oct cruise cancelled

[LAMPSKIES]

Skip CC?? 40 foot waves?? LOL........How 'bout we a a little virus??

 

[LAMPSKIES]

When we were cancelled (11/29/02 Eastern sailing) three days prior to our disembarking it was the day before Thanksgiving. Many people were already at WDW spending some time there before the sailing. We switched to the Dec. 1 Wonder, as did many others. As we made frinds with other cruisers we were told that they were contacted by DCL and offered some special perks if they switched sailings to accomadate the cancelled Magic cruisers.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by jmminarik
Well, I totally disagree with your position, but I didn't mean to insult you by giving you a free room at walt disney world. A free room, free passes on property and your money back is IMNSHO a fair option for people who can not otherwise change their vacations. Other than food, transportation and discretionary spending, it's a free vacation to WDW. Will Royal Carribean offer that? Is it a catagory 3 cruise? No. Is it more feasible from a financial viewpoint of management, probably. With so many screaming bloody murder and how everyone who's bumped is now entitled to something, I was just offering one possible, practical solution to the problem.

-Joe

You're missing the point. I would imagine that most people who book cat 1-2-3 suites on DCL are not going to want to stay in a value resort at WDW. If that were offered to me, you bet your bippy I'd be insulted. My $7000 cruise suite for a $50 a night motel room? I don't think so. Free or not, I still wouldn't stay at a value resort. I am not comfortable in the small rooms, can't get any sleep in a double bed with DH, and would rather just not go than be miserable. I'm sure I'm not alone in those feelings.

Next, many poeple have AP's, so giving them LOS passes is giving them absolutely nothing. Again, an insult, offereing something completely useless.

People who live in Florida are also in most cases not going to be at all interested in staying at WDW. They aren't taking a weeks vacation to go someplace they can go every weekend if they choose.

I'd want my money back ON THE SPOT and a free cruise in the future in the same category I had booked. I can then spend the money they are holding for the current cruise in any way I want, and it would NOT be in a value resort room, or even at WDW for that matter.

Anne

 

[jmminarik]

Originally posted by ducklite
You're missing the point.
Anne

Well, I was hoping I was missing your point. I was not. Other than for entertaining the lurkers, there's not much point continuing to talk about this since I know I'll never be able to wrap my mind around your position.

-Joe

 

[cjsmith]

Originally posted by ducklite
You're missing the point. I would imagine that most people who book cat 1-2-3 suites on DCL are not going to want to stay in a value resort at WDW. If that were offered to me, you bet your bippy I'd be insulted. My $7000 cruise suite for a $50 a night motel room? I don't think so. Free or not, I still wouldn't stay at a value resort. I am not comfortable in the small rooms, can't get any sleep in a double bed with DH, and would rather just not go than be miserable. I'm sure I'm not alone in those feelings.

Next, many poeple have AP's, so giving them LOS passes is giving them absolutely nothing. Again, an insult, offereing something completely useless.

People who live in Florida are also in most cases not going to be at all interested in staying at WDW. They aren't taking a weeks vacation to go someplace they can go every weekend if they choose.

I'd want my money back ON THE SPOT and a free cruise in the future in the same category I had booked. I can then spend the money they are holding for the current cruise in any way I want, and it would NOT be in a value resort room, or even at WDW for that matter.

Anne

I agree with you completely Anne. I stay in the deluxe resorts only when I'm at Disney and when I travel anywhere actually. That's just me and my preferences. I already have AP's so they would be useless to me and I live in Florida so I wouldn't want to spend a week there. When I book the cruise, it's because that's when I can cruise and what I want to do. I book 2 cabins for my family of 5 with a verandah because I want the space. If I'm spending top dollar for my cruise and I don't get what I booked, I would want my money back and a future cruise.

 

[FredS]

Since individuals' money is just as good as a corporations, I really don't see DCL just arbitrarily deciding to dump a ship full of bookings to make some company happy. For all the screaming and tirades (interestingly from those who are not even sailing on that cruise -- the ones bumped are handling it well) there could have been some legitimate reason for this situation, possibly even some mistake made which just surfaced.

For instance, perhaps DCL's records indicated that Company X was buying 400 cabins. That is not the entire ship, so bookings were made available to the general public. Lo and behold, someone screwed up and Company X clearly wanted, paid deposits for, whatever, ALL of the cabins, but somehow it was not correctly entered into the system. DCL is looking at a company and hundreds of its employees who have made plans to be on this cruise compared to one-hundred private individuals who have booked. They may have had to choose best solution in a very bad situation. They call those who will be bumped and make every effort to get them rescheduled, upgraded, and otherwise try to make them as happy as possible. I see something along those lines as being much more likely than "let's screw these folks who have already booked and just let company X charter this cruise."

