Cancelled Galapagos Trip-Shattered Disney Memories

[lindasikora]

I see many postings about cancelled trips and know that they are all disapointing. My husband and I had already departed on our long awaited adventure to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands when Disney decided to cancel our trip which was to have begun on 10/5. Their decision was in response to a strike by the national police force on 9/29 which essentially caused a shutdown in the country for several hours. We were in the midst of it and never were concerned about safety and by the next morning things were back to normal. Strikes of this nature are not uncommon in South America however Disney's immediate decision to cancel the trip seemed very reactionary. Since we had already arrived, I tried desperately to get some assistance from ABD to book us with some other tour operator so that we could at least go the the Galapagos. Since we would not be able to replace the land portion in the Octavalo Valley, I requested a eight day cruise which I knew had openings. Unfortunately what Disney was willing to provide us was so inferior to the orignal booked trip we decided to return home and make the trip at some later date.
( Apparently they would have been able to provide us the original 4 days to the Galapagos with the same cruise company and then offered the hotel in Quito for the remaining six nights.)


Once home, I contacted ABD as well as other Disney executives. Most have ignored my letters and the only response received was from Joseph Paris of the executive offices of Adventures by Disney. While Disney did return our points into our vacation club account, they refuse to assist us with the reimbursement of airfare so that we could make this trip again. Furthermore, Mr. Paris indicated that the only error ABD had made was to even attempt to provide us with an alternative while we were still in Quito. He commented that they should have simply informed me of the cancellation and nothing further. I couldn't believe the arrogance!

We then filed a claim with Travel Guard, the company that provides travel insurance for the Adventures by Disney clients using vacation club points. They have denied our claim because operator cancellation is not a legitimate grounds for a claim. So I essentially wasted money in purchasing travel insurance.

The lack of interest or concern from the Disney family is outrageous and I can't imagine how a company could be any less customer service friendly.

Good luck to those of you who travel with this company, they certainly don't seem to have the Disney customer service commitment they built a reputation on!

 

[Bobo912]

Wow! That is terrible! I don't even know what to say except I am so sorry that happened to you.

 

[HappyGrumpy]

Wow! That is terrible! I don't even know what to say except I am so sorry that happened to you.

I am totally with Bobo912 on this one! Wow! Not to make light of this posting at all but I ask WWSHD? (What Would SayHello Do)

 

[sayhello]

I am totally with Bobo912 on this one! Wow! Not to make light of this posting at all but I ask WWSHD? (What Would SayHello Do)

HG, I'd be chuckling at this if this wasn't such a horrendous situation! lindasikora, I am so totally appalled at how ABD has handled this situation. When ABD cancels a trip due to lack of people, they are *FABULOUS* about working with you, re-scheduling you, paying for charges to change your airfare, etc.

I cannot believe that in this case, since the trip was cancelled (I assume) by what they consider "events out of their control", that they would leave you high and dry like that! I really don't understand. You were already there! How many days ahead of time did they cancel? Because the Guides get there early, also. I'm just so surprised that they would not cover the airfare. I can almost see, if it was a month or so ahead of time, saying you had time to change your airfare or whatever. But you were already THERE! You'd already *used* the airfare. There is no way to get a refund or change that ticket.

As far as the Trip Insurance is concerned, since you say it was with Travel Guard, I'm assuming you bought it yourself? Was it through a Travel Agent, or did you use a site like insuremytrip.com?

I'm looking at all the different policies Travel Guard has on insuremytrip.com (since I don't know which one you bought). They all say

The following exclusions apply to Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption:
Benefits will not be provided for any loss resulting (in whole or in part) from:
(a) travel arrangements canceled by an airline, cruise line, or tour operator, except as provided elsewhere in the plan;

So I looked through one of the policies to see what was "provided elsewhere". Obviously, this is dependent on which policy you bought, but I did find this:

The Insurer will pay a benefit, up to the Maximum Limit shown on the Schedule, if an Insured cancels his/her Trip or is unable to continue on his/her Trip due to the following Unforeseen events:
c) Strike resulting in complete cessation of travel services at the point of departure or Destination;

It's pushing it, since only *ABD's* travel services were ceased at the point of destination, but maybe you could argue that one. It's worth a try. I have to say, I'm appalled to see that they don't cover the operator canceling a tour, but I guess they expect the operator to make good on it. If ABD went out of business, you *would* have been covered... Some other companies, such as Travelex, *do* give you some coverage for airfare if the operator cancels the tour, but it isn't much. Like $100 or $200 to change the airfare, or a certain amount of reimbursement for the "unused portion" of the trip. I'm certainly going to have to look at this MUCH more closely in the future before purchasing insurance!

