Review the advice on the boards - Pre/Post Packages are troublesome

[MKMK]

Sorry, I am confused here. Are there 5 people in your party? And 2 have a pre-night with ABD and the other 3 are booked directly with the hotel? I just wanted to clarify.

Did you book with a TA? If so, they need to go to bat for you to get that $600.00 back ASAP.

If not then you need to speak to a supervisor at ABD pronto. I would not be okay with losing $600.00. That is a lot of money. When they say they can't transfer you to a supervisor, stay on the phone until they find someone who can. Be polite but firm.

I had an unpleasant experience on my China ABD and I eventually spoke to some kind of senior manager. They apologized profusely and dealt with the situation in a way that I felt was fair. I felt it could be used as a learning experience for them.

Good luck and I hope you get that money back.

You are correct. There are 5 people in our party. Two have a pre-night with ABD and the other 3 are booked directly with the hotel. Thank you very much for the advice to call back and ask for the senior manager. I will do that early next week.

 

[MKMK]

I also want to add that I stayed at the Peninsula HK on my ABD last year. In the room I shared with my dd there is no way a third person could have fit. There were two single beds and enough room to move between them. No room for another bed of any kind.

I suspect the supervisor maybe wasn't aware that you were moved to a larger room. It could even be that they added another room (meaning 3 in total for your party of 5) because they didn't have any rooms left in inventory that would accommodate 3 people. The double rooms in the HK Peninsula were small in comparison to the other hotels we stayed in on that trip.

To be sure I would call ABD during daytime hours and speak to someone with knowledge of the trip and the hotel capacity. And also get that money back. I cancelled 3 pre-nights with ABD on my Central Europe trip (we stayed at the Augustine instead). We were within the 45 days and they were giving me some push back about not refunding the money. I was insistent and ended up getting my money refunded. So I would continue to pursue if I were in your shoes (but I am a very tenacious person that hates losing my hard-earned money).

Good advice - I really appreciate. Thank you.

 

[JsMom2]

We booked the June 18, 2018 Rhine river cruise and the pre and post nights in Basel and Amsterdam were just ridiculous! When we did the Austria and Czech Republic tour we just booked a room at the Marriott in Prague the night prior to the tour start date....no problem!

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Disney's customer service when it comes to ABD has gone completely down hill lately. When we complained to them about a major issue on our last ABD, their attitude was "Too bad, so sad, you'll just have to suck it up and buy noise cancelling headphones for future noise issues." Why we don't travel with them anymore

Did you have a major issue on Central Europe??? If I might be so nosy, what happened? We are currently concerned with the cancellation rules...

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Did you have a major issue on Central Europe??? If I might be so nosy, what happened? We are currently concerned with the cancellation rules...

You could say we had major issues, and that's putting it lightly. I don't want to get into too much detail here on the boards as it can cause issues with other members here as one of our guides is a favourite of other members. I'll send you a private message with a breakdown of what happened. You can also read my blog of my trip. The link is in my signature. You'll have to scroll back through the entries though as I'm currently posting my most recent trip.

 

[JsMom2]

Did you have a major issue on Central Europe??? If I might be so nosy, what happened? We are currently concerned with the cancellation rules...

I never travel without travel insurance! It is worth the piece of mind. In 2010 we were booked on an ABD Peru trip, when I got sick the day before we were supposed to leave. I wasn't even able to do any packing, and then I started throwing up that night and it didn't stop! My insurance covered the cost of the trip, and the cost to put my frequent flier miles back in my account!

 

[sayhello]

I never travel without travel insurance! It is worth the piece of mind. In 2010 we were booked on an ABD Peru trip, when I got sick the day before we were supposed to leave. I wasn't even able to do any packing, and then I started throwing up that night and it didn't stop! My insurance covered the cost of the trip, and the cost to put my frequent flier miles back in my account!

I agree. Trip insurance is a must! However, trip insurance in most cases will not cover you if ABD cancels your trip (which I think is what @wdwtheplacetobe is concerned about). The insurance company expects the tour operator (ABD) to make good on it and refund your money or pay necessary change fees. If you buy "Cancel for any Reason" coverage, you might get a portion of your loss back.

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

I agree. Trip insurance is a must! However, trip insurance in most cases will not cover you if ABD cancels your trip (which I think is what @wdwtheplacetobe is concerned about). The insurance company expects the tour operator (ABD) to make good on it and refund your money or pay necessary change fees. If you buy "Cancel for any Reason" coverage, you might get a portion of your loss back.

