My nightmare with Disney cruiseline and irma

[bumbershoot]

Keep in mind that midwesterners typically have basements, for tornadoes.

Basements are uncommon in the south, and no help whatsoever against hurricanes.

The underground shelter Richard Branson has seemed to help him on his private island.

 

[AquaDame]

The underground shelter Richard Branson has seemed to help him on his private island.

With all the reports of flooding that went along with the hurricanes the idea of sheltering in a basement makes me nervous... I live in the PNW though. Until the "big one" hits (9+ earthquake we are due for) none of us have experience vs mother nature.

 

[marx]

You chose to travel to Florida when it was already clear that the hurricane would strike the state. You managed to keep a roof over your head, had clean water, and food. I have ZERO pity for you. People are dead and dying. Disney did absolutely nothing wrong. The state of Florida was already evacuating people when you WENT there. This is 100% on you.

I think this is a bit harsh.

The OP seems to have limited available funds and credit. (Mostly based on the her report that she stayed at POR and was billed for it. Which was a wonderful thing for Disney to do). She called DCL when Irma was a possibility and was told she could not cancel without a significant penalty at that time. The reason was that at that time, there was no Hurricane warning for Port Canaveral, which means that the Hurricane did have a possibility of missing the port. No, she was not encouraged to go, but she was not discouraged either. And, if she didn't go, she would have lost significant money if the cruised sailed. So, she went to WDW hoping for the best. Lastly, she tried to re-book her flight out of Florida to leave before Irma but could not do so.

I think DCL should have provided just a bit more support for her. Many people did not even travel to Florida for their cruises, and many of the people who did likely made their own alternate arrangements - so these requests for assistance finding accommodations couldn't have been that great (and I know rooms were very scarce). IMO the OP asking DCL for assistance was not out of place and should have been provided - or at least attempted.

 

[ChicosWife]

If you are as aware of the "Disney way" as you say you are, you should be aware that any Disney CM is going to agree with you, regardless if you're right or not.

I was thinking this too.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, but I honestly don't see what DCL did wrong. They cancelled the cruise with enough time for passengers to cancel or change their plans. Since you had a prior reservation at WDW, you traveled in sooner than other passengers who were only cruising. Did you try to reschedule your flight home? I don't doubt that it was likely very difficult to do at that point. That being said, it seems to me that if you decided to travel to an area with a hurricane bearing down, you should have been more prepared. I don't see why DCL should be responsible for putting you up in a hotel during what would have been your cruise. DCL will refund your cruise fare, they shouldn't have to pay for an extended stay elsewhere.

I live in Florida and I can tell you there was ZERO chance of changing her flight once the cruise was cancelled. Airports here were a nightmare. And BTW, DCL was not the only one. Other cruise lines were dumping thousands of passengers in Miami days early with no way of getting home. Many of these people ended up in public shelters because they couldn't get a flight home.

 

[lklgoodman]

Keep in mind that midwesterners typically have basements, for tornadoes.

Basements are uncommon in the south, and no help whatsoever against hurricanes.

OT, I grew up in Oklahoma, tornado alley. Homes in OK don't have basements, never understood why. We now live in Ohio and have a basement, have lived here for 14 years and have never had even a tornado warning. My mom in OK had some kind of shelter pod put in her garage after the last tornado that destroyed Moore, OK years ago. Now she just needs something to protect her from all the earthquakes they are having now.

We usually cruise sometime during Jan-April, so not during hurricane season. We've always gotten the insurance Disney sells. I'm thinking we should get something better though. Guess I'll check to see what our credit cards offer.

 

[DnA2010]

I think OP has been bashed enough about her finances, and honestly none of us know what her personal situation was at the time. This will happen again maybe this year or next and the same problems will arise. I think DCL did a better job this year then they did last year with Mathew...so that's progress.

I don't know if it's bashing the OP on her finances, but the shock of her travelling without a contingency- I'm sure she has learned from this that it isn't a good idea to do such.

 

[SunnyDhappy]

I don't think there are any mean or harsh comments made to OP. I usually am quite sensitive in these discussion boards and call out rude comments but not one has been made to the OP.

