DCL declines to make good on offers from hurricane issues!

[Drcell01]

I would like to thank all of you, even those that disagreed with my analogy and position for responding to my concerns.

As for the insurance, I will probably purchase it for our next cruise.

However, I think many of you are not grasping my situation. If someone offered you something for nothing just after you paid for it, would you have not questioned the timeing and ability to be reimbursed for your expense? I had paid for a nights stay at a Disney Resort and paid for a weeks long use of a rental car and just hours later Disney offers a night stay for free and transportation to Ft. Lauderdale (original port was Port Canaveral) for NOTHING! Also, when I was informed of this I asked if they could just credit the amount of these items and I was told that "DCL would do something" but "I had to submit it in writing via email to the DCL guest relations web site". Insurance would not have covered these issues. I am also not looking for a check from DCL. I would gladly accept equal value (i.e. two nights stay or one night stay and DCL transportation to and from the port for next years cruise).

 

[dinnysuw]

this is what i don't get. DCL is giving us back money that was DUE to us! we paid for a 7 night cruise we got a 4 (even though they are saying 5 nite) so although some think this was so gracious of DCL-it was only reasonable! i mean we paid for something and didn't recieve it, therefore we deserve a refund on the monies paid. the 300.00 credit was nice and again IMHO also deserved since there isn't one cruiser out there that sailed on that cruise that doesn't have some horror story to share about getting there or the embarkation process. that being said, i still paid out of pocket for 3 days accomodations, food and car rental-along with cell phone charges etc. now, that is why i bought insurance, do i think DCL should pay me for this, no! do i think that Travelex insurance should-Of Course! I called them ASAP when i found out about the delay and i was already in florida and basically kicked out of the Radisson. i was assured by the rep to save all receipts, that is all i needed to do. now, when i filled out the claim, i left the area blank regarding the refund-number one because i haven't recieved anything from DCL and I also understood it as: if you had a excursion planned that was missed and the operator refunded your money then you should not receive compensation from the insurance. we paid alot of money for the extra three days in florida, if the insurance company doesn't keep up their end-i will surely use these boards to spread there name across the DISBoards!
darcy

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Bob, what you just wrote is exactly how you need to approach it with Disney/DCL during your next conversation with them. I agree you should be reimbursed for your night at the All-Star. Your original letter was a bit demanding for reimbursement, based primarily on issues Disney/DCL had no control over, ie MCO closing because of the weather. The only thing you most likely won't be reimbursed for is the rental car. You didn't book your air or transfers with them, so any costs incurred would be your responsibility. But don't forget to mention it. Pixie dust has ways of making magic when you least expect it. Good luck.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by dinnysuw
this is what i don't get. DCL is giving us back money that was DUE to us! we paid for a 7 night cruise we got a 4 (even though they are saying 5 nite) so although some think this was so gracious of DCL-it was only reasonable! i mean we paid for something and didn't recieve it, therefore we deserve a refund on the monies paid.darcy

BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO!

Well stated, Darcy! Same with airlines and hotel. And yes, we had insurance but it didn't matter since we got full refunds for what we didn't use/get.

Thanks!
Rae

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Ok--this saga is getting so much clear....

From the sounds of it...

passenger point of view....

You got a credit, per cent of next cruise and this was to make up from your shortened cruise.

Is this right?

Now we are getting somewhere.

Plus--You provided your own hotel room--and shortly later DCL gave free hotel rooms.

I agree--rewrite your letter and adjust the wording to just that grievance--and hopefully DCL will be better able to help you.

I think the travel industry in general suffers from optimism. The world can be coming to an end--and they will not let you know for sure if you can make adjustments to your travel plans until after they've had their meetings...and only when they have heard "officially". Meanwhile--all the airline flights for earlier or later are selling out, the rental cars are gone, and hotel rooms are booked solid. Leaving you up the creek when they do come to a decision.

Good luck everyone!

 

[mmouse37]

Sorry...I posted on wrong thread!!!

 

[KMovies]

Here's my thinking.

You paid DCL for a 7-night cruise.

Let's assume $2000.

Hurricane comes and shortens cruise to 5-nights (some say 4-nights due to a later boarding time).

Since the cruise won't be 7-nights, Disney offers 40% refund.

Now, you are paying $1350 (not quite 40% off due to taxes, insurance, etc.).

I believe this:

You pay Disney $1350 for the shortened cruise and bear additional costs for other nights.

Why?

In my opinion, if Disney made you whole (extra nights in hotel, food, etc), you wouldn't be entiled to the full 40% refund.

If Disney put you up in a hotel for 2 days and paid for your food and all, and then the 5 day cruise - you would still have a seven night vacation (yes, you would still be entitled to some refund as that just isn't quite as exciting since the first two nights wasn't a vacation at sea).

I don't see where you can expect that Disney pays for all those additional charges and still get the refund.

For the hastles, you got a state room credit and future discount. For the shortened cruise, you got a refund of 40%.

If the cruise line was paying the extra costs for everyone to get to the ship, then it would have been far better for them to have cancelled the entire trip and refund 100% of the money. They would probably have lost less money that way.

 

[Drcell01]

KMovies,

They did offer the one night hotel stay and the free transportation to everyone! They just offered it to me 4 hours after I paid for the hotel and the car!

