Our Reservation has been cancelled

[mijrlj]

Let me start by saying how truly sorry we are for all the folks in Florida, and for all the damage and loss that they've suffered. That being said...

We're scheduled for VB from 11/3-11/7. I called earlier and was told that they are not planning to reopen until 11/20, and that my reservation needs to be rescheduled.

I tried to get ANYTHING at Disney for the same time period, but it's NJ Teacher's Convention, and everything is sold out. They offered to check hotels, but they are not offering any concessions on points, nor have they said anything about cancelled air reservations.

Anyone else have vacations cancelled due to the hurricanes? Do I have any recourse at all? I've got air fare and car booked and my husband and I have both scheduled the time out of the office.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I'm sure this is very upsetting and stressful to you. It's got to be a huge disappointment. I know that all the DVC resorts were totally booked back during the second week of September when I called. Did you try all the non-DVC resorts also ?
I hope something works out for you.

 

[mitros]

We are going November 7-9. {OKW} Please tell me those teachers will be gone by then!

 

[mijrlj]

LOL! Yes, we go back to school on that Monday, November 8th, so it should be all clear by the time you get there.

 

[Doug Wolfe]

I just came from the DVC member website and they indicate there will be a "soft opening" at Vero November 8th. I'm not sure if that is old information.

You may want to double check with member services. Good luck.

 

[mijrlj]

My information came from Member Services earlier today. I was told November 20th. I asked why I hadn't been notified officially yet, and was told that they are still notifying the October reservations.

 

[DebbieB]

They should put a priority on notifying everyone. If you didn't read these boards, you would think everything was set for November. They are wasting time that you could have been making alternate reservations.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

FWIW it isn't the teachers who are conventioning in Disney ...its their students. The teachers get to go to Atlantic City.

 

[mijrlj]

So, back to my original question. Would any of you press DVC to make some sort of accomodations for those of us who are losing guaranteed reservations, vacation time and money? I'd think they could at least offer to compensate us the amount it's going to cost us in cancellation fees. The woman I spoke with seemed pretty much, like, oh well, that's your problem.

 

[Doctor P]

At some level, that is what travel insurance is intended to cover (though it is often very imperfect). Just so that you don't think I am being insensitive, we went through this last month when our DCL cruise was cancelled/postponed at the last minute--we drove all the way to Florida and spent a lot of money and never ultimately were able to cruise.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm sorry to hear about your situation but this was beyond their control. Since DVC is owned by the members, where would the compensation come from?

 

[Dean]

As noted this is what travel insurance is for though it's not generally a good value. DVC only has control over the DVC resorts. If they're full, they're full. My guess is there won't be much else they can do. And it's not workable for them to be responsible for loses as it was not their fault this happened. I'd call CRO and try to get a discounted room at WDW. I'd also keep calling back to MS to see if something opens up at a DVC resort. Wait list as well for what you will accept. But remember that there are others that are wait listed also.

 

[JimC]

I agree with Doctor P. That is why you buy trip cancellation or travel insurance.

I have had to do this in the past. It takes some amount of coordination to undo and rebook at the last minute, particularly if you use more than one intermediary to arrange the trip. But it can be done.

First find out what your options are with DVC (possibly using one of the other collections to use the points). If there are no options ask MS to return your points to their original status or allow you to bank them without penalties given the special circumstances.

Then get a travel agent to see what options you might have in Orlando generally or elsewhere. Orlando has lots of hotel rooms, probably more than they need, so it is likely that there are options there.

Finally adjust the air and auto reservations accordingly. Always explain that your changes are due to an extended resort closure forced by hurricane damage.

It will take a few phone calls and possibly a bit more money then you expected to take your holiday. My experience is that the special circumstances will work in your favor with DVC and others, but I doubt that anyone is going to write you a check - essentially stepping into the role of a trip cancellation policy.

 

[bobbiwoz]

If it were my vacation, I would book something in Orlando, or Tampa and enjoy a non-Disney Florida experience, and call MS daily to see if anything opens up. But I would go, have a great time, and use this as a learning experience to help decide if we should buy trip insurance in the future.