Honestly? Yes lots of honest and direct honest comments maybe a couple of brutally honest comments.

I think OP came here to commiserate about her tough luck and maybe a little of DCL bashing.

I think most people making the comments are looking at it all from personal responsibility perspective. In the OP comments she takes no responsibility for her part in the predicament she got herself into at all. She is pointing her finger at DCL and not thinking about her role.

Like others have said she assumed risks when booking a cruise in September and than assumed more risk by traveling to a hurricane alerted state. If she would have taken her 75% cruise credit and not left than I am pretty sure she would come out of head and less stress involved but she made a decision. You and only you are responsible for outcomes based on your decisions. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!

I have cruised DCL 12 times and would never had the expectation that would find me accommodations in the case of cancellations. It boggles my mind that some peoples expectations are beyond reason. I have always been impressed with Disney and DCL have gone beyond our expectations.

A few years (6 yrs actually) back we went to WDW had the 7 days package hotel/park when on the 3rd day we got a rolling case of the tummy virus. We were all down in the hotel room for 3 days. I called the manager and asked what could be done. He asked if we had insurance and we didn't. A couple hours later, he called and said he would give us 1 days tickets for every day not used on 7 days passes. We ended up with 12 one day tickets. We were able to use them over the last few years going down to WDW on our way to a cruise. Now I never imagined or expected that as we didn't have insurance but we were all blown away by the act. We were surprised and delighted but if I had these crazy high expectations that were not meant by Disney than I may have ended up feeling let down.

We also had an issue 5 yrs on DCL and I booked a balcony room on deck 10 on Fantasy. It was our 3rd DCL cruise but I had no idea that the location of our room was below Maters and at 10pm to 12pm you would be hearing tables and chairs being pulled across the floor. My kids were fast asleep but I was lying there wide awake with all the noise. I was like oh heck no I can not listen to this for 7 nights. Well after mid night and not being able to sleep, I went down to Customer services to inquire about our room location. I had no expectations at all I was just frustrated that our perfect room location was not ideal for going to bed. They offered to move our room right there at that moment. I was like well my kids are fast asleep. When they arranged for us to moved in the morning. They even sent CMs to help pack and move our bags. They upgraded to Deluxe Family Vernada and than proceeded to send us gifts from customer service every day. My expectations were low. I knew I had selected the room on my own accord so I didn't believe they could do anything for us. They blew us out of the water with their service.


When you have unreasonable expectations you will always get disappointed.

 

[bumbershoot]

I live in Florida and I can tell you there was ZERO chance of changing her flight once the cruise was cancelled. Airports here were a nightmare. And BTW, DCL was not the only one. Other cruise lines were dumping thousands of passengers in Miami days early with no way of getting home. Many of these people ended up in public shelters because they couldn't get a flight home.

I can't remember what day it was, but DH had a coworker who was telling people he was stranded in Miami and couldn't get out for 3 days. I quickly got onto Kayak and found him a flight, several flights but this one was cheap and nonstop, within one minute of looking. The next minute was spend verifying that it was also on the airline's website along with all the others.

I'm not sure where HE was looking, though I suspect he was using amazon's awful corporate TA company who can't seem to do anything much.

Don't trust any third party to make your travel arrangements when speed is needed. Well, unless you're asking ME for help.

 

[nikkyluvsmickey]

I think this is a bit harsh.

The OP seems to have limited available funds and credit. (Mostly based on the fact that she stayed at POR and was billed for it. Which was a wonderful thing for Disney to do). She called DCL when Irma was a possibility and was told she could not cancel without a significant penalty at that time. The reason was that at that time, there was no Hurricane warning for Port Canaveral, which means that the Hurricane did have a possibility of missing the port. No, she was not encouraged to go, but she was not discouraged either. And, if she didn't go, she would have lost significant money if the cruised sailed. So, she went to WDW hoping for the best. Lastly, she tried to re-book her flight out of Florida to leave before Irma but could not do so.