 

[dinnysuw]

KMovies-there are two different situations on this thread.
the OP on the 9/5 cruise-believes they are entitle to some reimbursement from disney for car rental and other things.
the other posters (myself included from the 9/25-oops 9/27 cruise) are expressing their opinions on the insurance we paid for, if they are going to pay for the extra expenses, not disney. If disney came through and had said we are shortening the cruise her is a partial refund and we are putting you up until you sail-then insurance claims wouldn't be an issue. but they didn't (which wasn't expected) and now we have to deal with the insurance claims. you got the two different post mixed.
i know that disney was offering free dcl transfers on their busses after the 9/25 cruise- of course i didn't find out until we had gotten home and paid 95.00 for a van. do i expect disney to reimburse me for that? no.
disney did what they should have done, gave us our money back for days missed on the cruise, then they added the extra incentive of onboard credit and future cruise discount.
my issue is not with disney but with the insurance companies and their "fine print" we are just hoping that the insurance that we paid for does what we paid for.
darcy

 

[paulmc80]

Absolutely! If you paid for a seven night and ended up only getting 4-nights I think it was only right that DCL refund you the difference. And, I have my doubts that they really did refund the appropriate difference. But that's another story.

I also take great issue with their misrepresentation of the "25% off your next cruise" offer while on the cruise.

 

[two-foxes]

Darcy-

You are preaching to the choir on this one!! Although all in all we spent about what we had planned when it is said and done with or with out the hurricane, I will take the wait and see approach of how trip insurance handles the unexpected portion of our trip....longer car rental, hotel and meals for those few days! I will post as soon as I hear back!

 

[dinnysuw]

Jill, I am so glad that your 10/2 cruise went off without a hitch! I know your fellow disers were wondering how it would turn out for you and Tim, I'm glad it worked out well. I am sure you were able to get all the "alone" time you needed as well. Tony needs a year off from cruising-he will be with us on the 2006 but not the 2005 cruise. J & J have asked what we will do if there is a hurricane again when we cruise-i simply told them-we will not go and reschedule. they are actually more ok with that then trying to outrun one again! we all got some great stories from this trip that is for sure! They got to show their class, pictures and video of an actual hurricane.
I think we should all start a new thread when we start hearing back from insurance companies to see how things turn out, i still need to buy insurance for the next two cruises and how this ends up will determine who i go with. good luck to all.
darcy

 

[disneyri]

Bob,

Dont give up. Go for the refund of a nights stay but try calling member services directly. Dont cancel your DCL cruise because your obviously a disney nut and you'll just hold this grudge inside even when your at the parks for a long time going forward.

You might have to give up on the rental car though. It certainly stinks that you did the right thing for your planning and family and then everything went free 4hrs later.

The car request seems like too much. A nights stay at Port Orleans or other Deluxe Resort would make up for near both items anyway vs. another night at AllStar.

I agree with the others on the insurance, etc but I can also see your aggravations a bit. Just dont be so demanding. They certainly refunded some serious credits to many cruisers.

good luck.

Jay

 

[kaykels]

Dr cell.... same advice here. It took me 2 phone calls, 2 emails and a written letter to get through to somebody, but Disney eventually did the right thing and gave me a refund. Different story but the same in the end... I was told I would get something that I didn't get. Long story short, I got my refund. I'm sure everybody would agree that if Disney offered it free 4 hours after you paid for it, they should make good on it. Kill em with kindness. Good luck. Don't give up.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by paulmc80
Absolutely! If you paid for a seven night and ended up only getting 4-nights I think it was only right that DCL refund you the difference. And, I have my doubts that they really did refund the appropriate difference. But that's another story.

I also take great issue with their misrepresentation of the "25% off your next cruise" offer while on the cruise.

As someone who knows you and was part of the cruise, I agree completely with you on this one. The way the refund was piecemealed back to us still doesn't quite add up but they say we were given a full refund.....hmmmmmm? I guess that might be the new math. When I went to school 1 + 1 = 2, but then again, I am "old as dirt"!!!!

Last thing I heard "officially" was that we have until 12/31/05 to use the 25% voucher. And yes, I am still waiting for All Seasons to send me mine!!

Rae

 

[Doctor P]

rae,

Where did you hear the 12/31/05 date "officially"? Everything we have been told and heard says you need to book by 12/31/04 and it must be for a cruise prior to October 2005.

 

[rae519]

Disney representative at the Castaway Club number told me when I called to find out if ALL of us were included in the 25% voucher or just those who cruised on the shortened version of the 7 night 9/4/05. "To use it" means to cruise by that date according to him, there was nothing said about when I had to rebook.

Hope that helped.

Rae

 

[ericamanda01]

Originally posted by Drcell01
KMovies,

They did offer the one night hotel stay and the free transportation to everyone! They just offered it to me 4 hours after I paid for the hotel and the car!

I am not saying this to be rude in anyway, but you are trying to make DCL pay because they were slow. If you had eaten and then they gave away free meals after you paided for your food would you expect them to pay you back. It's not their fault that you were faster than they were. HOWEVER, if a cast member told you that Disney would reimburse you than that's a different story. I think if you approach Disney with the attitude that you are happy with whatever they give you, that might make it easier on both parties. And as I said before I really hope that all of this is resolved and that you can continue to cruise with DCL. It really is wonderful. You just happen to get caught on a cruise when Disney was overwelmed with mothernature. Good luck.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by rae519
Disney representative at the Castaway Club number told me when I called to find out if ALL of us were included in the 25% voucher or just those who cruised on the shortened version of the 7 night 9/4/05. "To use it" means to cruise by that date according to him, there was nothing said about when I had to rebook.

Hope that helped.

Rae

I asked this same number about the voucher that I never received and they said they couldn't discuss it with me, that I had to get the info through my TA. I still haven't received this voucher info via my TA.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Hey Rae long time no post..........with our cancelled 11/29/02 sailing we had a year to sail again......actually they made it Dec. 31, of 03. We rebooked put our deposit down then sent in our "vouchers" when we recieved them from DCL. Our friends booked thru a T.A. and it took them about 3 more weeks to get their vouchers. Rae you think me being a "squeeky wheel" could have had something to do with it?