Sayhello

We are pretty bad about not getting trip insurance for our DCL trips out of FL since we can drive to the port. However, after my dad passed away unexpectedly a month before our London/Paris ABD we make sure to get trip insurance on ALL of the ABD trips, even the domestic ones. We will search for the "cancel for any reason" one with the best bang for the buck. The peace of mind is worth it. Another thing we do is make sure that we always arrive a day prior to the start of the ABD. I've been on on at least 3 ABDs where part of the group was not there on Welcome day due to unforeseen travel delays.

 

[sayhello]

We are pretty bad about not getting trip insurance for our DCL trips out of FL since we can drive to the port. However, after my dad passed away unexpectedly a month before our London/Paris ABD we make sure to get trip insurance on ALL of the ABD trips, even the domestic ones. We will search for the "cancel for any reason" one with the best bang for the buck. The peace of mind is worth it. Another thing we do is make sure that we always arrive a day prior to the start of the ABD. I've been on on at least 3 ABDs where part of the group was not there on Welcome day due to unforeseen travel delays.

I agree with you on the peace of mind insurance brings, and arriving at least a day prior to the ABDs.

I think what a lot of people don't see (and I'm not aiming this at you @calypso726) is that trip insurance isn't just for if you have to cancel out on your trip. It's also for if something happens to you while *on* your trip. I was on a cruise that stopped in Nassau, and did a Segway tour. One of the women on the tour fell off her Segway, and badly broke her ankle. She ended up hospitalized, and her husband had to get all their stuff off the ship because they were going to need to stay in Nassau until her ankle was stabilized enough for her to leave the hospital. She may have even needed surgery; we didn't get that level of information. So there's the cost of the remainder of the trip they didn't get to enjoy. His acommodations in Nassau while she was in the hospital. Her hospital bills. (Lots of people don't know that most health insurance will not cover you outside of the USA.) Getting a flight home from Nassau (or perhaps back to Ft. Lauderdale if they'd left a car there.) Or if worse had come to worst and she'd needed to be air lifted back to the states. All these things would most likely be covered by trip insurance. You *can* get just medical travel insurance if that's what you're worried about.

Also, I had just finished my Alaska ABD when I injured myself getting ready to head to the airport. I ended up in the emergency room, having a CAT scan and having staples put in my scalp. I missed my flight so I had to switch to a flight the next day and had to stay in Anchorage an extra night. It was all covered by my travel insurance. They dealt directly with the hospital, and I never even saw a bill (they paid as primary). While I was on the phone with them, they called Alaska Airlines and got me re-booked on the same flight the next morning. They paid for the new ticket. They then got me a room at a hotel near the airport, and paid directly for that. Totally worth every penny I paid for that insurance.

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

I agree with you on the peace of mind insurance brings, and arriving at least a day prior to the ABDs.

I think what a lot of people don't see (and I'm not aiming this at you @calypso726) is that trip insurance isn't just for if you have to cancel out on your trip. It's also for if something happens to you while *on* your trip. I was on a cruise that stopped in Nassau, and did a Segway tour. One of the women on the tour fell off her Segway, and badly broke her ankle. She ended up hospitalized, and her husband had to get all their stuff off the ship because they were going to need to stay in Nassau until her ankle was stabilized enough for her to leave the hospital. She may have even needed surgery; we didn't get that level of information. So there's the cost of the remainder of the trip they didn't get to enjoy. His acommodations in Nassau while she was in the hospital. Her hospital bills. (Lots of people don't know that most health insurance will not cover you outside of the USA.) Getting a flight home from Nassau (or perhaps back to Ft. Lauderdale if they'd left a car there.) Or if worse had come to worst and she'd needed to be air lifted back to the states. All these things would most likely be covered by trip insurance. You *can* get just medical travel insurance if that's what you're worried about.

Also, I had just finished my Alaska ABD when I injured myself getting ready to head to the airport. I ended up in the emergency room, having a CAT scan and having staples put in my scalp. I missed my flight so I had to switch to a flight the next day and had to stay in Anchorage an extra night. It was all covered by my travel insurance. They dealt directly with the hospital, and I never even saw a bill (they paid as primary). While I was on the phone with them, they called Alaska Airlines and got me re-booked on the same flight the next morning. They paid for the new ticket. They then got me a room at a hotel near the airport, and paid directly for that. Totally worth every penny I paid for that insurance.

