Major Policy Change in DVC/DCL Trade Policy UPDATE ON POST #193

[JimMIA]

I wonder if they have an answer for us about why that availability suddenly ended on a certain day when they had availability the previous day.

I didn't raise that question, because the only perspective I have is what CarolAnn posted early on, and even that was a little disjointed and really occurred over several days. There have been a lot of reports of availability evaporating over a timespan of a few seconds, so I'm not shocked to learn that it changed dramatically over 24-48 hours.

I was also more interested in the situation going forward for DIS/DVC members than I was in the specifics of the causes.

I think the MS person I talked to was being candid, and I think he would have stayed on the phone all night discussing the matter if I'd wanted. He was very considerate and professional.

 

[Mineu]

Do you get the feeling that the "call list" will yield any results? If the point allowance is gone until late 2011-how will they help those of us on the call list? Will points on my cruise have to become available -or-will the total number of points have to decrease? For instance if a member on another cruise cancels-will I get to book? Or does it have to be someone on my cruise? Just wondering how this is all going to work out?

 

[Petraman]

Do you get the feeling that the "call list" will yield any results? If the point allowance is gone until late 2011-how will they help those of us on the call list? Will points on my cruise have to become available -or-will the total number of points have to decrease? For instance if a member on another cruise cancels-will I get to book? Or does it have to be someone on my cruise? Just wondering how this is all going to work out?

Well, you would hope that if points became available anywhere, then they would give you a chance to book the one you want if you were next on the list. Otherwise, if you have to wait and see if someone cruising on points on your exact trip cancels, I'd say those odds are Loooooooonnnnnngggg at best
I doubt we will ever know for sure how the call list really works, based on the responses we have heard so far about the complexity of the system they are using.

 

[JOANNEL]

I just received a phone call in response to my email to Member Satisfaction, and had a fairly long talk with them. In my email, I had asked the following three questions:
Here's what I was told:

BOTTOM LINE: There has been NO POLICY CHANGE.

I was told the issue is purely an availability problem caused by the addition of the new ship and much more varied itineraries than were previously offered. Don't forget that we can book cruises two years in advance, so there has already been a long booking period for 2011 cruises. Apparently a lot of DVC owners have booked points cruises and all the points availability is now gone through September 2011.

I was also told that this is not the first time this has happened. The same thing apparently happened (but only for about a 4-month period) in 2004.

MS is currently accepting DCL cruise bookings for October 2011 and beyond, although availability for late 2011 is limited...which makes sense.

I was also told that MS would try to assist members who had previously booked points cruises and now have to change dates, etc, like CarolAnn did. It sounded like it would be a case-by-case situation, but he said they would do whatever they were able to do to help members.

I mentioned the situations of people who booked cash cruises and now want to convert those to points. He said MS would try to help those members, but that was a very different and more difficult problem because all of the DVC points inventory is gone. However, he said they would do whatever they could to help.

The gentleman I spoke to was aware of both this thread and CarolAnn's situation/resolution, but he didn't really comment much on it, other than to ask if I would post the information he provided in response to my questions.

As far as I am concerned they are full of it!! They advertise one thing and mean something else.

I was so a DVC cheerleader, have loved it for all these years. I guess I believed the sales pitch and now I we need to rent our points out to pay for our vacation!! Your right I am very emotional about this. DVC is not cheap and we have a lot of $$ invested in our future vacations!!

 

[Petraman]

EDITED...But today my Dsis called all excited because my nephew got engaged today and she was all excited because she has a ton of points for next year and wanted to book a cruise for them for their honeymoon sometime next August (they haven't set the actual date). I was so sad since I had to tell her she won't be able to do that for them. She bought DVC points this year and has yet to use them and now she can't go on the April cruise with us or give her son a cruise for a wedding present. I know this is not DVC fault or problem since they didn't promise us they can cruise, but it is still dissappointing. Sorry I know I am venting a lot today.

She CAN give them a cruise. Just book it with cash so that the reseration is flexible. Then rent out the points or transfer them to another DVC member to get the cash. No reason at all to be so disappointed.

Cmbar, not trying to be to picky, but I would be very careful following this advice. I don't know if you are aware Inkmahm, but transferring points for financial considerations is actually forbidden by DVC. It is true people do it, and some openly discuss it, but one of these days someone may get called on the carpet for doing this. If you do it, ssshhhh!

 

[Mineu]

I think I was less upset when I thought it was a policy change! I know reservations are subject to availability-but they suggested that I change my other cruise reservations to free up two cabins so that I could use the onboard offer. When this was done, their computer system was not able to load the reservation, then they said they needed a letter from the travel agency. While I'm waiting for all of this to get done-the next day all DVC points are gone? Meanwhile, I have made expensive changes to my other cruises (upgrading into one cabin) and I am left in limbo with this call list-do I wait and hope that my situation will be rectified? Should I book my flights-or will they offer me availability on another cruise? Can't feel the magic right now...

