Today I Love Member Services

[MinnieFan]

Well, today started out on a not-too-great note - our early morning flight was cancelled due to yesterday's storms, so we are missing the boat for our first Disney cruise . Needless to say, we're all very disappointed, but we figured we would drive down and still check into the Boardwalk as planned on Sunday.

I called Member Services to see if it was possible to add a day to the front end of our reservation. I figured this was a long shot with President's Day week approaching, but it never hurts to try. A very nice CM helped us by finding a vacancy at a 1-BR at Saratoga for Saturday. So my very sad DKids were cheered up by the prospect of one extra day at Disney.

I guess it's a pretty good day after all.

 

[Boardwalker]

Oh, sorry about missing the cruise. But you have a wonderful attitude about it. I hope your extra day in Disney is sun drenched and magical.

 

[BroganMc]

Well, today started out on a not-too-great note - our early morning flight was cancelled due to yesterday's storms, so we are missing the boat for our first Disney cruise . Needless to say, we're all very disappointed, but we figured we would drive down and still check into the Boardwalk as planned on Sunday.

I was afraid people would be caught out of their plans because of this storm. Good to know there were rooms at the inn for ya. Hope it's nice and warm down there.

 

[aes74]

Well, if I can give you any comfort, it will be much warmer when you are down here with us, and I promise there won't be any snow!!!

 

[byoung]

Hope you had insurance on the cruise. Sorry you had to miss it, have a great stay.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm sorry about the weather, and missing the cruise. Have a great time at WDW!

Bobbi

 

[abk96]

Sorry to hear you missed your cruise. But you still get to go to DW and we're all still here in the snow. Yuck!

Have a great time and I'm glad your kids are happy again.

 

[simzac]

Just another reason I hate winters. Hope the OP has a great time at WDW.

 

[disneymom8589]

Enjoy your extra day. You deserve it!

 

[wisbucky]

So sorry to hear you missed your cruise. Sending pixie dust your way for a special trip.

 

[txbradybunch]

I can't imagine how disappointed you must be - hearing about missing the cruise made me so sad my eyes filled up with tears. And then I had a thought about how things always happend for a reason and I'm wishing that on that special extra day at Disney you get one of the Million Dreams - or something really incredible happens for your family!

I wish I were a member of the dream team - I would come find you!

 

[MinnieFan]

I just wanted to post a quick update. Thanks to everyone for their kind replies. We ended up having a wonderful trip to WDW. The weather was beautiful and much warmer than here in NY!

Today we received payment in full for the missed cruise from the insurance company. I had been very worried that they would deny the claim or only provide partial reimbursement. I sent them all the documentation I could think of, including copies of the National Weather Service travel advisories from the day of the storm. This is a big relief, now we can book another cruise when it is convenient and hopefully when the weather is better!

Incidentally, the people at Disney Cruise Line were fantastic - they told us that if the insurance company did not reimburse us they would immediately let us book another cruise within a year, so we would not lose all that money. Disney knows how to treat their customers, that's for sure.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm glad to read about the customer service you received, both from the insurance comapnay and DCL!

Bobbi

 

[maminnie]

MinnieFan:

So sorry to hear you missed your cruise but so glad you had a good time at WDW and that all worked out well with the insurance.

May I ask did you book your flights through DCL or on your own? Did you have insurance through DCL or did you use another company?

Our next cruise is winter '08 and it is stories like yours as well as those that I heard from people at the airports coming back from Disney a few weeks ago that really scare me.

Thanks for your help,
maminnie

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Really glad you had a great time, and even more happy that you got your money's worth with the insurance. Anyone contemplating a cruise should get insurance. I hope you will post your experience on the cruise board (if you haven't already). Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[MinnieFan]

May I ask did you book your flights through DCL or on your own? Did you have insurance through DCL or did you use another company?

We booked the air on our own. We booked the cruise insurance through Disney (Access America is the company they use). I also had separate travel insurance on the DVC portion of the trip through Travel Guard, the company DVC recommends.

This winter seems to have been especially bad for travel horror stories. We almost always travel in December, January or February and this is the first time we've had a problem like this - I guess we've been lucky until this year.

 

[JTimber]

I'm glad this worked out for the OP.

We should all take a lesson from this: Never book your flights to fly in the day of the cruise departure or even the day before. You really need to arrive 2 nights prior, that way in the event of delays you wouldn't miss the cruise.

I'd say I'm quite surprised you were refunded. Those insurance co. will look for ANY reason to deny a claim. I'm surpised they don't have it mandatory that you must arrive early to avoid these common delays then a missed cruise.

I hope your next cruise goes as planned.


Jay

 

[kimberh]

I am so glad this worked out. My heart sunk, when I first started reading this.

 

[Doctor P]

I just wanted to post a quick update. Thanks to everyone for their kind replies. We ended up having a wonderful trip to WDW. The weather was beautiful and much warmer than here in NY!

Today we received payment in full for the missed cruise from the insurance company. I had been very worried that they would deny the claim or only provide partial reimbursement. I sent them all the documentation I could think of, including copies of the National Weather Service travel advisories from the day of the storm. This is a big relief, now we can book another cruise when it is convenient and hopefully when the weather is better!

Incidentally, the people at Disney Cruise Line were fantastic - they told us that if the insurance company did not reimburse us they would immediately let us book another cruise within a year, so we would not lose all that money. Disney knows how to treat their customers, that's for sure.

Don't be so certain that DCL was being fantastic. What was offered in our case was the right to rebook within a year AT RACK RATE. DCL's offer would have cost us more out of pocket than the entire cruise cost originally even after crediting the amount we had paid for the cruise. Disney is normally pretty good, and DCL has gotten slightly better, but DCL has been notoriously poor in dealing with people in these situations and notoriously inconsistent. I'm glad it worked out for you, and I'm glad that, like us, your travel insurance came through for you.