Information from DCL or lack of?

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Sleepyluke

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
I have been seeing more and more comments wanting more and faster information from DCL. I understand, and we all need to know what to do if our cruise is on that time bubble and we all want to travel and make the most of our money. BUT, we keep comparing to other cruise lines that seem to be putting out things, then a day or 2 later retracting, changing, or whatever. To me the ever changing story is more confusing. I know that there are some cruises that due to the nature of timing, have little to no chance of happening, but DCL wants every cruise they can get people on to cruise. They are losing money sitting idle. They have every intention to cruise soon, but the ever changing rules and "inconsistent" tests are making it harder as well. I am not trying to start a debate on the rules themselves, but really, is less confusing, while less frequent news better, or do you prefer more updates that so far have tended to change?
 
I think simply an update on things that they have decided, or that nothing is decided, etc would be helpful.

could be as simple as

“We are still planning on launching US cruising with the Dream in August 2021. We are still finalizing plans on what the experience will look like and will provide an update again on xx/xx/21. Thank you for your patience and understanding as the Cast and Crew prepare to welcome our guests back on board!”
 
I was exactly where you are a few weeks ago....I don't overall mind Disney's silence as a general rule, especially when we see the back and forth the other lines are doing. I do prefer the "less confusing, less frequent" mentality.

That said, especially with the test cruise being cancelled, saying absolutely NOTHING in this case is infuriating. If they let this get to under 30 days out and don't at least cancel the upcoming Aug cruises, it will get even more annoying.

At this point, they have had long enough to have a general idea as to how they want to resume. They need to tell us something, even if it's a "We are working hard to resume, we will let you know more soon"
 
DCL's refusal to provide regular updates to their guests has been incredibly disappointing and terribly misguided from a customer service perspective. Everyone understands that things are fluid and can change. That should not stop them from communicating regularly with their customers. Something changes, you communicate those changes to your guests as soon as you can. Over-communication beats zero communication every day of the week and twice on Sundays. The only thing preventing them from communicating is their arrogance.
 


I get what you are saying and I agree to an extent. The only thing more frustrating than no information is changing information. That has been 1 of my biggest complaints of life in general in the past year. ;)

However from my current personal point of view as someone booked on a cruise 40 days away, I would feel better with some information. Even if it is, we are trying to get the 8/9 cruise to sail but we can't be sure it will go. Anything would be appreciated! The fact they are still accepting reservations for this cruise makes me think they are trying to get it to go, but I'm just reading into it. Maybe they are just trying to hold on to money for as long as possible. Who knows? Tell us something with the caveat, subject to change, just to give us an idea.
 
I get what you are saying and I agree to an extent. The only thing more frustrating than no information is changing information. That has been 1 of my biggest complaints of life in general in the past year. ;)

However from my current personal point of view as someone booked on a cruise 40 days away, I would feel better with some information. Even if it is, we are trying to get the 8/9 cruise to sail but we can't be sure it will go. Anything would be appreciated! The fact they are still accepting reservations for this cruise makes me think they are trying to get it to go, but I'm just reading into it. Maybe they are just trying to hold on to money for as long as possible. Who knows? Tell us something with the caveat, subject to change, just to give us an idea.

I think it’s because they want it to sail, I don’t think they want to hold onto people’s money, the float isn’t making them that much with current interest rates …. they have the Dream crew in place and vaccinated …. hopefully our patience will pay off ….
 
I have been seeing more and more comments wanting more and faster information from DCL. I understand, and we all need to know what to do if our cruise is on that time bubble and we all want to travel and make the most of our money. BUT, we keep comparing to other cruise lines that seem to be putting out things, then a day or 2 later retracting, changing, or whatever. To me the ever changing story is more confusing. I know that there are some cruises that due to the nature of timing, have little to no chance of happening, but DCL wants every cruise they can get people on to cruise. They are losing money sitting idle. They have every intention to cruise soon, but the ever changing rules and "inconsistent" tests are making it harder as well. I am not trying to start a debate on the rules themselves, but really, is less confusing, while less frequent news better, or do you prefer more updates that so far have tended to change?
I think the biggest issue isn't the details, but the fact that for the past year+, DCL has to have known that certain cruises can't sail (like Alaska last year after Canada closed up shop, & all cruises after the CDC put a moratorium on cruising), yet DCL has continued to book them, hung onto deposits, and given no hint at all about cancellations until you get an abrupt cancellation notice just a few short months before sail date. This is absolutely a pattern of booking & keeping money for cruises that they know will not sail, leaving customers to wring their hands with no communication, and then finally cancelling only 2-3 months out despite clear indications long before that the sailings were not going to happen.