I am SO SORRY this happened to you. Honestly, I'm really thinking about calling ABD and asking them what the heck they were thinking. If I do, I'll let you know what they say...

Sayhello

ETA: I re-read your post and see that you said you purchased "with Travel Guard, the company that provides travel insurance for the Adventures by Disney." That's surprising. I thought they used Access America, like Disney Cruise Lines do. It's probably a custom policy. Did they send you a copy? You might want to read through it carefully & see what provisions they have for a Strike...

 

[HappyGrumpy]

I'm really thinking about calling ABD and asking them what the heck they were thinking. If I do, I'll let you know what they say...

Super Super curious as to what they say to you. I am officially reading the fine print on my travel insurance for my 2 upcoming cruises! It makes me wonder about the passengers on the Carnival Splendor and how the insurance companies will treat that as it an engine room fire.

 

[disneychic2]

So sorry that happened!

 

[lindasikora]

Thanks, I appreciate that. It will be interesting to hear how they defend their actions to others!

 

[DisneyCruisin']

Super Super curious as to what they say to you. I am officially reading the fine print on my travel insurance for my 2 upcoming cruises! It makes me wonder about the passengers on the Carnival Splendor and how the insurance companies will treat that as it an engine room fire.

It will be interesting to see how those on the Splendor make out. I do know that Carnival has publicly admitted that they are issuing full refunds to all on board, but I've not heard anything about airfare and other expenses yet.

 

[abbyjt]

Carnival has said they will issue full refunds plus travel expenses and give another cruise for free. That is what they should do.
The situation with Disney is the worst I have ever heard and makes me very unhappy to travel with them.
I would resubmit that claim to the travel insurance. I have heard that some companies deny everything the first time (from other websites).

 

[lindasikora]

HG, I'd be chuckling at this if this wasn't such a horrendous situation! lindasikora, I am so totally appalled at how ABD has handled this situation. When ABD cancels a trip due to lack of people, they are *FABULOUS* about working with you, re-scheduling you, paying for charges to change your airfare, etc.

I cannot believe that in this case, since the trip was cancelled (I assume) by what they consider "events out of their control", that they would leave you high and dry like that! I really don't understand. You were already there! How many days ahead of time did they cancel? Because the Guides get there early, also. I'm just so surprised that they would not cover the airfare. I can almost see, if it was a month or so ahead of time, saying you had time to change your airfare or whatever. But you were already THERE! You'd already *used* the airfare. There is no way to get a refund or change that ticket.

As far as the Trip Insurance is concerned, since you say it was with Travel Guard, I'm assuming you bought it yourself? Was it through a Travel Agent, or did you use a site like insuremytrip.com?

I'm looking at all the different policies Travel Guard has on insuremytrip.com (since I don't know which one you bought). They all say

So I looked through one of the policies to see what was "provided elsewhere". Obviously, this is dependent on which policy you bought, but I did find this:

It's pushing it, since only *ABD's* travel services were ceased at the point of destination, but maybe you could argue that one. It's worth a try. I have to say, I'm appalled to see that they don't cover the operator canceling a tour, but I guess they expect the operator to make good on it. If ABD went out of business, you *would* have been covered... Some other companies, such as Travelex, *do* give you some coverage for airfare if the operator cancels the tour, but it isn't much. Like $100 or $200 to change the airfare, or a certain amount of reimbursement for the "unused portion" of the trip. I'm certainly going to have to look at this MUCH more closely in the future before purchasing insurance!

I am SO SORRY this happened to you. Honestly, I'm really thinking about calling ABD and asking them what the heck they were thinking. If I do, I'll let you know what they say...

Sayhello

ETA: I re-read your post and see that you said you purchased "with Travel Guard, the company that provides travel insurance for the Adventures by Disney." That's surprising. I thought they used Access America, like Disney Cruise Lines do. It's probably a custom policy. Did they send you a copy? You might want to read through it carefully & see what provisions they have for a Strike...

When I called to book my trip through Adventures by Disney, they connected me with the Travel Guard vacation club desk

 

[sayhello]

When I called to book my trip through Adventures by Disney, they connected me with the Travel Guard vacation club desk

Oh, duh. I should have realized. Since you did vacation club points, there are very limited options for trip insurance that covers points.

I totally agree with abbyjt. Re-submit the claim. While it hasn't been my experience that they deny claims the first time around, lots of times, if you bother to appeal, they look at it more closely. I would stress the strike aspect of it, since strikes *are* covered.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Carnival has said they will issue full refunds plus travel expenses and give another cruise for free. That is what they should do.
The situation with Disney is the worst I have ever heard and makes me very unhappy to travel with them.
I would resubmit that claim to the travel insurance. I have heard that some companies deny everything the first time (from other websites).

