New Policy for Castaway Club Pins

[MrShiny]

Just got this response to my question about Castaway Club pins:

4/3/02

Thank you for your e-mail.

Our procedures have recently changed with issuing the Castaway Club pins. Each Castaway Club member will now receive their pin on their next voyage upon check-in at the terminal.

We look forward to the chance to sail with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Tracey, Guest Communications
Disney Cruise Line

 

[imgoingtodisney]

Thats the way Norwegian Cruise Line does it when signing up for Latitudes. Except since I went to the reception anyways with MIL (she was the repeat cruiser) I got my pin on my first NCL cruise.

 

[AnnMorin]

Does that mean we don't get the welcome back gift too just a pin? Boy I liked the dufflebag

 

[HappyGilmore]

Does anyone think that this may have something to do with postal security / mailing metal? I ask only because I attempted to mail a package over seas to Greece Xmas of 2000 which included the DCL Starlight Mickey pin and a few other things. With help from a fellow poster on this board, (they picked a pin up for us on a cruise they were on then mailed it to me. ) When I mailed the package to Greece our friends never got it it was not returned to us. It crossed my mind that it may have set off some alarms in a customs checkpoint.

 

[Cruise]

In all honesty, I think it's probably just a cost saving measure. This way, they're only giving pins to people who actually sail with them at least twice... not just once and then get a packet in the mail. Makes sense in a way....if you're not going to sail with Disney a second time, you probably don't care about the pins anyway. Then there's the shipping cost, etc.

My question would be.... are all terminal check-in agents going to have the pins to give to returning cruisers, or is a person going to be "required" to use the Castaway Club check-in desk in order to get the pins now?

Julie

 

[pal2pluto]

This is interesting.....I'm curious how this will be handled. We are sailing for the 2nd time in October. I was really looking forward to a duffle, and was wondering where my pin would come in. If anyone knows the answers posted above, please inform us all

 

[sandee]

I sadly, don't believe anything I hear from a CM involved with the Castaway Club. I'm going on my 3rd cruise in less then 2 yrs and I have never received a card or pins. I do have my CC # and I got a nice duffle bag last time, but I have been told a lot of different stories by a lot of different CMs and I have been waiting patiently for weeks to see if my latest promised stuff arrives. Sigh! I was told if I had booked the cruise through DCL instead of a TA none of this mix-up would have happened - latest CM I spoke with said DCL has my TA's address and not mine so they didn't know where to send my membership info. I was also told this about 8 months ago when another CM vowed I would be hearing from CC at once! LOL! So, the moral of my story is, don't start thinking or getting too excited that you'll be getting a pin upon checking in on your next cruise until you have the pin in your hot little hand.

 

[wovenwonder]

This is a copy of the email I sent to DCL regarding the pin issue:

Re: Castaway Club
I understand that we will now receive castaway club pins when checking in on a
returning cruise. Do we need to check in at the Castaway Club check in counter
to receive these pins, or is any check in counter okay?? Is this one pin per
room booked, or one pin per returning passenger? Will we still receive a
castaway club gift in the stateroom? If yes, is it still the black duffle bag
with water bottle? We will be returning to the magic for the third time April
20th.
Thank you for your time,
Jody



And this is the return reply from DCL:



4/4/02

Thank you for your e-mail.

Upon check-in, at the Disney Cruise Line terminal, members are offered priority
check-in at the dedicated Castaway Club desk and will be presented with the
Castaway Club pin at that time (one for each returning guest).

You will also receive, one stateroom amenity delivered with a letter from the
Captain welcoming you back and inviting you to experience a special onboard
reception. (The letter will specifically state the date, time, and location of
the reception).

