Anyone have their ABD canceled?

[DisneyKevin]

Thanks! Do you know if when 2016 is released there will be guaranteed dates? We already made our 2015 vacation plans so we were thinking of 2016. That way we could contact you guys as soon as it's open, if we decided on the ABD.

We won't have 2016 dates until sometime in May.

We have seen guaranteed dates come out at the time of release, but more dates get added as time goes by.

We also don't know of any new itineraries. That could certainly change minds.

It's my opinion that ABD has tightened up on cancellations.

I deal with a great many ABD reservations and I have not had let anyone know of a cancellation in quite a while.

A few years back, there was a rash of cancellations, but the economy had turned and ABD had too many departures.

I am not seeing that recently...as a matter of fact...there are too many times where I have to tell a guest that I can not get the departure / Adventure they desire.

 

[sayhello]

We won't have 2016 dates until sometime in May.

We have seen guaranteed dates come out at the time of release, but more dates get added as time goes by.

We also don't know of any new itineraries. That could certainly change minds.

It's my opinion that ABD has tightened up on cancellations.

I deal with a great many ABD reservations and I have not had let anyone know of a cancellation in quite a while.

A few years back, there was a rash of cancellations, but the economy had turned and ABD had too many departures.

I am not seeing that recently...as a matter of fact...there are too many times where I have to tell a guest that I can not get the departure / Adventure they desire.

That's really good to know, Kevin! Thanks. I'm sure you see a MUCH higher volume of reservations than what shows up here in our Forum. Do you have any feel for why they changed the guarantee policy, though?

Thanks,
Sayhello

 

[twentyco]

My daughter and I were booked on the same Italy trip as carpenta's family. We ended up re-booking to a later departure of the same trip, and in that situation ABD did reimburse us for the change fees associated with our airfare (which we had booked ourselves). The fees were significant (about $900 for the two of us), but they didn't raise an issue about it. I suspect that the difference is that we rebooked on another ABD, and carpenta booked with another company, but maybe that is just me being cynical!

As for the cancellation itself, we were never given a particularly clear reason either -- something to the effect that they were unable to create a trip that would "meet our expectations." As the itinerary was set, we were scheduled to see the Vatican and tour the Vatican Museum on Easter Sunday. When I booked I wondered how they would ever pull that off, but figured that if anyone could, it would be Disney. I suspect, though nobody told me this, that they figured out that doing those areas of Rome on Easter weekend was not feasible because of all of the events going on. Either that or, as others have suggested, they could not get hotel rooms in Rome that weekend either at all or at a cost they were willing to pay. Scrapping the Vatican entirely would certainly have resulted in a trip that didn't meet my expectations. The real question is why nobody thought about that before setting the trip for those dates in the first place, because it would seem obvious that navigating Rome during that weekend would create some issues.

In any event, like with carpenta, this experience (which was my first with ABD) left something of a bad taste in my mouth. We did have a good time on our Italy ABD, which we rescheduled to June, but are hesitant about booking with them again because of the cancellation issues. It is hard for me to schedule vacations, and once the time is set it is difficult to change -- especially longer times off -- so cancellations like this do cause issues for us. I'm definitely not saying that we would never do it, but I am certainly looking at other options, like Tauck, for future vacations as well.

 

[carpenta]

I feel your pain Twentyco. We booked with Tauck and did tour the Vatican on Easter Saturday. Then we toured the Imperial Rome on Sunday. There was no problem getting into the museum, St. Peters, and the Sistine Chapel. We stayed in the Westin hotel property down the street from the US Embassy. Really nice hotel. Actually they stay in top notch hotels right downtown and easy walk to everything. So that company had no problem with the tours. I do think since I booked my airfare on my own as well as doing another tour with a different company was the reason that ABD did not reimburse me. It all worked out well for us for we really loved our trip. Like you we were never given any believable reason for the cancellation. Also we must plan our trips at least 1 1/2 years in advance so to try to change to another date outside the scheduled date is usually next to impossible. Yes we are always sitting with our fingers' crossed until we board the plane.....

