11/30 Discovery Down Under just got cancelled

[rkdahl]

Just got the dreaded call from ABD. Our Nov 30th Discovery Down Under trip to Australia was just cancelled due to low bookings. We've had this planned for almost 1 year and had set aside time before the ABD tour and after for other side trips in the area.

They will give us a full refund but due to other travel arrangements and our air bookings we can't change everything else at this late date. Final payment was made on 09/01 and tour cancelled today. We're still sulking but will try for other activities during those 10 days. We're really bummed.....

 

[SLK1]

I am so sorry for you!!! That has to be a horrible feeling. Was it because of the time of year? Is there another trip you can take that you can transfer your airline tickets for? Knowing how excited I am about my trip, I can only imagine how depressed you must be. I hope you can make other arrangements!

 

[mwebsite]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Could you go to Australia on your own and do some of the planned activities? I know it wouldn't be the same, and be a lot more work on your part. I wish they could do more research when scheduling these trips to make sure none of them would ever be cancelled, but am sure you can never know for sure. I hope for the best for you.

 

[Phil1019]

Just got the dreaded call from ABD. Our Nov 30th Discovery Down Under trip to Australia was just cancelled due to low bookings. We've had this planned for almost 1 year and had set aside time before the ABD tour and after for other side trips in the area.

They will give us a full refund but due to other travel arrangements and our air bookings we can't change everything else at this late date. Final payment was made on 09/01 and tour cancelled today. We're still sulking but will try for other activities during those 10 days. We're really bummed.....

Sorry to hear that ABD cancelled your trip! That is my biggest fear also! I am booked to go to Costa Rica 4/18/09. I went on the Backstage Magic tour 4/22/08 . It was school vacation week, so I felt pretty safe since we were going to Disneyland. I'm sure you will make your own adventure. Have a great trip!

 

[sayhello]

That's awful. I'm so sorry your tour got canceled. I cannot IMAGINE how frustrating that must be.

A suggestion:

It's not Disney, but Brendan tours are supposed to be "Deluxe", which is the same rating as Disney.

http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/australia_tours.cfm?npid=11689

The Outback, Coober Pedy & Kangaroo Island

8 days with Brendan

#T69847 Dec 1, '08 $2,737 (starts)

I've booked with vacations to go before, they're really good. (It's a brick-and-mortar Travel Agency that also has a great website.) They have a lot of last-minute deals. I just kind of perused their Australia offerings & found one that left close to your old date (Dec 1). If you call them, they might be able to steer you to something better/more comparable. (They sell ABD, also, so they should be familiar with their itinerary!)

You might want to look through their site & see if they have something you can substitute. I can't imagine putting that trip together yourself in 2 months... If you're going anyways, at least maybe another tour company could provide a similar, if not as special itinerary...

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

Just got the dreaded call from ABD. Our Nov 30th Discovery Down Under trip to Australia was just cancelled due to low bookings. We've had this planned for almost 1 year and had set aside time before the ABD tour and after for other side trips in the area.

They will give us a full refund but due to other travel arrangements and our air bookings we can't change everything else at this late date. Final payment was made on 09/01 and tour cancelled today. We're still sulking but will try for other activities during those 10 days. We're really bummed.....

I'm afraid that will happen to us. We booked the Australia trip for the first week of June 2009. Our schools are out in May, but I know some schools around the US are still in sessions. I hope there are enough people to fill up our tour. I picked that week because the following week the airfare went up significantly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If it doesn't work out we'll just go on a different adventure, but we're pretty excited about this one.

 

[behappy]

rkdahl,

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. We're headed 'Down Under' on the tour prior to yours (11/16-25). Thus far we've not gotten that call and we've got our fingers crossed that we don't. The timing lines up perfectly with a 2 week trimester breaks our kids (DD 15, DS 11) have from school....there won't likely be another time that works for us.

Best of luck in lining up something else and thanks for the advice you gave months ago regarding airfare.

 

[rkdahl]

Thanks for all the thoughts and kind words. Yeah, it's a real bummer having been planning this for so long and then even making final payment and then poof...it's all gone.