We look forward to the chance to sail with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Tracey, Guest Communications
Disney Cruise Line

 

[AnnMorin]

Interesting they did not tell you what the gift annemity would be!
This priority checkin i don't understand. when we went on our second cruise I did not see any castaway club counter. where is it? do you skip past the long line or wait in line and then go to the counter? ann

 

[pal2pluto]

So, it appears you must go to the CC line to check-in if you want your pins, right? Wow! If they still only have ONE CC line, it's gonna be a long wait to check in! I don't know if that is a worthwhile perk or not! Standing in one line for a pin for a long time while the other 10 lines move quickly and not getting on the ship in order to make ressies?????

Perhaps it should no longer be called the "priority checkin" because we would not be receiving any exceptional service for our loyalty. Perhaps it should just be called "If ya wanna pin, checkin here line" Hmmmmmm

 

[kplatt]

We cruised the Magic 3/23 as Castaway Club members. The Castaway Club check-in desk is to the far right of the other check in lanes. We arrived at the terminal around 1 pm. Lines were not very long for the regular lanes, and there was only 1 family ahead of us for the two positions for Castaway Club check in. They were not yet allowing people to enter the security check-in area for boarding. Once they opened the doors, the line moved quickly, breaking up into three lines to go through the check points.

I joined the Castaway Club by phone in January, and about six weeks later received a questionnaire which I promptly returned. I called the Club mid-March, and was told that returning the questionnaire was part of the process that would keep things moving and that the pins would be sent, and that, in fact, they may have already been in the mail. We came home from our cruise to find a mangled envelope containing two pins for our family of four, one of which was bent and missing its backing. With luck, we'll get a second set as a result of my second phone call.

Receiving the pins at check in eliminates a lot of work for everyone, and ensures that you have the pins for your return cruise. I wish they'd started it for our week!!

Karen
Wonder 11/01
Magic 3/02
Wonder 11/02

 

[cruisnfamily]

kplatt, you are the first to say boarding did not begin 'til after 1pm. Is this true of other recent cruisers? I thought the boarding generally began around 12:15 to 12:30pm

 

[taswira]

I am not kplatt, but it is my understanding that in most cases boarding still begins at 12:15 or 12:30. I think 1:00 is the "official" boarding time, and there are occasions when it will actually be 1:00 due to the ship not being prepared in time for early boarding. Keep in mind that the ship unloads other passengers that morning. Although the cabins are not supposed to be ready for you when you board, the rest of the ship (and lunch) is, and that involves a lot of activity. So it makes sense that early boarding is not set in stone.

 

[Casey's mom]

We were on the 3/23 cruise as well. We arrived at the port a few minutes after 11am and boarded around 12:15.

 

[Mboothby]

We are CC members and are on the 4/25 Wonder. We are booked on a land/sea vacation and as such, check in is at the hotel for us. Does this mean we'll receive our pins at the hotel or do we now have to check in TWICE, once at the hotel and then again at the CC line at Port to get our pins. HELP

 

[cruisnfamily]

Do we still get the duffle bag in the stateroom?

 

[DARWIN91]

I cruised in Sept 2001. The only thing I had received 3 months later was an offer for a return cruise because on that cruise they did not offer us a special to re-book. There was no CC kit. When I had called them they said my Castaway membership had gone to the travel agent. I called the TA and she did not get it. I have called Disney 3 times on this. They have my address and each time they tell me I will be receiving something shortly. What is up with this? It find it to be annoying. Do they tell everyone the same thing and then never send anything out??

 

[fireplug]

I think Kplatts experience is pretty typical. Our pins also arrived in a mangled envelope although they were not damaged the letter had many holes in it. This could be part of the reason disney changed things. We checked in for our cruise at the CC desk and zipped right through.

Steve

 

[AnnMorin]

I am still confused about the castaway club desk. We did not see one on our second cruise, is it called castaway club?I think I saw a "priority checkin" or something like that but no castaway club. Also when we arrived there was a big line, do you wait in that and then go to the desk or just walk past the line to the desk. I would not want to start a riot by cutting the line!

 

[fireplug]

The CC desk is on the far right end of the check in desk and you will not get yelled at for cutting in line as they have their own line up area.
Enjoy your trip

Steve