Disney wii not honor onboard discount

[moocow35]

SandraLee,

Did you make a deposit on both your Dreams reservations? I have two with them, one made with a random date just to get the onboard discount and that has the deposit. I also have the new one, and am waiting to here back from my agent about the discounts. I don't know if I should make the deposit on the May 14th cruise reservation also just to make sure I don't lose it!

UGH!
Robin

 

[SandraLee]

moocow35 . . This is so confusing. I had booked 2 cabins when I rebooked onboard. DCL used those reservations when they made the change to the 14 day.

I have not paid the additional deposits for the reservation made through Dreams. I am still hoping she can work it out to use the Dreams reservation with the 10% moved over. If Dreams / Disney cannot move the 10% to the Dreams reservation, I'll keep the DCL reservation and pray my waitlist for early seating will come through.

 

[Juli]

It really is confusing SandraLee. I spoke with DCL this morning and although they didn't want to comment on any specific reservation that a TA held, they would tell me some general things.

Yes, the TA should have modified our onboard reservation to the new dates to keep the onboard discount and stateroom credit. But.....and this is a big but, there is probably a way they can apply the discount to the new reservation the TA created. They just needed to see the reservation #'s to see what they could do. The exact words were "I have seen it done as a transfer as opposed to a modification, but I would have to see your exact reservation to make sure it can be done in this case."

I appreciate you telling me about your quote and experience. I too will move my reservations back to DCL if the TA doesn't "fix it". It just seems like she's asking the wrong questions or asking the wrong person. DCL seemed willing to talk it over and work things out.

Juli

 

[SandraLee]

Juli . . . The reason I want to use the Dreams reservation is because it is BETTER than the reservation I got directly from DCL. If I can apply the 10% to the Dreams reservation it will be MUCH better than DCL.

I could only get a cat 7 w/ late seating from DCL. Dreams can get me the Cat 6 gty with early seating and a better price. Now, if I can only get the 10% applied to the Dreams quote, it will be Wonderful and I can quit obsessing about this.

 

[UMTerp]

Juli - I am having the same problem with DU!

I lost $1400 by trusting them instead of trying to get a reservation myself. That is before any discounts are figured in. If I can't get the discount that will be another $600+ lost. That is alot of money!

I too am very frustrated!

Good luck everyone!

UMTerp

P.S. Would you please post if you are able to get your on-board booking discount transferred to your new reservation through a TA and how you did it? Many thanks!

 

[Greysword]

Oh, ok! I think I see what is going on now, and it is a good learning experience.

1) A reservation was booked while onboard an earlier cruise to save the 10% discount and $200 room credit. The date chosen at this time was arbitrary (like sometime in October for instance).

2) This ressie was trasnfered to Dreams Unlimited (or another TA) for them to hold and with standing orders to transfer it to a repositioning (or other summer cruise) once they are available.

3) During the mad scramble on Wednesday, DU (and other agencies, including DCL) were flooded with reservation requests. It has been stated in other posts that DU was swamped and only completed the last resservation in the wee hours of Thursday morning. To handle the load, the TAs simply made a new reservation instead of transfering the old one, thus the party has 2 ressies.

4) Once a second seperate reservation is made, it is difficult (or impossible) to transfer the 10% and $200 incentives from one to the other. The whole initial ressie needed to be transfered, instead in order to get the discounts.

5) Transfering the original reservation now would cost lots of extra money, since to do so would be at the sailing's current rate instead of the initial rate at release. You can still canel the 2nd reservation and transfer the 1st, but your seating and pricing would be lost. The 10% discount would now be applied, but it probably would not outweigh the base price of the 2nd reservation, propting you to cancel the 1st ressie instead (and loosing the $200 room credit).

6) I guess the lesson to be learned for the rest of us would be this. If I book an onboard resservation intending to switch it to another sailing not yet announced, it is best to keep that ressie with DCL until the new sailing comes. Then I would contact DCL myself to have the whole thing transfered to my prefered sailing date. Afterwards, I would then transfer that whole package to a TA (like DU or Costco) for the additional rebates.

Let me know if this isn't right, since it is a wonderful learning tool for most of us on how the Reservation process works (this whole event has been an interesting study).

I wish all of you on the dark side of this the best of all luck, and I am sure they will be able to straighten it out, especially when the unused cabins go back into inventory. Please do not give up hope!!

 

[UMTerp]

Yes, Greyword -- That is exactly what is happening!

I was told that DCL can not see our current reservations in the system and that is why the discounts can not be applied. Can't get any word back from DU as far as options (i.e., can we pay a deposit on this new reservation and then transfer the bogus reservation in order to get the discounts applied).

Yes, I think your scenario is exactly right! I don't think we would be having the same amount of trouble if we hadn't already transferred our on-board ressies to DU. Lesson learned there as well!

Frustrating to say the least!

Good luck everyone!

UMTerp

 

[hayesktrm]

This is really scaring me. My TA told me before the frenzy that she would just book a new date because it was so crazy. Then, at a later time (before the deposit was due) she would transfer all the information from the fake date to the real summer cruise date. She told me it wouldn't be a problem. I haven't heard from her, although I did send her an email saying that the price was high, but at least when they transferred to the new date I would get my 10% and $200. I know DCL has never had this situation before, but it seems like they would be able to do this without losing my pricing from May 5th. I would also like to know if someone with a similar situation that has resolved this could let us all know how their TA did it.

Also, what happens if it can't be transferred or my TA can't get through to DCL before the deposit it due. Does DCL just cancel all those reservations, or do they contact the TA or person directly to tell them if they don't put down a deposit it will be cancelled. I think it's due on Monday, and I'm a little stressed.

