DCL declines to make good on offers from hurricane issues!

[Drcell01]

After giving DCL two chances at making good on issues and offers made during our journey to WDW and the DCL sailing of September 5th they have declined to do anything. At the time we were offered services and when we paid for them ourselves, do to a lack of timely communications, they now state that nothing will be done.

I will cancel my reservations on the May 14th cruise tomorrow and I will not be making any future reservations on DCL. We are hooked on cruising but we will sail on any other cruise line but DCL!

I have posted the correspondance between DCL and myself below. Any suggestions anyone might have please feel free to post them here as well!

10/12/04

Thank you for your most recent e-mail.

I regret your continued disappointment regarding your recent sailing aboard the Disney Magic.

We can certainly understand the frustrations you experienced due to Hurricane Frances. As Tracey
stated in her previous e-mail, the Disney Cruise Vacations Protection Plan, provides coverage for
lost baggage, trip cancellations, trip interruptions, travel delays, among a number of other
benefits. These services are provided by Access America, a division of World Access Service
Corporation, and underwritten by BCS Insurance Company. Unfortunately, Disney Cruise Vacations does
not have the authority to alter, modify, or waive any of the provisions of the insurance guide.
Without having purchased this preventative measure, we are unable to go beyond what the Disney
Cruise Vacations Protection Plan covers. I truly regret any disappointment.

We hope to have the opportunity to sail with you again in the future.

Sincerely,

Jennifer
Disney Cruise Line Guest Communications



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Dear Tracy,

Thank you for getting back to me. I do understand that you were swamped with emails concerning the
weather related issues that took place at the same time as we sailed.

I do apreciate the rebate, stateroom credit, and (if I choose to sail with DCL again) a potential
25% discount. However, there is the matter of the hotel room and rental car expense that I incurred
when, if I was told in a timely manner, would not have put out over $200 in additional cost. I was
assured that "something" would be done on my behalf concerning these expenses. I did not make an
issue with the cast member I spoke with at the time because I was told that these issues would be
resolved by stating them in an email to DCL after the cruise. I was offered a hotel room at the
Port Orleans resort and transportation via bus to Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale only after I had
spent my money to stay the same night at the All-Star Movies resort and rent a car for the week!
Your company was willing to offer these to me then but now because I paid for them (only due to the
delay in your notification to me) I must now be out cost of these expenses?

I would appreciate it if you would reconsider reimburseing me my costs on these expenses even if it
would be with Disney credits for future use. If you were willing to offer them to me then I don't
know why you would not be willing to offer them to me now unless you are just trying to tell me
another way "tough luck" because I spent the money.

I am a frequent guest at the WDW resort. I come with my wife and daughter at least 2 to 3 times each
year. This year we have already been to the WDW resort 4 times. Each time we visit we spend quite a
bit of money as I am a Disney Pin Collector and spend an average of $750 on Disney Pins each visit
not to mention our expenses for food, recreation, and other items.

I believe that the reduction in our cruise costs were a proper offset for the disruption of our
planned cruise agenda. The reductions, in my view, do not cover these added costs which you offered
to take care of only after I made other plans based upon the lack of communication from DCL.

Sincerely,

Bob Dittes


----- Original Message -----
From: Disney Cruise Line <dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 2:44 pm
Subject: Re: Issues concerning Disney Magic cruise on 9/7/04

