DCL declines to make good on offers from hurricane issues!

[RJake1]

Magic Cruise Lines d/b/a DCL will not give you cash back nor will they credit your card.

What they've given you - discounts, etc. is not a dollar for dollar trade because of price markup - while a credit to your account would actually cost them the exact amount of money -- discounts will not; and, they know that not all the discounts will be used in which case they've given exactly ... NOTHING. Of course, if the discounts are used they will make even more money from you during your vacation, so its a win/win for them.

My advice is to approach this from a business perspective. What you've spent (hotel & car) likely approximates the cost of trip insurance. So its a financial wash. You took a gamble and didn't buy trip insurance and you basically won the bet (or at least "pushed").

You've already spent too much time and energy trying to recover the money.

 

[disneyfan73]

Originally posted by RJake1
My advice is to approach this from a business perspective. What you've spent (hotel & car) likely approximates the cost of trip insurance. So its a financial wash. You took a gamble and didn't buy trip insurance and you basically won the bet (or at least "pushed").

You've already spent too much time and energy trying to recover the money.

I agree here .... It’s like you "self-insured" your trip. We have done many land vacations "self-insured". But for our upcoming 1st cruise ever, we have purchased the trip insurance thru DCL.

Jeff

 

[pamkass]

I am sorry you had problems with the communications from DCL, but since I just worked thru hurricane Ivan. You have to remember that you are worried about your family, house and pets at the time that you are working. You need to go home and try to get everything done that needs to be done to prepare for the hurricane but you are STUCK at work. You done feel very friendly and nice. I finely got to leave work at 6 PM on Tues before Ivan struck. I had to go to about 5 supermarkets before I found one open. If it was a normal day I would agree with you but your problems didn't happen on normal days.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by 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.

Travis, can you elaborate on this? I think this is a VERY important point that not everyone realizes when they decline the insurance, and, if you don't mind sharing, could be very helpful to others in the future so they have in mind what insurance will cover.

To the OP, I'm sorry that your frustration with DCL has not passed; luckily, I found that my frustrations with the 9/27 Hurricane Jeanne Cruise dissipated fairly quickly and that DCL's discounts, credits, refunds, etc. really made me feel good about the company. The onboard credit more than covered the cost of our rental van, and the discount helped to make even a vry shortened cruise magical.

I hope (and I mean this in a very sincere, non-flaming way that may not come across in writing) that you can put your bad experience behind you and enjoy future cruises with DCL.

Marcy

 

[ldb1030]

Sorry you had such problems.
You know what I got back from DCL for going to ONE of the original FOUR ports we should have gone to on our 9/11 cruise?
$4.86 and acutally I have not even received it back yet but am I mad at DCL? NO! They are NOT responsible for hurricanes or any other weather for that matter!

Count your blessings
and move on!
You won't put DCL out of business by cancelling your cruise.
It's too bad you have to, but someone else will certainly be in your cabin come May 14.

 

[rae519]

We did not have to use our insurance to compensate for our 9/4 - Disney did give us a full refund, Delta Airlines offered a full refund or a chance to rebook and priceline.com/Marriott Hotel gave us a full refund and a thank you for freeing up a room that an evacuee could use.

I was told by a DCL Rep that we will get a 25% discount voucher from Disney through the travel agency we booked with (All Seasons Travel) and that it would be good for travel until 12/31/05. To date, I haven't heard a word from All Seasons but expect to shortly.

Rae

 

[fourfoxesinpa]

We booked our 9/25, er..I mean, 9/27 Western 7 day, (oops again 5 night) almost a year in advance. We didn't even consider the hurricane when we decided to buy travel insurance. We just figured that it was SO far in advance that we had no idea if someone would become sick or some other circumstance would arise to prohibit us from taking the trip. I think the cost was $142 for our family of 4. That cost was extremely minimal compared to the price of the cruise.

Due to Hurricane Jeanne, we were stranded at the Orlando airport area, incurred hotel charges at the Renaissance, food, cell phone charges that were WAY in excess of $142 so, in hindsight, purchasing the insurance was very smart. I will never book a cruise that far out without purchasing the insurance. Life is just too unpredictable.

NOW, we WERE given the option of cancelling our cruise altogether. A Disney rep. (and my travel agent) were in touch with us on the day before our sailing and told us we could cancel WITHOUT penalty or go out two days later. If we didn't have insurance, we would have cancelled so as not to incur additional expenses. But, because we did, we decided to go to Florida, ride out the storm, and have a fantastic vacation.

