Why no love for the people that had their ABD trip cancelled.

[SonnyEclipseFan]

Ok. We just had our May 30th Southern California Adventure cancelled and ABD provided nothing but allowing us to move our date to anytime after June 1st. We have another adventure planned for August that currently has 4 adventurers booked (including my wife and I) that we would love to change to Greece during the same time period. We can’t do anything until they cancel, which will now be 30 later with the extension of the PIF date. And I read about the very generous free dining offer from Disney World for people that had their reservations cancelled. I think that is a great offer. Why nothing from ABD? We have been very loyal to ABD over the years but this leaves me scratching my head wondering should we look at other travel companies, like Tauck. Does anybody feel the same way?

 

[lovetotravel]

Hi! Welcome. We have been discussing this very thing in “Travel Changes”! I agree with you!

 

[SonnyEclipseFan]

Hi! Welcome. We have been discussing this very thing in “Travel Changes”! I agree with you!

Thanks. I will read through the thread.

 

[Grifdog22]

No love is the understatement of the year. Those of us that have been with ABD from the beginning are kicked. Take the refunds. The beancounters have taken imagination and hospitality. Like a child, standing speechless, asks why why Santy Clause why are you taking our Christmas tree.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Wait, SonnyEclipseFan are they still scheduling folks for June!? What the what? Everything this summer till August minimum should already be canceled. There's no way travel will be safe before then. It's like they aren't watching the news.

This might be under control by May/June but under control does not mean safe to travel. I would not feel comfortable advising any travel till August minimum. And I'm likely not traveling till I get a vaccine for this. I'm diabetic and high risk. And I don't understand ABD playing loose and fast with client health as well as money.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I'm still trying to get my ABD cancelled trip refunded with no success

Ummm...what?!?! ABD canceled and you’re not getting a refund???

 

[Angell]

Hope you are listening AbD: I sure as heck better get a full refund if/when you cancel my June 5 Italy AbD. You are not getting any more of money. Period.

 

[SonnyEclipseFan]

Hope you are listening AbD: I sure as heck better get a full refund if/when you cancel my June 5 Italy AbD. You are not getting any more of money. Period.

I am asking Disney to have a consistent customer service approach across all their businesses. If guests can get free dining by rebooking their cancelled WDW resort stays, you would think there would be something to keep the ABD customers motivated to stay with this brand. ABD offers a great product with incredible guides. It is the management of this crisis that makes me wonder if they are committed to ABD in the future. I hope I am wrong.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I don't understand ABD playing loose and fast with client health as well as money.

ABD isn't forcing anyone to travel this summer. When people travel, and what level of risk is acceptable, is up to them, as usual. ABD isn't going to say, "We're not going to offer any trips until a vaccine comes out a year from now." That would do them in. If you don't feel safe traveling, fine, but others who do feel safe can make their own decisions.

 

[sayhello]

Hope you are listening AbD: I sure as heck better get a full refund if/when you cancel my June 5 Italy AbD. You are not getting any more of money. Period.

Unless they change their policy, you just have to tell them unequivocably that what you want is a refund. I made it very clear to my TA that once my ABD was cancelled, all I wanted was a full refund. I was not interested in moving to a different trip or parking the money at this time, no matter how they tried to tempt me. I just wanted my money back. I received my refund 4 days after the trip was cancelled. I'll re-evaluate if I'll ever feel safe booking with ABD again once things are more stable, and a vaccine exists.

ABD isn't forcing anyone to travel this summer. When people travel, and what level of risk is acceptable, is up to them, as usual. ABD isn't going to say, "We're not going to offer any trips until a vaccine comes out a year from now." That would do them in. If you don't feel safe traveling, fine, but others who do feel safe can make their own decisions.

Of course they are not. For most of us, that's not the issue. The issue is ABD forcing people to choose between their health and losing a huge chunk of money. ABD should allow anyone uncomfortable with traveling until after a vaccine is available to cancel their trip without penalty. They've only done it through May.