I think DCL should have provided just a bit more support for her. Many people did not even travel to Florida for their cruises, and many of the people who did likely made their own alternate arrangements - so these requests for assistance finding accommodations couldn't have been that great (and I know rooms were very scarce). So, I think the OP asking DCL for assistance was not out of place and should have been provided - or at least attempted.

thank you

 

[bumbershoot]

If she would have taken her 75% cruise credit and not left than I am pretty sure she would come out of head and less stress involved

That's what I was trying to say but didn't. Thank you. Unless she was paying the earth for her cruise.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I live in Florida and I can tell you there was ZERO chance of changing her flight once the cruise was cancelled. Airports here were a nightmare. And BTW, DCL was not the only one. Other cruise lines were dumping thousands of passengers in Miami days early with no way of getting home. Many of these people ended up in public shelters because they couldn't get a flight home.

I can't dispute this. Nevertheless, if I made a decision to travel into a hurricane with uncertainty as to whether my cruise would be canceled, you better believe I would have booked hotel reservations for the intended cruise nights just in case before I ever left home. If I couldn't find a room that far out anywhere near Orlando, that would have been enough to convince me to stay home.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

The truth is, this hurricane was well beyond the normal "trip disruption". It was a disaster on a scale not seen here. Normal contingency plans like finding a hotel or rebooking your flight were out the window and it became a survival-first type of scenario. I feel for the people caught up in it. I also realize that the cruise lines would have had an impossible time trying to find hotels for their passengers that were stranded. It truly was something you couldn't plan for on vacation.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I can't dispute this. Nevertheless, if I made a decision to travel into a hurricane with uncertainty as to whether my cruise would be canceled, you better believe I would have booked hotel reservations for the intended cruise nights just in case before I ever left home. If I couldn't find a room that far out anywhere near Orlando, that would have been enough to convince me to stay home.

That feeds into the whole "hurricane season is cheaper to cruise in for a reason" argument.

 

[cruiser21]

I don't know if it's bashing the OP on her finances, but the shock of her travelling without a contingency- I'm sure she has learned from this that it isn't a good idea to do such.

Just curious what continency plans do you make when traveling to WDW or a cruise. Other then having a credit card or some extra cash I'm not sure what you can do. I generally don't draw up disaster plans and evacuation routes when I travel.

I can only imagine the horror stories cruisers endured in Houston. Airports closed, road closed...really no way in or out. It does make me think twice about cruising in hurricane season again.

 

[SunnyDhappy]

Just curious what continency plans do you make when traveling to WDW or a cruise. Other then having a credit card or some extra cash I'm not sure what you can do. I generally don't draw up disaster plans and evacuation routes when I travel.

I can only imagine the horror stories cruisers endured in Houston. Airports closed, road closed...really no way in or out. It does make me think twice about cruising in hurricane season again.

If you left home to fly into a hurricane alerted area/state, you won't have a back up plan in place or an idea of what you were going to do if they cancel your cruise which was highly likely at the point she went into Florida?

 

[Macprincess]

Op I'm sorry that you went through the disappointment you did with the inability to know in advance before you left home if your cruise would be canceled. Also, the additional stress you endured when the cruise was eventually canceled. I understand the frustration you must have been feeling being stuck in Florida with difficulty finding hotel rooms with a hurricane approaching. I hope you learned a valuable lesson and always have emergency funds available to you when you travel. (A tip for the future have cash because in hurricanes credit cards machines & ATM's don't work without power.) I understand why it would be frustrating that Disney Cruise Line had not officially canceled the cruise before you left home. Yet, since you made the decision to proceed to Florida knowing there was a possibility that a hurricane was headed here and hence the very big chance that your scheduled cruise would be canceled I would suggest that in the future you make hotel reservations that an be canceled without penalty before you arrive to a possible hurricane zone. If you don't have the funds to do so then I would suggest cutting your losses before you leave home and not proceeding to Florida with an impending hurricane in the forecast.

Weather is one of those uncontrollable factors in life. I have been trapped in many a snow storm when traveling for work where airlines cancel flights. I have had to pay for many unexpected nights in hotel rooms and meals. We own our business so all added expenses are mine and my husbands. It's expensive and stinks but life is at times unpredictable.

