Upcoming port/itinerary changes HERE

[Betsypup]

From a business perspective, I am completely sympathetic to how difficult this must be on DCL and the other cruise lines. I cannot imagine how much work is going on behind the scenes, all the while trying to remain sensitive to the fact that many islands have been decimated. However (and also from a business perspective), I don't think it is at all unreasonable for customers who are booked for a 10/21 (and even an 11/4) cruise to receive some sort of communication from DCL--a simple "thank you for your understanding. We are working with the various ports, etc. to make certain that you are safe and satisfied."

 

[micknme]

We are also on 10/21. I can just imagine the uproar if our new cruise isn't exactly as they wanted. I like how you put it... if the people are not liking the new itinerary, they will have another cow and start organizing another write in or phone campaign. The poor cm's who had to deal with this organized massive complaining. I had to stop reading our fb page because I was so frustrated with people more concerned with the islands they might have to now go to than they were of the tragedy of those who lived through those hurricanes.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

All of the cruise contracts state that your ports are not guaranteed. They try to take you to the ports scheduled, but they are not always successful. It's like missing Castaway Cay, which sometimes happens due to weather. If they offer any kind of special refund due to switching from the Eastern to the Western, I would be surprised because they certainly are not obligated to do so. But, you'll still be on a cruise on a DCL ship, so relax and enjoy your vacation.

 

[Betsypup]

All of the cruise contracts state that your ports are not guaranteed. They try to take you to the ports scheduled, but they are not always successful. It's like missing Castaway Cay, which sometimes happens due to weather. If they offer any kind of special refund due to switching from the Eastern to the Western, I would be surprised because they certainly are not obligated to do so. But, you'll still be on a cruise on a DCL ship, so relax and enjoy your vacation.

You are absolutely correct and from a legal standpoint I don't think anyone has a legitimate beef. From a customer service perspective, it makes solid sense for DCL to simply touch base with a reassuring email. Will everyone still get to enjoy a wonderful vacation? No doubt. Could DCL provide some comfort and that magical extra its customers have grown to love (and maybe unnecessarily expect)? Indeed.

 

[KdKyA]

My frustration is in the fact that concierge and clubs levels are able to book things in order of club level and then newbies. I am just silver and not sailing concierge. Yet from previous accounts, all the levels and newbies were open for booking on the same day for the cruises that switched. Only to also find out that the sea day is now a port day and now they have to choose between port excursions or onboard activities. It also appears that pirate night changed as well, so people that planned their Palo dinners or whatever activities around that, they lose out because by the time they could switch it around the new itinerary, everything was totally booked. The cruise on the 23rd was in triage mode and understandably things were way too chaotic for organization. The one on the 7th has plenty of time to reorganize. The other frustrating thing is that we are due to be in port with over 16,600 other cruise passengers at Grand Cayman. Most of them have already booked their excursions. On a normal day, it gets pretty crowded and excursions fill up. Add a couple more huge ships to that, and that basically leaves "scraps" for availability in port excursions for those having an itinerary change. So, not only do we not get the original cruise, we lose out on our desired ports, we go to an overcrowded port, don't get the better of the time slots or excursions if any at all, then have to cancel the activities we really wanted onboard if we want to go to port, etc., When people want to change onboard activities, they can't because everything is booked. If we cancel the cruise, we don't get our money back since we are after the PIF date, plus those that booked with a placeholder lose those benefits as well.
There is no compensation for any of this. There is no communication for any of us sailing before the new year. For those in the military, they are having their leave revoked because they don't have a definite vacation destination, and when they called DCL to get confirmation of location, they get no answers. We have a few people in our cruise group that have to cancel their vacations and lose money because of this. All the while, we get the same blasted message on the DCL main page saying all itineraries remain the same after Oct. 7th yet you go to the Port Authority pages and they all say where DCL will be, and it's not the Eastern itineraries.
I am an avid DCL lover, fan, obsessed, you name it. Even I can look past the hype and see DCL is really screwing this up.
Before people post about "oh wow 1st world problems" or "at least you'll be on the ship" or "the islanders are living in horrible conditions, etc. etc. have some perspective", sorry, but people can be upset at more that one thing at a time. It sucks for the islanders, and I would love to be able to spend my tourist money over there helping them to rebuild, but I can also be upset about not getting the vacation we paid for. Yes, we will be on the ship, but unlike others who will just be happy on the ship, some of us actually pay to get off the ship and see the islands and ports. I know DCL can't magically fix the ports and all, but they most definitely can work on their communication with passengers.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We are supposed to leave for our 11 night trip in about nine days. It's crazy, but I am not excited at all. I'm really on the fence about what to do here.

