Fantasy having mechanical issues

[anomamatt]

So you are saying the problem isn't that DCL was late or that you missed your flight, but that DCL posted a guideline, which you followed, and it didn't work out (this time), so it is their fault.

No... Just so that it's clear, my position is:

1. I bought the insurance that DCL provides & covers the cruise.
2. I planned my flights around DCL's recommendations.
3. Something went wrong with the cruise (that wasn't an act of god or weather related).
4. It cost me $600.

I had thought the insurance would cover it. It still might, but AON wanted a letter that DCL won't provide me (so far).

 

[WiscMomof2]

The concierge hosts were doing a great job that morning, but they were way too overworked to try and help someone who didn't book flights via DCL. And they were closed by the time the delay was announced.

I'm very sorry this happened to you and hope you can get it all straightened out. We also were in concierge on this cruise and did not book our flights through DCL. We never heard the announcement about the delay so didn't know anything about it until the next morning. Initially, Kamesha was the only concierge host working in the lounge and she was absolutely amazing helping any impacted passengers. When I told her I thought we would likely be missing our 12:45 flight, she immediately called Southwest on our behalf as well as for 2 other Southwest passengers who happened to be in the lounge. She explained the situation to Southwest and we were moved to another flight with no change fees. I am beyond impressed with the service we received from the concierge hosts on this cruise from start to finish. I plan on sending feedback to Disney to let them know how satisfied we were with the service. Good luck in getting your fees back.

 

[GOOFY D]

Have there been any more issues with the Fantasy on its current voyage (including complaints of air conditioning issues or extreme vibration)?

 

[kevdad]

Have there been any more issues with the Fantasy on its current voyage (including complaints of air conditioning issues or extreme vibration)?

I'd love to hear the answer to this too. It seems a bit strange that given the issues on the previous cruise and the embarkation issues on the current cruise that someone hasn't provided an update along the way. It's not like they have anything better to do, anyway.

 

[SweetSpot]

Why do you assume that people that hold a company responsible think that things don't break. I grew up in southern California we owned a boat. I've been stranded out in the ocean when our boat's had mechanical problems. When I was 10 we hit a reef down in Mexico, the boat sunk. My dad had to a charter a plane down to the remote fishing village we were stuck in to get us home. It was our boat, our expense. Let's say that plane that we paid thousands of dollars to charter had mechanical problems and we ended up having to land in San Diego instead of Anaheim. We would have expected the company that we chartered the plane from to incur the expenses to get us from San Diego back to Orange County. Or lets say we chartered a boat to go fishing and it broke down. I would expect my money back and all extra expenses I incurred paid for. I'm not sure why that's so hard to understand. It's completely different when your machine breaks vs a machine you rent breaks.

Were you on this cruise? Based on the Facebook page that was set up for our cruise, DCL is taking responsibility and reimbursing for change fees as well as hotel stays that might have been necessary Saturday night so that a new flight could be booked. Have you contacted DCL? They can't possibly answer everyone's emails and reimburse as quickly as some would like due to the numbers on the ship but from what I have read they seem to be doing a very good job handling the situation when it comes to costs incurred.

 

[cruiser21]

Were you on this cruise? Based on the Facebook page that was set up for our cruise, DCL is taking responsibility and reimbursing for change fees as well as hotel stays that might have been necessary Saturday night so that a new flight could be booked. Have you contacted DCL? They can't possibly answer everyone's emails and reimburse as quickly as some would like due to the numbers on the ship but from what I have read they seem to be doing a very good job handling the situation when it comes to costs incurred.

No I was referring to another poster. I'm glad to hear they are taking responsibility for something that was clearly their responsibility. It makes me feel much better about cruising with them in the future.

 

[RedSox68]

That is the part that I disagree with. Customers should not expect that the very expensive cruise that they pay for will be delayed on a regular basis (and that is not the case). To expect that all passengers should arrive a day early and stay a day later just to ensure that they are covered in case of DCL's delays is not reasonable. Although I always arrive a day early and leave a lot of cushion for departure (or many times drive such that it is not an issue), I would never expect that every family should incur those additional expenses and time commitments for fear of DCL not being able to meet its schedule or obligations. I know all of us here love Disney, but some of the arguments I have seen against those inconvenienced by the mechanical issue would not be the same we would see if the company were Carnival, RCCL, Norwegian, etc. DCL needs to be held to a high standard of customer service as well and not given a pass when they had hiccups.

I feel this really hits the problem. I also agree with the OP who said that $150/pp for the ticket change is beyond extreme. Especially since Delta is supposed to be "partnered" with Disney. As far as expectations for things to go wrong -- yes, it can happen. But the customer would also expect some wiggle room with both DCL and the airline when it comes to fees and reimbursement -- at least as a gesture of good will sinced the customer is caught in the middle and expected some coverage!

 

[Dug720]

I feel this really hits the problem. I also agree with the OP who said that $150/pp for the ticket change is beyond extreme. Especially since Delta is supposed to be "partnered" with Disney. As far as expectations for things to go wrong -- yes, it can happen. But the customer would also expect some wiggle room with both DCL and the airline when it comes to fees and reimbursement -- at least as a gesture of good will sinced the customer is caught in the middle and expected some coverage!

I believe that Disney has not had an "official" airline for many years now.

