Disappointed with Disney Cruise Line

[joandwayne]

HI

Sat here feeling very cross and just had to let off steam so I apologise in advance for having a rant!

We are booked to go on our first Disney Cruise on Disney Magic around Med in May this year for 10 nights.

Very excited about it and can't wait.

Only problem is, Disney have disappointed us on a number of occasions regarding our reservation.

Firstly, the port excursions are oversubscribed and we can't do all of the port trips with DCL that we wanted to. We have had to book with other companies for some of them. Disney couldn't help - they just said we had chosen popular excursions and there was nothing they could do if they were fully booked. Not used to this sort of attitude from Disney having been to WDW 6 times, but still we just let it go.

Then I found out today that staterooms have now been allocated for our cruise. I am a member of a facebook group for our particular cruise and there are several hundred people on this group - sharing advice and tips about the cruise. There is a discussion that started in the last 48 hours about room allocations and there are at least 30 people from the facebook group who have been upgraded from Cat 12 and 9 up to Cat 6! I am fuming! How unfair is that!

Now don't get me wrong - I am happy for anyone who gets an upgrade but there are so many of them! We paid several thousand dollars more to get the same room as others who paid less but got an upgrade. Spoke to Disney and they said that they could change my reservation to a lower category (we booked category 5) and then we could take the chance of getting an upgrade. No way - this is not an option - particularly as most of the upgrades have been allocated already. :angry:

It seems if you spend less, you get more but if you spend more then you don't get any benefit from doing so. I am so disappointed and have emailed the supervisor at Disney.

Sorry for the rant - my moan is not at people getting an upgrade - it is at the number of people who are getting an upgrade. There are dozens (and they are that we know of so there will be dozens more that we don't know of).

Rant over - need to calm down now!

[wickesy]

I understand how you feel but I suppose the only 'fair' way to do it would be to bump 30 people up one category each (7 to 6, 8 to 7 etc.) but even that isn't 'fair fair'. Personally I don't believe in free upgrades anywhere - hotels, flights etc. Like you say some people (including us) have paid a lot more for a specific experience so why should others get it for nothing.

I was disappointed that because we have never sailed with DCL before I had no chance of booking a Palo brunch because it was fully booked way before my booking window opened but I'll just have to book when we get onboard instead.

[joandwayne]

Originally Posted by wickesy

I understand how you feel but I suppose the only 'fair' way to do it would be to bump 30 people up one category each (7 to 6, 8 to 7 etc.) but even that isn't 'fair fair'. Personally I don't believe in free upgrades anywhere - hotels, flights etc. Like you say some people (including us) have paid a lot more for a specific experience so why should others get it for nothing.

I was disappointed that because we have never sailed with DCL before I had no chance of booking a Palo brunch because it was fully booked way before my booking window opened but I'll just have to book when we get onboard instead.

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I know what you mean. There will never be a 'fair' way to do it.

[warbiespig77]

Were booked on our first Disney cruise starting 31 oct and im not expecting any extras and as we are using our dvc points we havent really paid so its a luxury and cant wait .If i had paid i suppose i would have been a bit miffed its not going to hurt to voice your opinions to Disney so go for it and let us know how you get on

[joandwayne]

Originally Posted by warbiespig77

Were booked on our first Disney cruise starting 31 oct and im not expecting any extras and as we are using our dvc points we havent really paid so its a luxury and cant wait .If i had paid i suppose i would have been a bit miffed its not going to hurt to voice your opinions to Disney so go for it and let us know how you get on

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I know. I wish I didn't know that so many other people had received upgrades. This blooming facebook group is a nuisance really.

[warbiespig77]

Originally Posted by joandwayne

I know. I wish I didn't know that so many other people had received upgrades. This blooming facebook group is a nuisance really.

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I know what you mean im on another site about disney and i think sometimes things look a bit clicky and some people are just a little bit cheeky and ask for things that i wouldnt dream of asking for

[athurstance]

It happens with all cruise lines. I prefer to pay for the cabin I want knowing that I will get it - if I get an upgrade to a better category that's great but if not I'm happy with my cabin. It sounds like you booked the cabin you wanted in a similar way.

Others take a chance - or perhaps they were happy with a lower grade cabin but have got a bonus. It's easier for DCL to sell the cheaper cabins last minute which is why they move people up - the alternative is to see your cabin advertised for a lot less than you paid anyway but they prefer to reward those who have booked early.

As for the excursions - I wouldn't worry about it too much. Cruise line excursions are usually overpriced and less than wonderful - much better to arrange your own.

[warbiespig77]

Originally Posted by joandwayne

I know. I wish I didn't know that so many other people had received upgrades. This blooming facebook group is a nuisance really.

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Looks like were in POR at the same time in oct we go 20th -11th nov

[TinkTatoo]

To be fair it's not really Disney's fault that the port excursions are oversubscribed, did you try and book them as soon as they were released or leave it a while before trying to book them? I know that on the popular cruises the excursions, certain spa treatments and Palo tend to get booked up really quickly and unless you're booking right away you're probably not going to get what you're after.

As for the upgrades, I always take the view that I'll get what I paid for. I know it's probably frustrating that other people got upgraded and you didn't but that's the way it goes sometimes.

On a more positive note, you've still got the bonus from Disney of $400 on board credit (I'm still hoping we'll get a nice gift like this on our cruse )

[warbiespig77]

Originally Posted by TinkTatoo

To be fair it's not really Disney's fault that the port excursions are oversubscribed, did you try and book them as soon as they were released or leave it a while before trying to book them? I know that on the popular cruises the excursions, certain spa treatments and Palo tend to get booked up really quickly and unless you're booking right away you're probably not going to get what you're after.

As for the upgrades, I always take the view that I'll get what I paid for. I know it's probably frustrating that other people got upgraded and you didn't but that's the way it goes sometimes.

On a more positive note, you've still got the bonus from Disney of $400 on board credit (I'm still hoping we'll get a nice gift like this on our cruse )

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$400 were DVC i get to watch everyone else spends theres