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

Of course they are not. For most of us, that's not the issue. The issue is ABD forcing people to choose between their health and losing a huge chunk of money. ABD should allow anyone uncomfortable with traveling until after a vaccine is available to cancel their trip without penalty. They've only done it through May.

Sayhello

This. I'm in no way saying ABD should hold off on trips till there's a vaccine. I'm saying ABD should have canceled everything till August minimum. Anyone paying attention knows travel likely won't be safe till then, minimum, certainly not until July, earliest. Quarantines will be going on till May and that's just to get us through the worst . Why are they still booking for June? Inexcusibly ridiculous to book people when things are so iffy. It's just bad business.

 

[vakamalua]

ABD isn't forcing anyone to travel this summer. When people travel, and what level of risk is acceptable, is up to them, as usual. ABD isn't going to say, "We're not going to offer any trips until a vaccine comes out a year from now." That would do them in. If you don't feel safe traveling, fine, but others who do feel safe can make their own decisions.

I believe they will continue to offer the summer / fall trips, banking as much PIF money as possible from those already paid or willing to take the risk and give it. In the meantime, anyone cancelling will be out thousands of dollars in deposits and PIF because they want to keep their family safe. Then more than likely, ABD will have to cancel those summer / fall trips at the last minute either because of still unsafe conditions to travel or their remaining number of participants willing to go are too low to offer the trip. At that point, they will hope you'll choose a later trip rather than a refund. It benefits them to put you in a position where YOU cancel--but that is a very short sighted strategy. IMHO--anyone burned by ABD in this crisis should look elsewhere in the future.

 

[TXTransplant]

This. I'm in no way saying ABD should hold off on trips till there's a vaccine. I'm saying ABD should have canceled everything till August minimum. Anyone paying attention knows travel likely won't be safe till then, minimum, certainly not until July, earliest. Quarantines will be going on till May and that's just to get us through the worst . Why are they still booking for June? Inexcusibly ridiculous to book people when things are so iffy. It's just bad business.

I'm not sure cancelling everything until July is the answer, either. I don't think any of the other major tour operators have done this. However, I do think encouraging people to rebook cancelled trips for as early as June is disingenuous. If for no other reason that a lot of airlines are only allowing you to rebook cancelled flights once. Meaning, you could lose your voucher entirely if you rebook a flight for June and that trip gets cancelled.

However, the rebooking window to get the "special offer" for cancelled WDW vacations is June 1 - Sept 30. WDW doesn't even know when they are going to reopen! But, if people are willing to rebook...what's that old saying about a fool and his money?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I'm not sure cancelling everything until July is the answer, either. I don't think any of the other major tour operators have done this. However, I do think encouraging people to rebook cancelled trips for as early as June is disingenuous. If for no other reason that a lot of airlines are only allowing you to rebook cancelled flights once. Meaning, you could lose your voucher entirely if you rebook a flight for June and that trip gets cancelled.

However, the rebooking window to get the "special offer" for cancelled WDW vacations is June 1 - Sept 30. WDW doesn't even know when they are going to reopen! But, if people are willing to rebook...what's that old saying about a fool and his money?

I think the biggest difference is the change/cancellation policies for WDW vacations is so much more flexible and lenient than ABD. I, personally, would be ok plunking $200 for a summer WDW package right now knowing I have 30 day prior to cancel in full to get my $200 or can change the booking up until 2 days prior with, possibly, a $50 penalty (which they typically waive). (I am not planning on doing this, BTW, this is just theoretical) The problem I have with ABD is their PIF is SO far out, the cancellation penalties are so substantial and their "courtesy" change policy means we are out any future discounts on the re-scheduled trip. With ABD, I feel a huge chunk of my money is being held hostage. With WDW, I feel I have a little more freedom in cancelling/changing. That being said, I am definitely not booking WDW for the summer until I know exactly when they are re-opening and what the situation is.

