8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC #13

[Andrew DEREK UK]

The information is brand new from today so the cm's are just getting briefed on it and learning about it themselves. Joiseymom, Disney has not sent out an email of any kind yet

What I have found out this morning is the following - still trying to get more information but they asked that I call back tomorrow or the next day as they will have all the details sorted by then

Currently the change has to do with cruises being moved to a future date AFTER they are paid in full and are within 74 days of travel. The old rule was that you could change your cruise to a future date, even if in penalty stage, and the only thing you were charged was the change fee and the difference in cost of the the cruise between the current and future date. Without paying any cancellation fees

Starting August 31st, any sailing that is in penalty phase, within 74 days of sailing, can no longer be changed to a future cruise date. It would be considered a cancellation incuring whatever cancellation fees are applicable depending on how many days from sailing you are. The new date would be considered a new booking.

Now I don't know how this will effect OBC's that people get from rebooking onboard but I would think that if the new date is considered a new booking with a new reservation number then you would lose the OBC. If they keep the same reservation number then you will keep the OBC. I don't know if this is possible or how they are going to handle this. Information is still coming in.

I am told that any cruise that isn't in penalty stage, outside of 75 days of sailing, can still be moved to a future date

As I said above this is all new, as of this morning, so information is still coming in.
I am sure Tracy, winotracy, will chime in with information as she receive it and can verify details

That sounds logical, I thought they would tighten up even more and reserve the right not to offer the same discount if bounced on into 2010.

 

[m&m's mom]

Well this is weird. I went to InsuremyTrip.com as I never got around to purchasing travel insurance. I was looking for a all-around decent policy but I know the most likely thing to happen is to get confined to my cabin if we contracted the Norwalk/Noravirus. I could find no mention of that so I called them. The rep told me that really none of the policies include that. He said they have spent hours tearing apart that particular area and have never gotten a clear answer.
so.. I am leaning toward AIG Travel Guard "ProtectAssist". No clue if I will be covered if that happens.
I just think something so basic is "unclear". He did say the plan I was going with was in the top 2 in what they do cover so I am going w/ that.

 

[DisneySpirit]

4fosterkids: I always keep my pins/lanyards in our carryon. I packed a bunch of pins years ago on a trip to WDW and when I opened it up in WDW it had about 1/2 the # of pins inside....an no stinkin' thank you note or anything! LOL learned my lesson! They are heavy, but worth it. I usually take the pins out of carry on and put them in a bin, as I was told they show up as a very large dense mass in the screener and if they can easily just open in and see they are pins, it saves you have to unload your carryon.

Having debated (with myself) if I should bring my trade pins on this cruise or not, I put my bag of trading pins on the scale. (9.6 lbs )
I'll also keep them in my carry on to avoid loss and to keep my luggage under the 50lb limit. Really looking forward to trading some pins with some of my fellow DISers

 

[ga9497]

That sounds logical, I thought they would tighten up even more and reserve the right not to offer the same discount if bounced on into 2010.

I agree, I think that they are trying to figure out how to handle a mass number of people trying to move their reservation to one of the new ships and this is one thing they can avoid if people don't want to pay the cancellation fees. This is just my personal feelings on it

They may put more rules in affect for moving reservations once we get closer to the new ships being launched

 

[tom31b]

I agree, I think that they are trying to figure out how to handle a mass number of people trying to move their reservation to one of the new ships and this is one thing they can avoid if people don't want to pay the cancellation fees. This is just my personal feelings on it

They may put more rules in affect for moving reservations once we get closer to the new ships being launched

They could just start selling contingent reservations on the new ships, deposit only, price to be determined.....

 

[ga9497]

They could just start selling contingent reservations on the new ships, deposit only, price to be determined.....

But Tom that would be a "hassle free" way of thinking and planning

 

[luvmy3sons]

My DH & DD are renting a car to go to the airport - but first they are takiing me to a store to restock supplies!! Maybe be can work out something??

That would be great! I would def. be willing to work something out. This would save a lot of time.

Thanks!

Penny

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I agree, I think that they are trying to figure out how to handle a mass number of people trying to move their reservation to one of the new ships and this is one thing they can avoid if people don't want to pay the cancellation fees. This is just my personal feelings on it

They may put more rules in affect for moving reservations once we get closer to the new ships being launched

They could just start selling contingent reservations on the new ships, deposit only, price to be determined.....

