Disney Cruise Cancellation Death in Family No Insurance

[joogle]

Hi - I booked two cruises through a company I am not going to name at this time, because I only have negative things to say.

I booked mine and my kids with them for Disney Dream.

I booked my parents, had issue with their reservation, regardless I had to end up buying the cruise due to the agents mistake.

I checked their reservation, they don't have trip insurance.

My uncle (mothers brother) passed away on 2/1/12 overseas, they are now travelling overseas this week for the funeral/etc.. I tried to call Disney today but their line is closed.

I wanted to get some input as to if there is anything I can do or anyone's experience on how to get my parents a refund. I know they won't get anything back, based on the disney chart, i think as of today it's 28 days away the cruise, so they'll get back 25% per passenger.

Just wanted some input from board members on advice or which department i should be talking too.

Thanks

 

[Im_A_Princess]

Will they not be back in time for the cruise? You said the cruise is 28 days away?
Maybe a relaxing time would be good for her after the stress of a funeral.

Why would you "have to buy" a cruise from the TA if they made a mistake?

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Guest Services. You can try:

Calling them tomorrow or e-mailing them now on: dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com asking them to contact you urgently.

I hope they are sympathetic to your situation, and maybe credit your parent's account for a future cruise or park visit.

Very sorry for your loss and hope your parent's are coping ok.

Ex Techie

 

[kcashner]

If you booked thru a TA, DCL will not be able to help you directly. Unless you get a very cooperative CM, they will basically tell you to call your TA.

I'm with the others--if the cruise is 28 days away, are they just not interested in cruising? It might be a nice break for them after the stress, especially as they will end up paying for 75% of it anyhow.

Are they alone in the cabin? (you didn't put one of your kids in the cabin or anything "funky?" Because if even one name in the cabin is going to remain the same, you could do a name change and perhaps another family member could cruise instead. This is not possible if everyone in the cabin is going to cancel.

 

[lbgraves]

First of all, so sorry for your mother's loss.

Unfortunately, I do not think that you will be able to contact DCL directly since the TA owns the reservations, so the TA would have to be the one to contact DCL about anything having to do with the cruise.

Do you know how long they will be staying overseas? If they will be back before the cruise, especially based on the fact that they will only get 25% of the price back, you may want to hold off on cancelling their room. The cruise may be just want they need to get away for a few days after the stress and emotion of her brother's death. Just mentioning this as with everything going on there right now the option may not have been considered yet.

 

[tvguy]

Sorry for your loss.

Also sorry for issues you are having with your Travel Agent. But to be honest, this is why using a Travel Agent is an advantage. Your Travel Agent should be handling all this, not you.

And I echo the question others have asked, do your parents really want to cancel the trip? I could see if it was at the same time as the funeral, but I would assume they will be back in plenty of time, and I suspect would welcome the diversion the cruise provided.

 

[joogle]

Thanks for the tips.

I had no idea that I can't contact DCL directly and it will have to be through the TA.

I spoke to my parents, they said they probably won't make it back in time, as they are visiting me here in the U.S right now and for them to travel back home and come back will be more expensive.

The mistake the TA made was when i was inquiring about a reservation for my parents, he found a cabin on the same floor, I asked him to hold the cabin for me and I will get back to him the next day, what ended up happening is he billed my american express through which i purchased my cruise the deposit amount. When i called him asking why he did that, he said you told me to reserve it for you, to which i told him no i asked him to place a temp hold on it till i confirm.

Regardless, I guess I am stuck in dealing with that guy as i totally wanted to avoid any further contact with him.

I will try to e-mail the member provided above as well.

Thanks

 

[lbgraves]

That makes sense then. We weren't aware of that bit. The TA should have offered to cancel the room for you since that is an option with no penalty until the PIF date [usually 75 days before the cruise date].

Definitely tell your TA to contact DCL and explain the situation, or better yet, have him do a conference call with you on the line so that you can. Considering the TA's track record, I would want to make sure that you were able to do what you could to get DCL to transfer the reservation to a later cruise date.

 

[kcashner]

Thanks for the tips.


The mistake the TA made was when i was inquiring about a reservation for my parents, he found a cabin on the same floor, I asked him to hold the cabin for me and I will get back to him the next day, what ended up happening is he billed my american express through which i purchased my cruise the deposit amount. When i called him asking why he did that, he said you told me to reserve it for you, to which i told him no i asked him to place a temp hold on it till i confirm.


Thanks

Depending on how far you were from sailing date, you might have been able to cancel your parents cabin when you initially booked--either thru the agent or by disputing the charge on your AMEX card. However, that is now water under the bridge and you're right--you're stuck with it.