We've decided to continue to Cairns and then spend a week there and then head to Sydney a couple of days earlier than planned. That way the rest of our trip can stay on schedule. This ABD adventure was the hub of all our planning and what we booked first but it wasn't meant to be I guess.

It sounded like the 11/16 ABD Australia adventure trip was on for sure because she asked if we wanted to transfer to that one. so Behappy you should be good to go! We just can't adjust though. We're going to Japan before heading to Australia and we cannot juggle our flights and dates to line up at this late date.

You'd think being Disney they would be able to develop a creative solution to trip cancellations with much ealier notification somehow. Not sure what exactly, of course there is no easy answer here. But having the years worth of planning come crashing down 71 days from when we were leaving home is a real blow.

Hope everyone else reading this stays on course and on schedule!

 

[Christyvoltron]

This is my worst fear with these trips. It's hard not to get excited and they are so reluctant to tell you how well the trip is coming along. I think that's just awful. I am so sorry. I would have cried.

 

[beansf]

Wow! That is such a bummer. I must say, I think you are to be commended for how well you are handling it. I would probably throw a fit to end all time. Anyway, I hope the travels you DO have will be splendid!

 

[mountainjourno]

Can I suggest you include Ayers Rock/Kings Canyon in your trip? It's easy to arrange a flight from Cairns to Alice Springs, and then from Alice Springs to Sydney. While in Alice Springs, you take a three-day tour (there are LOTS of them - I used to be a tour guide there) and your family can have an amazing time seeing the "real" Australia. If you need any tips, please ask.

Also - check out www.holidayinspirations.com.au for information about any of these places, and where you can stay.

I'm so sorry this has happened - how awful. I hope you can still see some of the amazing places Australia has to offer. But please consider Ayers Rock (Uluru)!! You can't go to Oz without seeing the red desert!

 

[rkdahl]

Well, we got our full refund yesterday so the financial aspect is taken care of.

I wonder if they'll send me a letter saying they are sorry.

 

[Tozzie]

Well, we got our full refund yesterday so the financial aspect is taken care of.

I wonder if they'll send me a letter saying they are sorry.

They cancelled my trip last year and since I had already picked my vacation weeks for 2008 I couldn't go on one of the other adventures what I did get this year was a $500 credit if I booked an 2009 trip before 12/31/08. I did do that so I am hoping it works out. Good Luck

 

[slg]

Getting a full refund isn't a great prize if you have booked airfare and pre-post places based on the trip.

I'm very worried about our trip next year. I know its a long way off, but we're the only family that has booked it thus far. I'm scared to book airfare etc...we're planning on going to Portugal first, and then fly to Ireland. I may cancel the whole thing if the trip is cancelled. I certainly wouldn't get my money back from that: about $15,000 in airfare.

Sigh, its a crap shoot and really makes me wonder if that's what makes some people hesitate to book.

My kids really, really want to go.

 

[wdwsos]

Just a heads up on how the insurance works. If you purchase the AbD insurance and the trip is cancelled by AbD, you'll get 100% of your trip back including airfare and pre-and post-night stays. You'll also be refunded if the trip is canceled by you for a covered reason. HOWEVER... if you add days before or after the trip on your own, that portion of the airfare is NOT covered.

Sometimes that's a little unclear when you book (or even when your read the insurance booklet) so I wanted to mention it.

Another poster mentioned booking with a different deluxe tour company. Be aware that most all tour groups (at least the ones I know of) can and will cancel if not enough people are booked. Some will have certain dates that are marked "guaranteed departures" but otherwise, you could be in the same situation with another company. What I have found is that AbD works very hard to find another date that works for you and will usually help with the expense of rebooking.

Dotti

 

[sayhello]

Getting a full refund isn't a great prize if you have booked airfare and pre-post places based on the trip.

I'm very worried about our trip next year. I know its a long way off, but we're the only family that has booked it thus far. I'm scared to book airfare etc...we're planning on going to Portugal first, and then fly to Ireland. I may cancel the whole thing if the trip is cancelled. I certainly wouldn't get my money back from that: about $15,000 in airfare.