 

[DisneyKevin]

That's really good to know, Kevin! Thanks. I'm sure you see a MUCH higher volume of reservations than what shows up here in our Forum. Do you have any feel for why they changed the guarantee policy, though?

Thanks,
Sayhello

I'm not certain what change is being seen.

ABD has never offered to reimburse airfare for a canceled trip.

They have offered to help guests find another departure date and have offered to help with change fees incurred because of a cancellation on their part.

Certain dates are guaranteed departures and ABD states that they will not cancel a trip within 74 days of departure...unless there is something beyond control. (ex. volcanos etc)

Again, cancellations are much rarer than they used to be. This seems to be under control.

People book ABDs and travel all the time with very little incident.

 

[twentyco]

I'm not certain what change is being seen.

ABD has never offered to reimburse airfare for a canceled trip.

They have offered to help guests find another departure date and have offered to help with change fees incurred because of a cancellation on their part.

Certain dates are guaranteed departures and ABD states that they will not cancel a trip within 74 days of departure...unless there is something beyond control. (ex. volcanos etc)

Again, cancellations are much rarer than they used to be. This seems to be under control.

People book ABDs and travel all the time with very little incident.

I think that it no longer states that they will not cancel within 74 days of departure -- it used to say that, but doesn't anymore, but instead seems to reserve the right to cancel the trip at any time, including for too few guests (i.e., not just for things like volcanos). Maybe I am missing something (entirely possible), but it seems as though that is the change that folks have questions about.

 

[carpenta]

They have offered to help guests find another departure date and have offered to help with change fees incurred because of a cancellation on their part.

....................well let's say not all guests.........I have proof........

 

[DisneyKevin]

....................well let's say not all guests.........I have proof........

I didn't say "all guests".

Also, in a previous post didn't you say that you chose a different tour operator?

I am certain that had you chosen another ABD Adventure, you would have found assistance.

I will say that I work with ABD daily and I have found that there policies have become more liberal and easier to navigate.

I have very little issue finding a reasonable solution to almost any guest issue.

 

[Bobo912]

I think the 70 day no cancellation policy is what sayhello was asking about. That is the only actual policy ABD has ever communicated regarding cancellations. I too am curious as to why there is no longer any mention of that on the website.

 

[carpenta]

I didn't say "all guests".

Also, in a previous post didn't you say that you chose a different tour operator?

I am certain that had you chosen another ABD Adventure, you would have found assistance.

I will say that I work with ABD daily and I have found that there policies have become more liberal and easier to navigate.

I have very little issue finding a reasonable solution to almost any guest issue.

I would think it would be a good business decision to "make one whole" financially since they cancelled for reasons never disclosed and pretty close to the cut off date. At the time of the discussion with ABD there was zero percent chance we could alter our vacation timing for another trip and they knew that fact. The discussion about traveling with another company never came into the conversation. All we were told that any expenses are not being reimbursed as in airfare costs. We had to scramble to find anything to fill that week or go without a traveling vacation that year. Sometimes I think the company big wigs loose perspective on how families take vacation time and in today's working environment how difficult it is to coordinate two working parents schedule. I'm sure because of your "clout" with the many families you book with ABD they would be foolish not to go out of their way to make your clients happy. Me? I only have traveled with ABD four times so I guess I am expendable. Yes it does leave a bad taste still just for the way it occurred. We have traveled with ABD since and enjoyed it and plan again in 2016. All I want to do is relate my experience and maybe, just maybe someone may read this and think twice about cancellations in the future.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I would think it would be a good business decision to "make one whole" financially since they cancelled for reasons never disclosed and pretty close to the cut off date. At the time of the discussion with ABD there was zero percent chance we could alter our vacation timing for another trip and they knew that fact. The discussion about traveling with another company never came into the conversation. All we were told that any expenses are not being reimbursed as in airfare costs. We had to scramble to find anything to fill that week or go without a traveling vacation that year. Sometimes I think the company big wigs loose perspective on how families take vacation time and in today's working environment how difficult it is to coordinate two working parents schedule. I'm sure because of your "clout" with the many families you book with ABD they would be foolish not to go out of their way to make your clients happy. Me? I only have traveled with ABD four times so I guess I am expendable. Yes it does leave a bad taste still just for the way it occurred. We have traveled with ABD since and enjoyed it and plan again in 2016. All I want to do is relate my experience and maybe, just maybe someone may read this and think twice about cancellations in the future.