Sayhello

Excellent point @sayhello Definitely an important reason to have trip insurance. Do you recall which travel insurance company and plan you used for that Alaska trip? Nice to know they handled everything on the front end.

 

[JsMom2]

I agree with you on the peace of mind insurance brings, and arriving at least a day prior to the ABDs.

I think what a lot of people don't see (and I'm not aiming this at you @calypso726) is that trip insurance isn't just for if you have to cancel out on your trip. It's also for if something happens to you while *on* your trip. I was on a cruise that stopped in Nassau, and did a Segway tour. One of the women on the tour fell off her Segway, and badly broke her ankle. She ended up hospitalized, and her husband had to get all their stuff off the ship because they were going to need to stay in Nassau until her ankle was stabilized enough for her to leave the hospital. She may have even needed surgery; we didn't get that level of information. So there's the cost of the remainder of the trip they didn't get to enjoy. His acommodations in Nassau while she was in the hospital. Her hospital bills. (Lots of people don't know that most health insurance will not cover you outside of the USA.) Getting a flight home from Nassau (or perhaps back to Ft. Lauderdale if they'd left a car there.) Or if worse had come to worst and she'd needed to be air lifted back to the states. All these things would most likely be covered by trip insurance. You *can* get just medical travel insurance if that's what you're worried about.

Also, I had just finished my Alaska ABD when I injured myself getting ready to head to the airport. I ended up in the emergency room, having a CAT scan and having staples put in my scalp. I missed my flight so I had to switch to a flight the next day and had to stay in Anchorage an extra night. It was all covered by my travel insurance. They dealt directly with the hospital, and I never even saw a bill (they paid as primary). While I was on the phone with them, they called Alaska Airlines and got me re-booked on the same flight the next morning. They paid for the new ticket. They then got me a room at a hotel near the airport, and paid directly for that. Totally worth every penny I paid for that insurance.

Sayhello

Yes the insurance will cover medical expenses outside the US - most insurance polices don't. Also on a cruise you would have emergency medical transportation - at least $35K if you had to be helicoptered off the ship. Just read a story the other day about a lady who broke her foot on a transatlantic cruise. The doctor told her she had to keep the foot elevated, so the travel insurance paid for her first class plane ticket home. Also there is trip interruption coverage. Was a guy on a cruise last month who's mother was in a car accident while he was on a cruise. The insurance paid for him to fly home from the next port. In 2015 I filed 6 claims within a 12 month period - sometimes stuff just happens!

 

[JsMom2]

Excellent point @sayhello Definitely an important reason to have trip insurance. Do you recall which travel insurance company and plan you used for that Alaska trip? Nice to know they handled everything on the front end.

There is a cool website...insuremytrip.com where you can compare different policies. But one of the reasons to book with a travel agent is that if they are part of a consortium they might have policies that aren't available to the consumer. I can't say the name on these boards, but the agency I use has a policy that even covers pre-existing medical conditions for travelers and immediate family. So if a family member has cancer at the time I purchase the policy, I'm still covered if I have to cancel because they become worse.

 

[JsMom2]

I agree. Trip insurance is a must! However, trip insurance in most cases will not cover you if ABD cancels your trip (which I think is what @wdwtheplacetobe is concerned about). The insurance company expects the tour operator (ABD) to make good on it and refund your money or pay necessary change fees. If you buy "Cancel for any Reason" coverage, you might get a portion of your loss back.

Sayhello

Wow, I'd heard about ABD trips being cancelled but I never put 2 and 2 together regarding insurance. Yes usually the insurance company will cover if the tour operator covers for an unavoidable reason like weather. But not just because they won't make enough money on the trip! What has ABD done in the past for the clients when they've cancelled their trips?

 

[sayhello]

Wow, I'd heard about ABD trips being cancelled but I never put 2 and 2 together regarding insurance. Yes usually the insurance company will cover if the tour operator covers for an unavoidable reason like weather. But not just because they won't make enough money on the trip! What has ABD done in the past for the clients when they've cancelled their trips?

