Dissappointed with DCL Customer Service!

[glnrcker]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I don't see anything wrong with their customer service. Sorry you are disappointed you aren't getting a freebee.

 

[undertheradar]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

Here's hoping that you enjoy your cruise and understand that you are getting what you agreed when you selected your stateroom.

 

[PoopDeckPappy]

I can understand how you feel that way. Cruises are like airlines though regarding pricing. Just like moving to first class on a plane is cheaper upon check in compared to several months out, you may be able to upgrade for a good price upon check in. The people who booked early in a verandah would be upset if they know people who paid for an inside room could get a free verandah last minute. Either way DCL can have upset people so they might as well go the profitable route. I do see what you're saying, I wouldn't let it impact your overall impression since they won't change how they do it.

 

[wilkeliza]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Since you are past your paid in full date and with in a certain amount of days it would be considered a complete rebooking to try and get that lower price so you would loose everything you have already paid. The 11/5 cruise is now cheaper because it didn't fill up and they are hoping a cheaper price will get it full. It sucks but that is business. Hopefully you can still have an enjoyable cruise.

 

[glnrcker]

I don't see anything wrong with their customer service. Sorry you are disappointed you aren't getting a freebee.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I posted to see if maybe I'm looking at it all wrong, and I see you think I am. I disagree with the term freebie though. The difference in what I paid and the verandah sale was a few hundred dollars (not chump change considering how much more expensive a Disney cruise is). When I buy something retail and it goes on sale, customer service will refund me the difference. Guess Disney doesn't feel they need to make the customer feel good.

 

[bcwife76]

That sucks

But are there currently verandah rooms available now for less than you paid for oceanview? If so why can't you just change your cabin now....maybe I misunderstood.

 

[keaster]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

If the lower rates are the GT with restrictions...then those are for new bookings only. DCL has been offering these if a cruise isn't filling up close to sail time.
They are discounted, cheaper fares that you have to pay in full at time of booking with no changes allowed to the reservation.

You have to figure out if its worth paying the cancellation penalty and rebooking at the lower rate.

 

[Dug720]

It's actually not all that uncommon for cruiselines not to honor price drops after the PIF date as those are generally new sales with special conditions such as "New Bookings Only".

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[Mickeymouseisking]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

I'm sorry, but I also don't think Disney is in the wrong here...that's just how it works. In the cruise industry (and actually in many industries) prices change. When you pay for a cruise in advance you're taking the chance that perhaps the last minute rate will be better. When you wait for the last minute you're running the risk that the price won't drop and you won't get the room you want, if any. That's life and everyone makes their choices.

We bought our tickets to a Broadway show in advance because we really wanted great seats, so we spent about $200 a ticket. The people sitting directly behind us payed less than half of what we paid because they took a chance and only bought the tickets that afternoon. That's the way it is. The theater didn't lower everybody's ticket price...the people who waited for bargain tickets.

Once we were on a cruise out of Florida that didn't fill up so the last minute rooms went for basically nothing. We come from overseas, we can't wait until last minute. That's just the way it is...

When you buy a nice coat and then two months later it goes on super sale you're not getting that money back...you always have the choice of waiting for something to hopefully go on sale or just getting what you want before it sells out. It's your choice...it's always a gamble.

I'm not attacking you just trying to give you another point of view. I hope you have a wonderful and amazing vacation that will make you forget you were irritated!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

It's actually not all that uncommon for cruiselines not to honor price drops after the PIF date as those are generally new sales with special conditions such as "New Bookings Only".

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

The only cruise line I know that honours price drops after final payment is Carnival with their Early Saver fare. You can get on board credit or upgrades up to 2 days prior to sailing.

 

[RedSox68]

I have never received a free upgrade from Disney in 10 cruises. I have been offered upgrades on other cruise lines -- some for free (Carnival), some for a small fee (Holland America) -- Princess gave us a mini-suite just because we didn't qualify for the new sale after we booked. I don't think Disney has ever been into upgrading much. Sometimes they sell the extra rooms for cheap to cast members .