I have a friend who's a New Jersey teacher and she's going to be in WDW during the time you mention, I don't think she's ever been to AC FOR the convention!

Another possibility is a 3-4-5 day last minute cruise. I've always heard that last minute prices are dirt cheap, but we've always booked way in advance. It probably wouldn't be Disney, their prices don't go down I'm told, they go up the closer to a cruise, but we cruised from Miami on Carnival for 5 nights for just over $300 per person and had a great time, this was for an outside cabin.

Pixie Dust, even though it's after the storms, I truly hope they're past, but there's no telling for sure, we're still in the season. I hope your "Storm Story" will have a glad ending!

Bobbi

PS. Has MS at least allocated your now not used points to your satisfaction?

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by mijrlj
So, back to my original question. Would any of you press DVC to make some sort of accomodations for those of us who are losing guaranteed reservations, vacation time and money? I'd think they could at least offer to compensate us the amount it's going to cost us in cancellation fees. The woman I spoke with seemed pretty much, like, oh well, that's your problem.

For Disney to have to compensate you for any losses would assume that they are somehow responsible for the resort's temporary closing.

It is my understanding that Disney has been very liberal in the return of points to members -- even returning banked points to their original use year where necessary.

Have you explained the situation to the airline? I know that the airlines were also very liberal in relaxing some of their rules post-hurricane(s). Perhaps if you tell them that this is directly related to hurricane damage, they will allow you to rebook without penalty.

I know that this is a big disappointment and inconvenience for you; I hope that you're able to get some vacation arrangements made.

 

[Nanax3]

You could try the beaches in the St Pete area. Tthere are some great resorts there, the Tradewinds Island Grand is beautiful and so is the Don Cesar and they are right on the beach. The tradewinds has great amenities.

You could recoup the cost by possibly renting out the points you would have used at Vero to pay for the new accomodations.

 

[JFrey4240]

If you can't find anything at a DVC resort try calling the Swan/Dolphin direrctly. Last year we decided on a last minute trip and called CRO and were told all the rooms in Disney were booked. We called the Swan directly and they had plenty of rooms and we were able to get the teacher rate to boot! It might work out for you. Good luck!

 

[chris1gill]

I think your best bet is to just get on a waitlist for those days, take anything that comes available on property... you may also want to call a few times a week to make sure the days haven't become mysteriously available & your waitlist just didn't pick it up.... other than that, you could use points for the Disney Collection, although that is a pricey alternative....

 

[mijrlj]

To clarify something I said in my original post, about NJ Teachers Convention. Yes, the convention is in Atlantic City, but many, many New Jerseyans, myself included, use this time to visit Disney. It's striking how many folks from home we meet when we're there at this time of year.

And yes, we should have purchased travel insurance. We have in the past when we travelled, and were concerned about US having to cancel a ressie. And no, as powerful as Disney can be, I don't think that they could have prevented the hurricane! But you'd think that as big as they are, THEY'd have insurance for losses incurred as a result of the storms. If I'd cancelled this vacation, with no insurance, then it would be an "oh well", but I didn't! I don't want to stay at a hotel other than Disney. And I would stay at a Disney Hotel, but I don't have the points remaining.

 

[Windjammer]

We are in the same boat. Had VB booked for 11/1-11/5 and needed to make alternate arrangements. US air wouldn't change flights without a $100 penalty per ticket, nearly the price of a new ticket.There were no one bedrooms available at any DVC resort and we were placed on the waitlist.

Given all the others who need to rebook at this time because VB is closed, as well as the high DVC attendence due to NJ Teachers Convention and the Food and Wine Festival I don't think the wait list will come through. As an alternate, we booked a beachside resort in Deerfield Beach, FL. We figured VB was going to be a beach vacation so we would just do a beach vacation at a different resort. This was relatively easy for us since we are flying to/from Palm Beach. There seems to be plenty of availability in Fort Lauderdale area and surrounding areas.

While Disney vacations are wonderful, there is no reason why a non-Disney vacation can't be wonderful too.

Good luck to you.

Steve