Oct 7th Dream cruise and HORRIBLE customer service by DCL.

[Birdie dog]

First of all, I live in coastal SC. I know that a hurricane is NOT DCL's fault. But, the horrible, HORRIBLE service that I've seen since (before) the cancelation of this cruise has been inexcusable.

Lets start with pre cruise. The sailing was to depart on a Friday. We were sailing in and had a room booked overnight on Thursday... By Wednesday, all hurricane models that were being broadcast called for a direct hit to the Bahamas and landfall being made in Eastern Florida on Friday morning. Many models called for an up to Cat 4 landfall very close to Port Canaveral. Airlines began issuing opportunities to reschedule flights in and out of Florida. By Wednesday morning. Carnival and RCCL were showing updates on their sites. By Wednesday afternoon updates included cruise cancelations and itinerary changes. DCL, meanwhile, was "monitoring the storm" and had no changes planned at this time. At 3 PM a mandatory evacuation was in effect for Port Canaveral. Hotels were contacting guests telling them they would be closed so other arrangements had to be made.. The park and sail lots were also contacting people with reservations and cancelling. DCL continued to state that the cruise was going forward as planned with no changes. By late Wednesday afternoon I called DCL asking when, exactly, they would be acknowledging that the port was closed (as were all the ports on the East Coast of FLA) and there was NO way the ship could sail as it wouldn't be allowed to return until the storm had passed and the port was inspected. Again, we were still a go. ( This part is a guess, but as we were also under emergency evacuation, it's a reasonable one- my GUESS is that the eastbound lanes of the bride to Cocoa were closed and no one would be able to drive over).

Now understand, people were getting nervous. I'm was in a meet and greet group and no one knew if they should actually fly to Florida or not. Even if you had cruise insurance, until DCL actually cancelled the cruise you would not get a full refund (unless you bought a cancel for no reason policy). DCL was basically encouraging it's guests to fly into a cat 4 hurricane. IMO, for a cruise that they knew well ahead of time, was not going to happen..

And fly in people did. One person in my group who stood out was a woman who flew in from South America. Her husband was joining her in Miami a day or two later as he had to work and so he sent her ahead. Except his flight was cancelled. And Miami was evacuated. And the woman, who couldn't drive, was unable to secure a room at WDW OR secure transport to Orlando as the transportation companies had closed up shop...

At 1701 Wednesday DCL cancelled the cruise. This was hours after some from my group flew down. Once they arrived in MCO they were unable to secure rooms due to shut downs with reservations. They needed to have open rooms for evacuations and there were many guests stuck in Orlando who needed to keep the rooms they were currently occupying. BTW, about that timing...I'm sure the TAs LOVED that. One minute after 5. Nice job, Disney.

I received an email from DCL stating that my cruise would be cancelled and I would be given a full refund of price paid for my sailing within 7-10 business days. I was also told that I would receive a 20% discount on a cruise of my choice until the end of 2017.

As of today 9 business days, I have not received my refund. Though refunds for airfare and hotels have been deposited.

There are now reports that DCL staff members are telling guests that they have to *use* their discount by Oct 20 or they will lose it. This is currently running about 50-50 as far as what people are being told but I know that someone from the group reported that was what they were told by Shoreside today. People are also reporting that DCL is saying you can only use the discount on Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and not during peak holiday times. This was not worded in the original email and some from my group report moving their reservations to a Christmas sailing without difficulty.

Anyone who is dealing with the rebooking process is going through the maddening experience of "I guess it depends who you talk to.". And people are reporting getting one thing when someone else is told they cannot do the same thing.

I was told I couldn't get the price of a cruise backdated to the price of the cruise when I booked the Oct 7th cruise (and it's been reported that this was something meant for the Magic guests and not the Dream guests) but some from my group WERE backdated...

I could go on and on....

So, as I type this I'm having a hard time justifying why I want to pay twice as much to take another DCL cruise. My kids are grown, I have pretty much open ability to take any trip I want. What I know is I (thought) I was paying for Disney quality. At this point, I can say I am absolutely NOT experiencing quality at all.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the same "boat" (hah) and see where you are in the process.

DCL, get your act together.