I would have preferred Costa Maya instead of Jamaica. But thats just me. It is still better than 7 nights at sea!!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

All of the cruise contracts state that your ports are not guaranteed. They try to take you to the ports scheduled, but they are not always successful. It's like missing Castaway Cay, which sometimes happens due to weather. If they offer any kind of special refund due to switching from the Eastern to the Western, I would be surprised because they certainly are not obligated to do so. But, you'll still be on a cruise on a DCL ship, so relax and enjoy your vacation.

We are all aware of what the contract says. They are not offering refunds. For our sailing they offered to change it. They are not obliged to do so. We know.
Customer service and lack of info is what most folks have a beef with here.

And no, I am not happy to just be on the boat. I am spending $10k. I am still working to come up with a plan I will be happy with...however that is a challenge since we have a lack of info.

 

[micknme]

W

My frustration is in the fact that concierge and clubs levels are able to book things in order of club level and then newbies. I am just silver and not sailing concierge. Yet from previous accounts, all the levels and newbies were open for booking on the same day for the cruises that switched. Only to also find out that the sea day is now a port day and now they have to choose between port excursions or onboard activities. It also appears that pirate night changed as well, so people that planned their Palo dinners or whatever activities around that, they lose out because by the time they could switch it around the new itinerary, everything was totally booked. The cruise on the 23rd was in triage mode and understandably things were way too chaotic for organization. The one on the 7th has plenty of time to reorganize. The other frustrating thing is that we are due to be in port with over 16,600 other cruise passengers at Grand Cayman. Most of them have already booked their excursions. On a normal day, it gets pretty crowded and excursions fill up. Add a couple more huge ships to that, and that basically leaves "scraps" for availability in port excursions for those having an itinerary change. So, not only do we not get the original cruise, we lose out on our desired ports, we go to an overcrowded port, don't get the better of the time slots or excursions if any at all, then have to cancel the activities we really wanted onboard if we want to go to port, etc., When people want to change onboard activities, they can't because everything is booked. If we cancel the cruise, we don't get our money back since we are after the PIF date, plus those that booked with a placeholder lose those benefits as well.
There is no compensation for any of this. There is no communication for any of us sailing before the new year. For those in the military, they are having their leave revoked because they don't have a definite vacation destination, and when they called DCL to get confirmation of location, they get no answers. We have a few people in our cruise group that have to cancel their vacations and lose money because of this. All the while, we get the same blasted message on the DCL main page saying all itineraries remain the same after Oct. 7th yet you go to the Port Authority pages and they all say where DCL will be, and it's not the Eastern itineraries.
I am an avid DCL lover, fan, obsessed, you name it. Even I can look past the hype and see DCL is really screwing this up.
Before people post about "oh wow 1st world problems" or "at least you'll be on the ship" or "the islanders are living in horrible conditions, etc. etc. have some perspective", sorry, but people can be upset at more that one thing at a time. It sucks for the islanders, and I would love to be able to spend my tourist money over there helping them to rebuild, but I can also be upset about not getting the vacation we paid for. Yes, we will be on the ship, but unlike others who will just be happy on the ship, some of us actually pay to get off the ship and see the islands and ports. I know DCL can't magically fix the ports and all, but they most definitely can work on their communication with passengers.

Wow.just.wow...

 

[Miller9568]

Yikes! I think they must be concerned with a lot of people postponing with too much notice. Technically they don't have to allow it though.

That came to mind for me too. We are going either way. Waiting for this reason, if this is the reason, really only profits DCL and at the expense of their guests. We would like to plan our non-sea days. We will enjoy our time as a family regardless. With our youngest being 4, we do need some time to plan as we like to explore. For people who will be unhappy with the alternatives, the two week notice is only going to upset them more IMO. All things considered, the lack of communication is what really bothers me. Telling people that you are taking them as planned to islands that are either uninhabitable or completely diressed is not right (for cruises less than 1 mo out).

 

[ITGirl50]

Are character breakfast ended up on Grand Cayman morning. Like you, that is the only port we are even remotely interested in repeating. I have tried to change it and there's no other availability at all.

It's been reported by those people on the two Easterns that were rescheduled for Westerns that the second sea day onboard activities have been rescheduled for the Grand Cayman port day. Since there are only two sea days on the western, that's how DCL rescheduled that extra sea day. I'm wondering if they made special arrangements with Grand Cayman to allow them to do that? Why pick GC instead of Cozumel, since that's really when we have it scheduled?

 

[micknme]

We are all aware of what the contract says. They are not offering refunds. For our sailing they offered to change it. They are not obliged to do so. We know.
Customer service and lack of info is what most folks have a beef with here.

And no, I am not happy to just be on the boat. I am spending $10k. I am still working to come up with a plan I will be happy with...however that is a challenge since we have a lack of info.

Ok I get what you are saying regarding the lack of information from DCL. I agree.

