Surprised by DCL Customer Service Response

[tinkerone]

I just don't see how hard it is to send one to everyone. they already have all your information on file just from sending your cruise docs. they also have your status on file or else they could not do the cc gift to the cabins correctly.
its a mystery..........

 

[michellekcm]

so I decided to contact them to be told I wouldn't be getting one because it wasn't available for non-US guests!

Oh well, guess there's no point me contacting them then. Although I would have loved the magnet and cards after this year's cruises.

 

[ivanp91]

Maybe Ware Bears experience with being told it was meant to be random is more accurate. But again, if that was the case, it probably should never have been on the website at all (as a "new way to show our thanks" to all Castaway Club members). I guess by removing it from the website, now they can say that it is meant as a random surprise (rather than improving the system to make sure the cards go out to everyone).

Doesn't seem very random when it seems to be the same people getting them most of the time, and the same suckers (like me) who have cruised multiple times and never received them I became Silver in December 2014 (after the program started) and have done one cruise since, and have received neither a silver level magnet nor art cards.

 

[Billinaz]

What magnets? In more than a dozen cruises, I never got a silver, gold or platinum magnet!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What magnets? In more than a dozen cruises, I never got a silver, gold or platinum magnet!

 

[Hundredacre]

we have a silver magnet and it looks just like the gold but says silver. Weird.

 

[OrcaPotter]

I was bummed that they didn't send out magnets to those of us who were already silver when they started doing them. I'll be gold after my cruise this summer and really hope they send me the gold one.

In defense of DCL's response, though, the post office frequently will lose mail. Having worked in a business that would send mail out, there are records that things were sent but folks would not get them. However, I'm sure it would have cost DCL nothing to send another copy right away. If it happened again then yeah, it's time for the post office to investigate.

 

[MunFam]

I am a travel agent (exclusive to corporate travel) but nonetheless, I book our DCL cruises as an agent on behalf of my military spouses's discounts and I have never received anything from them.

 

[aggiedog]

In defense of DCL's response, though, the post office frequently will lose mail.

Given the rate of people that have not received magnets or art cards here, that means maybe 15% of my mail is actually making it to me??

 

[jetskigrl]

Given the rate of people that have not received magnets or art cards here, that means maybe 15% of my mail is actually making it to me??

Amazingly though....my bills all still seem to be delivered just fine

I honestly didn't mean to open up a can for worms about the program itself.

I just wish that I (and after reading this, others) had received better response from DCL customer service regarding the mailings. Even if the post office is terrible and is the cause of so many people not receiving them, why wouldn't DCL just offer to re-mail the missing items (that cost them next to nothing), just as a display of customer appreciation?

 

[jetskigrl]

Interesting - the information on the Castaway Club page that talks about the art cards and magnets has been removed. I guess the program was too unmanageable for DCL to handle it.

In case anyone's interested, here's what it used to say:
A New Way to Show Our Thanks
We value our Castaway Club members. And beginning in February 2014—to show our thanks—you'll receive a small token* of our appreciation when you return home after each cruise.

We commissioned 5 artists to create a series of Castaway Club-exclusive art cards. Collect one after each cruise.* There are 5 cards that you can collect. Each card was designed by a different artist using our Disney ships as inspiration—and showcasing the artist's unique medium and creative vision.

And if you're celebrating a Disney Cruise Line milestone—like your first Disney cruise or your Castaway Club status turning to Gold or Platinum—you'll receive a special car magnet* (in lieu of the art card) to celebrate your milestone and show off your new Castaway Club status.

The designs are a secret for now, so you can look forward to a fun surprise in the mail after your cruise.

*Limited to one gift per stateroom.

View attachment 142139

Funny, the text is back on the CC home page again today. With the exact same wording. So strange that they took it down while this thread was active and now it is back again (with no change to it at all).

From CC website:
A New Way to Show Our Thanks
We value our Castaway Club members. And beginning in February 2014—to show our thanks—you'll receive a small token* of our appreciation when you return home after each cruise.

We commissioned 5 artists to create a series of Castaway Club-exclusive art cards. Collect one after each cruise.* There are 5 cards that you can collect. Each card was designed by a different artist using our Disney ships as inspiration—and showcasing the artist's unique medium and creative vision.

And if you're celebrating a Disney Cruise Line milestone—like your first Disney cruise or your Castaway Club status turning to Gold or Platinum—you'll receive a special car magnet* (in lieu of the art card) to celebrate your milestone and show off your new Castaway Club status.

The designs are a secret for now, so you can look forward to a fun surprise in the mail after your cruise.

*Limited to one gift per stateroom.

 

[Stugs]

I was told by their customer service that they can only send the cards to US postal addresses. Laws and regulations in other countries prevent Disney from sending it out to those who live outside the U.S.
The art cards must be made out of something special that it would break laws and regulations outside the U.S.!
We fly all the way from Australia each year to go on DCL so no art cards for us! Imagine what sending a magnet overseas can do!

 

[aggiedog]

Thought I'd update this to say our art card came in the mail today. We sailed Dec 24, 2015. No magnet though.

 

[dreadpiraterose]

Today I learned I was supposed to get a magnet when we hit Silver... bummer.

 

[ahain]

slight OT, for these magnets do you get 1 magnet per person or is it stateroom/cabin?

I'm pretty sure it is per family/address, because we only received one when DH & I turned gold. (We never received a magnet for silver - only gold)

Regarding the art card.....I can only assume that DCL may have a policy not to send out too many of those as "replacements" since they are 'limited edition' and there are likely some people who would claim to have not received a card so that they could either give one to each of their kids; or sell some on eBay or....who knows the reason. SO I wouldn't necessarily take DCL response as a "blow off." just my $0.02

 

[Hundredacre]

Thought I'd update this to say our art card came in the mail today. We sailed Dec 24, 2015. No magnet though.

Nothing for us. We sailed earlier in Dec.

 

[tinkerone]

Nothing for us. We sailed earlier in Dec.

Thought I'd update this to say our art card came in the mail today. We sailed Dec 24, 2015. No magnet though.

oddly enough, we went on a b2b in October. got one card in December, got the second today. I think it was mid December that we received the first so about six weeks after the first card. I guess there's always hope.

 

[squirrel]

Don't feel too bad, we were on the Hawaiian cruise and were suppose to get the Frozen necklaces. They told us they ran out so our cruise didn't get them. I would personally rather have the Frozen necklace over some art work.

I did get the Gold magnet after the cruise. I was already Silver when they started the magnets.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Wow...we didn't recieve our art card after our last cruise so I called and asked about it. CM apologized, sent one out and I got it a week later.

 

[ImprovGal]

I'm wondering if they're going to release additional designs. I seem to have 5 different ones, so I'm wondering if I've maxed out.