Coronavirus and DCL Megathread - Suspension of Departures for the fleet until early November. Booking only available from early December.

[MomOTwins]

Exactly. We've already seen people on here that are on their 2nd cancellation.

I really really hope that by next summer, things are back to normal. But I suppose there are no guarantees. Still, 15 months is a long time.

 

[T & R]

Just got an e-mail from Atlantis saying they’re opening back up on July 7th. Does that mean The Bahamas is opening up?

 

[planecrazy63]

Just got an e-mail from Atlantis saying they’re opening back up on July 7th. Does that mean The Bahamas is opening up?

As of now yes - they are opening to tourists in July.

 

[T & R]

Bahamas and Bermuda open up July 1st, Jamaica on July 15th. Stuff is starting to move again

 

[mmackeymouse]

I think that was kind of my point--I didn't expect compensation in those cases because I know under the contract they can quarantine us, skip ports, cancel activities etc. without compensation. But that's the same reason I don't expect them to refund us if they cut back on activities now. It's not DCL's fault that COVID-19 happened (just like it's not their fault my husband got sick on the cruise, nor is it their fault when they have to cancel things due to bad weather, or a medical emergency). Overbooking would be their fault, of course, but that to me is apples and oranges compared to imposing restrictions and cuts due to a pandemic.

I'm definitely feeling sad about my August trip... with a little more than 2 months to go and no word from DCL, I feel pretty certain the cruise won't happen at this point. If it goes, so will we, no matter what restrictions they put in place. We are also in limbo on the "land"portion of our trip because we are booked at a WDW resort that I think may be closed during our stay, so waiting to hear what our options will be. If we are happy with the way things shake out on land portion and they cancel the cruise, we will probably go ahead and go and just add a universal studios trip on the cruise dates.

So a couple of things:

No of course it isn't DCL's fault. That said, I am going to use the same phrase and the same logic that has been used numerous times in defense of Disney and DCL. This is an unprecedented situation.

When these rules and guidelines were written, they were written in a different time for other circumstances. They never could have dreamed of the current situation we find ourselves in. For them to hold hard and fast to guidelines that were established in a different era seems un-Disney to me. Again, this is an unprecedented event.

DCL has even acknowledged as much with the way they have been handling cancellations, with the offering of 125%. They've even offered it to people retroactively. I think they realize you don't bring a knife to a gunfight. You don't apply previous logic to a very new environment. So, I don't see it completely out of the realm of possibility that they offer some sort of compensation to people who choose to sail with them. Not only that, but I think it would be a really nice gesture, and pretty appropriate. They kept these people on the hook, delaying their lives, delaying potential other vacations, with nearly no communication, and these folks stuck it out to sail with a reduced experience...frankly I think they deserve a little bit of compensation.

Second thing. I will say the same thing here that I said about WDW. Yes, tickets are non-refundable. Yes, tickets and cruise sailings are subject to change. Yes, the verbiage says there is no guarantee of this or that. But I think most people, Disney included, know that it's "within reason." You go, and some of the attractions are under refurbishment....eh, it happens. You go, and your resort pool is closed for a day or two. That's the way it goes. You go, and the weather just doesn't cooperate, so you don't get to do any campfires. That stinks. But, this isn't just one or two things that don't go your way. It's everything. It's not a and d and maybe h. It's a and b and c and d and e.......A-Z.

So, with that said, while I completely understand the rules are what they are, while I understand that refunding based on amenities or change of itinerary usually is not done, I think this is a circumstance that goes above and beyond.

 

[tee11]

Sorry, what's FCC again?

In this sort of instance though FCC is really only of any use if it extends past when the alterations from "regular Disney Cruising" take place. Unless that have a really good idea of when that will be, then FCC is useless as a remedy for that issue.

 

[fdefulvio]

FCC - Future Cruise Credit

 

[CaLuCa]

I was looking at the site and playing around with open rooms. I had only 3 in my reservation (1 adult and 2 child) because that's how we split rooms, but it looks like there is a LOT of availability for the upcoming cruises, especially the 7 day ones in August. I don't know how you can see a percentage of open rooms (I tried to figure that out, but the max 8 available always showed up for most categories of each section of each floor I looked at). I did only look at verandahs, though.

Anyone else play around with it?

 

[AquaDame]

I was looking at the site and playing around with open rooms. I had only 3 in my reservation (1 adult and 2 child) because that's how we split rooms, but it looks like there is a LOT of availability for the upcoming cruises, especially the 7 day ones in August. I don't know how you can see a percentage of open rooms (I tried to figure that out, but the max 8 available always showed up for most categories of each section of each floor I looked at). I did only look at verandahs, though.

Anyone else play around with it?

As you said the website only shows so many rooms at a time.. you might be able to call and ask, or you can check a third party website like this one: http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md - after you click on the ship and itinerary it lists out the dates and shows a %. I am not sure how often they update though.

 

[gotomu212]

I was looking at the site and playing around with open rooms. I had only 3 in my reservation (1 adult and 2 child) because that's how we split rooms, but it looks like there is a LOT of availability for the upcoming cruises, especially the 7 day ones in August. I don't know how you can see a percentage of open rooms (I tried to figure that out, but the max 8 available always showed up for most categories of each section of each floor I looked at). I did only look at verandahs, though.

Anyone else play around with it?

