DCL 2 week vax ultimatum during a major holiday Thanksgiving week

[Ikaikalani]

I have not had to cancel a cruise so I don't if they do this or not but many places require you to cancel via phone so they can beg you not to. Ever try to cancel a cable/internet service or DirecTV?

Or a Gym membership. The Golds Gym by me makes you cancel in person.

 

[Kariyaffa]

Canceling has be done by phone call, or if you used a TA, through them.

Or you can cancel through the chat feature on their website

 

[dcassetta]

Or you can cancel through the chat feature on their website

Were you able to do this recently? We tried to change our stateroom a couple of months ago and were told on the chat that we would have to call since there was a small change in cost and they would not do a monetary transaction through the chat.

 

[Kariyaffa]

Were you able to do this recently? We tried to change our stateroom a couple of months ago and were told on the chat that we would have to call since there was a small change in cost and they would not do a monetary transaction through the chat.

I haven’t tried but I know 3 people in my group who did it successfully

 

[DisneyDadBama]

Nothing new here. Disney's priority is getting your money. period.

 

[MomOTwins]

We’ve all known the vaccine for kids was coming for months, and it was made available for 5-12s weeks ago. If you’ve decided to vaccinate, the news doesn’t matter. If you’ve decided not to, then two weeks is plenty of time to call and cancel. It’s not crazy for Disney to assume that parents aren’t waiting around for a cruise announcement to begin making important decisions about their kids’ health.

 

[sethschroeder]

To be fair it does suck. But to also be fair. Didn’t we all see the writing on the wall?

To be fair can't Disney join the 2010 and allow you to cancel online? Heck even SirusXM allows you to cancel online now. Someone said they knew of someone who could cancel through chat possibly but as with chat you never know and its not always there.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

To be fair can't Disney join the 2010 and allow you to cancel online? Heck even SirusXM allows you to cancel online now.

Maybe they could have you cancel by fax!

 

[sethschroeder]

Maybe they could have you cancel by fax!

Would likely be easier right now since you can at least fax from anywhere but it does cost a dollar or something like that.

They want to talk to you to make you not cancel and get your money back. If someone isn't vaccinated and calling its not like the call center person will make a break through for the individual. Additionally it would be a flat out lie to tell the person to take a credit because you never know if the vaccine mandate might go away soon.

 

[MomOTwins]

Would likely be easier right now since you can at least fax from anywhere but it does cost a dollar or something like that.

They want to talk to you to make you not cancel and get your money back. If someone isn't vaccinated and calling its not like the call center person will make a break through for the individual. Additionally it would be a flat out lie to tell the person to take a credit because you never know if the vaccine mandate might go away soon.

I imagine part of it is that the penalties for cruise cancellations are subject to much higher penalties versus other products and the penalty schedules are quite complicated. So many variations based on days before cruise, cruise length, concierge, GT, covid policy etc. Would be a bit of a headache to program the system to generate the correct penalty. What happens when someone cancels at 11:59pm before their PIF and their internet is slow so the cancellation goes in after 12:00 and they lose their deposit? Or when someone cancels a concierge cruise to book a new one without realizing they could have kept their deposit if they moved their booking rather than cancel?

I remember in spring 2020 cancelling a stateroom I had booked for my in-laws because of covid and on the phone they warned me several times that I’d be losing 50% of the fare (they eventually reimbursed me retroactively after they cancelled the cruise)—I knew that penalty would happen, but I bet a lot of people don’t pay attention. Maybe they feel like it would be to much of a hassle both in terms of programming the system (and making changes whenever they temporarily relax the penalties) or a customer relations hassle when people get mad because they didn’t read the fine print.

 

[DCLMP]

I imagine part of it is that the penalties for cruise cancellations are subject to much higher penalties versus other products and the penalty schedules are quite complicated. So many variations based on days before cruise, cruise length, concierge, GT, covid policy etc. Would be a bit of a headache to program the system to generate the correct penalty. What happens when someone cancels at 11:59pm before their PIF and their internet is slow so the cancellation goes in after 12:00 and they lose their deposit? Or when someone cancels a concierge cruise to book a new one without realizing they could have kept their deposit if they moved their booking rather than cancel?

