Be careful of Disneys Terms and conditions

[AussieNSW]

We have sailed with DCL a number of times including Alaska and Europe. We are very aware of cancellation policies ect.
We never thought we would be in this situation.
Disney had changed our cruise from stopping at noumea to now stopping at Eden and Hobart. Which i totally understand Noumea is not safe for there cruise line at the moment.
My issue is they have not allowed us to cancel our cruise without penalties.
This cruise was an international cruise for which you need passports ( an extra cost). The new cruise is a domestic cruise. The domestic cruise was a tropical cruise and now we get a cold weather cruise across bass strait which can be the roughest ocean in the world.
We cruised to Hobart with Disney last year and it was the worse cruise of my life. I never wanted to cruise across bass strait again in my life.
Ourselves and other guests have emailed and spoken to Disney and they have refused to do anything to help. Stupid me always thought Disney was better than other companies and cared. All they do is respond with genetic emails and scripted phone calls. The humanity and magic has gone from Disney. All disney now cares about is the profits for shareholders.
People may flame me for this post but the childhood belief in a dream i have grown up and was sharing with future generations has gone and i am devastated by this.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I am so sorry they changed your cruise. We had that happen on our 9 night med last year when they took out a stop in Turkey due to ongoing conflicts in the area. Unfortunately they are allowed to change ports at anytime for any reason. It is always disappointing. It is in the contract. I hope you can make peace with it or if you have insurance that allows you to cancel, you can do that. Sorry!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have sailed with DCL a number of times including Alaska and Europe. We are very aware of cancellation policies ect.
We never thought we would be in this situation.
Disney had changed our cruise from stopping at noumea to now stopping at Eden and Hobart. Which i totally understand Noumea is not safe for there cruise line at the moment.
My issue is they have not allowed us to cancel our cruise without penalties.
This cruise was an international cruise for which you need passports ( an extra cost). The new cruise is a domestic cruise. The domestic cruise was a tropical cruise and now we get a cold weather cruise across bass strait which can be the roughest ocean in the world.
We cruised to Hobart with Disney last year and it was the worse cruise of my life. I never wanted to cruise across bass strait again in my life.
Ourselves and other guests have emailed and spoken to Disney and they have refused to do anything to help. Stupid me always thought Disney was better than other companies and cared. All they do is respond with genetic emails and scripted phone calls. The humanity and magic has gone from Disney. All disney now cares about is the profits for shareholders.
People may flame me for this post but the childhood belief in a dream i have grown up and was sharing with future generations has gone and i am devastated by this.

As noted, cruise lines can (and do) change/remove any port stops in accordance with their contract with you. Indeed, they can actually never leave the port on embarkation day, if it works out for them to do so.

I'm sorry you're disappointed, but you did agree to the provisions when you made the reservation. Disney is a big company, no reason they can (or should) make exceptions for anything.

 

[anricat]

We had Isafjordur cancelled from our ports on our Norway/Iceland/France last year. I was pretty devastated at the time, not going to lie. It was a very expensive cruise that already had way way more sea days that I really wanted. We didn't receive any compensation and they didn't replace the port with anything else. I know they don't have to do any of that but other cruises with cancelled ports have often gotten something. I actually cried. I was really upset.

We went on the cruise and had an amazing trip.

I used to have a triathlon coach who said, "you can't control the weather, but you can control your attitude about the weather." I've taken that advice into a lot of areas in my life. Especially over the last few really tough years when I lost both my parents, then also a beloved step parent and then I was diagnosed with cancer. It all really sucked, but all I could do it just get through it all. I felt all the feels but I also put one foot in front of the other.

I get that you're bummed and you have every right to be. Feel those feels, get it all out, and then figure out how to pivot and still have an amazing trip.

 

[scroogie]

We have sailed with DCL a number of times including Alaska and Europe. We are very aware of cancellation policies ect.
We never thought we would be in this situation.
Disney had changed our cruise from stopping at noumea to now stopping at Eden and Hobart. Which i totally understand Noumea is not safe for there cruise line at the moment.
My issue is they have not allowed us to cancel our cruise without penalties.
This cruise was an international cruise for which you need passports ( an extra cost). The new cruise is a domestic cruise. The domestic cruise was a tropical cruise and now we get a cold weather cruise across bass strait which can be the roughest ocean in the world.
We cruised to Hobart with Disney last year and it was the worse cruise of my life. I never wanted to cruise across bass strait again in my life.
Ourselves and other guests have emailed and spoken to Disney and they have refused to do anything to help. Stupid me always thought Disney was better than other companies and cared. All they do is respond with genetic emails and scripted phone calls. The humanity and magic has gone from Disney. All disney now cares about is the profits for shareholders.
People may flame me for this post but the childhood belief in a dream i have grown up and was sharing with future generations has gone and i am devastated by this.

At the end of the day, you agreed to the cruise contract when you booked the cruise. Whether you read it or not, or understood it or not, is unfortunately not Disney's problem. DCL not being willing or able to do anything is not indicative of "humanity" or "magic" being gone, it means they are upholding their end of the agreement that you also agreed to when you handed your money over.