I think part of what surprises me so much about ABD's attitude is that they are run by DCL now. When the Magic was stuck at Castaway Cay, DCL bent over backwards for the affected cruisers. I can't imagine why they wouldn't do the same for affected Adventurers.

Sayhello

 

[corky441]

I see many postings about cancelled trips and know that they are all disapointing. My husband and I had already departed on our long awaited adventure to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands when Disney decided to cancel our trip which was to have begun on 10/5. Their decision was in response to a strike by the national police force on 9/29 which essentially caused a shutdown in the country for several hours. We were in the midst of it and never were concerned about safety and by the next morning things were back to normal. Strikes of this nature are not uncommon in South America however Disney's immediate decision to cancel the trip seemed very reactionary. Since we had already arrived, I tried desperately to get some assistance from ABD to book us with some other tour operator so that we could at least go the the Galapagos. Since we would not be able to replace the land portion in the Octavalo Valley, I requested a eight day cruise which I knew had openings. Unfortunately what Disney was willing to provide us was so inferior to the orignal booked trip we decided to return home and make the trip at some later date.
( Apparently they would have been able to provide us the original 4 days to the Galapagos with the same cruise company and then offered the hotel in Quito for the remaining six nights.)

Once home, I contacted ABD as well as other Disney executives. Most have ignored my letters and the only response received was from Joseph Paris of the executive offices of Adventures by Disney. While Disney did return our points into our vacation club account, they refuse to assist us with the reimbursement of airfare so that we could make this trip again. Furthermore, Mr. Paris indicated that the only error ABD had made was to even attempt to provide us with an alternative while we were still in Quito. He commented that they should have simply informed me of the cancellation and nothing further. I couldn't believe the arrogance!

We then filed a claim with Travel Guard, the company that provides travel insurance for the Adventures by Disney clients using vacation club points. They have denied our claim because operator cancellation is not a legitimate grounds for a claim. So I essentially wasted money in purchasing travel insurance.

The lack of interest or concern from the Disney family is outrageous and I can't imagine how a company could be any less customer service friendly.

Good luck to those of you who travel with this company, they certainly don't seem to have the Disney customer service commitment they built a reputation on!

I would have been devastated if that had happened to me...

I do see that Disney did try to accomodate you though. It appears they offered you 10 days, and while I know it wasn't the trip you had planned, I think just because they wouldn't give you the 8 day cruise you wanted, that in all fairness they did do something to.

Regarding your travel insurance woes - I am currently looking into it for our trip next Fall. Did you book your airfare through ABD also? Did you get the insurance through ABD or on your own? I know that the ABD/DVC insurance only covers those items purchased through them and therfore wouldn't cover your airline costs if you purchased them outside of ABD.

Of course, I'm new to all of this, but I'm just trying to understand it all before the Italy trip next year.

 

[beachbunny]

I took this tour last year and don't know what I would have done had ABD cancelled AFTER I had left home. There is no way I would have stayed in Quito for six days waiting for the cruise. Safety issues aside, what is there to do? Even ABD does not have a single day of touring in this city. This is just the jumping off point to Ecuador's interior. Without the interior, you've lost half the tour.

This is just shameful on the part of ABD. At the very least, ABD should refund your airfare. Please post your experience anywhere and everywhere you can. I think people should be aware of the risk they take with ABD. There is a lot of competition out there for your tour dollars and if ABD does not make things right, that only hurts their reputation and business.

 

[corky441]

I took this tour last year and don't know what I would have done had ABD cancelled AFTER I had left home. There is no way I would have stayed in Quito for six days waiting for the cruise. Safety issues aside, what is there to do? Even ABD does not have a single day of touring in this city. This is just the jumping off point to Ecuador's interior. Without the interior, you've lost half the tour. This is just shameful on the part of ABD. At the very least, ABD should refund your airfare. Please post your experience anywhere and everywhere you can. I think people should be aware of the risk they take with ABD. There is a lot of competition out there for your tour dollars and if ABD does not make things right, that only hurts their reputation and business.

Well if that's the case, then they really didn't do enough to make staying worthwhile.

 

[beachbunny]

Quito is not like many other ABD destinations. If I'm already in London or Paris and ABD cancels, I'd be upset, but could salvage the trip doing my own thing - as I've done a dozen times in Europe. But Quito is not a huge tourist destination. There is the old town area and that's kinda it. And it's not really safe - why would ABD strand OP there for several days? ABD needs to put on their big boy pants and make things right for OP.

 

[Forever a Princess]

This post makes me nervous. We travel with Disney because they usually take care of their customers if things do not go as planned.

This is not how Adventurers should be treated.

Seriously makes me think that we should look into other tour operators for future trips.