I remember in spring 2020 cancelling a stateroom I had booked for my in-laws because of covid and on the phone they warned me several times that I’d be losing 50% of the fare (they eventually reimbursed me retroactively after they cancelled the cruise)—I knew that penalty would happen, but I bet a lot of people don’t pay attention. Maybe they feel like it would be to much of a hassle both in terms of programming the system (and making changes whenever they temporarily relax the penalties) or a customer relations hassle when people get mad because they didn’t read the fine print.

It doesn't seem to be a problem for Carnival and they have a much higher volume, stricter cancellation policies, and multiple types of discounts and deposit rules.

 

[otten]

I do agree. For one thing, up here in Canada we have only started vaccinating kids like today. We aren’t cruising until August so this doesn’t affect us but I do feel for those who are impacted by this short notice policy through no fault of their own.

 

[insureman]

To be fair can't Disney join the 2010 and allow you to cancel online? Heck even SirusXM allows you to cancel online now. Someone said they knew of someone who could cancel through chat possibly but as with chat you never know and its not always there.

Just got this answer from chat.

 

[Miffy]

This week, the FTC said that it is illegal to have people sign up for subscriptions online and then have to call to cancel. This was specifically in relation to newspapers, etc. It would be nice if a similar regulation could be applied here.

Thanks for posting this. I hadn't seen that this was in effect.

I had a subscription to the NYT crossword puzzle (not the paper, just the puzzle) for many many years and a few years ago I decided to cancel it because I got bored with the puzzles. At the time, you couldn't cancel the crossword subscription online, even though you could subscribe online. I had to call and speak to someone and get the hard, hard sell.

Maybe companies haven't figured this out yet, but the harder you try to sell something, the less attractive it seems and the more the company itself becomes an entity you never want to have to deal with again.

 

[Dug720]

I do agree. For one thing, up here in Canada we have only started vaccinating kids like today. We aren’t cruising until August so this doesn’t affect us but I do feel for those who are impacted by this short notice policy through no fault of their own.

If I'm reading it correctly, it starts JANUARY 13 which is 7 weeks away. You only need 4 weeks from 1st dose - 2 weeks to second dose and 2 weeks for full vaccine status. You've got 3 weeks to get that first dose done. It's not "last minute".

 

[Dug720]

We’ve all known the vaccine for kids was coming for months, and it was made available for 5-12s weeks ago. If you’ve decided to vaccinate, the news doesn’t matter. If you’ve decided not to, then two weeks is plenty of time to call and cancel. It’s not crazy for Disney to assume that parents aren’t waiting around for a cruise announcement to begin making important decisions about their kids’ health.

This! As I said above, you have 7 weeks until it goes into effect. That gives you 3 weeks to play around with getting the first dose. I'm very confused as to where the "2 weeks" is coming from. If it's to make the decision to cancel, it shouldn't be. huge deal you either know you're getting your kiddo vaccinated or have already done so or you know you're not. IF you're on the fence, you need to make a decision. The requirement is not going to magically go away.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It doesn't seem to be a problem for Carnival and they have a much higher volume, stricter cancellation policies, and multiple types of discounts and deposit rules.

Well, DCL isn't Carnival. Each cruise line does what works for them.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It doesn't seem to be a problem for Carnival and they have a much higher volume, stricter cancellation policies, and multiple types of discounts and deposit rules.

Yes but they don't have Disney IT.

 

[nancipants]

Ha - just went on the website to try to cancel another cruise via Chat. Got a pop up that all cast members are busy assisting other guests.

 

[Kwami]

This! As I said above, you have 7 weeks until it goes into effect. That gives you 3 weeks to play around with getting the first dose. I'm very confused as to where the "2 weeks" is coming from. If it's to make the decision to cancel, it shouldn't be. huge deal you either know you're getting your kiddo vaccinated or have already done so or you know you're not. IF you're on the fence, you need to make a decision. The requirement is not going to magically go away.

The two weeks is the cancellation window, I guess. But keep in mind that while 3 weeks is the interval for shots in the US, other countries have longer gaps between doses. Most provinces in Canada seem to be doing 8 weeks between doses, for instance.