ABD cancelations

[Bobo912]

Bobo912-
Hope everything goes well with Alaska. Glad they were helpful in giving you percentages booked on the other trips. Sounds like, from some other posts, ABD is more reluctant to do so now. . . .

Turtlemom

Thanks! I think they are more likely to give you the information if your trip has already been cancelled and you are trying to rebook.

 

[kristilew]

Kaylismom - can you switch your trip to the June 20 Southwest Splendors? Then you'd get your ABD and your Grand Canyon and Arches, as well as the horseback riding you would have gotten on QfortheW - and we'd have one more family booked!

 

[Pakey]

I've been researching and I think we are going to do Costa Rica on our own.

Next year is our 25th anniversary and I had been debating whether I would do the African Signature with AbD or a luxury Asian cruise. I think all of this has made my decision much easier.

 

[sayhello]

The ABD rep who called me with the cancellation *did* say she would not offer to rebook me on a date that had a chance of being canceled. Now she could have just been feeding me a line, but that is what she said. I'd like to think that's the truth, and they are trying to consolidate the trips with low enrollment, into ones with more people. *Fingers & toes crossed*

I think it's interesting, though, that everyone who has said, said ABD told them there were only 2 families signed up for their trip that got canceled. That's what I was told. Is that just a standard thing to say, or are they only canceling trips with 2 or less families???

Sayhello

 

[clarabelle]

They told me that as well.
two families

 

[cappygirl]

that's what they told us too!

 

[Momof3greatkids]

We are still a GO at this point for June 30th Quest for the West. I tried to find out the numbers, but of course where given none. Vergie would not give out any info, and gave the standard lines. Anyone, who wants to come please join us. We are a couple with an 11 year old boy. I am so sorry to all those who have been canceled. ABD is not getting a very good reputation out of this. We called a week ago, and where told they never cancel Quest for the West. So much for that.

 

[clarabelle]

We are still a GO at this point for June 30th Quest for the West. I tried to find out the numbers, but of course where given none. Vergie would not give out any info, and gave the standard lines. Anyone, who wants to come please join us. We are a couple with an 11 year old boy. I am so sorry to all those who have been canceled. ABD is not getting a very good reputation out of this. We called a week ago, and where told they never cancel Quest for the West. So much for that.

Mom -when she called to cancel my Quest she offered me two dates that were close to mine that she said -"had plenty of kids" one was the 21st and the other was the 30th.
So yours sounds like a go (I think). We still haven't decided what we are going to do.

 

[Momof3greatkids]

Clarebelle,
Good luck to you in whatever you decide. I know it is totally frustrating. We are hoping for the best, but have warned our son that it could be canceled at anytime. We have frequent flyer, and it would be hard to rebook with that. We just have to hope the info given you was correct.

 

[Happy99]

I'm concerned about cancellation as well (we have one booked for the end of 2009)--but my approach to this whole mess is to first assume and believe that Disney is doing what it can for its customers in light of the economy (and its stock--I'm sure you all saw that Disney was down 34 percent or so this past quarter)--and offer up suggestions on how to improve things. When we took our first ABD tour in 2007, folks from the Burbank ABD office came out and listened to our suggestions--and followed up with responses. So, (1) these are great trips, (2) Disney is a solid, customer-based company and (3) nothing is perfect--especially in the risky travel biz.

That said, what should be done? Clearly the dreaded calls are causing heartbreak and are extremely disruptive to those with limited vacation time opportunities. I agree with those asking for more information up front--take some of the mystery out of this process, if possible. Such as posting the minimum number for each trip--and letting people know the numbers. (Now, would this cause people to panic too early and cancel or not sign up, thus being a self-fulfilling prediction? Maybe there is a middle ground on this?).

Other ideas??? I think our interests are all the same, and it is what brought us to ABD in the first place: quality itinerary, Disney detail, no-one-else-has-it surprises and security. Well--all of that is still there, so how do we help fix the panic/last-minute cancellations?

