits were granted as "complimentary" to returning cruisers. DCL always had it in the fine print that they can change or eliminate CC benefits or the CC itself at any time.

As to being offended, I didn't take offense. I just couldn't figure out what it was I said to incite the remark so I was asking. Sorry that I misunderstood, as the comment "your denials" could be taken two ways.