I am sorry if I came across as judgemental.

That was never my intent.

I'm sorry this happened to you.... Or anyone else.

 

[sayhello]

I'm not certain what change is being seen.

ABD has never offered to reimburse airfare for a canceled trip.

They have offered to help guests find another departure date and have offered to help with change fees incurred because of a cancellation on their part.

Certain dates are guaranteed departures and ABD states that they will not cancel a trip within 74 days of departure...unless there is something beyond control. (ex. volcanos etc)

Again, cancellations are much rarer than they used to be. This seems to be under control.

People book ABDs and travel all the time with very little incident.

I think that it no longer states that they will not cancel within 74 days of departure -- it used to say that, but doesn't anymore, but instead seems to reserve the right to cancel the trip at any time, including for too few guests (i.e., not just for things like volcanos). Maybe I am missing something (entirely possible), but it seems as though that is the change that folks have questions about.

I think the 70 day no cancellation policy is what sayhello was asking about. That is the only actual policy ABD has ever communicated regarding cancellations. I too am curious as to why there is no longer any mention of that on the website.

Kevin, what twentyco & Bobo912 said is what I was inquiring about. The fact that there *used* to be a policy stating that they wouldn't cancel within 74 days of the departure date, but that this policy is now gone from the website. What it says now is:

We reserve 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.

There is no mention of the 74 day non-cancellation period on the website anymore.

Sayhello

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

ABD guarantees many departure dates. More were just added for 2015.

See below:

Adventures by Disney's Guaranteed Departure Program is a list of departure dates that are guaranteed to travel. Guests can choose from these dates, knowing that these trips will not be canceled by Adventures by Disney prior to its scheduled start date (unless there are factors beyond their control.) We have marked these dates with an asterisk on our itinerary pages, so you can book with confidence. More dates may be added.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/abd/#itineraries

Looking at your stuff...there are NO guaranteed departures for our trip! We are doing Central Europe after a few days in DL Paris. DH has been itching to make plane arrangements...Might as well, but do it thru ABD???

 

[CrazyZeus1]

This is a list that Dreams Unlimited Travel requests so that our guests know in advance what's guaranteed.

I do not believe this is on the ABD site.

As we were just provided with an updated list, I believe this is an ongoing thing.

I am not certain where early booking plays into this.

I see on your list from that link that the Vietnam trip for January 11th 2016 is labeled as Adult Only...Disney just told us the opposite but I'm worried now...can you help?

 

[TXTransplant]

My final payment on a Germany ABD trip in June is due March 13. I had been putting off buying plane tickets because they had been sitting at $2k each. Last week, they dropped about $200. I was just about to pull the trigger to buy them today, but then I remembered seeing this thread. So, I emailed my agent to ask how many people are booked on our trip. She said only 14, and the trip is not yet guaranteed, and ABD won't tell her how many people are needed to guarantee the trip. The best she could do was offer to book my airfair through ABD (she's checking prices). This is very frustrating!!!

 

[sayhello]

My final payment on a Germany ABD trip in June is due March 13. I had been putting off buying plane tickets because they had been sitting at $2k each. Last week, they dropped about $200. I was just about to pull the trigger to buy them today, but then I remembered seeing this thread. So, I emailed my agent to ask how many people are booked on our trip. She said only 14, and the trip is not yet guaranteed, and ABD won't tell her how many people are needed to guarantee the trip. The best she could do was offer to book my airfare through ABD (she's checking prices). This is very frustrating!!!