We've heard of a range of things, depending on the circumstances. In general, they will try to re-schedule you on a different departure of the same trip, and pay for any reasonable change fees for your airfare. If rescheduling doesn't work out, they'll give you a refund. What happens with your airfare in that case can vary depending on if you cancel the flight or not, if you booked it through them or not, etc. There were a large number of tours that got canceled in 2009, when the economy crashed. ABD had just had a large expansion in the number of trips they offered, and it appeared that with the economy crash, the demand just wasn't there. So they started canceling trips with a very low number of people. They did most of them with months and months of notice, though. I was supposed to do their Montana & Canada trip that year, but only 3 people signed up. I couldn't reschedule due to work to another departure, so they ended up switching me to their Alaska trip that left the day before the other trip would have, so that my vacation time didn't move. They also payed to switch my flight from Montana/Calgary to Fairbanks/Anchorage. I felt they handled it well. Most people, it seems, worked it out. There was one guy who switched from a domestic trip to the Italy ABD, and ABD did not pay the upcharge to switch from a domestic flight to an international flight. I think that was reasonable.

I know in the years since, we've had a few people here talk about cancellations (but not a lot). Some of them were handled well, some of them, it seems, weren't. (And I think most of the problems were with the airfare or involved not being able to reschedule at all).

Sayhello

 

[JsMom2]

We've heard of a range of things, depending on the circumstances. In general, they will try to re-schedule you on a different departure of the same trip, and pay for any reasonable change fees for your airfare. If rescheduling doesn't work out, they'll give you a refund. What happens with your airfare in that case can vary depending on if you cancel the flight or not, if you booked it through them or not, etc. There were a large number of tours that got canceled in 2009, when the economy crashed. ABD had just had a large expansion in the number of trips they offered, and it appeared that with the economy crash, the demand just wasn't there. So they started canceling trips with a very low number of people. They did most of them with months and months of notice, though. I was supposed to do their Montana & Canada trip that year, but only 3 people signed up. I couldn't reschedule due to work to another departure, so they ended up switching me to their Alaska trip that left the day before the other trip would have, so that my vacation time didn't move. They also payed to switch my flight from Montana/Calgary to Fairbanks/Anchorage. I felt they handled it well. Most people, it seems, worked it out. There was one guy who switched from a domestic trip to the Italy ABD, and ABD did not pay the upcharge to switch from a domestic flight to an international flight. I think that was reasonable.

I know in the years since, we've had a few people here talk about cancellations (but not a lot). Some of them were handled well, some of them, it seems, weren't. (And I think most of the problems were with the airfare or involved not being able to reschedule at all).

Sayhello

Well that makes me feel better. And with the river cruises, they've committed to chartering the ship so I feel pretty safe.

 

[sayhello]

Excellent point @sayhello Definitely an important reason to have trip insurance. Do you recall which travel insurance company and plan you used for that Alaska trip? Nice to know they handled everything on the front end.

I checked, and it was Travelex. I was very happy with how they handled things.

Sayhello

 

[MKMK]

Thanks for everyone's advice. Called back to see if they could explain/rectify the situation better than the supervisor I talked to. Luckily, I was connected with someone who was very helpful who spent at least 20 minutes trying to figure out what happened. She explained that I did not loose $600 when I added the additional relative, they dropped my pre-night and applied the $600 to the additional relatives trip insurance -- which I could not see because in the email confirmation they don't break out the additional charges. When I asked why the price for the pre-night went up from $600 to $1000 when I added the additional relative, she quickly glossed past that and said I should book with the hotel directly . So now I have one reservation with an ABD pre-night and one with a pre-night I booked on my own. To summarize, I was very happy and appreciated someone took the time to explain the charges, but the end-to-end experience was frustrating and I am sticking with the thread headline - take the advice on these boards and book pre/post yourself.

 

[Cousin Orville]

@MKMK - glad to hear everything worked out well!

 

[CrazyZeus1]

We've had 2 ABDs cancelled by Disney, both after we had purchased airfare on our own. In the end, Disney paid for all fees related to cancelling our flights (one ABD) and all fees related to changing our tickets (the other ABD). While it's really a bummer when things are cancelled, stuff happens, trips don't fill, whatever. We've always been taken care of in the end. No sour grapes here!

 

[JsMom2]

We've had 2 ABDs cancelled by Disney, both after we had purchased airfare on our own. In the end, Disney paid for all fees related to cancelling our flights (one ABD) and all fees related to changing our tickets (the other ABD). While it's really a bummer when things are cancelled, stuff happens, trips don't fill, whatever. We've always been taken care of in the end. No sour grapes here!

That is good to hear!