I'm reluctant to jump into blog sites--and having to use disclaimers is unfortunate (but I'll say it again: I'm only trying to suggest things to improve ABD, and mean no disrespect to those now facing termination of their trips)--but I really believe in the quality of ABD and want it to be successful. (And the ABD blog is relatively small in numbers--take a look at the Disney Cruise Line blogs--those people talk about silverware patterns at dinner!) (No disrespect to those of you who blog on DCL) (I hate disclaimers).

Enough from me--but really, other constructive ideas for ABD??

They priced their ABD's too high, yes they include a lot and some of the things you cannot do on your own but to me the value in "some" of those do not warrant the high price tag. No we aren't hurting financially and hope to stay that way. We aren't rich as per the definition of that term. We do like to spend our money wisely and compare what we are getting to the cost of that vacation. We do splurge when it makes sense to us. All that being said given the high price tag of the ABD's and the cruises that Disney has released for 2010 they are going to be in for a rude awakening. I think they rode the the wave of people wanting to spend the money to get the experience but that wave has just crashed and they have to restructure their thinking and pricing

One example is that never before has a special itinerary on DCL not increased in price from the time it was first offered but most of the 2010 itineraries have not increased in price even their very special European ones. Compared to what other cruise lines are offering in price they are more then twice as much in the same category.

I hope that all these cancellations are sending a message to the powers to be. I don't expect the ABD's to be inexpensive but when a family of 4 has to pay over $10,000 for a one week trip, or sometimes less then a week, to a location in the U.S before airfare something is definitely wrong. It isn't like they are offering 5 star accommodations, meals and such.

We really enjoyed our Southwestern ABD but if it weren't for the fact that part of it was paid with our DVC points we would have never gone. One of the hotels we stayed at could have been considered a 2 star one and some of the meals left a lot to be desired. When I am paying this kind of money I expect to have more "off the menu" meals vs buffets that don't offer much or that the quality is lacking. I also expect at least 4 star accommodations

If you take 10,000 for a family of 4 and divide it by 7 nights the adventure is costing $1428.57 per night. Take that same amount for the 5nt Backstage Magic tour and that makes it a cost of $2000 per night. Considering that this does not include meals for every day of your stay it really makes it cost prohibited for families

 

[slg]

Last night I checked to see if there were any other tour companies offering the a similar tour during the same dates so that we wouldn't lose our flights if our tour was cancelled!

I wish I had done this first. I found a few tours and they were so much cheaper! I'm talking $1350 instead of $2999! Globus Tours even offers family oriented trips and have children's rates that are significantly less, and children are up to the age of 17! Next time we'll try something cheaper and see if we like it. We travelled Globus for many tours before we had kids and really enjoyed them.

Still waiting for the call that I almost wish would come sooner rather than later so that I had better options in rebooking another date or even another tour company.

Its so disappointing as we booked the day the tours came out. Had I known then what I know now, I never would have booked! The economy, the cancellations, the Canadian dollar taking a nose-dive, plus other tours that are so much less money.

I wish the ABD would at least update their website and show which tours have been cancelled and which tours are guaranteed. Most other tour companies have a list of their guaranteed tours on their sites. It certainly helps to plan.

 

[mwebsite]

When you are comparing tours, do look closely at the accomodations and activities. While Globus offers nice accomodations, for example in Rome, they stay more on the outskirts of Rome, vs. ABD in the heart of the city. This is an important aspect for most people, as well as the special, inclusive, family activities. When I researched these tours, it seemed only Tauck came close to ABD when comparing everything, with ABD being only slightly less expensive when I looked at the length of stay and meals included, at least for Viva Italia.

 

[sayhello]

I wish the ABD would at least update their website and show which tours have been cancelled and which tours are guaranteed. Most other tour companies have a list of their guaranteed tours on their sites. It certainly helps to plan.

I totally agree with you that cancelled tours should be removed from the website immediately. It's not that difficult to do.

However, I don't believe *any* tour is ever guaranteed with ABD. A tour that's full is pretty likely to happen, but if a bunch of people cancelled... ABD reserves the right to cancel any tour up to the day it leaves. Not that I think this is a good policy, but it's what the FAQ on the site states...

6) What if Adventures by Disney Cancels my Adventure prior to departure?