I have read they 'reserve the right' to change and amend offers and if you move into another year where cruise dates haven't been released as yet, it will be subject to any rules in force at that time.

Now yes the new ships are coming first one around February 2011, and some Dissers encourage people to book phantom dates and they 'will' get the current OBC. I wish that was certain, and also those Dissers who advocate this, would be liable if it changes.

I think there will be a general tightening up of this, DCL's deposit rules is rather lax, ( apart from Suites) and leave many people the option to book, and cancel very close to the cruise without much or any loss.

We have seen it on this cruise and also other cruises, and on some DCL has had to offer discounts and loose money selling rooms at short notice.

On this one those rooms made more money for them but this is special.

I wouldnt be surprised of if the OBC, was non transferable to the new ships for their first respecive years.

 

[Reenieny]

YES and YES

ditto ditto for us. I almost forgot about the flag. I bought it so long ago!!

 

[danfromca]

I agree, I think that they are trying to figure out how to handle a mass number of people trying to move their reservation to one of the new ships and this is one thing they can avoid if people don't want to pay the cancellation fees. This is just my personal feelings on it

They may put more rules in affect for moving reservations once we get closer to the new ships being launched

Actually, if people really are booking early December 99 cruises with the idea of moving them forward, this could just be a way of making sure they don't end up with a bunch of early December cruises that are completely empty - which, if you think about it, is very likely if they don't do something like this.

 

[tom31b]

But Tom that would be a "hassle free" way of thinking and planning

Not by the DCL definition of "hassle free"

 

[sk8ingmom]

We had beautiful weather yesterday to have a cookout for Zack's birthday (which is on Weds). We had friends and family, and even a few pirates! Lisa (radioclash2) and her boys Nick & Alex stopped over to help celebrate with us. We had a great time, and the kids, who met before at the Franklin Institute Philly meet, got along great.

I can also vouch for the fact that Lisa's carcass will make a great chair saver. And as an added bonus, if you position her hand properly before the rigor mortis sets in, she'll make a great drink holder as well!

With each Monday, we are getting closer and closer to sailing with a Live Lisa!

They could just start selling contingent reservations on the new ships, deposit only, price to be determined.....

And some of us would not be able to run to our phone, Disney Visa in hand, fast enough!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Actually, if people really are booking early December 99 cruises with the idea of moving them forward, this could just be a way of making sure they don't end up with a bunch of early December cruises that are completely empty - which, if you think about it, is very likely if they don't do something like this.

I thought I booked far ahead, but 2099???

But I do agree they do not want empty ships in December with everyone moving them to Summer 2010 for the special trips.

 

[ga9497]

Actually, if people really are booking early December 99 cruises with the idea of moving them forward, this could just be a way of making sure they don't end up with a bunch of early December cruises that are completely empty - which, if you think about it, is very likely if they don't do something like this.

Anyone booked for December 09 will know way before they are paid in full what the 2010 dates / itineraries will be. Since they are usually announced anywhere from 12-14 months in advance

 

[ga9497]

They could just start selling contingent reservations on the new ships, deposit only, price to be determined.....

Maybe we should ALL put this request on our comment cards on the TOAL

I really should get back to work

 

[lbgraves]

I will be packing both kids' lanyards and pins in my carryon. It's not worth it to take the chance of losing them IMO. They only trade with the CMs onboard but it is something that they look forward to. They don't know that I have special lanyards for them to use this cruise.

 

[Stepht5]

I talked to Beau...my DS18 who is on tour with his drum corp right now. They left a week ago and drive all night and have stops for 10 hour dayrehearsals in Utah, Colorado, Iowa, multiple locations in Wisconsin and will arrive in Indiana later tonight I think. They will stay there, as the world finals are held there this year. He has texted or called everyday to let us know how things are going and has had some funny stories (from a california boy). In Iowa they were in awe that the entire city came out to watch them rehearse all day, brought them drinks and corn to eat, cheered them on etc. He remarked about all the open land and no fences between houses (poor city raised boy..lol), and they had a night time drum sectional before boarding the busses and they were all in awe over the fire flys! Isn't it funny how little things like that can impress a bunch of young adults from the city. Its such a great experience!