 

[Happy100]

I'm very sorry this happened to you and hope you can get it all straightened out. We also were in concierge on this cruise and did not book our flights through DCL. We never heard the announcement about the delay so didn't know anything about it until the next morning. Initially, Kamesha was the only concierge host working in the lounge and she was absolutely amazing helping any impacted passengers. When I told her I thought we would likely be missing our 12:45 flight, she immediately called Southwest on our behalf as well as for 2 other Southwest passengers who happened to be in the lounge. She explained the situation to Southwest and we were moved to another flight with no change fees. I am beyond impressed with the service we received from the concierge hosts on this cruise from start to finish. I plan on sending feedback to Disney to let them know how satisfied we were with the service. Good luck in getting your fees back.

Southwest doesn't charge change fees. You would only be charged for any increase in the fare price from what you paid.

 

[KashasMom]

I'm very sorry this happened to you and hope you can get it all straightened out. We also were in concierge on this cruise and did not book our flights through DCL. We never heard the announcement about the delay so didn't know anything about it until the next morning. Initially, Kamesha was the only concierge host working in the lounge and she was absolutely amazing helping any impacted passengers. When I told her I thought we would likely be missing our 12:45 flight, she immediately called Southwest on our behalf as well as for 2 other Southwest passengers who happened to be in the lounge. She explained the situation to Southwest and we were moved to another flight with no change fees. I am beyond impressed with the service we received from the concierge hosts on this cruise from start to finish. I plan on sending feedback to Disney to let them know how satisfied we were with the service. Good luck in getting your fees back.

Guess that's what you pay the BIG bucks for!

 

[cruiser21]

Southwest doesn't charge change fees. You would only be charged for any increase in the fare price from what you paid.

That could still be a lot of money. Buying a ticket the day of travel is expensive. Do other airlines charge change fee plus price increase or just change fee?

 

[mmouse37]

Did DCL ever post a delay message on their website? If so, maybe someone took a screen shot of it at the time. I know once when our cruise was going to be delayed and not arrive into PC until Monday (instead of Saturday) due to a hurricane I took a screen shot of the DCL delay message from their website. I actually had to submit it to my insurance company after the fact so I am glad I took the screen shot.

Maybe someone on that cruise's FB page could forward a copy of the delay message from the DCL website (if they in fact posted one).

MJ

 

[wilkeliza]

That could still be a lot of money. Buying a ticket the day of travel is expensive. Do other airlines charge change fee plus price increase or just change fee?

Been reading along but first reply. Jetblue has a same day change fee policy. 50 bucks to change day of flight to any other flight with available seats between original departure and arrival airports. Sometimes in areas with many airports (NYC) they will allow you to change to the near by airports as well but no guarantee. It is one reason we continue to fly Jetblue especially to Disney as some trips we don't want to wait around until our 9pm flight and don't want to try the "free" standby option so just pay the $100 total to change that day.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Southwest doesn't charge change fees. You would only be charged for any increase in the fare price from what you paid.

Yes, that's correct. There is no fee to change your flight, but normally you pay any difference in the fare. In our case that would have been about $400 for the two of us. That's what I meant when I said they didn't charge any change fees. Sorry if my post was unclear.

 

[Capt_BJ]

SO impressed to see this discussion of the 'technical issue'

degraded to airline prices and "what am I owed"

if you missed ... OP's Question:

Just announced, ship is having mechanical issues and will not arrive at port until 10:00 am tomorrow. The ship has been stopped for about two hours.

 

[bbel]

SO impressed to see this discussion of the 'technical issue'

degraded to airline prices and "what am I owed"

if you missed ... OP's Question:

Just announced, ship is having mechanical issues and will not arrive at port until 10:00 am tomorrow. The ship has been stopped for about two hours.

Welcome to Disboards

 

[cruiser21]

SO impressed to see this discussion of the 'technical issue'

degraded to airline prices and "what am I owed"

if you missed ... OP's Question:

Just announced, ship is having mechanical issues and will not arrive at port until 10:00 am tomorrow. The ship has been stopped for about two hours.

Sorry you don't liike people asking about airline fees. FLying is a big cost of a vacation for many people.

 

[cruiser21]

Been reading along but first reply. Jetblue has a same day change fee policy. 50 bucks to change day of flight to any other flight with available seats between original departure and arrival airports. Sometimes in areas with many airports (NYC) they will allow you to change to the near by airports as well but no guarantee. It is one reason we continue to fly Jetblue especially to Disney as some trips we don't want to wait around until our 9pm flight and don't want to try the "free" standby option so just pay the $100 total to change that day.

They are mostly an eastern airline I believe. Flights out of Orlando or so full. Im m glad people were able to reschedule.

 

[anomamatt]

SO impressed to see this discussion of the 'technical issue'

degraded to airline prices and "what am I owed"

if you missed ... OP's Question:

Just announced, ship is having mechanical issues and will not arrive at port until 10:00 am tomorrow. The ship has been stopped for about two hours.

A discussion of DCL's insurance coverage where there is a DCL at fault delay is perfectly appropriate discussion for this thread.

In the end, all I asked DCL for was a letter confirming their delay so I could inquire about the insurance I bought. But I guess to DCL apologists that translated into "what am I owed." I do think I'm owed a letter confirming their delay due to a mechanical issue.

 

[wilkeliza]

They are mostly an eastern airline I believe. Flights out of Orlando or so full. Im m glad people were able to reschedule.

Yeah the flights to nyc have never been truly full in our experience (always extra leg room) but to Houston the do book solid.