Cancellation due to change in covid protocol

[DCLCruiseFan09]

When I called to move the original reservation, it got a little complicated and they had to escalate to Guest Services to get it done, so I wonder if that's the general "escalation" department? Guest Services is who the cast member had to talk to today to get clarification on the policy. I think I'm going to give up and just go on the cruise, but hopefully it works out for anyone else who's trying.

You are thinking correct, Guest services and the escalation department are the same thing usually. Everyone seems to refer to them differently but if you ask they'll tell you they are managers or something.

Enjoy your cruise. Sorry the whole thing was so stressful. It shouldn't be that way.

 

[CisforCookie991]

You are thinking correct, Guest services and the escalation department are the same thing usually. Everyone seems to refer to them differently but if you ask they'll tell you they are managers or something.

Enjoy your cruise. Sorry the whole thing was so stressful. It shouldn't be that way.

Thanks! We've had to cancel and re-book and move several times since I first booked it in 2019, so it'll be nice to actually do while my kids are still kids. A little older than when we had intended to go, but at the rate we were going, I felt like they would be 35 before it happened.

 

[Sakura1017]

I'm also gonna wait and call back next week. Maybe more confusion with the latest news being dropped today that cast members might be confused. I also have a concierge room and was thinking of canceling to get my money back. The only thing I wouldn't get back would be trip insurance through dcl. From what I read I thought it wouldn't matter what booking you did since it said no imposed fees.

 

[hecmd23]

I just got off the phone and was able to successfully cancel a concierge booking, without losing my deposit or having any cancellation fees. The only thing that I did not get back is the travel protection plan.

Just like the OP, this was moved multiple times to another concierge booking, all well outside of the 60 day period.

So your experience may just be a case of a misinformed cast member. The CM I spoke with, had to confirm with shoreside though to make sure she is able to cancel everything without penalties. I would try again on another day, but before the 14th or 17th whichever date of sailing you have.

 

[gilsan]

Our TA was able to get a refund for us. Initially she was told no because was a non-refundable charge, (we were originally booked in a concierge room and switched to non concierge when we changed the date of our sailing). She had to wait to speak to Guest Services (supervisor) and she was able to get us a full refund of our deposit.

 

[undertheradar]

Our DU TA was unable to get refunds for our concierge, now non concierge bookings. DCL will not allow cancel without penalty due to the original bookings being made before covid. As usual, DCL is not clear or consistent.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Our DU TA was unable to get refunds for our concierge, now non concierge bookings. DCL will not allow cancel without penalty due to the original bookings being made before covid. As usual, DCL is not clear or consistent.

Wow that is disappointing. It seems like their answers are all over the place and they really should be consistent. Did you get the email from DCL saying you could cancel with no penalty? Why would they send it to you if it wasn’t an option?

I guess I’ll see what happens when I call later this week. I have to go through Costco so that adds another layer of difficulty—Costco reps often don’t know about any policy exceptions.

 

[gilsan]

Our DU TA was unable to get refunds for our concierge, now non concierge bookings. DCL will not allow cancel without penalty due to the original bookings being made before covid. As usual, DCL is not clear or consistent.

Our booking was made after Covid, it was booked in June 2021 original cruise date November 2022, we changed to non-concierge in May 2022 for a cruise in August 2023. I really don't understand how they could say no to you when the email states "Guests booked on sailings departing from the U.S. on or after February 1, 2023, may modify or cancel their sailing by November 17, 2022 without any Disney-imposed cancellation fees." with no exceptions listed.

 

[dcassetta]

I have to go through Costco so that adds another layer of difficulty—Costco reps often don’t know about any policy exceptions.

Costco will not cancel this on their own since if they did there would be penalties. The Costco agent you speak to will call Disney directly to do the cancellation.

 

[Cheburashka]

Concierge deposits are always non-refundable. Even if you subsequently change to a non-concierge booking. Even before COVID policies.

This is not true in the case of DCL offering refunds to all due to a Covid policy change. Those refunds are for everyone.

 

[Cheburashka]

Our DU TA was unable to get refunds for our concierge, now non concierge bookings. DCL will not allow cancel without penalty due to the original bookings being made before covid. As usual, DCL is not clear or consistent.

She needs to talk to a supervisor. The DCL rep she spoke to was misinformed, which happens occasionally.

 

[HeadNerd]

Just a heads-up. I had a bit of a stranded reservation with a non-refundable concierge deposit on it (even though it wasn't concierge, transferred over due to pandemic madness). While I'm certain we would eventually use it, we're already full up on cruises and planned vacations through end of 2023, so I'd prefer to have that money back.

I called under the new COVID window (til Nov 17th?), girded for a long hold time and then a long back and forth and requesting supervisors... and instead, I was off the phone in ~3 minutes after a pleasant conversation with the nice person who answered the phone and promptly canceled for me and issued the refund. Just got my cancellation e-mail confirming it, and I'm sure it'll hit my credit card in a week or so.

So to anyone who had a hard time doing that process, I guess the message has gotten through, and try again?

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Called Costco this AM to cancel my previously-concierge booking. (Side note, I’m glad to say Costco wait times have improved a lot from earlier this year.) It was a bit of an ordeal where they first said the exception only applies to cruises leaving up to 1/31/23, then waiting on hold again while they clarified with DCL, got disconnected, called back after 40 minutes and spoke with someone else who looked at the reservation and saw that the original CSR had just cancelled and noted that they would refund my deposit.

TL;DR version: it worked out in the end! (Assuming I do get my refund in 7-14 days lol)

 

[undertheradar]

We were not allowed to cancel, DCL policy does not apply evenly!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

nevermind

 

[Cheburashka]

We were not allowed to cancel, DCL policy does not apply evenly!

I suspect your travel agent just wasn't persistent enough.

 

[lanejudy]

We were not allowed to cancel, DCL policy does not apply evenly!

You said the original cruise was booked pre-Covid, which must mean you’ve been bumping this reservation down the road for a bit. Is it possible it had been pushed out using the “Cruise Date Flexibility” policy? That would have carried forward cancellation fees which wouldn’t be erased by the “free cancellation” due to policy change.

 

[undertheradar]

You said the original cruise was booked pre-Covid, which must mean you’ve been bumping this reservation down the road for a bit. Is it possible it had been pushed out using the “Cruise Date Flexibility” policy? That would have carried forward cancellation fees which wouldn’t be erased by the “free cancellation” due to policy change.

We did not change via the CDF.

 

[lanejudy]

We did not change via the CDF.

Hmm...there must have been something about your reservation that caused the penalty. What reason did they give? A few posts above is someone that sounds like the same situation -- a pre-covid concierge booking, changed to non-concierge, and was still allowed to cancel for full refund. Sorry the free cancellation period didn't work for you.