It makes sense now that we've learned that they don't live in the US.

I'm so sorry. It does look like you'll have to give the TA a call in the morning. Good luck. The written rules are pretty clear, but once in a while pixie dust happens.

 

[papaof5boys]

Thanks for the tips.

I had no idea that I can't contact DCL directly and it will have to be through the TA.

I spoke to my parents, they said they probably won't make it back in time, as they are visiting me here in the U.S right now and for them to travel back home and come back will be more expensive.

The mistake the TA made was when i was inquiring about a reservation for my parents, he found a cabin on the same floor, I asked him to hold the cabin for me and I will get back to him the next day, what ended up happening is he billed my american express through which i purchased my cruise the deposit amount. When i called him asking why he did that, he said you told me to reserve it for you, to which i told him no i asked him to place a temp hold on it till i confirm.

Regardless, I guess I am stuck in dealing with that guy as i totally wanted to avoid any further contact with him.

I will try to e-mail the member provided above as well.

Thanks

Also call american express and see if there is any travel ins. through them sence it was on that card.

 

[kcashner]

Also call american express and see if there is any travel ins. through them sence it was on that card.

Now THAT is a brilliant idea--thanks for thinking of it!

 

[JJsmama]

Also call american express and see if there is any travel ins. through them sence it was on that card.

Good idea. My husband travels a lot and always puts rental cars on his AMEX because they have some sort of insurance/ protection.

I sympathize. I live overseas and one summer my parents were visiting me here. We planned to take them on a long holiday with us and I had paid for all the rooms up front. Something happened back in US an they had leave early and not go on the holiday and I was in a similar situation.

 

[joogle]

Update:

Travel agent got back to me today, he said Disney was not offering to move the cruise to a later date, only option they gave is to cancel the cruise and get 25% back.

I love the idea about the credit card, I may have to explore it but I see one issue. The deposit they took out of my Amex which was $400~, then the remainder of the purchase they took out of my fathers credit card, which is a citi thank you premier card.

That card offers the benefit of Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption but I have a feeling the entire purchase had to be on that card.

 

[lbgraves]

I'm sorry to read your update. It won't hurt to call the company and ask. I hope that they are able to help you with a refund for this.

 

[joogle]

thanks, yeah i think i will call Disney myself this evening.

I'm sorry to read your update. It won't hurt to call the company and ask. I hope that they are able to help you with a refund for this.

 

[joogle]

I spoke with Disney, they offered no option, they said you should go through your travel agent.

I asked them if someone else can go instead, they said they can change two names. The cruise is for three, my parents and younger brother. My younger brother is handicapped and will be traveling with my parents.

I guess my option is try to sell the cruise to someone at a discounted rate.

If anyone here is interested, please PM me, it is 3-night Bahama cruise from Port Canaveral leaving March 1st.

Lastly, I called the credit card, the trip cancellation/interruption feature excludes cruises.

ugh

 

[ethanash1]

I spoke with Disney, they offered no option, they said you should go through your travel agent.

I asked them if someone else can go instead, they said they can change two names. The cruise is for three, my parents and younger brother. My younger brother is handicapped and will be traveling with my parents.

I guess my option is try to sell the cruise to someone at a discounted rate.

If anyone here is interested, please PM me, it is 3-night Bahama cruise from Port Canaveral leaving March 1st.

Lastly, I called the credit card, the trip cancellation/interruption feature excludes cruises.

ugh

What a bummer. sorry to hear about your whole dilemma, and your family's loss.
How unfortunate that your credit card insurance excludes cruises as well


Hope you can at least get someone to buy your cruise..... Good Luck!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I spoke with Disney, they offered no option, they said you should go through your travel agent.

I asked them if someone else can go instead, they said they can change two names. The cruise is for three, my parents and younger brother. My younger brother is handicapped and will be traveling with my parents.

I guess my option is try to sell the cruise to someone at a discounted rate.

If anyone here is interested, please PM me, it is 3-night Bahama cruise from Port Canaveral leaving March 1st.

Lastly, I called the credit card, the trip cancellation/interruption feature excludes cruises.

ugh

FYI you need 10 posts to send/receive PMs.

Sorry the answer wasn't what you wanted.

 

[joogle]

Thanks for that info.

In that case, if someone is interested, just post your interested here and I will contact you.

This is for the Disney Dream Cruise leaving from Port Canaveral on 3/1 and returning 3/4/12.

This is a 5B - BALCONY Stateroom.

FYI you need 10 posts to send/receive PMs.

Sorry the answer wasn't what you wanted.

 

[Tricia's mom]

BUMP

sorry for your families loss


Good luck and enjoy your trip.