Re-booking using the Castaway Club??? Who knew???

[D L and K's Mom]

Ok this is a true story!!!! We thought we had to wait until we got our Castaway Club info until we could book our next cruise . Well, we knew we could book a cruise anytime but thought we would get the Castaway Club"extras" if we waited for our membership. Then I read here about re-booking "perks"Well, I called and we re-booked for July 2003 (18 months from the date I called). Well, we found out it was 18 months from your last cruise...not 18 months from when you amke the arrangements.I am very disappointed by this. I did tell the CM at the Castaway Club that I thought this was very , very unfair as we really didn't know this and since the info STILL had not gotten to us there was no way for us to know this.I was not rude about this I just told her how unfair I felt this was. The CM was very very nice and explained that The CC is going through some big changes and that hopefuly it would run a lot smoother. She offered to let me talk to her manager to see if he/she could do something but I said, No thank you, if we goofed then we goofed it is our fault not Disney's. I am a little disappointed though. OK, sorry to vent. Has this happened to anyone else??? Are we the only ones who didn't understand the 18 month period of time??I widh they would send out the CC info earlier or put it in your cabin..in Disney's defense we took all info from the cabin and handed it over to our neighbors who were thinking of cruising so something may have been in there. I jsut think they should make it more easily understood for dumb people like me!!!

 

[Pixie Power!]

i didnt know this either ive just relied to your other thread, do you have the full telephone number so that i can call for my membership number (im calling from the UK)

Thanks

Emma

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I called 1-800-951-3532 and was connected to the Castaway Club. I didn't have my Club # so the CM had to look it up for me. She was very, very nice about it. I am glad I am not the only one who didn't know. I found out about it HERE ........from other posts. Hope this helps!!

 

[dianthus]

D and Ls Mom - You are not dumb- there are a few too many rules! The fulfillment company is slowing getting the pins & member cards/info out. We got ours way past the 120 days from our cruise. Our friends received theirs 6 months later, so if you didn't know about the 120 day thing, you were out of luck, which is what happened to our friends. Perhaps they do this purposely..

I think they are a bit militant about all this. It is there to create loyalty. $100-$200 credit for a return cruiser is building loyalty. Most spend way more than that on an average cruise, so they are not losing any money. For us, a $200 credit doesn't cover the pictures we purchased at Shutters...

I booked a 7 day cruise within the 120 day window last year for this coming April- Cat 5- cash ressie, so I was eligible for the $200 shipboard credit. I also booked another cruise for last Nov. with DVC points which we had to cancel because of some 9/11 travel restrictions imposed on my husband from his company. I rebooked the trip for the same April date with the DVC points, with the intention of cancelling the first, cash ressie. DVC instructed me to call DCL to have the shipboard credit and main dining transferred from one ressie to the other. They didn't think it would be a problem. Well it was! A rude DCL Mgr. told me I didn't own the reservation, the TA did( who pays for it?). Since I was rebooking, it wasn't within the original 120 days, I would lose the credit & would have to waitlist for main dining. I was ticked, as all I was doing really was changing the payment method.
I spoke to DVC the other day- the notes say shipboard credit will be determined. She didn't know when. At this point, I really don't care- even though I would like it, I but feel the Castaway Club is really not a loyalty program at all. I will probably buy less souveneirs ( which we don't need any more of...) just because they were so technical about the whole thing. I know I could probably make a big stink, but to me it's just not worth it.

We were going to book a 7 day Western for this fall to replace the one we didn't take in Nov., but now I'm seriously looking at trying another cruise line. I can get a balcony suite for what I pay for a CAT 5 or 6 on Disney. All because of the way this has been handled...
Anyway, it's not just you- it's the rules... Way too many!
Just my .02 - Sorry if this sounds like a rant...! I guess I'm dumb too!

 

[spotssister]

D and Ls Mom, you should let DCL "do something" for you. You're not taking advantage of a situation. Everybody is being friendly and honest. DCL can afford it.

I made reservation for my October 2001 Magic cruise directly with DCL via phone. Agreed to price quoted. When I got my written confirmation, it was a decent amount less!! I called still ready to pay price quoted on the phone, but DCL CM immediately said it was their error and would stand by it. I could have felt guilty, but DCL wouldn't notice dollar difference, but I did in my savings.

It's good customer relations for them. It's because of things like this that I love Disney.