 

[Petraman]

I think I was less upset when I thought it was a policy change! I know reservations are subject to availability-but they suggested that I change my other cruise reservations to free up two cabins so that I could use the onboard offer. When this was done, their computer system was not able to load the reservation, then they said they needed a letter from the travel agency. While I'm waiting for all of this to get done-the next day all DVC points are gone? Meanwhile, I have made expensive changes to my other cruises (upgrading into one cabin) and I am left in limbo with this call list-do I wait and hope that my situation will be rectified? Should I book my flights-or will they offer me availability on another cruise? Can't feel the magic right now...

You know what Mineu.... I think if I was you, I would send a very calm but straightforward email to the Customer Support Team requesting a phone call from someone to rectify your situation. Since they seem to be saying they plan on working with people to try and resolve problems, yours is one that is very involved and needs explanation. Then I would stay on that phone until it is resolved to your satisfaction. My past experience in resolving a couple issues with Disney was to stay calm, but not let them off the line. Just keep moving up the ladder until someone gives you some peace of mind that they will get on this until they have a resolution.

Good luck friend

 

[JimMIA]

Do you get the feeling that the "call list" will yield any results? If the point allowance is gone until late 2011-how will they help those of us on the call list? Will points on my cruise have to become available -or-will the total number of points have to decrease? For instance if a member on another cruise cancels-will I get to book? Or does it have to be someone on my cruise? Just wondering how this is all going to work out?

I can't answer that, and I don't think anyone here can...because we just don't know how the DCL points inventory is allocated.

All I can tell you is that MS said if you call them, they will try to help. Their ability to help will depend on timing, circumstances, etc...but they will try.

 

[JimMIA]

I think I was less upset when I thought it was a policy change! I know reservations are subject to availability-but they suggested that I change my other cruise reservations to free up two cabins so that I could use the onboard offer. When this was done, their computer system was not able to load the reservation, then they said they needed a letter from the travel agency. While I'm waiting for all of this to get done-the next day all DVC points are gone? Meanwhile, I have made expensive changes to my other cruises (upgrading into one cabin) and I am left in limbo with this call list-do I wait and hope that my situation will be rectified? Should I book my flights-or will they offer me availability on another cruise? Can't feel the magic right now...

Personally, I would get OFF the DISboards and get on the phone to Member Services. Explain your problem to them and see what they can do to help.

The person I talked to used the phrase "Member Services Leadership Team" several times, so if the MS agent you first talk to can't do anything, I'd ask to speak to a member of that team. Your situation is a little unique because you lost availability by doing what they told you to do. That's a situation where I think they will help you...if they can.

 

[Mineu]

I have yet to receive a response to my email to the member satisfaction address-even an automated response would have been nice... I sent the same email to the address on the member site and did get the automatic-"we'll get back to you"-which they haven't. I have called member services three times-the first agent just said no cruises on points until 2011-and did not look up my member number,the second agent said she would put me on the call list, the third agent said I was not on the call list-but he would put me on it...After this call, I asked for a call back-which happened within the hour. Not sure what level this guy was-but he didn't even know that DVC/DCL reservations had been suspended! After a brief hold, he told me there was nothing to be done. So, here I am-at least I'm getting up to date information and understanding here-thanks everyone! Haven't worked up the energy to call DVC back yet...

 

[JimMIA]

I have yet to receive a response to my email to the member satisfaction address-even an automated response would have been nice... I sent the same email to the address on the member site and did get the automatic-"we'll get back to you"-which they haven't. I have called member services three times-the first agent just said no cruises on points until 2011-and did not look up my member number,the second agent said she would put me on the call list, the third agent said I was not on the call list-but he would put me on it...After this call, I asked for a call back-which happened within the hour. Not sure what level this guy was-but he didn't even know that DVC/DCL reservations had been suspended! After a brief hold, he told me there was nothing to be done. So, here I am-at least I'm getting up to date information and understanding here-thanks everyone! Haven't worked up the energy to call DVC back yet...

To be honest with you, I think there has been a bit of a pause while they tried to get their act together. I did not receive an automatic "We'll get back to you in 3 days" email either, but I got the phone call today. (I sent my email about 9:30 AM on Saturday).

When you talk to the rank and file MS people, I think they are going to just say what they've been coached to say. This is a volatile issue that has a lot of people's plans in a mess, and I'm sure they are being careful.

However, your situation is legitimately different, so I'd ask to speak to a supervisor and calmly and logically explain what happened and ask for their help. If they can help you, I'm sure they will. If they can't, they can't.

 

[Dean]

As far as I am concerned they are full of it!! They advertise one thing and mean something else.

I was so a DVC cheerleader, have loved it for all these years. I guess I believed the sales pitch and now I we need to rent our points out to pay for our vacation!! Your right I am very emotional about this. DVC is not cheap and we have a lot of $$ invested in our future vacations!!

