Results from property loss claim onboard

[hoffman1]

I am disappointed. My husband's brand new very expensive sunglasses (prescription Oakley with polarized iridium lenses) were mangled by the x-ray machine when returning to the ship at one of the ports. The tray they were in flipped while in the machine and one of the security guys had to stop the machine and retrieve them. The security person wrote up the incident as soon as it happened and said we would be receiving a call on our stateroom phone. A day or two later we had not received a call so my husband went to guest services. They looked into it and said there was no record of the incident being filed but they filled out another form for him at that time listing the damage and the cost of the glasses and told him to call the number on the form when we returned home and it would be taken care of. An officer also stopped by the room one day and spoke with my husband and she assured him the glasses would be taken care of. She also told him that security should not have asked him to remove his glasses and send them through the machine. I called the number twice on the form and only got a recording. I left two messages and it was a week later that we received a call. I wouldn't say the lady that called was rude but she was very blunt/direct. One of the first things she told us was the most they would pay out for the glasses is $300 (she said that this amount is disclosed in the fine print of some of the cruise documentation) and that is only after they determined the exact amount of damage. She suggested that we file a claim with our insurance instead. She also said that the cruise staff did not always know what Disney's policies were.
My husband was quite upset. I understand there are limits as to what Disney can and can not do. But we were assured by three different people on the ship that the glasses would be taken care of. Even if they reimburse us the top limit of $300, that will only be about a fourth of what it will cost to replace the glasses. My husband told the representative on the phone that he is not going to try to get the $300-he doesn't want to fight for it. It isn't worth it to him when it won't be enough to cover the replacement cost.
Honestly, I did not expect Disney to fully cover the cost of replacing the glasses but I did think they would at least pay half. If the damage had been due to my husband's own negligence, I could understand the lack of empathy the representative had on the phone but it was acknowledged on board that it was not his fault. It would have gone a long way with my husband if the phone representative had been a bit more kind.

 

[RedSox68]

UGH, losing your prescription glasses is a nightmare and I understand how you feel. Not in the same vein, but they mangled a brand new piece of our luggage (ripped fabric and smashed wheel). They wrote up a claim and I had to contact them when I got home because no one ever came to our room on the ship to see it or take pictures. They finally did refund the costs of a replacement bag, but I had to fight for it. Good luck, but don't give up. Did you have travel insurance? If nothing else, the $300 will at least make a dent in the replacement costs, but it is an unfortunate series of events.

Not to get on the soap box, but after 10 cruises with Disney, starting in 2000, I have seen a definite slump in their customer care and it is disheartening.

 

[hoffman1]

This was only our 4th Disney cruise but we noticed a difference in the service we received as well. The cost keeps rising while the service is declining.
We booked a placeholder but we are looking at other cruise lines for next year.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Check with your trip insurance. Also, if you booked with a credit card, you may have some type of protection with the credit card. All of these things take time and paperwork, but you may end up getting more money back.

 

[MUN]

Wow! That's a lot for sunglasses! Sorry that happened. I hope you are able to get them reimbursed.

MUN

 

[Quellman]

Wow! That's a lot for sunglasses! Sorry that happened. I hope you are able to get them reimbursed.

MUN

$1200 for glasses? Maybe they have special corrections to deal with astigmatism, cataracts, or something else. But the Oakley site currently has the most expensive Polarized Irridium glasses for $440. The prescription lenses shouldn't be more than $150-200 on top of that.


It is a shame for OP that there appears to be a limit on the reimbursement, though not unexpected. My suggestion would be either to try and fight it, or take the $300 and file your own loss of property with insurance. At a minimum the $300 from Disney is payment for the inconvenience. Should be easy enough to get a receipt or invoice paid for the glasses and send to Disney. I suspect that the call center employee gets a lot of the same responses from customers all day long... $300??!!? Are you ^&$! nuts? Not saying they can't have empathy, but it does offer perspective. Did you ask for some compensation while on the trip? Sure he couldn't have seen, but Disney could have at least sprung for a pair of shades/hat so he could at least lounge outside without being blinded by the sun.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I agree that Disney's customer service has gone down. Way down over the last few years.
Unrelated, but I am shocked by how much you paid for those glasses. I suspect you bought them at the doctor's office. We buy ours online.

 

[MUN]

I agree that Disney's customer service has gone down. Way down over the last few years.
Unrelated, but I am shocked by how much you paid for those glasses. I suspect you bought them at the doctor's office. We buy ours online.

First of all, I'm very sorry for OP and the lack of resolution she appears to have received from DCL. However, I've never been anything but satisfied with the attention I have received from DCL customer service. Of course, I have never had a $1200 pair of sun glasses damaged by the x-ray machine.

 

[minorthr]

If you have travel insurance I would try that as well. That is a ton of money to be out for sunglasses.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I had an incident a few years ago where our stateroom host threw away my beach bag, which contained my Garmin, my 5K medal, my Coach sunglasses, my book, and a bunch of other stuff. (He said since there was sand on it and it was next to the trash can, he assumed it was trash. He really did appear to be horrified when he realized his mistake.)

