09/21/08 SSMC08 S.S. Member Cruise 2008

[cobbler]

Update:
10:45 am, cat 6 and 7 are sold out and 44 minute hold time estimate.

 

[mohrt2]

Finally confirmed!!! Category 4 cabin 8578. Thanks for all the support (especially to the chat room people). Look forward to getting to know you all.

 

[JsMom2]

It looks like Cat 3 just opened up again. It used to say Soldout, now it says limited availability.

 

[manascarfan]

Good Luck everyone still trying. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

[JsMom2]

Gail and I are in! Cabin 6148, early dining.

So glad you got in after your call dropped!

Finally confirmed!!! Category 4 cabin 8578. Thanks for all the support (especially to the chat room people). Look forward to getting to know you all.

We are your neighbors in 8582!

Good Luck everyone still trying. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Hang in there manascarfan! I'm sure you'll get in!!

 

[mohrt2]

We are your neighbors in 8582!

Howdy, neighbor!!

 

[cobbler]

I don't know if this will help but here is the 07 member cruise website

http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/miniSite/memberCruise?id=MemberCruisePage

In case anyone wants to bookmark it. I don't know if they will use the same page for the 08 cruise but just in case they do . . .

 

[PKK/MJK]

Did you guys get through?
danandnan

Dan & Nan
We got Cat 4 rooms. No Cat. 6 available. Look forward to seeing you on the cruise.

Phil

 

[cobbler]

Update as of 12:45

Sold out Catergories:
3,6,7 and 8

Catergory 12 has limited availibility

40 minute estimated wait time

 

[jemiaule]

Sorry for the novel....but I wanted to share this story about the not so pleasant time my mom had this morning while calling in. To be honest I am a little irked by what happened and feel bad for her.

On the 2007 Member Cruise I bought a new contract under my name and my mothers name so she would have her own points to use. With the purchase we got a confirmed booking on the 2008 cruise for a Cat6 room. We were calling today because we wanted to upgrade to a Cat 3 or 4 room.

My mom and I were tag team calling this morning. I kept getting busy signals, got frustrated and went back to bed. Mom had gotten through, was on hold 55 minutes....and got disconnected. She called back, was in the queue 19 minutes and got through. The person she spoke to was rude, nasty and stressed her out beyond belief. She had the person on speaker phone, my dad heard the call and can confirm what a jerk she was. Because of how mom was being treated, and the fact she was not understanding everything she was being told, Dad ran across the street to my house, grabbed me and I went over to their house to help with the phone call. (Side note - I literally live across the street, it takes MAYBE 45 seconds to get from my front door to theirs).

Mom had been asking the MS person questions about the difference between using points or cash and trying to understand what the MS person was saying. She told her she was new to owning her own DVC and this was her first phone call to them. Finally mom told her my dad was getting me because she was not understanding what the MS person was saying. The MS person was yet again nasty, said she was just going to hang up on her and that if someone else wanted to talk we could just call back. (yes, this is a fairly direct quote, I asked my mother twice "did she say it just like that...that she was going to hang up on you" and she said yes).

After that nasty outburst mom struck up some courage and asked the MS person to please put her through to a manager. I got there just right after she had asked this and mom handed the phone to me, she wanted nothing more to do with MS.

Now, I can understand this is a crazy day for the MS people and it is stressful for them...but come on, is it really necessary to take it out on a member....especially one who tells you they are new to DVC and this is the first call they have ever made to MS. Also, my mom is not a nasty or confrontational person; I know she was pleasant to this MS person because that is just the way mom is.

The manager I spoke to was awesome, very friendly and explained things clearly. We upgraded our room from a Cat6 that we were given for the add-on we bought on the 2007 member cruise to a Cat4 - and it only cost us 70 points. Our UY on this new contract has the same UY as the ones I own with my husband (February) and we had gotten our 2007 point allotment when we bought last month so this worked out great. We used 70 points from the 2007 allotment and the manager I was speaking with took care of banking the balance for me then. I half considered telling this manager about the jerk-o that had talked to mom but decided not to. I knew there were probably tons of people on hold and now was not the time to tie up the line with a complaint. We can call back on Monday and speak to someone about the problem.

So for the most part, all ended well. Except my mom decided not to go on the cruise with us, while I was on the phone she said to book just me and my husband. The whole experience with the phone call soured her I think. She says she wants just me and my husband to go so we can have a trip to ourselves...I am not sure if I believe her.

So glad you got in after your call dropped!
We are your neighbors in 8582!
Hang in there manascarfan! I'm sure you'll get in!!

Hey...I am your neighbor too. We are in 8580.

 

[JsMom2]

Sorry for the novel....but I wanted to share this story about the not so pleasant time my mom had this morning while calling in. To be honest I am a little irked by what happened and feel bad for her.

On the 2007 Member Cruise I bought a new contract under my name and my mothers name so she would have her own points to use. With the purchase we got a confirmed booking on the 2008 cruise for a Cat6 room. We were calling today because we wanted to upgrade to a Cat 3 or 4 room.

My mom and I were tag team calling this morning. I kept getting busy signals, got frustrated and went back to bed. Mom had gotten through, was on hold 55 minutes....and got disconnected. She called back, was in the queue 19 minutes and got through. The person she spoke to was rude, nasty and stressed her out beyond belief. She had the person on speaker phone, my dad heard the call and can confirm what a jerk she was. Because of how mom was being treated, and the fact she was not understanding everything she was being told, Dad ran across the street to my house, grabbed me and I went over to their house to help with the phone call. (Side note - I literally live across the street, it takes MAYBE 45 seconds to get from my front door to theirs).

