My nightmare with Disney cruiseline and irma

[BruinEd03]

It would have been very nice in theory if DCL could have done more. But how specifically would that have been possible? DCL doesn't have access to DW reservation systems, so there was no way for them to know who was staying at a DW hotel and who wasn't. Should DCL have stepped up and found housing for people who had booked Disney hotels on their own pre cruise, how would they have known who was in FL in one of those rooms at the time? Well then what about people who were staying in hotels in the Port area? Wouldn't DCL need to do the same for them? And how exactly would DCL do the booking? Book it for the person and then hope they wanted to spend the money on that level of accomodation (ie Poly vs Pop Century)? And how would DCL have made the reservation? Should the DCL agent have sat on hold for hours waiting to get through to a DW agent to make the reservation? Should DW have taken people off the phones to help out DCL, which would have caused other people to have to wait on hold even longer? Not to mention by that point in the week I imagine DCL was pretty short staffed.

I really do think it would have been nice for DCL to offer more help. I wish they could have done more for the OP, but other than allowing people to cancel earlier, I think that it just isn't realistic that they would have been able to fill in as travel agents for that many people in that emergency level situation.

Yes, DCL could have done more. DCL and WDW coordinate on things all the time. They are also part of the same company. DCL calls WDW and says "Hey I need as many rooms a possible at a severely reduced rate." DCL will get charged by WDW and may even subsidize some of the discounts. However, remember that DCL allows DVC to take over a cruise. So pretty sure different parts of the companies make things happen.

As for this notion that cruise prices are lower specifically of hurricane season, that may be just one of the reasons. However, Hurricane season runs from May to November. If you noticed, prices are actually pretty expensive for a portion of it. It seems that the pricing is more reflective of summer and kids being in school. September - most people are in school, hence the lower price. My guess is that children being in school is much more reflective of pricing. For example, January and February will have super cheap cruises and those aren't affected by Hurricanes.

My guess is that Early September is not a peak month. There will be vacant rooms. It may not need to be enough for everyone, but it's a pretty good start.

 

[cruiser21]

Yes, DCL could have done more. DCL and WDW coordinate on things all the time. They are also part of the same company. DCL calls WDW and says "Hey I need as many rooms a possible at a severely reduced rate." DCL will get charged by WDW and may even subsidize some of the discounts. However, remember that DCL allows DVC to take over a cruise. So pretty sure different parts of the companies make things happen.

As for this notion that cruise prices are lower specifically of hurricane season, that may be just one of the reasons. However, Hurricane season runs from May to November. If you noticed, prices are actually pretty expensive for a portion of it. It seems that the pricing is more reflective of summer and kids being in school. September - most people are in school, hence the lower price. My guess is that children being in school is much more reflective of pricing. For example, January and February will have super cheap cruises and those aren't affected by Hurricanes.

My guess is that Early September is not a peak month. There will be vacant rooms. It may not need to be enough for everyone, but it's a pretty good start.

This is so true. I asked one of the officers on our Alaska cruise if it was cheaper in September because of the weather. He said no. It's rainy and foggy every cruise....September weather was no different then July. It has ALL to do with kids being in school. If kids were out of school in September/October prices would be just as high as July.

 

[Weedy]

Yes, DCL could have done more. DCL and WDW coordinate on things all the time. They are also part of the same company. DCL calls WDW and says "Hey I need as many rooms a possible at a severely reduced rate." DCL will get charged by WDW and may even subsidize some of the discounts. However, remember that DCL allows DVC to take over a cruise. So pretty sure different parts of the companies make things happen.

As for this notion that cruise prices are lower specifically of hurricane season, that may be just one of the reasons. However, Hurricane season runs from May to November. If you noticed, prices are actually pretty expensive for a portion of it. It seems that the pricing is more reflective of summer and kids being in school. September - most people are in school, hence the lower price. My guess is that children being in school is much more reflective of pricing. For example, January and February will have super cheap cruises and those aren't affected by Hurricanes.