> 9/29/04
>
> Dear Mr. Dittes,
>
> Thank you for your e-mail concerning your Disney Cruise Line
> vacation. I am sorry for not providing
> a more timely response to your e-mail, but due to the volume of
> correspondence we have received, we
> are not able to reply as quickly as we would like. Your patience
> is sincerely appreciated.
>
> Please accept my heartfelt regret for the unavoidable itinerary
> changes that occurred during your
> voyage and the challenges you described with the transportation to
> Port Everglades. Generally, it
> is not a cruise industry practice to offer any special
> considerations for itinerary changes, as
> those circumstances are not in a cruise line's control. However,
> we hope that the 30% refund off
> your voyage fare (this will be reflected on your credit card
> statement within 1-2 billing cycles),
> $200 onboard credit per stateroom, and a future 25% discount
> showed our sincere concern for your
> situation.
>
> I would like to mention that the purchase of our travel insurance,
> the Disney Cruise Vacations
> Protection Plan, provides coverage for lost baggage, trip
> cancellations, trip interruptions, travel
> delays, among a number of other benefits. These services are
> provided by Access America, a division
> of World Access Service Corporation, and underwritten by BCS
> Insurance Company. When your
> reservation was booked, it was stated that you did not want the
> insurance, which is unfortunate,
> because without the purchase of this protective measure, we are
> unable to go beyond what the Disney
> Cruise Vacations Protection Plan covers and provide any further
> consideration for these
> circumstances. I am very sorry for any disappointment.
>
> The 25% discount letters have been mailed. Since you booked
> through a travel agency, this offer was
> sent directly to Travel Dreams. They should be receiving these
> letters shortly.
>
> We understand there are many choices available throughout the
> world today for vacation destinations.
> It is our hope that you will be returning to Disney Cruise Line to
> experience an enjoyable cruise
> vacation and that this credit will provide you with an added
> incentive to do so in the near future.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Tracey, Guest Communications
> Disney Cruise Line
>
>
>
>
> Original Message Follows:
> -------------------------
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> I am writing at the request of one of your CM's that I spoke to on
> the evening of September 6th. In
> my families attempt to make the sailing of our cruise on the
> Disney Wonder (Reservation # 21968251)
> and then on the Disney Magic on 9/7 we experienced the following:
>
> 1. Based upon the information that we had be provided (that the
> sailing of the Wonder would still
> take place and leave from Port Canaveral) we rearranged our flight
> from Syracuse NY to Orlando and
> flew into Ft. Myers (was the only southern FL city with an open
> airport).
> 2. We then rented a car (for the week) and drove 200+ miles from
> Ft. Myers to WDW. We had already
> made a reservation for the night at All Star Movies resort as we
> are WDW AP holders. (Cost of rental
> car for week was $149.87)
>
>
> 3. At 6:34 pm we were called by DCL while we were having dinner at
> MK. The CM that called stated
> that DCL had a room for us at Port Orleans and would provide
> transportation to our port of
> departure, Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We had planned
> on using the rental car to drive
> to Port Canaveral.
>
> 4. We were also informed of the departure places for the buses
> that would take us to Ft. Lauderdale.
> Of them we chose to leave from Boardwalk Resort. This bus was to
> leave the resort at 10:30 am. As
> of 11:45 am this bus had not arrived at the resort. Even though
> there was a DCL representative
> waiting with us (she was provided inacurate information as the the
> whereabouts of the bus) I decided
> to call DCL to obtain information. I was told by a CM that there
> was a bus coming from the Beach
> Club resort in about 15 minutes. After 30 minutes elapsed I
> decided to call again. I was then told
> that a CM manager was on their way to provide lunch vouchers. I
> still did not receive any
> information concerning the bus that would take us to Ft.
> Lauderdale. At about 1:45 pm (when no one
> showed I again called DCL). I encountered a reservation CM
> manager that informed me that "DCL was
> doing everything possible" and "to have a nice day" and proceded
> to hang up on me. One of our group
> went
> to the manager of the Boardwalk and explained the situation and
> she arranged for lunch at the ESPN
> club during which someone from DCL did arrive. Our bus finally
> showed up at 3:30 pm. During our
> trip to Ft. Lauderdale our bus traveled at only 50 MPH due to one
> of the buses having transmission
> problems and eventually pulled over and added additional
> transmission fluid. We arrived at Port
> Everglades at 7:25 pm and we were the last ones on the ship. We
> lost an entire day of our cruise
> experience.
>
> 5. I had origonally made a reservation to attend an event (Disney
> Pin Traders event at EPCOT) that
> started on September 10th. Due to the change of cruise dates I
> was unable to attend the first day
> of the event.
>
> I am asking if DCL would consider any reimbursement of the added
> expenses that we incurred as
> follows:
>
> Cost of one nights stay at All Star Movies resort = $55.00 + tax
> Cost of rental car for the week = $149.87
> Cost of one day of the Disney Pin Traders event = $75.00 total cost
>
> Also please consider the cost of all of the cellular phone calls
> to DCL and the rudeness of one of
> your CM's (a reservations manager no less)!
>
> I appreciate your consideration in this matter.
>
> Respecfully,
>
> Robert Dittes

 

[Tluvs2talk]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Next time you should buy cruise insurance for these unforseen experiences.

 

[silver7]

So in a hurricane situation Disney offered you a cumlative savings of 55 percent off 2 cruises, a two hundred dollar credit, a free room (but you had already gotten one).

I am sorry, but I don't agree with your disgust. I think they were generous in a stressful situation. How about the pin trading event refunding your $75?