 

[GeeL10]

First of all, I live in coastal SC. I know that a hurricane is NOT DCL's fault. But, the horrible, HORRIBLE service that I've seen since (before) the cancelation of this cruise has been inexcusable.

Lets start with pre cruise. The sailing was to depart on a Friday. We were sailing in and had a room booked overnight on Thursday... By Wednesday, all hurricane models that were being broadcast called for a direct hit to the Bahamas and landfall being made in Eastern Florida on Friday morning. Many models called for an up to Cat 4 landfall very close to Port Canaveral. Airlines began issuing opportunities to reschedule flights in and out of Florida. By Wednesday morning. Carnival and RCCL were showing updates on their sites. By Wednesday afternoon updates included cruise cancelations and itinerary changes. DCL, meanwhile, was "monitoring the storm" and had no changes planned at this time. At 3 PM a mandatory evacuation was in effect for Port Canaveral. Hotels were contacting guests telling them they would be closed so other arrangements had to be made.. The park and sail lots were also contacting people with reservations and cancelling. DCL continued to state that the cruise was going forward as planned with no changes. By late Wednesday afternoon I called DCL asking when, exactly, they would be acknowledging that the port was closed (as were all the ports on the East Coast of FLA) and there was NO way the ship could sail as it wouldn't be allowed to return until the storm had passed and the port was inspected. Again, we were still a go. ( This part is a guess, but as we were also under emergency evacuation, it's a reasonable one- my GUESS is that the eastbound lanes of the bride to Cocoa were closed and no one would be able to drive over).

Now understand, people were getting nervous. I'm was in a meet and greet group and no one knew if they should actually fly to Florida or not. Even if you had cruise insurance, until DCL actually cancelled the cruise you would not get a full refund (unless you bought a cancel for no reason policy). DCL was basically encouraging it's guests to fly into a cat 4 hurricane. IMO, for a cruise that they knew well ahead of time, was not going to happen..

And fly in people did. One person in my group who stood out was a woman who flew in from South America. Her husband was joining her in Miami a day or two later as he had to work and so he sent her ahead. Except his flight was cancelled. And Miami was evacuated. And the woman, who couldn't drive, was unable to secure a room at WDW OR secure transport to Orlando as the transportation companies had closed up shop...

At 1701 Wednesday DCL cancelled the cruise. This was hours after some from my group flew down. Once they arrived in MCO they were unable to secure rooms due to shut downs with reservations. They needed to have open rooms for evacuations and there were many guests stuck in Orlando who needed to keep the rooms they were currently occupying. BTW, about that timing...I'm sure the TAs LOVED that. One minute after 5. Nice job, Disney.

I received an email from DCL stating that my cruise would be cancelled and I would be given a full refund of price paid for my sailing within 7-10 business days. I was also told that I would receive a 20% discount on a cruise of my choice until the end of 2017.

As of today 9 business days, I have not received my refund. Though refunds for airfare and hotels have been deposited.

There are now reports that DCL staff members are telling guests that they have to *use* their discount by Oct 20 or they will lose it. This is currently running about 50-50 as far as what people are being told but I know that someone from the group reported that was what they were told by Shoreside today. People are also reporting that DCL is saying you can only use the discount on Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and not during peak holiday times. This was not worded in the original email and some from my group report moving their reservations to a Christmas sailing without difficulty.

Anyone who is dealing with the rebooking process is going through the maddening experience of "I guess it depends who you talk to.". And people are reporting getting one thing when someone else is told they cannot do the same thing.

I was told I couldn't get the price of a cruise backdated to the price of the cruise when I booked the Oct 7th cruise (and it's been reported that this was something meant for the Magic guests and not the Dream guests) but some from my group WERE backdated...

I could go on and on....

So, as I type this I'm having a hard time justifying why I want to pay twice as much to take another DCL cruise. My kids are grown, I have pretty much open ability to take any trip I want. What I know is I (thought) I was paying for Disney quality. At this point, I can say I am absolutely NOT experiencing quality at all.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the same "boat" (hah) and see where you are in the process.

DCL, get your act together.

This is super upsetting. . . Have you been able to talk to anyone at Guest Services over the phone too or just via e-mail?