I do feel like ABD is just kind of pretending nothing is going on here. I realize they have cancelled all trips through May, but I read an article today which has UK leaders quoted repeatedly as saying they don't expect life to be back to normal for at least 6 months - that's basically October. Do we really think the UK is going to allow international visitors through this time given the circumstances?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

ABD isn't forcing anyone to travel this summer. When people travel, and what level of risk is acceptable, is up to them, as usual. ABD isn't going to say, "We're not going to offer any trips until a vaccine comes out a year from now." That would do them in. If you don't feel safe traveling, fine, but others who do feel safe can make their own decisions.

I don't think anyone is really expecting ABD to do this.

I would highly recommend reading the "Travel Changes?" thread on the ABD forum to see how ABD handled the UK/France and Australia trips that were scheduled about two weeks ago to have a real understanding of how ABD has operated throughout this crisis. IMHO, how they handled those two trips is shocking. They are not operating at the level that WDW/DL and DCL are operating in terms of communicating with guests and offering them refunds and incentives to re-book. It certainly gives me pause to ever book with them again and I, personally, am quite concerned they may close shop altogether quite frankly. Of any of the travel co.'s in the Disney portfolio, I would guess ABD would be the first to go.

 

[TXTransplant]

I think the biggest difference is the change/cancellation policies for WDW vacations is so much more flexible and lenient than ABD. I, personally, would be ok plunking $200 for a summer WDW package right now knowing I have 30 day prior to cancel in full to get my $200 or can change the booking up until 2 days prior with, possibly, a $50 penalty (which they typically waive). (I am not planning on doing this, BTW, this is just theoretical) The problem I have with ABD is their PIF is SO far out, the cancellation penalties are so substantial and their "courtesy" change policy means we are out any future discounts on the re-scheduled trip. With ABD, I feel a huge chunk of my money is being held hostage. With WDW, I feel I have a little more freedom in cancelling/changing. That being said, I am definitely not booking WDW for the summer until I know exactly when they are re-opening and what the situation is.

I do feel like ABD is just kind of pretending nothing is going on here. I realize they have cancelled all trips through May, but I read an article today which has UK leaders quoted repeatedly as saying they don't expect life to be back to normal for at least 6 months - that's basically October. Do we really think the UK is going to allow international visitors through this time given the circumstances?

Fair point. I'm not giving any travel company another dime until all this calms down (I've got $14k tied up with another company), but there is a big difference between giving a $200 deposit total vs. a $500 per person deposit. But, at this point, I think cancelling everything through July is not necessary.

 

[Angell]

I lost all confidence in AbD when they didn’t cancel the March England/France with enough notice. And, when they went on with the March Australia and then canceled once people got there! This tells me that they are not putting their guests’ health first, only their bottom line.

 

[acndis]

I even had a nightmare last night that we had rebooked our Egypt trip to re-take the London/Paris trip only to realize what a horrible idea that was once we had already arrived. Gotta love ABD nightmares!

Anyway, I have been on the boards upset, too, about the lack of clear policies and news but I am feeling much better after talking to my TA and going through my experience with DCL. We had a cruise booked for 3/14. We decided to change our reservation (DCL offered a penalty-free change) when things were still in flux. (Hard to believe how much has changed since then). DCL subsequently canceled the cruise on 3/13. They ended up offering an additional 25% refund to use because we had already rebooked (those that did not cancel got 50%). I was very, very happy to get this and am very happy with the new cruise I booked (and the price). With the additional 25%, we upgraded our stateroom and have a nice onboard credit that will cover everything else. Took the sting out of all of it.