If Disney gave the option to cancel and passengers chose to take the delayed sailing, I really can't see that it's Disney's responsibility to reimburse for the expenditures. That's what insurance is for.

Another point...if a reimbursement was given by Disney for missing days on the cruise, I wouldn't be afraid to bet that, in the end, you paid LESS per diem staying at AllStars and buying food than what you would have done on the boat.

Just my opinion...

 

[smchan]

I'll share my own insurance experience.

I fell ill on the first night of my first cruise in March 2003. I went to the doctor the next day and was promptly quarantied to my room for 2 days - and my wife for 1 day just because she'd been around me.

The doctor said "guest services would contact me regarding financial arrangements", so we obeyed the quarantine and stayed in our room - despite my wife not being sick and being very bored.

Although I give Disney general high marks, they dropped the ball in several, minor ways such as charging me for soft drinks the doctor said would be free. The did, however, bring me lots of books, magazines, and a VCR with some movies. They also delivered meals from the dining room menus.

When I got home, I wrote a letter regarding my experience. I didn't ask for compensation; I merely stated my experiences in the form of constructive criticism. Disney answered promptly - they reminded me I had trip insurance and offered to provide whatever supporting documentation I needed and they sent me a voucher good for 1/2 the fare I spent on that cruise. After the insurance claim was paid, the cruise was effectively free. Disney did more for me than I expected, and I wrote a thank-you letter expressing my gratitude.

Before my correspondance with DCL, I'd pretty much decided cruising wasn't my thing and intended to never go again but with that voucher burning a hole in my pocket, I couldn't resist, so my wife and I took a 7 night western in March 2004. It was the best vacation I've ever had.

And I'm now going on the 12/11/04 Eastern and yes, I have travel insurance. I'm not one to buy warranty plans or domestic travel insurance, but a medical liability in the Caribbean is one I cannot accept. That fact that it covers storms, etc is just gravy to me.

Sam

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

Two words:

Travel Insurance





It is SO CHEAP (seriously, like $80 a person) I would never not get it. I understand people pay thousands for cruises, but that is the point. Skimp somewhere else. You got burned because you didn't get it. I'm sorry about that.

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

I'm still trying to figure out how the rebate and onboard credit doesn't cover the $290 in "additional" charges he incurred.

 

[paulmc80]

Well, I"m not sure how anyone was informed about changes to the 9/4/04 Magic cruise. I only found out at 9:00p.m. Eastern time on 9/5/04 that it was changed to depart 9/7/04. My flight was leaving the next morning to MCO and I had no hotel room booked. At that time DCL was not paying for anyone's room, or at least they did not tell me any such thing. I scrambled to get a hotel room. Let's say it was not easy the night before being in Atlanta to find a room down there.

Being at home and seeing the updates on DCL's website is fine and dandy. Being on the road and having to change your accomodations and plans the night before is not fun.

I always had trip insurance and the extra expenses is not what concerned me. However, I do expect when an offer is made and a company's word given that it be kept. That is not unreasonable in the least.

What was interesting is it took weeks to get my "50%" back credited to the credit card. Took a day to get the $200 onboard credit I was supposed to get, and didn't, credited to my credit card after the cruise. I did make a point of writing it down on the comment comment card. Maybe that makes a difference. I have no idea. Just a note of interest.

 

[dinnysuw]

Here's another vote for travel insurance-we were on the 9/25-oops I mean the 9/27 magic cruise-we called the nite before we left Ohio and were told everything was as scheduled only to arrive in port canaveral and find out the info i recieved (that the PC evacuation didn't effect the cruise ships-this from a DCL Supervisor) and our hotel was evacuating. i was in a state of panic until a fellow disers called (they were fleeing the hurricane in florida as well) and reminded me about my travel insurance. that 193.00 travel plus insurance from travelex that i purchased months before-i called them and was told 200.00 per perspon/per day up tp 1000.00 maximum per person. a sigh of relief...now i have submitted everything to them and haven't heard anything as of yet. but i have booked two more cruises with DCL and you can bet the insurance will be purchased as well. oh, BTW my DH didn't want me to buy the insurance, i am still earning Brownie points for that one! so to the OP, I am sorry that you had extra expenses incurred (ours was over 1800.00 for 3 xtra nights for 4 people-hotel,food,car and cell phone) it is not DCL responsibility, it was yours to purchase insurance.

 

[NCRedding]

I had never even thought about the insurance for covering our additional costs for the two nights we had to spend in Orlando because of our delay. I guess I should look into it.