I do agree, however, that you should have gotten an apology for rudeness.

my 2cents.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Drcell01.........being that I found these boards as a reason to "vent" about the cancellation of out 11/02 Eastern sailing I can talk to you with experience. Yes, having a vacation alterted is VERY aggrivating. All the months of anticipation then one bad thing leads to another. I WAS in your shoes 22 months ago and felt the exact same way. We have since taken DCL up on the offer we were given and had an absolutely Magical vacation last Nov. We have a Western booked for next month......if I may tell you you made three BAD mistakes 1) You did not take the insurance. For 79.00 you wouldn't be writing here.....2) I'm assuming you were offered a full refund when the sailings were to be cancelled or rearranged (at least that is what I remember reading about on these boards) and you didn't accept a "refund". 3) If you have read any of my posts.....If you demand something from DCL you will most likely get little or nothing. In my dealings with DCL demanding people who request specific dollar amounts recieve nothing. People who express their "displeasure" with the way thier trip went or how things were handled usually get prompt responce from DCL. They want you back ONLY if you want to be back. Thay don't want to have to "buy you back". That's why sailings don't get discounted near sailing dates..........JMHO

 

[jrp]

Drcell01
Sorry that DCL didn't give out more but, as everyone who reads this will say to you--you should have bought travel insurance prior to the cruise. Remember this is hurricaine season and you do get a discount for cruising that time of year and yes they do state they are not responsible for (mother nature) etc.. Not trying to flame you at all IMHO.. Let those beware who have now experienced the wrath of the Atlantic
James

 

[mostyn17]

We purchased the insurance through Disney...we were on the suppose to be september 4th cruise....we ended up staying an extra few days at the Grand Floridian.....The insurance paid us back every penny....including food. I would never go without insurance. The trips are to expensive to risk it....espically during hurricane season!


I know that vacation was very hectic, but I do feel Disney did much more then they had too.....If you look at what they gave us compaired to other cruise lines....we lucked out.

This defineitly would not stop me from cruising Disney!! Sorry for your troubles.

Travis

 

[lovepuzzles]

DrCell

Boy, I thought my experience with DCL was bad, but yours seems to have been worse. My husband is wanting me to use the 25% voucher and reschedule, but I am still bitter about the whole ordeal. I can't and won't recommend DCL to anyone!! And I just get more mad all over again when some people post things like, "you should have had insurance, you shouldn't go during hurricane season, etc." I think most people's gripe is about the poor communication from DCL and they DID have control over that.

I'm sorry to hear they are not accomodating any extra expenses. That is my main reason for reading these boards now to find out how Disney is responding to all the letters. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

Maybe I should ask for a cruise insurance refund since I have cruised 8 times and never had to use it. Why should I pay extra money when people who don't have insurance are given room credits, discounts, and extra booking incentives? If people would just pay for cruise insurance we would not have this thread. By the way I also think anyone who doesn't tell me what I want to hear or give me what I want rude. People are only nice when we get what we want.


Teri

 

[two-foxes]

I will certainly agree with the majority...if you failed to purchase trip insurance for a trip of the expense of a Disney cruise, in hurricane season, you made a poor decision, in my opinion. We were on the 9/25 (9/27 thanks to Jeanne), and purchased trip insurance. Our hotel, food and rental car that we needed to get as a result of the delay will be covered by trip insurance. I will agree that DCL's communication was poor to say the least, but I was able to roll with the punches a bit better because we had the security of the insurance.


DCL went above and beyond my expections, even with the poor communication, by refunding 40% of our cruise and offering a $300 stateroom credit. HURRICANES ARE AN ACT OF GOD, NOT DISNEY CRUISE LINE. If they need to delay a cruise as a result of this, it is just something we need to deal with. And, trip insurance certainly helped me deal with it alot better, so maybe you may want to rethink purchasing insurance (either on your own or thru DCL) for future trips, regardless if you choose to include DCL in your plans. It is just smart.

 

[pppiglet]

yep..we bought the trip insurance and we're not even cruising in hurricane season or from Florida. (west coast cruise) It's just better to be "safe than sorry".

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Let me see........if you got sick and went to the doctor, and he made you pay up front because you didn't have health insurance whos fault is that? Who would you ask to reimburse you? The insurance company you refused to pay or the doctor that treated you........looks like you are getting flamed........

 

[kaykels]

I think you guys are being mean to the orig. poster. First timers often don't realize the importance of trip insurance.(I didn't!) The cruise itself is extremely expensive and a lot of people save all year or more for itjust to get a cat.12! I know it's hurricane season so it's already discounted..... heard it a million times..... but it's still THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. I, for one, feel bad for the poster because you lost a whole day on the ship because of the miscommunication of DCL. It must have been frustrating to hear the bus was coming FOR HOURS. Especially if you have small children with you. Sorry about your experience.
Sure, DCL made every effort to "help" during the shuffeling. But this poster had an awful frustrating ordeal due to miscommunication, bus breakdown, rude CM and wrong information. C'mon guys, that really stinks.

 

[dap]

It is truly sad to see so many unpleasant responses to this site, however it's like anything else, let the buyer beware. Even on our first cruise in 2002, we purchased insurance, and thank goodness did not have to use the insurance. It is no different than renting a car without insurance.. If a storm hits.... and a storm damages the car you are driving, don't think the car rental agency is going to just forgive the damage.