 

[Birdie dog]

I've talked to three different GS members and a supervisor. I was booked concierge though I have yet to call them since pre storm. Not one staff member has been the least bit helpful.

 

[MrsWaltDisney86]

First of all, I live in coastal SC. I know that a hurricane is NOT DCL's fault. But, the horrible, HORRIBLE service that I've seen since (before) the cancelation of this cruise has been inexcusable.

Lets start with pre cruise. The sailing was to depart on a Friday. We were sailing in and had a room booked overnight on Thursday... By Wednesday, all hurricane models that were being broadcast called for a direct hit to the Bahamas and landfall being made in Eastern Florida on Friday morning. Many models called for an up to Cat 4 landfall very close to Port Canaveral. Airlines began issuing opportunities to reschedule flights in and out of Florida. By Wednesday morning. Carnival and RCCL were showing updates on their sites. By Wednesday afternoon updates included cruise cancelations and itinerary changes. DCL, meanwhile, was "monitoring the storm" and had no changes planned at this time. At 3 PM a mandatory evacuation was in effect for Port Canaveral. Hotels were contacting guests telling them they would be closed so other arrangements had to be made.. The park and sail lots were also contacting people with reservations and cancelling. DCL continued to state that the cruise was going forward as planned with no changes. By late Wednesday afternoon I called DCL asking when, exactly, they would be acknowledging that the port was closed (as were all the ports on the East Coast of FLA) and there was NO way the ship could sail as it wouldn't be allowed to return until the storm had passed and the port was inspected. Again, we were still a go. ( This part is a guess, but as we were also under emergency evacuation, it's a reasonable one- my GUESS is that the eastbound lanes of the bride to Cocoa were closed and no one would be able to drive over).

Now understand, people were getting nervous. I'm was in a meet and greet group and no one knew if they should actually fly to Florida or not. Even if you had cruise insurance, until DCL actually cancelled the cruise you would not get a full refund (unless you bought a cancel for no reason policy). DCL was basically encouraging it's guests to fly into a cat 4 hurricane. IMO, for a cruise that they knew well ahead of time, was not going to happen..

And fly in people did. One person in my group who stood out was a woman who flew in from South America. Her husband was joining her in Miami a day or two later as he had to work and so he sent her ahead. Except his flight was cancelled. And Miami was evacuated. And the woman, who couldn't drive, was unable to secure a room at WDW OR secure transport to Orlando as the transportation companies had closed up shop...

At 1701 Wednesday DCL cancelled the cruise. This was hours after some from my group flew down. Once they arrived in MCO they were unable to secure rooms due to shut downs with reservations. They needed to have open rooms for evacuations and there were many guests stuck in Orlando who needed to keep the rooms they were currently occupying. BTW, about that timing...I'm sure the TAs LOVED that. One minute after 5. Nice job, Disney.

I received an email from DCL stating that my cruise would be cancelled and I would be given a full refund of price paid for my sailing within 7-10 business days. I was also told that I would receive a 20% discount on a cruise of my choice until the end of 2017.

As of today 9 business days, I have not received my refund. Though refunds for airfare and hotels have been deposited.

There are now reports that DCL staff members are telling guests that they have to *use* their discount by Oct 20 or they will lose it. This is currently running about 50-50 as far as what people are being told but I know that someone from the group reported that was what they were told by Shoreside today. People are also reporting that DCL is saying you can only use the discount on Caribbean and Bahamas cruises and not during peak holiday times. This was not worded in the original email and some from my group report moving their reservations to a Christmas sailing without difficulty.

Anyone who is dealing with the rebooking process is going through the maddening experience of "I guess it depends who you talk to.". And people are reporting getting one thing when someone else is told they cannot do the same thing.

I was told I couldn't get the price of a cruise backdated to the price of the cruise when I booked the Oct 7th cruise (and it's been reported that this was something meant for the Magic guests and not the Dream guests) but some from my group WERE backdated...

I could go on and on....

So, as I type this I'm having a hard time justifying why I want to pay twice as much to take another DCL cruise. My kids are grown, I have pretty much open ability to take any trip I want. What I know is I (thought) I was paying for Disney quality. At this point, I can say I am absolutely NOT experiencing quality at all.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the same "boat" (hah) and see where you are in the process.