My guess is that Early September is not a peak month. There will be vacant rooms. It may not need to be enough for everyone, but it's a pretty good start.

It may be slow in September but when there is a hurricane warning in Florida people evacuated and head to the Disney resorts and rooms are not available.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I'm actually surprised this thread has been allowed to go on as long as it has. How much of of a beating does a poster have to take before a thread is ended???

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! 10 pages and 6 days?? I think enough people have weighed in and OP has received all the feedback she needs!

 

[phinz]

Yes, DCL could have done more. DCL and WDW coordinate on things all the time. They are also part of the same company. DCL calls WDW and says "Hey I need as many rooms a possible at a severely reduced rate."

The last thing DCL wants to do is offer to give 8000 people a discount on a WDW hotel during a hurricane. Some people would then just head to WDW instead of taking their cruise, putting even more people in harm's way.

I still have yet to understand, and haven't seen anybody ask, why the OP didn't just get out of harm's way and go home at the end of the planned land portion of the trip, once they were aware the cruise was not going to happen. If my cruise portion got cancelled because there was a significant chance of deadly weather I would have done my time at the World and then hightailed it back to high ground to enjoy the rest of my vacation time where I'm more likely to be safe.

 

[Dug720]

I still have yet to understand, and haven't seen anybody ask, why the OP didn't just get out of harm's way and go home at the end of the planned land portion of the trip, once they were aware the cruise was not going to happen. If my cruise portion got cancelled because there was a significant chance of deadly weather I would have done my time at the World and then hightailed it back to high ground to enjoy the rest of my vacation time where I'm more likely to be safe.

Exactly. Especially when airlines were allowing changes with no fee.

 

[cruiser21]

The last thing DCL wants to do is offer to give 8000 people a discount on a WDW hotel during a hurricane. Some people would then just head to WDW instead of taking their cruise, putting even more people in harm's way.

I still have yet to understand, and haven't seen anybody ask, why the OP didn't just get out of harm's way and go home at the end of the planned land portion of the trip, once they were aware the cruise was not going to happen. If my cruise portion got cancelled because there was a significant chance of deadly weather I would have done my time at the World and then hightailed it back to high ground to enjoy the rest of my vacation time where I'm more likely to be safe.

Most flights in and out of Orlando are full on a normal day. How many tourists are in Florida on any given day? How many would have been trying to get out...just saying. I can't remember the last time I flew anywhere when the plane wasn't at full capacity.

 

[minniemouse1]

First I only read the OP statement and not the 10 pages following. I am probably going to get flamed for this but...
Who would travel anywhere, at anytime, and not have a credit card or cash for emergencies?? I do not feel DCL did anything wrong. It is not their responsibility to house and feed customers if the cruise was cancelled. Yes you probably have something in the travel insurance to pay for these expenses but it will have to be claimed therefore you would need to put the money up front first then get reimbursed.
Sorry but I just can't wrap my head around this. I find it irresponsible to expect someone else to take care of you when you left home knowing this was a possibility.

 

[undertheradar]

I would like to see this thread stay open. OP has not been abused, as some have stated. Has some of the feedback been blunt, yes. Has some of the feedback been informative, yes. There has been a lot of information exchanged on this thread and it allows others to see what they should/should not "expect" when this type of situation arises.

 

[phinz]

Most flights in and out of Orlando are full on a normal day. How many tourists are in Florida on any given day? How many would have been trying to get out...just saying. I can't remember the last time I flew anywhere when the plane wasn't at full capacity.

The airlines shifted to larger planes in many of the evacuating cities, and increased the number of flights (Delta, United and American to name three) where they could. It doesn't appear the OP even *tried* to get out of Dodge, opting instead to extend their stay in Orlando, hoping DCL would get them a discount.

