Warning for some folks signing up for 2021 or 2022 ABD trips that believe their deposit is fully refundable for 14 days after making their reservation

[sayhello]

I saw this posted elsewhere and verified it's true with mine: Look carefully at your Reservation Confirmation. You may find two paragraphs that say this (highlighting in red is mine):

Travel During the 2020 or 2021 Adventure Season

For reservations made 65 calendar days or more prior to the adventure commencement date, the Deposit is refundable until the earlier of (i) 14 calendar days after the original booking and (ii) the date on which the executed Adventure Travel Agreement is returned to us; thereafter the Deposit becomes nonrefundable unless otherwise stated in your Guest Confirmation. For reservations made less than 65 calendar days prior to the adventure commencement date, we will hold your reservation for up to 72 hours (the “Hold Period”) without the Deposit to allow you time to review the Adventure Travel Agreement (see below). You must confirm your reservation no later than the end of the Hold Period and pay an amount equal to 100% of the vacation package price per Guest (subject to the Cancellation Fees section below), or else the reservation will be cancelled. Full payment shall be due 65 calendar days prior to the adventure commencement date (the “2020-2021 Final Payment Date”), unless the reservation is made after the 2020-2021 Final Payment Date, in which case full payment will be due on the date the reservation is made.

Travel During the 2022 Adventure Season
For reservations made 120 calendar days or more prior to the adventure commencement date, the Deposit is refundable until the earlier of (i) 14 calendar days after the original booking and (ii) the date on which the executed Adventure Travel Agreement is returned to us; thereafter the Deposit becomes nonrefundable unless otherwise stated in your Guest Confirmation. For reservations made less than 120 calendar days prior to the adventure commencement date, we will hold your reservation through the end of the Hold Period without the Deposit to allow you time to review the Adventure Travel Agreement. You must confirm your reservation no later than the end of the Hold Period and pay an amount equal to 100% of the vacation package price per Guest (subject to the Cancellation Fees section below), or else the reservation will be cancelled. Unless stated otherwise in your Guest Confirmation, full payment shall be due 120 calendar days prior to the vacation commencement date (the “2022 Final Payment Date”), unless the reservation is made after the 2022 Final Payment Date, in which case full payment will be due on the date the reservation is made.

I'm not sure when this changed, but when I look at my Reservation Confirmation for my Rhone River cruise in 2020, it still said (bolding theirs):

DEPOSIT/PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

A deposit is required to confirm a reservation, unless the reservation is made on or after the final payment date (as defined below) for the vacation package, in which case full payment is required. The deposit amount will be equal to ten percent (10%) of the vacation package price per Guest (the "Deposit"), not including any optional add-ons. The Deposit is refundable for 14 calendar days after original booking and thereafter becomes nonrefundable. Unless stated otherwise in your Guest Confirmation, full payment shall be due 120 calendar days prior to the vacation commencement date (the "final payment date"), unless the reservation is made after the final payment date, in which case full payment will be due on the date reservation is made.

I don't understand why they would make that change, unless they are trying to "gotcha" people. Yes, I found this out *after* I returned my Adventure Travel Agreement to them. Not that I had any intentions of cancelling, but it's seriously like they are TRYING to alienate me!

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

I saw this posted elsewhere and verified it's true with mine: Look carefully at your Reservation Confirmation. You may find two paragraphs that say this:




I'm not sure when this changed, but when I look at my Reservation Confirmation for my Rhone River cruise in 2020, it still said (bolding theirs):



I don't understand why they would make that change, unless they are trying to "gotcha" people. Yes, I found this out *after* I returned my Adventure Travel Agreement to them. Not that I had any intentions of cancelling, but it's seriously like they are TRYING to alienate me!

Sayhello

Interesting find - thanks for sharing. I’m trying to figure out the “and” between the two options…it feels like it should be “or” rather than “and” if it is supposed to be the earlier of the two.

 

[Mathmagicland]

This wording is still on the AbD website -


CANCELLATION & FINAL PAYMENT POLICY UPDATES

New bookings of 2021 season land adventures, escapes and river cruises made through June 30, 2021 for travel through March 31, 2022 are eligible for fully refundable deposits up until the final payment date, which has been temporarily modified to 65 days prior to departure. Disneyland Resort and Southern California Escape departures beginning in March 2022, all Buenos Aires Escape departures, and all expedition cruise sailings are excluded from this modified cancellation and final payment policy.

 

[Sakura1017]

So I guess their going back to their old ways of 14 day grace period to get your deposit back is for bookings that travel after March 31,2022?

 

[Mathmagicland]

I'm not sure when this changed, but when I look at my Reservation Confirmation for my Rhone River cruise in 2020, it still said (bolding theirs):

I just looked at a confirmation from March 2021 and it shows the same wording as your Rhone confirmation.

 

[sayhello]

I just looked at a confirmation from March 2021 and it shows the same wording as your Rhone confirmation.

So it's definitely a recent change. Thanks for checking.

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

So I guess their going back to their old ways of 14 day grace period to get your deposit back is for bookings that travel after March 31,2022?

Sorry, I don't understand this.

Sayhello

 

[Sakura1017]

Sorry, I don't understand this.

Sayhello

I meant ABD likes only giving you 14 days from initial booking to get a fully refunded deposit.

 

[sayhello]

I meant ABD likes only giving you 14 days from initial booking to get a fully refunded deposit.

Well, but this is worse. Because if you return the Adventure Agreement after, say, 5 days, then your deposit is only fully refundable for those 5 days. But it doesn't say that anywhere in the actual Adventure Agreement. It's hidden in your trip confirmation.

Sayhello

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

The representative on the phone at ABD actually told this to me …. Refund available for 14 days or until you sign and submit your travel agreement