DCL, get your act together.

We had this happen to us under Carnival, the 1 time we sailed with them because they left out of our local port of Baltimore, Hurricane Sandy hit! Bad luck! How they handled it was terrible. We also found out the day before we were to leave, we would be delayed a day..so we lost a day. Then our first port was Freeport, that was canceled due to damage to their port and Nassau was substituted. The Half Moon Cay (their private island) was canceled due to damage and Port Canaveral was substituted. We were so upset, we have Obv been to both those places with DCL it was not the itinerary we wanted! plus lost a day. Carnival gave everyone $200 OBC and thats it! we could not cancel, we could not rebook for free, not future cruise discounts...nothing but an OBC for the lost day. I understand the damage and Hurricane was not something they control but how they treated our frustrations, never again.

 

[mmouse37]

Sorry you are going through this. We opted to sail on the October 7th cruise and service on board was fantastic. The only thing I can say is that maybe Disney is overrun with accounting issues due to the storm logistics so it may take a bit longer to get the refund. Good luck.

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

deleted due to wrong ship

 

[Mommb]

My family was on the cancelled October 7 cruise, and I have no complaints about how the cancellation was handled. I didn't want the cruise cancelled until it was a near certainty that it had to be, and I understood that DCL wanted to make accommodations for people already at sea before they started working with people on the next cruise.

We had plans to fly down on Thursday night. Disney cancelled our cruise well before Delta cancelled our flight (which didn't happen until around 10 am Thursday). My husband had flown down on Tuesday to spend a few days at Walt Disney World. After the cruise was cancelled, he was able to get a great rate to extend his stay until his scheduled flight home on Monday.

We already had another cruise booked for July. My travel agent was able to call DCL on Tuesday and rebook that cruise with the same cabin and same rate we had booked initially but with a 20% discount. The price had not changed since we booked, though, so I am not sure whether we would have had the original or the current rate if it had increased.

I would have preferred to take the cruise. Barring that, I would have liked to still get Castaway Club credit for the cancelled cruise, because it would have been our 10th. However, given that the cancellation was outside of Disney's control because the ship could not have ported anywhere near Port Canaveral until Saturday at the earliest, 2 days' notice and 20% off a future cruise seems fair.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am sorry that you have such issues dealing with Disney.

 

[mevelandry]

I was sailing with Carnival the same week and we flew in Orlando saturday morning before we got to know if we were departing sunday and if we were going to sail, where we were going to. We had our answer saturday at 7 PM. So stressful.

Our Bahamas cruise left on sunday but with minor itinerary change (overnight in Nassau that sucked because the first day there was no excursion as there was no electricity and the next day, they had excursions but the hurricane had left a lot of damages. It was hard to "have fun" knowing that most people did not have electricity and seeing damages everywhere). At least the cruiseship and the staff were great.

Can't imagine the stress of a cancelled cruise that you have to rebook when you hear different versions like that. It really sucks.

 

[Birdie dog]

Sorry you are going through this. We opted to sail on the October 7th cruise and service on board was fantastic. The only thing I can say is that maybe Disney is overrun with accounting issues due to the storm logistics so it may take a bit longer to get the refund. Good luck.

MJ

I would have loved to move my sailing to the Oct 7th cruise in NYC. But when I asked if that was an option. (At that point Charleston airport hadn't closed so I could fly north but not south) I was told no because I didn't have enough notice to be put on the roster.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

We had this happen to us under Carnival, the 1 time we sailed with them because they left out of our local port of Baltimore, Hurricane Sandy hit! Bad luck! How they handled it was terrible. We also found out the day before we were to leave, we would be delayed a day..so we lost a day. Then our first port was Freeport, that was canceled due to damage to their port and Nassau was substituted. The Half Moon Cay (their private island) was canceled due to damage and Port Canaveral was substituted. We were so upset, we have Obv been to both those places with DCL it was not the itinerary we wanted! plus lost a day. Carnival gave everyone $200 OBC and thats it! we could not cancel, we could not rebook for free, not future cruise discounts...nothing but an OBC for the lost day. I understand the damage and Hurricane was not something they control but how they treated our frustrations, never again.