I'm sure you knew of the situation in Noumea and the fact that ships hadn't been docking there for some time (I believe the first in a while, a Royal Caribbean, docked last week).

People need to stop this madness just because they didn't get their own way and expect a company to break their own policies.

 

[Skippyboo]

Could you possibly modify your cruise to a different cruise itinerary?

 

[RivShore]

At the end of the day, you agreed to the cruise contract when you booked the cruise. Whether you read it or not, or understood it or not, is unfortunately not Disney's problem. DCL not being willing or able to do anything is not indicative of "humanity" or "magic" being gone, it means they are upholding their end of the agreement that you also agreed to when you handed your money over.

I'm sure you knew of the situation in Noumea and the fact that ships hadn't been docking there for some time (I believe the first in a while, a Royal Caribbean, docked last week).

People need to stop this madness just because they didn't get their own way and expect a company to break their own policies.

I pretty much agree but, if the below from the OP is true, it sounds like a major change to the product that was purchased:

This cruise was an international cruise for which you need passports ( an extra cost). The new cruise is a domestic cruise. The domestic cruise was a tropical cruise and now we get a cold weather cruise

Domestic vs. international, cold weather vs. tropical, when there is that much change, I don't think its unreasonable to expect the T&C's to make some more favorable allowances.

 

[SL6827]

Its all about the $$$$$.

 

[Dug720]

Disney had changed our cruise from stopping at noumea to now stopping at Eden and Hobart.

Where even are those places?

 

[RivShore]

Where even are those places?

Google is your friend - Australia and the S. Pacific.

 

[cvjw]

I think the worst thing is that other cruises have been modified and guests get onboard credit and/or future cruise discounts. I would also be disappointed, but it wouldn’t change my view of my childhood dream. I would just try and move my sailing to a different one.

 

[Lewisc]

At the end of the day, you agreed to the cruise contract when you booked the cruise. Whether you read it or not, or understood it or not, is unfortunately not Disney's problem. DCL not being willing or able to do anything is not indicative of "humanity" or "magic" being gone, it means they are upholding their end of the agreement that you also agreed to when you handed your money over.

People wouldn't book cruises if they carefully read the terms, realized the cruise lines enforce and that cruise lines can materially change the cruise without any recourse.

Internet fab boards blame the Pax for not reading the terms.

 

[DWillowBay]

I'm sure you're disappointed, with good cause. But in thinking through your post, I just have to say that I will never even have the opportunity to be in Hobart or Eden, no matter how much I wish that was different. Just my 2 cents: Enjoy what you have .

 

[Genie+]

Disney is allowed to put in the fine print that can they can totally change the itinerary and even sit in the port the whole port the whole trip, with zero compensation to the guest.

Before accepting that contract, maybe guests should consider the pricing compared to the minimum experience they are guaranteed to get.

If they can replace with a totally different itinerary before the trip and not allow guests to move their trip dates based on those changes, definitely take that into consideration. Is the gamble worth it? How upset would you be if you missed where you thought you were going? Guests need to proactively protect themselves unfortunately.

 

[Brian Noble]

The OP's post is helpful, for two reasons.

First, if someone is not familiar with cruise line policies, they might think that such a change would mean they could cancel or reschedule, much as most airlines do. So for those reading and considering cruising (with Disney or anyone else): caveat emptor!

Second, "the magic is gone!" is something that comes up on the DIS regularly, all the time. That's not because the magic is constantly leaving--it is because it was never there in the first place. Disney is a company that makes money by selling happiness, and they are very good at it. But, that's not the same as "Disney wants me, personally, to be happy." Most of us start out in the "Disney wants me to be happy" space, because they do a good job. But if we hang around long enough, inevitably something happens that upsets the apple card. For the OP, it was the change of itinerary, and that's understandable---and it also serves as a good warning for those of us who are still high on pixie dust!

OP, one way to look at those passports is not "I never needed to buy them" but "Hey! Now that we have passports, where do we want to go?" The world is your oyster!

 

[Dug720]

OP, one way to look at those passports is not "I never needed to buy them" but "Hey! Now that we have passports, where do we want to go?" The world is your oyster!

This. I'd never look at a passport as "I only got it for X" - they literally open up the whole world.

 

[Brian Noble]

I teach mostly senior-level electives at a University. One of the pieces of advice I give my students is to use part of their signing bonuses to buy a passport if they don't already have one, and then figure out how to use it at least once a year.

 

[jimmymc]

Welcome to the entire cruise industry. Not offering refunds or changes for a changed port stop is standard from the cheapest cruises to those much more expensive than Disney. I think I've had more cruises change ports on me than run the original itinerary. It's part of the risk when choosing to book one as a vacation. That's why if I have a city I absolutely need to see, I book a land trip or a cruise which starts there.

And I hate to burst your bubble, but Disney has always been all about profits. It was that way in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

 

[mjkacmom]

Even for closed loop cruises, most would highly recommend bringing a passport in case of an emergency like missing the ship or having a medical issue. Ports are cancelled all of the time, some travel insurance will reimburse for missed ports.

 

[Narcoossee11]

You book the ship and days.
I have seen many times the arrival and departure ports change also. DCL here in Florida have had to change the port to Miami or Tampa. They rent buses to\ from ship.