Disney Cruise Line Updates Castaway Club Membership Requirements

[kiford]

Is this restriction on e-mail or Postal Mail?

E-mail only. Snail mail still allows you to send whatever you like.

That law sounds like our "Do Not Call" list in the U.S. which is a joke because of the exemptions to it

Better than ours which not only has those exemptions but you're not even legally required to follow it.

But the anti-spam legislation is much stronger. Companies have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even small companies have been fined thousands. It's usually upon complaints but ignore it at your peril. We have to be careful to take people off our distribution lists regularly and make sure that anyone who has requested to be removed from the list is removed. You also have to keep record of why/how they were on your list in case you get reviewed.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

That would be my assumption since their actual next cruise would be after 5 years. I can't seem them leaving this as a loophole where you can just keep booking a cruise and then cancel. I suspect the intent was to be flexible in allowing someone to book a cruise that is more than 5 years out from the last one and still be able to anticipate that they would keep their status but not to allow them to perpetually move the dial.

Seems to me that they should allow some "wiggle room" for the pandemic years.

 

[kiford]

Seems to me that they should allow some "wiggle room" for the pandemic years.

And they may well do this (and some wording seems to give them some flexibility), but I was thinking more for the future in a steady-state scenario. Time from pandemic closure/years will eventually exceed 5 years and become moot. It doesn't make sense to keep that loophole unless it's for exceptional circumstances and they have to start somewhere.

 

[SnowWhite2]

One month ago I just got off of a 17 day B2B2B cruise and normally only cruise long itineraries. The last cruise was not up to any of the other standards of my other DCL cruises. But I paid a lot of money to get to Pearl. I will now make sure I hop on a short 3 day once every 5 years to keep my status.

 

[toontoy]

I am gold, my wife is silver, we haven't sailed with disney for about 10 years. I have 2 cruises booked for 2025 in the spring one Disney and one on another line. This is a change that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the past couple trips to Disneyworld I never felt they really valued my business or even wanted it. The only real perk to being gold was the ability to book extra cost dining, character activities and shore excursions. If I bounce to nonexistant level next year I may as well cancel and save the 7k I was going to spend and continue sailing other cruise lines. I have 2 cruises booked and disney is 7k more than the other. thats a lot of "free soda" to make up the difference. This will make my wife happy though, we will continue to travel the world and leave Disney memories as memories in the past. I will say though with hotels I have status and with my preferred airline I have status as well, those both come with real perks and its easy to maintain loyalty. Disney doesn't really offer enough variety in itineraries and value to keep me sailing them. As my wife just joked now I dont have to keep saying no to disney vacations.

 

[71 Truck]

Does anyone know or has anyone heard if Disney is going to send out some sort of notice to Cast away Club Members?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Does anyone know or has anyone heard if Disney is going to send out some sort of notice to Cast away Club Members?

If, indeed, this information has already been on the website since March (as noted earlier), I'm guessing no notices will be sent. It's on the CC member to be aware of the policies.

 

[sadiecatie]

I get that for a lot of people it’s about the principle and feeling slighted at this change. But are your CC benefits really the reason you’ve sailed DCL enough to earn status? I mean, you get to book stuff earlier, and you get a lanyard and mediocre gift in your stateroom…and without that you’re saying you won’t sail DCL again? I assume anyone with this view didn’t have much motivation to continue sailing DCL anyways.

 

[DMMarla07860]

If, indeed, this information has already been on the website since March (as noted earlier), I'm guessing no notices will be sent. It's on the CC member to be aware of the policies.

Interesting, so nothing new has changed? Or just more noticeable now?

 

[DCLMP]

So if you take a five-year break you lose your pearl status. That's pretty harsh.

 

[DCLMP]

I am gold, my wife is silver, we haven't sailed with disney for about 10 years. I have 2 cruises booked for 2025 in the spring one Disney and one on another line. This is a change that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the past couple trips to Disneyworld I never felt they really valued my business or even wanted it. The only real perk to being gold was the ability to book extra cost dining, character activities and shore excursions. If I bounce to nonexistant level next year I may as well cancel and save the 7k I was going to spend and continue sailing other cruise lines. I have 2 cruises booked and disney is 7k more than the other. thats a lot of "free soda" to make up the difference. This will make my wife happy though, we will continue to travel the world and leave Disney memories as memories in the past. I will say though with hotels I have status and with my preferred airline I have status as well, those both come with real perks and its easy to maintain loyalty. Disney doesn't really offer enough variety in itineraries and value to keep me sailing them. As my wife just joked now I dont have to keep saying no to disney vacations.