Yeah, it's depressing to think your vacation was cut short, or you missed a connecting flight... or a site was closed and you could not go... Be prepared... be educated... read the small print on everything...

Disney is NOT responsible for storms; and I understand you were impacted by the storm but they should not have to refund money, issue coupons, on deck credits... etc. that was pretty nice of the company. As far as their staff being rude... I guess it's all in how you acted toward them, and I am not passing judgement and neither should anyone else, we were not there. The only problem I can see... Disney did give discounts from storm one... the larger the storm, the larger the discounts. I really think they created a monster without meaning too!

And.. one final item... since you have so many pins... want to sell some.

 

[SandraLee]

I must be missing something . .. Is the OP upset because he is not being reimbursed for:

"Cost of one nights stay at All Star Movies resort = $55.00 + tax
> Cost of rental car for the week = $149.87
> Cost of one day of the Disney Pin Traders event = $75.00 total cost
And the cell charges for his numerous calls to DCL?"

Call me dumb, but if he got the future discount voucher, the on board credit, and the reduction in fare of the actual cruise, does he really have room to complain about $275 in charges that were out of pocket? Is this all that he is out?

 

[RickW]

Originally posted by Drcell01
I will cancel my reservations on the May 14th cruise tomorrow

I don't want to get involved in the discussion about who is in the right here. But I do have a question/observation.

Your May 14th cruise: Is that 2005 or 2006? If this is the May 14, 2005 cruise through the Panama canal, then you are probably actually doing Disney a favor by cancelling. I have no doubt that they can probably rebook the cabin for more than you originally paid for it. If it's a 2006 Wonder cruise instead, then this doesn't apply, but otherwise it seems like odd revenge.

Anyway, it doesn't really make much difference to this conversation, but I thought it was interesting.

 

[paulmc80]

Well, I had planned on re-booking a cruise next October while I was onboard for the 9/4 Magic cruise. What I was told at the time that the cruise was pushed back to 9/7 and shortened to 4 nights was ok with me. But, then there was no re-booking onboard. They said the 25% off was the best offer avaialable so , no onboard re-booking. Turns out that offer cannot be used for October 2005. Wish I could have re-booked while onboard.
I have written to them about this and expect a cooperative reply.

 

[tvguy]

I'm 2000 miles away on the west coast and I knew what was going on during all the Hurricanes thanks to the DCL and Port Canaveral websites.
If your house has been damaged during the hurricanes, would you be mad at the builder because you made a decision not to get insurance? I think not. You gambled and tryed to save $79, and you lost.

 

[two-foxes]

Originally posted by kaykels
I think you guys are being mean to the orig. poster. First timers often don't realize the importance of trip insurance.(I didn't!) The cruise itself is extremely expensive and a lot of people save all year or more for itjust to get a cat.12! I know it's hurricane season so it's already discounted..... heard it a million times..... but it's still THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

That is exactly why I get trip insurance...to protect my vacation that I planned and payed for for over a year. It is protection of my investment, protection of the thousands of dollars that my DH and I worked for a long time to pay off.....it seems to me that trip insurance makes sense in this type of situation, right?

 

[prymsu]

I have taken lots of cruises. After number 7 or 8, I thought to myself that i had never used it before, and i would take a cruise without purchasing. Well, wouldn't you know it, but it was the one time i could really have benefited.

Lots of things happen, even things that aren't related to a hurricane that insurance can cover and save the day.

 

[izzinmac]

Everyone has put in there 2 cents regarding the fairness/unfairness of Disney's compensation offers. I would like to comment on the recurring theme that I've seen critical of Disney's communication to customers during the hurricane time period. I agree, the supervisor in question "should not" have been rude. On the other hand, he was probably dealing with chaos, under the worst conditions, with limited communication, and probably a reduced work force. He really didn't need calls from irate customers at that time asking the same questions that his CM's in the field were already asking . Having gone through the storms, I can tell you first hand that most people living here were not at all interested in their work situations-family security was a much more pressing concern. And contacting people was a much more difficult proposition at that time. I can imagine the difficulty Disney was having (1) contacting employees to ask them to come to work, (2) contacting travelers scattered everywhere to let them know what the changed plans were for the cruises, and (3) waiting to do all that to the very last moment because of uncertainty of storm paths, impact, etc. I'm sure cruisers were upset that information was scarce and confused, but under the circumstances, Disney probably did as well as could be expected under very trying conditions. I can tell you if I had been a Disney employee, I would not have left my family to report to work on the 5th of September to make it possible for cruisers to make their ship. Sorry, but you wouldn't have been my major concern!!