As for money being spent, for us it's paying for three rooms to a total of almost $20,000. For me to spend money like this almost embarrasses me when I think what this amount could do for the damaged islands. I refuse to complain regarding my cruise over small things and yes I mean booking excursions. To this I say big deal. I am on my vacation with family and that is most important for us. Oh and just to put things in perspective why I feel this way. I travel the world for a living going to third world countries freeing people from bondage. When you see children working as slaves in mines and quarries, you know what is important in life. And it isn't spending time on a beautiful island going on excursions.

 

[ITGirl50]

My frustration is in the fact that concierge and clubs levels are able to book things in order of club level and then newbies. I am just silver and not sailing concierge. Yet from previous accounts, all the levels and newbies were open for booking on the same day for the cruises that switched. Only to also find out that the sea day is now a port day and now they have to choose between port excursions or onboard activities. It also appears that pirate night changed as well, so people that planned their Palo dinners or whatever activities around that, they lose out because by the time they could switch it around the new itinerary, everything was totally booked. The cruise on the 23rd was in triage mode and understandably things were way too chaotic for organization. The one on the 7th has plenty of time to reorganize. The other frustrating thing is that we are due to be in port with over 16,600 other cruise passengers at Grand Cayman. Most of them have already booked their excursions. On a normal day, it gets pretty crowded and excursions fill up. Add a couple more huge ships to that, and that basically leaves "scraps" for availability in port excursions for those having an itinerary change. So, not only do we not get the original cruise, we lose out on our desired ports, we go to an overcrowded port, don't get the better of the time slots or excursions if any at all, then have to cancel the activities we really wanted onboard if we want to go to port, etc., When people want to change onboard activities, they can't because everything is booked. If we cancel the cruise, we don't get our money back since we are after the PIF date, plus those that booked with a placeholder lose those benefits as well.
There is no compensation for any of this. There is no communication for any of us sailing before the new year. For those in the military, they are having their leave revoked because they don't have a definite vacation destination, and when they called DCL to get confirmation of location, they get no answers. We have a few people in our cruise group that have to cancel their vacations and lose money because of this. All the while, we get the same blasted message on the DCL main page saying all itineraries remain the same after Oct. 7th yet you go to the Port Authority pages and they all say where DCL will be, and it's not the Eastern itineraries.
I am an avid DCL lover, fan, obsessed, you name it. Even I can look past the hype and see DCL is really screwing this up.
Before people post about "oh wow 1st world problems" or "at least you'll be on the ship" or "the islanders are living in horrible conditions, etc. etc. have some perspective", sorry, but people can be upset at more that one thing at a time. It sucks for the islanders, and I would love to be able to spend my tourist money over there helping them to rebuild, but I can also be upset about not getting the vacation we paid for. Yes, we will be on the ship, but unlike others who will just be happy on the ship, some of us actually pay to get off the ship and see the islands and ports. I know DCL can't magically fix the ports and all, but they most definitely can work on their communication with passengers.

I totally agree with you on this. This will be our 8th DCL cruise scheduled for 10/21. We love the Eastern ports and are extremely sad about what has happened there. My frustration with DCL is that they are waiting until the last minute to announce the change even when they know it has to change. This is done only for their benefit with no benefit for their customers. We too are Disney fans and own DVC. We are constantly giving them a pass on how they handle things.

We have decided we will enjoy this cruise reguardless. I'm not wasting thousands of dollars on vacation to go in with a bad attitude about it. That will set it up for failure. DCL just needs to get their act together.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Ok I get what you are saying regarding the lack of information from DCL. I agree.

As for money being spent, for us it's paying for three rooms to a total of almost $20,000. For me to spend money like this almost embarrasses me when I think what this amount could do for the damaged islands. I refuse to complain regarding my cruise over small things and yes I mean booking excursions. To this I say big deal. I am on my vacation with family and that is most important for us. Oh and just to put things in perspective why I feel this way. I travel the world for a living going to third world countries freeing people from bondage. When you see children working as slaves in mines and quarries, you know what is important in life. And it isn't spending time on a beautiful island going on excursions.

no reason to be embarrassed for affording a trip you worked hard to pay for. Donate to the islands as well. There is no reason to not enjoy life because others are suffering tragedy. We all end up with tragedy at some point or another.

 

[Betsypup]

Ok I get what you are saying regarding the lack of information from DCL. I agree.

As for money being spent, for us it's paying for three rooms to a total of almost $20,000. For me to spend money like this almost embarrasses me when I think what this amount could do for the damaged islands. I refuse to complain regarding my cruise over small things and yes I mean booking excursions. To this I say big deal. I am on my vacation with family and that is most important for us. Oh and just to put things in perspective why I feel this way. I travel the world for a living going to third world countries freeing people from bondage. When you see children working as slaves in mines and quarries, you know what is important in life. And it isn't spending time on a beautiful island going on excursions.