Maybe I am giving them too much credit, but I have never been anything other than VERY PLEASED with Disney's customer service. People make mistakes and they have to do the best they can to remedy them. Sometimes everyone can't be made perfectly happy. Life happens and none of us are guaranteed that we will make any cruise we have booked! Not because of DCL but because of a zillion other factors.

I am truly sorry for those who were bumped and upset about it. I have some flexibility in my schedule generally so I wouldn't have minded getting a few perks for moving my cruise date, but I realize that for some these three days might have special meaning and they are understandably aggravated. Hope things work out differently, but great, for all of you!

 

[Grumbo]

For all the screaming and tirades (interestingly from those who are not even sailing on that cruise -- the ones bumped are handling it well)

So if you're NOT on the cruise you're not supposed to express your disdain for Disney acting this way?
Whatever


As for your position Anne... You and I don't agree on much on here but I totally see your point.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[siily047]

we as a family are not very flexible my husband is active duty military stationed oversea's away from his family most of the year we have very little time together, due to the unit he is in it takes alot for him to get time off and can not be changed for any reason , one year my brother passed away and he couldnt go because he needed to do his job and his job is protecting this country and disney and all the people who work there. if not for him and his military they may not have been a disney or anything else . 'when he get's his leave thats when we go on vaction not before not after no changes can be made so if it gets cancelled on us thats in until the next year .......

 

[Verandah Man]

I did get a reply from the e-mail letter that I sent to DCL. I am attaching it below:

I was sorry to hear that you were feeling like you had lost some of the magic you felt for Disney Cruise Line. We truly want all of our guests to be satisfied with every aspect of our operation.

While it is true that the October 28, 2004 Disney Wonder 3-night sailing has been chartered, I can assure you that we are working very closely with each family scheduled on that voyage to make appropriate alternate accommodations. We know this is disappointing and an inconvenience to those who may have booked early, and are ready to handle each situation to the best of our ability.

You may be interested to know that as soon as we learned of this potential charter, we immediately closed the sailing to any further bookings. We did this to minimize any further guest disappoint.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Hope this thread is still going when Rae gets back.......what do you think Andy??

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by LAMPSKIES
Hope this thread is still going when Rae gets back.......what do you think Andy??

I'm sure Rae will hear about this thread.

 

[K&D'smom]

Being one of the families that was displaced from the Oct. 28th sailing on the Wonder, I have to say that Disney has been more than fair with my family. The cast member that contacted me about the cancellation has been superb to work with. She gave me her complete time and attention and listened to how this change had impacted my family. She then negoiated a much better deal for us than I really thought we would get.

That being said, I do realize that changing dates (even by a day or two), flights, etc. is a HUGE problem for some and I wish them the best in getting this situation resolved. However, I just felt the need to share that from my point of view they have lived up to the Disney name and the customer service I have become accustomed.

 

[CRB#33]

Originally posted by Verandah Man
I read through this entire thread late last night after a fellow DIS'er brought this to my attention. For the most part, I have been a positive supporter of DCL, but from what I gather and after reading this thread, I am somewhat disappointed in the way this was handled. I know, if I had been waiting a year, or more, and this was going to be my first experience with DCL, and this happened to me, it would also be my last experience with DCL. I feel so bad for everyone who was told that this cruise was cancelled. I sent an e-mail to DCL last night showing my displeasure in how this was handled, and I'm still not feeling the DCL magic this morning either.

Andy, with all due respect, I think you need to remember how incredibly Nate Page was treated. And even you got some awesome treatment, upgrades and gifts. DCL has shown to be just wonderful to both of you.

We don't know what the situation is that precipitated this cancellation. And to lose the "magic" after all we've seen an experienced from DCL is a shame.

That being said, I do feel that it's also an awful shame that people's cruises are being cancelled. I feel terrible for them and hope that it gets worked out to the

I think it's also a jump to think that people in concierge are getting replacements at All-Stars, or did I miss that thread? Oh, and if they already have AP's, well then that's not an issue is it? I think that could be negotiated with Disney.

Bottom line is in a situation like this, Disney is never, ever going to be able to please everybody. It's impossible. They can't even do that in the best of situations Someone will always have some kind of complaint. Legitimate or not.

 

[GenieDana]

Originally posted by K&D'smom
Being one of the families that was displaced from the Oct. 28th sailing on the Wonder, I have to say that Disney has been more than fair with my family.... She then negoiated a much better deal for us than I really thought we would get.

Just what kind of deal did you get?

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by CRB#33
I think it's also a jump to think that people in concierge are getting replacements at All-Stars, or did I miss that thread? Oh, and if they already have AP's, well then that's not an issue is it? I think that could be negotiated with Disney.

A poster on this thread suggested that all could be made well for everyone being displaced by giving everyone free rooms at the All Stars and LOS passes. My point was that this was not going to make all well, and even offering such a thing would offend some cruisers, including those who had booked suites, those with AP's, and those who live locally. The comments weren't as much towards DCL as they were towards the person who posted such ridiculousness.