 

[FigmentSpark]

The last thing DCL wants to do is offer to give 8000 people a discount on a WDW hotel during a hurricane. Some people would then just head to WDW instead of taking their cruise, putting even more people in harm's way.

I still have yet to understand, and haven't seen anybody ask, why the OP didn't just get out of harm's way and go home at the end of the planned land portion of the trip, once they were aware the cruise was not going to happen. If my cruise portion got cancelled because there was a significant chance of deadly weather I would have done my time at the World and then hightailed it back to high ground to enjoy the rest of my vacation time where I'm more likely to be safe.

I believe OP answered that she tried to get a flight out, but none were available.

 

[Dug720]

The airlines shifted to larger planes in many of the evacuating cities, and increased the number of flights (Delta, United and American to name three) where they could. It doesn't appear the OP even *tried* to get out of Dodge, opting instead to extend their stay in Orlando, hoping DCL would get them a discount.

One other thing to consider in situations like that, especially if there are multiple adults in a party is to split the party to see if that can get you home any quicker. And look at other options of airports to get to. OK, so rental cars might have all been taken in Orlando, but could they have flown somewhere within a reasonable distance from their home and rented a car there?

I realize I'm fortunate that living in NYC I have immediate and easy access to 3 major airports, plus at least 5 more that are within an easy train or bus ride, and that I travel solo. But it never hurts to provide options when talking with the airline person. I remember the Christmas blizzard we had in the Northeast a few years ago - I'd flown down to Orlando for family Christmas at Disney. Sure enough, my flight was cancelled when I was on the Magical Express. I got in line and called my parents to let them know - my dad said to check and see if there was anything easier going out of Nashville and I could either fly there and then up or he'd come back from Valdosta (where he and Mom were spending the night) and I'd ride back with them, but of course the problem was getting INTO the area not OUT OF Orlando - and then called my sister, who I'd be crashing with. By the time I got to the counter, I said "It's just me - one person. I would prefer JFK, but I can take LGA or EWR. Or if there's nothing, I could do Philly, Boston, or the DC-area airports and get a train or bus from there. I just need to be back by Jan 2 when school starts." She was able to get me in on 1/1 to JFK.

I could hear families on either side of me - families with 2 parents - who were looking at mid-January if they insisted on traveling together. Even the agents were asking if they'd be willing to have mom take a child and dad take a child or split in some configuration and saying that would get them home by Jan 1, but they were refusing to do it. Is it ideal? No, of course not. But sometimes you have to be flexible in extreme situations - either by splitting up or looking at options like checking the car rental situation at airports within a few hours drive from home and placing a hold on a car that could be cancelled if there aren't any flights, and then saying "OK, can you get me on the plane to [insert airport that's within a few hours of home here] and I will drive from there?" Again, not ideal, but it could have gotten her out of there. (Though I guess with no back-up credit card the car rental thing wouldn't have worked...)

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

Yes, DCL could have done more. DCL and WDW coordinate on things all the time. They are also part of the same company. DCL calls WDW and says "Hey I need as many rooms a possible at a severely reduced rate." DCL will get charged by WDW and may even subsidize some of the discounts. However, remember that DCL allows DVC to take over a cruise. So pretty sure different parts of the companies make things happen.

If we are really going on the theory that DCL should have done more because they fall under the “Disney” company then shouldn’t have the rest of these listed below have done something too? Don’t they fall under Disney as well? I mean, finding rooms for thousands of displaced people in a resort that was at capacity just takes some phones calls right?

If DCL didn’t have the personnel to find thousands of cruisers hotel rooms well then, heck, the Disney corporate office could have just pulled personnel from the rest of it’s companies and turned them all into DCL travel agents. Some could reschedule flights, some hotel rooms, rent cars, or even schedule dinner reservations. Oh, and all this can be done on a “severely reduced rate”.

Would you call WDW to reschedule your cruise? Then why would you expect DCL to find you a hotel room?