Mega-Chart: Compare Hurricane Sandy Cruise Line Compensation

Carnival Pride
Oct. 21, Baltimore
Pride visited one of the three originally scheduled ports on its week-long Caribbean/Bahamas cruise. The eliminated ports were replaced with sea days -- the ship was racing back to Baltimore to outrun Sandy. It arrived a day early, Oct. 27, and passengers were able to debark at that time or use the ship as a floating hotel until the next morning.

• Refund of port fees

• 50 percent off a future two- to seven-night cruise

• Refund of excursions booked through Carnival

Carnival Pride
Oct. 28, Baltimore
Due to the impending arrival and predicted trajectory of Sandy, Pride's week-long Bahamas and Florida sailing was cancelled.

• Refunds, processed to the original form of payment

• Helped passengers find area hotels

• Refunded parking expenses

• $30 per person dinner voucher for Oct. 28

• 25 percent future cruise credit (FCC)

• Refund of excursions booked through Carnival

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1461

 

[mandy0528]

I was on the October 8 Fantasy that was delayed to the 9th, we have also had a horrible experience dealing with DCL over this. The did go on the cruise and the service levels onboard were way not up to par at all. Guest services, both onboard and shoreside, has been rude and unapologetic about any of it. Many if not most of the first time cruisers that I have talked to from our sailing would not cruise DCL again and I don't blame them one bit. We still have yet to receive our pro-rated refunds yet as well. Sorry you are going through such a frustrating re-booking process, I get it completely. One of the options the Fantasy guests were given was to re-book with 20% off but it had to be done before the cruise started so they only offered a small 3 day window to make that happen and DCL wasn't working the phones for 2 of those days!

 

[tee11]

I'm not sure why it takes them so long to issue the refund!
Especially the full refund for the cancelled sailing! That should be easy and automatic!

As far as why they waited that long to cancel; yes, it's inexcusable. I know that people said, everyone would want a fully fledged out Plan B before they put the word out, but I disagreed.

If you are dealing with an imminent catastrophe, some peace of mind is in order. As in: "...don't travel here, don't worry, yes, we will cancel this cruise, we will come out with the details within 24 hours..." Something like that.

You do not want to entice anyone to fly into a major disaster - and you can talk about people's judgement all you want - some people will travel, if not officially cancelled - and it is so unnecessary to put ANYONE through this or even in harm's way.

 

[KMovies]

Between Carnival and Disney Port Canaveral sailings .... Disney made their decisions earlier. In fact, it wasn't until 10:00 AM on Saturday when Carnival let the folks know that yes, their ships would arrive back in Port on Saturday and that they would cruise on Saturday. The Carnival ships came back at 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and check in began at 3:30 PM. So, Carnival, by holding off any decisions ... was able to have their Saturday cruises.
Meanwhile ... Disney had already delayed it's Saturday cruise until Sunday. So they were able to let those folks know on Thursday what they had decided. On Thursday Carnival said ... wait. On Friday Carnival said wait. On Saturday ... Carnival said wait til 10:00 AM and we will let you know.

Look at it this way.
Disney could have not extended the Fantasy one more day and did what Carnival did. Of course, people would have been upset. And they would have been really upset if at 10:00 AM Saturday they said ... gee, we really can't come back until Sunday after all.
Carnival was able to turn the ship around on Saturday ... but it was down to the wire ...
I'd say a no win situation for either ... but at least Disney was more proactive about it.

 

[Quellman]

Between Carnival and Disney Port Canaveral sailings .... Disney made their decisions earlier. In fact, it wasn't until 10:00 AM on Saturday when Carnival let the folks know that yes, their ships would arrive back in Port on Saturday and that they would cruise on Saturday. The Carnival ships came back at 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and check in began at 3:30 PM. So, Carnival, by holding off any decisions ... was able to have their Saturday cruises.
Meanwhile ... Disney had already delayed it's Saturday cruise until Sunday. So they were able to let those folks know on Thursday what they had decided. On Thursday Carnival said ... wait. On Friday Carnival said wait. On Saturday ... Carnival said wait til 10:00 AM and we will let you know.