For this year's late summer/early fall cruises, they might think some have a chance to sail, but imo it's pretty clear that none of this fall's West Coast cruises, for example, will sail. So there's no important reason for them to hold back from cancelling those. But DCL is doing their typical stalling, so they probably won't cancel them until just a couple of months out. Many people have concierge deposits, so they can't just cancel themselves, and others are hoping against hope and trying to decide whether they should make alternate vacation plans while DCL keeps mum. That's the kind of thing that makes people legitimately frustrated with DCL.
 
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I agree, some transparency would be nice. Many people are holding onto hope for that summer vacation and can’t really book a backup because their $ is tied up. I feel for these folks. I’ve moved all my cruises into 2022. I had a September 2021 cruise and a November 2021 b2b. I moved them because of the lack of information from Dcl plus I didn’t want to be a on one of the first cruises As they work out the details. Fully vaccinated in the hopes of a cruise….my next scheduled one is February 26, 2022
 
I think it’s because they want it to sail, I don’t think they want to hold onto people’s money, the float isn’t making them that much with current interest rates …. they have the Dream crew in place and vaccinated …. hopefully our patience will pay off ….
Look at their track record, and how long they kept taking reservations for obviously doomed cruises throughout this entire pandemic. Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior.


I agree with you both. We would think they are trying to sail on 8/9, however that is just speculation. It would be nice if they could make an announcement saying what they are thinking, maybe what they are aiming for, but also noting, nothing is set in stone yet. With 40 days to go, throw us a bone! :hyper:

And yes, I am crossing my fingers our patience (if you call it that, LOL) will pay off. ;) In retrospect, I will say it was all worth it if I end up on a ship in 40 days.
 
I think the biggest issue isn't the details, but the fact that for the past year+, DCL has to have known that certain cruises can't sail (like Alaska last year after Canada closed up shop, & all cruises after the CDC put a moratorium on cruising), yet DCL has continued to book them, hung onto deposits, and given no hint at all about cancellations until you get an abrupt cancellation notice just a few short months before sail date. This is absolutely a pattern of booking & keeping money for cruises that they know will not sail, leaving customers to wring their hands with no communication, and then finally cancelling only 2-3 months out despite clear indications long before that the sailings were not going to happen.

For this year's late summer/early fall cruises, they might think some have a chance to sail, but imo it's pretty clear that none of this fall's West Coast cruises, for example, will sail. So there's no important reason for them to hold back from cancelling those. But DCL is doing their typical stalling, so they probably won't cancel them until just a couple of months out. Many people have concierge deposits, so they can't just cancel themselves, and others are hoping against hope and trying to decide whether they should make alternate vacation plans while DCL keeps mum. That's the kind of thing that makes people legitimately frustrated with DCL.
Good point, I wasn’t thinking of those other cruises which they can’t do even if everything else aligned in their control….
 
Some of the frustration is when you book a cruise then you book airfare. When it gets cancelled you
move your flight booking or get credits. I moved flights for 4 twice when 2 cruises got cancelled.
Now i have all these credits rolling over from last year. When i look to maybe beginning of the year
to try again....Oh gee received notification they are discontinuing that flight to MCO.

This is not even touching the amount of money people have tied up in their cruise reservation. Sounds
like some people have a LOT. Yes they could ask a refund but maybe they just want to know a little
something where DCL stands before doing that.

I know flight problems and Pandemic are not their fault . However with regards to what is going
on with DCL....I keep thinking of the quote "The Silence is Deafening".
 
For this year's late summer/early fall cruises, they might think some have a chance to sail, but imo it's pretty clear that none of this fall's West Coast cruises, for example, will sail. So there's no important reason for them to hold back from cancelling those.

I'm not totally convinced the West Coast cruises won't sail. In other threads I've given examples of why I don't think its so certain that they'll be canceled.