It sure sounds that way! What a great way for him to see and experience different parts of our country!

Went to the dollar store today and picked up a couple of those over the door shoe holders for the back of the bathroom doors. With 2 grown girls, we have lots of cosmetic products, and I hate having them all over the place. Great way to organize stuff and not lose it. Also got a net thingy for the shower that hangs over the showerhead to put all the shampoos, conditioners, body wash, yadda, yadda.

Debi

Even with just one 17dd traveling with us... dh feels like he HAS to have a different bathroom then her!

Having traveled quite a bit, I can grasp it. Airports have become chaotic, exhausting, high stress facilities. Airlines are completely unforgiving in terms of push-back time. Connections are often way too tight. Stress + Rush + Exhaustion is a formula guaranteed to lead to mistakes.

Having chaperoned a number of youth group trips, I truly believe that our not leaving anyone behind was as much a matter of luck as skill. There was this one time... well, it's funny in hindsight... suffice to say that we didn't know for sure if we had everyone until we landed....

If the child was older I would be a little more forgiving...and there were only 5 children..... Even though my children are spaced apart in age when our older 2 were young I kept my sister's children total kids - 7, 3, 2, 1 and then a little later when they were....9, 5, 4, 3 & newborn. So, I know what is is like to go many places with young children.
A 3yr old would have been *assigned* to someone -- in our house DH keeps up with all young children in busy, public places.

We had beautiful weather yesterday to have a cookout for Zack's birthday (which is on Weds). We had friends and family, and even a few pirates! Lisa (radioclash2) and her boys Nick & Alex stopped over to help celebrate with us. We had a great time, and the kids, who met before at the Franklin Institute Philly meet, got along great.


I can also vouch for the fact that Lisa's carcass will make a great chair saver. And as an added bonus, if you position her hand properly before the rigor mortis sets in, she'll make a great drink holder as well!


I had to run to Home Depot, so I can wrestle with the toliet again this afternoon. Since I was running past our bank, I took the kids and all of their change to cash in. They had over $300 in change! So they'll have some money for souvenirs and the arcade! I also picked up some zip ties, so more more thing off the list. We leave for DL next Tuesday, so we're into single digits! So much time, so little to do. Scratch that. Reverse it.

Good luck to all of us for getting everything done!!

Sounds like a great party!!

So, now we know what Lisa is good for......

The kids should have a great time with that kind of money!

 

[captaincrash]

You're right...it is little, and it is actually not even a hurricane yet. If it gets here quick enough, and it looks like it might, it may not even develop into a hurricane. If we have to get hit with something, I would gladly take a TS or a Cat. 1 hurricane over something bigger! I've never been in a hurricane...was in a pretty bad TS about 7 years ago. I told my DH that it's a good thing it isn't any bigger because I don't have time to evacuate. I need to finish packing!

Kim

Well Kim,

We may not live in a region known for "H" storms... (we obviously have Earthquakes)... however, a few years ago we had a Disney cruise right when "H" Francis hit Orlando. When we realized we our cruise was threatened by Francis I asked Alicia what she thought about cancelling? Well... a couple of remarks stood out in my memory of her reply... 1st) she spoke of being in "serious need of a vacation" and 2nd) we were uncertain how our air fare and vacation time would be used as a result of this. So we decided to push for going anyway?!

You see... us being INNOCENT Californians (well... Alicia was from PA & HI) ... we had little understanding for what a named storm could bring to the region it struck. And .. Francis was about to teach us first hand what could happen...

Warning...
Long story is about to begin ... proceed at your own HAZARD!!!​

We informed Disney Cruise staff that we were still interested in going ... and they said the ship would sail a shortened 5 nite schedule - and if we went we'd get a refund of 20% off what we paid. SO ... less for the savings ... and more because Alicia simply wanted her vacation on the scheduled vacation days she had set up... SO we prepared to travel on Sunday - so we could overnite in Jacksonville to await an embarkation at Port Canaveral Monday. Alicia mentioned she would be willing to risk some inconvenience to have a 5 day Disney cruise.