Extremely!!! Fortunately, the good thing about booking through ABD (besides it being easier if your trip is canceled) is that they don't have their own pricing for flights. Basically, if you see a flight you want, at a price you want, ABD will book that as long as they can pull it up on their side. I've told them the exact flight I wanted, and they booked that for me. A couple of times, they've found cheaper options than I did.

So sorry you're going through this. I've had trips go with 14 people, but those were Adults Only during the "shoulder seasons". I hope you get an answer from ABD soon.

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

The more I think about this, the more upset I get. ABD wants me to pay $3600 in airline tickets and pay the balance on an $8k trip by 3/13, yet they won't guarantee that the trip won't be cancelled because there aren't enough people. I understand that a trip can be cancelled for unexpected reasons, but it seems like at this point, ABD should know if they are willing to go with 14 or not. The fact that they are being tight-lipped makes me very concerned that the trip will be cancelled if more people don't book (and what are the chances they will get significantly more bookings any time soon?).

They money doesn't bother me so much...I'll book airline tickets through ABD if they are the same price, and I'll get my $ back if they cancel. It's just very difficult to book vacations with my son because he has to spend the entire month of July at his dad's (which also eats up the weekends before and after July 1 and July 31). If our trip gets cancelled at the last minute, I won't be able to book a reasonable substitute trip.

I realize that I'm no special snowflake, but this is just disappointing. I'd read/heard so many good things about ABD (especially on this board) that I just didn't expect to have this particular issue at this point in the game.

 

[sayhello]

The more I think about this, the more upset I get. ABD wants me to pay $3600 in airline tickets and pay the balance on an $8k trip by 3/13, yet they won't guarantee that the trip won't be cancelled because there aren't enough people. I understand that a trip can be cancelled for unexpected reasons, but it seems like at this point, ABD should know if they are willing to go with 14 or not. The fact that they are being tight-lipped makes me very concerned that the trip will be cancelled if more people don't book (and what are the chances they will get significantly more bookings any time soon?).

They money doesn't bother me so much...I'll book airline tickets through ABD if they are the same price, and I'll get my $ back if they cancel. It's just very difficult to book vacations with my son because he has to spend the entire month of July at his dad's (which also eats up the weekends before and after July 1 and July 31). If our trip gets cancelled at the last minute, I won't be able to book a reasonable substitute trip.

I realize that I'm no special snowflake, but this is just disappointing. I'd read/heard so many good things about ABD (especially on this board) that I just didn't expect to have this particular issue at this point in the game.

Believe me, you're not alone. They *used* to guarantee at like 74 days (I think it was) that the trip would not be cancelled beyond that point (except for unexpected things that could affect the safety of the trip, etc). This is the first year that they've said the trips can be cancelled at any time up until they depart, which, honestly, really sucks for exactly the reasons you list. I get trip insurance, and I know ABD will refund me, but that's not the point. If you're planning a trip for a particular date, and they cancel it, what can you reasonable expect to get to replace it on such short notice??? I'd be equally upset in your place.

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

Look at other companies that offer the same trip close to the time that ABD trip goes. ABD cancelled our Italy trip and we purchased the airfare on our own. Lucky to find a trip by Tauck so we could use the airfare otherwise we would have to eat the $3000.00. ABD did not even offer to pay for the ticket date change we had to pay because we had to change the dates to fly. There are a number of companies that offer basically the same family trips (National Geographic, Family Journey, etc.) , just Google. As a person that traveled a few times with other vendors they are as good and in some aspects better than ABD. We now have a "back up plan" just for the fact that you cannot rely on the trips going off as planned. It really is frustrating and at times seems one sided.

 

[TXTransplant]

I'm really debating at what point to cut my losses. I'd forfeit my $600 deposit, though. And despite my anxiety about being on a plane for 10 hours, I am really looking forward to this itinerary.

I asked my agent about switching to another date (assuming I wouldn't have to pay the difference between the rate when I booked and the rate now). But, it's a week earlier than the trip we are already booked on (June 5-13 vs June 12-20), and there are still a lot of schools that aren't out at that time. I'm not holding out any hope that trip has any more bookings. The only other option is a week in August, but that trip is waitlist only.