 

[WebmasterPete]

Those of you who booked with Dreams, please be aware we are addressing any issues with this. Also, please know that from Dreams history in doing the right thing by ALL our clients, this will be no exception. Give us a chance, we've been working very hard on these West Coast cruises, and we place a very high value on getting the best price we can for our clients whenever possible. So, before the head banging gets out of control, realize that these cruises have only been available for 48 hours, and I am personally taking this issue to Disney. I promise to keep everone informed as to what happens.

Thanks for your patience, understanding and trust. I'll make sure the right thing is done.

Pete

 

[izzinmac]

I am not in the situation you folks are describing with the 10% discount and OBC issue, but I certainly understand your concern. I did get a 10% discout and $200 OBC for our upcoming November cruise and intend to use it then.

As an outsider looking in, I would recommend the following:
1. Keep pushing DU to get DCL to honor your original plans. DU depends heavily on this board and the business it creates and will certainly want to keep a positive image. I'm sure they will do all possible to rectify the situation. May take a little while to sort out, but give them a chance. Don't give up or stop pushing! My personal experiences with them over several cruises have all been positive and professional.

2. If this fails, but you still have time and plans for a future cruise beyond the California cruise, keep transfering your deposit, 10% and obc to future cruise dates. Don't know how far or how many times DCL will let you do it, but if it was possible for the 14 dayer, should be possible beyond then. Realize the $ value of 10% might not be as great, but better than nothing.

3. Keep people posted here on your progress. good info for us to know....plus I am pretty sure a few folks from DU read these threads too! I'm sure they want to see positive comments...and they're the ones who can make that happen!!!

Good luck! I think in the end all will work out.

 

[izzinmac]

Looks like I was right about who reads these and their concern to do right. Pete got his words in before I could post my comments. Lookin good!!

 

[mark & sandra]

izzinmac- not only do they read these boards, but they are these boards. They (Webmaster Pete and his band of merry webmasters) created, updated and maintain them. It's us who owes them the many thanks for allowing us to freely discuss options other then DreamsUnlimited. Try pushing issues that are in direct conflict with the webmasters on other boards and see how fast your post gets deleted. I myself have used AllSeasons to book my cruises based mostly on cost savings. When DU finally is able to compete, I would happily give them a try. Mark

 

[jgalecpa]

I do recall that when we booked on Xmas day 2003 for the XMAS 2005 cruise, we couldn't book that date.

So Donna booked us Easter 2005 under the theory that (1) they were both prime 2005 cruises so we the prices should be similar, and (2) we could move them to the Xmas when they opened up the dates.

She was very explicit that the 10% and $200 would only apply to those carribean itineraries and if anything else happened when they opened up dates after April 2005, the would not be honored.

So, at least in our case, there was in fact disclosure about the non-transferablity.

My two cents

Jim

PS: they did obviously re-open the dates, At virtually the same price and the transfer was flawless.

 

[moocow35]

Graysword,

You summed the whole situation almost perfectly!

I don't blame Dreams Unlimited, I know that they are trying their best. I am however upset with Disney. I have names, dates, times that I spoke to reps in DCL guest communications, and they said there would be NO problem transferring the discounts. I read about people who kept their "arbitrary" bookings with DCL and had NO problem switching them and keeping their discounts while on the phone with DCL. Just because I transfer my booking to a TA I am penalized? Hardly seems like the way to treat "guests" This almost seems like discrimination!

Unfortunately, I have to work for a living, to pay for the 5, now 6 Disney cruises, and there was no way I could sit on the phone for hours at my job. I would not have it anymore if I did that! As a single parent with a DD going to college in 3 months, I need my job. So I put my trust into Dreams to do this for me. This will be my 4th booking with Dreams, and never had a problem at all. I up until now have always been happy.

I sincerely hope this can all be worked out.

Robin

 

[Juli]

Should all of us in this situation send a message to DCL?

dcl.guest.communications@disneycruise.com

I know that DU is diligently working on this, but what could some additional messages hurt?

They are allowing the discounts to be applied in some cases, so it basically comes down to the "system" limiting how they apply it; through existing or new reservations. Doesn't seem like a good way to provide customer service.

I was very angry at DU and our agent at first, but I'm calming down now and hope that this is resolved by Monday.
Juli

 

[WebmasterPete]

I can assure you that one way or the other Dreams will take care of this. Please don't worry. I promise, I'm on the job.

Pete

 

[hayesktrm]

We were told on our cruise that we would be able to transfer everything to a California cruise. I told the person on board that I already knew that it was going to California, but even before I told her that, she said you could transfer everything but just so we knew it wouldn't go out of Port Canavaral.

Also, I am very upset because WHY would I give Disney my $1000 back then if I wasn't going to get something for it. I could have held on to my money for another month and a half. Are they going to pay me interest on that money? I know it's not a lot of money, but when you get your credit card bill after a vacation and add another $1000, it is very significant. Do they have an answer for this?

 

[dan and scott]

Are there any updates to this? I am another with this problem and hope to hear that DCL is now allowing this. Please let me know.

 

[Grumbo]

I received an email from All Seasons and apparently with some acrimony Disney IS allowing our Discount and OBC. I'm not sure if this is case by case or carte blanche.
Suggest you speak with your TA to confirm.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[SandraLee]

Grumbo . . . Did your TA already have your reservation and transfer it to the new cruises? Or, did your TA book a NEW reservation and got the 10% applied.

I think the issue is when the TA made a NEW reservation -- not just transferred the old.