 

[kdogfister]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I posted to see if maybe I'm looking at it all wrong, and I see you think I am. I disagree with the term freebie though. The difference in what I paid and the verandah sale was a few hundred dollars (not chump change considering how much more expensive a Disney cruise is). When I buy something retail and it goes on sale, customer service will refund me the difference. Guess Disney doesn't feel they need to make the customer feel good.

I think the entire crux of your argument is that when you buy something at the department store, you can always bring it back and get a price adjustment. I think the catch is that it needs to be within the return window. So that brand new sweater I paid $100 for is $85 10 days later. You better believe I'm going to request the price adjustment or threaten to return the sweater. But 6 months later, good luck trying to get most retail stores to do a price adjustment.

Prior to your Paid-in-full, Disney may have been much more willing to do the price adjustment or upgrade the room. But it's too late to return that sweater now.

There is plenty of room for customer service to make exceptions in these cases, but I doubt Disney is willing to put anything on the record about bending the rules or everybody will expect an exception. If there's one thing I've learned, when a large group of people pay good money for something, there will be enough people that try to game the system that companies start putting in hard line rules that limit employees ability to give good customers good customer service.

 

[dragynally]

It's the gamble you make whether you book early or wait. If you book early the price might go down later. If you wait the cruise could fille up

 

[ImDMous]

Giving good customer service does not equal doing whatever you say despite the fact that it's against their policy.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

You still did the smart thing, regarding a Disney Cruise. They mostly go up in price. Sorry it didn't work out for your this time, but most times people who wait to book end up paying more or missing it altogether. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[jetskigrl]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

Is it a price drop on a regular room or are you referring to the VGT offer? I checked cruisefish.net and the specific room prices haven't dropped at all on that cruise. What they offered were last minute VGT rates to fill the ship, and those come with lots of restrictions. Under the terms of that rate, it has to be new bookings only (which is why they usually only offer them after PIF date, so that they will entice new people to book, not just have existing bookings changed).

 

[scgustafson]

You still did the smart thing, regarding a Disney Cruise. They mostly go up in price. Sorry it didn't work out for your this time, but most times people who wait to book end up paying more or missing it altogether. Enjoy your cruise!

In 8 cruises sailed and 3 more currently booked, I have not seen any of them drop in price for the exact same booking I made (specific cabin category and room at time of booking); however, I have seen 9 of them increase in price after I booked them, including 4 of them going up significantly on that same day (of course they were opening day bookings).

 

[Sytrace]

We are Castaway members and there has been a price drop on our 11/5 Disney Magic sailing. Verandahs are now considerably less than our ocean view. Inquired to see if they could upgrade us because we are being penalized for having booked early. Was told No, but please check at the pier to see about upgrade...BUT FOR A FEE! That left me with such a bad impression of their customer service and not feeling the Magic.

So, just to understand and clarify, you want to upgrade to a Verandah cabin 2 days before sailing for free because you booked something awhile ago and now there are lower rates?
And that you feel entitled to this free upgrade because Disney needs to make you happy over every other guest that also booked in advance and would also like to sail for less.

How should they go about making the decision as to who gets the free upgrade to a different category cabin 2 days before the cruise?
Should they put all guest names who booked (and it should be Inside and Oceanview) into a hat and draw them out?
And what about those Inside and Oceanview cabins that are now going to be available because some lucky guests have been chosen for free upgrades?

Or should they charge an upgrade fee at the port on a first come, first serve basis? Seems like an obvious and fiscally responsible choice would be to offer an upgrade opportunity for a price to all guests who were interested.

I do hope you can put this aside and have a great cruise on the Magic .
It sure would be a waste of energy (and money) to spend all your time being upset because you did not get what you felt entitled to.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If the lower rates are the GT with restrictions...then those are for new bookings only.

That was my thought, also.

It's not that the prices have dropped for the cruise, it's that DCL is offering a last minute "deal" to fill the ship.