But being booked on the 10/31 5-night Baja, I have already made sure all the other people we're traveling with are mentally prepared for a back up cruise on the East Coast. It would just be nice of Disney to come out and say "We're dedicated to making all currently scheduled sailings happen"... all of their press releases only relate to the sailings that they're canceling within that press release... "Due to ongoing blah blah, we've made the difficult decision to blah blah, while we continue to refine our health protocol blah blah"...

Dear Disney: Nobody thinks you're still revising any health protocols. You have a list of checkboxes with different items that you're prepared for. You will sail with whatever guidelines you are forced to sail with when you can make them happen. Check all the boxes that apply and that's what's what for that particular sailing. Unless someone like Florida or the CDC throws in an out of the blue requirement, you're ready with your protocols.

We'd just like an idea of when you're shooting for 'for realsies'.

I've had 9 Disney Cruises canceled. (and 1 Norweigian, 1 Princess, and 2 Royal). Every time we get a new cancellation I collect my FCC and then yell "Let it Ride!" like I'm at a roulette table. I'm currently down to 4 scheduled sailings right now, with only one left in 2021. I'm happy to accept the Baja sailing isn't going to go and move it to a Dream or Fantasy sailing on the East Coast. I just need Disney to actually tell me that it isn't going to go so I can book something else for the same time slot... but all of my traveling companions and I are going to need to schedule and buy airfare as well for an East Coast sailing... so we kinda need to know.
 
I think that in DCL's mind, it's better not to say anything that may appear like a definitive answer so that when it changes, they don't seem like they had no clue.

They appear to be waiting it out. I can see why they are watching what happens to the other cruise lines before choosing which route they'll take. As much as it's frustrating for us on this side, I would rather they wait it out than jump in and have to do damage control. But that's how I see DCL's decisions...careful.
 
So its really a double edge sword no matter how you look at it. If you send out too many updates sometimes contradicting yourself over and over again (may not be your fault but it'll seem that way). People can get frustrated and confused honestly. So for that I do appreciate Disney taking a little more time to really determine the best answer and sticking with it as best they can.

Now I do really wish there was a little more transparency with everything. I know a poster above is going on a cruise in a little over a month. At this point communication HAS to happen. Once you get less than 30 days out sometimes that means flights, rental car, hotel, etc can't be refunded and people will lose their money.

As for the comments above about them continuing to take bookings. I don't really blame them. They want to cruise and hoped we could but have to wait for the CDC. Anyone booking a cruise (minus the ones that booked Pre-COVID) knew what was happening in the world and that most of the world was shutting down. So I don't 100% blame Disney because many folks knew the current situation and the chance they wouldn't be sailing. My understanding is if your cruise was cancelled you had the option of a refund or apply it to another cruise with a credit on top (if you were PIF).
 
I still think Disney is holding back because they would prefer to simply not have any special requirements or restrictions. They simply are not able to say that and don't want to speculate when it might be okay to say/do that. If there are requirements from a country or the CDC they will then play within those rules.

This can be different in Europe but I suspect most of use are talking about US sailings.
 
I've had 9 Disney Cruises canceled. (and 1 Norweigian, 1 Princess, and 2 Royal). Every time we get a new cancellation I collect my FCC and then yell "Let it Ride!" like I'm at a roulette table. I'm currently down to 4 scheduled sailings right now, with only one left in 2021.

This made me smile and I am in full agreement. "C'mon 7s Baby needs a new cruise!"
 
Some of the frustration is when you book a cruise then you book airfare. When it gets cancelled you
move your flight booking or get credits.

I've got $4000 wrapped up in airline fare from a cancelled trip to South Africa and a cancelled Fall 2020 cruise. I refuse to book new airfare until I'm sure we're going...so for my first cruise next year (Alaska June) - I'm going to wait. I hope everything is good by then.
 
39 days until the first revenue sailing of the Dream! (seriously, I feel for those of you booked on that cruise)

We should take bets, how close do we think this gets to Aug 9th before DCL either cancels it, or begins to tell people the protocols? My money is on Tuesday July 6th. That's 34 days before it is supposed to sail. (Of course, I also think that when they do say something it is going to be cancelling the rest of August)
 
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