Sigh, its a crap shoot and really makes me wonder if that's what makes some people hesitate to book.

My kids really, really want to go.

If you look at ABD's policy, if they cancel a trip due to lack of reservations, they will pay for what it costs to change your airfare, even if you did not book it with them.

17) What if Adventures by Disney cancels the adventure prior to departure?
Adventures by Disney reserves the right to cancel a trip at any time prior to its commencement for any reason, such as if there are too few Guests, or if the quality of the trip or the safety of the Guests would, in our opinion, be compromised, such as may result from unforeseen circumstances (acts of God) or other circumstances beyond our reasonable control. If we cancel your trip prior to its commencement because there are too few Guests: (i) we will attempt to re-book you on another departure of the same itinerary, subject to availability, and we will bear any reasonable airline re-booking charges; however, if we are unable to rebook you, we will issue a full refund of your land package price and Vacation Protection Plan (unless you have filed a claim); and (ii) if you booked airfare through us, we will issue a full refund of your airfare; and (iii) if you did not book airfare through us, we will reimburse you for your reasonable out-of-pocket (subject to proof) airline cancellation charges or, in the case of bookings using frequent flier miles, a reasonable cancellation service fee, provided you have exercised best efforts to mitigate such charges/fees; and (iv) the aforesaid payments and/or rebooking by us shall constitute a full settlement.

You might want to call ABD and get a definition of "reasonable".

Then, there's always the option of trip insurance from an external insurance company. It can cover trip cancellation, including all your airfare. I can't imagine spending that much for a vacation and not getting trip insurance. Then you really are covered. try insuremytrip.com for a variety of options.

Sayhello

 

[slg]

Dotti:

Thanks for the info. I didn't purchase the ABD insurance, I purchased some separately, as I have other components to insure. Also, strangely, I was told that ABD insurance only covered the deposit once the entire trip was paid for, which would mean that if for any reason I had to cancel my trip before my 90 day deadline, I would be out of my deposit money. For 5 people that is $1500 US (we're Canadian).

I've booked 4 other bus tours in the past with other companies, and have never been cancelled. Of course we booked much closer to the time, so the tours were already guaranteed.

I am aware that ABD will try and rebook and cover some of the rebooking fees, I was told that they would do that even if I didn't purchase ABD insurance, however, since my trip starts in Canada, goes to Portugal, then to Ireland, back to Portugal, before coming home, its quite complicated to cancel or rebook one component of the trip.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my trip will happen.

For the time being, I will hold off booking any flights.

 

[sayhello]

Also, strangely, I was told that ABD insurance only covered the deposit once the entire trip was paid for, which would mean that if for any reason I had to cancel my trip before my 90 day deadline, I would be out of my deposit money.

I've just got to say, that makes absolutely *no* sense, and I would NEVER buy trip insurance that had that condition!

Sayhello

 

[glassslipper2004]

Dotti - I'm curious about your comment re pre/post days. If we go out a day early, and Disney doesn't provide for pre-days, but fly in to the same airport we would have anyway, does that mean Disney insurance won't cover our airfare? Or that Disney won't book the airfare for us?

 

[wdwsos]

Dotti - I'm curious about your comment re pre/post days. If we go out a day early, and Disney doesn't provide for pre-days, but fly in to the same airport we would have anyway, does that mean Disney insurance won't cover our airfare? Or that Disney won't book the airfare for us?

In the past, Access America has told me that they will not cover airfare related to any days booked outside of the tour. My son spent a few nights in Spain before our Flavors of France tour and I was told that his airfare into Spain was not covered. However, I'm checking this for someone else right now (Rocky Trails) who's doing what you're thinking of doing -- flying in the night before and staying at a hotel close to the airport. I don't have an answer yet but I'll post it here as soon as I know something definite. There could be changes with the 2009 insurance that I'm not aware of and I don't want to give any misinformation!

Dotti