So.... from the moment we stepped out the door we started having an evolving situation. From the front door til before we boarded our first plane flight (60 miles from Oxnard to LA) one of our flight segments was cancelled. So while driving down we were trying to get new flights scheduled into Orlando. Well... I had been somewhat prepared because I had rental car reservations at several airports in the area... all organized against potential need. So upon landing in LAX... we finalized the change in flights - being forced to fly into Chicago to meet an alternate flight landing later in the day for Orlando. Well... upon landing in Chicago we found our flight had canceled again. So the next most reasonable alternate route took us into another airport in Florida (which it was - I'm uncertain now) ... however we had to connect in Washington DC for this alternate flight. So we boarded the flight for WDC in an increasingly exhausted state.

Below is an actual photo of THAT FLIGHT right after we arrived in WDC.... I think this is inside that GIANT shuttle bus that drives between terminals at Dulles...

Well... Disney staff were aware of our evolving flight problems and were great about keeping in touch with us. And, as we landed in WDC we learned of another cancellation and AUTOMATIC flight rebooking. This was interesting as it was done automatically bycomputer it seems. ANd sure enough... the computer had split our family to fly into Florida on different flights! We were back on the phone trying to fix this "inconvenience". So in short order I had another flight into Florida ... however, gradually we were noticing the airports were beginning to CLOSE completely. At this point our next flight from WDC was several hours later... so we rented a car and found a place to rest a bit - take a nap really. So after a short nap I rechecked our flights and found that our next flight into FL had cancelled ... and that ALL Florida airports were now closed. So we rebooked to fly as close as we could .. and that was Charlotte NC.

Below is an actual picture of Alicia with Julianna in the rental car just after having picked up some FINE Chinese food from a nice Chinese Restuarant just outside fo the Charlotte airport...

At this point we were still on a schedule to meet the ship on Monday. I just had to rent a car in Charlotte and drive a couple hundred miles into the storm to reach my hotel in Jacksonville. And that's what we did... we rented the car and drove past an endless stream of cars going THE OTHER WAY. So yeah.. we thought... what are we doing here?

Eventually we reached our Hampton Inn in Jacksonville - with Frances wailing and pounding us! Trees were down down... tons of standing water.... cows and chickens flying through the air just like they showed on TV... (not). And we truned in for the nite.

At that time we were not even aware of the DIS board. We were on Cruise Critic - and then mostly as a lurker. I had just discovered what a forum was - and was totally new to just LOOKING at these communities. I was a true neophyte. IN THE MORNING .... everyone was sleeping... many folks had left the hotel... and I got on the hotel computer to check the CC meet thread to see what was going on. To my shock ... I found the folks on the thread were saying the sailing had been cancelled that Monday ... and it looked like it might be TUESDAY or even WEDNESDAY!!! ARRRRGH!

So ... we were on the phone with DCL trying to determine what was going on. We had just flown through some 7 flight changes from the moment we stepped from home - and endured a harrowing drive through conditions we had not IMAGINED... but were not intimately familiar with. And DCL said... please drive into Orlando and they would provide a hotel for us free of charge. Also they were increasing our cash refund ... and adding a extra cabin credit for us. Oh well... what choice had we? The skys were clear and I proceeded to get my family ready to roll.

Upon reaching the highway we were mildly shocked to find it was a virtual PARKING LOT .. most of the time. There were MILES upon MILES of construction vehicles parked along the road side along our route waiting to be directed to were they were needed most. It was an amazing sight. it was about 3 hours into our 90 mile (?) drive from Jacksonville to Orlando and we had covered perhaps HALF the distance to Orlando when I decided we had had enough... I called DCL and told them we would pass on the hotel because we would simply drive to Port Canaveral to get lodging on our own and wait for the ship there. And then DCL told us - OH NO - please come to Orlando because the ship was NOT departing from Port Canaveral... as the port was wacked... and that we would be departing from Fort Lauderdale! Arrrrgh.... however, DCL would handle the transfers from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale and back from Port Canaveral to Orlando. Plus they'd throw in DisneyWorld Ultra passes and.... upgrade us to a verandah cabin (central) on the ship. well... OK... what choice had I?