It would seem you bought in without understanding what you were buying.

 

[JOANNEL]

It would seem you bought in without understanding what you were buying.

Your right, we took what the sales people said as the truth with out reading all the fine print. Our fault yes, be we were definitely misled by the sales team. Very disappointed with Disney I always thought they did things one step above the rest!!

 

[Cmbar]

She CAN give them a cruise. Just book it with cash so that the reseration is flexible. Then rent out the points or transfer them to another DVC member to get the cash. No reason at all to be so disappointed.

Yep Inkmahn we are putting her points up for sale this weekend. I also told her there was not reason to send these two on their honeymoon on a Disney trip. So I think once they have an official wedding date we will be looking for some RCL cruises, unless someone has some suggestions for another cruise line. They are not the party type of people but enjoy sitting and relaxing with a drink or two. Would love to find a nice itenierary for them!

 

[JOANNEL]

Yep Inkmahn we are putting her points up for sale this weekend. I also told her there was not reason to send these two on their honeymoon on a Disney trip. So I think once they have an official wedding date we will be looking for some RCL cruises, unless someone has some suggestions for another cruise line. They are not the party type of people but enjoy sitting and relaxing with a drink or two. Would love to find a nice itenierary for them!

We have done RCCL and Holland America. Both were very nice. Food was great,
Hal's food was better then Disney. DCL is much better on customer service, but for the difference in price both are well worth it.

 

[ellenmiele]

I always thought they did things one step above the rest!!

Well said.
I know that I for one have long held Disney to a higher standard but that is because they hold themselves to a higher standard. To me, owning DVC is not the same as any other timeshare largely because Disney goes to great lengths to make us all feel part of the magical Disney family. So to me, and perhaps for many others, Disney isn't just business and DVC isn't just a contract, it is llike family. And as a result, a situation like this (not just a change but a sudden change without warning) is not merely an inconvenience - it feels like a personal affront, a disrespect. And of course, deep down I do realize that in the end it is just business but part of the magic of Disney is the belief that it is so much more.

 

[JOANNEL]

Well said.
I know that I for one have long held Disney to a higher standard but that is because they hold themselves to a higher standard. To me, owning DVC is not the same as any other timeshare largely because Disney goes to great lengths to make us all feel part of the magical Disney family. So to me, and perhaps for many others, Disney isn't just business and DVC isn't just a contract, it is llike family. And as a result, a situation like this (not just a change but a sudden change without warning) is not merely an inconvenience - it feels like a personal affront, a disrespect. And of course, deep down I do realize that in the end it is just business but the magic of Disney is the belief that it is so much more.

You are so right, it'a almost like being lied to by a family member. We have been on two member cruises and they were fabulous. They really made every one feel special. All the incentives were amazing.

I understand the economy, I was laid off in May. So messing with my vacations really hurts!!

 

[Inkmahm]

Yep Inkmahn we are putting her points up for sale this weekend. I also told her there was not reason to send these two on their honeymoon on a Disney trip. So I think once they have an official wedding date we will be looking for some RCL cruises, unless someone has some suggestions for another cruise line. They are not the party type of people but enjoy sitting and relaxing with a drink or two. Would love to find a nice itenierary for them!

I'm confused. If you're putting the points up to get the cash, then a DCL cruise is still possible. If you're looking for another cruise line because you want a different itinerary, I'd suggest Alaska on Princess. That's what we did for our honeymoon back in 2005 and it was perfect.

 

[JimMIA]

Yep Inkmahn we are putting her points up for sale this weekend. I also told her there was not reason to send these two on their honeymoon on a Disney trip. So I think once they have an official wedding date we will be looking for some RCL cruises, unless someone has some suggestions for another cruise line. They are not the party type of people but enjoy sitting and relaxing with a drink or two. Would love to find a nice itenierary for them!

Miami is the "Cruise Capital of the World," and Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale is right behind us. Between the two, I believe they serve more cruise passengers each year than every other port in the world combined.

In Miami, we have RCCL, Norweigian Cruise Lines, Carnival, and several others. RCCL, NCL and Carnival are all excellent. Carnival has the "party boat" reputation, but I think that is probably fading over time. Any of those should be far less expensive than DCL. I would do some research on some of the cruise forums to find a good fit.

Also, Google "cruise consolidators" and see what you find. Consolidators buy up large blocks of cabins and usually offer lower prices. You can also probably get recommendations on consolidators from the cruise boards -- some of them have been in business a long time and have excellent reputations.

 

[pilferk]

I'm confused. If you're putting the points up to get the cash, then a DCL cruise is still possible. If you're looking for another cruise line because you want a different itinerary, I'd suggest Alaska on Princess. That's what we did for our honeymoon back in 2005 and it was perfect.

I think their point is they are so disgusted with Disney, at this point, that they'd rather take their business elsewhere.

Combine that with the fact that DCL charges a substantial premium over other cruise lines.....