Non Refundable Deposit

[tigger_ttfn]

Just curious, does it bother anyone else that the ABD deposit becomes non-refundable after 15 days?

I am a huge planner and book trips usually 9-12 months ahead of time sometimes. Usually most travel deposits are refundable until the balance is due 75-90 days before. That said, I have only cancelled one trip that I paid a deposit for.

I understand that there is probably higher overhead for ABD's, but 15 days regardless of how far in advance seems a bit excessive.

I have been on two ABD's but I am waffling on my next one because of airfare costs. I am hesitant to book it since it won't be until next summer .

 

[Miss SD]

Yes, it does bother me too. I booked with ABD for summer 2011 (after two previous ABD trips) only because I couldn't find the exact Germany itinerary anywhere else. Otherwise, I would've picked a tour company with a more generous cancellation policy.

 

[Bobo912]

Once I make up my mind, I usually stick with the decision, so I think the probability of me cancelling a trip for any reason not covered by trip insurance is slim, but ABD's cancellation policy still bothers me. I think they do it just because they are Disney and they can get away with it.

 

[kristilew]

It's one of the reasons we haven't booked yet for 2011. Not in a protest kind of way, but just because our life happens to be a little unsettled this year.

We're 90% certain we're going to be able to take the Egypt trip next year, but that 10% of uncertainty means we'll have to wait to book. The deposit being nonrefundable so quickly, and per person instead of per party, makes it too risky a gamble. So we're gambling instead that the trip won't book up. And if it does, I guess Disney won't care that they didn't get our business anyway. (But there's always the chance this will pay off for us, since they pulled late discounts out of a hat last year.)

 

[sayhello]

I agree with kristilew. It's one of the things that's kept me from early booking the last couple of years. I agree with Bobo912 that I usually don't change my mind after making a vacation decision (last year being a rare exeption!) But not having that *option* after a mere 2 weeks, without losing a chunk of money, makes me hesitant to commit. Yep, the risk is having the trip I want be not available, but that's the position ABD has put us in. It's my biggest complaint with how they run things, honestly.

Sayhello

 

[beansf]

Yes, I think it is rigid and unfortunate. There is a possibility we may lose our deposit on the trip we booked for next summer. We are taking a risk. Maybe ABD thinks it is small beans for a person who can afford one of their trips, but I disagree.

Edited to add: Although, it would also be unfortunate if the trips got all booked up on day one by people who weren't very serious and you had to go on a 9 month waitlist before you were cleared to go and then had to rush around trying to get time off and flights arranged.

There must be a happy medium.

 

[kmitchel]

I was just looking at the SAME thing! We are looking at an ABD trip that is over a year away and it seems crazy that we would only have 14 days to cancel before we would lose $300 per person!

Is there any trip insurance that would cover cancellations that are more than 90 days out?

 

[Bobo912]

You can purchase trip insurance through ABD or you can purchase it on your own. If you go to insuremytrip.com you can price various policies from reputable companies. There are policies available that allow you to cancel for any reason. I've purchased travel insurance through ABD and I've purchased it on my own too. Fortunately, I've never had to use it.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Part of me likes it, and part of me doesn't.

We wanted to do the ABD Germany this spring, but because we didn't know if it would fit in our budget that far ahead, we ended up just going on our own (which worked out well because it cost us about 1/3 of the ABD cost, and we went for 2 weeks!).

On the other hand, I want to travel everywhere, and I have a hard time committing to a trip, because I always change my mind of where I want to go. Even though I am locked in now at a trip that is over a year away, at least I can't change my mind again about where to go (and drive my husband crazy ).

Like other's said, we have a good insurance plan, so if anything comes up where we cannot go, we will be covered through them.

 

[sayhello]

I was just looking at the SAME thing! We are looking at an ABD trip that is over a year away and it seems crazy that we would only have 14 days to cancel before we would lose $300 per person!

Is there any trip insurance that would cover cancellations that are more than 90 days out?

Most any insurance policy would cover you no matter how far out you are, as long as what you want covered is non-refundable, AND you cancel for a covered reason. Some policies have (or allow you to add) "Cancel for any Reason" coverage, in which case you'd probably get back 90% of your deposit (most cancel for any reason riders do not pay at 100%).

If you don't get the Cancel for any Reason coverage, then it would really depend on why you cancel. "I don't want to take this trip any more" usually isn't covered. "I decided I can't afford this trip" usually isn't, either, unless you've lost your job, and losing your job was covered by your policy (it is for some). "I'm too sick to take this trip" might or might not be covered, depending on what you have, does your doctor say it will prevent you from traveling, do you have a pre-existing condition waiver (if it's pre-existing), etc.

My best advice would be to call www.insuremytrip.com or www.tripinsurancestore.com and talk your exact situation through with them, and they can tell you what your options for coverage would be.

Sayhello

 

[abacab]

How flexible are they with CHANGES to the date of the trip, after the 14 days? Are they strict about treating that as a cancellation?

 

[sayhello]

How flexible are they with CHANGES to the date of the trip, after the 14 days? Are they strict about treating that as a cancellation?

They have been pretty strict in the past, but I don't know of anyone who's had to change dates for a while. I imagine it might depend on why you needed to change.

Sayhello

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

How flexible are they with CHANGES to the date of the trip, after the 14 days? Are they strict about treating that as a cancellation?

I asked about that recently and this is the response I got:

Once you book the Adventure, you only have 14 days from that date to make any changes to your itinerary. After that time, you will lose your deposit if changes are made.