I am a Florida resident and with all due respect I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for your situation right now. After enduring several days of boarding up ours and several of our elderly neighbors homes and spending an unplanned fortune on hurricane supplies for us and our neighbors. We watched on Friday afternoon as the hurricane path took a turn and we were projected to take a direct hit. Due to the possibility of storm surge we had no choice but to evacuate our family. Within a matter of less then an hour at around 1am on Saturday my husband and I grabbed our 3 children, dog, cat, insurance papers, vital records and about four changes of clothes each and piled in our truck. Our college age son was behind us in his car loaded with 4 of our elderly neighbors & their vital belongings. We had no time to plan before we were forced to leave. Other then heading north and praying we would be able to get out in time. It took 23 hours of straight driving to get from Sarasota, FL to Pigeon Forge Tennessee which was the first place we were able to book last minute that would accept pets. We stopped only for gas and bathroom breaks. It was an exhausting trip which no one had budgeted for. I'm dreading seeing what my credit card statement will be this month. Yet, we were safely out of harms way and felt blessed to be so. Then we had to wait to see IF we would have homes to return to. Thankfully we did.
After another 24 hours of driving in bumper to bumper traffic we returned home this morning. We were very lucky and only suffered minor roof damage, lost a fence, some trees, and our screen room is gone. None of this matters. It's all repairable and given a little time life will go back to normal.

I tell you all of this not to gain your sympathy. We are very happy and counting our blessings as many have lost so much more. Yet, please keep in mind that those DCL cast members you spoke with were trying to do their job while probably trying to figure out their own messy hurricane situation. Honestly, a canceled cruise, why expensive and disappointing is nothing compared to what those cast members on the phone were probably facing. I'm sorry you had to figure out last minute lodging and how to get food with limited funds available to you. I'm happy for you that the Port Orleans manager stepped in to help you out. I would bet my bottom dollar that that same manager was more then likely worried about how they would feed their family without electricity for days, a possible storm damaged home, if he or she has children who will keep them for the next several days as our schools are all closed, and where they would have the funds to come up with to pay for all the added expenses placed on a family in a hurricane. Yet, the well trained Disney cast member kept a smile on their face and did all they could to help you out because that is how Disney treats their guest. True you didn't receive the same Disney treatment from DCL as you have come to expect. Yet, when DCL realized in an emergency situation that they could not provide guest with a safe situation on board they canceled and will be returning you your cruise fare. It's disappointing I know but trust me you had it pretty darn good compared to what most of Florida just endured this week. So please understand in my world at the moment your complaint is ridiculous given the situation in Florida. You had a beautiful resort to stay in, someone cooking your meals, and maid service why you suffered the loss of a cruise. Not a bad life considering you knew a hurricane was headed here a elected to come anyway. I hope you make it home safely and the cruise fare refund takes care of your addition days at Disney World.

 

[cruiser21]

If you left home to fly into a hurricane alerted area/state, you won't have a back up plan in place or an idea of what you were going to do if they cancel your cruise which was highly likely at the point she went into Florida?

I get that, but what back plan would you have? It seems like op came up with a back up plan. She talked to manager got a hotel extension on the bill. She is going to get the bill sent in the mail. It seems like she did a good job of handling the situation. I'm not sure why she blames dcl, but it all seemed to turn out ok. People want to bash her for not having the funds, but it sounds like she's going to pay WDW as soon as her refund comes through.

 

[kollerbear]

You want maybe 200 reps in various states making phone calls for 5000 people? When you could be in charge of your destiny so much easier? I'd be laughing at people letting Disney do the work as I got my reservations secured in short order.

I'm not expecting individual reps to call for individual people. When you cancel a cruise, you can expect that you are going to be displacing hundreds if not thousands of people into a place where there are few hotel rooms. Yes, it is a LOT faster for a company to call another company and negotiate a mass reservation for people as they come off of ships or are unable to get onto their ships. Hmmm I wonder what hospitality company in Central FL could they possibly coordinate a mass booking with??

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think, as a general rule of thumb, we can assume that Sir Richard's wine cellar is probably built to a standard well above that of most basements, or, possibly, even of most bomb shelters.

Because, like, Sir Richard, KWIM?

The underground shelter Richard Branson has seemed to help him on his private island.