 

[Doctor P]

Guess what kids? Disney's response is idiotic. We were in a similar situation to the OP and I had travel insurance and have been dealing with them as well as with DCL. Here is the travel insurance company's position: as soon as the storm became a hurricane it became a forseen event. Leaving home after the declaration of the hurricane meant that you were going into a forseen and uncovered event. So, your trip cancellation insurance will be null and void since we don't cover cancellation due to a forseen event. Furthermore, since DCL refunded your cruise fare for the nights that you had to stay in a hotel--trip interruption insurance won't cover you either. We are waiting to hear from DCL, but I expect the same answer to my certified letter the OP got. The lack of communication was almost totally inexcusable (and, I might add, preventable and avoidable).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by Doctor P
Guess what kids? Disney's response is idiotic. We were in a similar situation to the OP and I had travel insurance and have been dealing with them as well as with DCL. Here is the travel insurance company's position: as soon as the storm became a hurricane it became a forseen event. Leaving home after the declaration of the hurricane meant that you were going into a forseen and uncovered event. So, your trip cancellation insurance will be null and void since we don't cover cancellation due to a forseen event. Furthermore, since DCL refunded your cruise fare for the nights that you had to stay in a hotel--trip interruption insurance won't cover you either. We are waiting to hear from DCL, but I expect the same answer to my certified letter the OP got. The lack of communication was almost totally inexcusable (and, I might add, preventable and avoidable).

This makes absolutely NO sense. I would have to check others--but didn't someone mention that they were already reimbursed from their travel insurance.

 

[mmouse37]

We purchased travel insurance through Access America about six weeks before our cruise....no hurricanes at that point.

We were already in Florida on I-4 on our way to Port Canaveral when I contacted DCL to find out if ship was still leaving 9/25...after listening to the radio and hearing about Jeanne hitting the Cape area I decided to call. We were scheduled to stay at Radisson that Friday night.

DCL told me not to go to the Port area as it was being evacuated. They also advised me not to drive myself to Ft. Lauderdale. I asked if DCL was picking up any hotel costs for the displaced cruisers and was told no. We wound up staying at the Polynesian at WDW to ride out the hurricane since I was told the bus would pick us up there on Monday.

My question is will insurance pick up my two nights hotel at the Poly and my meals??? The Radisson automatically cancelled our ressie for Friday and I was told by them that we would not incur any charges. I am not sure if the circumstances fall under trip delay, trip interuption or nothing at all. I guess I will send in the info and see what happens.

I want to put into the insurance for 2 nights at the Poly, meals, extra 2 days of rental car since we could not return it on Saturday to Port Canaveral...we had to keep it until Monday and return it to MCO.

Travis...please do elaborate how insurance paid you for your nights at the Grand Floridian. Thanks.

MJ

 

[ldb1030]

Lisa loves Pooh-

Originally posted by 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.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well it makes no sense that if there is no hurricane at the time of your outside DCL insurance purpose. How a developing hurricane that directly impacts your trip be considered a "foreseen" circumstance? Looks like we must all evaluate those policies before buying them.

 

[MrsMork]

If your May 14 is on the transitional cruise, can I have your ressie?

 

[dinnysuw]

Originally posted by Doctor P
Guess what kids? Disney's response is idiotic. We were in a similar situation to the OP and I had travel insurance and have been dealing with them as well as with DCL. Here is the travel insurance company's position: as soon as the storm became a hurricane it became a forseen event. Leaving home after the declaration of the hurricane meant that you were going into a forseen and uncovered event. So, your trip cancellation insurance will be null and void since we don't cover cancellation due to a forseen event. Furthermore, since DCL refunded your cruise fare for the nights that you had to stay in a hotel--trip interruption insurance won't cover you either. We are waiting to hear from DCL, but I expect the same answer to my certified letter the OP got. The lack of communication was almost totally inexcusable (and, I might add, preventable and avoidable).

for anyone who needs it for insurance-i have the DCL website posting dated 9/24 5pm officially changing the itinerary-so if you were in FLA. or enroute to FLA before or during that time-it would fall under trip delay. the fact that we recieved (or will recieve) reimbursement had nothing to do with the additional costs. again, i have't recieved anything from my insurance-but if they try that excuse they better be prepared! the fact that DCL is refunded money for the missed days has nothing to do with the added expenditures of traveling for 3 days. if that was the case why would anyone buy travel insurance!? when i called travelex the rep told me very simply just saveall your receipts. good luck to all who submit a claim-i will let you know how mine turns out.