And that's the rub though, isn't it? I spent nearly the same amount of money so I'm not judging you by any stretch. But we both spent that money knowing there are all kinds of atrocities in the world where perhaps others could judge us for even spending that amount money on an extravagant vacation. I guess for me, spending money or expecting good communication or a return on my investment isn't dependent on the good work I regularly try to do at work and on a personal level outside of my vacation. It certainly doesn't negate my ability to receive solid customer service.

There are a lot of people here who spent a lot of money for a one time vacation and it's totally fair that they expect some communication. Being lectured on the devastation isn't fair. We all know how terrible this is and can feel deep sadness for the poor people on the islands. They aren't mutually exclusive.

Many years ago we were supposed to travel to Antigua on our honeymoon and three months out the island was obliterated. Sandals contacted us a week later--months before our trip--and told us we were being re-routed at some point and would provide details at a later date. What more could we expect? We appreciated the contact and ended up in St. Lucia--finding out about the destination about 1.5 months out.

 

[Betsypup]

Sorry! Quick trigger finger.

 

[AquaDame]

Agreed - there is no need for anyone to lecture any one else on what is important to them or their family here. The devastation is staggering - I'd wager many of us can't even begin to comprehend what these islands are going through right now. Some people are going to take the changes to their vacation in stride well and some won't regardless of the cause of it. Thats going to have to be OK - the boards don't want any of us putting each other down. Please try to have patience and be kind to each other - there is no way for anyone to know what that internet stranger on the other end is going through in their lives.

 

[KdKyA]

no reason to be embarrassed for affording a trip you worked hard to pay for. Donate to the islands as well. There is no reason to not enjoy life because others are suffering tragedy. We all end up with tragedy at some point or another.

This. I have lost 3 brothers in the last couple of years. My nephews are growing up without fathers. We go on vacation and plan our vacations to be together. We have bucket list items that we all want to do in life, since we know how precious and, unfortunately, how short life can be. To expect communication from DCL is not expecting too much. It would be really simple, and smart, for them to come out and say, "yes, we have reserved Western Caribbean Islands for the forceable future, we even have ports scheduled in" and perhaps even go as far as to give people at minimum a month out and time to book excursions. We paid for 3 sea days, we aren't getting that. The ship is not fully "open" on port days. They have things blocked off for maintenance etc. So in the end, even with switched ports, we aren't really getting what we paid for.
Of course we will be on the ship and have fun with family, and to the other poster, yes, I too have been a world traveler. I'm a combat veteran as well as my husband, we have seen horrible things. Yet we do these vacations and plan them the way they are to be able to spend time together doing the things we paid for.
In simpler terms, if I pay for a Big Mac, I expect a Big Mac, if someone hand me a Whopper, will I eat it, sure, doesn't mean I won't be frustrated that I didn't get what I paid for. I will probably still enjoy that Whopper. However, it would have been nice for them to tell me ahead of time I would not be getting a Big Mac.

 

[phinz]

It's been reported by those people on the two Easterns that were rescheduled for Westerns that the second sea day onboard activities have been rescheduled for the Grand Cayman port day. Since there are only two sea days on the western, that's how DCL rescheduled that extra sea day. I'm wondering if they made special arrangements with Grand Cayman to allow them to do that? Why pick GC instead of Cozumel, since that's really when we have it scheduled?

They probably based it on number of passengers who stay on board (a lot of them) on Grand Cayman day, since a lot of people don't care for tendering. I'd be interested to see their stats of number of people who remain on board for each of the three ports. I know the boat was really quiet on Cozumel day. Not as quiet as CC day, but quiet nonetheless. The ship was *packed* on Grand Cayman day.

 

[micknme]

Agreed - there is no need for anyone to lecture any one else on what is important to them or their family here. The devastation is staggering - I'd wager many of us can't even begin to comprehend what these islands are going through right now. Some people are going to take the changes to their vacation in stride well and some won't regardless of the cause of it. Thats going to have to be OK - the boards don't want any of us putting each other down. Please try to have patience and be kind to each other - there is no way for anyone to know what that internet stranger on the other end is going through in their lives.

Sorry if I came across as lecturing. Didn't mean to. My life's work brings out my passion not at the greatest of times.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

They probably based it on number of passengers who stay on board (a lot of them) on Grand Cayman day, since a lot of people don't care for tendering. I'd be interested to see their stats of number of people who remain on board for each of the three ports. I know the boat was really quiet on Cozumel day. Not as quiet as CC day, but quiet nonetheless. The ship was *packed* on Grand Cayman day.

Interesting. I have been to these ports twice prior and we lean towards staying onboard Cozumel day this time. We def wouldn't miss going ashore on GC day. Well good news...our "seA day" in Cozumel will be quiet. Ha!