Anne

 

[Verandah Man]

I am not about to get into a debate over this issue, but I would like to add this. On our car we have a bumper sticker that states, "Do Right and Give The Consequences to God." It appears to me that DCL was going after the almighty dollar, without regards to the families that had already booked this cruise. In my opinion, DCL "Did Wrong." I can only feel for the families who now cannot make their first DCL experience a happy one, as my family experienced, of which, I never asked for more, than what I paid for.

 

[gonna go cruising]

I got a response but it did not address much that I had written. At least it was a reply though.

"Thank you for your e-mail.

We are sorry for the disappointments you have expressed. Your thoughts have been shared with the
appropriate management teams.

We look forward to the chance to sail with you some day soon.

Sincerely,

Tracey, Guest Communications
Disney Cruise Line"

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to you in hope that rumours about the Disney Cruise Line’s actions recently are false.

Your upcoming 3 day Bahamian cruise slated for October 28, 2004 has been supposedly cancelled to outside “cruisers” as the Wonder has been chartered by a private group or person. I understand this and as a Disney stockholder I am sure it is good business sense. However, how can you do this to people that have booked and paid deposits, made plans around this date with flights, hotel accommodations, condominiums, health insurance, cancellation insurance as well as a myriad of other plans that have now been thrown into disarray by your cavalier attitude towards them? This wasn’t an emergency, act of terrorism, or a health concern. This is strictly cash!

It is unconscionable that you would do this to loyal customers, many of whom have small children, older parents and groups that travel thousands and thousands of miles to Florida to partake in Disney Cruise Line’s ships and then slap them in the face a mere 6 months out.

I’m sure you can shuffle them around, offer them different dates etc but that isn’t the point. Your corporate website has the wonderful motto “I hope we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse – Walt Disney”.

I’m afraid IF this rumour IS in fact true, you may have already lost sight of Mr. Disney’s hopes.


Yours truly,


http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=552364&perpage=15&pagenumber=4

Dear Roy Disney,
As an avid lover of Disney for 35 yrs, I would like to bring this typicla Michael Eisner "attack" to your attention. The link above will direct you to a website called the "DisBoards". DisBoards is a very popular WDW/DCL information website. The October 28th Disney Wonder Cruise has been cancelled as you will see by looking at the link above. Some families have planned as far as 14 months in advance for this cruise. I am bringing this to your attention as the the name Disney is senonimous with the word "family". As a bunch of people that were booked for this cruise have recently found out, their vacation plans are being changed for DCL'S convienence. This does not seem to be the Disney way of conducting business with the general public. Because of action like this the Walt Disney Corporation may lose thousands of fans and supporters. Please bring this to the attention of shareholders. We all would greatly appreciate this. I would welcome any comments from you regarding this outrageous behavior.

Yours Truly,


This is an email that we sent to everybody at SaveDisney.com. If you would like to copy and paste this message feel free to send it to everybody at SaveDisney.com's contact link. And if you are still dissatisfied with DCL please call 1-800-951-3532. This is DCL's customer service #. Let's not let this go unquestioned. A squeaky wheel gets greased first.

P.S. If you have DCL's e-mail address please feel free to post it so we all can contact them.

 

[GenieDana]

Here is the clause you agree to when booking your cruise:

Not much pixie dust here, but the fact is this is a contigincy we all agreed to when we book:


Terms & Conditions

Right to Change Itinerary/Detention
Disney Cruise Line may in its sole discretion and without prior notice change, substitute, postpone, cancel or deviate from any scheduled sailing, itinerary or call at any port, and may substitute another vessel for the ship, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by a Guest as a result of any such change, substitution, postponement, cancellation or deviation. The Guest shall pay any and all expenses incurred if a Guest is detained on board ship or elsewhere at any stage of a voyage because of quarantine, port regulations, prevailing applicable law, illness or other cause.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I am not a lawyer.....nor do I play one on T.V. but........"DCL in its sole discretion without prior notice 1)change.......they didn't change the sailing. It is still leaving at 5:00 on the 28th. 2) substitute.......they didn't substitute....they are still sailing 3) postpone.........the ship is not postponed. That is for late arrivals, flight delays etc. 4) cancel.....the sailing is not cancelled 5)they are not deviating schedules, itenerary or ports of call, they are not substituting vessels. They have made a concious decision to sell YOUR cabin, the one that you in good faith put money down on in the manner that DCL wants (in advance....that is why the biggest discounts a for prebooking further out) to someone else. I don't care if the baught one cabin or 100 cabins or the whole ship!!! Just because there a corporation.....I'm sorry, my money is as good as theirs!!! So if I want my room 6608 again but somebody is already reserved in it who gets it? The person with a higher social status??