Disney Cruise Line bumps all people off Oct 28th cruise.....Updated:response from DCL

[Mickmse2002]

I am sometimes amused by many posters slamming Disney for trying to increase profitability. (I agree this probably wasn't the best move in the world for the individual cruiser). There can be no other reason for DCL bumping individuals to make room a whole charter. Disney is smart enough, I hope, to have done the math that even after having to compensate those you bump they will still make more money via the charter. Airlines do this daily, overbook flights then bump folks, it really is about money.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by Mickmse2002
I am sometimes amused by many posters slamming Disney for trying to increase profitability. (I agree this probably wasn't the best move in the world for the individual cruiser). There can be no other reason for DCL bumping individuals to make room a whole charter. Disney is smart enough, I hope, to have done the math that even after having to compensate those you bump they will still make more money via the charter. Airlines do this daily, overbook flights then bump folks, it really is about money.

I hope some of that profit goes toward building an additional ship!

 

[WDWguru]

I don't think anyone is arguing with the financial sense here, but the moral sense. Was it "right" to do such a thing?

Yes, they are a business and must do what makes business sense. However, no company in the customer service business would be around long by doing this very often. Nobody in their right mind would book a cruise on a line that regularly displaces individual customers to accommodate charter groups. They still could have made their money if they had simply made the charter book a date not already open to the public.

 

[Jimbo]

They still could have made their money if they had simply made the charter book a date not already open to the public.

The problem with that is that people book cruises years in advance. There was a poll on the Cruise Board asking how far in advance people booked their seven day cruise. About 73% of the people said it was 10 or more months in advance, including over 10% that said more than 19 months.

No company could arrange a charter that far ahead of time. So if DVC only allowed a cruise to be chartered if it was unbooked, they would never do any chartering. Now that might not be a bad thing for us customers. But most cruise lines do have the occasional charter, and it seems to me that DCL did about the best it could to minimize disruption.

 

[WDWguru]

I would think most companies large enough to plan such an elaborate event would also do so several months, if not more, in advance. However, I'm willing to compromise. Rather than block charters from purchasing a cruise already open to the public, why couldn't DCL set aside a certain number of dates per year for charters? Within a certain time period, if nobody had chartered the boat, then it opens up to public booking.

 

[Dean]

IMO, they should not be cancelling unilaterally in this situation. Let the company have what's open then entice those already booked to change. As a minimum, tell the non charter group what's going on and give them the choice of changing then they can give those additional cabins to the charter. I suspect most people would change or cancel rather than putting up with a large group they have no connection with.

 

[WDWguru]

I sent a letter (via e-mail) to DVC member services and copied it to DCL. I basically explained the situation, told them we were okay with the outcome and that the cast member we dealt with was great but that we were still disappointed that we had to pay the extra points. I noted that others on this same cruise had been moved and their AP or other discount rates at on-site hotels had been kept intact, even though in some situations the rate not longer applied. I asked that we be treated no differently as DVC members.

I received a response within two days from Scott Lish, a "Member Satisfaction Manager" who explained to us the situation with our priority waitlist on the Boardwalk view. He also agreed that the DCL compensation was fair, but that they should move some on the points, so they gave us half the points difference for the weekend back! It's only 13 points, but it's the principle of the thing for me. I thanked him profusely for not only the compromise but for responding so quickly and directly. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by WDWguru
..........(snip).............. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

And in the end, that is all that matters. Thanks for the update and here's hoping you have a wonderful trip. Good luck with that waitlist, too!

Best wishes -

 

[lenshanem]

Glad everything worked out for you WDWguru.

 

[todsue99]

Originally posted by WDWguru
I sent a letter (via e-mail) to DVC member services and copied it to DCL. I basically explained the situation, told them we were okay with the outcome and that the cast member we dealt with was great but that we were still disappointed that we had to pay the extra points. I noted that others on this same cruise had been moved and their AP or other discount rates at on-site hotels had been kept intact, even though in some situations the rate not longer applied. I asked that we be treated no differently as DVC members.

I received a response within two days from Scott Lish, a "Member Satisfaction Manager" who explained to us the situation with our priority waitlist on the Boardwalk view. He also agreed that the DCL compensation was fair, but that they should move some on the points, so they gave us half the points difference for the weekend back! It's only 13 points, but it's the principle of the thing for me. I thanked him profusely for not only the compromise but for responding so quickly and directly. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

WOW! That is great. It just goes to show it never hurts to send the letter. Good job WDWguru.