I did and started a thread on availability. I found the same thing you did. Not sure what capacity they’ll look for restarting, but cruises past PIF or approaching PIF look very different than those that still have full cancellation rights. It makes it so hard to predict where demand will be next year but people definetely aren’t putting their wallets on the line in the short term.

 

[rescuetink]

As you said the website only shows so many rooms at a time.. you might be able to call and ask, or you can check a third party website like this one: http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md - after you click on the ship and itinerary it lists out the dates and shows a %. I am not sure how often they update though.

So when I checked that site for our cruise it says 38%, but it doesn't indicate if that means it's 38% full, or 38% vacant!?!? Any clue??

 

[jcarwash]

So when I checked that site for our cruise it says 38%, but it doesn't indicate if that means it's 38% full, or 38% vacant!?!? Any clue??

From their FAQ page: "What does the "Categories" percentage mean? It is only an indication of available cabin categories, not ship occupancy. Only the cruise lines have access to that strategic information. Still it can be an useful indicator of a cruise's success."

For reference: http://www.cruisefish.net/faq.md

 

[rescuetink]

From their FAQ page: "What does the "Categories" percentage mean? It is only an indication of available cabin categories, not ship occupancy. Only the cruise lines have access to that strategic information. Still it can be an useful indicator of a cruise's success."

For reference: http://www.cruisefish.net/faq.md

Thanks, I guess I should have looked deeper on their website! We noticed that a LOT of people have been joining our Nov 1st cruise but not a lot have canceled so I figured we were getting full!!

 

[K8T]

Well I have to say, I felt a bit let down by DCL when we cancelled the day before our PIF for Aug 20 Europe cruise, as they couldn’t give any info. on the cruise itself and what happened if the UK locked down and we had to cancel would we still be held under cancellation fees etc. (yes if it sailed).

Also, despite having booked next year a 10 day Europe, we couldn’t use our OBC, or discount from the existing cruise we were cancelling.

I found out others had been able to carry this, so sent a polite email to DCL, saying that it was the first time ever I had felt a bit ‘put out’ with the policy.

A CM rang on Sunday, to say as we were valued guests (we have done a lot of longer cruises in Europe), they would apply the OBC and booking discount we had - even though they don’t do discounts anymore.

DCL came good and I take all my bad feelings back - £700 saved!

 

[o&smom]

Well I have to say, I felt a bit let down by DCL when we cancelled the day before our PIF for Aug 20 Europe cruise, as they couldn’t give any info. on the cruise itself and what happened if the UK locked down and we had to cancel would we still be held under cancellation fees etc. (yes if it sailed).

Also, despite having booked next year a 10 day Europe, we couldn’t use our OBC, or discount from the existing cruise we were cancelling.

I found out others had been able to carry this, so sent a polite email to DCL, saying that it was the first time ever I had felt a bit ‘put out’ with the policy.

A CM rang on Sunday, to say as we were valued guests (we have done a lot of longer cruises in Europe), they would apply the OBC and booking discount we had - even though they don’t do discounts anymore.

DCL came good and I take all my bad feelings back - £700 saved!

So glad to hear that. We have had a somewhat similar situation with not being able to use an OBB credit for our new booking when we had been originally told that we could. I have been thinking about calling DCL again and talking to someone else about the situation in hopes of getting to do what we had been told originally. Keeping my fingers crossed that they come through for us as well.

 

[o&smom]

Just got off the phone with DCL/Costco, and they finally fixed our reservation and applied the OBC! Faith restored!

 

[harriet2]

Well I have to say, I felt a bit let down by DCL when we cancelled the day before our PIF for Aug 20 Europe cruise, as they couldn’t give any info. on the cruise itself and what happened if the UK locked down and we had to cancel would we still be held under cancellation fees etc. (yes if it sailed).

Also, despite having booked next year a 10 day Europe, we couldn’t use our OBC, or discount from the existing cruise we were cancelling.

I found out others had been able to carry this, so sent a polite email to DCL, saying that it was the first time ever I had felt a bit ‘put out’ with the policy.

A CM rang on Sunday, to say as we were valued guests (we have done a lot of longer cruises in Europe), they would apply the OBC and booking discount we had - even though they don’t do discounts anymore.

DCL came good and I take all my bad feelings back - £700 saved!

What was the (original) expiration date of you OBB? Would it have been valid for the cruise you've now booked? We also lost our OBB, but ours expires May 2021 and we have an European cruise booked. Our original (European) cruise has (off course) also been cancelled now.

 

[K8T]

What was the (original) expiration date of you OBB? Would it have been valid for the cruise you've now booked? We also lost our OBB, but ours expires May 2021 and we have an European cruise booked. Our original (European) cruise has (off course) also been cancelled now.

iIt would have expired in Jan 21

 

[harriet2]

iIt would have expired in Jan 21

Thanks, that gives me hope to try and get ours back (now the original cruise was cancelled)

 

[Snowwhyt]

As you said the website only shows so many rooms at a time.. you might be able to call and ask, or you can check a third party website like this one: http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md - after you click on the ship and itinerary it lists out the dates and shows a %. I am not sure how often they update though.

I was wondering if you could help me understand something. http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md?id_cruise_type=21031936
Why is all of this year and early next year look like its ....should I call it “crossed off?” I never understood this site well, but looks like you have some understanding far beyond what I can fathom. I’ll pay you for lessons! Honestly, Disney gift card?