Below are two photos from ORLANDO... this was in the Polynesian bedroom on the left - and on the right are Goofy greeting us all as we lined up to wait for our bus transfer to Fort Lauderdale:

So we eventually arrived into Orlando .... we found many DCL patrons had been placed in every property that they had - and supposedly we were upgraded to the Polynesian. I do not know which of thier properties are considered nicer/more costly - and was just happy to have a live DCL CM greeting me in person and finally having arrived.

So - after a brief rest we went to the lobby for WDW... and found that the parks were damaged - and that they were about to close for the nite early. We had maybe an hour left before they'd close. Oh well... so we hung out at the hotel... got some grub - went to Downtown Disney to walk a bit - then I dropped the family at the Polynesian and returned our rental car.

Below is the actual picture of us riding a tram to DOWNTOWN DISNEY at WDW on this trip! On the right is the actual boarding sight we had upon reaching the ship!

The next morning we met the DCL staff who were herding us into busses for Fort Lauderdale... and while in line I casually recanted our travel story to a staffer... and she asked if I would give her our expired WDW tickets from yesterday... and she returned with renewed WDW Ultra passes good for one admission for each of us in the next 10 years. Now that was nice and unexpected.

So on the way to Fort Lauderdale we passed a broken down bus... and I vaguely recall meeting some folks on the ship who endured that broken down bus ordeal. They were the LAST folks to board - and they litterially closed the ships door right after the last of them stepped aboard!

Below are a couple pictures inside our verandah cabin...

​

On that sailing we noticed we were one of the very few who had a cabin upgrade. It seems Disney had squeezed refugees from 3 sailings ... the cancelled 3 niter, the reduced 7 niter ... and the shifted 4 niter onto our ship. It was packed tight with passengers! About half were grumbly over their changes and varying compensation for the FRANCES induced changes. I believe all of us got a 25% discount off a future sailing... that much was identical (I vaguely recall).

Once aboard ... WE were very happy. It turned out to be a wonderful trip.... AFTER we got aboard. As dor the journey in ... well .... all I can say is we took it fairly well under the circumstances. We were in good spirits .... joking wryly about the changes.... and so on. That is... we joked about it until we had driven half way between Charlotte and Jacksonville.... when I became concerned. And... driving into Orlando the next day was tough - tough for me as driver - and Alicia helped drive a bit - but I was mostly the driver. And the kids did extremely well. No complaints as they were anxiously awaiting their Disney cruise... they were totally compliant and good the WHOLE TIME in transit... and on the cruise. Amazing but true.

So - upon tallying the refund, cabin credit, discount on a future sailing, transfers, Polynesian sleeping room, and WDW admissions... we sort of felt the 4 nite cruise in a verandah was MORE THAN FREE. Sort of interesting... and we were mildly reaffirmed as Disney Cruise enthusiasts. It was remarkable to us how they managed us as we drew nearer to Orlando. On one hand they might have told us more about the defferred sailing ... which meant we COULD have simply waited and flown directly into Orlando on Tuesday.. if we had known. But that was not the story at the time we took off on Sunday.

In final retrospect... having read about how other cruise lines treat thier customers who suffer "H" related voyage disruptions/reductions... or how other cruise lines handle ANY non-"H" problems resulting in problems for thier passengers... I can only say I now know that no one else comes close to what DISNEY did for us. And I don't tink we would ever have pushed to meet a ship the way we did for Disney. We are BOTH seemingly committed strongly to one another IMO.

As a side remark... we've almost ALWAYS sailed during "H" season - for the reduced rates - and because it fits our schedules comfoprtably. And this was the only time in about a dozen sailings where our cruise was influenced / disturbed by an "H". That's OK with us... as we'll choose a sailing in "H" season any year - more or less. And we're likely to do it again if we had our sailoing threatened again in a simlar way. We'd just make a couple of minior adjustments to how we handle getting into position for the proposed embarkation!

So - I hope you don't get wacked too much by bad weather. it cannot be any "fun".... and I do believe I have some appreciation for what bad weather can bring about ... first hand.

 

[castoff]

Could someone help out a fellow Diser? When I wen't on our cruise in 06 a lovely woman made us a set of mickey ears for our cabin door. I have turned my house upside down and can't find them anywhere. When I did a search.............I found them but when I wen't to print them they were small. Can anyone help me with this? I sure do appreciate it.

 

[Stepht5]

Maybe we should ALL put this request on our comment cards on the TOAL

Great Idea!