Look at it this way.
Disney could have not extended the Fantasy one more day and did what Carnival did. Of course, people would have been upset. And they would have been really upset if at 10:00 AM Saturday they said ... gee, we really can't come back until Sunday after all.
Carnival was able to turn the ship around on Saturday ... but it was down to the wire ...
I'd say a no win situation for either ... but at least Disney was more proactive about it.

The Carnival ship steamed out of port at 1130pm local time. I'm sure it cost a lot of money to have the harbor pilot there so late into the evening. Originally the harbor master was allowing inbound vessels only with departures resuming on Sunday, but that order was later rescinded. Carnival said, thanks, we'll go out. Disney said, its been a pain in the butt logistically so far, we'll park it for the night.

 

[KMovies]

No, this is what happened.

Disney did not know when the Dream could return. They cancelled the cruise on Friday, extended the cruise to Saturday. Later, they said it would return on Saturday or Sunday depending on when the port reopened. This was decided before Saturday.

Disney also extended the Fantasy. The ship planned to return on Sunday. The Saturday cruise was delayed until Sunday. This was decided either Thursday or Friday, before Saturday.

Carnival made the decision to wait until Saturday to find out if the ships could return on Saturday. Yes, the port reopened at 1:00 PM and they were able to return and then start the next cruises on time.

What I am saying is that Disney could have waited to Saturday and not extend the Fantasy cruise to Sunday ... but that would have kept people in limbo not knowing what was happening.

 

[mandy0528]

It is really easy to look at what happened from an outside perspective and say how things were handled. But unless you were a guest directly impacted by this hurricane you really can't say how well it was/wasn't handled. The fact was Disney really has been horrible to deal with regarding all of this. Look through the board, the only people you will find singing praises about DCL are people who were not directly involved or passengers on the 10/3 Dream. You can't fault the 10/3 Dream passengers, they booked a 4 night cruise to the Bahama's that turned into a 5 or 6 night Caribbean cruise and were treated great. But can you find the same glowing comments from the 10/7 Dream or the 10/8 Fantasy, I doubt it. DCL customer service is not responding to people, refunds have yet to be processed and concerns are being blown off.

 

[Sytrace]

I had a friend on the Carnival Magic that went out on Saturday. She did not KNOW they were going out though until Saturday morning and could not get an answer from Carnival as to options etc.
She was relieved when they finally sailed, but up until the time she left, she was stressed out with the not knowing. At least Disney made a decision early enough and did not leave people hanging.
Granted, it was not the best decision for those sailing on the Dream and I feel bad for those who were disappointed. I also would think that now that everyone made it home safe and sound that Disney would be getting those refunds processed promptly.

 

[roobug]

It is really easy to look at what happened from an outside perspective and say how things were handled. But unless you were a guest directly impacted by this hurricane you really can't say how well it was/wasn't handled. The fact was Disney really has been horrible to deal with regarding all of this. Look through the board, the only people you will find singing praises about DCL are people who were not directly involved or passengers on the 10/3 Dream. You can't fault the 10/3 Dream passengers, they booked a 4 night cruise to the Bahama's that turned into a 5 or 6 night Caribbean cruise and were treated great. But can you find the same glowing comments from the 10/7 Dream or the 10/8 Fantasy, I doubt it. DCL customer service is not responding to people, refunds have yet to be processed and concerns are being blown off.

Actually there is a person on this thread from the cancelled cruise who was quite happy with how DCL handled the cancellation. I think you might be reading to only find the negative as with everything people who were impacted have positive and negative feelings about how it was handled.

 

[peter11435]

The Carnival ship steamed out of port at 1130pm local time. I'm sure it cost a lot of money to have the harbor pilot there so late into the evening. Originally the harbor master was allowing inbound vessels only with departures resuming on Sunday, but that order was later rescinded. Carnival said, thanks, we'll go out. Disney said, its been a pain in the butt logistically so far, we'll park it for the night.

It would not have made any sense for Disney to take the ship out that night. That was already the second extra night on a four night sailing and the guests needed to get off the next morning.