We ultimately did get refunded for the items, but it was a MASSIVE and LONG-LASTING fight. I, too, was surprised by the very hostile demeanor of the person we would have to speak with on the phone. She really seemed to have the attitude that we were trying to get away with something and it put me off. I think I wrote about it here at the time, so I won't rehash the whole story, but I just want to echo the OP that I had a negative impression of the person assigned to help as well. We did follow up with complaints on that point, but never received a response. I guess that's her job?

 

[hoffman1]

Thanks for all the advise. What really bothers me the most isn't the loss of the glasses or the cost to replace them; what really bothers me is the customer service we received.
I think that is a crazy amount for sunglasses too but my husband only gets one pair of prescription sunglasses every 3-4 years. I am sure I spend at least that much for purses and shoes over that same period of time. (Maybe I have a problem. LOL)
And we did order from through the doctor's office so I am sure we paid a premium--but my husband has several issues (astigmatism, the start of a cataract in one eye, near and far sightedness). We do still have the original receipt.
We did purchase travel insurance so I will submit a claim to them and see what happens.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

First of all, I'm very sorry for OP and the lack of resolution she appears to have received from DCL. However, I've never been anything but satisfied with the attention I have received from DCL customer service. Of course, I have never had a $1200 pair of sun glasses damaged by the x-ray machine.

I wish we could say the same. We are not high maintenance, but unfortunately we have noticed a decline in dcl service overall. That doesn't mean we don't still love it. We have confirmed it is not in our heads because we recently went on another cruise line for the first time and were surprised to find the service and was superior to dcl.

 

[mevelandry]

I think you might have more luck with travel insurance depending on the amount they offer for loss/damages/theft...

But it's good to know. I'll make sure that none of us bring anything worth more than 300$ on our cruise (I had brought my iPad both times).

 

[AquaDame]

First OP, I am so sorry this happened you to and your husband! That they got crushed at all and also that the paper work was never filed - seems rather sloppy. Second I think this is what bugs me the most about these stories:

She also said that the cruise staff did not always know what Disney's policies were.

This has been an ongoing problem - people on the ship assure guests that once they are ashore they will be helped/comensated/taken care of and it rarely happens. Seems a very easy thing to relay to your onboard staff... I get they can't be up to date on everything and they have their own hands full with other problems but please for the love of Mickey stop saying this to guests since it isn't true!

 

[cedricandsophie]

You might try homeowners insurance too. I lost a watch and earrings on a cruise and got full reimbursement through our homeowners insurance.

 

[mmouse37]

As mentioned above also follow up with your credit card company. I have had good results with replacement when something was lost.

MJ

 

[MunFam]

I am so sorry you had to deal with this. I have a favorite pair of Oakley sun glasses that I just adore. I have the same eye issues as your DH and I simply dropped them and they broke. Those Oakeys really are amazing glasses. Definitely turn the damage in to your trip insurance. They should be covered.

And in the future...shop around. My glasses were a $300 base pair of Oakley aviators and with the special lenses, glare coating, polarization and mirroring, I think it only cost about $200 more. We do not have eye insurance, so it was "at cost". It seems like your doctor's office ripped you off big time.

 

[DitkaFan]

First of all, I'm very sorry for OP and the lack of resolution she appears to have received from DCL. However, I've never been anything but satisfied with the attention I have received from DCL customer service. Of course, I have never had a $1200 pair of sun glasses damaged by the x-ray machine.

I am so sorry you had to deal with this. I have a favorite pair of Oakley sun glasses that I just adore. I have the same eye issues as your DH and I simply dropped them and they broke. Those Oakeys really are amazing glasses. Definitely turn the damage in to your trip insurance. They should be covered.

And in the future...shop around. My glasses were a $300 base pair of Oakley aviators and with the special lenses, glare coating, polarization and mirroring, I think it only cost about $200 more. We do not have eye insurance, so it was "at cost". It seems like your doctor's office ripped you off big time.

Its clear that you two have never purchased/priced out Oakley prescription sunglasses with genuine Oakley prescription lenses (not generic lenses). Oakley prescription genuine lenses, run about 600-900 bucks depending on what options are selected. And before someone starts talking about how there is no difference between regular prescription lenses and Oakley prescription lenses... please go see in person for yourself... the difference if HUGE! That said, is it 600-900 bucks huge, well that is a personal decision.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Whether or not a person spent $300 or $1200 on a pair of glasses isn't the issue, or anyone's business.

What is the issue is why a DCL CM caused something to be broken, assured OP several times that shoreside would handle it and then they didn't. Not only didn't they handle it, but they were rude about it. It's just wrong to treat people that way.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

You might try homeowners insurance too. I lost a watch and earrings on a cruise and got full reimbursement through our homeowners insurance.

I want to chime in on this point. For such high value items, it might be worth it to go to the homeowners insurance, if the trip insurance doesn't work.

Also, years ago, my wife and I took out a "personal articles" policy with our insurance company. We listed some jewelry, cameras, etc. that are fairly costly. The personal articles policy has lower deductibles (ours has none), higher limits, and pays out for instances (like losing things) that homeowners sometimes doesn't. The annual cost isn't very high, and we have claimed on it a couple of times without issue. They won't cover our cell phones (I asked), but expensive sunglasses would probably be fine. Something to consider for the future.