Mom had been asking the MS person questions about the difference between using points or cash and trying to understand what the MS person was saying. She told her she was new to owning her own DVC and this was her first phone call to them. Finally mom told her my dad was getting me because she was not understanding what the MS person was saying. The MS person was yet again nasty, said she was just going to hang up on her and that if someone else wanted to talk we could just call back. (yes, this is a fairly direct quote, I asked my mother twice "did she say it just like that...that she was going to hang up on you" and she said yes).

After that nasty outburst mom struck up some courage and asked the MS person to please put her through to a manager. I got there just right after she had asked this and mom handed the phone to me, she wanted nothing more to do with MS.

Now, I can understand this is a crazy day for the MS people and it is stressful for them...but come on, is it really necessary to take it out on a member....especially one who tells you they are new to DVC and this is the first call they have ever made to MS. Also, my mom is not a nasty or confrontational person; I know she was pleasant to this MS person because that is just the way mom is.

The manager I spoke to was awesome, very friendly and explained things clearly. We upgraded our room from a Cat6 that we were given for the add-on we bought on the 2007 member cruise to a Cat4 - and it only cost us 70 points. Our UY on this new contract has the same UY as the ones I own with my husband (February) and we had gotten our 2007 point allotment when we bought last month so this worked out great. We used 70 points from the 2007 allotment and the manager I was speakign with took care of banking the balance for me then. I half considered telling this manager about the jerk-o that had talked to mom but decided not to. I knew their were probably tons of people on hold and now was not the time to tie up the line with a complaint. We can call back on Monday and speak to someone about the problem.

So for the most part, all ended well. Except my mom decided not to go on the cruise with us, while I was on the phone she said to book just me and my husband. The whole experience with the phone call soured her I think. She says she wants just me and my husband to go so we can have a trip to ourselves...I am not sure if I believe her.



Hey...I am your neighbor too. We are in 8580.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I know it's harder to see our loved ones be hurt, than to be hurt ourselves. It sounds like you handled the problem well. I look forward to meeting you onboard!

 

[cobbler]

Hugs, that is too bad

 

[PKK/MJK]

We're neighbors too! My DH Phil and I are in 8588 and our DD and her DBF are in 8592.

We had a really MISERABLE time this morning too--although our CM was very nice. I got through at 9:03, waited for 35 minutes on hold and was disconnected. :-( Got through again at 9:39 and was on hold for 2 1/2 hours --and no one ever picked up!! I kept hearing the music and getting the message 'the next available rep will be with you shortly' but no one ever answered. Finally Phil got through on his cell phone (I was still holding on our land line), he was on hold for 40 minutes and the call was answered. Obviously there is something VERY wrong with this phone system!

Anyway, the rep was really nice--told us there was availability to upgrade to a category 3--but there wasn't. So Phil told him to put our daughter and her boyfriend in the category 6 and we'd take a category 4. No problem except the CM put all of us in a cat 4 and released our category 6!!!! Of course, he couldn't get the category 6 back--so we ended up with two category 4's. DD gets an unexpected upgrade. LOL!! Thank heavens we had plenty of points for this. We are lucky!

Through it all, even though he misunderstood our directions, our CM was very patient and helpful. I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom's horrible experience. :-( I'm sure the CMs are beyond stressed with these DVC Member cruise ressies, but it's their job to be helpful.

It was an exhausting and stressful morning. Frankly, I think this will be our last Member Cruise. I don't think I want to go through this phone fiasco again. Of course, maybe I'm just saying that now when I'm very annoyed...

Sure wish we could have gotten onto the chat line. I could have used some of that 'cheering up'. Phil tried and tried and it just wouldn't let him in.

 

[cobbler]

2pm update:

Sold out categories:
3, 6, 7, 8
12 has limited availibility

5 minute wait time!!

I wonder if the ship will sell out today???

 

[JsMom2]

Wonder why someone would book a 12, when they are the same price as an 11?

 

[TnRobin]

2:00 p.m. ET Category Status

Cat 12: Standard Inside Stateroom LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Cat 11: Standard Inside Stateroom AVAILABLE

Cat 10: Deluxe Inside Stateroom AVAILABLE

Cat 9: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom AVAILABLE

Cat 8: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom SOLD OUT…WAITLIST AVAILABLE

Cat 7: Deluxe Stateroom with Navigator's Verandah SOLD OUT…WAITLIST
AVAILABLE

Cat 6: Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah SOLD OUT…WAITLIST AVAILABLE

Cat 5: Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah AVAILABLE

Cat 4: Deluxe Family Stateroom with Verandah AVAILABLE

Cat 3: One-Bedroom Suite with Veranda SOLD OUT…WAITLIST AVAILABLE

Cat 1 and 2: NOT AVAILABLE DURING THIS SAILING

 

[TnRobin]

No wait time at phone center. I just called and booked AKL Savannah view for before the cruise.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Wonder why someone would book a 12, when they are the same price as an 11?

There are a limited number of category 12 staterooms and some folks hope that they may receive an upgrade to a higher category. I don't think this strategy works well on the DVC Member Cruises, however, since the whole ship seems to sell out quickly anyway.

 

[TnRobin]

There are a limited number of category 12 staterooms and some folks hope that they may receive an upgrade to a higher category. I don't think this strategy works well on the DVC Member Cruises, however, since the whole ship seems to sell out quickly anyway.

I agree Carol. The upgrade strategy only works with a Cat 12 GTY. DVC does not book gty rooms.

 

[JsMom2]

No wait time at phone center. I just called and booked AKL Savannah view for before the cruise.

We are also at AKV before the cruise 14-21 Sep. I booked a 1BR concierge so we could do the safari. I didn't realize until after we booked that not all of the concierge rooms have a savannah view. I hope we get one, as I don't intend to do concierge again.