However, we are still trying to untangle our flight cancellations which have been a huge hassle (I won't bore you with details but it's a mess and it's taking forever because you can't reach anyone easily). Since the airlines have not done anything about June yet, I would just rather wait for ABD to cancel later until I know what to do with my flights. I am bracing for even more hassles. My Florida flights were a lot less complicated and after three weeks, we still don't have our credits squared away. I am now just being patient and thanking my lucky stars that I have not been impacted much by this horrible virus. Of course, being super cheap, I don't want to lose a dollar but I am trying to keep it all in perspective. I am also not eager for more 2+ hour wait times to talk to the airlines.

 

[sayhello]

I lost all confidence in AbD when they didn’t cancel the March England/France with enough notice. And, when they went on with the March Australia and then canceled once people got there! This tells me that they are not putting their guests’ health first, only their bottom line.

It's not just the last minute cancellation, which is bad enough! It's them leaving the Guests there, in England and in Australia, and not helping them re-book flights to get home. They got the Guides out of there ASAP, but left the Guests to their own devices. That is inexcusable.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Of course they are not. For most of us, that's not the issue. The issue is ABD forcing people to choose between their health and losing a huge chunk of money. ABD should allow anyone uncomfortable with traveling until after a vaccine is available to cancel their trip without penalty. They've only done it through May.

Exactly! You beat me to this reply. I'd also add my experience with a much smaller (and presumably much less able to absorb the financial hit) travel company that at the same time ABD was jerking customers around with not cancelling trips sent me an email offering to (1) refund any deposits for any trip through the end of the year if I didn't feel comfortable traveling and (2) giving me the option of doing that for as long as I wanted.

As others have suggested @Mainsail Minnie you should read the travel changes thread on this board to see how other companies have handled this much better and how horrible ABD's "customer service" has been. No one is saying ABD should preemptively cancel trips through the end of the summer, but IMO they should give people the option of cancelling and getting their deposits back.

I believe they will continue to offer the summer / fall trips, banking as much PIF money as possible from those already paid or willing to take the risk and give it. In the meantime, anyone cancelling will be out thousands of dollars in deposits and PIF because they want to keep their family safe. Then more than likely, ABD will have to cancel those summer / fall trips at the last minute either because of still unsafe conditions to travel or their remaining number of participants willing to go are too low to offer the trip. At that point, they will hope you'll choose a later trip rather than a refund. It benefits them to put you in a position where YOU cancel--but that is a very short sighted strategy. IMHO--anyone burned by ABD in this crisis should look elsewhere in the future.

I completely agree. This is the game plan. They are playing chicken with people's deposits figuring if they hold out long enough people will cancel on their own, allowing them to retain $$$. They are as bad as some of the airlines right now.

I do feel like ABD is just kind of pretending nothing is going on here. I realize they have cancelled all trips through May, but I read an article today which has UK leaders quoted repeatedly as saying they don't expect life to be back to normal for at least 6 months - that's basically October. Do we really think the UK is going to allow international visitors through this time given the circumstances?

THIS!!!! I feel the same way. Some of the reports of the party lines from vacationistas has been horrible.

I think other divisions in Disney are just as bad. I think DCL *finally* came out and cancelled cruises through the end of April today. This is well after some of the other companies and is completely ignoring the Hawaii and Canada bans that have been in place for weeks. I can't imagine the cruise industry coming back for a long long time, i.e. until there is a vaccine or good therapeutic treatment. Similarly, WDW and DLR didn't announce closings beyond April 1st until a couple days ago well after the shelter in place orders for CA an Orange had been given that extended beyond those dates.

I would highly recommend reading the "Travel Changes?" thread on the ABD forum to see how ABD handled the UK/France and Australia trips that were scheduled about two weeks ago to have a real understanding of how ABD has operated throughout this crisis. IMHO, how they handled those two trips is shocking. They are not operating at the level that WDW/DL and DCL are operating in terms of communicating with guests and offering them refunds and incentives to re-book. It certainly gives me pause to ever book with them again and I, personally, am quite concerned they may close shop altogether quite frankly. Of any of the travel co.'s in the Disney portfolio, I would guess ABD would be the first to go.

Ditto.