Adventures by Disney reserves the right to cancel a trip at any time prior to its commencement for any reason, such as if there are too few Guests, or if the quality of the trip or the safety of the Guests would, in our opinion, be compromised, such as may result from unforeseen circumstances (acts of God) or other circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

Sayhello

 

[MeggerasMa]

We got "the call" from our travel agent earlier this week. We were on the September 12th, adults only, Southwest Splendors. They offered us a date later in Sept and one in the middle of October, but neither would work for us. Although we are disappointed, especially since it was for a special anniversary, thank goodness we had booked our air with ABD. (And to think I almost booked those tickets myself.) Just wanted to let folks know of another trip that won't happen.

 

[sayhello]

We got "the call" from our travel agent earlier this week. We were on the September 12th, adults only, Southwest Splendors. They offered us a date later in Sept and one in the middle of October, but neither would work for us. Although we are disappointed, especially since it was for a special anniversary, thank goodness we had booked our air with ABD. (And to think I almost booked those tickets myself.) Just wanted to let folks know of another trip that won't happen.

Ah, sorry your trip got cancelled, and that you couldn't rebook. That's really sad. Southwest Splendors is a great itinerary. I have to think they just offered too many dates.

Just thought I'd mention, if ABD cancels your tour, they will cover the cost of airfare (rebooking or refund) whether you booked the airfare with them or not. I did not book my airfare through ABD, and they are going to pay the difference for me rebooking from Montana/Canada to Alaska.

Sayhello

 

[RLevy29]

We were booked on the Rocky Mountain Tales and Trails from 8/15 -8/22. We got the call about 3 weeks ago. They tried to get us to switch to the week earlier or the week after but it just wasn't going to work for us. We had used DVC points and they were all put back into our account and the airfare was refunded. The only thing that we are waiting for now is the insurance. We consider ourselves very lucky that the cancellations were done very early so that we can plan another trip.

 

[sayhello]

We were booked on the Rocky Mountain Tales and Trails from 8/15 -8/22. We got the call about 3 weeks ago. They tried to get us to switch to the week earlier or the week after but it just wasn't going to work for us. We had used DVC points and they were all put back into our account and the airfare was refunded. The only thing that we are waiting for now is the insurance. We consider ourselves very lucky that the cancellations were done very early so that we can plan another trip.

So that's 2 dates for the Rocky Trails and Mountie Tales tour that have been cancelled. (Mine was 9/5) Interesting. Sorry you couldn't reschedule. I ended up going with Alaska... hope that one doesn't get cancelled!

Sayhello

 

[Pakey]

I talked to AbD yesterday. We were booked on an adults only and I wanted to know if they had any other Costa Rican tours that were mostly only adults so that I could rebook (they cancelled both adults only Costa Rica tours). I was told that the only one available that didn't already have lots of kids on it was Christmas week.

I'm already researching and have come up with my own trip to Costa Rica, staying 2 nights in San Jose at exact same hotel and then staying 5 nights at a 5 star coastal all inclusive, paying for some of the same tours (we really were attracted to the zip line/canopy tour) and we can go for $1000 less for the two of us, including the transfers. So that's what we are doing.

 

[DopeyDave]

I wish the ABD would at least update their website and show which tours have been cancelled and which tours are guaranteed. Most other tour companies have a list of their guaranteed tours on their sites. It certainly helps to plan.

I know what you mean. When I was active in our company's employee club (before the company disbanded it), we used to run bus trips to see Broadway shows. We would have a minimum number of people required to run the trip, or we'd have to cancel. Eventually people would hold off on signing up until they knew for sure it'd run. By people holding off, we'd end up cancelling because we didn't meet the minimum. It was a real "Catch-22" situation.

Maybe they should at least go through at a point and cancel all the tours that don't have anyone registered, and direct new guests to tours that already have people booked.

 

[Ivory]

Maybe they should at least go through at a point and cancel all the tours that don't have anyone registered, and direct new guests to tours that already have people booked.[/QUOTE]

What a smart idea, that would help to make sure some go that may not otherwise as well as give people a chance to re-book and not be too disappointed.

Hopefully they are done cancelling now and we can all look forward to enjoying our long waited for vacations