 

[Bobo912]

Hearing about the police strike made me a little nervous, since we'll be going to the Galapagos in March so I looked for some information. Below is an excerpt from a story I found. I can certainly understand from the description why ABD felt it was necessary to cancel the trip, since they couldn't be sure how long the situation would continue. That in no way excuses the horrible way they handled lindasikora's situation. Refunding the cost of airfare is the very least they should have done. One of the reasons I'm willing to pay the high price for these vacations is to have the security of knowing we'll be taken care of if something goes wrong. Not feeling too secure about that anymore.

On September 30, 2010, a strike by police and military in Ecuador shut down the airports in Quito, Guayaquil, and other major cities throughout the evening.

American flag carriers cancelled U.S. bound flights. Major highways in and out of Quito, Guayaquil and other major cities were blocked. In some towns along the coast, there were reports of looting and lawlessness.

The U.S. Department of State issued a message warning American citizens traveling to Ecuador to postpone their travel plans until the situation improves

 

[lindasikora]

Hearing about the police strike made me a little nervous, since we'll be going to the Galapagos in March so I looked for some information. Below is an excerpt from a story I found. I can certainly understand from the description why ABD felt it was necessary to cancel the trip, since they couldn't be sure how long the situation would continue. That in no way excuses the horrible way they handled lindasikora's situation. Refunding the cost of airfare is the very least they should have done. One of the reasons I'm willing to pay the high price for these vacations is to have the security of knowing we'll be taken care of if something goes wrong. Not feeling too secure about that anymore. :sa

As I've tried to emphasize my anger and frustration with ABD was not so much that they felt compeled to cancel the trip under the circumstances but the way they've treated me since.

We had arrived in Quito ahead of the scheduled ABD trip to do an Amazon Jungle experience(my husband is an avid photograper of nature particulary birds and we went in search of the Amazon birds). We were out and about in the city when the strike and demostrations began and I know that they were throughout Ecuador. While I can't speak for what happen everywhere, I will tell you that we never felt in fear of our safety. Once we became aware of the situation, we did return to our hotel to be on the safe side. The staff at our hotel were most gracious and made arrangements with the restaurant next door to stay open long enough for hotel guest to order dinner which was rushed across the backyard and into the hotel breakfast room. There was actually a great deal of camaraderie at the hotel that evening. The next morning things appeared pretty much back to normal, the airports were open and we departed for our flight to Coca. Since we were in a remote location the only communication was via email and it was only later that day, Oct. 1, that I saw the email advising of the trip cancellation. Nothing further was mentioned about our situation although they knew we were on the ground in Ecuador. I immediately began a series of emails asking what ABD could do for us since we were already in the country and didn't really want to abandon our trip, particularly since we were already out the airfare. I spent the next four days sending email after email with no response. It wasn't until we got back into Quito on the Monday that they made contact with us. In the meantime, I had garnered a great deal of information from both other travelers on our Amazon trip and also with the help of the people associated with The Sacha Lodge. I was aware that there was availability on a eight day cruise leaving that Wednesday and asked that ABD book this for us as an alternative to the ABD trip, I genuinely felt it was a reasonable trade off for the fact that we were missing out on the Ecuadorian Highlands. Disney claims that they were unable to do this as they are not a travel agency (?) and have only certain contracts that they can work within. I guess I'm having a hard time understanding that explanation as the cruise operator would have willingly sold me passage. I don't understand why with name recognition of Disney they were unable to pick up the phone and make such a reservation through the travel agency partners they have in Ecuador.

Anyway, as I stated before, we did not feel that this was a reasonable alternative and decided to return home but I do feel that ABD at a minimum needs to pay for airfare so that we could take this trip at a future date. Our entire itinerary was based on the Galapagos experience and we undoubtedly feel very cheated. Furthermore, the safest place would have been in the Galapagos, 600 miles off the coast of the mainland, which was completely unaffected by any issues on the mainland.

This may be more detail than you really were looking for but I want to stress that I feel the immediate cancellation of the trip was extreme. Had they waited a day, things would have blown over yet I do understand that they were worried about the liability that they would have had if they went forward and there were more problems. Every other traveller we encountered did not have their trips cancelled although they did receive messages from their various travel agencies/representative suggesting that they stay in their hotels on that particular day.

Also, it is my understanding that all of this was due to disagreements over police benefits.

 

[Bobo912]

I'm glad to hear that the people at the hotel handled the situation well and you didn't feel unsafe. I know I would be near panic if I were in another country with my 10-year-old and heard the aiports were closed. After hearing your story I'm glad I decided to go with a longer cruise rather than the ABD trip with the land tour. It's almost unbelievable that it took 4 days before they got in touch with you! I can see why you're upset.