DCL does allow DVC to have Members cruises. There is a cost to the member in either points or cash. They are not free. Actually, they are rather expensive.

ABC
ESPN
Lucas Films
Disneyland
Disneyland Paris
Shanghai Disney
Tokyo Disney
Adventures by Disney
Disney Store
Disney Vacation Club

Absolutely none of this makes sense just because they fall under the same company.

 

[cruiser21]

I believe OP answered that she tried to get a flight out, but none were available.

Yes she did say that. Even the largest planes only hold 300 or so people and I doubt they pulled those off international routes. I've been stuck in Orlando when numerous flights cancelled due to tornadoes in a major hub. It's not that easy to rebook when the flights you want to rebook on has been sold out for a week or more. My flight to Seattle was cancelled 2 weeks ago. I didn't get a flight out until the next day. Coming back from Vancouver flight was delayed many people were going to miss connections. Flying is a crapshoot even in perfect weather.

I talked to numerous people on our Alaska cruise who were from Florida and weren't going to be able to get home on Monday. They were going to be stuck in their connecting cities until they could get a flight. One guy I talked to got off the ship in Juneau so he could get home before the Hurricane. Not only did it affect people at Disney world, but also people on a Disney cruise in Alaska.

 

[phinz]

I
DCL does allow DVC to have Members cruises. There is a cost to the member in either points or cash. They are not free. Actually, they are rather expensive.

Actually, DCL doesn't *allow* DVC to have Members cruises. DVC *charters* the entire ship, just as TCM did for years. There are a few charters every year. It doesn't matter to DCL if you are a Disney-related company or not. If you want to charter the boat and have the money to pony up then you get to charter it. So the statement you were referring to - I know it wasn't you who said that DCL and DVC work together so it should have been easy for WDW and DCL to do the same thing - isn't even relevant in its reference.

 

[phinz]

Not only did it affect people at Disney world, but also people on a Disney cruise in Alaska.

Did Disney negotiate a cheap hotel room for them? Or put them up for "free" until they could send a bill to them later? If not, sounds like DCL failed them too.

 

[phinz]

I believe OP answered that she tried to get a flight out, but none were available.

You are correct. I found that buried four pages in.

There are five airports within a halfway decent drive/Uber/etc. from Orlando. I'd be interested to see if the OP tried Melbourne, Sanford, MCO, Daytona and Tampa. All have domestic flights from at least one airline, if not multiples.

I do realize traffic may have been terrible, but when trying to get out that's what you might have to deal with.

 

[cmph]

I'm starting to feel bad for the OP now, too. I'm not at all surprised that the language of the post title led to this, and I don't personally think that DCL needed to have done anything more. I mean, it's not like other cruiselines were blocking out entire hotels for their customers either (to my knowledge, that is, other than using their ships as shelters).

BUT I think expectations of what she *could* have done are starting to get to be a bit beyond the typical vacationer's skill set. Yes, many of us know to check other airports, figure out car rental options, etc, but for many, many people - they travel via airplane once a year, if that. I know plenty of adults my age (which is heading toward 40) who can count the number of times they've flown on one hand! Or maybe they never drive outside of their home area. Being proactive is one thing, but knowing *how* to be proactive is another - and the latter isn't something you just know unless you're a seasoned traveler and you've been there/done that or read about these topics out of necessity due to your frequent travel. I doubt many WDW regulars would necessarily fall into the "seasoned traveler" category, if that's basically the only destination they fly to and they're accustomed to the simplicity of the (free) Magical Express system. So it does feel a bit like piling on to me, to start listing out all these options that are never going to occur to the typical vacationer. Maybe think about your relatives and friends who aren't as well-traveled as you, imagine them in the OP's shoes, understand she was stressed and frustrated when she posted, and try for a bit of empathy or sympathy.

 

[CamColt]

This thread has run it's course and nothing productive is coming from it anymore. I'm locking it now.