In my opinion, it's more of a disincentive to stick with Disney. Five years is not a long time. There are legitimate reasons why someone might not be able to cruise for five years such as health reasons or financial hardships.

Do any other cruise lines do this? I haven't cruised with Carnival for 7 years and still have my status.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

Seems to me that they should allow some "wiggle room" for the pandemic years.

Based on my earlier phone call there is. Our last cruise was December 2019 and our next is booked for February 2025, she said since it was booked (this is how she said it ) we would not loose our status. They need to clarify exactly what the expectation is.

 

[DCLMP]

Typical Disney. We're Pearl and my adult daughters are Platinum and have young families with other financial obligations so it's just not possible for them to cruise right now with DCL's expensive fares. They sure know how to leave a bad taste in people's mouths.

My 19-year-old is pearl and my 20-year-old is almost there. It's too bad they will most likely lose that. If they ever get married and have kids and can afford a Disney cruise they may have more incentive to do it if they still had the status.

I just chalk this up to another bad decision in a long line of bad decisions this company has made over the last few years. Eventually, some of their fans will walk away and never look back.

 

[Sykes]

Based on my earlier phone call there is. Our last cruise was December 2019 and our next is booked for February 2025, she said since it was booked (this is how she said it ) we would not loose our status. They need to clarify exactly what the expectation is.

That's what the FAQ and terms both say--you must book OR sail within 5 years of disembarking from your last Disney cruise. You can book and then sail much later and stay in the program. Presumably the act of booking will extend your membership even if you subsequently cancel your booking. (It seems like they are mostly aiming to purge completely inactive accounts, although if that's really the case then something like 10 years would be more reasonable.)

FAQ: "To remain in the program, Castaway Club Members must book or sail on at least one eligible cruise within 5 years of their last Disney voyage."

Terms: "Membership in the Program will automatically terminate without notice if Member does not book or complete an eligible DCL cruise within the “Activity Period.” The Activity Period shall mean the five (5) year period after debarkation day of the Member’s last eligible DCL Cruise."

It definitely seems like members might be able to keep their accounts alive by booking cruises with refundable deposits and then canceling them for a full refund, but IMO, the terms are pretty sloppily written because it doesn't really say what happens if someone books a cruise to keep their account alive and then doesn't actually sail on that booking.

 

[kiford]

It definitely seems like members can keep their accounts alive by booking cruises with refundable deposits and then canceling them for a full refund

I would see them closing that loophole fairly quickly. I doubt that just having people book and then not carry through isn't the intent of the policy.

 

[happycamper47]

I would see them closing that loophole fairly quickly. I doubt that just having people book and then not carry through isn't the intent of the policy.

However it does allow them to remove people who are no longer interested in cruising since they are not even booking.

 

[CarolynFH]

If, indeed, this information has already been on the website since March (as noted earlier), I'm guessing no notices will be sent. It's on the CC member to be aware of the policies.

Well, our most recent (and only) DCL cruise was in 1998. We booked our January 2024 DCL cruise in June of 2023, and we’ve been listed and treated as Silver ever since. So I guess they’re giving us some leeway or grandfathered us in. Yay!

 

[DCLMP]

However it does allow them to remove people who are no longer interested in cruising since they are not even booking.

Why does matter? Someday they be interested again.

 

[European]

Wow I have a B2B booked for next January and there will be a gap of 4 years and 11 months since my last cruise with Disney. Mainly due to the pandemic but also other reasons. I wouldn’t have been happy if I had lost my platinum status without a warning or notice. They could at least be more clear about it on their website.

 

[European]

One month ago I just got off of a 17 day B2B2B cruise and normally only cruise long itineraries. The last cruise was not up to any of the other standards of my other DCL cruises. But I paid a lot of money to get to Pearl. I will now make sure I hop on a short 3 day once every 5 years to keep my status.

Were those the San Juan cruises?